Tina's Gimmick Read online

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  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "Oh! It's a watch!" And pretty old and funky looking, I thought but didn't add. The watch had a huge dial with numbers neatly spaced. The watchstrap was deep brown leather and it was all wrinkled and looked worn out. There were green and blue stem-winders, and that was odd because as far as I knew, a watch only had a single stem-winder. The watch was odd too. It looked really old, but at the same time the design was modern. It was as if I was holding the first wristwatch in the world. Granny sat down beside me and sighed.

  "Well its time I let you on the secret." She said. I waited as she took a deep breath. "You're thirteen now, and its time you know the secret. This watch…is MAGIC!"

  I laughed. "I get it! But it won't work Granny. You'll tell me that I will be able to make friends when I wear this watch, but this watch is actually ordinary and you're telling me this to build up my confidence."

  Granny frowned heavily. "Yeah! I am so dumb. You caught me red-handed." She said sarcastically. "Now if you're done with your pitiable theory, can we get back to serious business?" I nodded and put my hands over my mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter.

  "Well, I knew you wouldn't believe. No one ever does. That's why you get a free trial. Here!" she hastily put on the watch on my wrist. I was sure the leather strap wouldn't hold and would snap easily. But surprisingly it held. "See this thingamajig? This is a pin and you pull it out to stop time."

  “Umm…okay, is the time on this thing wrong and I need to adjust it?”

  “It will stop TIME.” She said with wide excited eyes.

  I glanced at my Granny. She's probably pulling my leg, I thought. But Granny looked at me pretty seriously, and I gulped. Suddenly I felt nervous. I shifted uncomfortably in the couch and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear.

  "What's going on?" I asked her. She stared at me as if I had lost it or something. But suddenly she glanced at my skirt.

  "How did you get that stain on your new dress?" she asked. I looked at my skirt and gasped. There was a big brown stain of chocolate frosting.

  "Mom's going to kill me!" I yelled. “When did I even drop this? Ugh!” I quickly took a few tissues from the side table and started to wipe of the stain, but all I managed to do was rub the stain even more firmly. Instead of helping me out, Granny just smiled.

  "Well we can't let that happen, now can we?" she said and smiled broadly. "Now this is what you're going to do. I want you to pull out this pin and turn it back to this dash right below 2. It's twelve fifteen now. So I guess that should do it." She tapped a finger on her chin as if calculating something in her mind. “Yes, that was when we had cut your cake.”

  I stared at Granny. "What?" I asked dumbly. "What should do it?"

  "Wow! You really need to work on your sentence structure. Just do as I say!" Granny said. "Trust me okay!" I glanced at my Granny nervously and then pulled out the pin cautiously. Suddenly, everything froze. Even the air seemed to hang heavily. I stared at Granny and noticed that she had frozen too. I gulped and quickly turned the pin to where Granny had told me to and gasped as suddenly the room started to spin wildly.

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  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I put my hands on my face so that I wouldn't have to see what would happen. What had I done? Was something terrible going to happen? I could still feel the room spinning and now I felt as if someone was pushing me back- firmly but gently. Suddenly everything seemed to stand still. I opened my eyes warily and prepared to see something…weird! I was shocked at the scene before my eyes. I found myself sitting on a chair, forty minutes ago, and staring at my birthday cake, which had been eaten minutes ago. What was even more astonishing was that, although I could move about, everyone else seemed frozen.

  I stared at the wristwatch in disbelief. The pin I had pulled was sticking out. I knew what I had to do, but I was kind of scared too. It was just too weird! I put my forefinger on the pin and gently pushed it back. Suddenly the room came alive.

  "Blow out the candle and make a wish!" my Mom said.

  "Come on, I'm getting hungry!" Grandmother said. I stared at both of them and realized that I had indeed gone back in the past!

  "Come on!" my Granny said.

  "Always impatient!" Dad muttered.

