Chapter 16
2177 Words
JANE WAS SMILING. “Fritz, he just put the world on notice. The questions were a plant. Alan Carter was willing to help.”
JANE WAS SMILING.“What"s he doing, Jane?” asked Linda.
“Setting up the NSA phone surveillance. They have the numbers I gave them. If someone is trying to mess with him, the phones on the list should get busy quickly.”
“You mean he wasn"t just announcing the summit?”
“We already have the invitations out, and everyone has already responded. The president suggested putting a prefab room inside the classroom. It could be assembled on Friday night and taken down on Sunday.”
“George will have a canary,” said Ashley. “How are you going to do that?”
“Lois,” Jane said. “We"ve already set up a weekend vacation for them. Flying in family from Austin and California.”
* * *
FRITZ NEEDED to deal with the portal and the room across the hall. Each project needed George"s approval, and then he would need to coordinate. More of his time, and it was running out. “Compartmentalize,” he reminded himself. He headed to the office as soon as he got to school. The principal didn"t give the week an easy start.
“Fritz, how can you ask me to do all this? I"m as busy as you are. How do you know we"ll need the cafeteria? Maybe no one will come.”
“You saw the kids. They filled the auditorium. We may not have a full house every game, but the parents and the sponsors are likely to show up for the final rounds. My ninth graders have already started an advertising campaign for the entire schedule.”
“You can"t let them run wild. Advertising, charging admission, using the school all the time. I"ll never get home. The phone barely stops ringing now.”
“It"s not easy for either of us, George. Say yes or no, but I need to know. I"ll take care of the details. We"re out of time.” Fritz realized his voice was louder than it should be, and George was already turning crimson. “Sorry, George. I need to know.”
“I have to think about the cost and review the legal issue of charging admission. I"ll talk to you later.”
“Dammit, George. We charge to get into football and basketball games. What"s the difference?”
“I have things to do right now. If you"ll excuse me.”
Fritz slammed the door as he left. After the last bell, he returned to the office to apologize to George.
“I accept your apology.”
“George, I"m juggling time, and I don"t have much. I have to give the kids information about where the tournament stands and the president needs to set up for the summit. We need to let the workers get started. I"ll take care of it. But you have to decide on this stuff.”
“Okay, but the costs for the cafeteria, the auditorium, and the room can"t come from my budget.”
“The president said he would take care of the room. If we collect admission, we can use it to pay the other costs of the tournament.” Fritz hurried back to his room, trying to remember when he wouldn"t have been bothered by any of this. David Jewels was waiting for him.
“Hi Mr. R. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, David, what"s up?” He was talking to a student who was now taller than he was.
“I wanted to ask about General Lee. I saw you with him at Starbucks. He was real, Mr. R. That wasn"t any projection. Did we really time-travel?”
“Sit down, David.” Now what do I do? “How old are you now, David?”
Now what do I do?“Seventeen.”
“Two-hundred years ago, that would be old enough for you to be on your own, get married, have a family, maybe move to the wilderness. Open a*****e or study a profession or a trade. Today, you"re a student in school, getting ready to go to college. And you"re old enough to go to prison as an adult.” David listened intently. “David, wait for me in the hall, please.”
Fritz took out his phone. “Hi, Tony. Can you come to the school now, with the equipment?” He listened to a quick response. “Tell you when you get here. Thanks.” Then he dialed another number. “Hi, Mrs. Evans, is he available?”
When the president picked up, Fritz said, “A student cornered me. He saw me with Lee at Starbucks. He"s old enough to go to prison, if you get my meaning. Can you help? Will you be there in a half hour? See you then. Thanks.”
From his window, Fritz saw the new SUV pull into the parking lot. When he left the room, David was waiting. “Are we going to see the general, Mr. R?” David"s freckles looked like they were jumping. They walked to the parking-lot door, now locked for the evening, as Tony pulled to the curb.
“No, David. How"s the tournament coming?”
“My team"s doing really well. We practice a hundred questions a day. We"re not telling anyone. We think we can win.”
“Hi Fritz. What"s up?” Looking sideways at David, he raised an eyebrow.
“Tony, this is David Jewels.”
“Hello, David.”
“Hi, Mr. Almeida.”
Tony checked the parking lot before unloading. “I guess I"m not so unforgettable.”
Fritz told Tony he had been caught this time. They were going to see the president. Tony set up the generator and hooked up the doorknob. Fritz and David went into the classroom. David stood by as Fritz placed a paperclip on a brochure for a White House tour.
“Come with me, David.” Once in the hallway, Fritz pulled the door open and took a step. In front of him, the president was crossing the Oval Office.
“Come in, come in. Happy you could stop by.”
“David Jewels, I would like to introduce the president.” David held his breath as he shook hands.
“You look a bit startled, David. I know how you feel. I felt the same way the first time Mr. Russell walked through the portal and found me here. Won"t you take a seat?”
