My name is Garrett Goodman, I have never met my parents because they died in a car crash when I was just a baby so I live with my grandparents in Ohio. I have no friends except for Tyler my neighbor, and I love to play video games but, all jokes aside I’m a good kid. I’m pretty tall, “6’ 3” to be exact with a slender build and very bad acne. I have had straight A’s all my life. At the moment, I am 18 and a senior in high school. Today is the last day though.
“Well,” I sigh, “Last day of school Tyler, are you ready?”
Tyler is about an inch shorter than me and about the same build, with bad acne. We are in the same grade, like a bunch of the same things, and have been neighbors since I can remember.
“I don’t know,” he responds in a voice that makes it seem as if he’s about to cry.
“Well, you better know fast because the bus is pulling up to the school,” I chuckle and punch him in the shoulder.
I go to Greenville High School, a small school with only about 2500 students.
As we’re walking to first period (Language Arts) rather quietly on this bright and sunny day Tyler asks me, “Are you ready for school to be over, I-I-I,” he stutters, stops, and thinks about what he wants to say, then lets it release as fast as air coming out of a balloon,” I mean are you ready for college, the real world?”
He says, “real” with such a distinct tone and emphasis it really makes me think, but as we arrive to room G-11, I finally decide to say, “I guess we’ll find out in the real world.”
It is an emotional and long period but when the bell rings I give Mrs. Larowe a hug. As I am walking to my next class a girl bumps into me and I drop all of my stuff.
Instead of helping me she just laughs and exclaims, “Look at this loser!”
I am sprawled out on the floor trying to grab my stuff when I felt the first kick. The second kick came even harder with a chuckle. A fist flies and nails me in the left eye. I can’t see who it is but I don’t have to because I know who it is, the soccer team with their captain Bryan Vosler.
Bryan was about the gnarliest looking guy I have ever seen in my entire life. He is shorter than me, about “5’ 11”, but he has biceps like a moose and hair like a French supermodel. There is a scar on his face around his right eye from when his dad would abuse him. Sounds more like a football player to me but we couldn’t have won most of the games we did without him.
I black out after a couple of minutes, and around the twentieth punch to the face. It is about 6th period and I’m  back to reality. I am horrified that I missed out on most of my classes the last day of my high school career. At least I made it to my favorite class, Science. Today we were going to make boats and eat candy, and you’re never too old to eat candy and make boats.
We test our boats out by putting it in water and putting candy on it. Of course with me being geeky and all, my boat constructed of tin foil, tape, straws, and styrofoam cups holds thirteen pounds, the highest in the class. We get to keep the candy we won so that was cool.
“WOOOOOO HOOOOOO SCHOOL’S OUT,” is all you could hear after the 7th period bell.
I am happy that school is out but sad in a way because, high school is supposed to be the best years of your life but I had the worst years of my life.
“Hey, pst,” a strange voice whispers to me from behind me on the bus.
As I turn around I realise it’s a girl, “What do you want?”
She looks at me funny and it is like the face you make when someone you know doesn’t remember you. She makes the face work though because she has long blonde hair with some mud on her cheek like she just got done playing rugby, a black sweatshirt on, green eyes, and little rabbit ears.
“It’s me silly,” she talks in a little sing song high pitch voice.
All I can think is who is this chick so I ask, “Who are you?”
“It’s me from gym class,” she acts like I am the dumbest person in the world as she says it.
“W-h-a-t a-r-e y-o-u t-w-o d-o-i-n-g,” Tyler asks all stretched out and ooey gooey like a little kid who sees someone kissing.
“I was just about to ask my good friend here if he had a piece of gum,” she replies.
“I don’t have any gum sorry.”
I get off of the bus thinking about if that was what she was really going to ask me but then I walk into my house and smell fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I decide it doesn’t matter.
“Sme-e-e-lls like Heaven in here,” I announce as I get into the kitchen.
