Time Warp

1

A large group of teenagers zipped down the street on their bicycles, led by a tall, dark haired man. He was Mr. Stinebrickner, or 'Mr. S' for short. Ecstatic and energetic, he was hyped for the annual eight-grade bike trip. Following him were the twenty nine members of the eight-grade boys and eight-grade girls classes.

They were in Victoria, a coastal city that was just across the Puget Sound from Seattle, their home city. They came from St. Alphonsus school, a catholic academy.

Today was not a day for uniforms.

In their comfortable jeans and T-shirts, the teens sat comfortably on their bikes as they rode down the hill, happily conversing with each other. They were joyed that the boys and girls classes were finally together to do something. Usually they were so... separated.

But one girl seemed out of place. Helen was her name, and she was not dressed the same as her peers. Lacking jeans, leggings, or yoga pants, she wore a simple dress, and her hair was neatly tied back in a braid. Earlier, her friends had marveled at her ability to ride a bicycle in a skirt. But now they were gone, riding up front and mocking the boys who were having trouble with their clunky bikes.

Helen, however, was lagging in the back. She biked about ten feet behind the closest person, but it was no accident. She wanted to be peaceful on her ride, her mind not clogged up by the shouts and whoops of her peers. And she was succeeding.

She admired the small town scenery that scrolled by. Small, cute little houses lined the streets, their yards holding at least one large oak tree, its leaves green with the summer weather.

Slowly, the houses faded into country-side. Her bike tires sped along the hot pavement as she rolled down the soft hill.

The group came to an old, rusty, overgrown baseball field. They didn't give it a second look. But something on the field caught Helen's eye. A large glimmer-like wisp was suspended over the pitching mound. It was constantly changing, a mesmerizing, cloud-like, rainbow-colored substance.

Helen did not realized how slowly she was going until her bike toppled over. She barely caught herself with her hands, earning herself large scratches on both palms. Her bike pedal hit her in the stomach, causing her to let out a loud "oof". That would bruise later, she was sure. Her knees, unprotected by her flimsy dress, scraped across the concrete and were immediately bloody. But Helen didn't care. She could only see the glimmer over the center of the abandoned field. And her heart yearned to go to it.

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