movie.act1p1

scenes i-x

Old is New Again

           Tick. Tick. Tick.

           Regardless of year or current technology, some school traditions persisted. The students of Mr. Diaz’s 7^th grade science class, the last of the day, kept eyes peeled on the clock above the whiteboard as beckoning afternoon sunlight came in through the windows. The moving second hand of an analog clock provided a more real, tangible experience than the cold, unfeeling digital digits on any phone’s dim resting display.

           “Jace Baker,” Mr. Diaz’s friendly but direct voice snapped him out of a staring session. “C’mon, buddy, the clock isn’t going anywhere. All the tests and homework are done for the year, but I’d still really appreciate one last answer this semester.”

           “Oh, uh…” The hoodie-loving teen rubbed his strained eyes. “What was…”

           His best friend Laurie, at the next desk over and casually texting on her phone—Mr. Diaz wasn’t being strict today—glanced over and whispered, “Favorite fact.”

           “Oh, right,” Jace said before the teacher had to re-explain. “The coolest thing I learned. Um, off the top of my head… Lagrange points. Y-yeah, it’s interesting that there are invisible areas between celestial objects where gravity cancels out.”

           Mr. Diaz smiled. “Always glad to hear a genuine take-away. Ms. Hashita?” He looked at the bubbly bespectacled Emiko. “Do you still ‘adore’ those planetary rings?”

           “Well, yes,” she nodded approvingly, “but when we started getting into exoplanets and how horribly you’d die on some of them, that really made me think!”

           The red-haired self-aggrandizing Chad of the group, Chad, twisted around in his seat and smirked coyly at her, replying, “Hey, Em, you should come over and explore some worlds with me this summer. I have this new video game that lets you shoot—”

           “We don’t really have the same tastes in games,” Emiko said with a placid smile.

           As Chad frowned and grumbled, Mr. Diaz continued, “And finally, Laurie Skyler. Are you still all about black holes? I remember them giving you some existential dread.”

           “They’re neat,” she answered. “But there’s only so much we’ll ever know about them. Now I find neutron stars more fascinating.” She grinned and gestured by squeezing a fist with the other hand. “All the crushing pressure, maybe even making strange matter.”

           “I see! I bet you liked hearing about ‘nuclear pasta and lasagna,’ too, haha.” With that, the bell finally rang, and everyone jolted up for the door. Mr. Diaz spoke over the noise, “Okay, class, you’ve been great. Have fun, and discover new things this summer!”

           Once out in the crowded and clamorous school hall, the four friends shared their latest summer plans on the way to their lockers. As they emptied them out and removed the locks, their friends that ended 7^th grade in other classes joined them.

           “Hey, cuz,” the tall, amber-haired Warren greeted his cousin with a fist bump. He gave his baggy dark clothes a tug and opened his locker, having to catch some empty snack wrappers in the process that had gotten free from the rest of the mess. “What’d you settle on, plan-wise for today? You better not leave me hanging too long.”

           “Lor’s coming to my place first, and then my mom will bring us,” Jace explained. “Oh, and happy thirteenth, in person. About time you joined the teen club.”

           “Yeah, yeah,” Warren said quietly and looked about worriedly. “Don’t say that too loud, okay? It’s enough that I got texts from all you guys that made balloons fly around on my phone.”

           “Don’t say what, bruh?” Toby said as he slid into the scene, the popular kid with a phone glued to his hand. “Oh yeah, you’re the b-day boy. Ya know, you should show up wearing some serious drip for a change. Ditch these ‘leave me alone please’ clothes.”

           Warren groaned and gestured to Laurie. “Have you seen what Lor’s worn all year? Hair on her face, clothes as ‘broody’ as mine. But somehow she gets away with it.”

           “Nah, she’s different. She owns the look. You’re just like, ‘ugh, I’m so awkward.’”

           “The hell ever that means,” Warren muttered with an eye-roll.

           Self-conscious about comments on her appearance, Laurie tucked some of her longer hair behind an ear, then took the multicolor hacky sack off her backpack, which stayed attached with magnets and a clip. The others watched as she squeezed the bean ball again; a stress reaction and sight they had gotten used to seeing over the last year.

           “Aw, Lor, really? You’re stressed out on the last day of school?” the nerdy Jamie Goteaux groaned after joining the group. “Tch. And was I the only one who cleaned out their locker before said last day? Like, ya know, all the teachers told us to do?”

           “I didn’t need to clean out my locker. I never used it!” said Austin Kilkenny, the bigger yet physically fit lad of the group, as he gave his stuffed heavy backpack a jostle.

           “Don’t judge me, Jamie…” Laurie mumbled, and clenched her jaw. “Summer is a big change of pace. Of course I’m freaking out. That’s what I do now, remember?”

           “Laurie! You gotta learn to take it easy!” Emiko urged her with a shoulder shake. “You were never what you’d call ‘carefree,’ but you also were not so high-strung!”

           Austin added, “Yeah. You were bossy, but fun, until you got intense in 6^th grade.”

           Chad, ever the armchair psychologist, remarked, “Lor’s always had advice for the rest of us, but now I’m pretty sure it’s her who has some kind of nero-sis.”

           Clearly insulted, Laurie squeezed her hacky sack harder and snapped back, “If you’re going to misdiagnose someone—which I keep telling you is dangerous‑–at least say neurosis right. Can we just… not? I don’t want to go to a birthday party mad.”

           “Especially when it’s one of mine…” Warren replied. He closed his now empty locker, and the group made their way to the big doors leading to freedom. “Guys, please no drama, okay? I don’t know what it is about my parties, but they always seem to cause freakouts at some point. Jamie even got hives last year ’cause of a dumb argument.”

           “Nah, that’s been everyone’s parties the last couple years,” Jace noted. “Maybe it is some kind of stress, or things moving too fast. Hard to have fun sometimes…”

           “Yeah, I’m not about that,” Toby assured everyone. “I naturally avoid the cringe.”

           “You are pretty good at it, Tobes,” Emiko said, blushing—which irritated Chad.

           They passed the metal detectors and lone security guard, emerging into the sun-soaked space in front of the school, where kids were getting picked up or boarding the buses. Naturally, most everyone was on their phones, but a few Cooktonners known to hock goods or services were out with the traditional face-to-face experience.

           “Last chance to purchase some summer Pokémon services! Fully legit leveling and EV-training, ten bucks for a full party of six. Get a team ready for gen nine!”

