Chapter Ten: Girl Meets 1961
"The '60s, man. Influential musicians like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, playing guitars and singing like prophets. The times they were a changin'." Cory said starting his lecture. The class was silent since no one really wanted to learn about the '60s. It was so quiet that they only thing I could hear was a dull thud, probably someone's head falling on to their desk. "The class, they are a sleepin'." Farkle pointed out.
"It's not your fault, dad." Riley started. "It's just the stuff you're saying." I finished. "I'm talking about the '60s man." Cory explained to us. Riley, Maya, and I all exchanged a look. "Nobody cares when you were our age." Riley admitted. I stifled a laugh, how old did they think Cory was? "Riley in was over fifty years ago." Cory said is disbelief. "How old do you guys think I am?" Cory asked.
"There's not right answer, sir." Lucas told him. "I think he's young enough to have not been alive during the sixties." I stated. "Thank you Caroline." Cory thanked me. "You should teach us future class, you know gives us something we could use." Maya suggested. "Listen dad, you're doing a wonderful job up there and we're very happy that you're all jazzed up." Riley told him.
"But history has nothing to do with us." Maya added. "I'm going to snap this chalk now." Cory announced as he held up a piece of chalk. "Uh oh." Lucas said. "Snap." Cory stated while snapping the chalk. He put the chalk down and stood up. "What did you guys do yesterday?" Cory asked. "I think I had grapes." Riley answered. "Do you know what yesterday was?" Cory asked. "Grapes day." Riley answered again.
"It's history." Cory corrected. "Every decision you make every day, every time you decided to take left instead of right you make history and you affect someone else's. And if you refuse to accept that I guarantee you, you guys will not become the best person you can be. Because history is all about missed opportunities." Cory explained. "History has nothing to do with us, wasn't it Miss Hart?" "I can't remember it was five minute ago." Maya replied.
"Fine I am not going to teach you guys about the '60s." Cory told us. "Yay." The whole class cheered. "You are." He told us pointing at us. "Uh." The whole class mumbled while Farkle still said, "Yay." "History is alive even if you weren't and now you're gonna be. You will visit the 1960s and give a report." Cory explained. "Time travel." Farkle stated. "How do we do that dad?" Riley asked. "We weren't there."
"You were." Cory corrected. "How?" Riley questioned. "You all have grandparents or great-grandparents, choose one who was around during that time. Learn all you can about them and report back, then will see if history has nothing to do with us. Living history, now I'm all jazzed up." Cory told us. We all moaned while Farkle kept saying, "Yay."
*****1961******
Annalee's POV*
I walked into the club and I was hit by the aroma of coffee. I loved the smell of coffee because being a multi-talented artist coffee was my best friend. As I observed everyone in the club I noticed a girl with long blonde hair who looked pretty interesting and I was intrigued. I moved past people and got to the table she was sitting asked. "Is this seat taken?" I asked motioning to one of the empty chairs at the table. "No." she answered.
So I sat down in one of the chairs and looked at her. "Annalee Hanratty." I introduced myself. "May Clutterbucket." She replied. "Do you want to be friends?" I asked suddenly. "Yeah, I could use a friend like you." She told me. I smiled at that because it was obvious she didn't know who I was which made this even better for me.
As jazz music played this man stood on the stage. "Welcome to Café Hey, pronounced "hehhh"." The man said, who must've been the owner of the café. "Hehhh." The crowd beside May and I said. "You're getting better at that. Tonight's going to be legendary man, let's just see what flows." He said. He snapped his finger and only a spotlight shone on him. "Black, white, green, tan. No one listen to the man. Freedom is the only plan. Free to be who you am. Can't you see you are me? Karma." Everyone snapped for his as he walked off of the stage.
A girl came over and sat down in one of the chairs. "You two are really interesting looking. Are you two as interesting as you look?" she asked. "Sure, are you as weird as you talk?" May asked. "Oh my gosh, yeah man, I am the weirdest cat there is." She answered. "Really? Cause you seem like a nice normal girl to me." May told her. "Yeah I don't see anything weird about you." I added.
"You've figured me out in five seconds and you've hurt me." The girl told us. "How can we make that up to you?" we asked in unison. "Could we all be friends?" she suggested. "I would be a very good friend to you both." "Yeah I could use a weird friend." May said. "Me too, you remind me of someone I know." I told her. "Then you should pick," her fingers went around the room until they landed on her, "oh they both landed on me."