“Well, your letter from Cornell came in and I wanted to make you a big dinner to start your life as an adult,” my grandma says as she gives me a kiss on the forehead.
She has to stand on her tiptoes and do this hop thing in order to do it though. She’s a lot shorter than I am. She has got luscious brunette hair that smells like strawberries with the cheekiest smile I’ve ever seen.
A couple of hours has past of me looking at the envelope, patiently waiting with anticipation when she calls me down for dinner, “Get down here, please.”
I bring the letter down with me because I know grandma is just as anxious as I am to see if I got in.
“I’m ready to open it,” I say after a couple of chicken legs and a plate of mashed potatoes.
“Well, so am I,” she states with plenty of emotion that it sound scary but she corrects herself, “I mean, whenever you are ready I am ready.”
I slide my fingernail into the seam as a drop of sweat runs down my forehead.
I unfold the letters and flip through until the acception part, “Well better now than never,” I say with a chuckle.
“Well what does it say dear?”
“Blah, Blah, Blah, holy moly, YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED!”
It felt good when grandma stopped for a moment to tell the whole family, “Guess who just got accepted into Cornell, that’s right my grandson, woot woot.”
Her boasting like she is makes me happy. It also makes me think about how she would react to me leaving, which also made me think about how I couldn’t wait to go tour the campus.
After a couple of weeks of lounging around and being proud of getting a full ride to Cornell I decided it is about time to go see this school 500 miles away.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go grandma,” I ask as walking I am through the plane terminal.
“Well, you’re not gonna be my baby boy forever so, you’re going to have to do some things yourself.”
“I will really miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too Garrett.”
I hug her and give her a kiss as I walk onto the plane. I couldn’t believe that just a couple of weeks ago I was getting beat up in the middle of the hallway and today I was on my way to tour the Ivy League school I was going to attend.
“Heh, losers,” I whisper to myself with a snicker.
The plane’s landing is a different feeling. It hurts a little bit but it feels good to know I that I am here, right where I thought I needed to be.
The intercom went off, “It’s a lovely day here, 90 degrees, sunny, and a little bit of wind, so make the best of it.”
I am just walking around in Ithaca when I finally come across the college I had gotten accepted into.
I am greeted by friendly smiles and hellos until I nervously enter the main office for registration, “Umm excuse me miss, I-I'm here for registration.”
“Oh hello there,” she seems excited to have someone walk in like she was lonely. It made some sense because the office was pretty deserted except for maybe one or two people in their own little piece of the office. She is forty maybe fifty, and I don’t see a ring on her finger, “I can help you with your registration.”
“Okay, thanks.”
After all of the important stuff she asks, “Any clubs?”
I hadn’t even thought of clubs so I stutter out, “Wha-What do you recommend?”
“Well for you,” she thinks for a moment or two,” I recommend The Ersatz Club.”
“Well, if you recommend it, I’ll sign up.”
I had never heard of the word ersatz before so I figure it is just a made up frat name or something.
As I’m walking away feeling good that I’m enrolled in college she says,” If you ever need anything, anything at all, come see me.”
“Okay,” I mutter.
About a month has gone by and school is starting. I can’t wait for the first meeting of my new club.
“I hope I am at the right address,” I whisper as I walk up to the door.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
“Who is it,” is all I heard as a latch opened and an eye popped out.
“Garrett, Garrett Goodman,” I express hopefully.
“Oh come on in newbie.”
The door opens and I walk in. It is pitch black dark when all of the sudden someone puts a bag over my head, “Sorry but I have to do this.”
CLONK! I was out for the count.
“Where am I,” is all I could get out.
“YOU ARE HERE FOR INITIATION,” there was a booming voice that is so loud it hurts my ears but an initiation sounds pretty cool.
“Ow my ears,” there is another voice that sounded like it was possibly a woman.
“Sorry about that but that’s just what has always been done, and I know it does hurt your ears but you’ll live.”
“Wow, real empathetic,” there was that ladylike voice again and it sounds familiar.
