A Trip Through Time

Chapter 7

"Hello," James said. "Fancy seeing you here. May I have this dance?"

Dylan looked up at him, about to shut him down, but he seemed genuine. She sighed. "Fine, we can dance."

****

Jasper looked on from the side of the dance floor and saw Dylan accept. He smiled to himself. Maybe she had been right. Maybe he just needed to loosen up. Have some fun. He saw a group of soldiers having a drink and went to join them.

"Is this seat free?" he asked.

"Sure, why not," one of them said. He sat down and someone passed him a mug of beer. He looked down at it for a moment before taking a hearty chug. He was not a big drinker, not like others he knew that would get very drunk at house parties, even though it was illegal, but he didn't mind the taste of alcohol. The soldiers cheered, some a bit tipsy already. It was odd they were at this upper-class party. Jasper suspected it was to show the family's charitable good side.

"I'm Jasper Davis, how about you all?" he said.

The one that told him the seat was free introduced them. "I'm Phillip Newman, and these are John, William, and Frank. And that man over there, dancing with the girl that humiliated our friend Henry," he laughed. "That's--"

"James Maxwell. We've met. The girl is my sister," he said.

"Oh, interesting," he said. "Have you heard about electricity?"

Jasper smiled a little, at both the change of subject, and the excitement about electricity. "A bit," he said. "Enlighten me."

****

It was eleven o'clock, four hours into the party, and Jasper was missing, along with the rest of the soldiers he was with. Dylan had spent most of the night with James. After getting over her hate of soldiers, which sounded really bad, even in her head, she found out he was very nice and funny. Earlier, she had seen Jasper laughing with people, and she was happy he was relaxed. She was getting worried, though, because he had been missing for over an hour.

Jasper was drunk. He had drank a lot with the soldiers, and the next thing he remembered, he was not at the house. Currently, he was stumbling into the house with his friends, ecstatic. He saw Dylan from across the room, and went over to her, giggling.

"Guess what, Dyl?" he said. She looked relieved.

"Thank god you're here! You had me worried!" James had gone over to his friends. Jasper sighed, and when he sighed, she could smell the beer on his breath. "Oh my god, you're drunk."

"Shh!" Jasper said, putting his hand over her mouth. "I have good news. I joined the army!"