Chapter 32: Panic

Nora’s mind flashed through a series of images. She saw her arms flailing above her, bubbles floating to the surface. She saw her legs below her, a chain tied around her left ankle… Her hands clawed at the chain, trying to loosen it, trying to save herself from certain death.

The images flashed faster and faster, as if playing on a loop inside her brain, but each time the surrounding water got darker and darker. Finally, they were all black. Nora breathed harder and faster, turning her head this way and that. Suddenly, her eyes opened. She looked around frantically, panting hard. She felt cold sweat on her forehead. The sight that she saw didn’t help ease her fears.

She looked around and saw that she was laying inside a long glass cylinder. For a brief moment, she felt like an animal, trapped in a cage--or worse… She felt like a fish stuck in an aquarium. She once again saw the water rising up around her, felt her chest tightening. She reached up and placed a hand on the glass, trying to determine if it was really there or if it was a figment of her panicked imagination. Her breathing once again came in faster and faster puffs.

Just then, Nora heard someone faintly calling her name. She looked around, trying to see who was calling to her. She heard a loud banging sound and flinched. She turned her head and saw Tristan, sitting on a chair just outside the cylinder. Nora stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. He was looking at her with the same worried expression on his face. Nora put her hand up on the glass and he placed his over hers.

“Are you okay?” Tristan asked. Nora could only faintly hear his voice. It sounded as if he was a mile away. Nora nodded but couldn’t bring herself to speak. She was afraid of how she would sound inside this chamber.

“Do you remember what happened?” Tristan continued. Nora thought for a moment then nodded. She was at the hospital because of the diving incident… Her memory was a bit blurry because she had been fighting the desire to faint, but she vaguely remembered why she was in the cylinder.

Nora sighed deeply and looked away from Tristan. She began breathing normally again and her fear slowly slipped away. She placed her hands in her lap and sat there for a few moments, hunched over in the chamber. She tried straightening her back but realized that she was too tall for that. She sighed again then decided to lay down. Unfortunately, whatever she was laying on was not very comfortable, and all she could do to take her mind off of her uncomfortableness was count the ceiling tiles. Tristan talked for a while, but Nora could only hear bits and pieces of what he was saying. After a while, he looked away sadly and just sat there beside her.

Finally, the doctor came into the room. He immediately walked over to the chamber and stared down at Nora. He pushed some buttons on the outside of the chamber while Tristan and Nora watched him intently. Just then, the end of the cylinder by Nora’s head opened with a sound that was like a seal being removed. The doctor helped Nora out of the chamber, but he neglected to help steady her once she was on her feet. Nora held onto the outside of the chamber while blood rushed up to her head.

“Well, she seems to be doing all right,” the doctor began as he walked over to Tristan. The doctor was looking down at a clipboard as he spoke. “We’ll keep her in a room for a few hours, possibly overnight, to make sure that she’s fine. Some symptoms of decompression sickness can be late in setting in, and we just want to be certain that she’s completely healthy again, so her time of departure is…up in the air.” the doctor finished with a shrug. Tristan stood up and looked between the doctor and Nora.

“So…” Tristan began, not really knowing what to say.

“Can I change back into my clothes?” Nora asked, still holding onto the chamber for support. The doctor sighed then turned to her. He thought for a moment, a frown on his face.

“We usually ask patients to stay in their hospital gowns, but I don’t expect you to be needing any more treatment, so I suppose if you would feel more comfortable in your own clothes that would be fine.” the doctor said, still frowning. Nora smiled a little.

“Great. Now, if you’ll both just skedaddle, I’ll change and we can talk more after that. Okay? Okay.” Nora said, motioning for both of the men to leave. Tristan immediately complied but the doctor paused, evidently puzzled by Nora’s behavior.

“It’ll be better if you just do what she says.” Tristan whispered loudly from outside the room. Nora nodded.

“He speaks the truth.” she said simply. The doctor still looked confused as Tristan grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. Tristan swung the door shut then looked at the doctor.

“So… How’s your day going?” Tristan asked awkwardly. The doctor did not respond. He just continued to look confused.

“I’ve never had a patient that was so modest…” the doctor said softly. Tristan gave him a puzzled look.

“What?” he asked, baffled.

