Someday We'll Be Together

Chapter 20- Mission: Destroy the Book

When Max opened his eyes, he saw Tyler standing in front of him, covering his eyes with his hands. As he looked around, he noticed that the library had changed. There were old devices resembling boxes where the computers used to be, and sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the room.
Tyler slowly removed his hands from Max's eyes, and they saw people at the tables staring at them oddly. "We made it," Max said.
Max grabbed Tyler's arm, who was still staring blankly at the people around them, and they headed towards the library exit. "How did you manage to get the machine working?" Tyler asked as they walked out the door.
"I don't really know... I just hit it and it worked," Max replied. Tyler shrugged.
Once they left the town hall, Tyler looked at the much simpler version of the town.
"This place is much better than where we came from. At least our parents are alive."
"Where were you and Marla around this time?" Max asked, changing the subject.
"We should be walking from Mrs. Lincoln's backyard to the park."
"Okay, we need a plan."
"Whenever we make a plan, we usually don't stick to it."
"Then we should make a plan that we're sure to stick to."
"When I left Marla at the stands, I could tell her that she needs to stop me. I mean, the other me."
"Oh no, that's probably the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Marla doesn't know there are two of you here. We don't want to scare her off."
"Actually, three. She knows there are two of me. One is with her and the other—"
Max interrupted Tyler.
"I think all we need to do is destroy that sports statistics book," he said, shrugging.
Tyler nodded.
"That could work." Then he paused. "But... how are we going to get it when it's in my pocket?"
"I think I can do it."
"How? Are you just going to sneak up to my pocket and take the book and run away? What if I see you and think you're stealing something and start chasing you?"
"If you had done that, you'd remember it, right?"
"Oh, I don't know... maybe—"
"Well, then it's worth a try."
Max hung the camera around Tyler's neck.
"You keep this for now."
Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but Max cut him off and pointed to the other side of the park.
"Hey, is that... is that the other you?"
Tyler squinted at the other himself walking with Marla, dressed in the same clothes.
"Yes, yes, that's me."
"Where were you carrying the book?" Max asked, not taking his eyes off Marla and Tyler approaching from the other side.
"Well... it should be in my pocket."
"Right or left?"
"On my left."
"Then I need to have you on my left," Max said, nodding and starting to walk.
"Hey, where should I wait?" Tyler asked.
"Hide behind those bushes. We don't want the your other self to see you."
While Tyler walked towards the bushes, Max stopped a kid passing by on a skateboard and asked to borrow it, promising to return it soon.
Max jumped on the skateboard and headed towards Tyler, who was walking on the left side of the path. He sped up the skateboard and pulled his hood over his head. As he approached Tyler, he bent his knees and prepared his left hand. He could see the edge of the book peeking out of Tyler's left pocket. However, he was so focused on Tyler that he didn't see the large rock right in front of him. As he reached out for the book, he tripped over the rock and tumbled off the skateboard.
Tyler and Marla turned around to look at the boy in the black hood who had just flown off the skateboard.
As Max was getting up from the ground, he heard Tyler behind him say, "What an idiot."
The Tyler who had been watching from behind the trees by the town hall came over to Max and helped him up.
"I guess that's why I don't remember chasing you."
Max stood up and picked up the skateboard. The kid he borrowed it from came over to them.
"You suck at skating."
"I agree," Tyler said.
"Mr. Scared-of-Heights is talking," Max teased, then casually handed the skateboard back to the kid and turned to Tyler.
"Where are you heading now?"
"To school. The big game is about to start."
"My god, school is such a dangerous place. I could run into my other self at any moment."
"When you run into yourself, nothing happens. If he sees you—"
"I know, I know. Anyway, let's get to school and get this over with."

When Tyler and Max arrived at the school, they started moving behind the food and drink stands set up along the edges of the basketball court.
"Hey, can I grab a hot dog?" Tyler pleaded.
"We didn't come here to eat."
"I know, but I'm really hungry after all this time traveling. Besides, my brain doesn't work well when I'm this hungry."
"Fine, whatever, just get it without anyone seeing you."
"Do you want one too?"
"Get one," Max sighed.
Tyler excitedly went to the hot dog stand. As he was getting two hot dogs for himself and Max, he heard Marla's voice next to him.
"Are you getting a hot dog?"
"Yeah, well, I'm a bit hungry," he said absentmindedly, not realizing who he was talking to.
