Foxworth Academy (13 page)

Brett stood up, but was at a loss for words.  The two women in his life looked at him, waiting for him to make an introduction.

“I’m Ally,” she said.

Clearly not thrilled that he was walking with this girl, she unhappily replied, “Krista.”  She looked at Brett who stood motionless, a look of embarrassment on his face.

“Let’s head to lunch,” was all he could muster.

The three of them walked toward the cafeteria and Ally departed, walking toward her own table and group of friends.  Krista didn’t mention the awkward situation, but it was out there on the table like a pink elephant.  Brett ignored the situation as well.  His feelings toward Krista were turning from friend to girlfriend, but he had feelings for Ally, too.

“What’s going on this weekend?” Frankie asked.

Krista looked over at Brett who returned her gaze.  He knew they had plans to go to the fair on Friday night, just the two of them. 

“The fair is Friday,” Liam said. 

Krista’s eyes grew wide but she kept quiet.  The last thing she wanted to do was put off their date even longer.  She was most certainly looking forward to Friday night.  “I thought it was next week,” she said.

“Not sure,” Brett replied.  “I might have baseball.”

“Dude, do you play baseball like everyday?” Frankie sarcastically asked.

“Sometimes,” Brett replied.

“How’s Martin’s history class?” Krista asked, changing the subject.

“Things just got a little interesting,” Frankie replied.

Krista did not like the sound of this.  She knew she couldn’t ask, but it irritated her that Brett seemed to be getting cozy with that girl, Ally.  “Really?” she said.

“Well, for some of us,” Frankie said, looking at Brett.

“Not really,” Brett replied.  “Still pretty cool though.”

They moved on from the discussion about history class and came back to their weekend plans.  Frankie confirmed that the fair was that weekend and they all agreed to go on Saturday. 

B
rett’s cell phone rang, jarring him from his English paper he was working on.  He had baseball practice after school, and then had a late dinner with his family before retreating to his bedroom to do some homework.  He couldn’t focus right now on his
Macbeth
paper which he had to read over the summer.  It was not a book that Brett enjoyed and he was having a difficult time writing a paper on it.  He looked at the caller ID and knew it was Ally.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Brett, it’s Ally.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing.  So what’s our plan tomorrow?” she asked.

Brett leaned back in his chair and said, “I can’t believe Mr. Martin put that jackass on the Titanic.”

“He’s not a jackass, Brett,” Ally said, defending Lance.  But then she caught herself, “Well, maybe a little.”  She laughed.

“You know what I mean.  I thought
our
mission was to save the Titanic.  Why did he have to send two people back there to do the same thing?  It’s hard enough without them.”

“I know,” she replied.  “So what are we going to do?”

“I know there’s a way.  I’ve been having these flashbacks and dreams about a time we were on my granddad’s boat.  There’s something there, I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“Well, we gotta think of something.  Tomorrow could be it.”

“I know.”  Brett let out an exhausted sigh.  “Maybe I’ll ask my dad.”

“Umm, Brett?”

“What?”

“You can’t ask your dad anything, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

“Let’s summarize here.  The ship hits an iceberg in the middle of the night.  They do everything they can to stop the ship.  The captain turns the ship and stops the engine.  They obviously did not have enough time to stop after spotting the iceberg.  What if we spotted it before then?  What if we told the spotters that we see it?”

“Yeah, but if they can’t see it, they’re not going to believe us.”

“What if we gave them binoculars or something?”

“It’s the middle of the night; they’re still not going to be able to see it.  There’s just something I’m missing.  Something about steering the ship around the iceberg.”

They soon bid their goodbyes and Brett promised he’d think of something.  Which he did, staying up half the night reliving various times he was on his granddad’s boat.  Trying, in some way or fashion, to steer around an iceberg that was one hundred feet high and three hundred feet long.

“I
think I got it,” Brett said to Ally as they made their way into Mr. Martin’s history class.  Ally looked at him in disbelief.

The class was full of energy as Brett and Ally made their way into the closet to begin their travel through time for quite possibly the last time.  This time, Lance and Ella were allowed to go first so they would be waiting for them when Brett and Ally appeared.  As they made their way out of their cabin on the ship, Lance and Ella were standing in the hallway.

