Group Writing Project #2
Okay, this was done rather fast, but when I tried to access my e-mail yesterday, it didn't work, so I had a little extra time on my hands (hey-if you can't e-mail about Trixie, why not write?...I seriously have to check into rehab soon...)
The Time Warp Mystery
By Amy
Trixie Belden stirred slightly as the sunlight began to stream through her windows. Groggily rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she slowly rose and walked downstairs.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open with astonishment. Although the scent of fresh baked bread was familiar, her surroundings weren't. Granted, the Crabapple Farm kitchen she was used to was by no means modern, lacking the dishwasher that Trixie wished for so desperately. However, gone were the electric stove, refrigerator, and other appliances she had grown accustomed to. In their place was a big, black wood-burning stove and a large wooden wash bucket.
"Katherina! What are you doing walking around in your nightgown? Get dressed immediately! I need your help with the laundry today." A voice behind Trixie made her jump. Turning around, she was amazed to see a strange woman dressed in a full, floor-length housedress, complete with an apron. Only then, did Trixie look down at what she was wearing. To her horror, she found herself in a frilly, old-fashioned nightgown, instead of her normal cotton pajamas.
"Katherina! Please, honey, go change! We have a lot to do today!"
Totally perplexed, Trixie looked around for Mart, wondering if this was one of his practical jokes, even though it was more elaborate than anything she could have imagined. Finally, she turned to the woman and asked, "What happened to the kitchen and why do you keep calling me Katherina?"
The woman looked up at her in surprise. "I call you Katherina, because that's what your father and I decided to name you when you were born, and the kitchen is the same as it has been since I married your father and moved here." Not giving Trixie a chance to reply, the woman handed Trixie a stick. "Here. When you get back from changing, I want you to stir the laundry while I pour the warm water." Wordlessly, Trixie walked back up the stairs to her bedroom, slightly afraid of the clothing she would find there.
Hours later, Trixie found herself trudging up the hill towards Ten Acres with a basket of food her new mother had prepared, since Mrs. Frayne was not feeling well. Of course she's not feeling well, Trixie thought grumpily as she lifted the long skirt she had been forced to wear, to keep it from dragging in the mud. She's been dead since before I was born. At that moment, Trixie felt one of her boots sink slightly in the mud. Groaning, Trixie yanked on the muddy boot, only to feel her foot slip out of the shoe. Bending down to try to extract the boot, she suddenly lost her balance and fell into the mud puddle.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the lovely Miss Belden. Is mud the latest style from New York, or are you trying a new fashion statement?"
Trixie looked up to see a familiar red-head. "Jim!" she exclaimed. "Am I glad to see you! You've got to help me! This woman posing as my mother is making me do the laundry by hand and calling me strange names!"
The young man gave her an odd look as he helped her out of the mud puddle. "Katherina, how else would you do laundry? And speaking of strange names, when did you start calling me Jim? James isn't good enough anymore?"
Trixie felt her head beginning to throb. She had been sure that the honorable Jim would feel sorry for her. Mart must really be bribing these people, Trixie thought.
"Fine, James," Trixie said in frustration. "Here is a basket of food for your family since Mrs. Frayne isn't feeling well. And when you are done delivering it, you can tell Mart that he better return the few modern conveniences we had at Crabapple Farm or he can do all the dishes himself from now on."
James ran a hand through his red hair. "Katherina? Are you feeling okay? Who is Mart?"
"Oh, I'm great," Trixie snapped.
James decided to change the subject. "Speaking of modern conveniences, did you hear that the new owner of the Manor House got one of those horseless carriage things? It's down at the Gatehouse. Do you want to see it?" He paused, grinning at her mud-splattered dress. "Of course, I don't know if the rich and famous are ready for the 'I fell in a mud puddle' look."
Trixie shook her head. "I'm not going back home. If I show up in this dress, I'll be expected to wash it. Believe me, I've done enough laundry today to last me a lifetime. We're just going to the clubhouse anyway. Everyone there has seen me in a state of disarray often enough."
"Clubhouse? The automobile is at the Gatehouse." James shrugged and continued. "If you don't want to change, that's fine with me, but I'd think you'd want to look your best, since they hired Tom, that guy from the Nickelodeon that you have a crush on, to be their chauffeur."
"You think I have a crush on Tom? He's married!" Trixie exclaimed.
"Since when?" James snorted. "Did he tell you that?"