As Marla turned around, Tyler felt someone grab his ankle from below and pull him under the stand.
Max was glaring at Tyler angrily.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting a hot dog."
At that moment, Marla turned back to where Tyler had been standing in front of the hot dog stand, but he was gone. Then she heard Tyler's voice from right behind her.
"Oh, you were here?" Marla asked in surprise.
"I've been here all along," Tyler said, shrugging.
"But you were just getting a hot dog."
"Hot dog? I'm not hungry, Marla."
As Marla and Tyler walked away from the stands, the Tyler next to Max turned to him in astonishment.
"Did I just... accidentally talk to Marla?"
"There was just one person between you two, Tyler. My god, the universe was one person away from collapsing."
"Is that what you meant by potentially running into my other self?"
Max nodded and grabbed one of the hot dogs from Tyler's hand, taking a big bite.
Marla and the other Tyler had stopped in front of the lemonade stands a little further away. Max saw this and told the Tyler next to him to wait. He crawled under the tables covered with tablecloths and reached the underside of the lemonade stand. He gently lifted the tablecloth and saw Tyler's pants right in front of him. He could see the book in his pocket.
Max slowly reached for Tyler's pocket, but just as he was about to grab the book, Tyler turned the other way. Max watched from under the tablecloth as Tyler and Marla started to walk away. Max angrily returned to Tyler, who was obliviously eating a hot dog behind the stand.
"Okay, getting a damn book shouldn't be this hard."
"Maybe..." Tyler said, pausing to swallow a big bite. "Instead of trying to get the book, we should make it come to us."
"Do you know how to do telekinesis?" Max asked, looking at Tyler strangely.
"No, what I mean is..." Tyler took another big bite of his hot dog. "... if we make me trip over something, the book might fall out of my pocket, and then we can get it."
"That's... that's much more logical," Max said, as if having an epiphany.
"I told you, my brain works better when I eat."
Tyler had left Marla by the stands and walked into the school alone. Max and the hot dog-eating Tyler followed him.
Max picked up one of the skateboards left in front of the school door and signaled Tyler to go inside.
As Tyler headed towards the locker room, Max and the Tyler next to him took another hallway. This hallway intersected with the one leading to the locker rooms.
When they reached the intersection of the two hallways, Max peeked out and saw Tyler approaching from the other side. He asked the Tyler next to him to hand over the skateboard. Max prepared the skateboard and, just as Tyler was walking past, he pushed it.
The skateboard rolled right in front of Tyler's feet, and before he knew what was happening, he found himself on the ground. Max saw the book fly out of Tyler's pocket. However, if he reached for it, the Tyler getting up from the ground would see him.
While Tyler was busy getting up and dusting himself off, Max reached out for the book, but just then, a very familiar high-heeled shoe passed by. Max quickly pulled his hand back and saw Mrs. Murray grab Tyler by the collar and lift him up.
"You slacker! Don't you know skateboarding in the hallways is forbidden?"
"Oh, but I—"
The woman cut him off with her shrill voice.
"Come to my office. Let's have a little talk. Let's see what happens to slackers like you!"
As Mrs. Murray and Tyler started to walk away, Tyler bent down, picked up the book from the floor, and put it back in his pocket.
"She's taking me to her office!" Tyler whispered to Max. "I guess since all my parts are still intact, she's not going to torture me."
At that moment, Max was on the verge of losing it.
"My god! I was so close to getting the book. Why would someone be this careful with his stuff?"
"So they don't get lost," Tyler said, shrugging.
Max stood up and turned to Tyler.
"You wait for me. I'm going to go to Murray's office and try to get the book."
"Good luck," Tyler said behind Max. Then he walked into the locker room just a few steps away.
Kyle was lying on the ground. This meant Max and Michelangelo had just taken him down. Soon, he would come in with Lena to pick up the skateboard on the ground.
Max quietly followed Mrs. Murray and Tyler towards the principal's office. As he passed the corridor he had just walked down, he saw himself emerging with Michelangelo. To avoid being recognized, he quickly pulled his hood over his head. The other Max and Michelangelo saw Mrs. Murray and quickened their pace.
Max hid behind the door. He felt relieved when he saw the other version of himself enter a phone booth with his father. Mrs. Murray entered her office, and before Tyler followed her in, he took off his jacket and hung it on the corner of the outside locker. Max's eyes widened. The jacket was finally within easy reach. He quickly grabbed the book from the jacket pocket and looked at the "Legendary Sports Games from 1980 to Present" with shining eyes.
