Hydrophobia

Finally, Summer Vacation.. or Not

I breathed in the salty air as I rushed out of the school building. Finally school was done! No more pop quizzes,  surprise essays, or projects. Just me my Uncle and the fish. Uncle John was there waiting for me as I pushed through the crowd of exited teens to our normal meeting place. Despite being 16 and having a license Uncle John had never let me drive myself to school. At first it was a little embarrassing and I was mad at him. But after time I found that I enjoyed the peaceful ride home with him. My friend, Bobby, waved energetically at me as she climbed into her car. We'd been friends since 10th grade when we both got sick during science when our teacher told us we'd be dissecting crayfish. She and her boyfriend Jacob were in my science class ever since. I waved back then ran up to my Uncle's car and climbed in.

"How was the last day of 11th grade?" he asked as he switched out of park to drive.

"Good." I answered. "Mr. Gormont didn't yell at me when he found out I'd gotten the story line of the last book he made us read from the internet."

"You WHAT!?!" Uncle John said.

I'd forgotten that I hadn't told him about that either. How was I going to get out of this one. If I didn't I'd be feeding ALL the fish AND the sharks.

"I DID read the book." I said cautiously. "But I didn't get the story line at all so I looked it up"

"Rose," My Uncle said in his serious lecture voice. "You know better than that. What is it with you and school? You're always skipping and using the internet for your homework. Before I know it I'll be finding the Pre-Calculus answer book under your bed! You just barley passed this year and I'd like to know what the deal is."

"I didn't get it OK! It's not the end of the world! Gosh, it's not like you're my dad!" I yelled then immediately regretted it as I watched Uncle John's face fall. "I'm sorry" I said "I didn't mean that."

"No, You're right. I'm not your dad. But I do know that if your dad was hear he'd say exactly what I said. I also know that if he were here he'd be very disappointed in you."

I fell silent. Why had I gone off and said something so hateful to him? Was it really that bad for him to want to father me?

 Uncle John sighed and said." When we get home I'm going to need you to clean out the seals' tank. I know you aren't comfortable around water but I haven't been feeling too well and it needs to be done. Just use the water vacuum in the storage cabinet."

I groaned inwardly. So much for a good normal summer vacation. instead I'd be cleaning out tanks and working the gift shop cash register while my Uncle put on shows with our famous Killer whale.