Into the Sideways World by Ross Welford

Author:Ross Welford [Welford, Ross]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-12-09T17:00:00+00:00

Unlike the last time, I don’t sleep for a single second. Would you? I still don’t even know if Manny arrived all right, and I’m tormenting myself with feeling bad about the other me – Mina. She, I now understand, is experiencing the same nightmare again: trapped in the cave in my world.

What if she’s rescued? What will that mean?

It could happen. She could wade out of the cave, or even be swept out to sea and drown. Would that make a difference to my return? What if I’ve made a massive, catastrophic mistake in coming here?

The ‘what-ifs’ are endless. So I’m up and ready and dressed when Alex puts his head round my bedroom door the next morning and gives me a big wink and a thumbs up, which kind of cheers me up, even though my stomach is churning with nerves. I give him a nervous grin in return.

‘Hey, er … Mina. Oh, you’re ready. You may want to smile with your mouth shut today. I won’t be the only one to notice your teeth. Mina – that is, the real Mina, sorry – she has very even teeth. After you left last time, I mentioned it to Mam and Dad, but they hadn’t noticed. They thought I was nuts and, by then, Mina was back anyway, talking about that weird cave nightmare she’d had. I began to think I’d been imagining it.’

The mention of Mina’s cave nightmare twists my stomach more. I look in the mirror and bare my teeth. Honestly, they aren’t that bad. Still, I practise smiling with my lips clamped together. I look like an idiot. Worse, I look like Deena Malik when she’s being insincerely nice. I decide to keep my head down and hope that Mam and Dad don’t notice.

‘By the way, this might help you take your pictures with that … phone thing.’ He hands me a black box made of stiff card with a back that opens on a hinge of cloth tape. On the front is glued (a bit messily, but still …) a camera-type lens, and there’s a hole for my phone’s lenses to see out of.

‘You … you made this? For me?’ I say, slotting my phone into it. It fits pretty well. ‘It’s awesome! Where did you get this lens?’ I turn it round, admiring it and loving my brother for doing it. It’s actually really good, and Alex has stayed up making it. It’s nice of him, and, if you don’t inspect it too carefully, it looks just like an old-fashioned camera. Well, almost …

‘It’s part of my telescope set-up,’ he says, a bit shyly. ‘It’s pretty old. I never use that bit very much, and you’re going to need it more than me. Oh, and don’t say “awesome”. It sounds ripped.’

I think this through, nodding. I hear Mam calling, ‘Breakfast! Come on!’ and Alex leaves.

I swallow hard and do the breathing thing that Maudie taught me: in for four, out for six.

Finally, turning to the mirror again, I actually talk out loud.

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