Charms of Time

A birthday present leads to unexpected adventures.

CHAPTER 1

         The two girls wander around Addie's Antiques, scrunching up their noses and grumbling.
         "Ick! This place is coated in dust," Eliza says to her twin as she drags her finger across the nearest table of antiques.
         "Eww. Why did you touch it?" Emmeline replies.
         Eliza wipes her finger on her pants and goes back to scanning the shelves and displays that are crammed to overflowing with all kinds of things from pottery to old toys to old clothes and just about everything else you could imagine.
         "Why would Grandma Hester even think we would like anything in here?" asks Emmeline.
         "I know, right? It's all just old, worthless junk."
         "ELIZA GRACE and EMMELINE OLIVIA! Stop acting like ungrateful, spoiled brats. Your grandmother put time and thought into what she was going to get you girls for your twelfth birthday. And money doesn't grow on trees, you know, especially for someone on a fixed income."
         "Yes, Mother," the twins chorus.
         Emmeline and Eliza go back to half-heartedly shopping. They keep their grumbling to a minimum, instead exchanging glances to convey their disgust. Occasionally, they pick something up, look it over thoughtfully, and then return it to its spot. Eventually, they make their way to the second floor, where the jewelry, coin, and book sections are. There, they pay a bit more attention to the items on display. Emmeline picks up an old turquoise ring but puts it back disappointedly when it turns out to be too big for her fingers. Eliza tries on a gold heart necklace with a tiny diamond chip in the top right corner, but it falls to the floor as soon as she removes her hands from the clasp. "Aww. The clasp is broken, what a shame it was pretty too," she says as she picks it up and puts it back on its display.
         They continue to browse some more. Eventually, Eliza makes her way to the book section where she thumbs through the books, reading their titles. Sometimes she pulls one out and reads its synopsis before returning it to the bookcase.
         "Hey, this is really pretty," Emmeline exclaims.
         Eliza meanders her way back to where her sister is examining a silver charm bracelet set.
         "Hey, let me see."
         "No, Eliza. I found it, so it's mine. You just walked right past it without even a second look. So, tough luck."
         Eliza tries to grab the bracelet out of Emmeline's hand. But all she manages to do is knock the box of charms out of her hands and all over the floor.
         "Oh, great! You see what you just did?"
         "Me?! You're the one who tried to grab it from me. This is your fault, not mine."
         Emmeline picks up the bracelet with its stegosaurus charm and tries to put it on, but Eliza grabs the bracelet too. Even with Eliza holding on to it, Emmeline is able to close the clasp around her wrist. All of a sudden, there is a whistling sound, a purple light, and a tugging sensation.

CHAPTER 2

         "What. The. Hell?"
         "No clue," Emmeline answers as she picks herself up off the ground.
         "Where are we?"
         Emmeline answers exasperatedly, "Does it look like I know? Just stop asking me stupid questi...ons" Clomp... Clomp...Clomp...Clomp...
         "Whaaa? Whoa. Is that a Brontosaurus? Am I dreaming or something? Cause this can't be real."
         "Nooo. Judging from the Styracosaurus following it, I would say that we are in the Cretaceous period. Brontosauruses lived in the Jurassic period. And, no, I don't think you're dreaming at all. I think this is very, very real."
         "So no Brontosauruses."
         "Or Stegosauruses, or Gallimimuses, or Pterodactyls, or Allosauruses."
         "What about Velociraptors?"
         "Wrong part of the world."
         "Bummer. So if that isn't a Brontosaurus, then what is it?"
         "Possibly an Alamosaurus?"
         "Alamosaurus, like 'Remember the Alamo'?"
         "Yup."
         "So, what do you say we have a look around?" Eliza asks as she is practically bouncing up and down, the gleam of adventure in her eyes.
         "Okay, yeah, let's do that. But we should be really careful not to interfere with things. We don't want to mess up history. Remember the time turner from Harry Potter and that Simpsons' Halloween episode?"
         "Yeah, yeah, let's go."
         The girls set off, skirting the edges of the prehistoric forest, being careful not to touch (not sure if anything was poisonous), or step on anything (not wanting to kill even an insect that might disrupt the future). They stop and look around often, amazed at what they see surrounding them. They eventually come upon a herd of Saurolophus grazing and stop to watch for a good five minutes at least.
         As they continue on the forest starts to turn to the right, and they stop for a few seconds to decide whether to keep going straight or to continue to follow the forest's edge. Eventually, they decide to go straight ahead, keeping on the lookout for any possible dangers. "Hey, I thought you said there weren't any pterodactyls in this time period," Eliza said, pointing up to the flocks of flying dinosaurs.
         "There aren't. Those on the left, the ones flying low, are Nyctosaurids, and those on the right, flying toward us, are Quetzalcoatluses," Emmeline states.
         "Nerd," Eliza mutters under her breath.
         "Well, you asked."
         As they travel on, stopping every so often to look at some prehistoric plant or watch prehistoric insects, the forest starts to creep back toward them, eventually crossing their path. As they start to follow the curve of the woods, loud noises, almost like thunder, start to catch their ears, and they look at each other nervously. They creep along even more slowly, and just as they are reaching another bend in the trees, they come across two Pachycephalosaurus fighting. They stop and watch them charging into each other over and over and over for quite a while until the fight is over and the smaller one turns and flees.
         "It's amazing how they can do that and not be hurt," Eliza muses.
         "Yeah, it is. If they were human, they'd be knocked out cold long before now. Want to continue on? We could take a detour through the forest."
         "Yeah, sounds good," Eliza replies as they start to make their way quietly into the trees. As they walk, they hear a scurrying sound and look over to see an Oryctodromeus burrowing its way into the ground about fifteen feet from them. After ten minutes or so, the trees start to thin out, and they eventually come to the forest's edge again. Not far in front of them, they see a nest of dinosaur eggs. "Whoa, how cool, dinosaur eggs. What kind of dinosaur do you think they are?"
         "No clue, but if we're patient, we might find out. Do you see the egg in the middle? See the cracks in it?" So they sit and watch for half an hour as the cracks get bigger and pieces of the shell fall off.
         "Hey, look, it's a baby Triceratops," Eliza exclaims as she creeps slowly toward the baby, who is emerging from the egg.
         "Be careful, the mother can't be that far..." Suddenly, the mother comes charging towards them, "away," Emmeline finishes as they turn and run back into the safety of the trees.
         After they catch their breath, they continue along the forest, eventually coming to a steep and sudden drop-off. "Yikes," Emmeline exclaims, arms wind-milling, trying to keep from falling off the cliff, as her sister grabs the back of her shirt and pulls her back. "Thanks for that."
         "Yeah, no problem."
         They backtrack through the woods for a while before turning right and going farther on.
         "Oh no, look," Eliza cries out, pointing to where a pack of Atrociraptors are attacking a juvenile Ankylosaurus, "how sad. That poor baby."
         "Don't worry, here comes its mother." The mother comes running, ready to protect the juvenile. She nudges the Atrociraptors with the spikes on her sides, bites at their legs, and swings the club at the end of her tail until the raptors have no choice but to retreat.
         They carry on their way, occasionally passing small groups of dinosaurs, including Torosaurus, Anatosaurus, Ornithomimus, and Therizinosaurus. They stop and sit down for a rest alongside a crystal clear sea, where they watch a mosasaurus chase a plesiosaurus until the plesiosaurus takes refuge in an underwater cave. Eventually, they are jolted awake from a half-sleep by the appearance of a T. rex who has come to the sea for a drink. As the wind blows, the T. rex catches their scent and looks up.
         "Maybe he won't see us," Eliza whispers hopefully.
         "Not likely," Emmeline replies quietly as the T. rex starts toward them. The girls get up and start to run dodging vines and shrubs and holes in the ground, looking back occasionally to see how close the T. rex is.
         "I thought T. rexes were supposed to be really fast."
         "No, that is a myth perpetrated by pop culture. T. rexes top out at about twelve to seventeen mph. And why are you complaining anyway? Is this one not fast enough for you? If it were any faster, we would be T. rex chow by now. We may become that anyway because we're likely not going to be able to reach the trees before he catches up with us."
         "Hey, stop for a second, I think I have an idea."
         "Really, Eliza, you think it's a good idea to stop right now?"
         "Yes, just trust me. Here, behind here." So, Eliza stops, pulls Emmeline behind a large bush, and then unclasps the bracelet from around Emmeline's wrist.

