The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky Page A

must be someone else in the crew who would believe her. She
     needed to find the navigation room. If she could stall the boat for only a moment, or veer it off course by the slightest
     degree, maybe the disaster could be averted.



Louise continued twirling and pacing and was completely lost in her own thoughts when she walked directly into the skeletal
     frame of Dr. Hastings.

“Miss Baxter, what a pleasant surprise,” the doctor hissed. Louise looked around frantically for another passenger who could
     help her, but the deck was deserted.
    “Do you really think you should be outside without a wrap in your condition? You’ll catch your death.” He grabbed her upper
     arm in a viselike grip. “I’ll be happy to escort you back to your stateroom.”
    Louise tried to protest, but the doctor would not let her go. “Please let go of my arm, Doctor. The fresh air will do me good,”
     she pleaded.
    “No, Miss Baxter. As your doctor, I insist. You must come inside at once.” He began to pull her toward the ship door. He was
     strong, despite his advanced age and bony frame.
    Louise tried to keep her feet firmly planted on the deck but managed only to get a splinter in her right heel as she was dragged
     across the wooden planks. “I have explicit ordersfrom the captain to make sure that you are taken directly to your room and then given something to calm your nerves,” the
     doctor declared. “We can’t have a hysterical woman upsetting the other passengers.”
    He pushed her roughly through the door and back into the ship, still refusing to loosen his iron-tight grip.
    “You’re hurting me,” Louise growled through clenched teeth. Dr. Hastings ignored her pleas and continued to forcefully lead
     her through the empty hallways. They made a sharp turn and, out of the corner of her eye, Louise thought she saw two women
     in wide-brimmed hats at the end of the corridor. Before she could call out for help, they darted around the next corner.
    With a sudden movement, Dr. Hastings pushed her into a dark room. Without giving her eyes time to adjust, he switched on the
     electric lights, and Louise saw that she was back in her stateroom. “Miss Baxter, as your doctor, I am ordering you to rest.”
     He still had her by the arm and was dragging her over to the wooden four-poster bed.
    Louise decided to change her strategy and reluctantly climbed up into the bed. Perhaps she could pretend to be asleep and
     then break out and continue on her mission.
    “Where is Uncle Baxter? Where is Anna?” Louise asked, hoping they would walk into the room at any moment.
    “They are in their respective dining rooms. You ran outbefore the entertainment. And thanks to your antics, I am now missing my poker game,” Dr. Hastings responded huffily.
    “I’d like to see them,” she demanded, trying to sound braver than she felt. “Why don’t you go find them for me?”
    “Oh, they’ll be back soon. However, you will most certainly be asleep by then. The captain requested that I give you something
     to be sure of that.”
    “Oh no, I’m quite sleepy already, no need for any sleeping medicines,” Louise tried to speak slowly and in a casual tone,
     but she was starting to panic.
    Dr. Hastings paid her no attention as he rummaged through his black leather medicine bag. She wondered nervously if he was
     looking for sleeping pills. She made a quick plan to hide them under her tongue and spit the tablets out later. Louise let
     out an exaggerated yawn. “Wow, am I tired,” she lied.
    Dr. Hastings grunted triumphantly. He had found what he was looking for. “Now you see, Miss Baxter, I am not one who disobeys
     my captain’s orders.” He carefully extracted a syringe with what had to be a three-inch-long pricker. He tested it, and a
     little squirt of clear liquid shot out the tip. “Come now, this won’t hurt at all.”
    “No!” Louise screamed. “Don’t you dare stick me with that!”
    “It’s to help you sleep through