Time Traveler - Books 1, 2, 3 & 4: Books for Girls aged 9-12

by Katrina Kahler

  Kate saluted me, face serious. “Yes, Ma’am. Don’t worry, we’re going to get it, and then Jade is going to have a fun time explaining why her presentation is so bad.”

  We toasted with our water bottles, and when I caught Jade glaring daggers at me, I smiled and waved. Soon enough, she’d be the one everyone would make fun of and she would finally leave me alone for good. I could hardly wait for Thursday to arrive.

  ***

  By the next afternoon, I was worried we weren’t going to pull this plan off. I had yet to get Jade’s ID number, and as my afternoon class was different from Kate’s, I had no idea if she’d been successful. It was seventh period, and the bell was about to ring to send us home for the day. I needed to know I had her ID so I could get going on the new presentation that would replace Jade’s old one. I remembered what her title slide had looked like, but everything after that was going to be very, very different.

  The bell rang, and I hurried out of the classroom, rushing to my locker to wait for my friend. I heard running steps and Kate’s voice loudly asking people to move as she sprinted down the hall and slid into me with a laugh.

  “Did you get it?” I asked.

  She nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “Got it! We are in!”

  “Oh my gosh, you’re amazing!” I beamed at her. “You want to help me get the presentation going? It’ll be fun putting it together!”

  “Um…yes! Definitely!” she laughed.

  We gathered our things and walked out of the school. Just as we reached the pavement that led to the street outside the school grounds, we saw Zac skateboarding our way.

  “Hey!” he grinned, hopping off his skateboard and standing alongside us. “How're things?”

  “Today ended up being pretty good,” I smiled back. “And I think the rest of the week is going to be even better.”

  His blue eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. “And Saturday? You’re still ok to see that movie?”

  “Definitely. Kate’s keen too,” I told him, glancing at Kate. “And Oliver’s going to come as well, so it should be fun.”

  “Ha, really?” he smiled back. “That’s perfect then.”

  He ran a hand shyly through his spiky dark hair. “So, I guess I’ll see you guys, tomorrow?”

  “Okay, see you tomorrow,” I smiled as he hopped back on his skateboard and headed off down the street.

  My stomach was churning with excitement, and I couldn’t help laughing at Kate when she nudged me in the arm with her elbow. “You two are getting along well,” she grinned.

  I laughed some more, and we chatted happily all the way to my front gate. I wanted Saturday to come faster, but it’d be here soon enough, and I knew I had other things to focus on in the meantime.

  Kate texted her mom to let her know she was at my house and we headed straight up to my room. Mom called a greeting from her office, but I told her we had some history project stuff to work on and we managed to get upstairs before she could bombard us with questions about our day.

  Once inside my room, I texted Oliver to let him know that everything was set to go ahead with our plan.

  “So, what do you want to put on the slides for Jade’s presentation?” Kate asked, clapping her hands and looking almost evil as I booted up my laptop.

  “I don’t want to do anything too bad,” I said quickly. “You know, not something that will get her into trouble, but I definitely want to make sure she doesn’t have a perfect grade by the end of it. Maybe we’ll throw in some more interesting pictures instead of the ones she showed us?”

  We started searching around on the internet for photos of the past presidents and then more recent photos of famous singers and actors. We made up random facts about why they were famous and how much they’d contributed to the world recognition of our country. We laughed as we did it, but tried to keep it under control as we searched for more images. I wasn’t a mean person, and I knew I was close to crossing a line that I shouldn’t. At one stage, I almost changed my mind about going ahead, but then I remembered Jade’s behavior and that thought quickly disappeared. When we had the appropriate number of slides, we sat back and admired our handiwork.

  “Well, she’s not going to get an A for this!” Kate announced proudly. “This presentation is going to be so funny.”

  “And all we have to do is hide her artifacts, so she has nothing else to show.”

  We watched as the last slide fell into place on the screen, a wonderful photo of Jade mid-jump during a cheerleader competition, her face screwed up in a ridiculous expression.

