BACK TO THE PAST
Chapter Four

The town of Hill Valley was quieter than it had been the day before. People were out and about, but there was a more sober mood than yesterday. Jack and Rose rode their bikes into the center town. The flag on the village green next to the courthouse was at half-mast.

"Look at that." Jack pointed.

"What do you think it’s for?"

"I want to say the Titanic, but I’m guessing not."

"Let’s keep going. We probably shouldn’t check the papers. We should at least put some effort into keeping ourselves ignorant about the future."

"Right."

They kept riding through town half looking, half exploring. But they did manage to keep their curiosity at a distance.

Soon they came upon Hill Valley High School.

Rose looked it over. "It’s large school. It probably has a decent library."

"Let’s go then." Jack dismounted the bike and left it on the lawn. Rose did the same.

"Do you think we can just waltz in there? At this size it’s probably a boarding school. It may be hard to get into. We may have to sneak in."

"I don’t think we’re supposed to just waltz in anywhere Miss Serious Repercussions."

"This was your idea and besides I’m not going back now." She marched up the front stairs intent on going through those doors. Jack raced to meet her there.

He opened the door for her.

"After you."

"Why thank you."

Inside the school was strange. It looked almost hospital like. Futuristic no doubt.

"This must be what modern architecture is like," whispered Rose.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, we’ll just keep a low profile and keep looking for the library. There should be one."

Footsteps from around the corner grew louder.

"Wait I think someone’s coming!" Rose scrambled around looking for somewhere to hide. "In here!" She pulled Jack into the janitor’s closet. They waited until the hall was silent again and stepped out.

"Close one." Jack laughed.

More footsteps came around the corner. Several, obviously running. Rose dashed back towards the closet again and reached for the back of Jack’s shirt. She slipped on something and fell back. Her foot was stuck under box she struggled to free it, but it took her a minute. Unhurt, she regained her balance but several moments had past since the door had closed behind. The door was closed! Where was Jack? How long had she been in there? He was nowhere in sight. Groping for the door she pushed it open heavy as it was and…no Jack. There was no one.

"Jack…Jack?"

No Jack.

She quickly scrambled up and down the hall calling for him not caring who else should appear.

Someone else did appear and stopped dead in front of Rose. A girl about her age. Not very tall, a little skinny. She wasn’t dressed formally for school, as Rose would have expected. The girl wore a beat up tan leather jacket, faded jeans, a red bandanna around her hair, and her smoked glasses hung from her blouse in the middle of her chest.

She looked familiar. Long black curls and penetrating blue eyes.

A future girl. Rose thought to examine her carefully, but she had very little time to.

"Do you have a hall pass?" she asked. Her voice sounded on edge.

"Uh…a what? Um…no."

"Cool, me neither."

Rose was confused. "Actually it’s rather warm…"

Those damn footsteps again. By now she was desperately curious to find out who they belonged to.

"Shit, Strickland!" The girl pushed Rose back into the closet and shut the door. She pressed her ear to the door and listened. She waited until the footsteps subsided. "Whew, that was a close one."

"Yes it was…"

"You must be new."

"Yes actually I am."

"Are you lost?"

"Yeah, I was looking for the library."

"Oh I’ll show you where that is. Just wait a minute. I’m Christine by the way. Christine Dawson."

Dawson? Rose wondered. It could be a coincidence. But considering everything else it probably was not. "I’m Rose…" This person might just know who she is and she could very well be related to her. She was very curious about that fact in particular. She said the first name that came to her head. "McCoy. Rose McCoy."

"Like Bones?"

"Bones?"

"You know, Star Trek."

"Oh yes." Rose had absolutely no idea what in the hell she was talking about.

"My entire family watches that show. Even my grandparents love it. It’s the best. Actually we’re completely addicted to that and Get Smart. Our sad lives seek solace in the magic glowing screen."

Ah, now Rose understood: the picture show.

"Me too."

"I think it’s safe now. Come on I’ll take you to the library." Christine opened the door and let Rose and herself out. "Be as quiet as mouse and stick with me and you’ll be fine." Rose followed, her thoughts on Jack. Where could he be? What happened? At every turn Christine ducked and checked around like she was sneaking through a war zone.

When they finally got the library she loosened up again. They sat down at a table in the far end of the room.

