Nellie Nova Takes Flight

by Stephenie Peterson

  One day, as she passed the guest room, the door to which was, as always, closed, Nellie had an idea. It was one of her brilliant ideas that sent her phenomenal mind into overdrive. The flipping of the pages of the giant books picked up, and the ballerinas danced to a cautiously happy tune.

  She still had a time machine. It was where they'd left it, standing in her bedroom. She could use it again and take Fred to a time where he'd be happier. He could never go "home," because everyone agreed that it would alter history too much, but maybe if he went back in time a bit he would be happier.

  Nellie decided that Amelia was the best person to tell about her plan first. She reasoned that Amelia knew Fred best and would know if it was as good an idea as she thought. Amelia agreed that Fred's sorrow was too great, and they decided to ask Annie and Fox what they thought.

  More time travel made Fox and Annie both nervous, since the last trip had brought them two permanent house guests, but they agreed that there was nothing else to be done. Fred was just too unhappy in 2015. Everyone agreed that Amelia should be the one to offer to take him to another time.

  Amelia slowly made the walk to the guest room, worried about the conversation and sad that it would likely sever her last connection to her own time. She did not want to leave. She was happy in 2015 and understood why she could never go home. She knew that if Fred went to another time, he'd be doing it without her.

  She let out a heavy sigh and knocked the door.

  "Yeah?" Fred responded.

  "It's Amelia," she replied.

  "Come in."

  She opened the door and walked over to the bed, where Fred was sitting.

  "You're not happy here," she began.

  He nodded, tears in his eyes.

  "You don't have to stay, Fred. If this isn't right for you, you've got all of history to consider. I know you just want to go home, but if you can't do that, maybe another time and place would make you happier."

  Fred's face softened. He had not considered using the time machine again.

  "And the Novas? They don't mind?"

  "Yes, Fred. Everyone wants you to be happy."

  "Then I'll do it," he said, and for the first time since he had arrived in the Nova home, his face showed the faintest hint of a smile.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The next day, Nellie, Niles, and Fred stood next to the time machine. Annie, Fox, and Amelia were in Nellie’s room, saying their good-byes to Fred. Good-byes are especially hard when you know that you'll never see someone again. It was quite an emotional scene filled with hugs, handshakes, and a few tears. In spite of the sadness of parting ways, everyone in the room felt lighter. After a bit of internet research, Fred had decided to go to England in 1961, reasoning that it was far enough in distance and time from their disappearance for him not to be recognized, but a simpler time filled with less technology.

  After many rounds of hugs and tears, Fred, Nellie, and Niles got into the time machine. Nellie punched in the date and location, and the machine began its dramatic show of motion and lights. Annie gasped, Fox cheered, and Amelia smiled and let out a laugh at the sight of it all.

  After the box spiraled through time for a few minutes it crashed to the ground, bouncing on its tire-covered bottom. The trio poked their heads out to find a small English village with cobblestone streets filled with cars that Nellie and Niles thought looked really, really old.

  Fred turned to Nellie and Niles and said, "Thank you, kids. For rescuing us. And for this." He gestured to the town behind them. His voice softened. "I am sorry that I wasn't happy in your world. Your whole family was so kind to me," he apologized.

  "You don't have to be sorry, Fred. You got pulled out of your life in an instant. You didn't have a choice and all any of us wanted was for you to be happy," said Nellie, sounding, as usual, wiser than her age.

  Fred hugged the kids and stepped out of the purple box.

  "Well, I expect it's time for you kids to go and time for me to make a new life. Alone," he said, his sadness showing in his eyes. "Take care of Amelia. Not that she needs it."

  "Bye, Fred!" they called.

  He slowly walked down the street away from them, shoulders slumped. Every movement he made seemed to be heavy with sorrow. It hurt Nellie to see him so sad. Seeing him like that made her feel the same way she’d felt when they had left James and Ruby in the 1890s.

  "James and Ruby," she thought to herself. "That's it!"

  "Fred! Wait!" Nellie called out gleefully.

  He turned and looked at her.

  "What if you don't have to be alone?"