  At the sight of that image, I sat back in my chair and frowned. “You think this is going too far?” I asked Kate worriedly.

  “What? No, Holly. She’s threatening you, and she’s made it clear that she won’t let up. All because Zac likes you. She has to learn a lesson or she’ll never back off.” Kate pulled out her phone to check the time. “It’s almost dinner time. I have to run.”

  “Thanks for your help, Kate. So, are you ready for tomorrow night?”

  “Yep, my mom said its fine for me to go and watch the concert. So I’ll see you tomorrow at school and then before you know it, it’ll be showtime.”

  I headed down the stairs with her and waved from the front door until I couldn’t see her anymore.

  “You two get much work done?” Mom called from the kitchen, standing by the stove as she cooked up what smelt like a stir-fry for dinner.

  “Oh yeah, I think our project is going to be awesome.”

  “That’s great to hear, Holly. I’m sure it was fun working on it together. Now, could you set the table, please? And then go and find your brother. Tell him that dinner will be on the table in two minutes.”

  I did as she asked and ran downstairs to find Oliver. “Hey, dinner’s ready.”

  “Perfect timing!” he replied, “I’m pretty much finished with sorting out all the details of changing time zones. Did you guys get the presentation taken care of?”

  “All finished.” I watched him write down a few more notes before he hid everything away. “You think this is going to work?”

  “Only one way to find out!”

  He was right about that. But part of me suddenly worried we were messing with something way over our heads.

  I followed Oliver up the stairs and tried not to think about the mess we might be getting ourselves into.

  Chapter 7

  At half past six on Thursday evening, Oliver and I met up with Kate at her house, and the three of us started the walk to school. Oliver had sneaked the machine out of the house earlier and hid it in the bushes in the front garden so he could pick it up when we left the house. Mom didn’t suspect a thing which was the most important issue.

  The school gym was busy when we arrived, and the three of us found seats at the back at the end of a row so we could easily slip out the door. We’d passed by my locker on the way and hid Oliver’s backpack with the machine inside it to grab when we needed it later on.

  “There’s a janitor closet a few doors down from Mrs. Clarke’s room that we could use,” I whispered to them, as we sat quietly waiting for the concert to begin.

  “It might be locked,” Kate said.

  “We could always use the bathroom I guess.”

  “There isn’t one close to the classroom,” Oliver said quickly. “If we use the ones near here, we could be caught by someone from the concert. And I don’t think they’d appreciate finding a boy in the girls’ bathroom.”

  I cringed, imagining some poor mother being in there when the three of us materialized out of thin air. “Good point.”

  “We’ll aim for the janitor’s closet and just hope it’s opened,” Oliver said. “If not, we’ll have to find somewhere else.”

  I rubbed my hands on my thighs, concerned that our plan wasn’t going to work. Kate and Oliver talked quietly together, but I was too busy watching the crowd around us and worrying about what would happen. We’d come this far though, and I had a feeling Kate a
nd Oliver wouldn’t let me back out now. My brother was too excited to use the machine again and Kate, well, Kate was ready for some much-needed revenge against Jade. She was willing to do whatever it took.

  The lights dimmed in the gym but remained bright on the school band as the music teacher moved to the front. Everyone applauded for him and the students before he launched into his spiel about what the band was going to be performing. Oliver and I had no musical talent whatsoever, so we’d managed to avoid having to be a part of any band concert.

  As soon as the first song was started, the three of us quietly left our seats and moved to the doors, escaping into the corridor. No one even noticed us; they were all too engrossed in the concert and the performances of the kids on the stage. Thankfully, the hallway was empty, and we ran quietly back to my locker. I opened it up and handed the heavy backpack over to Oliver.

  Then we made off for the janitor’s closet. The closed-door loomed in front of us.

  I held my breath as Oliver tried the handle and then sighed in relief to find it unlocked. He ushered us inside and shut the door.

