OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery (5 page)

“Thanks.  This is my laboratory.  Not
hing like Edison’s, but I can build almost anything in here.  It was supposed to be a tool shed, but Dad let me have it so I wouldn’t clutter up the garage or blow up the house.  After dinner I’ll show you my room.  I’ve got a really sweet game set-up.”

“
That sounds cool.  My aunt is going to let me remodel my bedroom.  All I brought with me were my clothes, books and computer.”

“What did they do with your parents
’ stuff?”

“I picked o
ut some things I wanted to keep . . . mostly my mom’s jewelry, and the rest will be auctioned off or donated to charity.”

“Do you get to keep the money?”

“Maybe a little, but most of it will go into a trust account for my college fund.  My aunt controls that until I’m twenty-one.”  She walked over to the workbench.  “Why do you have all these cell phones?”

Scott followed her.  “
Cell phone technology fascinates me, you know, how it works and how to make it better.  I was just messing around with a couple experiments . . . nothing important.”

“What’s this thing on the floor?” Kelly
pointed at a lawn mower with a large metal box on the top.

“Well
, that’s one gadget that didn’t go so well . . . .yet.  I was trying to perfect a robotic lawn mower to do our yard.”  Scott kicked the tires.  “It went out of control and wiped out part of my mom’s flower garden, a very unfortunate gnome and one of Lilly’s stuffed animals.”

Kelly laughed.

“Not so funny,” Scott said sarcastically.  “I had to pick up all the stuffing that had blown everywhere and I had to re-plant Mom’s flowers.  There’s not much I dislike more than doing yard work.”

Suddenly
, Scott’s mother’s voice blasted over a loudspeaker, causing Kelly to jump.  “
Time for dinner, kids.  Wash up
.”

“She scared me,” Kelly
gasped.

“
You get used to it.  She had this installed because she got tired of running out here all the time to get me.  I sort of get lost when I’m working on something and forget the time.  She thinks I’m too thin and is always trying to get me to eat.”

“I
never forget to eat.”

“What?”

“Never mind.  Let’s go.  I’m starving.”

Scott
locked the door behind him.  They passed his dad cooking hamburgers on the grill, and he gave Kelly a friendly, but curious smile.

“
So this is Kelly?” he asked.

“
Word travels fast in this house,” Scott muttered.  “Kelly, this is my dad, Don.”

Kelly would have held her hand out, but Don’s hands were full as he scooped
some of the cooked hamburger patties off the grill and loaded them on a plate.  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Talton.”

“You, too, Kelly.  Scott’s friends are always welcome here.”

“Can we carry something for you?” she asked.

“Sure.  Take the buns.  The meat is almost done.”

She reached for a platter piled with toasted buns, but Scott stepped in front of her and picked it up.  When they got to the house, he opened the door for her. “You first.”

“Wow, a gentleman!
” Kelly exclaimed.

Again Scott blushed
and whispered, “My mom’s watching.  I’d get a lecture if I didn’t.  And lectures rank just below yard work on my list.”

“Someone want to close the door?  You’re letting flies
in,” Mrs. Talton called from across the kitchen.

“Oo
ps, sorry,” Kelly said and quickly stepped inside so Scott could shut the door.

“
Well, congratulations.  You’re family now,” Scott told her. “They yell at you like you live here.”

“I never yell,” Sandy defended.  “I just speak with authority.”

“And volume,” Scott added.

His mothe
r smiled and waved them toward the table.  When Lilly came skipping into the room, Sandy held up her hand.  “Turn right back around and take that stinky turtle back to your room and put her away, then wash your hands with soap . . . twice.  We have company tonight.  We’re not going to play pass the salt on the back of the turtle again.”

Lilly
’s shoulders slumped, but she obeyed.  Scott and Kelly were already seated at the table by the time she returned, empty-handed this time.

“You’re staying for dinner?” Lilly asked with a child’s bluntness
as she sat on her booster-seat chair.

“Lilly, don’t be rude.  Kelly’s our new neighbor,” Sandy admonished.

Kelly smiled.  “Your turtle was beautiful.  Did you glue all those jewels on her back?”

Lilly’s face brightened.  “Yes.  Mom said it wouldn’t hurt her.”

“What’s her name?”

“Violet.  Purple is my
most favorite color,” Lilly informed her.  “Her jewels glow in the dark so when I turn out the lights, I can watch her crawl around.  Do you have a pet?”

Kelly felt herself tear up
and swallowed them back.  “I had a dog named Willy, but he was really old and died last year.  And I had a horse named Scarlett when I lived in Texas and some chickens and a little goat.”

“Wow!  I want a pony, but Daddy said the backyard isn’t big enough.”

“Horses need a lot of space,” Kelly assured her.  “That’s why I didn’t bring mine with me.  They like to run and jump around.”

“That’s why a turtle is a perfect pet.  They never run far.” 
Don came in from the porch and set the hamburger patties on the table, and Sandy brought in a tray of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and cheese and placed it next to the buns and meat.  There were already several bags of chips on the table.

“Time to eat,”
Sandy said.  “We’re a help-yourself kind of family.”

The next few minutes were busy with everyone building their
burgers and getting some chips loaded on their plates.  When everyone had settled back and had taken a few bites, they resumed their conversation.

“
It’s really nice to have another person Scott’s age in the neighborhood.  How is your aunt Jane?” Sandy asked.

“Well, s
he’s very busy.  She apparently works a lot of hours.  And, in her spare time, she’s remodeling the house.”

