The Mistake

Kalani

“Oh no, I can’t believe this is happening,” I said. We got shot back a hundred thirty-two years in the past, already I looked around to see if our bags were around. Of course, they weren't. I looked down at my watch, it was charred and broken. "Fuck," I thought, "Of course Its broke." I tried to make it work, but it didn't work. I sigh, taking it off and shoving it into my hoodie pocket. I looked at Emerson, they were trying to mess with their watch as well. Theirs looked fine, just a bit cracked. "Is yours working?" I said to them, "No, nothing is," they responded. I nodded, of course it had to happen today, and with them of all people. I didn't have a problem with them, they just seemed a bit too laid back for the situation at hand. "Let's try to go to a hotel or something, we can figure this out from there," Emerson suggested. I wasn't a hundred percent on board with the idea, "How are we gonna pay? Our watches are busted, remember," I said. "I always carry some money with me. It's a bit out-dated though, so I don't really know it's value," they said, pulling a wallet out of his uniform pocket. I didn't even know they had pockets, or maybe it's just the girls who didn't have them. The thoughts quickly escaped my mind, Emerson pulling me gently into a coffee shop so we wouldn't get trampled in the foot traffic. It was so old looking, like 1980's era old. I love history, the 1900's were the best era in my opinion. I sat down in one of the booths, the comfy seat welcoming me. Emerson sat across from me, laying the money on the table. "I wish I had paid attention when they taught us these money conversions," they said a bit annoyed. I took the money gently and started counting it. "Alright, we have about 500 dollars, I think that's about 2,000 Genivas." "Really? Dang, that's a lot," they responded. "Alright, maybe we can get a hotel for the night and try to fix our watches there," I said, "This hasn't happened to me before and my watch is just fried, so I can't to much." "This has happened to me before, I somewhat know what to do," they said, sipping their coffee. I just noticed that he got that. "Did you buy that?" I asked. "Oh no, I definitely stole it-" they said. I chuckle, shaking my head, “Sounds like something you would do huh.” They smile back at me, giving me the only response I needed. “Here’s your tea ma’am” I looked up and saw a waiter, he was dressed in baggy jeans, a vintage concert t-shirt that had a bunch of holes on it, a black bomber jacket, and a nice pair of white high top sneakers. “Thank you,” I said, taking the tea gently. It was chai tea, my favorite. I took a sip and it was delicious. How did they know my order? I’m not sure, but either way, it was amazing. I smiled softly, looking down into the cup, letting the steam hit my face. "We should probably head out and try to find a hotel," they said, finishing their drink. "Yeah, we should. Let me finish my drink and then we can go look," I responded, taking a sip. I finished as we kept talking about what to do, surely someone would come to look for us right? We walked out of the coffee shop, heading to the nearest hotel we could find. We walked in, paid for a room, then went upstairs to finally lay down. We could only afford a room with one bed, so I guess one of us is sleeping on the couch. "I'll sleep on the couch," they said. "Are you sure? You can take the bed if you'd like," I responded. "It's alright, I don't mind," They said, grabbing a spare blanket and fixing the couch. "Alright, thank you," I said, untucking the blankets. "No problem, it's my pleasure," they said, smiling softly at me. Something about their smile just made me feel so at peace like I was still home. I laid down, holding a pillow in my arms gently. I slowly fell asleep, knowing there was still a little bit of home with me.