I arrive in the quad, but thankfully, not still in the tree. If I ever make it back, I'll have to ask Aunt Lily how the watch decides where you're going to end up. Because it's not necessarily where I left from before.

Looking around, I have a feeling that I jumped more than the three days I planned to jump. I glance at the watch and wish it had a display I could scroll back through and see where I am and where I've been. Another thing I need to talk to Aunt Lily about if I make it back.

I find a place to sit, hoping for either a sign of what day it is or that my moms are spending their leisure time together. I eventually spot ma walking by herself. It looks like she just got out of class and on her way somewhere. She's soon joined by Aunt Chloe, who hooks their arms together, laughing at ma's—obviously feigned—annoyance at the gesture.

This is something I've seen dozens of times, but this time it worries me. Does ma's easy acceptance mean that the two of them are together now? And if so, when exactly did I jump to?

"Déjà vu," Aunt Lily says, sitting next to me.

"Does that really apply when there's time travel involved?" I ask, briefly glancing at her before returning my gaze to ma and Aunt Chloe.

"Still not successful, I see," Aunt Lily comments, her eyes following my line of sight.

"I'd ask the date," I reply. "But I'm not sure it would help orientate me."

"It's been thirty-two days since regionals," she informs me. "Does that help?"

This is shocking enough to pull my eyes away. I stare at Aunt Lily in shock. "You can't be serious."

"Dixie Chicks serious," Aunt Lily grins.

Huh? "What?"

"When were you aiming for?" she wonders.

"A couple days before regionals," I reply.

"Bit of an overshot," she says.

"It's not my fault," I protest. "It's the watch's."

"It's always the user, never the equipment," she replies.

"Except this time it's not," I retort. "You need a better display screen on this thing."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't used it before it was done, then it would have one," Aunt Lily replies.

I hate that she has a point, so all I say is," Well it's tough to program when up a tree."

"Like you were literally in a tree?"

I nod.

"Fair enough."

We sit quietly, people watching for a few minutes.

"Have you tried recreating the situation?" she asks eventually.

"Sort of. But I don't think I was... it obviously didn't work," I tell her.

"So you need to do something else, maybe something bigger?" she suggests.

"Yeah..."

"Stop thinking so small," Aunt Lily commands. "There's a reason I wanted you to work with me. Prove it."

I nod absently, as various scenarios play through my mind.

"I've got to get to rehearsal," she says, standing. "But I'm sure I'll see you later."

"Did you say you were going to rehearsal?" I question.

She nods.

"Then, in theory, ma's room should be empty?" I ask.

"I guess, though I don't know her roommate's schedule," Aunt Lily replies. "Just because we're both Asian—"

I jump up. "I wasn't implying that you—"

She smirks at me and I roll my eyes; apparently teasing me is something that just comes naturally to her, no matter when. But thankfully all she says is, "Good luck, kiddo"

I do feel a little bit better now that I have a plan. I slowly make my way to ma's room, wanting to ensure that there's no way I'll run into her. Hopefully, I'll find what I need quickly before ma's roommate returns.

And then I can jump ahead several hours to two a.m. That seems like a good time to get ma into big trouble.