Backwards

About the Author:

I like to run in the sun, and have fun.

1995

Zipppp

Indie Jones first class trip was coming up. She couldn't say that she was nervous, but she knew she would miss sleeping in her own bed.

Bringgg bring Indie put down her teen beat magazine and picks up her phone next to her bed.

“Hello?” Indie said curling the phone wire around her finger.

“Hey Indie!” She heard her friend Marla yell loudly on the other side of the phone as she smacked her gum.

“Marla take the gum out,” Indie said laughing.

“Okay so for our class trip I’m thinking I might make shirts that say ‘We are on a class trip ‘95’ so we could wear it in like 2020 it would be an ancient artifact.”

“No thanks.”

“Indie-”

Indie put the phone back into its blue casing and picked up her magazine.

“Indie!” Her mom called out.

“Yeah, Mom?” Indie called back flipping the page to her magazine.

“You got all your things together?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

Indie put her magazine down and looked at the picture of her and her Grandma perfectly placed on her dresser across from her bed.

“I miss you Grammie.”

Indie got up, put some pajamas on, brushed her teeth and settled into bed.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Indie winced as her head bumped on the bus window, she was barely listening to her best friend chatting about some dumb movie she watched. They were on a bus to their final stop, a train station in Abukinza, Georgia. This was their third and final day in Georgia.

“-He just fell over and boom, dead!” Marla Said,“Honestly that’s unrealistic.” Marla was a very loud girl, she always chatted and chatted over and over again. She had deep brown eyes and her hair was in a tight bun, Indie always wondered if that bun gave her headaches.

“That’s how my Grandma died, but she was cooking me dinner,” Indie said still looking out the blank sky.

“Wait really?!” Marla exclaimed looking at Indie’s with her chocolate brown eyes.

“Yep,” Indie said softly and coldly.

“Woah dude I want to die like that!”Marla yelled while Indie turned over to look at her friend Marla.

“No you don’t it would be scary.” Indie protested.

“That’s not true. No pain whatsoever just boom dead You know?”Marla said crossing her arms.

“Whatever“ Indie laughed.

“I hate class trips but this is rad!” Marla said loudly.

Indie nudged Marla, “Let the bus driver focus.”

The bus made a lurching sound as its large tires squeaked to a stop. Indie perked up and looked out the now very dusty window, It was warm outside but not too hot. It smelled like cold musty water and humid air. There were lots of bright green plants and chipped pedestals.

“Hey I heard this place was super haunted.” Indie said.

“Really?!” Marla stood up adjusted her pink skirt then bumped Indie to get off. They both raced off the bus together laughing.

“INDIEEEEEEE COME GET MEEEEE” Marla yelled and ran away.

“Marla we aren't four anymore!” Indie walked over to Marla.

“Whatever Indie lighten up!” Marla ran away through the plants.

Indie chased Marla through large plants while morning dew brushed her legs making them damp with water. A vine caught her leg and made her crash into the wet plants.

“Shoot.” Her green eyes caught a glitter in the deep brush, She reached blindly and grabbed a rusty silver locket. She then held it in her hands GBTT 1950’s was the marking on it.

“Woah this is old, I wonder what the gbtt marking means,” She tried a few things, “Go ball there too? Go be the time? Go back to? Go back to the, Go back to the 1950’s! She opened the locket. A strange smoke started to come out and curve into her nose.

“Indie?” She heard Marla say like she was talking into a glass.

She turned around and saw people, not people, outlines or dim figures of people, and a train that has that dim look like a ghost, Ghost train! She thought. Then abruptly she saw something she thought she would never see again her Grandma Dorothy’s hair and stubby body.

“Gram!!” She jumped up and chased her into the train. When she got on the train things started to get dizzy, her vision started to blur up and the last image she saw was her Grandma saying something she couldn't exactly make out.

What she thought she saw was her Grandma turned around with burning red eyes

“Big mistake,” she said cold and hard.

Everything went black.

