Paul didn’t help me get off the train.
I never thought I would care 또는 even notice that a boy didn’t try and help me jump down from a not-quite-stopped-yet train when I could get down just as well myself. That sort of thing just wasn’t done in my time and was even considered rude. But I’d gotten so used to Paul holding my hand and helping me in and out of places that when he jumped off without lending me a hand, I felt a little empty inside.
I jumped down on my own, landing not very gracefully on the ground. I could see the station a little ways off in the distance, where the train was slowing down but hadn’t yet stopped, and I could see a station guard who caught sight of me. “Hey!”
I struggled to my feet and took off, knowing I could never outrun him. “Paul!”
The guard stepped down from the station and started after me. “Hey, you, stop!”
“Paul!” Was I going to be arrested? How could I get Paul and John together if I got arrested? How did the legal system even work in this time? “Paul! Wait for me!”
Paul turned round. I think I saw his face soften slightly. After a moment’s pause, he headed back – he was much faster than me – and pulled me along, helping me outrun the guard before he could catch me.
When we were sure we had 로스트 him, we stopped and caught our breath. I don’t think I had ever gone that fast in my entire life. “Th – thanks, Paul.”
Paul still looked angry. “What was that all about earlier? Do 당신 want to be with me 또는 not?”
“Of course I want to be with you!” I protested between long breaths. “Why are 당신 angry with me? What did I do?”
Paul stared at me like I was crazy. “What do 당신 mean, what did 당신 do? How would 당신 like it if I ran off on 당신 to be with some other bird?” He gesticulated wildly with his left hand.
I blinked, confused. “Bird?”
“Girl.”
I was still puzzled. “But – I don’t understand. Why isn’t it okay to go sit with someone else when you’re on a date?”
Paul stared at me for a moment like I had just grown another head. “You really don’t know...” His angry frown cleared, replaced with – what? I wasn’t quite sure.
“No.” I shook my head hard, feeling the tears well up. “In my – I mean, where I come from – it’s different. 당신 can do whatever 당신 want on a 날짜 and it doesn’t matter. Except touching the other person when they don’t say it’s okay. It’s all about freedom. To stop the other person controlling you. It’d different here and I didn’t know.” I was outright sobbing now. “I don’t know anything about now – I mean here....”
“Hey – don’t cry, Gloria.” Paul put his arm around me and gave me a one-armed hug. I continued sobbing into his shoulder. “Here.” He pulled out a handkerchief – a real handkerchief made of cloth – and handed it to me. I sniffled and dried my eyes.
“But where do 당신 come from?” Paul asked again, and when I glanced up, I saw a curious light in his eyes. “Why’re the dating rules so different from here?” I opened and closed my mouth a little. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t meant to tell Paul as much as I had just now – I just couldn’t stand the thought that I’d done something to make him mad at me. I wasn’t behaving at all how a girl was supposed to in 2157. But I wasn’t in 2157 right now. “What sort of place would say it’s all right to run off on your 날짜 and see another fellow?”
It was then that I processed what he must think about me and John. “Oh! Paul, I wasn’t – it wasn’t like that. I wasn’t dating him 또는 anything. I want to be with 당신 – for as long as I’m here, I mean.” I remembered with a sinking feeling that we didn’t have that much longer to be together. On sudden impulse, and because I remembered how little time I had left here, I said, “That boy is a bandleader. I only sat with him because he has a band, and I know that you....”
“A bandleader?” Paul actually laughed. “You ran out on our 날짜 to find me a bandleader who’d let me 가입하기 his band?”
And the way he said it made me laugh too. It did all seem silly now, even though in my time there would have been nothing strange about doing that.
“Well?” Paul prompted me, still grinning. “What did he say?”
“Nothing,” I admitted, deflated. “I didn’t get around to that.” If only I had asked John, then maybe....
Paul shook his head as if to say he would never, ever understand me. “There’s plenty of bandleaders round here, anyway. Come on, let’s go look at them and enjoy ourselves.”
“But Paul...” I tried to think of something to say as he pulled me in the direction of the nearest main street, where we could hear beautiful 구식 음악 playing, actually holding my hand again – “don’t 당신 want to give him a chance? The one I was talking to?”
Paul looked back at me and shrugged. “Sure, if we see him again.”
And I knew I would have to accept that.
Besides, when we got to the main road, I forgot about everything else.
It turned out the 음악 opportunities John had told me about were like a giant 음악 festival. Makeshift stages were set up all along the road where undiscovered bands were making themselves seen, and booths were scattered around where people advertised different musical services they provided to anyone who was interested. I had had no idea how anyone ever got discovered before there was an internet. This was a very good way if 당신 didn’t mind approaching someone 당신 had never met and hadn’t even had a chance to look up first. I had never been in a place filled with so many people. The nineteen fifties were nothing like the twenty-one fifties. And I loved it.
