Chapter 1: The Cruise that Ruined My Life

“ARE WE THERE YET?” I called to the captain.

“No!” He called back.

I groaned and flopped down on the seat. I twiddled with my short hair. I mean really short hair. I had a boy cut, but my facial features were definitely a girl’s, so I was okay with it. My rich father was below deck. We were on a private cruise to sightsee all the majors of the sea. This is the last one I’m going to enjoy. After this, it’s “hello disappearance” for we are to visit the Bermuda Triangle and buh-bye calm seas; I thought to myself, sinking further into the bench.

“Jaxx!” My father called from below deck. “Can you help me with this?”

I got up from my uncomfy seat and stomped downstairs.

“There’s my baby girl!” My dad coddled, obviously trying to get me to do something. My dad hated me since I was born, but he never really showed it. He tried to keep a distance with me for my entire life. He hated that I wasn’t a boy, and so he ensured that I got a boy cut in the first place. I didn’t mind it. I hated him too. But if putting up with him meant I could see all this, I was okay.

“What?” I snapped.

“I need your help with this STUPID MACHINE!” He yelled at the computer.

I rolled my eyes, took off my jacket, revealing my black cut-sleeve shirt, and stalked over to him. I looked at the computer and fixed it.

“Thank you so much, darling,” my father said through gritted teeth, trying unsuccessfully to seem like he was actually grateful for my help.

I trudged away without an answer, grabbed my jacket and went to my bunk. I climbed onto the bed and took out a picture of my mother.

“I miss you, mom,” I whispered, kissing the picture. I tucked it back to its place on the nightstand. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I woke up, feeling a bit rested. The yacht hurled to a stop.

“MARIANA TRENCH! SIGHTSEEING ON DECK!” Screeched the PA.

I hopped off my bed and stumbled onto the deck. My father was already there, squinting into the ocean without his binoculars like the idiot he was.

“Jaxx, sweetie, would you pass me the binoculars, please?” He asked me with forced politeness.

I already helped you once, why should I do it again when you won’t even look at me? I thought, but I passed him the binoculars. I had made temporary peace with my father as we both watched dolphins leap out of the waves and dive back in.

My father was blonde, unlike me (I had black hair) and the only similarity between us was our piercing green eyes. After a few hours of peace and quiet and dolphins on the deck, the yacht lurched forward, and I almost jumped sixty meters. I ran toward the captain’s seat and found him as startled as I was.

“What the BARF was that?” I asked, coming up next to him. “I-I-I dunno…” he replied unhelpfully.

The captain checked the radar. There was something big. Really big. There was a giant green splotch that looked like a shark but way bigger. About 30–40 meters. I tapped the splotch. This wasn’t on the radar. Well, it was … but it was also out there. My heart sank.

“What’s happening?” My father came in, scowling.

I’d figured he’d accidentally dropped his binoculars in the ocean.

“Something’s out there—something big …” I said ominously.

My father’s eyes widened. The boat hurled forward again, and I let out a scream of pure terror. I ran outside and saw a gigantic shark fin reaching out of the water. It was so close I could’ve touched it, but I wasn’t in favor of getting eaten, thank you very much. My breathing went fast.

“Nobody move,” I told them.

Everybody was silent for a long time. But it was too late, the monster-shark had already smelled us. We were going to die.

I spotted land but I didn’t think we were going to make it. My father was suddenly right beside me. He must have seen the island too because his eyes went wide. He was going to swim for it.

“You’re CRAZY! We’ll never get there in time! The shark would kill us if we tried,” I warned him.

“Who said anything about ‘we’?” He said softly. He plunged over the boat and made a swim for the island, shouting, “SEE YA! HAVE FUN DYYYYING!”

He was at least a million meters away from the island before the shark ate him whole. Yikes, I thought. The shark circled the boat. Megalodon, my mind whispered. A living fossil. How was this possible? Well, whatever, I could solve that out later. First things first: SURVIVE!

The yacht groaned heavily. I guessed the captain was too terrified to move. But so was I. I wanted to get there, hide there, wait for my death there. I wanted to help the captain. But I was momentarily paralyzed with fear. I finally got up my nerve to move. I couldn’t help the captain; he was too far from where the boat angle had dragged me over to. But I could save myself. I could survive. I got down into my bunk and hid. The bunks were the most fortified part of the yacht. They were designed to take 100 meters below water pressure. I heard a sickeningly loud crrrrunch. I sat in silence.

Tug-tug-tug…CRACK. A tiny hole appeared right next to my bed and started sprouting water. I plugged it with a piece of paper which immediately wrinkled and gave way to the ocean. I didn’t know what to do. I grabbed the closest thing next to me which happened to be a piece of candle wax and plugged the hole with that. That would buy me some time.

The boat lurched forward, and I fell. A skull-splitting pain overwhelmed me, starting from my head. Everything slipped into darkness.