Читать книгу Children of the Moon - Evadeen Brickwood - Страница 12

It was lunchtime in the dining room and as Cook had promised, they ate a special Sunday meal: crayfish – and roast chicken for those with a shellfish allergy.

“So what’s your IQ score then, Holfield?” Holly Benson smirked in the new girl’s direction.

She hadn’t been very friendly to anyone since the prank with the frog. Sally’s face turned the colour of the red crayfish on her plate. She suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore.

“Leave her alone Benson,” Chryséis snarled a warning without looking up. They all knew what Holly had in mind.

“What is it with you, Cromwell? Can’t I ask a simple question without your approval?” Holly sulked.

It was such a bother with Chris and Katie, she thought. They always had to spoil a bit of fun with the new ones. Holly tried a smile in Sally’s direction.

“Ahem 144,” Sally breathed, fixing her gaze on a spot on the white tablecloth. She didn’t want any trouble. Perhaps Holly wasn’t as bad as Chryséis and Katherine had led her to believe. Look, she was smiling! Why couldn’t they all just be friends? But Chryséis stuck to her guns.

“Listen here, don’t try and make her feel bad, Benson. How about some small talk, before showing off your fabulous IQ score? Oh, I forgot... that’s not your style.” Chryséis’s voice took on a silly breathless quality.

“What’s wrong with talking about one’s IQ? Pah!”

Holly knew from past experience that she couldn’t possibly win this argument with Chryséis Cromwell. What a bore. Must be genetic, she thought hotly, just look at that odd mother of hers.

Others began to stare at them. Many of the kids thought that Holly was a terrible snob, but Holly knew better. Her superior intelligence went hand in hand with a little bit of arrogance, which was quite normal. Her Dad always said so.

They all continued to eat in silence until Dr. Broadbent announced an excursion to Carter Valley, planned for Saturday in two weeks time. Next weekend was reserved for the school’s annual Sports Day. All-round cheering and some grumbling ensued.

Sport’s Day, already! Katherine and Chryséis looked at each other. They had only just arrived back at school! The sporty students were, of course, delighted.

“Mens sana in corpore sano, ladies and gentlemen. Nothing like a breath of fresh air and aching muscles to tickle stale thoughts out of your grey cells,” Dr. Broadbent boomed over the noise and launched into a brief speech praising the virtues of team sports.

Trevor didn’t listen. His thoughts were far away. He was a good tennis player, but Sports Day was a nuisance right now. The time portal finder needed to be tested again. He no longer had to sweep the back veranda and the garden path, but cycle tests had been scheduled for every day of next week. And then there was Holly to consider. The project was due in less than 3 weeks.

Then he had an idea. The excursion to Carter Valley - it would be ideal!

On Saturday, it rained cats and dogs and the Sports Day had to be canceled. All competitions and fun games were postponed to a weekend in April.

Students were milling about in their sports gear, not knowing what to do with themselves. Many lounged around in little groups on the back veranda and watched the downpour. Others watched TV in the common rooms.

Chryséis, Katherine and Trevor had visited the ‘Paraguayan Coffee Shop’, corner Church and Bailey Streets. Dr. Naidoo. Their English teacher had agreed to let them wait in the coffee shop next to the movie theater. All the other students and teachers went to watch the new movie ‘The Caterpillar Club’.

The three aspiring time travellers had decided immediately to try out the virtual invisibility cape.

A bit risky perhaps, but they needed to observe the effect under different conditions. And the coffee shop wasn’t too busy.

The girls had put on the alicebands in the dark foyer of the movie theater and slipped through the door of the coffee shop right behind Trevor. They had left mysterious footprints on the floor, but it was impossible to tell them from all the other wet footprints.

Trevor settled himself at a bistro table by the window and ordered a hot chocolate and a piece of carrot cake. Two lonely daypacks sat on the other two chairs at the table.

“My two friends are on their way,” he had told the waitress.

Trevor was supposed to wait for Chryséis and Katherine, but they almost regretted their daring plan. Somebody walked into Katherine, as the two girls made their way invisibly to the restrooms at the back.

A young woman stormed through the swing door dividing the coffee shop from the passage. Her hand brushed against Katherine, giving the girl a mighty fright. Katherine clung to Chryséis, who nearly dropped the muffin she had impishly picked up on the counter.

