I brushed some seaweed off the side. “It’s called A Vision of Velma,” I said, reading the name that was painted there in swirly writing. “Hey, have you ever rowed a real boat before?” “No, but how hard can it be?” Pradeep answered. We slipped on some life jackets and put Frankie’s sick bag in the bottom of the boat. Half an hour and four super-sore arms later I said, “Really, really hard.” We could see Mark up ahead of us, but it seemed to take ages to get close. He was in a motorboat after all, and we were rowing. Finally we got close enough to read the name on the side of Mark’s boat. Daphne’s Delight, it read in slanted writing. Mark had his back to us and was pulling hard on a long fishing rod, trying to reel something in. “Do you think he caught the…” I started, but before I could finish, my question was answered by a mega-long eel leaping into the air alongside Mark’s boat. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel!” Pradeep and I both squealed. Now, I’m not a kid who squeals on a regular basis.
