Wishes Can Come True

Truth Can Hurt

The next day Erin woke up to whispering. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking over her shoulder at the boys. They were sitting on the ground looking down at something. A book. Ponyboy looked up quickly and shut the book quickly. He was reading The Outsiders.

Erin noticed. She stood up and went to grab it but he pulled it away. "What is this?" Ponyboy asked her. "Why does this have our names in it? Why does it talk about what we've done?"

"I-I...um...I thought I told you not to read that," She said. She figured this wouldn't work. The subject won't get changed, but she wanted to try.

"Don't even try to change the subject," Ponyboy shot back at her. It didn't work. Ponyboy was mad, she could see the fire in his eyes. He wanted an explanation. "Who are you?"

"Ponyboy, I didn't lie about who I was. Well..." She trailed off. "My parents didn't drop me of here. They don't know I'm here."

"What do you mean, they don't know you're here?" Johnny asked her. He wasn't as mad as Ponyboy. Just confused. Why would she lie? He thought.

"I'm from the year 2019. The future. I was somehow sent here. I don't know how. I was reading The Outsiders and then...I don't know, I felt dizzy and then I passed out. The next thing I knew, I woke up in front of the movie theater where Ponyboy found me." She looked at their faces. Pure shock and confusion was on Johnny's while Ponyboy looked as if he didn't believe a word. "Please, I'm telling the truth." She was practically begging now.

"I don't believe it," Ponyboy crosses his arms over his chest. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"But it's true! I can prove it too!" She reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone. The boys tried to tried to scoot away but the wall was in their way. "Calm down, it's just a phone. A cell phone." They looked at the phone, perplexed. "It's what we use to call each other and communicate. We can send text messages and everything."

"Let me see that," Johnny asked. Erin handed him the phone. He looked at and turned it around and around in his hands. "What do these buttons do?"

"Those turn the volume up and down." She pointed to the volume buttons. Then to the power button. "This turns it on and off. Mash it and you'll see." He mashed the button and the phone came to life.

"Woah. That's cool."

"Here. It needs a password." She took the phone and typed in her password. "Look. This is how you are able to text." She went to her messages and seen a bunch more messages from her parents and friends. She sighed. "For some odd reason I can't respond. I think it's because there is no service or anything here. But I don't know how it's able to send the messages from my friends and stuff."

"I don't get it," Ponyboy said. "How does this thing work? How can you call people? It's a phone right?"

"Yes. You have to go to the phone app and click on the contact you want. It's easier than typing out the number, like you do on your phones." She clicked on one of her contacts, putting the phone on speaker to show the boys what it's like. "It won't go through. Neither will a text. But as I said, I'm able to receive them."

"What's the future like?" Ponyboy asked, now interested in the whole thing.

"It's cool. There's lots of things that you guys don't have. Like" She held up the phone. "phones, for example. Computers. Oh, YouTube! Netflix. And social media!" She got on her phone and pulled up Facebook. She showed them a bunch of stuff, like her friends and parents. Then she got on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter.

"That's cool. But I have a question, why are you here?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know."

"Well you changed things, didn't you? You being here probably caused us to be in this mess." Ponyboy was mad again. What's his problem?

"You were in this mess to begin with, Ponyboy. I tried to stop Darry from hitting you. You don't think I tried to stop this?" She shot back at him. She was getting mad herself.

"Well you should have tried harder!" He then walked off into another room. Erin was mad. Her eyes were blazing.

"There are some things you can't stop, Ponyboy. Don't thank me when I..." She trailed off. When I save your friends? When everyone is happy? What was she going to say? She can't say too much. She can't say anything about the future.

He spun around. His eyes staring dead into hers. They were demanding an answer. "When you what?"

She thought for a moment before speaking. She didn't want to say anything wrong. Finally, she decided on, "When you're home and happy."

His expression softened. "We get to go home? When?"

"Ah...soon. I can't say."

His expression hardened again. He reminded her of Dally. "Well why the heck not!" He stepped up to her. Johnny stepped in front of him.

"Calm down, Pony! Gosh, what's gotten in to you?" He asked him.

"We can't trust her, Johnny! Can't you see that? She's crazy!"

"Ponyboy, she is not crazy. Calm down. Here." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He handed it to him and Ponyboy lit up. "Better?" Johnny asked him.

"No. She's still a traitor."

"Ponyboy, I'm only here to make things better. You will find out. Please you have to trust me." She was begging, pleading for Ponyboy to believe her. She stared him in the eyes, hoping he could see the truth in them.

"Fine. I don't fully believe you. But you better watch it." And with that, he walked into the other room with Johnny following behind him.

Erin sighed and sat down. She pulled out her phone and stared at the messages on the screen. She has never felt more alone.