Shark Lover (17 page)

            “Whooooooo!
I knew you could do it man! See you’re still the same old Marc that you always
were. You’re still one of the best surfers that I have ever known!” He yelled
through cupped hands as he sat with his board between both of his legs,
balancing through the rough waters.

            “It’s
not that big of a deal.” He said brushing off the compliments. Marc never liked
to take praise. His father had always taught him to stay humble and he would
for the rest of his life. He wouldn’t have a full head, like some surfers did.
No matter what he did with his life, he wanted to stay down-to-earth.

            “Yeah
it was man!” He called out as he started swimming ashore. “You actually got
back on the board and you were good! Your dad would have been so proud of you
right now. He woulda said that you and the board became one.” He plopped down
in the sand next to his best friend and gave him one of his large, signature
Tony smiles.

            Marc
couldn’t help but laugh. He found it funny that Tony had become so metaphorical
lately. It was even more amusing that Tony was using the smile that he used to
attract girls, on him. Tony had always been quite the charmer. The girls had
always flocked around him as if he was the next best thing and he probably was.
He looked as if he had come out of page five of a Hollister magazine. Marc had
often envied his good looks and the way he was with the ladies.

Marc
had never been outgoing and had often kept to himself. He had a difficult time
connecting with people. Even though he had a lot of friends, he felt as if they
didn’t really know him. Since his dad had died, he kept all of his emotions
bottled up inside him. On some days he felt as if he would explode from keeping
it all in too long. He was starting to accept that it was just how he was. He
was a lot like his dad. He had a hard time opening up to people he wasn’t close
to. If he met the right person, he might open up more. With Tony it was easy.
He had known him since he was a kid and he didn’t feel as if he would judge
him. He knew Tony would understand.

“Thanks
Tony. Even though it was only one wave, I felt as if I have accomplished
something.” He ran some sand grains through his fingers. “As my dad would say,
I faced my fears. Thanks for the push.”

“Anytime.
I hope to see you out here more. You have talent. Don’t hold it back.” He
patted his friend on the back as they started walking back.

Marc
took one last glance at the ocean, knowing it would be his last time soaking it
in for a while. He was proud of what he had done. He had faced his fears and he
did feel as if his dad was looking down on him proudly. He smiled to himself in
pure joy at what he had done. Not only had he become one with the waves, he had
become one with his father again. And there was no better feeling than that.

Glancing
around the room, he noticed tons of plants around the lab. There were plants
hanging from the ceiling, the walls and the door. He figured that Chris was a
gardener and possibly had a passion for planting as well. Marc got up from his
chair, shaking his head from the headache that he was slowly developing.
Wanting a drink of water he exited the office and went into the main hall of
the lab. He saw a faucet and a sink with a couple glasses. He poured himself a
glass of water, filling up the glass to the top. Feeling thirsty, he downed it
all in one big gulp. Setting the glass down, he turned the faucet back on and
started splashing water on his face in an effort to wake him up from his tired
state of mind.

Grabbing
the glass with his left hand, he walked back to the small office that he was in
before. He didn’t feel like sitting down anymore. His eyes couldn’t take
looking at that computer screen one minute longer. He decided to go investigate
the plants on the walls and see what all of this planting madness was all about.
The plants didn’t have soil and were all kept in a big, white plastic tube that
had small holes where the plants were coming out of. Lifting up one of the
plants, he realized he could see the roots. He also noticed that tomatoes were
growing from some of the plants. Wondering how plants could grow in such a
small area, he turned around to ask Chris, whom had already gotten up from his
desk and was standing behind Marc.

“Interested
in the plants?” He asked enquiringly.

“Yes,
I was just about to ask you about them actually,” Marc responded pulling up a
leaf of one of the plants. “What do you grow all of these plants for and why
are you growing them inside? The weather is so nice in San Francisco. I’m sure
you could have a small outdoor garden if you wanted to.”

