Sunday, July 3

LOCATION: Still Williamsburg, Virginia*
(*I had to borrow my journal again because so much happened today! Mikey G. agreed to stand outside my room while I wrote, so here it goes…)

An hour and a half later (after hiding my journal again), Mikey G. escorted Perfect Storm, Jilly, and me to Hurricane Harbor for the full VIP Chillax experience! We had our own cabana to retreat to between rides, and it was equipped with lounge chairs, a tub full of soft drinks, and a FREE souvenir table that had towels, water bottles, sunglasses, and sunblock with HURRICANE HARBOR stamped on them. Alec, our Hawaiian shirt–wearing guide, said we could also order food to the cabana so that we didn’t have to wait in line with all the park guests!

“So you’re saying if I wanted to order a double cheeseburger with chili cheese fries at ten AM, I could?” Heath asked. He was wearing a tank top and a pair of board shorts covered in variously colored skulls. “Because I’m starved.”

“Mate, can we save the stomach-churning eats for after we go on the Drop and Roll?” Kyle asked. “I do not want you throwing up on me on the one-hundred-and-eighty-foot slide.”

Zander took a seat on a lounge chair underneath a fake palm tree. Even though our cabana was private, it hadn’t stopped girls who’d heard Perfect Storm was coming from crowding around outside and straining to get a picture. Zander took off his sunglasses, removed his shirt (to giant screams), and laid down. “Tell me how the ride is. I don’t want to get my hair wet.”

Heath groaned. “Dude, your hair is not going to turn orange again.”

Zander opened one blue eye and looked at Heath. “It might. My hair is just back to its natural brown after all that processing. Simone, my hair reconstructionist, says I have to be careful it doesn’t get brittle. No chlorine.”

“What the heck is a hair reconstructionist?” Heath said. “Dude, your hair is fine.” He rummaged through the souvenirs and threw Zander a green swim cap that said HH. “Put this on.”

Zander stared at it curiously. We all started throwing out encouragement so he’d put it on. The cap was so tight it almost pulled his eyes into his forehead. He stood up and puffed out his chest. “How does it look?”

“Brill, mate,” Kyle said, and winked at me, which made my fingers tingle. If he was winking, then he wasn’t mad about the latest Bad Kitty vlog. Or he hadn’t seen it yet. “Only you could pull that look off.” Kyle had on a rash guard like Heath’s except his was bright yellow (and his swim trunks had surfboards on them).

“They said you guys have your pick of rides,” Mikey G. told us. “They’ll clear them out so you can avoid the lines whenever you say the word.” He was munching on one of those WHEY OUT! bars again.

“Dude, what is that nasty smell?” Zander asked.

Mikey G. stopped chewing. “My WHEY OUT! bars. You should know. You sent them to me.”

Zander made a face. “They smell awful. I would never send you those things.”

“Really?” Mikey G. looked like he was thinking this through. “But the card was signed ‘Your favorite people.’ A big box of them was delivered to the front desk.”

“Speaking of big, the Kahuna slide is massive, and I’m dying to get on it.” Heath rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Or maybe we can try the Toilet Bowl.”

“The toilet bowl?” Jilly and I repeated.

“The ride that spins you around, then drops you into another tube like a giant toilet bowl,” said Heath.

“Gross!” Jilly wrapped her new Hurricane Harbor beach towel around her waist. “What else can we go on? How about the wave pool?”

“Wave pool!” I chimed in. Anything but a ride Heath had dubbed “the toilet bowl.” I started jumping up and down and waving my hands like I was trying to get Krissy’s attention in tutoring. Kyle mimicked me.

“Okay, let’s hit the wave pool,” Heath said, and the rest of us cheered.

“Let me call over and have it cleared,” said Alec, pulling out his walkie-talkie.

“We don’t need a pool cleared,” Kyle said, and the guys looked at him. “People paid to come here. We can’t put them out. Mikey G. can keep things under control.”

Zander looked a tad disappointed. “I don’t want anyone to see my swim cap.”

“We’ll send extra security just in case you need it,” Alec told us.

