thought.
She doesn’t want to see me because I somehow drove Alex away. Poor Nim!
He climbed up to the Emergency Cave, because he thought she might hide there if she really didn’t want to see him.
There were fresh footprints on the floor, but no Nim. And that’s when Jack really started to worry.
Alex had sat so long in the Sunshine Island waiting room that the sky had turned black. Suddenly the ship floated into the harbor with its lights twinkling as if it were a fairytale castle.
But Alex didn’t care about fairytales. She just wanted to go to her cabin, lock the door, and not come out till she got to the other side of the world.
There were no portholes in the Animal Room, but Nim felt the engines stop and the ship bump gently against a wharf.
Now! We can escape!
Nim thought, rubbing Selkie’s head in a get-ready way. Fred was already tucked tight on her shoulder, worn out after his busy day.
“Okay, young one,” said the Professor. “Time to get that sea lion back into its cage.”
“But—”
The Professor pointed his whip at her. “Let’s get things straight. Out of the goodness of my heart, I’m going to let you help me with these animals. But if you don’t do exactly what I say, when I say it, I’ll have to tell the captain that your mom smuggled a stowaway on board. Then he’ll have to tell the police—and then you and Alex will go to jail.”
Nim nodded.
She hugged Selkie, hard, then let her go. It felt like the second-worst thing she’d ever done.
Selkie slid slowly into her cage.
“Now scram. I don’t want your mom snooping around here looking for you.”
“She wouldn’t do that!” Nim spluttered, though she wasn’t sure if she was defending her real mother or Alex.
The Professor laughed, pushed her out the door, and locked it.
There was nothing Nim could do but walk back up the hall and up the stairs as if she knew where she was going.
“Fred,” she whispered when they were alone, “what are we going to do?”
Fred made his hungry face, which wasn’t any help at all.
Nim got into the elevator, pushed the ARMADILLO button, and went back to the Kids’ Klub. No one was there. Nim and Fred curled up in a chair to share the banana in her pocket—but she’d seen two women cleaning the Troppo Tots’ room next door, and Nim knew that if they came in here they’d tell her to get out and go back to her cabin. Even with Fred on her shoulder, Nim felt alone, very small, and very, very frightened. She needed to find somewhere safe to sleep.
An empty soda bottle rolled out from under a chair.
Nim thought of how she and Jack always checked bottles when they drifted in with the tide. “There might be a message,” Jack always said. So far, there never had been—but they liked imagining that someday there might be.
Paper and pencils were stacked on a desk. Nim peeked out the door: the women were still washing the Troppo Tots’ floor. She had maybe a minute before they found her.
Dear Jack,
The Troppo Tourists have seal-napped Selkie. Fred and I are on the ship too. We will rescue Selkie as soon as we can, but she is locked up tonight.
I’m very, very sorry I made Alex leave.
Love (as much as Selkie loves fish),
Nim
Nim walked down the stairs to the next deck, and then down to the next and the one after that, because she didn’t know where to go or what else to do. She could see lights on the wharf and in the houses behind it, as if everyone had a flashlight or candles in their windows. It looked like a scene out of a fairytale.
Other people were looking out too, leaning on the railings and chatting. Some of them smiled and said hello, but Nim kept on walking, around to the other side of the ship. No one was on that side because there was nothing to look at except the black and empty sea, and nothing to do unless you were a lonely Nim throwing her message in a bottle far into the darkness, hoping the waves would float it to Jack.
She went down the next stairs to
She doesn’t want to see me because I somehow drove Alex away. Poor Nim!
He climbed up to the Emergency Cave, because he thought she might hide there if she really didn’t want to see him.
There were fresh footprints on the floor, but no Nim. And that’s when Jack really started to worry.
Alex had sat so long in the Sunshine Island waiting room that the sky had turned black. Suddenly the ship floated into the harbor with its lights twinkling as if it were a fairytale castle.
But Alex didn’t care about fairytales. She just wanted to go to her cabin, lock the door, and not come out till she got to the other side of the world.
There were no portholes in the Animal Room, but Nim felt the engines stop and the ship bump gently against a wharf.
Now! We can escape!
Nim thought, rubbing Selkie’s head in a get-ready way. Fred was already tucked tight on her shoulder, worn out after his busy day.
“Okay, young one,” said the Professor. “Time to get that sea lion back into its cage.”
“But—”
The Professor pointed his whip at her. “Let’s get things straight. Out of the goodness of my heart, I’m going to let you help me with these animals. But if you don’t do exactly what I say, when I say it, I’ll have to tell the captain that your mom smuggled a stowaway on board. Then he’ll have to tell the police—and then you and Alex will go to jail.”
Nim nodded.
She hugged Selkie, hard, then let her go. It felt like the second-worst thing she’d ever done.
Selkie slid slowly into her cage.
“Now scram. I don’t want your mom snooping around here looking for you.”
“She wouldn’t do that!” Nim spluttered, though she wasn’t sure if she was defending her real mother or Alex.
The Professor laughed, pushed her out the door, and locked it.
There was nothing Nim could do but walk back up the hall and up the stairs as if she knew where she was going.
“Fred,” she whispered when they were alone, “what are we going to do?”
Fred made his hungry face, which wasn’t any help at all.
Nim got into the elevator, pushed the ARMADILLO button, and went back to the Kids’ Klub. No one was there. Nim and Fred curled up in a chair to share the banana in her pocket—but she’d seen two women cleaning the Troppo Tots’ room next door, and Nim knew that if they came in here they’d tell her to get out and go back to her cabin. Even with Fred on her shoulder, Nim felt alone, very small, and very, very frightened. She needed to find somewhere safe to sleep.
An empty soda bottle rolled out from under a chair.
Nim thought of how she and Jack always checked bottles when they drifted in with the tide. “There might be a message,” Jack always said. So far, there never had been—but they liked imagining that someday there might be.
Paper and pencils were stacked on a desk. Nim peeked out the door: the women were still washing the Troppo Tots’ floor. She had maybe a minute before they found her.
Dear Jack,
The Troppo Tourists have seal-napped Selkie. Fred and I are on the ship too. We will rescue Selkie as soon as we can, but she is locked up tonight.
I’m very, very sorry I made Alex leave.
Love (as much as Selkie loves fish),
Nim
Nim walked down the stairs to the next deck, and then down to the next and the one after that, because she didn’t know where to go or what else to do. She could see lights on the wharf and in the houses behind it, as if everyone had a flashlight or candles in their windows. It looked like a scene out of a fairytale.
Other people were looking out too, leaning on the railings and chatting. Some of them smiled and said hello, but Nim kept on walking, around to the other side of the ship. No one was on that side because there was nothing to look at except the black and empty sea, and nothing to do unless you were a lonely Nim throwing her message in a bottle far into the darkness, hoping the waves would float it to Jack.
She went down the next stairs to
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