s3.e2

New Rerun

           Warren insisted on a summary of events before he would even officially rescue Wes and Jace from their potential tomb. Wes grudgingly obliged, giving one as quickly as possible. Fortunately, just talking about the bomb was enough to appease the kid.

           “All right, all right… That explains why you lost your quartzes, and the big temporal disturbance I detected that led me down here…” Warren thought a moment. “But how’d you find out about the bomb, and this place to begin with?”

           “Can we please get out of here first?” Wes grumbled.

           “Yeah, fine. But we’re heading to July 4^th, ’95 first so you can pick up your crap.” Wes and Jace watched as he took out a blue quartz and tapped it. “Gimme a sec…”

           “What’s with the color on that one?” Jace was the first to ask.

           Warren glanced at it, then back at Jace. “You haven’t seen this one before? Huh, yeah, guess not. I ran back and forth so many times looking for you, I was starting to wear out my pinks. So, I went back to my hideout and started using this one. By the way, here.” Warren took out and handed them both faded rosy quartzes. “Be careful with them, they’re the last ones I got. This blue one is special and rare, I think only given to elite time cops or something. It can make portals—multi-use time tears.”

           Warren demonstrated by squeezing the crystal and creating a mirror-like vertical portal in front of them that glowed in a deep blue. Wes and Jace studied it closely.

           “Go on through. Each bit of mass costs some energy, but it’ll hold.”

           More concerned with spending another minute down in the place than trying out unfamiliar time tech, Wes and Jace stepped on in and emerged into another version of the Time Lab lobby. The lights were back on, and the elevator was running again.

           Warren came through, closed the portal, and the three quietly proceeded onto the elevator and took it back to the surface—Wes breathing a sigh of relief on the way.

           “We owe you, kid. Thought we were about to die down there,” he said once the doors opened and they were back among the drywall crumbs.

           The light coming in through Galaxy Hub’s construction tarp was now dim, but punctuated by bursts of sound and colorful lights. The fireworks show across the pond was happening; Warren had taken them a few hours past their prior ’95 arrival point.

           Wes and Jace replaced the pillar panels a second time, grabbed all of their demolition gear and lights, long after they had last used them, and headed out into the nearly-complete park. The light from the fireworks guided them out and back towards the entrance. On the way, Warren was fully caught up.

           Walking with his arms up behind his neck, the teen muttered, “So, after you saw a post-quake Royal Valley in’98, you… ‘accidentally’ went to 1989 and met André…”

           “Do you know him?” Jace asked.

           Warren shook his head. “I know of him. He’s one of the reasons I’m here, too. I take it you learned all about the other version of yourself, Wes?”

           “Not that I’m happy about it. I’ve already told myself to do everything I can to not become that guy, but apparently it hasn’t changed anything yet, because we’re all still here. Also… Any idea what would’ve happened to you?”

           “You mean why I disappeared in this alternate timeline? Can’t say for sure. The time cops could’ve caught up with me, or I found the bomb first and… didn’t take care of it too well. There are two reasons I’d abandon you: I’m in time prison, or I blew up.”

           “Or you’re just ignoring me again until I learn some new lesson.” Wes finished looking at the worn quartz in his hand and pocketed it. “Anyway… what now?”

           “I’ll take you to a minute before this now-erased quake and let you resume everything from right where you last left it. Think of it like loading a save point.”

           “Won’t that mean there will be multiple copies of us?” Jace worried.

           “No, actually. Quartz overwrites the user’s location the moment they re-arrive. It’s part of the tech; no duplicates. You just have to be smart about where you come in.”

           “Wish he told us that earlier…” Wes muttered to Jace as they arrived at the gate.

           “Just enjoy the fireworks, Wes,” Jace replied, his eyes on the sky explosions.

           With all of the nearby spectators in the city focused on the light show above the water and in front of the soon-to-open park, Wes and Jace barely got any looks as they headed downtown with sledgehammer and crowbar in hand. Wes figured that Warren was guiding them to the restaurant he had mentioned during the catch-up, and as it was a bit of a walk, he saw a chance to ask the ninja-kid a burning question.

           Keeping out of earshot of Jace, Wes kept at Warren’s pace and got out his inquiry, “So, do you know why the quartz glitched and sent us to 1989?”

           “It didn’t glitch,” Warren explained. “You programmed in a time prior to its earliest possible accessible date, and it defaulted to the moving time horizon.”

           “Time horizon… As in, the furthest into the past anyone can go?”

           “Or the furthest in the future, yeah. The horizons are always progressing in real time. And there’s no going past those outer barriers. You get what that means, right? When you’re on the edge, there’s no going back. You couldn’t fix any mistakes, not by a second. Events solidify and became perma-history. You were in danger.”

           “Freaking langoliers, man…”

           Warren raised an eyebrow and grumbled, “Huh?”

           “Fictional time-devourers of the past. It’s like they were at my back.”

           “Yeah, sure. However you want to see it. Point stands. Dangerous place.”

           “What about the future? The date on the quartz goes all the way to the 29^th century. Does that… Does that mean everything up until then is written? Because, really, ever since I saw that, I’ve felt like Neo waking up from the matrix. Like I stepped outside of destiny or time itself. Even though, I guess, I could still just be playing things out the way it was always written and free will really is just a myth.”

           Warren thought about what to say again, and after they walked another city block, he finally replied, “Just because the time horizon extends all those centuries out, doesn’t mean any of it is real yet. Think of it as history waiting to happen.”

           “But the time cops have to come from the future, right?”

           “Maybe they just operate out of a place where time doesn’t exist.”

           “I dunno, kid. I think you’re trying to mislead me here.”

           “Look, I don’t have all the answers, Wes. But I do know that the more you dig, the more of a target you make yourself. They’ll come after you harder and more often.”

           They arrived at Main Street, now fairly emptied out as so many people were elsewhere to watch the festivities. Across the main thoroughfare was Venetian, the Italian restaurant Wes and Jace were eating at as the earthquake struck.

