by Nikki Young
Tomma and Ash had brought in chairs from the dining room and Jess went to sit on the one to Tomma’s right, giving him a shy smile and trying to ignore the way being so close to him felt. Nadia arrived and they gathered around the enormous flat-screen monitor of the computer.
“Okay this is the weird thing,” Nadia said, as she sat down, holding her hands up and towards the others to get their attention. They turned to look at her. “I phoned Jane last night and asked her was there anything strange about us yesterday. I wanted to find out whether we were going to get into trouble for not being at school, right?”
The others nodded.
“Well, she asked what I meant and I said, did she see me, which she thought was weird. But, she said, of course she did. Then she stopped because actually, she just didn’t really remember noticing me at all, but she said there was no one missing off the register, so we must have been there. And then she had a go at me because I think everybody should always be looking at me and giving me attention, which of course is not true and not the reason why I was asking all this, is it?”
She looked intently at the others, who realising there were supposed to react, all starting nodding vigorously at once and expressing that of course it wasn’t and that no, Nadia was not vain. Jess turned to the boys. Ash was pulling a funny face and shaking his head. Tomma stared deep in thought at an unidentifiable spot on the desktop. He looked up.
“So, we were marked on the register as being at school, because effectively, we were there, just not in the same time zone. Ash, you’re good at science, got anything to offer by way of explanation?” Tomma asked.
“I haven’t got a clue, mate,” Ash said, scratching his head. “It’s not as if time travel is actually a thing you study in physics, is it? It just seems like we were there, yet we weren’t there, as though we were in two time zones at the same time.”
“Yeah, Ash, that makes loads of sense, thanks for that.” Nadia laughed.
“Like a parallel universe,” Tomma said. “You can’t be in two places at the same time though, can you?”
“We weren’t though,” Jess said. “It’s like what Mrs Kennedy was saying the other day. The ghosts of the past live within these walls. So, when we’re at school, normally all the pupils of the past are there with us, but in spirit. When we went back to the past yesterday, we were still there in the present, but this time, it was our spirit that was there, not our actual bodies. And the school recognised our presence, so no one needed to be alerted to our absence. It’s easy to blend in unnoticed when there are so many other pupils to think about. Half the teachers don’t even know we exist anyway.”
“It explains why our parents didn’t get a call to find out why we weren’t at school,” Nadia said. She turned to look at the computer screen. “So, what did you find out? Anything?”
Jess was still focused on the idea of existing across more than one time. It was hard enough just getting your head around the fact they’d even gone back in time at all. She wondered how Nadia could be so matter-of-fact about it.
“I was just about to show you before you dropped that bombshell,” Tomma said, as he turned his attention back to the monitor. “Remember that guy in assembly? He said something about the Allies making a peace treaty, yeah? Well, we realised that Monday coming is Remembrance Day. That’s the day the First World War ended.”
“Yeah,” Ash said, cutting in. “That’s the day the Allies signed that peace thingy and agreed to end the war. We reckon that’s what the fella was talking about.”
“If that’s right, it means we definitely went back in time to 1918,” Nadia said. “The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918, didn’t it? You reckon Monday is 11th November 1918?”
Tomma and Ash nodded, both looking pleased.
“What do you think, Jess?” Nadia said.
Everyone looked at her, which made her squirm. She didn’t like this sort of attention and could feel a blush spreading across her face.
“Well,” she said, with some hesitation. “It is the centenary, which might explain why we went back there.”
“It doesn’t explain why us though,” Nadia said. “Why were we picked to go there? Who picked us and how was it possible? What does it all mean?”
No one had any answers, so they spent the morning looking up details about their school, finding the date when it first opened and photos through the years. As they looked through them, they recognised the original buildings they’d seen first-hand.
“Look, Mr Fothergill was the first Headmaster. That’s him, isn’t it?” Jess said, pointing to the screen.
Sure enough, a familiar bearded man wearing a long-tailed suit complete with pocket watch stared back at them. Underneath the photo was a paragraph explaining that Mr Fothergill was Headmaster from 1898, when the school first opened, to 1923. He was particularly proud of the Old Boys who served and died in the Great War, regularly reading out their letters sending news from the trenches. In 1920, he unveiled the war memorial engraved with the names of the ninety-three ex-pupils killed in the war. What stood out for Jess was a statement Mr Fothergill made at that time:
‘The war has touched the lives of many, not least the pupils of this school following the deaths of some of our own. These boys may not have been known by many of the present scholars, but the staff and many of the Old Boys and Old Girls felt a keen and personal loss when the news of their deaths reached the school.
We are proud to know them and that they died so well and for so great a cause. These young men entered the war from a sense of duty, knowing the risk of great misfortune or of death, yet they chose the path of a true man. His fellows may rejoice in his choice, even though they are called upon to mourn his death.’
Mr Fothergill had wanted Hickley School pupils to remember the fallen and have something to remind them of what those boys had sacrificed for the sake of their country. Jess thought about Martha’s brother and wondered if had he survived.