  "What do you mean?" Fred asked.

  "I know some kids. Back in 1892. They don't have a family. They live on the street. They have to steal to eat. I hated leaving them behind when we met them. What if we all went and got them and brought them back here with you? You wouldn't have your family, but you wouldn't be alone, either," Nellie said excitedly as the ballerinas in her mind began to pirouette to joyful music.

  Fred's face perked up. His eyes seemed to twinkle with glee.

  "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Nellie!"

  Nellie and Niles high-fived each other and they all headed back into the time machine, which went spiraling through time, putting on a spectacular show for Fred, Niles, and Nellie as they waited to land in 1892. Nellie set the machine to land at the same time they’d left before.

  The machine landed with a thud, and Nellie turned on the invisibility shield. They ran out of the machine just as the old cardboard time machine disappeared. They could hear the men yelling at Ruby and James down the street.

  "Our friends are named James and Ruby. Tell these men you're their dad. With a British accent if you can," Nellie instructed Fred as they ran toward the sound of Ruby screaming.

  Niles was running fastest and got to Ruby and James first. "Hey! Wait!" he called to the men, who were trying to carry Ruby and James away. I say "trying" because the kids were really fighting them and making the task quite difficult. Fred and Nellie caught up with Niles just as the men turned around.

  "What business is it of yours?" the larger man snarled.

  "It's my business, sir. Those are my children," Fred told them in a perfect British accent.

  Ruby's eyes went wide, but she dared not argue with him.

  The men reluctantly released James and Ruby, telling Fred he should punish them for stealing. Nellie led the way back to the time machine. When they were out of earshot of the men, Ruby and James thanked Fred, Nellie, and Niles. Ruby asked Nellie how they'd been able to change their clothes so quickly.

  "I will explain that to you, but first, James and Ruby, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Fred," Niles told them.

  "I hear you don't have a family," Fred said in low voice. "I don't either. Not anymore. Would you like to come live with me?"

  Ruby and James were understandably surprised. They didn't talk at first. After a few moments, Ruby turned to Nellie and asked in a quiet voice, "Is 'e serious?"

  "I am, Ruby," Fred answered with a smile.

  Ruby looked to James, who looked to Niles. Niles nodded. James smiled broadly.

  "You mean we can come with you? We don't have to steal to eat?" James asked Fred.

  "Yes. You can come with me. We'll find a home together. But there's something else we'll have to explain," Fred told them.

  "This is going to sound crazy," Nellie began, "but we are from the future." She walked up to the time machine and instructed it to turn off its invisibility shield. James and Ruby's eyes grew wider.

  "This is my time machine. I can use it to visit any time I'd like. What I would like to do is take you to the year 1961. Fred had to start his life over in a new time. If you go with him, you can do it together."

  Ruby and James seemed suspicious, but excited as well. James peered into the time machine.

  "I think she's serious," he told Ruby. She nodded.

  "Should we go?" Ruby whispered to her brother. He also nodded. Fred beamed.r />
  Nellie opened the door to the Purple Flyer and motioned for everyone to follow her. She instructed it to return to the village outside of London in 1961. Ruby and James were quiet. Then the machine filled with green light and started to spin. Ruby screamed. James squeezed her hand. Fred put his hand on her shoulder and told her it would be okay. The machine lifted off and began its beautiful journey through eternity. Ruby and James were overwhelmed with all they saw.

  "This ain't a dream, innit?" Ruby asked her brother.

  "I don' think it is," he answered.

  Just then, outside the time machine, hundreds of butterflies flew past them.

  "If this is a dream, I don' want to wake up," Ruby said wistfully.

  Nellie spied the ground and warned them about the landing. "It might feel scary, but we'll be okay!"

  The machine hit the ground with a bounce and announced their arrival. Everyone got out of the time machine.

  "Well, I guess this is good-bye, then." Niles said.

  Nellie gave hugs to Ruby, James, and Fred. "I hope you are all happy in this time."

  Fred looked at Ruby and James, and smiled. "I think we will be."

  "Good-bye!" Nellie and Niles said together.

  "Good-bye!" Ruby and James replied cheerfully.

