Antonia pressed her nose against the window, staring at the shop display in disbelief.
After tea, Antonia played in the garden with her little sister, Jessica. They made a camp with blankets, pegs, sun loungers and an old washing line. Jessica had just gone indoors to get her dolls when Sophie arrived.
“Hi,” said Antonia. “How are the cat pictures coming along?”
“Great,” said Sophie. “I found a huge old tabby asleep under a tub of geraniums. The plants made him look like he was wearing a flowery hat. It was so funny. I made loads of sketches. I wanted to start painting the picture tomorrow but now I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re not going to be here! That’s what I came round to tell you. Mum and Dad are pulling me out of school to go on holiday. It’s a last-minute thing. Dad realised if we don’t go now we won’t get one. Once the school holidays start he’ll be too busy running art classes for the tourists.”
Sophie’s dad was an artist and he also taught people how to paint.
“Oh,” said Antonia. She smiled wanly and tried to sound pleased for Sophie, but she was going to miss her friend. “Well, have a good time. Where are you going?”
“Jersey,” said Sophie. “Don’t look like that! It’s only for a week. I’ll be back before the end of term and I’ll bring you a souvenir.”
Antonia shuddered, remembering the souvenirs in Emily’s Treasure Chest.
“You don’t have to buy me anything,” she protested. “Just send me a postcard. And I’m pleased for you. Really I am. I hope you have a brilliant time.”
“Thanks.” Sophie hugged Antonia. “I wish you could come with us. I asked Mum if you could but she didn’t think your mum would let you have the time off school.”
“She wouldn’t,” agreed Antonia.
“Sophie!” cried Jessica, staggering across the lawn, her arms full of dolls. “Have you come to play with us?”
“Sorry, Jess, not today. I’ve got to go and pack,” said Sophie hurriedly. “See you soon, Antonia, and remember not to call for me tomorrow.”
That night, Antonia lay in bed thinking about Emily’s Treasure Chest. The more she thought about it, the more uncertain she became. Could she have been mistaken about the souvenirs? Maybe they weren’t what she’d thought they were. Antonia tossed in her bed, wishing her racing brain would switch off and let her get some rest. It was gone midnight before she got to sleep and she woke early with her brain still whirring.
“This can’t go on,” she thought, groggily pulling on her yellow checked school dress.
Determined to find out for sure, Antonia left for school earlier than usual, to go and have another look in the window of Emily’s Treasure Chest. She hoped that she’d been wrong about the souvenirs on sale. However, standing outside the shop’s window, Antonia’s hopes were dashed.
Emily’s parents had been busy. The window display was finished and the shelves were crammed with souvenirs. There was the toilet-roll holder with starfish ends, light pulls made from seahorses, small dishes made from scallop shells and a strange-looking object fashioned from a sea urchin. A sign hanging from one of the shelves left Antonia in no doubt as to where the gifts came from:
Our marine souvenirs are handmade from the genuine items.
“It should say, animals have died to make these gifts,” said Antonia in disgust. It wasn’t right that Emily was allowed to come to Sea Watch, pretending to care. Claudia should ban her.
Antonia hurried to school, anxious to share her news with Cai. She found him in the playground talking to Toby. His brown eyes shone with excitement as Antonia hurried towards him.
“I can’t wait for you to see the badger cub,” he called as she approached. “Her name’s Stripes. She’s so cute and not a bit shy. I gave her a bottle of milk last night and when she’d finished, she kept nudging my hand for more.”
Antonia had completely forgotten about the badger cub and was pleased to hear some good news. She listened to Cai until he’d run out of things to say, before finally telling him about Emily’s Treasure Chest.
“It’s awful,” she finished. “Claudia mustn’t let Emily help out at Sea Watch any more. She doesn’t care about sea life at all.”
“If you’re right, then yes, it is awful,” said Cai. “But banning Emily from Sea Watch won’t help. Far better that she comes along and finds out what we do. Helping at Sea Watch might show Emily that it’s wrong to take things from the sea.”
“But her parents are killing sea creatures!” said Antonia, her fingers straying to her dolphin charm.
“Are you sure?” Cai persisted. “Lots of shells and things are collected after the animals have died.”
“There’s too much stuff in the shop for that,” Antonia argued.
“Let’s see what Aunty Claudia says,” said Cai, placidly. “After all, it’s not Emily’s fault. It’s her parent’s shop.”
Antonia didn’t want to fall out with Cai, so she let the matter drop. The thought that Claudia would sort things out tonight made Antonia feel slightly happier. Eleanor and Karen couldn’t come to Sea Watch after school and to Antonia’s annoyance, Emily asked if she could walk there with her and Cai. It was impossible to say no. On the way, Emily talked nonstop and asked tons of questions.
“I joined Sea Watch mostly to make friends but also because I love dolphins. Eleanor and Karen have seen them in the bay. Have you?”
Cai grinned at Antonia.
“Occasionally,” he said.
“I’d love to see a dolphin. I’m saving up so that one day I can go to Florida and swim with them.” Emily chattered on hardly pausing for breath.
Gritting her teeth, Antonia nodded and smiled. Not long now, she thought. Antonia was confident that when Claudia found out about Emily’s parents’ shop she would stop her from coming to Sea Watch.
But Antonia was disappointed. Claudia listened carefully to Antonia’s news and then said, “This is exactly the type of person Sea Watch needs. By sharing our work with Emily, we can show her the damage her parents are causing and hopefully she will persuade them to change their ways. Sea Watch isn’t just about caring for the sea. It’s about educating others to care for it, too.”
“But…” Antonia felt awkward about wanting to mention the uneasy feeling she had about Emily.
Antonia was a very powerful Silver Dolphin with extra magical skills because her birthday was on midsummer’s day. She had something that Claudia called a sixth sense. It meant knowing certain things without being told them, and Claudia had it too. Antonia was conscious that her sixth sense was getting
