Take a Chance on Me

Twelve

The bright light coming in through the window is what wakes me up this morning. I could have sworn I closed the curtains before I went to sleep, but I guess it is nice waking up to such a sunny day.

I open my eyes and see the skyscrapers out the window. The city is a beautiful view first thing in the morning.

Wait.

The city?

Where am -

"Leah! You're finally awake. I made us some breakfast before I take you to the airport."

Amy? Why am I hearing Amy's voice? She moved to New York. I haven't seen her in over a year.

I quickly notice that this is not my room. Not even close. I close my eyes as tightly as possible, rub them hard, and open them, hoping this is just some crazy hallucination. But when I open them, I'm still in Amy's room, all the way across the country.

I get out of bed that isn't mine and run to the window. My view is full of skyscrapers for as far as the eye can see. I look down and see masses of people rushing in the streets, probably on their way to work. This definitely isn't Costa Mesa.

What is happening? My heart starts to race as I feel a sense of panic.

"Amy!" I yell as I run into the kitchen. She's putting pancakes and bacon on a plate. "When did I get here? Does my dad know? Does Gabby know? What the hell is going on?"

Amy grabs my arm and slowly lowers me onto the couch. "Leah, calm down. You're in New York. You came to visit remember? Your dad and Gabby both know that you're here."

"What about Alex? Does he know?"

Amy looks at me puzzled. "Alex? Who is Alex?"

"Alex, you know, my boyfriend? Well I guess ex boyfriend now. I met him last time I visited you? He was on the same return flight as me?"

The more I explain, the more confused she looks. Why isn't anything registering?

"Leah, I just moved here. You just visited me for the first time. This is your first time in New York."

My face must have worried her because she grabs her phone. "I'm calling 911. You look really sick."

I get up from the couch and grab the phone from her hand. "No, don't. I'm fine. Can I just have some water please?"

I look down at my phone and see the date.

June 21, 2018

No. There's no way. Yesterday was August 1, 2019. This can't be happening. 

Before Amy comes back I rush to the bathroom and lock the door behind me. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. It's me. I see myself. But this can't be real. This must be a dream. I splash water on my face. That feels real. I pinch my arm. That feels real too. I take one more look in the mirror. Then I bring my hand up to my face and slap it as hard as I can.

"OWWW!"

I hear a knock on the door. "Is everything okay in there? You're scaring me," I hear Amy shout from the other side.

"I'm fine!" I yell back. "Just fine," I whisper to myself.

-

"Be sure to visit soon! I miss you already!" Amy calls from the car after dropping me off outside of the airport.

I have just under two hours until I board my flight. That gives me two hours to figure out what the hell is going on and how to get back to reality.

After I get through TSA and find my gate, I try to think of ways to get myself out of this mess. I've seen movies where this kind of thing happens. All they have to do is go to sleep and when they wake up everything goes back to normal, right?

I find an empty row of chairs and sprawl across all of them. Just a few minutes of deep sleep and I'll be back in my bedroom in Costa Mesa. I know it. I set a timer on my phone for one hour and then put in my headphones and turn on calming ocean sounds to drift me to sleep. Within ten minutes I can feel my eyelids get heavy, eventually heavy enough to stay closed and warrant a short nap.

-

BEEP BEEP BEEP

My alarm is blaring through my headphones, jolting me awake. I quickly pull them out of my ears and take in my surroundings. Luggage, children, security. I'm still at the airport. And from sleeping across chairs, my back is now killing me. Great.

Think, Leah. Think. I search through my backpack and pull out a book that I packed. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. What kind of witchcraft and wizardry would they use to get out of a situation like this?

Public bathrooms! That is how they enter the Ministry of Magic! I grab my luggage and run to the bathroom, which warrants a few weird looks from bystanders. But I don't care. This could be my way back to reality.

I push through the women standing in line and make a beeline for the first available tall. I lock the door and do exactly what they did in the book. I put my feet in the toilet and flush.

Nothing. So I flush again. And again. Until eventually there is toilet water everywhere.

"Excuse me miss!" I hear from outside of my stall. "I'm going to need you to come out of there. This stall is malfunctioning."

Once I realize that this plan isn't going to work, I open the door and exit the stall. I look down at my feet and see that my shoes are completely soaked and ruined. When I look up, I see a pack of girls staring at me in horror and snickering to each other.

"Take a picture, it will last longer," comes out of my mouth before I have time to think it through. But at this point, I don't care. I will do anything to get out of this nightmare, even if it means embarrassing myself.

I decide to walk to a gift shop and see if I can find some new shoes. Before I walk in, I throw my old, toilet soaked shoes in the trashcan and walk inside barefoot. Another decision that warrants weird stares from bystanders, but once I get back to the present, this will all be a weird, distant memory that no one will remember except for me.

I find a pair of flip flops and bring them to the counter to pay.

"Is this all for you today?" the cashier asks as she scans them and places them into a bag.

Today. "Umm, excuse me. What is today's date?" I ask her.

"It's June 21st," she says as she hands me the bag.

"Uh, what year?"

Once again, another weird stare. "It's 2018. Are you okay?" she asks, shifting her focus down to my bare feet.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." I take the bag, quickly slip on my flip flops, and walk back to my gate.

Once I sit down in an open seat, I lean back and drown in my sorrows. I don't know why or how this happened, but I'm stuck and I can't think of a way to get out of this. Maybe I will just have to live the last year of my life all over again. The more I think about it, the more I think about how I can be in a worse situation. At least I'm not living in the 1800s without electronics. That would be horrific.

"Flight 148 to Santa Ana, we will begin boarding now," comes over the speaker and pulls me away from my thoughts. I gather my belongings and get in line. As I stare ahead, a familiar face comes into view. A face I have been crying over for weeks. A face I first saw on this exact day, on this exact plane.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.