How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel by Jess Keating

coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ashley said. Her eyes were practically bugging out of her head.
    Not that I could blame her. It was super cool. Usually I don’t like tattoos, but on Logan? He could have a tattoo of old cheese on him and it would look like fine art. I wonder if Kevin would ever get a tattoo? Hmm.
    â€œDid it hurt?” Ashley asked.
    He didn’t have time to answer. “Hello? Anyone here?” A girl peeked her head into the room. “Oh! Logan, there you are!”
    Ashley and I gawked as she ran over to him.
    â€œBabe!” he exclaimed. He stood up and pulled her into a hug. Her feet even lifted off the ground!
    Beside me, Ashley rolled her eyes. “Get a room,” she whispered.
    You’d expect that a total hottie like Logan would be dating another total hottie.
    And you know what?
    You’d be right.
    She had long dark hair that was tied into a low ponytail and porcelain skin like a doll. I kid you not, she even smelled like strawberries. She was a walking stick insect in capri pants that smelled like a fruit basket.
    I fidgeted with the spine of my notebook as they kissed. The kiss pact with Liv niggled away in my brain. Should I smell like strawberries? Would that get Kevin to kiss me?
    â€œWhat are you doing here? I thought you weren’t supposed to get here until tonight?” Logan asked, when they pulled themselves apart. Took them long enough.
    â€œEarly flight!” she exclaimed. “I thought I’d do some poking around here today! I’ve been looking for you for ages ,” she said, her eyes sweeping the area before settling on us. Was it just me or did she look sort of nervous?
    â€œGuys, this is Danielle,” Logan said.
    Ashley’s eyebrow arched. “Hey. I’m Ashley,” she said. I watched with amazement. She didn’t seem fazed at all . Meanwhile I was basically tripping over my tongue, thinking about how these two had been playing tonsil hockey five seconds ago.
    â€œAna,” I said when she turned to me. There. I could talk again.
    â€œWait,” she said. “Ana Wright?” Whipping a notepad from her purse, she rushed toward me.
    I edged away. “Um, yeah?” I said.
    â€œWould you mind if I asked you a couple questions?” she asked. “I would love to get a statement from you for my college newspaper! I’m writing a piece about your grandfather!” She tapped her foot. I got the distinct feeling that hanging around this girl for more than five minutes would give me a twitch. She was intense . Her eyes bored a hole in my head.
    â€œA statement?” I croaked.
    â€œYou know,” she said, waving her hands dismissively. “Shep Foster’s very own granddaughter working at the zoo! I’d love your opinion on the exhibits and the work you’re doing here.”
    â€œOkay, sure,” I said.
    â€œCan you take me through some of the daily tasks here?” she asked, holding her pen stiffly above her notepad.
    I sat straighter. “The student ambassadors just try to help out with background stuff,” I said. “We help prepare food, or clean, or do some super-small presentations with kids. It’s all volunteer work, and it goes toward school credit each year.” I wanted to make it sound glamorous, but let’s face it, cleaning poop and fish heads wasn’t exactly a red carpet walk. “Ashley and I are helping in the new marine exhibit.”
    She nodded. She hadn’t written anything down yet.
    â€œShep is like the most exciting person ever ,” she said, blinking fast. “Does anything crazy happen here? The drama must follow him everywhere.” Her words felt like tiny arrows piercing me, fast and sharp.
    â€œHe’s exciting, all right,” I said. I tried not to roll my eyes. “But generally things around here are pretty…normal. For a zoo, I mean. All the zookeepers make sure that everything stays on