“Have you heard from Zac yet?” Kate asked, picking at a loose thread on my rug.
I hadn’t looked at my phone all afternoon and pulled it out of my pocket to check. There were three new messages, all of them from Zac. I grinned as I opened them and scrolled through. “He says he’s really happy he bumped into me at the ice cream store,” I relayed to Kate. “And he wants to know if I’d like to hang out at the park with him tomorrow.” I beamed at the messages, while at the same time, butterflies began to do a crazy dance in my stomach.
I grinned at Kate. “What should I say?”
“You’re going to say yes, right?” Kate asked, scooting closer so she could look over my shoulder.
“I think so…but what about...what if, you know, Jade shows up?”
“Jade doesn’t go to parks. That’s not cool enough for her. And besides, who cares?”
“Yeah, guess you’re right.” My fingers hovered over the keypad, but I was unsure of what to text back.
I stared at the screen for a moment, my fingers still not moving.
It seemed Zac was interested in me, but why did he let Jade hang around him so much? What if this was all a setup to make fun of me, and after a few days, a week of Zac hanging out with me, he showed up one day with Jade, and they all pointed their fingers and laughed at me for thinking I could be with him. That I could be anything but the nerdy girl in school?
“You’re doing it again, making that face,” Kate pointed out. “Stop thinking worst case scenario.”
“I can’t help it,” I pouted and sighed. “You don’t think this will end badly?”
“For Jade, maybe, but not for you. He didn’t let her get away with pushing you around today. I think Zac’s finally tired of putting up with her and that horrible annoying laugh.” Kate and I mimicked it together until we were rolling around on the floor cackling like banshees when Oliver finally walked in. He stared at us with one arched brow.
“Do I want to know?” he asked.
“No, not important.” I made a quick decision and typed a brief reply to Zac asking what time he’d like to meet at the park. I’d probably have to have Kate or Oliver with me. But there’d be a ton of people around on a Sunday, and hopefully, Mom would give me a little freedom.
“You didn’t pull it out of the box yet?” Oliver asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor and staring at the gold key.
“No, I was being a nice sister and waiting for you.” I set my phone aside and reached for the key that lay on the red velvet beneath. “You think this would’ve opened that box before you destroyed the lock?”
The key was cold and heavy in my hand, and the metal had rusted a little around the edges.
“Only one way to find out. We’ll have to get it downstairs and test it on the box. The locking mechanism is probably wrecked, but we can at least see if the key fits inside it.”
I handed the key to my brother and picked up the box. Using my fingernail, I picked at the velvet until it pulled away from the backing. Carefully, I tugged at it and was able to remove it. “Uh, Oliver? There’s a piece of paper in here,” I said excitedly. “Something’s written on it.”
Gently, I slipped it free of the box. The page was worn and crumpled, but the writing was clear on it as I gingerly unfolded it, worried it would tear.
“That’s Grandpa’s writing,” Oliver said in disbelief. “I’m sure of it! What does it say?”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this really did belong to Grandpa!” My hands were shaking as I squinted at the words trying to make them out so I could read it aloud. After a moment I was able to decipher the text…
“Oliver, this key belongs to a very important invention. If you should ever find it, I must implore you to use it with the utmost care.”
I paused in surprise and watched my brother’s face brighten. “He wrote this to you, Oliver! I don’t think it was meant to be in that antique shop.”
“Go on,” he urged, inching closer as he gripped the key tightly in his hand.
“Wait,” I said frowning, “how did he know your name? You weren’t even born yet!”
Oliver’s smile fell, and he sat back. “You’re right…now, this is weird.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and goosebumps broke out over my arms. “Do you think Grandpa came to the future? By using that machine?”
Oliver shrugged. “I don’t know; maybe he did…keep reading.”
I nodded and readjusted my position on the floor, while at the same time taking in Kate’s look of concentration. It was clear that she no longer thought Oliver and I were crazy or that we had overactive imaginations.
I looked down at the paper and continued…
“When you find this, I know you’ll be able to understand what it is and how to use it. I’ve seen you at work, my grandson, and you have the same mind as me. But remember, you must always be careful not to be seen and that anything you change in the past can have damaging effects on the future for everyone. One day, when the time is right, this will come into your possession, and the greatest mystery of your life will be yours to solve. Yours and your sister’s, Holly.”
I lowered the letter, my mind racing with what we’d discovered. Oliver reached for it, and I handed it to him. “This is insane,” he murmured, reading over the words again. “That’s all he said?”
“That’s it.” He knew our names. The only way he could’ve known was if he came to our time at some point. “Greatest mystery of our life,” I repeated. “What does that mean?”
Oliver shook his head and set the key and letter down. “I’m not sure yet, unless…do you think?”
“Think what?”
“The mystery he’s talking about is Dad?”
I gulped and rested my back against the edge of my bed. “Grandpa knew?”
“He knew our names; why would he not know that Dad disappeared? What else would be the greatest mystery of our lives?”
“He wants us to find Dad. How are we supposed to do that?”
Oliver held up the key. “We could use the machine. We could go back to the day he disappeared, or before. We could see where he went and maybe then we can understand why he never came back.”
