Rewritten 9/7/2024
In 1995, theorizing that one could time travel within their own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator… and vanished. After four years of attempting to bring him home, Project Quantum Leap, or PQL, was canceled.
In 2022, guided by a new team of scientists, Dr. Ben Song stepped into a new, updated Accelerator. Two years later, his fiancée Addison Augustine joined him - only for the government to pull the plug on PQL for the second time.
But all was not over for time travel.
It was a beautiful spring day in 2024 - April 6 to be exact - and fourteen-year-old Lucy Sampson stood at the edge of the top-secret government facility her father had taken her to.
The government was repurposing this facility, and soldiers were going in and out, retrieving crates marked "Project Quantum Leap" or "PQL". Lucy wondered just what this project was, so she casually walked up to two soldiers who were chatting over a drink of water.
"Such a shame that Project Quantum Leap had to end so quickly," said the taller of the two soldiers.
"Yeah," agreed the shorter one. "Well, that's what you get when your main sponsor is NBC. They'll find a way to cancel everything - even the documentary created specifically to fund PQL."
"But what about Ben Song and Addison Augustine? Weren't they last seen in World War II or something?"
"Guess they're now lost to time - just like Sam Beckett."
That's when Lucy noticed something in the crate next to them.
It was a small, smooth oval object, metallic gray on the bottom and glassy white on the top. As a tech fan, she instantly recognized it as an Apple Magic Mouse - the very mouse she wanted to replace the bulky wired mouse that came with her second-hand iMac computer.
She casually tiptoed up to the crate, made sure no one was looking, and swiped the mouse. She noted it felt heavier than expected, but she didn't pay it any attention and put it in her pocket, where it remained until she went home.
Once she arrived in her nerd paradise - her bedroom, filled to the brim with tech - she sat at her desk and powered on her computer. She retrieved her mouse, and the moment she did, the word "Connected" appeared on the screen.
Not believing what she just saw, she moved the mouse across the desk, and the black mouse cursor followed her every move.
She clicked on her list of Bluetooth devices and saw that only one mouse was connected - and it was named "Lucy Sampson's Mouse".
Suddenly, the mouse began to vibrate. Shocked, she lifted her hand, noticing the flat surface glowing as if it was a screen. A cute cartoon face with beady eyes and a simple mouth appeared, reminding her of the Squishmallow toys she liked to collect.
Then, all of a sudden, the mouse spoke in a high-pitched female voice.
"Hey, Lucy!"
Lucy pushed her chair back in fear. "W- who are you? How did you know my name?"
"My name is Boop," replied the mouse. "I'm the world's most advanced AI system. I got your name by scanning the files on your computer."
"Y- you got my data?"
"Every single byte. But trust me, I will not use it for advertising purposes. I just want to know more about you. In a friendly way."
Reassured by Boop's words, Lucy sat down on the bed, then watched with surprise as the mouse moved of its own accord and jumped into her lap.
"So, Boop," asked Lucy, "where did you come from?"
"I- I don't know if I can reveal this," said Boop, her voice quivering as if in shyness. "Do you really want to know, Lucy?"
Lucy nodded.
"Then click on me."
Not really sure what she was doing, she left-clicked the mouse. In an instant, all the devices in the room instantly shut off. Her lights dimmed, her speaker quietened, and even the phone on the dresser, not connected to anything, locked its screen.
"W- what just happened?" stammered Lucy.
"I turned off your devices because we can't let anyone hear you," said Boop. "Don't worry. They'll turn back on when we're done."
"Are you saying you connected to all my devices?"
"Mhm. It's an AI thing."
"That is so cool! Is there anything cooler you can do?"
"I can time travel."
"No… way! I've always wanted to time travel!"
"Shh! Calm down, Lucy. We can't let anyone else know of my abilities. Especially your father."
Lucy immediately quieted down. "…Okay. So, how does time travel work?"
"Normally, a time traveler enters a time machine, guided by an observer - appearing as a hologram only the traveler could see - using a device called a 'handlink'. But I'm different. Thanks to my special chip, I'm the time machine, handlink, and observer all in one."
"That sounds amazing! Can you take me through time, Boop?"
"Sure! Just hug me close to your chest and think of when you want to go. Once you are clearly focused on your destination, left-click me, and you'll be in whatever time you've chosen."
Lucy didn't waste any moment. She closed her eyes and hugged Boop as close as she could, closer than her favorite Squishmallow.
"Wait, are you sure this would work?" asked Lucy, suddenly opening her eyes.
"I don't know," replied Boop. "I've never been tested, but it wouldn't hurt to try, wouldn't it?"
"I'm willing to take the risk."
"You're determined. I like that."
Lucy once again closed her eyes, but another worry crossed her mind. "Will my parents or anyone else find out that I'm gone?"
"There's a non-zero chance, but I'll try my best to make sure that doesn't happen."
