“There’s something more,” she said as the day came to an end and we headed home.
“I’m ok. It’s just…my stomach’s upset.”
She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Jade said something to you in the bathroom, didn’t she, Holly. I can tell something is going on. What happened?”
Hugging my books to my chest, I quietly skimmed the details of my encounter with Jade and her gang. Kate’s eyes narrowed, and she turned around, marching back towards the school. Kids were still loading onto buses and messing around, yelling and laughing.
“Where are you going?” I yelped worriedly, trying to catch up.
“I’m not letting her mess with my best friend,” she snapped.
“Kate, it’s not worth it!”
“Yes it is,” she argued. “She can’t keep upsetting you like this. It has to stop.”
I managed to grab her and drag her back down the sidewalk. “If you try to confront her like this, you’ll get into trouble. You know how she is with the teachers. They all think she’s wonderful.” I didn’t release my hold on Kate’s arm until she agreed to let it drop.
“Did she tell you to stay away from Zac?”
I ducked my head, and she groaned.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do what Jade tells me to.” I tried to assure her.
“Yeah, sure. You avoided Zac all afternoon. You had classes with him, and I saw you ignore him.”
I didn’t want to get into an argument with my best friend, but she was only making me feel worse, although I knew it wasn’t on purpose. I just didn’t want to talk about Jade anymore. It was nearly the end of March, and then it would be spring break. I’d have a week without Jade around, and hopefully, I could hang out with Zac. After today, I was fairly sure he did like me. Jade must have seen it too. That was the only reason she would have come after me the way that she did.
But I didn’t want to risk blurting it all out to Zac. He’d probably think I was a drama queen. Plus, it was kind of embarrassing to suggest that Jade might be jealous because he liked me. It was all so mixed up; I didn’t know what he’d think.
“You know, you could always wait until our next project in history,” Kate suggested thoughtfully. I could almost see her mind ticking over.
“What do you mean?”
“We all know what Jade’s like…she’ll come up with something great to impress everybody. And then you can try to embarrass her for once. It’d be perfect,” Kate giggled at the thought. “Oh, I’d love to see her squirm.”
I nodded in agreement, then stopped suddenly, nearly tripping over my feet. “Oh my gosh! You’re a genius!”
“What?” she laughed.
“I’ve got to get home. I’ll call you later!” I replied excitedly and took off at a run, leaving poor Kate standing bewildered on the pavement.
I needed to talk to Oliver, and I could not get home quickly enough. I’d never been so excited to speak to my brother before. Rushing inside, I dumped my backpack by the door.
“Holly?” Mom called from her office.
“Yeah, I’m home!”
“Don’t leave your stuff by the door, please!”
I grunted, wondering how she even knew I had done that when she was in her office working. Rushing back for my bag, I carried it with me to the basement, expecting to see Oliver sitting at his workbench. But he wasn’t down there. I ran back up the basement stairs and then up another flight of stairs to his room, but that was empty, too.
“Mom? Where’s Oliver?” I called loudly, as I raced back down the stairs, panic creeping through me. What if he’d accidentally sent himself back in time somewhere?
Mom came out of her office, glossing over several papers in her hand. “He’ll be home around dinnertime. He stayed after school to tutor some students.”
“Today?”
She eyed me suspiciously. “Yes, today. What’s the problem, Holly? Is there something going on that I should know about?”
“What? Oh nothing,” I shook my head. “Just wanted to talk to him about something I learned at school today in science class.”
“Oh yeah? Sounds thrilling.” Her raised brow said she didn’t believe me, but she let it go when I said I was going upstairs to do my homework.
Dumping my bag and books on the bed, I sat down beside them and stared at the ceiling.
Kate’s words had given me a great idea, not for when our next presentation came around, but for the one that had already happened. I grinned and imagined going back in time and watching Jade getting up to present to the class but finding her slideshow messed up, or her artifacts missing. She wouldn’t be so cool if she had nothing to show after all that boasting. I could take her down a notch or two. Where was the harm? It’d be easy to do. I could sneak in and sabotage it somehow…yeah, I could make it work.
I smiled and rolled over to grab my notebooks and get started on my homework, all the while, formulating a plan in my head to get back at Jade.
***
I didn’t get a chance to talk to Oliver until after dinner. He disappeared down to the basement like always, and since it was my turn, I helped Mom to clean up the dishes, then I hurried down after him. He was hunched over his workbench, sifting through more of Grandpa’s handwritten notes. He looked deep in thought, and when I reached over to shake his shoulder, he jumped with a startled yelp.
“Sorry,” I cringed apologetically, as papers went flying.
He scowled at me, and I helped him pick them up. “I had no idea you were there. You could’ve said something you know.”
“What did you think? I was the bogeyman?” I smiled. “You watch too many of those ghost TV shows.”
“It’s so quiet and isolated down here,” he argued, trying to justify his reaction. “You’d freak out if someone sneaked up on you, too.”
With the papers gathered, he plopped back down on his stool, and I paced close by.
