Sea Life Secrets Read online

  INTO THE DEEP

  “Sea creatures rule!” nine-year-old Frank Hardy shouted, hopping off the school bus in front of the Bayport Aquarium.

  “Follow me, kids! We don’t want to be late for our tour of Tide Town!” Frank’s science teacher, Ms. Klinger, called out as the rest of the Bayport Elementary School third and fourth graders joined the packed crowd in front of the aquarium.

  A large banner above the entrance announced the TIDE TOWN GRAND OPENING along with pictures of starfish, sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, rays, and some of the other creatures featured in the aquarium’s brand-new touch pool exhibit.

  “This is one of the coolest field trips ever!” Frank’s younger brother, Joe, said, following Ms. Klinger and the other chaperones toward the banner. “I hope we get to touch a shark.”

  “I don’t think the Tide Town exhibit has any sharks, but it does have rays, and they’re related to sharks.” Frank pointed out the creature on the Tide Town banner. “They’re kind of like flattened sharks, with fins that look like wings, and long, pointy tails.”

  “Sweet!” Joe pumped his fist. “I’m going to touch a shark’s flattened cousin!”

  “Rays, skates, and sharks are all members of the same group of fish called elasmobranch,” a kid with curly hair, a neon-green T-shirt, and blue-framed glasses chimed in, pushing his way between Frank and Joe as they entered the aquarium. “They don’t have bones like regular fish. Their skeletons are made out of cartilage instead. That’s the same stuff as our noses!”

  “I knew that,” Frank mumbled.

  Frank was one of Ms. Klinger’s best science students, and there was only one classmate who could out-fact him when it came to marine biology: Brady Jordan. Brady carried a sketchbook filled with drawings of sea life in one hand and a lunch box designed to look just like a fish tank in the other.

  “Speaking of rays, there’s one now.” Joe pointed to a six-foot-tall walking ray with a giant cartoon grin, taking pictures with kids from another school. “I didn’t know they had legs, though.”

  “That’s Reggie the Ray. He’s one of the new mascots the aquarium unveiled for Tide Town’s grand opening.” Frank looked around the lobby. “There’s another one named Seymour the Sea Star, but I don’t see him. They’re both named after real creatures in the exhibit.”

  “Hi, Reggie!” Joe called to the costumed mascot.

  Reggie waved back with one of his oversize wings.

  “I’m going to have a real ray and all kinds of other cool creatures as soon as I convince my parents to buy me a home aquarium,” Brady boasted. “I might even make my own touch pool.”

  As the group followed the signs toward Tide Town, a classmate with a ponytail and wearing a T-shirt with a glittery green dragon on it dropped back to join the conversation.

  “Your parents are still saying no, huh, Brady?” she asked. It wasn’t any surprise that Brady wanted a home aquarium. He talked about it all the time.

  “Oh. Hi, Mira. They’re saying no for now, but if I bug them enough, they’ll have to agree.”

  “Avery is totally obsessed with her fish tank.” Mira frowned. “I wish she were here to see Tide Town too.”

  “It stinks that your sister had her tonsils out right before our field trip,” Joe said. “Avery’s the only other person at school who gets as excited about this marine bio stuff as Brady and my bro.”

  “Yeah, I don’t love fish so much, but I do love my twin sis.” Mira put her hands together to make a heart shape. “I’m going to find the best souvenir in the whole aquarium to bring home for her so she doesn’t feel left out.”

  “How come you’re not excited about Tide Town? Aren’t twins supposed to like all the same things?” Brady asked.

  “We’re not identical twins. We don’t even look the same. Even if we did, every twin has their own special personality. And I definitely won’t be petting any slimy sea creatures.” Mira shuddered. “I am excited to see the penguins, though. They’re the cutest.”

  This time it was Brady who shuddered. “No thanks! My appreciation of sea life doesn’t include flightless seabirds.”

  “But everybody likes penguins!” Frank insisted. “Ms. Klinger said we can explore on our own after Tide Town, and feeding time at the penguin exhibit is at the top of our list.”

