Teen Time Travel Novels 2-Book Bundle: Danger in Time and Christmas Wishes

By R. Barri Flowers

Teen Time Travel Novels 2-Book Bundle contains two complete young adult time travel novels by bestselling author R. Barri Flowers, including Danger in Time and Christmas Wishes.

Danger in Time
Rachel Crane was just six when her older sister, Brooke, died in a car accident ten years ago at the age of sixteen. Rachel often wishes that Brooke was still alive and there for her. That fantasy has to take a back seat to the reality of being sent to stay with her grandmother for the summer, leaving Rachel’s boyfriend behind in Lake Melrose, Oregon.

Just before she’s supposed to leave home, Rachel runs up to the attic--a place she often goes for some down time. A mysterious antique musical clockwatch literally appears at her feet. She picks it up, feels slightly dizzy, and finds herself transported back in time to the day her sister died.

After saving Brooke from her fate, Rachel finds herself back in the future, where it appears the whole thing was merely a dream when she suffered a mild concussion. Then Rachel realizes she really did travel back in time and, as a result, changed her sister’s destiny to something even more ominous. While trying to understand the mysterious clockwatch and its origin, Rachel uses it to go back again to try and save Brooke.

Through the power of the watch, both girls end up in the present as sixteen-year olds, with more changes as a consequence. Rachel, Brooke, and Duncan face danger when the serial killer who tried to kill Brooke ten years ago has targeted her again in the present, along with Rachel. The girls must identify him before he succeeds with his deadly plans, even as they also grapple with any other possibilities the clockwatch may have in store for them in the passages of time.

Christmas Wishes: Laura’s Story
Laura Kettleton, three months shy of turning sixteen, lives in Cranbrook, Oregon. It's early December and she already has her Christmas wish list written down. These include wishing that Martin Walker would like her as more than a friend, that her best friend Saba Knight had not moved to Alaska, and that her parents were not on the verge of getting a divorce.

She didn't believe for one second that some silly wishes would change the misery in her life. But when the science teacher, Mr. Packard, calling himself the Wizard of Wishes at the Wish Upon A Star school dance, talks her into making her wishes to a fake star, Laura soon finds that her life has turned upside down when her wishes suddenly come true.

Is she imagining it or really living December over again, only this time in ways she couldn't begin to comprehend? Would she wake up one day to find her life has returned to normal? Or had this become the new norm with no turning back?

Laura's time travel fantasy holiday tale will warm hearts and resonate with teenagers as she experiences the power of having one's wishes come true in the spirit of the Christmas season.

Praise for R. Barri Flowers

“Danger in Time grabbed me from the first chapter.... The plot is a unique twist to time travel, bearing mystical elements.... The gem of this story is the relationship between the sisters; it is powerfully written.... I was so engaged in this story that I hated to put it down.” -- Amazon reviewer

“Great mystery and I loved the narration. The narrator really brought the story to life! I will highly recommend this mystery to my friends and family!” -- Amazon reviewer on Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay

"This was like 'Sweet Valley High' meets 'True Blood'.... Fans of the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' series will enjoy this series. Great for young readers!" -- Jessica's Reviews on Count Dracula’s Teenage Daughter

“This book has some serious potential with a really unique idea!... I think my students would really love this book.” -- Brittany Elsen, Book Reviewer on Count Dracula’s Teenage Daughter

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Barri Flowers
• Release date: Jul 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311659132

R. Barri Flowers

R. Barri Flowers is the award winning author of romantic suspense, mystery, thriller and crime fiction with thirteen Harlequin titles published to date. Chemistry and conflict between the hero and heroine, attention to detail, and incorporating the very latest advances in criminal investigations, are the cornerstones of his crime and thriller fiction. He enjoys travelling around the country and abroad to scope out intriguing settings for future storylines, books, and miniseries.

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Danger in Time

Christmas Wishes: Laura's Story

Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay – Bonus Excerpts

Count Dracula's Teenage Daughter – Bonus Excerpts

About the Author

DANGER IN TIME

A Young Adult Time Travel Mystery

Copyright 2012 by R. Barri Flowers at Smashwords. All rights reserved.

Cover Image Copyright Nejron Photo 2014

Used under license from Shutterstock.com

Danger in Time is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CHAPTER ONE

Rachel Crane sat in her room ruminating, as she often seemed to do these days. She was only six years old when her sixteen-year-old sister, Brooke, died in a car accident ten years ago to the day, devastating Rachel. Not only had Brooke been the coolest sister in the world, but the one person Rachel could count on to cheer her up whenever she felt down.