******Present*******
Caroline's POV*
"Alright status report." Riley announced. We stopped what we were doing and looked at Riley. "I got a guitar that belongs to my great-grandmother Rosie and her very weird journal." "My dad is sending something about my great-grandfather. We don't talk about him much, his name was Merlin." Lucas explained. "Merlin? Was he a wizard?" Farkle asked. "Ha!"
"Okay Farkle Minkus what was your great-grandfather's name?" Lucas asked. "Ginsburg." Farkle answered. "You make no sense to me whatsoever." Lucas told him. I had to agree with Lucas on understanding Farkle. I continued to look through my great-grandmother's book that apparently she wrote, but she also had a journal with drawings and other things.
"Whatcha looking at?" Riley asked. I looked up and noticed the book that Maya had. "Art book." Maya answered. "Ms. Kossal gave it to me. It's got all best artist and all their best paintings. It's amazing and depressing." "She's trying to motivate you." Farkle told her. "Ain't working." Maya replied. "Look at these I could never do anything near this. These people all have something to say." "Well you only know that because they went ahead and said it." Lucas countered.
"You know someday you are going to make someone a wonderful fortune cookie." Maya told Lucas. "Let me take a picture of everybody." Farkle told us as he got up. "What for?" Riley asked as he took the picture. "I don't know. It's us, we may be important to somebody someday." Farkle answered. "You guys are already important to me." I stated. "How?" Lucas asked. "You teach me how to be friends." I answered. "Aw." We all said.
We all gathered our stuff and got up. Riley and I walked towards the door, but stopped and turned to see Maya leaving the art book on the table. "Maya aren't you bringing that?" Riley asked. "What this book of why bother trying, I'll never be as good as these guys?" Maya asked. "That's a very discouraging title." I told her. "I love you Riley and Caroline, but I'm leaving this here it makes me and it's really heavy." Maya told us. Riley tried to grab the book, but Maya and I pushed her out of the bakery.
******1961******
Annalee's POV*
"You're making me feel bad." The girl told us. May had taken her journal and we were reading it. "There's some pretty heavy stuff in here. The girl with the long blonde hair." May read. I looked at the journal. "And the girl with the long curly hair." I read. We turned to look at the girl. "Who's that about? We wonder." Maya and I joked in unison.
The girl grabbed the journal from us. "It's my first time here and I would like to remember everything." She told us. "Maybe I'll write about it later." We sat back down at the table. "It's my first time here too." May said. "Mines too." I added. "I'm on my way to California, my bus broke down. Bad luck I don't understand why these things happen." May told us.
"Because if your bus doesn't break down then we don't become friends. If I go sit at that table instead of this table then I'm not friends with-." The girl started waiting for us to give her our names. "Annalee Hanratty." I told her hoping she wouldn't recognize me. "May Clutterbucket." May said. "Yow." The girl stated. "What's in California for you, May?" I asked. "I'm going to say Clutterbucket now, but just so you know when I say it I am not making fun of you." She smiled.
"Well there's this place where people are making art and singing." May explained. "Sounds cool." The girl commented and I agreed. "Where is it?" she asked. I realized where May was talking about because I've been there before. "It's a place called Topanga Canyon." May and I answered. "I'm sure I'll love it." May added. "Topanga, what a beautiful name for something you wanted to love." The girl said. She opened her journal and wrote something in it. "It want to remember that."
"May, take the stage May, you're up." The owner said. Everyone clapped for May. "What's your name new friend?" May asked. "Rosie McGee." Rosie answered. "Wish me luck Rosie McGee and Annalee Hanratty." May said. "Wow, you're going to sing?" Rosie questioned. "I'm going to try." May corrected. She picked up her guitar and walked towards the stage.
Rosie started to clap. "Yay, go get 'em and remember you're beautiful man." Rosie said. May sat down on the stool and began strumming her guitar.
"Car drove off,
Airplane flew,
I stayed here missing you.
I grow old, never see that you were there missing me.
Are we now what were we then?
Will we look back and wonder when?
What could have been what isn't yet, will you remember or forget?
May sung and I smiled because the meaning of the words were deep and something meaningful. "Wow, I'll remember because that was great. Let's hear it for May Clutterbucket." Rosie said. No one was clapping anymore. "What are you laughing at Bob Dylan?" She asked. May came back over and sat back down.
"Merlin, Merlin Scoggins. Take the stage, cowboy." The owner said. That Merlin guy walked past our table up to the stage. "Who the heck is that?" Rosie asked. "It can't be." I whispered to myself. "So that's him, I've heard about him. We looked at the cowboy as he took the stage. He looked familiar I just hope he wasn't who I thought he was. The cowboy began to play. "Hello." He greeted. He turned around. "I'm Merlin Scoggins." He introduced himself.