“
I noticed all the workers coming and going lately.  That’s a beautiful old house.  I’m glad she’s preserving it rather than tearing it down.  Are you here for the summer?”

Scott intercepted Kelly’s stricken look
, and he answered for her.  “She moved in with her aunt because her parents are . . . well, they’re gone.”

Sandy
and Don glanced at each other and then back at Kelly.  “We’re so sorry.  I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” Sandy said.  “If you ever need anything, please feel free to ask me.”

“Thanks.  I
will.”  She forced herself to take another bite even though the juicy hamburger had suddenly lost its flavor.  Talking about her parents wasn’t getting any easier.  She tried to get the focus off of her.  “Scott really helped out today.  My aunt is going to have a big garage sale.”

“You have our permission to use Scott whenever you need anything done.  He’s
smart, creative and surprisingly strong.  Just be careful about his inventions.  Honestly, we don’t really know what he does out there.  We’re expecting a robot to be sitting at our table any day now,” Don said, nodding his head toward Scott’s lab.

“Thanks
, Dad.  Appreciate the support,” Scott muttered, more amused than annoyed.

“
Are there a lot of parrots around here?” Kelly asked.  “I had a very brief conversation with one outside my window this morning.”

“They’re not native to this area.  But I’ve seen the one you’re talking about,” Sandy agreed.

“It’s actually a scarlet macaw,” Scott corrected.

“He was probably a pet that escaped or someone just set him free.  People think
it’s okay to return animals to the wild, but that poor parrot was probably born in captivity and doesn’t have a clue how to survive,” Don commented.

The dinner finished quickly
except for Lilly who was busy tearing her hamburger into what she called baby burgers.  Sandy tried to encourage her to finish eating, but everyone else got up and cleared the table.  Kelly smiled wistfully.  This was a perfect happy family, something she wouldn’t have again until she married and started her own.

“Thank you for dinner,” she told Sandy.  “Do you need any help with the dishes?”

“Any time, sweetie,” Sandy replied.  “And no, you run along with Scott.”

“
Come on.”  He added his plate to the stack and led the way to his bedroom with Kelly following.

“P
retty cool,” she said as her eyes panned the walls and ceiling. In the corner was his desk with two large computer monitors and two headphones draped neatly across each screen.  “You’re a big-time gamer, huh?”

“Not really.  Austin and I play
a couple MMO games, but our favorite is
Out of Time
.  Right now we’re in the Greek Gods and Heroes module.”

“Seriously?  That’s my favorite game.  I play it all the time.”

Scott grinned.  “We might have been playing against each other without even knowing it.  What’s your character?”

“
My user name is
MustangKelly
, but my character in the Greek world is Ajax.”

“The warrior?  I would have guessed Pegasus or Melanippe.”

“Too predictable,” she scoffed.  “I want to be strong and brave.  Who are you?”

“Achilles.  He’s Ajax’s cousin, you know.”

Kelly scoffed.  “Of course, I know.  I was home schooled, not raised by wolves.”

“Austin is Diomedes. 
Our characters are pretty powerful with the gear to back it up.  We should make an unbeatable team.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, who is Austin?”

“He’s been my best friend practically since birth.  He lives right next door on the other side, and he’s really cool.  You’ll like him.  Sometimes we both play here, but usually we play at our homes.  I’m sure he’ll be glad to have you join our group.”

Kelly couldn’t wait to meet this paragon of virtue.  With such a big build-up, she was bound to be disappointed.  She hoped he wouldn’t resent her taking
away some of his time with Scott, because she would hate to lose this friendship.

“Let me show you my college fund.” 
Scott knelt next to his bed and raised the black dust ruffle to reveal a large horizontal safe.  He spun a combination into the dial and opened the door to reveal two side-by-side drawers.  He pulled out the one on the right which was about two feet deep and loaded with thousands of individually wrapped coins and others that were in plastic protective cases. “The other drawer has more of the same, but it also is about half full of silver and gold certificates.”

Kelly looked at the collection with interest, but she didn’t really know that much about old money. 
“How much do you think all this is worth?”

“
Great question.  A few of the pieces are valued at over $1,000 each.  My mom works for a bank, and she’s been saving old coins for me since I was very young.  I check out their value on the internet, then store them in here.  The safe is fire and water resistant and is bolted to the concrete slab.  I also have video cameras recording my room.  They’re triggered by motion sensors so even Lilly gets recorded sneaking in here . . . a lot.”

Kelly kne
lt down and picked out several coins to inspect closer.  Her eyebrows rose up when she realized the uncirculated condition of the dollar coins.  “Wow!  These are awesome.”

Scott’s cell phone li
t up and the theme song from
Game of Thrones
began playing.  “That’s Austin,” Scott said as he answered his phone using the speaker.

“Hey,” Scott sa
id.

“
What’s doing, dude?
”

“I met
our new neighbor today.  She moved in with the lady next door.”

“
Yeah?  A girl, huh?
”

“
Yeah.  She’s standing right here.”

“
Is she sick?
”

Scott could see Kelly
looked confused by the term.  He covered the mouthpiece and whispered to her, “Awesome or really cool.”  He removed his hand and answered Austin, “Oh yeah dude . . . too sick for you.”

“
You know the really sick ones never go for you
,” Austin joked, knowing Kelly was listening.

“
Yeah, well, she’s smarter than those Barbie dolls you hang with.  She’s not going to look at you twice.”

“
Don’t count me out too soon
,” Austin bantered back.  “
Hey, you playing tonight
?”