CHAPTER THREE - The Generation Gap
"You're seventeen years old, and I think that you're old enough to be responsible for your own life, don't you agree?"
"Yes Mrs. Johnson," answered Julia Lindemann in a bored voice. Her teacher continued raving, but Julia didn't really listen. She just wanted to get out of there. Finally the teacher dismissed her, and Julia practically ran out of the school. She was always getting in trouble, but she didn't understand why. It was true that she hated school and had never been any good at it, but sometimes it seemed like the teachers deliberately picked on her. Not that she cared. She wondered why she hadn't already left school by now.
Julia hurried over to the bus stop outside the school and sat down. Suddenly, she noticed the strangest person she had ever seen sitting at the opposite end of the seat. His clothes were weird and he was holding a sword. He was staring at the sword with a confused look and Julia began to feel uneasy. Usually she would have laughed at someone like this. She hoped that he wasn't one of those escaped mental patients. It would just be her luck. But as she stared at him, something inside her told her that he wasn't going to hurt her. Maybe he was just going to a costume party. Or maybe he was an actor. But this feeling inside her grew until she felt like she was meant to know him or something.
"Hey," Julia said, trying to start a conversation. He kept staring at the sword for a second and then blinked and looked over at her.
"Oh!" Link didn't realise that someone was sitting next to him. He was too busy trying to work out what he should do and where to find Ganondorf in this strange place.
"Relax," Julia said, trying not to laugh at the way she had frightened him. "What are you up to?"
Link felt a bit unsure of this girl. She was quite pretty, and had a face that reminded him a bit of Saria, except she was much taller and looked older. Suddenly, he remembered the Kokiri Forest and his home, and wondered if he would ever get to go back there again.
"So tell me, where are you from?" Julia tried hard to make conversation with the unanswering Link.
"The forest," Link replied. Now it was Julia's turn to look confused.
"You are Hylian, right?" she asked, "Because you sure look Hylian to me. And trust me, there's no forest around here for miles. None in Hyrule anyway."
"Yes, I'm Hylian, but I've lived in the Kokiri Forest all, well most, of my life."
"So I get it, you were born here, moved to that forest, and now you've just moved back to Hyrule, is that it?" Things started making sense to Julia now.
"No, I've never left Hyrule," Link said. Julia was silent. Maybe this guy really is a nutcase after all, she thought. She glanced down at her watch and hoped that the bus would come soon.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Can I ask you something?" Link finally asked.
"Uh, sure," replied Julia.
"Okay, firstly, where can I buy some clothes, you know, like what people here wear," he asked. Julia nearly peed herself laughing.
"Wait," she said, trying to catch her breath. "You're not serious are you? Those clothes you're wearing, they're a joke, right?"
"Where I come from these are normal clothes," Link began to get defensive. He always did when he was embarrassed or felt self-conscious. He was used to being called weird, because his Kokiri tunic was different from the attire of the other Hylians of his time, but he still hated being laughed at.
"Look everyone's staring at me. How am I supposed to get on with my job if no one will help me? I need to just blend in."
Julia had finally calmed down. "Okay stress less. I'll help you. Where do you work?"
"Well it's not that kind of a job," Link answered. He didn't trust this girl yet, and he didn't even know her name. He tried to change the subject.
"Have you heard of someone called Ganondorf?" asked Link, just in case.
"Ganondorf?" repeated Julia. "That reminds me, my name's Julia Lindemann. How rude of me! What's yours?"
"I'm Link, but have you heard of Ganondorf?" Link just wanted to know.
"Link? Hmm, that's different. Oh sorry!" Julia had a habit of being a bit blunt. "I didn't mean it like that, uh, is it short for anything?"
"No. Can you tell me now?"
"I watched this movie once, and there was a guy called Lincoln, and they called him Linc for short."
"Have you heard of Ganondorf?"
"No."
Just then the bus pulled up. Julia saw the way that Link's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it, especially when he saw people get off. She went to board it, but when she saw Link, something inside told her that she couldn't just leave him there. He was totally clueless.
"Hey Link, follow me," she called out, silently wondering what she was getting herself into. Link stood up and followed Julia's lead by climbing onto the bus. He walked past a fat man dressed in blue sitting up the front, but the man began to yell at him.
"Whoa there son!" The driver suddenly looked twice when he saw Link, who stopped abruptly. "That's seven rupees for the fare," he said.
"You've got to pay," said Julia. Link reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of rupees. He counted out a blue one and two green ones and gave them to the bus driver, who began laughing.
"What kind of joke is this? You call this money? What do you take me for, some kind of idiot? And what's with that outfit?"
Julia saw that the bus driver was getting angry, so she quickly dumped a ten-rupee note into the bus driver's hand and pulled Link into the seat next to her.
