High Tide

For Lucy Broom

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Copyright

About the Publisher

Prologue

Hidden behind some rocks, Spirit, a magnificent dolphin with striking yellow markings, lazily watched the younger dolphins searching the seabed for a strand of seaweed. His wife, Star, was watching them too.

“I’ve found some,” clicked Bubbles, digging in the sand with his nose and uncovering a long, green, crinkly piece.

“Good,” clicked Swift, an athletic dolphin with a sleek, muscular body. “Now we can play seaweed tag. Who wants to be ‘it’?”

“Me,” squeaked Velvet, shyly swimming forward.

As she reached out to take the seaweed from Bubbles, Swift swam in front of her, blocking the way.

“Who said you could play?” he clicked bossily.

“N-n-no one,” said Velvet uncertainly. “But I can, can’t I?”

“No,” Swift clicked. “Boys only. Go away.”

Star went to intervene, but Spirit stopped her.

“Wait a moment,” he said softly. “Let’s see if they can sort this out for themselves.”

Just then Bubbles swam forward and tossed the seaweed down in the sand. “If Velvet can’t play then I don’t want to either,” he said.

“Boys only,” said Swift firmly. “And you will play or else.”

As he spoke, Swift seemed to grow larger. The other young dolphins huddled together, nervously watching what would happen next.

“Or else what?” asked Bubbles calmly. “You don’t scare me. Come on, Velvet. Let’s go play somewhere else.”

Swift stared in surprise as Bubbles and Velvet left with the other dolphins chasing after them calling, “Wait for us. Can we play too?”

When they’d gone, Star smiled at Spirit.

“Bubbles did well,” she said. “It takes courage to stand up to someone who looks stronger than you.”

“He did,” clicked Spirit proudly.

“The Silver Dolphins do well too,” Star mused. “They stand up for us and our oceans.”

“The Silver Dolphins are very brave,” Spirit agreed. “We are lucky to have them.”

Chapter One

Antonia Lee and Sophie Hastings were on their way to school.

“Antonia, were you listening to anything I’ve been saying?” asked Sophie, gently tapping her best friend.

Smiling apologetically, Antonia took Sophie’s arm and linked it with hers.

“Sorry, Soph. I was, but then I got distracted by that seagull cawing. It reminded me how much there is to do at Sea Watch right now.”

Sophie sighed and rolled her eyes, but she was only joking.

“Forget Sea Watch for just one minute,” she said. “This is exciting news. You know that TV programme Stage Struck? The one about the teenagers who go to a drama school? Well, it’s coming here, to Sandy Bay, to film for the new series!”

“You don’t watch Stage Struck,” said Antonia, waving at Cai and Toby who were waiting at the school gates.

“Not very often,” Sophie agreed, “but it’s still exciting. There are lots of opportunities for artists on a film set: scenery, make-up, costumes, that sort of thing. I’m definitely going to go and watch the filming. I might learn something new.”

Sophie was mad about art and rarely went anywhere without her sketch book and a pencil.

“The film cast and crew are arriving today. Dad says everyone’s staying at the Sandy Bay Hotel. They’ve taken over two whole floors and the penthouse suite.”

“Not you as well!” exclaimed Toby. “Everyone’s talking about Stage Stuck.”

“Stage Struck,” Sophie corrected him.

Toby gave her a cheeky grin and, realising he was teasing her, Sophie groaned.

The whole school was buzzing with the news and soon Antonia was fed up of hearing about Stage Struck.

“Not long now,” whispered Cai, as they filed into afternoon assembly.

Antonia glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes until the end of the school day, then she and Cai would be free to go to Sea Watch, the marine conservation charity run by Cai’s great-aunt Claudia. She could hardly wait! She didn’t hear a word that the headmaster, Mr Cordier, said. Antonia rested her hand lightly on her school polo shirt, knowing that her silver dolphin charm necklace was hidden underneath it. Jewellery was forbidden at Sandy Bay Primary School, but Antonia never went anywhere without her special necklace.

