All That and a Bag of Chips Read online

  Mom blew out an exasperated breath. “C’mon, Remy. You have plenty of clothes. Wear one of your babydoll dresses and your Mary Janes. You love those. And your phone is right there. Where it always is.” She pointed.

  I turned around. Sitting on my dresser was a clear phone attached to the wall with multicolored wires running through it. It was seriously the last straw. I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Like really laughed. Like hysterical laughter poured from my throat.

  “Is this some kind of joke? Where did you even find that phone?” I asked.

  “I swear, between you and your brother I’m going to lose my mind. You two always get like this when your dad is working out of town.” Mom shook her head. “I’ve gotta go, and you need to get dressed. Nick’ll be here any minute to pick you up.”

  I froze. The air left me. “Nick?” I asked, confused. This morning was getting weirder and weirder. “Nick is picking me up?”

  “Of course. He always gives you a ride to school.”

  Huh? No, he didn’t. “I don’t drive myself?”

  Her eyes bugged out. “We’ve been over this, Rem. We can’t afford to buy you your own car, and I need mine. Please don’t hassle me about it right now, okay?”

  “Yeah. Okay,” I answered slowly. What the hell was going on? Where was Dad’s car? That’s the one I always drove when he was out of town. But whatever. I was going to ride with Nick to school. It was a freaking dream come true. Why was I arguing about it? I wasn’t sure what game Mom was playing or how she’d pulled this off, but I didn’t care. A few minutes ago I’d been dreading showing up to school this morning. Now I was looking forward to it. Ian always suspected I had a crush on Nick. What would he think when I walked into school with him? What would everyone think? They’d think I didn’t give a crap about Ian’s stupid kiss, that’s what.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  This was perfect.

  “All right.” Mom touched my shoulder. “I’ll see you after school.”

  “Yeah,” I said, dazed. “Have fun at your weird, themed nineties class or whatever.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” I mumbled.

  “Okay. See ya tonight.” Mom flashed me one last concerned look before stepping into the hallway and closing my door. “Come on, Preston. Time to go,” I heard her call out, and pretty soon my brother’s loud stomping filled the hall.

  Opening my bedroom door again, I stuck my head out. “Pres! Did you mess with my clothes?”

  He turned, wrinkling his nose. “What? No. Why would I do that?”

  I bit my lip. He was telling the truth. He wasn’t a good liar. When he disappeared around the corner, a collage of pictures on the wall caught my eye. That had never been there before. Walking forward on unsteady legs, I stared at the photos. Mom’s hair was permed. And she was right. Apparently, I did like wearing dresses and babydoll looking shoes. What had she called them? Mary Janes?

  Hugging myself, I stepped away from the collage. My mouth was so dry it was like I hadn’t drank water in days. Going back into my room, I picked up the old-fashioned phone. The dial tone loudly blared in my ear, but I had no idea who to call. I didn’t know anyone’s numbers. They’d all been programmed into my cell.

  I took a few deep breaths, in and out. In and out.

  Dizziness swept over me. I had no idea what to do.

  Hearing noises outside my window reminded me that Mom said Nick would be here any minute. I needed to be ready. Once I got to school and saw Ava and my other friends, I was certain this would all make sense. Maybe they were in on whatever joke this was.

  I hunted through my drawers and closets until I found something halfway decent to wear. A t-shirt, straight legged pants and Converse. I still had no idea what happened to my normal clothes, but I believed Preston. It seemed too big of a prank for him to pull off anyway. A funny feeling nagged in the pit of my stomach. Had I woken up in a parallel universe? I’d read about them once. Thought they were made up, but maybe not.

  A knock on the door cut into my thoughts. I ran to the window and peeked out. Nick stood in front of my house. Heart pounding, I stepped back before he could look up and see me.

  Nope. Not a parallel universe. This had to be a dream. An amazing dream.

  Yep. That had to be it.

  Lord knows I’d had enough dreams about Nick.

  This one seemed much more real than the others. But maybe that was good. Maybe in this one I’d stay asleep long enough for him to kiss me.

