Through the Storm

Chapter Two

When I opened my eyes again, Kevin was gone, along with the rest of the kids and my coworkers. The horrible feeling of splitting stopped, replaced by the light-as-air feeling I always get during a time jump. Like I could run for miles and not feel any aching in my legs.
I look around. I was lucky. Everyone was too busy too notice me materializing out of thin air. So far I hadn't had to explain that to anyone, thankfully.
I hit the start button on the stopwatch and glanced at the giant clock above the theater camp entrance.
11:57 am. Pretty close. I walked over to the shop and walked inside. The girl at the register looked about my age, maybe a little older. She leaned on the counter, holding her face in her hands, staring at the wall.
Whenever I do these little experiments, I have to constantly remind myself a very important fact: Hollywood gets everything wrong when it comes to time travel.
Seriously.
Okay, but here's the weird part. The girl at the counter could punch me in the nose, maybe even break it, and when I jumped back to my present time, it'd be sore or bruised, but not broken. Why it's not broken is a whole other unanswered question.
If I were to break her nose, then went back to the present, she would be totally unharmed and wouldn't remember anything. Of course, I was supposed to be testing that theory right now. Well...except I'm not going to punch her. Either way--same outcome.
"Hey," I said to her. "Do you sell...sunscreen?"
She didn't even make eye contact, just pointed to a wall to the left.
I walked over and snatched four different bottles and then dumped them on the counter.
"So...are you at NYU or..."
"You know, you can buy these somewhere else for like, half the price," she snapped.
"Thanks, but I really need some now." I leaned on the counter right in front of her.
She straightened up and statutes ringing in my purchase. "Four bottles? Seriously?"
Okay...so much for flirting. "Fine, I'll just get one. I guess you're not working on commission."
"You work at a day camp?" She asked disdainfully, eyeing my green theater camp shirt. "Yep."
The girl snorted back a laugh and snatched the credit card from my hand that I was holding out for her. "You really don't remember me?" I had to pause for a second to process her words. "Um...."
"Tracy...I sat behind you in economics all semester. Professor Larson called you unbalanced and said you needed to get a better grasp on realistic finances for college students." She rolled her eyes at me. "Is that why you have a job?"
"Nope." Totally true. I don't even get paid. I'm a volunteer, but I wasn't about to tell her that. She had obviously already made up her mind about me. "Well...it was nice seeing you again, Tracy."
"Whatever ," she grumbled.
I left the store quickly. Jumping back to the present time didn't require the same amount of focus as it did going into the past.
Kevin calls my present my "home base." He's mastered the art of dumbing it down for me to comprehend. He makes good analogies. Hopefully, I wouldn't return to a bunch of strangers staring at my "vegetable-like" state.