Paul seemed to 사랑 it, too. “Come on, Gloria!” And he pulled me into a place near one of the stages where a number of people were dancing to a particularly catchy tune, and soon we were – I think this is the word – grooving to the beat with everybody else.
Paul and I had such a good time that I almost forgot what we were here for. John would be out here somewhere looking for opportunities too, and at least if I saw him Paul would understand my going up to him and talking to him now. But the festival was a big place, and I hadn’t seen John at all since coming here. I wondered how badly history would get messed up if John took one of these opportunities that I didn’t really understand. Paul tried to explain a few of the services to me, but I didn’t get it and didn’t know how to ask him to explain, since I couldn’t very well say, “But how do they do that without the internet?”.
“Uh-oh.” Paul glanced up at the sky, and as I looked up, too, I saw that it was getting dark. Paul must be talking about night coming, I realized – it felt weird to judge time that way instead of looking at the digits on my phone screen.
“I told Dad I’d be back 의해 dark. We’d better get 집 now, 또는 I’ll be in trouble.”
I shivered as the setting sun made the air colder. I really wasn’t used to not being able to just tap an app on my phone and adjust the temperature. “But Paul, we can’t go yet! We haven’t seen everything.”
“Didn’t think 당신 liked what 당신 saw that much,” said Paul with his eyebrows crinkled in adorable puzzlement. “You didn't seem to understand any of it. Look, there are other festivals, I keep telling you. Aren’t there any festivals where 당신 come from?”
Actually there weren’t, but that was besides the point. “Paul! I still haven’t seen – 당신 haven’t met all the bandleaders yet! What if the perfect band for 당신 is somewhere here?” I gestured into the crowd where I knew John had to be somewhere, hoping against hope that I would suddenly spot him. I didn’t.
Paul hesitated, glancing over his shoulder towards the train station and back at the festival. “Yeah....”
“Please? Just another half hour?”
“Well – sure, all right.” Paul grinned at me.
I took off through the crowd, barely even bothering to keep Paul in my sight anymore even though I knew now that was wrong on a nineteen fifties date, determined to find John before we had to go. The place was huge, and if I was hoping John would suddenly appear in front of me like Ringo had, I was disappointed. How much time had passed? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? 더 많이 than once I put my hand in my pocket to get my phone and check, before remembering I didn’t have it. Even though I was impressed with myself for going this long without it, there was no time to think about that. It was time for drastic action.
“Excuse me,” I said, looking down at my shoes, addressing a band who was just putting their gear away, “did 당신 talk to a boy named John Lennon?”
The band members stood up and exchanged questioning glances. “Yeah, I think so,” one said. “That was his name, wasn’t it?”
“He’d be hard to forget,” another band member said, and they all laughed. I joined in. They were right, John was unforgettable, and somehow that little bit of laughter made this all feel 더 많이 comfortable. Maybe that was how people got to know each other in this time.
“Do 당신 know where he is?” I went on. “Is he still here?”
“Nah, he left a while ago,” the first boy, who might just have been the bandleader, said. “His aunt came along and said they'd leave before it got dark.”
My 심장 sank. John had left a while ago. It hadn't done any good for Paul and me to stay longer, and now he was going to be in trouble. “What else did John do?” I whispered, hoping it wasn’t 더 많이 bad news. “He didn’t 가입하기 any bands while he was here, did he?”
The boys in the band laughed good-naturedly – at least I hope it was good-natured. “It takes longer than that to decide 당신 want someone in your band,” one of the boys said. “But – he did say somethin’ about a 작살, 공연 he was taking, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” agreed the fourth boy, the only member of the group who hadn’t spoken yet. “He got himself a 작살, 공연 at Windsor Castle. Said he’d be playing there tomorrow afternoon.”
I let out my breath. We hadn’t 로스트 yet. Windsor Castle....
“Gloria!” I turned at the familiar voice to see Paul running up to me. The band members smirked and headed away. I think – I couldn't be sure – that they wanted to leave me alone with my boyfriend.
“Paul,” I started, all in a rush, “we need to go to....”
“Never mind that.” Paul was clearly agitated. “They’ve put extra security round the train station now; I heard one of them say it’s to make sure they don’t get any 더 많이 riding without tickets like we did earlier. That guard what saw 당신 jump off must’ve told the rest of them.”
I sucked in my breath, slowly processing this. “So 당신 mean....”
Paul nodded. “There’s too many of them. We can't get back on the train.”