Since then life had been anything but satisfying...

Rachel lost her mom to lung cancer two years after Brooke's death. Catherine Crane had been a heavy smoker since her teen years and it caught up with her. Rachel believed her mother ultimately lost her will to live after losing Brooke, having never been the same afterward.

Three years later, Rachel's dad got remarried to a woman named Virginia. Rachel was convinced Virginia resented her because she got too much attention from her father. Whereas Rachel believed she didn't get enough attention from him with Virginia occupying much of his free time.

Rachel could never imagine anyone ever taking her mom's place, no matter how hard she tried. Not that Virginia had tried all that hard, seemingly content just being her dad's second wife, with Rachel simply left to tag along.

She often thought about Brooke, who had been her best friend. She wished they had been able to have a normal life as sisters for years to come, instead of having it cut short due to tragedy. By most accounts, she looked a lot like Brooke had at sixteen as biracial siblings. Both had long, curly, dark brown hair, a caramel complexion, were slender, and about five-six. The only real difference was Rachel had her mother's jade eyes, while Brooke had their dad's sable eyes.

Rachel was sure her boyfriend Duncan would think Brooke was hot had she been alive today. If only. She longed for the chance to have a real sisterly conversation with Brooke to talk about guys, school, and other teen issues. Even now she imagined how much fun it would be if she could somehow magically go back in time and reunite with Brooke now when they were the same age. Yes, it would be weird, but somehow she knew they would find a way to make it work.

So much for wishful thinking. No such thing as time travel, except in Hollywood, novels, and people's vivid imaginations like hers.

Rachel glanced around the small room in the Lake Melrose, Oregon house she'd grown up in. It had once been Brooke's room and Rachel remembered the posters of celebrities she'd hung everywhere and the big pink teddy bear Brooke had kept since she was a little girl. Since then many of Brooke's things had been packed away in the attic, as though waiting for her return, long forgotten by everyone.

Everyone except Rachel, who considered the attic her private hideaway for chill time and keeping her sister's memory alive.

Rachel grabbed some tees and shorts, stuffing them into the bag atop her bed. She was being forced to spend the summer at her grandmother's house in Brenport, Washington, some two hundred miles way.

It was not that she didn't like her Nana—who was always telling her wild and colorful stories about growing up in the Pacific Northwest—but Rachel had no desire to spend her last full summer before graduating from high school away from home. Unfortunately, she didn't have much choice in the matter. Virginia had convinced her dad it would be good for Rachel to bond more with her grandmother before time ran out.

Rachel thought it was more likely that Virginia wanted to get rid of her for the summer so she could have her father all to herself. Being susceptible to Virginia's sneaky influence, he had fallen for it.

I'll just have to make the best of the situation. At least I'll be able to text Duncan and my friends whenever I get bored.

Beyond that, Rachel hoped Duncan would be able to get away from his summer job with the family landscaping business to visit her. She doubted the same could be said for Elaine, one of her best friends, since she too had been banished and would spend the summer in Utah with her father, his live-in girlfriend and her three bratty kids.

After filling the bag with probably more clothes than she needed, Rachel pressed down hard and managed to zip it shut, just as she heard a knock on the door.

Come in.

It opened and Virginia stood there, hand on hip. There was a smug look on her fudge-toned face.

You about ready, or what? she asked. "The bus leaves at three o'clock sharp. Wouldn't want you to miss it."

Of course, you wouldn't. That would mess up your plans.

Rachel sneered, but resisted a curt response, figuring she'd only upset her dad. Virginia had won this round. Someday it would be different. She would just have to wait her turn.

I won't. Rachel pulled the bag off the bed, realizing it was heavier than she thought when it hit the floor.

Give that to me. Virginia practically pried her hand loose and grabbed the bag. Go get the lunch I prepared. You can eat it along the way.

I don't think so.

Their tastes in food were about as different as night and day. Whenever she could avoid Virginia's high calorie, fatty meals, Rachel usually did. This was definitely one of those times.

She skirted past Virginia, thrilled to see her stepmother laboring with the bag.

Downstairs, Rachel nearly ran into her father in the hall between the living room and kitchen. He was tall, with a walnut complexion and a bald head that he shaved every day.

Edwin Crane gazed at her amusingly. I thought we'd have to drag you to Nana's house kicking and screaming. Now it looks like you can't get out of here fast enough.

"So not funny. She made a face and wondered if there was a glimmer of hope he might reconsider. Can't I stay here this summer? Please, Dad?"

