84-08
Preface
You are invited to the Annual Trammel's Ball.
4th July, 1984
7:30-midnight
Refreshments will be served
Events include:
Release of new Theory of Time Travelling through a simple Drink
By Professor Mark Trammel
Release of:What Will Be Expected in the Future?
By Professor Mark Trammel
Trammel's Ball, July 4, 1984
"David, don't act like nothing happened." Allison said, tears forming down her face. She was sitting on David's bed, her black stiletto shoes, which matched with her polka dot strapless dress she was wearing, was spread on the floor.
"You know Annie; she always does that sort of stuff. It didn't mean anything. " David said comfortingly, as he walked towards Allison and started stroking her brown hair, which was teased at the back, and straight up the front, where it covered her face. Allison pulled away.
"Don't touch me."
"Ah come on, it was just a kiss, Allie!"
"That's right, David. It was just a kiss." Allison said, standing up. She grabbed her shoes and started putting them on.
"Don't do this again. Remember last time you did this?"
"Yeh and I was stupid enough to believe that Annie had forced you into it. So much that I agreed to marry you!" Allison said, as she slipped on her last shoe, and picked up her black purse. "And you know what? If you and Annie love each other so much, then why don't you two go out?"
"I don't want to. I love you."
"Yeh whatever."
Allison rolled her eyes, as she opened the door to David's room and walked towards the staircase, which lead to the ball room, where people were choosing food to eat from the platters on the table. David quickly followed her.
There was a table where the drink invented by David's dad, Professor Mark Trammel, lay. Next to it was the book, What Will Be Expected in the Future?, which was also one of Marks other productions. As everyone was on the other side of the room, socialising as they ate, no one payed attention to the table with the drink was.
"You know what? I think you're a liar. And your dad is too." Allison said, as she picked up the Time Travelling drink, which was held in a plastic clear bottle, with a piece of paper in front of it, briefly describing what it does.
"The 'Time Traveller' works simply. The drink is swallowed by the person travelling through time. That person then says what year they want to go to, and within half an hour they will be transported to that year." Allison said, smiling sarcastically at David.
"How nice of them to show me how to do it. If only it were real."
"Oh come on, you know that my dad's famous for his work. He knows what he's doing."
"Well we can put that to the test then. No one's proved it's worked, so how would he know?"
"It's still under testing. Anyways, if it did work, then there is no way of return. He hasn't found a way back yet."
Allison laughed. "See, you're even having your own doubts about it. How I could ever have considered marrying you!"
David sighed. "Allie, don't do this."
"Oh come on David, remember we're medical students. If anything happens, I'm sure you can find a way to save me. If you care so much about me like you say."
David pulled his hand through the back of his blonde hair, slightly muffling it up. It was brushed at the back, and gelled vertically at the front. His 2 piece grey suite, with a white t-shirt underneath, and black shoes, which matched perfectly with Allison's, had a tear through the ankle part of the pants, from running down the stairs after his fiancé.
"Please, don't do it." David said finally, looking sadly at Allison.
Allison raised the bottle, unscrewed the top, and drank the contents of it. "Too late."
David tried to speak, but Allison interrupted him. "Hmm, let's see, what year should I go to? What about the future? While I'm there, I can see if your dad's books right about what we should expect too! What about, 2008? Take me to the year 2008!" She then put it back on the table, and smiled sarcastically at David.
Allison looked at the clock on the wall next to them. "8:45PM. So by your Dad's theory, in half an hours time I will be in the future."
"Allie, you shouldn't have done that!" David said, worry showing in his eyes. "Ok, stay here, I'll go find my Dad and see if he can find a way to reverse this."
"No, David, take me home." Allison said, deciding not to go any further.
"You need to have this reversed."
"Yeh like it's going to work. Take me home!" Allison said, raising her voice.
David opened his eyes in shock. "Be quiet, unless you want the whole room to know what you've done. Ok, I'll take you home." He said, now whispering.
Allison and David walked towards his car in silence. David approached his white 1984 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe first, with Allison following quickly behind him.
Once they were both seated in the car, David hesitated. "You really found a good way to get me back for what happened."
"At least you're admitting to it now." Allison mumbled, looking ahead of her, not even making eye contact with David.
David sat there for a few seconds, until Allison spoke again. "Why did you do it? What did I do to deserve it?"
David sighed. "You didn't do anything wrong. It just... happened."
Allison rolled her eyes. "Just start the car." David did what she said, and started the engine to the car.
