Chapter One Vacation Catch me if you can Tomas shouted to me He dove headfirst from the diving board and swam as fast as he could to the far edge of the pool I wasted no time Splash I sliced through the water like a knife Got you I laughed as I tugged on my twin brother’s calf I caught Tomas in mid-stroke and pulled his head under the water He flailed and kicked I let go and up he shot like a rocket You thought you could out swim me I boasted I’m the athletic one in the family It is true Tomas has many talents just usually not in sports Mom said someday Tomas might be taller and stronger than me She said at 12 it’s hard to tell what you’ll look like when you grow up But I doubt Tomas will change much from the short rather round boy he is I’m taller than he is and I’m good at all sorts of sports soccer volleyball softball tennis You name it I can play it
Tomas is not a total nerd though He’s funny and smart Most of the time he’s my best friend Our parents are college professors Because they travel the world on research assignments Tomas and I tag along for the adventure Since we spend so much time together and because we’re fraternal twins we’re close Tight Simpatico But I still like to pick on him Tomas pulled himself out of the swimming pool He dangled his feet into the water and kicked water into my face You got me this time but you won’t catch me again he vowed I bet you I will I said as I scooped water from the pool with my arms and tossed it at Tomas A group of hotel guests walked by on their way to the hotel lobby Tomas instantly straightened up and stopped splashing me He didn’t want to get us in trouble for horseplay at the pool We were staying at a hotel in Puerto Vallarta Mexico It was a family vacation Mom and Dad said it would be nice for us to travel for fun instead of work for a change We hopped a plane from Chicago to Mexico for a nice long weekend getaway Mom and Dad went to the hotel’s front desk to see about planning a whale watching trip That’s when Tomas and I decided we’d head to the pool Are you excited about a whale watching trip I asked
Tomas Sure He shrugged his shoulders It sounds like fun Something different you know What if we go all the way out on the bay spend hours on the water and we don’t see anything Tomas thought for a second I guess it’s just a plain old boat ride then I chuckled a little bit I thought it would be more fun to go mountain biking Tomas agreed with me We knew the whale watching trip was Mom’s idea Our mother is a bird biologist but she loves to experience anything remotely scientific Going whale watching will make Mom happy Tomas decided I knew he was right It won’t kill us to make her happy I said sarcastically Tomas knew I was playing and gave me a crooked grin Hola niños Mom waved to us as she walked across the pool deck We’re all set for whale watching Dad followed behind Mom with travel brochures and maps spilling out of his arms Boy did he look like the typical clueless tourist We leave in an hour Better head back to the hotel room and clean up Mom said