           “Hey, Simon!” Jamie called out to the diminutive 6^th grader. “You never traded me back my Regidrago. Come on, bro, how long’s it take to do the Regigigas quest?”

           “Huh? Oh, sorry, Jamie,” he replied with a shrug. “I forgot about that. We can trade online tomorrow morning, okay? I’ll return him to ya. Now let me get back to it before you scare away the customers! I need this—my allowance isn’t getting any better.”

           Spotting his mom Lucy waiting in the pickup line nearby, Jace waved off most of his friends. “See you guys soon. And don’t forget to bring Warren’s presents.”

           “Let’s kick this summer’s ass, Jace!” Chad said over the less notable farewells.

           “What does he mean when he says things like that?” Laurie asked Jace with a sigh.

           “Hey, Mom.” Jace opened the back door to his mom’s new electric Volkswagen. They slipped inside, where he answered, “I… dunno. The guys act so aggressive sometimes.”

           Away from the sprawling neighborhood of Desert Tree, the business towers of Royal Valley’s urban center overlooked the city with glass facades reflecting the sunlight. Occupying one of the higher floors of the modern Victory Plaza building was the city’s small but so-far-successful game development company, RV Indie.

           “Anyway… you know these sales meetings bore me as much as anyone, so let’s wrap this up,” Wes Colton rushed to conclude a monthly get-together in the conference room, the TV on the wall displaying figures and statistics mirrored from his phone. The lead developers and marketing and public relations people at the table listened to every word, despite Wes’ ongoing disinterest in this part of the job. “To sum it up, our newest game, Summer ’96, is a year old now and our latest Steam sale gave us a big boost. Piracy is still really low, showing the fan devotion to our company quality and a favored price point. We can thank the ongoing market interest in ‘retro’ pixel games for a tailwind, and… blah, blah, blah.” He pocketed his phone and looked at his seated creative partner and childhood friend, Jared Reiner, as always scanning social media for posts about their company. “Look, I’ll be honest. I’ve made all the games I set out to make, told the stories I always dreamed about sharing. I need inspiration, new ideas. I know we got the style and framework for our next game cooking, but… I can’t think of a tale to tell.”

           “We’ll get there, Wes,” Jared assured him without looking up, his thumbs tapping out a post. “Something always hits us eventually. Or just you. I still say we should take the assets we made already and create our first platformer. Gotta take those risks, man.”

           “I’d suggest bringing in some coders experienced with platforming engines if we go that route,” Brian, the head artist, said. “Even 2-D physics are not easy to get right.”

           “Sure,” Wes replied. “We can look into the feasibility of it. But we’re only going to dip our feet in the waters of Mario or Metroid if we can make it look good and play fast and fun. Indies can pull it off sometimes, but I’d want to see something in the quality range of, like, 2018’s Celeste, at least. And, Mark? I don’t like singling anyone out, but if you suggest turning to crappy and creepy AI-generated art again to cut costs, I won’t laugh it off this time. I employ talent like Brian Moreland here for a reason, guys.”

           As Brian looked bashful and Mark sank into his seat, the office secretary opened the conference room door and reported, “Mr. Colton, they’re here.”

           “All right,” Wes huffed. “Back to work, everyone. I got another speech to give.”

           He and his team returned to the main space, with Wes heading to the corner that had the fun break time stuff like old arcade cabinets and a ping-pong table to meet a few visiting VIPs. He forced a smile and plucked a certain glass display case off the wall; in it was a classic item he liked to show off whenever this time of the year rolled around.

           “Hey, everyone. I know it’s exciting to meet one of the owners of the company, but I need to keep this short. I have to get to my kid’s birthday bash at King Arcade. So, RV Indie’s design philosophy is… ‘what if polygons were never invented?’ We see our titles as the thirty-year-old evolution of the 16-bit golden age. Put another way, what if we pulled a game out of the mid-90s and gave it the huge capital and talent modern games get? Crystal clear HD graphics, beautiful animations in infinite colors… and yet still just clusters of tiny squares. Now, sure, we also love playing the latest triple-A big developer stuff when it comes out, but when players want a break from complicated worlds and all their DLC, we’re here to continue the legacy of story-telling basics, where players are allowed to project some imagination onto characters and environments.”

           Wes held up the display case, his yellowed Super Nintendo sealed within. “This opened my mind to the possibilities of what can be crammed into kilobytes of memory; the space to story richness ratio. The memories this little box gave me, and my friends…” He zoned out a bit. “She isn’t pretty, but she’s a true antique, and I’ll never Retrobright her aged ABS plastic yellow coat. Because patina is… earned. Huh. That’s good.”

           “Um, Mr. Colton, sir?” the youngest of the three interns seated on beanbag chairs spoke up with a raised hand. “Is that, like, an old game console?”

           Wes grimaced slightly, inhaled sharply, and cleared his throat. “Okay, that guy over there, Mark—he’ll orientate you. You three officially get started Monday.”

           Jared, who had been watching from a nearby wall, shuffled up to Wes as the recent Royal University grads moved on and remarked with a sly grin, “You’re getting better at that, Wes. Hey, cheer up, dude. The kids love our summer intern program.”

           “I’m not sad,” Wes said, staring down at his immortalized SNES. “It’s all of this performative crap, the talks… I want to get back to creating, like when all this was new.”

           “Yeah. Yeah… I know, man. But, hey, nothing like being the awkward parent at a kid’s birthday party to make you feel young again. Er, teen’s party now, I suppose.”

           “Greeeat…” It seemed to hit Wes for the first time. “I have a teenager now.”

           King Arcade, Royal Valley’s major attraction, was a sprawling video game themed amusement park with its own neighboring water park. The place had been the youthful heart of the city since 1995, and every kid—and their parents—knew it well. Today, though, the sights and sounds of its big rides could only be experienced through the second floor window of Galaxy Hub Arcade’s special occasion room; the red wristbands the party-goers wore only gave them access to the arcade building itself, along with a private console gaming giant TV. And cheap pizza and birthday cake, of course.

           Wall-sized vinyl stickers depicting some of the park’s classic mascots, like Tude the Squirrel, Wizard Rocker, Insectus, and the jolly arcade prince himself stood watch over a room designed for teens. Above the television were the painted words, “Party-Gamer Zone!”, and on the center table was Warren’s present pile. Most of the gifts had been opened. Video games, a controller, shirts with trendy pop-culture references, and a new pair of sneakers were among them.