We've been over this numerous times, Rachel. Your grandmother is counting on your visit. She's not getting any younger and, with Brooke gone, you're all she has left.

Rachel frowned. His comment made it seem like she was strictly second string or simply better than nothing at all without Brooke around to take the lead.

As though he sensed she might have taken his words the wrong way, Edwin amended them somewhat. "You know you're Nana's pride and joy, Rachel. Brooke will always have a special place in her heart as the first born, but you're her baby!"

What about you? Rachel batted her curly lashes. Or has Nana forgotten you're her only child?

Edwin chuckled. I try to never let her forget, but she has a magical connection with you that I couldn't even come close to matching.

Enough already, I'll go. She knew he was laying it on a bit thick to guilt trip her into going to visit Nana happily. Rachel swallowed her resistance.

You'll thank me someday when your grandmother, bless her heart, is dead and buried.

But till then, I'd rather not. Rachel sneered, resigned to her fate.

He grinned. Fair enough.

They both looked up and saw Virginia struggling with the bag.

Rachel snickered. I think she needs your help, Dad.

Edwin's brow furrowed. Let me get that, Virginia, darling—

Rachel went into the kitchen. Ignoring the lunch Virginia had packed, she strode across the hardwood floor to the refrigerator. She grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, and took a giant gulp.

Before Rachel hit the road, there was something important she needed to do. Water bottle in hand, she ran past her dad and stepmom toward the stairs.

Why are you going back up there? Virginia asked.

I forgot something, Rachel lied. I'll be right back.

She ignored her protests and continued up the stairs. On the second floor, Rachel raced down the hall and opened the door to a utility room. Inside, she yanked at the rope hanging from the ceiling till stairs came down that led to the attic.

She climbed up them.

The attic, which had only been partially finished, was dusty and cluttered. Rachel had created several little paths to the eyelid windows overlooking the lawn and street below. She stood at one window, remembering when she used to do the same with Brooke. They would tell ghost stories or pretend they were in another time and place.

Rachel looked in one corner of the attic at the boxes piled atop one another marked as Brooke's clothes, shoes, toys, and other miscellaneous items. She had gone through them numerous times, touching things that had once belonged to her big sister. Rachel even wore some of Brooke's clothes that were fashionable again today and fit her perfectly.

Oh, Brooke, I wish we were going to Nana's house together like we used to. Better yet, I wish I didn't have to go at all this year. If you were here, we could just hang out together at home, the mall, or wherever.

Rachel wanted to cry at the thought, but checked herself. Some people might think she had gone a little loco being too sentimental over her long dead sister.

Maybe I do need to let go after ten years of grieving. Brooke would want that. Wouldn't she?

Rachel was positive Brooke was watching over her from heaven, wanting to see at least one of them make it past sixteen years of age and experience all the things that came with growing old.

Well, guess I'd better get going, Rachel spoke aloud to Brooke, as though she were in the room. Dad and Virginia are probably having a fit right about now, not wanting me to miss that bus to Nana's house. Guess I'll see you when I get back!

Just then, Rachel heard what sounded like something falling on the floor. At first she thought it might only be the creaking sounds that sometimes invaded the house like an angry spirit. Then she wondered if it might be a mouse. Yuck. The thought of being nibbled on by one of those creatures freaked her out. She looked behind her, expecting to see the little critter scurrying by.

Instead, Rachel saw what looked like an antique gold pocket watch attached to a chain lying by her shoes. Glancing up, as if expecting to see a ghost who had dropped the watch, she saw only the support beams. They gave no clue of where the watch had come from.

This is so weird.

Rachel put her bottled water on the windowsill and reached down to pick up the watch. Opening the case, she noted it had an unusual sixty second clock that was prominent and ticking, with an inset of the time in roman numerals near the top and a date at the bottom. Her eyes widened when she realized the current month and day were correct, but not the year. It read: June 26, 2001.

That was the day Brooke died. Rachel's heart skipped a beat. She wondered if the watch belonged to her sister, though she had never seen it before. But why would the date have stopped working and not the other functions?

She saw a button on the watch and pushed it to see what would happen. Old-fashioned music began to play. Rachel put the chain around her neck as though compelled to.

The music somehow had a surreal effect on her. Lost in the tune, she started to sway with the music all but forgetting that her dad and Virginia were waiting to drive her to the bus station. And that Nana was expecting her.

She felt herself grow slightly dizzy. Unsure what was happening or why, Rachel staggered, sure she would fall over at any moment and hit her head.

