Time School , livre ebook

Hashtag Press - Nikki Young

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82 pages

English

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When you're running late for school, then you find your usual train has turned into an old steam train, you know it's not going to be a normal day. What you don't expect is that it will be a 'take you back in time' sort of day. Jess, Nadia, Tomma and Ash find themselves spending the day at Hickley School one hundred years in the past. They are told stories of bombings, hunger, and fighting, from fellow pupil, Martha, the only person willing to speak to them. After their time travel adventure, they work out the significance of the year, 1918, and plot to go back. They want to experience a significant moment in history and Jess wants to see Martha again. Not knowing why or how, Jess feels a connection to Martha, and an obligation towards her that she can't explain. Going back in time has its risks. Once you go back, there's no way of knowing if you'll be able to make it home.

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Publié par	Hashtag Press
Date de parution	20 avril 2020
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9781916161771
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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First published in Great Britain by Troubador Publishing 2018 This edition published in Great Britain by Hashtag Press 2019
Text copyright Nicola Young 2019
Copyright Cover illustration Tim Budgen 2019
Cover Design Helen Braid 2019
The moral right of the author has been asserted
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictions and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-9161617-6-4 eBook ISBN 978-1-9161617-7-1
Typeset in Garamond Classic 11.75/14.5 by Blaze Typesetting Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc
HASHTAG PRESS BOOKS
Hashtag Press Ltd
Kent, England, United Kingdom
Email: info@hashtagpress.co.uk
Website: www.hashtagpress.co.uk
Twitter: @hashtag_press
To my family
Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
About the Author
Acknowledgements
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a journalist. More specifically, I wanted to write features for a magazine. It may come as a surprise, therefore, to know that I ended up studying sciences and maths - by the time I got to A-Levels, I was forcibly guided into the science route against my better judgement, but pitched up against adults who seemed to think they knew what was best for me. Despite this, I somehow always managed to steer whatever job I had towards something writing related - at my very first job, I had a feature published on food allergies and intolerances. Writing was always where I felt most comfortable.
As clich as it sounds, I have, for as long as I can remember, wanted to be an author. The problem was, I didn t know what I wanted to write about. That was, until I became a mum and began to experience my children s journey to reading. It was then I remembered how important reading had been to me as a child, when I spent most weeks at Heckmondwike library with my mum, devouring everything in the children s section. I don t remember ever having brand new books but it never stopped me reading. I spent hours at the top of a Swiss mountain, countless days in the creeks of the American West wilderness and umpteen adventures in an idyllic English countryside. None of these places resembled the tired old Victorian market town where I grew up. That didn t seem to matter though. These surroundings have still influenced my own writing.
The remnants of the glory days of the Victorian industrial revolution are still visible in my home town, though you have to look hard to see them. The mills that once churned out the wool that carpeted and clothed the empire are long gone, turned into flats and shopping complexes. The many railway lines that served the area now lie disused, overgrown and reclaimed by the land. What remains is the legacy of the architects of that time, the library being one of them, my old school, the other. So much change has occurred around those buildings. The economic decline of the area, socio-economic and political change, historical events, all while these buildings have steadfastly remained in silent observation. It occurred to me one day that my old school, Heckmondwike Grammar, had continued educating young people regardless of what was going on around it. It was the one constant among a sea of so much change and I began to explore that idea for my Time School series. The towns of Hickley and Kirkshaw from the books are loosely based on Heckmondwike and nearby Dewsbury, though none of the characters are based on real life people and many of the features in the books are made up - there is no railway line between the two towns, for example, even though there once would have been.
I have my husband to thank for encouraging me to write. He believed in me even when I so often didn t believe in myself. Also, becoming a mum reawakened me to the true joy of discovering great stories, making me realise what sort of writer I wanted to be. Reading was my saviour as a child and I truly believe in its importance. To be even just a small part of that brings me great joy.