  Racing across the hall to the bathroom, I brushed my teeth as quickly as possible and combed through my hair. Dream or not, I would have minty fresh breath for him. Before heading downstairs, I grabbed the backpack that sat near the door in my bedroom and inspected it. Jansport. Since when did I have a Jansport backpack? What happened to my messenger bag? I scoured the ground in my room, but it was the only bag in sight.

  When the knocking resumed, I flung the strange backpack over my shoulders. I didn’t want to waste anymore time and ruin my chance of riding to school with Nick.

  I’d barely made it downstairs when Nick hollered out, “Remy? You in there?”

  My stomach fluttered. I loved how he said my name. I loved that he said my name at all.

  Breathing deeply, I opened the door. “Hey,” I said breathlessly, getting lost in his blue eyes. Man, he was even hotter close up.

  “You okay?” He asked. “I’ve been out here forever.”

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m running a little behind.”

  He smiled, a dimple forming on his cheek. “What’s new?”

  Everything.

  I smiled back.

  Nick looked the same - blond hair, tanned skin, ripped arms. The only difference was that his pants were baggier than usual. It would make it a little harder to check out his butt. Not that I was complaining. I usually only got to check him out from a distance. Today I had a front row seat. I couldn’t stop staring.

  “Um…here you go. Your mom forgot to bring the paper in again.” He shoved an ink stained newspaper into my hand.

  Huh? Since when do we get this?

  Clutching it, my gaze connected with the date. 1993?

  “But it’s 2018,” I muttered in disbelief.

  “What?” Nick leaned closer, tilting his head slightly.

  “The paper.” I bobbed my head downward. “It says it’s from 1993.”

  Nick’s eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah?”

  “But it’s 2018,” I said slowly.

  “Okay, I think somebody’s watched Back to the Future too many times.” He laughed.

  My face heated up so fiercely it was like I’d been stricken with a fever. I glanced down the street at the cars in the driveways and the color on the houses. Everything was different. I thought about Mom’s bizarre outfit, the clothes in my closet, the backpack, the phone attached to the wall. “Oh, my god. It’s really 1993.”

  “It sure is.” Nick gave me a wary look. “Hey, are you all right?”

  I swallowed hard, nausea rolling over me. No, I wasn’t all right. Not even a little bit. My knees softened. I rested my palm against the doorframe and forced a nod. “Let me just put the paper inside.”

  He nodded, as I slipped back into the house. The walls seemed to bend and close in around me. I leaned my head against the wall in an effort to stay upright. Sucking in air, I desperately tried to calm down my racing heart. In the family room, the flat screen that was normally mounted to the wall was gone. In its place was a large entertainment center with a box TV in the middle.

  Was I really in 1993?

  Peeking into the kitchen, my stomach dropped. There was a phone similar to the one in my room on the counter. Yesterday, all of our appliances were stainless steel. Today, they were white and ancient looking. A calendar hung on the wall. Setting the paper down, I walked to it. With each step, my pulse quickened.

  The date on the calendar matched the paper. It felt like someone sat on my chest. I struggled to
draw in a breath.

  No, this had to be a dream.

  I pinched my arm. It stung, but I was still here. Dizziness swept over me, so I closed my eyes. Inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth.

  When I opened them again, everything was the same. I wasn’t sure this was a dream anymore. But what other explanation was there?

  THREE

  At first it appeared that Gold Rush High hadn’t changed at all. There was the same brick building, the same hallways lined with lockers, the same layout of the quad. But then I noticed the differences – the large bulletin boards with papers tacked to it, the handwritten student council posters, and the multiple payphones littering the campus.

  But the biggest contrast was the actual students. They all stood in clusters talking loudly, and not one of them was looking down at a phone or listening to earbuds. I caught a couple of them passing notes, and a few were legit using the payphones.

  I so have to get a picture of this.

  Out of habit, I reached into my pocket, my fingers searching for my cell before I remembered smartphones hadn’t even been invented yet. I sighed. Guess I wasn’t getting that picture.