           “All right, Sally. I’m sure I saved the best for last,” Warren said to his anxious eight-year-old sister, her present still secure under her arms. “Let’s see what ya got.”

           “Lego set?” Jamie asked as soon as the box was in Warren’s hands and shakable.

           “Not this time, I don’t think so. It’s solid, a little heavy.” He tore off the paper to reveal the Nintendo Switch AR game, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. “Oh, cool.”

           Sally said excitedly, “It is cool! I saw it on YouTube. You race Mario around the house and it turns into a video game track. I know you guys really like Mario Kart…”

           “Yeah, Jamie’s been saving up for this. But it’s a little expensive.”

           “Well… Daddy helped pay for it. Do you like it?”

           Warren thanked her with a one-arm hug. “Sure, Sal. I’ll give you lots of turns.”

           The gang snickered a little at the sight, with Emiko murmuring, “So sweet.”

           “Yeah, yeah,” Warren grumbled with a roll of the eyes. “I’m not embarrassed that I like my sis. Most of you don’t even have siblings, so you wouldn’t get it.”

           “Me and my big brothers aren’t really the hugging type,” Austin replied.

           “Uh-huh. We’ve seen their backyard wrestling matches,” Chad reminded him.

           “Not a bad, haul, Warren,” Toby said and flipped his phone to landscape mode. “Present piles always bring the likes. You down for a group selfie?”

           “If we have to,” Warren sighed and got into position with his friends.

           On the other side of the room were the adults on party duty for the day, giving the kids plenty of space since they reaching that independent age. It was a special get-together for them, too. Wes was used to seeing his childhood friends Jared and Sadie—the latter being his wife and a fourth-grade teacher—but having both his good old bestie Colin and Arthur Teller in town at the same time was a treat. One now taught English in Japan, and the other worked in intelligence in Washington, but Royal Valley remained a home to them. And this was the first time Arthur had gotten a chance to see Jared and his wife Mira’s son Jake, nearing two years old and attached to his dad in a front-facing carrier. A fussy toddler, he usually looked like he was impatiently scowling.

           “Anyway…” Sadie took a sip of her plastic cup iced punch. “It’s nice to have you both around for a week or so. But you didn’t have to come to Warren’s party.”

           “Aw, it’s no problem at all,” Colin replied and poked his glasses. “I’m sure one of the other parents needed a break from the constant birthdays.”

           “We’d know all about that,” Arthur said. “Big friend groups, so much to go to.”

           Lucy, Wes’ half-sister and Jace’s mom, could now adult perspective empathize. “Laurie’s parents came to three parties in a row. She, Chad, and Jamie, all have birthdays within two weeks of each other. Yeah… they definitely needed a night to themselves.”

           “The kids are getting tall, no doubt,” Jared said, eyeing them repeatedly posing for pictures by the gifts at Toby’s insistence. “Ah, speaking of…” He pushed at his back to straighten it. “Arty, you saw Ash and Hazel recently, right? How are they doing?”

           “Sis is good,” Arthur told everyone. “The niece, though… She had a rough sixth grade, apparently. But, I mean, what else is new? Cookton, man—that place changed us, a lot. And I bet those big, busy Los Angeles schools are even more stressful.”

           “Jace has adjusted well to middle school, considering,” Lucy noted. “Still amazes me how much maturity and confidence came to him back during the summer of 2020.”

           “Have… you guys still not heard from Millie?” Colin abruptly changed the topic.

           The permanent local residents among the adults looked at Colin and mulled over a proper response, but it was Mira—the ‘outsider’ among them—who spoke first, “No, nothing has changed since your visit last June. Not a word in almost two years.”

           Looking out a window at the rest of the park, Sadie added, “She vanished on that Halloween, even though she agreed to pick us up here after our Scaretastic Nights visit.”

           “Thing is, though, we’ve checked and she still seems to own her condo,” Jared mentioned. “So she’s obviously paying the bills. Some kind of extended retreat? Maybe, I guess, but in this day and age… who doesn’t eventually reply to a ton of texts?”

           “Weird…” Arthur murmured and grabbed a slice of pizza. “And, no, Jared. My department doesn’t specialize in missing persons cases. Although, I do know a guy that could track her phone. If you all worry that much.”

           “I feel bad for her,” Lucy said. “I know you guys weren’t the best of friends with her growing up, what with the spying on everyone routine, but she’s been a reliable kind of… fallback family friend for years now. I hope she’s okay, wherever she is.”

           “She’s not the only one who can pull a disappearing act, though,” Jared added. “I wish Zach was consistently in town, or at least told us where he was instead of randomly dropping in like he’s some cool kid on the fringes of society in a 90s sitcom. And Arty! Visit more often! Is a computer expo really what it takes to get you here for a week?”

           “A computer expo where I can geek out with Colin like we’re in high school again,” Arthur emphasized. “Can’t believe they resurrected Royal SiliCon after ten years.”

           “Someone’s supposed to have a 1981 Osborn 1 on display,” Colin said excitedly. “Wes, Jared—you guys should join us. I know how much you like vintage hardware.”

           “Eh, sure, but not as much as you two,” Wes replied. “We’re programmers, not hobbyists. I can write code on whatever, but I stare at computers long enough already.”

           “So how is the new game coming along? Any big ideas yet?” Arthur wondered.

           “Arty… you’re going to get him started,” Sadie cautioned with a sigh.

           “Normally I would ‘get started,’ but I’m kind of in a rut right now,” Wes admitted.

           Back at the teenage side of the room, Toby finally got the picture he wanted and freed his now-irritated friends. As he posted it, the poet recited his latest masterpiece.

           “Hanging with the crew at King’s,” he said aloud, thumbs moving at forty words a minute. “Warren’s big day! Sunglasses emoji… times three. Screaming cat emoji. Post.”

           “Toby, get off your phone and play some games with us for once,” Chad whined.

           “Gonna have to pass,” Toby disappointed everyone. “This is the time of day I always catch up on my social sites. I’ll join in back at Warren’s, ’kay? Bet.”

           “Whatever.” Jamie started up the room’s provided Xbox. He passed out the theft-hardened wired controllers, adding, “Maybe there’s a few new games on this thing.”

           Chad, Jace, and Warren were also up for the first round of couch gaming, with Warren looking at the words above the TV as things loaded and wondering, “What is a ‘party-gamer,’ anyway?” He scratched his wrist, itchy from the wristband. “Hope you guys are okay with the limited party passes. I’m sure Dad would’ve paid for the upgrade if I asked, but since we had school, we’d only get a couple hours on the rides, anyway.”

