Chapter 13-Back at it

We were back in 1856. Time traveling twice in one day was quite exhausting, but I could tell I handled it better than the first time, meaning I was getting used to it. It was Monday, meaning a whole week of school was ahead of me. Most of the students continued to ignore or bicker at me while that one girl kept flirtatiously staring at me. Being a kind person who hated to hurt others, I finally had to speak to her just to be kind. After class, I approached her as she was speaking to her two other friends. "Hey," I said as I smiled. She turned around, shocked by my approach to her. Her other two friends slightly blushed and looked at their friend as they briskly walked off together. "Hey!" This girl was quite confident compared to the other two girls. "I don't reckon I ever got your name," I said. "I am Mary Anne. It's nice to finally meet ya," Mary Anne said. Wow, what a beautiful name. I wished I could have told her that aloud, but I remembered I had to be careful. "And I'm Elijah," I said. "Say, how 'bout right after school we go to my papa's pond?" She said, "We can get to know one another better if you'd like." Oh no, how could I say no? "Oh, uh, sure, I'd love to!" I said, trying not to act hesitant. "Okay," she smiled, "I'll meet you here outside later on." After class, I met her in the same spot, and we walked about a half mile to her father's pond. It had lots of fish jumping around, and a wooden swing hung from a great oak tree. I was nervous about how this would end up, but I told myself to act totally casual.

The overall experience was pleasant: we talked about our lives as children, and I, of course, had to make up stories as I went along. I used stories about my real life, such as how I was an only child and that we were poor, but I made it seem as if my life took place in the 19th century. As the sun began to set over the hills, I told her I had to leave, as my parents needed me to do chores. "Oh," she said, sounding a little sad that the good afternoon was over, "I don't want you to get no whippin', so I reckon you should head back." "Why, thank ya, I really had a nice time!" I said as I smiled. We gave our closing remarks to each other, and I walked alone for the rest of the way. I then snapped back into reality and what I was really here for and had to tell myself that I couldn't get anywhere past small talk with her because that would be breaking the rules. It was gonna be hard, and I didn't know what to do.