Kristie had demonstrated how to carve a Viking’s head and a sailboat, and now the kids each had a watermelon and a blunt knife and could carve whatever they liked.
Nim used her own pocketknife to carve Selkie. Erin carved a cat, and Ben made a Viking’s head that was nearly as good as Kristie’s.
Fred ate the whole middle out of a watermelon and made an empty rowboat. Everyone clapped, and he scrambled back onto Nim’s shoulder, looking smug at how clever he was.
“Do you think that could be a trick?” Nim asked.
“I don’t think so,” said Erin. “But I
have
figured out how you can use the waterslide pool for your show.”
This was the third day Jack had spent on his raft. He still had two coconuts and half a container of water. He was a bit sore, very stiff, and very, very tired.
But there was a line on the horizon that could have been cloud or…
Sunshine Island
? Jack hoped so.
The closer he sailed, the clearer and less cloudlike the line became. By noon he was sure. It was definitely land. Jack tightened the sail and whistled for wind.
A speck of light caught his eye. A soda bottle was bobbing on the waves—with something inside it.
If Nim had been with him, they would have chased and grabbed it.
But they’d never, ever found a message—and if Nim had been with him, he wouldn’t be going to Sunshine Island on a raft made out of the wall of their hut. Jack let the bottle float by and sailed on as fast as he could.
Alex had spent three whole days alone in her cabin. She hadn’t spoken to anyone except Virginia, the steward, when she brought her juice every morning and came back a little later to clean. “What a shame you’re not feeling better!” Virginia said. “You’d have so much fun if you could get out there and meet people.” But Alex had left behind the people she most wanted to know.
She even kept her curtains closed, because all she could see were people walking by and the lifeboat stands, which weren’t very interesting.
And even though there were pens and writing paper in her cabin’s desk, she hadn’t written a word. For the first time in her life, there was no story in her head.
Worst of all, she didn’t care.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Sunday 11 July, 5:30 p.m.
Subject: Important!
Dear Jack,
Erin, Ben, and I have a plan. I hope it will work. Selkie and Fred and I are going to put on a show, so we practiced for two hours this afternoon. It’s horrible being with Selkie when the Professor’s watching because I have to pretend I don’t know her, and pretend I’m training her to do tricks, even though it’s just the games we play at home. But Selkie thinks it’s better than being in the cage, so she doesn’t mind pretending. Fred hates the Professor so much he just glares at him all the time, but the Professor never notices.
It’s very interesting being on the ship—but I still like our island best. I hope you will stop being mad at me soon.
Love (as much as you love the island),
Nim
“No message yet,” Erin said to Nim when she came back from sending Nim’s e-mail to Jack. She tried to sound as if it wasn’t important, as if she didn’t know that Nim was worrying about whether Jack was too angry to answer or there was another reason that was even worse.
“Maybe he keeps forgetting to charge the battery,” Nim said.
“Probably,” said Erin.
“Or a virus!” said Ben.
“Maybe,” said Nim.
“We’ve got an hour before dinner,” said Ben. “Let’s play Spy.”
“Dolphin Deck?” asked Erin.
“Butterfly,” said Nim, and started up the stairs. Ben and Erin always gave her a head start when they played Spy, because it was harder for someone with an iguana on their shoulder to blend into a crowd.
Nim chose the Butterfly Deck because the butterflies were the only animals on the ship that didn’t make her feel sad. They had plenty of space to fly around, and she loved it when they landed on her hair
Nim used her own pocketknife to carve Selkie. Erin carved a cat, and Ben made a Viking’s head that was nearly as good as Kristie’s.
Fred ate the whole middle out of a watermelon and made an empty rowboat. Everyone clapped, and he scrambled back onto Nim’s shoulder, looking smug at how clever he was.
“Do you think that could be a trick?” Nim asked.
“I don’t think so,” said Erin. “But I
have
figured out how you can use the waterslide pool for your show.”
This was the third day Jack had spent on his raft. He still had two coconuts and half a container of water. He was a bit sore, very stiff, and very, very tired.
But there was a line on the horizon that could have been cloud or…
Sunshine Island
? Jack hoped so.
The closer he sailed, the clearer and less cloudlike the line became. By noon he was sure. It was definitely land. Jack tightened the sail and whistled for wind.
A speck of light caught his eye. A soda bottle was bobbing on the waves—with something inside it.
If Nim had been with him, they would have chased and grabbed it.
But they’d never, ever found a message—and if Nim had been with him, he wouldn’t be going to Sunshine Island on a raft made out of the wall of their hut. Jack let the bottle float by and sailed on as fast as he could.
Alex had spent three whole days alone in her cabin. She hadn’t spoken to anyone except Virginia, the steward, when she brought her juice every morning and came back a little later to clean. “What a shame you’re not feeling better!” Virginia said. “You’d have so much fun if you could get out there and meet people.” But Alex had left behind the people she most wanted to know.
She even kept her curtains closed, because all she could see were people walking by and the lifeboat stands, which weren’t very interesting.
And even though there were pens and writing paper in her cabin’s desk, she hadn’t written a word. For the first time in her life, there was no story in her head.
Worst of all, she didn’t care.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Sunday 11 July, 5:30 p.m.
Subject: Important!
Dear Jack,
Erin, Ben, and I have a plan. I hope it will work. Selkie and Fred and I are going to put on a show, so we practiced for two hours this afternoon. It’s horrible being with Selkie when the Professor’s watching because I have to pretend I don’t know her, and pretend I’m training her to do tricks, even though it’s just the games we play at home. But Selkie thinks it’s better than being in the cage, so she doesn’t mind pretending. Fred hates the Professor so much he just glares at him all the time, but the Professor never notices.
It’s very interesting being on the ship—but I still like our island best. I hope you will stop being mad at me soon.
Love (as much as you love the island),
Nim
“No message yet,” Erin said to Nim when she came back from sending Nim’s e-mail to Jack. She tried to sound as if it wasn’t important, as if she didn’t know that Nim was worrying about whether Jack was too angry to answer or there was another reason that was even worse.
“Maybe he keeps forgetting to charge the battery,” Nim said.
“Probably,” said Erin.
“Or a virus!” said Ben.
“Maybe,” said Nim.
“We’ve got an hour before dinner,” said Ben. “Let’s play Spy.”
“Dolphin Deck?” asked Erin.
“Butterfly,” said Nim, and started up the stairs. Ben and Erin always gave her a head start when they played Spy, because it was harder for someone with an iguana on their shoulder to blend into a crowd.
Nim chose the Butterfly Deck because the butterflies were the only animals on the ship that didn’t make her feel sad. They had plenty of space to fly around, and she loved it when they landed on her hair
Similar Books
