Wrong Place, Wrong Time

The first thing I remember feeling was the way the sun was making my skin itch and burn. After being in quarantine for so long, my body had become sensitive to heat. I groaned, and my eyes fluttered open. The sun was right in my face, and my eyelids began to blink in pain. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” a familiar voice called. I felt hands pull me into a sitting position, and I groaned again. 

“What happened?” I managed to ask. My eyes closed again, and I reached up to massage my temples. 

“You passed out. God, do I need to call an ambulance?! You look sick and pale.”

“No, I’m fine,” I protested weakly. Then, when my brain started functioning again, I stopped. My eyes opened cautiously, and my heart was racing with a million different feelings. “Ben?”

“What?” Ben asked. A concerned look formed on his face. 

“Oh my god,” I whispered. “What are you doing here? Where’s your mask?!”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “What mask?”

I scooted away from him cautiously. “Your face mask. Wait, I’m not wearing one either! What happened?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have a face mask. I’ve never had one. I don’t even know what you mean.”

My heart dropped. “But...there’s a pandemic. We all need to wear masks.” I scooted back even more until my back hit a wall. 

“Gracie, what pandemic? Did you hit your head when you passed out?”

I blinked. “I passed out?”

Ben stood up quickly. “I just said that! I need to call an ambulance. You’re delirious.”

“Wait!” I yelled, pulling the hem of his shirt. The heat was getting more intense by the second; at least, it seemed that way to me. “Stop. Talk to me. What day is it today?”

“August second.” That much sounded correct, at least. 

“Where are we?”

“We’re at school.”

I stopped and looked around. He was right. We were at my former high school. 

“Why are we here?” I asked. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and exhaled heavily. 

Ben frowned. “Because...we’re doing leadership training.”

“But we did that last summer,” I protested.

“No, we didn’t.” Ben countered. “Look, are you sure you don’t want me to call that ambulance? Because you might have a concussion after-”

“Wait.” I interrupted. A sinking feeling blossomed in my chest. “What year is it?”

“Gracie.” Ben ran his hands through his hair nervously. “Gracie, it’s 2019. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do.” I responded mindlessly. It was 2020. It was August 2, 2020. But I was sitting on the ground in the blistering heat with a headache on August 2, 2019. And I had no idea how to communicate this to Ben without sounding crazy. “So...senior year, huh?”

Ben nodded and sighed. “Tell me this just happened because you’re stressed about starting senior year.”

I nodded, but there were knots twisting my stomach into a tight mess. “Right. I’m stressed about starting.” Actually, I was stressed because I had already graduated, and seemed to be the only one who knew this. “Hey, so, how’s Denise?”

Ben shifted uncomfortably. “I mean, we’re good, but I haven’t asked her out yet. I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do.”

My heart stopped. August 2019. He wasn’t with Denise yet. I could change everything if I wanted to. But was it right?

Before I could give it more thought, Ben cleared his throat. “For no specific reason, do you remember the symptoms of heat stroke?”

I felt the blood rush to my face as I realized I had probably been quiet for a suspicious amount of time. I wiped my forehead again indignantly. “I don’t have heat stroke.”

“Dehydration?”

“Ben,” I began cautiously. I rubbed my hands together, and cringed because they were sweating. I stood gently so I could look him directly in the eyes. “What if I said something crazy right now and I could prove that I’m not making it up? Would you believe me?”

Ben frowned. “Gracie, I-”

“Ben. You haven’t told anyone yet but you plan to run for prom king.”

His cheeks burned. “How did you-”

“Our leadership teacher is wearing an oversized shirt with ducks on it. Denise dropped out of the group this morning and only told you. You want to wear a long sleeve shirt on the first day of school even though it’ll be too hot. Oh, and your idea for the homecoming theme is superhero themed even though you yourself think it’s a terrible idea. Now tell me, how could I possibly know all of those things?”

His mouth fell slightly open, but he remained silent. 

“Ben,” I continued gently. “It is August second. But I’m not in 2019. I’m in 2020, but I woke up here. How else would I know all of that if you haven’t told anyone or written it down anywhere? It’s not the heat. It’s not a concussion. This is real.”

“Okay,” Ben breathed. “So let’s pretend you’re telling the truth for a second. Why are you here then? Why did you ‘time travel?’”

I paused. “I don’t know. I just woke up here. I’m as lost as you are.”

“Well, there’s got to be a reason.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot. The heat made every second seem eternal. Or maybe that was just a side effect of whatever had happened to me. I frowned, and Ben reached for my arm. “We’re late for leadership training. Let’s go inside. You look like you need some fresh air.” 

We walked toward the classroom, but as I tried to open the door to step inside, a force pulled me backwards. 

“Ben, it’s not going to let me go in,” I called. I didn’t know what was controlling me, and I was scared to acknowledge its intentions. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I tried to walk inside and it won’t let me.”

“What’s it?”

“The thing that brought me here. It only wants me to redo this one memory.”

“Why this one? And why with me?”

I hugged myself. Better now than never. Maybe he would forget all of this. “I think I know why.”

Ben looked at me expectantly, and I sighed. “In the year 2020, there’s a virus that’s going to send everyone into quarantine. We can’t go out, can’t see anyone, and have to wear face masks. This started in March. Schools shut down. It’s been five months and it's only gotten worse. Ben, it’s August second. I haven’t seen you since March thirteenth. And whatever time you do have, you spend talking to Denise because you guys are together. I miss you, Ben.”

Ben stayed still and stared at my face intensely. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again. I felt selfish for saying what I had, and I opened my mouth to take it back, but Ben interrupted me. 

“So you’re here because you miss me? Because we haven’t seen each other in five months? And because...you’re jealous of Denise?”

I coughed loudly. “No one said I was jealous!”

“It was heavily implied.”

“Not the point!” I scowled, but then my face softened again. “I think I needed to recreate this because I needed to be honest with you and see you again, even if it’s like this.”

“But what brought you here? Is it a dream? Will I forget all of this once it’s over?”

“I only know it’s not a dream, but I don’t know anything else.”

Ben sighed. “I’m sorry, Gracie. I’m sorry for what I did...or will do. I would never push you aside on purpose. I hope that future me gets some sense knocked into him.”

I laughed weakly, then stared up at the burning sky. A light breeze tickled my face, and I turned back to Ben. “I have to go back. I think I can only stay here for this one memory. You have to forget this ever happened and continue living your life normally.”

I turned away and started heading back to where I woke up. Ben stepped in front of me quickly. “Wait. One last thing. What happens after you’re gone?”

I shrugged. “Maybe...the version of me that actually belongs in this time will come back.”

Ben stepped forward, and we hugged briefly. I smiled. “Enjoy your senior year.”

“Goodbye, Gracie.”

I walked back to where I woke up and laid on the ground. The ground burned my skin, and the sun burned my eyes. I squeezed them shut, and a single tear rushed down my face. When I opened them again, I wasn’t lying on the ground anymore. I was in the middle of my bed. The fan on my ceiling spun so fast that I couldn’t see the blades, but I was still sweating as much as I had been before. I sighed and covered my face frustratedly. I felt something vibrate under my ribs, and I looked down. I had been laying on top of my phone. I picked it up and checked my notifications. There was a new text from Ben. 

Hey, sorry I haven’t texted you lately. Can we FaceTime later?

I smiled. Perhaps it had been worth it, after all.