           Warren set his blue quartz’s clock to 7:14 PM, April 1^st 1996, and gave Wes one more word of warning, “Stay away from the Time Lab, too. It’s going to be a temporal hotbed that both the cops and the daemon will probably take more interest in from now on. Unless, of course, another earthquake gets triggered because of a bomb.”

           “Trust me, I don’t want to go back down there,” Wes said, giving his attaché case a shake to make sure he could still hear the ‘Toys’ floppy disk rattling about.

           The three went through a portal inside a back alley, and the sky lightened to an early evening blue. The street was busy again, and Wes could spot out the table where he had eaten a fancy dinner with Jace quite a long while ago from their perspective. The last of dinner and his half-filled glass of white wine were still sitting there, preserved.

           “Good to be back…” Wes sighed. “But you worried me, ninja boy. Don’t disappear on us again. Um, also, since you’re here… What should we do now?”

           He answered, “Just try to lay low, keep out of trouble, and don’t do anything stupid. There shouldn’t be much to worry about until June.”

           “June? What happens in June? Hey, we gotta go back to 2020 eventually.”

           “Not until I tell you we’re done here.”

           “Fine. Bossy.”

           “Also…” Warren turned to Jace. “You’ll be going to summer camp. Take up the offer when it’s given. You’ll thank me later,” he said with a small grin. “All right. Bye.”

           “Summer camp…?” Jace muttered as they watched Warren leave through the portal and close it behind him. “That sounds hot and buggy.”

           Wes shrugged and walked over to a nearby ATM, where he stuck in his card to check his balance and withdraw some needed funds. “Hope you look good in khakis.”

           “You’re right about Warren. He is freakin’ bossy.”

           “Well, good news is, all the money I spent on our alternate timeline hotel is back,” Wes said and grabbed the fifties that were getting spit out. “Nice… Payday.”

           Jace eyed their empty table and said, “You need to pay for dinner again, dude.”

           “Ah, geez…” Wes grumbled. “You’re bossy, too, you little moral compass.”

           Before Wes had the chance to cross the street and appease Jace, the clock hit 7:15, and a distant crack of thunder echoed across the clear sky. No one but them seemed to notice it, which led Wes to make a conjectural statement.

           “I think that was just the sound of a timeline snapping back in place.”

           “I hope so,” Jace replied. “Ah, man, I can’t wait to sleep in my bed again.”

           Once they had walked over to the restaurant and Wes put down a fifty on the table for the second time, he finally seemed to relax a bit. “We did good, bud.”

           “We did just save King Arcade, Royal Valley, friendships, and Wright’s eye.”

           Wes put a hand on his nephew’s shoulder, adding, “And your very existence.”

           “Yeah… Actually, I kind of already feel real again.”

           Wes’ car had been saved, too, and was right where he’d left it. They took it home, were equally relieved to see the cottage, and right away, kicked off shoes and collapsed on the couch to watch the evening lineup that was once interrupted by quake coverage.

           “Just like things’re supposed to be,” Jace said wistfully, his eyelids already feeling heavy. “And I’m glad the whole day wasn’t overwritten. April 1^st recess was perfect.”

           “Oh, yeah—no more school getting cancelled for a week while you wait for the portables to arrive. By tomorrow, I think everything will feel back to normal.”

           “You know, for the first time…” Jace yawned. “I can’t wait to go to school.”

           As Jace stepped off the bus with his friends the next morning, he really couldn’t be more excited to see the building in the early light, free of any major cracks or broken windows—the students not at all aware of the dark future they narrowly avoided.

           He quickly found Millie, leaning against the wall by the main doors in her usual observational way, but without taking notes about her peers that often earned her scorn. He almost wanted to hug her, like how he was greeted by her teen self, but he practiced restraint. He wouldn’t do that in front of the gang, whom he waved off at the entrance.

           “Hey, Jace,” she said coolly. “You look stupidly happy today. What’s up?”

           “I have… the most incredible story you’ll ever hear.”

           “Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that. Tell me about it at recess.”

           Remembering something about the day, Jace looked up at the incoming gray clouds and replied, “I’m pretty sure there won’t be a recess, actually.”

           Millie’s first hint that Jace really did have big news came when his prediction about a big rain storm came true, right as lunch began. He couldn’t forget its arrival; in another world, it was like the heavens were crying about Royal Valley’s new fate. Now the raindrops were for just another day where recess got moved to the school library.

           For the first twenty minutes of free time, Jace told Millie all about the quake, what her alternate older self had done for them, and whatever details he could remember about her reporting on all of their classmates. She was fascinated, and barely said a word, instead mostly listening along and nodding on occasion.

           Once the tale was concluded, she leaned back in her woody chair across one of the many library tables, stared up at the skylight being pelted with rain, and sighed out, “I always liked being surrounded by books on a rainy day…” She snapped back up and asked, “And what do I look like in a few years? I’m not covered in zits, right?”

           “Nah. Mostly the same, but taller. Oh, and you had a nice pair of boots.”

           “King Arcade, Wright, kids going bad or moving away… Whew, it’s a lot to take in. But thanks for giving me the rundown of my other self’s research. Now she won’t fade away into the abyss of destroyed timelines in vain!” She grinned and made a fist.

           “That’s a really scary idea, Millie.”

           “I want more deets on this rotten version of Royal Valley. And your uncle’s take, too—this is too much to cover in one sitting. Lemme come over this weekend.”

           “Well, maybe.” Jace looked over at one of the bigger tables, where the rest of the group was sitting and chatting—Arthur the only one among them actually reading. “I do kinda want to catch up with the pre-teen versions of the gang, too.”

           “Yeah, I get that. Just one quick question is on my mind… You’re gonna have to do the last few weeks of fifth grade for a third time! Heh, that must suck.”

           “Thanks, Millie,” Jace muttered. “But that’s not really a question.”

           “Oh, I was just wondering about Ms. Porter’s lessons. Any changes there so far?”

           Jace shook his head. “She’s going through the same stuff we covered ‘last time,’ but since we lost a week, the pace seems better, slower. Also, the lunches in the hot portable were miserable. Seriously, the quake timeline does suck.”