The woman looked up for a second. “Oh!” She looked in their direction, but could she see them?

Katherine’s heart missed a beat and she was incredibly relieved when the woman just sat down at her table. They felt their way along the wall and squeezed through the open gap of the restroom door. Then they pressed themselves against the wall next to the hand dryers. They waited for two ladies to finish powdering their noses. Then the girls quickly de-activated the VICs.

“Phew, that was close!” Katherine’s eyes were as round as saucers.

“Do you think that woman noticed something?!” she asked. Chryséis didn’t answer straight away. She looked pale under her freckles as she started washing her hands, in case somebody came in.

“I don’t think so.”

“But what if she comes back to check?”

“Why should she do that?”

A girl, who needed the toilet desperately, walked in just as Katherine started to say something. The girls left. They could talk later.

In was in any case time to get back to Trevor. Katherine began to giggle as she sat down next to him and could stop.

“How did it go?” Trevor whispered and looked bewildered at Katherine.

“Just nerves,” Chryséis sighed. “Somebody bumped into her by the swing door.”

“Oh that’s great, did he notice anything?”

“No, I don’t think so. It was the lady over there...” Chryséis pointed slightly with her chin. The woman looked up at the waiter, who brought her the bill. Looked all normal.

“She seems okay,” Trevor decided.

Katherine giggled some more as their order of hot chocolate was served. Bradley Benson walked past the window and Katherine stopped at once. He waved at them in an unusually friendly manner. They waved back half-heartedly.

“Don’t tell me Holly sent him to spy on us.” Chryséis creased her forehead.

“Who knows. But there was nothing to see.” At least Trevor hoped so.

By the time they arrived back at Pemberton, Katherine had completely recovered from her giggling spell. They went straight to the back veranda, where a table was just being cleared.

Katherine snuggled into the comfortable cushions of the broad bamboo chair. There were jugs with iced tea and glasses on the tables that had been prepared for the Sports Day. ‘Too good to waste,’ cook Hadley had said in the morning. The students agreed. Cook’s ice tea was even better than her famous lemonade. Katherine watched the relentless rain.

“Imagine all this water coming down in one great gush. Instead of slowly drizzling down,” she said.

“It would be like a tidal wave. Sweeping away our beloved school and us in the process, girlfriend.” Chryséis rolled her eyes. Katherine sometimes came up with these ideas out of the blue.

“Sometimes I am glad that nature just takes care of things.”

“So am I!” Trevor agreed.

“Yes, like thanks to the rain I don’t have to play tennis against all those champs today. Thank you, thank you nature—” Chryséis bowed mockingly toward the rain.

Like Katherine she was no sports genius. The occasional swim or walk on the beach was okay - and yoga of course. But clobbering it out in a competitive match on the tennis court was not her cup of tea.

“I would have liked a bit of action for a change,” Trevor said and added on a whiny note, “I’ve been working in the lab on our project nonstop for two weeks.”

“Yes, we all have. We’ll get plenty of action, trust me.” Chryséis curled up in her chair and angled for her iced tea. “I’m hooked on this time travel idea.”

“More than an idea by now,” Trevor corrected her.

“Are you sure we won’t end up in the future, when we get into the vortex?” Katherine shivered a little at the thought. “The future! Food shortages, wars, global warming and things like that. Yikes!”

More students came pouring through the open French doors and settled noisily around the low tables.

Katherine took a juicy orange quarter from the glass plate in front of her. She enjoyed these occasional downpours. They were much more pleasant than the endless drizzle on the British Isles.

Even so, it made her feel a bit homesick. She missed English food in particular. Luckily, her mother often sent food parcels with Marmite, mince pies, anchovy paste and Branston Pickle.

“Don’t worry, the time spans are all set. In any case, it’s a lot harder to travel forward in time than backward,” Trevor said, stretching himself lazily.

He couldn’t understand what was still bothering Katherine. Everything was under control. After all, he’d done it before. Trevor waved a brief impression of greenish, slithering scales aside and took a few hasty sips of iced tea.

“We can program the exact time of departure as a long-term reference point. Then we can take our time. Nobody will ever know we’re gone. We’ll just arrive back at the same time we left.”

“We’ve two VIC-tests under our belts and the last TPF-test happens next weekend. Easy peasy.”

