by Jonathan Friesen

“Snorkel with sharks!” my brother shouted. “Read this, Kelly. Sounds more fun than Grandma's house.”

Justin whacked me over the head with the pamphlet. It was the middle of summer as I walked my little brother home from vacation Bible school. I grabbed the brochure from Justin's hand and stared at the cover.

Welcome to San Pedro, Belize. Central America's Island Paradise! Beneath the words, palm trees swayed beside a deep blue ocean.

“It's pretty,” I said, “but Grandma isn't the reason I want to stay home. My three biggest swim meets are in the next two weeks. I can't believe Dad's making me go—“

Suddenly, my right shoulder tensed, and both arms jerked three times.

Please, Jesus, not now! I tried to stop the twitch, to stand still like my brother, but that only made it worse. My hand clawed his brochure.

“Hey, you're ruining it. Let go, Sis!”

I can't. Finally, my body calmed, and Justin snatched the crumpled paper. He flattened it over his thigh.

“Mom said I could show my friends where we're going for vacation if I was careful.” He stuck the picture of some badly creased palm trees in front of my eyes. “Does this look like careful?”

I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but if I opened my mouth angry words would fly out. Was it my fault I had Tourette Syndrome?

I shuffled toward home.

“Hey, Jerky Kelly!”

Beth Carlson. I hadn't seen her or Sharon biking on the other side of the street. But they'd seen me.

“Next time you twitch, you should sell tickets!”

Beth and her friend biked off, but their laughter lingered.

“Wait up, Kel!” Justin's footsteps pounded the sidewalk behind me, but I didn't stop.

“Don't listen to Beth.” Justin pressed the brochure against my ear. “Listen to the beautiful blue water of San Pedro.”

My brother lowered his voice as much as a third-grader can. “The water says, 'Come to me. Beth Carlson won't be here.' ”

Justin didn't understand. He didn't have a disorder that made him jerk and twitch—that made kids stop and stare and laugh. Dad didn't understand either. If he did, he wouldn't make me miss my swim meets—the only place I fit in.

Feeding Frenzy

“On your mark!” The starter's call silenced the bleachers full of spectators.

Standing on my block, I peeked at the other swimmers. I didn't recognize any of them except for Trish in lane 1. She held the fastest time of any 13-year-old in Chicago this summer.

My shoulders jumped.

A few more seconds and I'll be in the water and out of sight.

I bent over and grabbed my toes. The familiar scent of chlorine tickled my nose, and I flipped through my mental checklist. Spring off the block, reach for the water.

“You can do it, Kel!”

I smiled at my big-mouthed brother. Though I'd never tell him, hanging out with him was the only good thing about leaving for Belize in the morning.

The starter's gun sounded. I stretched for the water, and my body relaxed. Water washed away thoughts about the afternoon's unpleasant walk home. I reached the far side of the pool, flip-turned and surfaced for a quick breath.

I surged through the water without a splash; I'd never felt so strong. Fingertips touched the wall, I popped up my head and gulped air. I whipped off my goggles and squinted at the scoreboard. I'd beaten Trish. I'd beaten everybody!

“You did it, Kel. Great swim!” Dad bellowed. I climbed out of the pool and grabbed my towel. I shivered a happy shiver as I crowded into the jammed locker room.

“You're fast.” Trish walked up to me. “Did you see your time?”

“No. I was busy watching my crazy brother—”

My right shoulder jumped, and I blinked my eyes hard, over and over.

The girls formed a large circle around me and stared as if I were a zoo animal.

“Is that catchy?” Trish pressed her back against a locker.

“No, it's called Tourette. I'm fine, except I move like that sometimes.”

Someone giggled. So much for fitting in, I thought.Feels like I just swam with sharks.

I found Dad and looked into his smiling face. “Maybe a vacation isn't such a bad idea,” I said.

Smooth Waters

I held up the crinkled brochure to the sea. This was it. Swaying palm trees, deep blue water—beautiful. We'd spent the night in a thatched hut along a white sandy beach.

That morning Justin and I explored San Pedro's main street. Colorful scuba shops lined the dirt road, their fronts painted with pictures of the barrier reef.

We ducked into Mama Blue's, a tiny store filled with air tanks and snorkel fins. A woman smiled from behind the counter.

“Do people really swim with sharks?” Justin asked her.

Mama Blue pointed to a map on the wall behind her. “In the pettin' zoo, a shallow this side of the reef.”

Justin stared at a picture of a great white shark.

“Maybe you should go first, Kel, seeing as you're older.”