Kyle was right. Mikey G. and some Hurricane Harbor lifeguards were a perfect barrier between the guys and any overly excited fans asking to share a tube with them in the wave pool. Once the alarm sounded, people started to scream in excitement and swim off anyway. Within seconds, giant waves began coming out of the tiki huts at the far end of the pool. The waves lifted you up, then dropped you down again, going from really big to really small every few seconds. Heath and Jilly swam all the way out to the huts to fight the biggest waves. Zander was hesitant at first, but he wound up swimming over to some fans who told him they loved his swim cap, and Kyle and I hung out in the section where we could stand when a wave didn’t crash over our heads.

“So this is”—Kyle’s head was swallowed up by a wave—“cool, huh?”

“Yes! I’m just happy we don’t have to see”—I went under myself—“Lightning,” I said when I came up for air.

Kyle’s smile clouded over. “Now that the pranks have started, I think things are going to get worse instead of better. I’m just glad you”—my head went underwater again and I missed half of Kyle’s sentence—“back.”

Back? Back what? Had Kyle’s back? I didn’t feel like I did lately. Kyle was looking at me like I was supposed to say something, which made me start to panic. Did he say “chillax,” which sounds like “back”? I opened my mouth wide and shouted, “THIS IS—” And a giant wave took me out. I swallowed half the pool, choking on the chlorine as I went under. I felt Kyle reach out to grab me. He helped me to the shallow end, where I continued to hack up pool water.

“Are you okay?” Kyle patted me on the back like I was choking. How embarrassing! In the distance, I heard a whistle. Little did I know it was Mikey G. with a warning.

“Aww, did the baby swallow too much pool water?”

I wiped water from my eyes and saw Lola Cummings, who was wearing a black bikini that looked like it belonged on the cover of a magazine. I was in a blue-and-white-striped swim tee that said LOVE in the same color pink as my swim bottoms.

“Mackenzie, didn’t your mom ever get you swim lessons?” Lola asked. “Maybe you should go back to the hotel so she can take you shopping for pool floaties.” The bestie and babysitter giggled behind her.

Kyle helped me up. “Were you looking for someone, Lola?” He was trying to sound polite, but I could hear the edge to his voice. It made me giddy to think he didn’t like Big Bird, either.

“You guys, of course,” Lola said brightly. “We haven’t hung out in for-EVER.”

She touched Kyle’s arm, and I prayed for a rogue wave to knock her down.

“That’s why I flew in for tomorrow night’s show,” Lola continued. “I miss you guys! I checked into the same hotel and ran into Briggsy in the lobby…”

Why did Lola get to call Briggs Briggsy? He hated when I called him that.

“He gave us passes for the water park to meet up with you guys.” She held out her cell phone, which was in one of those waterproof cases. “Selfie!” Lola grabbed one of her and an annoyed-looking Kyle before I could stop her.

I heard the alarm go off again, and the waves died down. People started to make their way out of the pool, including Zander and a bunch of female fans.

“Where to next?” he said as girls snapped pictures. If anyone could pull off that ridiculous swim cap, it was Zander. “Oh, hey, Lola. What are you doing here?”

Lola blinked rapidly. “Don’t I get a hug?” She pouted.

Zander motioned to himself. “I’m kind of all wet,” he said as girls all around him started begging for hugs, too.

Heath and Jilly came running out of the water. Jilly scowled when she saw our archenemy. Well, my archenemy, but as one of my best friends, she took the role on herself, too. “I heard Hurricane Harbor has something called Shark Bait,” Heath said. “Want to go?”

“That attraction has limited tickets, but guess what? I already put all your names down for the eleven AM spots because I knew you’d want to do it,” Lola said, then looked at me and Jilly. “Even yours.”

“Sweet!” said Heath.

She held her arms open for a hug, and Heath blew past her.

Shark Bait. I didn’t like the sound of a ride that had the word “shark” in the title.

“What is Shark Bait, anyway?” I heard Bridget ask Lola in between pops of gum. “Do we have partners? I call Zander.”

Lola stopped short. “Hello? If we have partners, I get Zander.” Bridget frowned. “And Shark Bait isn’t a ride. It’s their new shark tank experience. We get to swim with sharks! Is that AH-MAZING or what?”