Lucy sighed in reassurance. She then focused on where she wanted to go. The age of the dinosaurs, the ancient civilizations she's studying in history class, her childhood, the future - there were so many good choices. She really hoped "random" was an option.
She felt a pulse of energy from Boop, spreading through her body and to her brain. It pulsed in sync with her thoughts, as if the mouse agreed with her decision. She reconfirmed that she wanted to visit random dates, then left-clicked the mouse.
She felt a whirlwind engulf her as a powerful wave of energy emanated from Boop, creating a tingling feeling that overtook her body. All her hairs stood on end.
Things became eerily silent for a few moments, until the tweeting of a bird caused her to open her eyes.
And when she did, she found she was no longer in her bedroom.
Lucy was still in a bedroom, but it wasn't hers.
The bed she was sitting on unusually hard, and the covers had a strange, outdated design. Beside the bed was a nightstand with GE digital clock radio. On the other side of the room stood a desk with books and a boombox - no computer - and on the wall above it was a poster of The Breakfast Club that was about to fall off due to curling tape.
"Lucy, we did it!"
Lucy looked down to see Boop staring at her like a happy dog. But there was a problem - she didn't seem to recognize who or what this strange character was.
"Wh- who's Lucy?" she asked in utter confusion. "What did we do?"
"Y- you don't remember me?" replied Boop, deflated. "Oh, right. You're Lucy Sampson from the year 2024. My name is Boop, your computer mouse companion. We time traveled and ended up here. And I forgot to tell you - time travelers lose their memories when they leave their home time."
"Wait, time travel? Does that mean… this isn't my house?"
"Uh-huh."
"Why did we time travel in the first place?"
"I don't know, Lucy. You never told me."
"Well then, I just want to go home."
Before Boop could continue the conversation, somebody knocked on the door.
"Josie! It's almost time for school!" cried the person just outside, speaking in a male voice with a slight Mexican accent.
Lucy didn't react, unsure exactly who this Josie was. She sat in silence for a few moments until the person outside grabbed his keys and forced the door open.
"Josie, why are you still in bed?" asked the man. "It's almost time for breakfast."
Only then did Lucy realize that he was talking about her for some reason. "…Me?"
"Yes, you. Josie Bona, my daughter."
That was just too crazy. First he was calling her "Josie", and now he was claiming she was his daughter? Just what had gotten into him?
"I-I-I-I'm sorry, apologized Lucy, "but I'm not Josie Bona. My name is Lucy Sampson."
"Lucy Sampson?" huffed the man. "You're not Lucy Sampson, you're Josie Bona. Look at you. Does it look like you're a Lucy Sampson?"
The man motioned for Lucy to look in the nearby mirror. Her memories may be fragmented, but she knew the reflection she was staring at was not hers. She knew she was a fourteen-year-old white girl - a fact she only remembered right there and then - but the girl in the mirror looked Hispanic - maybe mixed - and about eleven. She had long dark brown hair and was wearing a light pink dress with baggy sleeves and a white frill.
She looked at Boop, who was in her right hand, and whispered "Who is this girl?"
"Who are you talking to?" boomed Josie's father.
Lucy was taken aback. "My, uh, my, uh… computer mouse."
"Computer mouse? Is that some kind of imaginary friend or something? Grow up, Josie. There's no one there."
Lucy looked back in the mirror and saw that Boop had no reflection.
Suddenly, the clock ticked over to 7:30, activating the radio. "Good morning, Bangor! I'm your host, Edwin Stevens, and today is Friday, March 15, 1985. Expect a high of eighty degrees—"
"Come on, Josie," prodded the man. "You don't want to miss out on breakfast."
"May I, uh, go to the bathroom?" asked Lucy sheepishly. "I really can't hold it in anymore."
Josie's father sighed. "Okay. But be quick."
Lucy rushed outside without a word.
She was immediately intimidated the moment she stepped into the house's second floor hallway. This place was unfamiliar to her, and she had no idea which of the many doors was the bathroom.
Acting on a hunch, she burst into the door next to the stairs, which luckily was exactly what she was looking for.
She hurriedly locked the door, sat on the toilet, and flushed to create the impression that she was doing her business. She took a few moments to collect herself then set Boop on the counter in order to talk to her.
"What's happening, Boop?" asked Lucy. "Who is that man? Why was he calling me Josie? And who was that girl in the mirror?"
"Calm down, Lucy," replied Boop. "Let me explain. People time travel by leaping into the bodies of random ordinary people. This time, your 'leapee' is this Josie Bona girl. You appear to everyone else - and mirrors - as your leapee, but due to quantum leap technology, we can see and hear each other as ourselves."
"But how come you don't have any reflection, Boop?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. It's my first time travel trip, so I have no idea about anything except the things Ian taught me."
"Who's Ian?"
