Time and Again (5 page)

Becky wanted to avoid going home for another meal and told Mum that she was having tea with Auntie Jean instead, which was true up to a point – tea and buns!

When she returned to the kitchen, Auntie Jean handed her a plate. ‘Do help yourself to the buns, my dear, and tell me what you've been up to recently.'

Becky was careful to make no references to the watch and confined her tales to events at school, boasting of her goals in yesterday's football practice.

‘I don't know,' said her aunt, shaking her head. ‘Girls playing football! It was never heard of in my day. Netball, that was my favourite game…'

Now it was Becky's turn to listen to Auntie Jean. She knew all her stories about playing for the county netball team, but was content to sit back and enjoy the buns.

When the grandfather clock struck six times, Auntie Jean put a hand to her mouth in alarm. ‘Oh, my goodness!' she exclaimed. ‘I've forgotten to go out and buy a ticket,'

‘Ticket?'

‘Yes, you know, for the
Daily Draw
.'

‘Oh, right, the county lottery. It's OK, the store's still open.'

‘I'm afraid it's too late now, my dear. Six o'clock is the evening deadline so they can
go ahead and make the draw. Your uncle normally picks up a ticket on his way home from work, but he's doing a spot of overtime and asked me to get it today.'

‘Have you ever won anything?'

‘Only twenty pounds once,' Auntie Jean admitted. ‘But I don't mind. Most of the money goes to support local charities and that's the main thing.'

‘How much is the top prize?'

‘Ten thousand pounds.'

Becky let out a low whistle. ‘What would you do with all that money? Go on a world cruise or something?'

‘Oh, no! Nothing so selfish, I'm sure,' she chuckled. ‘We'd share our good fortune with the rest of the family. We always have the same numbers, you see, family birthdays like yours.'

The conversation moved on to other matters, including Zoe's accident, and it was only when Tan started to bark that they realised Uncle Dave had arrived home.

‘Not a word to your uncle about the ticket, remember,' said Auntie Jean, pressing a finger to her lips. ‘He'll never know I forgot!'

As soon as Uncle Dave walked in, Tan gave him a loud, boisterous welcome and then more drinks and food appeared, as if by magic. He switched on the radio before settling himself in his favourite armchair with the evening paper.

‘Let's check whether we've won the draw!' he said, jokingly. ‘You never know, Becky love, you might have brought us a bit of Lady Luck!'

Becky exchanged a furtive glance with her aunt and crossed her fingers that she hadn't done so.

There was no need for Uncle Dave to see the ticket. He knew the numbers off by heart. He was only half-listening to the radio, but as the winning numbers were read out, some of them sounded familiar enough to gain his full attention. He stared at his wife, who had turned decidedly pale, and then he jumped to his feet.

‘C'mon, man!' he shouted at the radio. ‘Say 'em again, will you!'

When the announcer duly obliged, repeating the five lucky numbers, Uncle Dave could hardly believe his ears. ‘We've
won, Jean!' he cried, giving his wife a big hug as Tan added her barks to the excitement. ‘We've gone and won the thing! We've got all five numbers!'

It was some while before he had calmed down enough to allow her to break the bad news. ‘I'm so sorry,' she confessed. ‘With young Becky coming, I clean forgot to go and buy the ticket. Sorry!'

Her husband was so shocked, he could not even find the words to respond. He just shuffled out of the house and went into the back garden to try and swallow his disappointment. Even Tan realised that something was wrong and crouched under the table, tail between her legs.

‘Not much of a Lady Luck, was I?' murmured Becky, knowing that she could not even use the watch again to repeat the past hour.

‘It's not your fault, my dear,' Auntie Jean told her, forcing a false smile. ‘Just one of those things.'

Becky put on her coat and trailed slowly home with Tan. She felt terrible. She knew that their loss – and hers, too, with no share of the winnings – was indeed her own fault. But she also knew what else was to blame.

It lay like a great weight in her pocket – the Timewatch.

‘We have to get rid of this thing,' Becky insisted, ‘before it causes any more bother.'

She had forgotten to take the Timewatch out of her coat last night and now handed it over to Chris in the school playground after lunch. She wanted nothing more to do with it.

‘It stops things turning out the way they were meant,' she told him.

‘
Meant
?' Chris repeated, raising an eyebrow. ‘Who's to know what's really meant to be?'

‘We do,' she replied. ‘They were meant to win the Draw and now they haven't because of that watch.'

‘And you and the buns.'

‘Yes, all right – and me. Go on, rub it in, little brother.'

‘Hey! Less of the
little brother
stuff,' Chris retorted, grinning. ‘I reckon, with our own time trips, I've lived longer than you now by about an hour –
little sister
!'

Becky pulled a face at the taunt. She almost wished she hadn't told him what had happened. She'd hoped the confession would erase some of her guilt, but she still felt wretched. Even more so, in fact, after a sleepless night. The only good news was that they had heard in assembly that Zoe was making a swift recovery.

