Chapter Two
Sugar opened her eyes; she didn't realize that she had closed them and blinked. After the darkness, everything was suddenly bright. Too bright. She took a minute to take in her surroundings. Her garage was gone. The house was gone. It was now daylight and she was parked on the side of an unfamiliar road. On her right was what looked like a park dotted with a few young families enjoying the sunlight. In the center of the park was a playground with gaudy, plastic equipment. It was strange seeing so much green in one place, as if the 'greenness' of it all was concentrated and burnt into Sugar's retinas. On Sugar's left was a row of small, suburban houses. They were so small; Sugar was accustomed to seeing the large and stylish houses of Los Angeles, and wait, was that actually a house made out of wood? Wooden housing had been banned during the termite pandemic of '15. Everyone knew that.
If there were houses still made of wood, more than five trees outside a tree museum, nothing looked familiar and everything looked old fashioned, where was she? Or rather, what era was she in? Sugar knew that Motta Industries were planning on delving into the time travel field after they finished with their transporters, but was her mom smart enough to make her own time machine? No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Sugar thought to herself, we're talking about Mom here. It was for that reason alone that Sugar started to panic.
After the initial shock that she may have actually traveled through time, her brain went into overdrive. I need to find a way home. She looked over to the dashboard in front of her, but all she saw was a mix of multicolored switched and buttons, none of them looking particularly helpful in her situation. However, right in the center of the console, where a radio would normally be found, a screen was illuminated. 08/22/2011. That has to be the date. That has to be the stupid date that Mom's stupid time machine has sent me. Fuck. What am I supposed to do now? Sugar thought back to her history classes; what happened in 2011? What happened 27 years ago? She sat there and pondered for a while, racking her brain for an answer, but nothing came to mind. 27 years. She hadn't even been born; Sugar Lopez-Pierce did not exist in this era. Sugar knew nothing about this time period. She looked back at the dashboard. Underneath the date were two words: Lima, Ohio. No freaking way. Not only was Sugar stuck in a different time period, she was also stuck in a whole other state. A whole other state on the other side of the country. What did she know about Ohio? Sure she had visited Ohio a couple of times to visit her grandparents and Aunt Abby, but what did she know about 2011 Ohio? Zilch.
Tears stung at the corner of her eyes. She was lost in a strange place, with no one to contact. Contact. This was her mom's time machine; she'd know what to do. Sugar reached over to her handbag and dug for her phone. She immediately called her mom's number and waited in anticipation to hear the voice she so desperately wanted to hear. However, all her hopes flew out of the car window the moment she heard a cool voice: The number you have dialed does not exist. Please try again. Apparently her technologically advanced phone could not connect over the time space continuum. She threw her phone into the passenger seat in defeat and punched the steering wheel, jumping in surprise when the car horn sounded.
Sugar looked back at the dashboard. Of course, why didn't she think of it first? All she had to do was change the date on the time machine. 03/19/2038. Los Angeles, California. She crossed her fingers, turned on the ignition and pressed 'Start'. Sugar closed her eyes tightly, prepared for the car to suck her in again, but all the car did was let out a weak groan and shut itself off. She opened her eyes and swore. Fucking piece of crap! Her eyes were drawn to the red flashing gauge on the dashboard. 'Time Fuel' it read. The car had run out of time fuel. Though Sugar felt that she should be relieved that she had figured out what was wrong with the car, she felt even more helpless. She had no idea what 'time fuel' was. There was no manual she could pull out and read, no app to download for more information, no Mom to ask for further clarification.
Sugar hopped out of the car and opened up the hood. After scanning what she assumed was the engine of the car, she dropped her head. What am I doing? I don't know anything about cars, let alone time machines. Sugar made a mental note to get her mom to teach her about cars when she got home. If I get home, Sugar said silently.
Sugar jumped back into the car and decided that if she was going to be stuck in this time period, she may as well explore the area. Stay positive; that's what Mom would say in a situation like this. What would Mami say? You're a Lopez. Suck it up and use your brain. Thinking about her moms put a slight smile to the corner of her mouth, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. The last time she had seen her parents, she had shouted at them both. What a great daughter. She turned on the ignition of the car once again and headed off towards the town, grateful that at least the petrol tank was full. Sometimes it's the littlest things you have to look for when you find yourself in a whole different time period.
After driving to nowhere in particular, she spotted a large grey building. 'Lima Mall'. Malls were not a major occurrence in 2038. In the future, people relied on the Internet for their purchases. Sugar spotted a burger joint and her stomach grumbled in reply. She realized that she hadn't eaten since returning from school, so she parked the car and peered into the store with trepidation. The shop was almost empty, with just a few patrons. Sugar slipped inside, hoping no one would look up and walked over to the counter. She looked up at the overhead menu board in curiosity. She had never ordered food from a counter before. She was used to ordering things through a computer. That having been said, eating burgers was a rarity as her parents dislike her eating too much junk food. Something about a habit they started since being cheerleaders in high school; Sugar wasn't sure, she usually zoned out when her parents told her boring old-people stories.
$4.50 for a burger? 50c extra for cheese? What was this? Were the burgers the size of crumbs? In the future, burgers were $50 each. She had learnt that America had undergone financial troubles, but surely inflation hadn't been that bad! She looked into her wallet. She had a good $5000. She quickly hid her wallet back into her handbag; afraid someone would catch her with all that money and accuse her of stealing. Back home, she knew she was well off, with an actress and a veterinarian for parents, but Sugar couldn't touch the money they had saved for her college fund. Here, in 2011, she had her own money, and could actually use it. She was rich.