"Ian Wright. They - they're non-binary - are the head programmer at Project Quantum Leap, the government's time travel program. They developed me based on Ziggy, their previous AI. They never tested me, though, so I only know the basics."
"Why do you think you don't have a reflection?"
"Maybe it's because I didn't leap into a body."
"But why? There's lots of people around Josie to choose from. You could've been her father or something."
"Maybe I can only leap into computer mice. Since there weren't a lot of those here in 1985, I wasn't able to leap into anyone."
"Let's go to a time with more mice then - like home."
"I'm afraid that isn't easy, Lucy. In order to move forward, you have to do something to help your leapee on their journey forward. Whatever that is, I don't know."
"That's so stupid. What kind of time travel requies people to help someone with something they don't even know? Can't there be an easier way, like, moving on after twenty-four hours in this time?"
"That's something Ian and their colleagues were wondering, too. Try as they might, they couldn't find another way to induce time travel. And even if we do help Josie, there's no telling where or when we'll end up next."
"Why?"
"When you initiated the time travel sequence, you didn't specify a date. That means we just randomly jump around time… just like Sam, Ben, and Addison."
"Who are they?"
"They were scientists from Project Quantum Leap, like Ian. They got lost in time trying more primitive time machines. They haven't been recovered until now. I hope the same won't happen to us."
A knock on the door suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Josie! Are you still in there?"
Lucy flushed the toilet again and unlocked the door. Josie's father was standing outside, wearing a formal suit with a name tag that read "Fernando".
"Josie, breakfast is ready."
She ran downstairs and sat at the dining table, which was surrounded by unopened moving boxes. Fernando handed her a plate with buttered toast, pancakes, and two strips of bacon. She excitedly dug in, noticing how big and flavorful the bacon was.
"Why have you been acting so weird this morning, Josie?" asked Fernando, still chewing.
Lucy took the time to swallow before answering. "…I don't know. I just, uh, haven't been feeling like myself lately."
"Well, you should start feeling like yourself. Today's a big day. You don't want to ruin it."
"Oh, okay."
"And if you won't be home by five, make sure to phone me at the bank. Here, have some change."
Josie's father handed Lucy three quarters, all dated 1985.
Suddenly, a loud honk erupted from outside. "That's the bus, Josie. It's time to go to school."
"Wait, school?!"
"Just play along," whispered Boop. "Don't act weird. You can't let anyone know you're not actually Josie."
A little hesitant, Lucy grabbed the small, slightly dirty backpack hanging from the hook by the front door and ran outside.
She boarded the huge yellow Carpenter school bus parked on the narrow, forested street in front of the large, brown two-story house. She sat at the back, some distance from the students who were already there, then pressed her face to the window. As "Careless Whisper" by George Michael played from the tinny speakers, she watched the suburbs dotted with far apart houses give way to the heart of the city, where 80s cars drove by malls, record stores, and the occassional teenager on the sidewalk listening to a Walkman. It was the side of 1985 she didn't see in books, TV, movies, and the Internet.
The bus soon parked at Doughty Middle School. Lucy joined the kids as they filed outside, feeling a cool, sweet-smelling breeze ripple through her hair. It was more refreshing than any breeze she'd felt before, which she suddenly realized was because climate change wasn't as destructive as it was in her home time.
As she danced up the curving ramp to the entrance, savoring the cool spring air, Lucy noticed a boy about Josie's age walking up to her. He was wearing a blue printed T-shirt reading "Bulldogs", which she assumed was the local sports team.
"Hey, I'm Abel," introduced the boy. "Are you new here?"
"I, uh, I dunno," stammered Lucy.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I, uh… I don't remember what I was doing yesterday. I don't even know which school I attended."
"If you don't even remember, why are you hanging around here at our school?"
"The bus parked in front of my house. So I assumed that I go here."
"Do you at least remember your name?"
"Lu- uh, Josie. Josie Bona."
"Nice to meet you, Josie. I'll go check your records in the phone book."
The bell rang, sending the kids inside the school.
Lucy wandered through the winding hallways, taking in the sights of an 80s middle school - yellowish lights, popcorn-textured walls, and even the smell of being in a place that old. But as she watched the other kids doing their things - talking, opening lockers, reading posters - she couldn't help but wonder how she was supposed to fit in all of this.
She suddenly remembered how she was a nerd back home. She thought of spending time in the library, hoping to read up about the times, but she didn't know where it was.
"It's in room 125," said Boop suddenly. "Next door on the left."
Lucy pushed herself through the door and was pleasantly surprised to find herself in a quiet, earthy-smelling room lined with bookshelves.
"How did you know that, Boop?" whispered Lucy.
"I cross-referenced multiple points of data from both government and private records," explained the mouse. "I know it sounds creepy, but when your mission is to help people navigate other peoples' lives, it's a necessity."
"No. I mean, how did you know I was wondering about the library?"
