Mia had always felt that following someone else’s instructions made you less free. But she realised she had been wrong. In fact, following sensible instructions just stopped you wasting everyone’s time. And in a worst case scenario, as Mia now knew, it could save your life.

Then Mia saw it. The cliffs dropped down and she made out a flash of yellow at sea level.

“There’s a sandy beach!”

“I see it!” Bear turned the front end towards the shore. “I’m going to run us aground deliberately. The bottom’s sandy so we’ll be fine. You’d better get back into your swimming gear. Tie a rope to the anchor, then after we hit, swim to shore with it so you can drag the anchor after you. Then we’ll be good and secure.”

Mia went down below to get changed.

Soon after, Ursula ran into the sandy bottom with a gentle bump. Immediately Mia jumped into the sea with the rope. She swam to the beach through soft, warm water and waded ashore.

Bear had dropped the sails while she was swimming. Now he heaved the anchor over the side.

“Pull it in!” he called. Mia started to pull, hand over hand. The anchor emerged from the surf. Mia tugged it with both hands up the beach to the nearest tree. She looped it around the trunk, and caught the anchor prongs on its own rope. There, that should hold.

Mia trotted back to the sea, quickly, because the sun-warmed sand was starting to burn her bare feet. She dived into the first wave. The bubbles rushed against her skin, and the roaring whoosh filled her ears. And that was weird – she thought she could hear voices.

Mia broke the surface and started to swim back to Ursula and Bear.

Bonk.

An inflated ball bounced off her head. Mia stopped swimming and trod water. Eh?

Her ears were full of happy shouts and yells. Kids splashed around her in inflatable tubes. A whistle blew and the umpire called.

“All players back into their tubes before we start again – that includes you, Mia!”

Mia stared in astonishment.

She was back in the pool at Camp.

10

END GAME

“Mia!” the umpire called again. “You need to get into your tube.”

Mia’s head still whirled. She was confused. What had happened to the island, to Bear, and the boat? How had she ended up back in the pool?

But there was no time for that. What seemed more important was that she was back in the middle of the game of Tube Polo, and she had to get on with it. Maybe that bump on the head from the ball had knocked some weird daydream into her. Mia had heard that dreams only last a couple of seconds, even if you remember them taking much longer.