THE TIME SAVER
Chapter Three
Jack woke up, and saw Franklin standing at
the end of the bed. Jack was startled when he saw this, but it woke him up.
"Good morning, Jack."
"How did you get in here?" Jack
asked.
"I have a key," Franklin said.
"Oh, well, can you leave me alone. I
really need some sleep," Jack said, lying back down.
Franklin pulled the covers off of Jack, and
said, "I don't think so."
"What time is it?" Jack asked.
"Eight," Franklin said.
"Eight?" Jack asked.
"Yes, eight in the morning. Now clean
yourself up, and get some clothes on. We have a lot to do," Franklin said.
"Will this take all day? I have a dinner
party with the DeWitt Bukaters tonight," Jack said, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, well, look at you. Not even a full
day, and you are already the social butterfly of this ship," Franklin
said.
"You're invited, too, if that's what
you're worried about," Jack said.
Franklin sighed, shook his head, and said,
"Get dressed, and hurry up!"
He left the room, and Jack fell back on the
bed. Jack sighed, got out of bed, and put some clothes on. "God, this
sucks," Jack said, as he put his pants on. He looked at the breakfast that
Franklin brought, and Jack grimaced at the sight. "God, can't I have some
Lucky Charms?" Jack said, but decided that breakfast wasn't anything, and
prayed that lunch was better. He got the rest of his clothes on before he got
his hat and overcoat. He passed Rose on the way through the corridor, and she
stopped and smiled.
"Jack, hello," Rose said.
"Morning, Rose," Jack said.
"How are you this morning?" Rose
asked.
"I'm fine, Rose," Jack said, and
smiled.
"Listen, I wish I could talk, but I
can't. I'm supposed to meet my uncle on the boat deck," Jack said.
"All right. I won't stop you. I will see
you at dinner," Rose said.
"Good-bye for now," Jack said, and
went on his way. He opened the door to the boat deck, and the sun shone on him.
He squinted his eyes, and looked around for
his so-called uncle. He saw him talking to a gentleman and a woman who had a
dog. As Jack walk closer, the couple left without Jack being able to look at
the couple's faces. Jack walked a little faster, and asked, "Who were
those people?"
Franklin smiled proudly, and said, "The
Astors."
Jack's mouth dropped to the floor.
"Well, then, why didn't you tell me? I would have been up here
faster," Jack said, disappointed.
Franklin sighed, and said, "Well, then,
Jack, this may be a lesson for you to hurry up. Besides, there is always that
dinner party you have to attend. Now, we have a lot of work to do...come
on." Franklin started walking.
"Wait a minute," Jack said.
Franklin turned around with his eyebrows raised. "I want a full
explanation of why this is happening to me," Jack said.
"Well, Jack, you're not the first, I'll
tell you that," Franklin said, walking beside Jack. "You, out of
millions of people, know the most about this ship. That's why you were
requested to be on this mission."
Jack looked perplexed, and said, "But I
didn't WANT to be on this mission. Don't you understand that?"
"Well, no one asked you, now did they,
Jack? You seemed the only one actually interested in this ship. Like you said,
you wish that you could help them somehow. Remember now, Jack, you're the one
that stays up all night looking at photos and videos from the ship...not
me," Franklin said.
"I'm a scientist, Franklin, not a God
damned time traveler," Jack said.
"Watch your language, Dawson. This is
the early 1900's, not the early 2000's," Franklin said, sternly. Jack
sighed and rolled his eyes with anger. "Now, are your questions answered?
Because, if they are, we will at least try to save this innocent ship,"
Franklin said. Jack nodded, and said nothing. "Good. Now, come on,"
Franklin said.
Jack followed beside him and looked around at
all the fancy hats and dresses the women had on. The men had hats and long
coats on, and the men held canes. 'I bet I've nodded my head about twenty God
forsaken times,' Jack thought.