“Well,
I’m a vegetarian first of all. And…”

“Wait,
you’re a vegetarian too? I never knew that about you Chris.” Cathy interrupted
as she looked at him in disbelief.

“Yeah,
I decided about a year ago to transform my eating habits to a vegetarian. I work
with animals, so I figured why am I eating them? It just didn’t seem right. I
was spending all of my time saving marine life, so I decided it just wasn’t
right to be putting them on my plate at dinner time. That’s when I decided to
give up meats and fish completely. When I realized that I loved animals more
than my appetite.”

“Wow,
that’s inspirational.” Cathy exclaimed as she patted his arm in support.

“Yeah,
Chris that’s great. It’s really an amazing thing to take a stand for the
animals.” Marc looked at Chris with sincerity, but he felt a twinge of
jealousy. Chris was strong, a good person and he truly had a passion for
animals. If Marc wasn’t with Cathy, he would probably assumed that Chris would
be a great match for her. They had a lot in common and they both seemed fervent
about saving marine life.

Marc
did care about animals, but being a marine biologist hadn’t been his first
career choice. If his father hadn’t passed away, he probably would have been a
surfer. He had just realized that now. Surfing was his passion and he needed to
get back to it as soon as possible. After making this revelation, he wanted to
take hold of it. But he would have to wait until later. Much later. Possibly
tomorrow, if he wasn’t doing anything with Cathy of course.

 Taking
another look at Chris, he was actually surprised that Chris hadn’t made a move
on Cathy sooner. Chris was a good looking guy, he was tall and extremely
muscular. He could probably have had any girl that he wanted to. The way he
talked about marine life with so much passion, had to be appealing to Cathy. He
knew she would never tell him that she felt that way, but Marc could see
admiration in her eyes for Chris. The way her blue eyes glimmered as he spoke
made him wonder.

Chris
ran his hand through his blond hair, shaking the plants off his head. He was so
tall, everything seemed to be in his way. “So to answer your original question
Marc,” He stated capturing Marc’s attention once again. “I’m actually growing
plants by using a technique called Aeroponics. It’s great because I don’t have
to use soil, since soil is so messy. It would end up totally trashing the labs
here. I basically grow these plants by using these horizontal boards and
vertical tubes. All I have to do is spray the plant’s roots with water a few
times a day. Lately I have been growing tomatoes, but I can grow other plants
as well. Since I am a vegetarian it’s the perfect way for me to grow lunch or
dinner in my own office here at the headquarters. I have also been saving some
of the fruits for our newly formed Shark Savors Camp. We have been carving the
tomatoes into popular marine life animals.”

“Wow,
I don’t even know what to say. You’ve left me speechless.” Cathy smiled as she
picked up a tomato from one of the plants. She stared out the window
momentarily, seemingly thinking and then turned back around to face Chris. “Do
you mind if I eat one? Swimming with the sharks made me pretty hungry. It looks
delicious and I need a fresh snack.”

“No
problem! Take as many as you like. I can always grow more.” His blue eyes
shined as he picked a few more tomatoes off of the plant and handed one to
Marc. “You take some too Marc. They are healthier and better tasting than the
ones that you buy in the stores.” He smirked. “Well at least in my opinion.”

“Thanks,
but I’m not much of a fruits or vegetable eater.” Marc handed the tomato back
to Chris. “Save it for the kids. It’s a great thing that you’ve got going
here.”

“Thank
you, I spent most of my life being lost. Once I started Shark Savors, I felt
like I was at home again. It’s been a great opportunity for me to meet people
who are as passionate about sharks as I am. I’m just blessed to have been able
to start it.” He walked back over to his desk and started to turn off his
computer. “I think I am going to go home for a while. I need to catch up on my
lesson plan for Monday’s camp. I will have hundreds of young kids and nothing
planned to do with them, which could end up being a problem.”

Cathy
laughed. “Yeah, kids can be a handful. I’m sure you will find something
creative for them to do. We better be going too. I can’t believe how fast the
day has passed us by.”