I never thought I would care 또는 even notice that a boy didn’t try and help me jump down from a not-quite-stopped-yet train when I could get down just as well myself. That sort of thing just wasn’t done in my time and was even considered rude. But I’d gotten so used to Paul holding my hand and helping me in and out of places that when he jumped off without lending me a hand, I felt a little empty inside.
I jumped down on my own, landing not very gracefully on the ground. I could see the station a little ways off in the distance, where the train was slowing down but hadn’t yet stopped, and I could see a station guard who caught sight of me. “Hey!”
I struggled to my feet and took off, knowing I could never outrun him. “Paul!”
The guard stepped down from the station and started after me. “Hey, you, stop!”
“Paul!” Was I going to be arrested? How could I get Paul and John together if I got arrested? How did the legal system even work in this time? “Paul! Wait for me!”
Paul turned round. I think I saw his face soften slightly. After a moment’s pause, he headed back – he was much faster than me – and pulled me along, helping me outrun the guard before he could catch me.
When we were sure we had 로스트 him, we stopped and caught our breath. I don’t think I had ever gone that fast in my entire life. “Th – thanks, Paul.”
Paul still looked angry. “What was that all about earlier? Do 당신 want to be with me 또는 not?”
“Of course I want to be with you!” I protested between long breaths. “Why are 당신 angry with me? What did I do?”
Paul stared at me like I was crazy. “What do 당신 mean, what did 당신 do? How would 당신 like it if I ran off on 당신 to be with some other bird?” He gesticulated wildly with his left hand.
I blinked, confused. “Bird?”
“Girl.”
I was still puzzled. “But – I don’t understand. Why isn’t it okay to go sit with someone else when you’re on a date?”
Paul stared at me for a moment like I had just grown another head. “You really don’t know...” His angry frown cleared, replaced with – what? I wasn’t quite sure.
“No.” I shook my head hard, feeling the tears well up. “In my – I mean, where I come from – it’s different. 당신 can do whatever 당신 want on a 날짜 and it doesn’t matter. Except touching the other person when they don’t say it’s okay. It’s all about freedom. To stop the other person controlling you. It’d different here and I didn’t know.” I was outright sobbing now. “I don’t know anything about now – I mean here....”
“Hey – don’t cry, Gloria.” Paul put his arm around me and gave me a one-armed hug. I continued sobbing into his shoulder. “Here.” He pulled out a handkerchief – a real handkerchief made of cloth – and handed it to me. I sniffled and dried my eyes.
“But where do 당신 come from?” Paul asked again, and when I glanced up, I saw a curious light in his eyes. “Why’re the dating rules so different from here?” I opened and closed my mouth a little. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t meant to tell Paul as much as I had just now – I just couldn’t stand the thought that I’d done something to make him mad at me. I wasn’t behaving at all how a girl was supposed to in 2157. But I wasn’t in 2157 right now. “What sort of place would say it’s all right to run off on your 날짜 and see another fellow?”
It was then that I processed what he must think about me and John. “Oh! Paul, I wasn’t – it wasn’t like that. I wasn’t dating him 또는 anything. I want to be with 당신 – for as long as I’m here, I mean.” I remembered with a sinking feeling that we didn’t have that much longer to be together. On sudden impulse, and because I remembered how little time I had left here, I said, “That boy is a bandleader. I only sat with him because he has a band, and I know that you....”
“A bandleader?” Paul actually laughed. “You ran out on our 날짜 to find me a bandleader who’d let me 가입하기 his band?”
And the way he said it made me laugh too. It did all seem silly now, even though in my time there would have been nothing strange about doing that.
“Well?” Paul prompted me, still grinning. “What did he say?”
“Nothing,” I admitted, deflated. “I didn’t get around to that.” If only I had asked John, then maybe....
Paul shook his head as if to say he would never, ever understand me. “There’s plenty of bandleaders round here, anyway. Come on, let’s go look at them and enjoy ourselves.”
“But Paul...” I tried to think of something to say as he pulled me in the direction of the nearest main street, where we could hear beautiful 구식 음악 playing, actually holding my hand again – “don’t 당신 want to give him a chance? The one I was talking to?”
Paul looked back at me and shrugged. “Sure, if we see him again.”
And I knew I would have to accept that.
Besides, when we got to the main road, I forgot about everything else.
It turned out the 음악 opportunities John had told me about were like a giant 음악 festival. Makeshift stages were set up all along the road where undiscovered bands were making themselves seen, and booths were scattered around where people advertised different musical services they provided to anyone who was interested. I had had no idea how anyone ever got discovered before there was an internet. This was a very good way if 당신 didn’t mind approaching someone 당신 had never met and hadn’t even had a chance to look up first. I had never been in a place filled with so many people. The nineteen fifties were nothing like the twenty-one fifties. And I loved it.