"So where are you from Rose?"

"Pennsylvania." That wasn’t a lie at least.

"Cool." She said as if she were simply acknowledging something. "Whereabouts in Pennsylvania?"

"Philadelphia."

"Cool, I’ve been to Philly before. It’s great city."

"Yeah…" Rose would miss her home. She wasn’t planning on returning to it any time soon when she got back to 1912.

"What class are you supposed to be in now?"

How do I answer that one? "I’m not scheduled to attend yet…so all that sneaking business, you seem to well practiced in it." Damn she hated how she sounded like her mother sometimes.

"Yes, I am. And I’m not a slacker. I’m a rebel. I don’t care what anybody says. Look at this." She dropped a report down in front of Rose. "I got this back today." Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson by Shirley Houlihan and Christine Dawson. "Our teacher politely, yet snidely informed us that it was a load of crap. After what happened yesterday and he’s still a narrow-minded asshole. We weren’t stating it as fact, but we, like good students explored all the aspects. Shirley’s black, too. She’s on spring break with her folks, so she hasn’t seen it yet."

What happened yesterday? Maybe that’s why the flag was at half-mast. From the way Christine spoke Rose feared that by asking what happened? she would look at her as if she had eight heads.

Rose shook her head solemnly. "I understand. Some people just can’t be swayed no matter what awful things may happen." She could certainly think of a few examples. "Listen, can you tell me where they’d take someone who didn’t have a hall pass?"

"Yeah, the principal’s office? You were looking for a Jack when I found you, right?"

"Yes." Rose gathered there was no immediate danger in any of this so she relaxed some.

"Ready to risk life, limb, and an hour after school again?"

"Absolutely. Research can wait." Jack would be fine. She couldn’t wait to see him again.

They left the library and headed for the principal’s office. When they went in no one was there.

"Maybe they sent him back to class."

"No they couldn’t have. He doesn’t attend here either. Listen, I don’t even go here. We just needed to--"

"Someone’s coming!" Christine dived under the desk and pulled Rose down with her.

Strickland entered with a teacher. "Where did that kid go you say?"

"He got out. I checked the records and he wasn’t a student here. He was trespassing and didn’t sign in as a visitor. He got into a fight with several others. That Tannen kid’s gang, but he, I would assume has chosen today to play hooky." Christine scowled at the name. "They ran out of the building."

Oh God Jack! She clenched her bag tight.

"Call the authorities."

The door slammed and room was silent. Rose motioned to get up, but Christine put her hand on her arm. Someone was still in the room. Strickland. He walked towards the cabinet moving things about a bit and then sat down at his desk. Rose and Christine huddled together moved as far back as they could.

Strickland sat back and relaxed. The girls cringed and held their breath, not moving a muscle. Then he leaned down to open a drawer. He shuffled around until he found what he was looking for. Most likely something he confiscated from a student. Whatever it was he was playing with it on his desk.

The girls heard something drop on the ground next to them. A pen. Strickland moved back slowly in his wheelie chair. It made an awful squeak. He reached down for the pen not quite touching Rose’s left leg. It slipped from his hand barely a second after he retrieved it. Christine bit her lip and twisted her face. Rose closed her eyes, her face expressionless, her heart beating more and more rapidly. When it landed again it was touching her foot. Strickland picked it up this time without fail.

He placed the pen back on his desk and got up to leave. Rose was about to exhale, but Christine quickly and silently lunged forward to cup her mouth and waited several seconds after the door closed.

They emerged from the cramped little space. "Scary stuff. That was really close."

Christine took in a big breath, as did Rose. "Let’s get out of here. And we’ll find Jack."

"They probably cornered him at Lou’s Diner. That’s procedure. Lou doesn’t rag any of us delinquents. We’ll check there first."

"All right then. Let’s go now."

"By the way, is Jack your boyfriend?" she asked as she was opening the window.

"Yes he is." Rose found she was extremely proud to admit that fact.

"Funny." Christine swung her right leg out over the windowsill.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let’s move before Strickland comes back. Boyfriends, always have to watch those bastards or they just get lost."

Rose laughed and followed her new friend out the window, through the parking lot, ducking behind cars, and out of the campus and into town.

Chapter Five
Stories