  "What?" Granny demanded. I reached forward and blew out the candles. But this time I didn't make a wish. Somehow, I felt as if everything was going to be all right.

  As we ate our cake, I kept staring at the watch. Dad seemed to notice it too.

  "Where did that watch come from? Did you have it before? It looks peculiar," he said. Granny stared at the watch too and I saw her eyes getting wide.

  "Figures! You don't remember anything you gave her do you? You gave it to her last week in front of me." Granny said quickly.

  "Humph!" Dad muttered.

  "What?" Granny asked angrily.

  "Now both of you stop it! Its Tina's special day and don't you both go ruin it for her." Mom said.

  "Well, Dan has to go to work now anyways. Right?" Granny teased. Dad just mumbled something and gobbled up his cake fast.

  "Mom!" my mother said in exasperation.

  "What did I do now?" Granny asked innocently.

  "Come on hon, let's go. We're already late." Dad said. Mom swallowed her cake and got up.

  "Let me hug my special girl." She said and walked towards me for a hug. I got up too and went to her. But just then I noticed something. First of all, my skirt wasn't stained and second, Mom's forearm was smeared with chocolate icing, so that was probably how I had stained my skirt- when she had come to hug me. I also noticed that Mom was wearing her expensive suit to go to her meeting, and if it touched her clothes…

  "Mom! Your arm!" I yelled. Mom almost jumped in fright. She looked at her arm and groaned.

  "Oh dear!" she said "Oh Tina! You saved me from making a total mess of my suit! Oh, I had hardly even noticed it." She took a napkin and wiped her arm feverishly as if it was a dead bug or something. "Thanks dear. See you later now."

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  CHAPTER NINE

  As soon as my parents left, Granny dragged me up to her bedroom.

  "So I gave it to you!" she said. "Oh! Did I make it really dramatic? Did I put my hands on your shoulder and tell you: Tina… I have a secret! Or was it more like: Tina…you're all grown up now. Its time I share a secret with you. Well, which one was it?"

  "Well…it was more like…I guess it's time."

  "Oh, that's much better." Granny said, jumping up and down like a little girl. "Well, what do you think?"

  "If you mean the watch…IT'S AWESOME!" I said. "Imagine all the cool things I can do with it! Oh, thank you Granny!" I said and hugged her.

  "Yeah…well…"she said hesitatingly.

  "I can take my revenge on Sonia! I'll make her eat dirt! I…"

  "Hold on!" my Granny said. And then, "who's Sonia."

  "But I told you…oh!" I realized I had told my Granny before going back in time. I told her the whole story and she frowned.

  "Oh you poor dear!" she said morosely.

  "So you see, with this watch, I can take my revenge. Whatever she does to me, I can do the same thing by going back in time and…"

  "Well, about that! If the watch could be used for one's own benefit, I would have stopped your Mom from marrying that…guy!" my Granny said.

  "So there's a catch to all this?" I asked.

  "Yeah, there's a catch." She said and I groaned. Why does something so cool always have a catch to it?

  "Well what is it?" I asked, preparing myself for a huge disappointment.

  "I'll have to tell you the whole story first." Granny said. "It's boring but you have to hear it." I nodded and sat comfortably on my Granny's bed.

  "Well, your Great, Great Grandfather- Cavin invented this time travel watch. You can guess it was a pretty good invention especially at that time. But he never told anyone. Only his wife and son knew about it. Well pretty s
oon Cavin got greedy. He would go into the future, find out which horses won or which stocks rose and either buy or bet on them. He would constantly go back and forth in time. People started to get jealous and many turned their backs on the family because they were sure he was a cheat. Anyway, Cavin should have known he couldn't change fate.

  "Soon, his son Michael started to go back and forth in time too. Of course he used it for his own benefit too, but instead he used the watch to cheat in his exams. When his father came to know of this, he got angry and he and his son had a dispute. The son left home and was never heard of again. His father went back and forth in time to find him, but alas he never did. He even went back to the time they had a fight, but the outcome remained the same. In the end, he realized he couldn’t change fate and died of a broken heart."

