Jungle Crossing Read Online Free Page A

sand, we picked out snorkeling equipment. I stared into the water-filled barrels, the perfect breeding ground for thousands of germs. Everyone else grabbed a mask and snorkel and headed over to the kayaks as I peered at a chunk of something floating in the water—probably a huge germ colony complete with condos and multiplexes. The water even smelled bad. Not cleaning-solution bad, but horrible-vomiting-disease-like-Dad-had bad. I looked over at everyone climbing into the kayaks. Most of them held two people, but a few were singles. Nando shook his head at me, walked over, plucked a snorkel and mask out of the water, and handed it to me. The rubber felt slimy with bacteria.
    "You ride with me." Alfredo motioned to Barb. "See the most fish."
    Barb hopped up and down in her flippers like a little frog. "I'm so excited!"
    Lucky I didn't have to ride with him! His accent did make him sound kind of dumb, but then again, with the hair and the smile, he was still at least an 8.5. The Sun Goddess and the Hunky Blond paddled off in a double kayak. I stood by a bright yellow one, struggling to slip the flippers onto my feet. The blue-blonde glanced around. I smiled at her, kind of like an invitation to join me, but she ignored me and climbed into the last double kayak, waiting for the other perfect 10.
    "Everybody in," Alfredo said. "Let's go."
    Alfredo swiftly turned his kayak and headed toward the buoy. As I sat down in my single kayak, the seat burned the backs of my legs and I could practically feel the skin cancer growing on my shoulders. I shoved off with the paddle, but the kayak stuck on the sand. As I climbed back out, my flipper got tangled in the paddle's safety rope, so I hopped on one foot, trying to get free as my kayak slipped into the water—with my leg in it. The blue-blonde laughed and pointed, so of course everyone had to turn and look. And that's when I fell. Face-down, gagging on salt water, possibly drowning, with my foot hanging in the boat and my butt flying in the air. What an embarrassing way to die.

CHAPTER THREE
    I lifted my head out of the water right as a small wave hit me. I choked and coughed as the salt water burned my throat. Nando paddled back and helped me into the boat—actually touching my arm.
    "You use fins for snorkeling, not paddling," he said, not in a nice tour guide way.
    I grabbed the paddle from his hand. "I know that."
    He raised one eyebrow as if he wasn't quite sure. "
¿Estás lista?
That means are you ready?"
    "I know that too," I mumbled.
    Nando shook his head as I shoved my paddle against the sand as hard as I could. But the kayak wouldn't budge. So he reached over and pushed me hard with his hand. As soon as I'd drifted a bit from the shore, I dipped my paddle into the water. My arms burned as I paddled as fast as I could, but my kayak kept turning in the wrong direction. I almost did a 360.
    Nando laughed at me. And then he shouted directions in Spanish, but we didn't learn those words in Mrs. Ruiz's class. Tears pricked my eyes, which already stung with salt water.
Why am I doing this?
I wondered. Everyone else was out at the buoy, jumping into the water and snorkeling by the time I'd even started paddling. I didn't even want to swim around all those sharks and who knows what else. Tears welled in my eyes. I just wanted to be reading magazines and thinking about Zach B. At Fiona's house! I thought about how Fiona had spread rumors about Grace Williams's crush on Quinn Courtland—tust because she'd missed mini-camp. She wouldn't do that to me, would she? I slapped my paddle back into the water.
    "You have to paddle on both sides." Nando floated back to me. "Right. Now left. Now strong on right."
    "I know." I felt like a complete idiot.
    "Doesn't look like it."
    "I mean I know that
now.
" I paddled twice on my right side—just so he couldn't see my face, hot and itchy as if sunburned—and bumped into Nando's kayak.
    "Whoa!" Nando nudged my kayak away