‘Let's smash it to pieces,' she suggested.

Chris plunged the watch deep into his coat pocket, in case Becky tried to snatch it back and dash it to the ground. ‘We can't do that,' he stated.

‘Why not?'

‘Well, it might be the only watch in the world like this, that's why not. It just needs to be used properly. Y'know, to
help
people – like I did with Dad.'

Becky could hardly argue with that. She turned away to trail back inside the building, allowing Chris to join in a kickabout with some of the other boys. He needed to get
involved in something physical to clear his mind.

‘You can only play if you go in goal,' said Butch. ‘I want to play out for a change.'

Chris was happy enough about that. He was better with his hands than his feet, even if he wasn't as good with either as Butch. He took off his coat, folded it up tightly to give the watch extra protection and placed it beneath a pile of others being used as goalposts.

Much to his own surprise, he found himself on good form, handling the ball cleanly and he even dived across the hard surface to smother one of Luke's shots.

‘You see why Butch never dives on here,' Luke sneered as Chris pulled up a sleeve to examine the graze on his left elbow. ‘Bet you won't do it again.'

Chris soon proved Luke wrong. He threw himself full-length to keep out another goal-bound shot and his bravery earned him applause from Butch.

‘They say all goalies are crazy,' he grinned.

‘Then that must include you, too,' Chris joked back.

‘Guess so, but don't overdo it, Jacko. They might start thinking you're better than me!'

Chris made several more good saves but he was also beaten a few times in the high-scoring game, which finished with a victory for his team when the bell sent the players scurrying for their coats. A surly Luke chucked Chris's towards him.

‘Hey!' cried Chris, catching the coat before it hit the ground. ‘I've got something valuable in here.'

‘What?'

‘None of your business. Just
watch
it.' Chris grinned at his own pun and then brushed past Luke to head for the cloakroom. The
two boys continued to bicker at their table throughout the afternoon, with the only quiet period coming when Mr Samuels gave everyone an unexpected spelling test.

What was not unexpected, however, were the poor scores of both Chris and Luke, neither of whom were exactly top of the class when it came to spelling ability.

The teacher ended the day with a story, grouping the children around him in the book corner, and it was only then that Chris realised Luke had gone missing. His suspicious mind immediately flashed to the Timewatch. He had thought about bringing it with him into class, but felt it might be safer – and less tempting to use – if he left it in the cloakroom. He was now regretting that decision – and also the stupidity of telling Luke that he had something of value in his coat.

He waved his hand in the air to attract the teacher's attention.

‘What is it now, Christopher?' sighed Mr Samuels. ‘I suppose you're going to tell me that time travel isn't really possible.'

Chris was taken aback. ‘Sorry?' he said,
catching his twin's eye. He hadn't even been listening to the science-fiction story about people travelling through time and space. He simply wanted to leave the room.

‘Well, what do you think?'

‘Er…' he faltered. ‘No, I'm sure it is.'

‘You're
sure
it is?' repeated Mr Samuels. ‘And why are you so sure?'

Becky shot Chris a warning look, fearing what he might blurt out, but she needn't have worried. Chris was too concerned about what Luke might be doing to want to be delayed by a long discussion.

‘Well, I just think it must be,' he said. ‘I mean…'

Chris never had the chance to say what he might have meant. ‘Ow!' he winced, glaring at Luke, who had kicked him on the knee beneath their table. ‘Pack it in, will you?'

For once, Luke wasn't smirking. His face had turned deathly pale.

‘What's up with you?' Chris grunted, not really concerned.

‘I don't know,' Luke murmured. ‘Everything's gone weird – well weird…'

‘You're well weird to start with,' Chris told him and returned to his project work.

Luke flicked a pencil at him. ‘Look, Jacko, I want to know what's going on here. Don't mess me around.'

Chris stared at him. ‘I've no idea what you're on about.'

Luke held out the Timewatch. ‘I'm on about this thing.'

‘What are you doing with that?' Chris gasped. ‘Give it back.'

‘Not till you tell me what's going on,' he refused. ‘I just pressed this red button and then suddenly found myself back here.
It's only two o'clock – but it should be nearly home time now.'

Chris could understand Luke's confusion. He'd felt the same way himself the first time he had used the Timewatch, but he had no sympathy for him.

‘That's twice you've pinched that watch,' he hissed, making a grab for it.

Luke was too quick and there was a scuffle as Chris leant over the table and tried to take it back by force.

‘Stop it, you two, at once!' shouted Mr Samuels. ‘Come here.'

Tempted though Chris was, as he desperately wanted the watch, he did not admit the cause of their latest dispute. The last thing he needed was for his teacher to know about the watch as well. If Mr Samuels discovered its special powers, Chris would probably never see it again. Both boys remained silent and finally, in frustration, the teacher sent them to sit in opposite corners of the room.