Jovial Memories

Chapter 30

"Dad, I'm doing homework!" Mandy shouted from the small bedroom in her father's house. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table going through some work assignment. His eyes glanced up from the stack of papers in front of him, and he nodded.

"Sure thing. I'll leave you alone," he told her.

As Mandy slowly shut the door, she secretly leapt with joy. Now, with her father off her back, she could finally use her Time Precedent again. She hadn't used it since deciding to stop looking for the key, but she felt confident about this time.

It had been two days since her decision, and already, she was feeling better. The key was no longer lingering over her head, and she felt like she could focus on other things for once. Now, it was merely a Sunday afternoon, and she decided the best way to spend it would be a quick trip to her Year Paradise.

Grabbing the Time Precedent from her bag, she leapt onto her smaller, not as comfortable bed, and laid down. She then proceeded to type in the year, 2011, and shut her eyes, waiting for her to awake in the Year Dimension.

Not a moment too soon, she felt her body growing heavier, and when at last she opened her eyes, she found herself in the comfort of her old home, resting on the sofa. She slowly sat up and glanced around, not noticing anyone nearby, and she wondered where everyone had gone.

"Hello?" she asked, rising from her old couch and wandering into the kitchen she had grown up eating meals in.

"Mandy, hey!" came a familiar voice. Mandy was immediately relieved and turned to find her brother, Xander, waving at her with a soccer ball tucked underneath his arm.

"I haven't seen you in awhile," he announced, grinning slightly.

You have no idea, Mandy wanted to say, wondering if she would truly ever see her brother again in reality.

She rushed forward and hugged him. As she pressed her head into his chest, she felt him laugh a little and then let go.

"I was just about to play some soccer," he explained. "Want to join me?"

"Would I?!" Mandy exclaimed.

She followed her brother outside into their old backyard. It was not winter or even spring in her Year Dimension but a beautiful and warm summer. She was amazed to feel warm grass beneath her toes as opposed to snow or soggy soil, and she glanced up at the beautiful sky.

The ball came to her quickly, and Mandy kicked back, laughing as she and Xander engaged on a one-on-one game. Soccer had never really been either of their things. Mandy hadn't even played the sport on a team, but still, they both enjoyed playing it from time to time, and it was a great way to shake off whatever sibling rivalry they were dealing with.

As Mandy and Xander tossed the ball to each other, made goals, and defended each other, Mandy couldn't help but wish this were all real and that her brother was really standing in front of her happily playing soccer, not across the country making no contact with his family.

But soon it may all be real, Mandy reminded herself. Ever since she'd had her epiphany in her father's car, she couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of bringing those from the Year Dimension into the real world. It was a crazy, insane idea, but wasn't the Time Precedent already an insane invention? Whose to say she couldn't do it?

How to do it, she had no idea. She was secretly hoping to interrogate those in the Year Dimension, though judging how her talk with Jessie had gone only a few days prior, she wasn't extremely confident.