  They were all wearing clothes like what I had in my closet - babydoll dresses, wide-legged pants with chunky belts, some wore what appeared to be combat boots, and others had on overalls. There were lots of ponytails and perms. It smelled like floral perfume and stinky hairspray. I coughed a few times.

  “You okay?” Nick asked.

  Perhaps the strangest of all was that Nick was still here. He’d actually walked into school with me, and he didn’t even seem worried that someone would catch us together.

  “Remy!” Brooke squealed from across the hallway. I flinched, ducking my head. Oh, hell to the no. I wasn’t falling for one of her pranks. Not this morning. Not in front of Nick. “What’s with the outfit?” she asked when we got closer.

  Here we go. If there’s one thing I knew about Brooke, it was that you couldn’t win a war of words with her. She’d always one up you. No one could out-mean her. So why try?

  “Thanks for the ride, Nick,” I mumbled, scooting around Brooke, desperate to get away from her.

  “Wait.” Brooke grabbed my arm. “What’s wrong? Are you mad at me or something?”

  Is she for real? We’d been mortal enemies for years.

  Katie and Melody ran up, smiling. Oh, great. Now I was surrounded. This must’ve been what a carcass felt like when the vultures descended. “Hey, Brooke. Hey, Remy.”

  Since when did Katie and Melody talk to me? My head spun. Nick was high-fiving his friends, but he hadn’t moved away from me. Why was no one acting like it was strange that I was here?

  The bell rang, and I stiffened.

  I couldn’t be late for choir again. Ava’s morning trips to Starbucks had caused us to be late several times in the last couple of weeks.

  “I gotta go,” I said, wondering why I even bothered telling them.

  “Where?” Brooke’s eyebrows knit together.

  “Choir,” I answered, dumbfounded.

  “Choir?” Brooke let out a nervous laugh and glanced around.

  Nick shrugged. “She’s been acting strange all morning.”

  Annoyance flared. They’d act strange too if they woke up in the wrong year.

  “Maybe she’s sick,” Katie offered. “That would explain the outfit.”

  Was I really dressed that different from the rest of them? I guess I was. They were all in skirts, chunky black shoes with platform heels and chokers around their necks.

  “Are you sick?” Brooke backed away from me. “Because I can’t afford to get sick right before the big game.”

  “Neither can she,” Melody added, pointing in my direction. “If any of us get sick, the routine won’t work.”

  What routine?

  “I’m not sick,” I said. Just confused. Lost. In the wrong place…at the wrong time.

  “Then c’mon.” Brooke slipped her arm through mine and walked forward, her head held high. Was she voluntarily touching me? Were we friends?

  Yep. Definitely a dream.

  “See ya guys at lunch,” Nick called out before heading the other direction with his friends.

  We ate lunch together? Huh. I guess I could get used to that. When we rounded the corner, the choir room was to my left. I glanced toward the open doorway catching the edge of the sleek, black piano, a few ivory keys.

  Ava appeared at the end of the hall walking in our direction. Her hair was shorter, darker, her lipstick almost black. She wore ripped jeans and a heavy metal t-shirt. Her ears were lined with studs. She looked way different, but she was still my Ava, and my chest expanded. For the first time since I’d woken up, I could breathe easily.

  “Ava!” I wriggled my arm out of Brooke’s and stepped toward my bestie. We’d been friends since middle school when we were paired together during PE. We were equally bad at sports, but we loved singing and reading and a ton of other stuff. It would take me all day to list how many things we had in common. She was more than my friend. She’d become family over the years. My soul sister.

  I was about to throw my arms around her neck when her hardened expression stopped me. She looked ready to punch me in the face. I knew that look. It was normally reserved for girls like Brooke. Not me.

  Never me.

  “What do you want?” She crossed her arms over her chest. There was nothing welcoming about her tone.

  My insides twisted, my palms filling with sweat. “I um…I just wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry about not returning all of your texts yesterday…I was so upset about Ian.”

