mean to be snappy. The necklace is lovely.” Sophie smiled. “I’ll try it on when I’m not in such a rush. Now are you coming with me or not?”
Relieved, Antonia smiled back. “Of course,” she said, tucking the necklace box in her bag. “What are you waiting for?”
A short while later the girls arrived at Sophie’s house.
“Do you want to come round tomorrow?” asked Sophie, stopping on the drive. “If it’s hot we could go down to the beach.”
“What time? I’ve got my surfing class in the morning.”
“After lunch. Dad’ll have finished his classes by then so he can take us. Say about half one?”
The girls always made sure an adult was with them when they went swimming–Antonia’s parents were quite strict about it.
“Half one’s fine,” agreed Antonia. “See you tomorrow.” She walked to the end of Sophie’s road in the direction of home, but then stopped. She couldn’t wait a second longer. Now she was on her own she had to try on her dolphin necklace. Antonia shrugged her school bag from her shoulders and, pulling out the box, opened it. Sunlight flashed on the dolphin charm and the dolphin’s silver eye seemed to wink at her. Antonia ran a finger along its streamlined body, wondering again at how life-like it felt. With trembling fingers she lifted the necklace from its bed of silk and pushing her long blonde hair out of the way she fastened it around her neck. The dolphin felt strange against her skin, soft and slippery. Suddenly Antonia had a strong urge to be near the sea. At first she ignored it. She was supposed to go straight home, but as she walked the feeling grew too strong to be ignored. Antonia checked her watch. It was half past three, nearly half an hour before Mum and her little sister Jessica were due home. What harm could a quick diversion to the beach do?
Quickly, before she could change her mind, Antonia turned away from her own road and walked down the alley that led to the coastal path.
Breaking into a jog Antonia followed the coastal path until it forked. Then turning right she scrambled down the tiny lane that led to Gull Bay, a secluded cove away from the main beach. The cove was empty. Antonia dumped her bag by a rock, pulled off her shoes and socks and ran across the powder-white sand to the sea.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, squinting into the afternoon sun. “Dolphins.”
Four common dolphins, two large and two small, were swimming at the mouth of the cove. Excitedly Antonia waded into the water. She’d never seen them so close to the beach before. The largest dolphin had a distinctive yellow blaze that stretched from his face all the way to his dorsal fin. Awestruck, Antonia stared until a soft clicking noise caught her attention. It sounded like a dolphin, but it was too close to be coming from the dolphins in the sea. Something was tickling Antonia’s neck. Her hand moved to her dolphin charm, soft and slippery against her skin. It was vibrating.
“What’s happening?” whispered Antonia.
With a shaking hand she covered the dolphin necklace and the clicking noises softened. Thinking she was imagining things Antonia uncovered the charm then quickly covered it again. The clicking grew loud then quiet like a radio being turned up and down. It can’t be! Suddenly Antonia felt as if the dolphins were calling to her. They were telling her to swim out to them. But she wasn’t allowed in the water alone. Mum and Dad had drummed that into her as soon as she was able to walk. The urge to swim to the dolphins was overwhelming. Antonia hitched her yellow checked school dress around her waist and splashed further into the sea. This is wrong, said her brain. It’s dangerous. You’ll be grounded for ever if you get caught. The water reached her chest. Antonia took a deep breath, stretched out her arms and swam.
Dangerous, dangerous, thrummed her brain.
It didn’t feel dangerous. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Antonia’s legs seemed to meld together as they kicked out, dolphin-style. She was hardly aware of her clothes. Her body felt streamlined as it sliced through the waves of the incoming tide. It was exhilarating. As Antonia neared the dolphins she saw they were watching her and she hoped they wouldn’t take fright and swim away. On impulse she called out, “Please stay.”
Her voice, a shrill whistle, startled her. She cleared her throat and tried again but all that came out was a series of dolphin-like clicks. Antonia’s brain whirled. What was happening to her? She cleared her throat.
“Hello,” she spluttered, swallowing a mouthful of sea. “My name’s Antonia.”
There. She was speaking properly now. Maybe, for a second, the sea water had made her voice go funny. Then a strange clicking voice called out, “Silver Dolphin.”
And with a whistle-like cry Antonia heard herself reply, “I’m coming.”
She swam all the way up to the four dolphins and stopped in front of the largest. He stared at her, his eyes sparkling like sun on raindrops.
“Silver Dolphin,” he clicked. “You answered the dolphin’s call.”
Antonia’s head was dizzy with excitement. For ages she’d dreamt of swimming with the dolphins and now here she was, not just in the water with them, but talking to them too. How could that be? Was she turning into a dolphin? She glanced down at her legs and saw with relief that they were both still there.
The dolphin opened his mouth as if he were laughing at her.
“Believe it,” he whistled kindly. “It’s true. You are our new Silver Dolphin.”
“Me? A Silver Dolphin? What does that mean?” she whistled back.
“It means that you will care for the sea and all the dolphins and creatures living here. It means that you will answer our call when we need help.”
“That’s what Claudia said I had to do when she gave me the necklace.” Antonia stared at the dolphin. “Do you know Claudia?”
“Yes,” the dolphin nodded. “And my name is Spirit. I’m the leader of a dolphin pod that lives out at sea. Pollution has been causing us terrible problems, but the Silver Dolphin makes things better for us. Sadly our Silver Dolphin can’t swim with us now so you have been chosen for the role. Whenever pollution is causing harm we will call on you. If you don’t want to help then you must say so now and we will search for a new Silver Dolphin.”
Questions raced around Antonia’s brain. Why had she been chosen to take the Silver Dolphin’s place? Who had chosen her? And how did Claudia fit into all of this? There was so much she didn’t understand. She wasn’t even sure if this was really happening. Perhaps she’d fallen asleep and was having the most amazing dream. The four dolphins watched her expectantly.
“Please say yes,” squeaked the littlest one.
Antonia stared at him. His eyes sparkled mischievously and he bobbed in the water as if he could hardly bear to keep still. He looked like Spirit, his silver body lined with a narrow stripe that ran from his eyes to his mouth and chin to flipper.
“Please?”
How could she refuse?
“Yes,
