Young Writers Society

"These wires here," Dr. Sommers said, motioning to some wire in Rosemary's car's engine with his flashlight, "are the ones we have to detach and plug into that," he pointed to a arcade game-looking metal box standing besides them, "and then we have to find a way to connect the actual motor to the time machine."

Adeline looked over to the box, "I was expecting a DeLorean and I got an arcade game."

"There's not even a flux capacitor," Levi chuckled.

The Sommers looked at them with puzzled looks on their faces.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Dewey asked, another cigar dangling from his mouth.

Adeline sighed. She had forgotton one downside to staying was that nobody would understand her references, "There was this movie, well, actually, three movies counting the sequels.. right?"

"I think so," Levi shrugged.

"Anyways, it was about time travel and the machine was made out of a car called a DeLorean and the thing that made the whole thing work was a flux capacitor, and basically when the car hit 88mph it wo-"

"All I asked was what you were talking about," Dewey interrupted, "I don't need a movie review."

"Fair enough." Adeline said.

"It sounds amazing," Rosemary smiled.

"It is pretty good." Adeline replied, "Obviously, they got it wrong, though."

Levi nodded as he eyed the box nervously, "So, all five of us are supposed to fit in that?"

"No, no, no," Rosemary laughed, as if the answer was obvious, "Dad will type in the date and location of wherever you last were and you will go one at a time."

"Oh, ok," Levi said, not reassured in the slightest, "and how will you set the dates and locations, Dr. Sommers?"

"With the keypad on the dashboard," Dr. Sommers said, patting the machine, "The mechanics are stored under it and behind it is a small space for a person to sit."

"That's cool," Adeline said, "Let's get to work, then. We only have so much daylight left!"

"I hate this," Adeline grunted as she held a tube Dr. Sommers had given her in her hand. It wasn't that heavy, but Adeline would have rather been helping take a part the engine, and not holding a piece of it in her hand.

"Same," Levi said, sitting on the ground next to Dewey.

"You aren't doing anything!" Adeline exclaimed.

"Pass me a socket wrench, Levi," Dr. Sommers said with his hand extended out. He and Rosemary were working on the engine, while Dewey was smoking his cigar next to Levi.

"A what?" Levi said, digging through Dewey's ginormous tool box. He grabbed the first wrench he laid eyes on and picked it up, "This?"

"No, no, no," Dr. Sommers said, "A socket wrench."

"What the-" Levi said, but Dewey pushed his hands away and grabbed the socket wrench. Levi made a small "Ohhh" sound as Dewey tossed it and several sockets to Dr. Sommers.

"Thanks, son," Dr. Sommers mumbled as he returned to the engine.

Rosemary sighed and wiped the sweat off the forehead, "We should be able to get the power produced by the engine rerouted into the time machine by tomorrow. We still have quite a lot to do after that, though."

"I can't wait." Adeline mumbled, setting the pipe on the ground and sitting next to Levi.

"I'm not going to miss this," he said, watching Dr. Sommers take parts out of the engine and put them back in.

"Me too," Adeline said, nodding in agreement.

"I can't wait to go home and return to my family, friends, people who have the same accent as me.. I can't wait." Levi said.

"Uh-huh," Adeline replied, "So you're going home?"

"I'm not sure," Liam shrugged, "There's reasons to stay here and go home. What about you?"

"I.. I'm going to stay," Adeline whispered.

"Really?" Levi whispered back, "Have you told anyone?"

"Would I be whispering if I had?"

"No.."

"Levi, please don't tell the others yet," Adeline said, "I bet they suspect it, but I want to find the right time to finally tell them."

"I won't," Levi said, "You have my word."

"Good, good," Adeline said with a smile on her face.

When dinnertime came, Liam and Bo were able to present to everyone a delicately tossed salad and a delicious slab of meatloaf. Bo hadn't made meatloaf in a long time, but he remembered the recipe well enough. Onions, garlic, salt, pepper, tomato paste, bread crumbs... all the goodies. He tried to make the most out of a little, not using as much seasoning as he normally would - sadly - but with the sauce on top he was sure it still tasted just fine. Or at least, so he was hoping.

He made two loaves, which he hoped they would be able to split between the five, six, seven... nine of them.

Irene seemed impressed with the turnout. Liam made the salad look artfully put together, making sure the heavier vegetables didn't drop to the bottom of the large bowl, and Bo was careful to make sure the meatloaf came out neatly without any crumbling. If there was anything he learned in his line of work, taste came first, but presentation was everything. Both were equally important.

They set the food on the table, ready to serve. Bo found himself sitting between Irene and Levi, with Mags across the table. He kind of liked that better. Then he could face her and see her reactions more.

Irene and Dewey started helping themselves to the meatloaf on one end of the table while the other end started on the salad. The food ended up rotating around until everyone had a piece.

"The food is lovely, boys," Irene said with a smile. "Thank you for helping out."

