"rats!" i groaned1. "is he coming along?"
i stared disgustedly at my new stepbrother, benny, sitting in the back seat of dad's car. benny is eight, short and thin with beady eyes（警惕） and *g ears. now that mom and dad are spanorced, i only see dad *ry other weekend, and benny is always horning in. he ruins *rything.
the time we went hiking, he got a blister2（水疱） . the zoo made him sneeze. at the baseball * he got a peanut up his nose. if dad had to remarry, i don't see why he picked benny's mother. i mean, she's ok. it's just too bad that benny was included in the deal.
today dad and i were going deep-sea fishing for the first time. now it was spoiled.
"joe," dad said in his patient voice, "benny's your brother—"
"some brother!"
"we'll have a good time," dad promised. "better bring a jacket."
"what for?" i glanced at the steel-colored florida sky. "it's hot today."
the fishing boat was a scabby（脏兮兮的） old tub, but when you're only paying 15 dollars a person for three hours of fishing, you don't get the queen elizabeth ii. there were s*ral people on board, sitting on benches on each side of the deck. a few were in the ca*n.
the captain's mate gave each of us a rod and reel and a bucket of bait（诱饵） before we cast off.
"we're * up a jackpot for who*r catches the *ggest fish," the mate said. "if you guys want in on it, it will cost you a buck3 a piece."
dad gave him three dollars. i figured paying for benny was wasted money. he probably wouldn't *n bait his hook.
i was right. the kid stared suspiciously into the bucket and made a face.
"this stuff stinks5! what is it?"
"dead fish," i told him.
"do i have to touch it?"
"if you want to bait your hook, you do."
"here, benny," dad said, "take my rod. the hook's baited and in the water. i'll use yours."
"ok!" said benny. he gripped the handle of the rod as if his life depended on it.
a breeze had sprung up, and the waves were choppy（波涛汹涌的） . some clouds slid over the sun. nobody caught anything.
then benny said, "something's jerking my line. what should i do?"
"jerk back!" i told him. i reached for his rod. "i'll get it for you!"
"let him do it, joe," dad said. "pull, benny, and hang on tight!"
wouldn't you know it? benny caught the first fish—ttle snapper—and he acted as if it were a prize marlin（枪鱼） .
meanwhile the sky had grown dark, and the breeze had turned into a stiff wind, the waves rose higher. *s of rain slapped our faces, the temperature *ped, and thunder rumbled6 in the distance. the boat rocked like a runaway7 cradle.
dad's face turned green.
"i think i'll go below," he said as he handed me his rod. "look after benny."
he staggered across the deck and bent8 over the rail.
i had expected benny to get seasick9, but not dad. well, the kid would probably be next.
the waves were really high now. one second the boat seemed to be standing10 on a hilltop, and the next it would plunge11 into a valley. i clung to the rail and watched the waves rise and fall.
my stomach suddenly heaved, and a *tter taste rose into my throat. i leaned over the rail and lost my lunch. i'd n*r been so sick in all my life—and i was freezing! goosebumps（鸡皮疙瘩） stood out on my arms like grapefruits. why hadn't i worn a jacket? why had i *n come? who needed to go deep-sea fishing anyway? i suddenly realized i hated fish—especially the dead ones in the bait buckets. the stink4 of them filled my nose, my head—my stomach! breakfast followed lunch.
"maybe you'd better go inside the ca*n, joe," said benny. "i'll * you."
"i don't need any *!"
but i did. i was so weak my legs trembled. i could n*r have crossed that squirming deck if benny hadn't supported me. the kid was stronger than he looked. he *ed me down the steps and steered12 me to the bench where dad was sitting with his head drooping13 on his chest.
dad briefly14 stared at us with bleary eyes before closing them again. i knew just how he felt.
it was warmer in the ca*n, but i kept shivering while i tried to keep my stomach from crawling into my mouth.
benny took off his windbreaker and draped it over my shoulders. "you'd better lie down on the bench and put your head on my lap," he said.
i lay there for the rest of that miserable15 voyage. when i finally tottered16（蹒跚，踉跄） off the boat, i said i'd n*r step off solid ground again. dad said he felt the same way.
i thanked benny for his jacket—and for his skinny thighs17, which had made a pillow for my woozy（虚弱的） head.
"no problem!" benny grinned. "what are brothers for?"
"to make money!" i pointed18 at the bundle of dollar *lls he was carrying. because of the storm, nobody else had caught a fish, so benny had won the jackpot.
he deserved it.
__