To my brothers, Gary, Dan, and Jim—and all of our wonderful childhood adventures!

  Welcome aboard! You’re about to join Marena Montoya on an incredible adventure with OceanX!

  OceanX’s scientists, marine biologists, and filmmakers use cutting-edge technology to explore the ocean and share their discoveries with the world! Its fantastic ship, OceanXplorer, brings two submersibles, a helicopter, science labs, and a film studio to incredible locations to reveal creatures and habitats that have never been seen before.

  You can find amazing OceanX videos, photos, and fascinating information about the world under the sea at OceanX.org.

  CHAPTER ONE A SURPRISING DECISION

  Mrs. Diaz burst into the aquarium’s education lab.

  “Marena! There you are!” she exclaimed.

  I looked up from my laptop in surprise. Normally, I was the only one working in the lab this late in the afternoon.

  Okay. Maybe “working” doesn’t really describe what I do. I’m usually trying to write my next article for the aquarium newsletter, so I mostly just stare at my laptop screen, hoping for inspiration. But being in the lab makes me feel more official. Maybe smarter, too?

  “Congratulations!” Mrs. Diaz said with a wide smile. “We’re all so proud of you!”

  As the communication director for the aquarium, Mrs. Diaz always sounds upbeat. But she was definitely more enthusiastic than usual.

  “Thanks!” I automatically replied.

  Ummm… for WHAT?

  My inner voice—which sometimes speaks to me in my head before I say anything out loud—had a good point. I had no idea what Mrs. Diaz was talking about.

  “This is the first time we’ve had an intern win such a big award,” Mrs. Diaz said.

  I stared at her, still not understanding.

  Then it came to me.

  “Wait. You mean I got the sea mammal grant?” I asked.

  This can’t be true!

  “Yes!” Mrs. Diaz answered, grinning at me as I jumped up from my chair.

  Aisha is not going to believe this!

  Wait. Of course she is. My BFF was the one who had pushed me to apply for the grant more than a month ago. The National Aquarium Association wanted a kid’s point of view on ocean issues. It was offering a grant for junior science reporters, like me, to help. The grant winner would get money to study marine mammals up close and personal in their wild habitats. Then the lucky winner would get to post about the experience on the National Aquarium Association’s website for the whole world to see!

  “You could absolutely win it,” Aisha had boldly predicted when she first heard about it.

  At the time, I had laughed at that idea.

  “No way,” I’d said. “Why would you even think I have a chance?”

  “It’s simple, Marena,” she’d answered. “You ask the best questions.”

  Aisha’s like that. She believes everyone has a superpower, and she dreams big. Sometimes too big. But I’m trying to be more like her, so I applied for the grant. It took me a while to write the application essay. At the time, I wondered if I was wasting my time.

  I snapped back to the present, looking at Mrs. Diaz with growing excitement. She was finishing a sentence.

  “… so, you’ll meet up with him and get right to work.”

  What? Oh, no.

  I have this habit of zoning out on conversations. I don’t really mean to do it. But sometimes it just happens. And when I miss important things that are said to me… well, it can get tricky.

  Just admit it.

  “Umm, Mrs. Diaz,” I said. “I’m sorry. I got so excited about the news that I didn’t hear all that you were saying to me. Could you repeat that last part?”

  “You mean the part about how you and Samuel will be working together?” she asked.

  “Yes. That part, for sure,” I answered.

  Who’s Samuel?

  “Well, sharing the grant is a bit unusual,” Mrs. Diaz said. “But since both of your essays were so wonderful, I think the Association is right to predict that you’ll make a great team.”

  “But I don’t know… a Samuel,” I said, still confused.

  “Of course you don’t, Marena,” Mrs. Diaz said. “At least not yet. Were you really not listening at all? He lives in Monterey, California.”

  “You mean like the whole other side of the country? On the West Coast?” I asked.

  Mrs. Diaz gave me a look. It reminded me of how my older brother, Lucas, looked at me when he thought I was being dense about something. He usually said, “Seriously?” after that look.

  At least Mrs. Diaz didn’t say that.

  * * *

  “Told ya!” Aisha said as she hugged me.

  “Yeah. You did,” I agreed, hugging her back.

  I was glad Aisha had come over. I really wanted to talk to her about this co-winner thing. And there wasn’t much time. I was supposed to meet Mrs. Diaz at the aquarium for a one o’clock video introduction to Samuel.

  “So, how’s this going to work?” Aisha asked as she dropped down on my bedroom floor and leaned over in a stretch. Aisha never sat still.

  “That’s the thing! I have no idea,” I answered. “We’re supposed to pick a topic we want to study—something to do with marine mammals. But what if he doesn’t want to do what I want to do?”

  “Well, you’ve got plenty of experience in that,” Aisha replied. “I mean, you’ve got a brother, right?”

  True.

  “But I don’t know this kid like I know Lucas,” I protested. “And how are we supposed to do research together if we don’t even live in the same time zone?”

  Aisha gave me her raised-eyebrow look. She usually did that when my stubborn streak kicked in.

  “Admit it, Marena,” she said. “You’re just mad that you have to share the prize.”

