Chapter 11

Chapter 11 CORAL IS TRENDING. FRIENDSHIPS ARE ENDING! Back in the real world, Harper nearly fell out of her seat when Po told them about his teammate's coral necklace. She was eating lunch with her friends at their usual table. They were discussing their plan for exploring the ocean monument later that day. Morgan expected there to be more of those monstrous fish inside. "It'll be a tough fight," he said. "But this time, we'll be ready. And then we can finally get back to land." "Aw," said Jodi. "I never found a use for the

coral I've collected." "Why not bring it with you?" Harper asked. "Morgan warned me what will happen if I use it out of the water," Jodi said. "It will all dry up and lose its color." She shrugged. "It belongs underwater." Po slapped his own forehead. "That reminds me. You guys won't believe what Ricky was wearing the other day." He was right. Harper really couldn't believe it. "But that's terrible!" she said. "Coral isn't fashion; it's a living thing! The whole point of Doc's experiment is…Oh no." A terrible thought occurred to Harper. Hadn't it looked like one of her pieces of coral had gone missing? "Po," she said. "Where did Ricky get the coral for his necklace?" "I don't know," Po answered. "He said he bought it from a student. But, Harper…It looked just like the coral from our experiments." That confirmed Harper's fear. "I think it was

taken from my aquarium," she told them. "Someone is trying to ruin our experiment. I've got to warn Theo!" Harper stood from her seat. She left her half- eaten sandwich on the table. She scanned the cafeteria and saw Theo at the far side of the room. She started walking in his direction. But she'd only made it a few steps before something caught her eye. A classmate named Lisa had a coral necklace of her own. Next to her, a kid named Jack sported a coral ring.

And Anna had a piece of coral adorning her yellow headband. The corals were different shapes and colors. They weren't all from Harper's aquarium. But that wasn't much of a comfort. "What are you all wearing?" Harper cried. "Are those coral earrings?" "Aren't they the best?" said a boy named Giaco. "I'm asking my parents to order some for me. Check it out." He held up a smartphone. It showed a website for coral jewelry. Harper's heart sank. "You can buy coral jewelry

online?" "Sure. Divers used to go looking for pearls," said Anna. "But pearls are so old-school. Coral is going to be the next big trend." "But that would be terrible," Harper explained. "Coral is a vital part of the planet's ecosystem! What you're wearing is basically the skeleton of a microscopic marine animal." "Wow! That is SO COOL!" said Jack. And then

he added in a confidential tone, "You're just making it sound better, you know." "But this isn't right!" said Harper. "Reefs provide a habitat—a home—for thousands of species of plants and animals. Maybe millions of them! You're putting them all in danger." "Well, yeah, but…" Lisa fiddled with her necklace. "This coral is already dead. So it's too late to do anything about it, right?" "And if they have coral, shouldn't I be allowed to get some, too?" said Giaco. Harper shook her head in dismay. She wasn't getting through to them. She hurried over to her lab partner. "Theo, you won't believe what's happened!" Harper said. "Someone took coral from our aquarium. And now a bunch of students are wearing coral like it's jewelry."