“Just trust me on this, Ella,” Lance whispered out of earshot to Ella.  “All we need to do is follow them and they’ll lead us right to their plans.”  He turned to Brett and Ally who were approaching.  “Where to, mate?” Lance asked.

Brett ignored the question and said to Ally, “We need to figure out what time it is.”

The walked quickly down the hallway toward the set of stairs and made their way onto the deck.  It was a cold, dark, moonless night and they looked around to see if there were any passengers nearby.  It had to be late because they found no one within their vicinity.  Brett walked quickly down the deck with Ally, Lance and Ella trailing close behind.

Ally caught up to him and whispered, “What did you mean when you said you ‘got it’?”

Brett turned his head and said, “Not now.”

They finally found a crewman patrolling the deck and asked him what time it was.  “A quarter past eleven,” he replied.

Brett walked a few steps past the officer, looked at Ally and said, “We have twenty-five minutes until it hits.”  Brett set his own watch to 11:15 so he could know exactly when the iceberg was going to hit.

“Oh my god, what are we going to do?”

“We’ve got to get to the radio room,” he said.

“The radio room?”  Ally said.  “I thought you wanted to—”

He cut her off and said loud enough for Lance and Ella to hear him, “No, the radio room.  Come on.”  He grabbed her hand and they started toward the front of the boat. 

The radio room, or the Marconi room as it was known back in 1912, was used to transmit and receive messages over long distances.  Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor who developed a radio telegraph system.  That night, multiple ships in the area were sending transmissions to the Titanic to be on the lookout for icebergs.  The captain of the SS Californian went as far as stopping his ship that night and waiting until morning to proceed.  The Titanic, however, ignored their advice and continued, wanting to make record time to New York.

“Radio room, eh?” Lance said.  “I saw that yesterday by the bridge.  Think you’re going to get a message out?  Ha!  We’ll see you there.”  He walked ahead of Brett and Ally and Ella joined him.

“Brett, what’s going on?” Ally said softly.

“I’m just diverting them.  I’ve got to get to the engine room.  Give me the keys.”

She reached into her pocket and handed over the keys to Brett. 

“Now, I have to somehow get to that lifeboat and change clothes.”

“What am I going to do?” she asked.

“Somehow you have to distract them.”

“What?  How?”

“You’re a pretty girl, flirt with him.”  Brett was surprisingly confident in what he’d just said.  Ally blushed.

Brett waited until Lance and Ella were far enough ahead of them and he took off running in the opposite direction.  He made his way to the front of the boat where he had stashed the officer’s uniform.  He grabbed it and ducked down between two lifeboats and changed into the uniform which was much larger than it appeared.  He was shivering from the cold as he put on the navy pants and matching jacket.  He had to roll up the cuffs on both the pants and shirt to make himself look presentable.  The one thing he didn’t account for was the officer’s hat.  He knew he had to keep his hat with the camera on, so he didn’t bother grabbing an officer’s hat.

Brett checked his watch.  It was now eleven twenty-five.  He had fifteen minutes.  He looked toward the front of the ship out at the horizon, trying to see the iceberg that he knew was there.  It was too dark.  He took a look up at the crows nest and saw two men standing on lookout.  They were looking for the iceberg that was going to be directly in their path.  He had to get to the engine room. 

Brett took a peek around the corner and saw Ally smiling at Lance as they stood outside the radio room, presumably waiting for him.  He had to admit, he was a little jealous.  Where was Ella?  He made a run for it and just as he got to the top of the steps, he heard Ella say loudly, “There he is!”

Lance said, “Oh no you don’t!  Stay with her!” he said to Ella.

He ran after Brett.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

B
rett knew he had to hustle.  He was coming from the front of the ship on the top deck and had to make it inside the engine room that was toward the back of the ship on the lower level.  He flew down the first three sets of stairs and ran through the hallways of the first class staterooms. Brett ran like he was stealing second base.  He flew through the maze of hallways, getting yelled at by crew members to “slow down,” and yet Lance still kept pace.