“When she changed into the hospital gown, she made me look away. Now that she’s changing out of it, I have to leave the room. I can understand making you leave the room, but I’m the doctor…” he continued, more to himself than to Tristan. Tristan scoffed.

“Just because you’re a doctor doesn’t make you special.” he blurted out, crossing his arms over his chest. The doctor glanced up at him, apparently wondering if Tristan was crazy. Tristan glanced down at the man awkwardly.

“Let’s forget this conversation ever happened.” the doctor said softly.

“Deal.” Tristan replied quickly. The two quickly shook hands then turned away from each other, acting as if nothing had happened between the two of them. Their act was not completely convincing.

Chapter 27: Sprouts

Tristan arrived at the diving instructor’s shack twenty minutes early. The little building was located right on the edge of a marina. Most of the people who frequented the marina were rich tourists and locals. Because of this rich atmosphere, Tristan looked oddly out of place with his common demeanor.

Tristan walked into the shack and spoke to the instructor, Ron, for a while before he rented some equipment for himself and Nora. Tristan had taken lessons before, so he remembered what to get and how to get it. He waited impatiently for the next few minutes. Then, he began to pace. Then, he walked around outside the shack, waiting nervously for Nora.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Nora’s car appeared in the driveway of the marina. Tristan tried not to look too excited as he ducked back into the building. He took a few deep breaths, checked his hair in the glass window, then turned around, pretending to look at a diving mask with great interest. The little bell above the door of the shop rang and Nora entered, breathing heavily. She walked over to Tristan to see what he was looking at.

“Oh, hi,” Tristan said, smiling casually.

“Hey,” Nora began as she returned his smile. “So, is that a good mask?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah, it’s great--”

“You figured that out in the five seconds you were looking at it?” Nora asked, glancing up at Tristan slyly. Tristan blushed.

“Well…it’s…it’s all in the brand name, you know…” Tristan mumbled. Nora giggled. Just then, Ron walked over to the two of them and clapped his hands down on their shoulders.

“You must be Nora! Pleased to meet you!” Ron exclaimed, reaching out a hand to Nora. Nora was surprised to hear that he spoke with an Australian accent. She shook his hand and smiled pleasantly. “Tristan here has told me a lot about you!”

“All good, I hope.” Nora said with a small laugh. Ron stopped shaking her hand and a light frown came over his face.

“Actually, no. But it’s all worked out for good, eh?” he said, chuckling. Nora laughed nervously, not accustomed to such an exuberant person. She supposed that he had to be this way to keep people coming back to his shop.

“Yeah, I guess it has…” Nora said softly. Ron, Nora, and Tristan all stood there silently for a moment, staring at each other awkwardly. Just then, Ron clapped his hands loudly. Nora and Tristan jumped.

“Well! Let’s get started! Shall we?” Ron said, turning around and heading out the door. Nora and Tristan lingered behind for a moment.

“He’s a seasoned instructor, right?” Nora asked nervously. Tristan nodded.

“I’ve been told he’s good.” He replied softly. Nora thought for a moment.

“The people who told you this were sober, right?” she asked, looking up at him. Tristan laughed. He took Nora’s hand and the two of them followed after Ron.

Ron led the two of them out to a boat which was nice, but definitely not as high-end as most of the other boats in the marina. The three of them crawled out into the boat and Ron started the engine.

“All right, we’re going to go out and get close to the reefs. Best place to learn how to dive is out there. Well, really, any place with deep water is a good place to learn to dive, but the reefs are one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, so we like to take people out there. It’s good for business.” Ron explained over the roar of the engine. Nora and Tristan glanced up at each other with bewildered expressions on their faces.

“How long will it take to get there?” Tristan asked, leaning forward towards Ron.

“Oh, not more than half an hour, I’d say.” Ron replied. “Sometimes when the weather’s choppy it takes longer, but today is a perfect day for being out on the water. The breeze is light and the waves are small—huh…I guess it’s not such a great day to be out here in a sail boat!” Ron laughed again and Tristan chuckled. He glanced back at Nora, who laughed awkwardly. Tristan sat down next to her again and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you okay?” Tristan asked, speaking as softly as he could while still being heard over the engine of the boat.

