The Wonder of Water
Pepper stood wide-eyed on the deck, staring at Mr. Eisenbart’s pale,
hairy legs. The team had barely finished loading the ship with their
provisions for the next few weeks and moving into their cabins below
deck when the aquarium director had swapped his dusty suit for a pair
of colorful shorts and a light shirt.
A deep droning sound distracted Pepper from this unusual sight and,
after a little lurch, the ship began to move away from the pier. The
others were all bustling about around her, doing a hundred different
jobs at lightning speed. The anchor was pulled in, the flag was raised,
and the last few objects on deck were secured. The expedition could
finally begin! The ship rocked lightly up and down on the waves, and
after a while, Pepper managed to ignore the queasy feeling in her
stomach and went out to explore the ship.
The cabins that the expedition team would be sleeping in were located
below deck. Pepper was lucky enough to have been assigned a cabin
with a porthole. Under the cabins was the ship’s hold, and behind that
was the engine room containing the ship’s propeller, which was
emitting a steady drone. Back on the deck of the ship, Pepper spent
the next hour watching the coast behind her growing smaller and
smaller, and she couldn’t help but be amazed that an object as big
and heavy as the research vessel that she was standing on didn’t
simply sink. How was it even possible that a ship could float?
8
