My alarm went off. It startled me. ‘Where was I?’ I thought to myself. I felt Mookys’ paw. This reassured me that I was in my room. ‘Phew,’ I thought to myself. ‘I wasn’t in that town. I didn’t want to be there. That town brought back memories of devastation and wreckage,’ I reminded myself. I looked around. On the wall were pictures of Mooky, my dog, and Allie, my best friend. My trophies and ribbons were on my bureau. A comforting sight, yes and no.
“Dream or no dream?” I pondered to myself. I got out of bed. The house was silent. It normally was at this hour. I looked at my clock. It was two a.m. I went to my window thinking maybe I’d see that wasteland. No. Mooky lifted his head and thumped his tail. I walked away from my window.
“It’s funny, Mooky, how your mind can play tricks on you.” I muttered as I walked around my room looking for clothes to wear to swim team practice. I grabbed my swimsuit, goggles, swim cap, ear medicine, and towel. I saw some sweats, a green T-shirt, a blue sweatshirt, and some jogging shoes. I put those on. Then, I went over to my closet. I opened the big oak doors. They brought back great memories. I remember making these doors when I was 5 years old with my dad. We had just moved here, Kansas, from New York. It was a hard move for me. I haven’t exactly been happy since we moved in. I snapped out of the memory. I looked at my choices of clothes. I grabbed a pair of jeans that had a hole in the knee and a T-shirt that said something in French. I got that T-shirt in Paris, France. I threw those into my swim bag so I could change into those after swim team. I grabbed my backpack and headed out of my room. Mooky followed me. I walked down the hall on my tiptoes so I would not wake up anybody. I saw some Captain Crunch cereal and my lunch on the kitchen counter. I started to munch on my Captain Crunch cereal and headed outside. It was still dark. I hopped on my bike, whistled for Mooky and off we went to swim practice. ‘Brr,’ I thought to myself.
Mooky is probably my best friend. Allie was my best friend until we moved here to Kansas. We talk as much as possible on AIM. I miss Allie.
“Mooky, I wish that I could go into the future some time. I mean, wouldn’t it be cool. I wonder what the future would be like. Do you think the future would be like what people say? Cars that float in the air, phones that you can just implant into your ear or cloned humans?” I said. Mooky cocked his head up at me. We kept on going down the dirt road to swim practice. I saw the pool in the distance. I looked at my watch. It was four a.m. I was late. I pedaled as fast as I could to the pool. Mooky kept up. I arrived at the pool. I jumped off my bike and hid it in a bush. I pet Mooky on the top of his head and ran in. I saw everybody in the pool already swimming.
” Mimi, you’re late. What happened?” my swim coach asked.
” Sorry, sir. I overslept. It won’t happen again,” I replied.
“Okay, Mimi, go get dressed and start swimming,” said Coach Michael.
In the locker room, I put on my bathing suit. Even though the shower water felt really cold, I stalled as long as I could because I knew I would have to swim extra laps because I was late to practice. The water turned off. That was my cue to go out and start swimming. I walked out. The tiles felt cold on my feet. The pool was full of teens swimming. There was water splashing up everywhere. I walked over to my swim coach.
” What lane should I swim in?” I asked the coach.
” Let’s see,” he thought for a while, ” Lane 6,” Coach Michael replied.
” No way. That lane is really wavey,” I protested. Lane 6 is the worst lane in the world to get stuck in. It is the lane against the wall. That lane gets all the waves that everybody makes from their kicks.
” Well, if you don’t want that lane, go home, ” Coach Michael commanded.
” Fine,” I said. ‘It was not worth the fight,’ I said to myself. I walked over to the lane.
I sat down at the edge of the pool. Then, I slipped my feet into the water. The water was cold. ‘ Man why is the water so cold here?’ I thought to myself.
” Hey, Nick, what are we swimming,” I asked.
” Umm. We’re done with the first set, so just wait for the coach to say what to do,” suggested Nick.
