Benny and the Chets

“We’re ready to test the time machine!” Benny shouted over its roar.

“About time! I’ve been waiting all morning. Let’s get this experiment over with so we ca-” ZAP! The lights in the garage flickered several times, but at least they didn’t go out as they had in previous attempts. Defeated, Benny ran his hands over his face. He knew if the lights flickered in the garage, they would have flickered throughout the whole house. He looked towards the door expectantly.

           “Oh come on! Not again!” Chet exclaimed. “I thought you said you fixed it!” Sixth grader Benny Thompson rolled his eyes at his best friend Chester. (As with most people, Benny referred to him as Chet, since “Chester is an old man name!” according to Chet.)

           “I did! But like I said before, my dad doesn’t have the right fuses. We should check your garage again.” Chet was about to protest, but was interrupted by the loud SLAM! of the garage door. Too familiar with the scolding about to come their way, Chet offered a polite, “Hello Mrs. Thompson, how are you?” The woman who had just barged in ignored Chet and shouted, “you boys had better stop this nonsense and get walking to school or you’ll be late! And I cannot drive you because I’m already late for getting your sister to school.” Benny’s little sister, Dani, was in kindergarten at the elementary school across town. The warning look his mother was sending him told him the time machine would have to wait. It was a look all mothers gave their kids when they’d been reminded of the same rules one too many times. And it was one that sent both boys scrambling to collect their backpacks and head out the door. Closing the chain link gate behind them and stepping onto the sidewalk, the boys called goodbye to the still perturbed Mrs. Thompson.

           Once they were out of earshot, Benny let out a long sigh and Chet let out a soft chuckle. “Man, your mom is really going to freak if we don’t stop messing up the lights. But I don’t think we have any more fuses at my house. Do you know where else might have what we need?” Waiting for Benny’s response, Chet silently moved his hands to hold onto the straps of his backpack to relieve some of the weight off his shoulders. The boys were taking more subjects this year, now that they were in middle school. Much to Chet’s dismay, more subjects meant more textbooks. Benny was still walking quietly along side Chet, looking down and kicking a pebble every few steps. His brow was furrowed and he was biting on his cheek. Chet recognized this as Benny’s “serious thinking” face. Chet broke the silence and said, “Maybe we need to do more research. We can go to the library after school and look there.” Benny shook his head.

           “The research is done. The blue prints and schematics were all perfect. The problem is the fuse itself. The time machine requires more power than the fuse is capable of. If the power flow is too great, it blows. It’s actually a safety mechanism in electronic equipment. I kind of knew it would happen, we just didn’t have any other fuses and I was just hoping…” Benny trailed off. Benny was doing what Chet called his “nerd rambling.” Chet didn’t understand the math and science behind the time machine and was always saying Benny was the brain behind it all. To an outsider, the boys seemed like an unlikely pair with nothing in common. But the boys had been best friends since pre-school and never grew apart despite their differing interests.

           “Okay, so maybe not the library. What about the general store? We can ask Johnny if they have any?” It was more of a question than a suggestion. Chet wasn’t really sure where to get fuses in the first place.

           Benny stifled a laugh and said, “No, it’s okay, they won’t sell them. Besides, don’t you have somewhere to be after school?” A confused expression flashed across Chet’s face and then came the wide-eyed, shocked look of nearly forgetting something important. Benny laughed at this face.

           “Ohhhh my gosh. I forgot all about baseball tryouts! I can’t believe it’s already time for spring tryouts! It’ll be Summer before we know it!” Chet was jumping around, excitedly, as they walked by the school flagpole and into the door just in time for the homeroom bell to ring.

*

           The day seemed to drag on for Benny until finally, he went to his last period science class. He and Chet didn’t have any afternoon classes together. After having morning classes and lunch together, school always felt pretty boring in the afternoons, even for someone like Benny who was normally just happy to be learning. He spent most of the afternoon looking out the window wondering where he could get the right fuse for his time machine. He tried to think of what he would do with the time machine once it finally worked. He spent so much time trying to fix and correct it, that it never occurred to him that anything bad could happen once it was up and running.

           Finally, the bell sounded, informing the day dreaming students they were free to enjoy the sunny afternoon. Knowing Chet would be at tryouts and he would have to walk home alone, Benny reluctantly packed up his books and pencils. Once the other students had left, Mr. Ledwell sat on the edge of his own desk and looked in Benny’s direction.

