Chapter 4

"We're here, guys!" Akina said as she reached for the handle of her front door. "Now, a couple of rules. One: don't get any mud on the floor. Two: don't mind my parents... they're a little bit weird sometimes. And three: you have to introduce yourselves to my parents. Just shake their hands, tell them your names, and it's done."

"Well, that seems simple enough. Let's go." Jet said as he followed Akina, Spike, Faye, and Ed into her house.

"Akina? Is that you?" a woman's voice called from a different room.

"Yeah, mom! I'm home!" Akina replied as she led the crew into a large room with a stove, refrigerator, and microwave.

"Hello, honey. Um, who are your friends?" the woman asked.

"Mom, these are my new friends. You guys, this is my mother, Judy." Akina introduced to the woman who was wearing an apron.

"Hello, everybody. I'm Mrs. Hailey, and my husband should be home soon from work." Jody said as she shook Spike's hand.

"I'm Spike Spiegel. Next to me is Faye Valentine, Jet Black, and, uh, Edward." Spike replied as he introduced everybody else.

"Well, mom, we're going to be in my bedroom. See you soon!" Akina said as she ran in the direction of her room.

"Whew... that was close..." Akina said as she shut her door and put her back against it. "You know what I never thought about before?"

"What?" Faye asked.

"You guys look different. That's why everybody downtown was looking at you strangely. Just where are you guys from, anyway?" Akina asked.

"We're from the future. We come from the year 2071." Edward said.

Suddenly, Akina started laughing.

"Whoa... this is like the Sci-Fi channel... like one of those freaky movies!" Akina said as she started to calm down and fanning herself.

"But, it's true!" Faye tried to explain.

"Okay, if you want to survive in the past, we're going to have to give you a serious makeover. Your clothes, your hair, and your names." Akina explained.

"Well, do we have to do it right this second? We're all very hungry..." Jet asked as he suddenly remembered they hadn't eaten in days.

"Oh, sure! Um, let's go ask my mom if we can go to one of my favorite places, Steak 'n' Shake!" Akina asked as she got her wallet.

"We don't need you to spend your money... we've got our own!" Spike said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some odd-looking money.

"Um, what is that?" Akina asked as she looked closely at the money.

"Woolongs!" Spike, Jet, Faye and Ed said at the same time.

"Akina? Are you almost ready for dinner?" Mrs. Hailey asked from the other side of the door.

"Uh, yeah, I guess..." Akina said as she made Spike put his money back in his pocket.

"What are you guys doing? I thought I heard your guys talking about Woolings or something..." Mrs. Hailey asked as she opened the door.

"Uh, we were having a weird word contest, and Spike here said 'Woolongs'!" Akina said as she walked over to her mom.

"Okay, well, dinner's almost ready. Wash your hands, please." Mrs. Hailey said as she closed the door behind her.

"Okay, now we have to wash our hands. You guys do know how to do that, right?" Akina asked with a chuckle.

"We're not that dumb!" Edward said as she looked at Akina with an evil look. Akina did the same.