The next morning, Cassie shuffled across the street from her apartment to the boat still feeling the sting of shame. Her crew had trusted her to do one simple thing. If she would've driven the boat into the beach at full throttle, she would've killed them all.

Ofelia had berated her, rightfully so. Cassie had no excuse and could say nothing in her defense other than she must have fallen asleep at the wheel. Mick had ignored her the rest of the trip back to the dock, but she could tell by his red-faced scowl he held back his rage. Even amiable Corky had harsh words with her and suggested she was too young to handle the job responsibly.

At the time, she sat there in tears and took all their abuse. Except, she realized it wasn't abuse. It was well-deserved righteous indignation.

She had expected to be fired on the spot. If she were in Ofelia's position, she would've fired her. How would it feel, returning to her aunt's condo in disgrace after only one day? It would've been humiliating.

Luckily, Ofelia didn't fire her. Her boss told her to go home and spend the rest of the day thinking about what she had almost done and to return the next morning with a clearer head.

That she was being given a second chance made Cassie feel worse. She wasn't deserving.

Cassie climbed aboard Ofelia's boat, said good morning to her boss, and went quiet. She stowed her gear in the little locker and removed her dive mask and foot fins. When Corky and Mick boarded, Ofelia asked them all to huddle up.

"I want to take a moment to talk about what happened yesterday," she said.

The bottom dropped out of Cassie's stomach. This was where she would be told she was being replaced. She would be fired after all. She hung her head and focused on the boat deck.

Ofelia said, "After my temper cooled and I had a chance to reflect on the incident, I came to the realization what happened was my fault. It's all on me."

"But I'm the one who almost got us all killed," Cassie muttered. Why was the woman willing to take the blame for something she did?

"I didn't consider your age and level of maturity. I admire your ability in the water and thought I could fast-track you." She took a breath. "I apologize for pushing you too hard." Glancing at Corky and Mick, she said, "I apologize to you as well for my lack of judgment. As captain of this boat, I should've known better."

Corky took a seat beside Cassie and spoke softly. "All three of us like you, kiddo. We want to see you succeed. You're smart and skilled which caused us to forget that you're still an adolescent. We consider you one of us, a fellow crew member, and we will treat you as an equal, and yet, you're not equal to us. Not yet. Does that make sense?"

It hurt her pride when Corky called her an adolescent, but she couldn't get upset. She knew she was still just a kid, a very fortunate kid for having such a forgiving crew. Cassie swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't want to embarrass herself further by crying. Crying would just bring hiccups, and she hated when that happened because she couldn't control them.

She glanced at her crew desperate to put it all behind. "Let's get to work."

As Ofelia piloted her boat from the harbor, she tooted the horn when passing by their sister crew. The guys in the second boat waved and fell in behind. Cassie wondered when she would get to meet them. She figured they already heard about her first day screw up. Oh, god, what must they think?

After leaving the harbor and hitting the chop in the Gulf, they passed Anclote Key to starboard. Cassie averted her gaze. She didn't want to look there and wanted to suppress thoughts of the spooky incident.

They returned to the same sponge bed they visited the day before. Cassie focused on her work. After several dives, she started feeling more like herself. The warm water and tropical fish calmed her. The hours passed as if they were minutes.

Around eleven, they took a break. Mick glanced at their haul in the storage bin. "Boss, I think we depleted this part of the reef. Those last few dives, the quality of the sponges leaves something to be desired."

"I've been thinking the same," Ofelia responded. She got on the radio and hailed her son, the captain of the other boat. They conferred for a while. When done, she turned to her crew. "We've decided to work our way along the reef in a direction closer to the key. There's a promising bed just off the southern tip. We'll check it out and then call it a day."

Ofelia maneuvered her craft toward the island and slowed so they could get a visual of the bottom through the skopos.

The reef here looked deeper to Cassie, but she could see sponges.

"It's close to our thirty foot limit," Corky said, confirming what Cassie had thought.

"Let's each of us take a dive to get a feel for things," Mick said. "If it appears promising, we can start here tomorrow."

The second boat had pulled closer, no more than fifty yards to stern. Cassie spared them only a quick glance, feeling more interested in getting back into the water. Ofelia radioed their intentions to the other captain.

A few minutes later, Ofelia was in the water. Cassie watched through the skopos as her boss dove straight to the bottom, her dive fins waving bye to them as she kicked. "Wow, she's really down there."

"Hard to see her," Corky said. "That's why we go no deeper than thirty feet.

A couple minutes later, she returned to the surface, smiling. She held up her net. "Sponges!" The specimen she displayed was easily a foot in diameter.

"My turn," Corky said.

Cassie watched through the skopos as he followed the same route as Ofelia. He surfaced breathing hard.

After climbing aboard, he peeled off his mask. "To be honest, I think it's too deep for us. Just one dive to the bottom and my lungs are burning."

Mick took his turn. When he returned, he shook his head. "It's doable, but it'll tire us out. We won't be able to harvest much given the number of rest periods. Diving here might not be cost effective. It's your call, boss."

Ofelia sighed. "I guess we'll have to move on to another location."

The conversation stung Cassie. Did that mean her judgment didn't count? Wouldn't she be given a chance to voice her opinion? If so, then clearly, they did not consider her as an equal part of the crew. She stood. "Wait, I want to check it out."

Her crew looked at her. Ofelia placed a hand on her hip. "It's deep, Cassie. Are you sure?"

Maybe she was still just a kid, but Cassie knew she was a better swimmer than any of them and could hold her breath a lot longer. Feeling patronized, Cassie didn't bother answering the question and slipped into her fins and sealed her dive mask over her eyes and nose. She took to the ladder and lowered herself into the water.

On the way to the bottom, she had a thought. The other three went straight down. She stopped kicking and glanced around. A short distance away, a narrow ridge jutted from the sea floor. Since the ridge would make for a shallower dive, it might make a more promising location. They wouldn't become as fatigued. She could be the hero if she managed to find a rich bed of sponges there.

Cassie decided to check it out and kicked toward the ridge. As she neared, she noticed the ridge was made up of hundreds of arms undulating with the current. It resembled a mass of partiers assembled at a rock concert waving their arms in unison to the music.

Was she hearing music? Cassie tapped the side of her head to dislodge the auditory hallucination. Not music, a moan, like the sound of a humpback whale.

"Sirena."

The waving arms of the sponges and music enthralled her, left her feeling euphoric.

The sea floor had grown arms just for her! The arms waved hello. A greeting.

Cassie giggled at the absurd thought causing bubbles to escape her lungs.

She swam closer to within a few feet.

The waving arms reached out to her in greeting, beckoning Cassie to join with them. They would grasp her, draw her deep within, take her into their bosom and shelter her. Their hypnotic moans promised to reveal deep secrets, hidden knowledge.

"Sirena."

"Sirena."

All she needed was a leap of faith. The arms asked her to reach out and join with them. Trust them. The musical moans compelled her.

Cassie held out both hands and spread her fingers wide. With a gentle kick, she floated forward, ready, and eager to take hold.

Question - It's too bad Cassie's momma isn't around to explain what is happening to her. Should she surrender to the call, or is she making a serious mistake?