by Morgan Rice
Finally, his story complete, Oliver stopped talking.
Ms. Belfry looked stunned. She just slowly nodded as her eyes scanned back and forth. It looked as if she were trying to process everything he had just told her. It was a lot to take in all in one go, Oliver thought. He hoped her brain wouldn’t explode from it all.
“Fascinating,” she said finally.
She leaned back in her seat, her eyes on him. They were filled with curiosity and wonder.
Oliver waited, his stomach squirming with anticipation.
Finally, Ms. Belfry tapped her chin. “May I see this compass of yours?”
He took it from his bag and handed it to her. She examined it very slowly. Then she became suddenly very animated.
“I’ve seen one like this, once before…”
“You have?”
“Yes. It belonged to Professor Nightingale, of Harvard. An old teacher of mine. The most brilliant man I’ve ever met.”
Her excitement was palpable. Oliver watched as she leapt out of her seat and hurried to the bookcase. She pulled down a textbook and handed it to him.
Curiously, Oliver looked at the book. He read from the front cover. “The Theory of Time Travel.” He gasped and his gaze snapped up to meet hers. “I… I don’t understand.”
Ms. Belfry took her seat again. “Professor Nightingale’s specialty was physics—with an emphasis on time travel.”
Oliver’s head spun. “Do you think he could be a seer? Like me?”
He’d thought there were no other seers in his timeline. But perhaps this Professor Nightingale was one. Perhaps that was why the compass had guided him to Ms. Belfry in the first place.
“Whenever he taught me about a new inventor, he talked as if knew them personally.” She held a hand to her mouth and shook her head in disbelief. “But now I realize he actually did. He must have traveled through time to meet them!”
Oliver felt overwhelmed. His heart began to beat wildly. But Ms. Belfry rested a hand on his, giving him comfort.
“Oliver,” she said gently, “I think you are supposed to meet him. I think the way to your parents, and to your destiny, lies through him.”
No sooner had she said it than Ms. Belfry gasped.
“Oliver, look.”
Just then, Oliver saw the dials on his compass were moving. One pointed to the symbol of an elm leaf. The second pointed to a symbol that resembled a bird. The third remained on the image of a graduation cap.
Oliver’s eyes widened with surprise.
He pointed to the elm leaf. “Boston.” Then to the bird. “Nightingale.” And finally to the cap. “Professor.” He felt a huge surge of excitement in his chest. “You’re right. I have to go to Boston. Meet Professor Nightingale. He has the next clue.”
Ms. Belfry quickly scribbled something into her notebook and then tore the page out. “Here. This is where he lives.”
Oliver took the paper and looked down at the Boston address. Was this the next piece of the puzzle in his quest? Was Professor Nightingale another seer?
He folded the paper carefully and placed it in his pocket, suddenly eager to begin his journey. He jumped up.
“Wait,” Ms. Belfry said. “Oliver. The book.” Professor Nightingale’s time travel book was lying on her desk. “Take it,” she added. “I want you to have it.”
“Thank you,” Oliver said, feeling touched and grateful. Ms. Belfry really was the best non-seer teacher he’d ever had.
He picked up the book and headed to the door. But when he reached it, he heard Ms. Belfry call out.
“Will you ever come back?”
He paused and looked at her. “I don’t know.”
She gave him a sad nod. “Well, if this is goodbye, then all that’s left to say is good luck. I hope you find what you’re looking for, Oliver Blue.”
Oliver felt a deep sense of gratitude in his heart. Without Ms. Belfry, he’d probably not have survived those miserable first few days in New Jersey. “Thank you, Ms. Belfry. Thank you for everything.”
Oliver ran out of the classroom, eager to get the first train to Boston to meet Professor Nightingale. But if he was leaving New Jersey forever there was one thing he needed to do first.
The bullies.
It was lunchtime.
And he had one more wrong to right in the world.
*
He hurried down the steps, the smell of greasy fries wafting up from the lunch room. He and Ms. Belfry had been speaking so long, it was now lunchtime.
Perfect, Oliver thought.
He headed to the lunchroom. It was full of students and extremely noisy. He saw Paul and Samantha, his tormentors from science class. They looked over at him and started pointing and whispering. Other kids turned too, all laughing at Oliver. He saw the kids who threw balls at him in the playground. The kids from Mr. Portendorfer’s class who reveled in the grouchy old teacher’s insistence on calling him Oscar.
Oliver scanned with his eyes until he found his target: Chris and his friends. These were the kids who’d hounded him during the storm. Who’d chased him into a garbage can. Who’d called him a freak and a weirdo and all number of horrible names.
They noticed him, too. The mean girl who wore her hair in severe braids started to smile. She nudged the lanky, freckled boy who’d watched with glee as Chris had Oliver in a headlock. As far as they knew, yesterday they’d chased Oliver through a storm, forcing him to hide in a trash can. Seeing them grin at him made him grit his teeth with a sudden wave of anger.