But, just as quickly, the feeling disappeared and she was herself again. Rachel looked at the clockwatch and saw it had stopped ticking and the poker hand now stood still. The eerily pleasing music had also come to a screeching halt.

She found that odd, just as she did everything about the antique watch.

What just happened?

Glancing around, Rachel saw something even more puzzling. The attic was not nearly as cluttered as it had been only moments before. How was that possible? It was almost as if she was in a different place and time. But, of course, that was ridiculous.

She looked out the window. Even the sunny day had been replaced with a cloudy one. As she tried to make sense of it all, Rachel heard someone climbing the attic steps. For some reason she held her breath, still clutching the strange watch in her hand.

Instead of seeing her father or Virginia standing there with annoyance, Rachel gulped as she watched an attractive, slender girl around her age with thick, long brown hair step into the attic. She was dressed in a tee and jeans and looked strangely familiar.

Without fully comprehending the implausibility of it all, Rachel realized the resemblance was to that of her long dead sister, Brooke...

TWO

Brooke Crane was bored. With her little sister Rachel staying with their Nana for the summer, dad busy as usual as the vice president of an advertising firm, and mom out spending his money on who knows what, Brooke was left home alone after being grounded for a week. It wasn't like she'd done anything wrong going out with nineteen-year-old Dennis Farrell. After all, he was hot and he liked her. So what if she'd lied and told him she was seventeen instead of sixteen. And so what if she'd stayed out past midnight last night with him instead of returning home by eleven, as promised.

Was that any reason for her parents to track her down like a wanted fugitive and confine her to the house?

She'd nearly died of embarrassment on the spot when they showed up at the worst possible time. Brooke figured it had all but ended any chance she had with Dennis. And probably any other guy in Lake Melrose once word got out.

I can't wait till I go away to college. Then I can make my own rules without parental interference in my life.

Brooke had called her best friends, Natalie Marsh and Gabrielle Kerr, to come over and keep her company in defiance of her grounding rules that included no visitors. But both were unavailable. So she was left to sit and sulk in her room.

This is going to be one long, crappy summer.

Brooke suddenly heard a noise that sounded like it came from the attic. She wondered if a box had fallen over, even if she couldn't figure out how or why since they were pretty neatly stacked. Hardly anyone ever went up there besides her and Rachel. She did remember a time when some birds managed to get in through a cracked window and made a real mess. She'd seriously thought they were going to invade the entire house like in a horror movie. Her dad had replaced the window and they hadn't had a problem with birds since.

Maybe till now.

She decided to take a look, if only to escape the boredom of being stuck in her room.

When Brooke stepped inside the laundry room, she paused to listen for any sounds. All was quiet now, eerily so. Could the whole thing have been her imagination?

I know I heard something.

She decided to go up just to be sure the birds hadn't come calling again and had somehow gotten a box to fall.

If nothing else, I'll hang out in the attic for a while. She wished Rachel was home so they could have some fun together.

Just as she began mounting the stairs, Brooke thought she heard music playing. Were her ears playing tricks on her? Maybe it was that creep Malcolm Osborn next door making strange sounds like he was prone to do when he didn't have his music up loud enough to wake the dead.

But the music sounded like it was coming from the attic. Now it had suddenly stopped. Brooke conjured up images of the bogeyman. Had someone broken into the house and taken up shelter in the attic of all places?

Though the thought unnerved her, Brooke refused to give in to paranoia. She dismissed the idea and would prove it by going up there.

When she stepped inside the attic, she nearly had a heart attack. She stood face to face with someone who definitely didn't belong there.

* * *

How did you get in here? were the first words Rachel heard the girl say. First there was apprehension, then anger in her tone.

I walked in, Rachel uttered matter-of-factly, as if she needed to explain.

Well, that's obvious! Brooke snapped. She glared at the intruder, while maintaining a safe distance. The girl was about her age and size. Even her hair was the same color and length, though styled a little differently and with straight-across bangs. While there was something familiar about the girl, Brooke did not recognize her from school or the neighborhood. She willed her racing pulse to slow down. After all, this was her house. "It's called breaking and entering when you go where you don't have permission to."

Rachel batted her lashes, glancing at the watch in her hand. It had started to tick and tell time again. She continued to study the girl who looked remarkably like her dead sister.

She even sounded like Brooke, as Rachel recalled the voice that had replayed over and over in her head like a recording. The expressions she made with her eyes and pouty lips had also been etched in Rachel's memory for a very long time.

They belonged to Brooke.

