The Accidental Time Travellers

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jack had lain on his bed thinking for the rest of the evening. All the excitement, stress and planning must have taken their toll, because unusually for him the next morning Jess came into his room to wake him up just after nine.

“Morning, Jack.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her, trying to figure out what he was doing and why she was looking down at him. It took him a few moments to get his brain to work properly.

“What time is it?” he said, staring at his clock but not really registering what he was seeing.

“Five past nine. Come on, we need to go and see Freddie. Hurry up and get dressed.”

Jack pushed his duvet back and sat on the edge of his bed. Last night he’d thought of a plan; now all he needed to do was remember what that plan was.

“Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready.”

Jess left him to it, and he got dressed, went to the bathroom and was downstairs in less than four.

“Right then, let’s go.”

“Where are you going?” said Mum from the kitchen.

Jack knew he couldn’t lie, and had forgotten that she might not want them going to see Freddie.

“We’re going to Freddie’s,” he said as casually as he could.

Mum came out into the hall. “Have you got your phone with you?”

Jack got it out of his pocket and showed it to her.

“Good. Text me when you get there, and again when you are leaving. Don’t forget, will you, otherwise you won’t be allowed out for the rest of the week.”

“No Mum, I won’t forget.”

She gave them both a hug and told them to be careful, just as she always did, and they left.

On the way Jack filled Jess in on his plan.

“Really? You think we’ll be able to do that without Mum seeing?”

“I don’t know, but what else can we do?”

Of more concern to Jack right now was what kind of reception they were going to get from Anna.

As they walked up the track from the field to the gate, the butterflies in his stomach started to perform aerobatic acts and seemed to multiply with each step he took. By the time they got to the stable yard he was almost shaking with nervous anticipation.

The yard was empty, as was normal for this time of day. Jack walked over to their den and checked inside; it was empty. Well, empty of people, anyway. The chairs and wooden construction were still in place.

“Don’t forget to send a text,” said Jess as she walked towards the house.

“Thanks Jess.” He’d forgotten. He took his phone out and wrote the text as he was walking, grateful for a little distraction from the thoughts about Anna and how she was going to react to them visiting. Maybe they should have called first. Maybe they should have left it a couple of days. Maybe Freddie had been locked in his bedroom and was being fed bread and water.

Walking and texting meant he didn’t have his head up, and so he couldn’t see Anna walking out of the back door.

“Hello, Jess. You OK? How’s your mum? Has she calmed down yet?”

Jack looked up from the phone, and there she was, hair tied back as usual, in jeans and a T shirt, talking as though nothing had happened.

“Hi Anna. She’s fine. We haven’t been grounded, so she can’t be too mad.”

“Well, that’s good. Hi Jack. Come in, Freddie will be down in a minute.”

Jack finished sending the text, put his phone is his pocket and followed the other two into the kitchen, where Jess found the dog, Anna emptied the dishwasher, and Jack sat at the table thinking of something intelligent to say, at the same time wondering why Anna wasn’t upset with them, or even mentioning anything about yesterday. Her only comment had been to ask after their mum.

Luckily for him, Freddie was true to Anna’s word and came into the kitchen soon after Jack had sat down.

“Morning everyone.”

“Hi,” said Jack, and indicated with his eyes and a slight turn of his head that they should go outside.

“Come on, Jess, let’s go to the den,” said Freddie. The three of them went outside with the dog following on as usual.

“So, how did you mum react?” asked Jack when they were far enough away from the kitchen door for Anna not to be able to hear.

“She doesn’t know. Anna was so worried about what Mum might say, she made me promise to keep it a secret. How about you?”

“Well, you know Mum wasn’t pleased, but Dad was fine with it.” Jack told him what had happened over dinner and afterwards. He then went on to tell him about his plan to get back to where they had come from.

“And you think you’ll be able to do that without your mum seeing?” They’d got to the den, and Freddie sat down in one of the chairs. It was another hot day, and Jack wasn’t sure if he’d want to spend too long in there, but for now it was an ideal place for them to plan.

“Well, the machine hasn’t got that many parts to it, and Mum never goes in the garage anyway, so she’s not going to notice if anything has been moved. All I need to do is take one piece at a time up to my room and hide it under the bed. And we only need a floor; the rest of the wood shouldn’t be necessary.”

“I don’t like the ‘shouldn’t’ bit,” said Jess. Jack didn’t know she’d been listening, as she was giving all her attention to the dog, but clearly he was wrong.

“Don’t worry, Jess, it’ll be fine,” he said with as much conviction in his voice as he could manage.

Well, why would they need the upright pieces? So long as they were all on the floorboards and the electrical parts were all there, there was no logical reason why they shouldn’t be fine. And it meant he could just take four or five lengths up to his room, slot them together and off they would go.

It should all be simple.

“I’ll get everything together, and we’ll do it late at night. Do you think you’ll be able to sneak out one evening?”

“I should be able to, yes. Just give me an idea of when.”

“As soon as possible, Freddie. Maybe even tomorrow, if I can convince her to take Jess shopping for a while. How about it, Jess?”

“Sure, I need some new shoes.”

“Great. Oh, and don’t wear them tomorrow night, will you? If this works, we don’t want to have to explain how you got them.”

“Can we take Jess for a walk?”

Freddie and Jack looked at each other, and Jack gave a nod and shrugged his shoulders.

“Is that OK?” he Jack. “We’ve nothing else to do this morning.”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll just go and tell Anna where we’re going. After yesterday I don’t want her worrying.”