The Time Travelers' Club: Chapter 53 -- New Assignment

The next day at school, Mr. Martin continued the class' study of Ancient Egypt.  Sam was anxious to work on his next assignment.  He wanted to write about the Pyramids, since he had already been there.

"Class, your assignment is similar to the previous.   The big difference is you will be pulling names, places, or events out of a bowl.  You do not get to choose this time."

A wave of groans filled the classroom.  Mr. Martin began with the front row, carrying the plastic bowl for students to draw out their assigned topic.

Darn, I guess I’ll have to see something else if I don’t get the Pyramids, thought Sam.

Bon whispered to Sam who sat in front of her.  "I hope I get Cleopatra. What do you want?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders.  "Maybe building the pyramids since I've already seen those being built..."  Sam stopped himself.

Bon gave him a puzzled look.

Sam thought quickly. "I meant to say I saw a movie about them being built."

Bon didn't seem to care anymore as she watched Mr. Martin coming down the row with the bowl.

When his turn arrived, Sam reached into the bowl grabbing one of the folded pieces of paper.   He opened it.  It read "Cleopatra."

"Yum, I got Egyptian food," said Bon.

"I thought you wanted Cleopatra?"

"I did, but food is tastier.  Maybe I can get extra points by making something and bringing it in?"

"I'm glad you feel that way, since I got..."  Sam showed her his slip of paper.

"That's fine," said Bon.  "Hey, why don't you come over and you can look at my collection of stuff about her?"

"Ok, I'll check with my Mom and maybe tomorrow after school?"

 The next day, Sam went to Bon's house not too far from the apartment.  Sam followed Bon home.  It was one of the Arts and Crafts style houses.  Inside, Sam could see the house was barely furnished.   The front parlor had a couple of modern chairs, a matching sofa, and a couple of side tables with lamps on them.

Puzzled, Sam asked.  "How long have you lived here?  Doesn't look like you've got much stuff."

"I grew up here," said Bon.  "It’s the lack of furniture, isn’t it?  My Mom hates clutter inside."

Bon lead the way to her room upstairs. Sam was surprised to see the most disorganized mess ever.   He had assumed Bon was the tidiest person he knew.  Clothes and shoes were scattered on the floor.  The bed was unmade.  Her desk was covered in old magazines she used in her art work of collages. Some were hanging on the wall above her desk.

"You've got some cool art there."  Sam pointed to them.

"Thanks.  I'm hoping to make some to give as presents."

Sam walked to the wall devoted to her collections.   Floor to ceiling shelves were packed with books, knickknacks, postcards, boxes, and other stuff.  The whole scene reminded Sam of Mrs. Steers' bookcases.  Sam scanned the one shelf devoted to Queen Victoria.

"She wasn't worth seeing," Sam muttered.  A small white bust of a woman with short curly hair caught his eye.  He reached up to pick her up.

"Please do not touch Cleo," said Bon.  "I broke her and had to glue her back together.  She's kinda wobbly."

"Cleo?"

"Yeah, I call her that for short. She's Cleopatra. The real bust is in a museum somewhere. Here’re the books I have about her."   

Sam sat down on a clear spot on the floor and started to browse through them.  She had offered to let him borrow some books, but Sam passed.

"No, you might need them.  I can get some from the library and from Mrs. Steers.  She has tons of books."

"She can be very strange..."  Before Bon could finish her sentence, Sam found himself defending Mrs. Steers.

"No, she's not.  She's awesome."  Sam turned away from Bon, realizing that he had just raised his voice.

"Well, excuse me.  All I was going to say was she's very strange since Mr. Steers died.  She never had a real funeral or anything for him. Remember, I told you that.  And then asked you what she's really like."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," said Sam. "She's just been so good to me and my mom."

"That's cool. I understand."

Sam thought to himself.  Cool nothing.  She knows how to time-travel. And as soon as I can...

"Sam!" yelled Ronnie from downstairs.   "It's time to go home.  Your mom’s here."

Sam thanked Bon for letting him come over.

Emily and Sam walked home, talking about Bon and her collection, then Mrs. Steers' departure to do research.

"When did Mrs. Steers say she would be back?"

"She mentioned Thursday evening if she got all her research done."

Sam stared ahead, wondering what she could be doing, but more importantly, he wanted to borrow books on Cleopatra, and even more important than that, he wanted to go see the mighty Empress in person.  Sam would be anxious for Mrs. Steers to return.