“Thanks,” I answered. I really wish that sometimes I could just have my own lane. I was the best fifteen year old swimmer in the whole U.S.A and that didn’t get me my own lane at swim team practice.
“All right, for one hour, you are going to swim straight. Do you all know what that means. No stopping. If somebody stops, you all swim for fifteen more minutes. Then, the rest of practice you can have practice races. Okay start now,” announced the coach. Sometimes our swim coach could be a big grouch. Anyhow, the swim was easy for me.
We actually swam straight for the rest of practice. I got out of the pool early because I had to get to school early to talk to the principal about a problem I was having. I went straight to the shower. My legs felt like jello. I showered, washed all the chlorine out of my hair, got dressed and ran outside. I didn’t see Mooky.
” Mooky, come on. Let’s go,” I called. Then, Mooky jumped out of the bushes that were along the pools’ wall.
” You silly dog. I have to get to school now,” my dialogue continued.
The ride to school was hard. My legs felt like they were going to explode or just fall off. The dirt rooster tailed behind me. The sun was now rising. The sun was peaking up over the corn fields and wheat fields. The colors in the sky were a luscious mix of orange, pink, blue and purple. There were silhouettes from the clouds and the crescent moon setting in the west. A breeze started to pick up. The golden wheat blew in rhythm with the wind. The sky was on fire.
” Mooky, I wish I could paint what I see right now or take a picture with my camera,” I said. I continued to pedal and Mooky trotted alongside for another hour. I saw the school on the horizon. I started to feel sad. At school, I was being picked on a lot. I really didn’t like school. I was a loner. Nobody liked me because they said I was too good to hang around with them. The kids at school would make fun of me because I was the best fifteen year old swimmer in the U.S, was in AP everything and had a 4.0. School was not a thing I looked forward to.
” Well, Mooky, here I go. It’s just another day. Right?” I asked. Mooky looked at me like he wanted to give me a big slobbering lick, but he sensed I was in a hurry. I rode up to the bike cage. I locked up my bike.
” Okay, Mooky. You stay here. I’ll be back after school. Don’t go anywhere. Okay?” I said.
Mooky just barked a goodbye and headed toward his favorite bush. He dug a nice cool hole under the bush to sleep in it while I was at school. I started walking toward the school. I was shaking. ‘ It’s just school. Why should I be worried?’ I thought to myself. I reached for the door. I opened it. Kids were running up and down the hall. Kids just stared at me and snickered or didn’t even look at me. I walked straight to my locker without anybody running into me or slamming me up against the lockers or making fun of me. What a first! Then, I arrived at my locker. A popular girl walked right towards me. I knew that meant trouble. I kept walking, hoping nothing would happen. The next thing I knew I was laying on the ground. Everything went black for a while. I felt like I was in heaven or something. I woke up. Color started coming back to me. I was dizzy. I reached my hand up to my head. I felt blood dripping down my face. I could tell everybody was staring at me. I felt a hand on my hand.
” Hey, Mimi, are you okay?” I looked up to try and make out whose voice I had heard. Everything went black again. I woke up in the nurses’ office. I felt my head. I didn’t feel blood. I didn’t feel dizzy, and I could see fine now.
” Mimi, are you okay. You took a nasty hit up against the locker,” the nurse said.
“I’m fine. Can I go now?” I asked.
” Are you sure?” the nurse asked.
” Yeah,” I replied.
” Okay you can go, ” the nurse replied.
I walked out of the nurses’ office. Everybody was staring at me. I could hear kids saying ‘ there’s that girl who got slammed up against the locker. Maybe now she’ll learn she is not the best.’ Tears started to swell up in my eyes. I felt dizzy again. I started to walk faster and faster. Then, I started running. I ran outside. I ran to my bike. The cage was locked. I wanted to leave. I didn’t know where, but I just wanted to leave.
” Mooky, come on let’s go,” I pleaded.
