Spring Break Secret by Holly Rayner
Louisa
Energized by her strawberry lemonade and surprise chat with her friend and mentor Ellen, Louisa continued in her quest. She managed to get a few more people signed up, but nowhere near the numbers she’d been hoping for. With less than a dozen volunteers, they would only be able to clean up less than half a mile of beach.
She was taking a break to see if she could find any scallop shells—her favorite kind—when she heard someone shouting her name. Looking up, she was surprised to see one of the people she’d talked to earlier about the beach cleanup. He was cute, with shaggy dark hair over bright blue eyes, and he was running toward her while waving his arms.
“Is everything okay?” Louisa immediately worried that someone had gotten hurt, and she was prepared to dial the emergency number for the La Vega Coast Guard services.
“Yeah, we’re fine, it’s just—you know about turtles and stuff, right?”
Louisa nodded, wondering what this had to do with anything.
“My friends and I were playing volleyball, and I went to get a stray ball, and I think I found a nest.” He produced the flyer she had given him earlier, which was now a bit crumpled up, and pointed to the photo of a sea turtle nest. Ellen had taken that photo a few years ago, during an effort to move nests away from high-traffic areas. “It looked like this.”
Louisa raised her eyebrows. It wasn’t common to find sea turtle nests this close to a recreational beach. “Where?”
The boy pointed over toward some dunes, which had enough grasses growing on them that nobody ever tried to lay down a towel or set up an umbrella on them. “Over there. I’m Tom, by the way.”
“I’m Louisa.”
“I remember.” Tom grinned at her, and Louisa felt a slight blush creep over her already sun-pinked cheeks. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
As Louisa followed Tom, he kept chatting. “At first, I thought they were like golf balls or something. They’re so round! I’ve never seen sea turtle eggs before. Anyway, I didn’t think they were safe just sitting there like that, and I figured you’d know what to do.”
Louisa did, in fact, know what to do. But it would take a while to accomplish, and she doubted that a spring breaker like Tom wanted to devote his afternoon to standing guard over a sea turtle nest. “We’d usually cordon it off with wooden poles and orange tape, but that stuff is all the way back at the conservation center. I’d have to go get the supplies.”
“Will they be safe in the meantime?”
“Well…” Louisa said, “actually, it would be great if you could stand guard over them while I’m gone.”
“Sure thing.”
His ready willingness to help out surprised Louisa. “Are you sure? Your friends won’t mind?”
Tom waved his hand. “Nah, they’ll be fine. I’ll have them bring me a beer if I get too bored.”
“Perfect. Just don’t share with the turtles.”
Tom laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get the endangered sea life into underage drinking. I’d at least wait until they hatch.”
They made it to the dunes, and sure enough, there was a healthy-sized sea turtle nest sitting right where Tom said it would be.
“All right, I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Louisa promised. “Don’t let anyone step on the nest, and look out for seagulls or stray dogs—they like to eat eggs.”
“Got it.” Tom gave a playful salute, and Louisa raced off.
Louisa knew the streets of La Vega like the back of her hand, and she made it to the Sea Turtle Conservation Center in just a few minutes.
When she burst through the door, Ellen looked up, seeming surprised to see her. “Hey, squiddo,” she said. “Didn’t think I’d see you back so soon. Did you sign up more volunteers?”
“Not really, but this isn’t about that. I met some boy on the beach, and he showed me a sea turtle nest!”
“On La Vega Beach?” Ellen looked skeptical. “The turtles haven’t been nesting there for years, not since we had that big hotel go up and the beach got really crowded.”
“Yep.” Louisa nodded. “Right at the foot of those little dunes. But it’s exposed, and he was worried about its safety. I just came to get some tape and wooden stakes so we can cordon off the area.”
“They’re in here.” Ellen got up and unlocked a small storage closet, pulling out a white plastic bucket full of wooden poles in different heights and some tangled rolls of neon orange tape. “You said a boy showed you the nest?”
“He found it when his friends hit a volleyball over there, and then he came and found me to see what needed to be done.”
Ellen raised her eyebrows. “He sounds like a good one,” she said, a teasing lilt to her voice. “How old did you say he was?”
Louisa rolled her eyes, very aware of what Ellen might be getting at. “I think he’s my age, but he’s just in town for spring break—all his friends are college kids like him. And I’m headed back to Berkeley in a week anyway.”
“Oooh, a college guy. So you know he’s smart, plus he cares about wildlife. When you get back, if he’s still around, you should see if—”
“He will be around,” Louisa interrupted. “He said he’d stand guard over the nest until I get back.”
Ellen looked like she was about to squeal with joy. “I’d like to meet this young man. See if he wants to come by the center while he’s in town.”
“I don’t know,” Louisa said. “His friends seemed like they’re more interested in parties than visiting sea turtles.”
Ellen shrugged. “Can’t hurt to ask. It’s not every day you meet someone like that.”
Louisa thanked Ellen, hauling the bucket of tape and poles out to her car. She knew Ellen meant well, but it didn’t seem likely that Tom would be interested in spending more time with her once they finished up with the nest.