Liam chimed in a, "No problem," from the other end of the table and Bo smiled in return.

281 words

"Really, I love to cook," Bo said. "I mean, I'm a chef, professionally. It's all I've ever really wanted to do in life."

Irene's eyes lit up and she nodded, but Bo noticed Magnolia's head tilted up too, paying attention.

"You're a chef?" she asked.

"Yeah, at a mom n' pop seafood place. But I'm always practicing cooking things at home to expand my repertoire."

"Seafood," Irene echoed. "I've never really had much seafood here in the midwest."

Bo pointed his fork at her. "Are there any lakes nearby? Do you get any kind of local fish?"

Irene shrugged. "Not really. Nearest lake or river is pretty far away. But there is a pond in the park. It's not stocked, though."

"Ah," Bo nodded. "I see."

"So you're from California, then?" Irene asked.

"Yeah, the Los Angeles area," Bo said. "A beautiful but expensive place to live."

"Very expensive," Magnolia echoed.

"I've never been," Levi said, jumping into the conversation. "I've heard about the beaches there."

"Ah, well, yeah," Bo hummed. "They're pretty crowded."

"Do you go often?" Magnolia asked.

"Not as often as I used to," Bo said. "It's pretty, but I'm not a huge fan of the ocean."

Bo noticed Irene, looking him up and down a little. "I can understand that," she said.

"Don't know how to swim?" Magnolia asked. He could hear in her voice she was sort of teasing.

"I do," he answered. "I just don't like swiming in the ocean. Pools are controlled. Waves can suck you under."

"Sounds like someone watched too many final destination movies," Magnolia said.

"Final...?" Irene started to ask, before sighing and shaking her head. "Seems like there are lots of movies in the future," she mumbled.

"There are, actually!" Levi chimed in.

"I don't know if I should ask too many questions about the future," Irene said, shooting a glance at Dewey. He'd been eating pretty quietly, not really engaging in conversation. "It's probably better not to."

Bo looked over at Mags. Not making eye contact, of course, but, you know. They were vibing.

"But uh, Bo--" Irene started, but Bo could tell saying the pet-name-turned-nickname was weird for her.

"You can call me Andrei, if you want," he offered, before taking a bite of meatloaf.

"Andrei," she said. "Do you have a wife back home?"

Bo almost choked on his meatloaf. He cleared his throat and felt the food dislodge uncomfortably, but took a quick sip of water, trying to play it off.

"Oh, no, no," he said. "Still single."

"How old are you?" Irene asked.

Suddenly Bo felt like he was at a family gathering, and Irene was his nosy aunt. He wasn't sure he liked this attention.

"26," he said a little hoarsely.

"Hm," Irene hummed, and Bo noticed how her gaze flicked to Magnolia.

Bo never thought he'd think it, but in this instance, he was really glad Magnolia was blind.

"I suppose you've still got time," Irene said quietly, before abruptly changing the subject.

"So! Magnolia! What do you do in the future?"

Magnolia sat up a little straighter. "Oh, I'm in grad school."

"Grad school? And what about you, Levi?"

Bo found himself taking a deep breath as the attention was diverted elsewhere, and he was quiet for a little bit.

He was just trying to get out of 1943. Figuring out other life stuff could come after.

567 words

"Adeline, what do you do for a living?" Irene asked, turning to face her. Levi's shoulders relaxed and he sank back in his chair as Irene's attention shifted off him.

Adeline's head shot up to look at Irene. She hadn't even noticed there was a conversation being held, she was too focused on the food to notice. Well, actually, she was deep in thought again, but the food did factor in to her being quiet.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

Irene sighed, half annoyed and half shocked about Adeline's poor manners. Adeline couldn't help but think of Maddy's mother, who had been appalled by Adeline's lacking knowledge of silverware when she came over for dinner.

"I asked you what you do for a living." Irene stated, picking up a piece of lettuce off her plate with her fork. A single, lonely piece of lettuce. Not even a carrot or a crouton adorned it.

"Oh, I work for a grocery store," Adeline said. Irene nodded politely, but no smile appeared on her face.

"That's.. nice," she said.

"Well, obviously, it isn't the most glamorous of jobs," Adeline shrugged, "but I enjoy it."

Irene didn't say anything in response to Adeline and instead turned her attention to Magnolia to bombard her with questions about graduate school. Adeline looked down at her plate and began eating again.

After a while, Dewey turned to her and mumbled, "I'm sorry about Irene."

"It's fine, Dewey," Adeline said, stabbing her own measly piece of lettuce, "I'm used to it."

"That's too bad," Dewey said, "Grocery store employees and other workers like that are the backbone to society."

Adeline smiled, "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome," Dewey mumbled. After another moment of listening Irene ask questions about the time travelers' lives, Dewey looked up, "Irene, honey, please just let the kids eat in peace?"

