Not This Time

Nina: December 31, 2009

     I hadn't actually been invited to the New Year's Eve party I was at, but Penny had told me that all the building residents were welcome because it was on the roof. I had actually only decided to attend at last minute. My short red dress was half covered by my big, vintage denim jacket. The jacket was too big for me, but it kept me warm. My legs were covered by my standard white tights under a red pair of go-go boots that didn't really match any part of my outfit other than the color. To top it all off, I wore a black top hat tipped back on my head, in keeping with the New Year's theme.
     "Nice hat!" Emma's voice declared out of nowhere. I turned around and grinned at her. She threw her arms around me and I hugged her back. She laughed at the size of my jacket and then realized the dress I was wearing. "Ooh!" she cheered excitedly, clapping her hands, "You're wearing the twisty buttons dress!"
     I grinned and nodded, running my fingers along the buttons absently. "Where's Matt? Isn't he with you?" I asked. Emma rubbed her arms and nodded.
     "Sort of," she replied, looking around, "Well, actually, no. He dropped me off so he could finish getting some stuff ready in the 80s for you."
     I smirked and shook my head. "He's got a time machine!" I snickered.
     She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he'll probably be here any second."
     "What'd I miss?" Matt asked, appearing out of the crowd behind us. I hadn't noticed that it was snowing until I turned around to find it floating in Matt's hair. I smirked as Emma reached up to sweep it off.
     "How long have you been looking for us?" I chuckled.
     "Only the last five minutes," Matt responded with a casual shrug, "It's not as small a rooftop as you'd think." Emma and I both laughed at that. Matt smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Plus it was snowing in '85, too." He paused and looked at me. "We are going to '86, right?"
     I smiled and nodded. "Right," I confirmed, "Just waiting for the ball to drop." I led Matt and Emma over to the waist-high wall around the edge of the roof and pointed to the glowing ball that could be seen a few miles away.
     "What's so special about that?" Matt scoffed. I turned to gape at him.
     "Don't tell me they've gotten rid of the New Year's Eve Ball in 3562!" I protested.
     Matt shook his head. "Nope, they got rid of it in 3560," he said, still frowning at the New Year's Eve Ball. I stared at him and then looked at Emma. She shook her head with a grin.
     "They replaced it with a star," Emma told me, "Don't let him fool you."
     I frowned at Matt and punched his arm. He grabbed his arm and frowned right back at me. He nodded toward the ball and raised an eyebrow at me.
     "Really though," he said, "What's so special about that one? Even the one in '85 looks cooler than that!" He looked between me and Emma.
     "What's it look like?" I asked, looking between the two of them as well.
     Emma smiled at me. "An apple!"
     I grinned. "How did I not know that?" I giggled, "I mean, it's my history, how did I not know that?"
     "Wanna go see it?" Matt offered excitedly, "We can watch the apple drop right into 1986."
     "And we can make it there with the same amount of time to spare?" I challenged.
     Matt held up his watch and took a look at it. He glanced at the ball and then at Emma before returning his gaze to me.
     "Time machine," he reminded me.
     The next thing I knew, the three of us were bounding down the stairs to my apartment. I unlocked it in a rush and burst through the door. Emma and Matt continued through the room as I closed the door behind me and locked it. Emma appeared in the doorway to my bedroom and waved me over.
     Matt's Triple T always showed up in a bathroom for some reason. He had assured me that it was wired to avoid landing in occupied rooms so it would never show up there while I was using it, but it was still really weird to think about. Nevertheless, I followed Emma through my bedroom, into my bathroom, and then into Matt's Time Traveling Teleporter.
     The time machine looked very much like a small elevator from the outside and I knew for a fact that it could blend into its surroundings if it needed to. On the inside, all four walls were mirrored, reflecting anyone who was in the Triple T on and on into infinity and causing the inside of the machine to feel bigger than it was.
     The floor was carpeted with a plushy, black material that didn't register under foot. It always made me feel like I was floating, but then again, I think that was the idea. A single light shone down from the ceiling, which was also painted black. Matt pushed a certain few buttons and smiled at Emma and me as the Triple T door slid closed.
     A familiar Vworp Vworp filled the room. It was the sound Matt had programmed his Triple T to make when it moved from place to place or time to time. He's borrowed it from a TV show he'd once seen. I couldn't help smiling whenever I heard it.
     "Oh, by the way, I put some money in your account," Emma said with a small nod and a big smile, "Like an early birthday gift." I smirked and shook my head. There was no point in fighting it.
     "Thank you, Emma," I sighed, still shaking my head. I hated when they gifted me things. They knew it too, but it never stopped them. That's just the way Matt and Emma were.
     Upon landing, the Triple T made a dinging sound very reminiscent of an actual elevator. The door slid open to reveal what appeared to be a hotel bathroom. Emma stepped out of the Triple T and opened the bathroom door. I followed her out and into the hotel room.
     "Your lease was up yesterday, so this is where you're sleeping until you find yourself another apartment," Matt explained as he followed me into the room, "It's paid for through the weekend, so you're responsible for booking any extra nights you're going to need."
     I smirked over my shoulder at him as I pulled the curtains back to look outside.