“Yeah…it’s just that the casual attitude of this guy is kind of freaking me out. I mean, I’m a little nervous about this whole thing, and he’s acting kind of…” Nora paused and glanced up at Ron to see if he was paying attention to them. He wasn’t. “Unprofessional.” Nora finished in a voice that Tristan could barely hear. His eyes flashed over to Ron, who seemed to be bouncing to the beat of the music in his head. Tristan turned back to Nora and nodded a little.

“He’s throwing me off a little, too. But I’ve gone diving before, so I’ll help you out if he doesn’t. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Tristan said, smiling. Nora sighed, still looking a little worried. Tristan took her hand gently but remained silent. He had a feeling that he couldn’t say anything else that would cheer her up or ease her fears. She just needed him to be there for her.

The three of them road in silence for a while. Ron bounced to the beat of his own drum while Nora and Tristan sat in the back, neither of them really thinking about anything in particular. Their thoughts drifted to and fro, going where the current willed them to go. Tristan didn’t let go of Nora’s hand, and she didn’t make any motion to pull it away. They sat there, completely content with just being with each other.

Finally, Ron turned to them. “We’re almost there!” he called over the sound of the engine and the wind in their ears. “I’m gonna slow her down so that it’s not such an abrupt stop when we get there!” he said.

“Okay!” Tristan blurted out the only response that came to mind for a comment like that. Nora took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her free hand. Tristan gave her an encouraging smile and she attempted to smile back. He could see she was nervous, though.

“It’s going to be fine…” Tristan said softly. Nora nodded but didn’t look him in the eyes. The boat slowly came to a stop and Ron turned off the engine. He stood up and turned around to face the couple.

“All right! Are you two ready to dive?” he asked, beaming. Tristan glanced over at Nora. This was where the hard part began.

“Are you ready?” Tristan asked gently. Nora swallowed hard and nodded, forcing herself not to look at the water.

“You said you’ve gone diving before, right?” she asked, looking over at him worriedly. Tristan nodded. Nora took a deep breath and squared up her shoulders. “Then I’m ready.” She said, sounding much more confident than she was. Ron smiled wide and rubbed his hands together.

“Then let’s get this party started!” he exclaimed happily. Ron turned around and Tristan smiled at Nora again.

“You’re going to do great.” Tristan said softly.

“If you say so…” Nora muttered, standing up. Tristan stood up with her, not letting go of her hand. He knew she needed him for moral support, but he didn’t realize how much she needed him until later…

Chapter 25: Wishes

Nora and Tristan completed their final tour of the day, happy smiles on their faces. The air between them was much clearer, and everyone assumed it was because they had been great friends for a long time. The truth was, they had been great enemies for a short time, but no one seemed to know that.

Nora finished the tour, as usual, by directing people into the gift shop. However, on the final tour today, she decided not to follow the tourists. Instead, she stayed behind and watched the blanket octopus swim back and forth in its tank. Tristan began walking towards the gift shop but stopped when he noticed that Nora was no longer with him. He turned back and meandered over to her once again. She didn’t seem to notice him approaching; her eyes were fixed on the blanket octopus.

“So, do you still want to be a diver?” Tristan asked softly. Nora smiled a little.

“Yeah…” she replied slowly. The two of them stood there for a moment in silence.

“You’ve really never been diving before?” Tristan asked. Nora shook her head.

“I really have never been diving before.” She replied, a small smile still on her face. Tristan thought for a moment. He slowly leaned in a little closer to Nora.

“How does your weekend look?” he asked in a whisper. Nora’s eyes flashed up at him. Tristan wasn’t sure if it was the poor lighting that made him think this, but he was sure that her eyes were sparkling.

“Busy, actually.” She replied with a teasing smile. Tristan’s heart dropped.

“Oh…” he mumbled. There was a moment of silence between them again. Finally, Tristan took a deep breath. He turned to face Nora full on. “Nora, I have something I need to tell you, or a certain friend of mine is never going to get off my back about it.” Tristan said quickly. Nora turned to him, confused.

