Page 37 of Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora 1)

lf. Tears began to fall, and the more she fought to stop them, the harder she cried. Why can’t I control my emotions?

Kaevin wrapped her in his arms. “Please don’t cry. It’s all right. We’re alive, and you’re an amazing bearer. You were fantastic today. Please don’t cry.”

The door banged open, and the light flipped on.

“What are you doing in here?” yelled Charles. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you! We thought you were dead! Caught in the storm! Drowned in the lake! Lost in the blizzard! And you were hiding out in your bedroom? Your friends stayed here to help me search for you! We were just getting ready to call the sheriff’s department!”

“But Uncle Charles—”

“I don’t even want to hear it. I’ve heard enough, and I’ve seen enough. I’m so disappointed in you, Alora!” He slammed the door and walked out.

*****

An hour later, Charles still refused to listen to anything Alora had to say. By that time, she and Kaevin had already told their entire story to Beth and Wesley, who had stayed so long to help with the search they could no longer safely drive to their homes in the snowstorm.

“I don’t know what to do,” said Alora, pacing in front of the couch while the others lounged on the furniture. “I’ve got to make him listen to me.”

“He’s pretty mad,” said Beth. “But only because he loves you.” She cocked her head to the side. “Could you move? I can’t see the TV screen.”

“What’s that?” asked Kaevin, pointing at the scene on television.

“An airplane,” Wesley answered. “But that’s an older version called a biplane, because this movie takes place during World War I.”

“And I lost my best coat—that thing cost a fortune. He’s going to be even more upset when he finds out,” Alora fretted.

“I’m thinking we probably won’t have school tomorrow,” said Wesley.

“How does that solve my problem?” asked Alora.

He shrugged. “It doesn’t. I’m just excited about the idea of no school.”

“Do you think they’ll cancel the dance, too?” asked Beth.

“I’m a good dancer,” said Kaevin. “Do you think you can help me not embarrass Alora with my clothes?”

“Oh, yeah—I brought you some clothes,” said Wesley.

“Perhaps you can teach me some of your dances, Beth,” Kaevin said.

Alora glared at them. “How can you talk about that stupid dance? I need someone to figure out how to convince my uncle I wasn’t in bed with Kaevin.”

“But you were in bed with me.”

“Different kind of in bed,” Beth clarified. “Mr. Whitford thinks you two were... intimate.”

Kaevin’s eyebrows flew up. His mouth opened and closed a few times, without making a sound. “Uh, uh, most certainly, we didn’t do that—we’re not married yet.”

“I don’t know about where you’re from, but around here, it happens without people being married,” said Beth.

“Well, not in Laegenshire.” He stared at the television screen and pointed again. “What are those things?”

“Those are bombs,” said Wesley. “The planes drop them over the towns and when they hit, they explode and destroy buildings and kill people.”

“Is this real?” asked Kaevin. “Is this happening somewhere?”

“It’s just a movie, kind of like telling a story. But it’s based on something real—World War I really happened,” Wesley explained.

“I’m thinking maybe you guys did some kind of time travel,” said Beth. “How else could Kaevin be so clueless?”