Weblink Inspires a Weak Stab at Flash Fiction

The Party

I was sitting at a table in the library, reading a book on a console, when I noticed someone looking at me from behind the console. And not just anyone -- a beautiful babe. She had light brown hair, a face that looked like one actress on my sister's soaps, and a knowing smile. And nice tits. She had to be at least 19, and I had no idea why she'd be looking at me, an ordinary acne-laden 14 year old.

She said, "You're Noah."

"How do you know my name?"

"You told me to meet you here."

"I did?"

"Well, you will."

And there it clicked. My future self sent this woman back to taunt me. Figures I was this masochistic. But it's unusual -- you're not allowed to time travel before you're 18, and while it's not illegal to visit anyone younger, it is frowned upon.

I asked her boobs, "What's your name?"

"Kelli." She brought her head down to make eye contact with me again.

"And why did I tell you to visit me?"

"You know I'm not allowed to answer that."

"No, I didn't know." I'd never been visited by a time traveler, a.k.a. TT, before, and I wasn't going to take Time Travel 1 until next year.

"Oh, right," she said, the obvious superiority in her expression wavering briefly. Then she explained, "Rule 87 -- You can't tell someone why his or her future self does something."

"But you're allowed to tell me your name?"

"Sure. Rule 18 -- It's good to be polite."

"How many rules are there?"

"It depends on which version of the course you take. The version I took has 113 Rules."

I tried again. "Is there anything you wanted to tell me, or are you just going to laugh at me while I get back to studying?"

"Noah, I mean you, said you hardly ever studied, and that you'd be reading some SciFi book."

She was right, but I was stubborn. "Is there anything you wanted to tell me?"

"Well," she said hesitatingly. "I just wanted to tell you that you should come to The Party."

"What Party?"

"You'll find out."

"Why?"

"It's how we meet."

"No it isn't -- I just met you here."

"I meant, it's how I met you."

"Oh."

She stood silent for a moment, but her expression was less of amusement and more of puzzlement, like she wondered if she'd made a mistake in visiting me. Then she said, "Goodbye Noah."

"Goodbye Kelli."

After she walked out the library door, I returned to the console so I could print out the picture of her that I took when she wasn't looking.

--

When I was 17, I finally learned about The Party in Time Travel 3. The Party, a.k.a., the first Time Traveler Convention, took place in Old Calendar 2005 -- some college kid came up with the idea to announce a time and place for all TTs to meet, in the hopes that someone would show, thereby proving time travel was possible. He, and the person he stole the idea from, figured that there only needed to be one party, because TTs could go to any time to attend. But just because TTs could to any party, didnt mean they would do something stupid like violate Rule 2 (Don't EVER let anyone pre-Time Travel know that time travel exists). Instead, the future gets a big laugh at the expense of the past as hundreds of kids throughout the years go to the party in time-appropriate costumes.

When it doesn't look like any TTs attend the first party, the next bright guy figures that maybe the future never heard about the last party, and maybe people from the future would hear about his if he has one. And so on. So there were a bunch of these parties, and it was a rite of passage to go to one on your 20^th birthday. Still, the first one was known as The Party, and because it was so popular (and because the number of attendees had to be limited so as not to arouse suspicion), you could only go if you were one of The Party Lottery winners.

Three years later, I wasn't at all surprised when I was a lottery winner.

When I got there, a bunch of people were milling around, a few of which looked up sharply when I entered the courtyard. I looked a bit puzzled, laughed sheepishly and shook my head, just like I had been coached. My inquisitors stopped staring so intently for a second, then trained their eyes on the person who had appeared behind me.

I walked over to the refreshment table, grabbed a soda, and started waiting for Kelli. For six years I'd imagined meeting her. Ok, I admit it -- for most of the time I'd imagined a whole lot more than that. But I still hadn't figured out how to introduce myself.

I looked around the room. While there were code words you could drop to see if someone was from the future, a number of TTs were pretty easy to spot. And still, people from 2005 had no clue.

At 9:45, I saw Kelli walk in. She looked stunning, just like she had when she visited me six years earlier, though of course the clothes were different.

She noticed me looking at her, then turned away and walked over to the refreshment table. I followed her over there.

"Kelli?"

She turned sharply, suddenly very nervous. "What?"

"I'm Noah. You told me to meet you here."

"I did?"

"Well," I said, looking to make sure no one was listening. "You will."

Comprehension hit her beautiful green eyes, and I knew I'd scored a winner. We walked over to a quiet corner, and she asked me, "So Noah -- when are you from?"