           “And that makes me want to learn more about it. But, I’ll let you hang out with your pals. I’ll just…” She looked around at all the books. “Actually, I’ll hang out, too.”

           The circle getting a little more used to her presence, none of them had any real complaints about Millie joining Jace and the others at the big table. Robby also happened to be there, his eyes glued to a book about California’s state parks.

           “Hey, Jace,” Wessy greeted him. “And… Millie, again. Rain’s crazy, huh?”

           “It’s annoying. I really wanted to see what Zach would do with The Dump today,” Jared said, peeking over Jace’s shoulder and back to the computer lab window.

           Wessy and Jace also glanced over, seeing Zach at one of the computers and looking pretty intense about something. But his demeanor changed instantly and he became calm once Mr. Huggins walked by to check what he had on his screen.

           “Maybe he’s having a serious Dump planning session in there,” Wessy suggested.

           “Oh, real nice combination of words there, Wes,” Jared replied with a snort.

           Millie interjected, “He’s not. I checked. He’s playing a racing game and hiding the window every time Huggins comes by. I get the feeling he’s been doing that for years.”

           “Right, just like you’ve been spying on everyone for years,” Sadie remarked.

           “C’mon, Sadie. How am I supposed to ‘get better’ if you keep bringing that up?”

           “Why’d Zach’s class get the computer lab?” Arthur bemoaned. “Kinda not fair.”

           Wessy took a lazy posture in his chair and breathed in. “I dunno, I kind of like it in here. The… booky smell is nice. Maybe I should’ve spent more time in the library.”

           “Not too late to start,” Colin replied, as Tammy walked by with three books under her arm. He flipped a page of a science magazine, adding, “Place is a sanctuary from the fast and loud world of recess and the school halls.”

           “You’re an even bigger nerd than me, Colin,” Ash said jokingly.

           He nudged his glasses and replied with a sigh, “Nothing wrong with slowing down sometimes. The library actually has a lot of pretty cool stuff to read.”

           Before he could cite any examples, Willa came over to the table. She had gone back to her usual overly-needy self, the shadow version Jace had last seen having been banished. She was smiling, but now that he knew who she had the potential to become, Jace felt a little bad for her and wondered if he’d get a chance to give her some advice.

           But she didn’t need it today, as was made clear when she spoke to the table. “Hey guys! I’m doing a little personality experiment with my classmates. Wanna participate?”

           “Nope,” Wessy, Jared, and Arthur all said at the same time.

           “It’s real easy.” She opened and held up a composition book like she had taken a page out of Millie’s routine. “For now, I’m just getting down everyone’s fav Nick show.”

           “Nickelodeon shows?” Wessy perked up ever so slightly. “Um, that might not be so bad. Just don’t sell our answers to Millie or something, okay?”

           Millie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “I’m right here…”

           “Clarissa Explains it All,” Sadie was the first to answer, and did so right away.

           Willa nodded, said a couple “uh-huh”s, and waited for the next response.

           Jared scoffed at the whole idea, but still replied with, “Ren & Stimpy.”

           “Um, Rocko’s Modern Life,” Colin said. “Filbert is kinda my turtle spirit animal.”

           “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” was Arthur’s answer. “Nothing beats it on a late Saturday night. Ash likes her scary stories, too. Don’t let her tell you otherwise.”

           Ash shrugged and replied, “Sure, but I can never get enough of Double Dare’s obstacle course. But, if game shows don’t count, I like the weirdness of Pete and Pete.”

           “Secret World of Alex Mack,” Millie said after taking a moment to think about it.

           “Um, Rugrats,” Wessy answered. “It just has so many memorable episodes.”

           “I think I’m with Wes,” Jace followed up.

           Feeling Willa’s stare on him, Robby looked up from his book and fulfilled her wish, saying, “Space Cases has promise, but Doug was always my go-to Nick show.”

           Willa wrote that down, but his was the only response that earned curious looks from all the others. Robby seemed suddenly put on the spot and looked right back.

           “What?” he exclaimed. “What’s wrong with Doug?”

           Jared replied, “I mean, it’s okay, but I didn’t know it could be someone’s favorite.”

           “What’re you talking about? He works out all his problems with his imagination.”

           Wessy then proceeded to mildly eviscerate the kid’s favorite show. “He imagines things as much worse than they actually are, some of the characters look pretty strange, and I could never tell if he was supposed to be in elementary or middle school.”

           Robby sunk down into his chair and breathed out, “But… he’s a good guy.”

           Sadie then spoke up, “Hey, Doug isn’t bad. It’s like a warm blanket of a show. Even if his obsession with Patty is a little weird, and Judy is too much of a super-typical always-annoyed teenage sister… And it has blue, orange, green, and… purple people.”

           Robby turned red in the face as Willa smiled, jotted it down, and said, “Thanks!”

           “Doug is a good show…” Robby could be heard muttering.

           Just as Willa left, another girl came up to the table, who had been going around chatting with the kids from Ms. Porter’s class. Jace recognized her from recess—she had thin-rimmed glasses, braided hair kept together with two blue bows, and an eternally optimistic aura—but he didn’t know her name; it wasn’t like he paid much attention to the kids outside his class while at school. He was pretty sure she was in Zach’s, though.

           “Hello,” she said and cleared her throat like she was about to make a sales pitch. “I was just wondering if any of you will be going to Camp Morning Dew this year. Sign-ups are already open, and the camp is running for everyone between eight and eleven years old, during the middle two weeks of June. Can I count on some of you coming?”

           “What are you trying to push on us, Marianne?” Jared said with a grunt.

           “Oh, not much. It’s just, there’s a friendly little rivalry between Sherman Miller and Desert Tree Elementary there, and we didn’t quite win last year, so I’m trying to gather up the best our school has to offer. Zachary speaks highly of you all, so I was hoping…”

           “I know Felicity goes there,” Sadie replied. “And me and Colin have been going the last two years, and I think we both plan to again.” She then looked around at the other faces at the table, a few looking uninterested. “Dunno about them, though.”