  I sat down on the floor beside her and hugged a pillow to my chest.

  “You’re also a little worried this kid might know more than you do,” she said.

  I hugged the pillow a bit tighter.

  I hate it when she knows me better than I know myself.

  Aisha leaned back on both arms and looked at me.

  “Hey, I get it,” she said. “It’s hard. You’ve got to figure out how to work with Samuel. Plus, a lot of people are going to be watching. Writing a post for the National Aquarium Association’s website is a big deal, you know.”

  I didn’t think of that! More pressure.

  I groaned.

  Aisha looked at me and shook her head. Then she jumped up to grab my laptop off the desk. Aisha was a take-charge person who knew how to get things done. For a minute, I wished we could trade places in life.

  “You can’t go to this first meeting without at least having some idea of what you want to do,” Aisha said. “So, decide what your favorite marine mammal is and what you might want to know about it.”

  I looked at my friend. She was absolutely right. I had been so worried about Samuel that I hadn’t even thought about the research topic.

  I grabbed my laptop from her and started typing into the search bar.

  “Aisha, do you have any idea how many cool marine mammals there are?” I asked.

  She faked-sighed. “No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”

  I smiled. Aisha knew I could talk for hours about one of my favorite subjects. She also knew that it would calm me down to explain things to her before I had to speak in the meeting.

  No wonder she’s my best friend.

  I pushed my laptop screen in front of Aisha.

  “There are more than 130 different species of marine mammals,” I said. “Look… here’s just a few of them.”

  Aisha leaned in to take a look.

  “And, just to be clear,” I continued, “none of them are fish. In fact, these marine mammals share the characteristics of all mammals. Like, they breathe air through their lungs; they’re warm-blooded; and they nurse their young.”

  “Yep, that sounds like a mammal,” Aisha agreed. “Just like people.”

  “But here’s where they’re different from land mammals,” I continued. “Marine mammals live most, or all, of their lives in the ocean. Some—like dolphins and whales—live completely in the water. Others—like polar bears and sea lions—live on both land and sea. But they all depend on the ocean for their food.”

  “Don’t we all?” Aisha asked.

  “Sure, seafood is important to humans,” I agreed. “But it’s not all we eat.”

  Aisha thought about that for a minute.

  “So, what you’re saying is that a dolphin can’t order pasta if the sushi is gone,” Aisha joked.

  “Exactly!”

  I grinned at my friend. It was so easy to talk to her.

  Aisha looked at the many photos of marine mammals on my screen. “Which one is your favorite?” she asked.

  It was a tough question. I loved them all.

  “If you force me to choose, I think I have to say dolphins,” I finally answered. “Whenever we go out on my uncle’s boat, I see bottlenose dolphins. Sometimes, they race beside the boat. Other times, they jump the wake at the back of the boat. It really seems like they’re playing with us. Mrs. Diaz tells me dolphins are good communicators, and I know they’re smart. I’d really love to learn more about them.”

  “OK… then you’re doing a project on dolphins,” Aisha said. She made it sound so simple.

  “Yeah,” I said

with determination. “You’re right. Now I just have to make sure Samuel agrees.”

  CHAPTER TWO A ROCKY START

  Mrs. Diaz and I sat beside each other as she signed into the videoconference. It felt weird to be on her side of the desk with her.

  As the connection was made, two faces popped onto her computer screen. One was an adult, but the other was a boy around my age. The kid looked as uncomfortable as I felt. The adults, however, didn’t seem to notice. Both smiled a warm welcome.

  “Greetings from Monterey,” the man said. “So nice to see you, Carmen.”

  Wait. Was that Mrs. Diaz’s first name? I never knew!

  “And this must be Marena,” he continued. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Mr. Fargo, and this is Samuel, your co-winner of the grant.”

  I gave a weak smile. But I didn’t know what to say.

  Mrs. Diaz did.

  “Hi, Adam!”

  That must be Mr. Fargo’s first name.

  “And congratulations to you, too, Samuel,” she continued. “I’m Mrs. Diaz. We’ve been excited to meet you, and Marena is very much looking forward to working with you.”

  Am not!

  Yikes! Did I say that out loud?

  Samuel nodded to the camera. His polite reaction signaled I was safe.

  For now.

  “Thanks,” Samuel said. Then, before I could even say my own hello, he asked, “Marena, where’s the best place to scuba dive where you live?”

  His question caught me off guard.

  “Umm, scuba?” I asked. “You mean with an air tank and everything?”

  Samuel leaned in toward the screen. He looked like he was wondering if I could hear him.

  Of course that’s what he means!

  “I… I don’t scuba,” I stammered. “I mean, I think it would be cool, but I never—”

  “What?” Samuel cut me off mid-sentence as he sat back in surprise. “You’ve never been diving?”

  I instantly felt bad. The way he asked the question made it sound like I didn’t care enough about the ocean to even go in it.

  “I’ve had my open-water PADI certification for over a year now,” he said.

  I looked at Mrs. Diaz for help. I didn’t even know what “PADI certification” meant.

  As usual, Mrs. Diaz jumped in to save me.

