Free Foxworth Academy by Chris Blewitt Page B

history class, boys?” Krista asked as they took their seats.
    “Kinda boring,” Frankie said.
    Brett looked over at Frankie in amazement.  Boring? he thought.  Even if he hadn’t stood in Brett’s shoes, the class was far from boring.  They were traveling back in time!  They were witnessing history first hand.  One of the greatest disasters of the twentieth century was happening right in front of them.  And it was up to Brett to stop it.
    “Boring?  Really?” Krista asked.
    “Maybe for some people,” Brett replied defensively.  He met eyes with Frankie who said nothing.
    “Well, please fill us in.  If you can,” Krista said.
    Brett just smiled at her and Krista returned the smile. 
    “Brett, are you coming to the movies with us or going on your baseball trip?” Liam asked.
    “Dude, you asked me that this morning.  I’ll talk to my dad about it when I get home.”
    When it was Brett’s turn to go up to the lunch line, he stood behind Krista, grabbing a tray from the stack nearby. 
    “Hey, Brett,” a voice behind him called.  It was Ally.  Both Brett and Krista turned.
    “Hey,” he replied.  He could feel Krista’s gaze on the back of his head.
    “Umm,” Ally noticed Krista looking at them and tried to be as discreet as possible.  “I think we should, you know, talk about the history project a little.  Can I call you after school?”
    “Ahh, yeah,” Brett replied.  “I’ll give you my number.”
    “Okay.”
    When Brett turned back around, he noticed Krista still was looking at him, the gap between her and the next person in line increasing.  She turned away and moved forward in the line.
    “History project, eh?” she inquired.
    “Yeah, it’s nothing really.”
    “Sounds like something.”
    He moved forward and placed chicken tenders and French fries on his plate, grabbed a blue Gatorade, paid with his meal card and went back to the lunch table.  They ate their lunch without much conversation.  Brett wrote his name and phone number on a piece of paper, aware Krista was looking over his shoulder while he did it.  After lunch was over, he went over to Ally’s table.  “Here’s my number.  I have baseball practice at six but should be home by eight or eight-thirty.”
    “Okay, cool,” Ally replied.  They both smiled.  “Talk to you then.”
    Brett walked back over to his table as the bell rang, and without saying goodbye to anyone, he grabbed his things and made his way out of the cafeteria.  In the background, a jealous and envious Krista sat alone, sulking over this interaction between Brett and Ally.

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    B aseball practice was uneventful that evening.  Brett’s mind was clouded with thoughts about the Titanic and what the following day might bring.  He fielded routine ground balls while playing second base and shortstop.  He took batting practice without any sort of enthusiasm.  His coach noticed this, stopping him after swinging and missing and asking him what was on his mind.  Brett shrugged and just said he was preoccupied with school, to which the coach stressed the importance of the tournament over the weekend.  Brett focused in, launching two straight balls over the left fielders head.
    After practice was over, Brett caught a ride home from one of the other kids, showered, and went to his room.  He stared at his phone, waiting for it to ring.  He couldn’t wait to talk to Ally, but his eagerness was curbed by his apprehension.  He had no idea what to say to such an extremely good looking girl. 
    Brett’s phone rang.  He stood up and walked to the window.  “Hello?”
    “Brett?  Hey, it’s Ally,” came the soft voice on the other end.
    “Hey, how’s it goin’?”
    “Okay.  Is this still a good time for a quick chat?”
    “Yeah, yeah,” he replied.
    “Cool.  So how awesome is this class?”
    “Pretty sweet so far.”
    “I know.  Have you told anyone about it?”
    “No way.  You?”
    “No,” Ally replied.  “I