Nim at Sea by Wendy Orr Read Free Book Online Page B

like to have friends who could talk. Now that she’d found out, she liked it. Nim wanted to be back on her island more than anything else, but she didn’t want to lose Erin and Ben.
    She told them what the Professor had said.
    “Jail!” repeated Erin.
    “But
he’s
the bad guy!” Ben said fiercely.
    “He says he’s allowed to catch the animals because of this Foundation. He says that’s the law, because catching them educates people and protects other animals all around the world.”
    “And he
is
a Professor,” said Erin.
    “And I
am
a stowaway,” said Nim.
    “But he’s still bad,” said Ben.
    “We should ask Mom and Dad,” said Erin.
    “No!” shouted Nim. “He said he’d send me to the captain if I ever told anyone. I shouldn’t even have told you—and if you help me, you’ll get into trouble too!”
    “We don’t care if we get in trouble,” Ben said.
    “All that matters,” Erin agreed, “is keeping you safe and getting Selkie free. So we just have to stick to our plan.”
    “But the best thing we can do right now,” said Ben, “is try to look like we’re having a good time. Let’s get some more pizza!”
    Fred rubbed his spiny back against Ben’s leg. Fred had mozzarella strings tangled from his grinning mouth to his claws. He liked pizza, and he liked Ben more and more and more.

    Nim felt lonely, climbing back up into her lifeboat with Fred while Erin and Ben stood watch outside their cabin door.
    And when she pulled the cover over, it felt dark—black as the deepest sea.
    Then she heard a knock—the three quick knocks and two slow that were their signal—and felt the rocking of someone climbing the metal struts. Ben stuck his head in to hand her a flashlight.
    Nim turned it on and saw why Erin had looked as if she were going to burst with her own secret when she’d said, “Sleep tight, Nim!”
    The boat had been turned into a bedroom. There were two blankets to sleep on, two towels for covers, a pillow for her and one for Fred, a bottle of water, and a banana.
    But best of all was remembering the look on Erin’s and Ben’s faces when she’d shown them the key she’d snatched. They’d touched it as if it were magic—and even though Nim wasn’t a magician, just knowing it was in her pocket made her feel powerful.

    It was so early the sun wasn’t up when Erin rapped three “wake up!” knocks on the strut.
    Still half asleep, Nim dropped her pillows and blankets over the side, just in case a Troppo Tourist used the boat during the day. Then she swung down to the deck, with Fred following. The cool morning air woke them quickly. While Erin tiptoed back into her cabin to hide the bedding, Nim and Fred raced down to the Animal Room. When there was no one around to step on him, Fred liked walking.
    After a quick check to make sure no one was watching, Nim unlocked the door and they slipped inside.
    “Hurry!” she whispered to Selkie as she undid the cage. She felt sorry for the others, but she couldn’t help them yet.
    Selkie lolloped down the hall after her and into the elevator,
honk
ing with surprise when it went up. Fred grinned a little wider, as if he’d been doing this since he was hatched.
    It was dark and deserted as they came out onto the Sea Lion Deck. They raced to the waterslide pool and dived into the clear water.
    Selkie snorted and rolled, dived and leapt, around and around the pool as if she were training for the race of her life. Fred sank to the bottom and came up again, sneezing with disgust because he couldn’t find any seaweed.
    Nim swam with Selkie and dived with Fred; she couldn’t swim as fast as a sea lion or hold her breath as long as a marine iguana, but it felt good to try. She didn’t know exactly how they were going to escape, but she did know they’d all need to be as strong, as fast, and as good at everything as they could possibly be.
    The sky began to pale. A man hurried past, buttoning his white chef’s jacket.
    Nim signaled to