Free Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy Page A

Wick yells over his shoulder.
    I’m surprised that I’m still standing in the water. I thought I was moving. I push my legs through the rising tide. The water is up to my knees, and the boat continues to yank me off balance. I see my shoes floating and pick them up. They’re one of my mother’s most expensive pairs. I can’t leave them. I keep one in my good hand and tuck the other under my arm as I climb the stairs.
    When I get on deck, the wind is so powerful that it almost knocks me backward. The rain strikes me so hard that it feels like it could scrape away my skin. The boat lists heavily to one side, and I resist sliding down toward the water. My bare feet squeak against the wet boards as I climb the deck and grab onto the metal railing. I tighten my grip and look over my shoulder at the sinking side of the ship. The sails must be broken. They’re flapping in the wind, stiffly cracking with each strong gust. I don’t know anything about boats. I don’t know if there’s something that I should be doing to try to save the ship. There aren’t any life jackets in sight. I don’t see any life rafts. If I let go of the railing, I’d slide across the deck and fall into the ocean. What would happen to me then?
    I turn my head and try to look for Landon, but I don’t see him. I don’t see Burr either.
    “Enid, we need to jump off!” Wick yells.
    He’s standing by my side, but I didn’t even realize it. Skate is next to him. He’s standing on his own, but he seems unsteady. I don’t know how long he’ll be able to swim.
    “Wait!” I cry. “I forgot my keys. How will I get back to Vermont?” Like an idiot, I turn to go get them from the bathroom.
    Wick grabs my arms. “I think they’re gone.”
    I tug against him. He pulls back.
    “Enid! You’re not getting your keys.”
    “Right,” I say. I’m not thinking straight. I shouldn’t be worried about it. My mom must have a spare set. I look to Wick and then back to the water. Why am I still thinking about the keys?
    Below me, the sea is roiling itself into endless waves. Some of them crash onto the ship and try to wash me away. I keep spitting. Somehow the salty water insists on finding its way into my mouth.
    Wick says something else, but I can’t hear him. I’m in shock. Holding the metal railing, looking into the black water, I have the feeling that I’m going to die. I have the feeling that we’re all going to die.
    Dale jumps into the water first. His head is barely visible above the rolling waves. We all need to jump now, or we’ll get separated. I know this. But I’m unable to follow Dale over the side. I want another choice.
    “Are you ready?” Wick asks.
    I look down at myself. My skirt sticks to my legs. They’re so cold that they don’t feel like my legs. I reach down and touch my thigh. It doesn’t feel real. None of this feels real.
    Wick yells to Dale to get ready, that Skate is coming in next. The wind churns the sea, and this sound along with the wind itself absorbs all the noise around me.
    I see Skate’s body and blond head bump against the ship as he falls into the ocean. It looked like a painful drop. That is not the way I should fall. When I go in, I need to push off from the boat. On the ship’s side I can see the word Gretchen written in loopy cursive letters. Why couldn’t she have been a stripper? And now I’m crying again, like this boat is a real person. She is going to sink to the bottom of the ocean and stay there forever. After all the time it took to make her. After all the money it took to buy her. She’ll rot. Disintegrate. She’ll be nothing. This is so sad. I may never stop crying. It must be part of witnessing a disaster. You’re full of all these feelings, and none of them make total sense.
    Before Wick jumps, he grabs my hand. “We should go together,” he screams. “Let go of your shoes.”
    I shake my head.
    “Enid, stop thinking like a girl. You don’t need your shoes.”
    Rain drips off