Watching Time (Novel): Chapter 5 (The Seaquarium)

The vacation drew out and became very long and annoying, but the Miami Seaquarium thankfully changed that.

          “What’s the Seaquarium?” Myra asked the group hesitantly on the drive over, and Mark was astonished.

          “You have never heard of it?”

          “Not really,” Myra shrugged, and Mark caught a hint of hostility in her gaze, as if she wanted anyone but him to respond.

          Did she overhear? John must’ve been right. We woke her up.

          The thought of John being right pained Mark. Mark had always been right, until John had showed up.

          “The Seaquarium is a famous aquarium,” Naomi supplied, in her matter-of-fact voice that she always lapsed into, almost as if she was a tour guide. “It contains many creatures, such as manatees, dolphins, and penguins.” She snapped back into her excited-fan-girl voice. “My favorite thing to do is the Sea Trek adventure! You get to scuba dive and see all these creatures up close! And they have a big shark there!”

          “Not to mention a goliath grouper, which could beat any of us up if it wanted to,” Mark added.

          “The goliath grouper there is actually small,” John corrected him. “It weighs about three hundred pounds, I’d guess? Your normal goliath grouper would weigh around six hundred to seven hundred.”

          Yep. There goes John, trying to one-up me again.

          Mark remained silent the rest of the trip as everyone filled in details for Myra, so that she would be just as excited as everyone else to be going.

          Well, as excited as everyone but Mark.

Myra was disappointed. She had expected a huge indoor building or something, with exhibits and such. Instead, it was completely outdoors, except for a large building in the center, which was also where the Sea Trek was, and the occasional gift shop.

          Who needs three gift shops in such close proximity? It’s like they’re begging you to waste your money.

          Then again, if the people who visit are like Earl, they can probably afford to waste money.

          The first stop was to see a dolphin show. Myra found herself smiling at the dolphins, which would perform flips and other tricks, but she found it disappointing, overall. I guess that’s what happens when everyone makes it seem like a huge phenomenon when, in actuality, it’s just a dolphin obeying simple commands. Like a dog.

          When she thought of it, it was a lot like a dog. It watched for commands, obeyed them, and then the faculty would award the dolphin with a treat. At least it didn’t seem like the dolphins were being abused. That would push me off the edge.

          After a bunch of wandering around, and petting several kinds of creatures in the touch pool (Myra was surprised how docile the nurse shark was), they went to an orca presentation.

          Myra found herself giddily laughing every time the massive orca leapt out of the water, because she knew that when it landed, the splash would be big enough to completely soak her in water. The water impacted her hard, and as she looked at Fia, who sat stunned and furious at having wet glasses and no place to dry them, she was glad she had perfect vision.

          And then, eventually, came the time for the Sea Trek adventure.

“I think this wetsuit is a little too small,” Myra complained as they walked in their wetsuits to the exhibit they were going to be diving in.

          “Does it feel like it’s choking you a little?” John asked.

          “Yeah,” Myra nodded.

          “That’s how you know it fits just right,” John shrugged. “I hate the feeling, but move a size up and it might as well be called a rash guard instead.”

          “Oh,” Myra mumbled. “I haven’t really been scuba diving before, obviously.”

          “Neither have I,” John told her with a grin. “Well, other than this, but this doesn’t could as real scuba diving, according to some sources.”

          “It really doesn’t,” Naomi notified them.

          “Not one bit,” agreed Mark.

          “They are certified scuba divers, so take their word for it,” John advised, and he watched Myra smile.

          He liked that smile. It was comforting.

          You met her less than a week ago and you’re already falling for her?

          He turned his head to face the path in front of him and mentally disciplined himself.

          When they got to the site, the dive masters replayed the instructions and hand signals.

          “When you’re going down the ladder,” one said, “you’ll want to equalize every couple steps. If you begin feeling pressure in your ears, that’s a sign you want to equalize. If you find it difficult, move back up a bit and then try again.”

          And then they went over the different ways to equalize the air pressure in your ears, although John figured that wiggling his jaw would be easiest. He knew Naomi, Mark, and Earl, who were used to traditional dive equipment, would pinch their nose and gently breath through it. It was the only way to equalize, normally.

          But they were using state-of-the-art dive helmets, which worked like an upside-down cup. A nose connected the helmet to the surface, ensuring that there was plenty of air for the divers to breath.

          These helmets allowed you to wear glasses underwater, breath as you would on dry land, and gave you the ability to drop your jaw without having a surge of liquid entering your mouth. Because of this, wiggling your jaw, yawning, and wiggling your ears, alongside swallowing, worked for equalization.

          Just like going into the air, or up into the mountains.

          The water was cold, but it wasn’t bad, since he was used to swimming in Colorado. He found his ears gain pressure every step down the stairs, which wasn’t a problem. Once he reached the bottom, the pressure stopped increasing, and he felt normal. Well, normal for the most part. The water created a peaceful atmosphere, and made everything seem lighter. Walking seemed unstable, as if gravity didn’t have as much influence over those underwater.

          The coolest part was that the helmet, which weighed more than seventy pounds, was pretty light. He could feel it press down against his head, but it was very bearable.

          He watched Myra climb down the ladder next, and almost laughed when he saw her face. Her eyes were wide and she seemed terrified. Then again, who isn’t scared of the unknown?

Myra couldn’t believe her eyes. She mouthed, “Is this for reals?” to John, who nodded and grinned. She glanced around at the fish, which swarmed around her, and stared in awe as a giant fish swam close to the ground, eyeing her carefully. That must be the goliath grouper Mark was talking about!

          And then a ray passed right by her face, causing her to involuntarily step back. She stepped on a bit of coral, and begun to fall backwards, and water began leaking into her helmet-

          Until a dive master steadied her and helped her back upright. The hose in her helmet allowed enough air to come in to drain the water back to a normal level for this kind of diving, just as they promised it would.

          She followed the dive guide through the exhibit, noting the many different creatures. Her one complaint was how freezing cold the water was. It’ll take me hours to warm up!

“The water was cold!” Earl exclaimed in the van on the way back home. He had promised to stop at some Taco Bell and get everyone food. Apparently, it was everyone’s favorite restaurant.

          “I didn’t mind it,” John told Earl.

          Naomi frowned at that. Of course you didn’t. You never mind anything.

          But she held her tongue. She glanced to Myra, who sat beside her. “You’re still shivering,” she commented.

          “I c-c-can’t warm u-u-up,” Myra muttered, teeth chattering.

          “That’s obvious,” Naomi laughed. She took off her coat, which was no easy feat thanks to the seat belt, and handed it to Myra, who reluctantly took it.

          Maybe there’s hope after all. Maybe some buried part of Myra really does want to be happy.

          Maybe I can finally have a sister.