I'm From Another Dimension

Bella: 1981- Louisiana

"Alright kid, what's your favorite letter of the alphabet?"

"B!" Bella exclaimed happily.

"Ooh, no states begin with B," Not-Stan said, "How about your second favorite?"

"S," Bella grinned.

"Alright, how about South Dakota?" Not-Stan suggested, starting his car.

"Ok," Bella nodded, glancing over at him, "Put on your seat belt."

Not-Stan rolled his eyes, pulling the seat belt over his chest and clicking it into place.

"There, ya happy?" He asked.

"Yup!" Bella smiled, then looked out the window, "I like S. My boyfriend's name starts with S. And if you put our initials together, you get 'bullshit'."

Not-Stan laughed as he started driving.

"You're alright, kid," He smiled, "Wait, you've got a boyfriend? At your age?"

"I'm 14!" Bella defended, crossing her arms, "And yes, I do."

"Uh-huh. And what's his name?" Not-Stan asked.

"Uh... that doesn't matter," Bella avoided the real answer, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I'm living outta my car, kid, you really think a guy like me is gonna have a girlfriend?" Not-Stan raised his eyebrow, then sighed, "Nah, not me. I had a girlfriend, but then she dumped me for this hippie-dude."

Bella frowned, really hoping that didn't mean what she thought it meant. In her opinion, Fiddleford would defiantly be considered a hippie in... what year did she see on the newspaper that morning? 1981?

"What was her name?" Bella asked.

"Carla," Not-Stan said shortly. Bella sighed in relief. So she wasn't dating her best friend in this world. But apparently, she also didn't know Stan in this world. Bella wasn't sure which was worse.

They drove in silence for a while with the radio playing quietly in the background. Bella hummed along to the few songs she knew, but that was very limited. She sighed, upset at the lack of singable songs playing. If her phone worked, she would just listen to music on that. But unfortunately, anything that used WiFi, which included Dotify, wouldn't work on the device.

"I'm bored," Bella announced after an hour.

"Too bad," Not-Stan replied.

"Don't you have any books or something?" Bella asked.

Of course he doesn't, She immediately answered her own question. He's Stan.

"Nope. Sorry kid," Not-Stan shrugged, "I don't read."

"Well you should," Bella grumbled, "It's fun." 

She sighed and stared out the window as they entered a town. Her eyes glazed over the buildings before one caught her attention.

"A book store!" She exclaimed, startling Not-Stan, "Can we go? Oh please please please?"

"Books cost money, kid, and I don't have much of that," Not-Stan rolled his eyes, "I'm not wasting it on a lousy book."

"But I'm so booooored," Bella moaned, "Can't I just get one? I've never gone this long without something to do! It's killing my ADHD!"

"Your huh?" Not-Stan asked, looking at her in confusion. Bella realized her mistake and quickly thought something up.

When was ADHD diagnosed as a mental disorder? She thought worriedly. In 1970-something it was called ADD with hyperactivity, so I'm sorta safe.

"It's like ADD- Attention Deficit Disorder- with hyperactivity," Bella explained, "And it's torture to just sit around doing nothing!"

"Alright, fine, you can get one book if it'll make you shut up," Not-Stan groaned. Bella squealed, bouncing her legs until Not-Stan parked the car. She quickly unbuckled her seat belt and hopped out of the car, running to the store, "Hey, wait up!"

Bella was already inside by the time Not-Stan got out of the car. He glanced around and followed the girl inside, finding her looking through an aisle.

"Try to get a cheap one, alright?" He mumbled.

"But they're all cheap," Bella muttered to herself, "Wait... money differences. Everything was cheaper in the past, wasn't it? Uh, what's considered cheap, then?"

"What're you saying?" Not-Stan asked.

"Uh, nothing," Bella lied, "Just... talking to myself. It's a thing I do."

"Weirdo," Not-Stan muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Aw, thank you!" Bella smiled, "I think that's the nicest thing you've said to me yet." She gasped suddenly, grabbing a book off the shelf and whispering to herself, "I didn't know Jim Pattersun was this old!"

"Did you find one?" Not-Stan asked. 

"Well, I found an author I really like," Bella responded, skimming through the summary, "Yup! This is good."

"Great, lemme see," Not-Stan took the book and hid it in his jacket before pulling Bella towards the exit. The girl frowned, her steps slowing ever-so-slightly.

"But- we didn't pay-" She said quietly. Not-Stan shushed her. When they reached the door, an alarm sounded.

"Hey, you gotta pay for that!" The cash register yelled.

"Shit!" Not-Stan shouted, "Run!"

He pulled Bella along behind him and they quickly climbed into his car. Not-Stan drove off at a speed that Bella was sure was illegal.

"What the fuck?!" She exclaimed once they were a few miles away, "You- we- you just fucking stole a book!"

"I said I wasn't wasting money on a book, and I didn't," Not-Stan huffed, tossing the book to Bella, "You got your book. See?"

"But- I- you- I didn't think you were gonna steal it!" Bella shrieked. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, doing all she could to not start crying.

"Jeez kid, I didn't think you'd be so upset about it," Not-Stan frowned at her, "Listen, if you're worried about getting in trouble or something, don't be. I've been doing this the past nine years."

"Uh-huh, and how many times have you been to jail?" Bella asked, clutching the book to her chest.

"...three," Not-Stan answered, looking away, "But that's not the point. That's three times out of a million. And it wasn't even for stealing."

"I can't believe I'm riding with a criminal," Bella mumbled, slumping in her seat.

"Hey, if you wanna leave, I ain't stopping you," Not-Stan glared.

"NO!" Bella exclaimed, her eyes wide, "No! I-I need to..." She frowned, looking out the window as if just realizing where she was, "Wait a second. Where are we going?"

"Uh, South Dakota?" Not-Stan raised an eyebrow, "Like I said?"

"Shit, I'm never fully awake in the mornings," Bella groaned, "Not South Dakota- I need to get to Oregon!"

"The state you ran away from?" Not-Stan asked.

"No- yes! It's complicated," Bella moaned, burying her face in her backpack, "I just need to get back, ok? I can explain when we get there."

"Well it might take us awhile to get to Oregon," Not-Stan said, "But if you really wanna go-"

"Yes yes yes, please!" Bella begged.

"I guess we can head up to Oregon," Not-Stan sighed. Bella squealed happily, seeming to forget what had just happened.

"Home, here I come!" She cheered.