"Oh, no, Mr. Dewey, it's fine," Levi said, "This is the most stimulating conversation I've had in the last couple of days."

"Heyyy," Adeline said, "I sat in the back of a stolen truck with you for several hours and you're calling this the most 'stimulating' conversation you've had?"

"I thought the one about the gun in the glove compartment really took the cake, though," Magnolia said.

"Or me trying to see what was behind that door in Dr. Sommer's house," Liam said and several of them began to chuckle.

''Well, you all have had quite the journey here, I assume," Irene said with a forced smile. How did she ever wind up letting such improper young men and women into her house?

The kitchen got cleaned up. Dinner was over, and it was time for bed. Dr. Sommers almost ran off to the barn to work on the time machine through the night, but Dewey and Rosemary stopped him, insisting that he get some rest so he can work at full capacity tomorrow.

It had been another stressfull day, and even though Officer Bryant was gone, and they seemed to be in the clear, Bo couldn't shake off the uncertainty.

Dr. Sommers wasn't able to make the time machine work correctly in the first place. Something had gone wrong, and that was why they all ended up here. Who was to say he'd be able to get it to work again? Bo wanted to believe it would be simple, but he couldn't help that he had doubts. A part of him had to start preparing for the possiblity that he couldn't go home.

Would they spend the rest of their life in hiding on the Sommers' farm? Would they wait until the war was over to reintegrate into society? Would they bite the bullet and go to jail, or sign up to be sent off to war?

So much was uncertain. He knew it wasn't helpful to think about.

Bo stood in the bathroom by himself, looking in the mirror. In the overalls, he really did look like he belonged on a farm, even if he didn't feel like it. He turned his head and looked at his ears, poking at his earlobes.

Who would care if he put his earrings back in? No one who was here to see would care that much.

He reached into his pocket and poked them through the hole in his ears.

There. Back to... normal.

As normal as he could be.

He stood up straight - almost bumping his head on the ceiling, only half an inch away - and took in a deep breath. After splash of water on his face and wiping himself down with a washcloth he headed off to bed, trying to silence his worries. He had a deck to refinish tomorrow. That's what he would focus on for now.

357 words

"Goodnight, Dewey," Adeline said as he began rolling away from the table.

"Goodnight, Ms. Adeline," he said, "Try to sleep well so you have enough energy to work tomorrow."

"Will do," she smiled. She walked up the stairs, and as Irene had instructed her to do so, entered the third door to the right. It was a small bedroom and was hardly furnished, but it felt large because of the large window in the middle of the back wall. In the far right corner of the room was a single bed with a metal frame and a nice quilt draped over it. The quilt, which Adeline could only assume Irene made herself because of the unique details, was covered in cloth flowers against a white background.

To the direct left of the bed was a floor lamp. A small writing desk and chair were positioned under a painting on the left wall, leaving just enough space to walk through between the bed and chair. Next to the door where Adeline entered the room was a simple standing mirror.

Adeline turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired and disheveled, but Adeline smiled when she saw her reflection. Somehow, she liked her reflection in the mirror, despite its flaws.

There was a sudden knock at the door and Adeline immediately broke her attention off the mirror and opened the door.

"Hello," Rosemary said from the hallway. She was holding some clothes in her hands.

"Hey!" Adeline exclaimed a little too loud. She lowered her voice quickly, "Do you need help with those?"

"No, I just wanted to give these to you," Rosemary said, passing Adeline the top two dresses in her hands. One was light purple and had a v-neck, while the other had a floral pattern on it. Rosemary cleared her throat and continued, "I was going to give the other two to Magnolia. I figured you two would want to change out of those clothes."

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Adeline smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Rosemary dwindled in the doorframe for a moment, before she flashed Adeline a quick smile and scurried down the hall to Magnolia's room. Adeline threw the dresses onto the desk behind her, then she walked down the hall to the bathroom, passing Bo on the way.

"Sleep well, Bo." She said.

"You too." He replied before disappearing behind one of the many doors.

Adeline entered the bathroom and locked the door. She showered for what seemed to be the first time in an eternity and quickly changed back into the old dress, then she returned to her bedroom. She didn't have time to look out the window, or look at herself in the mirror again, so she went straight to bed. Dewey was right. Adeline needed her rest if she was going to get the others home soon.

Bo and Levi were sweeping the deck.

Irene and Dewey had two brooms. One of them was long and had a wide brush on a slab of wood, while the other one looked like the stereotypical types of brooms witches would ride. The ones made of straw.

Levi had the witch's broom, if only because the stick was shorter, and it made more sense for the shorter of the two of them to have it. Bo didn't make any jokes about it though - it was early in the morning, and they'd had a small breakfast (much to Liam's dismay) and Bo was still waking up, at least, mentally.