           “Everything alright today Benny? You didn’t laugh at my jokes like you usually do. You know you’re the only one who gets them right away. And you know I rely on you to cue everyone else to laugh, too.” Mr. Ledwell said this with a grin. He was a very tall, balding man with a round face and round glasses. He was one of the funnier teachers at the school, even though his jokes were corny. He wasn’t a stickler for the rules like other teachers and sometimes took students outside for lessons. He was well liked by everyone at the school, including Benny, who looked at him now and offered a weak smile.

           “Sorry to let you down Mr. Ledwell, I was just thinking about a project I’ve been working on.”

           “Oh? What’s this project?” Mr. Ledwell asked, now interested and jumping to his feet. Benny was still apprehensive about letting adults know about the time machine. Even his mom, who had been in the presence of the time machine on more than one occasion, didn’t know what he was working on. Benny had experimented with science for as long as anyone could remember. Like Chet, Mrs. Thompson didn’t understand science the way Benny did. She had written off the large pieces of metal and electronic wires in the garage as “just another experiment, probably a generator or something” when his father asked about it during a previous flickering lights episode. Nonetheless, Benny saw this opportunity for what it was: a chance to pick the brain of an adult and better yet, a science teacher. He knew he wouldn’t be able to fool Mr. Ledwell the way he had his parents, so he tried to remain vague on the specifics and focus on the fuse. He knew Mr. Ledwell pounced at the chance to explain things, so he asked him how fuses work. Benny knew all too well how they worked, but thought it might distract Mr. Ledwell from asking too many questions. And he was right.

           Mr. Ledwell took the next ten minutes to explain what Benny had spent seconds trying to explain to Chet this morning in his “nerd rambling.” Finally, Benny asked him if he knew where he could get the fuse he needed. Mr. Ledwell tilted his head and closed one eye, like he was thinking.

           “Actually, today might be your lucky day. I might have one in the parts lab.” Before Benny responded, Mr. Ledwell was walking to the back of the classroom and into the adjacent lab. Benny followed him into the lab the Science Club used to create various fair projects, electronic models, and simulation activities. He looked at the remote control cars the club was working on, all lined up on a lab bench, while Mr. Ledwell rummaged through an old cardboard box.

           “A-ha!” Mr. Ledwell pulled out a small part that Benny recognized as a fuse. He just hoped it was the right one to make his time machine work. For the first time today, Benny had a wide smile across his face. Mr. Ledwell handed the fuse over to Benny who was already starting for the lab door and thanking him. Back in the classroom, Benny slipped on his backpack, repeating his thanks to Mr. Ledwell, and swiftly made his way to the hall.

           “No problem Benny! I hope it works! Oh, hey! You didn’t tell me what the project was!” Mr. Ledwell called down the hall after Benny who was already running for the front doors.

*

           Back home, Benny decided to waste no time, entering the house through the garage. He noticed his mom, dad, and sister weren’t home yet. Grabbing the handle, he lifted the garage door up just enough to leave space for him to crouch down and get inside. He knew it’d be a while before Chet was done with tryouts, so he got to work by himself right away. Rushing, Benny threw his backpack on the cement floor, flipped on the lights, and snatched the fuse out of his pocket, not even bothering to close the main garage door. He replaced the fuse, reminding himself that was the easy part. He closed the side panel and backed away from the machine, taking a moment to absorb the fact that he was possibly about to have a working time machine. He tried to take a deep, controlled breath but he was too excited and he bounced on the balls of his feet and couldn’t help but smile. He placed himself carefully in front of the time machine, not in it. Holding his breath, Benny lifted the lever he and Chet had installed on the time machine four months earlier. Despite the fact that Benny had designed the time machine himself, what happened next still surprised him, causing his face to stretch in every way. With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, Benny stared at the machine as it lit up electric blue inside and a soft green glow all around the outside. The once mockingly quiet machine now hummed to life and vibrated the floor under his feet. The screen Chet had installed incorrectly three times before getting it right, was now quickly scrolling through four numbers that would display a year once the operator decided on a time. Benny had focused for so long on building the time machine that he felt lost and frozen now that it actually worked. With mixed feelings of disbelief and triumph, Benny jumped up and down in his garage, pumping his fist in the air. He had to tell Chet! Leaving the machine as it was, he ran through the door that connected the garage to the kitchen. He plucked the phone off the wall and dialed the number he’d had memorized for as long as he could remember. Listening to it ring, Benny crossed the kitchen, conscious not to get tangled in the cord of the phone. He grabbed an apple off the counter and, getting a glimpse of the clock, realized Chet might still be at tryouts. He left an “URGENT” but vague message on Chet’s answering machine, as to not tip off Chet’s parents to their success. With no one to share it with, he felt some of the excitement slowly fading as he halfheartedly climbed the stairs to his room. Taking a crunchy bite out of his apple, he pushed his bedroom door open. On the other side was Chet staring at him, looking frantic and sweaty. Not thinking, Benny threw his apple onto his desk and moved toward him.

