“What is it?”
“Today’s the 15th.”
“Yeah, I just said that.”
“I can’t believe it. I’m so stupid,” Quinn said as he jumped on his bike and pedaled off.
“Wait, Quinn! Where are you going?”
Quinn kicked the BMX into high gear, then sped off. The day was hotter and stickier than he remembered. The trickle of sweat on his face morphed into a river.
Quinn pedaled faster, but it was too late. He missed her. Quinn dropped the BMX to his side and ran to the edge of the pier, peeling off his sweaty socks as he plunged his feet into the lake. The water was refreshing but not enough to take the edge off the heat. Quinn sat and took in the scenery.
After he caught his breath, Quinn put on his shoes and pedaled back to Jeremy’s.
“Dude, where’d you go? You drop a bomb on me like that and then just dig out.”
“I just remembered—I met her today at the lake for the first time. I could’ve done it all over again, but now I missed my chance ‘cause I came here instead.”
“Missed what chance?”
“To talk to her. To say something, anything. I had a second chance, but then I blew it... again.”
“What girl?”
“Cameron.”
“Who’s Cameron?”
“You haven’t met her yet, but she’s in our school this year. She just moved into the neighborhood. The first time, I met her today by the pier on the lake.”
“You’re really serious about this thing, aren’t you?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I’m from the future.”
“I’m not convinced, but I’ll try to play along for the next couple of days anyway, at least until the earthquake in Turkey doesn’t pan out.”
Quinn smiled.
“Tell me about this girl, Cameron.”
“She’s got the most beautiful lips I’ve ever seen, and her eyes… her eyes are like....”
“You’re gonna make me barf. If what you’re saying is true, aren’t you like thirty years old or something? What do you want with a ninth-grade girl? Shouldn’t you be going after someone your own age?”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“She was the only girl I ever really liked. After that, I just kind of gave up.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Are you frikkin’ serious? That’s lame. You’re telling me that in all that time you supposedly lived in the future, you never had a girlfriend?”
“Of course I had girlfriends, just none I really liked. No one that I thought I could be with forever. There were a few girls I wanted to ask, but I guess I always chickened out.”
“Maybe it’s time you changed that. What happened with this girl Cameron?”
Jeremy was still convinced it was a joke, but they fooled around like that sometimes.
“It was awkward. She smiled, tried to be nice, but I did what I usually do and psyched myself out. Halfway through the school year, she started hanging out with this douchebag, Scott Channing.”
Quinn stopped. “Holy crap. I just realized something.”
“What is it?”
“Scott Channing, the cop.”
“What cop?”
“The one I told you kept getting in the way of me saving my boss. Maybe there’s a connection.”
“So, what does your future self know about Scott Channing?”
“Besides the fact that he beefed up a lot, not much. He moved to the city at the end of the ninth grade, but Cameron stayed his girlfriend all through high school. She was never available—always taken by the mysterious Scott Channing. I don’t know what happened to her after high school. We weren’t even Facebook friends.”
“What’s a Facebook?”
“Oh, wow. It’s kind of like a website where all your friends and family hang out. Like a chat room.”
“That sounds stupid. Isn’t that where all the pervs go? Why wouldn’t they just want to hang out for real? I think the future will be way cooler.”
“You’d be surprised. In four years, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s going to be governor of California.”
“Dude, are you really borrowing storylines from Demolition Man?”
“Just wait ‘til Donald Trump is President.”
“Give me a break. If you didn’t want me to ride your bike, you shouldn’t have come over to rub it in my face. I’m going back inside.”
“Wait. I swear. Everything I’m saying is true, and if I’m right, then in a couple of days you’ll know I’m telling the truth. If the day starts looping, then I’ll learn what’s going to happen, and I’ll just tell you in the next loop until you believe me.”
“Is that a yes?” Jeremy asked.
“Here, take it for a spin,” Quinn replied.
Jeremy took the BMX and rode around the corner. He had more fun than Quinn and smiled the entire time. Twenty minutes later, Jeremy rode up to Quinn and stopped short.
“All right. Let’s play this out. I’m really hoping you’re telling me the truth because if you are, we’re gonna have a lot of fun. I don’t believe it for a second, but that never stopped us before, and I’ve got a long list of things we can do.”
“Fair enough. But first, I need to know if I’m going to keep looping again. I have an idea. I’ll come back and tell you tomorrow if it worked,” Quinn said before he hopped on his bike.
Quinn rushed home and spent the rest of the day in his room, refreshing his memory of ninth grade. He ate dinner with his family for the first time in years. He remembered what a great cook his mother was and the side dishes his father used to make—that only sometime turned out okay. His dad’s mashed potatoes weren’t half-bad. After an exhausting day, he crashed early.
Chapter 5
August 16th, 1999.
Day 1.
The sunlight woke Quinn. He inspected the clock, his hands, and the mattress. Quinn threw on his clothes and biked over to Jeremy’s house.
“It’s tomorrow,” Quinn said once he arrived.
“No. It’s today,” Jeremy replied.
“That’s what I meant. It’s not yesterday. Yesterday didn’t repeat like it did in 2021.”
“I didn’t think it would,” Jeremy said.
“One more day, then. What will you do tomorrow when the earthquake hits and you see I’m telling you the truth?”
“You’re still on this thing? I thought you would be done with it by now.”
“It’s not a thing. I’m serious.”
“Fine. If it happens, we’ll talk about it then. Right now, I still think you’re full of it.”
“I came here for a reason, and I don’t want to waste time. We should get working on a plan together.”
“Give me five bucks,” Jeremy replied, holding his hand out.
“Why?”
“’Cuz if you’re lying, I’m keeping the cash.”
Quinn reached into his pocket and handed over the money. “So, what should we do, assuming tomorrow comes and I’m right?”