I woke up with a start. I was in the middle of the woods, freezing. Travis's t-shirt that I was wearing was no longer warm enough. I noticed that my memory box was lying next to me.
How had I gotten here? Where was I? No, when was I? It must be 2008… but how?Then it struck me, the lightning. When the lightning had struck the lab, it must have set off a strange reaction. I sat up and pulled the memory box closer to me. Then I opened it.
All the pictures I had put in there were still scattered around in it, and the song lyrics that I had written were folded on the bottom. However, there were two things in the box that I hadn't noticed before, and don't ever remember putting in. One of them was a locket. I took it out and opened it. On one side, there was a picture of Travis and me smiling, and on the other side there were these words inscribed… they said:
To my dearest Corinne
I love you,
Travis
I cried as I put the locket around my neck, and then I picked up the other unfamiliar object in the box. My friends had obviously added to the box through Travis putting the stuff in there before the 28th. The thing was a bunch of pieces of paper folded together like a book. The cover just said CORI . On the first page, it was a picture of Travis and me, and next to it, it said.
Forever baby.
You and me.
3
p.s. Don't forget me, okay?
I looked over to the next page, it was a picture of Bryan, Blaine, and I. Two messy scrawls underneath it said:
Remember all the fun times.
Sleepovers. Boy hunting.
Making B jealous. The Leapers.
Luv you Cor. JKJK. 3.
3 Bryan.
(aka. B-B)
Hey Cor.
I'm gonna miss you.
Remember when you passed out when you
saw how gorgeous I was?
Thank for always being there.
ily. always.
Blaine.
Tears were falling onto the page, staining and wrinkling the pages. But I couldn't help it. I turned the page. On the left side there was a picture of Melody and I, and underneath it, it said:
Cori baby!
I love you. What am I gonna do without you?
Good times. Bad times.
We had them all.
And we survived.
Love, Melody.
On the right said there was a picture of Delilah and I, this made me cry even harder. So this is what she came home for. I thought as I recognized the picture as being taken the weekend before I was scheduled to leave. I shivered; the cold air was getting to me. But I wasn't moving. Under the picture I read:
Cori, hun. I miss you so much already!
Thanks for everything, thanks for comforting me
when Croy dumped me, thanks for always being there
when I needed you, even when I didn't necessarily want you.
You lit up my life, and besides Mel, I never really had very
many friends who were girls. You were like the sister I never had.
And there is one little secret I never told you:
I had a HUGE crush on Bryan at the same time I liked Croy.
And boy! Was I shocked when I found out he was gay!
I thought that might give you a well needed laugh.
Remember. I love you.
Your BFF, Delilah.
She was right, I did laugh. I would have never in a million years have guessed that she had liked Bryan. Well, he is a sweetie, I thought. I turned the page again and saw a picture of me with the whole family, under the picture, it read:
Dear Corrine,
Hope you made it back safely. We miss you very much.
You are a great young lady.
Love from,
Elouise and Matthew.
WE LOVE YOU! (and ice cream)
SHAYLA and ALEXA
I smiled and the notes continued onto the next page:
Cori, thank you for being the big sister that I never
had, always wanted, and needed. I'm going
to miss having you around.
Blaine is going to go back to being a pig without you
here, but really, did that ever change? LOL
ILY.
Aryanna.
Cori! You were an awesome girl!
I'm sorry we didn't spend more time together,
I sure am going to miss you.
Love, Croy
CORI!!
Hey big sis (one of).
I miss you so much!
From, DEXTER.
I turned the page and saw a picture of Kyle and me, we were holding guitars, and he was attempting to teach me chords.
Hey Cori,
Make sure you don't forget Ky Ky!
HAHA. Don't tell Bryan that I actually used his nickname for me.
The Leapers will live on even without you.
We'll always be thinking of you. You are a really awesome person!
I LUV YOU ALWAYS
Kyle.
I looked onto the next page and saw a picture of Owen, Gemma, and me.
Cori!
I'm going to miss you and all of your craziness!
LUNCH BUDDIES 4EVER.