Trixie felt herself beginning to get angry. "Just forget it! Let's go." She headed towards the familiar path, astounded to find that it didn't seem quite the same as she had remembered. The old, large trees she normally used to guide her way seemed a lot smaller. Maybe I never paid much attention them before, Trixie thought, brushing aside a growing uneasiness. For some reason, she didn't think Mart, despite his knowledge of plants, could make trees magically smaller.
As the two approached the clearing, Trixie gasped in surprise. The normally quiet and secluded clubhouse was full of activity. A well-worn dirt driveway now ran by the building, where only grass and underbrush had been before. Two men stood by a beautiful, shiny antique automobile parked on the driveway in front of the gatehouse. Or at least I think it's antique. Trixie found that she was not sure of anything.
"Why can't you get this thing to work?" one of the men asked. "Mr. Perkins is going to be livid if he can't show off his new car."
"Hey, you're the chauffeur! I'm just being nice and trying to help you with this broken down automobile."
"Mr. Perkins?" Trixie whispered to James. "What happened to Mr. Wheeler?"
"Mr. Who?"
At that moment, they heard someone approaching on the path. As a short, slightly overweight man emerged into the clearing, he frantically went up to one of the men. "Tom!" he exclaimed. "You've...gotta bring... the car around...quickly. Mr....Perkins wants...big picture...of...the new automobile...on...front page of the first...issue of...his new...newspaper, The Sleepyside Sun. There's someone...with...camera...at Manor House...right now." He paused for a moment, trying to catch his breath.
Trixie's eyebrows raised sharply. That short, fair-headed man is Tom? And the first issue of The Sleepyside Sun came out in 1908...Uh-oh.
"Well, you're going to have to ask them to wait," Tom said. As the man from the house looked at the long path back with a look of chagrin, Tom sighed and said, "Use that new telephone contraption that Mr. Perkins put in the Gatehouse to call instead of walking back."
A look of relief appeared on the man's face. Too out of breath to reply, he nodded and entered the building. A moment later, he came back to the clearing. "Tom?" he asked breathlessly, "I tried,..but..can't catch my breath...long enough to speak. They...just hung...up...on me."
Sighing again, Tom turned to walk in the gatehouse. Suddenly, he noticed James and Trixie standing there. "Come on, kids. This is private property. Go home."
Trixie stood dumbfounded at the idea of being kicked off of Manor House property, but James shrugged and turned to leave. "Come on," he started. "You've gotta meet this sorcerer I met when I got lost in the woods last week. He sells spells and potions and everything."
The mention of "magic" caused Trixie to look at him sharply. Maybe the man in the woods could help her out of her crazy situation. She turned to follow James through the woods.
An hour later, Trixie wearily collapsed on a rock. James looked at the trees surrounding them and scratched his head, "Now I know it's somewhere around here...I just can't remember where."
Trixie sighed. The person in front of her was definitely not Jim. She could not believe they were lost..
James dropped to the ground in front of her. "Sorry, Katherina. It's way past luncheon, too. I wish I had something to offer you."
"Yeah, how about some Cheez-its and a Coca-Cola?" Trixie said in frustration.
"Cheez-whats? Where are you coming up with all these strange names today?" Sensing Trixie's anger, he quickly continued. "Tell you what. When we get back, I'll take you into town and treat you to a Coca-Cola. You know, I've always wondered what that secret ingredient is...Oh well, should we try to find our way out of here."
Trixie rose slowly, too tired and drained from her predicament to keep up with his chatter.
James and Trixie walked through woods which would eventually become the Game Preserve to the river. Finally reaching the Hudson, the two tried to look through the dense fog on the river which had settled in beneath them.
"Aha!" James finally exclaimed. "There's the path! Follow me to the house of spells. Maybe we can buy a potion to make Tom fall in love with you."
Trixie rolled her eyes and started down the path. Suddenly, out of no where a large, black cat jumped out at them. Although Trixie was startled at first, she had to laugh when the cat started rolling around in the tall grass.
"It reminds me of "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd. You know,'The lunatic is on the grass...'"
James looked at her in exasperation. "Who?"
"You know! Pink Floyd. My favorite band. Yours, too, actually. Well, not actually yours..."
He held out his hand to stop her. "Let me guess, me in another life, right? What's gotten into you Katherina? Maybe I shouldn't take you to meet the sorcerer. You might actually take him seriously."
"No, I want to meet him," Trixie said quickly, starting down the path again. More than you know!
Trixie had to admit the small cottage in the woods was rather creepy. She moved a little closer to James as he knocked on the door, although from the way he had gotten lost in the woods practically in his backyard, she wasn't sure he would be much help if things went awry. Give me the real Jim Frayne any day! Trixie thought.