“What’s up?”
“I uh…I have an idea to run by you, for the next time we take a trip.”
“Yeah?” He said slowly, now giving me his full attention. “What were you thinking? And why do you look like you think I’m going to say no?”
I continued to pace, wringing my hands as I spoke. “Well, you know how Jade’s been giving me a hard time at school, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Don’t look at me like that! I don’t want to do anything too crazy,” I promised. “Just something to put her in her place is all. Gently.”
He turned his cap to the back of his head and stared at me curiously.
“What exactly did you want to do?”
“I want to go back to just a week ago and mess up her history presentation.”
Oliver puffed out his cheeks and shook his head.
“What? Why not?” I stared back at him, my stomach dropping with disappointment.
“First of all, that’s being petty, and secondly, how do you plan on messing up her presentation without getting caught?” he challenged. “That’s in the middle of the school day with a ton of people around!”
I sank onto the other stool and sighed. “I guess you have a point.”
“Holly, you saw what happened when you saw yourself. What if that happens again?”
“But what if it doesn’t?”
He threw his head back, muttering under his breath, “You’re pushing your luck.”
I picked at the wooden edge of the table, figuring I would have to go with Kate’s original plan and mess up Jade’s next presentation somehow. I wondered what it would be about and if I could mess her up enough to get payback.
“So what did she do that’s got you so keen on revenge?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I shook my head and started for the basement stairs. “No, it’s fine. You’re right about risking too much. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yeah, it is if you want to risk all this just to mess her up. She must’ve done something pretty bad!
I r
emained tight-lipped but stayed in my spot. Oliver raised his eyebrows encouragingly, waiting for me to explain.
“She and her friends ganged up on me about hanging out with Zac.”
“Ganged up on you?”
I hadn’t even told Kate the entire story, but if Oliver heard about her bullying, he might be more inclined to help me out. I took a deep breath and spilled every detail of what Jade said in the bathroom, including the way she and her friends acted towards me. Oliver rarely got mad, but when he saw how upset I was, he glared at the far wall and then pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back.
“You’re going to tell Mom, right?”
“What? No way,” I said quickly, wiping at my eyes to dry them. “No. Jade’s mom and our mom know each other, remember? I’m not going to bring up their old rivalry.”
“Mom should know, or you should at least tell someone at school.”
“No, it won’t make any difference. All the teachers think Jade’s the perfect student,” I argued. “It’s really ok. I’ll be fine.”
Oliver shook his head and walked back to the table. “If we do this, if we even try it, you have to understand how dangerous it would be. We have to plan it perfectly, like better than perfect, so we don’t get caught.”
“Wait, you’re saying you’ll do it?” I asked quietly, not wanting to get my hopes up just yet.
“No one messes with my little sister. So yeah, yeah we’re going to do this. Somehow.”
I squealed with excited laughter and hugged him again. “Oh, my gosh, Oliver! Thank you! You’re the best big brother ever!”
“You bet I am.”
“So, how are we going to do it?” I asked, bouncing on my feet as I watched him reach for the machine. “Are we doing it right now?”
“What? No, we’re going to have to plan this out carefully, and that’s going to take a few days.” He grabbed his notepad, and after checking some of Grandpa’s notes, he started jotting things down that I didn’t understand. “The safest way is for us to already be at school when we travel.”
“Because we’ll land in the same spot in the past,” I said. “Right, ok, I get it. So how are we going to do that without anyone seeing us?”
I bit my lower lip, wondering if this was a good idea or not. I pictured the thought of us getting caught, sneaking around the school at night. I could see it now, some night patrol security guard catching Oliver, me, and probably Kate, wandering around the school with a box that had a crazy glowing machine inside it.
“I’m not sure,” Oliver replied. “Is there anything going on at your school this week?”
I was about to say no, but then hopped up and down when I remembered. “The spring band concert, it’s on Thursday night. We can get in with the other students and then sneak away while the concert is on!”
He nodded along with my idea. “And your history class? How are you going to sneak into the classroom to do what you need to do?”
I held up my hand, ready for a brilliant idea to pour out of my mouth, but there was nothing. I had no idea what to do, or how to get it done without getting all of us caught. “I’ll have to get back to you on that one,” I mumbled.
“Think it over long and hard. If we’re going to do this, we have to be sure we’re not going to mess it up. Got it?”
“Got it.”
He went back to jotting down his notes, and I headed for the stairs. There was homework I needed to finish, and I’d promised Kate I’d call her. I started up the steps, stopped, then rushed back to hug Oliver again before racing up the stairs.
My heart was pounding with excited adrenalin over what we had planned. And I could not wait to put it into action.
Chapter 6
“Stop glaring at her like that,” I whispered the following morning.
“Can’t help it. I’m wondering how I can find a way to get back at her.”
Kate shoved a few more books into her locker then closed it. “You going to talk to Zac today at least? He seemed really confused yesterday when you ignored him.”