There was only one more staircase he had to descend to get to the engine room.  If he was going to lose Lance, it had to be now.  He passed the third-class kitchen, saw a bucket and mop, and made his move.  While still jogging, he grabbed the bucket and launched it behind him, sending a gallon of soapy water all over the floor.  As Lance turned the corner his feet went out from under him and he hit the floor with a wet, smacking thud. 

Brett smiled and took off for the engine room, fumbling with the keys as he ran.  He found the door and started inserting keys into it, trying to find the right one.  He was shaking so hard he could barely insert a key.  Just as he found the right key, Lance came limping around the corner.

“You son of a—”

Brett opened the door, slipped inside, and locked it behind him.  He walked quickly down the short hallway and entered the engine room.  It was once again very loud as men shouted orders and the engine pumped to life.  A man in a similar uniform stood nearby and Brett had no choice but to approach him.  He looked at his watch and knew that he had less than two minutes to put his plan into action.

“Yes, what it is?” the man asked as Brett approached.

“Sir,” Brett said, breathing heavy, “Captain’s orders.  Take it to full speed.”

“Why?  We’re already at a max of twenty-one knots,” the man replied.  “What’s your name, son?”

This was Brett’s gamble.  He had to fool the man into thinking he belonged right here, right now.  There were nearly nine hundred crew members on board, so it wasn’t likely that this man would know everyone.

“Sweeney, sir.  Captain had me run down here so there was no confusion in his order.” 

“Why does he want to increase speed?”

“SOS.  Another ship hit an iceberg.”

“Oh, dear God.”  He turned to the men and said as loudly as he could, “Full speed ahead!”  The men started shoveling coal into the dampers as fast as they could.  The officer walked over and started yelling instructions to the men to release valves, increase pressure, and all sorts of terms that Brett could not understand. 

Then the radio buzzed next to him. 

A
lly stood outside the radio room for what seemed like an eternity until she got bored and decided to go to the front of the ship.  She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm as Ella stood guard.

“What’s your grand plan?” Ella asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Ally replied.

“Well, your boyfriend better have one because you’re almost out of time.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Please.  I see the way you two are getting all warm and fuzzy over each other.  It’s pretty obvious, right class?” She smiled, looking straight into the front of Ally’s hat.

Ally blushed again knowing that the entire history class was hearing their conversation.  Her thoughts about Brett were conflicting, that was for sure. 

Ding – Ding – Ding

She was interrupted at the sound of a loud bell  being rung.

“The iceberg!” Ella said, walking quickly toward the front of the boat.  Ally followed and they could hear shouts from the men on lookout in the crows nest.  They couldn’t make out the words, but back near the bridge the commotion started.  Ally peered through the darkness, searching the vast sea until she found the iceberg.  They were coming upon it quickly. 

Seconds later, the bridge door flew open and officers and crewmen were running around like their pants were on fire.  Ally looked over the edge of the rail at the water beneath them.

“Hard a-starboard!” could be heard throughout the room above them.

“We’re not stopping!  We’re going to hit it!” Ally said.

“Ah, duh?” Ella replied.

“I mean we’re not even slowing.”

Ella leaned over the edge, looking at the rushing water below, and then she looked up and saw the enormous chunk of ice blocking their path.

W
hen the radio buzzer sounded, Brett knew they had just spotted the iceberg and they were telling the engine room to stop the ship.  He saw the officer far enough away from him that he didn’t hear the buzz.  Brett picked up the receiver and said, “Yes?”

“Stop the bloody ship!” came a voice on the other end.  “Propellers in reverse!”

“Right away,” Brett replied.  But he did nothing.  Next to him were the brass speed telegraphs that indicated to the engineers what speed they should travel at.  Brett stood in front them, trying to block its view from the officers.

The radio buzzed again.

Brett had to hold out.  He knew it was only going to be seconds before they hit the iceberg or missed it.  He picked up the receiver on the radio and let it drop to the side, voices bellowing out of the other end screaming ‘stop the ship!’  All the while, Brett was increasing the speed.