CHAPTER 3

         Eliza picks herself up off the floor of the antiques shop. "See, Emmeline?" She looks around, but Emmeline is nowhere to be found. "Uh oh. This is not good, not good at all. What do I do? What do I do?" She paces back and forth with her fists at her temples.
         Faster and faster, she paces until she hears her mother call up the stairs, "You girls almost done yet?"
         Eliza stops dead in her tracks. After a couple of seconds, she calls back, "Not yet, we're still trying to decide between a few things."
         "Okay, well, hurry things up a bit, will you?"
         "Yeah, don't worry; it probably won't be more than a few minutes."
         Eliza realizes she has to go back for Emmeline, "I just hope I can find her again," she mumbles to herself as she puts the bracelet around her wrist and closes the clasp. But when the tugging sensation stops, she isn't sure where she is. This place looks kind of similar to where they landed the first time, but several slight differences suggest she is in the wrong place.
         Eliza walks a short way until she comes to a hill, and looking down into the valley, she sees herds of dinosaurs grazing and one lone Pterodactyl circling above. "Ah, I'm not in the wrong place, I'm in the wrong time. Emmeline said Brontosauruses, Stegosauruses, Brachiosauruses, and Pterodactyls belonged in the Jurassic period."
         So she unclasps the bracelet again, once she lands back in Addie's Antiques, she quickly reclasps it again. Hoping to be in the same era as her sister, she opens her eyes, but once again, she isn't. She looks around and sees dinosaurs she has never seen before. "What are they?" she asks herself. "I bet Emmeline would know, but she's not here. I wish I could show her and ask her what they are."
         Eliza thinks for a while, trying to figure out some way to show her sister the dinosaurs. Eventually, she just drops her arms down by her side, and when she does, her hand falls against something hard in her pocket. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. "Of course, I'm so stupid. My phone, oh, but it probably won't work. Oh, well, I might as well try, I've really got nothing to lose." So she points the phone's camera at the dinosaurs and takes their picture, but the dinosaurs don't like the flash and come stampeding her way. "Oops. Looks like it's time to go," she says as she unclasps the bracelet once more.
         "Now what do I do? I've tried twice already. What are the odds a third time would get me where I need to be? I guess I have to try, though, so here goes nothing."
         As soon as she stands up, she can tell she's in the right time. She immediately sets off trying to retrace their steps. Eventually, after a few wrong turns and backtracking, and having to wait for a Gorgosaurus to clear her path when she comes to the spot where the woods turn away, she finds her way back to the sea. Heart in her throat, she scans the area from the safety of the tree line. She sees no sign of the T. rex, but neither does she see any signs of her sister. She carefully creeps out from under the trees, keeping an eye out for both the T. rex and Emmeline. Halfway to the bush they hid behind when she took the bracelet of Emmeline's wrist, she sees blood on the ground. "NOOO," Eliza cries as she drops to her knees.
         "What are you doing? You can't sit out here in the open like this; they might come back."
         "EMMELINE! You're okay."
         "Yes, yes, now let's move. Come on. Hurry up."
         "But how..."
         "I'll explain when we're back in our own time period." She says as she takes her arm, and Eliza unclasps the bracelet. And with the whistling sound, purple light, and tugging sensation, they return to the safety of the twenty-first century.
         "So, what happened? How did you escape the T. rex?" Eliza asks as she stands up, sneezes from the stirred-up dust, and wipes her eyes on her sleeve.
         "Well, after you undid MY bracelet and disappeared, I stayed behind the bush for like three or four minutes. Then, I heard another dinosaur approaching from in front of me. I looked up to see another T. rex, a smaller one, coming right for me. I thought I was a goner for sure. I figured there was no way this one didn't see me. But the first T. rex didn't like the idea of the new one stealing his snack, so he attacked, and they fought. Well, I'm not stupid, so I took the opportunity to run to the safety of the forest. Now give me back my bracelet," Emmeline explains as she bends down to pick up the box and the rest of the charms.
         "So that's why the blood? It was from one of the T. rexes?"
         "Must've been since it wasn't mine."
         "Girls! You'd better be done now! We've waited for you two long enough," their mother yells as she climbs the stairs.
         "Yeah. We're done," Eliza yells back, "I guess I'll get that heart necklace. I bet the clasp can be fixed." She grabs the necklace, and Emmeline gathers up the spilled charms, and they go downstairs to pay for their jewelry.
         "Oh, this is quite the pretty necklace, isn't it? It'll look really nice on you," the saleswoman says as she checks Eliza out.
         Then Emmeline hands her the box with the charm bracelet, and the saleswoman's eyes light up, and she says to Emmeline knowingly, "Well, now this here, this is a very special bracelet. Wear it well."
         "I will, don't worry."

CHAPTER 4

         "Can anyone tell me what 4/5 divided by equals? Ms. Washington." Mr. Flores asks. "Ms. Washington," he asks again, more loudly.
         "Oh, sorry, what?" Eliza asks as she is startled out of her daydream about yesterday's adventure, as the rest of the class laughs.
         "That's enough. If you had been paying attention, you would know that I asked you what 4/5 divided by equals."
         "Oh, ah right," she sputters as she does the math problem quickly on her paper, "it equals 1 3/5."
         "Correct. Now pay attention."
         Eliza tries hard to pay attention for the rest of the class, but her daydream reminds her that she hadn't shown her sister the pictures of the strange dinosaurs yet.
         When the bell finally rings, she hurries to the cafeteria, where she sits down with Emmeline and her friends Callum, Lucy, and Autumn; instead of her own friends. Lucy gives Eliza a questioning stare.
         "Hey, look, I forgot to show these to you yesterday," as she flips through the pictures on her phone.
         "Whoa, where'd you see those?" Callum asks.
         "Oh, ah," Eliza stammers, "I took these screenshots from an ad for a new documentary or something."
         "What's it called?" Callum presses her.
         "I don't really remember; I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. Anyway, I've never seen dinosaurs like this, but I figured you did."
         "Yeah, I have. That first one is a Chindesaurus. The second one, I believe, is a Coelophysis. And the last one, the one that's furry-looking is a Lepidus. They lived during the Triassic period, so they were among the first dinosaurs to live. Piper and Riley are looking over at you. You'd better go."
         "Yeah, see ya," Eliza replies.
         As Eliza heads off to sit with her friends Rebecca, Ava, Leeann, Piper, and Riley; Emmeline whispers, "Nice save."
         When the girls finally get home from school, they head off to their bedroom to do their homework. Once the door is closed, Emmeline rounds on Eliza and accuses, "Is that why you took so long to come back for me? You went exploring elsewhere while I almost ended up as a T. rex treat?"
         "I wasn't 'exploring'. I didn't go there deliberately, you know. When I undid the bracelet, I thought we would both go back to the antiques shop. But I guess I was the only one to go back because I was the only one touching the bracelet, maybe."
         "Makes sense."
         "Anyway, when I tried to go back for you, I ended up in the Jurassic period, Brontosaurus and all. When I tried again, I went to the Triassic period, as you said. I didn't spend more than a couple of minutes in either time. I was anxious to find you and bring you back home. When I finally got back to the Cretaceous period, I tried to retrace our steps, but I got lost a few times and needed to backtrack. And you should talk! You let me think that that blood was yours, that you were dead, when you had obviously seen me going to check it out! I was so scared and upset, and you could have prevented that, and you didn't! that wasn't a nice thing to do."
         "Well, good, seeing as how you left me for dead in the first place."
         "I told you, I thought you would come back to our time also. How was I supposed to know that we both wouldn't come back simply because both of us went in the first place, that we both had to be touching it or each other?"
         "Common sen..."
         Just then, their bedroom door opens, and their little sister Zoe peeks her head in and complains, "Stop fighting, I can't hear the TV over you two arguing."
         "Go away, you little brat," the twins yell at the same time.
         "I'm telling mom."