  He pulled out a map of the aquarium and pointed to the outdoor penguin exhibit circled in orange marker. It was on the other side of the rain-forest exhibit on the level below Tide Town, circled in blue.

  Brady started to turn red. “I’m—I’m afraid of penguins. It’s a real phobia some people have.”

  “That’s okay, Brady. Everybody’s afraid of something.” Joe put a friendly hand on Brady’s shoulder as they walked past the entrance to Shark Row. “Like me, I’m afraid of—AAAHHHHHHH!”

  Joe suddenly let out a terrified scream. A real one! They were being attacked by a giant sea creature!

  STARSTRUCK

  “We’re under attack by a sea monster!” Joe shrieked as a six-foot-tall starfish shoved him out of the way.

  “Watch where you’re going, kid. You stepped on my foot,” the starfish grumbled, bending over to rub the bottom of a starfish-arm-shaped leg.

  Frank grinned. “It’s Seymour the Sea Star, the other new mascot!”

  Joe giggled nervously. “I knew it was a costume. I was just testing you all to see if you’d believe it.”

  Frank rolled his eyes at his brother.

  “Nice to meet you, Seymour!” Mira said.

  “Yeah, yeah, that’s me. Seymour, the overqualified giant talking sea star with two wasted degrees in marine biology. Woo-hoo.” Seymour’s costume had a big cartoon grin, but it didn’t sound like the guy inside was smiling. “Just take a picture or something already so we can get the humiliation over with.”

  Apart from being six feet tall, having a goofy smiley face, and walking upright, Seymour looked just like a white starfish, with raised brown dots running down the center of each of its five arms. Each of the dots looked exactly like a giant chocolate chip.

  “Seymour’s a chocolate chip sea star. The species is called that because of the way the spines look on each arm,” said Brady.

  “The spines are used as a defense to scare predators away,” Frank added quickly. He didn’t want to be outdone by Brady.

  “Huh, they look pretty tasty to me,” Joe said.

  “Is a sea star the same thing as a starfish?” Mira asked.

  “A lot of scientists prefer the name ‘sea star’ because they’re not actually fish—” Frank started to answer, but Brady cut in.

  “They’re echinoderms. That’s a type of a sea creature that also includes sea urchins and sea cucumbers.”

  Joe’s stomach grumbled. “Cucumbers? Is anybody else getting kind of hungry?”

  “Chocolate chip sea stars are popular with home aquarists because of their unique appearance,” Brady continued.

  “They live in warm, shallow water in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, like the rest of the creatures in Tide Town,” added Frank.

  “If you two know so much, what do you need me for?” Seymour asked grumpily, trying to scratch his back against the wall. “What a waste of time. I should be running the show at Tide Town instead of Mouna. She’s only got one degree. She should be the one stuck inside a stuffy starfish costume entertaining a bunch of brats like an aquatic clown at a kiddie convention.”

  “You’re technically a sea star,” Brady reminded Seymour.

  “Well, I think your chocolate chips are cute.” Mira gave one a squeeze. “You look like a giant starfish cookie!”

  “That’s just great. Really, really great. I’ve been reduced to a cookie.” Seymour threw two of his five arms up in frustration. “That�
�s the last straw. I’m not letting management get away with this.”

  The giant sea star with the smiley face tried to storm off, but his costume seemed to be stuck to the wall. He gave a few grunts and yanked himself free with a loud POP. When he stomped away, the kids could see rows of little, wiggling, pink-tubed feet with suction cups running along the back of the costume’s arms, just like an actual sea star.

  “I sure hope the real Seymour is less grouchy than its costumed counterpart,” said Frank.

  “Who knew a sea star could be so crabby?” Joe asked.

  “Keep up, kids!” Ms. Klinger shouted back at Frank, Joe, Mira, and Brady.

  They hurried to catch up to the rest of their classmates, and a few minutes later, the whole group followed their teacher past a hand-painted wooden sign pointing the way to Tide Town. When they stepped inside, there were a bunch of other kids already there, along with a few other teachers and parents.

