Junie B., First Grader_ Aloha-Ha-Ha! - Barbara Park [10]
Mother and Daddy smiled. Then Daddy said to please use my soft voice.
“Snorkeling is a quiet sport, Junie B.,” he said. “We don't want to bother the other snorkelers, okay? So the word of the day is quiet. Got it?”
“GOT IT!” I said. “THE WORD IS QUIET!”
After that, I put on a snorkel vest to help me float. And I held on to a kickboard. And I swam with Mother and Daddy to a special snorkel spot.
Frog feet help you swim speedy fast.
Even if you're swimming in a flatso parrot, you can still be speedy.
After we got there, I put my head in the water again. And my eyes popped out of my head!
The fish were beeeauuutiful, I tell you!
There were yellow ones! And blue ones! And orange ones! And silver ones! And black ones! And white ones! And spotted ones! And striped ones!
My heart pounded at the sight of them.
I raised my head and pulled out my snorkel snout.
“HEY! THIS IS JUST LIKE SWIMMING IN THE FISH TANK AT MY SCHOOL!” I said.
Daddy quick put his finger to his lips. And he pointed to the other snorkelers.
“Shh! The word of the day is quiet, remember?” he said.
I tried to calm my voice. Only it kept on staying loud.
“YEAH, ONLY I DIDN'T KNOW I WOULD BE THIS EXCITED!” I said. “IT'S HARD TO CONTROL MY THRILL!”
After that, I looked at the beautiful fishes some more.
I smiled and smiled inside my head.
It was just like being in a fish zoo!
Only just then, a little bit of trouble happened.
And it's called, I spotted a stick behind a rock.
And then GULP!
The stick started to move!
And GASP!
OH NO, OH NO!
THE STICK SWAM AWAY!
’Cause it wasn't even a STICK, that's why!
It was …
“AN EEL! AN EEL! I SPOTTED AN EEL!” I screamed. “911! 911!! EEL SPOTTING! EEL SPOTTING! HELP! HELP! HELP!”
Some of the other snorkelers popped up their heads.
Then Daddy popped up his head, too.
“Shh, Junie B.! Shh! There's nothing to worry about. I promise,” he said. “That eel is perfectly harmless.”
I quick ducked down again.
’Cause I had to keep track of the eel, of course!
Then WHOA! WAIT! HOLD THE PHONE!
Something even worse was floating my way!
And it's called …
“JELLYFISH! A JELLYFISH IS COMING!
AND THAT THING IS AS BIG AS A BARN, I TELL YOU!”
After that, I quick turned around!
And I kicked for the beach as hard as I could! And I didn't stop till I got there.
Then I ran out of the water.
And I tripped on my frog feet.
And I fell over in the sand.
I rested there to take a breather.
“Breathe,” I said to my poundy heart. “Breathe, breathe, breathe.”
Just then, I heard sloshing feet.
I opened one eye.
It was Daddy.
His face did not look pleasant.
I waved my fingers very nervous.
“Hello. How are you today?” I said. “I am fine. Only I turned out to be afraid of jellyfish, apparently. So I swam to the beach. And then I tripped on my frog feet. And now I am resting comfortably in the sand.”
I thought for a second.
“Also, I did not care for the eel.”
Just then, Mother came hurrying out of the water.
She looked as grouchy as Daddy.
I waved again.
“Good to see you both,” I said.
Daddy did a mad frown.
“This isn't a joking matter, young lady. You were supposed to stay with Mother and me,” he said. “Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again. Do you understand?”
All of a sudden, my eyes got tears in them.
“But … but I didn't even mean to pull a stunt, Daddy. I just got scared. And I started to kick. And I didn't even know I would do that.”
My nose started to sniffle very much.
“Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Mother. Sorry I got scared.”
Mother and Daddy looked at each other.
They didn't seem as mad anymore.
Mother sat down next to me.
“We're not mad at you for being scared, honey,” she said. “We're upset because you swam away from us. You should never, ever swim alone in the ocean.”
I sighed very glum.
“I turned out to be a chicken,” I said. “I am a chicken of the ocean.”
Mother smiled and ruffled my hair.
“I think you mean chicken of the sea,” she teased.
Then she and Daddy did a chuckle.
Only I