“Oh, gee she’s waking up.” Indie was laying on the ground with a cold towel on her head. Her dark hair still in the tight braid she put up earlier that day.

“Hey, my name’s Sammy!” A boy’s voice said.

“Where am I?” Indie said softly.

“Uh Castletown Wisconsin,” Sammy said laughing. He looked to be about Indies age.

“Wis- Wait do you know a girl named Dorothy?!” Indie shot up. Her Grandma grew up and lived in Castletown.

“Oh yeah Dorothy she goes to my school,” Sammy said, “Well I got to go. Wait uh what's your name?”

“Indie” Indie said.

“Well, goodbye indie!” Sammy yelled running away.

“Bye!” Indie yelled back.

Indie looked at all the kids her age running around.

They all have weird clothing on, Indie thought, Outdated clothing 1950’s clothing on- Indie gasped. “1950s!” A girl looked at her and scrunched her eyebrows. Holy cow I'm in the 1950's it worked, my Grandma is 14! She Felt out of place with her bright yellow Shirt and blue shorts. I need to change my clothes so I don't look so weird. Indie walked to the nearest clothing shop ‘The cherry on top!’ she entered quietly. She could taste the perfume that was seeping out of the woman at the front desk. The lady looked at her in disgust

“Hello, uh d-do you uh, have u-um a clothing section for uh 14-year-old girls?” Indie stuttered out. The woman sighed and pointed to a small corner with a few options.

“Thank you.” Indie walked over to the dresser and started looking through them.

I can’t mess this up the future depends on it. I just won’t even meet my grandma then I won’t even be able to- Her thinking got chopped off by a loud bell and a girl walks in.

“Excuse me.” The girl said kindly trying to get through Indie’s body barrier. Indie stood there staring at the girl, it was her Grandma she knew it. “Hi, my name is Dorothy.” The girl stuck her hand out.

“Hi, I’m Indie.” Indie shook the girl's hand.

“Did you just move here? I've never seen you around before,” She shrugged, “but somehow I know you from somewhere.” Dorothy looked at her skeptically

“Weird. Uh, I’m kinda lost.” Indie said looking at the scuffed floor.

“Oh My Good lord,” Dorothy said. “it’s almost 2:30 I got to get home! Hey, indie,” Indie looked up.

“Do you need a place to stay? If you do you can stay at my house.”

Thoughts raced through Indie’s mind like a tornado, Oh no space and time continuum is going to hate me if I do this life will hate me what do I do I’m so stressed-

“Sure that sounds nice!”

Indie walked to Dorothy’s house and the smell of baked goods rushed into her nose. Dorothy’s blue eyes close at the smell.

“It smells so good in here.” Dorothy ties her shiny blonde hair into a bun and smiles.

“Let's go get some cookies!” Dorothy leads her into a light blue wallpapered kitchen.

“Mom, can I have a cookie?” Dorothy yelled. There was no response.

“Ugh she’s always asleep after she bakes, she gets so tired,” Dorothy complained, “Let's go upstairs I need to get you settled.” Dorothy turned around and showed Indie to a flower wallpaper filled room.

“This is my room. Sorry it’s messy.” A few dresses were laid out on her bed, a baby pink long dress with a white collar, a dark blue collar, and a short green dress.

“Oh, the dresses there for the dance at the end of the week.” She said smiling. On the wall, Indie sas a calendar. JUNE 1951 on the 3rd day of the month Indie all see’s a little note: Bake cookies. Then a thought popped into Indie’s head; My Grandma’s mom died when my Grandma was twelve.

“Who are you going to the dance with?” Indie said sitting on Dorothy’s light pink bed.

“Well, either Jonny or Richard I like them both the same-” said Dorothy.

Johnny is my grandpa! I got to get her to ask him- wait no I can’t.

“-Another you know?” Dorothy finished.

“Right,” Indie mumbled not knowing what she said.

“But I’m thinking Richard because he’s just nicer.”

“Whatever you choose.”

“But Johnny is amazing!” She laid her back on the carpeted floor.

“Whadda you think?”