“When I first came to the park, my only intention was to gather a lot of incriminating evidence that would get the park shut down or something. I was totally against this place and…well, you, when I first met you.” Tristan paused to take a deep breath. “But, then I started to get to know you. I mean, I don’t really know you that well now, I guess, but…there’s just something about you. Something that’s different from anyone else I’ve ever met. I don’t know if it’s the passion you have for this place or just the look of determination in your eyes, but you’re definitely not like other girls I’ve met.

“At first, I just wanted to annoy you and make your life here miserable. But…then something changed… I guess it was the robbery attempt. After that, there was just something that felt different inside of me. I guess it was…” Tristan paused, glancing down at his hands. He hadn’t realized it, but Nora’s hands were now in his. “The look in your eyes after the fight. You looked so…scared…so real. I hadn’t seen you like that before, and it made me think about you differently. Instead of being some big, tough monster I had to take down, you were just…human.

“And then, when those guys tried to kill me, they mentioned your name. They said they were going to come after you, and I knew I couldn’t let that happen. What they said lit some kind of fire inside of me that made me want to kill them before they could kill you. I didn’t think about me anymore, and to be honest, that’s probably the first time something like that has happened to me. I’ve never thought about someone the same way I think about you. I get all protective and…insecure, I guess. I mean, I didn’t think that I liked you or anything, but when I saw you with that Nathaniel guy I just wanted to lean over and punch him in the nose. I…I guess I wished that you liked me as much as you liked him. But…you didn’t…so I couldn’t do anything…

“Then—“

“Then you met David.” Nora finished for Tristan. He looked up at her, surprised. She was smiling.

“How did you…?” Tristan asked, a confused expression on his face.

“I’m not an idiot, Tristan. I know that you two talked about me and that he’s the only reason you started being nice to me.” Nora said, still smiling.

“Well, not the only reason… He was just the thing that prompted me to be nice, I guess.” Tristan mumbled, looking down at his feet bashfully. He stood there silently for a moment, waiting for Nora to reply. She didn’t speak. Finally, Tristan glanced up at her timidly. “You think I’m a moron, don’t you?” he said. He moaned. “I knew that was dumb. I shouldn’t have said all of that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--” Just then, Nora put her finger up to Tristan’s lips, silencing him.

“I don’t think you’re a moron, Tristan. To tell you the truth, when I first met you, I totally hated you. You said bad things about my second home, and it made me really mad. After the robbery attempt, I thought you were being nicer. But then I took you on that tour of the park and you got all mean again, so I got defensive and decided that you didn’t like me and you never would, so I kept my distance. Then you started acting nice, and it really confused me, and I’m still confused, but…” Nora paused, looking down at her hands, which were still holding Tristan’s. “But I’m pretty sure that…that I like you too.” She said softly. She looked back up at him, and they stared at each other, neither one knowing what to do.

“I feel like we’re supposed to kiss or something…” Tristan muttered, looking away out of embarrassment. Nora threw her head back and laughed.

“How about we take it slow?” she suggested, calming down her giggles. Tristan was blushing furiously, but he nodded. “How about…this Saturday, you, me, and a diving instructor. Does that sound all right?” Nora asked.

“I thought you said you were busy this weekend…” Tristan said, a little confused. Nora smiled mischievously.

“My weekend just cleared up.” She said softly. Tristan grinned and Nora giggled a little.

“What time do you want to meet?” Tristan asked, still beaming. Nora thought for a moment.

“Two-thirty is good for me.” She replied. Tristan frowned. He thought for a moment then sighed.

“All right, two-thirty it is.” He said with a nod.

“Does that time not work for you?” Nora asked, a puzzled expression on her face. Tristan shook his head a little.

“No…it’s just that…” he paused, looking up at Nora again. “Two-thirty is a long time to wait.” He finished with a small smile. Nora laughed, squeezing Tristan’s hands tighter. He chuckled a little, feeling lighter than air.

“All right, then,” Nora began, trying not to laugh anymore. “How does your two o’clock look?” she asked, smiling. Tristan returned the smile.

“Perfect.” He replied softly. Just then, Nora slowly stood up on her tiptoes. Tristan leaned down a little, closing his eyes. The two of them were just about to meet for a kiss when the sound of small running feet caught their attention. They immediately straightened up as a little boy ran into the room to look at the blanket octopus. Nora glanced up at Tristan from the corner of her eye and giggled. Tristan smiled back. He took her hand and the two of them walked out of the gift shop together.

