Most kids would love to go to
a yacht party, but not Marissa. She is being forced to
attend her mom's work party on a fancy boat,
and it's so boring. There are no other
kids at the party. Marissa is wearing a sailor
dress that she hates, and the only snacks are
gross foods adults like. On top of all that,
Marissa's parents volunteered her to walk around
and serve the nasty food to everyone. All Marissa wants to do is
go hide and listen to music, but she's trapped with
these boring old people. Fi
nally, after hearing a loud
woman with big yellow earrings blather on for 10
minutes, Marissa decides she's had enough. When no one is looking, she
sets down her tray and sneaks inside the boat. Marissa discovers a door
marked captain's quarters. Finally, some
privacy, she thinks. She curls up on
the bed, pulls out her phone to listen to some
music, and lets her eyes close. A big thwack against the side
of the boat wakes up Marissa. How long has she been asleep? She better get back to the party
before she gets in trouble. She rushes back up
to the deck only to realize it is
completely empty. Everyone has disappeared. Marissa calls for
her mom and dad. She searches the
yacht, frantically looking for someone, anyone. But she's alone miles from shore
in the middle of the ocean. Marissa screams for help. Is anyone there? What is she going to do? She can't drive the boat. Tears well up in Marissa's eyes
when she starts to hear music. It's the most beautiful song
she's ever heard in her life
. It sounds like an angel singing. Her eyes glaze over, all of her
thoughts and worries melt away, and she's left with only
the need to find that song. It's coming from the water. Like a zombie, Marissa
heads to the railing. A little voice in
the back of her head is telling her to step
back, that it's not safe. That voice is drowned out
by the beautiful song. She leans forward
even further, and she sees a big yellow earring
floating in the water. Marissa is briefly
jolted into reality. That's th
e loud lady's earring. But before she can
think too much about it, the song gets louder. And she looks
longingly at the water, ready to dive into where the
comforting music comes from. All of a sudden, orange flashing
lights obscure Marissa's sight, and she is pulled
back to reality. She realizes where she's
standing and backs up from the edge of the boat. What could she possibly
have been thinking? She hears the Coast Guard
announce their arrival. They tie up to the yacht
and climb in to help h
er. They tell Marissa that
they've been getting calls about abandoned boats. They wrap a blanket around her
and bring her onto their boat. As they motor to safety away
from the abandoned yacht, one officer jokes that
"the sirens must really be out tonight." "What's a siren?" Marissa asks. He explains that sirens
are beautiful mermaid-like creatures from mythology
whose songs would lure sailors into traps. "But they're not real," he says. Just then, out of the
corner of her eye, Marissa thinks sh
e
sees a beautiful woman floating in the water. But when she turns
to get a better look, all she catches is a glimmering
tail diving into the water as the distant song she
heard finally fades away. [audio logo]
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