CHAPTER 5

         Saturday morning, the twins, having been made to stay in their room for yelling at Zoe, sit around doing practically nothing. Emmeline has the box with her charm bracelet on the bed in front of her and muses, "What do you think the other charms mean?"
         "Huh?" Eliza says as she looks up from her spot on the floor.
         "The other charms. Where do you think they would take us?"
         "No idea. How about we find out?" Eliza suggests mischievously.
         "We're grounded, remember?" Emmeline stops talking, having heard footsteps in the hall. After a few seconds, she continues in a whisper, "If mom, dad, or the tattle tale Zoe come around and we're not here, we'll be in a ton of trouble. Not to mention how would we explain where we were?"
         "We could lock the door, that way no one could get in. And if they ask about it later, we don't say a thing. If we look mad enough, they will think that we're just giving them the silent treatment," Eliza whispers back, "so, are you in or what?"
         "Yeah. Let's go. I've got nothing else to do anyway. But where do we go? Which charm do you want to try?"
         "I'm not sure. How about flipping the box upside down on the bed, closing your eyes, clipping whatever charm you grab onto the bracelet, and just seeing where we end up?"
          "Okay, but you close your eyes too, so you can't influence my choice." Eliza grabs Emmeline's leg as Emmeline flips the box over and slowly moves her hand over the charms a few times before grabbing a charm, clipping it on, and closing the clasp on the bracelet. And, with the now familiar whistling sound, purple light, and tugging sensation, they are whisked off to another time.
         When they open their eyes, they find themselves on a hill overlooking an army camp, looking down at her bracelet, she sees that the charm she picked was a musket.
         "Well, I would say that based on their uniforms, I believe this is sometime during the Revolutionary War and that we are above a British army camp."
         "Well, given that fact, maybe we should find someplace to hide. Especially since the American side is coming from the other side of this hill," Emmeline suggested.
         "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. But where do we go?
         "We go down the hill, going parallel to the two opposing armies, there's a small copse of trees over there we might be able to hide in and watch some of the battle."
         "You think that's a good idea?"
         "Yeah," Emmeline replies, "because we just got here and I want to see some of the weaponry if I can, don't you? It's bound to be cool. And then we can explore a bit before we go home."
         "Me too, but maybe we should hold hands in case we do end up having to go home quickly."
         "Good idea," Emmeline says as she sticks her left hand towards her sister.
         Grabbing Emmeline's outstretched hand, Eliza says, "Let's go. Nice and quick and quiet like." The girls set out as quickly as they can while moving in a crouch to avoid being seen. When they are about halfway down the hill, they hear a bugle call and know that the battle is starting. They hurry along faster, angling toward the copse of trees. When they are a yard out from the copse, they hear the sound of a cannon going off, and they both jump. As Eliza lands, she twists her ankle and cries out in pain.
         "Ow," she says as she sits massaging her ankle.
         Emmeline looks over Eliza's shoulder and says, "Come on, we can't sit here all day, we gotta get to those trees. I can start to see people, we don't want to be seen," and she reaches down and pulls Eliza up and helps her to the trees. Once in the trees, they watch for a while.
         "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a pair of binoculars right now. I can barely see 'cause everything is so far away," Emmeline complains.
         "Well, do you want to just go back home?" Eliza asks.
         "No, let's watch a bit longer, then we can go explore that camp a bit." Their patience pays off, as over the next half hour, the battle spreads out down the hill.
         Suddenly, they hear a musket fire close by, and then a helmet rolls down the hill and right up to the edge of the copse of trees. "Whoa, that's a little too close for me. I think it's time to go explore the camp," Eliza says.
         "Agreed," Emmeline replies. They head further into the trees to avoid detection and head toward the camp. Soon, they can see that the camp is all but deserted and breathe a sigh of relief.
         They creep quietly into the camp with the sounds of the battle going on in the background, avoiding the medical tents, and exploring the entirety of the camp; creeping into unoccupied tents and looking at all the soldiers' belongings. "Look at this," Emmeline says, pulling an old compass out of a soldier's bag and showing it to Eliza.
         "Cool, but look at what I found. It's just like Harry Potter," Eliza says, holding out a quill pen and ink pot.
         After some time, they can hear that the battle is winding down and move to leave the camp. But as they are almost halfway out of the camp, they are stopped by a medic. "Hey, what are you two doing?" the medic yells.
         The girls stop dead in their tracks. They look at each other worriedly. Emmeline thinks for a minute, then adopts a fake British accent and says, "Errr... We were sent to bring a message to one of the officers. We could hear the fighting, so we were just looking for his tent so that we could leave a note on his cot. We'll be leaving now."
         The medic asks, "Wait, what about the message?"
         "Oh, er, we found his tent and left the note there," Eliza replies in her best British accent. The girls quickly leave the camp, and believing that they had tempted their luck enough already, they undo the clasp on the bracelet and go home.
         Landing back in their room, Emmeline sighs, "Woo, that was close."
         "Yeah. Good thinking with that story and the fake accent. Without that, we would've been in deep trouble."
         "Thanks. We would have had to undo the bracelet in front of him, and he'd have told everyone about us disappearing right in front of him, and they would all believe he was crazy and probably fire him on the spot, or worse, and that would be bound to alter the future."
         Just then, they hear a knock on the door and jump before they hear Zoe say, "Mom said to bring you your lunch, so open the door."
         Eliza gets up and opens the door to see Zoe holding two plates of sandwiches, pickles, and Doritos, and staring at her suspiciously. "Thanks," Eliza says and then closes the door in her sister's face.
         "I didn't like that look on her face," Eliza says.
         "Me neither. What are the odds she goes and tells Mom that we weren't in our room?"
         "Not good, at least for us. The little snitch."

CHAPTER 6

         Monday morning, first period, Emmeline is sitting in her history class listening as Mrs. Price explains, "Since we are coming to the end of the school year, I think it is fitting that you write your final essay on a decade from the modern age. It is your choice which decade; you can choose any of them from the 1920s to the 1990s. You must include major events; political dealings, new laws, any significant judicial decisions, that sort of stuff; and the culture of the time. The report must be at least three pages long and include a bibliography. If you choose a decade that someone you know lived through, you may interview them about what they remember, but also include them in the bibliography. You have two weeks. Everyone got that?"
         "Yes, Mrs. Price," the class choruses dully.
         After school, Eliza sits down in the last row of the school bus, across the aisle from Emmeline, and slams her books down on the seat next to her, before they tumble down onto the floor. As she bends to pick them up, she grumbles, "Ugh. We have like a month before end-of-year exams, why is Mrs. Price making us do a stupid history report? It's so stupid, making us take our focus off studying for the final. If I fail, it's going to be because of her and this stupid report. There should be a rule stating no reports in the final two months of school."
         "Hey," Emmeline whispers, as she looks around to make sure no one is listening, "it might not be so bad. We could use the bracelet to go back and explore them, see for ourselves what the culture at least is, and maybe if we're lucky, we might witness some important events. At the very least, we could have some fun while doing it. We could also bring our phones and take pictures like you did with the dinosaurs. "
         "What about the bibliography? We certainly can't say 'I witnessed it myself when I went back in time'."
         "We invent a person. Say... Mr... Mr... Jonah ...Hill," Emmeline thinks furiously, "yeah, Mr. Jonah Hill, that'll do. He can be a neighbor at the campground in Bar Harbor we stay at."
         "We can't use the same person."
         "Sure we can. We just pick consecutive decades; if he was alive for one, he'd have been alive for the other."
         "What if she wants to contact this Mr. Jonah Hill? Mrs. Price gave us an outline on how to record a person in the bibliography, and it includes a phone number."
         "We give her a fake one. 207-853-...4242."
         "4242?"
         "Yeah, as in HAHA. Come on, Eliza, it's not very likely that she's gonna call them anyway. I mean, to start with, look at how many students she has. These are modern decades, most kids are going to know at least one person, most likely more than one, who was alive in them, I mean, think about it, for many of the decades, their parents may have been alive for them; their grandparents, at least, are guaranteed to have been alive during many of the decades, if not all of them. Not to mention aunts and uncles, neighbors, family friends, and members of their church. You think anyone's going to pick a decade where they can't use someone they know for an easy source?"
         "I bet Miss goody-two-shoes Daphne King will. Try and get a better grade by doing things harder than everyone else, show us all up."
         "Okay, aside from her. You know the amount of work it would be to call every person listed in a bibliography on top of grading all the reports on accuracy and word count, and grammar, and stuff?"
         "Okay, fine, let's do that. But we'd better not get caught. If we do, I'm blaming the whole thing on you."