David turned on the radio after a few blocks of driving. Come on Eileen blasted out of the speakers.
"Come on Eileen, I swear well he means, at this moment, you mean everything" David sung, looking at Allison and smiling while he drove.
Allison rolled her eyes. "Don't, David."
David laughed.
"Ah come on, do I really sing that bad?"
"No you're singings ok; just don't try using it to win me over." Allison turned off the radio and hesitated.
The rest of the car ride to Allison's house was another long silence. As David approached her house, Allison stopped him.
"Don't go down my driveway, my parents don't know I'm with you. They think I went to a friend's."
David pulled the car up on the start of her street, near the pathway. Allison opened the door, and as she walked out, she stopped before closing the door.
"What time is it?"
David looked at his watch. "9:13PM." He said silently.
"Ok, thanks." She said in a similar quiet tone.
Allison closed the door and walked down the pathway leading towards her house. As David started turning on the engine to leave, Allison stopped in her tracks, and turned around to watch him leave.
She watched as David turned back onto the street, but as he was turning into the street, a fast moving black Porsche 911 approached him. Allison didn't have enough time to scream, let alone warn David of the car, as it smashed into the back of David's car, pushing it into a big oak tree.
"DAVID!" Allison yelled, as the Porsche reversed and quickly drove off, dodging the badly crashed Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, with David inside of it.
Allison ran towards the car, which both the back and front was completely smashed.
"HELP!" Allison screamed, as she tried to open the side of the door where David was, but it wouldn't budge. David's head was smashed on the steering wheel, and his head was bleeding.
Allison noticed the time on David's watch, which was on his right hand that was lying on the end of the steering wheel.
"9:15PM" she mumbled through her tears.
Allison felt a tingling in her body, as she continued looking at her unconscious body. More tears fell, while she felt dizzy and collapsed on the ground, because she realised that David and his father was right. She was travelling through time.
Princeton, New Jersey, 2008
Allison woke up, her hand held firmly on her head, due to the pain.
"Oww"
I must have hit my head.
It took a few minutes until the dizziness and pain went away, and then Allison could see fairly clearly. She looked at the things surrounding her.
She was sitting on a pathway, with a big road only inches away from her. Cars and trucks were driving past quickly, and as they were so close to her, she moved further away from them, walking backwards into a building.
Allison turned around. It was a store named 'Video Games Cheap'.
"Video Games Cheap?"
Allison looked at the store, still sitting down. She noticed as she looked at it that everything inside the store was cased in with at thin plastic cover.
How could that be video games? No wonder why they're cheap!
"Hey, what you doing in that pretty little dress out here at this time of night?"
Allison turned around quickly. A drunkish looking man was facing her, with a grey t-shirt, spilt with beer. He had jeans with stains on it, and he was stumbling to stand straight.
"Uh, isn't it 8:15PM?"
The drunken guy laughed. Another drunken man, a bit bigger, and probably his friend, walked up behind him, wearing black pants and a red jumper rolled up.
"Well not many girls walk the streets of Princeton at night by themselves, especially not dressed up like you." The skinnier drunken guy said while chuckling.
"Did you just come back from a vintage party or something?" The bigger drunken guy said while high fiveing the other guy and laughing.
"She's not alone."
Allison turned around quickly. An older man, skinnier than the two drunken guys, stood there, leaning on a cane. He was wearing jeans, a green t-shirt, and a leather jacket.
The two drunken guys laughed again. "Who are you?" The bigger drunken guy said.
"I'm ya mum, and this girl you're trying to pick up, which by the way isn't working, is my cousin, Sarah."
House waited for a few seconds, but there was total silence. The two drunken guys looked at him in a confused way.
"She's a little loopy. Dresses up as if she was from some certain time period and sits in desolated areas of the city. Once Sarah dressed up as a woman from the 1800's and got a free ride around the city by those guys in with the horses and carriages because they thought she would be a good part of setting the scene for others. But don't worry, it's not that bad. It only happens when she doesn't take her pills." He continued.
House then bent down, with the help of his cane, to level Allison, who was still sitting down. "Have you taken your pills today, Sarah?"
Allison looked at the House and crossed her eyebrows.
"Ok, let me help you up. We're taking you home." He said, standing back up.
House grabbed her hand, and raised his eyebrows at the two drunken guys, who were still looking in shock at House.
"A little help for the cripple and his crazy cousin?"
The drunken guys both looked at each other, and shrugged. They then went and helped pull Allison up.
