to my usual spot. Time travel was kicking my ass and I had to rest. Even though I felt great now, the second I jumped back to 2007, I’d feel like hell again. Like I had the plague or swine flu.
A flash of red hair came out from behind a tree. Long skinny legs stuck straight out. My feet moved twice as fast. It was like chasing water in the middle of the desert. Like she would disappear if I didn’t get to her quick enough.
“Courtney?” I said, but my voice was constricted.
She kicked off her pink-and-green tennis shoes and leaned back against the tree, a book resting in her lap.
“Courtney!” I said again, much louder this time.
Her head poked around the tree and she squinted into the sun, probably trying to focus on my face. Then she tossed her book onto the grass and stood up slowly. “Yeah?”
I froze to my spot, staring at her in amazement. She was really here. Alive. But the irony of the situation was gut-wrenching.
My girlfriend, who should be alive, was dead (or dying) in 2009, and my sister, whom I’d already lost once, was sitting in the grass here in 2004, sunbathing and catching up on the latest Harry Potter book. She wasn’t even sick yet.
As she walked closer, this tiny voice hidden in the back of my head spoke a little louder. Adam’s voice, running through the pros and cons of me talking to this younger version of my sister. Was this something that would potentially end the world?
At this point, I had lost the ability to think rationally and all I wanted was to grab on to something real and familiar. So I did, probably, the most idiotic thing possible.
With a few long strides, I closed the gap between us and pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing her around the arms, making sure she was actual solid matter. I was absorbed in my special moment when her loud, piercing scream went right into my ear. Then she lifted her leg and kneed me in the balls, before wiggling out of my grip and backing up slowly.
“Calm down, Courtney,” I gasped, putting my hands up in the air. I could tell by the way her eyes darted around, she was about to run. “Please … don’t go. Give me a minute.”
Her green eyes were huge orbs. “Just leave me alone. My … my dad’s coming … any second.” She pointed behind me. “Look, there he is!”
Stupid me fell for her trick and I looked over my shoulder. She started to run past me, but I grabbed her around the waist. I needed to tell someone . To make them believe me.
“I promise I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, right into her ear. Then I pulled out my wallet and stuck it in front of her face. “Take this. Look through it. I’ll let go of you and sit by the tree. Deal?”
Her whole body stiffened, but she didn’t fight me. Then I remembered the man called Agent Freeman following us to school in 2003. Was he watching her now? Maybe he was slacking on the job. “I know you have every penny of your allowance from the last three years under your mattress despite the fact that I’ve told you it’ll all burn up in a fire and Dad will never let you buy a motorcycle when you’re sixteen, even if you pay for it yourself.”
Her breathing hitched for a second, but she didn’t say anything. I tried something else, pointing at a nearby tree. “You watched me fall out of that tree and break my arm eight years ago.”
I released her and walked slowly backward a few steps before sitting down in the grass by the tree. She spun around to face me. “Jackson?”
“Yeah,” I said. Then I tossed the wallet over to her and watched as she riffled through it, pulling out picture IDs, credit cards, photos.
Her eyes dropped down to the grass to meet mine again. “Oh, my God, you’re … big … and…”
“I can … time-travel,” I managed to sputter out, knowing the reaction it would bring.
To my pleasant surprise, her feet stayed planted even as I lifted myself off the ground. I spent the next thirty minutes explaining exactly how I got here,
A flash of red hair came out from behind a tree. Long skinny legs stuck straight out. My feet moved twice as fast. It was like chasing water in the middle of the desert. Like she would disappear if I didn’t get to her quick enough.
“Courtney?” I said, but my voice was constricted.
She kicked off her pink-and-green tennis shoes and leaned back against the tree, a book resting in her lap.
“Courtney!” I said again, much louder this time.
Her head poked around the tree and she squinted into the sun, probably trying to focus on my face. Then she tossed her book onto the grass and stood up slowly. “Yeah?”
I froze to my spot, staring at her in amazement. She was really here. Alive. But the irony of the situation was gut-wrenching.
My girlfriend, who should be alive, was dead (or dying) in 2009, and my sister, whom I’d already lost once, was sitting in the grass here in 2004, sunbathing and catching up on the latest Harry Potter book. She wasn’t even sick yet.
As she walked closer, this tiny voice hidden in the back of my head spoke a little louder. Adam’s voice, running through the pros and cons of me talking to this younger version of my sister. Was this something that would potentially end the world?
At this point, I had lost the ability to think rationally and all I wanted was to grab on to something real and familiar. So I did, probably, the most idiotic thing possible.
With a few long strides, I closed the gap between us and pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing her around the arms, making sure she was actual solid matter. I was absorbed in my special moment when her loud, piercing scream went right into my ear. Then she lifted her leg and kneed me in the balls, before wiggling out of my grip and backing up slowly.
“Calm down, Courtney,” I gasped, putting my hands up in the air. I could tell by the way her eyes darted around, she was about to run. “Please … don’t go. Give me a minute.”
Her green eyes were huge orbs. “Just leave me alone. My … my dad’s coming … any second.” She pointed behind me. “Look, there he is!”
Stupid me fell for her trick and I looked over my shoulder. She started to run past me, but I grabbed her around the waist. I needed to tell someone . To make them believe me.
“I promise I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, right into her ear. Then I pulled out my wallet and stuck it in front of her face. “Take this. Look through it. I’ll let go of you and sit by the tree. Deal?”
Her whole body stiffened, but she didn’t fight me. Then I remembered the man called Agent Freeman following us to school in 2003. Was he watching her now? Maybe he was slacking on the job. “I know you have every penny of your allowance from the last three years under your mattress despite the fact that I’ve told you it’ll all burn up in a fire and Dad will never let you buy a motorcycle when you’re sixteen, even if you pay for it yourself.”
Her breathing hitched for a second, but she didn’t say anything. I tried something else, pointing at a nearby tree. “You watched me fall out of that tree and break my arm eight years ago.”
I released her and walked slowly backward a few steps before sitting down in the grass by the tree. She spun around to face me. “Jackson?”
“Yeah,” I said. Then I tossed the wallet over to her and watched as she riffled through it, pulling out picture IDs, credit cards, photos.
Her eyes dropped down to the grass to meet mine again. “Oh, my God, you’re … big … and…”
“I can … time-travel,” I managed to sputter out, knowing the reaction it would bring.
To my pleasant surprise, her feet stayed planted even as I lifted myself off the ground. I spent the next thirty minutes explaining exactly how I got here,
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