Offspring travel and stay with their mother and her pod for life.”
My heart hurts. Hands down orcas are better at parenting than some humans. My humans, for example.
“Now … our visitors number nineteen animals, mostly females and their calves, with a handful of frisky adolescent males.”
I check the clock. Five more minutes.
“A team of experts are on their way down from Friday Harbor. Marine biologists and whale researchers. Cetologists—note that the word derives from the order name.”
Chairs scrape. A few people cough.
“They’ve asked me to round up some volunteers. Mostly the work will be hauling equipment around, helping set up traffic barriers, grunt work for the grunts.” Mr. O’Connor smiles and passes around a sign-up sheet. “But they’ve promised to include educational opportunities when they can, depending on how long the whales stay, of course.…” The bell rings and a few kids start to stand up, but Mr. O’Connor isn’t finished. “Wait … you’ll also earn community service hours and get firsthand exposure to science in action!”
There’s a flurry of activity as everyone gathers their stuff and scrambles for the door.
“Extra credit!” Mr. O’Connor shouts.
I can’t seem to move. Mom kept trying to plan our whale-watching trip for this summer, I kept saying no. Is this my second chance? I steal a glance at Lena. She’s already at the front of the signup line, her mind made up. She sees me look and waves me over. My head is pounding. I stand up and leave the room fast, before Lena can stop me.
Maybe that trip with Mom would have made a difference, but now it feels too late. And all the community services hours in the world aren’t going to bring Mom back.
CHAPTER 5
The lunchroom is buzzing with everyone chattering about Mr. O’Connor’s extra credit project. Listening to some conversations, you’d think he’d promised they’d get to swim underwater with the whales instead of hauling trash and directing traffic. I try to slip in and out unnoticed, but no luck. Harris sees me and waves me over. Somehow, Lena is already magically there, along with Grace, a thin, pale girl with deep blue eyes. I sit down at their table and Grace looks at me with the same expression she always gives me: Oh, you again.
“Why not do it?” Harris is saying. “We get excused from all afternoon classes if we sign up. Besides, I got some free time now that my old man’s showed up again.”
“Because it’s going to be work,” Lena reminds him. “Not just time off school.”
Harris sips his pop and shrugs. “How hard can it be?”
“Harder than most stuff you’ve ever done,” Grace says, her voice flat.
Lena shoots her a look, but Harris just grins.
“You don’t know hard,” he laughs, looking Grace in the eye. Then he turns to me. “You sign up, Marisa?”
I feel my face redden. A simple “no” won’t do it, because it’s sure to be followed by “why?” And that’s complicated, just like Harris’s life, or at least that’s what I used to think before my life got complicated. It’s no secret that Harris is in charge of his little brother, Jesse, when their dad’s not around, which seems to be most of the time. I wouldn’t even know Harris or Jesse at all if it weren’t for Mom’s volunteering at the youth shelter. Mom again.
I fumble to open my lunch and decide to ignore his question when Lena smoothly answers for me instead.
“Heck yes, we’re going.”
I stare at her. “What are you talking about? I didn’t sign up.…”
“I know. I signed us both up.” She smiles, eating a handful of grapes. “What are friends for?”
“You can’t do that,” I whisper. “You can’t just go signing other people’s names for things!” Grace snickers and I lower my voice, “Besides … I can’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“I … I’m too busy,” I stammer. “I can’t miss all those afternoon classes.”
“Right,” Lena says, frowning. “Gotta make sure you bring your ‘A’ in Language Arts up to ‘A+’. What happened to your famous Love of Science?”
“That’s not the point!” I jump up. “You can’t just go making decisions for other people!” I feel my face starting to flush. Everybody’s listening. Grace sticks out her lower lip, giving me a fake “poor you” look.
How can I explain? I can’t shake the weird feeling that I’m just moving through days, going through the motions, when really I should be doing something more important, like trying to find Mom and bring her home.
“Well, it’s too late,” Lena says simply. “Oh come on, Marisa, when else will you have a chance like this?” She crumples up her lunch bag and looks at me hard. “Ever since fifth grade you’ve been going on and on about how awesome orcas are, you’ve dragged me to whale movies, you play whale songs on your Walkman.…”
I sigh, listening. There’s nothing to say without outright lying. She’s right.
“You even did one of those whale adoption things with your mom, didn’t you?”
I stop her right there.
“Look … I told you, I’m not going.” My voice sounds louder and meaner than I intended.
She frowns and leads me away from the others. “Listen, Marisa. I’m not stupid. I know things are weird for you since your mom left.” I cringe, but she doesn’t back off. “But you won’t talk to me about it. So I have to do something.”
I start to protest but she holds up her palm.
“You owe it to me to at least try.” She spins in place and is gone before I can even open my mouth to say “no” again.
––––
It’s almost six-thirty by the time I get home. I glide down the marina embankment and heave my bike over the wharf’s edge, securing it against the leeward wall. When I unlock the front door, it’s dark inside—Dad’s not home yet. I turn on the light and slump down on the couch, not moving until my growling stomach gets my attention. No homemade dinner waiting for you, Marisa. Looking around the quiet room, it’s so easy to feel sorry for myself again.
Irritated, I punch the TV button on and head to the kitchen, hoping I can find something fast and easy to eat. I open the door and the refrigerator whirs to life, but what’s inside is pretty bleak. Not much more than an almost empty jar of peanut butter, yellowing broccoli, and some questionable egg salad.
Not like before. Dad and I used to cook together, a lot. Lemon chicken. Six-onion soup. A spicy red pasta sauce made with garlic, capers, olives, and anchovies that Dad said was named for the “Italian Ladies of the Night.” We always