           “Why should we waste our summer at Camp Mountain Dew?” Jared laughed.

           Marianne frowned and nudged her glasses. “It is not called that, and, frankly, that is a very old and tired joke. I promise, it is a very fulfilling and enriching camp program.”

           “I already signed up,” Robby said quietly, his eyes still on his book.

           “Oh, good! Can I count on anyone else? Anyone…? Hm, well, I would love it if you changed your minds. The more fifth-graders we have, the better. Thank you!”

           Jace had kept quiet, simply out of a desire to not have to speak to the young lady.

           “Little Miss Perfect just wants to win a bunch of dumb games,” Jared said. “Like I’d be caught dead tugging a rope in the sun, or swimming in an infested waterhole.”

           “I’m with Jared on this one,” Wessy added. “Two weeks of no television or video games? Sleeping in some big cabin with a bunch of snore-filled bunk beds? Nope!”

           “Actually, I saw some kids playing Game Boys last year…” Colin replied.

           Arthur spoke up, “I didn’t want to say anything, but our Dad already signed us up, too. From what I’ve read, it’s a pretty good summer camp. I dunno. Might be fun.”

           “Not my idea of it,” Millie said. “Even if summers in The Flamingo are very boring… I couldn’t imagine doing nature walks, or… Blech… Bonding with camp kids.”

           “You three don’t even want to give it a shot?” Sadie grumbled and looked rather disappointed. “C’mon, it might be our last chance to hang out together before middle school—and we’d get to be the oldest kids at camp, too. Jason, you’d try it, right?”

           “I, uh…” Jace sighed, having no real want to attend, either, but still trusting in Warren’s advice. “Y-yeah, I’m planning on going, too… It sounds really… neat.”

           Millie gave him a rather surprised look as a reaction, and then seemed to be a bit contemplative herself. Jace actually already knew Wessy would end up going—his uncle had told him as much last night—but he wondered if it might be worth it to try and convince him a little sooner. Then he suddenly recollected an old book that he had read when he was a fourth-grader. Right now, it would be a much newer title.

           “Be right back,” Jace said and got up. “I’m going to go look for something.”

           The table discussion moved to past summer camp experiences, while Jace tried to remember the book’s name and searched the stacks. He found himself going further and further back, towards the library’s rear corner where students’ voices faded away. The only sound and movement that deep in came from the librarian he passed, putting books back. He thought he was getting close to his title, when he heard… sniffling.

           Deciding to investigate, he went towards whomever was upset and peeked around the corner of a stack. He saw her sitting in the corner, scrunched on the floor. It was the last person he’d expect to see crying and staring at a plush penguin in her hands.

           In his surprise of seeing big, tough club bouncer Delilah, he lingered a moment too long, and her eyes darted upward. He ducked back into cover, but it was too late.

           “You might as well come out,” she said, feigning aggression. “Run away, and I’ll just have to tackle you and smash books on your head until you forget what you saw.”

           Jace nervously exhaled and stepped into the light, giving her an unstable grin.

           “Oh, it’s just you,” Delilah said, and went back to sitting on the library’s gray carpet. “Eh… You’re okay, Jason. You don’t gossip. Would still be nice if you never brought this up, ever. The… crying… And the fact that I collect Beanie Babies.”

           “I, um, didn’t know you liked them.” He came closer, checking the corridors for any other kids that might’ve been spying. “Do you bring them to school a lot?”

           “One a day. But they usually don’t leave my backpack. This one is called Waddle. She’s my favorite. They give me my confidence, or, just, you know… a reliable friend.”

           “It’s all good. I don’t have any—Beanies, I mean—but I like to check ‘em out in stores. You okay, though? You can tell me. By now, I’m kinda known for…”

           “Helping your classmates, yeah. It’s so nice that it’s almost annoying. But I don’t think there’s much you can do for me. How do you fix having two older brothers?”

           “Is that what’s eating at you? You don’t get along with them? How old?”

           “Fourteen and fifteen. They’re like a pair of big, dumb twins. The teasing happens every day. And every other day? Some new form of torment. I just don’t get what their problem is. Our parents won’t do anything about it because they otherwise don’t actually get in trouble that much, or get caught in the act. But they’re total jerks.”

           “Yeah, so, home-life stuff is a little tougher… But I’ve had bullies before. You just gotta assert yourself, even if it means fighting back.”

           “Jason, I’ve seen that episode of every show. I do ‘assert’ and I do fight back.”

           “W-well, then try… telling them honestly how you feel, and that you aren’t going to take it anymore, and if they keep at it, you’ll find a way to make their lives harder.”

           “I mean, I guess if I was the one that started that kind of talk, it might make a difference? It would take them off guard, right? If I invaded their comfort zone instead of waiting to be the victim, when they’re already fired up and stuff?”

           Jace shrugged. “Uh, sure. It’s worth a try.”

           “Is that how you got your bullies off your back?”

           They weren’t actually bullies—just a few kids that were making fun of his freak-outs towards the end of fifth grade more often than others did. Even so…

           “Um, I didn’t actually work up the guts to do it,” Jace said with a nervous laugh and rubbed his shoulder. “But I bet you could. You can be tough and scary, D’.”

           “Yeah. You’re right. I’ve even managed to kick Hutch out of The Dump before, when he was annoying everyone, and he can be intimidating. Thanks, Jace. Just don’t let this get out, or he’ll definitely try to take my place. And I have a reputation to uphold.”

           Jace gave her a smile, and hoped he had scored another win just by saying the right combination of words. As he headed back to others, he saw the book he was looking for at the end of the shelf, sticking out like a sore thumb.

           The rest of the week was uneventful and slow, just the way Jace wanted it to be. Zach’s big cool birthday party was back on the schedule, and after school on Friday, Wes took Millie and Jace down to the Blockbuster on Kettle to pick out three movies.

           One was just for the adult among them, one was for Zach’s party—Jace had been chosen to pick half of the sleepover’s two movies, since the others thought he had “good taste in film”—and the last videotape would be something the three of them could check out together the night Millie was scheduled to be over for a while.