The deck was long and stretched the length of the house. They had to take the furniture off first, of course so the deck was clear. The chairs were stacked beside the tables on the dirt path by the stairs, safe and out of the way. Bo and Levi started on opposite ends of the porch before they started inching closer to each other, within reasonable talking distance.

"So, I heard you talking to Irene a little bit about military school," Bo said.

Liam glanced up, wiping a strand of loose hair behind his ear. He had it up in a half-ponytail again.

"Yeah," Liam said. "Like I told her last night. I'll be graduating soon." There was a pause in his sentence like he was reconsidering the way he worded his statement. "...When we get back," he added.

"Naturally," Bo replied, scraping at a stubborn leaf caught in-between two of the wooden boards. Eventually, he just bent down and pulled it out himself.

"Looks like they taught you to be a hard worker," Bo commented.

"Well, the whole system is built around discipline," Levi said, turning away a little to sweep in between two of the porch's posts. "They drill it into you. But stuff like this -- I don't know, it's different. There's no one yelling at you to go faster. No whistles. Less stress. It's kind of relaxing, just doing chores like this. It helps keep my mind off the time machine chaos, at least."

"Oh, right," Bo said, looking up at Levi with brightened interest. "Did you get a look at it, yet? I was in the kitchen last night and haven't poked my head in the barn."

Levi shook his head. "I don't know, Bo. It almost looks like an arcade game."

Bo paused in his sweeping, trying to imagine it. How did that even function?

"Hooked up to a car, of course," Levi added. "As a power source. I don't understand it, but Sommers said while it might not be impressive visually, it should be able to do the trick."

"Wow." Bo's eye fluttered for a moment, and then he continued sweeping. The deck really was in need of some TLC. "Sounds like the time travel equivalent of a junker car. But hey, if he says it'll work, I mean, he's our best and only shot at getting home. So I've kind of gotta put my faith in him."

Levi laughed a little. "You don't sound too confident."

Bo laughed too, but more nervous than anything. "I think I just got to overthinking..." he mumbled. "I've been thinking about hypotheticals too much."

Levi hummed. "You really want to go home, don't you?" Levi asked.

"Of course I do," Bo said. Then he paused and looked over at Levi. "Don't you?"

Levi stopped sweeping for a moment and sighed, holding his broom at his side.

"I mean, I think I do," Levi said. "It would be the smart thing to do in this situation."

Bo pushed a pile of dirt off the side of the deck and stopped to face Levi.

"What... what would you do if you stayed?" He looked out at the farm, then back at Levi. "You're not even American. And... well, do you have family or friends in the future? Who are probably worried about you?"

Levi nodded slowly.

"My parents, yeah," he said.

"What's your hangup, then?" Bo asked.

Levi looked at Bo with a quirked eyebrow and mild confusion.

"What's the cause of your hesitation?" Bo reworded.

Levi hummed with understanding and cast his gaze out over the fields of corn in the distance.

"I guess I'm just not sure what to do next," Levi said. "After I graduate. I keep wondering if this is some kind of fateful opportunity."

Bo held his broom in front of him.

"You know, in our young adult years, everyone's still figuring things out. No one really knows what they're doing. The 'I don't know what I'm doing' feeling ever goes away, actually. You kind of just have to make decisions and live with them," Bo said.

Levi laughed weakly. "Is that supposed to be encouraging?"

"What I'm trying to say is - well, no matter where or when you are... you'll always be figuring things out. There will be many twists and turns in life, and new decisions to make, big and small. There will always be challenges and difficulties of different kinds. I don't think you should decide to stay in 1943 Oklahoma just because you don't know where you're life's headed, unless you really, really know that you want it. Life happens wherever and whenever you are, but... if you have people that love you and will miss you. I think they're worth going back for. Even if the path is unclear."

Levi stood still for a moment, looking out over the farm. Bo wished he knew what he was thinking.

"That's very... poignant of you," Levi said.

Bo blinked. He couldn't remember what that word meant.

"Thanks," he decided to say.

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience," Levi said as he started to sweep again. Both of them were almost done with their halves of the deck.

"Maybe," Bo said, a little teasing. "That is kind of how it all works, doesn't it?"

Levi swept his last dirt and leaf pile off of the deck.

"I guess it is," Levi said, and Bo joined him seconds after, with one last hurrah of sweeping.

"Thank you, though. For what you said," Levi said, leaning on a support beam. "Staying here... if we really do get a choice, and the time machine works... that's a big decision."

Bo nodded and started sweeping the steps. They almost forgot about those.

"That it is," Bo agreed.

1,071 words

The next hour or so was spent scrubbing and sanding the deck until it was clean, and whatever remained of the previous finish was gone. Now that the deck was wet with the cleaner they used, the wood looked a lot darker than before. Dewey had been instructing them through the process and told them that once it was clean it needed at least 24 hours to dry, and since it was a hot day, they should be able to paint on the new finish tomorrow.

