Stuck In The 60s

Chapter Six

       All five of us decided to walk to my house the next day. Building a trasportation device would take as much time as we needed.

      "What are we doing first?" Janel turned to me. I thought. There was so much to do already.

      "I suppose," I said slowly, "You should design the transportation device first, Janel." This was probably the smartest choice. After all, we can't exactly build the thing without the design. Janel smiled. 

       I felt so happy. I was actually walking to my house with people. I was talking with them. They were talking with me. I didn't really feel like a loser.

       We walked straight, made a right, turned left, and went straight again. Up the right side of my street, crossed to the left, and there we were. My house. It's not a very big house, but it's enough to hold my family.

        My mother was still at work, so we couldn't get into the house. We sat in my back yard, and I pulled my notebook out of my backpack. I handed it to Janel. Tariq gave her a pencil. We all scooted around her, to see what she would come up with.

      "That looks like a fucking remote control," Tariq laughed. Ben and Julian laughed along with him. Even Janel had to laugh, because, it was true. 

       "We could make that work," I said, observing her design. It seemed simple enough. 

       "What else do we have to do?" Ben asked. I didn't know, so I decided to tell them to go home.

       "Ben and Julian, think of how you will build this," I instructed the two. Then, everyone left. 

       I sat in my backyard, thinking about how good my life would be after this was finished. I could literally live in the 60s, if I wanted to. If I got lucky, maybe I could befriend my two favorite bands. For that, of course, the boys would have to make an age device as well, so I could age a couple of years. "I should ask them to do that," I whispered, then laughed. "We should talk about it tomorrow."

      I imagined 60s life. Vintage dresses, black and white television, radio shows. The Beatles and The Monkees. It seemed fantastic. Where would I go? I answered my question. "Where ever the Beatles and The Monkees went." I smiled. 

      Maybe, I would even bring my friends. "They would never survive!" I giggled. What would they all be without their cell phones? They'd all get arrested playing their music in public.

      Lexi might survive. She has always been a big Lucille Ball fan. Maybe she'd get the chance to meet her.

      The only boy I could picture surviving the 1960s would be Ben, who had a moptop haircut. Although, all of their clothing choices would be strange, in the eyes of the 60s citizens.

      I pictured Tariq and Janel in the 60s. Tariq and Janel are dark-skinned. The 60s were probably one of the most rascist times in American history. I imagined both of them, being discriminated against, and felt sorry for them.

      As for Julian, well, he might just be a little too strange and crazy for the 1960s' calm home life. I pictured him, running up to innocent bypassers, screaming and telling innapropriate jokes. I snickered.

      Then, I thought of me. Of course, I thought I'd fit in just fine. I'd sit back on a floral-patterned couch,   in a tiny, cookie cutter home, and watch the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Maybe, I'd turn on to an episode of the Monkees. I would be having the time of my life.

       I lied down on the grass in my backyard, and practiced my 60s vocabulary. "Groovy!" I exclaimed, "Outta sight! Boss!" I loved the sound of those words.