I like to call myself a maestro of the academic comeback, but I don’t know if I have it in me this time. Frankly, I couldn’t tell you why physics is so hard for me. My dad majored in physics, I like math, and I like dropping stuff, but that 68 on the final is really weighing on me. This class just isn’t right for me. Sometimes, I wish I had never taken it.
I got the chance to make my wish come true when an enormous package arrived at my doorstep. Taped to the side of the box was a note that read:
I greet a traveler so sublime
No better day for a journey through time
I am Christopher Paige; you may not know me
Though I taught Honors Physics back in ’03
In my time since Nobles, I’ve been dead-set
About helping out students who want a reset
Last year, you took a path that was too much to bear
Search in this box, and you’ll find something there
I opened the box and couldn’t believe what I found inside. A time machine! All I had to do was go back to March of last year and tell my past self not to take the class. I used the equation in the travel guide that came in the box to plug values into the keypad on the machine. I set the date for March 9, 2024, and stepped inside. I was finally going to set things right.
When I walked out of Paige’s creation, I immediately opened up Google Calendar to see where I could find my past self. It was then that I noticed that something was off. All the rectangles on the app were smaller than usual. Examining my schedule closer, I realized that all my class periods were only 50 minutes long. I checked the date and saw that it was actually March 9, 2023, not 2024. I looked back over my calculations and immediately found where I went wrong: I plugged in kilometers instead of meters. Could I do anything right?
I sifted through the travel guide and read what to do after traveling too far back.
If you find yourself stuck in a time long before
Here is a trick to help you restore
Find your past self and a hug you shall bestow
Only then to the future you may go
My freshman self had a lunch block during this time, so I made my way to the castle. Looking through both the old and new Castle, I couldn’t find my past self anywhere. I must have already finished eating. I proceeded to search just about every building. When I passed by Foster Gallery, I could hear a faint whimpering on the other side of the door.
Suddenly, memories began to flood back to me: The Iraq Referendum, where I slipped up my words and ruined the entire presentation! That was today! I walked into Foster and sat down next to my freshman self. “What’s wrong, buddy?” I asked. “Everyone hates me. I made a fool of myself and I got the lowest grade in the class. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from ever going to Nobles. I don’t belong here,” he said. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Listen, this is going to sound crazy, but I’m you from the future, and I want you to know that one silly grade in high school isn’t going to ruin your life. In fact, nowadays, you’re one of the strongest history students in your class. One day, you’re going to look back on this and laugh, so you don’t have to be so hard on yourself,” I told him. After he calmed down, I gave him a hug. “Thanks for stopping by,” he said. “I’m glad you came all this way just to make me feel better.” “Uhh…yeah, that’s exactly why I came back,” I said. I walked towards the door and stopped. “Oh, and by the way,” I said, “you gotta get rid of that side part. You look like a 7th grader who asd89ga0s9d8g.”
After triple-checking my input values, I was finally ready to confront my sophomore self. Arriving on March 9, 2024, I knew that I would be meeting with Mr. Halperin to discuss course registration for the following year. I burst into his office and grabbed my sophomore self by the shoulders. “I want you to listen to me very closely,” I said. “You might think that you’re ready to take Honors Physics next year, but you’re not. This class is not for you.” “I talked to Ms. McElwee, and she said that it could work,” he said. “Are you not hearing me?” I said. “You’re going to end up with a B in the class.” “Since when has that mattered?” he said. “I just want to challenge myself next year. There’s nothing you can do to change my mind.”
I was starting to panic. Had I really come all this way for nothing? “This doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “2003 Science Faculty Christopher Paige promised that if I followed his instructions I would be able to amend my error.” “Christopher Paige?” Mr. Halperin said. “I don’t remember a Christopher Paige ever working here.”
Something wasn’t adding up. I revisited Paige’s note to see if I missed anything. Eventually, I detected something rather peculiar. Taking the first letter of every line, I spelled out the word I-N-I-T-I-A-L-S. I started putting the pieces together: “Initials…Christopher Paige… dear heavens!”
CP suddenly appeared in the corner of the room. “I don’t understand, CP. Why did you do all of this?” I asked. “Don’t you see, Ariel?” she said. “You took this class for a reason. You might not quite understand it yet but one day you will.” “But how can I be sure?” I asked. “Trust me, Ariel,” she said. “I’ve seen it all.” THE END.
