Secret Friends Read Free Page B

it out
.
    Claudia smiled knowingly, then dropped Antonia’s hand.
    Silver Dolphin
.
    Claudia kept smiling and suddenly Antonia realised she had her answer. She was the Silver Dolphin. It was up to her to work this problem out for herself.
    “Home time,” said Claudia. “See you tomorrow?”
    “Yes,” said Antonia, feeling happier. “Definitely.”
    Hurriedly she said goodbye to Cai. As she ran down Claudia’s road Antonia calculated she had an hour before Mum would expect her home for tea. She headed towards the beach.Minutes later she was there and Sandy Bay was in full view. Eyes widening in surprise, Antonia stopped to stare. The beach was heaving with people. Not tourists building sandcastles or lying in the sun, these people were scavenging. Armed with bags the size of sacks they were raiding the beach like hungry ants in a larder. Several people had waded out to sea where wooden crates were still floating ashore. One man wore a wetsuit. Two police officers stood on the stone pier watching the events as if they could hardly believe what was happening.
    Antonia was shocked. She hadn’t expected this. She thought the
Princess Romana
would have been fixed by now and sailed away, leaving behind only the damage caused by theoil spill. But the boat was slumped against the horizon looking like one of the bedraggled birds that had come into Sea Watch.
    With a frustrated sigh, Antonia dropped down on to the beach and weaving her way through the crowds made for the rocky arm where the bay ended. There were people on the rocks too and Antonia had to scramble further round than she wanted to before she left everyone behind. She kicked off her sandals, peeled off her ankle socks and wedged them under her school bag. Gingerly she made her way across the slippery barnacle-encrusted rocks to the sea. The water was cool and it made her hot feet tingle. Antonia stood for a moment trying to quell the nervous butterflies dancing in her stomach.What would happen when she waded further into the sea? Would her legs meld together so she could swim like a dolphin or would she just end up with a soaking wet dress? There was only one way to find out. Antonia took a step forward and then another. Nothing happened and Antonia felt a rush of disappointment. Now what? She was a good swimmer, but there was no way she could swim out and find Spirit unless she became a Silver Dolphin.
    “But I am the Silver Dolphin,” she said aloud.
    Antonia fingered the dolphin charm hanging round her neck. When Claudia had explained Silver Dolphins to her she’d said that for the magic to happen she had to believe in it.
    “So believe it,” she told herself.
    “I am a Silver Dolphin. I am a Silver Dolphin.”
    Antonia whispered the words, knowing they were true.
    She continued to wade out into the sea until the water reached her chest, then plunging forward, she swam. Immediately her legs melded together, flicking at the water like a dolphin’s tail. Antonia’s cheer came out as a whistle. The magic had worked! Antonia was so excited she began to porpoise, leaping in and out of the water as she swam. A long while later she slowed down, then stopped to tread water using her legs like a tail to keep her afloat. She’d swum a long way. She couldn’t see Sandy Bay beach and even the
Princess Romana
was a tiny dot in the distance. Antonia was bursting with happiness. Discovering she could be a Silver Dolphin when she wanted to was amazing. She couldn’t wait to share her news with Bubbles. But how was she going to find her dolphin friend?
    The sea stretched away from her in a vast expanse of blue that went on for ever. If she wasn’t careful she could get so lost that she might never find her way home. Squashing her rising panic Antonia realised there was a way to find her dolphin friends. Opening her mouth wide she called out to them in dolphin clicks and squeaks.

Chapter Five
    A t first there was no reply. Treading water, Antonia listened to the