Even after the seeing 2040 President elect Lil Huddy absolutely loose it after someone asked him about his nonexistent talent, nothing can compare to the wrath of Karen Kiszka.
Being a fan of Greta Van Fleet in 2060, I didn't know as much about the band as someone from the 2010's or 2020's did. I still new the basics; where they were from, their siblings names, and of course their parents names, so I of course knew who Karen was.
Seeing as though I had dreamt of marrying Jake Kiszka, this was not my ideal first impression of his mom.
"Let me explain mom!" Jake pleaded, trying his best to calm his mom down.
"Jacob, how dare you betray me and your fathers trust?! We specifically said no people over, and specifically no girls!" She yelled.
Papa Kiszka was actually in the room too, but just in the corner, not saying a word.
"It's not that simple mom. Please, just let me explain." Jake continued.
Long story short, Jake told his mother that they found me in the yard and I had amnesia, so they're trying to help me remember where I live. At first I thought she wouldn't buy it, but to my surprise she welcomed me with open arms and invited me to stay as long as I needed...except from now on I have to share a room with Ronnie.
At Dinner
Dinner was the Kiszkas was definitely a memorable experience. I had imagined it many times, but nothing can beat the real thing.
To start, Josh kept throwing bread at Ronnies head, resulting in him getting yelled at. Sammy didn't want to eat his vegetables, so Kelly told him he couldn't have desert...this made him cry. Jake on the other hand, was wolfing everything down like this was his first time ever eating. In addition to all this, everyone was talking over each other, so I just stayed quiet.
"Hey Y/n," Jake said after taking a drink of water. "Your coming to see us play tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah Y/n. You have to!" Josh said in between mouthfuls of bread.
"Yeah," I said nodding. "I'll be there."
"Great," Jake said as he looked at me and smiled. "It's at Jans Bar, where we had our first gig. First thing in the morning we're gonna meet up with Danny to practice, so you and Ronnie can meet us there at ten."
I nodded at him.
Later That Night
That night I helped Karen clean up the kitchen, then I played a board game with Sammy and Ronnie. Sammy wanted to play Candy Land, and flipped the board when he had to go all the way back to the peppermint forest, so that time was mainly spent of me and Ronnie picking up the pieces to the game that fell on the floor.
After that, we all went into the living room, joined by Jake and Josh, to watch a movie. I sat between the twins, while Ronnie and Sam sat in the other chairs. We decide upon "Pulp Fiction." Well...Josh decided that and we just had to agree. He was going through a Tarantino phase, as Jake put it. He was telling me about his short films during the opening credits. He actually sounded really passionate about it.
A while later, Karen and Kelly entered the room.
"Me and your dad are going to go see Dan and Lori. We'll be back in a few hours. Love you." Karen said.
The Kiszkas said their "I love you's" and goodbyes to their parents as they walked out the door. Not even a second after it closed, the sibling turned to each other with a shared look on their faces.
"Get it, Sammy." Veronica said, and smiled.
Sam jumped up from his chair and ran into his room. I just sat there, very confused.
Within a minute, Sammy was back with a ceramic bong in one hand and some reefer in the other. I was shocked to say the least. I did remember Sammy telling me about it, but I doubted he still had it.
Sammy sat back down in his seat and put this weed in the bong, wasting no time. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit it up. He inhaled, and then exhaled a cloud a smoke. After a few hits, he handed it to Josh, who took it eagerly, doing the same thing.
I was sitting by Josh, so I was next. He handed it to me after he was done, and I reluctantly took it. I guess they could tell by the look on my face that I was confused.
"Have you ever smoked before?" Josh asked me. I shook my head no. In 2060 marijuana is only used for medical purposes.
"It's okay," Jake said as he turned to face me. "I'll light it up, and you just inhale, okay?"
"Okay." I said. He quickly took the lighter and lit it up. I inhaled, coughing a little, which made them laugh.
