Back home on the Great Barrier Reef, Dory was counting. “One, two, three ... four ... um? Wait a minute. Why am I counting?” Dory removed her fins from her eyes and looked around. “Where is everyone? Uh-oh. Did they leave me? No, most likely not. Come on.” She started to swim around the reef. “Okay, well, it’s okay. I can figure this out,” she said confidently. “What was I doing just now? Um ... I was — Okay, why was I covering my face? Why was I trying to hide? Hide. Hide! Wait, I know!” She continued to count. “Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! Ready or not, here I come!”
Dory searched around the reef and found all her hiding family members and friends. The fish from Nemo’s class laughed as she found each one. “All right, you little shrimps, recess is over,” said Hank. The kids were disappointed, but gathered in front of Hank. “Bring it in. Time for another lesson.”
“When is Mr. Ray coming back from his migration?” asked Chickenfish.
“If he’s smart, he’ll stay away from here as long as he can. But until he does, I’m your substitute teacher,” said Hank. “All right, give your full attention to Mr. Bailey here.” Hank gestured to Bailey, who was beaming with pride.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Hank. Okay, kids, who wants to learn about echolocation?”
The kids booed, and Bailey’s smile fell.
“Hey, c’mon, guys,” said Destiny. “It’s actually really cool.”
“What are you supposed to be?” asked Chickenfish.
“I’m glad you asked,” said Destiny. “I’m a whale shark. And if I could see you, I’d eat you all in one bite!”
“Cool!” cheered the class. Then they chanted, “Do it! Do it! Do it!”
Outside the classroom, Dory faced Marlin, Jenny, and Charlie. “I’ll see you in a little while, guys. I’ve got something I want to do,” she said.
“Okay, kelpcake,” said Charlie. “Have fun!”
“Family swim when you get back!” said Jenny.
Marlin watched Dory as she swam away. “It’s so nice that Dory can go off by herself. She’ll always know how to find her way home. Never have to worry again,” he said.
Dory swam along, happily humming, “Just keep swimming ...”
But after keeping such a close eye on her for so long, Marlin couldn’t let Dory be alone. He peered out from behind some coral, secretly trailing behind her. He watched as she changed direction and followed closely, trying to stay out of view. He saw Dory head toward the edge of the reef, and it didn’t take long before he started to panic.
“Dory, no,” Marlin whispered.
Then she settled at the very edge of the drop-off. Dory just floated, staring out at the vast blue ocean beyond the reef. “Hey, Marlin,” she said, without turning around.
Marlin swam over and joined her. “Oh, hey. Hello, Dory,” he said, trying to sound normal.
“You all right? You look worried,” said Dory.
“Oh, I’m fine. It’s — how I always look.”
“I was just enjoying the view,” said Dory, smiling.
They both stared out into the peaceful open water, happy to be together.
“Wow,” said Marlin. “It really is quite a view.”
“Yup.”
Marlin looked back in the opposite direction, toward the reef, and smiled. “So is this one.”
Dory turned to see what he was looking at. Her big eyes lit up, and her smile widened. She saw her new, combined family floating together at the edge of the reef. Her parents were there — along with Nemo, Hank, Destiny and Bailey. It’s true, they were all different kinds of fish. But now, because of Dory, they were important parts of one incredible family. “Unforgettable,” she said.
(The End)