Brock's Bad Temper (And The Time Machine)

Later that afternoon when they got home, Brenda told her parents about Brock’s horror show. They told him to straighten up and not to be mean, his punishment would be no TV and every toilet he would have to clean.

Brenda told them that she told Brock about the time machine and her Dad’s response was to smile indeed. He was always firm but never mean. He was a scientist and invented the machine. He got to go back in time and have tea with Einstein and walk with Aristotle, but after that, the machine had a mind of its own, like a genie in a bottle. When Brenda was bad, it took her for a ride. She always wound up in a different period of time, enduring some kind of punishment, time after time. It definitely taught her a lesson and she straightened up fast, for she knew to no longer act up, and learned that her modern punishments were not so bad.

That night Brock was brushing his teeth, getting ready for bed. He stood in his closet and pulled his pajama shirt over his head. He pulled it over his body and opened his eyes.

They bugged out in horror as to what was before his eyes. He was in a cabin, just like his sister said. He could feel someone standing behind him, just behind his head. His muscles tensed up and his back began to twitch. That’s when he felt the sting of the switch. Just like his sister, he ran out the door. He ran faster than he ever had before. Pausing for breath, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, in his house, he was back inside. He took off his shirt and ran to the mirror, looking for marks, shaking with fear. Not seeing any, he just shook his head. Went back to his room and crawled into bed. Pulled up the covers and that was that, he fell asleep in two minutes flat.