The Transtempus Penalty (ERERI//RIREN)

Chapter 3. 1975.

As I stepped through the doorway with Farlan, the room we were in became suddenly much warmer, the end of summer heat wave in full swing, but it didn't seem as though the post office had any sort of air conditioning other than the small fan in the corner of the office. "Your aunt's waiting in the car out front," Farlan said, already falling into character, pushing the door open for me while we quickly left the back of the office, rounding our way around the brick building and towards the wood paneled station wagon that was waiting at the curb, the wheel just outside the passenger door elevated as the car sat partially on the curb.

"Hey, hon," he smiled, walking around to the driver's side of the car. "Why don't you let me drive us home? I might not run the car up onto the sidewalk," he smirked, opening the door for her and helping her out of the car. Isabel stood and pecked Farlan on the cheek in passing, playing the role of a married couple so well that it was a wonder that they hadn't even met each other until they had been selected to join the experiment.

"Sure," she said while he helped her into the slightly off balance passenger side. "Hey Sweetie," she grinned, reaching behind us in the seat and pinching my cheek. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright, Aunt Iz," I nodded, playing along, drumming my fingers against my knee while Farlan drove.

"Where are we goin'?" he asked, looking to Isabel for direction. She pointed to an upcoming stoplight before speaking.

"Turn right up there," she replied, and Farlan did as was instructed of him, swinging a right as we approached the four way stop. "Alright, keep driving straight," she said, keeping her eyes on the road lest we miss a turn. Before long, driving down street after busy street, we arrived at our house. As Farlan pulled into the garage, Isabel turned around and began to speak. "Alright, Eren, I went and bought you some clothes, and notebooks and stuff for school. Here is your driver's license," she said, passing me a professionally forged driver's license registered to the state of California. I was a little sad to discover that despite it being California, it didn't seem like much of a beach town. It seemed more like we were in some kind of desert, the arid breeze frying my skin while we evacuated the vehicle and closed the garage door, hoping to lock out the heat as best we could.

"Yeah, and we have an expedited allowance for you, so you can decorate your room a little more thoroughly than Isabel has," Farlan said. "Feel free to take out the car, as long as one of us isn't using it."

"Right," I nodded, feeling a little lost at how normal everything felt, despite everything also being outdated by nearly twenty years. "Thanks," I nodded while Farlan handed me two crisp looking twenty dollar bills from a wallet that sat on the kitchen counter, that I assumed was Farlan's by the imitation driver's license resting in it.

"No problem, Sport," he scoffed. "Now get lost," he laughed. "Go get yourself something cool. Here is your wallet, with our phone number written on it in case you need to give it to anybody," he said, pointing to the number written into the seam of the wallet.

"Thanks, Farlan," I nodded, feeling a little weird about the fact that a man only fifteen years older than me was pretending to be my caregiver, while I had to befriend a man that was technically sixteen years older than me, all things considered. I decided that the best way to spend my allowance would be on a bike, so that I had mobility, but I knew that I wouldn't have enough money for a new bike, and as I didn't know much about bikes, I wouldn't have been able to fix up an older one, so I pocketed the cash and decided to save up for it.

"No problem. If you have anything you need to say to Hanji, we have a tape recorder. Just ask for it."

"Thanks, Farlan," I nodded, sure he was probably sick of hearing me thank him. "What should I do until school starts?" I asked, wondering what I could do to finish out my summer vacation in a new area, with absolutely no friends.