didn’t.”
“Did you try to call her?” Dink asked.
“Yup, but it goes right to voice mail,”he said. “I tried calling her parents, but no one answers.”
“You said they keep the girls hidden until the parade,” Ruth Rose said. “So that’s probably where she is.”
“I’ll bet Ruth Rose is right,” Dink said. He wanted to make Holden feel better. “Maybe they took the girls’ cell phones away.”
Holden took a deep breath, then let it out. “Yeah,” he said, staring at the sea lions. “Maybe you’re right.”
A teacher led her class past the three kids and Holden. “I heard that a fifth grader fell into the shark tank and got eaten!” one of the boys said to a friend. “Isn’t that cool?”
“Are there sharks out there?” Josh asked, gazing toward the ocean.
“Sure, they come to try to catch the sea lions,” Holden said. “But those kids are talking about the sharks in the aquarium.”
“Did they really eat a fifth grader?” Dink asked.
Holden laughed. “Nope,” he said. “The sharks are fed every day, so they’re not hungry.”
Holden leaned past Dink and pointed toward a glass and stone building next to Pier 39. “Want to go in?” he asked.
“How much does it cost?” Dink asked.
“Don’t worry, your dad bought city passes for you kids,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “Museums and the aquarium are free with these passes. You can also use them on buses and the cable cars.”
The kids followed Holden through the crowd. Holden showed the passes at the turnstile, and they walked inside. The first thing they saw was an escalator that carried passengers past glass tunnels filled with ocean water.
“Oh my gosh!” Josh cried. “Look!” Swimming in a water tunnel, only a fewfeet from their faces, was a huge shark. Then they saw other sharks, manta rays, and a bunch of other fish.
“I hope that glass is thick!” Dink said.
The kids and Holden rode the escalator until the end. Then they did it again.
“Those sharks look hungry,” Josh said. “Don’t they eat the other fish?”
“The staff feeds them a lot,” Holden said. “If their tummies are full, the sharks won’t go after anything else.”
“Speaking of full tummies,” Josh said, rubbing his, “I saw a snack bar over there.”
“You’re hungry?” Holden asked.
“Josh is always hungry,” Ruth Rose said.
“Josh, don’t forget we’re meeting my dad for dinner later,” Dink said.
“I’m a growing boy,” Josh said.
Holden took the kids to the snackbar, and they chose a long table. In the center of the table were napkins, salt and pepper shakers, and fat bottles of ketchup and mustard.
A man wearing a T-shirt and jeans sat at the far end of the table. He was hunched over a laptop. A silvery cell phone lay next to the laptop.
Dink smiled. He pulled a small notebook and pen from his pocket. He wanted to be a writer someday, and had gotten in the habit of writing down stuff he saw.
Dink thought this man looked interesting. His head was shaved, leaving only a light fuzz of hair. His face and arms were deeply tanned. On the back of each hand was a tattoo of an
M
. The man stopped typing and cut a slice from an apple with a sharp fisherman’s knife.
“Come on,” Holden said. “Let’s get Josh some food.”
“I’ll stay here,” Dink said. “I’m not really hungry.”
The others left, and Dink started scribbling a description of the man working at his laptop.
The man’s cell phone buzzed and he picked it up. “Yo,” he said into the phone.
Dink kept writing. The man looked at Dink, then turned away and lowered his voice. Dink heard him say something about a boat or goat or float. Then he said, “The second tire works.” Dink wrote that down, too.
Dink snuck a peek at the laptop. He saw a picture on the screen. It was a simple drawing, like a kid would make. The drawing showed a wagon with four wheels.
The man looked at Dink again, then hit a button on the laptop
“Did you try to call her?” Dink asked.
“Yup, but it goes right to voice mail,”he said. “I tried calling her parents, but no one answers.”
“You said they keep the girls hidden until the parade,” Ruth Rose said. “So that’s probably where she is.”
“I’ll bet Ruth Rose is right,” Dink said. He wanted to make Holden feel better. “Maybe they took the girls’ cell phones away.”
Holden took a deep breath, then let it out. “Yeah,” he said, staring at the sea lions. “Maybe you’re right.”
A teacher led her class past the three kids and Holden. “I heard that a fifth grader fell into the shark tank and got eaten!” one of the boys said to a friend. “Isn’t that cool?”
“Are there sharks out there?” Josh asked, gazing toward the ocean.
“Sure, they come to try to catch the sea lions,” Holden said. “But those kids are talking about the sharks in the aquarium.”
“Did they really eat a fifth grader?” Dink asked.
Holden laughed. “Nope,” he said. “The sharks are fed every day, so they’re not hungry.”
Holden leaned past Dink and pointed toward a glass and stone building next to Pier 39. “Want to go in?” he asked.
“How much does it cost?” Dink asked.
“Don’t worry, your dad bought city passes for you kids,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “Museums and the aquarium are free with these passes. You can also use them on buses and the cable cars.”
The kids followed Holden through the crowd. Holden showed the passes at the turnstile, and they walked inside. The first thing they saw was an escalator that carried passengers past glass tunnels filled with ocean water.
“Oh my gosh!” Josh cried. “Look!” Swimming in a water tunnel, only a fewfeet from their faces, was a huge shark. Then they saw other sharks, manta rays, and a bunch of other fish.
“I hope that glass is thick!” Dink said.
The kids and Holden rode the escalator until the end. Then they did it again.
“Those sharks look hungry,” Josh said. “Don’t they eat the other fish?”
“The staff feeds them a lot,” Holden said. “If their tummies are full, the sharks won’t go after anything else.”
“Speaking of full tummies,” Josh said, rubbing his, “I saw a snack bar over there.”
“You’re hungry?” Holden asked.
“Josh is always hungry,” Ruth Rose said.
“Josh, don’t forget we’re meeting my dad for dinner later,” Dink said.
“I’m a growing boy,” Josh said.
Holden took the kids to the snackbar, and they chose a long table. In the center of the table were napkins, salt and pepper shakers, and fat bottles of ketchup and mustard.
A man wearing a T-shirt and jeans sat at the far end of the table. He was hunched over a laptop. A silvery cell phone lay next to the laptop.
Dink smiled. He pulled a small notebook and pen from his pocket. He wanted to be a writer someday, and had gotten in the habit of writing down stuff he saw.
Dink thought this man looked interesting. His head was shaved, leaving only a light fuzz of hair. His face and arms were deeply tanned. On the back of each hand was a tattoo of an
M
. The man stopped typing and cut a slice from an apple with a sharp fisherman’s knife.
“Come on,” Holden said. “Let’s get Josh some food.”
“I’ll stay here,” Dink said. “I’m not really hungry.”
The others left, and Dink started scribbling a description of the man working at his laptop.
The man’s cell phone buzzed and he picked it up. “Yo,” he said into the phone.
Dink kept writing. The man looked at Dink, then turned away and lowered his voice. Dink heard him say something about a boat or goat or float. Then he said, “The second tire works.” Dink wrote that down, too.
Dink snuck a peek at the laptop. He saw a picture on the screen. It was a simple drawing, like a kid would make. The drawing showed a wagon with four wheels.
The man looked at Dink again, then hit a button on the laptop
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