  Tide Town’s walls were painted to look like a tropical beach, and there were even a few realistic-looking palm trees scattered around the room. Soothing wave sounds and seagull noises played from the speakers, adding to the beach vibe. Tanks along the walls were filled with different sea animals, but the main attraction was the huge, round pool in the center of the room.

  When the class gathered around the pool, Frank and Joe made sure they were right up front. Looking down, they could see all kinds of cool creatures. Some of them were swimming around, like the sleek-looking spotted rays. Others were just chilling out, like the spiky sea urchins and a pair of bright orange sea stars. There were lots of rocks, making all kinds of nooks and crannies where other creatures were hiding too.

  “Don’t forget, anyone who writes down every one of the creatures living in Tide Town gets extra credit and an official Junior Marine Biologist badge,” Ms. Klinger said to their group. “You have to get the list just right, though. Official Junior Marine Biologists always pay attention to detail.”

  “Consider it done, Ms. K!” Frank replied. “It will be just like deep-sea detecting.”

  Everybody at school knew that Frank and Joe loved to solve mysteries. Their dad, Fenton Hardy, ran a private investigation agency, so detecting ran in the family.

  “I am so getting a badge,” Brady said. “No one is better at identifying aquatic animals than I am.”

  A woman with braided brown hair wearing a button-down shirt waved to everyone from the other side of the pool. Her name tag said MAYOR MOUNA.

  “Welcome to Tide Town, everyone!” she said, speaking into a small wireless microphone so the whole room could hear her. “My name is Mouna, and I’m the mayor of Tide Town. It’s my job to introduce you to all the wonderful aquatic residents living in our touch pool.”

  “Hi, Mayor Mouna!” many of the kids called back.

  “That’s got to be the Mouna the Seymour mascot was angry at for getting the Tide Town job instead of him,” Joe whispered to Frank.

  When the chatter died down, Mayor Mouna continued her introduction. “Tide Town is Bayport Aquarium’s re-creation of a tide pool like the ones on the shorelines of the western tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. Tide pools are the shallow, rocky pools of seawater that form when the tide recedes. There are lots of interesting creatures that call the pools home. Would you like to meet our residents?”

  “Yes!” Frank and Joe shouted along with the rest of the kids.

  “You can reach in and touch them gently on their backs with two fingers.” Mouna reached into the pool to demonstrate and lightly touched a ray as it swam past. “Just remember, always be gentle. You probably wouldn’t like it if someone bopped you on the head, and animals don’t either.”

  Frank, Joe, and Brady all reached into the water to touch some of the creatures.

  “Hey, look. It’s Seymour the sea star!” Mira said from behind them, pointing to a chocolate chip sea star clinging to one of the walls. One of its chocolate-chip-armored arms was sticking up out of the water. “He’s even cuter than the Seymour mascot, and a lot less crabby.”

  “How come his arm is out of the water? Don’t they have to stay all wet if they live in the ocean?” one of the other kids asked Mouna.

  “Oh, Seymour will be just fine,” she replied. “You should never take sea creatures out of their habitat unless it’s an emergency, but sea stars can survive out of water for a little while when they have to. It’s a special adaptation they have so they can stay in the pools when the tide goes out and the cracks and crevices where they live are exposed to air.”

  “Sea stars have a special valve that they can close when they sense the water getting lower,” Brady announced to Tide Town from beside Frank.

  “That’s exactly right!” Mayor Mouna said.

  “Well done, Brady.” Ms. Klinger smiled proudly.

  Brady puffed his chest out and smirked at Frank.

  “I knew that too,” Frank mumbled under his breath.

  “I hope to have a sea star of my own once I get my parents to buy me a fish tank,” Brady told Mouna. “I even know all about the water conditions they need to be happy living in an aquarium, like they are here.”

  “My twin sister, Avery, would love to have a chocolate chip sea star like Seymour so much,” said Mira. “I wish I could take him home for her!”

  “Would you like to touch one?” Mayor Mouna asked Mira. “All of our sea stars are super friendly.”

  “Yuck!” Mira jumped back from the pool and turned a little green. “I think Seymour is the cutest, but I’m not putting my hand in the water with a bunch of slimy creatures. My sister is the only Junior Marine Biologist in our family.”