           “Chet! I tried calling you! You won’t believe it! Ledwell had the fuse we needed and guess what! IT WORKED!” Benny noticed that Chet was breathing fast, trying to catch his breath. “Wait, Chet. Why are you in my room? How’d you get up here even?” Looking around his room, Benny noticed the window open and his hunter green curtains flowed slightly in a breeze. “Wait, did you seriously climb up to my window? Dude, save sneaking into windows for your girlfriend if you ever get one,” Benny laughed, making his way to the window. “My mom wasn’t that mad, you could’ve come in through the garage like me. You know she doesn’t care if you’re here.” He put his head outside, curious to see how Chet managed to climb to the second story window. He saw his mom and sister were now home. His mom was chatting with the neighbor from across the street oblivious to Dani who was attempting to water the front flowerbeds. Not taking her duty seriously, she was spraying strong streams of water all over the yard. Benny noticed a flow of water making it’s way up their driveway, towards their house. All of the houses on their street rested slightly lower than the road and sidewalks, meaning that puddles and rain tended to flow towards the houses…and towards the garages.

            “Oh no! Dani, stop! Chet, come on, we have to save the time machine!” Benny pulled his upper body back in the window and looked at Chet expectantly. “Let’s go!” Silently, Chet followed Benny, who raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time, holding on to the wall on one side and the railing on the other. They crossed the kitchen, but froze half way to the garage door as the lights flickered. “No!” Benny cried. He pounced through the garage doorway and onto the cement floor. He landed on his feet hard, just in time to see the time machine spark, let out a few puffs of smoke, and shut down. At once, all the lights extinguished, the number scrolling ceased, and the garage went back to being the very sad silence that Benny had come to associate with their failures.

           Benny gawked at the time machine. He felt frustration and discouragement rising inside him. He motioned for Chet to follow him as he skulked back to his room. He couldn’t let his mom and Dani see how upset he was. Once the boys were back in his room, he closed the door behind them. Inhaling a deep breath, with his hands together in front of his chest, he turned to Chet. “It’s fine! We can fix this. We always do. We were too close this time. We’ll get it next time. We have to!” Chet was still staring blankly at Benny. “Chet, aren’t you upset? I mean, did you hear me before? It was working before!” Chet took a step toward Benny.

           “I – ”

           “Benny! Benny! Come down here!” Chet was once again interrupted by the voice of Mrs. Thompson.

           “Hold that thought!” Benny said to Chet as he ran out of his room. Climbing down the stairs, he saw his mom was standing at the front door in the living room, still yelling across to the neighbor. He passed through the dining room, stepping over Dani and Marty, their golden retriever.

           “Yeah, Mom?” Benny saw his mom holding the door open and Chet ran through, looking sweatier and more out-of-breath than before.

           “Chet! What the heck? What are you doing?” Benny asked, confused as to why Chet left his room just to come back inside the house.

           “I got home from tryouts and heard your message and ran right over here!” Chet was still catching his breath.

           “Yeah, but I already saw you…”

           Now, Chet and Benny shared a look of confusion. Mrs. Thompson, for one, didn’t seem confused or interested. She said, “Chester, dear, if you’re staying for dinner, you need to let your parents know.” Then she walked into the dining room, her voice fading as she spoke to Dani and the dog.

           Free from watchful eyes, the boys hurried back towards Benny’s room. Still confused, Benny whispered urgently at Chet on the stairs. “Why are you acting so weird?” he demanded.

           “I’m not acting weird. I was trying to be discreet in front of your mom, genius!”

           “That’s not what I mean. I mean, you climb in through my window–”

           “What? Okay, for a genius, you’re not that bright. You literally just met me at the door!”

           Benny sucked his teeth and rolled his head with his eyes, pushing the bedroom door open. The boys stopped abruptly in the doorway, knocking into each other. Both Benny and Chet’s eyes widened incredulously at the scene in his room. Sitting on his bed was Chet. Standing behind him was Chet. The Chet on the bed slowly came to a stand, eyebrows raised and hands raised up defensively.