Mooky came out from under the bush and followed me. I started to run. I ran, and ran, and ran. I didn’t know where, but I knew it was some place better than at school. I was tired. I felt out of air. I slowed down. I saw a nice tree in the distance. The tree was in the middle of a field. The field was full of long, dry grass. I ran to it. I collapsed. I just laid there. I wasn’t crying. I just laid there. Mooky was next to me. His paw was over my arm, just in case I felt the urge to pet him. Instead, I reached out and buried my face in his fur. I felt safe. ‘Maybe, I was dreaming?’ I thought to myself.
” Oh Mooky, why do kids have to be so mean to me. I wish I could go into the future and never come back. The future would be so much better than now. I would rule the world. Mooky, what do you think?” I asked. I started to think about what the future would really be like. I hoped there would be flying cars, implanted phones, and anything else cool. I kept thinking. Then I heard a bark. That threw off my concentration. I looked up. Mooky was gone.
” Mooky come here, come here Mooky,” I called. Nothing. I called out again. Then, I saw Mookys’ fur bouncing and swaying in the wind. He came at me full force. He grabbed my pant leg.
” Mooky, NO! You’ll rip my jeans,” I said. Mooky didn’t let go. He just kept tugging and pulling me forward. He did this for what felt like forever. He stopped tugging. He started to dig. I bent down to see what he was digging at. A handle appeared. I helped Mooky dig. The rest of a door appeared.
” Mooky, what is it? Where does it lead? Do you want to see?” I asked. I started to grab the door handle. ‘What was behind this door?’ I wondered. I hoped it would go to the future and I could go there and never have to come back.
” You promise to follow me in there, no matter what, old pal,” I said. Mooky started to wag his tail very fast.
” Okay, here I go,” I said. The handle was cold and rusty feeling. I pulled up and nothing happened.
” Weird. Why won’t it open?” I wondered out loud. I looked around. Below the door handle was a keyhole.
” Mooky, do you see a key any where?” I asked. I looked around. Something glimmering caught my eye. I picked it up. It was a key. I walked over to the door. I put the key in the hole. It clicked. I tried to open the door again. It opened. A surge of cold air blew into my face. I was startled and I lost my balance. Mooky grabbed my hand.
” Thanks, old pal! Okay, are you ready to go in?” I asked. I turned and pulled the key out of the door.
” We might need this again, so I’ll put it away safely in my pocket” I said. We walked down some steps. We kept walking. We came to another door. I pushed on the handle. This door opened! I walked in. All of a sudden, Mooky and I were in a dark, smelly room. The smell had an ‘old person’, attic smell to it. You know, like mothballs. The room was cold. Another surge of cold air blew through the room. I pulled my hood over my head. The room was small in area and the ceiling was low. My first guess was that the room was built for people not much taller than myself and its’ capacity was for maybe twenty people max. There were buttons, gadgets and gizmos.
” Wow! Mooky, where are we? Don’t touch any buttons!” I warned. I looked around. Mooky jumped up on his hind legs. He leaned up against the panel with buttons. I turned around.
” Mooky! No! Get down from there! What did I tell you about the buttons?” I asked. Then, everything went black. I grabbed onto Mooky. The room started to shake and spin. Then it stopped.
” Mooky, what just happened? I’m going to try and see where we are. Come on let’s go,” I said.
I walked over to the door that we entered. I opened it. I looked out. My jaw dropped. ‘Was I dreaming again?’ I thought to myself. I had that weird feeling again. Now, I saw a place that was burned and a heap of rocks. The place was as desolate as Mars. It reminded me of pictures I’ve seen of Hiroshima in World War Two. I also saw kids. Every building around was either burnt down or seemed to be knocked down. It looked like a war took place here and everything was destroyed. All you could see was smoke or rocks. The air was choking. Dirty snow covered the ground. A sense of bleakness and doom prevailed. It was frigid. I wished I had a fur coat. The place reminded me of a scene from the Lord of the Rings.