Antonia and Cai shared a wonderful secret. They were Silver Dolphins, guardians of the sea. When the dolphins called to them through their special jewellery, Silver Dolphin magic allowed Antonia and Cai to swim with real dolphins so they could look after the ocean and the creatures living there. Silver Dolphins were rare. Claudia was a Silver Dolphin too, although she rarely answered the call these days.

“Antonia Lee, I said Year Six could lead out,” said Mr Cordier. “It’s home time.”

Antonia’s face flamed red as the rest of the school giggled.

“She wasn’t listening because she’s thinking about Stage Struck!” hissed Lauren nastily.

“She’s not such a big fan as you are!” Becky whispered loyally.

“I know,” Lauren’s voice became louder as they moved out of the hall and filed along the corridor back to class. “I’ve got all the old series on DVD. I’ve got posters round my room and the fact-file diary. And soon I’m going to have autographs of the whole cast. Mum bought me an autograph book to collect them in. What do you think of that, Toni?”

“That’s nice,” said Antonia.

Lauren eyed her suspiciously. “I suppose you’ll get an autograph book now!”

Antonia ignored her and concentrated on getting her things ready to go home. When the school bell rang she stood smartly at her desk with her bag packed and her fleece on.

“Antonia, Alicia, Sophie, Charlie, Cai and Toby can all go,” said Mrs Howard.

“Hmmph!” grumbled Lauren as Antonia walked past her. “I bet I get their autographs before you do.”

“What was all that about?” asked Cai, as they set out to Sea Watch together.

Antonia shrugged. “Lauren seems to think I’m dying to meet the cast of Stage Struck.”

Cai laughed. “Like you’ve got time for that!”

When they arrived at Sea Watch, Claudia was pleased to see them.

“Someone’s just brought in a razorbill with oil on his feathers. I’m about to start cleaning him up, so if you could feed the herring gulls and clean out their cage and see to Tilly that would be very helpful.”

Antonia’s heart skipped a beat.

“Has there been another oil spill?” she asked.

“No, this bird’s just been unlucky enough to find a patch of oily sea. Boats often leak small amounts of oil.”

Sighing softly, Claudia went to fetch an apron and some thick gloves.

Antonia and Cai took a quick look at the razorbill before starting their jobs. “He looks very fed up,” commented Antonia.

“I’m not surprised,” said Cai. “Look at the state of him.”

Razorbills in the wild were proud-looking birds, black with snowy-white chests and a distinctive white line on their beaks. This bird’s feathers were clogged with oil and his white parts were a grimy grey.

“Steady,” soothed Antonia, as the bird let out a frightened growl.

The bird stared at her and after a bit gradually relaxed.

“It’s amazing how you do that,” said Cai.

Before Antonia could think of a modest reply, Claudia returned with a solution to cleanse the bird’s stomach of poisonous oil and a special washing-up liquid for his feathers.

“Let’s get started,” she said, putting the solutions next to the sink.

Antonia and Cai put on gloves and aprons and went outside.

“Who shall we do first?” asked Cai.

“The gulls,” answered Antonia, wanting to save her favourite animal until last. Tilly the seal had been at Sea Watch for many months now, much longer than expected, but after several setbacks she was finally fit enough to return to the sea. Antonia was pleased that Tilly was going home, but she was really going to miss her.

There were four gulls in the outside aviary; two with broken wings, one with a broken leg and the other with injuries to her chest. Like most of the herring gulls around Sandy Bay, they were an inquisitive bunch who stared unnervingly at Antonia and Cai while they worked.

“They’re so greedy,” said Cai. “They’re only watching us to see if we’ve got something to eat.”

“I know,” said Antonia. “The other day that big one nearly pecked off my finger thinking my cleaning cloth was food.”

When the aviary was clean they left the birds squabbling over a bucket of fish and went to feed Tilly, who was in the deepwater pool.

The friendly seal swam over, sticking her whiskery nose out of the water and honking a hello.

“Hello, Tilly,” said Antonia, careful not to touch her.

The animals at Sea Watch weren’t pets and for their own safety it wasn’t good for them to become too familiar with people.

Tilly swam around the pool grunting noisily as Cai and Antonia brushed and hosed down the walkway. Next they fed Tilly, throwing fish into the water to make her swim for her dinner.