After ordering and eating what tasted like a greasy sponge, she got back into the car and explored the town once again. She passed houses upon houses, numerous smaller shops, a place called BreadstiX and a train station with ancient looking trains; in the future, trains hovered on an electromagnetic field, but it seemed like the trains here actually had wheels. Strange. She finally passed what seemed like the local public school. William McKinley High School. Why does that name ring a bell? Of course, she had read it on numerous occasions when she flicked through her parents' old year books. This is where Mami and Mom went to school. A thought suddenly struck her. She was stuck in the year 2011. Her parents were alive during this time. Her parents were living in Lima during this time. Her parents went to William McKinley High School during this time.
Sugar knew how this worked. She had seen enough movies to know that the only way out of a situation like this was to go through a major character upheaval, and become a better person. The only problem was, Sugar didn't know where to start. Was this fate? Was she supposed to meet her parents -in their teenage forms- and learn a lesson from them? As clichéd as it sounded, Sugar had no other ideas. Plus it'd be interesting to see her pubescent parents. I bet they're total dorks, Sugar amused.
It was getting dark, and Sugar soon realized that she needed a place to stay. Her first idea was to stay over at her parents' old houses, but her instinct told her that, that wasn't the best idea. How do you tell a bunch of strangers that you're their daughter and granddaughter from the future without giving them a heart attack? Also, surely that'd ruin the space-time continuum or something like that, right? Sugar drove on, not knowing where to go. She really didn't want to have to live in the truck. It really wasn't that comfortable, and smelt like cat and mud. Suddenly, she spotted a motel. 'Motta Motels' the neon sign flashed. Motta? Sugar wondered. Surely it wasn't the same Motta company that ran almost half of the world's future economy.
She entered the reception of the motel and was greeted by a middle-aged man who was scouring the business section of a newspaper. He had dark brown hair, which seemed like it was usually groomed back, but presently looked unkempt, and wore a purple shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and his tie hung loosely around his neck, the top button of his shirt undone. He looked up at Sugar and smiled, uncertainty showing in his eyes; why was there a teenager entering the motel at this time of night?
"Hi...er...hello. I'd like to rent a room here," Sugar asked timidly. She quickly looked around, taking in her surroundings. The lobby looked warm, with leafy green fronds sprouting from large ceramic pots and a large chandelier hung low from the ceiling.
"Ah, sure. Are your parents around?" the man replied. He looked up from his newspaper and looked closely at the girl standing in front of him. Something about her looked strange. Was it the clothes she was wearing? Kids and their fashion, he thought. But there was something else. Her face fell when he asked her about her parents.
"Um...they're not around. I just want a room for one,"
The man knew what had happened. This poor girl had run away from her parents. She needed refuge, and chose to stay in a motel. At least, that's what happened to him 20 years ago.
"Ok, that can be arranged. How long do you expect to be staying for?"
"Ah...undetermined," Sugar felt her face redden. How much of a delinquent did she seem? A teenage girl wanting a motel room for an undetermined amount of time? God, she thought in horror, he must think I'm an underage prostitute or something.
The man noticed the girl's blush and decided he didn't need to ask any more questions. He handed her a form to grab her details and went into the backroom to fetch the keys.
Sugar looked down at the form. Could she risk writing down all her personal information? Would that ruin the space-time continuum and change the future forever? Don't be silly, she thought, I'm not going to change this guy's life any time soon. She finished filling out her details just has the man returned to the desk. He took back the form and scanned it over quickly.
"Well, Sugar, welcome to Motta Motel. Here's the key to your room. If you need anything, feel free to call me," The man decided now was not the time to discuss payment. He felt that he could empathize with the girl's problems, and money was not an important factor.
"Thanks. Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"Alan Motta. Just call me Al," Al gave Sugar a genuine smile and presented his hand for a handshake.
Sugar was stunned. This was Al Motta; the founder of Motta Industries. She knew that the current-well, future- owner of Motta Industries was a descendent of Al Motta, a wealthy business tycoon who had started off from humble beginnings. Sugar couldn't believe she was standing right in front of him, probably just before he made his mark as a man who would change the future. Sugar reached out and took his warm hand.
"Thanks Al. This really means a lot to me right now,"
"I hope you enjoy your stay. I'll let you go now. Good night!"
Sugar walked past the hallway full of rooms and then looked down at her key. She had been assigned to room 42.
39.
40.
41.
42.
She slipped the key into the hole and opened the door silently. She flicked on the switch and look around her room. On her immediate left was a small kitchen and on her right was a dining table. In front of her was what she deemed the living room with some couches all pointed towards a small television set. Also on her left was a petite bathroom and a bedroom. She flopped onto the bed, immediately recognizing the signs of fatigue. Today had been a long day for Sugar. Only today she had been at school, had a fight with both her moms and snuck out to find herself stuck in the year 2011.
She rubbed her temples and got up from the bed. She would get ready for bed, and plan a strategy to get back to her correct time period tomorrow. However, Sugar realized that she had nothing with her; no pyjamas, no toothbrush. She sighed. Before doing anything, she had to go to the shops and buy some essentials. She would do all that tomorrow. Right now, all she wanted was to sleep. She took her phone out of her pocket and opened the photo album. She found a photo of three people smiling back up with her. In the center was herself, with her arms around two other women; one blonde and one brunette.
Goodnight, she whispered to the phone screen before she finally succumbed to sleep.
A/N: Hi all! I just wanted to thank you guys for reading. I was seriously expecting no one to even consider it, so it's nice to know some of you guys are actually interested. Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, and stick along for the journey. Have a nice day!
