Black to the Past

Chapter 27

Wilson and Meredith walked into class Thursday afternoon and sat with Michael. They both looked exhausted. Michael wished he could give Meredith a hug because she looked so tiny and frail. He imagined that things must be much worse than he thought for Halle and he felt sorry for her.
    "Is Halle okay," he asked.
    "Yeah, her mom is real sick, though," Wilson said without giving away any personal information.
    Meredith simply nodded her head, "did you turn in our idea?"
    "Yeah, she collected it. Wilson, when are you going to fill me in? You can't text a Robotics nerd that something like this is possible and not tell me," Jalen said, trying to laugh it off.
    "Sorry, man, it was just too much to text. I did do some research and there's all this shit about using GPS satellites and drum vacuums that could make it possible. I don't even know what it means but from what I read it just seems like something that could be done," Wilson said shrugging his shoulders.
    As tired as Wilson was, and with all that he knew was going on with Halle's family, this project no longer seemed important.
    "A drum vacuum?" Meredith asked, her eyes widening, "I didn't know drums had special vacuums."
    "They don't," Jalen had to control himself from rolling his eyes. She was cute but she wasn't that bright, he thought.
    "Oh, don't give me that look, Jalen. I didn't get that much sleep and I don't know a lot of geek stuff. Well, is it sort of like what Iron Man made in End Game?"
    "This isn't a movie, Mare," Wilson puffed out.
    "I know it isn't," Meredith clapped back. "And I'm just as tired as you are Wil, but I'm trying to understand what it is you're talking about."
    "I think that the concept behind a drum vacuum being used as a time machine would mean that the portal is circular, like a drum, or a doughnut. And then some kind of way, time would bend around itself allowing you to go back in the past," Jalen said thoughtfully.
    "OKay, but would it bend around itself and allow you to come back," Meredith wanted to honestly know.
    "That's the thing. A time machine doesn't exist. Who would know," Jalen responded.
    "Professor Harold," Wilson answered.
    "This is a very interesting concept," Mrs. Hansen said as she sat down in the empty chair next to Wilson.
    "Thanks," the kids said in unison.
    "You're the only group that has this idea. I'm very interested to see where you go with this. I want you to consider how far back in time you'd have to go in order to make an impact in Dr. King's life. That will require you to understand his thought process, why he chose a career in religion. What were his other options? I like this, I like this very much," she said as she stood up to visit with the next group.
    "Well, like it or not, we're stuck with the time travel concept," Jalen said observantly.
    "That doesn't mean that we have to take up some psychopath on his offer to go cruising in his "time-machine," Meredith whispered to him sarcastically.
    "Listen, if he's lying to us, we're just wasting time," Wilson said.
    "Unless he kills us," Meredith said as she crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in the chair.
    "What's the likelihood of that, Meredith?" Jalen wanted to know. "I'm more curious than scared."
    "I'm not curious about it at all," Meredith told him as she rolled her eyes and picked up her pen to doodle on her notebook paper.
    "Okay, fine, let's do this. Meredith doesn't want to go see it right?" Wilson started.
    "Duh," Meredith replied.
    "Hear me out. Come to the library with us but don't "meet" with Professor Harold. Just be in a different part of the library. You and Halle. We'll text you the address where he's taking us and you all follow from a distance. Wait outside for us and if we're not back in say, half hour, call the police," Wilson suggested.
    "We need more than half an hour. Something like this isn't going to be sitting in his living room. Give it two hours," Jalen added.
    "You could be dead and buried in two hours," Meredith whined.
    "Aww, you do care about me," Jalen said, putting his hand to his heart and acting as if he were fainting.
    Meredith and Wilson both laughed. Jalen had a funny sense of humor and he was beginning to grow on both of them as someone likeable and cool to hang around.
    "How's that sound to you Mare?" Wilson asked.
    "I don't want you guys to go either," Meredith pouted. "I'm sure Hallie won't want you to go either."
    "Noone is going to get hurt. I'll bring a weapon," Wilson offered.
    "What kind of weapon, man," Jalen wanted to know.
    "I don't know. Maybe, a pocket knife or something."
    "If you even think you need a weapon, why bother," Meredith tried reasoning with Wilson.
    "I'm only bringing a weapon because you're giving me the worst case scenario!"
    "Okay, okay, I think you guys are crazy. But we'll do it your way. Halle and I will wait and follow behind you," Meredith resigned with a sigh.
    The bell rang. None of them were in a rush to leave school. Meredith felt as if the weight of the world were on her best friend's shoulders but there was nothing she could do about it and now one of her best guy friends and classmates she'd known her entire childhood might end up dead before Friday night was over!
    "Are you headed to Halle's house?" Wilson asked her as they headed out of the room.
    "Maybe later. Her dad is there and he's been acting weird. Her grandmother is there too. It's really not pretty," Meredith admitted.
    "That's too bad. I was hoping to call her. Maybe I should pick her up and take her out of the house for a bit," Wilson said out loud more to himself than anyone else.
    "We should all go," Jalen suggested wanting a way to take out Meredith too.
    "Yeah, let's go now," Wilson said with a smile.
    "You guys are really cracking up," Meredith said but she couldn't help but to be affected by their energy. "Who's driving?"
    Meredith looked from one to the other.
    "I've got the car," Wilson said.
    "Okay, I'll meet you out there. I've just got to go to my locker," Meredith told him.
    "I'll come with you," Jalen told her, not wanting to lose track of her.
    "You're both leaving me," Wilson shook his head and took off in the other direction.
    Michael, who usually met up with Jalen after school, turned the hall corner in just enough time to see Meredith smiling up at Jalen and him looking down at her as if he were in seventh heaven. Pausing in mid-stride, holding up traffic behind him, Michael simply stared after Jalen. Brooke was on his heels and bumped into him.
    "Mike, what gives?"
    "Nothing, nothing gives at all," Michael said sadly.
    Stepping from behind him Brooke sympathized. She felt for Michael what she considered he must feel for Jalen although for the life of her she couldn't imagine why. Michael had so much going for him. She was sure that the affection he felt was simply because of the sheer amount of time Jalen had spent in Michael's life. Brooke looked up into Michael's sad blue eyes and reached for his hand.
    If he could but feel the soft sweetness of a woman, she could get him to understand that affection was all that it was. He could have so much more with her! Michael stared down at their now joined hands and felt a funny tingling sensation wash over his stomach. He wanted to let go to feel the feeling leave but then he was afraid that if the feeling left him he'd never feel anything again. Michael was thoroughly confused. He looked into her round green eyes that were so full of depth and emotions he couldn't understand.
    Her reddish blonde hair was curled high on her head. For the first time Michael noticed the milky whiteness of her neck and the swell of her chest that was barely covered by the v-neck tee she was sporting. Finally, Brooke thought, he sees me.
    Michael clutched her hand harder and took off down the hall towards his locker. Brooke beamed with a smile and proudly held on for the ride.