“That was fun,” said Antonia, as they returned to the Sea Watch building.

Inside, Claudia was rubbing the razorbill dry with an old towel.

“It’s very quiet today. Where is everyone?” Antonia asked, suddenly missing her friends from the secondary school.

“They’re not coming. Emily texted to say everyone’s gone to wait for the cast of some TV show to arrive,” said Claudia.

“Huh!” snorted Cai. “I thought they had more sense than that.”

Claudia smiled. “It’s OK. Everyone works so hard for Sea Watch. It’s not fair to expect volunteers to come every day. Emily said they’d be here tomorrow. Are you all right, Antonia? You seem troubled.”

Antonia and Claudia were very good at knowing what each other was thinking. A bad feeling had suddenly come over Antonia, but she wasn’t sure why. Shaking the feeling away, she said brightly, “I’m fine. I can stay a bit later tonight, so what shall I do next?”

Chapter Two

Antonia was starving when she got home. It was meatballs in tomato sauce for tea. She tucked in hungrily, spearing a meatball with her fork and popping it in her mouth as the phone rang.

“It’s Sophie,” said her mum, passing the telephone over.

Swallowing quickly, Antonia took it.

“Hi, Sophie, what’s up?” she asked.

Sophie was breathless with excitement. “The film crew are shooting their first scene in Sandy Bay early tomorrow morning. Mum says I can go and watch for a bit before school. Do you want to come with me?” she asked.

It sounded fun, but Antonia had already promised to meet up with Cai.

“Sorry, Sophie, but we’ve some last-minute things to do before the launch of the Litter Fishing scheme. Remember I told you about it – giving free rubbish sacks to fishermen? Sea Watch is co-ordinating it for Sandy Bay.”

“Never mind,” said Sophie cheerfully. “I’m taking my sketch book so I probably won’t be great company anyway. See you at school.”

“Have fun,” said Antonia, putting the phone down.

The following morning as Antonia put her lunchbox into her school bag, a familiar and exciting sensation came over her. The dolphins were going to call! Thank goodness she was walking to school alone. Antonia hurriedly pulled on her shoes and fleece, and said goodbye to Mum and little sister, Jessica.

“Bye,” called Jess, as Antonia rushed out of the front door.

Suddenly the dolphin charm hanging around Antonia’s neck began to vibrate. Seconds later a shrill whistle sounded.

Silver Dolphin, we need you.

Spirit, I hear your call, Antonia answered in her head.

Antonia ran, following the Coastal Path until it forked, then taking the right-hand lane that led down to Gull Bay. The dolphin charm beat out a rhythm on her neck. Antonia loved the feel of its silky-soft tail thrumming against her skin, urging her to hurry. She ran on, past the tiny beach shop, shuttered now but due to open at the start of the holiday season in a few weeks’ time. At last she arrived at Gull Bay.

She pulled off her shoes and socks and left them with her bag at the top of the beach. The powdery sand felt cold and crunchy under her feet as she ran for the sea.

“Eeek!” The water was freezing and numbed her feet and legs.

Ignoring the discomfort, Antonia splashed through the surf until the icy water reached her thighs. Taking a deep breath, she lunged forward and swam. A few seconds later her legs melded together, flicking at the sea like a tail. Excitement fizzled through her. The water didn’t feel at all cold now. Expertly, Antonia used her hands like flippers and, arching her body, leapt in and out of the water as gracefully as a dolphin.

Spirit, I’m on my way, she whistled.

The thrill of becoming a Silver Dolphin was something Antonia knew she’d never tire of. Using Spirit’s vibrations to guide her, she swam underwater to him. She didn’t have to travel far. Spirit and his family were waiting a little way round from the headland. Seeing Cai approaching from the other direction Antonia swam faster, reaching the dolphins first and shooting him a playful smile.

“You came quickly, Silver Dolphin,” said Spirit, rubbing his nose against Antonia’s in greeting.

Spirit was a proud-looking animal with intelligent eyes, a silver head and a striking yellow blaze that ran along his side from his face to his dorsal fin.

Cai swam up, and as he greeted Spirit, Antonia said hello to Star, Dream and Bubbles.