  Tide Town was suddenly filled with a loud squawking noise, and it wasn’t coming from the speakers. Mayor Mouna’s face lit up.

  “Penguins ahoy!” she said, pointing to the Tide Town entrance.

  A whole bunch of real penguins were marching into Tide Town! With their black-and-white feathers, they looked almost like they were wearing tuxedos.

  “Cool!” Joe said, giving Frank a high five.

  “Say hi to the aquarium’s colony of African penguins.” Mayor Mouna waved to the funny-looking birds. They didn’t wave back, but the Bayport Aquarium employee wrangling them did. “Benjamin is leading our daily Penguin Parade. They’re on the way to their outdoor exhibit for feeding time.” She pointed to the other side of the large room, where there was an arched doorway with a hand-painted driftwood sign beside it reading MORE EXHIBITS THIS WAY.

  There was a buzzing by Frank’s left ear, and when he looked up, a big, fat bumblebee flew by. “Huh,” he said, watching the insect dip and dive through the air. “A bumblebee must have accidentally bumbled into the aquarium.”

  Frank wasn’t the only one who saw the bee. So did some of the penguins! A few stopped to follow it back and forth with their heads.

  “Penguins are incredibly playful, and they all have big personalities. Isn’t that right, Benjamin?” asked Mouna.

  “You said it, Mouna!” Benjamin turned back to the penguins. “Come on, girls and guys, let’s get a move on. A fresh-fish feeding frenzy awaits!”

  The bee buzzed away, and Benjamin continued marching, with most of the penguins following behind him. But one broke away from the parade to chase the bumblebee!

  “Come back here, Lee!” Benjamin yelled.

  Lee didn’t listen, and he wasn’t the only one. Some of the other penguins ran after him to join the pursuit. Suddenly there were penguins everywhere. It was a feathered free-for-all!

  PENGUIN PANDEMONIUM

  While Lee chased after the bee, some of the other penguins chased after Lee, and Benjamin chased after them all. Meanwhile, the rest of the penguins took off in five different directions, with Mayor Mouna racing after them. And it wasn’t just the penguins that were out of control. Kids started running everywhere. Some tried to help herd the penguins, while others wanted to avoid the chaos. While Mouna and Benjamin ran around wrangling birds, teachers and chaperones were tr
ying to wrangle the kids!

  “They’re headed our way!” Frank called out, pointing at the bee buzzing toward the touch pool, with Lee waddling after it in hot pursuit.

  “It’s coming to get me!” Brady shrieked, sprinting away from the touch pool and the runaway penguin.

  “Please stay together, kids!” Ms. Klinger shouted. Joe and Frank could barely hear her over all the laughter, screaming, and squawking.

  Now one of the birds was coming right at them! Joe and Frank leaped out of the way, just before Lee hopped up onto the edge of the touch pool and dove into the water with a splash.

  Frank pushed himself up onto his knees and cautiously peered over the rail into the pool. “I don’t think Lee cares that much about Tide Town’s rules.”

  The penguin seemed to have forgotten all about the bee and was swimming around in circles, chasing frightened rays. It must have looked like fun, because three more penguins hopped in to join him!

  It was a penguin pool party! None of the kids jumped into the water, but many of them were laughing and giggling and chasing birds around the exhibit. Mayor Mouna, Benjamin, Ms. Klinger, and the rest of the adults looked horrified by the Tide Town turmoil. All except one.

  Joe pointed at a man creeping through Tide Town with a sinister grin on his face. He was about six feet tall, with spiky hair and pointy eyebrows. He had on shorts, flip-flops, and a plain black T-shirt, so he didn’t look like one of the aquarium staff or one of the teachers.

  “I wonder what that guy’s so smirky about.”

  The guy gave one last smug look at the mayhem before disappearing.

  Frank shrugged. “I don’t know, but this is pretty funny.”

  It took another ten minutes for the adults to get the penguins back in line and to settle the kids down.

  “Sorry about that, folks.” Benjamin chuckled nervously and looked back at the penguins. “Why do you guys have to make me look bad?”

  Lee squawked something back at him, but it was in penguin.