3TS: The Chances of Starting Again

Unknown

When your old friend forgets your name...

As we came down the stairs of the stage, Trent bent down to tie his shoe. I came up to him, "You looked great up there, holding that trophy like you already owned it!" I laughed.

Then, there was an awkward pause, as if he didn't hear me. He glanced up at me, "Um, were you talking to me?"

I suddenly realized that I had just zoomed into a whole different dimension. That out-of-this-world time when he wasn't my friend.

Okay, this was now REALLY awkward.

"Oh, sorry...I thought you were..." I trailed off. Who else could match to his looks? "I just thought you were someone else."

He stood up and smiled politely, then ran away to catch up to his friends.

Arlene sneaked over to me just as he was out of sight. Her jaw seemed to drop, "Are you friends with T-Trent?"

I sighed quietly as Arlene gazed towards the way Trent had come. "No." I said.

I quickly bent down, trying to find the guitar keychain Trent had given me. But it had disappeared from my backpack's front pocket zipper. The blueness of my backpack started to affect my feelings.

Arlene's phone beeped. She took it out of her pocket to reply to whoever had texted.

My thoughts went back to what Maria had told me: "But you will see what you won't want to see either."

I whispered to myself again, "No, we aren't friends..."

I rubbed my backpack's zipper. The place I had securely fastened Trent's gift. And now, it had slipped into the void of time, and all my memories with it.

Arlene was too absorbed in her texting to hear my soft, spoken words.

"But we were."

**

To celebrate, our school's dance group went out to eat. Me and Arlene sat ourselves down at a small table, waiting.

She bent towards me and whispered, "Who's paying for the food?"

I weaved my fingers together, placing my elbows on the table, and let my head lean on that support. My mind was caught up in all the time-travelling effects that I felt light-headed. "Um, the teachers already ordered some food for all of us."

She pouted, "I kind of wanted some dessert..."

I raised my eyebrows, "Huh, dessert? Already?"

Her reply was simply her 'pretty blinking eyes' as she tried to look sweetly at me. I sighed.

"Okay, I guess I'll go get my purse from the van." I said as I stood.

She clapped her hands, "Thank you!"

As I exited the restaurant, I heard a familiar voice call, "Things are gonna change from now on."

I looked up to see Ria, facing me, sitting crossed leg on her tricy's driver seat. "It's good to see you too, Ria." I replied as I opened the trunk of the van.

I wasn't in the mood for talking now.

She quietly walked over to me, "There will be good changes and bad changes now that you had made your choice to change your past."

I glanced up at her, but went back to searching for my money. Nothing was said as I got my purse. As I turned around, I found Maria really close to me, leaning on the edge of a car.

She spoke in a sing-song voice, "But the real question is what you should be asking yourself. Are you willing to sacrifice the bad changes for some good changes?"

She raised her eyebrows. She tried to hide a sly smile, but I could see it slide onto her face. What was she hiding?

I paused, and stood my ground. "I'd like to think of the good changes as 'better' changes."

She laughed and smiled, "I brought many passengers to their past. Most wished they had never changed their past mistakes or incidents AFTER they had tried to change things. So now, I'm just warning you, if you want to change your past again..."

Her eyes twinkled with a mysterious light when her face became serious as she whispered, "...think about it."

"Krissa!"

I glanced back to see Arlene waving to me. "Krissa, you're taking a long time. You okay? What were you doing?"

I turned back in the direction of the van, "I was just talking-" 

Ria was gone from my side. Her tricy was already driving down the road, a few kilometers away. How could she leave that quickly? "I was just...finishing up." I finished saying as I slammed the van's trunk closed.