Evadeen Brickwood - Children of the Moon

“Sounds like a dinosaur to me.” There, Katherine had said what the others were thinking.

“Maybe.”

“That must have been a long trip then,” Chryséis marvelled.

“I’m not sure. I just pressed the button and jumped in, before the vortex could disappear again.” Trevor yawned. What was the big deal?

“Without choosing the time span?”

“Yes, without choosing the time span.”

“We have to change that.”

“Yes.”

“And you say it was hot and smelled dreadful?”

Katherine couldn’t let it go. If time travel was like that, she would stay behind for sure. Dinosaurs - just imagine!

“Katie, I don’t know for sure. It took only a minute. Just drop it now.” But his fellow scientists weren’t ready to just drop the issue just yet.

“Hey, we missed dessert for this!” Chryséis protested.

“What happens if we travel into prehistory and meet face to face with a dinosaur or… a caveman?”

Better tackle the facts. “Or we land right in the middle of an ocean or in a volcano.”

“What?” Katherine jumped.

She was busy eating a chocolate bar and played with the wrapper. It helped her calm her nerves.

“We don’t have to go that far back. In any case, there are books about prehistory. And a cartful of DVDs.”

Trevor perked up. “If it’s supposed to be a bomb, we must at least go back a few thousand years. Otherwise, it’s too boring. Let’s do some research, guys. Will you stop it with that stupid paper already?!“

Katherine put the wrapper into her pocket.

“We program reference points in time. Not just the starting time.” Trevor looked at the clock on the wall. “Sorry, gotta go. Walt’s waiting with the broom for me.” With that he hurried downstairs.

“We have to be careful. I’m sure that Holly’s already watching us like a hawk.” Chryséis pulled a face as if she had just bitten into a lemon.

“Or she has Natasha already spy on us.”

“What are we supposed to do, sit around?” Katherine asked.

A group of fourth-graders walked into the room with their homework. They paid no attention to the older girls and soon studied their Japanese vocabulary.

“No, of course not. While Trevor sweeps, we’ll visit our good, old library. Let’s start with oceans and volcanoes,” Chryséis whispered. They went to the library and took out a few DVDs to watch them later, then climbed the stairs to their room on the second floor to drop them off.

“Let’s take a walk to the pond,” Chryséis suggested. “At least we can be sure that we won’t see Holly there. She hates water. “

On the water’s edge, the two friends sat down and took their trainers off. “Dinosaurs are creeping me out.” Katherine shook herself.

“I don’t know, never seen a live one,” Chryséis said. “I’m not sure if it makes any sense, but, why not check it out…well, why not…”

“What? Check what out?”

“Well, something to make us invisible.”

“Right, invisible -” Katherine contemplated. “There’s a thought. Wait, I think I read about that somewhere in a magazine.”

“What magazine?”

“I remember... it was in the ‘Science Today’, December issue. Some inventor in Kansas came up with a clever idea. Bending light waves. Nobody takes it seriously, of course, but why not try it out?”

“It’s definitely safer to go invisible when we need to…” Chryséis said. “Just in case some caveman wants to cook us for breakfast. Or some humongous dinosaur thinks we are too close to its nest...”

“Oh yes, don’t wanna end up as caveman cereal. You got some imagination.”

“I’m serious, Chris,” Katherine said and felt gooseflesh on her arms. Chryséis stopped laughing.

“So am I. A virtual invisibility cape it is. I’ll have a look at that issue of ‘Science Today’ magazine. Won’t take me long.”

They wiped their feet dry on the longish grass, picked up their shoes and walked barefoot back to the school building.

During the next few days, the three friends made good progress. They did research, and the idea with the ‘virtual invisibility cape’ had been quickly carried out. Chryséis offered to play the guinea pig. They just had to make sure that everyone else was on the back veranda for the afternoon snack. The ideal time for such an experiment.

“Calm down, you’ll give us away with all that fidgeting,” Chryséis said to Katherine. “Just now, Holly Benson will sniff us out!”

For Chryséis, there was only one thing that helped with nerves. “Come do it like that.”

Chryséis did the bridge on the carpet of their dorm room. One of her favorite yoga positions. Her face looked funny upside down as she spoke.

“No, don’t feel like it,” Katherine said. “How is she supposed to find out?”

“You know, when Holly is onto something, she’s like a bull terrier. Where is Trevor?”

Somebody knocked on the door. Two long raps and two short ones. Their secret sign.

“Ah, there he is.” Chryséis uncurled herself quickly.

“Ready you two?” Trevor whispered urgently.

He didn’t feel like being caught in the girls' dorm and sweeping the back veranda or something for the rest of the year. “Let’s get on with it. I don’t want to miss dinner as well.”

“Why do you always have to think about food?” Katherine asked irritated.

“I don’t like chocolate.”

“Stop arguing. Go ahead, Trev, we’ll be there just now.”

They met in a dead-end passage on the top floor, where sports equipment and old kitchen utensils were stored. Nobody would look for them here. At least not for a while, but they had to hurry.

“That’s supposed to be the invisibility device?” Katherine wasn’t exactly convinced.

“Yes, this inventor from Kansas gave an interview with all the details. It’s the most logical design.”

An aliceband with the box stuck on it and a button to switch it on and off. Ready for testing.

“Okay then, here goes.”

Trevor put the prototype on Chryséis’s head and pressed the button. She disappeared almost immediately. Katherine and Trevor caught their breaths. “Unbelievable.”

“Well, get used to it girlfriend,” a ghostly voice said next to Katherine and made her eyes pop.

“You mean, when the dinosaur is ready to gobble us up.” Trevor snapped his hands playfully in the direction of the voice.

“Better safe than sorry is what I say,” the ghost cackled.

“No nonsense, please Chris,” Katherine warned her. “We’ll see you at the lab in ten. Good luck!”

Katherine opened the door to the emergency back staircase. Trevor followed her. It was the quickest way to the ‘Whitby Wing’.

“Nonsense! Would I ever?” Chryséis traipsed down the main stairs, carefully moving along the wall. Somebody might just decide to shoot around the corner and bump into her. The last thing she needed.

It went well. On the ground floor, Chryséis walked slowly along the passage. First past the library, then the school office. A couple of children were on their way to have their snacks before sports practice. Nobody could see her.

Chryséis moved more confidently now toward the teachers’ staff room and slid through the half-open door.

Somebody spoke behind the bookshelves at the back of the long room. She heard soft laughter and whispering. Chryséis crept forward taking care not to make any noise. She peeped out from behind one of the shelves to get a better look. At that moment Mr. Hunter and Miss Gould, two student teachers, started kissing passionately.

Chryséis stepped back in surprise and bumped into one of the desks. The young teachers tore away from each other and Mr. Hunter stood protectively in front of an embarrassed Miss Gould. “Is there somebody?”