The bus driver nearly had a heart attack when he saw the size of the sword strapped to that weird guy's back, but he said nothing and pulled away from the bus stop.
Link was startled when the bus started to move, and amazed. How could it move on its own? But as the bus stopped and started, turned sharp corners and sped violently, he began to feel nauseous.
"Gee this bus driver's a lunatic!" commented Julia, unaware of Link's
discomfort. She began talking to him again, but he didn't really listen.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but what is with your outfit? And that sword and the other stuff you're carrying. It's just that, some people would feel uncomfortable around you. It's not like people just walk around holding swords. It would be like walking into a shopping center with a gun. People don't like it. Oh, hang on! We'll get off here!" Julia suddenly saw the bus stop on a street filled with shops. She grabbed Link and dragged him off, ignoring the look from the bus driver. She saw a men's clothing shop and headed towards it,
deciding that any clothes were better than the ones Link was wearing. He was paying for it though! The bell on the door tinkled and a tall man walked up to her.
"Can I help you?" he asked. Julia turned around, only to find that she was alone.
"Oh no!" she dashed out of the store and ran back to the bus stop. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Link sitting there. He was holding his stomach and his face had turned a shade of green to match his tunic.
"Hey are you okay?" Julia asked. Link nodded and mumbled, "Fine." Then he suddenly groaned and the next thing Julia knew he had thrown up all over the ground. She turned away, a bit grossed out. Link stood up and walked away from the pile. Julia also got up, eager to get away from it. Link instantly felt better and his face began to get the colour back into it.
"Ha ha, do you get carsick?" she asked, amused that an older guy couldn't handle a short bus ride.
"I'm just not used to that," Link replied.
"What, haven't you ever caught a bus before in your life? What planet are you from?" Link sensed that Julia had no idea he was from the past, and he wondered if he should tell her.
"Anyway," Julia continued. "Let's get you some, normal, clothes."
Half an hour later they emerged from the men's clothing shop. Link felt weird in his new clothes. He was wearing a green v-neck jumper and gray baggy pants. He still had his Kokiri boots on, but as a last minute impulse Julia had grabbed a green baseball cap for him. She thought he looked strange without a hat on. Now, she thought, he looked perfect. Not like a weirdo anymore.
"Hey," Link said. "I kind of emptied my stomach before. Now I'm starving. Is there anywhere we can get some food?" Julia looked at her watch. It was quarter to six. Nearly dinner time.
"Uh, yeah sure, what would you like?" she asked.
"Anything, I don't mind," he said. There wasn't much food that Link didn't like. They walked down the street a bit until Julia entered another building. Link read the big sign outside: "McDonalds." He wondered what that had to do with food. In his Hyrule, the signs had always just said, "Food" or "Restaurant" or even the rare "Café." Link followed Julia and they stood behind the counter.
"Hi can I help you?" asked a young girl behind it. Link saw she was wearing a name badge, it said "Zelda." He nearly jumped in surprise. Link felt a little homesick again, but quickly got over it. He thought it was strange that people should have to advertise their names.
"Yeah, I'll have a medium cheeseburger meal with diet coke," said Julia. She turned to Link. "What would you like?" Link didn't know, so Julia just said, "The same."
Zelda went away to get the food, while Link couldn't help staring at her. She didn't look much like the Princess Zelda he knew. She had short dark hair and brown eyes. She was also very fast and she soon had the food on a tray.
"I'll pay," said Link.
"Oh no," said Julia, not wanting another scene with Link's strange money. But it was too late; Link had already given her some.
"Wow," said the girl Zelda. She took the money and held it up to the light. "Is it real?"
"Of course it's real," Link didn't understand the fuss that everyone made over his money. The man in the clothing shop had been almost unbearable.
"Well, thank you. Thank you a lot!" Zelda looked excited, while Julia quickly took the tray and sat down.
"Thanks!" she exclaimed to Link. "You made her happy, and we didn't have to pay!"
"What do you mean?" asked Link.
"Well, your money's not real," replied Julia. "And she took it!" She burst out laughing.
"It is where I come from," said Link.
"Anyway, wasn't that girl a weirdo," Julia continued. "I mean, Zelda, what a weird name." She looked at Link and thought that today must be her day for weird people.
"I like it," said Link defensively. Julia laughed some more.
"Of course you would," she said. Link took a bite of his cheeseburger. He was starving, and within seconds it was gone. He also ate his fries and gulped down his drink before Julia had even had half of her burger.
"Mmm that was good," said Link. "Except for that drink; it was gross."
"You're not serious are you?" asked Julia.
"Why not? Can I have some more?"
"It's McDonalds, I mean, it's trash."
"I liked it," said Link. He stood up, and was about to grab his sword. It was a habit and Link never went anywhere without it.
"I'll mind that for you," said Julia, preferring to leave it hidden under the table.