I felt bad about yesterday, but for some reason, I didn’t want to open up to Zac about the way Jade was behaving. He said he didn’t want to hang out with her, but I had no idea if they’d actually been friends before or if he was just putting up with her? And there was that deep, dark part of my mind that said it was all a bad joke and the whole idea of Zac liking me was just a nasty trick that Jade had planned all along.
“Hey, there he is,” Kate said, and before I could say anything, she gave me a little shove forward.
I tripped over my feet and fell right into Zac. He caught me with a soft laugh and steadied me on my feet, smiling at me. “Hey, you ok?” he asked.
“I uh, yeah, I’m good,” I rambled, then cleared my throat when a lump formed.
“So um… are you still talking to me? Or did I do something wrong?” He shuffled his feet, and I realized he was nervous, really nervous. “You looked like you were kind of avoiding me.”
I stared up at him, surprised at how direct he was being. “It wasn’t you,” I told him quickly and hung my head. “I kind of argued with someone, and…and it made me upset…that’s all,” I spied the person in question and froze.
His eyes narrowed, and he glanced over his shoulder when he saw my reaction. “Jade?”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s ok,” I mumbled.
“Look, Holly, she thinks she’s the best, but really, she’s just a bully,” he insisted turning back to me. “Without her friends to back her up, she wouldn’t be half as confident. And besides, I’m sure she’s jealous of you. That’s just the way she is.”
“But she’s your friend, isn’t she? I don’t think she likes me hanging out with you,” I said, my cheeks growing hot at the thought of her staring at us.
Zac shook his head. “Like I said before…she always wants to hang out with my friends and I but I don’t like her, Holly, and I don’t want her bugging you. I’ll talk to her if you want, try to make her understand.”
“No, no that might make it worse. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
“You sure you’re ok?” he asked, concerned. It warmed me to hear it.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Okay,” he smiled.
His blue eyes beamed at me and I felt the familiar tremor of butterflies fluttering crazily in my stomach. We walked side by side down the hall, passing Jade as we went. She tried to get Zac’s attention, but he ignored her, and a hush fell over the area. On the outside, I kept on talking to Zac, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Inwardly, I was laughing to see Jade out of sorts and her cheeks reddening as the people around her giggled and whispered before she stormed off. I decided to stay out of her way for the next few days; at least until I had my chance to mess up her spotless reputation even further.
I shouldn’t have been so excited to do something that would essentially ruin another person’s grade, but I told myself it was karma coming back to get Jade for all the stuff she’d put other kids through, myself included. She was not a nice person, and she deserved what she got.
One way or another, I’d get my chance to get her back and then she would leave me alone.
***
I was able to spend all of history class sitting with Zac since we now had our project to work on. It was the most fun history lesson I’d ever had. We laughed while we worked and as well, we talked more about our plans to see a movie that weekend. I was very excited and couldn’t stop smiling. Even Jade glaring at me the entire time did nothing to dampen my good mood.
At lunchtime, Kate and I sat by ourselves. Zac was at basketball training with his teammates in the gym, but it gave me a chance to tell Kate all about my plan to sabotage Jade’s history project. I hadn’t mentioned it on the phone the night before because I wanted to tell her in person. It was the first chance I’d had, and I was desperate to share the details.
“The one Jade hasn’t done yet?” Kate asked, unsure of what project I was referrin
g to.
“No,” I corrected on a whisper. “The one that Jade has already done.
“Wait, how are you…oh my gosh!” Kate yelped, and I shushed her as kids around us stared curiously. “Sorry, but are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Why not? That project was such a big deal for her. Could you imagine the look on her face if it gets messed up?” I couldn’t eat my food because I was too intent on explaining all the details. I shoved my tray aside. “But the problem is, I don’t know when I could sneak into the classroom to do it.”
Kate’s lips pursed in her thinking face as she picked apart her sandwich. “You know, Mrs. Clarke’s planning period is right before our class.”
I smiled slowly along with her. I’d completely forgotten. “We’d have to get her out of the room.”
“She’s not in her room, not normally. I always see her coming from the teacher’s staffroom before our class, but if she did happen to be in the classroom, we could always cause a distraction and get her out of there. What are you planning to do?”
“Hide the artifacts for one,” I said, tapping my fingers on the table. “And maybe give Jade’s presentation a bit of an upgrade.”
Everyone had to log into the student computer in the classroom to access their presentations. All I had to do was log in under Jade’s account and switch out her presentation with a new one. “But I need her student ID.”
Our logins were simple. The first letter of the first name, followed by the first four letters of the last name, and our password was our six-digit student ID number. If I had that, I could get into the computer, use a USB drive to upload a new presentation and then close it out. She’d never notice if I made sure the saved date didn’t show. No one paid attention to that.
“I can get her ID,” Kate suggested eagerly. “We’ll find a way to take a peek at one of the teacher’s books.”
“We have to get it by Thursday. That’s when the band concert is on, and it might be our only chance. That way we can be at school when everyone is occupied in the gym, and we won’t get caught.”
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