The TV Time Travellers (8 page)

Finally came the biggest highlight in a day full of highlights: helping Farmer Benson clean out the pigs. I’ve decided pigs are my favourite animals ever. They’re very like dogs actually. They even squeal with total delight when they see you (especially if they know they’re going to be fed). They’ll actually trot
after
you quite happily, grunting and butting at you as if to say ‘play with me’.

Barney and Leo were allowed to go in then and get ready for bed. But I was still working away. And Farmer Benson said, ‘I’d never have believed you hadn’t been on a farm before, Zac. You’re a natural.’

Then he made us both a cup of tea. The tea was pretty horrible actually, as you had to re-use the tea leaves over and over. But right then it was as if a wave of sadness had been lifted from me. And I felt so at ease and relaxed. I wasn’t just pretending any more. I really was a part of this place now.

Later Farmer Benson went off and found those pictures of the other evacuees, the ones who’d been here seventy years ago.

One of them, Dennis, reminded me instantly of Leo. He had a very similar smile – sort of challenging and very cheeky. He looked straight at the camera in every shot too, as if to say: ‘Nothing scares me.’

The other boy was often slightly out of focus: he seemed much shyer, a bit on the
edge
of things. Rather like me, I suppose. His name was Victor. And Victor stayed on the farm all through the war, not leaving until 1945.

‘My grandad told me that Victor arrived here small, pale and a scrap of a thing,’ said Farmer Benson, ‘but he left big, burly and well over six feet. Wouldn’t think that looking at him, would you?’

‘No, I wouldn’t.’ I grinned. ‘There’s hope for me yet then, as I’m the smallest boy in my class.’

‘Oh, there’s always hope,’ replied Farmer Benson, ruffling my hair.

‘Did Dennis stay here for the whole of the war too?’ I asked.

‘No, he had to go back. His dad was killed about halfway through the war and his mum wanted him home. My grandad stayed in touch with Dennis for a bit, and with Victor for quite a long while. But after Grandad passed away we lost touch with both of our evacuees. Still,
Strictly Evacuees
are making strenuous efforts to track them down for the big reunion party.’

‘The stories they will have to tell,’ I said.

And later, even Leo admitted he wouldn’t mind chewing the fat with them. ‘But they’ll be so ancient now you’ll never recognize them,’ he said.

‘Oh, I will,’ I said confidently.

Leo laughed. ‘I bet you don’t.’

I grinned. ‘I bet I do.’

‘This I’ve got to see,’ said Leo. ‘And if you really do recognize old Victor and Dennis straight away your reward will be four squares of delicious chocolate.’

‘Chocolate!’ I gasped. ‘You didn’t smuggle that in too?’

‘Of course I did. I’m the king of contraband.’ Then from inside the lining of his coat he produced a huge bar of chocolate. ‘Want a couple of squares now?’

I hesitated. It did look very appetizing. ‘No, I can’t . . . I don’t want to ruin the magic.’

‘Magic?’ echoed Leo disbelievingly.

‘Yes, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me . . . history really is coming alive all around us, and the air is just glittering with magic. I don’t want it ever to end.’

Leo looked as if he was going to say
something
sarcastic. Instead he bunged four squares of chocolate into his mouth and then mumbled, ‘Hey, this chocolate really is coming alive as well. It’s all the tastier for being illegal too.’

‘I really hope you don’t get caught,’ I said, ‘because they’ll fling you out for certain.’

‘Oh, they won’t ever catch me,’ boasted Leo.

Only they did.

The very next day.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Exposed

Izzy

AND THEN WE
had one of those days which just got worse and worse
.

It started with me emptying the chamber pot (I never used it, but Harriet did) into the bucket, adding the dirty washing water and then hurling this delightful brew down the outside lavvy. Quality fun or what?

Then Miss Weed told me to dust downstairs. ‘I shall be inspecting the quality of your dusting too.’

I said – and I only said it as a kind of joke, ‘All right, don’t freak out about it.’

But she went mad. ‘How dare you answer me back! How dare you, madam.’

‘But—’ I began
.

‘Do you want to argue with me, madam?’

I shook my head
.

‘Good, because it would be extremely unwise. Now, get on with your tasks without another single word.’ Then she added a bit more calmly, ‘You really are your own worst enemy. You just won’t adapt to the wartime ways.’

And that’s one of the things I hated the most about being an evacuee – you can’t ever give your opinion. You just have to do what you’re told all the time. It’s as if you’re not a proper person yet
.

Later I had to work out 19 x 12 on the blackboard and managed to get it completely wrong. Wally made such a big deal of that. And I just had to stand there, taking it. Couldn’t stick up for myself
.

Then at the end of the morning came a massive surprise. ‘We warned you to expect the unexpected,’ said Wally. ‘Now a van from
Strictly Evacuees
has
just
pulled up at the farm: each of you will, in turn, go inside the van. There you will be asked to choose the two people you wish to leave. The people with the highest number of votes will then be put to the public vote and the audience will decide who goes on Monday.’

We knew there would be nominations, of course. But we’d never expected them as early as this. We were all very shocked
.

And who should I pick? I thought for, oh, half a millionth of a second
. Harriet.

But who would my second choice be? I quickly ran through them. First, Leo: now, I really liked him. In fact, he was probably the person I got on best with here. Barney and Solomon were great too – and the house would be so much duller without them. I was a tiny bit worried about them winning though. So I suppose I could vote tactically. But I really didn’t want to do that
.

So this left Zac. Now he was a freaky dude all right, scampering about all the time like an eager puppy about to be taken
out
for its first-ever walk. But I didn’t feel he was putting on an act the way Harriet was. He just was spectacularly weird. Also, it would break his heart to leave. So could I be mean enough to vote for him?

