same place.
Chris wondered idly how many of the ever-growing list of laws had been passed on by Grandad. He gave a yawn and thought he might make his own list of things to do with the Timewatch. That would be a very long list as wellâ¦
â¦he could use it in class to redo a test and put right any mistakesâ¦
â¦and double the time of his favourite PE sessionsâ¦
â¦and even replay a football match if his school team were losingâ¦
â¦and then at home he could perhaps delay bedtime by an hourâ¦
âAaargh!â
Dadâs shout and the crash of the stepsbrought Becky, Mum and a barking Tan rushing into the store. Tan reached Dad even before Chris could scramble over the broken tangle of wood. She was yelping in alarm and trying to lick the manâs face as he lay on the floor behind the counter.
âAre you all right, Dad?â cried Chris, pushing Tan away.
Dad groaned as his wife propped him up against a cabinet for support. âThink Iâve gone and bust a leg,â he grunted, his face screwed up in pain.
âWhatever happened?â asked Mum, her own face white with shock.
âIt was my fault,â Chris admitted. âI wasnât holding the steps properly.â
âNonsense, lad,â said Dad. âYou were right. Theyâre too old. Shouldâve got rid of âem years ago.â
Becky crouched beside her father, stroking his arm for comfort and gripping Tan by her collar to keep the dog at bay.
âWhat were you doing, Dad?â she asked.
âStretching too far, lass. Overreached myself and down I went.â
âIâm really sorry, Dad,â said Chris, as Mum went off to phone for an ambulance.
âNothing you could have done, lad. Even if you
were
half asleep!â
âMaybe not,â Chris murmured. âBut there
is
something I can do now.â He took out the Timewatch and glanced at his sister, who nodded her approval.
Click
!
Chris suddenly found himself on his own in the stockroom an hour earlier. He gave a little shake of the head in wonder and put the watch back in his pocket. Then he picked up a box of soup tins to take into the store, knowing exactly what Dad was about to say.
âGet started on those tins, lad. Time is money, remember. Third law. I donât want to be here all night.â
âNo, and I bet you donât want to spend it in hospital either,â Chris muttered under his breath.
As Chris set about his tasks again, he was planning how to prevent the accident. But he still remembered to put the tin of soup the wrong way round to test his fatherâs powers of observation. He also took the chance to go and tell Becky about the steps, realising that this time she had not travelled back in time with him for some reason.
âWhy didnât you come with me?â he said, almost accusingly.
âI didnât even know youâd gone,â she retorted. âIt hasnât happened yet.â
Chris nodded slowly. It all seemed very confusing. âAnyway, it just shows how usefulthis watch is,â he said. âYâknow, the way it can let us stop people getting hurt, for instance.â
âOf course,â she agreed. âSo long as we do only use it in emergencies.â
âDepends what you mean by emergencies.â
Becky looked at him suspiciously. âAnd just what do
you
mean, little brother?â
Chris turned away to avoid having to confess all the things that would be added to his list â like having enough time to finish his homework, for a start.
Dadâs own work was interrupted by the occasional customer coming in for drinks or items of food that had run low over the weekend.
âJust sold Mrs Brown that loaf I thought Iâd have to throw out,â he chuckled. âHer old manâs going to get some stale sandwiches in his packed lunch tomorrow.â
âYou didnât have to sell it,â Chris said, knowing the
Chris wondered idly how many of the ever-growing list of laws had been passed on by Grandad. He gave a yawn and thought he might make his own list of things to do with the Timewatch. That would be a very long list as wellâ¦
â¦he could use it in class to redo a test and put right any mistakesâ¦
â¦and double the time of his favourite PE sessionsâ¦
â¦and even replay a football match if his school team were losingâ¦
â¦and then at home he could perhaps delay bedtime by an hourâ¦
âAaargh!â
Dadâs shout and the crash of the stepsbrought Becky, Mum and a barking Tan rushing into the store. Tan reached Dad even before Chris could scramble over the broken tangle of wood. She was yelping in alarm and trying to lick the manâs face as he lay on the floor behind the counter.
âAre you all right, Dad?â cried Chris, pushing Tan away.
Dad groaned as his wife propped him up against a cabinet for support. âThink Iâve gone and bust a leg,â he grunted, his face screwed up in pain.
âWhatever happened?â asked Mum, her own face white with shock.
âIt was my fault,â Chris admitted. âI wasnât holding the steps properly.â
âNonsense, lad,â said Dad. âYou were right. Theyâre too old. Shouldâve got rid of âem years ago.â
Becky crouched beside her father, stroking his arm for comfort and gripping Tan by her collar to keep the dog at bay.
âWhat were you doing, Dad?â she asked.
âStretching too far, lass. Overreached myself and down I went.â
âIâm really sorry, Dad,â said Chris, as Mum went off to phone for an ambulance.
âNothing you could have done, lad. Even if you
were
half asleep!â
âMaybe not,â Chris murmured. âBut there
is
something I can do now.â He took out the Timewatch and glanced at his sister, who nodded her approval.
Click
!
Chris suddenly found himself on his own in the stockroom an hour earlier. He gave a little shake of the head in wonder and put the watch back in his pocket. Then he picked up a box of soup tins to take into the store, knowing exactly what Dad was about to say.
âGet started on those tins, lad. Time is money, remember. Third law. I donât want to be here all night.â
âNo, and I bet you donât want to spend it in hospital either,â Chris muttered under his breath.
As Chris set about his tasks again, he was planning how to prevent the accident. But he still remembered to put the tin of soup the wrong way round to test his fatherâs powers of observation. He also took the chance to go and tell Becky about the steps, realising that this time she had not travelled back in time with him for some reason.
âWhy didnât you come with me?â he said, almost accusingly.
âI didnât even know youâd gone,â she retorted. âIt hasnât happened yet.â
Chris nodded slowly. It all seemed very confusing. âAnyway, it just shows how usefulthis watch is,â he said. âYâknow, the way it can let us stop people getting hurt, for instance.â
âOf course,â she agreed. âSo long as we do only use it in emergencies.â
âDepends what you mean by emergencies.â
Becky looked at him suspiciously. âAnd just what do
you
mean, little brother?â
Chris turned away to avoid having to confess all the things that would be added to his list â like having enough time to finish his homework, for a start.
Dadâs own work was interrupted by the occasional customer coming in for drinks or items of food that had run low over the weekend.
âJust sold Mrs Brown that loaf I thought Iâd have to throw out,â he chuckled. âHer old manâs going to get some stale sandwiches in his packed lunch tomorrow.â
âYou didnât have to sell it,â Chris said, knowing the