Surrounded by Sharks Read Free

parents had simply found some great deal online and packed her up like so much luggage and shipped her here straight from England. Now they were stumbling around some little walking path with only a vague idea of what time it was. She checked her phone. No service, of course, but it worked as a watch. It was 12:28 in the afternoon back in Knutsford, and apparently 7:28 in the morning here. And what was this, anyway, a deserted island? Like the ones in the cartoons? They hadn’t seen a single person since they’d left the hotel. And come to think of it, they hadn’t seen anyone there, either.
    “Lovely, though, isn’t it?” said her mom, Kate.
    Her dad, a man universally known as Big Tony, grunted in agreement. And then she got the distinct, annoying impression that they were waiting for her opinion on the matter. She flicked her eyes around a bit. She supposed it was quite pretty, in a boring sort of way. Instead of admitting it, she asked, “Can we go to Key West today?”
    Her best friend, Becca, had told her that Key West was where the party was at. Her exact words: “Key West, that’s where the party’s at.” Drew didn’t need a full-on party, just some excitement and a bit of fun. Wasn’t that what holidays were for? It made no sense to her to leave England to rest — England was already the sleepiest place on earth!
    “Now hold on, then,” said Big Tony, his first words of the day. “We just got here last night!”
    “It speaks!” said her mom, acting astonished.
    And then there they went, joking around and talking about anything other than Key West. Drew let them have their fun. She’d spotted something interesting up ahead. It was a little … what did you call it? A pier, or was it too small for that? A dock, maybe?
    “Here’s the boat place,” she said. She pointed out over the water, a little farther up the path. There was a single boat tied up alongside.
    “That the one we took last night?” said her mom. They headed off the path and toward the worn wooden dock. The boat was painted white and had the hotel’s name on the back in blue, just above the blocky outboard motor.
    “Don’t think so,” said her dad.
    They crossed a little sliver of sand and stepped carefully onto the end of the dock. Drew expected it to shift and possibly sink, but it was sturdy enough. She looked down as she walked and could see the ocean sloshing underneath through the planks. She gave the weathered wood a closer look. “Pretty worn down, isn’t it?” she said.
    “Adds to the charm of the place, I’d imagine,” said her mom.
    “And the cost!” joked Big Tony.
    “This must be where they bring the people over,” said Kate, pointing to the side opposite the hotel launch. The wood seemed even more scratched up and worn out there, and there was a thick rope tied to the far post. It was just like the one securing the hotel boat, but this one was coiled up, waiting for the next arrival.
    “Nice work, detective,” said Big Tony.
    Kate smiled. Drew flicked her eyes to the side and saw Key West, hazy in the distance. Then she smiled, too.
    The family turned and headed back toward shore, with Drew last in line. At the end of the dock, they met someone. “Hello there, luv,” said Kate to the little boy. “Where are you off to?”
    The boy looked to be ten or eleven. He pointed out to sea, back toward Key West. Drew glanced at him. Technically, this was a boy with a tan, but definitely not what she’d meant.
    “Well, that will be quite an adventure for you!” continued her mom.
    The boy just nodded and took a seat on the edge of the dock.
    “Little pirate, that one,” said Big Tony as they resumed their trip along the walking path.
    Drew took one last look over her shoulder and saw the boy’s parents appear from the hotel grounds with their luggage. They must be waiting for the first boat to show , she thought. There must be a schedule somewhere .
    “Dad?” she said.
    “Yeah, luv?”
    “How much