By the time they finished, it was about noon, and they were sweaty. The sun was hitting its peak, and it was beating down on them even under the shade of the porch. Bo was so sweaty. At least this sort of made up for lost gym time.

"Take a break, boys," Irene said from the doorway, walking gingerly over the wet boards of the deck and down the steps. She had a tray with a pitcher of water and cups. Bo and Levi were sitting in the chairs that were now in the dirt, and they'd set one of the tables between the two of them.

"Oh, thank you Irene," Levi said politely as Irene set the tray down and started pouring water for them before they could grab it themselves.

"Thank you," Bo echoed as Irene handed him a glass of water.

"Dewey's been putting that off for over a year now," Irene said, wiping her hands on her apron. She must've been cooking again. Probably lunch? "He kept saying it wasn't a one man job and he didn't want me doing it, so I'm glad you two were able to help out. Another bad winter would probably warp the wood beyond repair, so this is much needed."

Bo nodded with a smile. "Not a problem, Irene."

Irene smiled again, but this time it seemed a little strained as she turned around to go back in the house.

She seemed stressed. He kind of hoped they'd get the time machine up and running soon just so she could be not-stressed. He didn't really know how to help her.

Bo and Levi sat in silence for a moment, rehydrating. Bo was glad to be sitting down after bending over a deck for so long. His back was aching - especially his neck. He already had minor neck problems - some of it was from his accident, but some of it was just that he turned his head so often because he was always trying to compensate for his blind spot.

And, of course, the one time he wasn't looking, Liam snuck up on them.

"Oh! Is lunch ready soon?" Liam asked. Bo jumped, just a little, before turning to see Liam standing beside them, on his left side.

"I think Irene will let us know when it's ready, Liam," Levi said.

"You guys look like you've been busy," Liam said.

Bo lifted his class, like a toast. "That we have," he said, before chugging more water.

"We were cleaning the deck," Levi said. "What have you guys been up to?"

Liam glanced back at the barn with a sigh and rolled his eyes a little. "Just more barn chores, while Rosemary and Dr. Sommers work on the time machine."

"How's Dolly?" Levi asked.

Liam shrugged. "Still looks like a horse. It was mostly Magnolia working with her. She seemed fine, I guess. I don't know much about horses, really."

"What about the time machine?" Levi said, starting a question streak.

"Well, they said they got it hooked up to the car and got the power... charged or... I don't know, I forget the word they used. But that was a big step, I guess, and now it's out of the way and they're doing smaller stuff."

"They didn't happen to explain exactly how it works for when we'll try to go home, did they?" Levi asked curiously.

Liam shrugged. "It doesn't exactly have, like, a door you enter to sit inside or anything. Unless the car plays into that?" Liam squinted like he was trying to imagine it.

Levi hummed in thought, and Bo finished off the last of the water. The three of them turned when they heard the back door open again.

"Lunch is ready!" Irene called out. "Do one of you want to go grab the others from the barn?"

Bo got up before the others could say a word. "I've got it!" he said, starting to run a little bit.

He might as well get some cardio in. That, and, well... he wanted to see how Mags was doing.

768 words

"...And then there's this guy named Jimmy and he owns the restaurant across the street from the Belchers," Adeline explained, tapping each of the dials on the time machine's dashboard to make sure they worked, "One of the subplots of the show is about their rivalry and in a lot of episo-"

"Adeline, dear," Dr. Sommers said, looking up from the car, "I understand you really like this 'television show', but we need to get some work done."

"I am getting work done!" Adeline exclaimed, "Like, look, this dial isn't working."

"That's because it tells us how much weight the time machine is transporting," Rosemary said, wiping her hand with a dirty rag. Her dress had splotches of oil and other mysterious stains all over it, especially near her waist, "Right now it's transporting nothing."

"Oh," Adeline said, inspecting the dial, "Are you sure?"

"It says 'Weight' right above the dial, Addy," Rosemary said. She paused for a moment before continuing, "Can I call you Addy?"

"Uh, sure, yeah, go ahead" Adeline said, leaning on the machine, "Only if I can call you Rosie or Rose, though. Whichever you want."

"I like, Rose!" Rosemary smiled, "Anyways, dad, is there anything else you need me to do?"

Dr. Sommers sighed and rubbed his head, "There's only a few things I need to do to finish up.. so, no. Why don't you and Adeline go see if lunch is ready yet?"

"If that's alright with Adeline, we can do that," Rosemary said, turning to Adeline, "Do you want to ea-"

"Yes!" Adeline exclaimed before Rosemary even finished her sentence, "Sorry, sorry, I'm just really hungry."

"You are starting to sound like Liam," Dr. Sommers chuckled and Rosemary laughed. Adeline blushed.

"Oh no," Adeline said, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine! There's nothing to be sorry about, Addy," Rosemary said. Adeline was immediately put at ease and the pink disappeared from her face.

"Well, then, why don't we go grab some grub?" Adeline said.