           “It’s cool. We’ve been on them a hundred times already,” Austin remarked.

           “Warren, if you actually cared about that, you could’a just moved your party to tomorrow,” Laurie noted, eyeing the gift pile. “I think you just wanted presents ASAP.”

           “Yeah, well…” Warren muttered. “It sucks. My birthday used to be at the beginning of summer, but middle school ending two weeks later ruined everything.”

           “Why are you complaining, dude?” Chad replied while messing with the game settings. “Last day of school and a birthday party on the same day? I’d take it.”

           “He likes the big events kind of… spread out,” Jace tried to explain. “Or maybe he just isn’t used to today also being a school day? It won’t be that way every year, cuz.”

           “Laurie’s getting good!” Sally suddenly commented from the couch’s side.

           The group looked over and saw that Laurie was back at it with her new hobby: giving full concentration to kneeing and kicking a bean-ball to keep it off the ground.

           “Aw, man, Lor—again? And at a birthday party?” Warren complained. “Take my controller and play this first round. You’re making me feel like you’re left out.”

           “I’m good, really,” she assured them. “I’m a little too antsy to play a video game right now, and this is my stress reliever in life at the moment. Let me have it.”

           “Always with the stress…” Chad sighed as the game began. He added under his breath, “She’s turning into a nervous wreck. Guys, what should we do about her?”

           “Just leave her alone and let her sort it out,” Emiko insisted. “All of you being worried isn’t going to help. You will only make her feel worse, more stressed.”

           There were some further grumblings among the kids, but soon they only cared about beating each other in a multiplayer match. Jared quickly broke off from the adults to see what they were up to—the tyke strapped to his chest now struggling for freedom.

           “Oh, this one,” he interrupted. “Mind if I play next round and show you how it’s done? And if Jake here doesn’t get a distraction soon, we’re gonna have a level-three temper tantrum.”

           “Gah. I’m surrounded,” Warren quietly exclaimed to his cousin playing next to him.

           Once their two hours in the party room were up and all the pizza and cake had vanished, the kids regrouped at Warren’s for more games, though now it was a chill time like any other get-together. Having had their fill of Xbox titles, they opted for the other console under the TV, his Nintendo Switch. Sure, everyone in the group had one, but he had the biggest software library. Tonight, they kept it casual with some Super Mario Party, the latest iteration of the longtime board game, minigame, and mostly-bad luck series.

           Warren’s room was a mess like always, but also fairly big. He even had his own futon and several novelty chairs for the others. Laurie, Jace, Austin, and, lazily, Toby gamed while the others watched, chatted, and did the usual whatever on their phones.

           “Don’t forget. We’re tagging out with our partners after the tenth turn,” Warren said tiredly, his eyes on his iPad. “So try not to lose too many stars for the rest of us?”

           “Uh-huh,” Chad replied. “And very funny, Austin. Partnering up with me and picking Toadette again. Making me play as a pink girly mushroom never gets old.”

           Austin snickered. “C’mon, you can’t always play Waluigi in every game he’s in.”

           “Laurie is the best partner ever, picking Birdo for me, or us,” Emiko said.

           “No prob, Emmy,” Laurie murmured passively after coming in first in another minigame. “And, guys, sorry about my stress picking up again. It’s not like I’m not aware of it. I just get anxious when I feel out of a ‘safe place’ or not going at my own pace.”

           “Yeah, we know,” Jamie replied. “I’m not trying to sound mean, but you’ve been getting this way when nothing’s happening, or too much is happening… If you’re in a crowd, or with only one person, or when we’re ‘too relaxed.’ When a teacher calls on you… I don’t make fun of personal issues, but have you talked about this stuff?”

           “To my parents, all the time, sure,” she sighed. “I wish I could figure it out. It feels like it all started when that… social media ‘thing’ happened, a few months ago.”

           Emiko looked up from the carpeted floor where she was bathing in the TV light and scrolling through cat videos to ask, “What was that about again? Something bad?”

           “No, Em,” Toby said flatly. “She went semi-viral because of some funny picture. Not even her picture. She just made a witty comment that got a few thousand likes and a bunch of replies. She couldn’t handle a tiny taste of fame, I guess.”

           Laurie scowled slightly. “That isn’t the reason. I mean, it’s more complicated than that. But I’m not going to get into it. I’m trying to enjoy some light gaming zen.”

           “Lor, whatever it is, I get the stress,” Jace, next to her, said. “The last couple of years have been hard. A lot of adjustments. Middle-schoolers can be mean, and our friend circle is so big, a lot of them kept thinking we were just another snob-squad.” He recollected a few moments, and laughed, just a little. “And a lot of it is just so stupid and petty. Still… at least we get cool teachers like Mr. Diaz sometimes.”

           “Ms. Gregory’s art class was pretty fun,” Chad added. “And she let us bring in our iPads to draw on, if we had the Pencil to go with it. But PE… Blech.”

           “What was all that drama back at the start of seventh?” Jamie continued with the memories. “I think it lasted for a month? Some ‘are they or aren’t they’ crap with Jenny Tabish and her online boyfriend from Royal Valley Middle? I didn’t get all the details.”

           Toby answered, “The Jenny saga? I gotcha, since that’s the stuff I keep up with. Yeah, she kept letting the gossipers in on all this personal relationship junk and it spread around everywhere. No surprise, people started thinking she was just making up a crazy story for social points and that her boyfriend wasn’t real.”

           “Oh yeah, now I remember. So the guy ended up skipping a day at his school, somehow gets all the way to Cookton, and she lets him in during lunch. Then he starts going around introducing himself like it’s just another day!”

           Austin started laughing and continued the story, “Right! Then Jenny gets jealous and big mad because he’s suddenly like this popular outsider kid who’s actually a pretty cool guy, so she tells security, they chase him off campus, and give her a suspension!”

           “Ah… Heh, yeah… That happened.” Jamie let out a few final chortles as the group settled back down. “But then you have the mean-spirited stuff, like when someone printed out a bunch of overused meme templates and taped them on a ton of lockers, making fun of Allen Kowalski. All because he puked a little in the boys’ bathroom.”

           “Whoever did that went too far,” Emiko grumbled. “I still feel bad for Allen. He’s shy but nice, and very smart. No one deserves bullying like that…”

           “And how’d our school get two fights on the internet that blew up, just this year?”