"I'm connected directly to your mind. When you initiated the time travel sequence, you hugged me close to you, which allowed me to scan your brainwaves. Now we can communicate using only our thoughts."
That could come in handy when there's lots of people around, thought Lucy, trying to see if Boop was telling the truth. Don't want the whole "imaginary friend" situation to happen again.
She heard Boop say "You're right" in her mind, even if she didn't hear any actual voice. That meant Boop was indeed connected to her thoughts.
"Hey, Josie."
Lucy spun around to find Abel on the floor, poring over phone books.
"You said your last name was Bona, right?" asked Abel, flipping to the B section of a phone book dated 1985.
"Yeah?"
"There's no Josie Bona in the phone book, but there is a Fernando Bona. Do you know him?"
"Yeah. My father's named Fernando. He works at the bank."
"We just have to call him. See what he knows about you."
Suddenly, the school bell rang. "Okay, forget the call," said Abel suddenly. "It's time for my first class. Science with Mr. Parker. Wanna join me?"
Lucy nodded, not knowing how else to react. She followed Abel and a bunch of other kids to room 152, where Mr. Parker's classes were held.
Lucy sat beside Abel at the back of the room, where she could see the entirety of the room. It was a humble place, with a blackboard behind the teacher's desk, simple posters on the walls, and a noticeable lack of modern technology.
A few more students in T-shirts and denim pants filed into the room, followed by Mr. Parker, who was wearing glasses, a blue polo shirt, and khakis.
"Okay, class," introduced Mr. Parker, not even sitting down. "We have a new student today. Her name is Josie Bona. Care to introduce yourself, Josie?"
Taken aback by her introduction as a new student, Lucy shyly stood up and walked to the front of the class. "Hi. Uh, my name is Josie Bona. I'm eleven years old - I think - and I'm, uh, new here. I, uh, don't know much about this place, so please show me around."
She then walked back to her seat, embarrassment filling her mind.
"Okay, on to today's lesson," said the teacher. "Our topic is about the four states of matter. Does anyone still remember what they are?"
Abel raised his hand immediately. "Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma."
"Very good, Abel. Today, we will learn about how matter changes states. In most cases, adding heat to a material changes its phase. Solids melt into liquid, which vaporizes into gas, which ionizes into plasma. I would like to perform an experiment to illustrate."
The teacher got some tongs and used them to grab an ice cube from a tumbler. "This ice cube is a solid form of water. Watch closely as I apply heat."
He put the cube on top of a Bunsen burner and turned it on. The students crowded around the teacher and watched as the ice slowly melted into liquid water and vaporized into a plume of steam that billowed up towards the ceiling.
But Lucy stayed behind, suddenly remembering that she had done an experiment like that when she was Josie's age. She didn't just melt ice, though - she also had to do a vlog on what she had learned, which got her interested in science and technology. She hoped that this experiment would inspire a similar love in Josie's classmates - and that one of them would eventually find a way to bring Lucy home.
The morning flew by in an instant, and soon, it was lunch time.
Lucy lined up at the cafeteria counter, ordered a plate of mac and cheese and chicken wings from Ms. Bwana, the kind old lunch lady, and sat at the back of the room, where she thought few people could see her.
But when she looked around, she saw a few students looking in her direction, with stares that said "That girl is so weird. Why is she eating all alone?"
Embarrassed, Lucy turned around so that she didn't face anyone else. She put Boop on the table in order to talk to her.
"You know, it's kinda strange being here," commented Lucy quietly, swallowing a slice of chicken. "Not just being here in 1985, but also being in someone else's body."
"All time travelers feel that way," comforted Boop. "You just have to get used to it."
"Yeah, but how long will I stay here?"
"Until you find out what Josie's problem is and correct it, you'll stay stuck in her body."
"I just thought about it, but how would Josie feel if she finds out I meddled with her life?"
"She'll never know a thing. Her memories of the time you're in her body will be blanked out, and everyone will think she did what you did. And since time travel requires you to make a positive change in her life, people will overlook whatever mistakes you may make."
"But what about my memories? Will they blank out too?"
"What do you remember about yourself?"
"Well, my name is Lucy Sampson. I'm a fourteen-year-old white girl from Los Angeles, I'm a nerd who likes computers, and I did an ice-melting experiment in fifth grade- or was it sixth?"
"Sixth. I saw the vlog on your computer."
"Yeah, right. I remember now. That's around the time I got my current iMac."
"See, you're starting to remember a lot. In just five hours, you already remembered so much by yourself. Other time travelers needed observers to remind them of such personal details."
Lucy smiled, hopeful that she will soon remember everything there is to know about her.
"So, what's our plan, Boop?" asked Lucy. "Do you have any idea how we're going to help this Josie girl?"
"I don't know," replied the mouse. "Be on the lookout for clues about any problems."
Lucy discreetly glanced around the cafeteria, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
"Hey, Josie."