           “And that’ll be the perfect time to ask you all about the quake timeline,” she said as they all hopped out of the car and headed toward the blue video rental store.

           “Does that ex-mercenary-type dad of yours go on a lot of dates?” Wes wondered.

           “Nah. A few a year, and the women never stick around long. But it’s nice to hang out at a less-old adult’s place for once. You have no idea how used to ‘old people smell’ I got at the Flamingo. Plus, none of them even let me watch PG-13 movies!”

           Jace, going inside with his book tucked under his arm, replied, “I just don’t know how much more he can add, Millie. I’ve already told you everything I can remember.”

           “Yeah, but adults have a totally different perspective on things.”

           The Blockbuster was just like it usually was on a Friday afternoon: fairly busy, with a nearly-depleted new release section, and previews for upcoming ones playing quietly on a loop on the hanging televisions, which everyone seemed to ignore.

           “Go find your movies,” Wes said to the kids. “I’m going to get something R-rated. Nice and meaty, preferably mean. I’ve gone through all my iPad movies, and I need something with lots of swearing to watch tomorrow night while I’m alone.”

           Jace gave him a quick glare and reminded, “You let me watch about half the R movies you rent, anyway, dude.”

           Wes waved them off so he could get some space, and Jace and Millie began to scour the shelves for something to watch. But Jace was a bit distracted by the book, and kept glancing through the pages while Millie checked the backs of videotapes.

           “Why do you like that so much?” she asked him.

           “Hm? Oh. It’s still around in 2020. I never checked it out, but I liked to look at the pictures whenever the class was in the library. They’re good photos, real quality production stuff. Wes calls them ‘idealistic,’ but I just think they’re cool.”

           He flipped through the pages and showed Millie a professional photograph of a group of kids in vibrant tees and khaki shorts holding pinecones, as a camp counselor gave them a thumbs-up. It was cheesy, but self-aware of it and thus sort of funny.

           She took the book and started swiping at the pages herself, through more pictures of summer camp kids overly enjoying their time outdoors.

           “What is this?” she asked and closed it to see the cover. “Fun Times at Morning Dew? Is this some sort of expensive brochure or something?”

           “Sort of, I guess. I’m actually reading it for the first time—it’s not missing a few pages yet—and it’s kinda written in a ‘this place is hip and awesome’ sort of way. If you look inside, you’ll see the copyright date is 1993, so it’s still pretty new.”

           “I could tell. Those bright pastel shirts mostly went out of style a couple years back.” She looked at a few more pages and pictures, and stopped at one of a kid doing a power pose with a fishing rod while a counselor held up a fake fish by the lake. “It looks like the photographer had fun, too.”

           “I think I always found the idea of a sleepaway summer camp, er, interesting? But I never asked my mom about it, because I just liked doing nothing but play games and watch movies during the summer. But now… I mean, if a lot of us go, it could be neat.”

           “Yeah, I’m not so sure, Jace. I accidentally watched half of Friday the 13^th once, and I feel like those places are where you go if you wanna get knifed by a psycho.”

           “C’mon, that’s not going to happen. Look here.” He took the book back and went to the first real page, where the camp was introduced. “It says Camp Morning Dew was created in 1972, and it’s earned a good reputation in the area… as far as summer camps go. It’s by a mountain lake just a mile away from Castle Hill Overlook. It isn’t even that far away. And it says it has ‘pleasant’ temperatures year-round.”

           “Hold on, are you trying to convince me to go or something? I would be totally out of my element there. Getting chased by machete-maniacs is just a maybe, but I know for sure that summer camps are all about getting everyone involved in stuff. I’m the kind to lay back, watch the stuff happen, and record it, you know? Are you even up for that?”

           “Maybe? By the way, Wes actually convinced my mom he was taking me on a camping trip before he dragged me to the past, so it’d be kinda like a full-circle thing.”

           “Hmm… Hey, how do you watch movies in the future? Are they holographic?”

           “Nah. It’s by streaming, mostly. Kind of like Pay-Per-View, but not as crazy expensive? All the Blockbusters closed a few years ago in my time. I don’t even think this one was still open when I came around. That’s why Wes likes being in here.”

           “I wish places wouldn’t just disappear so often…” Once they had moved onto another row of videos, she added, “I know I’ve asked before, but did he really not do much research about my future self? I want to know how much I’m branching off.”

           “Not really. I think you were hard to get info on? He knows you didn’t have any kids, so you don’t have to worry about any not being born. But, really, you’re probably already on such a different path now that you might as well write your own future.”

           “I guess that’s one way to look at it. Oh, here we go.” She pulled a tape off the shelf that featured Christopher Lloyd as a fake summer camp counselor, tied up to a sign by some punk kids. “I never got around to seeing this. It’s from 1994, I think?”

           Jace shrugged. “Camp Nowhere? Got no other ideas. Could be worth a watch.”

           “Maybe I really should get out of my comfort zone. Dad’s always saying I need to get out more. Besides…” she grinned, “I’ve always kinda been curious what all of my ‘subjects’ do once school is out for the year. I bet they get really weird at camp.”

           “Probably not a good idea to spy on kids in the middle of the woods, Millie. They could fight back, make you disappear, and get away with it out in the badlands.”

           She gave him a snort and lightly whacked his shoulder. Jace’s eyes then caught sight of a movie that would be good for Zach’s birthday sleepover, for just the boys.

           “Did you get invited to the party tomorrow?” Jace asked and grabbed the movie.

           “Actually, yeah. But I think Zach was just trying to be nice. Because he looked relieved when I said no. I’m not quite ready to be that social and friendly just yet.”

           Wes found them, a movie in his hand, and asked, “You both ready to go?”

           “Yep.” Jace handed him their tapes. “What’d you get?”

           “Settled on Goodfellas. The essential mafia movie. I’ve only seen it once in full.”

           The kids held back as Wes went to check out, Jace telling Millie, “Watch. He’ll get a king-sized Crunch bar. He always does—Blockbuster makes him think of them.”