Kate reached out and squeezed my hand. “You keep saying you want to find your dad.” It was the first time she’d spoken since I began reading the letter. She was as shocked as my brother and me.
“I do,” I nodded.
But this was a lot to take in and the day had suddenly caught up with me. Overwhelmed, I fell silent and let Oliver figure out on his own how we would go about finding Dad. I listened to him ramble about what would be the best time to go back to. I struggled to concentrate on what he was saying; all I could think about was the man’s face in the family picture. We could finally meet him, see who he was, and get to the truth of why he left us.
All these years, Mom swore to us that he’d just walked away. But my gut now told me there was more to the story. Something had happened to Dad, something bad.
“It’s getting dark,” Kate said suddenly and hopped up. “I have to get home before Mom gets mad at me. Call me tomorrow!” She waved at us both and rushed out of my room. I heard her call goodbye to Mom before the front door opened and closed.
“Holly? Are you alright? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Oliver’s brow creased with concern.
I shook my head and tried to smile. “I’m fine; this is just…it’s a lot to take in, you know.”
“I agree, but it’s good, don’t you think? Finally, we’re getting a chance to figure out who Dad was and why he left.”
“And if he left us by choice,” I muttered. “I still can’t believe Grandpa knew our names. Do you think we met him and never realized it? At a park or maybe even at school?”
Oliver moved so he could rest his back against the bed beside me. “It’s possible.”
He fiddled with the key then held it out for me to take. I ran my fingers over the rough surface and smiled, feeling an even stron
ger connection to our grandpa than I ever had before.
“I want to find him,” I whispered firmly. “But what happens after we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know; I just have a bad feeling about all of this. That whatever happened to Dad could happen to us, too.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised, a serious expression on his face. “We’re in this together, remember?”
He gave me a rare one-armed hug then pushed to his feet. He said he’d see me in the morning and I watched him leave my room. See me in the morning? Thinking of tomorrow reminded me that in the morning I’d have to talk to Mom about hanging out with Zac. I set the key and letter back inside the leather box, tucking the box away safely in my desk. Then I grabbed my phone and fell onto my bed.
I guessed everything in my life was going to go crazy at once. The time machine, finding the pictures in the attic, and realizing that my crush actually might like me back. I spent the next hour reading and re-reading Zac’s texts and hoping that my reply sounded ok. I’d sent it so quickly. I scrolled through his Instagram photos, laughing about the funny pics he’d added and thinking how cute his dog was. He obviously loved his dog; he was in so many of the images.
When I turned off my lamp and pulled the blankets up to my chin, I pushed all thoughts of the time machine from my mind. That was a worry for another day. Tomorrow, I had a date.
Chapter 3
“A date?” Mom repeated, standing by the griddle as she made pancakes.
“Not really a date,” I corrected, spinning from side to side as I sat on the barstool. “Just hanging out really, in the park, where there are lots of other people.”
She eyed me over her shoulder. “Still sounds like a date.”
“But we’re not going to be alone, alone,” I pointed out. “Please, Mom?”
I waited impatiently for her to decide whether I could hang out with Zac that day in the park or not. Worst case scenario, she would ask me to bring Oliver along. Best case, if she didn’t let me go by myself, she would trust Kate to hang out with Zac and me instead. I mentally tried to convince her that I would be fine with Zac alone and as she removed the pancakes from the griddle, turning it off, she sighed and set the plate on the island.
“You are to stay at the park,” she started. I bounced up and down on my stool, too excited to contain myself. She broke out into a smile and patted my hand. “And I don’t want you gone more than two hours. Deal?”
“Definitely a deal!” I shook the hand she held out to me.
“My daughter, on her first date,” she sighed as she turned back to the griddle to make the rest of the pancakes. “Why couldn’t you have waited a few more years? Like four at least?”
“It’s not a date,” I insisted again, while inside my head all I could think was… I’m finally going on a date with Zac Fredericks. I am, not Jade. Me. Weird, slightly nerdy, Holly Peterson is going on a date with Zac Fredericks.
I wanted to jump and down, run around the kitchen and shout that something good was finally happening to me. But I was pretty sure Mom wouldn’t allow me to be alone with a boy I was crushing on.
“He seemed very interested in Grandpa’s work though,” I added, hoping to convince her even more that we were just going to talk about science stuff.
“I’m sure he does,” Mom said, unconvinced.
“He’s got the highest grade in our science class,” I continued. “He’s a really good student.”
“Hmm,” she frowned, and I saw her lips curl into a crooked smile. “You sound as if you’re buttering me up for something, Holly.”
“Nope, just trying to make you feel better.”
She nodded her head slowly, but her smile said I was not doing a very good job of that. “Just remember our deal. Only the park and you have to be back home in two hours.”
“I remember.”
“And I want to meet him.”
I choked on my mouthful of pancake, chugging my orange juice to wash it down. Mom’s brow shot up as she flipped the pancakes over. “Uh, today?” I managed to gasp.
“No, but soon. Unless of course, you don’t want me to meet him.”