I LOVE YOU.
Gemma
Cori,
Thanks for getting my little brother a life.
And getting him out of the house.
I owe you one, big time.
LUV Owen.
I turned the page to the last two pages and was surprised to see a picture of Riley and me from when we were friends. We were happy, and I looked below the picture and read the note quickly:
Hey Cori,
I know you weren't expecting anything from me to be in here…
but surprise? I'm sorry that I messed up our friendship and relationship.
I really am going to miss you, a lot.
Mostly because you'll never get the chance to forgive me.
I'm sorry for being a complete jerk and everything.
I wish we could have been friends.
With love,
Riley.
The last page had no picture on it, just words. It read:
To my dearest Corinne:
I LOVE YOU. With all of my heart and soul. Without you my life would
be a big old screw up. You changed me for the better.
You're a nicer, prettier, better person than I am, and I can't believe that
you'll have me.
Once again, as I can't say it enough,
I LOVE YOU.
Love,
Trav
I turned it over, and the back said:
WE MISS YOU! and had everyone's name on it.
I cried for a while before I realized that I should probably get up and find my house and my parents.
I crunched my way through the cold crisp woods in my bare feet. The ground was disgusting and frost ridden.
I made my way out of the forest of endlessness, finally, and saw that I was on a street that I recognized. I was on Oak Street. My street was three streets over. I could easily walk there. The sun was still low in the sky, and I figured that it was just the morning time.
Lights were starting to appear in houses as I walked, I raced home as fast as I could. I didn't want to be seen by anybody. I made it to my house in record time, panting.
My house was surrounded by caution tape and police cars, I clutched the box closer to my chest and felt for my necklace. Going into my house was NOT going to be easy.
I took a deep breath and walked towards the front door, ducking under the tape. The door was locked, so I rang the bell. The police officer that opened the door gave me a strange look and then yelled to the rest of the household.
My parents came rushing to the front door, they looked distraught and their faces were red. Despite leaving Travis and my friends behind in 3009, I was really REALLY happy to see my parents. It had been a year for me. I didn't know how long it had been for them, but still.
I pushed forward past the police officers and put my box on the floor of the entryway.
"Mom! Dad!" I exclaimed. They hugged me tightly, simultaneously.
"Corinne!" My mom sobbed into my hair.
"You're safe!" My dad patted my back.
"Do you mind telling us what happened?" asked the officer that had opened the door.
"Do you mind if I talk to my parents in private first?" I asked. "Without being bugged or eaves dropped on?"
"Of course," he said and ushered the rest of his men out of the house, muttering something about taking down all the tape.
We sat down on the couch I had long forgotten and I sighed as I leaned against the soft material.
"What happened Cori!? We were so worried!" said my mom frantically.
I took a deep breath, there was no point in lying. "What I'm going to tell you, you can never ever tell to ANYBODY, not even outside family." I said. I waited for a nod of approval, and they did so cautiously.
"I was transported to the year 3008. I know it sounds really bizarre, but I swear it actually happened. I need you to believe me." I addressed their disbelieving eyes. "I was there for a whole year, that's why I look so different." I took a deep breath, "I think I'm pregnant." They looked at me in shock, this was a lot to dump on them all at once.
"Dad, can you tell the police that I was kidnapped or something, but do not, under any circumstances tell them the truth." I instructed. My dad nodded and walked out of the house.
"Pregnant?" asked my mom.
"Yeah, and I love my boyfriend."
"Who?"
"I'll show you once the police leave. I'll tell you what happened in the year I was gone. I'm a different person now, Mom."
She hugged me tightly, and then my dad walked back into the room, with the police.
They questioned me about my kidnapper and I fed them false information, and after that, they finally left.
I told my parents everything, and showed them my box. After I cried some more my mom left and bought me a pregnancy test.
The results were the same as they were in 3009. I let out a sigh of relief. I still had a piece of Travis, and the baby would be a reminder that I had to get back to my friends and family of the future.
My parents understood that I had to return, and they said that they would do everything in their power to get me back to the 31st century.
TO BE CONTINUED…