The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 299

to put up with constant jibes about not leaving anything lying aboutbecause I might nick it. I had never stolen anything in my life – unless youcount the money I had taken from my mother’s bag, but that was a) an emergency,and b) in the future.

Over time, the locals became more accepting of me. I madefriends and even began to enjoy school. I wasn’t going to be able to revisitany of those carefree and responsibility-free times on this journey, though. Mytiming, being stuck in New Year for all eternity, was lousy. It was smack bangin the middle of the school holidays.

On a positive note, my birthday began to assume a greaterlevel of importance. It seemed the younger I became, the more fuss was made.Some years, this involved family gatherings, which each time brought backlong-gone family members into my life, as grandparents, uncles and aunts cameback to life and made their reappearances.

Some years brought days out with friends, including a verymemorable fifteenth birthday outing in 2001, when Mum, Rachel, Kelly and I gotto go and see the recently opened musical, The Lion King, in London.This had been one of my favourite movies as a kid and I remember begging mymother to take us to the stage show.

The tickets hadn’t been cheap and she had to book themnearly a year in advance, but it had been well worth it. Getting to see this amazingshow a second time around was a real highlight of my trip back through time.

And now it was the end of the Millennium – a significantmilepost in the life of pretty much everyone alive at that time. The human racewas saying goodbye to a century that had brought amazing technologicaldevelopments from the aeroplane to the internet that had completely changed theworld. Now, they were putting all of that behind them and wondering what thisbrave new dawn would bring.

I was in the unique and position of having already seen it.Most were looking to the new century with optimism, but was it misplaced? Iknew that, despite further advances, the first quarter of a century would bringdifficult times: more wars, more pollution and great political upheaval.

Above all else, the world would change forever on September11th 2001 with the terror attacks in America. But the world was blissfullyunaware of this now, and as I looked at the faces all around me, I sawsomething I saw every New Year – hope.

Hope was something of which I was in short supply. Buttonight, I had resolved that I must put all that behind me and make the most toenjoy the evening.

I was at my grandparents’ house in Botley, where they hadinvited family and friends from far and wide to celebrate this special year.There were about forty people there all told, spread out around the kitchen,living room and conservatory.

The evening had been a source of delight for me. It hadgiven me the chance to catch up with many long-lost family members. My UncleDerek and his family had come down from Banbury to join us. He had twodaughters, Kirsty and Karen, who were a little older than me and Rachel. Theyhad got into drinking and boys before we did, and we both looked up to them.They were also very handy for smuggling drink in our direction at these sortsof gatherings.

Uncle Derek had proved to be tremendous entertainment valuethroughout the evening, with his ongoing attempts to convince everyone that theMillennium bug was about to strike, bringing the world to an end.

Despite being only in his mid-forties, Derek was quite anold-fashioned man, as amply demonstrated by both his attire, an old-fashionedbeige suit, and his attitudes. These included not only a deep suspicion ofanything foreign, but also a mistrust of any new technology.

“I’m telling you,” I heard him saying to my mother, “peoplemight take the piss, but they won’t be laughing when planes start dropping outof the sky at midnight. I’ve been preparing for this for weeks.”

“Don’t I know it?” chipped in his wife, my Aunty Carol. “I’msick of tripping over the boxes of candles all over the house.”

I liked my Aunty Carol. She was in her late-forties aroundthis time and wore way too much perfume and make-up to cover up her years. Iremembered the constant banter she and her husband used to have whenever Iencountered them in my youth.

“You may scoff, my dear,” replied Derek, taking a puff onhis old-fashioned pipe and holding it out in front of him as if that somehowgave him an air of wisdom and authority. “But you’ll be glad of those candlestomorrow night – and the Calor Gas stove.”

“Yes, and I’m sick of that bloody thing cluttering up thehallway too,” replied Carol.

“Covered every base, I have,” continued Derek, ignoring hiswife’s remark. “That Brian next door, he thinks I’m a nutter, but I’m going tobe the one laughing tomorrow night when he’s freezing cold and begging to comein and get warm in front of my wood-burner.”

“Ooh, you’ve got a wood-burner, now?” asked my mother.

“Yes, and that’s set us back a fair few bob, as well,”complained Carol. “It’s dirty, smelly and messy. Then there are all the logs wehave to lug into the house. I swear they’ve got things living in them. When Icame down this morning, there were silverfish running around on the kitchenfloor and we’ve never had them before.”

“You can’t beat a real fire, though,” replied my mother.

“Don’t encourage him,” said Carol. “Tomorrow morning, whenall this is over, all that stuff he’s piled up everywhere is going straightback in the garage. And if he insists on using that wood-burner, he can cleanit out himself.”

“If you say, so dear,” replied Derek condescendingly.

“If it’s going to bad as you say, how come you are herenow?” asked my mother. “Shouldn’t you be at home, preparing for the worst?”

“Well, I was invited and I couldn’t let the family down,could I?” he replied.

“More like you didn’t want to miss out on all the free foodand booze on offer,” retorted his wife.

“What’s that awful racket?” complained Derek, decidingwisely to change the subject. The music, which had already been distinctlymodern for the