"Now exhale." He told me. I did and a small cloud of smoke poured out from my mouth.
Needless to say, we hit several rounds each.
After about round six, I was out of my head.
"J-jakeeee j-jakeyyy guessss whaaat." I slurred, trying my best to talk.
"What...is it...Y/n?" Jake asked.
While I could barely speak, Jake had to take a long pause between each word. He blinked a lot too.
"Where's my face!???" Sammy suddenly exclaimed. He was relieved when he felt it. Ronnie and Josh just sat there spaced out. We were all handling it differently.
"I-I knowww somethingggg." I smiled and put my hand on Jakes shoulder.
"What...do you...know?" Jake asked.
"I knowwww youu hav-have a songgg called blackk smoke risingggg." I said.
Suddenly Josh snapped out of it and the room went silent.
"Y/n, how do you know about Black Smoke Rising? We haven't played it yet." Josh asked with a pale face. The rest of them stared at me the same.
I started laughing hysterically. "Be-because I'm frommmm the futureee." I was laughing so hard I was in tears. The rest didn't find it funny.
"You've got to be joking Y/n. Be serious." Sammy said.
"I-I didn't know thereeeee wassss a towerrr. Whereeee theyyy looked out too the landdd to seee the peopleee quicklyyyy passinggg byyyy." I sang. I was being extremely annoying.
"Okay, how the heck does she know that!?" Josh said as he leaped up. "We didn't even practice that song while she was here."
"I know abouttt flowerrr powerrr tooo." I said as I smiled at Josh.
"I feel faint." He said, acting as if he might pass out.
"Okay, this makes no sense, but we're all too high to figure this out now. Let's talk about this tomorrow." Ronnie said. We all agreed.
The Next Morning
I woke up at around eight o'clock. Ronnie was already up, getting ready for the boys performance.
"Good morning Y/n." Ronnie said with a smile as she brushed her hair.
I smiled at her.
"We'll leave to go see the boys in about an hour. Mom bought some poptarts so you can have one of those for breakfast if you want."
"Thanks Ronnie." I looked at my hands nervously. "Uh, did they say anything about... you know?"
"They said they wanna talk to you about it after the show."
I just nodded and got ready.
At Jans Bar
The bar was buzzing with the excitement of the Michigan fans and a few middle aged day drinkers. As me and Ronnie entered we found a table close to the front that had a "Reserved" sign on it. Dan, Lori, Karen, and Kelly were already there.
"Hi girls! They should be on in a few minutes according to Josh." Karen said as we set down.
While we waited I met Dan and Lori, who were super nice just like Danny.
Soon after, the lights dimmed and a man who I can only assume is the owner came onstage and spoke into the microphone.
"Hello Bay City!" He exclaimed. "We have a special treat for you today. Welcome, Greta Van Fleet!"
The crowd applauded as the boys came out. They were getting set up, when Jake ran offstage and towards me.
"Hi Y/n." He said.
"Hey Jake." I was confused as to why he wasn't onstage.
"What's your favorite song?" He asked me.
"Um," I thought for a moment. I couldn't say any of theres or I could cause more damage than I already did, so I went with a classic, a song that was 100 years old from my time. It was still technically a song by them, but I thought it would still be fine. "A change is gonna come." I finally stated. Jake smiled and ran back on stage. He whispered something to Josh and then slung his guitar strap over his shoulder.
"Hello everyone!" Josh spoke into the mic, as the crowd applauded. "Today we're gonna do a classic."
And right then Jakes guitar sang out the opening to "A change is gonna come."
I couldn't stop smiling. Not only had they played this song just for me, but these boys, these four boys from a small Michigan town were gonna become something, something big, something bigger than us, something that was a symbol of peace, love, and unity, something that will unite us all.
After about an hour, they exited the stage, the crowd applauding loudly.
Ronnie looked at me, both of us knowing what happens now.
But I was ready.
I was ready to tell them the truth.