3011

My eyes snap open and I turn to my side curling up close, when I realize there's no blanket to curl into. I am sleeping on what is as hard as a rock, but is oddly comfortable. The logical person in me tells me that I'm dreaming, but the adventurous, imaginative person in me says that this is real, and somehow I've been transported to a new world, where people sleep on rocks.

If my brother was here, he'd tell me that I'm just dreaming, or going insane. Probably the latter. But he's not here, and for once, I have peace and quiet.

A beeping sound invades my peace and quiet time and I jerk up, only to hit my head on something hard above me. I'm in a bubble, I realize. In this bubble is me, and the ground on the bottom. I can see things outside of this bubble. Other bubbles, other people, some like me, some not like me. There are boys, girls, adults, and even animals. Exotic animals; monkeys, parrots, even baby elephants.

Strange, I think. I pat the walls of the bubble. They look invisible, but I feel that they're there. An epiphany hits me. I'm in the future. A future. Instead of moving forward an hour, it feels like I've moved forward a century, or maybe even more.

There's something on my bubble, on the wall. It says my name on it. Ellie Forest. Why would this bubble know my name? Questions race through my head. How do I move this thing?

"Hello, there." A Siri-like robotic voice comes from somewhere in the bubble. It's clear as day and sharp and clean, like everything around me, picture-perfect. "I'm your virtual assistant. Where would you like to go?"

My heart is beating fast as I weigh the decision. Do I respond, and actually go somewhere? Or do I wait and see what happens if I don't say anything. Deciding to explore the more fun option, I tell the robot to go to my house at 1890 Cherry Lane in Atlantic City.

Instead of whooshing away, the woman says, "Address not available. Check with the Tower for information about relocation and demolition."

Demolition? My heart drops and I feel a sense of dread begin to creep into my body. "Take me..." I sigh, thinking where to go that's familiar. "Take me to Disneyland." Disneyland's got to still be there, right?

"Disneyland." The voice echoes.

Suddenly, we're moving, but not in the uncontrollable and wild way I imagined. We glide at a normal speed that lulls me into almost-sleep. We're there faster than I thought; it must've only taken me about twenty minutes.

"Where do you want to go in Disneyland?" There's a slight pause until the voice says 'Disneyland'.

I shrug, but my mind is already whizzing, thinking where to go, what to do, what to eat, who to see, what roller coasters to ride, what games to play. "Go to...Splash Mountain." Yes. One of my favorites. I love the exhilarating feeling of being inside, the darkness surrounding me. How there are songs playing, and animals dancing and singing. It's wonderful.

I move to Splash Mountain. There are more bubbles there. From the outside, they look like small, round, translucent eggs. There's a boy, about my age of fifteen, leaving his bubble. He drops to the ground effortlessly. With a glance at the bubble, he turns and races towards the entrance of the ride to board the logs. The boy has blonde hair that dances up and down with each step. He's wearing something that seems like it's from the 1990s; long beige pants with a white long sleeve shirt that's tucked into them. He's wearing magenta (which I scrunch my nose at in surprise) suspenders and looks like he's having the time of his life.

Eager to run over and get some answers as to when in the future I am, I do what he did and leave my bubble; there's a little door at the front that I didn't see before.

Ignoring the oddity, I run over. The boy is laughing with another boy who is wearing the same outfit with different colored suspenders. Without paying attention, I glance down at my own attire; I'm wearing normal clothes: jeans, a long yellow shirt, and sneakers. As I look around at the other girls in dresses, I feel extremely out of place. Nevertheless, I walk over.

"...and then Mum just told me to come here instead!" The boy's English accent shone through his words. I felt my cheeks warm, embarrassed to be butting in on the conversation.

"Um, excuse me?" I ask, hoping they answer.

The English boy turns to me. His eyes are a surprisingly deep green. "Yes?" He says gently.

"What year is it?" I inquire. I sound stupid.

The other boy laughs. "It's 3011, dummy. The Year of the Bubble." His sarcastic wonder is obvious and I smirk, appreciative of the comedic relief.

The English boy smiles warmly at me. "The name's Peter." He says, holding out a hand. I have to say, I'm glad that after a hundred years, chivalry isn't completely dead.

"Ellie," I reply. "You guys going on the ride?"

Two hours later, I'm sitting with Peter at an abandoned ice cream shop. "What did that place used to be?" I ask. I must've asked him a thousand questions so far.

Peter thinks for a moment, then says, "I think it was something like Rita's? Odd name if you ask me."

"Where do you come from?" I ask.

"Me? Oh, just Manchester. Nothing interesting there." Peter tells me. He inhales, about to speak. "Hey, why don't you know anything about the world?" He asks.

"If I told you the truth, you probably wouldn't believe me," I say. It's true; who's gonna believe someone who looks so crazily out of place that she accidentally traveled forward in time too far?

"Try me." Peter urges. He looks genuinely ready to hear, so I tell him. Afterwards, Peter looks so gobsmacked that he doesn't even speak. "That's...insane." He manages.

"I'm pretty good at going with the flow," I add, hoping to save a sliver of dignity.

"Odd." Peter murmurs. "Let me explain better than my friend did back there; it's year 3011, yes. Every person on this Earth has a Bubble, capital 'B'. We use it to get from place to place. There's no regular schooling. It's done online, at home. They probably don't teach the same things after a hundred years. We learn Basic English, but then we learn war stuff; fighting, swordsmanship, stuff like that."

I'm shocked when he says that. Like the government is preparing kids for battle. "That's crazy," I murmur. "Definitely not what we learn. Who leads you?"

"Same old government," Peter tells me. He laughs. "Believe it or not, the world hasn't evolved as much as you or people back then may think."

I nod, feeling out of place again. "Do you know if I can get back?" I think of my brother, John, who's probably worried sick. Although he always bosses me around, sometimes it's nice to have someone to look after me.

"Dunno," Peter shrugs.

"Bet you should be getting back to my family." I guess, stepping down from the ledge we're sitting on. "Getting dark."

Peter's face clouds into a mask of sadness. "Don't got a family. Live on my own. Bubble'll take me back to Manchester, but after that, I'll either sleep in it or on the streets."

"That's awful," I murmur. A light bulb dings in my head. "How about you come back...with me?"

"Back to when?" Peter snorts. "2020? Sure, I've got no family, but I bet the government would soon realize that one of their mates in Manchester's gone. They do a monthly census of each place."

"Well, I need to get back," I tell him. "And you're the only one I know who might be able to help. What do you say?"

Peter grins. "I think I'm in."