  “Ian? Texts? What are you talking about?” She rolled her eyes, her gaze skating over to Brooke and the girls. “Word of advice: Lay off the recreational drugs. They’re killing the limited amount of brain cells you have left.”

  “I’m not on drugs.” I shook my head, leaning closer and lowering my voice. “I don’t even know what they’re doing here. It’s like they think we’re friends. When I woke up this morning everything was different. I’m so confused.”

  Ava wrinkled her nose and glared hard. “Seriously? I don’t know what you’re up to, but you’re in my way. Go back to your posse over there.”

  Dazed, I blinked a few times. “What? I don’t get it. You’re my best friend.”

  “Ha ha. So funny I forgot to laugh.” She snorted, shoving past me. “Buh-bye now.”

  Heat worked its way up my neck and spilled across my cheeks as she hurried away from me. Ava had never talked to me like that before. Squeezing my eyes shut, I drew in a breath.

  “What was that all about?” Brooke sidled up next to me.

  I shook my head, too disoriented to respond.

  “You guys, we really need to get to first period,” Melody said. “Coach McGinley will kill us if we keep getting tardies.”

  “Coach McGinley? Why would she care if I’m late?” I asked.

  “Cause the last time you got detention you had to miss cheer practice, remember?” Katie clamped a hand on my shoulder, her eyes bugging out.

  “I’m a cheerleader?” No, that couldn’t be right.

  “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the nurse?” Brooke frowned.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Let’s get to class.” I had no idea what was going on, but there was no way I was spending the day in the nurse’s office. Not when I’d been handed everything I’d ever wanted.

  “Finally,” Melody said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  Following them, I peered over my shoulder. The sound of the choir singing rang out. Last week I was in there. I was standing with Ava belting out harmonies at the top of my lungs. Brooke and her friends teased us. Nick barely gave me a second look. Ian had ditched me and then kissed a different girl.

  Now I was riding to school with Nick. And, apparently, I ate lunch with him. I was popular. A cheerleader. And from what I could gather, Ian and I had never been together. It was like I’d been given a second chanc
e. A clean slate.

  I’d have been crazy not to take it.

  ***

  Okay, so in 1993 I still lacked coordination, and I still couldn’t dance. How I’d made it onto the cheerleading squad was beyond me. Practice was epically brutal, yet somehow, I managed to keep up. Lucky for me, my part of the routine was relatively simple. Still, my body wasn’t used to all the moving and gyrating. By the time it was over, my legs were on fire. I collapsed onto the grass and guzzled down some water. The other girls were all talking and laughing together. Obviously, they weren’t dying like I was.

  “Hey, you need a ride home?” A shadow cast over me. I glanced up into Nick’s dark eyes.

  I wanted to ride with him, but I wasn’t sure I could stand up yet. Nodding, I said, “Just give me a minute.”

  “Rough practice?” He plunked down next to me, bringing with him the scent of sweat and leather. He set a large duffel bag on the ground by his legs.

  “Yeah,” I answered honestly. “Yours?”

  “Football practice is always a little tough.” He smiled. “But I like it.”

  I understood that. Choir rehearsal was nothing like this. I left there feeling energized, no matter how challenging the songs were. I wanted to tell him that. To connect with him by sharing this part of myself, but I knew I couldn’t. He didn’t know that version of me.

  “Remy.” Brooke skipped over to us. “You coming?”

  “I can give her a ride home,” Nick said, and my heart did that flipping thing it always did in his presence. At least that was one thing that hadn’t changed.

  Brooke flashed me a knowing smile, and my cheeks warmed. “Okay. I’ll call you later, Remy.”

  It was weird seeing Brooke friendly like this.

  “All right.” I waved as she ambled off the field.

  “Ready now?” Nick asked.

  I wasn’t, but I nodded. It wasn’t fair to make him sit out here with me all night. Using all my strength, I pushed up with my arms and struggled to make my legs straighten out. They were wobbly and tight. Nick stood and bent down to grab his bag. I teetered on the balls of my feet, my body swaying to the side.