           They watched in anticipation like this was some big event. Once Wes did indeed grab some crispy chocolate, Millie laughed and replied, “He’s that predictable, huh?”

           “I know. Weird, right? Yeah… He has a lot of quirks.”

           That evening, with Wes in the living room chair and Jace and Millie taking up the couch, they chatted as Camp Nowhere played on the cottage TV. Wes would keep coming up with new little details he remembered about the alternate 1998, and then Millie would ask follow-up questions before their attention switched back briefly to the film.

           Which was just okay. The concept being that a bunch of adolescents didn’t like the camps their parents were sending them to, so they hire a former drama teacher to play counselor and make their own camp, which is fun… until anarchy inevitably results.

           Halfway through it, Wes chimed in, “This is so 90s that it almost hurts. Don’t get any wrong impressions about what Morning Dew is like, kids. I’d give specifics, but I don’t remember much. The whole experience was kind of a blur, like I was too high off of graduating, too excited about summer, and too confused about how the whole thing worked to take it all in. I’m just glad Colin was there for me. Kid’s a summer camp vet.”

           Jace replied, “Marianne’s been ‘recruiting’ all week. What’s her deal?”

           “I just recall things getting really competitive.”

           “That’s in her nature,” Millie said. “I think she’s even worse than Celeste. She tries to deny it, but Marianne Lowell always was a busybody and an overachiever. You should see her outside of the grocery store during Girl Scout cookie season. I’ve had three grades with her at school, and in group projects, she could be a tyrant.”

           “Oh, great,” Jace sighed. “That’s just what I need. Like Warren isn’t enough.”

           “Don’t let it deter you, bud,” Wes said. “He made it sound like you’ll have a good time regardless. Besides, you should be used to competitions at this point.”

           After a few more minutes of the movie, a lingering question hit Jace again.

           “Hey, Wes. I saw a Nicktoons video collection at the store, and it made me remember something I wanted to ask. How come Doug gets made fun of?”

           “Oh, yeah,” Millie chuckled, “Robby said that it was his favorite.”

           “Ah, there’s nothing terrible about Doug,” Wes responded. “It simply exists well, ya know? It’s… a solid 7.3 out of 10. A good tapioca pudding. A lovely shade of beige.”

           Millie agreed. “That’s a good way to put it. But Robby does have unique taste.”

           “I just hope his quake-universe shut-in self didn’t watch marathons of it.”

           “To be fair, it sounds like they all made mistakes. Now, tell me more about this bulked-up version of Brian and paint me a clearer picture of the King Arcade ruins.”

           The next day at noon, everyone gathered up at Zach’s big two-story house, their presents in hand as a few chauffeur parents backed out of the driveway in two separate cars. Zach had invited everyone, so Ash and Celeste were in attendance as well. The only things on their minds while they waited at the door must have been just what Zach’s big surprise had to be. Jace, of course, already knew from alt-Zach’s post-quake grumblings.

           “Cool friends and rad buddies!” Zach exclaimed with open arms the moment after answering the repeated rings. “Come on in, drop the gifts on the dining table and let’s gather up in the living room for the big reveal. Heh, you’re gonna love this.”

           Zach’s house, which was seldom visited simply because he preferred hanging out at other people’s homes, was among the nicer ones in the area, despite being far from the fancy side of Desert Tree where all of the newer mini-mansions resided. It was older, so it retained similar imperfections and that eccentric personality of Wessy’s place.

           “Geez, Zach, is it even colder than usual in here?” Jared asked as they walked in.

           “Yeah, I know, the folks keep it chill, literally. But that’s okay. We won’t be spending much time indoors. Celeste—thanks for coming! First time over, right?”

           Her eyes darting around and taking in the spacious abode, she answered, “Uh-huh. About time you invited me to one of your parties. What took so long?”

           “Eh, you know, we’ve just never been as tight as I am with the others. But I think that’s starting to change. You’ve really shown me your cool side lately.”

           Zach’s living room was huge, with a red carpet that matched the jacket he wore on colder days. It even surpassed Wessy’s dad’s space, as its big screen TV and sound system were slightly more impressive. Behind the large leather couch was a pool table, a tabletop arcade 20-in-1 system, several dozen movie and game posters, a shelf full of Nintendo Power and GamePro magazines, a giant teddy bear with shades of its own, a full-sized gumball machine in yellow, and a large patio door currently covered by blinds. The room and house were so far out of Jared’s league, that he couldn’t even bother to show jealousy; it was like a toy store that he simply liked visiting whenever he got the chance.

           “All right, all right…” Zach rushed over to the pull chain for the blinds. “I’ve been building up the hype long enough. Ya see, this isn’t just a regular old birthday party… It’s a…” He tugged at the chain to open the blinds, revealing a big, blue, crystal clear pool that looked quite appealing on a hot day. “Pool birthday party!”

           “Zach! You got a pool?!” Wessy shouted. “Oh, man! That’s awesome!”

           “About time one of us got one,” Sadie added, though in a joking way. “No more sharing the community pool, or saving up for AquaZone visits.”

           “Oh, sorry, Sadie. You still gotta pay five bucks first,” Zach said with a laugh.

           “But how are we supposed to swim today?” Arthur wondered. “You kept it a surprise, so we didn’t have a chance to bring our suits. And don’t suggest the obvious.”

           “Guess we just have to stand around and admire it instead,” Colin said wistfully.

           “Nah, man, we’re swimmin’,” Zach assured everyone. “My parents called all of yours and had ‘em deliver your swimsuits. C’mon, it’s me. I know how to pull it off.”

           “Cool, Z,” Sadie replied. “So, um, where are they?”

           Zach grinned again, then went over and opened up the nearby board game closet. Inside, all of them neatly folded, were nine suits of various colors and shapes.

           Ash grimaced. “Oh, yeah, that’s not creepy at all.”

           “Hey, I did what I had to, to make it work. Now get changed! Pizza’s waiting.”

           Fifteen minutes later, everyone stepped onto the porch outside in their bathing gear, near the glass table where four boxes of Pizza Hut pies were waiting for them, kept warm by the sun and next to a cooler full of ice and liter-sized soda.