Or were Rachel's eyes playing cruel tricks on her?

I didn't break into any place, she insisted. "Excuse me, but I live here. Maybe I should ask you what you're doing in our house." You can't be who I think you are. Did my dad or stepmom send you up here to scare me to death so I'd hurry up and go to my grandmother's house?

Brooke studied the odd girl in more detail. She wore cutoffs and a tank top. She was attractive and actually, if honest about it, looked like her. Brooke imagined in another life they could have been sisters. But they were in this life and she already had a sister. And although Rachel was sometimes a little pain in the butt, she was still her only sister and Brooke certainly didn't want or need another one.

Obviously the girl standing before her was delusional. Maybe she had escaped from a psych ward. Or maybe she was high on drugs.

Brooke noted the old-fashioned pocket watch the girl was holding, as though her very life depended on it. Probably stole it. She tried to make sense of what the girl had said.

I live here. Maybe I should ask you what you're doing in our house.

It made no sense at all.

Brooke frowned. "Look, I don't know what your problem is and I don't really care. I have no idea how you got in here, but this isn't your house and I want you to leave now!"

Rachel stood transfixed at what she was witnessing. It was as though she were in a time warp and reliving her childhood. Only she was no longer a child. And Brooke should not be here.

Maybe I've lost my mind. That was one possibility Rachel considered. How else could she explain this weird feeling that she was having a conversation with her dead sister?

But it simply wasn't possible.

Was it?

Rachel was sure that whatever was going on here, she was definitely not insane. She wasn't so sure the same could be said for the girl confronting her.

"I think maybe you're the one with a problem, Rachel suggested. I've lived here all my life. Just who are you anyway?"

Brooke narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of the girl at this point, other than she was crazy. It was still a mystery as to how she'd gotten in the house in the first place. Brooke had been home all day, thanks to her parents, and would have heard if anyone had come in the front or side door. Since the windows squeaked when opened, that would have caught her attention, too.

She considered that the girl might have been living in their attic for some time, but quickly ruled that out. Especially since Brooke had just been up there a couple of hours ago and hadn't seen anyone or any sign someone was living or hiding there.

So exactly what was going on here?

* * *

Rachel was just as confused about this bizarre situation. Why hadn't her dad or Virginia come looking for her by now? And who was this Brooke look-a-like who did a pretty good job of making it seem like this was her house and that it was Rachel who didn't belong?

She looked again at the watch and remembered hearing the music and her head spinning before it cleared and the music stopped. That was when the girl walked into the attic.

Against her better judgment, Rachel was almost convinced it was Brooke standing there vexed. Except dead people didn't suddenly come back to life ten years later and look the exact same way they did before they died.

Maybe I'm somehow dead, too, and this is a kind of sister reunion in the afterlife.

Short of that, Rachel wondered if she was in some sort of dream state where she had traveled back in time just to see what it might be like to be with her sister at the same age. It was, after all, something she had often fantasized about since turning sixteen.

But that would mean none of this was real.

What if it was real, though, even if totally unexplainable?

Rachel approached the girl and watched her take a tentative step backward, as though frightened she might attack her.

"Brooke...is that really you?" Rachel asked tentatively.

Brooke arched a thin brow. So they had met. But when and where? Were they actually friends? Even if that were somehow true, it hardly gave her an open invitation to take up refuge in their attic.

Yes, my name's Brooke. She decided to play along with this, hoping to satisfy her own curiosity. Who are you?

Rachel's eyes grew large. It really is her. My older sister. But how could that be?

Whatever the reason, Rachel was ecstatic. Who wouldn't be in her shoes? Not understanding why or how, she was just happy to be with Brooke again after so many years.

Releasing the watch so it hung from the chain still around her neck, Rachel lunged forward and hugged Brooke for dear life. I can't believe this, she declared.

Moments seemed like hours as Rachel found herself six years old all over again, wanting only to be with the person she loved most in the whole world. Now she was, and didn't want to let her go for fear she would wake up and the dream would be over forever.

Rachel was suddenly jarred from her reverie when determined hands pushed her away.

What do you think you're doing? Brooke gritted her teeth. Stay away from me. I don't know you. Or I can't remember meeting you.

It's me... Rachel— She smiled, teary-eyed.

Brooke tilted her head, wondering why this should mean anything to her. Rachel who?

Rachel met her eyes. "I'm Rachel, your sister..."

If Brooke had her doubts the intruder was a basket case, she didn't any longer. The girl was either certifiably mad or got some perverse thrill out of trying to get a reaction from Brooke—maybe both. Well, she would get her wish.