"Okay," Rosemary said, "Should we come back for you if there is food, dad?"

"No, just bring me the left over food after you eat. I should be able to start up the machine in a couple of hours."

Rosemary nodded and they began down the dirt path towards the house. In the distance they could see Bo speed-walking towards them and Levi and Liam in the distance.

"So, Addy," Rosemary said. Adeline stopped looking at her shoes and faced Rosemary, "I have definitely asked you this before, but what do you like to do? You know, in the future?"

"I liked going down to the boardwalk and the beach on Lake Michigan," Adeline said.

"Liked?"

"I doubt your dad would like me telling you much about the future, Rose, but I'll just say there's some major global event that stops practically everything in its tracks."

"Is there a war?" Rosemary asked. She seemed genuinely concerned.

Adeline paused for a moment, "Eh.. sort of. Not the type you would think."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"There's a lot of people fighting in the future," Adeline shrugged, "That's all I am going to say."

"That's too bad. What else did you like to do?"

"I liked to golf before I was kicked out of my parent's place. My dad won't give me my clubs back.. actually, I'm pretty sure one of my brothers are using them now. Anyways, I haven't bothered to get new ones."

"Why were you kicked out of your parent's house?"

"Uh," Adeline said, trying to quickly decide whether or not she wanted to tell Rosemary the truth. Usually she was pretty open about being gay, but she had no idea how someone from the 1940s would react. As they walked past the barn, Bo approached it, and Adeline saw a chance to dodge the question, "Whatcha doing, Bo?"

"Seeing if Magnolia wants lunch," Bo said as he entered the barn.

"Oh, OK." Adeline said. Rosemary and her continued walking in silence until they nearly reached the house.

"Why did your parents kick you out, Addy?" Rosemary asked.

Adeline sighed, "Well, it wasn't my parents. It was just my dad, but y'know, he has the biggest say in everything. Anywho, I came out as gay and the-"

"Wait, wait. I feel like I'm missing something," Rosemary said, "You 'came out' as gay? Does gay mean something else in the future?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Adeline said. She looked around at the house and Levi and Liam sitting in their chairs. They hadn't seen Rosemary and her yet, "Rose, can we walk a lap around this field as I explain? It'll be five, ten minutes."

"Alright," Rosemary said, "Lead the way."

Bo pushed open the barn door to find Magnolia sitting on a hay bale up against an empty stall, and Dr. Sommers sorting through tool in a toolbox.

And of course, there was the time machine sitting in the middle of the barn.

Liam and Levi really weren't joking when they said it almost looked like an arcade game. Not quite, but the shape and size certainly resembled one. Suddenly, a million questions started running through his head about how it worked and what they'd have to do to get home, but he didn't really get a chance to voice them, which was probably for the better.

"Liam?" Magnolia guessed.

"Close," Bo said. "A few feet taller."

Magnolia snorted. "A few feet."

"Did Irene call you in for lunch?" Dr. Sommers asked, not lifting his head from his work. Whatever it was he was doing.

"Yeah," Bo said. "Food time."

"Food time," Magnolia echoed quietly.

Bo walked up to her, tapping the hay bale with his shoe. "How'd horsie time go?"

"It was pretty nice. I almost stepped in poop. Liam missed a spot."

"Lovely," Bo said. "I'm sure he'll never hear the end of it."

"Meh, I figured I'd give him a break. We already harassed him enough about the whole attic thing."

"Fair point," Bo said.

Magnolia got up from her hay bale and tapped around with her cane for a second before finding Bo's foot. She started walking a little past him, towards the door.

"You coming, doc?" Bo asked.

"Don't wait up for me, Andrei," Sommers said with a dismissive wave of his hand and his nose still in his work. "Go on ahead."

"Alright."

The two of them headed out the door, and Bo noticed Adeline and Rosemary off in the distance - he couldn't tell quite how far off, really, but far enough that they were small - starting to walk around the field. He guessed they weren't going to eat right away. A shame. He was hungry.

"You guys did the deck?" Magnolia asked.

"Oh yeah," Bo said. "Swept and cleaned and scrubbed and sanded and all the things."

"I'm sure it's spotless," Magnolia said.

Bo scoffed. "Can't bet on that. I've still got a blind spot."

"Surely Levi would've told you if you missed a spot," Magnolia chided.

Bo pursed his lips in thought and hummed. "You know what. Fair point."

Conversation lulled for a moment, and they walked in comfortable silence at a meandering pace. Bo found his mind wandering back to last night's conversation around the dinner table. He thought it was cool that Magnolia was in grad school. He always wondered what it'd have been like if he got a chance to go to college, or any sort of higher education. She seemed pretty smart. You had to be at least a little smart, or at the very least, hardworking to get to grad school.

"So..." he started to say slowly. "Pennsylvania is a bit of a ways from LA."

Magnolia tilted her head up towards him. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't know," she said. "I've never seen a map."

