The Key by Marianne Curley Page B

door.
    â€˜Where have you two been?’
    Her voice is tight and anxious. I guess after what happened at school this morning, she would be. I called her earlier to see if she was all right and to let her know Isabel and I were unharmed; and then, since school was cancelled for rest of the day, I had told her we were going up to the national park for a hike.
    â€˜Are you sure you’re both all right? Why do you insist on taking off like that? Just as well Jimmy said he bumped into you and assured me you were safe. You know I don’t like you hiking in the park any more. It’s dangerous. Do you want to get lost again?’
    Of course she would be worried. ‘Sorry, Mum. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’d forgotten about … getting lost that time. We didn’t go far. I promise.’
    Jimmy’s in the kitchen; I can hear him singing from here. He’s a member of the Guard too, also one of the Named. And he’s Mum’s boyfriend. I often wonder whether his feelings for Mum are true, or if he’s only here in our house pretending to care for her so that he can be in a position to watch over Isabel and me. It’s an uncomfortable thought, and not totally without reason. After all, Rochelle pretended to love me as part of her job.
    Jimmy comes out wearing an apron around his waist, wiping his hands on it. ‘Told you darl they were all right.’ He looks at Isabel and me and smiles. ‘You two got time for showers if you want. But don’t be long, dinner’s on soon.’
    â€˜I don’t want any –’
    I don’t get to finish my sentence before Isabel kicks me in the shin. ‘Thanks, Jimmy. I’m starving. And Matt was just saying how that hike today has given him a huge appetite.’
    She gives Mum a reassuring hug and runs upstairs. I get her message. Ethan was clear on this point. I’ve got to act normally so Mum doesn’t worry that I might be sick or coming down with something and want to come and check on me through the night. While my body will be sleeping in my bed, if she tries to wake me, I will look as if I’m in a coma and scare the life out of her. And apparently it’s worse for the person who’s travelling through time. They get sick and can even die.
    I shower and go down for dinner. It’s chicken, crumbed and baked with potato wedges and sour cream. One of my favourite meals. But tonight it tastes like cardboard. I force down every bite with a smile to assure Mum I’m fine. Jimmy appears amused, but he’s the type of person who can laugh at someone else’s discomfort. Isabel would totally disagree with me over that, but then Isabel disagrees with me over everything.
    As if his intention is to torture me, after dinner Jimmy suggests that he and I do the washing-up together. ‘We’ll give the girls a night off, eh?’
    His humour is irritating me more than usual. But there’s no point in arguing. I don’t want to prolong the evening when all I want to do is go to bed, go to sleep, and go on my mission.
    In the kitchen Jimmy hands me a tea towel. ‘I’ll wash,’ he says. And when Mum disappears with Isabel, he takes the towel from my hand. ‘I just wanted a chance to say good luck tonight without your mother overhearing us.’
    The joking manner is gone. Even his eyes seem, I don’t know, more serious.
    â€˜OK.’
    â€˜I also wanted to say, be careful. Everything we do now has a rushed feel. And this forces us into making decisions sometimes on the spur of the moment, or with our backs up against a wall.’ He’s obviously talking from experience. And while he usually annoys me so much I purposefully try
not
listening to a word he says, this time he has my full attention. ‘It’s hard to judge in a split second what’s the best choice.’
    I nod, understanding. ‘Now I know you haven’t got your powers yet, but