Read Time After Time for Free Online Page B

Broadhurst. Then the liquid hit me with a wet splat, slapping my face and trickling down the top of my dress, vanishing all thoughts of beautiful roses.
    ‘Oh my gawd!’ Lilly cried, her false, unnecessarily loud voice echoing around the classroom, ‘I’m so sorry!’ She was just dramatic enough to attract everyone’s attention.
    Pumpkin soup . Cold pumpkin soup. I felt my eyes well with tears as the entire room erupted with laughter. Wiping the soup away from my mouth, I tried not to taste it. I recalled that the cafeteria had served pumpkin soup on Friday. Lilly had planned and preordained this attack well.
    With my teeth clenched, I shot a mutinous glare at Lilly who smirked, laughing with the rest of the class.
    ‘ So sorry,’ Lilly repeated, ‘but, you know,’ she paused, making sure everyone heard, ‘you actually look quite good with a bit of colour. Less like a cartoon character!’
    The room erupted into laughter again, and I heard the familiar rumblings of freak and weirdo . Pushing past Lilly, my eyes brimming with tears, I ignored Marcus and his sympathetic eyes as I bolted from the room.
    Safe in the bathroom, I smashed a fist against the door. One of the junior girls cried out and ran away, leaving me alone with my fury. Damn you Lilly Hamilton! Why can’t you just leave me alone?
    Tears pricked my eyes but I ignored them, mentally willing them away. I never cried, having learned years ago that it got me nowhere. Tears might fill my eyes, but I never let them fall.
    Slowly, inhaling deep breaths, I started to calm down, and only then could I look in the mirror.
    My hair was covered in thick, orange goop, which streaked my face and disappeared down the back of my dress. A mental image of Marcus’ face, one of shock and pity, filled my vision, and anger surged again in my chest, my lungs burning. Turning on the tap, I cleaned myself up, knowing I’d be late for my next class and that Mr Richards would probably send me to the office for a late slip. I could skip, but I’d made it a rule to never cut class. Education was my way out of Brookdale, my chance to get away from the likes of Lilly Hamilton. Besides, it would only give them more satisfaction knowing they’d bested me. No, over the years I’d learned the best thing to do was clean myself up, hold my head high, and face them.
    Even as I hated every moment of it.
    Removing my makeup and rinsing my hair, I stared at my barren face in the mirror. Void of makeup, I looked less like myself and more like the good, kind-hearted daughter of a parson. The one everyone liked, who knew nothing about this double life we led, and who’d just caught the eye of the handsome Heath Lockwood.
    Penelope lived in an idyllic world that contrasted sharply with mine. And yet she was me. She was me from two hundred years ago. I felt as if I was split in two, circumstance and time the only things that separated me. I tilted my head and regarded my reflection. Why is this happening? I thought, wishing the dreams and memories would go away, Why do I remember you?
    My day didn’t get any better. Even after I reapplied my makeup, removing all traces of orange soup, I was still the object of ridicule. Word had spread of my humiliation, and everyone was keen to join yet again in making fun of Abbie Harper, the oddity in black.
    I kept my head held high, ignoring the gibes as best I could. Ignoring my anger, curling in the pit of my belly and directed entirely at Lilly and Emma, was a more difficult task.
    Beth greeted me sympathetically at lunchtime. ‘I heard what those cows did.’
    ‘Laura?’ I asked, slumping onto the seat opposite her.
    ‘Actually, no,’ Beth replied, but she didn’t elaborate further. She didn’t need to. We both knew how the Brookdale High grapevine operated. ‘Honestly, Abbie, I don’t know why you put up with them. Those two are always giving you a hard time—don’t you just want to smack them?’
    I made a face. ‘Yes, but look at