  “That’s impressive that you have your professional diving certification, Samuel,” she said to fill the gap.

  “On yesterday’s dive in the Monterey Bay, I saw two turtles and a sea otter,” Samuel replied.

  He just doesn’t quit, does he?

  I shifted in my seat. Mrs. Diaz gave me a sideways glance. She could sense I was uncomfortable.

  “Even though Marena hasn’t been diving, she is deeply involved with our aquarium,” she said. “And I’m sure she’s going to love hearing about your underwater adventures…”

  I doubt it!

  “… at some point,” Mrs. Diaz continued. “But since we don’t have much time, why don’t we talk about how we’re going to make this project work? What sea mammal are you both interested in exploring?” she asked.

  We answered at the same time.

  Samuel said, “Whales.”

  I said, “Dolphins.”

  Both of us narrowed our eyes as we looked at each other.

  Mr. Fargo laughed. “Okay… that’s a start.”

  The next half hour was a blur. Mr. Fargo and Mrs. Diaz did most of the talking. Good thing. I wasn’t sure I liked my new partner at all.

  * * *

  “Let me get this straight,” Lucas said. “Mrs. Diaz wants me to travel with you to the West Coast over spring break so you and this Samuel kid can work together?”

  “Yes,” I said with a sigh. It was simple. What more was there for my brother to get?

  “Why can’t he come here?” Lucas asked.

  “Something to do with whale-migration patterns. Which, of course, is the only thing Samuel cares about,” I answered sourly.

  Lucas gave me a look. I knew what he was thinking.

  “It’s not babysitting!” I exclaimed. “There’s a whole bunch of activities that Mr. Fargo, the other aquarium director, has planned for us. But Mom and Dad will feel better if you come along.”

  “Sounds like babysitting,” Lucas mumbled. “But I’ve always wanted to visit the Pacific coast. I’ve heard the kelp forests in Monterey Bay are amazing. Are Mom and Dad really okay with all this?”

  “They think it will be a wonderful experience for us,” I said. The way I said “wonderful” made it sound like I was expecting the opposite.

  “Well, alright,” Lucas said. “I’m in!”

  I just shrugged and said, “Okay. I’ll tell her.”

  Lucas looked at me hard.

  “Why don’t you seem more excited about this, Marena?”

  I glanced at my brother. Could I tell him what I really thought?

  “I guess maybe it’s because I’m not sure about Samuel. He acts like a know-it-all.”

  “Why? What did he say?” Lucas asked.

  “Well, he knows how to scuba dive,” I said.

  Lucas just stared at me, waiting for more.

  “And he said whales would be a more interesting topic for us to investigate than dolphins,” I added.

  “So, you think he’s a know-it-all because he can scuba and he likes whales?” asked Lucas.

  Even I had to admit my argument was weak.

  “No, it’s more than that!” I insisted. “It’s the way he talks. It’s like only his opinion counts. I mean, we would’ve been just researching whales—no dolphins—if Mrs. Diaz and Mr. Fargo hadn’t thought of a compromise topic.”

  “Which is?” Lucas prompted.

  “We’ll study sea mammal communication—including both whales and dolphins,” I said.

  Lucas, in mid-gulp from his water bottle, practically choked with a laugh.

  “So, it’s a communication project run by two nerds who don’t know how to communicate?” Lucas wiped the water from his chin. “This ought to be good.”

  Ugh. He’s right. It’s going to be a disaster!

  * * *

  “Anna,” I said to the face on my laptop screen, I really need your help.”

  Dr. Anna Knowles, the science lead on the OceanXplorer research vessel, smiled. I had already sent her an email with the news.

  “Of course, Marena,” she said. “And let me say again how proud I am of you for winning that grant!”

  I still couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to have Anna—she asked me to call her that—as my official mentor at the aquarium. She’s a super-smart marine biologist working on the coolest research vessel in the world, and I get to videoconference with her every Saturday morning. Of course, I’m always in the same spot in the education lab. But since Anna’s on the ship, she’s on the move. Today, she was exploring the deep in Indonesia—more than 16,000 kilometers away!

  “Or should I say co-winning the grant?” Anna asked. “What do you think of your new partner?”

  Anna’s supposed to just advise me on science topics. But she does more than that. She’s one of the few adults who really listens to me. She also helps me make sense of things that are bothering me. At the moment, it felt really good to be talking to her.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “He seems pretty smart, and he says he knows a lot about whales. So, I’ve got to learn more about dolphin communication before I meet Samuel in person.”

  Anna tilted her head and looked at me for a long moment.

  “Competition’s over, Marena,” she said gently.

  I looked down at my hands for a minute.

  Yeah, I know. But still…

  “Now you’ve got a great opportunity to share information and do some good research with Samuel,” Anna said in an encouraging tone. “Because that’s what science is all about, right?”

  I wanted to say, “Whatever,” but I couldn’t. Not to Anna.

  “Got it,” I answered quietly.

  Anna gave me a smile. I could tell she understood.

  “So, let’s talk about dolphins. Marena, I think you know that one way that dolphins communicate is through a special body sonar called echolocation.”

  “Yes, they’re like bats that way, right?” I answered.

 

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