“Sure I do,” I said, even though inside I was rolling my eyes. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Mom was grinning when she turned to face me. “Worried I’ll embarrass you?”
“No,” I said too quickly, and she laughed loudly.
“When I was your age, I was worried about boys meeting my parents, too.”
I picked at my pancakes and wondered where Oliver was so that Mom could give him a hard time about something. And let me get back to being happy about seeing Zac. “You won’t embarrass me, will you?” I asked quietly.
Mom turned off the griddle and sat alongside me. “Only if you want me to.” She grinned brightly, and we both laughed as she nudged my arm with hers. “You’re just growing up so fast all of a sudden. It’s hard for me to think that you have only one year left before high school.”
“What about high school?” Oliver asked through a yawn as he joined us in the kitchen.
“Just realizing your sister is going to be there next year,” Mom said, ruffling my hair. “Both of you have grown up so fast; I can hardly keep up.”
“We’re not that old yet,” I argued.
“To me you are. And you’re both so smart, and creative. I can’t wait to see how awesome you turn out to be.” She sniffed hard and wiped at her eyes.
Oliver and I stared at each other, confused. “Uh, Mom? You ok?” Oliver asked.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine, I just…never mind.” She stood, not having eaten anything, and made for the stairs. “I’m going to get cleaned up then I’m going to catch up with some of the ladies for our monthly book club meeting. Holly, please explain our agreement to your brother… about your date, I mean. And Oliver, I expect you to keep her to it.”
She smiled almost sadly at us one more time then turned to leave, whispering so quietly I almost didn’t catch it, “I wish your father could see you two.”
The pancakes I’d eaten sat heavily in my stomach, and I pushed my plate away, unable to eat anymore.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Oliver quietly.
“No, what did she say?”
I repeated Mom’s words, and his face fell. “I knew she only put on a tough face to try and keep us from seeing how much she misses him,” he frowned.
“You think she believes something else happened to him?”
He bobbed his head, running his fingers through his messy hair in thought. “Yeah. Did you see the way she looked at that polar bear yesterday?”
“Oh, that reminds me, keep a lookout.”
“On what? Holly, keep a lookout on what?”
But I was already moving for the stairs. I’d heard the sound of water turning on and knew I had at least ten minutes before Mom would be finished in the shower. With Oliver right behind me, I hurried to the upstairs hall and pulled down the ladder leading into the attic.
“What are you doing?” he hissed. “Mom’s home!”
“I need those pictures,” I insisted. “Just give me a few minutes. I know exactly where they are.”
He muttered behind me, but I climbed the ladder, tuning him out, and tip-toeing towards the pictures. Mom’s bedroom and adjoining bathroom were right below where the box was, and the floorboards creaked and groaned with each step I took. I held my breath, waiting to hear the water shut off and Mom rush out to see what we were doing in the attic above. I uncovered the same old box, pried it open, and dug around until I found the envelope of pictures. Not having time to sort through them now, I tucked the envelope under my arm and hurried back down the ladder.
We were pushing it up into the ceiling and racing to get back to the kitchen when the water turned off. Oliver told me to look like I was eating, and a few minutes later, Mom appeared at the entrance to the kitchen, dressed in her robe, her hair wet, eyeing us both curiously.
/> “Did you two hear something?”
Oliver swiveled around on his stool sleepily. “Besides Holly’s loud chewing?”
I smacked his arm lightly. “You chew louder than I do.”
“Pretty sure you’re chewing is almost as bad as your snoring.”
We bantered back and forth for a moment before Mom rolled her eyes and hurried back upstairs to her room. We sagged in relief, and I pulled the envelope of pictures out from under my butt where I’d hidden them.
“What are you looking for?” Oliver asked.
“I can’t look through them here, but I’m sure I saw a polar bear the same as the one Mom bought.”
“In the pictures?”
“Yeah, and I think it has something to do with Dad.” I glanced at the stove clock. I was supposed to meet Zac in the park at eleven. I had an hour and a half to get ready and figure out what I was going to wear. Oh no, what was I going to wear?
“Holly? You ok?”
I gulped; then I nodded frantically. “Yeah, I’m…I’m good.”
“Nervous about your first date?”
I glared at him as I hopped off my stool, taking the pictures with me. “It’s not a date. And I’ll leave these in your room. I’ll put them on your desk under some other stuff, so they’re out of sight. You can look through them when Mom’s gone.”
I wanted to help, but this was my first chance to see if Zac actually liked me or was playing a prank on me. But first of all, I needed to figure out what to wear.
I placed the envelope on Oliver’s work table in his room, covering it with one of his notebooks, and hurried back into my own room to figure out my next problem. Clothes! First of all, though, I needed a shower, and then I had to fix my hair. That morning it was deciding to be frizzier than ever. Telling myself there was no reason to panic over a boy, I trudged into the bathroom and spent the entire twenty minutes in a full-blown panic.
I was a bit of a mess as I wiped condensation from the mirror and tapped my fingers on the sink. Today had to go well, not perfect, but well at least.
Time Traveler - Books 1, 2, 3 & 4: Books for Girls aged 9-12 Page 9