*****Present******
Caroline's POV*
"Hello, I'm Lucas Friar." Lucas greeted as he turned around to face the class. "My great-grandpa used to do that. He was a man named Merlin Scoggins." He held up the record in his hand. "And this record was a big hit." "That's amazing Lucas why didn't you ever tell us that?" Cory asked. "Yeah, I'm going to tell Maya, I have a country singing great-grandpa and that I actually do come from cowboys. Yeah because I need more nicknames to go with hop-along, sun dance, and ranger Rick." Lucas said.
"No I'm done with that, I am so impressed with your rich Texas heritage that I am officially throwing out all of those old nicknames forever." Maya said. I knew she wasn't going to stop picking on Lucas just stop calling him those old nicknames. "Yeah giving you a new one." I muttered to myself while fixing my fedora. "Well thank you Maya." Lucas thanked her. "Shouldn't have said that." I said. "No problem Bucky McBoing Boing." Maya replied.
"From what I could piece together my great-grandmother, Rosie McGee was a weird little wide eyed goofball who only saw the best in everybody. Who's like that?" Riley said. "Nobody." Maya and I answered sarcastically. "I'd like to play you my great-grandfather's song." Lucas told us. He put the record into the record play and soon country music began to play.
*******1961*******
Annalee's POV*
"Hello, I'm Merlin Scoggins. I ain't got change in my pocket, but I see it on the streets, there's been change on the faces of the people I met. Hey mister, brother, sister could you spare a man some change. Hey mister, brother, sister can you spare a man some change?"
Merlin sang. We clapped as he got off of the stage and walked over to our table. "This seat taken?" he asked. "By you." Rosie answered. She turned towards May and I. "See what I did?" she asked as Merlin sat down. "Yeah you're not a normal girl at all." May told her. "I liked your song mam." Merlin complimented May. "I liked yours." She complimented back.
"And what do you do?" Merlin asked Rosie. "Ah, who knows?" Riley asked. "She's an observer of humanity." May told Merlin. "We need those." He said, then he turned to look at me. "How about you?" he asked. "I do everything." I answered. I kind of gave away who I was, but I don't think they understood what I meant.
The owner walked over to us with a camera. "The observer, the singer, the everything doer, and the mystery man." He stated as he took a picture of us. "That's got to be worth something to somebody someday." He said. "Well thank you all for your kind words and I'll be on my way." Merlin said. "Oh, do you have to go?" Rosie asked attempting to bat her eyelashes at Merlin.
"I try not to stay any place to long. Especially when people do that." He said looking at Rosie. He got up and pushed his chair in. "Stay here with this one too long and she might change us for the better." May stated looking up at Merlin. "Aw." Rosie said. "Yeah anyway, you keep writing down those observations, you keep doing everything, and you, you keep playing." Merlin told us.
"What my new song 'Why bother trying I'll never as good as you guys'?" May asked. "That's a very discouraging title." I commented. May turned to look at me. "You have something to say." She said looking at Merlin. "Well now you only know that because I went ahead and said it." Merlin retorted. He tipped his hat before walking away.
May handed her guitar over to Rosie. "Here." She said. "Why are you giving me this?" Rosie asked. "You were great." "No, he's going to change the world, I'm not going to change a thing." May told her. She got up and walked away from the table. "Where are you going?" Rosie and I asked. "Don't you worry, weirdos. I'll be right back." May told us. I looked back at my book and continued working on it. I sat with Rosie, but May never came back. I knew I couldn't just leave Rosie so I stayed there with her till I had to go, but it wasn't the last time I saw her.
******Present*******
Caroline's POV*
"My great-grandmother and her friend never saw their friend again. The world has never heard of May Clutterbucket, but the world has heard of Annalee Hanratty, my great-grandmother's friend who stayed." Riley said. "My great-grandfather had one huge hit, people thought he was going to change the world, but he didn't. After an appearance in a small café in New York City, he made some bad choices. He went to jail for a little while, he went left instead of right." Lucas told us.
"Why do you think that was, Mr. Friar?" Cory asked. "Don't know, maybe he needed some better friends." Lucas answered. He went and sat down at his desk. "Rosie like observing things I'm going to read something from her journal. It's called "The Girl with the long blonde hair". Riley told us. "She said she would be gone for a moment me and Anna are still waiting. We could've been friends, maybe in some other life, the girl with the long blonde hair." She read.
