The next morning, Zebra found it rather difficult to concentrate in her classes. Her thoughts were constantly on the journal sitting on her bedside nightstand. For the first time in her life, she wished that she could be somewhere else other that school. There was just something in that journal, she could feel it. Something that screamed to be brought back to life. It took all of her self control to keep herself from bolting out of the classroom for home. Meg was no help either, she always felt that way, tapping her pencil on the edge of the desk, looking utterly bored.

"There were many famous landmarks located in Greece", Dr. Shaw described in his most enthusiastic voice. "Two of the them, in fact, were remarkable enough to be included among the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sadly, these are no longer standing. The Colossus, located at Rhodes,depitcted a large statue of the Greek God, Helios. Displayed over the sea harbor, where the Aegean connected to the Mediterranean. The statue's body was about as tall as today's statue of Liberty, and was a symbol of freedom. This wonder was destroyed by a mammoth earthquake. Hardly anything remains it's place. The second Greek wonder was the grand statue of Zeus, king of the gods, displayed within the temple, dedicated to the God himself. He stood at about 40 feet tall.Unfortunately afire burned the building to the ground. Only the columns remain erect today."

As interesting and informative as the lecture was, Zebra couldn't de-rail her mind from her gnawing curiosity of that machine.

"The contrast of ancient Greece's main land consisted of; foothills, mountains, and flatlands. Not much different from today's Greece. Except the land was much less barren and more wooded. Summers were hot, winters had snow atop the mountain ranges." Dr. Shaw casually glanced at the clock above the door. "Oh dear! It appears that I might have over done it a wee bit." He laughed clumsily at himself. The students quickly gathered their belongings and headed for the exit. "We shall pick-up where we left next time", he called after his hurrying class. "Please study chapter 2 in your textbooks!" But his efforts were futile, any in all were well out of hearing range. He shook his head. 'These youngsters now-a-days are always in such a rush', he observed.

Time was growing short. Zebra gad spent one full week reading page after page within the history of her grandfather. With his scientific genius, he'd graduated from college with the highest honors. He became a professor in the science department, at the very same school Zebra was currently attending. She read about the event of his wedding in 1954. He married his High School sweetheart, Layla Walters.No surprise that it was thevery same gal who'd accompanied him to the senior prom. The birth of their first and only child soon followed; Zebra's mother, Ada. Julius was so exited to be become a father. His heart swelled with pride and love whenever he held her tiny, fragilebody. Sadly, no more children would be born in that household. In the year of 1958, Layla was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. A Hysterectomy was soon in order, in hopes of removing the diseased cells. A series ofRadiation treatments were performed. Julius shared her pain as her hair started to fall out in large chunks. But, he continually reminded her of how beautiful she still was andalways would be.But Layla's health continued to deteriorate. She was soon confined to her bed,her body loosing thebattle of survival.
Zebra felt fresh, salt-water tears trickle down her cheeks. She had no idea that such tragedies had taken place in her family history, her mother hardly mentioned them. Layla was confirmed dead, in the fall of 1965, after fighting her cancerous monster for nearly seven years.

Lost, without his beloved spouse, he dedicated all his energy in bringing her back. He believed it was possible, all he needed was time. His pre-teen daughter was unenthused by her father's obsession. She soon left her home and moved in with an Aunt and Uncle, from her mother's side. Having lost his wife, and now his daughter, he engaged all his time feverishly into his work. The college staff later released him from his position at the university. Finding him incapable of continuing his teaching at that time. With no other obligations or commitments, he shut himself up, down in his basement, tinkering and tampering with different formulas for experiment.

'I'm convinced that, with the exact combination of electricity and computer data, time travel is possible! Even before Layla had been diagnosed, I'd been contemplating this very theory. With her unnecessary death and the abandonment of my daughter, I believe I have more reason than ever before to pursue such a phenomenon. I realize and acknowledge that I shan't receive any support or funds from my family or colleagues, I have already been alienated by such people. I, alone, shall have to raise enough currency and gather the necessary materials for my project at hand.'

That was it! That pile of scrap metal in her grandfather's basement, as Meg had so poetically put it, was a time machine!