Chris looked up, too. Any hint of the fear he’d shown toward Oliver back in their living room had disappeared, now that he was surrounded by his bully friends.
Even from across the lunchroom, Oliver could lipread Chris’s words as he said to his friends, “Oh look, it’s the drowned rat.”
Oliver focused all his attention on their table. Then he tapped into his seer powers.
Their trays began to float up off the table. The girl jumped back in her seat, completely terrified.
“What’s going on?”
The freckled boy and the chubby boy leapt up too, looking just as fearful, making scared noises. Chris jumped out of his chair. But he didn’t look scared. He looked furious.
All around the table, other students started to turn to see what the commotion was about. When they saw the trays rising into the air as if by magic, they all began to panic.
Oliver moved the trays higher and higher and higher. Then, when they were about head height, he tipped them.
Their contents came raining down on top of the bullies’ heads.
See how you like to be covered in garbage, Oliver thought.
The lunch hall erupted into pandemonium. Kids started screaming, running all over the place, shoving each other in their haste to get to the exit. One of Oliver’s tormentors—covered head to toe in mashed potato—slipped in the beans that had been spilled. He skidded to the floor, tripping another as they ran.
Through the chaos, Oliver saw Chris standing at the other end of the hall, his narrowed eyes locked on Oliver. His face turned red with anger. He puffed out his huge bulking frame to make himself look more threatening.
But Oliver did not feel threatened at all. Not even slightly.
“You!” Chris bellowed. “I know it’s you! I always have! You have weird powers, don’t you? You’re a freak!”
He barreled toward Oliver.
But Oliver was already two steps ahead. He pushed outward with his powers, covering the floor beneath Chris’s feet with thick, slippery oil. Chris started to wobble, then stagger, then slide. He couldn’t keep his balance and fell flat on his butt. He slid across the floor, careening toward Oliver as if he were on a water slide.
Oliver pushed open the exit door. Chris slid straight past him and straight through it, screaming the whole way. He slid into the courtyard then onward, riding Oliver’s invisible slide of oil, until he disappeared into the distance.
“Bye!” Oliver called, waving.
He slammed the doors shut and turned on his heel.
Head held high, Oliver picked his way through the messy lunch hall and strolled confidently through the corridors of Campbell Junior High. He’d never felt better. Nothing could top this feeling.
When he reached the exit, he pushed the double main doors open with both hands. A gust of clean, cold air hit him. He took a deep breath in, feeling rejuvenated.
And that’s when he saw her.
Standing at the bottom of the steps looking up, stood a solitary figure. Black hair. Emerald green eyes.
Oliver couldn’t believe it. His heart leapt, suddenly beating a mile a minute in his chest. His brain began to spin as it desperately tried to work out how… why…
His palms became clammy. His throat turned dry. A shiver of excitement ran up his spine.
Because standing there before him was a vision of beauty.
It was none other than Esther Valentini.
CHAPTER SIX
“Esther?” Oliver exclaimed.
He held her by the shoulders, drinking in the sight of every bit of her. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Oliver.” Esther’s face broke into a smile. She threw her arms around him. “I found you.”
Her voice was so sweet, like honey. It sang into his ear. Oliver held her close. It felt so wonderful to wrap his arms around her. He’d thought he’d never see her again.
But then he moved out of her embrace, suddenly alarmed. “Why are you here?”
Esther flashed him a mischievous smile. “There’s a time machine at the school. Hidden within the kapoc tree. I noticed a small X carved into it and since there’s an X on every entrance that only teachers are allowed to use, I figured that must mean there was an entrance within it. So I did a bit of snooping, saw a few teachers disappear, and realized there must be a time machine inside. Strictly forbidden for students to use, of course.”
Oliver shook his head. Of course the brilliantly talented Esther Valentini would find a hidden time machine. But no one would travel through one without a very good reason, especially not into a timeline in which one did not belong! From what Oliver had learned at the School for Seers, spending any significant amount of time in the wrong timeline put a real strain on the body. Indeed, he’d felt rather odd just traveling back to his own.
And that’s not even mentioning the sacrifice. There was no guarantee of ever returning. Leaving the School for Seers had broken Oliver’s heart and he’d only done so to save Armando’s life. So something must have driven Esther to come here. A quest, perhaps. A mission. Maybe the school was in danger again?
“Not how?” Oliver said. “Why?”
To his great surprise, Esther smirked. “You promised me a second date.”
Oliver paused, frowning. “You mean you came here for me?”
He couldn’t understand it. Esther might never get back. She may be trapped in the wrong timeline forever. And she’d done it for him?
Her cheeks went pink. She tried to shrug it off, becoming suddenly shy. “I figured you’d need some help.”
Though he couldn’t understand it, Oliver was grateful for the sacrifice Esther had made. She may well be trapped in the wrong timeline forever and she’d done it for him. He wondered if that meant she loved him. He couldn’t think of another reason why someone would put themselves through that.
The thought made him feel warm all over. He quickly changed the subject, feeling suddenly shy and bashful.