"Okay then, thanks."
"You're seventeen years old, and I think that you're old enough to be responsible for your own life, don't you agree?"
"Yes Mrs. Johnson," answered Julia Lindemann in a bored voice. Her teacher continued raving, but Julia didn't really listen. She just wanted to get out of there. Finally the teacher dismissed her, and Julia practically ran out of the school. She was always getting in trouble, but she didn't understand why. It was true that she hated school and had never been any good at it, but sometimes it seemed like the teachers deliberately picked on her. Not that she cared. She wondered why she hadn't already left school by now.
Julia hurried over to the bus stop outside the school and sat down. Suddenly, she noticed the strangest person she had ever seen sitting at the opposite end of the seat. His clothes were weird and he was holding a sword. He was staring at the sword with a confused look and Julia began to feel uneasy. Usually she would have laughed at someone like this. She hoped that he wasn't one of those escaped mental patients. It would just be her luck. But as she stared at him, something inside her told her that he wasn't going to hurt her. Maybe he was just going to a costume party. Or maybe he was an actor. But this feeling inside her grew until she felt like she was meant to know him or something.
"Hey," Julia said, trying to start a conversation. He kept staring at the sword for a second and then blinked and looked over at her.
"Oh!" Link didn't realise that someone was sitting next to him. He was too busy trying to work out what he should do and where to find Ganondorf in this strange place.
"Relax," Julia said, trying not to laugh at the way she had frightened him. "What are you up to?"
Link felt a bit unsure of this girl. She was quite pretty, and had a face that reminded him a bit of Saria, except she was much taller and looked older. Suddenly, he remembered the Kokiri Forest and his home, and wondered if he would ever get to go back there again.
"So tell me, where are you from?" Julia tried hard to make conversation with the unanswering Link.
"The forest," Link replied. Now it was Julia's turn to look confused.
"You are Hylian, right?" she asked, "Because you sure look Hylian to me. And trust me, there's no forest around here for miles. None in Hyrule anyway."
"Yes, I'm Hylian, but I've lived in the Kokiri Forest all, well most, of my life."
"So I get it, you were born here, moved to that forest, and now you've just moved back to Hyrule, is that it?" Things started making sense to Julia now.
"No, I've never left Hyrule," Link said. Julia was silent. Maybe this guy really is a nutcase after all, she thought. She glanced down at her watch and hoped that the bus would come soon.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Can I ask you something?" Link finally asked.
"Uh, sure," replied Julia.
"Okay, firstly, where can I buy some clothes, you know, like what people here wear," he asked. Julia nearly peed herself laughing.
"Wait," she said, trying to catch her breath. "You're not serious are you? Those clothes you're wearing, they're a joke, right?"
"Where I come from these are normal clothes," Link began to get defensive. He always did when he was embarrassed or felt self-conscious. He was used to being called weird, because his Kokiri tunic was different from the attire of the other Hylians of his time, but he still hated being laughed at.
"Look everyone's staring at me. How am I supposed to get on with my job if no one will help me? I need to just blend in."
Julia had finally calmed down. "Okay stress less. I'll help you. Where do you work?"
"Well it's not that kind of a job," Link answered. He didn't trust this girl yet, and he didn't even know her name. He tried to change the subject.
"Have you heard of someone called Ganondorf?" asked Link, just in case.
"Ganondorf?" repeated Julia. "That reminds me, my name's Julia Lindemann. How rude of me! What's yours?"
"I'm Link, but have you heard of Ganondorf?" Link just wanted to know.
"Link? Hmm, that's different. Oh sorry!" Julia had a habit of being a bit blunt. "I didn't mean it like that, uh, is it short for anything?"
"No. Can you tell me now?"
"I watched this movie once, and there was a guy called Lincoln, and they called him Linc for short."
"Have you heard of Ganondorf?"
"No."
Just then the bus pulled up. Julia saw the way that Link's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it, especially when he saw people get off. She went to board it, but when she saw Link, something inside told her that she couldn't just leave him there. He was totally clueless.
"Hey Link, follow me," she called out, silently wondering what she was getting herself into. Link stood up and followed Julia's lead by climbing onto the bus. He walked past a fat man dressed in blue sitting up the front, but the man began to yell at him.
"Whoa there son!" The driver suddenly looked twice when he saw Link, who stopped abruptly. "That's seven rupees for the fare," he said.
"You've got to pay," said Julia. Link reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of rupees. He counted out a blue one and two green ones and gave them to the bus driver, who began laughing.
"What kind of joke is this? You call this money? What do you take me for, some kind of idiot? And what's with that outfit?"
Julia saw that the bus driver was getting angry, so she quickly dumped a ten-rupee note into the bus driver's hand and pulled Link into the seat next to her.
