Stuck In The Future | Teen Ink

Stuck In The Future

October 25, 2021
By cho0708, Sherborn, Massachusetts
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cho0708, Sherborn, Massachusetts
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I woke up to the sun blinding me as I opened my eyes. I groaned, that was not a fantastic way to wake up.

“That’s weird,” I said to myself, “I swear my bed was in another corner last night.”

I brushed it off, I must have been going crazy. But I won’t lie, something felt off. As I walked over to my closet, I saw many new things in my room. I was now very confused.

Maybe Mom came in last night and decorated my room as a surprise, I thought. 

While I was walking, I caught a glimpse of myself in my mirror, and it stopped me in my tracks. 

The person staring back at me was not me, or maybe it was. I pinched myself and jumped. This was definitely not a dream. I moved my arm, the person in the mirror does too. I moved my head, so did she. 

I studied the face in the mirror, trying to remain as calm as I could. Millions of questions swirled through my head, but I can’t find the answer to any of them.

The face in the mirror looked like me, but older. The person had brown hair and eyes, and freckles sprinkled across the bridge of their nose. Their face looked thinner and more mature. 

I tried to stay calm, but I was panicking and confused. I didn’t know what to do.

I closed my eyes. This is all a dream, this is all a dream. I willed myself to be back into the present, into my body. I opened my eyes and the familiar stranger was still staring back at me in the mirror.

“Haley! Come downstairs! I made your favorite, blueberry pancakes!” yelled a voice from outside my door. It sounded strangely like my mom.

Haley, that's my name, I thought, and my favorite breakfast are chocolate chip muffins, not blueberry pancakes. 

I looked around the room, and I spotted a desk.

Yes, I thought, maybe I can find something here that could give me some answers. 

There was a textbook in the middle of the desk, next to a notebook filled with notes. 

The name of the book was 10th Grade Biology. I flipped through the pages of the notebook, finding pages of notes. I flipped to the front cover, Haley Greene was the name scrawled across the front.

Suddenly, realization dawned on me. My name is Haley Greene, and the person outside my door sounded like my mom, and my face looks almost exactly like mine. I must’ve been in the body of my future self! Why else would I study a textbook for 10th graders? 

How could this have happened? I didn’t eat or drink anything weird, and nothing really exciting happened to me.

I was shocked and overwhelmed. And the world started to spin around me, feeling like it was going to swallow me whole.

I sat down in the desk chair and tried to calm myself down. What was I going to do?

I decided to get dressed and head downstairs. I was hoping that I could find some more clues.

I opened the door and found a familiar hallway. At least I’m still living in the same house. I walked downstairs, not knowing what I was going to see. The house looked different, and I spotted a new couch in the living room. 

“Haley! There you are, I was starting to get worried,” my mom said next as she came up to me.

“Hey, Mom. Um, do you know what the date is?” I asked. 

“Yeah, it's September 28th, 2024?”

2024! My suspicions were right! I was in the body of my future self. I just jumped forward 3 years! How am I supposed to get back? I thought.

I went through the day without any other problems. It was Sunday, so luckily I didn’t have to go to school. I went through my phone, trying to discover more about who I was, and how I acted. I didn’t want to tell anyone the truth, no one would believe me. 

I started to memorize the names of my friends and matched them with their faces. I knew I couldn’t avoid going to school, so I tried to familiarize myself with the people I’m going to interact with.

When I was in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I was too nervous and confused. Endless thoughts raced through my mind, keeping me awake. I eventually gave up on trying to sleep, so I read a book until it was time to get ready.

It was Monday, which meant I had to go to school. I had tried to convince my mom to let me stay home, but she refused. 

I had no idea how I usually dressed so I put on something comfortable. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths until I was feeling a lot calmer.

“Hey mom, when does the bus arrive?” I asked.

“7:45, my goodness, you are so forgetful sometimes! Don’t forget about cheerleading after school!” she replied.

I tried to hide the look of horror on my face. Not only did I have to get through school but I also had to survive cheerleading?!

I ate breakfast and waited for the bus. Thankfully, no one on the bus tried to talk to me. Instead, I scrolled through my phone and tried to look busy. I dug into my bag and pulled out my schedule, going over it to know where my classes were.

As I walked through the hallway, my heart was beating fast, and my hands were starting to get clammy. I tried to walk as fast as possible, hoping that no one would talk to me.

I searched for Room 283, where my math class was. I walked down the hallway until I came to the classroom.

I let out a breath, and I walked into the classroom. There were rows of desks, most of them filled with students. The classroom was devoid of life and color.  The teacher with a tight brown bun and black glasses had started to write a problem onto the board. According to my schedule, her name was Mrs. Stok.

“Haley! You were almost late again!” my teacher snapped.

 I swallowed, trying to find my words, “I have a question. Where do I sit again?” 

“Young lady, is this a joke? You should know your assigned seats. Pull your little tricks one more time and I’m giving you a detention.”

I cringed, I really didn’t want to draw attention today. I stood there, not knowing what to do, I couldn’t find my assigned seat. 

“Haley!” Someone whispered behind me. I turned to look, it was a boy sitting in the front row. “Your seat’s the third desk of the second row.”

I thanked him and walked over to my desk. I pulled out my binder and pencil case and got ready for class.

“Haley! What’s the answer to problem 10?” My teacher asked.

“Um, uh, I don’t know,” I replied. I had been spaced out the whole time, looking at the clock and waiting for class to end. I had no idea what they were talking about and I could not even get a sense of the problems.

“That’s it, young lady. I am sick and tired of this! You have not been paying attention the whole class! Meet me tomorrow after school for detention,” my teacher yelled at me.

I blew out a breath, I had now definitely caught everyone’s attention. So much for staying hidden. 

The last bell rang, and people flooded out of the classrooms and to the buses. I headed over to the field where my cheerleading practice was held. The school day had been horrible, I avoided everyone and barely made it through any of my classes.

As I got closer to the field, I saw many girls talking in groups with blue and white outfits on.

I sucked in a breath. I didn’t know if I could do this. What if I get hurt? I’ve never done this before. I closed my eyes and calmed myself down, and walked as confidently as I could over to the field.

Cheerleading practice was more fun than I thought. I didn’t mess up too bad, but the coach yelled at me a few times. If I could get back to my present, I wanted to start cheerleading. 

Once I got home, I took a shower and tried to do some homework. By 9 o’clock, I was just so tired.

The next morning, I woke up and rubbed my eyes. My bed was back in its original spot, and the new decorations were gone.

I leaped to my feet, suddenly feeling very awake. I ran over to my mirror and looked at myself. I pat my face, I looked the same as before! I was so happy, I was finally myself again!

While I was celebrating, I noticed something blue and white out of the corner of my eye.

It can’t be. 

I whipped my head around and went to pick it up.

It was my cheerleading outfit. It looked like this whole thing wasn’t a dream at all. Joy coursed through my veins, and I was so grateful to be myself again.

 I started the day with new hope, as the future isn’t set in stone.



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