CHAPTER 7

         When they get home, they go to their room, close the door, and spread out the charms on Emmeline's bed. They search through all the charms, looking carefully at them, and trying to decide which time each charm might bring them to.
         "I don't know about these ones here," Eliza says as she pushes a bunch aside, "but I think this poodle might represent poodle skirts from the 50s. And that peace sign definitely is for the '60s when hippies were around."
         "Okay, I want the peace sign," Emmeline says.
         "But, that's the one I wanted."
         "Tough. My bracelet, my idea, MY choice."
         "Fine," Eliza mopes.
         "You first," Emmeline says as she clips the poodle onto the charm bracelet. "Hold on," she says as she closes the clasp around her wrist and feels the tugging sensation, hears the whistling sound, and sees the purple light.
         They open their eyes to see they're on a street full of shops. They are standing next to a candy shop with a sign in the window advertising a new candy called PEZ and a display of PEANUTS, Donald Duck, and elephant PEZ dispensers. "Wow, Emmeline, look, some of the first PEZ dispensers."
         "I wonder what would happen if we bought one and tried to bring it home with us," Emmeline muses.
         "Want to find out?" Eliza asks as she heads towards the store's entrance.
         They walk out of the store with a Dopey and an elephant PEZ dispenser and continue window shopping. They soon decide to stop at a soda fountain and have something to drink.
         "What'll you have?" the soda jerk asks.
         Emmeline hastily scans a menu on the counter and replies, "Um, how about a root beer float?"
         "Make that two," says Eliza.
         "You got it, two root beer floats coming right up," the soda jerk says as he turns toward the fountain and starts preparing their floats.
          "Here you are," he says as he places their floats on the counter in front of them.
         "Thanks a bunch," Eliza says.
         "Hey, so, this might sound a little forward, but how would you girls like to come to a hop later today? My name's Ronnie, by the way," the soda jerk says.
         "Sounds cool to me. I'm Emmeline, and this is my sister Eliza."
         "Nifty," Ronnie says as he writes down the time and address of the sock hop on a paper napkin.
         "Now we just need to look the part," Eliza says as they finish their root beer floats and leave the soda fountain.
         "I bet one of these stores sells poodle skirts and stuff," Emmeline answers.
         "True," Eliza says as they continue down the street. They stop in a record store and look around while listening to the end of a Frank Sinatra song and the beginning of a Tony Bennet song.
         They reach the corner and decide to cross the street. "Whoa, look at that car," Emmeline says as they walk past a freshly washed Cadillac Roadster.
         "Yeah, it's pretty, but let's keep going before the light changes, and we get run over," Eliza answers as she pulls Emmeline along.
         Eventually, midway down the street, they find a clothes store. They go in and look around, trying on several different outfits, before Emmeline decides on a white blouse, purple poodle skirt, purple neckerchief, and saddle shoes, and Eliza picks a white blouse with a rounded collar, light blue skirt with a pink poodle on it, a matching light blue cardigan, and saddle shoes.
         They keep an eye on the clock on their phones as they walk around the town, and at 6:30, they leave the park, go into a nearby restaurant, and take turns changing in the bathroom. When Eliza comes out, she spins around, giggling. "I can't believe we're doing this. First dinosaurs and now a sock hop in the fifties. That bracelet is the best gift you've ever gotten."
         "Yeah, I know, it's super cool. Remind me to thank Grandma Hester for it next time we see her."
         "Sure thing," Eliza replies as they set off for the school gym.
         As soon as they step into the gym, they stop and look around the gym, all decorated with pink, light blue, and black crepe paper streamers and balloons. Before they had finished taking it all in, Ronnie comes over. "Hey girls, come meet some of my friends," he says as he escorts them farther into the gym. "This is Betty, Joan, Nancy, and Paul."
         "Hi," they all say one after the other.
         The girls dance the night away with their new friends, learning The Jitterbug, The Hand Jive, The Twist, and The Stroll. When the hop is over, they say their goodbyes, and everyone leaves the gym, then they unclasp the bracelet and go home.

CHAPTER 8

         "Wow, that was quite an experience. It should make for a great section in your report," Emmeline says.
         "Yeah. Now I just have to figure out the rest," Eliza replies, "what do you say we do yours now?"
         Emmeline looks at the clock on the nightstand. "Yeah, we have time before dinner. Wait, I hear someone coming."
         "Hey, girls, we've decided to go out to eat tonight. Hurry up and get ready, ok," their mom says through the door.
         "Well, I guess it's gonna have to wait," Emmeline says as she puts the bracelet away. "Also, we might want to change back into our regular clothes. Mom and Dad would definitely have questions if we come in poodle skirts," she says as she looks down at herself.
         "Well, I guess we get to keep our purchases," Eliza replies as she reaches into her bag and pulls out her elephant Pez dispenser along with her clothes.

         "Where are we going?" Eliza asks their parents as they get in the car.
         "Well, there's a new restaurant opening up in the next town over. We thought we'd try it out," their dad answers.
         "Yeah, it sounded interesting. It's called Teppanyaki. It's Japanese food, and they say it comes with a show of sorts," their mom explains.
         "Okaay," Eliza says skeptically.
         When they get there, they are seated at a square bar-like table around a cooking area with several other families. They order their choice of meat and wait for the first course of miso soup to arrive.
         "So, girls, how was your day?" their mom asks.
         "We had to go to school, so not good," Emmeline replies.
         "Not to mention the stupid report," Eliza adds.
         "Oh? What report?" the mom inquires.
         "We have to write a report on a recent decade," Emmeline answers.
         "That sounds interesting," their dad says, "Need any help?"
         "Gee, thanks, Dad, but I'm actually going to write my report on the '60s," Emmeline answers.
         "And I'm doing it on the 1950s," says Eliza.
         "Oh, well, your loss. The '90s were pretty cool," their dad replies.
         "How about you, Zoe?" their mom asks.
         "It was fun. We did art today, and we're making paper.. paper .."
         "Paper Mache?" their dad supplies.
         "Yeah, paper mache animals," Zoe finishes.
         "What kind of animal are you making?" Emmeline asks.
         "A unicorn," Zoe answers delightedly.
         "Cool, what color?" Emmeline says.
         "Lots of colors, pink and purple and red and blue and orange," Zoe answers.
         "What, no green?" Eliza asks.
         "Nope, no greens."
         They finish their soup and watch as the chef prepares scrambled eggs, he makes it into a snake, puts it on a fork, and dances it in front of the diners. Everyone laughs but Zoe squeaks a little and moves back when the chef moves it toward her. The chef then chops up the scrambled egg snake and mixes it with fried rice. Then he dishes it out to the diners. Everyone attempts to eat the fried rice with chopsticks. Eliza has a particularly hard time of it and Emmeline teases her, "Oh come on, even Zoe can do it and she's five."
         "Oh shut up," Eliza retorts as she resorts to using a fork instead, "and Zoe's using kiddie ones."
         "You want some too?" Emmeline says, snickering.
         After dinner they go to the park and walk along the lake and feed the ducks, Zoe plays on the playground, and the twins swing on the swings, trying to see who can swing higher. Then they go home to finish homework and go to bed. Overall, it is a great evening.

CHAPTER 9

         The next day after school, Emmeline clips the peace sign onto her bracelet, they link arms, and Emmeline closes the clasp on the bracelet. And with the familiar sensation, sound, and color they are whisked off to the 60s. They open their eyes to see that they are on the same street as they were in the 50s. They see a large group gathered around a window in what had been the record store. They push their way to the front and see the window is full of televisions and on the screens, the moon landing is being broadcast. "Wow, Mommy, can I do that someday?" a little boy asks his mother. The girls watch the broadcast before going to the clothing store and buying some bell-bottoms, tie-dye tee shirts, braided flower headbands, and Mary Jane shoes. They head back to the candy shop and buy some Astro Pops.
         "There's not much to see here. Want to try another trip? See where that lands us?" Emmeline asks.
         "Sure, let's do that," Eliza answers as she links arms with Emmeline again and they go home.
         When they get back to their room they quickly change into their new clothes and then reclasp the bracelet and arrive back in the sixties. They open their eyes to see they are at the top of a hill looking down on a stage, and thousands of people gathered around it. Suddenly they hear Jimi Hendrix start his rendition of The National Anthem. "Whoa, this must be Woodstock," Emmeline exclaims.
         "Shh, let's listen," Eliza whispers. They stay to watch the rest of the performance before returning home.
         "I think we should try one more time," Emmeline says, "I'm not sure I have enough for my report."
         "Okay, once more. But you probably have plenty for your report as it is," Eliza tells her.
         So they try once more and they end up in the middle of a circle of what are clearly hippies.
         "What's this?" Eliza asks.
         "It's a sit-in, man," one of the people says.
         "A sit-in where?" Eliza asks.
         "It's not a where, it's a thing. We're protesting the war in Vietnam."
         "Oh."
         "Hey, where'd you come from anyway?"
         "We walked through the other side," Emeline says.
         "No way. Someone would have seen you and stopped you."
         "A couple of them were dozing off," Emmeline answers pointing over her shoulder.
         "That's not groovy," the guy answers annoyedly.
         "Well, we'll be going. Good luck with your protest," Emmeline says and she and Eliza squeeze between him and his neighbor and walk around a corner before unclasping the bracelet.
         "Well, that was another close one. Good story again, by the way. Next time I need to tell a lie, I'm coming to you for it," Eliza says as they sit down to write their reports.