Paul seemed to 사랑 it, too. “Come on, Gloria!” And he pulled me into a place near one of the stages where a number of people were dancing to a particularly catchy tune, and soon we were – I think this is the word – grooving to the beat with everybody else.
Paul and I had such a good time that I almost forgot what we were here for. John would be out here somewhere looking for opportunities too, and at least if I saw him Paul would understand my going up to him and talking to him now. But the festival was a big place, and I hadn’t seen John at all since coming here. I wondered how badly history would get messed up if John took one of these opportunities that I didn’t really understand. Paul tried to explain a few of the services to me, but I didn’t get it and didn’t know how to ask him to explain, since I couldn’t very well say, “But how do they do that without the internet?”.
“Uh-oh.” Paul glanced up at the sky, and as I looked up, too, I saw that it was getting dark. Paul must be talking about night coming, I realized – it felt weird to judge time that way instead of looking at the digits on my phone screen.
“I told Dad I’d be back 의해 dark. We’d better get 집 now, 또는 I’ll be in trouble.”
I shivered as the setting sun made the air colder. I really wasn’t used to not being able to just tap an app on my phone and adjust the temperature. “But Paul, we can’t go yet! We haven’t seen everything.”
“Didn’t think 당신 liked what 당신 saw that much,” said Paul with his eyebrows crinkled in adorable puzzlement. “You didn't seem to understand any of it. Look, there are other festivals, I keep telling you. Aren’t there any festivals where 당신 come from?”
Actually there weren’t, but that was besides the point. “Paul! I still haven’t seen – 당신 haven’t met all the bandleaders yet! What if the perfect band for 당신 is somewhere here?” I gestured into the crowd where I knew John had to be somewhere, hoping against hope that I would suddenly spot him. I didn’t.
Paul hesitated, glancing over his shoulder towards the train station and back at the festival. “Yeah....”
“Please? Just another half hour?”
“Well – sure, all right.” Paul grinned at me.
I took off through the crowd, barely even bothering to keep Paul in my sight anymore even though I knew now that was wrong on a nineteen fifties date, determined to find John before we had to go. The place was huge, and if I was hoping John would suddenly appear in front of me like Ringo had, I was disappointed. How much time had passed? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? 더 많이 than once I put my hand in my pocket to get my phone and check, before remembering I didn’t have it. Even though I was impressed with myself for going this long without it, there was no time to think about that. It was time for drastic action.
“Excuse me,” I said, looking down at my shoes, addressing a band who was just putting their gear away, “did 당신 talk to a boy named John Lennon?”
The band members stood up and exchanged questioning glances. “Yeah, I think so,” one said. “That was his name, wasn’t it?”
“He’d be hard to forget,” another band member said, and they all laughed. I joined in. They were right, John was unforgettable, and somehow that little bit of laughter made this all feel 더 많이 comfortable. Maybe that was how people got to know each other in this time.
“Do 당신 know where he is?” I went on. “Is he still here?”
“Nah, he left a while ago,” the first boy, who might just have been the bandleader, said. “His aunt came along and said they'd leave before it got dark.”
My 심장 sank. John had left a while ago. It hadn't done any good for Paul and me to stay longer, and now he was going to be in trouble. “What else did John do?” I whispered, hoping it wasn’t 더 많이 bad news. “He didn’t 가입하기 any bands while he was here, did he?”
The boys in the band laughed good-naturedly – at least I hope it was good-natured. “It takes longer than that to decide 당신 want someone in your band,” one of the boys said. “But – he did say somethin’ about a 작살, 공연 he was taking, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” agreed the fourth boy, the only member of the group who hadn’t spoken yet. “He got himself a 작살, 공연 at Windsor Castle. Said he’d be playing there tomorrow afternoon.”
I let out my breath. We hadn’t 로스트 yet. Windsor Castle....
“Gloria!” I turned at the familiar voice to see Paul running up to me. The band members smirked and headed away. I think – I couldn't be sure – that they wanted to leave me alone with my boyfriend.
“Paul,” I started, all in a rush, “we need to go to....”
“Never mind that.” Paul was clearly agitated. “They’ve put extra security round the train station now; I heard one of them say it’s to make sure they don’t get any 더 많이 riding without tickets like we did earlier. That guard what saw 당신 jump off must’ve told the rest of them.”
I sucked in my breath, slowly processing this. “So 당신 mean....”
Paul nodded. “There’s too many of them. We can't get back on the train.”