Slowly, the door creaked open. Trixie held her breath as she waited for someone, or something, to appear in front of them. Suddenly, she let out a sigh of relief as someone familiar materialized. "Old Brom!" she exclaimed. "You've got to help me!"
"Trixie Belden? What are you doing here?" What Trixie could see of Old Brom's wrinkled face behind his long whiskers was fixed in a perplexed expression.
"I don't know! When I woke up this morning, I found out someone redecorated our kitchen, we do laundry by hand, the Wheelers don't live at Manor House anymore, everyone is really excited about some stupid car, and I have to wear a dress!"
"Uh-oh! This is all my fault! I really shouldn't have done it, but Bobby wanted to meet someone who used to live at Crabapple Farm a long time ago. We chose your great-aunt and I gave him a spell. He's so hard to resist, you know. Instead of just bringing Katherina to your time, I must have included a switching element, and so you ended up here. Hmmm. This is a predicament."
He strolled over to a shelf which contained various oddly shaped bottles, and other interesting trinkets. As he began searching the shelves, he called back to her, "So, have you been properly introduced James Winthrop Frayne? He looks remarkably like his grandnephew, doesn't he? Ah, here's what I'm looking for." Old Brom pulled a hideous looking shrunken head from it's resting place on the top shelf.
Trixie gasped. "What are you going to do with that?"
Old Brom began extracting several odd-colored bottles from the shelf and preparing a mixture. "I'm not going to do anything with it. You are. In order to get back to the Sleepyside you know, you have to drink this potion and then throw this shrunken head into the Hudson River. It's lucky some peddler stopped by last week and I bought it, or else I don't know what we'd do." Finishing his mixture, he poured it into a bottle and handed it to her. "Okay, now all you need to do is go to the river, drink the potion, turn around three times and throw the shrunken head in the Hudson. If all goes well, you'll be back to your own life when you wake up in the morning."
Trixie gingerly picked up the horrific head. James looked at her with his mouth wide open. "I can't believe you are touching that thing!" he exclaimed.
Trixie just ignored him. Turning to Old Brom, she said, "I hope this works."
Old Brom scratched his whiskers. "I hope so, too. I've never tried this particular spell."
Trixie groaned inwardly. "Old Brom?" she began. "Promise me one thing, okay? Never give Bobby any more spells. He may appear cute, but he really is a fiend."
Old Brom smiled and nodded his head. "Good luck!" he called to James and Trixie as they headed down the path to the river.
"Isn't that guy a scream!" James said. "Imagine calling you Trixie and saying I look like my grandnephew!" He looked at the shrunken head. "So are you going to toss that thing in the river?"
"Absolutely," was Trixie's reply as they approached the Hudson. Removing the cap from the bottle of potion, she muttered under her breath, "Here goes nothing." Tipping back the bottle, she quickly finished its foul tasting contents, turned around three times, and tossed the shrunken head into the river. Watching it float for awhile, she finally turned to James. "Let's get out of here. This time, though, follow me through the woods."
"Hey, Katherina?" James glanced nervously at Trixie.
"What?"
"I'm sorry we couldn't get your love potion for Tom."
"Believe me, it's okay," Trixie replied.
James looked up sharply. "Really?" he said, a little too earnestly.
"Um, do you still want to go into town and get a soda when we get back?" he asked shyly, looking down at the ground.
Oh my goodness! Trixie thought as a realization hit her. Jim Frayne's great-uncle has a crush on my great-aunt. Mart would have a hey-day with this one.
Shaking that thought out of her head, she replied, "Sure, why not?" She couldn't help smiling inwardly, as a huge grin lit up the face that was so familiar to her. I really hope this spell works, she thought as she and James started down the path.
For a brief moment as she awoke, Trixie lay in her bed peacefully. Suddenly, she sat up straight as she remembered all that had happened. Jumping out of bed, she ran down the stairs. Entering the kitchen, she looked around frantically. To her relief, there was no wash bucket waiting for her. Instead, she found Mart and Brian staring at her, each holding a spoonful of cereal mid-air.
"Trix?" Brian began tentatively. "Are you okay?"
"I'm wonderful!" she began, running around the kitchen, touching all the various appliances to make sure they were real. "Look! We have a refrigerator! And I'm wearing pajamas!" With that, she turned and ran back up the stairs.
For a brief moment, neither of the two boys moved. Finally, Mart put down his spoon, turned to his older brother and said, "I think this time it's just best not to ask."
Nodding, Brian went back to eating his cereal.
The End