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  CHAPTER TEN

  I stared wide-eyed at my Granny. "That’s intense! How come no one ever told me this before?" I asked her. Granny shook her head.

  "There's more." She said. I groaned. I hoped the story would have a happy ending. "Cavin's wife- Rita, had a baby girl right after Cavin died. Rita got worried. On one hand she had the watch that was still unknown to the world and on the other hand she had a baby girl who would someday know the secret and use the watch in greed just as her father and brother had.

  "Rita knew she had to get rid of it. One night she took an axe and tried to hack the evil watch. But Cavin had made the watch unbreakable. Rita tried and tried, but all she managed to destroy was the green pin that could take you into the future. The girl grew up and Rita gave the watch to her daughter. But she used it to help others and soon the Heartwood's name was restored. On her deathbed, Rita wrote a letter, which was to be passed on to generations after her. And till today, Rita's advice is still followed."

  "So where is the letter?" I asked. Granny rummaged through another drawer and took out the letter. To my amusement I saw that the letter was laminated.

  "Who did that?" I asked.

  "Your late Aunt Laina." Granny said and handed me the laminated paper. The paper had yellowed with age and I noticed a few stains here and there. To be honest, my Aunt was pretty smart to get it laminated. This way the letter would stay for a few more generations.

  "Granny, how come Mom never told me of this?" I asked.

  "Because the secret is passed on to the eldest girl in the family. Or in your case, the only girl in the family." Granny replied.

  "Oh!" I said in a small voice. Actually, I felt rather important to be told of the secret that even my mom didn't know. Just then my mother called from downstairs. It was time to go home. We said our goodbyes to Granny and started to leave. But just then Granny pulled me aside.

  "Read the letter…carefully!" she said. And for the first time, I saw a very serious expression on my otherwise mischievous Granny.

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  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As soon as I reached home, I quickly gobbled up my dinner. My parents looked at me in a strange way.

  "I have some… holiday project that I need to work on." I explained, and then rushed upstairs to my room. Once inside, I locked my room, changed into my nightclothes and took out the letter my Granny had given me.

  Dear daughters,

  I hope you are as lovely and pretty as I know you must be. I have to tell you something and I hope you would understand something. I loved my husband very much and so I hope you would understand why I didn't let the watch get into someone else's hands. He built it himself and he treasured it. I tried to destroy it, but…

  What I need you to understand is… this watch is your responsibility. You cannot play with fate as my husband had. I am sure you have already heard the story from your mothers, so I would not repeat it again. This watch is yours, but you must follow the rules.

  1) You cannot go into the future. I have destroyed the pin so it is impossible. But I am sure that it may be mended in the future. Your responsibility is to never let it happen!

  2) You must never use the watch for your benefit alone. The watch should be used to help other people.

  3) You can never tell anyone this secret, even your best friend. If you do, you must erase all doubts and then never wear the watch again.

  4) You must never let anyone be suspicious of you-you must be inconspicuous.

  5) You must keep this watch in a safe place. No one must ever know where you keep it.

  6) You may never try to go back a day, week, month or year. If you do, you must never wear this watch again because you must understand that you cannot change fate.

  7) This watch is yours to pass it on to your eldest or only daughter on her thirteenth birthday. You must tell her my whole story and pass this letter on.

  8) You must use the watch only once a day and not more than that. So you must think carefully before going back.

  I hope you heed my advice and never let the watch get into the wrong hands. I wish only the best for you.

  From,

  Rita Heartwood

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  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I put down the letter and swallowed. This was a dying woman's letter I was holding in my hand, and she was really serious about the whole thing. What if I made a mistake? I didn't want to let down anyone, least of all my Great Great Grandmother. I read the letter three more times then put it in my bedside drawer. I looked at the watch that was still on my wrist. I couldn't believe that this ugly contraption was actually a big responsibility- one that could make the family name proud or infamous.