“Okay, so in this club you will see things that you never thought existed.”
“Like what,” I ask out of inspiration and curiosity.
“Oh you’ll find out, in good time, but first we need to be shown that you can keep a secret because we don’t want to have to kill anyone. Heh heh.”
It was after a long motivational speech about trust that they finally took of the bags.
“Finally,” I look over to see who said that and it was the girl from the bus.
“Hey, do I know you,” I wonder out of complete curiosity if she would remember me.
“Garrett, Garrett Goodman from gym class?”
“Yea I can’t believe you remember me.”
“You got a piece of gum?”
“Well just like before I don’t. I am very sorry.”
“It’s a joke. Lighten up. If we’re gonna be in the same club you got to learn how to have a good sense of humor.”
“Well, okay.”
We started to hang out for a while. She is very funny and kind hearted. We passed the initiation together helping each other out in any way possible. She started to become a friend of mine and her name was Ramona.
“Well, you have passed initiation and proved yourself trustworthy of the secrets our club beholds.”
Our leader Rune is very quiet except for when he need not be. He is, for a man, very handsome in both ways. It was surprising that he didn’t have a girlfriend.
“You’ve been telling us about secrets and stuff forever what are they though,” Ramona is very impatient unlike me I feel like the climb is what is important not what’s waiting on the other side.
“I can’t tell you yet.”
“But you literally just said you could.”
“Calm down Ramona,” I say feeling like I had been left out of the conversation.
“No I have been waiting forever it’s been almost one year and we just finally past initiation.”
“Okay, fine. We have discovered tunnels under the Earth that have time travel doors on each side of the walk ways.”
“Whatever Rune, tell us the truth,” Ramona really wants to know what the secrets are.
“That is the truth Ramona. If you do not believe me I can show you. Just give me a date any date in the history of time.”
With me being a giant nerd I recommend,” 1687, the year Isaac Newton invented physics.”
“Okay.”
He walks us down the creaky and eerie staircase made of wood into this giant pit. We walk for maybe three and a half minutes until we the dirt ground floor. It is cold so I give Ramona my coat like a gentleman. We are walking down a hall and there are doors on both sides of the walls.
“Here we are, 1687.”
There was a door on the right side that had the number 1687 on it.
“Well come on open it and go in,” Rune says like it’s an everyday thing.
I open up the door and walk in. I open my eyes and in an instant I am transported to Ithaca in 1687 which apparently was a site for an indian tribe.
“Boo,” Rune is behind me.
I am scared so I ask, “How do we get back?”
“Just simply say, rearward.”
There is a flash and then we are back into the tunnels.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” I am stunned.
I don’t know what to do so I just smile. I don’t even think about what I could do with this information.
“What should we do,” it sees as if Ramona is just as scared and confused as I am.
“Whatever you want to do.”
“I realize that Rune.”
He leaves us down in the cold tunnels to mess around and do whatever our hearts desired.
I think about what I want to do and then it hits me, “I’m going to go see my parents.”
“What.”
“Well, when I was just two years old my parents were hit by a drunk semi-driver. I don’t remember them but, it would be great to meet them at least one time in my life.”
“Well, what if you slip up and tell them they die, so they, don’t go where ever they were going? I mean if that happens you're a different person and you might not be here standing with me today.”
“Well, if you were me what would you do?”
“I-I don’t think that I would care and I would go anyways.”
She understands my conflict and understands why I choose what I choose for the reason I choose it.
“I’m going to visit them. I’m sorry.”
“I understand, but, can I go with you?”
“No. I need to do this myself.”
I walk away looking for two thousand.
I whisper under my breath,” Nineteen-ninety nine, two thousand. Here it is.”
I slowly open the door, walk in, and get transported. As I do this I realize I shouldn’t because, I need Ramona in my life and can’t live without her, but, it’s too late and I forget the word to get back.
I shriek out,” RAMONA!!!”
There’s nothing I can do now except hope she comes back...