“It says here that on Armistice Day all the schools let everyone out early and there were street parties and celebrations all over the place,” Ash said. “I bet that was so cool.”
“Yeah, can you imagine what it would have been like that day, to know the war was finally over and we’d won?” Tomma said. Then his expression darkened. “Having said that, my mum was part of a war, but she never seems to celebrate the fact that Croatia won.”
“I don’t imagine it always feels that way for the ordinary people,” Jess said. “All they see is death and loss and for what?”
“We should go back to witness that if we can, though,” Ash said.
“I’d be up for that. Are you in?” Tomma said to Nadia and Jess.
Nadia looked at Jess’s uncertain face. “Come on, Jess, it would be amazing. How often do you get to see history in the making or even history that’s already been made? I mean, it’s surreal. We’re talking about going back in time to witness the end of the First World War. We have to, right?”
Jess felt a bubbling of excitement inside her. Nadia was right. What an amazing opportunity—and one they would be stupid to pass up.
“Let’s do it,” she said with a squeal. Her smile then faded as she suddenly felt unsure. “What if we go there and we can’t get back this time though?”
Everyone groaned.
“Oh, come on, live a little for once,” Tomma said.
Jess glared at him, slightly hurt by his accusation. His face seemed to soften, though, as he picked up her hand and wrapped it in both of his. Jess felt as though she might stop breathing.
“Whatever happens, we’ll find a way to deal with it and we’ll stick together, okay?” he said, looking directly at her. He was so sure and confident Jess felt that confidence flow through his hands and into hers too.
“Okay,” she said, nodding softly at him, the beginnings of a smile creeping across her face. “I’m in.”
“Yay! I’m so glad,” Nadia said. “We wouldn’t want to go without you.”
&
nbsp; Jess glared at her. “You would go without me, then?”
Judging by how bright red Nadia’s face became, Jess took that as a yes. That thought irritated her for about a second until she realised, she couldn’t blame them if they wanted to go and she didn’t. It wouldn’t be fair of her to stop them.
“Well, good job I’m coming then, isn’t it? There’s something I need to do first, though. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Nadia looked as though she wanted to interrogate, but thought better of it. Jess wasn’t trying to be secretive, but with thoughts of Martha and her family on her mind, there was something she needed to do—alone.
Chapter 13
Searching For Henry
As Jess stepped into her house, she met her mum, who was just coming down the stairs.
“Did you get everything done at Tomma’s?” she said.
“Yep,” Jess said, diving into the shoe cupboard so she could avoid looking at her mum and praying she wouldn’t ask about what they had been up to. “Oh actually, I didn’t quite.” Remembering there was something else she wanted to do, Jess turned around and backed out of the cupboard. “Are you going into town by any chance? I could do with a lift.”
“I am, as it happens,” her mum replied. “Just about to go in a minute, if you’re ready.”
“Great,” Jess said, going back into the cupboard to retrieve the shoes she had just kicked off when she was in there.
“Hope this isn’t going to be as crazy a ride as yesterday,” Jess said.
“Cheeky,” her mum said, giving Jess a wry smile as she pushed her gently ahead and out the door.
*
Jess asked her mum to drop her at Hickley School and they arranged to meet in the town centre, which was just down the road, so she could get a lift home. After waving her mum off, she turned to stare at the school, taking in the details. The soot-stained stone building—the original part of the school—now had the familiar dining hall attached to it. There were classrooms above the dining room, the windows of which were tall with a rounded top.
To the left of this was the DT room and to the right, across the yard was the sports block, the more modern, Sixties-style, ugly building that didn’t match the original. Although it was all so familiar to Jess, today, it seemed as though she were looking at it for the first time.
The school’s sports centre opened to the public at weekends, which meant the school was usually open too. Jess wasn’t interested in the sports hall though and instead, headed away from it, towards the main school building. She stopped as she recalled Mr Crawford marching her and Nadia through the same corridor the previous day, sending them towards the girls’ yard on the other side of the building. She walked down the corridor to the foyer at the end. This was the entrance hub to the school, the first bit a visitor would see if they came to visit.
Glancing around, Jess found what she was looking for: the war memorial tucked away on the far side of the wall. She walked up to it and, as she looked at the list of names, kept her fingers crossed.
“Henry Stenchion, Henry Stenchion. . .” Jess repeated to herself as she scanned the names, touching the embossed writing with the tip of her finger.
Jess held her breath, hoping she wouldn’t find Martha’s brother on the list and when his name wasn’t there she breathed out in relief.
Thank God for that, Jess thought. He must have survived the war.
She looked at the other names from the First World War years. They were the Hickley Old Boys, whom the Headmaster, Mr Fothergill, had referred to in assembly. For the first time, Jess saw them as real people rather than just names: someone’s brother, nephew or son. She felt their loss.