           “Everything feels nastier, more serious and complicated,” Warren agreed. “Kind of makes you miss the old playground days at Desert Tree Elementary, doesn’t it?”

           “Lor, you keep doing whatever ya need to. We won’t razz you about it anymore. Right, guys?” Jamie implored the others. “We’re all going through our own things.”

           “Just do us a favor, and don’t, like, dye your hair black,” Toby pleaded.

           “But I’m still wondering…” Chad spoke up after a minute or so of more gaming. “The whole hacky sack thing. Your stress relief technique? What’s the deal?”

           “I don’t think it’s worth explaining. But, if you have to know, it’s something my dad used to do back when he was in high school in the 90s. I think he was even in a school club for it? Guess it was just his way to impress others or take it easy, with a little physical activity as a bonus. He taught me the tricks, and it’s my method, for now, to get my mind off of all the… worries that bother me. It’s nothing deeper than that.”

           “Cool, cool… Isn’t it also a stoner hobby? Did the club smoke some stuff, too?”

           “Shut up, Chad. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

           “Um, guys?” Sally’s voice suddenly piped from Warren’s open door. Once the game was paused and a few eyes had turned her way, she sleepily added, “It’s getting late, and Mom says maybe it’s time for everyone to go home.”

           Yawning, Laurie checked her Apple watch. “Dang, it’s already ten. Guess we lost track of time. Warren, wanna save the game and we’ll pick it up this weekend?”

           “Yeah, sure,” he replied and got to shutting things down as the group stood from their chairs, stretched, and feeling returned to their legs. “Thanks for the presents, guys.”

           Everyone muttered the night’s last “happy birthday” and “it was fun” remarks while they gathered their things. Jace and Laurie were the first to leave Warren’s den and headed to the dining room, where Wes, Sadie, Lucy, and Lucy’s best friend and Laurie’s parent Lex seemed to be catching up on some old days of their own with the help of pita chips, hummus, a bottle of wine, and a jazz record; one from Wes’ vinyl collection.

           Jace caught the very end of a conversation, where Wes said, “Sorta makes me want to build a time machine, just to go back and find out the truth of that story…”

           “Uh-oh, adult social gathering,” Laurie said jokingly as the two approached the table. “Are the parents too wined up to drive, or are we having a sleepover?”

           “Funny and original, honey,” Lex replied. “I only had a glass. Is everyone ready?”

           “Oh, you left your backpack at our house,” Lucy reminded her. “Do you want to come with me and Jace to get it first? I don’t mind bringing her home, Lex.”

           “Hm, nah, I’ll just get it in the morning.” Laurie yawned again. “I might be more tired than I thought. Getting to bed… sounds really nice.”

           “The last day of school always took it out of me, too,” Lucy reminisced. “All that excitement, counting down the hours, wanting to get an early start on summer break…”

           “All right, I’ll get the rest of the boys home,” Wes volunteered and checked his pockets for his wallet and phone. “Luce, congrats on outdoing me on a Warren gift once again. I don’t know how you do it every year. You’ll steal those kids away from us.”

           “Ah, I’m just trying to be the cool aunt. When you have a dad that makes video games, I have to step up to stand out for Warren and Sally.”

           “Huh?” Warren muttered as he walked over, and the others gathered by the front door. “Are you talking about me again? Dad, I guess everyone’s ready to go.”

           “Have a good birthday, Warren?” Lucy asked her nephew. “I know that the last day of school is a strange time to share it with, but think of the summer as a present.”

           “That… does make it a bit better, actually. You’re pretty smart, Aunt Lucy.” He then turned to his cousin and bumped elbows—something that was catching on among the two and might someday replace their fist nudges. “See ya tomorrow, Jace. You know how I like to spend my first summer break weekend, so… don’t make any plans.”

           Sadie replied as the two kid-chauffeurs got up to head out, “Sleeping until noon and more video games. Warren, I hope you get a little more adventurous one day.”

           At nine in the morning, Saturday, Jace woke up on his own, no alarm needed, as sunlight came in through the blinds of his room—which was much more orderly than Warren’s. On the other hand, he must’ve tossed and turned throughout the night, as his blankets were a mess. Without wasting too much time, he got up, changed into a loose-fitting t-shirt and shorts, spent a few minutes in the bathroom, and then returned to look at his own Switch and Xbox, considering if he should spend the first few hours of break making some virtual progress. Unlike his cousin, he could better control gaming urges these days; maybe he was more mature, or he had learned patience.

           Instead, he joined his single and doting mom at the kitchen breakfast table. She seemed happy about this, and without needing to be asked, warmed up the last bran muffin for him and served it with a glass of orange juice. Just after taking his first bite, his resting phone vibrated with a text message, to which he replied with a single finger.

           Lucy, without taking her eyes off the news on her iPad, asked, “Is that Laurie?”

           “Uh-huh. Says she’ll bike over in a few minutes to get her backpack. I can’t tell if she’s being serious about ‘hoping I didn’t peek inside.’ She’s been a little intense recently.”

           “Mm. Teenagers can get moody, Jace, you included. Even if she freaks out a little or snaps at you, just remember how long you’ve been friends and all the things you’ve been through together. You two are almost as close as you are with Warren.”

           “Mom…” Jace groaned in embarrassment and finished his muffin.

           She smirked. “I know, I know. Hey, if she’s up for it today, why don’t I take you both to a matinee, like we used to do? I’m sure there’s something you haven’t seen yet.”

           “Um… Sure, maybe. I’ll ask when she gets here.”

           Jace left his mom to her browsing and returned to his room to fetch Laurie’s backpack, its rainbow hacky sack still attached and adding flair along with all of the many topical buttons and patches. He went to grab it from the coat rack… when he suddenly caught something in the corner of his eye. Startled, he turned around to find that someone completely unexpected had snuck into his room, and had been standing against his doorframe in wait. She was an adult his uncle’s age, with short black hair, worn and faded jeans, dark brown boots, and a puffy gray hoodie jacket.

           “Millie?!” Jace exclaimed. “What the heck are you doing in my room?”

           “Shh, keep it down!” she shushed him and closed the door. She had a nervous, almost paranoid energy, and the dark patches under her eyes suggested ongoing stress of her own and lack of sleep. “Jace, I need your help. It’ll sound crazy, but just…”

           “Did my mom let you in? Does… she even know you’re here? I mean, Millie…” He managed to calm down a touch. “Everyone’s been worried about you. No one’s seen you in almost two years. Where did you… Are you, like, on the run or something?”