CHAPTER 10

         Just after school finishes for the year, a storm front rolls through the area. Torrential rain for days, thunder that sounds like bombs going off, lightning that leaves afterimages in the eyes, widespread flooding, hail that pelts the windows, and even tornado warnings. Eliza and Emmeline grow increasingly more bored and antsy. They're only allowed to play their Nintendo Switches for two hours a day, there are no new books to read, and they have to share TV time with Zoe. By day 4, they are practically climbing the walls.
         "Urgh! I'm so bored, there's nothing to do," Emmeline complains as she flops backward onto her bed.
         "I know. I swear I've read every book in this house and we've played every board game and of course, it's Zoe's turn with the TV," Eliza replies.
         "I don't know about you, but I've maxed out my Switch time, too. I mean, you would think, under the circumstances, Mom and Dad would let us play them longer."
         "You would think, but, alas, no."
         "Hey, I know," Emmeline says as she pops up from the bed, "we can use my bracelet!"
         "Hey, yeah, that's a great idea."
         Emmeline goes to her dresser, pulls open a drawer, and retrieves the bracelet's box, then she returns to her bed. She takes the bracelet out of the box and lays it across her bent leg, then she takes each charm out one at a time, runs her thumb over it, and puts it in the lid of the box.
         "What are you waiting for? Just put a charm on the bracelet already," Eliza huffs impatiently.
         "I want it to be the right one," Emmeline answers thoughtfully.
         "It doesn't matter. Any of them would be better than just sitting here staring at the ceiling."
         "Fine. Go lock the door so Zoe can't get in," Emmeline says as she picks up a charm version of a cell phone.
         "Ready?" Emmeline asks as she starts to clasp the bracelet.
         "Ready," Eliza says as she puts her hand on her sister's shoulder.
         Emmeline finishes clasping the bracelet and they both see the purple light, feel the tugging sensation, and hear the whistling sound that they have become so accustomed to.
         They appear on the steps of a school, at what is obvious by the approach of hundreds of teenagers, the beginning of the school day.
         "Hey, look," Emmeline says pointing to a boy sitting on a low wall writing in a notebook, "is that...Dad?"
         "Well, what do you know, I think it just might be. Wait, over there, getting out of that car, I think that's Mom," Eliza answers.
         "This is so surreal, seeing them as teenagers, in person."
         "Hey, I've got a great idea!" Eliza exclaims, "You follow Dad around all day and I'll follow Mom and then we can meet up at the end of the day and tell each other about their days."
         "Cool, and maybe we can record anything interesting on our phones for the other one to watch when we get home."
         "Yeah, yeah I love it. Here they come, see you later," Eliza says as their mom comes pushing past them with her books held to her chest and her head down.
         Emmeline waits until just before the warning bell sounds and their dad shuffles into school. Then she follows him to his first class which is world history. She sits in the back of the room, two rows over from her dad, and watches him as he quietly takes notes. When world history is over she follows him to his double chemistry and lab where he slouches forward on his stool, puts his elbow on the lab table, and rests his head on his fist. Then she follows him to the cafeteria, sits at the end of the table next to his, and watches him interact with his friends.
         "Hey, Ty, did you see that new movie, The Matrix?"
         "Yeah, I went with my cousin last night. It was awesome," their dad answers as he pulls out a deck of playing cards. He deals the cards out to everyone and they begin to play a game.
         "Two sixes."
         "BS."
         Their dad flips over the top two cards to reveal two sixes, grinning slyly as he does.
         "Dang it!"
         "Haha, Jesse!" Their dad gloats. "Your turn Cody."
         They finish the game with their dad's best friend, Christian, winning just as the bell rings. They scurry to clean up the cards and head off to their next class.
         Emmeline follows him to English class, then to math class where he willingly volunteers answers. She can now understand why he became an accountant; he was great at math. Emmeline is surprised when his next class turns out to be Italian. She hadn't known he even knew another language, let alone Italian. His next class is study hall where he once again starts writing in the notebook she had seen before school. She chooses to stay outside his final classroom and watch through the little window in the door because she thinks the wood shop teacher would be suspicious if she was just sitting there not working on a project.

         Meanwhile, Eliza's day starts with her following their mom to English where their mom listens intently to the teacher talking about The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Then it is off to math class, science, and then gym. In gym class, it is softball season. Eliza sits on the bench with the other kids who are unprepared and watches as their mom hits two RBI singles, a home run, and throws a runner out at second base from the catcher position. She records the whole game as she watches in awe.
         After gym, she follows their mom to her locker (lingering a few feet away so as not to be too stalkery) then follows her to band where her mouth drops open at the sight of their mom's clarinet. She pulls out her phone to take a picture just as the teacher calls her out.
         "Hey, you there in the back, what's your name? Are you new? And where is your instrument?"
         Eliza thinks hard for a minute then responds, "Yes, I'm new. My name is Elizabeth Walker and I play percussion."
         "Okay, then, Elizabeth, pick up some sticks, and let's play."
         Eliza breathes a sigh of relief and does her best to stay in tune with the rest of the band.
         Then they go to lunch where Eliza is sad to see that their mom sits at a table by herself, head down. After an agonizing lunch period, she follows her to French class, then world history, and finally child psychology which Eliza finds quite interesting.

         After the classes are over the girls are surprised to be following their parents to a club and even more surprised to find that not only are their parents going to the same club, but said club is the Drama club. They sit at the back of the auditorium and watch the club members try out for parts in The Wizard of OZ.
         Auditions wrap up with their dad getting the part of the scarecrow and their mom getting the part of Mayor of Munchkin City, and also a part in the ensemble, and everyone starts to file out of the auditorium. Their mom exits first. "Hey, wait. Wait," their dad calls out as he pushes his way past his classmates. "Hi, I'm Tyler. You're new, right? What's your name?" their dad asks as he catches up to their mom, "I liked your short story from creative writing club, by the way."
         Their mom looks at him skeptically and says, "Thanks? I'm Ashley and yes this is only my fourth day."
         Their dad perks up and says, "Hey, how would you like to get some ice cream? I know this really cute shop."
         She thinks for a second and decides she could use a friend so she says yes. They walk a few blocks to the boardwalk and walk up to the window of Sharkey's Ice Cream Shoppe.
         "What can I get for ya?" the lady behind the window asks with a pad in her hand.
         Their dad says, "I'll take a medium double chocolate chip cone with chocolate chips on top and...?"
         "A black raspberry cone with chocolate sprinkles," she fills in.
         "What size Honey?"
         "Oh, ah, a medium also."
         They get their ice cream cones and go and sit on a bench on the boardwalk facing the ocean and their dad slouches and puts his feet up on the bottom rung of the railing.
         Eliza and Emmeline look at each other and think about how to watch without being too conspicuous. They finally just buy bowls of ice cream themselves and sit at a nearby bench to observe their parents.
         "So, what brings you here so late in the school year?"
         "My dad just transferred to a new base, again. He's in the Navy."
         "Oh, that must be an interesting life, right?"
         "I guess. I mean I was born in San Diego, and before here I've lived in seven different places, gone to six different schools, and said goodbye to more friends than I can count. And my dad's away a lot, so it's often just me, my mom, and my little sister. But I did get to live in Spain, Greece, and Japan."
         "Well, that's cool anyway. I've never even left the country on vacation, not even to Canada. Sorry that you had to leave so many friends behind though; that must have been rough. And you must miss your dad a lot."
         "Yeah, it was and I do. Thanks."
         Emmeline looks over at their parents and then over at Eliza and says, "I kinda feel weird spying on their first date like this."
         "I don't know, this is pretty cool. They never talk about how they met," Eliza answers as they watch their parents talk. Their dad tells a joke and makes their mom laugh.
         Emmeline gives in and they continue to surreptitiously watch their parents until they hear a phone ring and their mom pulls out a cell phone.
         "Hey, look, Emmeline, that phone looks just like the charm on your bracelet."
         "Yeah, it does, how freaky weird."
         "Hello?.. Oh, hi Mom...yeah, I know school ended almost two hours ago...I told you I was going to drama club after school, and I met someone afterward, and we're hanging out...at the boardwalk...okay, I'll head home now...bye."
         Their mom hangs up the phone with a sigh, turns to their dad, and says, "Sorry, I have to go, apparently my mom's making dinner and it's going to get cold if I don't get home like right this second." She rolls her eyes. "But it was really nice meeting you and thanks for the ice cream. We should hang out again soon."
         "Well, let me give you my number, you can call me later," their dad says.
         Their mom pulls her phone back out and types in the number he gives her. Then she heads off home.
         Their dad waves and smiles to himself before getting up and going home himself.
         The twins grasp hands and Emmeline unclasps the bracelet. They land back on Emmeline's bed. "Wow, that was quite the trip," Emmeline says.
         "So, what did you see? What was Dad's day like?" Eliza asks.
         Emmeline lays out his day for her sister. She shows her the picture she had taken of their dad in science class.
         "I can't believe it, he slacked off in class! And he tells us constantly to pay attention in class," Eliza huffs indignantly.
         "I know, so hypocritical. But he was an absolute nerd in math class, sitting forward in his chair in the front row, putting his hand up first to answer questions. He was actually really good at math. Oh, and you know that small round end table with the wolf head carved in it at Grandma Cynthia and Grandpa Steven's?"
         "Yeah, what about it?"
         "Dad actually made it! I saw him carving the wolf head in wood shop."
         "That's super cool, I've always loved that table, I can't believe Dad made it."
         "How was Mom's day?" Emmeline asks.
         Eliza walks Emmeline through their mom's day. "Mom really loved English class; they were talking about an old short story and Mom was really into it."
         "Do you remember what it was called? Maybe we should read it."
         "Yeah, it was The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Anyway, after English it was math, science, and gym. Here watch this." And she shows Emmeline the video of the softball game.
         "Wow, Mom was amazing!"
         "I know, right? And did you know Mom played the Clarinet?"
         Emmeline snorts, "No, that's so lame."
         "Yeah, well, I almost got caught by the teacher, I had to take a page from your book and make up a story on the fly."
         "You probably should have stayed outside the classroom like I did with Dad's wood shop."
         "Yeah, probably, but I got away with it. After that Mom had lunch, it was depressing, she sat at a table alone."
         "Well, she did tell Dad it was only her fourth day; she probably didn't know anybody," Emmeline rationalized.
         Eliza finishes telling Emmeline about their Mom's day, "I just wish we could have seen them in The Wizard of Oz."
         "Maybe we can," Emmeline answers while looking at the charm bracelet.
         "You think that would take us there?"
         "Maybe."
         "But I doubt we can control where it takes us. It could take us some time or someplace completely different."
         "Doesn't hurt to try," Emmeline says as she hears a sneeze from behind their bedroom door.
         Eliza jumps up and runs to the door. She unlocks it, throws it open, and yells at Zoe, "You little sneak! Stop eavesdropping on us or you'll be the one who's grounded!"
         "I wonder how much she heard. Or if she believes what she heard."
         "I don't know, but that's twice now that she's noticed us using your bracelet. Maybe we should cool it for a while, let this blow over."
         "Yeah, you're probably right. That little troublemaker."
         