  "Good-bye, kids!" Fred said. He inhaled happily and took hold of Ruby's and James's hands. Then they walked away, down the street and slowly out of sight.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Nellie and Niles landed back in Nellie's purple bedroom with a bounce. They burst out of the Purple Flyer and sprinted toward the kitchen to find their family. Both kids had a lot of feelings to process, and they wanted to share them with people who understood. They opened their mouths to tell Amelia, Fox, and Annie about taking Fred to England, but barely got a sound out before there was a knock at the door.

  Annie opened the door to reveal three large men in dark suits and sunglasses—the same three men Nellie and Niles had seen twice before, lurking near Casa Nova. Nellie instantly felt uneasy at the sight

  of them.

  "Hello, ma'am," said the tallest of the three men as he flashed a badge. "I am Agent Jacob Riley with the National Agency for Technology and Air Travel. This is Agent Bishop," he said, pointing at the shorter, dark skinned agent, "and that's Agent Maloney." He nodded toward the blond-haired agent. "We've been tipped off to some unusual activity on radar in the vicinity of this address. Could we come in and talk?"

  Annie's round eyes filled with panic as she turned to Fox, Amelia, and the kids. She didn't know what to do, so she let them in.

  The Novas and Amelia tried to appear calm, but they were feeling quite uneasy. Nothing good could come of these visitors’ questions.

  "You must be Annie, and you're Fox," stated Agent Riley. He did not ask, he seemed to know for sure who they were. "But I don't know who you are," he said, looking to Amelia.

  "She's my aunt. Auntie Amelia," said Nellie quickly. Everyone seemed to accept this. Everyone except Agent Maloney, who paused for a moment and looked at Nellie intently. Nellie's mind went into overdrive. The gears spun haphazardly and the giant books flipped with such fury that the resulting wind whooshed the ballerinas off-kilter. Nellie knew in that moment that something awful was about to happen and she felt it was up to her to fix it. But how?

  "Unusual activity on radar?" asked Fox as the agents took a seat on the antique green velvet sofa. "What does that even mean?"

  "Don't play coy with me, Professor Nova," said Agent Riley, who seemed to be the speaker for the group of agents. "We know you're up to something."

  "Me?" laughed Fox nervously. "What am I up to?"

  "Our radar has shown some very unusual activity surrounding your home. We think you are dabbling in time travel and we're here to shut you down."

  "Time travel?!" Fox scoffed. "You can't be serious. Sure, it's theoretically possible, but it's never been done. What makes you think that I am traveling in time?"

  "We've seen your work, Fox. We know what you're capable of," said Agent Riley.

  "Well, I have to say I am flattered, but I can assure you, I haven't left 2015 all day."

  On the inside, Nellie was freaking out. She didn't know what to do. Could her father get in trouble for what she'd done? Fox made eye contact with Nellie and gave her a look, clearly trying to tell her something.

  "Nellie, Niles, why don't you go play? In Nellie's room. And we'll let the agents look around the house so we can assure them that I am not hiding a time machine in the garage."

  "But Dad," Nellie protested. "I don't want to play. I want . . ."

  Fox gave her a look again, and suddenly it was clear. He was telling her to RUN.

  Nellie and Niles went to her room. They paused to listen at the door. They heard their dad telling the agents that he would be more comfortable speaking with them if the kids were not around. Niles frowned. Nellie made a beeline for the time machine.

  "What are you doing? We've got to hide that!" exclaimed Niles in an angry whisper.

  "Exactly. We’ve got to hide it in another time. Until the agents leave. If we come back a few hours from now, they should be gone. "

  Nellie and Niles climbed into the machine, and Nellie told the machine to come back to her room in two and a half hours. Off into eternity they flew.

  Meanwhile, Fox, Annie, and Amelia nervously showed the agents around the house.

  Fox opened the door to the garage.

  "No time machine here," he said as the agents entered. They walked around the room, picking things up and tossing them aside as they went.

  "Excuse me," said Annie in the most polite tone she could muster at the moment, "Please do not make a mess of my home. We've been more than polite, letting you in and showing you around and answering your questions. I would appreciate it if you could be gentler with our belongings."

