Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Chapter One
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Chapter Two
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Chapter Three
- Ten
- Eleven
- Chapter Four
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Chapter Five
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Chapter Six
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Chapter Seven
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Chapter Eight
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Chapter Nine
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Ten
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Chapter Eleven
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Chapter Twelve
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirteen
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Chapter Fourteen
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Chapter Fifteen
- The Following Summer
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
“Want to go see them? I know they’re not on the block we’re studying, but it would be fun and we could tell the class about them during our presentation. It’s only a ten-minute walk, so we can go down, take some pictures, and be back with loads of time before your dad comes.”
Time wasn’t Ali’s concern. “Do seals bite?”
“I bet they’re too cute to bite! But if you’re worried, we’ll keep our distance just to be sure. Please.”
Emily’s plea overcame Ali’s natural timidity. “Okay.”
“Yay!” Emily linked her arm through Ali’s. “You are so not going to regret this!”
Twenty-One
Tin Can Beach wasn’t always named after the garbage that washed aground on its rocky shore. A century before, it had been Rockaway Beach, a favored summer haunt for Saint Johners who swam and picnicked on hot summer days where the south end of the city jutted out into the bay. During World War II, the bathing houses and canteens gave way to a military installation, a watchful presence to guard against a potential Nazi invasion. When the soldiers left, the sugar refinery came. Later it lapsed into a neglected world, surrounded by barbed wire, a desolate spot favored by wildlife, the odd criminal, and a resting spot for what the bay no longer needed. The city was in the process of reclaiming the beach, though it had yet to return to its former glory. But Ali knew none of this as she walked down Sydney Street with Emily; all she cared about was that her new friend wanted her to go on an adventure.
“I’ve never been to this part of the city before,” she confessed as they made their way down the hill, the fog thickening with every block.
Emily was a natural tour guide, although the landmarks she pointed out were shrouded in mist. “There’s Rainbow Park, over there are the armories, and that’s a construction company. Ahead, where the road turns left, is Tin Can Beach.” The two passed through a barrier of garbage cans and picked their way through a patch of scrubby grass that gave way to the rocky shore.
The seal herd was about twenty feet from the water. Ali did a quick count: nine seals, clumped together like they’d just finished playing ring-around-the-rosy and had all fallen down. “They’re so big,” she whispered. Their fur was a pale brownish beige, and all of them were covered in spots of varying sizes that made it look as if someone had splattered black paint on them by mistake. Ali inhaled, enjoying the smell of wet fur and salt.