That night, Abby dreamed about being a dolphin. She swam around, breathed through a blowhole, and did jumps and leaps through the waves. It was fun!

Then Dolphin-Abby saw Bella snorkeling nearby. She waved a fin at her, but instead of waving back, Bella opened her mouth and let out a loud, terrified cry! Dolphin-Abby tried to tell her she just wanted to be friends, but Bella kept on squawking and squawking …

Abby suddenly woke up and sat up in bed. It had been a dream! But then the screech came again—from right outside her window!

She got up and looked outside. Dawn was just breaking over the eastern horizon, and all sorts of birds were chirping and singing. Then a couple of small birds suddenly darted past and dove into the bushes at the back of the cleared yard. Abby gasped as a larger bird flew up and let out another squawk.

“A parrot!” she whispered. The bird had a blue back, a yellow front, and a long tail. It let out one last loud cry and then flew off into the woods with the smaller birds diving after it.

Abby yanked on some clothes and rushed downstairs, hoping for another glimpse of the colorful bird. Was it the same one she’d spotted on the nature walk with Bella’s family? And why were the smaller birds chasing it?

She stopped on the porch, glancing around for movement. Instead of the bird, she saw Bella tiptoeing across the grass toward an untamed section of forest beyond the volleyball court. A second later, Bella disappeared into the thick underbrush.

Abby blinked, wondering if she was still dreaming. It was very early. Sofia hadn’t even started breakfast yet. Why was Bella wandering off into the woods all by herself?

Feeling curious, Abby kicked on a pair of Rachel’s sandals that were by the door. They were a little too big, but she hardly noticed. She couldn’t help thinking back on the times Bella had disappeared. First after breakfast yesterday, then again after dinner. Was she about to find out where Bella had gone—and why?

For a second, Abby felt guilty. She didn’t like the thought of spying on her new friend. But what if Bella was in trouble? There was no good reason for her to sneak away into the wild forest. At least not one that Abby could think of.

She hurried across the grass. It was easy to figure out which way Bella had gone—there were a couple of broken branches and footprints in the soft ground at the edge of the woods. Once she pushed through the first tangle of vines and brush, Abby found herself on a narrow but well-worn dirt trail.

Bella didn’t make this herself, she thought. It must be an animal trail. I wonder if there are Key deer here after all.

Abby kept an eye out for paw or hoof prints. But the sun wasn’t all the way up yet and the light was dim. She did spot a few more human footprints, though.

The trail wound around some big trees and a couple of rocky spots. Soon Abby lost track of which direction she was going. Luckily, there were no forks in the trail, so she knew it would be easy to find her way back.

Back from where? she wondered, once again feeling curious. Where is Bella going?

She got the answer to that question just a few minutes later. The trail suddenly ended in a large clearing—at the rocky shore of a cove Abby had never seen before!

“Whoa!” she exclaimed aloud, so surprised that she forgot to be quiet.

Bella stood at the edge of the water. She spun around at Abby’s voice.

“Hey,” Bella said. “What are you doing here?”

Abby stepped out of the shady forest into the clearing. “I was about to ask you that,” she said.

Bella scowled. “Did you follow me? That’s not very nice.”

“Sorry,” Abby said. “But what difference does it make? This place is cool!”

She looked around. How had she and her parents missed this cove? She guessed it opened into the sea on the far side of the island, opposite the beach and lagoon. They didn’t take the boats that way very often, since the water was a little rougher over there. But the cove itself was quiet and sheltered, with only a narrow channel leading out and lots of big rocks and trees protecting it from the wind and waves.

Bella took a step toward her, still looking unhappy. “You should go back,” she said.

“Why?” Abby blinked at her, a little annoyed by how secretive the other girl was acting. “Look, if you don’t want to be my friend, that’s fine. But this is my family’s island, and I can go anywhere I—”

She cut herself off with a gasp. Because several gray snouts had just poked up out of the water a few yards from shore.

“Whoa,” Abby exclaimed. “Dolphins!”