Betty looked at her thirteen year old self in the mirror. There was something about the young version of Gio that appealed to her. He paid attention to her and she did things she never thought she would end up doing.
"Oh, I knew it smelled like taquitos in here." Teenage Amanda sneered as she entered the girl's restroom.
"I wish I could say that you grow out of this phase, but you don't." Betty replied as she finished washing her hands.
"Right, and I am the delusional one who believes I work at Mode. One day, I'll be working at Mode as an Editor in Chief's assistant." She smiled mockingly as she applied lipstick.
"I'm telling the truth." Betty didn't know what else to really say to convince Amanda that she somehow ended up in 1998 as a result of the Coney Island incident in 2008.
"Just for the record, in the future…water has calories." Betty smiled as Amanda had a look of shock on her face.
"Ok, so there's' nothing safe to eat or drink?" Amanda suddenly froze on the spot.
"Exactly, so you might as well stock up now." Betty smiled and left Amanda dumbfounded in the bathroom.
Betty wasn't even halfway down the hall when suddenly; she saw the young version of Gio leaning against one of the lockers.
"Hey there 2008, up for another adventure?" he winked and walked over to her.
"I thought you were being picked up by your mom." Betty replied.
"Ah, well I forgot that this is the day that I lie about Monopoly Club." He grinned and adjusted his leather jacket.
"Really…Monopoly Club? That's not a very convincing lie." Betty shrugged and noticed that she had Gio's interest.
"So can you give me a more convincing lie, 2008?" he smiled, definitely intrigued with her.
"Well…for starters, why the hell would you be in a Monopoly Club to begin with?" Betty raised her eyebrow.
"Come on! I don't look like a guy who would enjoy Monopoly Club?" Gio shrugged his shoulders and began to fiddle with a locker.
"What are you doing?" Betty asked suddenly.
"I'm bored…and until you agree on our next little adventure, I'll continue to open…" He paused to look at the name on the locker. "Ah, it's your locker Betty….you probably have pictures of that Grubdick guy." He grinned.
"It's Grubstick…honestly…I liked it better when you called him…" Betty paused. "Never mind." She grumbled.
Betty slumped into the corner of the hall where the lockers meet the wall and sat down. "Hey, nobody puts Betty in a corner." Gio said as he walked over to her and held his hand for her to take.
"You just mentioned Henry…" Betty replied without taking his hand. Gio sighed.
"Sorry…that was a jerky move on my part." He smiled with his hand still extended. "The day is still young though and Monopoly Club is over at 9 tonight."
"Seriously…9? Wow, you are horrible at lying" Betty replied as she took Gio's hand. "So where is our little adventure?" Betty asked curiously.
"Ah, I have finally piques your interest, princesa! There is so much to show you" Gio led the way out of the school as Betty followed with a little feeling of guilt.
"Ok, if you're telling the truth 2008, you and I are going to make a time capsule. We'll bury it right here….right where Onions got rescued." Gio grinned as he pulled out some paper.
"I don't think this is such a great idea…" Betty began to explain. "This is just a dream..so anything we do wouldn't really go into effect" Betty informed him.
"Betty…come on….you need to live." Gio thought for a moment and continued. "The funny thing is that I believe there is a reason you're having a dream about this. It could be fate that you're dreaming about this very spot and event. 2008, do me a favor, alright." Gio smiled.
Betty gave him a quizzical look, but nodded.
"Whenever you wake up from whatever dream this is, come back to this spot. If fate is the type of thing it's supposed to be, you never know what you'll find here." Gio said thoughtfully as he began to scribbles something down on a piece of paper.
"What are you writing?" Betty leaned over to see what Gio was writing, but he snatched the paper away from her.
"It's all a part of fate, 2008." He grinned and dug a small hole in the ground and placed the paper in the hole before burying it.
"Are you this pessimistic in the future?" Gio raised his eyebrow as he rubbed the dirt off his hands and onto his pants.
"Well…no…"Betty thought for a moment and realized something. "You know…I never realized it until you mentioned this…but I think I have a hurdle to overcome. I have a lot of family issues…"
"Quack" Gio replied with a grin.
"Don't start that up again! It annoyed me in the future and it still annoys me." Betty replied.
"Ah, I didn't realize…sorry…you were saying…?" Gio watched her with interest.
"Well I have a habit of complaining. When I was with Henry, things would happen and…well…" Betty was speechless.
"Well, now that you know your future, why not change it?" Gio suggested. Betty didn't respond to Gio, but just stood there lost in thought. "I don't know about you, but I could use a bit to eat. My uncle has a sandwich shop, would you be interested? It would be my treat.
"Aren't you supposed to be in Monopoly Club? If you go to your uncle's then your cover is blown." Betty had a look of confusion in her face.
"Nah…Uncle Fabrizio is cool. He knows that I don't go to Monopoly Club." Gio grinned as Betty followed him. When they entered the shop, Betty got a strange sense of déjà vu.
"I've been here before…" Betty took the familiar site into place. "It's…it's your shop." She turned to Gio.
"Seriously, I have no plans to take over this business. My five year plan involves scoring with Britney Spears." Gio nodded his head as Betty rolled her eyes.
"Go for it." She replied, with a hint of laughter in her voice. "You'll be in the psych ward before long."
"Ah…Giovanni…what can I get for you and your special…er…lady?" a portly man greeted Gio and smiled at Betty.
"2008, this is my Uncle Fabrizio." Gio introduced them and Betty smiled politely.
"She looks like she can use a chicken salad sandwich. I'll have the same." Betty wanted to interrupt because she remembered that her thirteen-year-old self didn't like chicken salad, but Gio waved her interjection off.
A few moments later, Betty found herself biting into a chicken salad sandwich. To her surprise. "MMM…this is really good Gio." She replied when Gio joined her. Gio looked down at the floor. "What's wrong?" she asked, mouth full of food.
"I have a little confession to make." He looked up at her and grinned. "I made the chicken salad and not my uncle."
"Gio! God, this is amazing. I told you that you have sandwich making skills in your blood." She grinned.
"I have other plans." He sighed.
"Someone once told me about fate. Maybe its fate that I hate chicken salad sandwiches as a teenager, but once I tried yours, I like it." She winked and finished her sandwich.
"You're a strange one Betty Suarez." Gio smiled and looked at his watch. "Time to get you back…" Gio stood up and Betty quickly looked at the clock, not sure that Gio meant. Suddenly, she looked up and she was staring into the face of a teenage blonde boy.
"Daniel? I thought you were Gio…" Betty looked around.
"Betty, this is your dream, not mine. I do have to tell you something." Daniel smiled and sat down nest to her.
"Daniel, you're not going to tell me any gross jokes are you?" Betty scrunched
"What are you doing to yourself Betty?" Daniel asked, ignoring her comment.
"What do you mean?" Betty asked.
"You're coping, but not in a healthy way." Daniel advised her.
"You're 13, what do you know about coping?" Betty asked sarcastically.
"I know more than you think. Everyone thinks you're crazy because apparently you're from the future, but I understand Betty." Daniel stood up and began to leave but turned to her. "You're smart Betty. It's time to make better choices with your life. Start with where you left off in the future." He smiled. "See you bright and early at work Monday morning. Coffee and a toasted bagel." He grinned and left.
Betty sat motionless for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to come out of the dream. "I guess I could always slip and fall again." She said aloud as she poured a glass of water from an empty table on the floor. "Here goes nothing."
Betty slipped on the water, and took one final look at 1998.
