The salty breeze brushed against Jake’s face as he stood on the edge of the boat, squinting out at the endless stretch of deep blue ocean. The tour guide’s voice crackled through the speaker system, talking about migration patterns and humpback behavior, but Jake was only half-listening. His attention was divided between the waves… and his sister, Brenda, who had her phone held high, recording herself like she was filming an award-winning nature documentary.

“We’re out here in the Pacific Ocean!” she said dramatically into the camera. “And today, we might—just might—see a whale the size of our house.”

Jake groaned. “Brenda, nobody’s gonna believe your Instagram stories if you say whales are house-sized.”

She ignored him. “This is my younger brother, Jake,” she added, flipping the camera toward him. “Say hi, Jake.”

“Help,” he said deadpan.

She laughed and tucked her phone away. “Come on, lighten up. This is cool! When’s the last time you did something like this?”

Jake shrugged. “Never, because I don’t get seasick on land.”

“Drama queen,” she teased, nudging him with her elbow.

The boat rocked gently, the sea glistening under the afternoon sun. Brenda was practically bouncing every time a crew member shouted that there might be something on the horizon.

“THERE! OVER THERE!” someone yelled.

A crowd gathered near the railing, including Brenda, who nearly tripped over her own feet trying to get a better view. “Jake! Jake! It’s a tail! I saw it!”

He jogged up beside her just in time to see a massive tail flick out of the water and disappear with a splash. The crowd gasped and cheered, phones and cameras clicking all around.

“Whoa,” Jake breathed. “Okay… that was actually pretty awesome.”

“Told you!” Brenda said, clapping her hands. “We just saw a real whale, bro. Not on TV. Not on YouTube. Real life.”

They stood at the railing for a while in silence, watching the water carefully in case the whale surfaced again. Brenda pulled her hoodie tighter around her as the wind picked up, and Jake offered her the extra granola bar he had in his pocket.

“A peace offering?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“For dragging me on a boat trip when I thought I was gonna sleep in on a Saturday? Yeah,” Jake replied with a smirk.

She laughed and took it. “You love it. Admit it.”

“…Okay, maybe a little,” he said, watching the ocean with a grin. “But if I throw up, I’m blaming you.”

“Deal,” she said, bumping her shoulder into his. “But you’re still posting that whale tail video I got. That thing was sick.”