” Mooky, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore,” I said. Mooky and I proceeded to advance. Kids were dressed in fur coats and tattered clothing and were marching to I don’t know where. I looked at myself. I was in the same clothes. Mooky was no longer next to me. A boy was. A handsome boy!
” What’s your name? Have you seen my dog?” I asked panicking.
” No. Mimi, you haven’t lost your dog because I am your dog,” said the transformed Mooky.
” Mooky, stay close,” I whispered. ‘Was I dreaming?’ I thought. ‘Did I just see a handsome boy?’ I wondered. We just looked at each other.
” You two! Get in line!” commanded a burly man dressed in furs. In fact, everyone looked just like him! All filthy and clad with furs. We marched in silence. We marched over mounds of rocks that seemed to be like mountains. We marched up. Not down. The snow thickened. It got colder and colder. We arrived at a camp. Everybody went to different tents. Mooky and I entered a tent. In the tent, was a young woman sitting on a bed. She seemed like she was the only clean one. Her hair was long and brown. Her face was pale with freckles. For some odd reason, she reminded me of Allie, which I knew couldn’t be.
” May I help you?” she asked. Her voice was sweet. It surprised me. She really sounded like Allie.
” Yes, you can. Can you tell me the year?” I queried.
” You are in the year 7006,” the sweet voice replied.
Mooky and I looked at each other.
“No way,” I said.
“Yes way. Why? Is that a problem?” the young woman asked.
” Well, if I tell you this, you won’t believe me, but I am from the year 2006. My dog and I must have traveled through time,” I stated.
” You have traveled through time? That’s so cool, ” she replied.
” Why does everybody look so skinny and dirty. It makes me feel sick. What happened to the world? I was in beautiful Kansas and then I went through this door and I came here, ” I said.
“Well, an evil dictator took over the world. In just the year 2012, there was an explosion. Everybody remained the age they were when the explosion occurred for the rest of their lives. Food was scarce. This was all because of a girl named Mimi. She is the evil dictator. She took over the world with her dog, Mooky. Don’t run into them,” she warned me.
My heart pained. I would become an evil dictator. And the world would become a wasteland. ‘Why? Why me?’ I asked myself.
” Why does Mimi become an evil dictator. Did something happen. Did you know her?” I asked. ‘Was I that mean?’ I thought to myself.
” Well, I guess she became an evil dictator because some kids at her high school kept bothering her and then, at a swim meet she placed last and she was no longer number one! Also, her parents divorced and one of her parents remarried. Then, her older brother was in a car crash and died. She became really mad and ran away with her dog and became an evil scientist, then, an evil dictator. She snapped. Who knows? And she was my best friend. She was so nice. I don’t understand. By the way, you look just like her,” she commented.
” Okay, I know this sounds crazy, but I am Mimi. I am Mimi when she was fifteen.” I said. I was wondering to myself if I should have said this.
” You do look like her. I knew it. She was a sweet girl, and she did look like you. Oh my gosh Mimi! It is you! I’m Allie! Your best friend!” exclaimed Allie.
” Allie! Oh my gosh! No way! It is you!” I yelled and ran over and hugged her. I didn’t want to let go. I missed her so much.
” What happened to me?” I asked crying.
” I have no idea. I know this though. You didn’t want Mooky to die, so that’s why you did all that,” Allie replied. We heard shouts coming from outside.
” Allie, what’s that?” I asked. Allie went over to the tent and peeked outside. She ran back in.
” Mimi, we have to hide. The army is coming this way. Follow me,” said Allie. She walked over to the cot.
” We’ll hide under the bed so we don’t get caught. Something bad is going to happen. I think they’re coming for me,” said Allie.
” Why? Allie. What did you do?” I asked.
” I stole some bread. I was really hungry. We are only allowed one piece a day. I took another piece, ” Allie confided. I gave her a hug.
” Don’t worry .I won’t let those people take you away,” I commanded.
” Okay, you promise? They will lock me up if they catch me,” Allie replied.
” I promise, ” I said.
