Jenna fell on her bed backward, sighing as she landed. “Ugh,” She thought. She heard yelling outside her bedroom door; Evelyn and Mark were still at it. “I’m getting the house, you buffoon! You can sleep in your office,” screamed Evelyn. Jenna could hear her stomping past the bedroom door.
“Maybe I will!” replied Mark, and Jenna rolled her eyes; this had been going on since Mark had found out about the affair. Jenna had known for months that something was up with Evelyn. She had a pep in her step; she was happy and laughing. Evelyn's attitude had improved to the point where she acted like she had when Jenna had first moved in.
When Jenna first moved in, Evelyn was confident and happy. But, as time passed, Evelyn lost her confidence and shine; she was depressed. She was lonely in her marriage to Mark and only held on because of her children. Jenna could see the change in her attitude when the affair started; she had gotten all her lost confidence back, and she was no longer depressed and lonely... she was happy.
Jenna sighed and put in some earbuds. This is not how she wanted to spend her birthday. She hit shuffle on her playlist and tried to relax. Tomorrow was exciting for Jenna; she had visitation with her mother. She had asked for it on her birthday, but the Morgs denied that wish because of church. They needed her there to keep up the façade of a picture-perfect family.
Daylight slowly became night, and there was a knock on her door; it was Melanie. “Come in,” said Jenna. Melanie opened the door and peered inside. "My mom just left, and dad ordered pizza. He asked that you come down”.
Jenna nodded, "I'll be right there. Thank you, Melanie. “Melanie smiled and closed the door. The twins sure could be annoying, but they could be sweet too. If she had allowed herself to get close to them, maybe they would feel like an actual brother and sister, but she had learned her lesson and vowed to herself never again.
She hopped off her bed and stretched as she put her phone in her back pocket. Then walked to her bedroom door and walked out to get some pizza. She headed down the stairs and walked into the dining room. There was a single cupcake and a card on the counter. Jenna looked up at Melanie and Max; they both had the biggest grins. “Happy birthday!” They said together. Jenna smiled; she was happy someone remembered her Birthday. Mark walked into the kitchen and handed them all a plate of pizza. “Happy birthday, Jenna," he said.
Jenna smiled, "Thank you." The four of them sat at the table together, discussing church and the pastor's words. Jenna could tell Mark was devastated, but he didn’t let that bleed to the twins. Jenna knew they had probably heard the yelling, but Mark and Evelyn were trying to keep this from their children.
After dinner, Jenna cleaned up the plates and ran the dishwasher. The twins and their dad sat in the living room watching a movie. The movie was about a human finding a vampire castle and falling in love with Dracula’s daughter. Jenna laughed as she walked back up to her room. How silly, she thought. Vampires and other supernatural creatures weren’t real; there were no zombies or werewolves. She opened her bedroom door and went to get her pajamas out of her drawer. She slipped them on and then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth to get ready for bed.
Afterward, she lay in her bed and opened her book, a novel about living in the 1500s. A palace made of stone, a prince, and a banned relationship was involved. She licked her lips as she read the part about the prince; he was tall, dark, handsome, and of course, charming.
There was a knock on her door, and Mark peaked his head in. “Don’t forget, Jenna. Tomorrow, you told the twins you would take them to the history museum.” Jenna nodded, it was summer vacation, and The Morgs viewed her as a babysitter. Since she liked the Twins, she didn’t mind as much. Most of her friends were on vacation with their families anyway. “Goodnight,” Mark said.
“Night,” Replied Jenna. She continued reading into the night and fell asleep with the book on her chest.
Her alarm started going off at 8 am. She got up and walked to Melanie’s bedroom, knocking before opening the door slowly. Melanie was still sleeping, “wakey, wakey, sleepy head.” Melanie groaned and rolled over. “We’re going to the museum today, remember?” asked Jenna.
Melanie sat up quickly in bed. “YAY. I'm so excited!” she exclaimed, and Jenna laughed, ”Good. Come down for breakfast so we can all get ready.” Melanie nodded.