Bo couldn't help it. He started laughing, and she did too.

"We're basically from opposite sides of the U.S," he said.

"West coast, east coast," Magnolia nodded.

"Isn't Pennsylvania landlocked?"

"Bro, we have one of the great lakes."

Bo hummed with understanding. "Lake beach. That's nice that you still have a beach."

"Still?"

Bo blinked, realizing his internal dialogue had mixed with what he was saying out loud. Still. Still if he were to hypothetically - and only hypothetically - move there. He still had... well... a few friends in L.A. That he could count on his hand. And there was his dad...

Oh. He'd left her hanging. He didn't know how to explain that.

Bo realized at that point they'd reached the porch.

"Ah. Stairs," he said.

Mags found them a second after he said it. "Thanks," she said quietly as she walked ahead of him, and he hurried to open the door for her.

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Rosemary took the news extremely well. She took it better than Adeline had ever expected. Rosemary took it so well, in fact, that she and Adeline were holding hands on their way back to the farmhouse. Rosemary was blushing and both of them had a smile on their faces that stretched ear to ear.

"Are you planning on telling them you're staying?" Rosemary asked.

Adeline shrugged, "Yeah, totally. I just don't know when."

"You could tell them at lunch," Rosemary suggested.

"Maybe, Rose. I don't know."

"Well, you should not save it until they are leaving," Rosemary said, "That would be rude."

"Whatever you say," Adeline said. As they came out from in between the cornfields and within view of the farmhouse, Adeline let go of Rosemary's hand. Rosemary seemed confused for a moment and tried to grab Adeline's hand again, but she stopped when she saw Dewey roll into view.

"Girls!" he exclaimed, putting his hand above his eyes to shade them from the sun, "Are you coming in for lunch?"

"Yeah!" Adeline said, jogging towards him. She turned around quickly to face Rosemary, who hadn't moved, "Come on, man!"

"Oh, yes, I'm coming," she said as she followed close behind Adeline. They all reached the porch at around the same time. Dewey pointed out the newly finished wood, so both Rosemary and Adeline complimented it before entering.

Liam was the first to notice them. He was sitting at the table with Irene and Magnolia, while Bo leaned against the wall and Levi sat on the kitchen counter. Irene seemed annoyed by the fact that Levi was sitting on her nice, clean countertops, as she kept looking at him begrudgingly. All of them were either eating sandwiches or drinking out of a glass of water.

"Hey Adeline, Dewey, Rosemary," Liam said, smiling, "How's the time machine coming?"

"Great! At least, I think it's doing great. I still don't really understand how it works," Adeline chuckled as she grabbed a sandwich and sat down. Dewey and Rosemary did the same, "Rose and Dewey know more about it than I do."

"Rose?" Irene questioned.

"Adeline said I could call her Addy if she could call me Rose," Rosemary explained. Magnolia raised her eyebrows and Liam let out a small laugh.

"She did?" Magnolia said, "I didn't think you were the type for nicknames, Adeline."

Adeline blushed, "Well, I- I don't know."

"Does it matter?" Levi said from his spot near the sink. He took a bite out of his sandwich and shrugged, "Anyways, Bo and I swept, sanded, and finished the porch today."

"Oh, Dewey mentioned that! Thank you for doing it. The porch looks great," Rosemary said.

"You're welcome," Bo said, taking a sip of his water.

The conversation continued without Adeline, who remained silent. She was determined to tell everyone she was staying in 1943 now. Rosemary was right: it would be rude to tell them just as they were about to go home. That was supposed to be a happy time. Adeline didn't want to screw it up by breaking the news. Perhaps she was overthinking it, but Adeline was pretty sure she was on good terms with the others. She didn't want to disappoint them.

So she did what she knew thought she had to do. She cleared her throat, which only got Dewey, Liam and Rosemary's attention.

"Guys," she said. That got Magnolia and Irene's attention.

"Yes, Addy?" Rosemary asked, which finally captured Bo and Levi's attention.

"Uh, I have to tell you guys something," Adeline said. She set down her sandwich.

"What do you want to say, Adeline?" Levi asked. Judging by the tone of his voice, he knew what she was about to say. He was trying to coax her into saying it.

"I- I've decided that I'm going to stay here," Adeline said, "In 1943."

Liam looked at Adeline in shock. She was joking right? She had to be joking. This was a terrible time in history. Something had to be wrong, right? Something had to be very wrong. Levi nodded as if he had been expecting it. No one looked that surprised out of those from the twenty-first century other than himself. He hadn't even considered the possibility of staying, wouldn't that mess the future up? Dewey and Irene were looking at Adeline as if she had gone crazy, but Rosemary seemed to already have known, and a small surprised smile was on the Doctors face.

Liam was the first to speak, "Nice joke. Yeah. It's a really nice joke. Excellent joke, actually."

Rosemary raised an eyebrow, "She isn't joking."