Zebra never knew Julius Sanders was a professor at Penn State. Surely they had to have some record of his career in their employee files.

The next day, after classes were concluded, Zebra took off for the library. She sat herself before a computer and searched through the campus records for any information related to her grandfather. She typed in her desired topic and clicked the 'search' button.
'Blast!' She stressed as the next page required a password for any further access. She began to despair, when she thought of the one person who could penetrate any firewall; Meg!

She found her friend enjoying a foot-long hot dog at the campus eatery, seated at a table. Meg looked up and saw Zebra quickly approaching. "Hey, what's up?" She greeted. Zebra grabbed her elbow.

"Meg. I need you!" Meg considered her thoughtfully.

"For what?" Zebra tugged on her arm.

"Let's just say; I need some technical support. C'mon!" Sighing, she stuffed the rest of her hot dog into her mouth.

"Alright", she muttered through a mouth-full, stubling as Zebra drug her along.

On Zebra's request, Meg produced her lap-top, and brought up the desired site.

"See", Zebra pointed out. "It requires a password."

Meg didn't see any cause to rush. "Why don't you just inquire about your grandfather through one of the staff?"

Zebra shook her head. "I don't have time for that now. I've got less than a week to figure this out." She knew they could never afford to keep the house, though it would be a lot more convenient. "What, are you saying you can't do it?"

Meg huffed, feeling slightly insulted. "Of course I can do it", she proudly declared. "It's just that it's hacking into school property. Is that what you want? It's so out of character for you...I like it."
Zebra felt that she deserved to know, so she gave Meg the green light.She calculated out the correct password in no time at all, and opened the restricted information. "Wallah!"
Zebra hugged her in thanks. According to the staff page; Julius Sanders did indeed serve as a professor in that very faculty, in the science department. He was dismissed after nine years due to emotional complications. Which was their nice way of saying; he was crazy in the head. They soon discovered another piece of useful information, in a newspaper article from the 'Centre Daily Times'.

-July 31st 1984-

-It has been over two months since local man, Julius Sanders, was reported missing. The once brilliant professor at Penn State has disappeared without a trace. His daughter, Ada Sharp, reported him missing since June 29th. Police have no leads to his whereabouts, or any information to give at this time. Though, they believe they can rule out kidnapping. "Nothing had been disturbed or taken from the subject's house", Police Sergeant Martinez claims. His former colleagues had no information for police, though they claimed he was 'disturbed'. His daughter claims; "I haven't seen him myself for nearly six months. He had no enemies as far as I know." The search will continue, but the police believe that they are looking at a cold case and are loosing hope of ever finding him.-

Zebra and Meg would have been about a year old during that time. Zebra put the given information together in her mind.

"So...if he was never found dead...and if that 'thing' in the basement really is a time machine...then perhaps... You don't think..." Zebra grew excited. Her whole body was tingling, thinking of the possibilities. Meg considered her friend carefully.

"My dear, dear Zebra", she said, shaking her head mournfully. "You've been working so hard, you can't evendecipher truth from error." Instinctively, she felt her forehead. Zebra became defensive.

"It's you who are the one who can't see the potential possibilities. Just consider for a second the information at hand." Willing herself to hear her out, Meg sighed and gave Zebra her undivided attention, promising not to pass judgment too quickly. "They way I see it; there is no physical proof of my grandfather's death. He's just assumed dead. There are no records of his body being interred, he's just plainmissing. So, there's a slight chance that he's still among the living. Then, we find a strange piece of machinery in his basement, which he claims in his journal, to be a time machine. Do you see what I'm getting at?" Meg just stared at her in silence, with no expressive feelings upon her face. "I want to pursue this project", Zebra admitted. "All I ask is that you keep an open mind"

Meg knew Zebra never dropped an idea when it became rooted in her mind. And the way Zebra was talking, it looked like this seed was ready to sprout into a Chinese Elm. "Fine", Meg grudgingly gave in. "I'll help you in whatever sane way I can. But I don't like it", she added hastily.

Zebra embraced her old friend. "Thank-you", she whispered gratefully. "Thank-you..." Patting her back reassuringly, Meg couldn't help but imagine that the word, 'sucker!' was flashing across her forehead, in colorful neon letters.