frozen within time

chapter fifteen

'What is this stuff? Where are the laces?' Karl was holding up a black school shoe and yanking the Velcro strap odd it in fascination. 'Oh, brother! I've ripped it!'

Karl looked guiltily around the foot factory, which was busy with last minute school shoe buyers on the last Saturday before the new term. the shop didn't have much in the way of lace ups. Alex showed Karl how Velcro worked and be raised his eyebrows and seemed quite impressed. The school clothes had been easier----grey trousers and whole polo shirts for the boys, with grey v-neck jumpers. grey shirts or trousers for the girls with white blouse and grey jumpers; all available in the small clothing store next to Woolworths. Alex and Kristen needed new stuff as well, so were now lugging carrier bags full of school clothes.

There had need next to no fishing from Karl and holly that morning----only a mild suprise that holly could wear trousers, and that none of them had to wear ties.

'Jolly good thing too,' remarked Karl. 'I hate ties.'

Alex paid for the shoes----his own as well as Karl's-----with the last of the money. he hoped uncle John had thought to place another food shopping order before he went off to London. there wasn't much left at home now and they'd heard nothing at all from him since he'd gone away the day before. He didn't carry a mobile phone and they had no idea where in London he'd gone.

Karl and holly continued to get better at not staring and gasping as they walked along the high street. Their eyes widened at times and they would blink and look at each other occasionally----like when three Boys about their own age went by on roller blades. Karl stared over his shoulder at them and gave a low whistle. 'Now those I would like to try!'

'Well, don't ask to borrow them,' muttered Alex. The three Boys had been Roy O'Neal and the pincer twins. Roy O'Neal looked as if he'd grown a foot during the summer holidays----in hight and width.

The weekend passed quickly and with school preparations and more study of the twenty first century, and on Sunday night Kristen got out the ironing board and got started in pressing their new uniforms. She did her own and hollys things, while holly busied herself with an evening meal. they had stopped at the butchers the day before (for the first time, possibly, in kristens life) and got pork chops and beef mince and some stock cubes and then onions, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes Deon the greengrocers, along with strawberries and plums. Last night they'd had pork chops in gravey with carrots and mask and holly was now making minced beef hot pot. it smelt wonderful. after a few minutes ironing and feeling strangely relaxed and happy as her odd new friend made dinner, Kristen suddenly slammed the iron down in the board.

'Ok----this has to stop now! It's gone far enough!'

'What?' Holly wiped her hands on a mystery blue and white striped apron that she had found somewhere.

'I was just about to start ironing Alex's shirt. Alex! Alex! Get in here and iron your polo shirt! Quickly! I've got a scary case of the hollies going on here.'

Alex arrived at the kitchen door, hooting with laughter, but he took over at the ironing board, much to Karla amusement. 'Don't laugh----you're next,' warned Kristen.

Karl Sid have a go at ironing, but was so useless at it that Alex took over and did it properly. Kristen felt proud of her big brother. She knew a lot of boys his age would never even think about ironing, even in 2009. But they had both had to learn because their mum and dad were away so much, and uncle John wouldn't notice a screased jumper unless it bit him. Karl got a few more supplies out of the vault. Most of the clothes were only good for wearing at home----they'd get him laughed at, at school. But he had a good backpack type bag which he could use.

Alex and Kristen stared out their many notebooks and pens and pencils. the rest, they guessed, the school would give to Karl and holly.

The hot pot was wonderful. It beat frozen convenience food any day of the week, thought Alex. 'I could get to like this!' He mumbled, through a mouthful of gravy, mince, and potato. Holly looked delighted.

'Good,' said Kristen. 'Because hollys going to teach us all how to make it.' Karl spluttered and laughed and Kristen gave him a very old fashioned look for a modern girl and ge coughed and looked down at his plate.

'You must have missed the bit about woman's lib,' said Kristen. 'We'll have to go over that again soon! But for now just remember this----girls are not here to serve boys!'

After dinner they shared the washing up duties, although Karl looked aghast when Kristen handed him a drying up cloth. Not long after, with Jesse fed and watered and put into her basket in the hallway, they went to bed. It was early, but they were tired out.

Teaching modern history to holly and Karl was a full time occupation now for Alex and Kristen. and learning it was clearly pretty exhausting too. Their great aunt and uncle looked done in.

Kristen and holly fell asleep fast, even though hey were excited and nervous about school the next day. But at around midnight Kristen woke up and noticed a light under the door. She got up, crept carefully past hollys sleeping form, opened the door and peered across the landing. Karl was in the bathroom, the door ajar. He was staring into the mirror above the sink, holding a tissue to his nose. Seeing Kristen, he screwed it up and threw it into the toilet, immediately flushing it away. He walked past her, back to bed, with a tight smile.

'You swore,' He said. 'Don't forget.'