I can’t really explain what it feels like to be sucked into the past. It’s not an unpleasant feeling, but it sure is a strange one, sort of like being tugged backwards and then feeling like you’re nowhere for a few minutes, almost like you’re reloading yourself. That’s the best way I can describe it. Eventually they say they’ll perfect time travel so that it’ll be instantaneous and 你 won’t feel a thing, but for now, this is what we’ve got.
At last I felt my feet touching the ground, and I looked up to find myself in a small alleyway between two brick walls, without any people around. The Time Traveller is programmed to always land 你 in a quiet, out-of-the-way area with no people there to ask 你 why 你 suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I could see sunlight shining through the entrance up ahead, though, and hear a loud rumbling sound that scared me a little. The air smelled different – sweeter and cleaner than I was used to. My hands felt empty without my phone in them, and I wondered how I would manage for a whole week without it. But in spite of all this, I was thrilled. Somewhere out here, Paul was waiting for me. We would be together – for just one week, maybe, but for that one week, I would be with him.
I slipped out of the alleyway and onto a sidewalk. I don't normally spend a lot of time outside, and when I do go, I barely even look at what’s around me, but here there was something to catch my eye no matter which way I looked. The buildings were shorter, and there were less of them, and I saw women in full skirts and men in 《金装律师》 just like in an old movie. Everything was so quaint and pretty, and I was so busy looking around at things I nearly forgot to watch what was ahead of me. Then I heard an even louder rumble, and looked up just on time to avoid stepping out into the middle of the road with a huge car coming at me. And I mean a huge car. There were many of these huge cars around, huge, single-family cars with growling engines, like 你 only saw in old movies. And these cars were being driven 由 people, without any sensors build in to change course for 你 when 你 were about to hit someone. I took a step back from the road, as if expecting one of those cars to veer off and hit me. I had never seen a vehicle that big except for the big public ones, and I had never seen a vehicle driven 由 a person! How could I be sure they knew what they were doing? What if they didn’t know? What if they hit me? Being hit 由 a car in the past had to be a bad idea!
But then I saw across the street, there was a place, a cute little soda shoppe, the kind I had only seen in old pics and movies, with teenagers eating and dancing to some 音乐 that I could just make out over the roar of the enormous human-driven cars. Maybe Paul would spend time in a place like that. What if he did? I had to go and see. I couldn’t miss my chance to meet him!
Taking a deep breath, I stepped off the curb and began to walk across the road.
I was maybe halfway across when I heard the loud rumble of an engine, coming closer. I froze. No technology to let them know they’re about to hit me and go around... they won’t know I’m there.....
A pair of hands grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me safely across the road, just before the car went over the spot where I’d been standing. “You all right?” a male voice said. “You want to watch where you’re going in the middle of the road like that.”
I looked up. And there he was, right in front of me. Those gorgeous, multicoloured eyes, framed 由 long lashes and perfect arched eyebrows... My head swam with the sheer luck of it all. What should I say to him? My first thought was “It’s you,” but I couldn’t say that; I wasn’t supposed to have any idea who he was. “You’re gorgeous,” I sighed instead.
Paul looked a little surprised, but then chuckled. “Well – you’re not bad yourself.”
I blushed.
“Are 你 new round here?” Paul went on. I nodded – that was true in ways he didn’t even know. “I’m Paul,” Paul told me, as if I didn’t know. I was very tempted to say, “I know that. Everyone knows that!” but I couldn’t. It was so hard not to let Paul know just how special he was destined to be, but I couldn’t ruin things for him. So all I 说 was, “I’m Gloria.”
“That’s pretty,” Paul said, and I flushed with pleasure; I knew my name was much 更多 common in his time than it was in mine, and I was thrilled to know Paul liked it. Lowering his eyelids at me in a way that made my 心 skip, Paul said, “Need someone to 显示 你 round town while you’re here?”
I twirled a lock of blonde hair round my finger as I pretended to consider this, trying not to jump up and down and squeal my excitement. “Sure,” I agreed, when I couldn't pretend to be uncertain a moment longer. “When?”
“How about Saturday?” Paul offered, still with that wonderful, distracting lowered-eyelids look. “I can pick 你 up in the morning, 显示 你 the sights – where are 你 staying?”
Something flickered through the back of my mind and was gone – something to do with Saturday. But I was so used to that feeling – I wasn’t very good with numbers of any kind and was always forgetting important dates until my phone calendar reminded me – that I barely paid attention to it, and besides, Paul was smiling so disarmingly at me I couldn’t think. “Sure,” I 说 again. Then, “I haven’t exactly decided where I’m staying yet.” My face fell. Where was I supposed to stay for this whole week? I had no nineteen fifties money, and even if I did, I wasn’t supposed to interfere with the economy 或者 anything like that. Besides, if I stayed in a hotel, I might accidentally prevent someone else from staying in the same place and alter history – it was all so confusing.
“Why don’t 你 stay right here?” Paul offered, pointing to the soda shoppe place behind him. “They’ve got a hostel of some sort in back. They’ll let 你 stay a bit.”
I thought about this for a second, and nodded. Staying at a hostel didn’t seem as official as staying at a hotel, and because of that seemed less like it was going to interfere with anything. Besides if Paul 说 it was all right, it must be. “I’ll go there now,” I agreed. “Until Saturday?”
“Until Saturday,” Paul agreed, and he saw me off with a wave. My 心 melted. Until Saturday just two –yes, it was two – 更多 days until my 日期 with my favourite Beatle. Everything had gone so right, happened so quickly. Maybe I hadn’t needed to book myself a whole week in the nineteen fifties after all. Of course, that might mean I could have 更多 dates with Paul....