           “N-no! It’s not like that.” She shakily approached him, and her hands squeezed his shoulders. “Just, listen for a second. I’ve figured it out, I know when and where we can strike to stop Charlie. He’s making his move, but we can…” She stopped upon noticing Jace’s scared and confused face. “Riiight… The amnesia. I keep forgetting, you wouldn’t remember. It’s been too long since you… But that’s okay! If you come with me, it’ll hit you all at once. Your memories will return, and you’ll understand the threat we have.”

           “Uh. Maybe you should talk to my mom about… whatever this is? Or any adult?”    

           “That won’t work. H-here, I’ll just show you.”

           She took something out of her pocket: a small quartz-shaped foggy crystal, which seemed to have a very dim and soft blue glow. Baffled by the last minute’s events, Jace only stood in silence, watching as she fumbled and manically tapped at the rock.

           “Come on! How do you… Grrr, it went back to low power mode… Thing’s so drained…”

           “Millie, you snuck into my room and you’re playing with a rock. Maybe we—”

           Inexplicably, exotic energy burst from the crystal and a vertical floating tear in space formed, right in the middle of the bedroom. Its edges a bright blue, its inside was as dark as a black hole, and Millie appeared to be pleased or relieved that it appeared.

           “W-what is that?!” Jace exclaimed and studied the phenomena. “What in the…”

           “This portal leads to 1998, and the future of Royal Valley—maybe even the entire world is at stake on the other side. You’re a time traveler! You forgot, but it’ll all come back to you on the other side of this portal, so don’t make me waste time explaining. Because I know it won’t be long until your mom comes in, and…”

           On cue and without a warning knock, the bedroom door opened. But it was actually Laurie who walked in—though with her eyes on her phone screen, she didn’t notice either the now even more distraught Millie or the rip in reality right away.

           “Hey, Jace,” she said and wrapped up a text message. “Do you have my… Um… You see that, right? Whoa… And Millie’s here? … What the heck did I just walk into?”

           “I have no idea.” Jace handed her the backpack as the two fired off glances at each other, the tear, and Millie. “She just… showed up and made this thing. Okay, you know what, Millie? This is just too messed up. Mom!” he yelled. “Can you come here?”

           Now in quite a panic, Millie mumbled to herself, fidgeted, and bit her lower lip.

           “Why does nothing ever…” She paused. “Actually. Maybe this can still work.”

           “Is this some kind of, like, holographic projection?” Laurie wondered, with eyes transfixed on the portal as she reached out to touch it. “How’s it work? Does it—aagh!”

           Unable to react in time, Jace watched in disbelief as Millie suddenly shoved his friend right through the tear. Laurie disappeared in an instant, and his mouth fell open.

           “Millie! What the hell! Where is she? Tell me what’s going on! … Say something!”

           Millie stared at him for another moment and asked, “Aren’t you going to, well, you know, fearlessly go after her? … No? Huh. What even is chivalry in 2022?”

           “Have you lost your—wait, no!” he got out, before she pushed him backward.

           “Ow, Jace! Watch it!” was the first thing he heard on the other side, bumping into Laurie in a dark version of his room. “Ugh! Did she push you, too? Seriously…”

           “Laurie?” he muttered as a serious headache came on within moments. “Freaking hell, what did Millie do? You disappeared. How long have you been here? Why’s it dark?”

           “It’s only been maybe ten seconds.” Laurie turned around in the darkness, and as Jace’s eyes adjusted, he could see that she was still clutching onto her backpack. “Jace… t-that rip in space thing we both went through—it’s still right behind you. I don’t even…”

           He swiveled to face it, and all the while his head felt like it was heating up, and tremors began to spread across his body. The tear’s light-absorbing pitch-black nature made it easy to spot even in a dark room. He considered going back through it and hoped doing so would bring him home, but didn’t have the chance; Millie emerged a second later, and she gave her quartz a tap to close the gateway. Given the lack of light, it was easier to distinguish the rock’s dull blue luminance, like that of a glow-in-the-dark toy. Jace tried to speak, but understandably, no words were coming out.

           “Easy, Jace, easy,” Millie whispered and made some ‘keep it quiet’ gestures. “Shh. I know, it sucks. It’s been a while since you’ve… You’ll just have to endure it for a minute as it all comes back to you. I’ll get to the ‘explaining everything’ part in a little bit, but for now, you need to know that this isn’t your house anymore. I’m not sure who owns it, so we gotta keep it down. I do know that it’s five in the morning, and we shouldn’t stick around. It might’ve been better to do this in your yard or something, but there’d be no telling who’d see the tear. Either way, Laurie… I didn’t intend to drag you here.”

           “What do you mean it’s five in the morning?” Laurie quietly snapped, and started looking around the room, with Jace in no condition to speak. “What… happened to all of Jace’s stuff? This is his room, but… it doesn’t even look like a bedroom. Hm?”

           She shuffled over to a desk, and made out the shape of a bulky old CRT monitor on top of a rectangular computer with a CD-ROM drive. The machine was running, and provided one of the few sources of light in the room, even if minimally. The screensaver of flying toasters against a black background did nothing to explain the bizarre situation, although the running fan and little mechanical clicks of the hard drive were strangely calming. Next to the computer was a printer, and next to that was a… second printer? Only, it was quite a bit bigger—and perhaps rarely used, given the dust.

           “This is all… old tech,” Laurie observed. “Like, what Jace’s uncle is always going on about. Big old monitor, with a weird screensaver… And what’s this thing again? A… a fax, I think?” She turned back to her friend. “Jace, is your head about to explode?”

           “He’ll be okay,” Millie tried to reassure her. “He just has a lot of memories flooding in at once. See, he’s time traveled before. When you’re back in your present for a while, you forget. Something to do with how bending spacetime screws up quantum observation in an organic mind, I dunno; that part of the manual was too complicated.”

           “Manual… For that… crystal thing? It can open tears… in time?”

           “Hey, you’re catching on quick, considering. You did well in science class, huh?”

           “I guess. I mean… I’ve seen all the time travel shows and movies, too. I’m just surprised it’s a real thing. And can be pulled off with such a small device. You… didn’t make it, did you? Is it stolen? Oh, and the obvious question, what year is it?”

           “Borrowed. And 1998, the last day of school—I’ll talk about why later. I brought us here this early to give us time to get oriented, while whoever lives here should be asleep. And maybe we can grab some breakfast while I explain what needs doing.”

