The Adventure Kids in A Dolphin's Sequel

Chapter 4

The next day was just another typical day for the aquarium. That is until George Hatton, a USDA inspector came to check the place out. He wrote Clay up for a few minor violations. But the most egregious violation... was Winter. George told Clay he had 30 days to find Winter a new companion or else she'd be transferred to another facility. 

Meanwhile, Ann, Teeders, and Cynthia were heading over to the rehabbing area. 

"I wonder how Mavis is improving" Ann said. 

The girls came over to Mavis's pool, finding two staff members working with her and Hazel coming over with a box of lettuce to feed her. 

"I say she's looking pretty good" Teeders said while everyone smiled, watching Mavis eat. 

"Oh, this is delicious!" The sea turtle smiled, munching on the lettuce. 

"What do you think?" Cynthia soon asked Mavis. "You ready for a field trip?"

"What's a... field trip?" Mavis asked her. 

Soon, Ann, Teeders, Cynthia, and Hazel had ended up taking Hazel to the hospital where Sawyer's mom, Lorraine worked for a special appointment. Aviva and Koki were accompanying them. The other patients in the waiting room were all staring at Mavis, finding the sight of a sea turtle in a hospital odd. 

Lorraine soon brought the girls into a room as they carefully placed Mavis onto this special scanning machine. 

"What is this thing?" Mavis looked nervous. 

"Don't worry, Mavis. It won't hurt you" Ann assured her. "You'll barely even feel it"

"Okay, I trust you" Mavis told them. 

Lorraine then got the scanner ready before looking to the sea turtle. "I hear you're getting your own MRI"

"Yeah!" Hazel smiled. 

"Lucky you!" Teeders and Cynthia added to Mavis. 

"Well, that's exciting" Loranie said. "But I'll miss your visits"

Teeders, Ann, and Cynthia then noticed the nurse in the room with them suddenly appear baffled. She could've sworn she just saw a familiar pelican outside the window. 

"Did you see that?" The nurse faced them while Rufus came back up to the window, waving at them. 

The adventure girls hid giggles, shaking their heads in reply. "Nope"

Mavis was then slowly moved into the scanner. "Okay, Mavis! Say 'cheese'" Lorraine told the sea turtle. 

Later at the aquarium, Kali, Brock, and David were cleaning the exhibits with some help from Chris and Martin. They soon noticed Sawyer talking to that pretty girl and her grandfather, who was a disabled vetran before taking them downstairs to see Winter through the underwater veiwing windows. 

"What's up with him?" Brock asked about Sawyer. 

David shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me"

Kali playfully rolled her eyes to her brother and friend. "You boys"

Just then, Cynthia approached. "Hey, guys, Clay wants us downstairs. He wants to talk to all of us about Mandy's update" She informed them. 

Without another minute, the Akids, Sawyer, and Hazel came downstairs to meet up with Clay. 

"Okay, guys, I have Mandy's test results here" Clay told them. "I wanted to talk to you guys about them first before I briefed anybody else"

"Okay" The kids said, gathering around. 

"Thanks, Clay" Kali told him. 

Clay then took out Mandy's test results as he began. "So... Her blood work is all fine. Her gastrics are all fine. X-rays of her lungs, all negative. That's a good thing"

The kids smiled as this was looking good while Clay continued. 

"There's no sign of infection, so we've discontinued antibiotics. White cell count is normal. And her sunburn is totally healed. That is pretty much a clean bill of health" Clay concluded on Mandy's results. 

"That's great" Teeders and the other kids all smiled. 

"Its fantastic!" David beamed. 

Hazel then almost immediately spoke up to her dad. "So, can we talk about pairing her with Winter? Because after Winter's..."

"Hazel" Clay cut in, telling her. "What I'm saying is that Mandy's fine"

Clay then turned to Sawyer and the Akids, asking them. "Do you hear what I'm saying?"

The kids fell silent as they fixed on Clay, knowing exactly what he was trying to tell them. 

"Mandy's really fine" Clay told them. "And we have an obligation..."

"You can't release her!" Brock suddenly spat out. 

"That's right!" Sawyer added. "We're gonna pair her with Winter!"

"How can I not release her?" Clay argued. 

"Because all you have to do is wait six months or a year until we can find another female" Hazel tried explaining to her dad. 

"Yeah!" Ann, Teeders and Cynthia all agreed. 

"Six months or 10 years! We don't know what's gonna happen guys" Clay told them. "If Mandy can go home, then she deserves to go home"

"But we'll lose Winter!" Kali exclaimed. 

"It's not fair!" Ann said. 

Hazel then spoke out in alarm and a bit of anger. "We lost Panama! And now we're gonna lose Mandy!"

"Hazel! I get it! This is not all about Winter!" Clay yelled back, telling everyone. "If Mandy can catch live fish, and that is the last test. Then that's a decision that I will have to make! All right?"

Hazel scoffed at her dad before running off while Sawyer and the Akids all looked back at Clay having no words. 

That evening, the Akids hadn't said a single word since they got back to Cynthia's vacation home. They had been too busy thinking about the possibility of losing Winter. 

"You don't really think Clay's going to release Mandy do you?" Brock asked the others. 

"He can't!" Ann burst out, looking like she was about to cry. "Then what'll happen to Winter?"

"I don't know..." Teeders sighed. 

The kids hung their heads in sadness before Kali soon spoke. 

"Hey guys?... Remember when we first came to the aquarium? And that sign we saw with those 3 special words we learned?" She asked. 

The other Akids soon smiled, remembering those words well. 

"Rescue" David said.

"Rehab" The twins recited. 

"Release" Teeders and Cynthia concluded. 

Kali smiled, telling her friends. "This place wasn't built to keep animals. It was built to heal them and let them go"

Brock frowned however. "But Winter... She can't ever go home"

"But if she could?" Teeders asked. 

The kids thought about that for a moment when Cynthia answered. "In a heartbeat"

Kali smiled back to her friends, nodding. "There you go"

The Akids soon went to bed after that, although they didn't sleep too well that night. 

Sometimes making choices in life isn't always easy.