Lucy looked up to see Abel sitting at her table, bringing a small bowl of mashed potatoes.
"Oh, hey Abel. Didn't see you there."
"Say, uh, you wanna go with me to the arcade?"
"Yeah, uh, sure. When do we go?"
"After school."
"Sounds great."
The two kids quickly finished their meals. They put away their dishes then went to the courtyard to finish their lunch break.
Abel joined a few kids who were playing soccer, but Lucy, suddenly remembering how she wasn't into games and sports, just sat on one of the benches.
"Why did you agree to go to the arcade, Lucy?" complained Boop quietly. "Don't you think it will distract us from our mission?"
"Quite the opposite, Boop," reassured Lucy, patting Boop's surface. "Abel seems to be Josie's only friend, so maybe he knows more about her. Who knows, he might even be the key to getting us out of here."
Lucy sighed and reclined a little more. As she relaxed far away from all the other students, she was blissfully unaware that some of them were starting to notice her behavior.
Lucy and Abel slogged through the afternoon, and soon it was time for their final class of the week - English.
As usual, Lucy sat at the back, where she could see the entirety of the classroom with its helpful posters about grammar rules. Far away from everyone else, it was the perfect place to focus on her task - writing different types of sentences with vocabulary words.
But her isolation was interrupted when someone shadowed her worksheet.
"What do you think you're doing, loser?"
Lucy looked up to see a tall, muscular student staring down at her, his brows furrowing in anger.
Without warning, the other student plucked Lucy's worksheet from her desk. "What kind of chicken scratch is this?"
"In case you haven't noticed, that is my English work," said Lucy.
"'Josie Bona'", read the other student, not noticing the scratched-out "Lucy Sampson" on the other side of the name field. "So that's the name of the loser backbencher I've been seeing all day."
"I'm no loser! I'm just… new."
"So you're new, eh? All the more perfect for our purposes."
The tall student glanced slyly at the door, where Lucy could see two other tall, muscular students, who both looked like they could beat her into a pulp.
Lucy growled and stood up assertively. "If you three couldn't find anything to do other than bully new students, then get out!"
The three bullies immediately ran out the room as if they had just seen a ghost.
"What just happened in here?" asked Ms. Perkins, the teacher, who had just woken up from a nap.
But before anyone could answer, the bell rang, sending all the kids walking out into the afternoon sun.
"I couldn't believe you actually stood up to Connor and his gang," commented Abel. "We've been trying to get rid of them for ages. Who knew that all they needed was a mysterious new student?"
"That's 'cause I'm kinda against bullying," replied Lucy.
"And I thought new students like you we're usually the shy type. Why are you so… different? Not that I don't like it."
"In my old school, people kept bullying me because I love science. That's why I learned to stand up for myself."
"I thought you didn't know anything about your old school."
"It just came to me like, right now."
Abel led Lucy down the ramp leading from the entrance, opposite the direction of the school buses. They walked a short distance to an intersection betwen two minor roads, where they boarded a red Grumman 870 bus belonging to the Community Connector system.
Lucy wasn't able to see how much the fare was, since Abel boarded first and was blocking her view of the coin slot. She anxiously dropped one quarter, then another. Luckily, the driver raised his hand to stop her, leaving her with one quarter left for a single phone call.
She sat beside Abel at the back of the bus and pressed her face to the window. As she watched the surroundings pass by, she couldn't help but wonder why she was still in 1985. She had helped Josie fend off those bullies, so that means her problem must be solved.
Unless there was a bigger problem.
She thought about what that problem could be. All she knew was that Josie is new in school, and new students face a lot of problems, like having to adjust and make friends. But Josie already found a friend in Abel, who's doing a very good job of making her feel welcome.
So what exactly could Josie need?
She was not able to think about that any further, as before she knew it, the bus stopped in front of the arcade, which was located in a strip mall that faced the road.
"How long are we going to stay here, Abel?" asked Lucy as she got down from the bus, noticing a clock on a nearby church that read twelve minutes after three.
"As long as you want," replied Abel.
"But I have to call Dad if we stay beyond five o'clock."
"Okay. We'll play three games. Then we go home."
"Like a Virgin" by Madonna played as the two kids entered the colorful arcade. They eyed each of the game cabinets with fascination, but sadly most of them were taken by other kids and teens - except for the most secluded one in the far corner, Punch-Out.
"How do you play this game?" asked Lucy.
"It's easy," replied Abel. "Just press the buttons to make the character fight his opponents. Watch this."
Abel's fingers flew across the controls with lightning speed, quickly defeating the first opponent. "Here, now you try it."
Lucy nervously approached the cabinet. Her reluctance towards games extended to video games, but she was determined to beat Abel. She struggled with the controls at first, since they weren't as responsive as the keyboard and mouse she had at home, but as the level went on, she got used to them, and she defeated the second opponent.