  “Right, let’s make sure our date and time is right,” he said as he set the machine on the floor and checked the page of notes he had. “You’ve got the USB drive?”

  I pulled it out of my pocket. “Right here.”

  “Good, now remember the plan. I’ll go with you inside the classroom and Kate will keep watch outside the door. We’ll get in, do what we have to do, and get out. We just have to keep an eye on the time.” Without another moment’s hesitation, he flipped the switch, and the machine began to glow blue. “Ready?”

  Kate and I nodded. Oliver picked up the machine, and we each rested a hand on his shoulders. The brooms and mops in the room vibrated and began to float in the air as everything else began to shake. The blue light expanded and we giggled as it surrounded us and we were lifted off our feet. A loud pop sounded, and then we fell to the floor in the closet. A bell rang loudly overhead followed by an announcement. We climbed to our feet and grinned.

  “We did it,” I whispered.

  Oliver checked his digital watch. “Alright, once the halls are clear and everyone is in class, we’ll move out.”

  Two minutes later, another bell rang, and after waiting a final two minutes to be sure the halls would be empty, we stepped outside. There were a few straggling students, but no teachers. Mrs. Clarke’s room was just three doors down, and the door was currently propped open.

  With my heart pounding and my nerves ready to explode, I led the way down the hall to the doorway…and just as quickly backed out.

  “She’s in there,” I whispered. “What do we do?”

  “Distraction time,” Kate said, and before I could stop her, she walked into the classroom, motioning for us to hide by the alcove where the drinking fountains were mounted against the wall. I heard Kate’s voice and then Mrs. Clarke’s as she answered, but couldn’t make out what they were saying to each other.

  “What’s taking so long?” Oliver asked. “We’re running out of time.”

  I motioned for him to be patient, hoping Kate knew what she was doing.

  “I don’t see why they need me,” Mrs. Clarke replied as I heard her heels clicking on the floor. “And I suggest you get back to class now, Kate.”

  “Okay, Mrs. Clarke,” Kate replied.

  I dared to peek out from my hiding spot and noticed our teacher’s annoyed expression before I quickly ducked back out of view. Clearly, she was not impressed about being disturbed.

  I waited another few seconds then peeked out again to see Kate standing by the door of the classroom. She waved for us to come out of hiding and we rushed to get inside the room.

  “I’ll stand watch,” she whispered, keeping the door open enough that she could see.

  I ran straight to the student computer against the wall. Using the ID number Kate had given me, I quickly logged into Jade’s account, all the while, my heart pounding anxiously in my chest. “Ok, we’re in.”

  “Upload it. Quickly.” Oliver whispered urgently behind me.

  I inserted the USB drive, and once I found Jade’s original presentation on the computer, I deleted it and uploaded the new one, ensuring to name it in the same way. My hands were shaky, but I couldn’t hide a smirk as I exited the folder, pulled out my USB drive, and logged back out. I worried that Mrs. Clarke would be suspicious of the computer being logged out, so I shut it down completely. Hopefully, she’d think it had updated or something and turned itself off.

  “Ok, one more thing,” I whispered and searched around the room. “We need those artifacts.”

  “Hurry up, Holly,” Oliver was already tinkering with the machine again and keen for us to get out of there as quickly as possible.

  “Oh no! She’s coming back!” Kate hissed and sprinted over to help me.

  The artifacts had to be by the desk somewhere, but I couldn’t seem to find them. If Mrs. Clarke was coming, we couldn’t get back to the janitor’s closet. We’d have to leave from inside the classroom.

  “There!” Kate exclaimed, pointing to a box on the floor.

  We could hear Mrs. Clarke’s steps as I snagged the box and Oliver flipped the switch. “Let’s go!” he urged frantically. Kate rushed back to the door just as the glowing began. “Kate!”

  She clicked the lock in place on the door just as Mrs. Clarke appeared on the other side and tried to turn the knob. We could hear the knob rattling as our teacher tugged and twisted in her effort to get the door open. “Is there someone in there?” she demanded sharply just as the blue light expanded, surrounding us.