Liam laughed, "So you're in on it too!! Pretty funny, but also terrifying. Doesn't Adeline have a fiancé back in our time? Or forward in our time, however you want to say it?"

Adeline looked a little annoyed, "I'm staying. It isn't a joke." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she didn't.

A lot of thoughts and words that he could say but wouldn't crashed through Liam's mind. This was his first group of what seemed to be pretty good friends since high school.
They all had to return home, and all be friends forever and he would bake pie and they'd go places together and then they would all- 'Liam stop. You sound like a desperate kid. Adeline has reasons for her decision.' His mind provided helpfully.

Everyone stared at Liam, waiting for his reaction. He stood up and said, "I'm going to go see whether there is anything I can do outside. Maybe look at the time machine."
He knew nothing about how the time machine worked. Looking at the time machine would bring nothing to anyone. No one stopped him as he walked outside.

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Magnolia

Magnolia had thought that lunch was going well. Conversation had been light, the food had been tasty, and it was good to be out of the barn and away from the hazardous piles of horse poop.
She was mid-way through taking a bite out of her sandwich when Adline told them that she was going to be staying. The news was… Well, it was certainly a surprise. Magnolia turned towards Adeline, astonished. “What--?!” She couldn’t believe this. Even if she were to disregard the whole ‘leaving everything and everyone I know behind’ part of the equation -- which she wasn’t about to do -- the 40’s weren’t exactly the friendliest time towards women or LGBT+ people. Also, didn’t Adeline have a fiance? And friends?
Magnolia couldn’t make sense of it. 2020 was a garbage pile, sure. But still, it was a familiar garbage pile. A recycling garbage pile. And beyond that, it was home.
“Why would you--” Magnolia started to say, only to start choking on her sandwich. She coughed for a solid few seconds. “Ugh,” she said, taking a drink of water. “--guess that’s what I get for talking with my mouth full.” She put her sandwich down on her plate, her appetite all but gone. “But seriously, why?” Magnolia raised an eyebrow. “I know 2020 is, like, objectively terrible. But this--” she waved a hand, gesturing. “--isn’t any less chaotic. Especially with the--”
“Magnolia,” Dr. Sommers cut her off. “I understand you’re upset, but we shouldn’t discuss what happens in the future.”
“Fine,” Magnolia said, scowling. She let out a long sigh and stood up from the table, grabbing her sandwich and white cane. “I’m going to get some air.”
She walked out of the kitchen, and went to sulk on the porch.

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Bo's eye widened and he stared at Adeline, then scanned the reactions of the others in the room. He kept quiet as Liam and Mags responded, before the two of them walked out, one after another. The air in the room they left behind was tense, and Bo held his tongue.

They'd only known Adeline for two days, and they didn't know her situation back home. They didn't know where she was at, or everything that she'd be leaving behind.

Dewey and Irene were quiet too, but it looked like it was because they were in shock. The truth was still sinking in, and the implications of it.

"Well she can't stay here forever," Dewey spouted out.

"Dewey!" Irene hissed.

"I meant in our house," Dewey clarified harshly.

"You're always welcome to stay at my house," Dr. Sommers said. He paused, eye drifting to Dewey. "Once, uh the whole... Officer Bryant situation clears up."

Dewey sighed and facepalmed in frustration.

"My home is always open," Rosemary said with a sweet smile. Bo watched as Adeline's cheeks redded and she suppressed a small smile, while Irene looked on in confusion. Or oblivious ignorance. One or the other. Maybe both.

"Doesn't this mess up the future?" Dewey asked his father in exasperation. "What if she starts sharing stuff that happens? Won't that ruin things in the timeline? Or something?"

Dr. Sommers smiled innocently and shrugged. "I think Adeline is tactful enough to know what not to say," he said calmly, looking over to Adeline. "Besides, I think she's already made her decision. We can figure out what things will look like as we go."

As the Sommers family continued to talk, Bo noticed how Levi and Adeline shared a meaningful, knowing look. Levi had known already. Bo picked up on that the moment he egged Adeline on to share.

Bo took in a deep breath and broke through the conversation.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Adeline?"

The conversation paused and Adeline looked up to meet his eyes.

"Yes," she said. Bo could see that streak of stubburness rising up within her again, but it wasn't stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. Adeline was an adult and could make her own decisions.

"And you're okay with leaving everything in the future behind?"

Adeline was quiet for a moment as she took in a deep breath.

"Yes," she said with emphasis. "I want to stay."

Bo stood up straight. He wasn't going to drag her back to the future, and if this was what she really wanted, and she'd really thought through it... well, she was going to have to live with it. He hoped it worked out well for her.

He nodded his head. "Well, that settles it then." He pushed off the wall he was leaning on and started towards the door. "I guess I'll go make sure Mags and Liam didn't wander too far off," he said before stepping out into the crisp night air.

499 words