Dorothy looked at Indie with her striking blue eyes.

“I don’t care.” Indie says playing with her fingers.

Indie picked up a journal on the head of Dorothy’s bed. It was a leather journal with a pen-written like this;

Checklist:

1: I need to work on my dancing skills, I mean last year Jenny made fun of me.

2: I need to be a little more careful with letting people down at the dance

3: WORK ON YOUR OUTFIT!!!!!!

“Hey put that down and I need your opinion!” Dorothy shot up and looked at Indie

“Well, I don’t care,” Indie said softly putting the journal on the bed.

“Whatever I will decide at the dance. Ugh what should we do,” Dorothy paused and smiled at Indie.

“I have an idea.” She got up opens the door to her room and walked down the hall.

“Dorothy?” Indie said. She got off Dorothy’s bed and looked down the hall. She saw Dorothy looking for a book on a bookshelf. Indie walked down the hall and saw her pulling a book out of the shelf labeled BLUE BIRD HIGH YEARBOOK 1951.

“Okay hold on to this I will be right back.” Dorothy walks down the stairs. Indie slyly opens the yearbook to reveal a page that said FRESHMAN, Indie looks for her Grandma. The black and white pictures fill up the page, Indie traces her finger along it until she finds, DOROTHY MILLS, 14.

“I just wanna be silly all the time don’t you?” -Dorothy Mills, 14, student ‘most likely to be a comedian.’ Indie lightly giggles her Grandma was the funniest person she had ever met she would quote herself and laugh at her own jokes.

Dorothy comes up the stairs holding a plate of cookies and records,

“Come on let’s go have fun!”

“-Honestly though he is kinda cute you know?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Whatever, anyways can you give me some advice.”

“Maybe depends.”

“Okay well should I be a nurse or should I be a stay at home Mom?”

“That’s all you.”

“Okay fine imma pick out a dress okay?” She choose the pink one and handed indie the light blue collared one. Indie just stares at it.

“Oh don’t tell me you think you're not coming I just showed you all the kids in the school. Who knows maybe you'll get married or something!”

Indie laughed and shakes her head.

“I’m not gonna get married to any of these people Dorothy.”

“Indie’s gonna get married!” Dorothy jumped up and danced around Indie. “Indie’s gonna get married!!” She said in a sing-songy voice.

“I’m going to get the dress on Door.” Indie grabbed the dress and went to the bathroom to get changed.

“Dor, I never heard that one before, hey I like it.” Dorothy smiled to herself.

The lights shine down on the dance floor of bluebird high,

“Hey who are you going to dance with? I'm going to go dance with Richard!” Dorothy screams over the music.

“I dunno- Richard?!” Indie yelled. “Yeah, Dance with Sammy or something!” Dorothy dodged through people and disappeared before Indie could say anything.

“Wait, Dorothy!!!” Indie tried to reach for her but the path she took was all blocked off by other humans,

“Crap, this is where she fell in love with my Grandpa, everything is going to go wrong!” Indie yells. She dodged through people to finally see her grandma dancing with Richard, smiling and laughing,

“Shoot.” Indie ran out. I can’t do any- her thoughts were stopped by seeing her right arm gone, now her left. Blank air was filling her body up with nothing. She ran as fast as she could to her Grandma, this was the last time she would ever see her. She pulled Richard away from her grandma and hugged Dorothy as tight as she could.

“I miss you already I love you, Gramm.” Said Indie.

“What? Indie you okay?” Dorothy respond.

“No look at me. I'm disappearing. I'm going to be gone before you can save me.”

“Indie what are you talking about? I'm confused.”

“You're my Grandma Dorth!”

“Indie calm down.”

Those were the last words Indie heard until bright lights shined on her blue eyes.

“Indie!” Indie was indulged in a hug from her best friend, “I thought you were dead but you were just passed out.”

“Where am I?” she questioned.

“You're in uh, in a hospital.”

“Right then.” Indie looked down to see an IV attached to her.

“Where is my grandma?”

“Oh she’s right here.”