Oh, why couldn’t I just nominate Harriet twice?

Anyway, we were all filing out of the classroom to make our nominations when a very grim-looking Miss Weed rushed in. She whispered something to Wally, and then sped off again. He said, ‘Class will sit down again. Something has happened. I will return shortly. Wait here in complete silence.’ Then he exited
.

‘What on earth can have happened?’ asked Harriet, looking all concerned in a headgirlish sort of way
.

‘Perhaps he’s just found out the war’s over,’ said Barney
.

‘No, he’s been called back to Transylvania,’ quipped Leo
.

‘Be careful what you say,’ I hissed. ‘There are cameras in here. He could be watching us at this very moment.’

Then Barney, who’d been acting as
lookout,
said, ‘He’s coming back and he doesn’t look at all happy.’

Wally came in, looking so grave I actually felt frightened. What was going on?

‘I am afraid I have something extremely serious to tell you,’ he said. ‘Someone here in this room has behaved very badly indeed.’

Right away my cheeks flushed bright red. I just automatically feel guilty when teachers say stuff like that
.

Mr Wally went on, ‘It has been brought to our attention that an evacuee here has been smuggling in illegal goods, including chocolate and a mobile phone. We have just conducted a raid on all your rooms and the tip-off was correct. These goods have now been located.’

His eyes started roving around the classroom. Again I dipped my face guiltily, even though I really didn’t know what he was talking about
.

‘Would this person at least have the courage to stand up now?’

Another pause and then, ever so casually, Leo slouched to his feet. He didn’t
actually
yawn, but sounded as if he was about to. ‘Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten all about the mobile, but it’s a very old one and doesn’t even work that well. More like a kind of pet really and we’ve never been parted. But sorry if it caused you any hassle.’

I watched Leo, amazed and impressed that he could be totally cool at a moment like this. How clever of him, hiding a mobile all this time
.

Leo made as if to sit down until Wally barked, ‘Remain standing.’ He sounded like a sergeant major in an old film about the army. He went on, ‘You have broken the rules of my television show! And you’re not even sorry. In fact, you display insolence in my classroom.’

My
television show
, my
classroom! Did Wally think he owned the world? Yes, he probably did
.

‘I am talking to you, boy!’ Wally yelled this so loudly he made everyone jump
.

‘And I heard you,’ said Leo
.

‘Do not look anywhere else, boy.’

‘I wasn’t,’ said Leo
.

‘You are too full of yourself. You have done a terrible thing, something you were expressly told not to do. And still you’re not even ashamed. And now you are infecting the whole class with your poisonous attitude. You are a very stupid boy indeed, aren’t you?’

‘If you say so,’ muttered Leo
.

Wally reached for the cane. ‘You will say, “I have been a very stupid boy” – now.’ He advanced on Leo, with the huge cane in his hand. Wally couldn’t really use it. And yet he had such a mad gleam in his big starey eyes, I was afraid. Suddenly you felt anything could happen. ‘Say it,’ he demanded again
.

Leo watched him with a faint smile on his face. He still looked cool, but his right hand was trembling ever so slightly. He really didn’t want to say he was stupid, but he was nowhere near as confident as he seemed
.

And I just wanted this to stop now. I hate seeing anyone being picked on and I so wished I had the courage to say something to Wally. If he hadn’t had the
cane,
I really think I would have done (I hope I would, anyway)
.

But someone else was braver than me. Quite suddenly this very loud, very rude burp erupted around the classroom. Immediately Barney jumped up, with Solly bobbing about in his hand. ‘I wish to apologize for my seal making such a disgusting sound.’

‘I got frightened,’ piped up Solly
.

‘I know you did,’ said Barney. ‘You always do when people shout at someone for a very long time.’

Wally was watching all this goggle-eyed. Solly hadn’t even dared speak in a lesson before – let alone burp. No wonder Wally was looking a bit confused. Then he snapped, ‘How dare you make that sound. Go and stand in the corner.’

‘What, me, sir?’ cried Barney. ‘Or Solly, or both of us?’

And that was when I totally lost it and had a laughing fit. You know when you just can’t stop laughing. That’s what happened to me then. Tears of laughter just danced down my face, and my whole body shook and still I couldn’t stop
.

It was only when Miss Weed came in with a suitcase that my laughing started to subside. She placed the case very significantly beside Wally
.

‘He’s leaving,’ whispered Leo to me. ‘Give eighty-nine cheers.’

But of course it wasn’t Wally’s case. It belonged to Leo. And the thought that he was being chucked out finally stopped all my laughing
.

‘Miss Weed,’ said Wally, ‘would you please remain here. I have just reached a decision about my television show I would like you to know about.’

Miss Weed, looking a bit surprised, sat down at the front beside him
.

‘We had planned,’ he said, ‘to cancel the first public vote and evict Leo for his bad behaviour. But the conduct of two other people in this room has been so appalling I have changed my mind. I think you can guess which two, Miss Weed.’

She nodded vigorously
.

‘So,’ continued Wally, ‘there will still be a public vote. Only there will be no need for the pupils to nominate – I shall do
that
for them. I have the power to do that,’ he added with a gloating little smile. ‘I nominate
Leo, Barney
and
Isobel.
It is now up to the audience to decide who leaves. But one of you will certainly go in two days’ time.’ While the shock of this was still sinking in, he continued, ‘As a punishment for their behaviour today, Isobel, Leo and Barney will stay here for an extra hour’s work now. Zac and Harriet, you may leave.’