Later, Justin and I sat on the dock, staring at the thin white line of waves breaking over the distant coral reef. Three boats bobbed in the water, their red and white scuba flags stiff in the Caribbean breeze.

“When are you going, Kel?”

“I have to ask Dad. Maybe tomorrow?”

“I can't wait until tomorrow!” Justin kicked at the water, splashing us both.

“Knock it off—” My arms shook, and for a minute my whole body was out of control. One of my biggest attacks ever.

Justin leaned in. “Hey, Sis, tomorrow is fine.”

The dock creaked, and I whipped around. Three kids walked toward us. They'd seen.

I closed my eyes. God, is this why You wanted me on this trip? So more kids could laugh at me?

We stood as they joined us at the end of the dock. Nobody laughed.

“My name's Miguel.” The tallest boy smiled. His teeth shone white against golden skin. “This is Maria and Juan, my sister and brother.”

We stood and talked, except for Juan. He didn't say a word.

“Tomorrow, Kelly is going to swim with sharks,” Justin said. “It was my idea. I'll probably go the next day.”

“Our uncle Pedro owns a snorkel shop,” Maria said. “Come out with us.”

My shoulder jumped three times, and I felt my face twitch and contort.

There goes the invitation. No way they missed that one.

I turned around and stared at the sea. I couldn't watch them snicker, not after they'd been so kind.

“Kelly?” Maria put her hand on my back. “There's plenty of room.”

I turned. Maria wasn't giggling. None of them were.

“Love to!” I said. I looked at Juan, who wore the biggest smile. “Will you be there, too?”

Juan swallowed hard. “Yes, I'll c-c- I'll c-c-” He looked down.

I wanted to say something—the perfect thing. I wanted Juan to know that I didn't care how he spoke, but I couldn't think of the right words.

Maybe this is how people feel around me, I thought.

Miguel threw an arm over his brother's shoulder.

“He'll come.”

Beneath the Surface

We met our friends at the marina. While Dad spoke with Uncle Pedro, Justin and I explored the giant speedboat.

“Find a seat,” Dad said. We each plopped down on a cushion.

While we skipped over the waves, I squeezed into my fins and picked out a snorkel.

“It's not fair that I have to stay in the boat.” Justin kicked a life preserver.

“You will stay,” Dad said. “I promised your mother.”

“Hah!” Uncle Pedro called over the engine's roar. He made two sharp circles and the boat stopped. “There,” he whispered, pointing to a shadow beside the boat. “A shark. We're in the petting zoo.”

My heart raced. That was a real shark!

“No quick movements, and you'll be fine,” Miguel said, laughing. “Follow me.”

The three siblings sat on the edge of the boat and fell backward with a splash. I took a deep breath and dived. I blinked through my goggles. The underwater world was beautiful. I swam deeper and glanced toward the surface in time to see Dad enter the water and swim away. My stomach fluttered. I'm alone.

I looked toward the reef, shimmering in the clear water. My body relaxed at the sight. Textured coral and schools of rainbow-colored fish and—

A nurse shark brushed my stomach. I gasped, taking in a mouthful of water. The shark U-turned and swam back toward me, this time grazing my thigh.

No quick movements? I'm running out of air!

I glanced up at the boat, bobbing 10 feet above me and scissor-kicked upward. The shark was too quick. It sliced toward the surface and circled above my head, blocking my path.

I froze beneath its shadow.

Then another shadow appeared. It swam at the shark, reached out and grabbed its tail fin.

Juan!

The shark darted away. Juan pulled me upward. I broke the surface, hugged the boat's rail and whipped off my mask.

“Shark!” I coughed and sputtered.

Ocean Ally

Juan stayed at my side. “Are you alright Ke-Ke-”

“I'm OK. I needed a friend down there.” I stared at Juan. He rested his forehead against the boat. He was red- faced. He needed a friend, too.

God, is this why You wanted me here?

I put my hand on Juan's shoulder.

“Most ki-ki-ds poke fun when I talk,” he said. “When you first heard me, I thought you'd laugh.”

“I thought the same thing when you saw me on the dock.”

“Is it hard when they tease?” Juan asked.

I nodded. “But it just got easier.”

Suddenly the water around us foamed. Sharks. Everywhere. Swimming through my legs. Bumping my side.

Juan and I scrambled over the edge of the boat in time to see my little brother toss the last of his tuna sandwich into the water.

“How was it?” Justin asked innocently.

Juan laughed.

“Let's swim,” I said, “I can face the sharks when I'm with a friend.”

	Q: What do you get when an antelope and a caribou collide? A: A cantaloupe. Jacy and Joe C., 8 and 6, North Carolina Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe