"They said the diamond would be here, along the reef, hidden in the rocks." She took a deep breath trying hard not to scream. She'd searched the entire thing. It'd taken her a good month to do so. Her entire body was one big red eyesore. Snorkeling wasn't all that wonderful on your back when you were in salt water for hours at a time. Today, she found that she wasn't so fond of snorkeling as she'd been in days past.

She'd had to go to the doctor to get treated for second degree burns because of it. Even in the evening when the sun wasn't out she'd still suffered burns.

"No," she sighed in frustration, " I've looked behind every rock along the north beach reef and no diamond!" She beat her hand hard against a rock and felt like screaming.

"What an asshole!"

She popped to the surface and took the snork out of her mouth.

"Yes, they said it'd be in a brown bag tied with a red string." She turned her head slightly, whimpering in pain, so that she could watch people walking by one of the sea side stories selling surfing equipment.

She climbed out of the water and sat down on her towel. The phone she had in her handbag began ringing like an ambulance charging down the road with a dying patient inside. She pulled it out and stared at it.

Finally, she tapped softly on the phone receiver, with the only part of her body that wasn't covered in lotion because of the salt water. Her bright red finger nails looked almost the same color as the rest of her body.

"What do you want me to do, Steve?" She asked when she began speaking. " Poop out a black diamond?"

She frowned as the voice spoke to her. In angry tones.

"I've been snorkeling every day, Steve! If my skin wasn't so burned It would look like an old ladies!"

The voice cut her off, but she kept talking anyway.

"Don't tell me what to do! You keep screaming at me and I'm gonna tell you just what you can do with that! She paused for a moment and then added.

"And it won't be pretty!

She shut the phone down, got up and started walking. The lost diamond wasn't her problem anymore. Foolish people did foolish things. She'd had her fill of contests. She was done being foolish. Steve could do his own treasure hunting.

She slowed down after about a hundred yards, only because it hurt too much to walk that fast. She took several deep breaths until she felt calmer. After that She glanced around looking to see where she'd rushed herself off to in such a bad temper.

Ten more steps and she'd be in the North/South Sea Food shop. Best place in town to get the food you wanted to serve for dinner. They always had the freshest catches in town. She continued walking towards the door now feeling more comfortable with her screaming skin.

A thought jumped into her head.

"Could a fish have swallowed the black diamond?"

She stepped up to the dell counter and gazed at the fish on display. The sign advertised fresh fish for the day in front of some tasty looking long fish.

"Hey Samuel," she called out, "Were these caught along the north beach reef?"

Samuel glanced up at her and smiled while holding a bloody knife he'd been using to chop off fish heads and nodded. "Yep, we caught those just this morning. Do you want one?"

She nodded. "I want them all," she answered. "And if you have any more you didn't sell caught in that area I want those too!"

She turned away and then looked back. "Did you sell any of these before I came in?"

"Claudia," he purred back at her in his own kinda amazing sexy voice, "why would you want all of those?" He Gestured towards the fish on display before he stepped away from his chopping block and came closer to her.

"Are you having a fish party and forgot to invite me?" He winked at her and grinned showing all of his sparkling white teeth like little piranhas ready to eat the skin right off her hide.

She ignored his flashy grin and asked again in a more forceful voice. "Did you sell any of them before I came in?"

He wiped his hands clean of blood with his apron.

"Nope," he answered just as friendly as he'd answered before. His charming smile had gotten him so many invations in the past.

"How do you want them wrapped?" He began removing the fish from display several at a time. She noticed his cute little ass as he worked.

"What time should I show up for the party?" He winked at her and grinned again. "These are the best there is to have along that beach. I don't wanna miss my share you know."

She finally laughed. "Wrap them like precious diamonds," she replied.

"One of them could contain just that -a precious diamond."

Have you guys been fishing in that area recently?" She shrug her shoulders and corrected herself. "I mean before today's catch."

"Nope, we've been on the other side far away from that area." He rolled another fish in sweet paper and folded it's edges for closure before he taped it shut. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she replied in the same type of voice. "Party will be at seven," she winked at him in reply and took the bag he was handing her over the top of the counter. "Bring your own wine glasses."

