Modern Women. // A 'Cable Girls' Fanfiction

Is this really worth a Nobel Prize?

"It fucking worked!" Frankie gasped, her little hands clenching and shaking in excitement.

"I can hear them now!" Frankie soliloquized. "And the Nobel Prize goes to-" Frankie air drums, "Frankie Ruiz Miller!' The crowd would go crazy! The whole world would be in disbelief, I mean, I'm in disbelief! I just fucking made a functional time machine!"

"I just fucking made a functional time machine."

The gears in Frankie's head turned. For such a smart person she made an incredibly stupid mistake.

"I made a functional time machine... and used myself as a lab rat... and didn't really configure it to a specific date or location... and I don't have a time machine with me right now. I was the first one to create it. It wasn't portable. The time machine is in 2019 and I'm- Fuck."

The young adult scanned her surroundings, she's in the middle of a considerably crowded street. Eyes full of disgust shoot nasty glares at her direction. Judging by the clothes, buildings, cars and angry policemen running towards her she concludes that she's in the roaring twenties and lots of trouble.

FRANKIE

This is all going so fast, a few seconds ago I was fixing the last screw on my machine and now I'm running away from the police in 1920's God knows where.

"¡No la dejéis escapar!"

1920's Spain.

I'm stuck in 1920's Spain.

I have never been so glad to be Mexican-American AND a good runner.

My knees and ribs hurt; I have no idea how many turns I've taken but I look back and see a telephone company, a bar and most importantly, a distinct lack of policemen. My much-needed intake of oxygen is interrupted by another Spanish accent, this time feminine.

"That's right! Stick it to the man! Women can wear pants in public if we please!"

Looking back I see a blonde in usual 1920's attire (which I find horrendously adorable) with her arms linked to a slightly older man. He's handsome but he's exactly 99 years older than me and oh god-they're walking towards me. I'm socially awkward plus they're a really cute couple, shit.

She's right in front of me and holding her hand out. "My name's Carlota,"

Nervously, I shook her hand, "and this is Miguel." I shook his hand.

Carlota continues, "Nice to see a fellow suffragist protesting so openly."

"Um uh- yes! Of course! It's a new age, time for the patriarchy to die." I'm actually a humanist but I'm not here to argue about the gender inequality of the early 1900s.

"Patriarchy?"

Was patriarchy not a word yet...? Shit. Looks like I'm the new inventor of the word.

"Patriarchy is uh... y'know the social system where men hold most, if not, all power politically, in the workplace and in the household."

Carlota looks at Miguel and they nod at each other, seemingly impressed.

"Absolutely perfect word for the state of the world right now, I'll add it to my vocabulary."

"Carlota..." Miguel interrupts, "We're going to be late for work."

"It was nice meeting you, uh...?"

"Francis." Going by fake names seems like a good idea here.

"Well Francis, I work at the Telephone Company, I'm operator 46. I know this really good suffragist meet up if you're interested."

I try my hardest to muster up a friendly smile, I'm glad to have an alley. "I'll make sure to give you a ring."

And with that, they nodded and walked away. While I watched them enter the building it hit me.

The Telephone Company is my way back home.