May 14, 1980
The front window revealing that it was established in 1968, Benny's is a bar and grill. It has a varnished wooden floor and varnished tables. Including a whole assortment of beers, the establishment serves all sorts of food from appetizers like mozzarella sticks and onion rings and french fries to sandwiches like hamburgers and pastrami and chicken to entrees like steak and tilapia and fried shrimp.
Having endured a half-hour on two buses, the last one having a poster on the side with the iconic image of Darth Vader and the caption "He Strikes Back May 21", Sam Beckett, appearing to be Rick Standhardt, enters the main room.
"You came back," says a middle-aged man nursing a beer.
A young woman with auburn hair approaches the leaper.
"Rick," she says.
"You know where Nick is? Is he still working?"
"We let a whole bunch of us off early," replies the waitress. "It's far from packed, as you can see."
Sam looks around. There is a wide selection of seats and stools to sit on. "You know where my brother is?"
"A couple of them decided to go to the other bars for a little after-work gathering."
"Thanks."
"You sure you don't want to stay for a drink?"
"Maybe later."
Sam heads out. There are only a few people walking along the sidewalk. The street is lined with stores and restaurants and bars. Some of the buildings have second floors with offices that are leased to businesses. He enters the bars, trying to find Nick.
After about fifteen minutes, he enters a bar.
"Am I seeing double?" asks a raven-haired barmaid. "Hey Rick!"
"My brother here?" asks Sam.
"Rick," says Nick Standhardt, standing up with a bottle of Miller High Life in his hand. "How was practice?"
"Revisiting the basics," answers the leaper. He looks around the place. It is dark, with two pool tables and a pinball machine presently being used by an overweight man. "Listen, I've got to talk to you."
"The other twin is here!" exclaims a woman whose blond hair is tied in a ponytail.
"Yeah," says Sam, approaching the table where she and some others are sitting.
"Ypu having a drink?" asks a young man with light brown hair.
"Not really."
"We were just talking," says the woman. "Scott's coming back."
"Who?" asks Sam.
"Scott Archer," says Nick. "Graduated high school a year before we did. Went to West Point. He's a lieutenant in the Army. He's on leave and is coming back to visit his folks here in Sandusky necxt week."
"That's great," says Sam.
"I'm guessing they're going to Cedar Point," says the young man.
"I'd like to talk to my brother."
"You can say it," says Nick. "Right here."
Sam takes the notebook with the jokes Nick wrote. "You were writing jokes for a stand-up comedy routine," he says. "You want to be a stand-up comic."
"That was my dream in high school," says Nick. "Reality set in."
"Wait," protests the leaper. "You might have a chance. I called the Bay Club after I finished practicing. They are having a contest on Saturday. Registration closes tomorrow."
"That will be interesting," says the woman.
"i was thinking, why not take the leap?" asks Sam. "Your material is good. And the grand prize is one thousand dollars."
"That is more than enough to pay for three months' rent," says Nick. "and our contract only allows rent increases to take effect on January 1st. A perfect present from a landlord. You get the gift of paying more rent. Happy New Year!"
"Say that to an audience. You can even write it in your notebook. Why not join the contest?"
"I have other things."
"Not work, though," says the woman with blond hair. "You're not on the schedule for Benny's on Saturday."
"Yeah, the boss gave you the day off to go to Rick's motorcycle race. You're working three lunch shifts in a row next week in exchange."
"Saturday's free, so why not go on stage and pursue your dream," asks Sam.
"What if they don't like me?" asks Nick.
"Come on."
"Let's talk about something else."
"Uh, okay," says the young man with light brown hair.
"Maybe you have some stories," says Sam.
And Sam learns more about Nick's and Rick's life as he chats with the others.
Then after an hour, they say their goodbyes. Sam and Nick head outside. The sky above them is a light lavender, as the sun is setting. They soon reach a parking lot just off the street. They see the blue Ford pickup truck.
"I can drive," says Sam. "I only had one beer."
Sam gets behind the whlel and fastens his seat belt. After Nick sits in the passenger seat, Sam starts the Ford and soon drives along the streets of Sandusky.
It is not long before Sam parks the truck on the street near the apartment complex.