CHAPTER 11

         Later in July, on the last day of Vacation Bible School, their mom shows up to watch the closing, and with her is Grandma Hester. "I just love how the sanctuary is decorated, like it's underwater. What was the theme this year?" Grandma Hester asks.
         "Sub-ventures with God," Emmeline answers.
         "Oh, how lovely. And the songs were so fun and snappy. They made me want to dance along with you."
         "Yeah, I think this was my favorite theme so far," Eliza tells her.
         "Your mom said that you two were squad leaders this year."
         "Co-squad leaders," Emmeline corrects her, "we were teamed up with an older squad leader who has done it before, since it's our first year as squad leaders and not participants."
         "Ok, I've got Zoe. Why don't we head home and have a barbecue?" their mom says as they all head out to the car.
         When they get home their mom pulls the twins aside and says, "Why don't you two go put on your birthday gifts so that Grandma Hester can see what you picked out with her gift certificates."
         Emmeline looks at Eliza with a mixture of confusion and mild panic. "Ah, well, I," She looks down and sees the lace trim on the bottom of her tank top, "I don't want it to get caught in my shirt. It'll put pulls in the lace or...or break the bracelet," Emmeline says trying to dodge the suggestion.
         "Emmeline Olivia stop being so dramatic. If you were more careful with your things you wouldn't have to worry about things like that. Now go get it on," Her mom scolds.
          "Um, but, I mean, my bracelet's a little too fancy just for a barbecue," Emmeline tries again.
         "And what isn't it too fancy for? Because I never see you wear it ever."
         "Um, like a special occasion. A party, or a school dance, or a holiday, or something," Emmeline responds.
         "Emmeline, I'm really getting tired of this. I told you to go put on your bracelet. I'm not going to tell you again, now go do it," Her mom says, raising her voice.
         The twins head off to their room where Eliza puts on her necklace. Emmeline whispers, "What am I going to do? I can't wear the bracelet with a charm on it. I'll end up traveling somewhere. And I can't really wear it without any charms on it because then it wouldn't be a charm bracelet and mom would probably think I'm being 'dramatic' or just plain defiant."
         "I don't know, maybe put more than one charm on it. Maybe that way the bracelet won't know where to go and won't travel?" Eliza answers hesitantly, "And most charm bracelets have more than one charm on them anyway."
         "Um, okay, I guess that's worth a shot," Emmeline says as she gets the box out of her dresser. She sits down on her bed and spreads the charms out in front of her. She moves aside the charms she already used and rifles through the remaining charms looking for just the right combination. First, she chooses a conical hat that reminds her of the kind of hats on kids' princess Halloween costumes. Then she picks a rocket ship charm.
          "Well, here goes nothing," Emmeline says and closes the clasp on the bracelet. Instantly she knows Eliza's idea didn't work because she sees the purple light, hears the whistling sound, and feels the tugging sensation. She just gets a glimpse of the inside of what looks like a castle and women in flowing ball gowns with lots of lace and puffy sleeves before the purple light, the whistling sound, and the tugging sensation start up again, then she is in the back of a car without a driver, then purple light, whistling sound, and tugging sensation and she is in an English pub complete with tavern wenches, then purple light, whistling sound, and tugging sensation again and now it's a city with floating cars and robots, then purple light, whistling sound, and tugging sensation and she's in the Sistine Chapel watching Michelangelo paint, then purple light, whistling sound, and tugging sensation once more and she is on a space station looking down at Earth. Finally, she manages to unclasp the bracelet and lands back on her bed a little bit dizzy.
         "Well, that didn't work. What now?"
         "Maybe try more charms."
         "Ok, I'll try, I mean I have to figure something out, and fast," Emmeline answers as she picks up a rollerblade charm, a disco ball, a nativity set, a crucifix, a statue of liberty, and finally one that looks like the Liberty Bell and clips them to the bracelet. Eliza crosses her fingers as Emmeline closes the clasp on the bracelet. For Emmeline, the room flickers in front of her for a few minutes before solidifying again. She lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and says, "Woosh, it worked."
         "Well, let's go outside before Mom comes in here all mad and looking for us. And after, you can tell me what you saw," Eliza suggests as she gets off her bed and heads to the door.