  I removed it carefully and put it in my drawer with the letter. Then remembering Rita's warning, I hurriedly took out both the letter and the watch and put it in my jewelry box, which has a combination lock on it. No one knows the combination, not even my parents. I hid the box under my bed and got ready to sleep. But all I could think of was Rita and her secret!

  The very next day I asked my parents to drop me off at Grandma's. I decided that I wanted to talk to someone who knew what I was going through. Granny wasn't surprised at all.

  "Granny…I…" but I just didn't know what to say. I seemed to be confused.

  "It's okay. You can tell me anything you know that right? Come on ask me anything." She said.

  I accepted the invitation. "How come Mom doesn't know any of this?" I blurted out.

  "Well if you read the letter you would know that the watch is handed over to the eldest daughter or the only girl in the family; like you."

  "So Aunt Laina got the watch. Tell me about her." I insisted.

  "Oh yes, you would hardly remember her. You were hardly three! Your Aunt Laina might have saved your Mom's life."

  "What?"

  "Yes! Your Mom almost met with a road accident, I presume."

  "You're not sure?" I asked. "I don't get it!"

  "I don't know. It was like this, your mother was going to drive her car to work one day. But your Aunt insisted that she take the train or a cab. She was frantic about it. Unfortunately, your Mom was running late so she decided to take the car no matter what Laina said. But Laina insisted on coming too- that means that something must have happened. Everything was fine, until suddenly the brakes failed. Your Mom lost control of the car. Laina immediately pushed your Mom out of the door. But before she could jump out herself… the car skidded off into a ravine." Granny hung her head and covered her face with her hands.

  I put my hand in Granny's. To tell the truth, I really didn't know what to say. I was happy that Mom was safe but I was sad that Aunt Laina had lost her life in the process of helping her sister.

  Granny wiped a tear then looked at me. "Your Aunt wasn't married so she doesn't have any kids. So now the watch has been handed over to you." She said brightly. I nodded. I looked at the watch I was wearing and realized how serious this all was.

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  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  I stood outside my school. Mid-term break was over, and now it was time to
face the music. I knew that on the very first day, all students would get the results for their Mid-term exams. I was expecting a solid 'D' in every subject. My exams hadn't been easy for me and somehow I couldn't concentrate in any of my classes. But this term would be different. This time I would pay attention in all my classes and bring up my grade point average. That was a promise!

  I walked into my first class, which was Math again. For the first time I realized that I wasn't thinking about the watch or the letter or Aunt Laina. To be honest, I was terrified. I knew I had done terribly, but the anticipation was still killing me. I quietly went to my desk and sat sullenly. Around me, my classmates were chattering excitedly about what they had done on their break. I started to feel uncomfortable. I was the only one who didn't have anyone to share my experiences with. Just then Mrs. Parker entered the class.

  "All of you have done miserably!" she said and slammed the sheaf of papers on her desk. My heart sank. I had expected at least a D, but now it looked that my chances of getting an F were pretty good. Mrs. Parker started to call everyone one by one. Everyone had fear plastered on their faces and I was in an even more pathetic state- if that were possible. I was literally trembling. My parents would kill me if I failed. Worse, I would be grounded forever. I started to bite my fingernails and then took out a pencil and a piece of paper and started to draw a dog. Drawing animals usually relaxes me, but today I was trembling and my dog turned out to look like a mud puddle. Nevertheless I kept on scribbling.

  "Tina?" Mrs. Parker called. The pencil fell out of my hands and dropped to the floor. But I didn't even bother to pick it up. It was as if the pencil had ceased to exist. I got up slowly, trying to read Mrs. Parker's face, but her face held no expression at all and she was staring hard at my paper. I swallowed. Behind me a girl was silently sobbing. I went to Mrs. Parker and stood in front of her desk- ready for an outburst of anger.

  "Here!" she said and handed me my paper. "Carla?"