Foxworth Academy by Chris Blewitt Page A

another universe.”
    The kids were more confused than ever and Mr. Martin noticed.  “Listen folks, it’s quite simple.  Nothing will ever happen to our universe by what we change in the past.  The universe Brett and Ally travel to will change, but only if they succeed in their mission, of course.  Now, let’s move on from this subject.  Now, what else about the Titanic?”
    Two hands shot up, including Beckam’s, again.
    “I assume this is not about time travel and changing history, Mr. Beckam?”
    His hand went down and the teacher called on a girl in the front.
    “I heard somewhere about the Unsinkable Molly Brown,” she said.
    “Very good, Michelle.  Although she is in the movie too.  Molly Brown was in lifeboat number six and urged the crewmen in charge of that boat to go back and pick up more survivors, going so far as to pick up an oar herself.  It’s unclear whether or not this worked because most people who went in the water died of hypothermia within minutes.  And speaking of temperatures—who can tell me what the temperature was that night?
    “Forty,” came a reply from the class.
    “Nope.”
    “Thirty-six.”
    “No.”
    “Thirty-two, freezing,” said a boy in the back.
    Mr. Martin grabbed his notebook and put on his glasses.  “The captain of the Californian, the ship closest to the Titanic at the time of the tragedy, submitted his log book of air and water temperature.  According to him, at 4am, the temperature of the air and the water were the same: twenty-nine degrees.”
    A few students opened their mouths in astonishment.  “That’s below freezing, how come the water wasn’t frozen?” someone asked.
    “Well, there are a couple of reasons.  First, the water was only that temperature for a few hours.  Once the sun rises, the water warms up as well.  Second, the currents and tides provide a lot of movement in the ocean, making it harder for it to freeze.  And third, the ocean is salt water, not freshwater, making it even more difficult to freeze.  It would take below freezing temperatures for a long time in order to make, well, an iceberg.”  Mr. Martin glanced at the clock on the wall and said, “Geez, look at the time.  Brett, Ally, let’s get you back in there.”
    Brett and Ally anxiously got out of their seats and followed Mr. Martin to the utility closet and down the stairs.  They changed into their 1912 clothes and lay down on the reclining chairs.
    “Sorry, but this is going to be a quick trip today.  Do what you can in the short amount of time you have.  Good luck.”
    The shields slid over them and the familiar voice boomed overhead reminding them of the rules and finally, “Your mission: Save.”

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    T hey awoke lying down again, as they had on the first day.  Brett sat straight up and bumped his head, hard.
    “Awwooo!” he said, lying back down.
    “What happened?” Ally called out. 
    To the left, there was a wall, and to the right, an open space.  The ceiling was about a foot and a half above his head.  Ally’s face appeared right next to him.
    “Hey,” he said.
    She smiled at him.  “You’re in a bunk bed.”
    He rubbed his forehead, carefully propping himself up on his elbows and said, “Wish Mr. Martin had told us that before.”  He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and jumped down to the floor.
    The bunk beds were small, with wooden frames that were pushed against the wall.  The entire room was smaller than his bedroom.  The floor was simple off-white linoleum tile, and there was a couch on the opposite wall of the beds, a chest of drawers, and a small sink attached to the wall.
    “So, we’re on the Titanic?” Brett asked, still rubbing his head.
    “Guess so.”
    “That just seems so incredible, doesn’t it?”
    “It’s crazy,” she replied.  “Let’s go.  I wonder if we left the port yet.”
    Ally opened the cabin door and entered a carpeted hallway with rooms on both sides.  It was very well lit