Tarah wrinkled her nose. “Get outta here! You so weird to know something like that, girl. ”

“They talk about it at school assemblies,” Darcy explained.

“Like we listen during those boring assemblies about stuff that happened a hundred years ago,” Tarah said.

“Bluford went into space in the 1980’s,” Darcy added.

“That’s why no one likes you, girl,” Tarah said. “You know too much. ”

“Maybe when we get to that tidal pool we ought to feed her to the sharks,” Cooper said, laughing loudly.

“There are no sharks in tidal pools,” Darcy said. “The water is very shallow. I mean, picture a shark in a wading pool, right?”

“Man, this girl is making me crazy,” Cooper told Tarah. “Let’s lose her. We could say it was an accident. ”

“You should be glad to learn something,” Darcy retorted. “Do you want to be ignorant all your life?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cooper shot back angrily. “Just ’cause I been left back in school you think I’m gonna be ignorant all my life?” he charged.

“That’s not what I meant at all. ” Darcy tried to explain but gave up, realizing what a dreadful mistake this outing was.

The three sat in silence until the pickup truck rattled to a stop at the end of a street. From there, a long twisting path led to the tidal pool. Darcy slung her camera over her back and followed the winding rocky path toward the ocean’s edge. She was happy to be out of the truck.

“What’s a tidal pool anyway?” Tarah asked in a bored voice.

“It’s a pool for the tide,” Cooper chuckled. “Like rich folks got pools and the tide’s got a pool. You hear what I’m sayin’?”

“It’s a place where the sea meets the land,” Darcy said. “The tide goes in and out, so sometimes the water is very shallow and sometimes it’s deeper. Different kinds of creatures live in the water at different levels. ”

“Maybe this would be a good place to push her in,” Tarah said as they made their way past a treacherous spot on the trail. Below, the water rolled against the rocks, making a foamy mist.

“Nah,” Cooper said. “You need her to get your project done. You gonna flunk biology as dumb as you are. Then you’ll be stuck in high school for the rest of your natural life. This brainy girl is gonna get you outta high school before you got as many gray hairs as my granny. ”

“You really are hilarious, you two,” Darcy said sarcastically. “You should have your own TV show. ”

When they finally reached the tidal pool, Cooper exclaimed, “Man, it’s crawling with weird things. Look at all the stuff floating around. Too bad we didn’t bring bottles to catch some of that stuff. ”