The Time Keeper (The Guardians of Time Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

drink so much, but by the time I’d had a couple I forgot I was going to behave myself and then look what happens!’
    ‘What happened this time?’ Emilia asked curiously.  Maddie had a habit of getting herself into fixes when she was drinking.
    Their brunch arrived, much to Emilia’s delight.  She was starving.  The other three looked a little queasy but gamely picked up their forks.
    ‘So are you going to tell me what happened?’ Emilia prompted Maddie as she forked up her first delicious mouthful.
    ‘Em, it was awful!’  Maddie’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.  ‘I kissed Elton !  Why did you let me do that?’  She glared accusingly at Jessica and Stacey, who giggled maliciously.  Elton was a stuck up, know-it-all prig with bad breath, greasy hair and a strong aversion to showering.  He was also about a foot shorter than Maddie.  Well maybe not a foot, but a whole lot shorter.
    ‘You were most insistent!’ Jess said.  She waved her hand dismissively.  ‘You kept going on about princes turning into frogs and frogs turning into princes or some such rubbish.  You were out of your head, Maddie, and none of us could stop you.’
    ‘It’s all a bit of a blur, but I distinctly remember him asking me to be his girlfriend.  He said we were a genetic match in heaven!’ Maddie shared morosely.  ‘Just as well there’s no more school ever , or I wouldn’t be able to shake him.’
    ‘Oh dear.’  Emilia bit back a smile and patted her friend’s shoulder reassuringly.  ‘Next time stick with me and I’ll keep you in line.’
    ‘Next time don’t disappear !’ Maddie accused pointedly.
    Emilia winced.  ‘Sorry about that, but parties get kind of dull when you’re not drinking.’
    ‘You wouldn’t have found it dull if you’d hung around a bit longer,’ Stacey said.  ‘It was an extremely eventful night.  Jimmy started flirting with Annabel, so Rebecca lost it and started the catfight from most guys’ dreams.  The two of them were rolling around on the grass out of their minds with rage and the next thing you know they’d rolled into the pool.  It was hilarious!’
    ‘Yeah, and then Chris jumped on the table and started doing this really weird dance, but half of everyone was so trashed they joined in anyway.  It was like the Macarena mixed with Gangnam Style weaving across the lawn and along the edge of the lake,’ Jess added.
    ‘I missed that bit,’ Maddie interjected.  ‘That must have been during the Elton episode.  Hey guys, what happened to Justin?’
    ‘What do you mean?’ Emilia asked, though she thought she knew.
    ‘I don’t know.  He disappeared for a while and when he came back he was limping but he wouldn’t say what had happened.’
    ‘Probably can’t remember,’ Stacey opined.  Her eyes darkened.  She obviously hadn’t yet forgiven Justin for being such a jerk the previous day.  ‘Have you talked to him today, Em?’
    Emilia looked down at her plate, making a great show out of gathering the last few crumbs onto her fork.  ‘No.  I don’t imagine he’ll be up yet.  I’ll call him later on.’
    ‘Yeah, well, he better be nicer today than he was yesterday or you should tell him where to shove it,’ Stacey whispered under her breath so only Emilia could hear.  Then she continued more loudly.  ‘Right, well I’m feeling a bit better now, so let’s go and do some shopping!’
     
    *
                 
    Emilia pulled up the driveway in the early afternoon, as requested by David. Seb’s car was parked out the front and she wondered what he was doing here.  She hesitated, not sure how she felt about seeing him again this soon.  She was a little embarrassed about last night but also really grateful he’d been there, which kind of meant she couldn’t go with her usual defensive tactics.
    She needn’t have worried about making awkward conversation.  As she reached the bottom step of the porch, Seb came storming out of