As the school bell chimed, signalling home time, Nadia stood and shrugged on her coat, struggling to pull up the zip. During the course of the afternoon, the pain in her hand had worsened, making it difficult to concentrate.
The Headmaster was clever. He’d asked which hand she wrote with and then proceeded to demonstrate his cane-wielding abilities on the other. It meant she hadn’t had the excuse of not being able to write because of it. Instead, she’d had to try to ignore the pain whilst still focusing on her lessons. No one wanted another telling off that day so they’d all kept their heads down and got on with it.
She followed Jess and Tomma out of the classroom, walking beside Ash.
“You okay, Nad?” Ash asked. Nadia nodded at him, but knew it wasn’t convincing. “Come on, let’s go home. Hopefully, we’ll get on the 4 o’clock to Kirkshaw and by the time we leave Hickley, we’ll be back to the present day.”
That was the hope anyway. It’s what had happened to them before when they’d travelled back in time and Nadia hoped it would happen the same way again. She didn’t want to be stuck in a time or place where it was acceptable to hit children in school.
It was a relief to be outside. Nadia needed something else to focus on other than the pain in her hand. The wind whipping at her cheeks and stinging her eyes seemed welcoming in comparison and she put her head up to catch as much of the feeling as she could. The others kept their heads down, shielding themselves from the elements, their bodies hunched over like little old people.
“Oh, I hope something magical happens at the station, otherwise we’re stuffed,” Jess said.
“It will. I’m sure of it,” Ash said.
“I wish I had your confidence,” Jess said.
“Well, we’ve had such a bummer of a day,” Ash said. “Our luck couldn’t get much worse, could it?”
“Are you asking or telling?” Tomma asked.
“Telling,” Ash said. “Come on, have faith people! We’re going to get home. Just think, central heating and no Spam.”
Nadia laughed despite her mood. “Spam,” she said, repeating it to herself as she shook her head. Trust Ash to look on the lighter side of any situation.
She kept the fingers on her good hand crossed just in case and when they reached the station and saw there was a train due at 4:00pm she let herself relax a little.
“Let’s just hope it’s the right train,” she said.
“Shall we walk to the end of the platform?” Jess suggested.
They always ended up in the last carriage when they experienced these strange, magical journeys back in time. This time was no exception. As the train approached the platform, the shrill screech of the brakes as they gripped against the tracks echoed through the howling wind; a wind that seemed to pick up speed as the train came closer.
The children found themselves struggling against a sudden force that caused other passengers to abandon their attempts to move any further along the platform. This meant the four of them were the only ones seemingly silly enough to try.
“Come on, hold on to each other,” Tomma said, grabbing both Nadia and Jess by the arm.
Ash held on to Nadia’s other arm and they each bent forwards as they did their best to stride towards the train. The wind was so strong, it sneaked its way under Nadia’s hood and seemed to settle in her ears, as if taunting her with its strength. This only made her more determined.
“Come on!” she shouted above the howls. “We need to get to the last carriage.”
As they reached the carriage door, Ash stretched out and opened it, pushing Nadia in. Jess followed and the boys joined them before they collapsed in a heap on the bench seats.
“What was all that about?” Tomma asked.
“I’ve no idea,” Ash said as he stood and went over to the door. He stuck his head out of the window and then straight back in again. “You literally can’t see anything past this carriage. It’s gone all foggy again.”
Nadia got up to join him. As she looked out, all that was visible was the carriage they were in, as if the rest of the train didn’t exist.
“I guess this means we’re on the right train then,” she said. “No one else would be stupid enough to even try to get back here. It’s only because we knew we had to. It should mean we get home.”
“I hope you’re right,” Jess said, pulling her coat tighter around her as she did an involuntary shiver. “Shut the window, Nad. I’m freezing.”
Tomma moved to sit beside Jess and pulled her closer to him. Jess rested her head on his shoulder. Nadia pulled the window up, snapping it shut. She went to sit opposite her friends with Ash beside her. Nadia kept her eyes focused on the window and the non-existent view outside, wishing she was cuddled up with Oliver Ward, rather than sitting next to Ash.
Once the train moved away from the platform, she began to relax and as she did so, she forgot about Oliver and began to think instead about Kam and his awful situation. She hoped he wasn’t in too much pain that night.
When the train arrived at Kirkshaw station, it was clear the children were back in the present day. Not just because of the rundown condition of the old station building, with its graffitied walls and cracked plastic chairs, but due to the seemingly tropical temperature in comparison to where they had come from.
“Thank goodness we’re back to some kind of warmth,” Jess said. “I hated that cold. I don’t know how anybody could put up with it.”
“I know,” Nadia said. “I’m sure it’s a clue as to the year we were in. I bet there has to be some mention of a record cold winter after the War. Does anyone want to come to mine? I’m going to look up some stuff online.”
“I can’t, sorry. I’m going back with Jess,” Tomma said, shrugging apologetically.
Jess looked at him and then back at Nadia with a guilty face. “Sorry Nad.”
“Ash?” Nadia said, turning to face him.
Ash held up his hands as if in surrender. ‘I can’t either. I’m on strict instructions to get straight back home and lock myself away in my room until all my homework is done, but I’ll have a look later and see what I can find.”
After watching Jess and Tomma leave, Nadia turned to walk the other way, feeling annoyed at how unreasonably irritated she was. She didn’t hold it against them for liking each other, so why was she so jealous? Not wanting to voice her thoughts to Ash, she walked alongside him in silence, her head full of thoughts as she stared down at the floor and her feet.
“Hey Olly!”
Ash’s voice, and the appearance of someone from behind them, caused Nadia to whip her head up and come back to the present moment. Then she felt her face go hot, as she realised it was Oliver Ward. He acknowledged Nadia only briefly before beginning to chat with Ash about the rugby match they’d recently played in together against a rival school. Then, he said his goodbyes and turned to set off down a neighbouring street.
“Sorry to hear about your grandad, Nadia,” Oliver called over his shoulder.
How did he know about my grandad?
That was probably the closest she’d been to Oliver Ward; Nadia thought he’d barely noticed her. Nadia hadn’t even told Jess about her secret crush. What would be the point? Nadia decided to park those feelings to deal with another day. She needed to focus on Kam. It was time to speak to her dad about the Polish side of her family.