to Marine World!” KK announced. The audience cheered and clapped as she hopped onto the fake rocks above the outdoor arena tank. “We’ve got a really special treat for you guys today. He’s one of my best friends and the newest addition to the team. He’s a little nervous, so everyone please give a warm welcome to Jasper!”
At his name, Jasper broke through the surface of the water. He jumped straight up, spinning midair as the audience cheered.
“This is Jasper’s debut performance, and he’s really excited to be here.”
Jasper chattered and began tail-walking backwards before backflipping and landing back in the water. His tail slapped the surface, sending a wave crashing over the side of the tank and onto the first two rows. The kids sitting there screamed in delight before devolving into peels of laughter.
Standing about ten feet away from her, Tim grabbed a fish and lobbed it into the air for Jasper to catch, before having them do a series of backflips.
KK cracked a smile. After everything that had happened, it seemed a miracle that they had gotten here. But here they were, and everything was going better than she could have imagined.
After the poacher had run away and KK and the others were certain the danger had passed, they called the police. They had come, and took her at least mildly seriously when she presented the bruises on her head and neck from her skirmish with the poacher, and when she pointed to the bullets that had settled at the bottom of the tank. But they hadn’t believed her when she had suggested that he might have some contacts or connections with Animal Control, telling her that she had probably been imagining it or that she was just being hysterical during a highly stressful situation. It had taken all of her willpower to keep her mouth shut when Officer Akamai had said that. But despite the dubiousness, Kremer had at least put out an APB now that KK was able to provide him with a good description.
Thankfully, after testing all the tanks, it seemed as though the poacher had only managed to pour bleach into one tank. They had drained it and scrubbed it clean with environmentally friendly cleaners. Now that the broken tank had finally been repaired, all their tanks were operational again, which was a massive relief.
Still, it was hard for KK not to worry about the poacher. She kept wondering if he would come back. She double and triple-checked all of the equipment, and had the locksmith come in to change all the locks, and had even switched out the wetsuits so he couldn’t hide in plain sight anymore. But she was still worried he would find ways to cause trouble.
She pushed those fears from her head. Now wasn’t the time to worry about it. This was Jasper’s debut show, and her parents and all of her friends were here to watch and cheer her on. Pamela was sitting near the back, licking the filling from one of Uncle Senior malasada’s off her fingers. Reese and Nikki were off to one side, cheering as Jasper did a series of swimming maneuvers below the surface of the water. Tony was near them, smiling up, but his eyes were fixed on KK, not the dolphin. Reese whispered something into Nikki’s ear. Nikki glanced over at Tony, then at KK, then whispered something back to Reese, and the two women started giggling, though their laughter was drowned out by the applause. She had no idea what that was about, but she ignored it. She had more important things to concentrate on at the moment.
Jasper went through a series of solo tricks, much to the audience’s delight. Jasper was loving it and hamming it up whenever possible.
“He’s a natural, but he’s still got a bit to learn,” KK mused. “Thankfully, our resident twins, Carey and Corey, are here to help.”
The other two dolphins swam in front of the tube, swimming for the surface and arcing through the water simultaneously to make their entrance. Jasper joined them, and the three of them bobbed up and down in unison, before doing alternating flips and backflips. It was remarkable how well the three of them worked together, especially considering how contentious the twins had been toward Jasper in the beginning. Out in the crowd, her parents were watching with undisguised amazement as she and Tim continued leading the dolphins through their moves. Her mother was beaming with pride, and her father was grinning, leaning forward in his seat, completely immersed in what was unfolding before him.
Off to one side, as she went through her monologue, KK’s eyes landed on two unpleasantly familiar people in Animal Control uniforms. Pete and Jenna were standing off to one side, watching intently. Pete was wearing sunglasses, but the scowl he was giving made it obvious what he was thinking. Jenna was more inscrutable. KK’s heart stuttered for the briefest moment as she regarded them. Then she forced herself to tear her gaze away from them. She couldn’t worry about them, not in the middle of the show, and not when she had no reason to fear them.
“All right, everyone,” KK continued. “Now who here isn’t afraid of getting a little wet?”
Most of the hands went into the air. KK scanned the crowd before pointing at a girl in a bathing suit who was waving her hand energetically back and forth, stretching her arm to the limit in desperation to be seen. KK pointed to her.