CHAPTER 12

         August brings with it a week-long heat wave that traps the girls inside. "Urgh, I'm so bored," Emmeline complains, "I wish we could go in the pool."
         "I know. What's the use of us having a pool if we can't use it when an adult isn't home, which is, like, all the time."
         "Yeah, it kinda makes me wish we still had Mrs. Wilkes to babysit us. Plus, then WE wouldn't have to watch Zoe."
         "Speaking of the Little Devil, where is she?" Eliza asks as she looks around the living room.
         "Oh snap, we should probably go look for her." They get up and go in search of Zoe, calling her name as they descend the basement stairs and then climb the stairs to the second floor. "You don't think she went outside do you?" Emmeline asks when they return to the living room.
         "It's disgustingly hot outside, why would she do that?" Eliza replies.
         "To go in the pool like we want to," Emmeline suggests. So they open the sliding door and are met with a blast of blazing hot air. Before they are halfway to the pool the girls are sweating as if they are in a sauna.
         "Well, that was a waste of time and a perfectly good outfit," Eliza states when they get to the pool and see that Zoe is not in it. "I need to go change my clothes."
         "Yeah, me too," Emmeline replies as they return to the refuge of the refreshingly air-conditioned house and make their way upstairs to their room.
         When they step into their room, Emmeline stops in her tracks, heart in her throat, "Uh oh."
         "What?"
         Emmeline points to her bed where her bracelet sits, clasped with a knight's helmet charm on it. "The Little Sneak was eavesdropping on us."
         "You sure she used it, I mean, it's sitting on your bed?" Eliza asks hesitantly.
         "I'm positive. I had it hidden in my top drawer, without any charms on it. She must've tried it and it must've fallen off her wrist because it's an adult's bracelet and way too big for her little wrist."
         "What do we do? How do we find her? If we put on that bracelet, it's probably going to take us someplace different. Who knows how many tries it'll take to get to the same time as her? And then, when we do get to her time, we'll still have to search that time for her."
         "I don't know. I don't know," Emmeline says as she paces back and forth with her fists at her temples. Suddenly, as if a lightbulb turns on, she exclaims, "I've got it, that lady at the store, she knew something about this bracelet, she said it was a 'very special bracelet'. Maybe she'll know how to get Zoe back." Emmeline starts frantically putting the bracelet and the charms back in their box.
         "One problem with that, the store's clear across town. How exactly are we getting there?"
         "We ride our bikes," Emmeline answers as she puts the lid on the box and picks it up.
         "Have you forgotten that it's hot as Hell outside? We'll roast."
         "We have to try, don't we? And besides, I don't hear you offering any other ideas," Emmeline snaps, putting the box in a purse and slinging it over her shoulder as she does.
         "Yeah, sure, let's go boil alive because the Little Brat can't mind her own business," Eliza mutters irritably as she follows her twin downstairs and into the garage.
         Once they get their helmets on, they wheel their bikes out of the garage, hop on them, and set off for the antiques store.
         They ride desperately through town, too anxious to pace themselves despite the searing heat. "I'm...going... to kill...that nosy...little brat," Eliza pants.
         "Have to ...find her...first. I need...a break," Emmeline answers just as winded, as she stops her bike.
         "Wish we had brought water bottles," Eliza answers as she leans against the building next to her sister.
         "Yeah, well, hindsight's 20-20. Okay, let's go. It's getting late, and we still need to get to the shop, figure out how to find Zoe, and actually do it, all before Mom and Dad get home," Emmeline says after a few minutes, and she mounts her bike again.
         They set off again at a slightly slower pace, but just as desperately. They swerve in and out of the few pedestrians brave enough to be outside, earning themselves a lot of angry looks, curses, and rude hand gestures. They cross roads with little regard for oncoming traffic, earning them more than one honk of the horn. When they get to the main avenue in town, they begrudgingly have to wait for the light to change. As soon as it does, they take off, unfortunately forgetting about the cars that were waiting to turn before the light changed and were doing so now. They ride right in front of them, and the first car has to slam on their brakes. Unfortunately, the car behind her is not as fast to do so and runs right into the back of her car. The girls yell out a hurried "Sorry," and keep going.
         An hour later, they finally reach the shop, only to find it closed. "Oh no," Emmeline moans as she slides down the wall to sit on the sidewalk.
         "What a waste of time. I can't believe we rode all the way here in scorching heat just to miss them by 5 minutes. What do we do now?" Eliza asks as she joins her sister on the sidewalk.
         "Hey, you're right, it's only 5 minutes past. I bet there's someone still inside," Emmeline says as she gets up and starts pounding on the door and yelling.
         After about a minute, the old lady comes hobbling to the door. Unlocking it, she pokes her head around the side and says, "Sorry, Dearie, I'm closed."
         "I know, Ma'am, but we really need your help. Please, Ma'am, it's urgent," Emmeline pleads.
         The old lady squints through her oversized glasses and says, "Ah, bracelet girl. Come in, come in," she motions them into the shop. "How can I help you?" she asks as she shuffles to the counter.
         "Our little sister, she got her hands on my bracelet, see, and it must have slipped off when she got whenever she went because the bracelet was on my bed, clasped, and she was nowhere to be found. We need to find her before something happens to her, but we don't know exactly when she went to or how to get there on the first try. We don't want to be searching all over the medieval times."
         "Hmm, quite the conundrum. But, I think I can help," she says, raising her index finger, "as long as you have the whole set, that is. Can I see?" The old lady asks, stretching her hand out for the bracelet box.
         Emmeline reaches into her purse, pulls out the box, and hands it to the old lady.
         The old lady takes the box, puts it on the counter, and takes the top off. She rifles through the charms for a minute before pulling one out and turning it over in her hand. Holding it in her palm, she says, "You see this charm here? The one with the two lines next to a colon mark on it?"
         The girls chorus, "Yeah."
         "See, that is the musical note for repeat," She says, tapping the charm with her finger, "Clip it on the bracelet with the charm that is on it now, and it will take you right back to when it went last. Then you only need to search one time for your sister."
         "Thank you, thank you, thank you. That's a big help," Emmeline says as she reaches for her bracelet box.
         "Good luck," the old lady replies, placing the box in Emmeline's outstretched hands.

CHAPTER 13

         The twins leave the store, wheel their bikes around the side of the building, and prop them up against the wall. Emmeline takes the bracelet out of the box and clips the repeat charm onto it.
         "Ready?" She asks.
         "Ready," Eliza answers, grabbing Emmeline's arm.
         "Okay, here goes nothing," Emmeline says as she clasps the bracelet.
         After the purple light, the whistling sound, and the tugging sensation subside, they can hear clashing sounds and a crowd cheering in the distance. They open their eyes and look around, and they see mostly open fields. They turn around in a circle, finally stopping facing the direction of the clashing and crowd noises. "That way?" Emmeline suggests.
         "Sure, why not? Doesn't seem like any better places to look around here," Eliza agrees.
         After a few minutes of walking, they crest the top of a small hill and can finally make out the source of the noise. In front of them, they see a roped-off area with a large crowd around it, some of whom are leaning on the ropes; in between the ropes are knights on horseback facing off.
         "Oh, wow, a joust. I bet Zoe stopped to watch," Emmeline remarks.
         "Yeah, who could blame her? 'Specially seeing how she loves horses," Eliza answers, "Suppose we could watch a little too?"
         "Yeah, I guess. We might be able to spot her in the crowd if she's still there." So they continue down the hill and push their way through the crowd to the very front.
         They take turns watching the joust and scanning the crowd for their sister, stopping each time they hear a lance hit armor. Sometimes, they get lost in the action and the oohs and ahhs of the crowd and forget to look for Zoe. Just as the knight on the black horse with the shiny mane and tail knocks the other knight off his brown horse with white socks, a rough-looking man with muck on his boots stomps over to them and starts yelling at them, "What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be working."
         The twins look at each other, and then they look him up and down before meeting his eyes. By the mud and straw on his boots and the comb and whip on his belt, they judge him to be the stable master. "But, Sir, we're not stable hands," Emmeline manages to get out despite the anger clearly visible in the stable master's eyes.
         This does nothing to improve his mood, and he practically fumes, "Quit your stalling," as he roughly grabs the backs of their necks and marches them into town. Once they reach the stables, he pushes them forcefully onto the floor and yells, "Get to work!"
         They gingerly pick themselves up off the floor and brush the straw off their clothes. Eliza rubs the back of her neck, picks up a brush, and whispers to Emmeline, "I guess we'd better do something for now. We'll just have to try and find a way to sneak out."
         Emmeline glances over her shoulder at the stable master standing in the doorway, feet firmly planted, arms crossed, and glaring at them, and whispers back as she picks up another brush, "Yeah, cause it doesn't look like we're getting out of here anytime soon."
         They head toward the back of the barn and enter stalls directly across from each other and set to work brushing the horses' manes and coats. As Emmeline enters her second stall, she notices the stable master is no longer at the door. "Psst, Eliza," She calls out quietly. When Eliza picks her head up, Emmeline points to the door. Eliza looks over then back at Emmeline, and they both nod to each other and make a break for the door. Emmeline has just crossed the threshold when the stable master returns. Rage flashes in his eyes, and he slaps Emmeline hard across the face, knocking her to the ground. She picks herself up off the ground, tears welling in her eyes, puts her hand to her cheek to rub it, and returns to the stall where she picks the brush up out of the straw, and wipes the tears away.
         "Sorry about him," they hear from behind them, and each jumps at least a foot. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that Bartholamew is always..."
         "A jerk?" Eliza offers.
         "'A jerk'?" the stable hand questions.
         "Oh, sorry, where we're from, 'jerk' refers to someone who is mean for no reason," Eliza explains. "My name's Eliza, by the way. And that's my sister Emmeline. What's your name?"
         "I'm Ranulf, and I've been working these stables for five years. Bartholamew has never brought in help before. He can't be making enough off this tournament to bring in two new stable hands, so, no offense meant, but why are you here?"
         Emmeline answers, "Well, like we told your boss, we aren't stable hands. We're just trying to find our little sister."
         Ranulf looks confused for a second and says, "Isn't she at the church?"
         "The church? Why would she be there?" Eliza asks.
         "It's where all the orphans go; the church takes care of them. Isn't that where you came from?" Ranulf responds.
         "No. We're not orphans; we have parents. We're just..ah.. visiting," Emmeline answers.
         "Yeah, our sister wandered off, and our parents sent us to find her, but Bartholamew found us before we could find her, and he forced us to come here. Do you think something like that could have happened to her?"
         "I suppose someone could have seen her by herself and thought she was an orphan and brought her to the church," Ranulf muses.
         "We have to get out of here and find her before our parents get worried, but he's still at the door, and we can't get past him. Is there another way out of here?" Emmeline asks.
         "Well, there's a board in the last stall on the right that could probably be moved so you could slip out. The only problem is that it's probably going to make noise," Ranulf answers unsurely.
         "Could you distract him?" Eliza asks.
          "I don't know. You saw him. I don't want to get in trouble."
         "It's really important, and we'll try to be as fast as we can," Eliza pleads.
         "I guess, I mean, I would want to find my sister too, if I had one. Okay, I'll do it."
         "Thanks, you're a real friend," Eliza says and gives him a hug.
         Ranulf blushes and says, "Alright, get in position."
         The twins go into the last stall and Ranulf hooks a lead onto the bridle of the largest horse in the stables and leads him toward the door. Bartholamew turns at the sound of the horse's hooves and starts hollering at Ranulf, "What are you doing with that horse?"
         The girls take this as their sign to start prying away the loose board. As they work, they can hear the argument in the background. "He looked like he needed to be exercised, sir," Ranulf says meekly.
         "That horse was already exercised an hour ago, and you know it."
         "But...but...but...he was getting restless in his stall. I...I...I thought he could use another walk, sir."
         They've got the board halfway out when they hear Bartholomew order, "Put him back in his stall NOW!"
         "We'd better hurry, I don't know how much longer Ranulf can hold out," Emmeline says nervously, and the girls set to work feverishly to get the board the rest of the way out.
         "But...Sir... please. Just a short walk," Ranulf all but whispers.
         "I SAID NOW!!" Bartholamew thunders.
         The girls never hear Ranulf's answer or if he even has one, because just at that moment they work the board off and hurriedly squeeze through the opening before running full tilt away from the stables.

