Joan, Jude, and Julia: With The Beatles

Chapter 18

"You'll never believe what we just heard!" Joan yelled, bursting into my room.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down, and I told her that she should probably do so as well. She gets overexcited easily.
"Now, what did you hear?" I asked curiously.

"Paul and John like Julia!" She shouted. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

The door flung open again, and this time behind it were Julia, Paul, and John. They all looked angry, and the boys looked ready to defend themselves if- when- the need arose.

This is not something I want to deal with right now.

Great- not only do I sound like a drama queen, but all of this other shit-

"Jude?"

"Yeah?" I looked up and met eyes with George, who was standing next to Ringo. I hadn't even noticed them enter.

"Nothing. You were looking real conflicted, 's all." I looked back down at my dark green 'Apple' (the Beatles company, not the electronics one) comforter.

I tried to break the silence and get the subject off of me. "What's this about Paul and John...and Julia?" I asked. My question was surprisingly genuine, I did want to know what was happening.

"Nothing!" All three people in question shouted in unison. George smirked.

"Come on, now," he hinted. "A 'nothing' like that means something."

Julia narrowed her eyes at Joan. And then she turned to me and gave me the meanest look I've ever received from her, before stalking out of the room.

"You had to bring it up?" Paul and John glared at us as well.

"And you!" John glared at his other two bandmates. "You certainly didn't help!"

"I'm going for a walk." I mumbled. I got up off my bed and walked at the fastest pace I could before you could consider it running, and I didn't stop until I got out the front door. The fresh cold air hit my face and I sighed. I walked carefully the steps, which were icy as a result of a furious rainstorm the night before and the freezing temperatures.

I walked and walked. I walked until I stopped recognizing the shops around me. One in particular caught my eye, and I decided to take momentary shelter there to escape the cold.

"'Ello, little miss." I looked up to see a kempt, gray-haired lady about twice my age. Maybe younger, maybe older. It was pretty hard to tell.

"Hello..."

"What brings you 'ere today?" She asked. I didn't know what to say. "The cold." I answered truthfully.

She laughed. She motioned me closer with her hand and I approached her uncertainly. She seemed nice enough, but you never can tell these days.

She led me into a back room. She pulled back a curtain and behind it I saw a room illuminated with purple lights and empty with the exception of a table and some chairs.

Residing on the table was a glass ball- one for fortune telling. It looked exactly like my Aunt's. I let out a small involuntary whimper and the lady raised an eyebrow at me.

"So this 'ere ball looks like your Auntie's, does it?"

My eyes widened as they met with hers. "How do you know that?" I asked. She motioned to a sign above the beaded curtains that read 'Madam Clarissa: Fortune Teller and Mind Reader'.

"You...read my mind?" I asked. She nodded.

"That's what I do for every customer that walks into this store- which isn't many. The only reason this place is still open is because whenever the mortgage people come, I give 'em a phony fortune and a good scare and they let me be."

"I see."

"I see, too." She joked. I smiled. I like this lady- Clarissa. she was very nice.

Suddenly, she turned serious. "I know what's going on." She said solemnly. I frowned. "I'm sorry about that- your Aunt, I mean. But as for your problems with that band..." She turned and began rummaging through draws. Clarissa pulled out a glowing cube. I knew what it did.

"Your Auntie was a very good friend of mine. Take this. I trust you- just come back and visit me often. I'd like to know how it works out for you." She winked at me and there was a flash.

And then she was gone.

-+•+--+•+-

I walked back through the front door of my house, flustered.

"Hey." Ringo greeted me as I entered the house. He flashed me a lopsided smile and I blushed. "What's that?"

He pointed to the small cube in my hands and I frowned. "It's...its your guys' 'ticket to ride'." I joked weakly. "It's the same cube that brought you here, now it's going to be able to take you back."

Ringo and George frowned. George protectively moved closer to Joan and Ringo attempted at making eye contact with me. However, I was intent on seeming interested on the pattern of the carpet.

"Just do what you did the first time." I continued. "Touch it- except this time you have to say that you want to return to the year you came from." I tossed the cube at them. Nobody caught it, it landed with a strange clinking sound on the floor.

"Bye, guys. Good luck." I started up the stairs.

"Wait!" Exclaimed Ringo.

"Jude, aren't you coming back with us?" Joan asked.

"Who said you were coming?" Asked Paul. "Look at you- we haven't left yet and you're already the new John and Yoko."

John glared at his friend. "Don't you bring me-"

"Stop!" George exclaimed. "I invited her."

"We figured." John snarled. George rolled his eyes.

"We shouldn't go." I insisted. "We've messed things up enough as it is."

I began to go upstairs- with or without Joan- but as Joan started to follow me I heard a voice.

"I'm going." It was Julia.

"Julia...?"

"I'm going, you can't stop me so it would be better for all of us if you just didn't try." I looked over at Joan, she was crying. She was close with Julia- so was I. And she didn't want to lose the boys. But it had to be done.

"If that's what you want, Jules." I used my nickname for her from years ago one last time. It was heart wrenching.

"Bye." She said simply. She turned her back to us and she busied herself talking to Paul and John.

Ringo and George rose to say goodbye.

"Please come with us." Ringo begged, enveloping me in a hug. I shook my head. I kissed his cheek before he went to join the others. George released Joan, but not before she kissed his cheek as well.

Each Beatle, as well as Julia, had one hand on the cube. "Liverpool," John said. The year was muffled. There was blackness and then the light would return, like lights flashing. Bangs. Crashes. Over all of the noise, Joan and I shouted as they began to disappear:

"Wait!"

They all turned to us, but in the next instant, they were gone. They heard us- I know they did.

What had we done?

"Oh no." Joan muttered. "No, no, no..."

Suddenly, my face lit up. "Joan!" I cried. She looked up at me with a tear-stained face. "Joan, I know someone who can help."

And with that, we started off towards Clarissa's shop.