“Oh, I’m Skylark,” Skylark said.
“Cool,” Lottie said. She was walking a fast clip, noticed Arnie, punched in a number and waited for the connection. “And is he your —?”
Skylark wished people would stop asking about Arnie or assuming he was her boyfriend.
“No, he’s just a friend.”
“Is he going with you?”
Gosh, Lottie sure asked a heap of questions. “Um, I don’t know.”
Lottie aimed her key ring at her car and automatically unlocked it. “No,” she said as Arnie went to get in the front. “Back seat for you. Us girls in front.”
“What did I tell you?” Arnie said. “Bossy.”
Lottie’s call was connected. “Hello? Is that you Quentin? The girl’s arrived. She’s got a boyfriend with her. No, I didn’t know there would be two of them either. You’d better prepare two parachutes —”
Parachutes?
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes. See ya, babe.” Lottie flipped her cellphone off and stepped into her car. She reversed without looking in the rear-vision mirror and drove at speed out of the carpark. An outraged skateboarder managed to get out of the way just in time. “If you don’t like the way I drive, get off the pavement,” Lottie yelled.
Apparently Lottie only used the mirror to put on lipstick or to primp her hair. Once she had done that, however, she seemed to relax. “Ever since I took over as guardian from Nani Deedee,” she began, “my whole life has been like this! Rushing here. Rushing there. I didn’t want it and certainly wasn’t looking for it. Once upon a time I used to go clubbing on Mondays. What do I do now? I go up to Nani’s mountains and check up on her birds. I used to have a girls’ night out on Wednesdays — and last Wednesday we had some male strippers in town. But where was I? Working on a brief with my tribal elders to put a case to the courts on Nani’s land. Then last Saturday I had a hot date, but what happened? I was back up on Nani’s mountain again, playing nursemaid to some kiwi chicks. I tell you, my entire social life has been ruined. Ah well, I guess there are things you just have to do. It’s not anything I have any choice about. At least you’ve finally arrived and that’s the main thing.”
Lottie drove through a red light. “Why all the rush?”Skylark asked. She was feeling very nervous of this girl who, like Hoki, seemed to think she would do what they wanted her to do.
“You know about the Time Portal, don’t you? Well, the way it operates is not all that straightforward. In particular, there’s only certain times during the period when it’s open that you can actually go through. You can go through right now but I haven’t a clue how long it will stay that way! So my cousin Quentin has been on call to fly us to the portal as soon as you got here.
“Fly? But I hate flying. I’ve just got off one plane and I am not getting on another!”
“Nani Deedee made me swear on the Book of Birds that I would get you there so that you could go through —”
“Go through to where!” Skylark asked angrily.
Lottie rolled her eyes. “To the other side, of course! Haven’t you been properly briefed? Don’t you know anything?”
Lottie zoomed into the airport carpark. Immediately she was out of the car and walking fast.
Arnie took one look at Skylark’s face and tried not to laugh. She had finally met someone as stroppy as she was — and she didn’t like it one bit.
“Don’t just stand there,” Lottie yelled. She motioned to Skylark and Arnie to keep up. They crossed the carpark, went around the terminal and towards a small hangar: Nelson Air Charters. Inside were a helicopter and two small aeroplanes. A young man was waiting nervously beside one of them: a six-seater Piper Cherokee belonging to the local parachuting club with a cartoon character — Betty Boop — painted on the fuselage.
“Okay Quentin, rev her up!” Lottie called.
Quentin nodded at Skylark and shook Arnie’s hand. “Do you want me to s-suit them up f-first?” he stuttered.
“We’ll have to do it when we’re in the air.”
“Stop right there,” Skylark ordered. “I am not getting on that plane.”
“Of course you are, dear,” Lottie said. Before Skylark knew it, she had been pushed through a door and Lottie was buckling her in.
“Arnie? Arnie!” Skylark called. But he was too busy talking to Quentin and throwing equipment through the same door that Skylark had been pushed through, preventing her from getting out.
Then Arnie himself jumped in and closed the door. Next moment Lottie and Quentin had climbed into the pilot and co-pilot’s seats.
“You’re not going to fly this thing are you?” Skylark asked.
Lottie was too busy doing her pre-flight check to answer. Arnie was grinning like a cheshire cat. “Skylark,” he said, “you’re going to love this.”
“Get me out of here immediately.”
But it was too late. Lottie switched on the ignition. She had a brief conversation with Quentin and was very cross with him. “You did what!”
“Have a h-heart,” Quentin moaned. “You know what the p-procedures are. There was n-no w-way I could g-get out of filing a f-flight p-plan.”
“Why do you always have to d-do things by the b-book, Quentin?” Lottie asked. “What a pain in the butt. I told you to tell the tower that we were just going on a sightseeing flight.”
“Y-yeah, and they b-believed that the l-last time.”
The starter motor whined, the propellers began to turn, there was a small concussive sound, and the engine roared into action. Lottie eased the throttle, and the plane taxied forward, out of the hangar and into the daylight.
“Are you two belted in?” she asked. “Good.” She had her earphones on.
“Tower? This is Betty Boop, over. Request permission for takeoff, over.”
The tower came back. “Betty Boop, grateful you confirm your flight plan, over.”
“Tower, I have two American millionaires on board for sightseeing flight of Nelson City and surrounding environment, over. Request clearance for take off, over.”
“Betty Boop, the Department of Conservation has requested you be denied permission to take off until satisfaction of your intentions, over.”
Lottie sighed, rolled her eyes and elbowed Quentin in the ribs. “This is all your f-fault,” she said, as she headed the plane out onto the runway.
“Betty Boop! You have not been given permission for take off, over.”
“Thank you, Tower,” Lottie answered blissfully, as if she was just taking a walk in the park.
“Betty Boop! Return to the airport. Your take off has not, repeat not, been authorised, over.”
“Tower? Say again? Oh damn this radio, Quentin, I told you to fix it! Sorry, Tower, you’re breaking up, over.”
“Betty Boop! This will be your second violation in one month. Return immediately as requested to the airport, over.”
Lottie just kept on heading out to the runway. When she arrived she positioned the plane into the wind.
“Betty Boop, you are in violation of instructions, over. You run the risk of being grounded, over.”
“Tower? Tower? Proceeding to take off —”
Lottie revved the engine. The plane roared down the runway. As it took off, Lottie waved at the controllers in the tower. “And do have a nice day,” she said.
The plane leapt higher into the air. The earth receded, the clouds came closer. The plane reached cruising altitude. Lottie motioned to Quentin that he should take over piloting the plane. She clambered back to Skylark and Arnie.
“Right,” Lottie said. “Time to get you both suited up. Have you done any parachuting before?”