Secret Friends Read Free Page A

exhausted, aren’t we, Tess?”
    Cai held the bird still while Antonia squeezed a gooey blob of washing-up liquid on to her hands.
    “Steady, boy,” she murmured.
    At first the bird struggled ferociously, snapping his mouth open as he tried to fight everyone off. Cai held him firmly while Antonia worked the washing-up liquid into his sticky black feathers, talking to him in a low soothing voice.
    “Poor thing! You’re in a bad way. You might need a second wash.”
    The bird cocked his head and fixed his beady eyes on Antonia. Gradually he stoppedwriggling. His breathing slowed as he relaxed until finally he was so still it looked like he’d fallen asleep.
    Cai stared at Antonia, his brown eyes astonished.
    “What?” Antonia pushed her hair over her shoulder with the back of a gloved hand.
    Cai shook his head. “You,” he said with a note of wonder. “Look how you calmed the bird. You’re so like Aunty Claudia with animals. It’s weird.”
    Antonia blushed. “You are too,” she said defensively. “Animals listen when you talk to them.”
    Cai shrugged, but he looked pleased.
    The sink of water was black by the time Antonia had finished washing the guillemot. Itmade her wonder how badly polluted the sea was. She hoped Spirit had taken Bubbles, Dream, Star and the rest of his pod far away from the ship. A sudden burst of panic gripped her. Did Spirit know about the wreck and the oil leak? What if he brought the pod back too soon? In her mind she saw Bubbles fighting for breath, his blowhole and beautiful silver skin coated in tar. She closed her eyes, forcing the picture to disappear. Panicking wasn’t going to help the dolphins. She had to do something practical, like swim out and warn Spirit that it wasn’t safe to come back yet. But could she do that? Antonia didn’t know whether she could become a Silver Dolphin just because she wanted to. She’d always become one after hearing Spirit’s call. Once she’d finishedrinsing the soap from the guillemot’s feathers she’d go and talk to Claudia. She’d been a Silver Dolphin once so she’d know.
    Pulling the plug on the dirty water she waited impatiently for it to drain away.

Chapter Four
    I t was always hard to get Claudia alone at Sea Watch and today was no exception. A small group of volunteers stuck closely to her, watching how she dealt with the newly admitted birds and asking hundreds of questions. It was late afternoon by the time all the birds had been bathed and left to dry in thesmall back room. Most of the volunteers went home after that, leaving Claudia to make notes on the treatments given. Antonia helped Cai to clear up the mess in the sink, then, as he went outside to hang the aprons out to dry, she hot-footed it over to Claudia’s desk.
    “Is everything all right?” asked Claudia.
    Before Antonia had a chance to reply, Cai came back.
    “Yes, I just came to say…” Antonia hesitated. She desperately wanted to ask Claudia if she could become a Silver Dolphin without waiting for the dolphin’s call, so she could warn Spirit about the oil spill. But she couldn’t ask when Cai was hovering.
    “Is there anything else that needs doing?” she finished lamely.
    Antonia wasn’t surprised at the look Cai gave her. It was a silly question. There was always something to do at Sea Watch. Claudia must have thought the same, but she didn’t laugh. She took Antonia’s hand and stared deeply into her grey-green eyes. Antonia caught her breath. She wanted to blink, but her eyes stayed firmly open as if she was caught in a spotlight. She felt slightly dizzy, as though Claudia was tapping directly into her thoughts.
    “You know what needs doing,” Claudia whispered.
    “But can I…” Antonia hesitated, aware of the open curiosity on Cai’s face.
    You’ll have to work that out for yourself
.
    Antonia jumped. Claudia had remained silent yet she could hear her voice in her headas clearly as if she’d spoken aloud. Had she imagined it?
    Go work