The wait returns. After we had let go of the white shark, the fisherboat had gone out again, and so we had to wait again. Everyone went to the table, making sure everything was set, and talked about what they had just gone through.

I didn't feel that comfortable with everyone yet, as I didn't really know who they were. So instead I just decided to wander around the boat. I joined Liam's crew around the monitors set up on the other side of the deck. It showed all the information we had gathered, together with already-known information about the shark we had just caught.

I kept my distance, trying to overhear what they were talking about. "His name was Scot." I turned around startled, Liam had walked up to me without me knowing. "What?" Whose name?" I asked, turning to look at him. "The shark." He walked towards the railing, holding out his phone, me following after him.

"As you probably noticed back there the shark was already tracked. So I looked him up. Look, Scott." He smiled, I leaned in to look at the phone. "He's an adult, great white shark. He was first tagged on September 8th, 2021." He read the information. I let out a laugh, standing next to him. "You know, you're supposed to just say 'white shark' now." I regretted the moment the words came out of my mouth. I can't just tell something so stupid to Liam, of all people. He was the expert here. What am I doing?

He looked over at me amused, a grin on his face. "Yeah, sorry about that." He smiled. He turned back to his phone. "According to his weight last time and now, he seems to be healthy. We haven't had much time to check the other samples tho-" he said. I looked over at him, trying my best to not make it seem like I was staring.

I hated the thoughts that were going through my head. He is supposed to be my mentor. I can't keep having these thoughts, but just looking at him was making me feel... weird.

Once he had read through most of the information on his phone he turned to look at me, I snapped out of my thought, clearing my throat. "You really like this, don't you?" Asked. "I do," He nodded. "But you do too, right?' He asked, leaning onto the railing.

I copied his pose, "Well this is the first time I'm doing this. Before today I've only ever seen this in videos." I shrugged. "But I can see you really like it. I'm glad to see that.''He laughed, "Most people who come with me are scared and keep asking for help, But when that shark came up it was like you took charge. You didn't need me at all." He smiled, looking up at me.

"T-Thanks," I said. I turned away looking out at the water, avoiding his eyes. I was hoping he wasn't catching on to how weird I was acting. He kept staring at me for what felt like forever. "I've been meaning to ask-"

"He Liam, they got another one!!" Someone yelled, interrupting whatever he was going to say. Liam pushed himself up quickly, Scanning the horizon to find the fisherboat. At this point, it had started to get dark, and it was harder to see what was going on out there. As soon as he found the boat he ran up to the platform, telling everyone to get ready.

I took a few deep breaths, not moving yet.

Was I really catching feelings for my tutor? This quickly. The only thing he's done is give me anti-seasick medication. And hire me for my dream job. Not to mention he practically jumped into the water with a shark in order to secure it. Risking his life, or at least a limb or two. Yeah... nothing to find hot at all.

"Alright, let's do this one more time," Liam yelled as everyone ran up to the platform. I snapped out of my thoughts and headed down to the rest.

We did our thing, measuring and taking samples. I was a little more excited this time as we had caught a female tiger shark. My favorite. I did my thing, trying my best not to get distracted by my excitement. This shark was somehow more calm than any of the others we had caught. but it made things a nicer experience.

I was once again done quicker than everybody else. I put my things away, ready to go and help the other when Liam stopped me. He held up a device. "You want to add the tracker?" He smirked. I looked down at the tracker, and then back up at him. "Are you serious? Can I?" I asked, unable to hide my feelings. He let out a laugh as he pushed the tracker in my hands."Yeah, come on I'll help you- "He said as he walked back onto the platform.

People moved out of the way as we sat down next to the shark. He pulled out a leather hole punch, before making 4 small holes in the fin. "Okay, now you-" He didn't have to finish his sentence before I got to work. Attaching the tracker to the fin. He chuckled as he grabbed the tracker so it was easier for me to screw in the bolts.

I stared at my work as he stood back up. Liam walked around the shark, throwing his arm around me proudly. "So what do you want to name her?" He asked, I looked at him, my face flushed from all the excitement. "You want me to name her?" I asked,

He nodded proudly. "Of course, if you put the track on her, you get to choose her name. " He said, holding out his phone to put it down. I turned back at the Shark in front of me. "What about... Shaka?" I said. "Sounds great" He patted me on the chest before typing the name in his phone. He walked away, towards the controls.

"Alright everyone, we got what we needed. Let's get Shaka back in the water," he yelled. He showed me a wink before he started the platform. Releasing the shark back into the water.

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A/N

I used two shark names in this chapter. Scot is a real shark. I found him on the Shark Tracking app. Note; in the app, it said he was first tagged in Ireland. While this story is kind of supposed to take place in Australia, so that part isn't accurate. But I wanted to use a real animal as a reference.

Shaka is also a real shark. She's a tiger shark I got on a website. I bought a bracelet and they gave me a code where I could find her tracking information. (It's pretty cool, you should buy one) She does live in northern Australia. 

OK, that's all, thanks!