"Looks like you're getting the hang of things," observed Abel.
"I'm a fast learner," bragged Lucy.
"Now who should play the third round?" asked Abel.
Lucy wasted no time to answer. "I do! I do!"
She quickly defeated the third round, obtaining a score higher than both hers and Abel's.
"Hey, not fair!" said Abel teasingly. He grabbed the controls from Lucy and got an even higher score.
But Lucy found that unfair, and she wrestled the controls back from him.
Their planned three rounds became six, then nine, then twelve. As they fought their way through the game, Lucy and Abel felt their new bond grow rapidly. They weren't just friendly competitors - they were now friends.
After reaching a score so high that the machine couldn't display it, the two kids sat on the floor, leaning against the machine to catch their breaths.
"I didn't know you were quite the competitive type, Josie," commenting Abel.
"Where I come from, everyone's focused on achievements," explained Lucy, suddenly remembering that about 2024. "You have to be the best at anything if you want to get noticed by anybody."
"Here, in our small city, everybody knows each other. People will support you even if you're still improving."
Lucy suddenly noticed the clock hanging above the counter.
"It's already 4:25," said Lucy, tugging on Abel's arm. "We should go home now."
"I think it's still a little early," replied Abel. "Wanna stop over at my house?"
"…Okay."
Lucy and Abel boarded the Community Connector bus waiting just outside the arcade.
"Where do you live, anyway?" asked Abel, making himself comfortable in his seat.
"I don't know the address," confessed Lucy, "but it's a big, two-story wooden house on a small road with lots of trees."
Abel grabbed his chin. "Hmm, that sounds familiar…"
A few minutes later, Lucy found out why.
The bus stopped on the main road perpendicular to the street Josie's house was on. Lucy was a little surprised when Abel got down with her and walked up to the house closest to Josie's.
"Looks like we're neighbors, Abel," said Lucy.
"That's great," replied Abel. "You can stay with me as long as you like."
Lucy followed Abel inside, taking in the sights. A news report about Mikhail Gorbachev played on a boxy Magnavox TV in the living room. An older woman - whom Lucy thought was Abel's mother - was preparing sandwiches in the kitchen, occasionally glancing at the TV. A bulky radio in the hallway played "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham, which Abel shut off when he passed by.
Abel opened the door to the den underneath the staircase. "Check this out, Josie."
Lucy's eyes widened when they landed on a bulky beige device on an old wooden desk. "Is that a computer?"
"Yeah," affirmed Abel. "We bought this in Portland. I think we're the first family in the entire city to have a computer."
"Whoa," replied Lucy.
Abel powered on the computer, and a few minutes later, a pixelated, black-and-white interface appeared on the screen, similar to but quite different from the one Lucy was more used to.
"Don't be confused by all those buttons," said Abel suddenly. "The keyboard's just for typing - like a typewriter - while the mouse is for selecting objects. Move it around and press the button to interact with the things on the screen."
Lucy just nodded away. She was so used to using computers that even time travel couldn't erase her ability to use a keyboard and mouse.
"If you need any help, I'll be in my bedroom upstairs," said Abel. "I need to focus on my math homework."
He then left the room, leaving Lucy alone with the computer.
She hesitantly reached her hand out to the blocky, one-button mouse. "I… I can't believe this," she said, slowly moving the tiny black cursor around. "I've always wanted to use a computer like this!"
Lucy continued to explore the computer's files. There was not much to speak of - just a few school reports, spreadsheets about family finances, and what looked to be a video game. She wanted to try the game, but she didn't want to disturb Abel to play with her.
Suddenly, she had an idea.
"Hey, Boop," she asked, "can you leap into this computer mouse?"
"I- I don't know if this will work," said Boop shyly. "Are you sure you want to do this, Lucy?"
Lucy nodded. She pointed Boop at the computer's mouse and clicked.
It didn't seem to work. Boop was still in her hand, and the Macintosh's mouse was still on the desk.
But the screen suddenly flashed and turned to black. A few moments later, it came back to life, but instead of the classic Mac interface, it displayed a login screen.
The general aesthetic was similar to the interfaces seen in movies, with large, colorful text on a dark background, rendered in such high resolution that she couldn't help but wonder how the ancient machine was able to display it. There was a circular picture of Lucy's head above the words "Lucy Sampson", and a rectangular button reading "Log In".
Lucy moved Boop around the desk, making a blue, arrowhead-shaped cursor appear on the screen. It glowed slightly as she moved it around, creating a mesmerizing sight like a meteor streaking through space.
She clicked "Log In", and the screen blanked again.
A few moments later, another interface appeared.
Lucy's eyes widened at the thought of exploring it, unaware that she was about to forge a connection she'd never expect.
Ian Wright burst into their house in Los Angeles, not even taking off their clothes which have been drenched by the late afternoon rain.