My sister is only six! Brooke's nostrils flared. And you are definitely not her, unless she suddenly grew up overnight and decided to come back from my grandmother's house where she's staying for the summer.

Contemplating the creepiness of her words, Rachel realized that Brooke didn't recognize her as she was at sixteen. And probably for good reason. It was her Twilight Zone episode and apparently did not include the instant ability for Brooke to know her when she was ten years older.

Rachel suddenly remembered that summer ten years ago when she visited Nana by herself. How could she ever forget? She was there when Brooke was killed in the car accident. She had never even gotten to say goodbye to her big sister.

Now she could.

Was that the purpose of this surreal experience?

Or was there much more to it than that?

* * *

Brooke saw the girl claiming to be her sister Rachel react, as though she hadn't expected her to dismiss the silly idea that they were sisters. In fact, it was almost as if this imposter hadn't even been aware that her real sister was just six years old and not sixteen or so.

In Brooke's mind, this proved she was dealing with a mentally unstable person. Or one who had been put up to this by someone else for whatever reason. Either way, she wasn't amused in the slightest. Especially when she still had no idea how the fake Rachel girl had gotten into the house and made her way up to the attic without Brooke being the wiser.

For Rachel's part, she decided to lay all her cards out on the table—at least most of them—and hope for the best. "Look, I know my being here—this whole thing—must be freaking you out. I know I'm freaked, totally. But strange as it sounds, I really am Rachel, your sister. Only instead of being six, I'm sixteen now...the same age you were when the accid—"

She checked herself, not wanting to spoil this once-in-a-lifetime meeting by saying something that could only make Brooke sad. Not to mention more unnerved than she already was.

"When the what?" Brooke was sure she was about to say accident. Her curiosity was piqued as to what the girl was insinuating.

Never mind, Rachel said, though certain Brooke wouldn't let it go. Right now there were other things on her mind as Rachel tried to make sense of time and place in this strange scenario. Can you just tell me what year this is? She looked at the clockwatch, which still showed 2001. Had she actually gone back in time somehow? Or had Brooke come to the future?

Brooke curled her lip into a sneer. "What other year would it be? It's 2001."

Rachel digested this. So she had traveled through time, either in her head, body, or both. Is it June 26th? she dared to ask.

Yeah. Brooke almost believed the girl truly was lost in more ways than one. I suppose now you're going to tell me that you've been locked away somewhere for a long time. Why else would you be pretending like we're sisters when we aren't and asking about the date?

Rachel didn't know how to answer without sounding even crazier. She supposed if their situations were reversed, she would also be more than a bit leery about her behavior and questions. She had to say something to try and explain before this whole thing ended and she never saw Brooke again.

Okay, here goes... she began, trying to search for the right words. "I don't know if I'm imagining this or it's some kind of weird time travel experience I can't explain. What I do know is just a few minutes ago I was standing in this very attic in the year 2011, expecting my dad and stepmother to accuse me of delaying the inevitable in going to spend the summer with our Nana. Then I found this antique watch—Rachel lifted it as though Brooke couldn't plainly see—and music started to play when I pushed this button. I got dizzy, and the next thing I knew, I was standing here. Then you came in and we started talking. I swear that's the truth."

If the tale weren't so wacky, Brooke would have laughed out loud. Dreams and time travel episodes? A magical pocket watch?

My little sister's now the same age as me visiting from 2011? Please!

Did she honestly expect Brooke to believe that stupid old watch had some sort of mystical powers that brought her back in time?

Not even the obvious physical resemblance between us or between her and Rachel can make me believe it's possible. No way!

Things like this just didn't happen in the real world. Certainly not in Brooke's world!

She also weighed in on the stepmother bit. If this were her future sister, was she saying their parents were divorced or what? Not that it made any difference, since absolutely none of it was true.

Brooke could only imagine what her friends would say when she told them about this. They'd probably want to cart her off to the funny farm instead of the one who clearly belonged there.

Right now, Brooke had to get rid of this girl before her mom got home. Something told her it would be easier said than done.

THREE

So much for Brooke being bored. This unexpected encounter with the girl pretending to be the future version of her little sister Rachel sure beat reading a Harry Potter novel any day of the week as far as something way out of the ordinary. Even Gabrielle and Natalie would be hard pressed to provide such thrills and chills, though they often tried with comical results.

While Brooke gave the girl—or whoever was behind it—credit for originality and imagination, she certainly wasn't