“It
was great seeing both of you. I know that we always appreciate all the help
that we can get with this organization. My volunteers have really helped me
form what Shark Savors has been today. Without all of their help, we wouldn’t
exist.” He grabbed his backpack from the side of his desk as he started leading
the way out of the building. “And thank you so much Marc for joining us today. It
has been a pleasure having you on board.”

“No
problem, I enjoyed it myself as well. Even though I was afraid at first, it was
such a great experience for me. I will be joining the organization. I want to
experience this every week.” Marc said, almost shocked at his own words. He
wasn’t sure if it was his enjoyment of scuba diving that made him want to join
the group or the fact that he wanted to spend supervised time with Chris and
Cathy.

“That’s
great to hear Marc. It’s always great to gain another member. We would gladly
appreciate the help.” He closed the door to his office and locked it, while
looking thoughtfully out into the hallway. “Would you both like to see our new
Aquaponics system that we just put in? I had some of the kids from the camp help
me install the system. It’s up and running now.” He stuffed his office key back
into his bag and started leading the way once again.

“Of
course we would love to see it.” Cathy grabbed Marc’s hand and started picking
up her walking pace in order to keep up with Chris.

Marc
stopped in front of the large wooden structure in awe. He had never seen
anything like it before in his life. The closet thing he could relate it to was
a wooden bunk bed, but for fish and plants. The top layer was filled with green
and leafy plants. The center was held up by four wooden beams and the bottom
contained a large tank that was full of fish. He looked down into the bottom of
the bed and took a closer look at all of the fish swimming around. He hadn’t
witnessed an Aquaponics system before and as a marine biologist, he was
fascinated.

“So
this is our Aquaponics system. I’m sure that since you are both marine
biologist you have heard of the concept before, but it has been a proven
hydroponics technique for us here in the lab. Basically the waste accumulates
the water which helps increase toxicity for the fish. The water is led to the
hydroponic system where the by-products from the aquaculture are broken down by
bacteria which then is filtered out by the plants as nutrients. After the water
is cleaned by the plants it is recirculated back to the fish. It really creates
a symbiotic growing relationship between the plants and the fish.” Chris
explained with pride in his eyes.

“That’s
amazing that the fish and the plants are actually working together to keep each
other alive. I bet it’s a great addition to the lab too with the plants that
you are growing on the top there.” Marc said as his eyes still laid on the tank
in captivation.

“It’s
been a proven success so far. The kids in our camps love it. We let them feed
the fish on breaks. We are growing strawberries on the top of our system here.
Do you guys see them?”

Marc
and Cathy both nodded and gazed towards the top of the Aquaponics system.

“The
kids love eating the strawberries. They are in season right now. It’s always
nice to be able to serve fruits and vegetables as snacks for the kids, at least
the parents always agree with that theory.” He pulled his book bag closer to
his shoulder before continuing. “The campers enjoyed putting this Aquaponics
system together. They are the ones who are taking care of the fish and the
plants. I oversee everything, but our campers and volunteers have really
stepped it up as far as helping us take care of things around here.”

“It’s
really a great program that you have going on here. I’m sure that you are proud
of all the hard work that has been accomplished that has made it possible. I
didn’t even know that you had all of these hydroponic growing techniques in
here. It’s a wonderful thing that you are doing for the community here. The way
that you are helping animals and children, just blows my mind away.” Cathy took
a step back from the system and looked Chris in the eyes, shining one of her
famous smiles that could make anyone melt.

“It’s
been a passion of mine for a while. I was just lucky enough to be able to start
it. Like I said before, I can’t thank my volunteers and campers enough for all
of their support. It’s really the support of the community that helps Shark
Savors run fully.” He started walking down the hall to the main entrance of the
building as Marc and Cathy followed. “Once again, thanks so much for all of
your help. It was a pleasure meeting you Marc and it’s always good seeing you
Cathy. I hope to see you both again next week.” He opened the door for them and
let them out, while he locked the door to the lab shut.