Yesterday - A Beatles Fanfic

Chapter The Fourteenth

The public library was a peaceful oasis of normality from the confusing new world outside... or so George thought. He actually found himself looking at a row of more baffling technology. The machines somewhat resembled the odd televisions he'd seen before, except these had boards of buttons in front of them.

A small sign on the wall announced 'Computer 101 for the elderly - today!' Sure enough, seated in front of most of the machines were a mix of old men and women, all peering intently through their glasses at the patient young librarian taking the course.

Curious, George approached the group and sat at the computer at the end of the row in the corner. He tried to make it seem like he knew what he was doing, but secretly he had an eye and ear tuned into the lesson going on next to him.

Now he was closer, George could see that the majority of the buttons on the board had letters printed on them - much like a typewriter. Beside the keyboard, was a small round device with two buttons on it. It fit comfortably under his hand. He picked it up and examined it. There didn't seem to be much to it. He snuck a glance to the old woman to his right to see what she was doing. He saw her moving the device around on the desk surface, and peering at the screen in front of her.

Raising an eyebrow, he put the device back down and gave it an experimental wiggle. The screen in front of him came to life, and - much to his amusement - a little white arrow tracked the movement of the device under his hand.

The Beatle gazed in wonder at the bright screen before him. There were neat rows of colourful icons across the left hand side of the screen.

"...And if you click the left hand mouse button twice, it will open the program," he caught the librarian saying. "Now, if you could all open the one that looks like this, I'll explain Google search." The young woman held up a card with a colourful circle icon on it. Below, printed in large clear letters, were the words 'Google Chrome'. "Basically, you type in something you want to know about, and a page of results will come up..."

George stopped listening. He'd figure this machine out by himself. A computer, huh? He thought. How hard could it be?

* * *

"C'mon!" Jessie hissed. "You can't be seen!" She waved them forward and darted down a lonely side street.

"Where," Ringo puffed, "are we going?"

"We gotta avoid the main roads. Just follow me." She replied. "Please trust me."

The lads shrugged and hurried after her. From what they saw, Liverpool looked quite similar to their time, but everything was just... Different, somehow. The cars were odd, some houses looked strange, and the clothes people wore were a new sight for the three Beatles. It was a rather weird feeling; knowing where they were, but, at the same time, not.

Jessie slowed as she turned down a quiet lane on the edge of town. "Wait back here," she told the lads. "And try not to look obvious?" Then she walked briskly down the street.

The sight of her Aunt's house brought up a mixture of different emotions. Relief and hope, but at the same time, dread and anxiety. Hopefully her Aunt was still at work, then they could hide out for an hour or so until they had a plan figured out. Slowing down, Jessie craned her neck to see in the garage. It was closed, and she couldn't see any car through the narrow window above the door. Discreetly, she motioned for the Beatles to come over.

She froze in her tracks as a voice called out 'Is that you, Jessie?' Turning, she relaxed as she saw the friendly face of her elderly neighbour peering over the fence. "Oh!" Jessie called back, "Hey, Beth." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the lads approaching, thankfully keeping out of sight.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" The woman warbled. The lovely old dear was well into her seventies, and was like a grandmother to Jessie.

"It's Sunday. Just thought I'd nip home and grab a few things." Jessie grinned. "Hey, is my Aunty around?" She asked, crossing her fingers behind her back.

"'Fraid not, deary." Beth's chin wobbled as she spoke. "She's off on holiday for the next week. Just left yesterday, in fact."

"Oh, that's okay." Inside, Jessie was cheering. They had the place to themselves! "See ya round, Beth."

While Jessie had distracted her neighbour, John, Paul and Ringo had made it to the house and had snuck round the back. "Nice place." Paul remarked. "D'ye' think it's Jessie's?"

"Nah, she's takin' over some random house." John said sarcastically.

Then Jessie ran around the side of the house, grinning widely and dangling the spare key in her hand. "Guess who's gone for the week!" She crowed. "My Aunty's left, and we got the place to ourselves!" She laughed as she unlocked the back door, beckoning the lads inside.

It wasn't a particularly large house. It had just three bedrooms, except one had been converted into an office long ago. The other spare room was Jessie's, and it was hardly big enough to call a bedroom. Her Aunt was very particular about keeping her house tidy and organised, which conflicted with Jessie when she stayed for the holidays. Jessie wasn't very tidy, especially when she got into music or art. For the weeks over Christmas, the floor of her room would be littered with papers of half finished pictures and songs.

The back door opened into the laundry. She led them through the house and into the front room. Throwing open the half-drawn curtains, she said, "Well, it's not much, but it's home... Sort of."

The lads looked around in awe. Everything was new and modern to them; the television, the heat pump on the wall, even the sofa looked different! Over in the kitchen, everything was sleek and shiny and colour coordinated.

"It's so..." John started, struggling for words for once. "Wow."

"Are all houses like this?" Paul asked in wonder, running his hand over the TV. "Do I get to live in a house like this?"

"Mostly," Jessie shrugged. "And probably," she answered his second question.

Then Paul spotted the grand piano in the corner. "Ooh! You have a piano!" He ran his fingers across the keys and couldn't resist tapping a quick tune. "I love this place already!" He grinned.

"What's the deal then?" Ringo said. "Are we gonna look for George?"

"George!" Paul exclaimed. "I almost forgot 'bout him!"

"We will," Jessie said. "But you guys can't go 'round the place looking like that. People will recognise you!"

"We can't exactly do anythin' about it. We're hardly gonna fit your clothes!" John grumbled.

"Ringo might." Paul added cheekily.

"Hey!" Ringo protested. "Least it gives me more options! What're you gonna do, hmm?"

"Please," Jessie rubbed her forehead. "Quit bickering. Honestly, you're worse than my class at school!" She walked out of the room and went upstairs. "Just come here."