Lia was on a ship in a thunderstorm. A rush of wave hit her and she was sent further out into the ocean, into the raging sea.

“Jun Mei!!!”she heard a boy's voice cry. It seemed so far away. She remembered trying to reach the surface for air, but the currents kept dragging her down below.

It felt like the waves were fighting over her, jerking her from side to side, back and forth. All she saw was black, no brightness; just pitch black. The cold water numbed her arms and legs. She felt herself bumping into something.

She grabbed hold onto a plank of wood. It helped her reach the surface. That was good; she was running out of air.

She looked up to see the storm clouds all over, and surrounding her was nothing but the sea. She looked over his shoulder, still clutching on the wood, and saw a big ship sailing away. It was a big ship with the name Gemonia’s Jewel.

She could hear people calling her name. She wanted to shout back, but she was tired. She was busy fighting against the strong currents. She closed her eyes and laid her head on the wood, letting the waves guide her to wherever. . . .

“Lia, we’re here. Lia, wake up. Lia.”

Lia woke up. “What?”

“We’re here,” Shervonne said. She gave her a weird look. “You looked as though you had a bad dream.”

She shook her head. “Huh? No, I  . . .” She frowned, remembering the dream. But it didn’t seem like a dream. More like a . . . memory. “I’m fine,” she lied. She sat up. “So, we’re here. Let’s go.” She began to stand up.

“Wait, don’t —!”

The bus hadn’t stopped yet so when Lia stood up, she immediately toppled back in her seat and banged her head against the window in process.

There was an awkward silence.

“Ow,” she muttered.

“Are you okay?”

Even Rylee stopped goofing around long enough to check to see if her friend was all right. “You hit your head pretty darn hard, didn’t you?” she remarked.

“Rylee,” Paige said, giving her a warning look. She turned back to Lia, patting her head. “Where does it hurt?”

“My dignity,” she muttered. “I’m fine.”

The bus finally stopped and they waited until it was their turn to get off the bus.

“What was your dream about, anyway?” Rylee wanted to know.

Lia shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I was in the water . . . there was a storm . . .” She didn’t get to have any other chance to say another word because Ms. Payton pulled them to a halt.

“All right,” she said. “I know going to the aquarium is boring and so forth, but remember this: we are here to learn. That’s why I am going to allow you to go off by yourself again. When you come back in two hours time, I want you to give me a report on what you see and how many kinds of fishes you saw.”

There was a groan from everyone. From the corner of her eyes, Lia saw Shervonne and Rylee yawn.

“Now come on,” Mr. Hayes spoke up. “You should know that Ms. Payton can turn any boring lesson into an interesting one.”

Ms. Payton blushed.

“Any bet that the real reason they’re letting us off the hook is because they want to go on a date?” Lia heard someone murmur next to her. It belonged to Ned.

She turned to see Ned, Mark and Dylan and grinned at them. “No bets; I agree with you on this one.”

“You, er, wanna hang with us today, Lia?” Dylan asked.

She shrugged. “Well, the girls . . .”

“They can be by themselves for awhile,” Mark muttered. “We need to talk to you.”

“Where’s Toby?”

He shrugged. “He’s fine; he’s probably hanging with his twenty-sixth girlfriend,” he replied, looking over his shoulder.

Lia followed his gaze and saw Toby flirting with a poor victim on the street. She sighed, shaking her head in wonder. She looked back at her friends and then back at the guys. She hesitated. “Oh, all right.” She walked back to the others.

“Let’s go!” Shervonne said, grabbing her hand and making a way in.

“Uh, no.” She pulled back and her three friends turned to her in surprise. “You guys don’t mind if I hang out with NMD, do you?” she asked.

Paige blinked. “Oh, they asked you to hang out with them?”

She nodded. “Yeah. They said they have something they need to talk to me about. I’ve no clue what, but it seems important. I’ll join you guys later?”

Rylee nodded. “Yeah sure — just don’t entirely ditch us for them. We’re so much cooler to hang out with than them.”

Lia grinned. “Oh, please. There’s no chance I’m hanging with them the entire day. They’ll kill me.”

The three of the other girls laughed as she headed back to the boys.

What did you guys want to talk to me about?” Lia asked.

“Actually, it’s nothing, really,” Mark said, grinning that famous mischievous smile he always wears. “We just wanted a girl to hang out with us.”

Lia shook her head. “I hate you guys,” she remarked and they laughed. “You do know that I promised them I’m not hanging around with you guys the entire day.”