“How was the journey through time?” he asked. “Did you get here unharmed?”
Esther tapped her stomach. “I was a little sick. And it gave me a terrible headache. But that’s all.”
Just then, Oliver remembered the amulet. He pulled it out from beneath his overalls. “Professor Amethyst gave me this before I left.”
Esther touched the amulet with her fingers. “A portal detector! They go warm when you’re near a wormhole, right?” She smiled breezily. “That might just guide us back to the School for Seers one day.”
“But it’s been ice cold ever since I got here,” Oliver said glumly.
“Don’t worry,” she told him. “We’re hardly in a rush. We have all the time we want.” She smirked at her own joke.
Oliver laughed as well.
“I have a new quest,” Oliver told her.
Esther’s eyes widened with excitement. “You do?”
He nodded and showed her the compass. Esther gazed at it in wonder.
“It’s beautiful. What does it mean?”
Oliver pointed to the dials and the strange hieroglyphic symbols. “It’s leading me to my parents. These symbols represent certain places or people. See, those are my parents.” He pointed to the dial that had never moved, the one that remained fixed on the image of a man and woman holding hands. “These other dials seem to move depending on where I need to go next.”
“Oh, Oliver, how exciting! You have a mission! Where is it leading you next?”
He pointed at the oak leaf. “Boston.”
“Why Boston?”
“I’m not sure,” Oliver replied, sliding the compass into the pocket of his overalls. “But it’s related to finding my parents.”
Esther slipped her hand inside his and smiled. “Then let’s go.”
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yes.” She smiled shyly. “If you’ll have me.”
“Of course.”
Oliver grinned. Though he couldn’t quite fathom how Esther was so calm about the fact she may be trapped in the wrong timeline forever, her presence did lift his spirits. Suddenly, everything seemed much more hopeful, much more like the universe was guiding him. His quest to find his parents would be much more enjoyable with Esther by his side.
They headed down the steps, leaving Campbell Junior High behind them, and went in the direction of the train station, walking side by side. Esther’s hand in Oliver’s felt smooth. It was so comforting.
Though it was a chilly October day, Oliver couldn’t feel the cold at all. Just being with Esther kept him warm. It was so good to see her. He’d thought he never would again. But he couldn’t help worrying she was a mirage that might disappear at any second. So as they walked, he kept glancing at her just to make sure she was real. Every time, she’d give him her sweet, shy smile, and he’d feel another burst of warmth in his chest.
They reached the train station and headed to the platform. Oliver had never actually bought a train ticket before, and the ticket machine looked very intimidating. But then he reminded himself he’d defused a bomb so he could certainly figure out how to work a ticket machine.
He bought two tickets to Cambridge in Boston, selecting the one-way option since he had no idea whether he’d ever return to New Jersey or not. The thought worried him.
The train to Cambridge was to take just over four hours. They watched it pull into the platform and then boarded it, finding a quiet carriage where they could settle in for the long journey.
“How is everyone at school?” Oliver asked. “Ralph? Hazel? Walter? Simon?”
Esther smiled. “They’re fine. We all miss you, of course. Walter a lot, actually. He says switchit just isn’t the same without you.”
Oliver felt a sad smile tug at his lips. He missed his old friends a lot too.
“And the school?” he asked. “It’s safe? No more attacks?”
He shuddered at the memory of when Lucas had led the rogue seers in their attack on the school. And though he’d thwarted Lucas in this timeline, he had a feeling he hadn’t seen the last of the old, evil man.
“No more glowy-eyed bat attacks,” she said with a grin.
Oliver thought about that horrible moment during their date together. They’d been walking through the gardens—Esther telling him about her own life and family, about growing up in New Jersey in the 1970s—when the attack had interrupted them.
Oliver realized now they
’d never finished their conversation. He’d never had the chance again to really find out who Esther Valentini was before she’d entered the School for Seers.
“We’re from the same neighborhood, aren’t we?” he asked her.
She seemed surprised that he remembered. “Yes. Only about thirty or so years apart.”
“Isn’t this strange for you? To be in a place you know so well but to see it how it is in the future?”
“After the School for Seers, nothing strikes me as strange anymore,” she replied. “I’m more worried about running into myself. I’m sure that’s the sort of thing that could cause the world to implode.”
Oliver pondered her words. He remember how old Lucas had been poisoning the mind of young Lucas to make him do his bidding. “I think it’s okay as long as you don’t realize it’s yourself, if that makes sense?”
She crossed her arms tightly about her middle. “I’d prefer not to risk it.”
Oliver watched her face turn serious. There seemed to be something hidden behind her eyes.
“Aren’t you curious though?” he asked. “To see your family? To see yourself?”
She shook her head suddenly. “I have seven siblings, Oliver. All we ever did was fight, especially since I was the freak. And all Mom and Dad ever did was argue about me, about what was wrong with me.” Her voice was low and filled with melancholy. “I’m better off out of it all.”