Jenna went to Max’s room next. She could hear him inside playing video games, so she knocked louder so he would hear her. She peaked her head into his room slowly, “Come on and get ready for breakfast. We’re going to the museum today,” she told him.
"Okay,” said Max. “I'll be down in a minute.” Jenna nodded and closed his door. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen and got out the pancake ingredients. She had all the plates ready when the twins came down. Mark walked into the kitchen, "Looks good, Jenna. I got to run. I'll see you guys tonight." They all said their goodbyes. Jenna looked around; Evelyn must not have come home.
Jenna sighed, "All right, guys, I'm going to take a quick shower, then we can go.” The twins nodded as she ran upstairs. She took a shower and put on her favorite pair of jeans with her favorite black shirt, French braiding her hair and putting on a little makeup. She was back downstairs in 30 minutes with everyone ready to go. She grabbed the keys to the Honda Civic as they all walked to the car and climbed in. "You guys ready for an adventure?” The twins nodded with excitement. “Good," she said, starting the vehicle.
Today would start an adventure she would never forget.
Jenna pulled up to the museum; it was an exquisitely kept stone structure from the 1500s. Stones lined the walkway to the building, and two dragon statues were on pedestals by the entrance. The children gasped when they saw it. They had lived in this town their entire lives but never visited the museum because their parents were always too busy. Jenna had only been here once on a school field trip in the second grade, but that was just a distant memory now. Jenna parked the car looking at the children; Melanie gleamed with excitement. "This is so cool! I hope the inside is just as cool." Jenna laughed, "I haven't been here since I was really young, but I remember it being pretty fantastic." She said, peering out the window at the massive stone building. Max had brought his handheld game and was completely oblivious to his surroundings. Jenna walked over and took the game, putting it in her pocket. "Okay, you two, time for rules." Both twins rolled their eyes. "Jenna, we
Once they were done with all the exhibits, they went to the car. Max and Melanie climbed in, and she handed Max back his game. He smiled as he took it happily, “You know, you’re almost addicted to that thing.” Jenna laughed. Max grinned, “I’m at the 100th level. I need to get to 350 to beat the game. I can smell the victory.” Jenna laughed, and Melanie pinched her nose, “ I can smell something else.” She groaned. Max laughed, “whoever smelt it dealt it.” He teased. Jenna plugged her nose and rolled down the windows. “Geez, Max! You stink.” Max laughed, “It's a part of my charm.” Melanie gagged, “Boys are so gross!” Jenna smirked and pulled out her phone. She texted Evelyn and told her they were done. Today was her visit with her mother. Jenna sighed as she started the car, “Your mom is back now. I will drop you two off and see my mom.” Both children nodded, “I hope you have a good visit, Jenna," said Melanie. Jenna nodded, “I do too.” On the
Jenna slowly turned around to face the man. He was tall and dressed in clothes they would wear 500 years ago. Cloth pants that were brown and a white one-piece shirt. She eyed him slowly, “I just came to marvel at this clock again.” The man smiled, “Aye,” He said, “She is a beauty, isn’t she?” Jenna nodded, “Could you tell me more about the story of the time travel?” she asked. The man nodded, “Yes. I am Angelo, by the way. The clock's keeper.” Jenna smiled wearily; this guy was a little creepy. He continued, “It has been said that this clock can send those true of heart back in time to fight for what they want. To change who they are, to become more. The legend says; that a young girl used this very clock to do just that. The legend says she was the queen of this castle, Queen Angela.” Jenna looked at the clock and then looked at the picture by it. Queen Angela stood by the clock; she posed for this picture. She looked marvelous; her long gown was to the floor, an
