Read More than Magic: Semester Aboard for Free Online

ringtone, of course. I almost
laughed at myself.
    "Toasty," Charlie said with a laugh. "Well, I
guess it’ll end up part of a coral reef or something...Of course
I’m laughing at you…What? You aren’t seriously considering looking
for it, do you realize how hard it would be to find a phone in the
ocean?...I thought as much. Anyway, did you get there alright?
...Of course I was worried! You know how I feel about water."
    I frowned, what on earth was he talking
about? I was pretty sure he was talking to Dani, I'd heard them
call him "Danio" before. But where was he? Why would he call
Charlie from somewhere else on the ship?
    "Yeah, yeah. Hey, what’s all that
noise?...Oh, it’s Fend? Hi Fend! So Jon’s already there, then?"
    I froze. Jon?
    "Yeah, sure… Hey, Jon!... Nah, everything’s
toasty here. What’s the plan?...Dinner tomorrow?...Yeah, I’ll tell
her. I think we dock at nine...Oh, I don’t know what her trip is
tomorrow...No, it won’t be overnight; there aren’t any of those in
Panama, but my trip will be out late…Hot! I’ll see you then...Hi,
Mariana…swim was good?...Toasty, toasty...yeah, I heard...Where are
you and Dani staying? ...Oh, ok...tell me there's a sauna
there!...Hot!...Yeah, yeah...why not, put him on...Hiya! So where’s
dinner?...Right on the dock, huh? Do they have hot wings?...Phew! I
miss spicy food. That’ll be great...yeah, TS’ll be thrilled! Can’t
get him to shut up about rare meat...Ok, so burger place on the
dock at eight. What is that, fifteen-hundred? ...I was kidding!
Twenty. I know…Yeah, I don't think I'll make it, but I'll tell
Jen...Right, I love you too. See you tomorrow."
    Charlie left the room. I sighed and leaned
against the couch. More mysteries. How was the swim ? He
couldn’t mean…Mariana and Dani couldn’t have swum from the ship to
Panama! I went over to the window and looked out, no shore in
sight. We had a good twelve hours of travel left to go. Swimming
was impossible. And yet…I had a feeling that Dani could have done
it. He must have, and Mariana too! Then there was that ‘I love
you’. Charlie couldn’t have been talking to Jon. Maybe, what was
the name, Fend? I heaved another sigh. I had hoped his conversation
would clear things up. Now I was even more confused.
    I dragged studying on until long after I
heard Charlie’s group leave. When I got back to my room I found a
folded note stuck to my door. I grabbed it and squinted at the
sloppy handwriting.
    Jen – Jon’s in panama. wants to meet you.
dinner at a burger place right on the dock at 8 tomorrow night.
can’t miss it. will your trip be over by then? drop by my room or
call me – 3044 and let me know! - Charlie
    Well, why not? I grabbed the ship phone off
of my roommate's desk and dialed the room number.
    "Hello?"
    "Charlie?" I asked.
    "No, it’s Mark. Charlie’s not here."
    Mark, hmm? I wondered if Mark was in on their
little secret. "Can you tell him that Jen says eight o’clock is
fine?"
    "Yeah, sure."
    "Thanks, bye."
    I sighed after hanging up. A part of me was
excited to dock in our second country and see new things. I
couldn’t wait for my trip tomorrow. And yet there was another part
of me that just wanted to skip the clock up to dinner so that I
could find out just what was up with these people. It was a miracle
that I fell asleep at all.
    I got up early enough for the tradition of
watching the sunrise in port, but it was too rainy and cloudy to
see anything. The sunrise in Mexico had been spectacular;
disappointed, I went to breakfast much earlier than usual. I
spotted Charlie across the dining room, but didn't see anybody
else. Maybe Dani and Mariana really had somehow gotten off the ship
early. I ate quickly, hoping to avoid Charlie. I knew that he
couldn't have known that I overheard his phone call, but with all
the strange things happening, it wouldn't have surprised me if he
did.
    He caught me anyway. "Hey, Jen. Did you get
my note?"
    "Yeah. I left a message with