"Sounds like Rosie was a pretty good writer." Cory commented. "There's a little more." Riley informed us. "If you quiet your voice, if you stop because you think other people are better then you are not who I know are. The girl with the long blonde hair." Riley read. "You wrote that." Maya said. "I continued it. I am a continuation, that's what history's about. Right dad?" Riley asked. "Oh now I get it." Cory said.
"Rosie had a daughter and her daughter had my mom. Rosie gave me my mom and she gave my dad his wife." Riley stated. She grabbed a guitar and walked in front of Maya. "This has been in our family for over fifty years, but I feel like it belongs with you." Riley gave Maya the guitar. "So I hope whenever you see it, it will remind you that even though Rosie's friend gave up you never should."
Maya's smile quickly turned to a smirk when she glanced at Lucas. "Oh no." Lucas said bowing his head. Maya started to strum the guitar and sing.
"Hello. I'm Bucky McBoing Boing. I got a great-grandson who's a ranger Rick and a hop-along and a sun dance, too."
"Everybody! Maya shouted and everybody stated to sing along while Riley did a dance.
"I got a great-grandson who's a ranger Rick and a hop-along and a sun dance, too.
When we stopped Maya and I were laughing since during the song Riley was doing a weird dance.
I sat in class the next day. Cory was about to speak when Farkle ran into the room to Cory's desk. He flipped the name plate so that it said Farkle. "Yeah okay." Cory smiled. He moved and sat down at Farkle's desk. "We're all part of a puzzle called history. We're each a tiny puzzle that comes together and makes a picture. You're not going to believe the picture I just found." Farkle explained. "My great-grandfather, Ginsburg worked at a Greenwich Village café. Riley, Lucas what year did your great-grandparents visit New York?" "1961." Riley and Lucas answered. "Whoa." They both said.
"I knew it." Farkle said. "What month?" "December." They answered again. "Say it again." Farkle told them. "Whoa." They said. "And what was the name of the club?" Farkle asked. "Café." Lucas started. "Hey." Riley finished. "That's where my great-grandfather worked." Farkle said.
"Maya what did you learn about your great-grandmother?" Farkle asked her. "Nothing my mom said to leave it alone. I don't know anything." Maya told him. "I know you Maya, you're not a puzzle to me at all. You went behind her back and snooped around, didn't you?" Farkle said. "No." Maya replied. "What did you find?" he asked. "No." she repeated. "Tell me her name. Say it or I will." He told her. "May Clutterbucket." Maya mumbled. "What?" Farkle questioned. "I come from a long line of Clutterbuckets." Maya said louder this time. "Oh this is the greatest day of my life." Lucas shouted.
"Caroline what did you find out about your great-grandmother?" Farkle asked. "She did a little bit of everything from being and author to an artist and many other things." I answered. "Tell me her name." Farkle commanded. "Her name was Annalee." I started. "Hanratty." Lucas and Riley replied. "Yeah." I said. "I'm guessing your great-grandfather figured it out."
"All of our relatives met each other on the same night." Farkle said. "Your great-grandmothers were my great-grandmother's friends." Riley told Maya and I. "Yes." I answered. "No, they never became friends she walked out, she left." Maya answered. "And you didn't tell me." Riley replied. "Tell you what? That I come from people who give up. That I am a Clutterbucket." Maya retorted.
"Change history." Cory stated. "Excuse me?" Maya questioned. "Your relatives didn't realize they would've been better off being friends. That was a missed opportunity. Don't let your history be one of missed opportunities. Learn from the past." Cory said. Maya put the art book on her desk. "I don't want to be a Clutterbucket." Maya told us. "You're not." I told her. "You're all Hart." Riley added.
"On December 14th, 1961, five pieces of a puzzle came together and our lives touched." Farkle pushing the TV. Cory laughed. "How great is history class now everybody?" Cory asked. Everyone shushed him. "Great-grandfather, Ginsburg was hard to research because he was never in any of the pictures because he took them. Ladies and gentlemen, I have achieved time travel, thank you I am Farkle." A picture from 1961 was showed of our great-grandparents then a picture of us.
I sat in the classroom with Maya, Riley, Lucas, and Farkle when Cory came into the room. He went over to his desk and was about to open his case when he noticed us. "You're early." He said clearly surprised. "Where are we going today dad?" Riley asked. "I thought you guys didn't care about any of that stuff." Cory said. "No that was yesterday. Yesterday is history." I explained. "What do you have for us today, Mr. Matthews?" Maya asked.
"The year was 1963. 'I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today'. Martin Luther King Jr." Cory told us. "A lot of things happened in 1963. The '60s, man." Cory said.