Dolphin Tale 6

Chapter [10]

C h a p t e r T e n

"BONDI, NO. DON'T DO THAT!"

Phoebe sighed as she watched Bondi maul one of his enrichment toys. His mouth was clamped around the hoop and he was swinging it side to side, up and down.

"Bondi, you're supposed to swim through it, not swing it around like crazy."

Bondi paused in the act of swinging the hoop around, eyeing Phoebe warily as if to say, "Got anything better for me to play with?"

Phoebe laughed, shaking her head. "Here, what about this multicolored ball? You love it, don't you, Bondi?"

At the mention of his favorite multicolored ball, Bondi let the hoop go and swam towards Phoebe, squealing as if to say, "Give it to me!"

Phoebe continued laughing. "Okay, then. But you're going to have to catch me first." And with that, she took off, swimming as fast as she possibly could around the pool.

Bondi let out an indignant squeal before pursuing her, cutting cleanly through the water like a sharpened blade.

Phoebe reached the edge of the pool and climbed out, smiling as she watched Bondi slow down once he realized that there was no way he could get the multicolored ball. Instead, he simply floated in the glistening water, gazing intently at it.

Phoebe laughed. "Gazing at the ball isn't going to make me give it to you, Bondi."

Bondi let out a high-pitched whistle and bobbed his head up and down. After yet another high-pitched whistle, Bondi ducked beneath the surface of the water, disappearing from view.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow, still clutching the multicolored ball firmly in her hands. "What are you up to, Bondi?"

Moments later, Bondi emerged from the depths of the pool, leaping out of the water and landing on his side, creating a huge splash, sending water droplets flying in all different directions.

"Bondi!" Phoebe cried as tiny droplets of water showered upon her. She shook her head, sighing, as Bondi let out a triumphant squeal.

"All right, all right," she said, crouching down by the edge of the pool. "Here, you can have your ball now."

Bondi swam up to the edge of the pool and looked expectantly up at Phoebe.

Phoebe laughed, lifting the ball into the air and throwing it to the furthest end of the pool. "Go fetch, Bondi!"

Squealing, Bondi spun around and took off in the direction of where the ball had landed. Upon reaching it, he began nudging it around the pool.

"He really likes that ball, doesn't he?"

Phoebe spun around, startled, to face Dr. Clay. She recovered quickly from her initial shock and nodded slightly. "Yeah, he does. Winter, Hope, and Nicholas all have preferred enrichment toys, and now it looks like Bondi has one, too."

Dr. Clay smiled. "Well, with a personality like his, I'm not surprised that he likes the multicolored ball. You know, it's bright and colorful, just like him."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "I never really thought about it like that, but I guess that's true. Maybe the toys they prefer are the ones that reflect their personality the best."

Dr. Clay shrugged, nodding. "That's quite possible, actually, and really interesting." His eyes wandered over to where Bondi was now, grinning as the cheeky dolphin pushed the ball up out of the water before swimming to where it landed. It was as though Bondi was playing throw and catch with himself. After a while, his eyes drifted away from the playful dolphin and landed on Phoebe.

"Anyway, what I really came here to say, was that I wanted to run some tests on Bondi."

"Oh?" Phoebe cocked her head to one side, frowning. "What for?"

"Just a routine check-up, you know. Do some blood work, just to see how he's going." Dr. Clay placed a reassuring hand on Phoebe's shoulder. "He's been in our care for roughly five years. I just want to see how he's getting on, that's all. But I'm sure things are fine, anyway."

"Okay. I'm guessing you need my help?"

Dr. Clay nodded. "Yes. And could you let Kat know, too?"

"Sure," Phoebe said, shrugging. "When do you plan on running the tests?"

"Probably tomorrow or the day after. If you just let Kat know I'll confirm the exact details with you two later. That all right with you?"

Phoebe nodded.

Dr. Clay sighed. "Well, I've got to go and teach one of our volunteers how to clean the pools. Gosh, it's really different without Hazel and Sawyer." He gazed off into the distance, a reminiscent glean in his eyes. "I wonder where they are and what they're up to . . . I miss them so much."

"I miss them, too," Phoebe said softly. "Life at Clearwater Marine Aquarium isn't the same without them."