Summary: While reading To Kill a Mockingbird I found myself wishing Atticus, Scout, Dill, and Jem could see how things are today... how much we've grown... or not...
The New Maycomb
"There's no newspaper this morning," Atticus said disappointedly. "I'll have to ask for one when I go to the office."
"Can Dill, Scout, 'n' me go with you?" asked Jem. He said we were planning to go to town anyway.
"I certainly wouldn't mind a bit of company."
It was a beautiful Saturday morning, one I planned on spending the entire day outside on. The summer had just begun for 1936 and Dill had arrived yesterday, as always, with a story about his new father (who carved wood into very detailed shapes of animals). For once, most of his extravagant tale was, in the least, believable. He had given us each a carved creature; mine was a lion and Jem's was an eagle. This made up for the small fantasy on one carved monkey coming to life and trashing his father's home.
That morning we piled into the Chevrolet adn Atticus drove to The Maycomb Tribune Office. We followed him inside for no particular reason. Atticus asked Mr. Underwood for a newspaper and when Mr. Underwood apologized and kindly supplied our father with one, the transaction was over.
Jem, who was ahead of us, was gazing in awe at the world before him when we caught up with him. All the ladies were wearing pants. Some people were wearing hooded sweatshirts and there were various throngs of people who huddled so closely it seemed they were trying to hide something. There were cars everywhere and the red, dirt roads were now covered in black. The Jitney Jungle a few doors down had been replaced by a store called the Electro Depot.
"What's going on, Atticus?" I asked nervously.
"I'm not sure, exactly," came his response.
When the traffic subsided, Jem ran across the street to the courthouse. Dill and I followed him, forcing Atticus to consent. "Atticus, who's James Sturdivant?" Mr. Sturdivant's name had replaced Atticus's on his office door.
Atticus peered at the door for a moment and came to his final conclusion: "Something's not right." I couldn't have agreed more.
"Where do you think we are?" asked Dill.
"Maycomb, where else?" I responded sarcastically.
"I don't recognize anyone..." Jem was looking into the distance but his eyes seemed vacated; he was thinking. He looked up at our father curiously. "What date is on your paper?"
Atticus surveyed it. "June 2... 2005... We're eighty years in the future?"
A/N: Kind of a prologue really, but I was trying to get the characters down... NEXT: THE ELECTRO DEPOT... Please review!