He laughed and called out to her as she pushed her way out the door. "I'll bring the white wine too!"

-------

She sighed as she cut the last fish in half hoping to find the diamond in it's gut. But, like all the rest, it wasn't there.

She tossed the last fish head into the trash and finished preparing the fish for grilling.

"No point in wasting good fish..."
------

The party, as always, was a huge success. But Claudia's heart wasn't in it. She still wanted to find that black diamond, and time was running out.

"Behind a rock..." kept beating into her head as the party roared on into the night. "What else was on that reef besides rocks?" She tapped her head trying to remember what she'd seen. "sea turtles, tons of urchins, fish..."

"Claudia?" A familiar voice brought her back into the present. She glanced up to see Samuel holding her cell phone. "Your phone was ringing..." He handed it to her. "I wasn't sure if it was urgent or not so I just brought it you?" He placed the phone in her hand and stepped back.

"Thanks," she replied, kinda off key, as if she'd been in another world, and glanced at the call list. Yep, Steve had called. She brushed back a piece of hair that kept falling over her eyes. "What am I gonna tell him?"

She glanced back up at Samuel. "Yep, it's important..." Then she walked away.

--------------

It seemed like ages had passed since she'd entered that bloody contest with Steve. They'd been sure they'd win it because she loved snorkeling and he loved games that involved finding things. They'd felt sure to win. The prize wasn't something to scoff at. But if you couldn't find what was on the list then you were just wasting time.

She kicked the trash can out of frustration and tipped it over where all the fish parts she'd thrown away spilled out onto the floor. She groaned in annoyance.

The party was going full tilt out on the back porch. People were dancing, singing and for all she knew swimming nude in the pool, and all she had to show for it was a mess of fish parts on her kitchen floor with blood and...She blinked her eyes several times before she reached out and picked it up.

"It's a brown bag!" Laying just inside some of the fish part's she'd thrown away was the brown bag she'd been searching for. The red ribbon was still attached to it's top.

"No way!" She said to herself. The tiny bag felt kinda hard. She took several deep breaths before she tried to open it.

"Hey!" A voice called out to her. She stuffed the bag into her apron pocket and turned around.

"My god! Samuel's sexy voice called out to her. "What happened?"

She started to pick up the fish waste and replied. "The last thing I need him to realize is what I found. Act like nothing is wrong except you spilled the trash by accident."

"I wasn't being careful and tipped over the trash can." She kept picking up the fish parts and tossing them back into the trash can.

"Here," he replied let me help you." He got down on the floor and started to toss the discarded fish parts into the trash with her at a much faster rate. She smiled at him.

"Thank you."

"My God why can't he just go and join everyone else in the party?"

She kept working. It wasn't long before all the fish were back in the trash.

Just as she was getting up her cell began to ring again.

"Your phone's sure busy tonight," remarked Samuel as he too stood up and switched on the water at the sink, so he could wash his hands.

She looked at the display. Steve had sent her a text message, and it was none too kind.

"You wanna dance once you get your hands washed?" He held out his arms and moved around like he was dancing with someone.

"No," she replied. "My back is way too tender to do that." She turned around so he could see her burned skin. "I was snorkeling way too much this month."

"Oh, I totally undertstand." He backed off and returned to the party finding a dance partner just as soon as he walked out into the middle of the party.

She laughed. "That was like him."

She turned around and pulled the brown bag out of her pocket and opened it.

She stared into the bag and then broke out in laughter. A black diamond the contest had said was to be found in the bag. What she found inside the bag was a rock painted black and a note attached in plastic so it would survive the water.

"Sorry, my young snorkeler! No diamond here."

Attached to the note was another note. It gave instructions as to where to look for another treasure. A bronze monkey, "she laughed as she tossed the black diamond into the trash.

"I'm all done with contests!" Her phone started ringing again. However, she never heard it. she'd left the kitchen to join the party...

Life was good!