We hid under the bed. We laid there in silence. My heart was beating as fast as a cheetah runs. I was really nervous. My hands were clammy. I heard footsteps. The man entered the tent and found Allie.
” Number 175804. Come this way. The general wants to see you,” he said.
I couldn’t let them take Allie away and lock her up. I had to act fast. There was a rock near my hand. Actually there was a pile of them. I pointed to them and looked at Mooky. I knew he understood because his tail thumped. I held up my fingers 1…..2….3…. We jumped out and threw the rocks at the soldiers. They fell over and let go of Allie. I grabbed two moon guns. One for me and one for Mooky. Moon guns cover you in gooey stuff and paralyze you for three hours.
” Come with me,” Allie said, grabbing one of the moon guns and running out of the tent. Whistles blew.
” We need to get out of here! Now! Just follow me. Don’t fall behind, ” Allie pleaded.
” Okay,” I said, trying not to sound too scared.
We ran and ran. We came to an alley. We turned down it. A guard appeared. I loaded my moon gun and fired. It hit him. We kept running. The alley had a really creepy feeling. The alley was dark and smelt horrid. It smelt like mold. Things were hanging down from the walls. I could not tell what they were.
” Where did you and Mooky start from?” Allie asked me.
” We came out near a building that looked like a school, but was burnt down, ” I answered.
” Man…. Okay. Listen to me. You see that pile of rocks over there. We have to get there, but that means crossing the open field. On the count of three we run. 1…2…3… RUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” yelled Allie.
We ran across the barren field. We were safe.
” Weird. Where are all the guards? Do you have the key to the door?” Allie asked.
” Yeah. I do. Let me get it, ” I answered. I reached into my pocket. I felt the key. Then I heard a gun shot. Allie and I screamed. Mooky looked nervous. Loud noises freaked Mooky. I looked over to see Allie on the ground. Allie had been shot in the right arm. She was covered in that gooey stuff. The gooey stuff looked like green snot.
” Allie, no no no no. Please don’t die. Talk to me. Please talk to me,” I cried. More gunshots went off. I just sat there. I didn’t want to leave Allie laying there. Mooky was pacing.
” Go Mimi, go,” Allie ordered. The only way you can change the future is to change it yourself. Nobody else can do it but you. And don’t let anybody at school bother you. You are human and can be as good as you want. Stand up to the bullies and hold your head high. Thank them when they name call. Be smart. You have to go now. When I say now, put the key in the door. The door only opens on command, so get ready… NOOOOWWWW,” said Allie as she faded away. Allie disappeared.
I put the key in the door. The door opened. Mooky and I entered and pushed the button 2006 Kansas. The machine started to shake, and spin. Then it stopped. I mustered up the courage to open the door. A bright light blinded me. I stepped out. There was Mooky sitting and waiting for me. His tail wagged when he saw me. I was thoroughly puzzled. I had no idea what had just happened. The sun was setting. I proceeded to walk home.
” Mimi, Mimi, it’s time to get up,” said mom. My mom was sitting on my bed. Allie was sitting next to her. I opened my eyes. Mooky was curled up at the bottom of my bed.
” Honey, it’s late. You should have been up a long time ago. Allie is staying with us for awhile. You’ll need to pick up your room and make a space for her,” said mom. I sat up in my bed and boy, did my head ache.
” Allie, it is so good to see you,” I said, giving her a hug.
” You too,” Allie replied.
” Oh man, you have no idea!” I exclaimed.
” Do you believe in science fiction?” I asked Allie. Silence.
” Where did you get this fur coat, Mimi? It is simply gorgeous. I love fur coats! Can I try it on?” asked Allie.
” Sure,” I answered. Just then, I spied green gooey stuff on Allies’ right arm. She put the fur coat on.
” Perfect fit,” Allie winked at me. ” Don’t you agree?” asked Allie.
Mooky barked, ” I agree.”
And I just smiled and added ” YES!!!!!!”
