Free Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes

the back seat, and some kind of gas to pump in, so as soon as we went “Are we nearly—” they could freeze us. Five hours later when the car got to Cornwall they’d just hit the defrost button and we’d go “there yet?”.’
    Freddy chuckled. ‘That would be the tops! Imagine—I could freeze Polly and never have to hear her drooling over Miss Rosebud all the way to the seaside! When we find Father, I’m going to get him to invent that! It’d sell like hot cakes! Good grief! Is this yours ?’ He pulled a hanger out, from which dangled a colourful floral Hawaiian-style shirt, which Ben had worn to a beach barbecue last summer. Freddy was looking at it incredulously. ‘It’s your mother’s, right? In the wrong wardrobe.’
    Ben bit his lip. ‘Didn’t you ever see Elvis in that kind of gear?’
    Freddy squinted at him. ‘Elvis?’
    ‘Yeah! Elvis! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Elvis Presley!’
    Freddy stuffed the shirt back in the wardrobe. ‘Elvis Presley … Oh— that Elvis. Yes—I’ve heard of him. He’s an American, isn’t he? I think he’s doing quite well in the popular music charts with his song— top ten, I think. My chum Frankie’s got the record. He thinks it’s whizzer. He does this lunatic dance to it, all hips wiggling and stuff. What’s it called? Something about a hotel, I think.’
    ‘“Heartbreak Hotel”,’ said Ben, at once. He wasn’t really into Elvis, but his mum had a ‘Best of Elvis’ CD which she sometimes played at parties.
    ‘Yes—that’s it. Gosh. He must have made it to number one then. Father thought he was dreadful. I thought he was a bit of a peacock, really. He sounds as if he’s being hit in the chest with a road drill. Did he do well then?’
    Ben laughed. ‘You have no idea !’
    ‘Well, I can see I’m going to have to go back down the hatch,’ said Freddy, closing the wardrobe door decisively. ‘There’s no way I’m wearing your stuff! Honestly! Your clothes are all shiny, like girls’ clothes. I prefer to look like a boy!’
    ‘With a haircut like that ?’ retorted Ben. ‘You look like the Prince of Wales. And trust me—that is not a look you want in 2009!’ His own hair was a fairly credible mess. In spite of all the drama of the past couple of hours, Freddy’s straight dark brown hair was still neatly parted to one side. ‘Anyway, that’s just party gear. I normally wear T-shirts and jeans. Don’t you have any jeans?’
    Freddy shrugged. ‘Not me. Some of the town boys do, but Father says they’re working men’s trousers. I think they’re all right, actually. Wouldn’t mind some. The Americans wear them all the time, according to Poll. She wants some.’
    ‘Do you think she’ll be OK?’ said Ben. Polly seemed very young compared to Rachel, even though he now knew they were about the same age.
    ‘What, Poll? Certainly. She’s tough as old boots, that girl. She’ll stop the blubbing soon and start having fun. She’s just worried about Father.’
    ‘Aren’t you?’ asked Ben. He knew he would have been blubbing worse than Polly if his father had vanished without trace and was wanted for murder. Freddy stood up straight and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his grey flannel shorts.
    ‘As I see it, this is a mystery,’ he said. ‘Nobody knows anything for sure, so what’s the point of blubbing about it? I want to find out what’s happened to him, of course.’
    ‘B-but, even if he’s still alive he’d be … what … ninety—a hundred?’
    ‘Ninety-one,’ said Freddy. ‘And he is still alive. I’m certain of it. I’ll get a good night’s sleep and some decent food in me—that’s if you still have decent food in 2009—and then I’m going to search for him. First thing in the morning. Until I find him. Emersons don’t give up. That’s what Father always said and that’s why he did such amazing things. You wait, Ben—you’ll see. I’ll find him. Emersons don’t give up.’
    Ben nodded,