By Harry Jenkins and Jett Black
In celebration of the impending release of their second adventure novel - Partners in Time Meet A Boy Called Romulus, I have invited Harry and Jett to be guests on our blog post today.
So... take it away boys.
“Oi wake up.”
Harry rolled over, opened one sleepy eye and peered at Jett.
“What?”
“Get up… sleepyhead.”
“Why?”
As Harry’s eyes lost their sleepy sheen, he began to see why Jett was waking him up. A sea of faces stared back at him.
“Jesus! What the heck is going on?”
Even while saying the words, Harry was pushing himself upright and looking around. When he went to sleep last night, he was sure he had been on a mattress on the floor of Jett’s bedroom. Normally he and Jett would share a bed but since the surgery, Jett needed space. But now…
“I have no idea,” said Jett while trying to keep his mouth closed.
“This…” Harry looked around. He was about to say this wasn’t Jett’s room, but it sort of was. The bed was the same, the chest of drawers was the name, even Jett’s underwear and socks, casually discarded the previous night, were the same. But while Jett’s room had four walls and a door, this place did not.
Instead, there were three walls.
One behind them with…
“Holy crap… your window is just a painting.”
“I know.”
And the two side walls, including the door. But the other wall was missing. And in its place – rows of seats with people on them.
Watching them.
Harry felt very self-conscious. Especially since he had gone to sleep without a shirt on. A hot night in Queenstown.
He pulled up his sheet.
“What do they want?”
“How do I know?” said Jett.
“Well… ask them!”
Harry hadn’t meant to sound mad, but he knew it came across that way.
“Sorry…”
“All good.”
Jett cleared his throat.
“Umm… excuse me… what are you all doing in my room?’
Nothing.
“Try again.”
“Hello?” said Jett, “you in the seats… watching us… can you tell us what’s going on?”
Then something remarkable happened. There was a ping, and words appeared in the air, floating between them and the audience.
Harry was so startled that he said an unrepeatable word.
A lady in the audience immediately put her hands over her two sons ears.
“Sorry,” said Harry, “it slipped out.”
It felt foolish… apologising like that, but what else can you do?
“Hang on…” said Jett, “it’s backwards writing… mirror writing.”
He was right. Both boys concentrated. Jett read the words out slowly.
“A very special guest blog feat Harry and Jett.”
Harry turned to him.
“What the heck is a blog and what does it have to with our feet?”
“Feat, means featuring,” said Jett, “and a blog is like…”
He looked thoughtful.
“I think it’s like where people ramble on. Like a reel or a tiktok but in writing instead of being on video.”
Harry gave him a look.
“Can you use English please?”
PING
More words.
“What does it say now?’
“Umm… to Celebrate the impending launch of Partners in Time Meet A Boy Called Romulus.”
Jett turned to Harry.
“Hey… we know a boy called Romulus!”
“Yeah,” said Harry, “I think that’s who they’re talking about.”
“Oh… okay,” said Jett, but looking confused. Harry felt quite uncomfortable. Did everyone just have to watch without saying anything?
“You know you can speak,” he said, “we can hear you.”
Then something happened. A bunch of people pulled out their phones. Harry knew what a modern mobile telephone looked like. To him the technology was pretty much magic. Except it couldn’t travel in time. You had to go more old school with your technology for that.
But now the people were doing something.
Suddenly the floor around them both started shaking. Harry yelped and jumped up onto the bed with Jett. The room was shaking a lot now and even the bed seemed to be dancing around the floor.
Which opened up.
And… there’s no other way to describe this… a whole lot of shapes started to emerge, floating up from the floor and towards the ceiling.
Red hearts. Yellow thumbs. Even disembodied yellow cartoon heads with big smiles and big eyes. It was very, very strange.
Harry reached out and tried to touch one… but it had no substance. It was like it wasn’t there.
This was a most extraordinary situation.
“Harry?”
“Yes Jett.”
“I feel funny.”
Harry looked at his arm. It was sort of shimmering. He felt himself lift off the bed.
“Jett!”
“Hold my hand Harry… I’m coming too.”
The two of them floated off their bed and then the whole room fell away. Now they were just surrounded by hearts, thumbs and smiling faces.
PING
More words appeared… because of course they did… up in the sky above them.
‘In all good online bookstores November 27th 2024.’
A flash of white light and everything went white.
“Harry…” Jett’s voice was so far away now.
“Find me…” said Harry, his own voice seeming to float away, “…in our next adventure.”
He could smell something really good now. His mouth was watering.
“See you soon!”
And then there was just toastie - and all was right with the world.
Comments