  Agent Maloney rolled his eyes. Agent Riley picked up a box marked "Christmas Decorations—FRAGILE," opened it, lifted it over his head, turned it over, then dropped it to the ground. The sound of shattering glass filled the room. Annie winced, but decided not to say anything else. Amelia went pale as she realized how ruthless the agents were willing to be. Agent Bishop shot Agent Riley a look of disgust and then turned to Annie and mouthed, "Sorry." Annie nodded, tears in her eyes.

  After Agent Riley finished ransacking the garage, he moved on to Fox's office. He knocked over a filing cabinet. Next came Fox and Annie's room. As Agent Riley threw all of Annie's good dresses on the floor, Agent Bishop finally spoke up.

  "Is that really necessary, Riley?" he snapped.

  "Shut up, Bishop," said Riley as he rested his hand on his silvery hair. He did, however, stop throwing clothes. He turned and looked out the window.

  "What's in the shed out back?" he asked.

  "Gardening tools, mostly," said Fox. "Annie is a botanist."

  "Annie's a botanist," repeated Riley in a mocking tone as he opened the sliding glass door and headed to the backyard. Bishop gave another apologetic glance, but Maloney laughed.

  Amelia opened her mouth, wanting to chew out Riley for his rude behavior, but closed it again before she spoke. She, along with Fox and Annie, had quickly learned that Agent Riley was not the kind of man you mouth off to without major repercussions. Amelia was not the kind of woman who lived in fear but, I must admit, she was scared.

  Once Riley was done throwing tools around the shed, they headed back to the house.

  "What's in here?" asked Agent Riley, pointing to Niles's door.

  "It's my son's room," Fox told them. Riley burst into the room, ready to find something, anything of interest.

  "Do you really think there's anything in a kid's room?" asked Bishop, as Riley threw the mattress off the bed.

  "You never know," said Riley with a snarl.

  Next, they went through the guest room.

  Finally, they were in front of Nellie's room. While Fox was confident that Nellie would have got the time machine out of there, he knew he
r schematics and research still covered the purple walls.

  "What's in that room?" Riley barked.

  "It's my daughter's room. Do you really need to bother the kids? Please? I sent them in there so they wouldn’t have to see all of this."

  Bishop spoke up. "That's enough, Riley. Do you really think that sweet little blond-haired girl has a time machine in her room? Come on. It's got to be a false positive on the radar." He stepped in front of Nellie's door. "There's no reason to scare the kids."

  Riley looked annoyed but said, "Fine. Let's go!"

  He turned and looked at Fox.

  "We'll be watching you, Mr. Nova."

  And with that, the agents stormed out the door, except for Agent Bishop, who kept turning around and mouthing apologies.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Outside, the agents stood looking at Casa Nova.

  "I don’t know why you have to be like that, Riley," Agent Bishop said with a sigh.

  "This family is up to something. I know it. This is far from over." Agent Riley answered.

  Bishop sighed again, and the agents headed to the black town car parked in the driveway.

  "Hey, guys," said Maloney, looking at his smartphone.

  "What is it?" said Riley as he sat down in the driver's seat.

  "Neither Fox nor Annie have a sister or sister-in-law named Amelia. I ran a family background check earlier. The kid seemed funny when she called that lady Auntie."

  "Well then who is that woman?" asked Bishop as they pulled out of the driveway.

  "I don't know," said Riley. "But I can promise you that I will find out. I knew that they were hiding something."

  Inside, Fox, Annie, and Amelia sat in the living room in silence, each of them overwhelmed by different aspects of the reality they were facing. Annie was worried that Nellie and Niles were traveling in time again. Fox was terrified that the agents would figure out what Nellie had done. Even if there were no legal issues surrounding time travel, he feared that they would take her technology and she would never get the credit she deserved for her discovery. He also worried what they might use it for if they took it. A time machine could be a terrible weapon in the wrong hands. Amelia was afraid that she would be found out, and worrying about her future. Surely, she could not just live out the rest of her life as a houseguest.