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The Story:
She stomped down the path from the science building. Her ideas were good, and she knew it. Their laughter still echoed in her mind. If she was a man, they would have listened to everything.
The big oak tree next to the path loomed over her, but she ignored it as usual. Before she stepped out of its shade, something landed on top of the books she was carrying. It was a piece of apple peel.
She looked up and saw a college-aged man sitting on a limb. He was peeling an apple with a pocketknife and humming a tune she didn’t recognize.
“Oh, sorry there, miss! I got too excited about this apple. Wasn’t watching my debris.”
“It’s fine,” she said as she started to walk away.
“You’re a science student, huh? That sounds neat.”
She paused. There was no way this random guy could understand her or her research. But right now, she needed validation, and most importantly, she needed to know if all men were pigs. She stomped back over to him.
“If I told you that time could be manipulated as easily as a ball of clay, given the same care and effort an artist would take with a sculpture, what would you say?”
“I’d say that sounds pretty neat and tell me more,” he said with a slice of apple in his mouth.
“I know! That’s how anyone should react!”
She threw her books to the ground and plopped down against the base of the tree. The man’s feet pounded the ground beside her, and she tensed. He stuck out his hand, covered in apple juice.
“Jim Anselbush.”
She looked at his hand but chose to ignore the invitation to shake it.
“Penelope.”
He sat down next to her and popped another apple slice into his mouth.
“So, how does it work?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Maybe that’s your problem. Can’t explain a difficult concept to someone who doesn’t believe in the idea to begin with.”
“I suppose,” she conceded.
“Now, me on the other hand, I’m all ears to time travel. I gotta get back somehow.”
“Back?”
“Yeah, you know… I don’t wanna be stranded here forever. I’m gonna need your help.”
He ate the last slice of his apple.
“Mmm… Man, I wish that fruit wasn’t extinct.”
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