  The lights flickered on and off as I hugged the box of artifacts to my chest and clung to Oliver’s shoulder with my other hand. Kate lunged for us and latched herself onto Oliver’s arm just as the light became blinding and everything in the classroom vibrated, the desks sliding across the floor. Mrs. Clarke banged firmly on the classroom door, demanding for it to be unlocked.

  I bounced on the balls of my feet, pleading for the machine to work faster. Finally, the familiar pop sounded, and we stumbled into each other as we landed back in the present, standing in the darkness of Mrs. Clarke’s classroom. I still had the box of artifacts in my arm and began to laugh as I realized what we’d just pulled off.

  “How do we know if it worked?” I asked as Oliver powered down the machine, turning it off and pushing it into his book bag.

  But as soon as I asked, a flood of memories appeared in my head. They were new memories, scenes that had been created because we had gone back and changed the past. I erupted into loud laughter as I remembered what happened in the hours that passed after Mrs. Clarke was able to get the door unlocked and re-enter the classroom. From that moment on, the day continued very differently to the first time we had experienced it.

  At first, Kate frowned, confused about what I was laughing about, but then the same vision appeared in her head, and she began laughing too.

  Oliver grinned right along with us. “I’m going to assume it worked?”

  I thought back to that morning and nodded. “Oh yeah, it definitely worked.”

  And as each vivid memory swirled through my mind, I recalled every single detail.

  ***

  Monday, Two Weeks Ago…

  I groaned, watching as Jade stood to start her presentation in history class. It was going to be another long ten minutes of her boasting about her famous ancestor and blah, blah, blah.

  “Jade? I can’t seem to find the artifacts your mother dropped off this morning,” Mrs. Clarke said, searching around her desk. “I swore I had them in here. You didn’t happen to move them, did you?”

  My brow rose, and I looked on as Jade’s cheeks reddened.

  “No, but I saw her bring them in,” Jade insisted. “They should be there.”

  “I understand, but I’m afraid the box is not here.” Mrs. Clarke mumbled something under her breath and then complained about some students who had been messing around in her room
earlier. She then said she’d had to get the principal involved. I frowned, wondering what she was talking about, but it was Jade who glared in anger.

  “Are you saying someone stole my grandpa’s artifacts?” she snapped, and a hush fell over the classroom.

  “Jade, please watch your tone when speaking to me,” Mrs. Clarke scolded as Jade turned a darker shade of red. “Now, don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll turn up. How about you carry on with your presentation without the artifacts for now?”

  “But those were the best part!” Jade whined, devastated not to have the things she’d spent weeks boasting about.

  “You still have your presentation, and that’s what is most important.”

  “Yes, Mrs. C,” Jade muttered, still sounding annoyed, and I covered my mouth to hide a laugh as Mrs. Clarke eyed her sharply.

  “Jade, my name is Mrs. Clarke. Please call me by my full name.”

  Jade hung her head, grinding her teeth as every pair of eyes in the room was on her. She opened her presentation and began the slideshow. “I did my presentation on an ancestor who served as a soldier in the Civil War.” She tapped the mouse, and the next slide appeared.

  The entire class erupted in laughter as music blared through the speakers, a Justin Bieber song. I laughed along with everyone else as Mrs. Clarke quickly turned down the volume and asked Jade if she thought this was funny.

  “I didn’t have that song in my slideshow,” she argued.

  “Just go on with your presentation…is that a picture of George Washington…riding a donkey?”

  Jade turned to stare at the whiteboard, eyes wide. “What? No, I didn’t do that.”

  She clicked through the next slide, and another song started to play. More Justin Bieber. This time there was a map of Middle-Earth instead of the United States as the slide was labeled. She clicked through them faster and faster, each slide filled with a variety of objects and animals until we came to a smiling brown puppy wagging his tail and everyone burst into laughter.