“Swim with sharks?” I repeated meekly.

“Small ones,” Kyle assured me. “They couldn’t eat you.” He grinned. “Well, unless you looked like a super-tasty snack.”

Kyle was kidding. Right? RIGHT?

“Awesomesauce!” Heath said, stopping for a second to sign an autograph on a girl’s beach towel before Mikey G. waved her away. She ran off screaming happily.

My ears had a whooshing sound in them, and I was suddenly very cold. The Sharkinator Returns flashed in my head. I could have sworn there was a scene in a water park. Wasn’t there? When sharks got loose and flooded a lazy river and ate people? “Sharks eat people!” I shouted as they kept walking.

“Please,” Lola snorted. “Don’t be such a baby, Mackenzie.”

“Why would we want to swim with sharks when we already have one here?” Jilly asked.

“Hang back if you want. I’m sure the guys won’t notice.” Lola slid her giant sunglasses off her face and onto her head.

“I’m not sure the guys would miss you, either, Lola,” Jilly said, pointing to the boys, who were racing in front of us. Lola’s eyebrows furrowed. “I think we’ve spoken to you more than they have.”

Lola looked at Bridget and began to stutter. “I… well…” She growled. “Sometimes I can’t stand them!” she yelled, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “I mean, I can’t stand you two,” she snapped. “If you’re scared, you can go sit on a lounge chair and write about your fears in your little journal.” Bridget’s gum popped in agreement.

Jilly’s head whipped around. “What did you just say?”

I was so mad, I spoke over Jilly. I tried to think like Mac Attack. “I’m not scared. I’m going because the guys actually want me there.” I pushed ahead of her to walk with Kyle. Being Kyle’s partner was the whole reason I had wanted to go to Hurricane Harbor. I couldn’t let him down.

Lola was laughing like a hyena as she ran ahead of me and hooked arms with Zander. When would that boy learn? “There it is! Shark Bait!”

I saw the great white shark hanging as a sign in front of a tiki hut and stopped. SHARK BAIT was written on the shark in what looked like—GULP—blood.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kyle asked as my right eye began to twitch.

“Fine. Not getting eaten,” I mumbled as I took the steps to the attraction two at a time, walking through the hut and toward a pool that had a half-sunk pirate ship in it. I stared at the coral on the sandy bottom and saw things moving. BIG things moving. I jumped backward, banging into a guy in a wet suit. “Sorry.” Wait. I recognized that cranky look.

“What are you doing here?” Jeremy zipped up his wet suit. “This session is booked.”

“Hey, Jeremy!” Lola cooed, her arm firmly linked with Zander’s. “Isn’t this great? I registered Heath, Kyle, Zander, and their little friends to do Shark Bait, too.”

“You said this was our thing.” Jeremy eyed Heath, who gave him the stink eye back. “Why would you invite these guys? You said they’ve been ignoring you.”

“Jeremy!” Lola laughed, hanging on Zander, who was trying to pull away. “What are you talking about? Let’s put all that bad blood aside and have fun today. Besides, Hurricane Harbor wants to take promotional photos of both your bands for their website.”

How did Lola know that? Was she a publicist now, too?

Jeremy growled. “I don’t trust them. This morning they hid alarm clocks all over my hotel room that went off every five minutes from four AM to six.”

Heath stifled a laugh. “I have no idea how that happened.” He grimaced. “Or how someone poured mac and cheese powder into our orange juice containers on the bus.”

“Beats having room service send up caramel-covered ONIONS,” Jeremy said.

“Or someone replacing all the gummy bears in the greenroom with sugar-free ones.” Zander blushed. “They make you… Well, let’s just say I cleared out a room.”

Jeremy grinned. “Works every time. It also makes you ripe for retaliation. There is no way I’m getting in a shark tank with you guys. One of you will try to get me eaten.”

“See?” I panicked to Jilly. “Even small sharks do eat people!”

“It’s up to you, Jer,” Lola said, “but I’m going with Zander. The Hurricane Harbor photographer is already waiting in the water to take our picture, but if you don’t need the social media love, stay on dry land.”

