Free Secret Friends by Summer Waters

Chapter One
    T he wind was getting up. It ruffled the surface of the sea, whipping it into tiny white crested waves. Antonia Lee pushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes, wishing she’d thought to tie it up.
    “Hurry up, Flipper Feet,” called Bubbles. “We’re nearly there.”
    He took off, leaping in and out of the water, flying over the waves with an easy grace. Antonia went after him, marvelling at the way she too could swim like a dolphin.
    “I can’t believe I’ve only been a Silver Dolphin for two weeks,” she whistled.
    “Me neither,” Bubbles clicked back. “Your swimming’s even better now. You’re using your hands like flippers instead of that funny thing you did with them at first.”
    Antonia laughed, her voice coming out as a series of whistles.
    “That was breaststroke. It’s a popular swimming stroke.”
    “It can’t be that good or dolphins would use it,” Bubbles teased.
    Antonia Lee was a Silver Dolphin. SilverDolphins were guardians of the sea. They used magic to care for the oceans and all the creatures living there. Whenever help was needed the tiny silver dolphin charm that Antonia wore round her neck called to her. Then she would take on dolphin-like characteristics enabling her to swim to the problem and sort it out. Silver Dolphins were rare. You had to be in tune with nature and willing to believe that magical things could happen to become one.
    Antonia had just come out of school when Spirit called her. Spirit was the leader of a pod of thirty dolphins and he was also Bubbles’s dad. Antonia answered his call quickly, but this time it wasn’t an emergency. Spirit had asked Antonia to go litter-picking on the rocks. It wasAntonia’s least favourite task, but a very important one. Litter could cause all sorts of injuries to sea life. When the litter-picking was finished Antonia was allowed to play with Bubbles, her best dolphin friend.
    “We’re here,” said Bubbles, swimming round the headland.
    Antonia slowed, gasping with delight at the tiny cove nestling between the rocks.
    “I never knew that this was here,” she clicked.
    “That’s because you can’t reach it by land,” said Bubbles. “Come on, I’ll race you.”
    Bubbles took off, slicing through the water like a silver arrow. Antonia chased after him, determined to catch him up, but not quite making it.
    “Cheat!” she clicked as Bubbles reached themouth of the cove a tail length ahead of her. “You had a head start.”
    Playfully she splashed water at him. Bubbles smacked the sea with his tail, soaking Antonia back.
    “Water fight,” he whistled in delight.
    Antonia churned up the sea with her hands while Bubbles retaliated with his tail and flippers. Soon they could hardly see each other for the spray.
    “Truce,” clicked Antonia, gasping for breath.
    Bubbles stopped splashing and dived under water. Antonia lay on her back staring up at the grey sky. It was a chilly start to the week following on from a scorching hot weekend. Antonia tensed as her body started to tingle. Something was approaching. She could feelthe vibrations in the water. She rolled over and scanned the horizon. A dolphin was swimming towards them. As it drew closer Antonia saw it was larger than Bubbles and the blaze of yellow along its flank was much paler.
    “Dream!” she exclaimed, immediately recognising Bubbles’s older sister. “Look, Bubbles, your sister is—”
    She didn’t get to finish as something butted her in the back then ducked her under the water.
    “Got you!” whistled Bubbles cheekily as Antonia spluttered to the surface. Then splashing her with a flipper, he launched straight into another water fight.
    “Whoah!” cried Antonia, pointing at Dream, but Bubbles hadn’t seen his sisterarriving and was enjoying himself far too much to stop.
    “Bubbles!” clicked Dream angrily as she got caught up in the spray. “Stop that now or I’m telling Mum.”
    Bubbles jumped in surprise, then, quickly