29
The glass-bottom boat is the up there as one of the most nonsensical human inventions ever. Why would they make the underside of a boat out of glass! Yes, you can see deep into the crystal-clear waters, including a range of creatures that dart under with nary a care in the world. But therein lies the problem! I’d much prefer to pretend there’s nothing underneath.
I find myself holding my breath, my shoulders stiff while I tune out everything except my fear.
Our tour guide is exuberant as he regales the group with seafaring tales of the deep blue from his previous job as a fisherman around islands in the archipelago, but his words are drowned out by the sound of my blood rushing to my ears when I see a fin in the distance and the theme song to Jaws starts da… dun… da… dun… dunning in my mind.
I’m not sure whether to point out there’s an apex predator in our midst or keep it to myself as not to frighten the other guests on board. As long as the boat doesn’t capsize, we’ll be OK, right? What if there were a freak gust of wind and the boat blew over? Do they get tsunamis around here? Earthquakes? Why did I let Xavier talk me into this!
‘What did you say?’
‘Huh?’ I gaze blankly into the deep unfathomable depths of Xavier’s eyes. How did he get so close and why have I wrapped my arms around one of his, like he’s an actual life buoy? There’s no time to suffer a wave of embarrassment or to disentangle myself because I can’t see the fin any more. Where the hell did it go? The question is quickly answered when the creature floats beneath us and I let out a primal scream that’s so loud it scares even me. Not my best idea. Can sharks hear? Am I making it worse? All eyes land on me so I do the only sensible thing and bury my face into Xavier’s shoulder. ‘Tell them not to rock the boat!’
‘Harper, are you really that scared?’ Xavier tries to manoeuvre me, but I stick to him like glue. I’m quite happy not to see anything but the closeup of his shirt, and side note: wow, he smells good, typical romance hero scent, a mix of spicy, peppery and sweet. ‘You’re shaking so hard you’re vibrating.’ I’d really like to admonish him at this point but I’m too busy trying to pretend I’m on dry land and not anywhere near a shark. A real shark that has many, many razor-sharp teeth hidden in its head. Perhaps it’s best if I speak up because what if Xavier wants to make this sort of hell on earth a regular occurrence? Maybe he’s one of those men who’s going to go on about developing sea legs and how the salty air is good for me. No.
‘Who takes someone deathly afraid of sharks onto a glass-bottom boat?’
‘I can’t hear you when you’re muffling into my arm.’
I inhale a deep breath and scream, ‘WHO TAKES SOMEONE DEATHLY AFRAID OF SHARKS ONTO A GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT?’
I pull my head from his shoulder to find all eyes are narrowed and now pointed directly Xavier’s way.
‘You brought her to a shark breeding ground?’ one of the Lucys says. ‘And she’s deathly afraid of sharks?’ Makes sense the Lucys are on board with their strange compulsion to seek out sharks.
Xavier cups his face as if we’re all testing his patience. ‘Of course not. I thought she was afraid of boats.’
Lucy shakes her head. ‘Oh, well that’s OK then!’ Sarcasm leaks from every word.
Wait. Did Lucy just say… ‘This is a shark breeding ground? What the actual…’ Just then I see them, lots of them darting under the boat in a frenzy. ‘Why is the water so shallow?’
‘They’re black-tipped reef sharks. They can swim in very shallow pools of water. Sometimes they come in close to the coast too.’
New fear unlocked. Why the bloody hell is everyone so calm? There are SCORES of sharks swimming below us. There are now more sharks than people, and those sorts of ratios cannot be good.
‘I’d like to go home now. To North London.’ My teeth start chattering and if I didn’t know better, I’d say this feels a lot like shock.
Xavier surveys me, a sheen of real concern on his face. ‘You’re going to be fine. I’m sorry I didn’t realise you’re scared of sharks, but I assure you, nothing bad will happen.’
The tour guide gives me a gap-toothed smile. ‘No one has died on this tour while I’ve been captain, not yet.’ He gives me a solemn nod, like he’s just solved all my problems, but that’s just the thing – he hasn’t with his addition of the words ‘not yet’.
‘Yet? Yet! Meaning it’s what… just a matter of time?’ I shake my head. ‘The law of averages tells us that it’s a probability and what if that day is today?’
Xavier loops his arm over my shoulders, managing to ground me. ‘If by some very unlikely chance you went overboard, I’d rescue you.’
The three Lucys ooh and aww at his comment, but don’t they see – he got me into this mess, and what’s he going to do if a shark does take hold of me? Tell it nicely to please let me go?
‘Thanks,’ I say begrudgingly, distracted as he pulls me closer to him, and my turncoat mind does die a little bit at the thrill I get in the warmth of his embrace. It’s not quite thrilling enough to forget that my life hangs in the balance, but the guy gives good hugs. I wrap my arm under his jacket, because I have the best excuse – fear – and find it fits perfectly, like we’re the last two pieces of the puzzle.
The last two… Golly. I’m going to need a stiff drink and a long lie down. My brains have clearly left the boat.
* * *
When I get back to the staff area, I’m sure all the terror has prematurely aged me. The Zhous will be able to pinpoint just how stressed that shark boat ride from hell made me by the added wrinkles I’m no doubt sporting.
I get to my suite, and by the door is a gift box. What could it be this time? If it’s an inflatable shark, I’ll die. I open the box to find a bottle of perfume. Scrawled on the front in sharpie is:Shark repellent. I smile. It’s not, it’s a fancy bottle of French perfume that the gift shop sells, but I can’t help but laugh at the guy. There’s also a note that reads:
Spray liberally if I’m not there to protect you. Xavier.
