This story is about me and my cousin Toni (her full name is Toni-Ann) In reality, I'm 14 and Toni is 11 (almost 12), but I'm making us 20 and 18, just to make the plot a little easier. We both love/ are OBSESSED with the Monkees, so she suggested that I write a Monkees story with us in it, which sounded fun, so here goes!
"Hey," Toni called to Chelsea as she waltzed through the door, and proceeded to start humming the last song she had been listening to, Randy Scouse Git.
"Hey, man," her cousin called from where she was sitting on the couch, "I was just about to put on Alias Micky Dolenz, you interested?"
"You know it, that episode is beasty!" Toni replied as she settled down next to Chelsea on the couch. The two girls had moved recently from fields of the Midwest to an apartment in Los Angeles that had been around since the 1950's. The building should have been destroyed years ago. The walls were made of weakening plaster, absolutely no soundproofing, too many leaks to count, mold and infestations somewhere or another. But to the girls, it was heaven on earth. It was freedom from their monotonous, slow paced, normal, day-by-day lives that had been plaguing them for a long time. Torturous, really, because Toni and Chelsea were anything but normal. Since they had been 11 and 14 respectively, they had a deep-seeded love for the Monkees. They were not really understood, as not many kids go to school with their celebrity crush not being one of those generational pretty boys, but Micky Dolenz. Here, everything seemed to be a new adventure.
As Micky walked through the Purple Pelican as Babyface, Chelsea looked at Toni, and asked "Hey, has that authentic Moog synthesizer come yet?" They had both been learning down at a local music store, inspired by songs like Daily Nightly and Star Collector. They had scoured the internet for hours to find a model from the 60's…one of the classics. It was supposed to have arrived 2 days, and both girls were growing anxious.
A knock came from the door, and Toni paused the television as both girls rushed to the door. Zander and Mendrick, the two boys that did delivery for the local postal service, stood there panting with the anticipated Moog situated between. Mendrick appeared in pain.
Mendrick was Chelsea's age and Zander was Toni's, with similar dreams of creative pursuits. "Mendrick, what's wrong?" Toni inquired.
"Zander dropped your keyboard thing on my foot."
"C'mon Mendrick, my bass guitar was falling off my back. I couldn't just let it hit the ground."
"No, no, I understand, break your best friend's foot instead."
Zander grinned, "Gotta have my priorities, man."
The two boys loved the 60s as much as the girls. They were both fairly nice-looking. Mendrick was 5' 7", with chesnut-brown hair that went down slightly below his shoulder. He had an adorable smile and laugh lines, and often wore thick black-framed glasses and a fedora that had been dubbed the "Micky Dolenz". Zander had thick black hair with the sides dyed blonde, and he often slicked it back into a pompadour. He had large sea-green eyes, and was slightly olive-toned. Both boys were extremely funny and would fit the definition of "oddball." They were the kind of guys you didn't appreciate in life until you realized what jerks the popular boys were. Zander and Mendrick were both close friends of the girls, and they had hung out many times.
"Listen, Chelsea, Toni," Mendrick said, "the next time you want us to deliver a 20 pound synthesizer to your 4th floor apartment, please get the elevator fixed." The elevator in the building most likely had not been fixed since 1980, and it was a running joke between the 4 whenever Zander and Mendrick had to make a heavy delivery.
"Hey, we're still on for tomorrow, right?" Toni asked. They had been planning for a while to get together and jam some music.
"Of course," Zander waved, and the two boys started walking away, "Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Once the boys were out of sight, Chelsea closed the door, forgetting to lock it, and they both began to eye the instrument like a pair of hungry lions. The Moog was gorgeous synthesizer, though obviously battle torn, with a sort-of glow. There would be revenge on Mendrick for calling it a "keyboard thing."
Toni knelt in front, fingering the keys with delicate strokes. Chelsea's eye was caught on something glowing in the machine. She slowly edged it into view, and two pairs of eyes widened in shock. The top of what they realized was a sheet of Moog music. The top read "Daily Nightly", and was done in pencil, an original copy. This wasn't any Moog synthesizer. It was Micky Dolenz's! It was a dream come true; the famous Moog was now in their possession. For some strange reason, the paper was glowing green. Each girl picked up a side of it with one hand. There was a blinding flash of white light.
Toni and Chelsea found themselves somehow on their couch, something had changed but it wasn't obvious what exactly. They both wore the same clothes, Chelsea in a tye-dye shirt with the words "all we're saying is give peace a chance" written on the front, long bejeweled peace sign necklace, and jeans with her bangs in small braids wrapping around her head. Toni had on a blue tshirt with a large darker blue glittery peace sign on it. She wore a chain necklace with a little white robot chain hanging down off it. Once the girls were able to see clearly, they realized they were in their apartment, but it looked much different. It looked fairly new! Toni wandered over to the table and picked up a newspaper. Her jaw dropped.
"Um, Chels, we have a problem," Toni said worriedly, almost in a whisper.
"What, man?" Chelsea asked casually, not realizing the extremity of the situation, as she finally got the nerve to stand up off the couch.
"The newspaper says today is September 10th, 1966!"
"What? That's impossible!" Chelsea insisted, then noticed the Moog was vacant from the spot it had been in less than two minutes ago. Desperate for some sense of clarity, the two girls rushed out the doorway, and didn't notice a man coming from the opposite direction, and Chelsea banged right into him, falling backwards onto the ground.
"Oh, hey, sorry man. Didn't see you coming," the other victim of the collision told Chelsea. That voice was too familiar to be true. Toni was already in shock when Chelsea finally looked up. It was Micky Dolenz.