My children, Hope, Scarlett and Ike are my biggest critics, as well as my greatest allies. I cannot write this acknowledgement without thanking them for their patience and for letting me read numerous drafts of this story to them. The book itself, wouldn t be where it is without my editor, Vicky Blunden, though. It is always a joy, and a relief, to work with an editor who gets you, understands your work and genuinely loves the characters as much as you do. And then to meet Abiola and Helen from Hashtag Press, who, just to be in their presence means being surrounded by an energy and enthusiasm that emanates from every pore, is a real privilege. It means the Time School series is now a real and tangible thing. And I will be forever grateful to both these amazing women for that.
There have been occasions when I might have given up if it weren t for my writing buddies, Maddy, Renee, Alice, Jo, Chrissie, Teika, Sophie, Antonia, Becky, Sarah, Rachael, encouraging me on. As one put it, being with these ladies is soul strengthening and I couldn t agree more. Also, thanks to Linden for all your support and for having my as a guest on your monthly Bookclub on BBC Radio Kent. To Helen at Families Magazine West Kent and to Paul, for organising regular write-ins at Cafe Nero that have kept me on track many a time. My creative imagination, not dampened by the sciences, has my oldest and dearest friend, Chloe, to thank. As the childhood heroines of our youth, we are kindred spirits, who grew up sharing a love of stories that is as strong as our bond, no matter how far from each other we are. Thanks must also go to all the parents who bring their children to my Storymakers Writing Club, which leads on nicely to the children who come to my weekly groups and workshops. I know you ve been waiting for this, so I hope it doesn t disappoint!
Chapter 1
The Ghosts Within These Walls
Has anyone ever asked where you come from? Do you know? Mr Mundair?
Yes, Miss. I came from Kirkshaw this morning.
Ash Mundair. Already firmly established as the class joker within the first few weeks of the Year Sevens beginning their secondary school careers. There was a collective giggle that spread across the room like air escaping from an untied balloon. Mrs Kennedy, the history teacher, remained straight-faced. She d seen it all, and worse, before.
Thank you for that, Ash, but you know what I m talking about: your family tree. Your roots. And please, no mention of grey hairs and hair dye.
The class giggled once more as Ash pulled at his spiky black hair. His face one that expressed pure innocence but for the sparkle in his dark eyes made large and round by the glasses that framed them.
We all have rich histories, more interesting than you might think and our heritage connects us to the area in which we live and the changes that have happened during that time, Mrs Kennedy explained. Think about this school. In one hundred and twenty years, it s seen a lot of changes, not only physically, as buildings have been added, but culturally, economically and politically, too. This classroom we re in right now, and the hall just through that door, are part of the original building of this school. You re sitting in a lesson, just as hundreds of children have done before you. Imagine if these four walls could talk and what they would say about the things they ve seen and heard over the years. The ghosts of the past are absorbed within the walls of this building and as part of our history project this term, we re going to explore that.
There was nothing in the classroom to indicate it was anything other than bland and uninteresting. The stale smell of sweat in the air, punctuated with cheap body spray and anticipation, reminding you it was a room full of preteens, sitting restlessly on plastic chairs designed to be as uncomfortable as possible. Double desks lined the room, all facing a whiteboard, names scratched into the surface, gum stuck hard underneath.
Jess Chadwick sat up straight. Was that what Mrs Kennedy meant by the ghosts of the past being with them? Had other children sat in this very room, staring at the peeling white paint of the huge sash windows that looked out on to the road beyond, with nothing but an old work unit for a view? Grey on grey, obscured by cobwebs and dust. Minds filled with anything other than what the teacher had to say.
Although she didn t hate it, school was a place where you had to go, day in, day out, until finally the day came when you didn t have to go anymore. It was a constant in your life, as sure as the sun rising in the morning and setting at night. Jess wondered if that s how pupils of the past had thought of it. Had they enjoyed learning, or dreaded the whole idea? Stressed about exams, or relished the thought of being in a classroom rather than working for a living?
A few weeks into the start of Year Seven and Jess was beginning to settle into the routine of secondary school. The thought of moving on from her small, safe junior school had made her anxious. She wasn t like Nadia, Tomma and Ash; her best friends. They were full of confidence and ready to move on. Jess would have stayed at her old school forever if they d have let her. The only comfort had been knowing