Jovial Memories

Chapter 31

That evening, Mandy was once again dropped off at her mother's house for the upcoming week. As she approached the door with her father, she kissed him good-bye quickly and took off inside without another word, her mind ready to explode.

All her plans were coming together now, and she was trying to figure out the best time to find the agency within the Year Dimension and bring those she loved back into the real world. It seemed insane at the time, but Mandy realized she was technically already insane. The Year Dimensions in general were insane. Why not further contribute to the insanity?

Mandy trudged up the steps of her home, lugging her backpack and bag with her. Her mother had just finished her dinner, and she glanced up at Mandy as she put the dishes away.

"How was it?" her mother called from downstairs.

"Good!" Mandy enthusiastically replied, more pleased about her new plan than the past weekend at her father's. She then shut the door to her room and quickly unpacked her things. Her plan was to tell Roy and Iris tomorrow and hope they supported her.

Exhausted, Mandy began to ready herself for bed and Rush to finish the homework she had neglected to do all weekend. About ten minutes before she planned to go to bed, a gentle knock came at her door.

"Mandy, dear, can I come in?" came her mother's voice.

Mandy quickly tucked her books under her bed and called for her mother to come in.

The door slid open, and her mother entered. She glanced around, then smiled.

"You should be going to bed soon. It's a Sunday night, after all," her mother advised her.

"I was just about to," Mandy promised.

There was a brief silence between them, and then her mother spoke again.

"You seem to be in a rather good mood than when you left on Friday. Did things go well at your father's?" she asked.

Mandy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She secretly hoped her mother would soon leave and let Mandy finish her homework. She was exhausted from the weekend and just wanted to shut her eyes.

Her mother seemed a bit taken aback by the lack of enthusiasm in her daughter's voice, but she soon regained the calmness she had when she first entered.

"Oh, well, I better be getting ready for bed too. And hey, one more week until spring break," she reminded Mandy.

Mandy smiled and nodded vigorously, the thought of spring break not even crossing her mind until now. She had been so preoccupied with what had been going on with her Time Precedent and Year Dimension business that she had totally forgotten spring break had nearly arrived.

As her mother left her room, Mandy glanced outside, noticing how now there was barely any snow left on the grass, most of it faded or turned brown from the newly formed soil. She grinned to herself, remembering her summers with Jessie and Dustin and Abby.

Maybe I'll get those summers again, she thought excitedly.

Tired, she crawled into bed and shut off her lights, slowly closing her eyes. As her mind swarmed with thoughts of her upcoming plan, she slowly found herself drifting off into a deep sleep, one that would carry her all the way into morning.

"Mandy, get up, you're going to miss the bus!" her mother screeched from outside her room. Mandy awoke with a jolt and threw her covers from her bed. She'd completely forgotten to set her alarm clock the night before!

"What a great way to start the week," she mumbled, quickly dressing herself and running a comb through her hair.

She quickly retrieved her things and shoved them in her backpack, rushing downstairs. A piece of toast had been set on the table, and she quickly grabbed it on her way out.