"I was wondering," says Sam. "you registered at the Bay Club for the comedy contest last year. Why didn't you attend?"
"Other things to do. Had to work that night?"
"Well, yeah."
"But you must have asked for the day off and gotten it before you registered."
"Well, I worked that night anyway."
Sam looks right at Nick's eyes for a second. "Tell me," he says. "did you volunteer to work that night?"
Nick looks a the man who looks like his identical twin brother, seeing a version of himself. "Yes, I did. I remember. I called around lunchtime, before telling the club I couldn't make it."
"And you've had regrets?"
"Yeah, a little."
Sam takes a deep breath. "You'll never know how you would have done a year ago. But you can take the leap. Registration closes tomorrow. I mean, I took the leap."
"You always have. I mean, I was the first out into the world, you know. You always took the initiative.
between the two of us. I remember when you told me you were going to try to be a motocross racer. I've seen you out there on the circuits. You even took first place once or twice.
"And when I look at you, it reflects on me. You shine brighter, and I feel dimmer. You just sat on the motorcycle and drove."
"You know, Nick," says Sam, "the first time I was on a motorcycle, I wiped out. I was scared."
"I remember. We were fifteen. You got a scar on your right hand."
Sam suddenly grabs Nick's right hand, not seeing the trace of any scar. He then steps out of the pickuop truck to look at the driver's side mirror. He sees a face that looks like Nick's, and the holds up his right hand.
Even in the dimming sunlight, the scar on Rick's right hand is visible, forming some sort of U-shape along the side of the palm opposite the thumb.
"You had to get stitches then and a few doses of antibiotics!"' says Nick, stepping out of the truck. Your right hand was in bandages for a month! Mom and Dad were so worried. You once said your skin had actually peeled off."
"I guess so."
"After all these years, I guess I could actually laugh about that. But you didn't quit motorcycles. You had your accident on a flat dirt driveway. And now you leap into the air."
"That's right," says Sam. "I've had rough days." he briefly thinks about his last six years of leaping in time. "But taking that leap, no regrets. So you can register for that contest and be there. Don't worry about how good the competition is. Just worry about being the best that you can be."
Nick smiles. "Okay, but just one thing,. Could you sign in for me?"
"What?' asks Sam. "why can't you do it?"
"Please?"
The leaper stays wordless for a second. "Okay," he says. "But only this once. I've had enough of pretending to be other people."
ooooooo
May 15, 1980
Quantum leaping through time the past six years, I've done many things
Sam is inside a large room. The room has a stage for performers, as well as a bar for serving alcoholic beverages. The room is empty save for a table with a woman sitting behind it.
"Hi there," says Sam, walking up to the table.
"You're here to register for the contest on Saturday?"
"Yeah."
"Today's the last day. What's yer name?'
"R-I mean, Nick Standhardt."
"Name, address, phone number here."
The leaper concentrates as he fills in Nick's information on a printed form, some of it provided by Al. It takes him a good four minutes to fill out the information.
"Took you long enough," says the woman.
"It has been a stressful day."
"Ziggy says there's only a twenty percent chance that Nick will even be get third place in this contest," says Al.
Sam glances at the woman. "I think to just be there on stage will be enough," he says.
"The first step to success is showing up," she replies. "that's what my daddy said."
"there's a possibility something went wrong here," says Al. "You might have really leaped here eleven years too early."
"Is there a pay phone I can use?" asks Sam.
"Over there," says the woman, pointing her finger.
Sam walks across the room to reach the pay phones at an alcove, right where the entrances to the restrooms are. Sam picks up a handset.
"Eleven years too early?" asks the leaper.
"Nick died of a drug overdose in '91," replies the observer. "Ziggy says that there's a 90% chance something went wrong and you leaped in too early to be able to do anything about Nick's fate now."
"So what?" I spend eleven years as Rick Standhardt? And what about Rick? Is he supposed to stay in Project Quantum Leap for eleven years? Are we going to tell him, sorry, but you have to stay eleven years in the future? And what if he dies in the future? I might be trapped here, or even be lost in time forever."
