A Time Story

Chapter 10- part 1

Rylan stretched her arms in the early hours of the morning. Morning, not early-phase. She was relived to remember that. School starts in two triples, which is why Rylan set her omnisphere alarm. Hours, not triples! Soma was going to kill her.

Rylan jumped out of bed to review her notes. Well more like cautiously climbed down the ladder. She was afraid to jump down from that height. Zoe would probably tease her for her fear, which is why she slept in the camo-shelter. Zoe's sleeping android was much more peaceful. And best of all, she wasn't mean.

Rylan's omnisphere whooshed into a tablet in her hands. At their desk she opened her Time Agent app, reviewing days... hours... minutes... seconds. They only had two weeks to complete their mission. A week was 7 days, not 10, and together that made 14. School starts at 7:30, and now it was 6:02. She needed an hour to get ready. But wait, why did they wake up at 6:00? Shouldn't the day start at 1:00? Seems like a waste to miss half the day. Guess Cycle Time really was more efficient.

It was 6:30.

30 meant the hour was halfway over. An hour was 60 minutes, not 100. Rylan practiced dressing manually. She had time after all. It took three tries to put on her underwear, two for her pants. Perhaps she'd zap everything on if it was too difficult.

Nah, she got it.

Rylan went to the bathroom to put on makeup and lip gloss. After that horribly failed, she closed the blinds and accessed the mirror's materializer. The laser erased the mess on her face before scanning on red lipstick. Rylan put her hands on the counter and neon rings scanned across her fingers. The invisible hand scanners painted her nails blue to contrast her lipstick. Rylan giggled from being painted so ridiculously. People from earth must be so weird. After the mirror laser straightened her hair, Rylan returned to her room to grab her backpack.

But when she returned, Zoe-droid wasn't there. Was the real Zoe in the camo-shelter, or was her android wandering around?

"S'cuse me young lady, but you actually have to take the package," said an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes," said Zoe.

"And you actually have to sign right here."

"I know," Zoe responded.

It came from downstairs. Rylan tiptoed to her door and peeked behind the wall. Zoe was talking with a stranger at the front door. The open door blocked her view, but a side window revealed the stranger was tall, wearing a brown shirt and black pants. Why was Zoe talking to them?! Rylan pleaded she was the real Zoe and not her android.

"I like ice cream," Zoe said.

Sadly, she wasn't.

Their conversation kept growing more awkward. Rylan cowered in her room, desperately trying to contact her mentors. She tried Theo, then Soma. Her wristwatch kept ringing... ringing... She begged anyone... please answer.

"What is it a-million-questions?" answered a cranky Soma.

"Umm... front door... there's..."

Soma immediately sprinted out her room, stampeding down the stairs, straight towards the door.

"I hope you're not being smart with me," the stranger sounded nervous. "Least I'd ever want—"

"What my sister meant to say," Soma covered Zoe-droid's mouth and spoke with forced kindness, "is that you've delivered the package to the wrong address."

"Well it says 234 street."

"We're 235," Rylan could feel the suppressed fury through Soma's kind façade.