“Alright, if you say so…”

“What’s a Tippi Eff?” Bradley turned around grinning at them. That’s all they needed!

Chryséis kept her cool and said casually, “Something to eat, smartass. None of your business anyway.”

“Okay whatever,” Bradley said and took the glass jug to the kitchen for a refill. Katherine just managed to control another urge to giggle.

“I don’t think he heard anything with all the noise around,” Trevor said.

“Okay then, let’s talk shop,” Chryséis said in a soft voice. “The invisibility devices are sorted. And we’ve got the big experiment planned for the excursion. What do we take with us into the vortex?”

“Sounds scary: into the vortex. What if the vacuum battery doesn’t give us enough juice and we can’t get out again? Will our skeletons keep spinning in it forever?”

“Oh rubbish Katherine MacDougal! The battery is working just fine. Don’t get all scaredy-cat on us. What kind of scientists worry about something like that?”

“Yes, okay,” Katherine said, but she didn’t sound at all convinced.

“Stop going nuts on us, please, we still have so much to do,” Chryséis said.

“Actually, we don’t need that much. Just a few provisions. Food, sleeping bags. Stuff like that,” Trevor said.

“Good idea. Chris, why don’t you write down a list?” Katherine was back on track.

“Sure, why not.” Chryséis scribbled on a serviette. “If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just try again some other time. At least we’ll be all packed up.”

“Not a chance. We’re going in Carter Valley as planned.” Trevor wondered for a second, if they would really manage to do it in such a short time. But then he relaxed. Sure they would manage.

“Okay then, next weekend then. We need some food, at least snacks and something to drink. Any ideas?”

The rain was letting up now and the sun broke through the thinning cloud blanket. Bradley Benson laughed out loud. He sat at a table with Holly and two other girls not far away. The three friends jumped, but Bradley didn’t pay attention to them.

“He’s making me all nervous,” Chryséis said.

“Oh, just ignore him,” Trevor growled.

“Talking about food provisions—,” Katherine said, “I just received a food parcel from home. Fancy some toast with anchovy paste?”

“No thanks Your Royal Highness that’s too British for me. I can do without yucky English food. How can anyone get used to that fish paste stuff and brown yeast spread and what not?”

“Thanks a lot! It can’t be that bad, if so many people in Britain like it!” Katherine snarled back.

She fought an uphill battle to get her friends interested in delicacies from England.

”And in any case, what about yucky American food?”

Trevor stopped a full-blown argument about food.

“I’ll get some chips from the tuck shop. What about you, want some? Thai Chili or Sour Cream and Onion?”

“Thai Chili for me, please.” Chryséis rather enjoyed the occasional junk food.

“Okay, I’ll have some Thai Chili, too,” Katherine squeaked still offended. She mumbled something under her breath about ignorance and pampered American taste buds, but then she also enjoyed her potato chips.

Later at dusk, Trevor searched for another time warp in the school garden. He didn’t tell the girls. They wouldn’t like it after all the trouble with Natasha. But what if Katherine was right and things didn’t pan out? He had to find out. By himself.

The warp was weak. He detected some faint vertical waves, but no sign of a vortex. Trevor managed to keep the waves going for half a minute.

Not a bad result so close to the school building. He was convinced that the device would do its job in Carter Valley. During the week, Katherine and Trevor were busy with last-minute changes in the lab, while Chryséis made a provisions list. On top of the list, she wrote plastic water bottles and cans of soft drink. They were useful even when empty.

Then emergency food like granola bars, peanuts, beef jerky and dried fruit. Chryséis wrote down lighters and matches; toothbrushes, water purifying tablets and aspirin. Something for stomach problems, antiseptic cream, lip balm, underwear and sandals. An old discman, which could also record and three music CDs. One CD for each of them.

A palmtop computer with memory stick (the vacuum battery could now be used for recharging) and a tiny digital camera. A Swiss army knife would come in handy and sunglasses, plastic bags and paper tissues. Then the smallest and lightest Sherpa sleeping bags available. She read the list again.

Was that overkill for a short trip? Maybe, but better safe than sorry.

A Frisbee maybe... no, a rainfly which could be folded really small… and moon bags. An electric stunner as self-defense might be good, or pepper spray. But they were too young to buy these at the shop. Chryséis wrote ‘make a plan’ next to these items. She trimmed and changed the list until it looked about right.