Clay's laughter echoed through the dungeon, and Jenna rolled her eyes, “I promise you. I’m not kidding; I was brought here by a crazy old-time clock wizard.” Clay looked at her, interested, “The clock wizard that gave the queen her power?” Jenna nodded, “But according to him, she had no power. She just placed herself in the king’s path to gain status.” Clay looked at Jenna with wonder; "So you are from somewhere else?” Jenna nodded, “I swear to you I am, and in my timeline, no dragons, witches, werewolves, or vampires exist. At least not in the open.” Clay put his head down, “So that means we lose.” Jenna sighed, “I don’t know what that means. What I do know is that this isn’t possible; I shouldn't be sitting here talking to a dragon. DRAGONS DON’T EXIST!” Clay sighed, “We do. Well, now, at least. I’m wondering if we're extinct in the future.” Jenna nodded, “Honestly, I'm not sure. In my future, this castle is a museum.” Clay looked at Jenna wit
Jenna looked at the two men that were sitting across from her. Clay had black hair and green eyes. Yale was blonde with blue eyes. She stared at them both blankly as Clay told Yale what had happened. “So she’s from a different timeline, at least that is what she claims,” Clay said.Yale looked at Jenna with amusement, “Oh really? Can she prove that?”Jenna looked at Yale, “I’m not sure how you would like me to prove it. Everything I had from my timeline was left there when I came here.” Yale looked at her with mystery.“Oh, yeah? Like what?” asked Yale.“Like my phone and clothing.”Both men stared at her, "What's a foone” Clay asked.Jenna laughed, “It is called a phone. It's like a rectangular device you use to talk to people not located near you.” Both men look bewildered.“I don’t understand what you mean,” stated Yale."Exactly, each thing I could tell you about, you wouldn’t believe. In my timeline, we have working toilets with indoor plumbing that flush your waste away." Both m
Yale looked at Clay, “What do you mean?” Jenna nodded and interrupted, “ Yeah…what does that mean?” both men looked at her and then back at each other. "Queen Angela used the time clock and changed her destiny. Maybe this human can do the same," said Yale. Jenna smirked, “My name is Jenna. Talk about me not having manners. You didn’t even ask for my name, and you didn’t even introduce yourself, Yale. I just know your name because he said it.” Both men laughed they had been referring to Jenna as the human this entire time. “As I was saying. In Jenna’s timeline, there are no supernaturals. Maybe she can help us end this war and save all of us," said Clay. Jenna sighed, “There is nothing in any of our history books about this war. Supernaturals are just make-believe.” Clay nodded, “But you came from a different timeline, so maybe you’re the key to changing everything.” "In books, supernaturals are scary. Vampires kill humans and drink their blood, dragons are ferocious, we
In the morning, Jenna rolled over onto the big bear rug and stretched out. Clay had moved her after she fell asleep, but she felt rather cozy. She stretched her body out, making yawning noises.“Are you ok?” asked Yale, and Jena laughed, “Yeah, just a good stretch. I’m going to use the bucket. What’s for breakfast?” she asked, getting up.Yale laughed as he watched her, “You are one strange human. We are going to have some leftover deer meat, and Clay went to see if he could find some eggs.”Jenna smiled, but a thought came across her mind, “How do you cook eggs here?”Yale grinned, “Well, we have things called pots, and you can cook them over a fire or put them in water and boil them.” He said matter of factly.Jenna smirked, “Ah, like camping.”Yale laughed, “Sure…like camping.” He replied.Jenna smirked and walked to their makeshift bathroom. There was a bucket, a bowl of water, and some leaves. She laughed to herself about the leaves. Another thing she missed was toilet paper. She
Jenna watched the castle become uncloaked and gasped as she took in the fantastic sight. The stone was even more beautiful than at Queen Angela’s castle. It was dark grey, and dragon statues were all over the grounds. The grounds were beautiful and were upkept with flowers and décor for the timeline.She squealed in excitement, “ That is a pretty neat trick.” she smiled, looking at the magic stone.Yale smiled, “ Yes, my father has a witch he uses to cast spells. When the war started, we had our castle cloaked so the King’s guards couldn’t find it. “Jenna nodded, “ Yes, witchcraft is not a thing in my timeline. We can’t cloak anything.” She said, marveling at the castle once more.Both men laughed as they watched her. They had nothing to compare her experience to, but a castle being cloaked was usually something no humans had seen, “ Well, let's go.” Said Yale, leading the way, but Jenna was still mesmerized.They walked towards the castle; It was only a few meters away, and Jenna co