Tristan’s wish had come true—Nora liked him, too.

Chapter 22: Stress

Nora sighed heavily, placing her head in her hands. Tristan had been acting even stranger than usual this morning, and she didn’t know what to make of it. He was being really polite and nice to her since he had met that David kid… She wondered if that little boy had some sort of magical powers and if he had put Tristan under a spell… To her, it was all a mystery. She wanted to ask Tristan about is sudden change in behavior, but she was worried that asking him about it would make him feel self-conscious and force him to go back to being mean. Once again, Nora sighed, wondering what she should do.

“Nora?” Tristan’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Are you okay in there?” he asked, sounding concerned. Nora had told him she needed to use the bathroom, but really she just needed a quiet place to think.

“Yeah, Tristan, I’m fine.” she said through the door. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“You said that five minutes ago…” she heard Tristan mumble. She rolled her eyes but realized that she had been in the bathroom for a while now… No wonder he was getting worried.

Nora quickly washed her hands and face then straightened out her ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror then frowned. She looked awful. She had huge bags under her eyes because she hadn’t slept well and then somehow she had misplaced her makeup bag, so she couldn’t even try to cover up her blemishes. Nora attempted to cover the pimple on her forehead with her bangs, but her attempt was not completely successful.

Finally, Nora turned to the door and exited the bathroom, finding Tristan waiting nearby for her. She walked over to him with her back straight and her shoulders back, trying to look confident.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Nora?” Tristan asked as he began walking beside her.

“I told you, I’m fine.” Nora replied quickly. She tried to avoid Tristan’s eyes, which was pretty easy, since she had been doing it all morning.

The two of them walking in silence for a few minutes, walking back to the front of the zoo. Their next tour was in fifteen minutes, so both of them were walking rather quickly. Tristan glanced down at Nora hesitantly, but she didn’t look up at him. He cleared his throat.

“Y-you look nice today, Nora.” Tristan said softly. Nora felt her face heat up. She knew he was lying. She had just looked at herself two minutes ago, and she did not look ‘nice.’

“Yeah right…” she mumbled, looking away from Tristan so that he wouldn’t see her blush.

“No, really. You look nice.” Tristan insisted. Nora glanced up at him with a skeptical look.

“Nice how?” she asked quickly. Tristan thought for a moment, studying her face nervously.

“Um…well, your ponytail is perfect, and I like how your bangs are spread over your forehead. You usually have them pushed to one side.” Tristan said. Nora was surprised he had noticed that. “That shade of lipstick looks nice on you, and your makeup looks really natural.”

“I’m not wearing makeup, Tristan.” Nora said dryly.

“Oh…that would explain why it looks so natural, then…” Tristan said with a nervous laugh. Nora couldn’t help but smile a little.

“So…you really think I look nice today?” she asked, glancing up at him quickly. Tristan nodded.

“Yeah, I do.” he replied. Nora’s smile widened a little. She looked away again, trying to hide a blush. She had no idea why Tristan was being so nice, but him being nice was much less stressful than him being mean.

Chapter 16: Distractions

Time seemed to be moving slower for Tristan today than it had any other day of his life. He had gotten to work on time (a little early, actually), but Nora had not been impressed. She had hardly even noticed him, so it seemed. She told him to get everything ready then meet her out in front of the zoo. From there, they had given their tours as usual, but Nora hadn’t let Tristan say a word. In fact, she had ignored Tristan for most of the tour. Each time he had tried to open his mouth, Nora had cut him off or sent him a sharp glare. Needless to say, Tristan had not liked that one bit.

“Is there any particular reason you’re being so rude to me today?” Tristan asked as he and Nora grabbed their lunchboxes out of their lockers.

“What do you think?” Nora asked icily. She slammed the locker door closed and turned towards the door of the employee’s lounge.

“Wait! Don’t just walk away from me! Communication is key to a relationship!” Tristan blurted out, not realizing what he was saying. Nora glanced back at him, a confused expression on her face.

“We’re not in a relationship.” Nora said quickly, a glare on her face. Tristan stared at her for a moment, a little puzzled by what he had said as well.