After dinner, they went over the list together and started packing in secret. The girls couldn’t keep their activities hidden from Sally Holfield, though.

“Why are you packing so much stuff for a daytrip?” their roommate wanted to know. Chryséis had to think on her feet. “Just to be prepared,” she answered curtly.

“Prepared for what?”

Chryséis just shrugged her shoulders and stuffed a Frisbee into her daypack. Sally was puzzled. Gifted kids often did things differently, she thought, forgetting that she was also a gifted kid. So Sally kept quiet.

All the excitement had an undesirable side effect on Chryséis, though. She had one of her rare sleepwalking episodes. Getting as far as the passage window, she turned around, nearly mistaking a cupboard in the passage for the dorm room. Being sound sleepers, neither Sally nor Katherine noticed anything.

It was just strange that Chryséis lay sleeping on the floor rug next to her bed in the morning.

There was another more serious incident, however. Sally saw a pretty aliceband with a little black box on Chryséis’s bedside table. The virtual invisibility device!

Admiring the fab hair accessory, Sally put it on in front of the mirror, stroking her light brown hair back for effect.

She was about to touch the critical button when Chryséis walked in. Seeing the horrified look on her roommate’s face, Sally handed the aliceband over without a word and ran red-faced from the room. “How could I have been so stupid, Katie? On the bedside table!” she said to Katherine the next day. They had just finished lunch and were on their way to the lockers.

“Odd that Sally should touch your stuff like that.”

“Do you think Holly put her up to it?”

“Nah, I think she just wanted to look pretty.”

“Well, lucky nothing happened,” Chryséis grunted. “We must be careful with Holly hovering and watching us and all. Anyway, where’s Trevor?”

“Oh, he got a link by the golf course and decided to take a little trip on his own.”

“What?!” Chryséis’s eyes grew wide with surprise.

“Lighten up. It’s a joke. Trev’s in his room to change. He has tennis this afternoon.”

“I thought for a moment... oh, don’t do that to me. You nearly had me there.” She nudged her friend playfully and they started laughing.

“Nearly? Hah…”

“Yes nearly. Think of all the green scales he’d have seen this time...”

Holly and Natasha passed them looking blankly ahead. Chryséis narrowly avoided Natasha’s shoulder. Icy stares flew between them. “Wonder what they have to laugh about,” Natasha said in a spiteful tone.

“Well, we’ll know soon enough,” Holly smirked. “Sally was a bit unhappy this morning. I’ll speak to her later. I’m sure she’s in for a bit of a deal.”

She still suspected the girls of playing the frog prank on her and couldn’t wait to pay them back.

“Good thinking, Sweet revenge—” Natasha hissed and they strutted away.

Trevor made sure that he was alone in the room when he quickly packed his lot of the provisions. His roommates were fairly safe and more interested in a good game of chess or golf. But he couldn’t take chances now.

Was underwear necessary? He decided that it was. Where had he put the camera Chryséis had given him? Oh, that’s right, Chryséis had already packed it. They were still unaware of Natasha’s and Holly’s scheming.

By Friday evening, everything was ready and finally Saturday morning arrived. During the excursion everything worked without a hitch.

At last, the young time astronauts stood on the rocky platform right by the escarpment. The time warp was shimmering right in front of them and moved in waves. The wave motion began to accelerate and then churn. Trevor already knew the process and was proud that his calculations had proved correct. There was hardly any interference around.

“I’m going to activate the first time span now. Get ready.”

Chryséis and Katherine grabbed each other’s hand. Trevor had integrated time-spans ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 years, because that’s how they had applied the formula. It was a giant leap. What they knew was that no monsters, volcanoes or oceans would wait on the other side. Well, quite sure.

Katherine tried to be brave. It had been difficult enough to leave her home in England. Never mind travelling back to an ancient past now. Her father had written a postcard from Lagos in Nigeria last week. That was also pretty far away, wasn’t it? She consoled herself that she would be away for only a short while. In any case, they would arrive back in the present at the precise same moment they had left. But her courage left her, when the time portal made its appearance. Katherine stared at the swirling vortex that formed in front of the boulder now.

A real vortex!