“Flipper Feet,” squeaked Bubbles, splashing her in a friendly way.

“Today it’s a litter-picking task,” said Spirit. “There’s a lot of rubbish in the sea by the cliffs.”

“Can we help the Silver Dolphins, Dad?” Bubbles asked.

“Yes, but be careful. Don’t touch anything sharp and keep away from plastic bags.”

“Bubbly!” clicked Bubbles. “Race you to the cliffs, Silver Dolphins.”

Without waiting for an answer, Bubbles swam away, his body flashing silver as he dived in and out of the water.

Antonia, Cai and Dream gave chase, but Bubbles won, reaching the cliffs before them by several tail-lengths.

“Yuk!” said Antonia, suddenly noticing the floating rubbish.

There was a plastic drink bottle, two empty crisp packets, a chocolate bar wrapper, an empty sandwich container and a train timetable that was soggier than old cornflakes.

“City people,” said Antonia, squinting at the timetable. “These times are for underground trains.”

Cai was from the city, but was living with his Aunty Claudia while his parents worked abroad in Australia.

“Country people are just as bad for littering,” he said defensively.

“I know,” said Antonia. “What I meant was that this rubbish comes from visitors and not from local people.”

Fishing the chocolate bar wrapper and timetable out of the water, she stuffed them into one of the crisp packets.

Cai emptied a strand of seaweed out of the sandwich carton and tucked the rest of the litter inside it.

“Is that all?” he asked, looking around.

“I found something,” said Dream, nosing a polystyrene coffee cup towards him.

“Thanks.” Cai scrunched up the cup to make it fit inside the sandwich carton. “Let’s get this ashore and find a bin.”

“Bubbly!” clicked Bubbles, somersaulting. “That was quick work. Now we can play.”

“Not today,” Antonia said, pulling a sad face. “We have to go to school.”

Bubbles smacked the sea with his tail.

“You’re always going to school!” he said disgustedly.

Antonia and Cai laughed. “It feels like it,” they agreed.

“Can’t we have one quick game of sprat?” asked Bubbles, his dark eyes pleading.

“Bubbles, I’m sorry, but we have to go. Mum works at our school so I can’t be late or I’ll be in trouble with her too.”

“Next time,” clicked Cai. “We’ll play sprat and seaweed tag.”

“OK then,” Bubbles agreed.

Bubbles and Dream swam with the Silver Dolphins back to where they’d first met.

“My shoes and bag are at Sandy Bay. I’ll wait for you there,” said Cai.

Antonia shook her head. “You’d better not. I think I can get to school on time from Gull Bay, but there’s no point in making us both late,” she said.

“Bye, Bubbles, bye, Dream.”

Clutching the rubbish, Antonia struck out for Gull Bay. There wasn’t a second to lose. If Antonia wasn’t in school before Mrs Howard called the register, she’d have to sign in at the office where her mum worked as a receptionist. Then there’d be trouble. Mum would want to know why, having left the house before Jessica and her, Antonia had managed to arrive after them. With determined strokes, Antonia swam on.

Chapter Three

When Antonia finally arrived at school, hot and out of breath, the playground was deserted. She hurried indoors, hung up her fleece in the cloakroom and went straight into the classroom. The class watched in silence as she came through the door. Warm with embarrassment, Antonia sat down.

“Sorry I’m late,” she mumbled.

“You’re just in time,” said Mrs Howard. “I’m about to call the register. I suppose you’ve been watching the filming too?”

“No, I…” Antonia hesitated. She didn’t like telling lies, but she couldn’t tell Mrs Howard where she’d been.

Luckily for her the door opened and Charlie came in late too. With an exaggerated sigh, Mrs Howard stood up and lectured the whole class on how lateness would not be tolerated and how they were not to let the excitement of having a film crew around stand in the way of their education. At playtime Lauren grabbed Antonia by the arm as she came out of the girls’ toilets.

“So what happened to you this morning?” she asked, pushing her large face into Antonia’s.

Shaking her arm free, Antonia carried on walking.

“Where were you?” Lauren persisted, following her. “You were watching the filming, weren’t you? That’s why you were late.”

“None of your business,” Antonia answered, heading for Sophie, Cai and Toby who were standing in a group on the opposite side of the playground.