center}CHAPTER 14
         "Stop...stop...stop," Eliza gasps, "I can't...breathe."
         "Okay," Emmeline pants out, " I think... we're far enough away... anyways." They stop a minute to catch their breath before straightening back up. "We need to think, we need to find the church."
         Eliza points to a young woman, "Maybe she can tell us where it is."
         "Excuse me. Miss, we're rather lost. Can you point us toward the church?"
         "Gladly. You just turn up there at that house, then you go until you reach the blacksmith, then the church will be just past the baker's."
         "Thank you, Miss," Eliza says, and the girls head off, following the lady's directions. Finally, they approach the church, ivy climbing up the grey stone walls, an ornate stone cross sitting atop the bell tower. They push open the wooden door underneath the sun-ray designed window, the door creaks loudly, they let the door close, the bang echoes resoundingly throughout the empty sanctuary. They walk down the middle aisle, every footstep echoing as they go, passing through beams of color from the sun streaming through the stained glass windows. They reach a door just behind the altar and push their way through it. There, they see rows of children on cots or simply lying on blankets on the floor. Some look up hopefully, others don't even bother. The girls look at these children, then exchange a sad look before searching between the rows, scanning faces for their sister. "She's not here," Emmeline observes, and they turn to leave. Once outside, the girls sit down on the church step and lean dejectedly against opposite walls. "What do we do now? We've looked all over and no luck. We can't go home without her."
         "Well, obviously," Eliza scoffs.
         "You don't have to be so obnoxious, you know. It's not like I hear you offering any ideas," Emmeline snaps back. They continue to bicker until they notice passersby giving them sideways glances. Deciding they can't stay on the steps of the church anymore because people will get suspicious, they start to walk with the crowds. Soon, they notice that some on horseback or in wagons seem to be continuing on past the edge of the village. "Maybe they're heading to another town. Maybe they took Zoe there."
         "Or maybe they're just heading to farms on the outskirts," Eliza counters.
         "Well then, you come up with an idea."
         As they're walking, a cabbage falls off a wagon and rolls to a stop in front of Emmeline's feet. "Hey, that wagon is loaded with vegetables. They're likely not heading home; more likely, they're heading to a town so they can sell or trade them. Maybe we could hitch a ride on the back," Emmeline suggests.
         "You're probably right. That's a good idea," Eliza begrudgingly agrees.
         So they start running to catch up to the wagon, but it keeps pulling farther away. "We need.. to work on...running... faster. First the...T. rex...then Barth..olamew..now this," Emmeline huffs.
         They finally catch up to the wagon when it has to stop for a shepherd leading his flock of sheep across the road. Panting, they pull themselves up into the wagon, curl up, and cover themselves with the burlap tarp. "Whoosh, I didn't think we would ever catch up," Eliza whispers.
         "Me neither. Lucky that shepherd was around."
         The ride is long, bumpy, and uncomfortable. Every so often, they take turns peeking out from under the burlap to see where they are. After at least two hours, Emmeline sees the walls of a town behind them. "We're in a town, we should get out soon so we don't get caught," she suggests.
         "If I even can, my legs are asleep, I can't even feel them," Eliza replies.
         Nevertheless, they pull themselves up and over the back of the wagon and lower themselves to the ground. Eliza's legs promptly give out, and she lands on her butt. "Urgh, my legs won't work."
         "I know what you mean, I had to lock my knees. And my legs are tingling. Man, it hurts so bad!" Emmeline says, bent over with her hands on her knees.
         Once their legs wake up, they start walking down the road toward the town center. They quickly realize that this town is much bigger than the other village; in fact, it could probably qualify as a city. As they walk, they take in the buildings around them. "Wow. This is like a fairy tale or a Disney movie," Emmeline remarks.
         As they reach the city center, they are surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a sprawling marketplace. As they start wending their way through the crowd, they begin to see two steeples. "There," Eliza yells over the noise, pointing straight ahead. They continue pushing their way toward the church, stopping sometimes for people crossing their path (and once for a child chasing a chicken).
         Finally, they're through the crowd and standing, awestruck, in front of the most beautiful church they have ever seen. White stone, three steeples; two in the front and one in the back, the one on the right taller than the other two, three doors in ornate doorways, circular scrollwork embellished stained glass window above the main door, tall stained glass windows on either side, a stone cross on the peak of the roof, this church is the embodiment of elegance and beauty.
         They walk timidly up the steps of the church and stand there for a second before pulling the door open and going inside. Once inside, they stop and take in the grandeur of the sanctuary. The floor is stone tile with a gold-trimmed red runner up the center aisle, multi-tiered chandeliers hang from the vaulted ceiling, candelabras stand on either side of the round columns, sunlight streams through the windows, and the wooden pews have red cushions.
         "May I help you?" the priest asks, making them both jump. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
         "That's alright, we just didn't expect anyone to be here right now. We are looking for our sister, she wandered off, and someone suggested we come to the church to look for her since orphans are cared for here," Emmeline replies.
         "Ah, you are looking for the care house. Come, let me show you," the priest beckons them and turns to go through a door to the side of the altar.
         They follow him, and as soon as they walk through the door, they hear "Emmeline! Eliza! You found me!" Zoe rushes to them and wraps her arms around both of them.
         The priest smiles and says, "I'm glad I could help bring about a happy ending."
         "Thank you, Father," Eliza says, "we must be going now, before our parents become too worried."
         "Certainly," the priest replies, and the three girls turn to leave.
         They leave the church and look for a secluded place where they can take off the bracelet and return home, finally settling on an alleyway just past the butcher's shop. The twins each grab one of Zoe's hands and Emmeline unclasps her bracelet.

CHAPTER 15

         They arrive outside the antiques shop next to the twins' bikes. The twins climb on, and Zoe sits on Eliza's handlebars. Emmeline looks at her watch and says, "Mom is going to be home in an hour; we'd better haul it back home."
         They pedal as hard as they can and make it home in forty-five minutes. They put the bikes and helmets away in the garage and go inside, where Emmeline immediately rounds on Zoe, "You stupid little brat! You thief! How dare you steal my bracelet! How dare you go into our room uninvited! How dare you eavesdrop on our private conversations! How dare you steal my bracelet!"
         Just then, their mom walks in the door, "What is this about a stolen bracelet?"
         "Zoe went into our room while we were watching tv and took Emmeline's charm bracelet without asking," Eliza explains.
         "Is this true, Zoe?"
         "No, Mama."
         "You little liar!" Emmeline practically spits.
         "Zoe, tell the truth," their mom scolds, staring at Zoe sternly, hands on her hips.
         Zoe hangs her head and says meekly, "I borrowed it. I wanted to see what they always talked about, the time traveling."
         "Time traveling? Zoe, I said the truth, not another fib."
         "But that is the truth," Zoe exclaims, "I heard them. Twice! They talked about changing the future and taking them to the same time or place. And I used the bracelet, and it took me to a joust, and someone took me to a church far away and left me with a bunch of other kids with no mommies or daddies."
         "We never said anything like that, and we never left the house today. She sure does have quite the imagination, though," Emmeline lies.
         Their mom grounds Zoe for a week for stealing and lying. From then on, Emmeline and Eliza go to a spot where they used to play "Queen of the Forest" in the woods behind the Woodland Station town park whenever they want to use Emmeline's bracelet for another adventure.