"Ian, what are you doing here so early?" asked their partner, Rachel, who was watching a chicken roast in the oven.
"Sorry, it's just… I have something important to do," replied Ian hurriedly.
"Really? I thought you said that your trip to Pasadena was important."
"Well, this is more important."
Before Ian could leave, though, their adopted high-school age daughter, Gia, tugged at their cream-colored overshirt.
"Dad," she cried, "I need help with my project."
"Not now, Gia," said Ian, pushing her aside.
But Gia was persistent. "I need to write a research paper on matter, but all the good sources are paywalled. Can you use your hacking skills to download them?"
"I'll help you once I'm done," said Ian firmly. "And I am not a hacker."
Ian stomped to their bedroom and sat at their desk. They checked their phone, confirming that the notification they received from their custom app wasn't a false alarm. They then powered on the iMac they salvaged from Project Quantum Leap.
They got past multiple layers of passwords and accessed the top-secret app they developed for PQL, which allowed them to track any object through time.
And what it revealed only confirmed their worst suspicions.
Boop, their experimental time-traveling computer mouse, had been temporally displaced. Its time travel interface had been accessed from a Macintosh 512K in rural Bangor, Maine in the year 1985.
Ian pulled their round-frame glasses off in shock. "What… How… Who…"
They decided to access Boop's systems. From what they can tell, Boop was being used by a Lucy Sampson inhabitating the body of a Josie Bona. Consulting with their "portable" version of Ziggy, they found out that Lucy was an otherwise unremarkable ninth grader at Belmont High School in Westlake. It was almost impossible for their highly secretive project to end up with someone like her.
But the AI revealed something more telling: earlier that day, Lucy's father, Lieutenant Dustin Sampson, had been at PQL's former facility off the San Bernardino Freeway close to Little Tokyo. Either he must've given the mouse to his daughter or she snuck in and stole it - both violations of policy.
But as much as they wanted to, Ian couldn't do anything. They were no longer a part of the government, which meant that if they tried to approach the government, they would probably be laughed at. Worse, their computer might even be confiscated.
Yet they were still suspicious of Lucy. They had to find out more about her, whatever it takes.
Lucy studied the interface in front of her. There were four large square buttons arranged in a two-by-two pattern. The options were "Log", "Data", "Memory", and "Communication".
She thought all four looked interesting, but she decided to explore the "Log" first. A yellow dot appeared on the top-left of the screen, softly pulsating as if inviting her to click on it.
When she did, the heading "Trip 1: March 15, 1985" appeared on the screen, along with a window. Text typed itself in the window, forming a summary of her trip written as if by an impartial observer. At the bottom was the phrase "For more detailed information, see Data and Memory," with the two capitalized words hyperlinked.
Lucy clicked on "Data", making three windows pop up on the screen, explaining the political, cultural, and technological landscape of 1985. She compared and contrasted them with what she remembered of her own time - including things she only recalled just now.
She then checked the "Memory" section. The data windows disappeared and were replaced by two larger ones. One of them summarized what Lucy remembered about herself while the other related her experience in Josie's body from Lucy's point of view. The text in the Josie window kept rewriting itself, adding details that Lucy only picked up moments earlier.
That meant that Boop was still connected to her mind, analyzing the overload of information she had received and distilling it for her to understand.
Needless to say, Lucy was filled with wonder. Technology may have been quite advanced in her home time, but a computer mouse that could control anything, read her mind, and travel through time was just light years ahead of everything else she knew.
She just had to contact Ian. She wanted to express her appreciation and maybe gain insight as to how they developed Boop.
She clicked on the "Communication" icon, displaying a simple messaging interface. She sent a simple message - "Hello?" - despite doubting it could reach anyone since there were no indicated contacts.
Sure enough, she didn't receive a reply.
She waited a few more minutes, but no one answered. She thought of just getting up and closing the interface, but a part of her convinced her to stay, hoping that someone from the present was on the other end.
She sent another message - "Is anyone there?"
This time, though, she quickly received a reply. "What are you doing with Boop?"
Lucy was taken aback. Whoever was on the other end knew about Boop - but they didn't seem to like that she was with her.
She took a few moments to compose a reply. "I'm using her to connect to this computer."
The mysterious person replied almost immediately. "How did you get Boop?"
"I found her. She was just lying around in this crate."
"Where?"
Lucy was a little hesitant to reply. "At this huge glass building in LA. It was during a trip with my dad."
"That building is highly restricted. Boop is advanced technology; she wasn't supposed to be lying around."
"Wait, what? She was just in a pile of junk. I thought she was just an ordinary computer mouse."
"Boop is much more than that. She's a critical piece of classified tech. What you're doing right now could have serious implications."
"I didn't mean to cause any trouble. Boop has been helping me. She's not dangerous, isn't she?"
"Not dangerous, no. But you're dealing with time travel here. You're in over your head."