Although David was speechless, Fritz said, “Sorry to take your time, Mr. President. David was in the class that met General Lee. He saw him again when Lee came to Riverboro and was asking how that happened.”
“Pretty cool, huh, David?” Seeing the student"s obvious confusion, he patted David"s shoulder. “Now, you and I need to discuss national security. You"re the only student who knows, David. And I am going to ask you to swear an oath that you will discuss this with no one, not parents, not friends, not anyone. Mr. Russell will be giving me your address and phone number. Do you agree?” Still stunned, David nodded. “You need to say it out loud.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President.”
“Good. Now that we"ve taken care of business, can I get you a soda?”
David looked again at Fritz, who shook his head. “Mr. President, we won"t keep you. But if you would allow it, could David talk to me about this?”
“Good idea. David, you may talk only to Mr. Russell, who I give permission to tell you more. David, you have just portaled through space. Kind of like surfing. Except you don"t get wet. Now if you"ll excuse me, I"m planning to save the world.” Leading them to the door, he shook David"s hand again and told him he was a member of a special group of people.
“Mr. President,” said Fritz. “Indulge me a moment. David, take a look around and absorb it all. This is the Oval Office. That is the Resolute desk. I"ll tell you more about that later. That document on the wall is the Emancipation Proclamation. David, this is a special place.” David was too stunned to look very hard. “Time to go.”
thethetheDazed by his encounter, David said goodbye. Ashley was talking with Tony in the hallway when the door opened. He waved to the president but said nothing.
“Let"s go in, David. Tony, Ash, come with us.”
“Mr. Russell, did that really happen? Were we really at the White House?”
“What do you think, David?”
“It sure felt real. He looked like the president. He even felt real.”
This was the moment Fritz had dreaded. Did he continue lying to his student, or tell him the truth? “David, you remember what Mr. Almeida told you last spring? About the projection system.” David nodded. “And you remember we discussed time-travel as one option?” David nodded again. “David, what you just witnessed—” Fritz could feel his insides churn, “what you just did, was real.”
“Mr. R, does that mean,” he paused, “I spoke to Robert E. Lee, really?”
“David, last year, I was hit by the lightning that hit the school. Remember?” David nodded. “The day we went to Appomattox, I got a shock when I grabbed the doorknob. We found out later that some kind of connection lets me open a portal to the past or a tunnel in the present. Tony works for the government, not Hollywood. And that"s all the truth.”
“Mr. R, how have you kept this secret? It"s cool, but how do you know when it"s going to happen? Does it only work at school? Have you gone anywhere else?” The questions poured out.
“David, those are all good questions. I appreciate how quickly they came to you. Some of them I can"t answer, and the rest will have to wait. I will tell you that I saw John Wilkes Booth at Ford"s Theater and met William Shakespeare. That was General Lee at Starbucks. And you just shook hands with the president.” David rubbed his hand.
On the way home, Fritz called the president to thank him. “Mr. President, I had to decide. I hate lying to the kids, and David is impressed and scared enough to be quiet. The story is still so unbelievable that no one would swallow it.”
“I"m not concerned about him, Fritz. We"re looking at the phone traffic after my interview. So far, there hasn"t been much. But we have a line on one of the ship bombers. If we can find him, I may need your help again.”
* * *
WHEN HIS STUDENTS were gone, a stranger entered. “Are you Mr. Russell?”
“I am. Can I help you?”
“Sir, my name is Milt Chelton. I"m in charge of refitting the room across the hall. We want to start on the floor as soon as possible. I was told to speak to you.”
“Have you seen Mr. McAllister?”
“He"s the one who said to see you. Mr. Russell,” he looked around, “Tom Andrews was my friend for twenty years. I"m an agent. The crew is mainly from the service or the ops group at the airport. I know. The president said I should tell you.”
“Thanks. You understand that I can"t help you do it. And it can"t be done when the kids are here, Mr. Chelton.”
“Call me Milt.”
“Thanks, I"m Fritz. We have a wrinkle. Next week, we start a tournament, so people will be here until early evening. That leaves you nights and weekends.”
“We"d planned to do it at night.”
“Starting when?”
Tomorrow, if possible. We want to get the supplies inside.”
Fritz shook his hand and headed to the office. George frowned when he saw Fritz coming.
“I was leaving.”
“I know. I"ll be quick. The construction guys are going to start tomorrow. And we"re going to need the auditorium every day.” George was quiet. “We"ll have two or three games a day. About an hour each. That will clear the school by dinnertime. I"ve spoken to Joe Pettinelli. He agreed to help.”
“I hope this works. I keep getting calls from other schools. I don"t want to be embarrassed.”
“George, when this is done, you"ll be a hero to these kids for letting them do it. Stop worrying. The teachers have your back.”
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