“Aww, shucks, milady,” Ned said, smiling. “Well, you better have to rethink that because there’s a fat chance we’re letting you go now that we’ve got you.”

“Yeah, fell right into bait,” Mark added, putting his arms around her and pulling her close to him. “You’re stuck with us today.”

Lia rolled her eyes. “Being stuck with my childhood guy friends as well as my annoying cousin brother isn’t exactly how I want to waste time while I’m in Korea.”

Mark gave her a sloppy wet kiss on the cheeks. “I love you too, sweetie,” he said.

She giggled, pulling away. “Yuck,” she said but she kissed his cheek back.

“Let’s go to the sharks’ aquarium,” Ned said and the guys agreed enthusiastically.

Lia groaned. “And this is what happens when you hang out with a bunch of guys,” she groaned, allowing herself to be dragged by Ned and Mark to the sharks’ aquarium. “Next will be the feeding time.”

“Hey, now, don’t give them any ideas,” Dylan muttered to her from behind. “I’m not too keen on this whole thing either. I’d rather be back at the hotel.”

She grinned and let go of the other two who ran off ahead of them. She slipped her hand into his. “You feel all right?”

Dylan hesitated. “What do you say, we ditch them?” he asked.

She grinned. “Honestly? I’m not too keen on sharks either.”

He nodded.

They headed off the opposite direction and went to the fishes instead. Lia peered through the tanks, looking at the fishes. “They’re so small and so cute,” she said. She turned to him but found him looking someplace else.

“Come here,” he said, beckoning her to go where he stood. “Quick.”

She walked over. “What is it?” She looked at where he was looking at: a baby jellyfish bobbing around in the sea. “Oooh, it’s so cute!” she exclaimed.

Dylan looked at her. He tucked a strand behind her ear and she looked at him. He smiled again. “I’m glad you’re my friend,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

Lia was shocked. Dylan never displayed any kind of feelings or emotions. He was the kind of person who usually kept to himself. His emotions were locked up like a safe box, everything contained inside.

Something wasn’t right.

“Dyl?”

“Shhh.” He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes, tightening his grip around her. “Don’t ask me. Just  . . . promise you’ll be there for me.”

“Of course,” she replied, hugging him back. She was confused. Why was Dylan acting like this? “You know that I will.”

“I love you,” he whispered to her, hugging her tighter. “Lia, I love you. You’re like a sister to me.”

Lia looked up and kissed his cheeks. “And I love you too,” she replied. “Whatever is the problem, you know you can come to me and tell me. I promise I’ll listen.”

He nodded, letting go of her. He looked back at the jellyfish, which was now with its mother. He placed his hand on her waist.

“Found you!”

They whirled around to see Shervonne, Paige and Rylee smiling hugely at them as though they had committed a crime the three girls knew they were going to commit.

“Were you guys stalking me?” Lia asked suspiciously.

The three of them smiled. “Us?” they asked with fake innocence. “Stalking you? Now, why would we do that?”

Dylan looked down. “I should go,” he said.

Lia grabbed his hand. She hated it when he walked away from a crowd because he felt uncomfortable. “No, stay with us, Dylan,” she pleaded. “For me,” she added quietly so only he could hear.

He hesitated but nodded.

Shervonne smiled. “I don’t mind you nor Ned or Mark,” she said. “But if Toby comes, I’m leaving.”

He shrugged. “I’m cool with that.”

Lia beamed.

Just then, Mark and Ned entered the room.

“Oh, there you two are!” Ned said, hurt.

“Ditchers,” Mark commented, frowning. “I hate you guys.”

“Sorry, Mark, but sharks didn’t appeal to us,” Lia replied, not sorry at all. She squealed when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Stop it! That tickles!”

“That’s the whole point; it’s supposed to tickle,” he shot back.

Shervonne rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you two. If you weren’t cousins, I’d say you guys are perfect for each other.”

“Ah, but we are, therefore we’re imperfect for one another,” Mark replied with a straight face and Lia nudged him.

Rylee grinned. “Welcome aboard,” she told him, shaking his hand. “Finally, someone who understands my language!”

He scoffed. “I’ve been trying to teach Lia and Shervonne for years. No luck, sadly.”

She nodded sympathetically.

Shervonne scowled. “Stop talking as if we aren’t here,” she said.

Paige gasped. “They’re here,” she said in a hushed tone. “Big Bang!”