           “Should be asleep?” Jace, still holding his head, said with a weak groan. “You mean you didn’t plan any of this out? Oh, wait, Laurie’s here, so obviously not.”

           “Jace, you must’ve gotten your memories back!” Millie said cheerfully.

           “Yeah, and I remember being chased out of the last home I went back in time to by some guy with a shotgun. So can we please get out of here, before whoever lives in my house right now comes at us with a baseball bat, or machine gun, or killer guard dog?”

           “Sure, sure. I’m just glad your memories are still there. Let’s get going.”

           “… Wait,” Jace said with a sigh. He spoke flatly, “Millie. You shoved me into the time tear when all I was wearing were my socks. I think we need to fix that before we go anywhere.” He added in a grumble, “Always with the shoe problems on these trips…”

           “Uh, my bad.” She thought for a moment, and looked at the closet. “Maybe…”

           As she rummaged around in there with her phone light, Laurie asked, “Jace, what did Millie mean? Is this seriously not the first time you’ve… done this sort of thing?”

           He admitted, “Well… No. There was this whole thing with me and my uncle…”

           Before he got into detail, Millie held up some ratty old adult-sized loafers, asking, “Think these will be missed? Oh, and Felicity’s ‘I was here’ memorial is still there, heh.”

           Luckily, the house hadn’t been outfitted with an alarm yet, so the three were able to sneak out without alerting anyone. After Millie quietly closed the front door behind them, they headed to the sidewalk, with Laurie getting a look at a familiar house in the dim predawn light as Jace’s borrowed shoes clopped against the ground.

           “Almost feels like we’re heading off to school in the winter,” she remarked and slung her backpack over her shoulders. “Not that I ever like getting up this early.”

           “Laurie, you really do seem to be taking all of this… kind of well,” Jace noted.

           “It’s definitely weird, and a lot to take in, and I’m sure I’d freak out if I stopped to think about the implications… But, hey, at least I’m with an adult—and a friend who seems to be an expert at all this already. I can have a total breakdown later.”

           “Millie, what’s the plan, what are we doing?” Jace curtly pushed for answers once they were walking the familiar streets of Desert Tree’s suburbia. “My uncle didn’t regress and screw up the past again, right? Did I hear you mention Charlie during your ravings?”

           “Don’t say ‘ravings,’ like I’m some mad scientist,” Millie replied. “We have to get to Cookton. Yes, I know it’s on the opposite end of the neighborhood—I went there, too. I figure we’d catch a morning bus and grab some breakfast before the big mission. I remember there being a Denny’s nearby… I think it’s a gas station in 2022.”

           “Whatever…” Jace groaned. “Let’s just make it fast. I’ve had my fill of the past.”

           With Laurie quietly tagging along, the three walked several blocks and soon arrived at the bus stop near the entrance to the neighborhood, just off of the typically busy highway, Kettle Road. An elderly woman was the only other person waiting there, and this being the first 1998 local Laurie had encountered, she wordlessly studied her mannerisms and clothing closely as the sky steadily lightened.

           A loud old bus showed up on time. After its air brakes blasted, Millie paid with a few quarters and they grabbed some seats near the front. During the ride, Laurie’s big eyes, partially obscured by hair, soaked in everything from the scant other passengers and the buildings they passed along the road. Very few were open yet, but most had bright signage which distinguished places that either still existed in the present—most of them fast food mainstays like the McDonald’s and Taco Bell—or were long gone before her generation came around. After just two stops, the pair followed Millie off the bus, and as promised, a bright, flickering Denny’s sign was just across the road.

           No important words had been exchanged by the time the waitress put down the breakfast plates with uncaring clatters, pretty much dropping a mix of scrambled eggs, toast, and hashbrowns in front of Laurie. She stared at the food before fork-poking it.

           “Everything look good?” the waitress asked them after a smoker’s cough.

           “Um… Do you know if the eggs are locally sourced?” Laurie replied.

           The employee stared at her like she had bugs coming out of her ears, and answered before walking away, “It came from the kitchen, kid. Have fun at school.”

           “What’s the matter, Laurie?” Millie wondered. “Never been to a Denny’s?”

           “Well. No…” she said, peppering the eggs. “We mostly eat at… healthy places.”

           “It’s not like this is a regular hangout for me.” Millie cut her sausages and looked around at the few other customers. “But, not many options this time of day. Huh. I think most of the people here are truckers or school bus drivers.”

           “This is all just… crazy… I mean, I can handle crazy; I put up with Toby and Chad. But—even just the bus ride. Seeing the old versions of fast food signs and buildings. Or the places I never even knew existed… We really are in the 90s.”

           “Jace’s uncle went back to 1995 because of his nostalgic needs, but I promise you, I’m not here to drag you two on a trip like that. We really do have a mission.”

           Pouring syrup on his double stack next to Laurie, Jace spoke up, “Can you tell us what that is, exactly? No more suspense. I hope it’s simple, so we can go home today.”

           Millie appeared just slightly taken aback, and replied after a few seconds, “Yeah, it should be simple. But I figured you wouldn’t mind also taking the chance to see your uncle’s old friends one more time, maybe chill at someone’s house for a bit. At least say hi. You were with us for a year, Jace. Those guys would love to see you again.”

           Her interest piqued, Laurie remarked, “Whoa, Jace, you got to know your uncle’s childhood pals? As in, like… Jared, Colin, Arthur, Sadie? Wait—what about your mom?”

           Jace sighed. “All of them… We got close. But they knew me as Jason Connor.”

           She snorted. “Wow. Some name. If they already know you, that means we’ve got to meet them! It would be amazing to see our millennial parents as kids. Or teens.” She frowned. “Jace, I know this somehow isn’t new for you, but aren’t you a little excited?”

           “I… I don’t know. I thought I was done with all this. Sure, we had our fun and plenty of good times, but I said my goodbyes. A lot of rough stuff happened, too.”

           “I can almost guarantee that this will stay quick and easy,” Millie said, as her eyes locked in on Laurie’s smart watch. “Crap, I forgot to mention—Laurie, hide your tech.”

           “Hm? Oh.” She undid the strap and pocketed it. “Yeah, good point.”

           “Anyway…” Millie reached into her hoodie pocket. “There’s barely even a plan to go over. Here, look at this.” She placed something quite modern on the table, if not also a little strange: what appeared to be a USB thumb drive, encased in a block of resin except for the actual port. Jace rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “… What?” Millie questioned. Once it hit her, she re-pocketed the semi-futuristic device. “Okay, look, I know I’m not as good at all this as Wes. Well, you saw it, so whatever, moving on.