Al punches buttons on the handlink. "Well, there's a 60% chance that you'll be able to save Nick from his fate within the next seven years. You won;t actually have to wait eleven years just to dial 911 a few minutes early."
"Still too long. How will this affect Rick's life? I can;'t become as good in motocross racing as he is. My being here might keep Rick from winning the '82 championship like he's supposed to."
"You definitely showed improvement at the track earlier today."
"Chucky said it won;'t cut it. And even if I go on and win the '82 championship in Rick's name, I would still be taking that from him.
"I think what will show Nick a new path is being on that stage Saturday night. He chickened out last year. Facing an audience will give him a new perspective."
"All right," says Al. "But you still gotta get better at riding those dirt bikes."
"Yeah, I have practice tomorrow."
oooooo
May 16, 1980
Sam Beckett is focused.
His heart beats at a steady pace.
He revs the Kawasaki KX125 motorcycle and it goes up the dirt ramp and goes into the air for a second. Sam looks below, keeping the front wheel straight, and then lands on the dirt.
He continues forward to take the turn. Sam shifts his body weight forward. He continues along the track, and approaches the finish line as a flagger waves a flag.
Sam squeezes the brakes and comes to a stop. He gets off the track, and sees Chucky and the others on Team Rocket waiting for him.
"You'd better take a break," says Chucky. "You're doing better."
"Thanks," replies the leaper turned temporary motocross racer.
"But you'll be competing in the qualifying tomorrow against other racers."
"I'd better take a look at the bike," says Walter in his gray overalls, holding a toolbox.
I've got to hone my skills so Rick will still have his chance. I wonder how Nick is doing.
Oooooo
Nick stands in the living room of his apartment. He reads the jokes that he had refined over the past five years, some of them rewrites of jokes and routines he came up with in his freshman year of high school.
He glances at a clock. He has two hours available before having to leave for Benny's.
He looks at the front door.
"Okay," says Nick. "A man walks into a coffeeshop... Okay, a man walks into a coffeeshop. It's not coming out right. Wait, I have to relax. Think about hanging out with our friends. Pretend they're here. All right, a man walks into a coffeeshop..."
And so Nick continues to practice delivery of his jokes and routines.
Ooooooooo
Sam crosses the finish line mand then moves the Kawsaki to the pit area, where Chucky, Walter, and the other team members are waiting.
"You definitely improved, Sam," says Al, who had been watching.
"Great job, Standhardt" says Chucky. "Tomorrow, you won't be zipping around this dirt track to impress my big mouth. You'll be up against racers form the other teams, as far east as the Atlantic coast."
"Well, I've been in stressful situations," replies Sam.
"I know stressful. I was fightin' Chinese volunteers at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea."
"I can only imagine."
"I suppose you and your brother were lucky to have missed 'Nam. Your dad was also in the Chosin Reservoir. Why am I tellin' war stories anyway? Best not to party hard Friday night. Get some rest."
"I'll take care of the bike," says Walter, holding the Kawasaki's handlebars.
"Maybe I can watch," says Sam.
Oooooooo
Battery Park is located on the shore of Lake Eerie. The park grounds are covered in grass. Nearby is a marina with various types of watercraft. The Cedar Point amusement park is visible in the distance.
Nick Standhardt is practicing in the park with a few friends.
"Yes, my wife," Nick finishes, and his friends laugh.
"You need to work on the delivery," says the blond-haired woman named Laurel.
"I have to agree," by Al, who is unseen by the others except for Sam.
"The other contestants were probably practicing for weeks, and I only started yesterday."
"Your can't control how good the others in the contest are," says Sam. "Focus on yourself. Focus on making your audience happy."
"Yeah," says a young man named Phil. "I mean, you've written jokes since junior high. You've been practicing far longer, my friend."
Nick looks up at the sky, starting to turn purple. He can see the moon, the shadow hiding much of it so it appears to be a crescent shape. "I once said how I feel diminished because other people shine so bright," he says. "The moon has no light of its own, but it reflects the sun's light. Maybe that's what I should do."
"That's actually clever," says Al.
"Was that another routine?" asks Laurel.
"No," replies Nick. "But we may have time for one more. A sailor boards a submarine for the first time..."