Young Writers Society

Adam let the talk about witches go in one ear and out the other. He couldn't think of any oof that now. He just wanted to get back to his reality, to his family. But if these people didn't belong either, maybe there was a way they could all get out of this.

"That's a good question," he said, responding to the girl. "I was on my way to pick up my daughter, and somehow I ended up here."

While this conversation had been going on, Quinn had been trying to smooth down the skirt to her dress. Wearing one made her feel as odd as Gabriel had to be feeling right now - worse, it reminded her of her childhood.

"We're not witches," Issac said, giving a small shake of his head.

"But we're just as confused as you are," Gabriel agreed. "Right, Q?"

It took her a second to get herself out of her memories, but she quickly gave a nod in response when she stopped thinking about how familiar this was. The dress might have been different, but she felt like someone had dressed her up like she was a doll. "We were in a hotel room before we ended up here," she added. "And we weren't wearing these outfits."

Gabriel gave a wistful sigh. "I miss my leather."

"...I miss my pants," Quinn quietly said.

Issac said nothing.

(Is it too late to join? I have the perfect character for this.)

When the others spoke of clothes, Adam said nothing. He'd been wearing gray cargo shorts, birkenstocks and a white polo shirt before he'd woken up in this strange reality. He wasn't sure when it had happened, maybe when they got Donatello, but it was definitely a far cry from the long hair and flared pants he'd worn as a teenager in the 70s.

He heard a song coming from within. It sounded Connie Francis. Stupid Cupid. He couldn't be positive this far out, but he knew the song well enough. Adam had loved her when he young. He'd loved her so much he was convinced he was going to marry her when he was three.

That couldn't be a coincidence. Could it?

"Should we head towards town?" He said.

The three exchanged a look.

"That seems like a good idea," Issac agreed, giving a slight nod of his head. Gabriel and Quinn quickly gave nods of their own. Quinn awkwardly lingered off to the side as Gabriel slung his arm around Issac's shoulder again. But then he seemed to notice that Quinn was left alone, so he wasted no time in doing the same to her, too.

"Into town it is, then!" Gabriel said.

Harper nodded quickly, "Yeah, yeah, into town." It would be nice to have an answer or two. She perked up suddenly, "Wait, this ton looks like something out of the fifties, what if they have one of those cute little diners! We have to go there if they do. There was an abandoned one in my town, some of my friends and I snuck in there once but it wasn't in good enough condition to be any fun. We can, uh, talk or whatever while we're there..." The flimsy excuse existed only to make the chances of her getting to hang out in a cute little fifties diner and dip french fries in her strawberry milkshake greater.

She almost forgot about the dress and the heels while she was thinking about that. A major upside to a major downer situation.

"Whoa," Summer muttered, smiling, gazing around the small town she'd woke up in. She grinned at the vintage looks of the place, her eyes froze at a small diner. Summer gasped and rushed to the front doors. She'd studied the 50s for her history class just last week. The diner looked a lot better than she imagined, and she walked inside, sitting at one of the booths, taking in the culture of it.

Adam took a deep breath as he entered the diner. He supposed he was hungry, and he enjoyed the music too. He'd never gone out to eat much with his parents. When his mother had married Ed they did, but the sixties were already inching to close by then. The earliest memory he had of a diner like this was when they went to visit his grandfather in Wyoming. It was around 1962, and his parents had pointed out the diner where they'd had their first date ten years earlier.

One poor girl seemed really uncomfortable in her clothes. Adam didn't know what to say, but he watched her with pity. There had to be a clothing store here they could visit, where she could get a pair of saddle shoes or something.

"Breakfast on me?" He asked the people he was with.

"This brings back memories," Gabriel said as they stepped inside. Both Issac and Quinn shot him a look as they entered, but he shrugged off their looks. Quinn honestly wasn't surprised; Gabriel was almost too nonchalant sometimes.

Quinn had to resist the urge to sigh in relief when Issac changed the subject.

"We could pay for breakfast," he offered. His smile didn't look right when he gave it to Adam, but it never did. He didn't say anything else. Quinn knew that he couldn't without sounding rude, but, between the two of them, they had a more than decent amount of money - Quinn from her family, and Issac from his deals.

"Oh please do," Harper chirped and twirled. She had to admit, the skirt was pretty cool if she ignored the color. It wasn't unlike the skirts she had at home, just longer. Now all she needed were fishnets and a whole bunch of black and red fabric dye. Maybe a pair of scissors while she was at it.

"I insist," he said. He didn't want to say anything out loud, but he was sure he made more money than either of them. Beyond that, if they were really in the 50s, their dollars were going to go a lot farther. "I was going to buy my daughter some ice cream, but since she's not here, you two will have to do."

He flagged down a waiter. "Three please." The waiter started to seat them, and he turned back his companions. "I'm Adam, by the way."

The man had mentioned being here brought back memories. Maybe he was from here or had at least grown up in this time. If they were all from the present like him, maybe there was a logical explanation for all of this.

It still didn't explain why he'd come to in clothes he didn't own, but that could be solved after they ate.

Quinn and Issac exchanged a look. Gabriel knew that look well - one of the two was definitely going to try slipping Adam some money when he wasn't looking. Oh well. He'd turn a blind eye and pretend he didn't see it coming when Adam inevitably noticed. Neither Quinn or Issac were as subtle as he was when it came to something like that.

"I'm Quinn," Quinn said, giving him a smile as she sat down.

Gabriel sat down beside her, but not before he pulled out a chair for Issac and dramatically gestured at it. An amused look briefly passed over Issac's face, but he didn't comment on it. He just took the seat with a muttered word of gratitude.

"I'm Issac," Issac said, his tone formal but friendly.

Gabriel leaned back in his chair. The front legs were off of the floor, but he was a master at balancing like this.

"Gabriel," he offered.

The waiter handed them menus and Adam nearly gasped. A dollar for pancakes? 25 cents for coffee? They really were back in the 50s. He was glad Rachel and Ryan weren't with him. If they were, they'd go crazy, knowing he wouldn't be able to use the "it's too expensive" excuse as to why they couldn't have a feast.

"Oh, I can't decide," he said. "I'm thinking the chocolate chip pancakes. My mom used to make them really good."