           “Here’s your mission. Are you ready? Do you need to take notes? … Guess not. What I need you to do is… sneak into Cookton and slip it into Charlie Pippin’s bag.”

           Jace, waiting to hear the rest, did an “and then what?” hand gesture.

           “I mean, that’s it,” Millie affirmed. “Obviously he can’t notice, so you might have some challenge there. Maybe? And I know what you’re thinking. Why can’t I just do it? Because if I get caught, it’d be bad. My younger self is already meeting with him once a year and basically telling him to never time travel again, so he’d see me as a hypocrite, won’t trust any data I’m giving him, and will probably try even harder out of spite.”

           Laurie interjected, “Back up. Did you forget I have no idea what’s going on?”

           “Uh. True… Jace? Maybe you could give her a better summary than I can?”

           With a deep breath, Jace explained, “In another timeline, a version of my uncle partnered with this guy, André Corathine, in the 2040s to build a time machine. There was an accident during testing that sent him to the far future, and André to the past—where he built a time door and had it installed in Wes’ house to try and bring him home. My uncle went through the door to ’95, then came back and took me on his second run, where we had… ‘fun.’ Meanwhile, someone else kept working on the original project on his own, and found a way to send his mind through time. That’d be Charlie Pippin, the ‘coolest kid ever’ that… went off the deep end. He’s still stuck, in his now teenage self. Millie helped us; she’s the record keeper and knows the whole story, and keeps tabs on Charlie. Because he knows everything, too. He was always a wild card, and—”

           “And I want to push him into making a time machine, sooner better than later.”

           Jace’s mouth noticeably dropped open, and he replied sharply, “Millie, what?”

           “Hear me out. I’ve skipped around—saw where he’s headed. He will start a new lab in the 2040s, when he’s getting old and feeling mortality creeping up again. But right now, he’s debating whether or not to let it go. So… if he finds a flash drive with ‘Time Machine Blueprints’ engraved into it, and has all summer to agonize over its contents, he’ll definitely pursue it at the earliest opportunity. It’ll still take him years, but when he fires it up…” She smiled deviously. “It’s designed to self-sabotage. Boom. It blows up in his face. Years wasted, dreams shattered. He’ll be shut down, as I doubt he’d try again.”

           “Hm…” Jace scratched his chin. “Actually… That could work. Assuming that him getting a time machine really is bad and everything, and we want to stop him.”

           “I did my research. USB-C doesn’t come out until 2014, making that the earliest he can even read the files, after spending over fifteen years wondering what’s on board. And it’s in a resin block in case he tries to get clever with jury-rigging it to function with current ports. If that’s even possible. If he wants to try, he has to chew through the resin and risk damaging the goods.” The waitress dropped the check between empty plates. Millie caught her breath, then grabbed it and grinned. “I do love 1998 prices.”

           Laurie, in a daze, wondered, “Jace? Could you maybe… go over all that again?”

           “He’ll have time for that as we go,” Millie said, looking at the early morning light outside as she paid the bill. “And I’m sure he has more questions for me, too. There’s a little more to the plan, but let’s get you to good old Cookton first. Last day of school!”   

           Cookton was Desert Tree’s only middle school and brought together kids once separated across the neighborhood, who’d gone to either Sherman Miller or Desert Tree Elementary. That meant it was a much larger institution and had a centralized location, in the middle of the sprawling suburb and a few blocks away from the busy highway. As it was within walking distance of Denny’s, the three got to enjoy the crisp morning air on the way there—gradually joining more and more student walkers as they drew near.

           The two-story campus looked pretty much as it did in 2022, with a large main building holding most of the classrooms and a few smaller structures along its east side, built like a plaza around a central quad. To the west were wide, fenced-in exercise areas.

           “Yep,” Jace commented once they hit the sidewalk in front of the big front doors. “Place has the same ‘busy yet slow’ atmosphere it did on our last days of school here.”

           Laurie added, “Except fashion is dated, kids have CD players, and some of them are… Wait, I know this. Broody, dark clothing, mascara… Cookton had goths in 1998?”

           “It’s mostly the eighth-graders. It was taking off,” Millie replied. “When it quiets down out here, I’ll give you some goodies to help with your quest. Jace, you okay?”

           “Yeah,” he said shakily as he looked around. “Just a little nervous about what to say if they see me… Hey, is that Stu and Mikey over there? They’d be in… eighth grade.”

           “Huh, where?” Millie said and tried to spot two of the crowd’s older kids.

           “They just went inside. Anyway, Millie, what do we do if—”

           His inquiry was suddenly interrupted by a familiar shout, “Jason? Jason Connor?!”

           Bracing himself, Jace turned around to see the old gang approaching, everyone nearly two years older than when last he saw them. Upon facial confirmation, the teen version of his uncle, known as Wessy to Jace and leading the pack, beamed vibrantly.

           “Oh my God. Jason! Holy crap!” he exclaimed as he and the others rushed over.

           “Duuuude, yo,” Jared said and came in for a fist bump. “What’r’ya doin’ in town?”

           Jace replied unsteadily, “I, uh… It’s just a quick visit. I thought I’d surprise you.”

           “Pretty hardcore, getting up this early just to say hi before school starts,” Arthur remarked with a big grin. “And killer threads! Well, er, except for those shoes.”

           Colin, who had a new pair of glasses, added jokingly, “Dang it, Jason. You just made sure today goes even slower. We’re hitting the mall after. You’ll join, right?”

           “Um… Yeah. Yeah! You know it.” He looked at Arthur’s twin sister Ash, staying in the back of the group and looking sheepish. “So, where’s Zach? And Celeste?”

           Sadie answered, “She has gym in the morning and shows up first thing. And his social circle is huge these days. But I’m sure he’ll join us when he finds out you’re back.”

           The bell rang and students began to rush inside. Wessy eyed Laurie and adult Millie, and asked before joining the masses, “Are you gonna introduce us, Jason?”

           “Sure. Uh, this is… my other cousin. And my… new… stepmom?”

           This triggered some murmurs among the group. The old buds quickly shrugged it off, said their little goodbyes, and headed in. Except for Teen Millie.

           Glaring at Jace, she muttered, “I can’t believe you’re trying to pass off adult me as your mom. That’s just weird. I don’t know what you’re up to, but we’ll be talking later.”

           “… That seems about how I’d react,” Millie said as her younger self went inside.