A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 33

"We weren't like other people. We were peculiar." {Abe Portman, pg 10 book 1}

"What's this? Are you guys putting on a play?" Jake asked the next day when Emma brought him back. The pair sat beside Aurora as Jake kept asking questions that made Emma roll her eyes.

"You'll see." Then a whistle blew and the curtain opened revealing a straw boater hat floating atop a red and white striped suit.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Millard called, "It gives me the upmost pleasure to present to you a performance like no other in history! A show of such unrivaled daring, of such accomplished magicianship, that you simply won't believe your eyes! Good citizens, I give you Miss Peregrine and her Peculiar Children!" The children around the makeshift stage applauded as Millard tipped his hat.

"For our first illusion I will produce Miss Peregrine herself!" Aurora couldn't help but smile as she remembered when the children excitedly performed this same show for her when she first came to the loop. They had been so excited to see a new face and Aurora had immensely enjoyed the show. She remembered Millard's opening speech being not as loud and a bit muffled as he skipped through it as fast as he could. Fiona had whispered in her ear that he must be nervous to perform in front of her, which had made Aurora blush.

Now she applauded with everyone else as Millard removed his striped suit and juggled glass bottles. It always made Aurora smile when Millard took a break from all the books and logic and just had good, old fashioned, goofy fun with the others. After Millard Emma performed a gravity defying gymnastics routine on parallel bars. Olive took to the stage next and removed her gloves, made fire in her palm, swallowed it, and blew it out again without a single burn. Bronwyn lifted boulders three times her size, then Fiona came out with a long planter filled with dirt. "Flight of the Bumblebee" played while she made daisies pop out of the dirt in tune with the rhythm. Then Hugh joined her on stage and opened his mouth letting his bees out to pollinate the flowers she'd grown.

"Aren't you going to perform?" Jake asked Aurora who shook her head.

"They toured around before the loop, I was never a part of it. Besides with my peculiarity someone would have to get hurt before I could make them better. It's just a bit too morbid to be entertaining, and I'd rather no one get hurt on my account."

oOo oOo oOo

After the show they all had a decadent lunch of goose sandwiches and chocolate pudding. When they were all stuffed to the point of exploding Emma sat up in the grass and asked if they'd like to go swimming.

"Out of the question." Millard groaned as he leaned against Aurora, his head in her lap as she ran her fingers through his neatly trimmed hair. "I'm stuffed like a Christmas turkey." Olive might have been the one who could play with flames but it was Emma who had the fiery spirit. After ten minutes of persisting she'd talked Hugh, Fiona, Bronwyn and Horace into joining her and Jake at the beach. Aurora was content to just sit with Millard and have a lazy afternoon but once he saw everyone leaving he jumped up and scolded them for trying to leave him and Aurora behind.

As they headed for town Jake voiced his concerns about the townspeople recognizing him from yesterday. After Emma assured him it was no problem Horace spoke up about Jake's odd future clothes and they wrapped a towel around him to keep the town from becoming suspicious. When he saw how the people were going about their repetitive day as though nothing had happened he said, "You guys must know a lot about what goes on around here. Like yesterday, with the planes."

"It's Millard who knows everything." Hugh said.

"It's true." Millard added, "In fact, I'm in the midst of compiling the world's first complete account of one day in the life of a town, as experienced by everyone in it. Every action, every conversation, every sound made by each of the one hundred fifty-nine human and three hundred thirty-two animal residents of Cairnholm, minute by minute, sunup to sundown."

"That's incredible." Jake said in awe.

"I can't help but agree. In just forty-seven years I've already observed half of the animals and nearly all of the humans."

"He spent three years on pigs alone!" Hugh said as he dove into what he thought were ridiculous facts Millard had collected.

"Notes are absolutely essential to the process," Millard explained patiently, "But I can understand your jealousy Hugh. It promises to be a work unprecedented in the history of academic scholarship. "

"It'll also be unprecedented in the history of dull things." Emma said. "It'll be the dullest thing ever written!"

Aurora wanted to say something but Millard, sensing her change in mood, put his arm around her in a silent gesture telling her to relax. Instead of responding to Emma's statement he simply started pointing out things the people would do seconds before they actually did them. Jake turned to Millard – or rather the space next to Aurora -and told him how impressed he was.

"I'm glad someone appreciates my work." Was his reply before Aurora cleared her throat loud enough for him to hear and he turned to her.

"Well of course you darling, you don't only appreciate my work - you inspire it." He said before kissing her cheek.

"Great, I'll start blaming that pig nonsense on you." Hugh muttered under his breath.

oOo oOo oOo

As their day at the beach progressed Emma eventually asked Jake about the future. What was it like? What did people eat, drink, wear? When would sickness and death be overcome by science? He told them about some moments in history like the moon landing, the Berlin Wall, Vietnam but his brief explanations led Aurora to believe that Jake wasn't the best student, though she kept that thought to herself.

It was the technology of his time that fascinated them all the most. They had air conditioning in their houses that kept them cool by blowing in cold air on a hot day. The televisions that they had heard of were no longer large boxes that a family only had one of, they were now flat and wide and Jake's family had one in almost every room! They traveled by air more often than train and thousands of people used this air travel daily! The army now fought with small robots that flew – called drones and they all carried small phones, sometimes even children had them, which Aurora thought was silly.

Jake even pulled his out of his pocket to show them – though it didn't work Aurora was still in awe. She held it in her hand as Millard looked at it over her shoulder.

"A whole telephone, that huge box we have hung on our wall, now fits in the palm of your hand. Millard did you ever imagine. . . " she trailed off stunned and she flipped the device over in her hand again and again.

"Never." Millard whispered in just as much shock as she was. Jake said it also was a camera and could send written messages in the blink of an eye. It was so much for Aurora to take in. Telephones, cameras, and televisions were large boxes that had to be lugged around to her and the others. But in Jake's time they had access to all of that in this small sleek square that fit in her pocket.