T - Time Travel - #AtoZChallenge

I had never been a good test taker.

I didn't have a learning disability or anything, but it never failed. No matter how well I knew the material or how prepared I was, my anxiety would get the best of me and I would screw everything up. I knew today would be no different.

I arrived early to allow myself to get seated and try to soothe my nerves before class. It always seemed to work better than just walking in and starting. When I stepped into the classroom, I saw three of my classmates huddled in the corner of the room. My best friend Brian waved and called me over.

I said, "Sorry, no. I have to prepare."

Mr. Grayson snapped at Brian. "Turn around. Face the wall."

I guessed Brian was in trouble. Not really surprising. I looked forward to hearing the story later. I sat at my desk, closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

As I concentrated on being calm, students filled the room and took their seats. I ignored the chatter and stayed in my quiet mental state.

I was so relaxed, I thought I might drift off to sleep, but I was jolted back to reality when I heard a desk topple over and a couple of people screamed. I spun around to see what happened and Sara was sprawled across her desk scrambling to get up. Mr. Grayson shouted at her above the commotion of the laughing students, "Miss Nussbaum, join the others in the corner."

Sara was obviously embarrassed and quietly crossed the room to the corner. She placed a tennis ball on Mr. Grayson's desk as she passed. My buddy Brian tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, "I guess Sara and I didn't do so good."

I spun around to look at him. He had a big smile on his face, but lifted his hands with shrugged shoulders. Brian never cared much about his GPA. I looked over in the corner again and Brian was still there. If he was in both places, then he was right. He didn't do so well. 

Just then, Sara walked in to class. A few people pointed her out to herself over in the corner. Her shoulders slumped and she shuffled to her still overturned desk and started cleaning up.

Mr. Grayson quieted the class. "Alright, let's begin. You have all worked hard this semester and should be well-versed on time-travel dynamics. Now it's time to see how well you can apply those principles to practical use. Today's task is pretty simple."

I could already feel my heartbeat accelerating. The teacher saying it was simple preemptively made me feel stupid for when I inevitably failed.

Mr. Grayson continued, "Last week during the school assembly, I was in this room implementing the test you are about to take. I had 16 tennis balls. One for each of you in this class. Every five minutes, I placed a ball on this desk. If the previous ball was still there I removed it and placed the next numbered ball.

In a few minutes, each of you will come forward and draw a number from the box. The number you draw is listed on the chart I have on the board. That chart will tell you what time your ball was on my desk last week. Remember, each ball was only on the desk for five minutes. The ball is your target.

After you draw your number and check the chart for your target time, return to your seat. Do not jump until you are instructed. Everyone will jump together once the entire class has their assigned ball number. For full marks on this test, you will jump back to last week landing in this classroom during your assigned five-minute window. You will pick up the ball from my desk with your designated number and you will jump back seated at your desk precisely one minute after you left. Any questions?"

John raised his hand, "How do we know which ball to grab?"

Mr. Grayson answered, "What number did you draw?"

"Seven," John showed his slip of paper.

Mr. Grayson took the chart off the wall. "There was only one ball on my desk at a time. John, number seven was on my desk from precisely 2:15 to 2:20 last Friday afternoon. If you arrived at the correct time, that ball was there. If there is a different numbered ball on the desk, then you arrived at the wrong time and I will not permit you to take it. I was seated at my desk throughout the entire test, so expect to see me there."

Another student spoke up, "So, you already know who jumped correctly. Right?"

Mr Grayson smiled, "I know the first part. Jumping to last week. But I don't know who jumped back to today correctly. This test involves two jumps and it is the jump back where the most mistakes are made."

Suddenly John appeared in front of Mr. Grayson's desk holding a tennis ball with a large number 7 on it.

Mr. Grayson took the ball and thanked John. "Now, go stand in the corner with the others." He then looked at the John who was still seated. "Well, we know you got the first half correct, don't we?"

My buddy Brian from the corner shouted to John, "You did better than me. I didn't even land in the right day."

Mr. Grayson followed up Brian's statement. "I'm surprised you even found your way back."

The class laughed. Mr. Grayson could be fun at times.

"Alright, class. Set your chronometers. For your coordinates, I want you to jump to the same chair you are sitting in now. You are going back to last Friday afternoon at your assigned time. After your jump, step to my desk, retrieve the ball if it has the correct number. Then, return to your desk and jump back to today. Jump to exactly one minute after you left. Every seat in this classroom should be empty for one minute. You will be graded on this. For your return jump, remember what you have learned. You have to account for temporal displacement, how long you have been gone, and the Coriolis effect. All of these have to be considered for your calculations to be correct. Are we ready?"

THREE…TWO…ONE…JUMP!!!

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All this month, I am participating in the A to Z Challenge. A new post will go up every day (except Sundays) using a letter of the alphabet as the starting off point. My theme for the month is literary genres. I am writing in a different genre of flash fiction each day. Today's letter is T for Time Travel.