“How would you feel about going for a little ride?” KK asked. The girl squealed audibly over the applause of the crowd.
Deborah led the girl up to the rocky overhang. Carey was already waiting patiently by the side of the rocks. She whistled politely and clicked hello to the little girl, who giggled excitedly as she petted the dolphin. Deborah muttered into the girl’s ear a few instructions, then guided her onto the dolphin’s back. Carey remained where she was until Deborah had mounted Corey next to her, and the twins and their riders began swimming around the tank. The little girl laughed and screamed in delight as they glided through the water. KK smiled fondly, remembering her first time riding a dolphin when she wasn’t much younger than the girl.
Deborah and the girl dismounted, the girl a bit more clumsily, and the audience clapped as she teetered back to her seat.
It was time for the grand finale. KK’s heart thundered, but more with excitement than fear. She knew what was about to happen. She glanced over at Tim to confirm he was ready, and he nodded.
“We’re almost out of time but before we go, Tim over here has been working with Jasper on a special move,” KK announced. “He thinks Jasper is ready to show it off to all of you lovely people, so let’s see what they’ve been working on.”
She took a few steps back. Tim waved to everyone, giving his quintessential influencer smolder. Then, grinning like a maniac, he ran forward and jumped into the water. The lights in the tank flickered out leaving only an inky blackness of waves against the glass. The crowd gasped in unison.
Over in the corner, Pete and Jenna jerked slightly but stayed where they were. Peggi was in the front row of the audience, phone in front of her face, her eyes wide with anticipation. There was a long minute where nothing happened above the dark water. Even the dolphins were underwater. Then, Jasper and Tim rose out of the water and the audience lost their minds.
The inner tank pulsed to life, emitting dazzling beams of gold and silver light as they illuminated Tim, who was balancing on Jasper’s nose on one hand in a perfect one-handed handstand, legs high above his head. Not only that, Jasper was still swimming through the water while Tim stayed upside down. Tim waved to the audience with his free hand, many of whom whipped out their phones to record, while Peggi cheered louder than the rest of them, her face beaming with pride and affection even as she filmed.
It seemed impossible that this had been the same injured calf KK had met a handful of months ago. She doubted Jasper would do that trick for anyone but her or Tim, but seeing it vindicated everything she had done. Looking out in the crowd, her parents were slack-jawed. Pamela had stopped eating malasadas to gape in amazement. The Animal Control agents looked at one another, and then stalked away, leaving the arena.
Jasper and Tim did two laps around the tank, long enough for the audience to get their fill of photos and videos, while the twins followed behind them, jumping up in the air in tandem. Just as Tim’s arm was starting to shake, Jasper dipped below the water, allowing Tim to reposition himself so he was on Jasper’s back. Then Jasper led him to the edge of the rock overhang and Tim climbed off. He patted Jasper’s head, then tossed him a fish, before waving to the audience and giving an ostentatious bow.
“All right, everyone,” KK called over the roar of the crowd. “That’s all we’ve got time for. Thank you so much for coming, and please know that our knowledgeable staff will stay around for a bit longer to answer any questions you might have. We hope you had a great time and that you got to learn something new.”
The moment she stepped off the metal stairs, she was accosted by Reese, Pamela, Nikki, Tony, and her parents.
“That was amazing!” Nikki gushed, hugging her. “You didn’t tell me you guys had done that much work.”
“Told you Jasper would be a star,” her dad said, grinning proudly. “That was incredible, honey.”
“We’re so proud of you,” her mom beamed, her eyes shimmering with joy.
“Just don’t forget to make sure they get some rest tonight,” her father lectured. “And you should always mention the gift shop and individual dolphin rides at the end of the show. It’s the best way to upsell—”
“Dad,” KK moaned. “No business advice.”
“I wasn’t giving business advice,” her dad protested. He paused, then turned to Katerina. “Was I?”
“You were,” Katerina confirmed, smiling and giving Joseph a peck on the lips. “But that’s okay, we like you anyway.”
“That was incredible, KK,” Tony grinned. “Knew you could do it.” He nudged her in a way that was supposed to be playful but instead made her awkwardly stumble over her feet. “Great job,” He added, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
Dizzy with excitement, KK grinned. She glanced over at Jasper, who was swimming close to them, watching the exchange through the tank. He saw her looking and chattered affectionately, doing backflips in the water. She knew what he was saying.
We did it.