He carefully placed the book in his pants pocket and started running down the other side of the corridor to avoid passing in front of the principal's office.
Meanwhile, Tyler, who had entered the locker room, was hiding in his usual spot - next to the lockers behind the wall. He could hear the other version of himself and Lena talking.
Tyler had memorized their conversation by now. He mouthed the words silently along with Lena and the other version of himself.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you yesterday."
"I shouldn't have done that. I mean, everything happened so fast, and I wasn't sure what was going on."
"Staying friends for a while seems best for both of us."
"Yeah. We can decide what we want or don't want later if you're not ready."
Tyler peeked out and looked at Lena and the other version of himself.
"Hey, did my parents make it to the game?"
"They got there just in time."
He knew they would leave the locker room after saying this. As they walked out, Tyler emerged from his hiding spot and sat down next to the unconscious Kyle.
"Hey dad, wake up, Kyle!"
Kyle opened his eyes as Tyler shook him. Then he jumped up in his spot.
"The game! I missed the game because of that jerk!"
"Yes, you missed the game because of that jerk, exactly," Tyler said at the same time as his father.
Kyle looked at Tyler strangely.
"Yes, I'm the jerk who just knocked you out," Tyler said calmly.
Kyle frowned.
"Hey, how are you... how are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"It's like you know everything I'm going to say before I say it. You're practically reading my mind."
"Listen Kyle, you might have missed the game. But I can help you. I can't guarantee you'll be rich in the future, but I'll help as much as I can."
Kyle continued to look at Tyler oddly without saying anything.
"If you let me, I want to make up for my mistake. I want to talk to you."
"Nobody really wants to talk to me," Kyle said, shrugging.
"We can change that. I'm a lot like you, Kyle."
"In what way?"
Tyler thought for a very brief moment. He needed to convince his father.
"I love movies from the 40s."
"Are you serious? Oh, don't tell anyone, but so do I."
"And especially Rita Hayworth."
"Who doesn't know her?"
"She's such a classic!" Tyler and Kyle said this at the same time. Kyle looked at Tyler and laughed.
"Hey, we must really... be a lot alike."
While Tyler was talking to his father, Max had reached the stairs at the end of the hallway when Lena and Tyler passed by. "Oh no," Max muttered to himself.
Lena stopped next to Max.
"Tyler said you went to the game."
"Oh, of course, I was just on my way. You should come and watch too."
After saying this, Max quickly started running down the stairs. Lena and Tyler looked after him in astonishment. Max exited through the back door of the school, threw himself into the backyard, and caught his breath against the wall for a while.

Except for the school's dog, no one would be in the backyard. The dog came over to Max, wagging its tail. Max leaned down and petted the young Golden Retriever's head. The name "Roger" was written on its collar.
Seeing the dog's name brought back deep memories for Max. "It's great to see you again, buddy." Roger licked Max's hand to show he was pleased.
When Max was in elementary school next to the high school, Roger had been an old dog. Every time he walked home with his mom and Lena, he would see Roger lying next to his kennel in the yard. One day, Roger was not there when they were heading home. He never returned. Max later realized Roger had died. His mother had said Roger lived much longer than most dogs. But now, the Roger wagging his tail and licking his hand was just a few months old. Max was startled when the door next to him opened, and the memories of Roger faded from his mind.
It was Tyler who had come out.
"My god, how many of you are there?"
"Three. The first is me, the second is the one with Marla, the third is—"
"Whatever, I've seen all of you today. You're all over the school," Max cut Tyler off.
"Did you get the book?" Tyler asked impatiently.
Max took the book out of his pocket.
"It was hard to get it from you; I can't give it back."
"No need to. Let's destroy it."
Max nodded and took one of Roger's empty metal food bowls. Then he placed the pocket book in the bowl and set it on fire with a lighter from his pocket.
They watched the book burn to ashes. Tyler took the camera he had preset from around his neck and placed it behind Max. Then he stood up and leaned against the wall.
"Shall we go?"
"Let's go," Max said, smiling and nodding.
Just then, a butterfly flew by and landed on the camera. Roger came jumping after it, clearly trying to catch the butterfly.
The moment Roger placed both paws on the camera, a white light flashed. Tyler and Max closed their eyes.