House walked beside the two men, who were helping Allison walk. He then pointed to his orange and red motorbike. "Bikes over there."
Once the two drunken men had hauled Allison onto the bike, they walked off, sighing. As soon as they were out of hearing, Allison laughed.
"Um, what is this?"
"It's called a motorbike. Have you ever seen one before?"
"Yeh, it's just.. Way different."
"Well I'm sorry to break it to you but not every bike is the same." House said, as he turned back to the front.
"Wait, what's your name?"
"Didn't you hear me while talking to the drunken guys? I'm ya mum."
Allison rolled her eyes. "No really, what's your name?"
House sighed. "Dr. Greg House."
"Ah, a doctor? I'm a med student, just graduated from Princeton last year."
House snorted. He then turned the key and turned on the engine.
"Wait, Dr. House."
"Call me House."
"Ok, House. I have to tell you something."
"What and I just met you?"
"Yeh, just listen."
"Ok, but hurry. I ordered two strippers to be at my house by nine and I don't want to be late. These days they don't wait, they just take your money and go. Bloody rip-offs." House said, as he turned off the engine.
"Eww you hire strippers?"
"You have 30 seconds to explain whatever you want to say to me."
Allison sighed. "Ok, this is hard to explain. But since I only have 30 seconds, I'll try and break it down as much as I can."
House looked at his watch, and didn't move from it. "20 seconds left."
"So about an hour ago, I had a fight with my boyfriend. His Dad invented a potion to time travel and I thought it wouldn't work so I took it..."
"… 10 seconds"
"SO I TRAVELLED FROM 1984 TO 2008!" Allison yelled.
House stopped looking at his watch and looked at the people around him. There was a couple holding hands by the pedestrian crossing across from them, and they looked at both Allison and House weirdly, and then turned to each other and mumbled something.
House turned back to Allison. "Yeh and my mum's the Queen of England." He said sarcastically.
Allison crossed her eyebrows. "So you must be Prince Charles' brother then?"
"Yeh, Prince Charles' sexy brother. I was too sexy to be considered as part of the royal family so I moved here."
Allison chuckled. "Very nice."
"Where do you live?" House said, turning back to the front of his motorbike.
"Um… 20 Poms Avenue, Princeton Junction."
House snorted again. "So you live in the middle of a park now? No wonder why I found you sitting next to a closed video store at this time of night in the middle of Princeton."
"What? That's where I live. It's true, take me there and I'll prove it."
"Look, whatever your name is, Poms Avenue, which by fact I used to live there, was demolished and turned into part of a park in 1988."
"Well that's where I live." Allison replied, while crossing her arms, and turning away towards where the video store was. She mouthed what? to herself, with crossed eyebrows.
"Where's your phone? Call your family."
Allison grumbled. "How could I possibly take my phone with me? It wouldn't work; it needs to be plugged in!"
House rolled his eyes. "Yeh that's why they invented cells in the 90's!"
"Well if you listened to a thing I had just said then you would know that I'm from the 80's! How would I know?" Allison said, starting to raise her voice.
"Ok, this is crazy. Get off my bike, go find your own way home."
"FOR THE LAST TIME, I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS! APPARANTLY BY WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S NOW A PARK. SO IF YOU WANT ME SPENDING THE REST OF THE NIGHT IN A PARK IN PRINCETON JUNCTION, THEN FINE, LEAVE ME. YOU NEED TO LEARN TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE!" Allison yelled.
More people were noticing the scene being caused, so Allison shut up.
"Ok, fine. You can go stay at Cuddy's for the night, and tomorrow you can be admitted to the psych ward."
"Who's Cuddy? I don't even know this person!"
"She's the local woman rapist. You know, it's the new thing in the 21st century."
Allison crossed her arms and stared at House. She didn't say anything for a few moments, and then spoke.
"Do you think I want to sleep in the same house as a rapist?" Allison said evenly.
House laughed. "You're funny."
Allison rolled her eyes. "Can you please just take me somewhere? I've had a rough night."
"Aww, is the Princess of the 80's getting sick of the 21st century already?"
Allison didn't reply. She just sat there; staring right in House's eyes.
House sighed, and turned the engine on for his bike.
Allison was silent throughout the bike ride. As House drove through Princeton, he noticed the turn off on the right to go to Cuddy's house. House passed it, and went straight ahead to go to his house. But he knew exactly what he was going to do the next day: Take her to hospital.