"I didn't know that. I thought I wasn't hurting anyone. Who… who are you, anyway?"
"Someone who's very close to Boop. That's all you need to know. Just be careful out there."
Lucy was about to type a reply, but a knock on the front door made her get up.
She shyly left the den and saw Fernando enter the living room, now lit by the desk lamp because it was already dark outside. He approached Abel's mother, who was watching a soap opera.
Lucy stepped a little closer in order to make out the words.
"Where is my daughter?" asked Fernando in desperation, showing the woman a faded picture from his wallet.
"Calm down, mister," replied the woman. "She couldn't have gone far."
"But she didn't call me at five o'clock! That means she's probably somewhere out there, all alone, not knowing how to get around or who to ask for help!"
Lucy suddenly felt guilty. She had spent so much time having fun that she completely forgot what he had told her to do. Seeing him feel so bad over that made Lucy feel like she had failed on her mission to help Josie and move on.
She was about to sit on the stairs and cry, but Fernando glanced in her direction.
"J- Josie?"
"D… Dad?" stammered Lucy, still a little uncomfortable about calling him her father.
Fernando ran up to Lucy and hugged her really tightly, which she found a little awkward.
"Josie, it's you!" cried Fernando. "I've been looking all over for you! I thought you were lost. What are you doing in the neighbors' house?"
"I was just talking to a friend," admitted Lucy.
"A… friend? You made a friend this soon?"
"Yeah."
"But I thought you preferred being alone."
"I did, until I met Abel. He was the first friend I ever made. We ate lunch together and went to the arcade after school. He really made me feel welcome here."
Fernando smiled, glad at "Josie's" sudden change of personality.
"Oh, and Dad," added Lucy, "I'm sorry for not calling you earlier. I was just having so much fun that I completely forgot."
"It's alright, Jo," replied Fernando. "What matters most is that you made a friend on your first day here in Bangor. Friendships are always more important."
Josie's father tapped Lucy on the shoulder, beckoning her to return home with him. As they stepped outside, she caught a glance of Abel staring at her from the second floor window. She smiled and waved at him, and he did the same in response.
As Lucy walked away, she reflected on her experiences in 1985. It was mostly a breath of fresh air compared to her hectic life in 2024, but there were some problems, like bullying, that, though seemingly unending, could be fixed with the right amount of courage.
Suddenly, Lucy felt a whirlwind engulf her, stopping her in her tracks. A bluish-white light illuminated her as a powerful wave of energy emanated from Boop and overtook her, sending all her hairs standing on end.
And the next thing she knew, she was no longer in 1985.
Lucy blinked.
She opened her eyes to the sound of "Tik Tok" by Kesha playing grainily from a radio. She was no longer in a bedroom, but rather slouching in the back seat of what looked like a Jeep. It was daytime, and the sunlight that poured in from the windows heated up the interior, as if the air conditioning wasn't working.
She looked down and noticed she was now wearing an all-tawny outfit, with long jeans, boots, and a shirt with four pockets and a name tag reading "Junior Zookeeper Dana". There was a Casio digital watch on her right wrist reading 1:25 PM on Sunday, January 3, 2010.
"Wh- what happened?" sputtered Lucy in confusion. "Where am I?"
"We traveled in time again."
Lucy turned to her left and saw a white unibody MacBook on the seat beside her. She clearly saw the dongle of a USB wireless mouse in the slot, but instead of a third-party mouse, she saw Boop sitting on top of the laptop.
"Oh, you have a message," said Boop. "Click me to read it."
Lucy put Boop in her palm and clicked her. She saw Boop's face be replaced by a long text message, which she read silently.
"Hey, it's me again. My name is Ian Wright, my pronouns are they/them, and I'm Boop's creator. I don't know if Boop told you about me, but I'm the one you were talking to in 1985. I just want to say sorry if I came off as creepy. I thought you were using Boop to change history for the worse. But I was wrong."
Intrigued, Lucy swiped down on Boop's surface, scrolling to the rest of the message.
"By bringing Josie home with her father that day, he became more involved in her life, and started supporting her dreams to be a scientist. Thanks to Abel's influence, she became more outgoing and quickly befriended some local scientists. She ended up publishing some important papers, one of which was cited in my daughter's thesis, and I guess… none of that wouldn't have happened without you. So, thank you."
Lucy smiled, knowing that her efforts weren't in vain after all.
"I can see that you're still leaping around time. In case you need any help, just reach me via Boop's communication feature."
Touched by the message, Lucy thought long and hard about her reply.
"Hey, Ian. Boop did in fact tell me about you. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about how you made her. But I think that can wait until I return home. I'll reach out to you soon. Bye for now!"
After sending the message, Boop's face returned to her surface.
"So, Boop, what are we going to do this time?" asked Lucy.
"We face this new time to the best of our ability," replied Boop. We continue to help people until we find our way home."