The Boating Accident

Royal Flush

"Check out that beauty," Justin whistled while holding on. "She's a real catch!"

"Don't you mean a ketch?" Carley corrected. "As in type of sailboat."

"That too."

If I'd been able to work a pencil at the moment, this is what I'd draw.

The elegant craft glided across the current, cutting a path through the muck of worker boats. Her shellacked wood frame was accessorized with every kind of fancy rigging money could buy, and the crew looked equally put together. A photographer on board steadied his professional lens on the race while a gray-haired guy—whose picture could qualify under the definition of Captain—stood at the helm. The vessel might have belonged to one of the mansion owners Luis and Hector had drooled over. Like the girls at school who could pull off sexy fashions without looking like dress-up time in Mom's closet, ego dripped from these sails.

I honed in on the name bolted to the side: Royal Flush. She sliced through yards of lashing waves like those "it" girls breaking hall chatter. "I bet whoever owns that's worth millions of dollars," Luis said to Hector.

"Meellions and meellions." Hector spoke as if in a trance.

Royal Flush didn't stick around to see our reaction. She slipped past the traffic now clogging the route. Flags snapped as hulls dipped precariously through the choppy waves. Everyone was headed in the same direction but somehow managing to keep enough distance between our rocking rides not to play bumper boats.

Riley was feeling well enough to stand again and we resumed our pole dance. The rhythm was easier to calculate now, and even when a large yacht cruised the perimeter we braced ourselves for the rolling wake that followed. The sun came out for a moment and the sea turned Brisk Blue again. The song playing on the radio by The Wanted was cheesy but fun and Riley and I sang along, "I'm glad you came!"

Justin joined in, "Turn the lights out now, Now I'll take you by the hand, Hand you another drink, Drink it if you can." An accordion buzzed along as Bambino trudged through the thickening crowd.

"I'm glad you came!" we all shouted together.

"What's the word on the race? Is it happening?" Dad asked as Luis maneuvered our wild ride through the crowd. Most of the circling sails had gone down in the warm-up lap.

"Might call it off, we'll see." Our captain sounded a little panicked as Bambino swayed back and forth. "I've seen worse storms." A sad expression crossed his profile when he turned to check the distance between us and a fishing boat.

"If they call it off it's okay, beers!" The Canadians shouted in deep voices.

"Okay, beers," Hector squeaked.

But something stranger than weather was moving in the water near the race sails. A serpent-like stream of glistening pulsed. Could it be a mirage? I wasn't delirious from scurvy, not yet. I blinked and it was gone.

"Did you see that?" I nudged Riley.

"What?"

"Surrounding the racers. A circle of light."

"You okay girl? I can barely even see the race. Binoculars would've been a good idea."

Hector shared his. "Here," he offered and I reached for the strap, then fumbled with the complicated lenses to focus on the crimson octopus sail. The sleek vessel still struggled but the water around it was dull gray like the rest of the ocean.

"Must have been the light playing tricks."

"Never underestimate the power of water," Dad said. It was the same thing he had told me when I was little and got sucked under the rip tide.

A/N: Check out the video by the Wanted on the chapter head. Tell me it doesn't make you want to dance on a boat! Please vote if you enjoyed this chapter. If that song is now stuck in your head, your welcome.

As for our crew, they had better hang on. Will Luis be able to manage the situation? And what exactly did Star see?