I kept my expression as innocent as possible.
"Mom, it was because she slipped while we were trying to catch fish. That's what made her clothes wet."
Before Victoria could dig any deeper, I quickly stood up and brushed the sand off my pants.
"I'll go help them with the HELP sign."
Victoria scoffed under her breath, clearly still unconvinced, but she didn't stop me. I took the chance to escape and jogged down toward the open stretch of beach where Maya and Rachel were already gathering stones.
The three of us worked together under the steadily rising sun, collecting lighter-colored rocks and arranging them into large, clear letters that spelled out "HELP" across the sand. It took a while, but eventually the sign was big enough to be visible from the air.
Maya and Rachel both clapped the dust and sand off their hands, looking satisfied.
"Finally done," Maya said, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.
