Ted & Me by Dan Gutman Read Free Book Online Page B

filled my nose. The whole plane was in flames. The sleeve of my shirt was on fire! I jumped out, rolled a few times, and landed in a ditch on the opposite side of the plane from Ted.
    I had survived.
    As I lay in the ditch catching my breath, I planned my next move. I could stay here, I thought. Ted might take care of me. But what would be the point? It was 1953. I couldn’t stop Pearl Harbor, because it was already years in the past. And I couldn’t talk Ted out of joining the marines, because he was obviously already in the marines. I might as well try to get home.
    I fumbled around in my pockets again for my baseball cards. There they were! I ripped the pack open and pulled out a card. Fire trucks had arrived on the other side of the plane, and somebody was shootingfoam stuff to snuff out the flames. But nobody could see me in the ditch.
    I closed my eyes and tried to put what happened out of my mind. I thought about going home. Back to the twenty-first century. Back to my house, where I would be safe. My own time.
    It didn’t take long. Soon I was feeling the tingling sensation in my fingertips. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was working. The buzzy feeling worked its way up my arm, across my chest, and down the other side. I began to feel light-headed, and I knew from experience that soon I would be gone.
    And then I disappeared.

7
A Little Incentive
    T HE NEXT THING I KNEW I WAS FLYING ACROSS MY LIVING room, tripping over the coffee table, and almost slamming headfirst into the TV. I swerved out of the way at the last instant, landing on the floor next to the couch.
    I was all messed up. Nothing was broken as far as I could tell. But I had scrapes on my arms, and I was sore all over. My head hurt.
    I looked up and saw my mom and that FBI agent, Mr. Pluto. He was holding his briefcase; but he dropped it when he saw me, and they both came running over. My mom had tears on her face.
    â€œJoey!” she screamed. “You’re safe!”
    â€œI’m sorry, Joseph,” said Agent Pluto. “I came over as soon as I realized—”
    His voice trailed off because my mom had stopped crying suddenly. She was examining me veryclosely, sniffing me.
    â€œJoseph, you smell like smoke,” she said sternly. “Have you been smoking?”
    â€œSmoking?!” I said. “Yes, of course I was smoking! That’s what you do when you’re on fire !”
    I turned to Agent Pluto and just about lost it.
    â€œYou didn’t send me to 1941!” I yelled at him. “You sent me to 1953! Did you know that Ted Williams was a fighter pilot in the Korean War? I was in a plane with him! We got hit by anti-aircraft fire and had to crash-land!”
    â€œI’m terribly sorry,” Agent Pluto said, and he looked like he meant it. My mother was back in crying mode again.
    â€œIt was the wrong year !” I shouted at Pluto. “The wrong war! I risked my life! You almost got me killed! Don’t you research this stuff in advance before you send people out on a dangerous mission? You’re supposed to be the FBI !”
    â€œI accept full responsibility for the error,” Agent Pluto said, trying to calm me down. “We’re not infallible. As soon as I realized that I had given you the wrong baseball card, I rushed over here. But you had already left….”
    â€œYou’re !@#$%! right you gave me the wrong card!” I shouted.
    â€œJoseph!” my mother said. “Where did you learn such language?”
    â€œFrom Ted Williams,” I told her.
    It took a few minutes for me to regain my composure.I had been through a lot that day. Mom went to get me a glass of milk and came back with a plate filled with cookies too. I have to admit, the milk and cookies made me feel better. Mom got an ice pack from the freezer to put on my scrapes and bruises. The three of us sat down on the couch.
    Agent Pluto took a card out of his jacket pocket and placed it