On the way back to meet her mum, Jess wondered how she was going to explain to Martha that her brother would make it safely through the war. Why would Martha believe she was being anything other than kind and positive in order to keep her spirits up? Jess felt she owed it to Martha somehow, but wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was because Martha was the only person who’d bothered to help them when they’d arrived at Hickley School in 1918. No one else seemed to care, probably too preoccupied with their own lives, but Martha was different. Despite all her worries, she’d gone out of her way to be helpful and kind. And there was something about her Jess was drawn to. Even though they’d only met for the first time, Jess felt as though she’d known Martha all her life.
Chapter 14
Re-Tracing Steps
Monday morning came around and Jess woke to the sound of the alarm on her mobile. As a precaution, she’d set a second alarm, so she wouldn’t have to go through the same drama as she had done on Friday. They’d had another power cut, which she knew (or at least had hoped) was the first step if they were going to get back in time again. She looked at her radio alarm clock. Once again it flashed 03:42 and that caused a flutter to rush through her body. She got up, knowing she needed to prepare herself mentally for the day to come. The house was quiet and everyone else had slept through, so she went to each room to wake them and let them know.
Despite her nerves, Jess was at least grateful for the chance to get up at her normal time, have breakfast and prepare for school without the panicky madness that had been Friday. Today was also the day of the big sleepover, so she needed to be extra prepared. She put her overnight things in a rucksack and went to retrieve a sleeping bag from the airing cupboard before going downstairs. It struck Jess as strange that her day would involve experiencing Hickley School in two very different ways, one in wartime 1918 and the other for a crazy Year Seven sleepover.
“Have you got everything you need for tonight? Sleeping bag, toothbrush, fresh pants?” Jess’s mum said as they were eating breakfast.
Jess raised her eyebrows. “Yes, thanks. I know how to pack for a sleepover.”
“All right, sarky,” Mrs Chadwick said. “Are you looking forward to it?”
“Not really. It’s going to be manic and I hate sleeping on the floor.”
“Is that why you’re being so ratty then? We’ve got a camping mat in the garage, you know? You should take that. It will make it a bit warmer as well.”
Jess had been dreading the school sleepover. It was something the Year Sevens did every year as part of the school’s ‘let’s get to know each other’ activities. Jess thought it was the worst way to get to know the other kids in the year. Who wants to see sleepy-eyed, scruffy-haired kids first thing in the morning after having virtually no sleep? It wasn’t her idea of fun, but Nadia had convinced her to go and she didn’t want to let her down. Ash would be going to it too, and Tomma. . .
She blushed at the thought and told herself off for always doing that, then quickly pushed whatever thoughts she had to the back of her mind. She got up to tidy away her breakfast things.
“Here you go, found it,” Mrs Chadwick said, putting the sleeping mat down on the floor next to Jess. “You’d better get the rest of your stuff and be on your way. Can you carry this lot to the station or do you want a lift?”
“Thanks, Mum and sorry,” Jess said. She went over to her mum and threw her arms around her waist. Sometimes, she still felt like she needed a cuddle from her mum. Mrs Chadwick squeezed her tight.
“Lift? Me, please,” Declan said, as he came into the kitchen. He let his over-sized sports bag drop to the floor with a loud thump before crashing and banging his way around the kitchen getting breakfast.
Their mum laughed. “Bull, china shop,” she said, shaking her head as she turned to leave the room. “Be ready in five, you two.”
As Jess sat in the car on the way to the station, she felt the flutter of nerves jangling around in her stomach along to the rhythm of the car’s engine. A part of her hoped there wouldn’t be a mysterious steam carriage at the back of their train. Another part of her wanted to go back to see Martha again. She needed to tell her that her brother would come home safely from the trenches. Martha needed to have something to hope for.
The children had agreed they would arrive late
to the station as they had done on Friday morning as if that had somehow contributed to them getting on the magical carriage, but by getting a lift, Jess had ended up being early. She said goodbye to her brother, saying she would wait for her friends outside. Declan was halfway up the stairs before she’d even finished speaking.
The others arrived together, with one minute to spare, breathless from carrying their heavy loads.
“You been here a while?” Tomma said as he set his rucksack down as if it was the lightest thing in the world.
“I got a lift,” Jess said.
“All right for some. Right, are we doing this, then?” he said, looking at the three of them and rubbing his hands together in readiness.
“Defo,” said Ash. “Let’s cut down through that hedge again, exactly the same as we did on Friday.”
They all had their own ideas about what made the magic work. “We agreed we’d wait for the train to come in first, then make a run for it, didn’t we?” Nadia said.
“Yeah but we should at least go up to the top of the bridge,” Jess said. “With all these extra bags today, it will make us a bit slower. Well, me anyway. We didn’t think about that bit.”
“Yeah, Jess is right, come on,” Tomma said, picking up his rucksack and leading the way. “I can hear the announcement anyway, the train’s coming.”
The four of them retraced their steps and made it to the far end of the platform as the train pulled into the station.
“There it is,” Nadia said, pointing to the last carriage. Before them, was an ordinary diesel train with electric sliding doors, scruffy, nondescript and functional, but with a beautiful steam train carriage attached at the end.