           “Help yourselves,” Zach said and got the outdoor speakers going, which were hooked up to the multi-CD changer in the living room. “You can even eat in the pool.”

           “Won’t the pizza get soggy?” Jared asked, staring at the water.

           “Not unless you, ya know… jump in while holding a slice, J. There’s more than enough stuff to float on. I even got a pool lounger with cup holders!”

           Zach began tossing in noodles and various air-filled floaters into the water, while Wessy was the first to check out the pizza selection. He pulled out a slice of peperoni and examined the crust—which was leaking out a cheese-like substance.

           “Z, is this that stuffed crust, uh, stuff?” he shouted over to him.

           Over by the diving board and still chucking in buoyant objects, Zach yelled back, “Yeah, have you tried it yet? It’s still pretty new. I think it’s good.”

           Jace and Ash each grabbed a slice together and started nibbling on the triangles. Nearby, Colin folded up his glasses and put them on a lounge chair.

           He leaned in and squinted at the water, asking, “How warm is it?”

           Having made himself an easy target, Celeste snuck in behind him and yelled, “Better find out!” before shoving him in. Colin flailed and disappeared into cerulean water, where he quickly reemerged and spat out some chlorinated aqua.

           “Agh, Celeste! Do we always have to be on our guard when you’re around?”

           “You’re not stuttering, so I guess it must be pretty warm,” Celeste said with a chuckle. She then backed up, ran, jumped, and curled up, exclaiming, “Cannonball!”

           Water splashed all over the pool deck, with Zach being the next in, diving off of the springy board. Jared messily jumped in next, while Arthur and Wessy opted to steadily wade in. That didn’t suit Sadie, so she cannonballed as well, right near them to ensure they’d get soaked. When it came to pools, Jace had an odd little preference of his own to use the ladder and start in the deep end, which he did upon finishing his slice. Ash, meanwhile, hung out at the side for a bit, content with dangling her legs in.

           Zach dove down, then emerged into an inner tube, which he started using to lazily drift about. He didn’t seem to mind getting his current pair of shades wet.

           “This is nice, Zach,” Jared sighed placidly as he went by on the lounger, a Solo cup filled with soda in one hand and a slice of sausage pizza in the other. “I mean, it really is, don’t get me wrong, but… Are we really going to spend all day doing this?”

           Zach raised his sunglasses with a single finger and replied, “We can do this for however long you want, then go in and play games or watch movies. I didn’t plan out some epic schedule this time around, guys. I just wanted a real chill party for once.”

           Celeste took a break from pretending to drown Wessy to remark, “I would’a figured someone like you just invited the whole class, or at least a few dozen kids.”

           “I did that back in first grade,” Zach replied, reminiscing for a moment. “It was interesting, but I think I’m more about the smaller get-togethers with the ones you think are special. Don’t get me wrong, my class had some cool kids this year, too, but they don’t compare. A big party’s fine when you want noise and that anything-can-happen vibe—and I know them, since my folks have thrown a few—but this… This is a time.”

           “Where are your parents, anyway?” Wessy questioned after emerging and fighting his way out of Celeste’s grip. “We’re not, like, swimming totally unsupervised, right?”

           Zach gestured towards the second floor of his house, and everyone glanced up.

           Zach’s mildly enigmatic dad was peering down from his office that overlooked the pool, busy chatting on his cell phone while wearing a pair of shades himself, indoors. Upon seeing all the kids looking at him, he gave them a thumbs up, and kept talking.

           “And where’s your mom?” Sadie asked. “I feel like I barely ever see her.”

           “Exercise room, probably,” Zach answered, and then got out and headed towards a nearby shed. After opening it, he began to take out and toss into the pool old Super Soakers from Bullet Water games past. “Here, see if these still work!”

           The water guns bobbed on the surface, and most everyone grabbed one of the oldies, filled them up, and sprayed at each other or into the air. After another few minutes, everyone had settled down, eating pizza on the pool or taking random potshots with their soakers. With the easygoing music really setting a tonal preview for the lazy summer afternoons to come, conversations soon became casual and inconsequential.

           “This definitely beats all the noise and screaming kids at my party,” Sadie commented, staring up into the sky through the shades Zach had gifted her as she sat on the watery steps. “It’s nice to just do absolutely nothing once in a while.”

           Zach, dangling his legs off the diving board, replied, “I’m hoping to do more of it on my summer vacation. We’re going to Hawaii this year. Got an aunt that has a house there. Gonna be another epic one, too… I’ll be gone a whole month.”

           “We miss ya in the summer, Z,” Arthur said, floating on his back.

           “I know ya do. But that’s how it is. You guys gotta find stuff to do without me.”

           “Well, actually…” Wessy hesitated a moment. “I think I’m going to summer camp, too. I told my dad I was thinking about it, and then he was all like ‘great idea, I’ve been saying you need that experience!’ or whatever. Next thing I know, he’s signing me up. Sooo… I guess most of us are doing that now. Oh, and Lucy’s going, too. Since my dad and Becky were going overseas without us anyway. Hope it doesn’t get weird…”

           “Yeah, I’ll be there,” Jace spoke up.

           Celeste added, “I’m in, also! I should’ve gone years ago. I’ll be in my element!”

           “Cool,” Colin replied. “It’ll be great being all together. What about you, Jared?”

           Adrift on two noodles, he muttered, “I keep telling you, it’s not for me.”

           “You still got time to change your mind,” Sadie told him.

           “'I just… I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said with a sigh.

           “Oh?” Sadie reached over and yanked the noodles out of his grip, condemning him to the open water as the others laughed. “I bet you just wanna avoid me.”

           “Gah, Sadie!” he exclaimed and spat out water.

           “I kinda get scared at the thought of how competitive you’ll get, too,” Ash said.

           “It’s not Sadie or Celly you need to worry about,” Zach replied. “Marianne can be ruthless when she wants to be. I got stuck on a group project with her last month, and ugh, I still think every time the phone rings, it’s her again, checking on my progress.”