The bus driver nearly had a heart attack when he saw the size of the sword strapped to that weird guy's back, but he said nothing and pulled away from the bus stop.
Link was startled when the bus started to move, and amazed. How could it move on its own? But as the bus stopped and started, turned sharp corners and sped violently, he began to feel nauseous.
"Gee this bus driver's a lunatic!" commented Julia, unaware of Link's
discomfort. She began talking to him again, but he didn't really listen.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but what is with your outfit? And that sword and the other stuff you're carrying. It's just that, some people would feel uncomfortable around you. It's not like people just walk around holding swords. It would be like walking into a shopping center with a gun. People don't like it. Oh, hang on! We'll get off here!" Julia suddenly saw the bus stop on a street filled with shops. She grabbed Link and dragged him off, ignoring the look from the bus driver. She saw a men's clothing shop and headed towards it,
deciding that any clothes were better than the ones Link was wearing. He was paying for it though! The bell on the door tinkled and a tall man walked up to her.
"Can I help you?" he asked. Julia turned around, only to find that she was alone.
"Oh no!" she dashed out of the store and ran back to the bus stop. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Link sitting there. He was holding his stomach and his face had turned a shade of green to match his tunic.
"Hey are you okay?" Julia asked. Link nodded and mumbled, "Fine." Then he suddenly groaned and the next thing Julia knew he had thrown up all over the ground. She turned away, a bit grossed out. Link stood up and walked away from the pile. Julia also got up, eager to get away from it. Link instantly felt better and his face began to get the colour back into it.
"Ha ha, do you get carsick?" she asked, amused that an older guy couldn't handle a short bus ride.
"I'm just not used to that," Link replied.
"What, haven't you ever caught a bus before in your life? What planet are you from?" Link sensed that Julia had no idea he was from the past, and he wondered if he should tell her.
"Anyway," Julia continued. "Let's get you some, normal, clothes."
Half an hour later they emerged from the men's clothing shop. Link felt weird in his new clothes. He was wearing a green v-neck jumper and gray baggy pants. He still had his Kokiri boots on, but as a last minute impulse Julia had grabbed a green baseball cap for him. She thought he looked strange without a hat on. Now, she thought, he looked perfect. Not like a weirdo anymore.
"Hey," Link said. "I kind of emptied my stomach before. Now I'm starving. Is there anywhere we can get some food?" Julia looked at her watch. It was quarter to six. Nearly dinner time.
"Uh, yeah sure, what would you like?" she asked.
"Anything, I don't mind," he said. There wasn't much food that Link didn't like. They walked down the street a bit until Julia entered another building. Link read the big sign outside: "McDonalds." He wondered what that had to do with food. In his Hyrule, the signs had always just said, "Food" or "Restaurant" or even the rare "Café." Link followed Julia and they stood behind the counter.
"Hi can I help you?" asked a young girl behind it. Link saw she was wearing a name badge, it said "Zelda." He nearly jumped in surprise. Link felt a little homesick again, but quickly got over it. He thought it was strange that people should have to advertise their names.
"Yeah, I'll have a medium cheeseburger meal with diet coke," said Julia. She turned to Link. "What would you like?" Link didn't know, so Julia just said, "The same."
Zelda went away to get the food, while Link couldn't help staring at her. She didn't look much like the Princess Zelda he knew. She had short dark hair and brown eyes. She was also very fast and she soon had the food on a tray.
"I'll pay," said Link.
"Oh no," said Julia, not wanting another scene with Link's strange money. But it was too late; Link had already given her some.
"Wow," said the girl Zelda. She took the money and held it up to the light. "Is it real?"
"Of course it's real," Link didn't understand the fuss that everyone made over his money. The man in the clothing shop had been almost unbearable.
"Well, thank you. Thank you a lot!" Zelda looked excited, while Julia quickly took the tray and sat down.
"Thanks!" she exclaimed to Link. "You made her happy, and we didn't have to pay!"
"What do you mean?" asked Link.
"Well, your money's not real," replied Julia. "And she took it!" She burst out laughing.
"It is where I come from," said Link.
"Anyway, wasn't that girl a weirdo," Julia continued. "I mean, Zelda, what a weird name." She looked at Link and thought that today must be her day for weird people.
"I like it," said Link defensively. Julia laughed some more.
"Of course you would," she said. Link took a bite of his cheeseburger. He was starving, and within seconds it was gone. He also ate his fries and gulped down his drink before Julia had even had half of her burger.
"Mmm that was good," said Link. "Except for that drink; it was gross."
"You're not serious are you?" asked Julia.
"Why not? Can I have some more?"
"It's McDonalds, I mean, it's trash."
"I liked it," said Link. He stood up, and was about to grab his sword. It was a habit and Link never went anywhere without it.
"I'll mind that for you," said Julia, preferring to leave it hidden under the table.
"Okay then, thanks."