I couldn’t believe it when Jeremy listened to her. He mumbled something I couldn’t hear, grabbed a snorkel mask and fins, then waited at the pool steps.

No one else backed down, either. Jilly ignored my shark warnings and started looking through wet suits for one that fit. The park employees helped the guys get ready. One of the workers approached me, but I waved him off. “What if we’re the first people to try this tank?” I asked Jilly. “If they haven’t figured out the sharks’ feeding schedule yet, they might get hungry and take a nibble of my big toe.”

Jilly held up her footwear. “You’re wearing flippers.”

“Sharks can eat through shoes!” I reminded her. “In The Sharkinator Returns, one shark ate a whole gas pump! Then he blew up, but still.”

Kyle walked over to us. “Do you need help finding a wet suit? I can’t believe you’re going. Way to fight the fear, Mac.”

Kyle was smiling at me in a way that made my heartbeat slow down. I focused on Kyle’s gleaming teeth and saw a picture of the two of us walking along the Champs-Élysées in Paris talking about the day everything changed between us. “I knew you were the girl for me when I saw you jump in the shark tank that day in Virginia,” Kyle would say. “It made me realize how brave you were.” Then I’d say, “I channeled my comic book alter ego Mac Attack and knew a little leopard shark wasn’t going to keep me from swimming with you.” Then Kyle would take my hand and say—

“Do you need flippers?” Kyle waved a pair of smelly black ones in my face.

“Oh!” I held my nose. “Maybe I should try them on over there on that bench.”

I could hear the Shark Bait guy explaining the rules to everyone already in their wet suits. I was the only one not wearing one yet. Something about swimming slowly across, no horseplay, how the water was a cool sixty-eight degrees. Why wasn’t he talking about shark safety?

“You’re not going, either?” Cody walked over. He looked sweaty and nervous, and it made me wonder if he had shark fears, too.

“I’m undecided,” I said warily, as I didn’t want Heath to see me talking to him.

Cody sat down next to me. He didn’t even have a bathing suit on. “They’ve got an octopus in the tank. I’m allergic to calamari, so I didn’t think it was a good idea if I swam with anything else with tentacles.”

Why didn’t I try an excuse like that? I’m allergic to sharks. That would solve all my saltwater-based dilemmas. I had to remember this conversation.

I became momentarily distracted when I saw Jeremy walk over to Lola and Zander. “I want to go with Lola,” he said.

“I’m going with Za—” Lola started to say at the same time Zander said: “She’s all yours. No offense, Lola. I’d rather head out with an instructor.”

“But, but…” Lola looked after him mournfully.

“Told you so,” Jeremy smirked. Lola hit him in the arm of his wet suit.

Did Jeremy have a thing for Lola? I almost felt sorry for the boy if he did.

“Heath and Jilly are teamed up, so that leaves me and Mac,” Kyle said as he turned to me, eyeing Cody again. “What do you think? Will you be okay out there? I really don’t want to make you wait here alone.”

Kyle meant he didn’t want me saying anything that could compromise Perfect Storm. Well, he didn’t have to worry. My fear of sharks had rendered me speechless. “I… I…” I started shaking my head vehemently. Cody was looking at me now, too. “I’m… not… sure…”

“I’ll go with you, Kyle,” Bridget said. In their matching wet suits and flippers, they looked like a couple from a comic book. Bridget had Princess Leia braids high on her head that only made her look more sci-fi. I was not happy. I tried to shoot her a few lasers with my eyes, which were the only part of my body still working.

“Well, if Mac’s not going…,” he started to say, but I could tell he was disappointed. So was I. What if Bridget was the one who wound up walking along the Champs-Élysées with Kyle instead of me and it all came down to this moment? My heart was revving when I saw Heath and Jilly slide into the pool. Zander was next, then Lola and Jeremy. I heard Lola give a scream when she hit the water.

“Sorry,” I managed to blurt out. I was sorry. For so many things, I wanted to add.

“Me too,” Kyle said with a shrug, and then he walked into the shark-infested waters without me.