           “Let her do her worst,” Sadie remarked. “She won’t ruin camp for us.”

           Hours later, after the sun had gone down, cake was shared, and presents were opened and displayed across the dining table—the haul including several Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy games—the boys waved goodbye to the departing girls and retreated into the big living room, where their sleeping bags covered the floor.

           Zach first put on Jace’s movie choice, the Ace Ventura sequel, When Nature Calls, where Jim Carrey’s nutty pet detective goes to Africa. As expected, the movie really only provided background ambience. The big bowl of popcorn, candy, and the conversations were what the night was really about. Dug into their sleeping bags just to keep warm, the chats inevitably returned to summer camp halfway through the movie.

           “I only got to go to Morning Dew once, after third grade,” Zach said. “It was a pretty cool place, but it probably mostly depends on what kinda counselors you get.”

           “Jared, I’m telling ya, this is your last chance to go with the younger kids,” Colin added. “Next year, you’d be dealing with older, grosser, meaner middle schoolers.”

           “I can’t go,” Jared reiterated with a sigh. “Can we just drop it already?”

           “But you and Wes could use the time to make up and stop fighting,” Arthur said.

           “What are we, a couple? And we’re not fighting. We just got… issues to sort out.”

           “Do you really not want to go, when almost everyone is?” Zach asked once more.

           “Look, my parents can’t afford it right now, okay?” Jared exclaimed, but quickly calmed down. “They… started going to couple’s therapy, whatever that is. I guess it’s to save their marriage or something. But it’s expensive. So money’s going to be tight.”

           “Oh… Sorry about that, man. Home issues can suck. Maybe… next year?”

           “Y-yeah… Maybe we really could all go. I dunno. We might need to, to survive.”

           Jace realized that in this proper timeline, Jared’s parents would’ve had a chance to repair their relationship instead of seeing it driven to the brink by an earthquake. And he—and Lucy and the twins for other reasons—wouldn’t have to move away.

           “It was good to be at the top this year at school,” Zach thought aloud. “Wish I could be there for camp and make that feeling last just a little longer.”

           “Hey, Z, did you pick a new club owner yet?” Wessy asked him.

           “Yeah, but I think I’m gonna wait until the very last day of school, after school, to make the announcement. Drake’s been on the prowl again, so we need to keep the place quiet for now. Besides, if I reveal the big winner out front of the school when the fourth graders are also running around, everyone will get to actually meet the new boss, too.”

           “And when are you gonna tell us about the owner before you?” Jared wondered.

           “Sixth grade. If you still even care by then. If Cookton doesn’t have a club, do you think we should make one? Might be harder without a playground…”

           “It could just be wherever we’re currently hanging out,” Arthur said. “With or without Colin, we gotta stick together as much as we can.”

           “Yeah…” Colin murmured tiredly. “We will. Definitely.”

           Sunday went by in a blur, the gang spending much of the day in the mall arcade tossing away quarters on multiplayer cabinets. Just like their previous two visits, Gavin and his crew never appeared—which was unusual, according to Wessy. The kid could often be found at his old stomping ground most weekends. Then again, Arthur suggested, maybe he’s just got the cash to go to Galaxy Hub every weekend now instead.

           Monday was when the portables had been brought in and made ready for business in the quake timeline, and school had resumed in a much more confining and awful way. Jace didn’t even care that he’d have to sit through familiar lessons and redo all his homework again, this time putting forth his usual effort instead of winging it. At least the classroom would be wide open, nice and cool, and have less agitated peers.

           When the class reconvened after lunch, Ms. Porter separated everyone into rather random groups so they could work on a quick science project together. Once desks were put together, Jace found himself with Millie, Delilah, and Gerald. Their objective had to do with the olive oil floating on top of the water in a clear cup.

           This group project must’ve been scrapped in the bad universe, what with the time constraints. Frustratingly, there didn’t seem to be a very effective way to separate the oil from the water with the tools provided. Spoons, talcum powder, filters, pebbles, and a sponge had yet to change much about the composition in the cup.

           “I think this is just some environmental lesson,” Millie said as she lazily poured in sugar. “Ms. Porter’s just gonna say, ‘see? There’s no easy way to clean up an oil spill.’”

           “Great,” Delilah replied. “If I captain an oil tanker, I’ll try not to ram a beach.”

           “A lesson about a problem with no solution is kind of unique, though,” Gerald said, watching the oil closely. “Oh, hey, guess what? Me and Carson are going to music camp this summer. It’s this brand-new thing the university is doing.”

           “That’s cool, Gerald,” Jace replied. “Delilah, you talk to your brothers yet?”

           “Oh, yeah.” She leaned back in her chair and grinned. “Here’s how it went. I asked them to sit down because I wanted to tell them something. But they just laughed and stayed standing instead. Then I was all like, ‘you guys really need to stop being mean to me.’ Then they laughed some more. So I got really serious-looking, and guess what?”

           Jace leaned in, waiting to hear how his advice helped this time. “… Uh, what?”

           “I gave them a big speech about how they needed to respect my space, and that I was allowed to have my personal likes, and I should get equal TV time… And you know what happened? The next few seconds were like something out of a Disney fairytale.”

           “Enough suspense, just tell us,” Millie sighed.

           “They… kept laughing. So I made myself look crazy and beat the crap out of ‘em until they cried! It was great. They haven’t bothered me again yet! Yeah. Turns out when people realize you can start somethin’ too, they think twice before coming after ya.”

           “That’s a horrible way to go about life, Delilah!” Gerald chided her.

           “That isn’t what I…” Jace muttered. “I mean, if it worked for you, I guess…”

           “You still gave me the push I needed to stand up for myself, even against teens,” Delilah said. “Speaking of camp, Jace, you’re goin’ to Morning Dew, right? Don’t worry. If anyone from Miller tries to pull anything on anyone in class, I got your back.”

           “Um. Thanks. Sounds like there’s gonna be a lot of us going.”

           “Why would anyone want to go to summer camp?” Millie asked, even as her eyes went over to her backpack, where an unfilled submission form was poking out.