“Um…I didn’t mean, like…a relationship in that sense… More like a friendship…” Tristan said slowly. Nora sighed, her shoulders dropping.

“We can’t be friends if you keep bashing something I’m passionate about.” she said softly. Her eyes had suddenly changed. She didn’t look furious anymore; she just looked hurt. Tristan swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure what to say next.

“Well, it’s just that… I think that sea-life belongs in the sea…” he said, trying to choose his words carefully.

“But sometimes these animals are taken out of the sea for a reason.” Nora replied gently. Tristan looked at her with a questioning expression on his face. Nora sighed and began explaining.

“A lot of the animals here have actually been saved because of this park. We have a program that rescues animals whose habitats have been endangered by oil spills or pollution, and most of the animals are kept here instead of put back into those dangerous habitats. We also take in animals that have been injured in fishing accidents. Sometimes, when fishermen put down nets, they catch swordfish, turtles, dolphins, and we actually have a whale that was trapped in a net as a baby. Instead of the fishermen putting the injured animals back into the water or just killing them outright, we’ll send a team out to pick up the animal and bring it back here until it heals. We’ve had scuba divers bring in animals from the reefs nearby, and most of the animals that have been brought to us would have died without our help. The blanket octopus is a great example of that.” Nora finished softly, but her eyes were alight with a fire Tristan hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t anger, but it wasn’t some sort of happiness, either… It was more like passion. Nora really was passionate about her job.

“Really? The blanket octopus was brought in by someone?” Tristan asked, walking towards Nora. Nora nodded.

“Yep. A few years ago someone brought in this tiny little octopus that was missing a leg. We kept the octopus in a tank, discovered what it needed to live happily, and took care of it here. It’s been thriving ever since.” A small smile came to Nora’s lips as she spoke. Tristan couldn’t help but smile a little as well.

“So, you don’t just take animals out of their natural habitats without good reason?” he asked, just for clarification.

“Nope. If the animals aren’t brought in because they’re injured, then they’ve been born and raised here.” Nora replied quickly.

“Oh…so, they’re not all animals that have been injured…” Tristan said softly.

“No, but would you really want them to be?” Nora asked, giving Tristan a pointed look.

“Well, no, but I just thought, after that speech, that all of the animals had been brought in because they were injured.”

“You’d be surprised as to the number of eggs one fish can lay. Usually there are too many baby fish to keep here, so we release some of them back into the wild once they’re old enough.” Nora said quickly.

“But the ones that were brought in because they were injured stay here for the rest of their lives?” Tristan asked. Nora nodded.

“Yes, but sometimes they have to stay here, or else they’ll die.” Nora replied. Tristan thought for a moment.

“What about the blanket octopus? Does it need to stay here to survive?” Tristan asked quickly.

“The blanket octopus is healthy enough to, in theory, survive in the wild. However, because it’s been raised here since it was a baby, just dropping it into the sea would be quite a shock to it. It would have to be introduced to life in the sea very slowly to make a good transition.” Nora explained. Tristan was silent for a minute, thinking about everything Nora had said.

“Hm… Interesting…” he murmured.

“Do you understand a little more where I’m coming from now?” Nora asked hesitantly. Tristan glanced down at her.

“Yeah, a little bit.” he replied softly. Nora smiled slightly.

“Good. Now, let’s go have lunch.” she said, turning and walking away. Tristan followed after her, everything she had said playing through his mind.

After hearing all of that, it was going to be incredibly difficult to protest the park…

News

Just so you all know, I am writing chapter thirty-two tonight.

I have finished the thirty day challenge.

And I am no where near being finished with the book. Which means...

I get to keep going! Whoo!

My deepest apologies to all of you who have (not) been reading this story. I wanted to post one chapter each day, but then life got complicated and my access to a computer was cut short. I have been writing chapters in the late hours of the night (and, I will admit, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning), and by the time I finish a chapter I've been too tired to post it. However, I will make my best effort to get back in the habit of posting these chapters. I really, really like how this story is coming along, and I really want to share it with everyone.

So, that being said, I am off to post another chapter. Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen! This is when the fun begins! (And by "fun" I really mean fighting, hatred, little boys who know a lot about life, and much more! Stay tuned! The best is yet to come!)