Swimming With Sharks

“Rooowan, Can I borrow your iPad?” Ailyn asked.

“No,” Rowan replied, not even looking up from the book she was reading. “What’s wrong with your iPad?”

“I forgot to charge it.”

“So plug it in.”

“If you don’t let me borrow it, I won’t give you this letter.”

“What letter?”

“This letter from the University of Queensland.”

Rowan jumped up and tried to grab the letter. Ailyn laughed as she sprinted away, leading her sister on a mad chase around the house. Rowan finally cornered her and ripped the letter out of her hand. She looked at the slightly crumpled envelope, her hands shaking. Rowan took a deep breath and opened it. As she unfolded the letter, she braced herself for the worst-case scenario.

“Mom!” She shrieked. “Mom. I got in. I’m going to the Centre of Marine Sciences at the University of Queensland!”

“That’s wonderful!” Her mom said. Rowan didn’t notice the slightly sad look she had at the thought of her daughter going to college half a world away.

The time passed faster than it seemed possible as there was so much to prepare for before leaving for college. The next thing Rowan knew, it was graduation day. She only had a few short weeks left to spend with her friends. Her mom and Ailyn flew to Brisbane with her. They spent several days touring the city and other nearby attractions. Then she had to get registered for her classes. Rowan felt sad and a little apprehensive when her family left, but she was elated to begin this chapter of her life.

Her roommate had moved in while she was dropping her mom and sister at the airport. She had a mischievous look about her that Rowan liked.

“Hi, I’m Maudie. I guess we’ll be living together.”

“Hi, I’m Rowan.”

“Oh. You’re from America?”

“Yes.”

“Ripper! What are you here to study?”

“Marine Biology. Sharks in particular.”

“Ah. Well, you have fun with that. I’m not too keen on sharks myself, except for megalodons. But this is a great location for it. I’m going for ancient history but, I’ve got a thing for dinosaurs. I have a feeling we’re going to be good cobbers.”

Rowan made a mental note to get the slang down, although she was pretty sure she understood what her new friend meant. They didn’t have many classes together, but they made up for it in adventures around Brisbane and the surrounding area, including going to the beach and building a replica, on a much smaller scale, of the pyramids in Egypt.

She was so excited she was bouncing in the van. Rowan would be checking off one of the items on her bucket list. She was going scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef with some friends from her marine biology classes. She could barely contain herself on the boat. Finally, it was time to dive. She double-checked her mask and tank to confirm that she would be safe. She had a waterproof camera at the ready. It was her turn! Rowan sat on the boat’s edge and pushed off backward to be enveloped by the deep blue waters.

Bubbles ran around her body as she swam further down towards the coral bed. The colors were out of this world. The reef was awash in oranges and pinks and yellows. There were bright flashes of Blue Tangs and Clown Fish. The blue Parrot Fish looked like someone had poured yellow paint over them and the black-spotted yellow Butterfly Fish looked like sunshine. There was even a pretty half pink half yellow fish she had never seen before.

One of her friends tapped her on the shoulder then pointed down. She would have dropped her camera if it wasn’t attached to her. There was a shiver of yellow-brown nurse sharks swimming below them. As much as she dreamed of swimming with nurse sharks, she didn’t think she would see any on this trip. They tended to hang out on sand flats during the day, only coming out to forage on the coral reefs at night. Something must have disturbed them. She swam a little closer to them. Her breath caught as the nurse sharks swam around her, not seeming to care that she was there. One of them was nearly ten feet long! Rowan wanted to hug one but refrained, knowing that would be wrong, but she did reach out to run her hand gently down its side like one would pet a cat or dog.

Rowan could barely sleep that night, still wound up from the trip. She sent tons of pictures home with a long email detailing everything she had seen. She couldn’t stop talking about her experience. Maudie was an excellent friend and let her chatter on for hours.

A few months later, her friend, Jason, came to her. His father had arranged a shark dive, and they had room for one more. Rowan screamed and hugged him. Days later, she was on another boat throwing chum in the water to attract the sharks. Soon the waters were churning as the majestic fish began feasting. When it was her turn, she took a deep breath and climbed into the steel cage. It sank into the ocean. There were three Great Whites. It was both terrifying and exhilarating as the enormous sharks slammed into the metal basket. They were more than twice the size of the nurse sharks.

The pictures she took from the cage were terrific. She was going to have to put together a book of her adventures in Australia. One thing for sure, Rowan was never going to forget her college years.