“I bet you didn’t get any autographs. The director said the actors were too busy to sign autographs until lunchtime.”

Antonia stopped walking and swung round to face Lauren, her green-grey eyes holding Lauren’s small, hazel ones.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I was nowhere near the film crew this morning,” she said firmly and, giving Lauren a pitying look, Antonia moved on.

“Loser,” Lauren bellowed after her. “I’m a much bigger fan of Stage Struck than you. I know everything about the actors. I even know where they’re filming next and I’m not telling you!”

Cai ran over to Antonia. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Antonia grinned. “I’m used to it,” she said. “She doesn’t scare me.”

Antonia happily forgot all about Lauren and Stage Struck until after school, when she was back at Sea Watch. Emily, Eleanor and Karen were there too, chattering away together.

“Stage Struck is filming in Gull Bay tomorrow,” said Emily, colouring in a poster for the Litter Fishing launch. “Danny Appleton told me when he came into our shop to buy a present for his little sister. He’s my favourite actor. He’s so cool. I wish I had an older brother like Danny.”

“Me too!” Eleanor and Karen agreed.

Hiding their groans, Antonia and Cai escaped outside to clean Tilly’s pen and feed her.

Tilly was pleased to see them, as always. Honking noisily, she climbed out of the deepwater pool to see what Antonia was doing with the mop.

“Aunty Claudia says we’ll let her go after the Litter Fishing launch,” said Cai.

“Shoo.” Antonia gently shook the mop at the grey seal. “I hope she’ll be all right. She’s too nosy for her own good sometimes.”

“She’ll be fine,” said Cai reassuringly. “There are a couple of friendly seals that hang around the harbour. The fishermen throw them fish to eat.”

“The fishermen round here are really nice,” said Antonia, propping the mop against the mesh fencing and unreeling the hose. “It’s great that they’ve agreed to take part in the Litter Fishing project.”

“They like fishing in clean seas,” said Cai. “Some of the stuff that comes up in their nets is horrible.”

“I know,” Antonia shuddered, thinking of the nasty things she’d seen in the ocean. “I’m glad Sea Watch is co-ordinating the project. I can’t wait for the launch. It was nice of Claudia to ask us to give the fishermen their new sacks.”

“Do you think the scheme will put the Silver Dolphins out of a job?” joked Cai.

“Never,” said Antonia, hosing his feet.

“You rat!” Cai lunged for the hose, but Antonia darted out of his reach.

The Litter Fishing project had been arranged by an environmental organisation. They were providing free sacks for fishermen to put rubbish caught in their nets in, rather than throwing it back into the sea. The sacks could later be emptied into a special container at the harbour. Claudia had agreed that Sea Watch would keep a supply of the sacks and arrange for the container to be emptied when full.

“Turn the hose off, Antonia. I’m going to get Tilly her food.”

Tilly enjoyed swimming after the fish that Antonia and Cai threw for her. Gracefully, she zipped round the pool, diving deep then surfacing in a completely different place.

“She’s a great swimmer,” said Cai when the bucket was empty. “Not long now, Tilly. Soon you’ll have the whole sea to play in.”

“I hope she finds some friends to play with,” said Antonia.

“She will,” said Cai. “Stop worrying about her. She’s going to be fine.”

On her way home from Sea Watch, Antonia was so busy thinking about Tilly that she didn’t see Lauren and Becky coming up the path until she’d practically walked into them.

“Where do you think you’re going?” snapped Lauren crossly.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said Antonia, misunderstanding Lauren and sidestepping her to walk on.

“If you’re thinking of hanging around the film crew, you’re too late. They’ve packed up for the day,” Lauren called after her.

Antonia kept walking.

“Huh! Think you can ignore me, do you? Well, you’ll be sorry tomorrow when everyone hears my news.”

Antonia didn’t know what Lauren was talking about until the following day, when Lauren smugly announced to the whole class that she and Becky had been hired by the director of Stage Struck as extras.

“Anyone would think she’d got the lead role,” grumbled Sophie, at home time, “but it’s not even a speaking part. Extras are just there in the background. You don’t even notice them.”