Something about Saturday flickered through the back of my mind again, but I had no idea what it was, and I didn’t really care. This Saturday I was going to go out with Paul McCartney; it was going to be the best 日 of my entire life. That was all that mattered.
At last I felt my feet touching the ground, and I looked up to find myself in a small alleyway between two brick walls, without any people around. The Time Traveller is programmed to always land 你 in a quiet, out-of-the-way area with no people there to ask 你 why 你 suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I could see sunlight shining through the entrance up ahead, though, and hear a loud rumbling sound that scared me a little. The air smelled different – sweeter and cleaner than I was used to. My hands felt empty without my phone in them, and I wondered how I would manage for a whole week without it. But in spite of all this, I was thrilled. Somewhere out here, Paul was waiting for me. We would be together – for just one week, maybe, but for that one week, I would be with him.
I slipped out of the alleyway and onto a sidewalk. I don't normally spend a lot of time outside, and when I do go, I barely even look at what’s around me, but here there was something to catch my eye no matter which way I looked. The buildings were shorter, and there were less of them, and I saw women in full skirts and men in 《金装律师》 just like in an old movie. Everything was so quaint and pretty, and I was so busy looking around at things I nearly forgot to watch what was ahead of me. Then I heard an even louder rumble, and looked up just on time to avoid stepping out into the middle of the road with a huge car coming at me. And I mean a huge car. There were many of these huge cars around, huge, single-family cars with growling engines, like 你 only saw in old movies. And these cars were being driven 由 people, without any sensors build in to change course for 你 when 你 were about to hit someone. I took a step back from the road, as if expecting one of those cars to veer off and hit me. I had never seen a vehicle that big except for the big public ones, and I had never seen a vehicle driven 由 a person! How could I be sure they knew what they were doing? What if they didn’t know? What if they hit me? Being hit 由 a car in the past had to be a bad idea!
But then I saw across the street, there was a place, a cute little soda shoppe, the kind I had only seen in old pics and movies, with teenagers eating and dancing to some 音乐 that I could just make out over the roar of the enormous human-driven cars. Maybe Paul would spend time in a place like that. What if he did? I had to go and see. I couldn’t miss my chance to meet him!
Taking a deep breath, I stepped off the curb and began to walk across the road.
I was maybe halfway across when I heard the loud rumble of an engine, coming closer. I froze. No technology to let them know they’re about to hit me and go around... they won’t know I’m there.....
A pair of hands grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me safely across the road, just before the car went over the spot where I’d been standing. “You all right?” a male voice said. “You want to watch where you’re going in the middle of the road like that.”
I looked up. And there he was, right in front of me. Those gorgeous, multicoloured eyes, framed 由 long lashes and perfect arched eyebrows... My head swam with the sheer luck of it all. What should I say to him? My first thought was “It’s you,” but I couldn’t say that; I wasn’t supposed to have any idea who he was. “You’re gorgeous,” I sighed instead.
Paul looked a little surprised, but then chuckled. “Well – you’re not bad yourself.”
I blushed.
“Are 你 new round here?” Paul went on. I nodded – that was true in ways he didn’t even know. “I’m Paul,” Paul told me, as if I didn’t know. I was very tempted to say, “I know that. Everyone knows that!” but I couldn’t. It was so hard not to let Paul know just how special he was destined to be, but I couldn’t ruin things for him. So all I 说 was, “I’m Gloria.”
“That’s pretty,” Paul said, and I flushed with pleasure; I knew my name was much 更多 common in his time than it was in mine, and I was thrilled to know Paul liked it. Lowering his eyelids at me in a way that made my 心 skip, Paul said, “Need someone to 显示 你 round town while you’re here?”
I twirled a lock of blonde hair round my finger as I pretended to consider this, trying not to jump up and down and squeal my excitement. “Sure,” I agreed, when I couldn't pretend to be uncertain a moment longer. “When?”
“How about Saturday?” Paul offered, still with that wonderful, distracting lowered-eyelids look. “I can pick 你 up in the morning, 显示 你 the sights – where are 你 staying?”
Something flickered through the back of my mind and was gone – something to do with Saturday. But I was so used to that feeling – I wasn’t very good with numbers of any kind and was always forgetting important dates until my phone calendar reminded me – that I barely paid attention to it, and besides, Paul was smiling so disarmingly at me I couldn’t think. “Sure,” I 说 again. Then, “I haven’t exactly decided where I’m staying yet.” My face fell. Where was I supposed to stay for this whole week? I had no nineteen fifties money, and even if I did, I wasn’t supposed to interfere with the economy 或者 anything like that. Besides, if I stayed in a hotel, I might accidentally prevent someone else from staying in the same place and alter history – it was all so confusing.
“Why don’t 你 stay right here?” Paul offered, pointing to the soda shoppe place behind him. “They’ve got a hostel of some sort in back. They’ll let 你 stay a bit.”
I thought about this for a second, and nodded. Staying at a hostel didn’t seem as official as staying at a hotel, and because of that seemed less like it was going to interfere with anything. Besides if Paul 说 it was all right, it must be. “I’ll go there now,” I agreed. “Until Saturday?”
“Until Saturday,” Paul agreed, and he saw me off with a wave. My 心 melted. Until Saturday just two –yes, it was two – 更多 days until my 日期 with my favourite Beatle. Everything had gone so right, happened so quickly. Maybe I hadn’t needed to book myself a whole week in the nineteen fifties after all. Of course, that might mean I could have 更多 dates with Paul....
Something about Saturday flickered through the back of my mind again, but I had no idea what it was, and I didn’t really care. This Saturday I was going to go out with Paul McCartney; it was going to be the best 日 of my entire life. That was all that mattered.
