Chrysalis

I walk into the kitchen, my stomach roaring at me. I can't blame it. I had just emptied my entire body. Maybe when I was sick, I was starting to shift into this world. But why was the music the thing that brought me here.

"Ah, there you are Charles." A strange brunette woman approaches me and hugs me tightly.

The woman is wearing a bright multi colored floral apron. She is all smiles, it almost seems fake. I shake at the thought of a stranger hugging me. She has to be someone I would know.

"Yeah, you said I was gonna be late." I say.

"School starts in a half an hour, grab your breakfast and get to class." She says.

I come to the assumption she must be my mother in this weird place. So far, I can't even imagine meeting someone I know. If I don't even recognize my mother here, then who will I recognize? If anyone. I start to feel uncomfortable to the idea of attending a school I don't know in a time I don't know. Why am I of all people here?

"Thanks, mom." I say.

She nods and goes back to her humming along to the music. It sounds like some kind of country singer. I can't tell who it is. Why is there so much different to what I know? I go into the retro fridge and find myself shocked to see a glass jar of milk. That in itself is unusual, I thought they came in plastic jugs. I grab the bottle of milk and find myself taking a bowl from the open cupboard. No doors are on the shelving spaces, which again is odd.

I sit at the table and get the cream wheat cereal to eat. I pour my milk into the bowl my mom of this world seems to have prepared for me. I know I have to keep calm and try my best to blend in. Who else had this happened to them, I wonder? Maybe I am not the only person who got warped into this world. I can only hope that I can find someone else who may know what's going on with this. I want to know ultimately. I need to be able to get back to my own life.

I finish my cream wheat and put my bowl in the sink. The woman who seems to be my mother in this strange place is giving me a hug before I part for school. I get my backpack and put a sketchbook in it. Maybe I can at least relax a bit later. I want to find a way back home though.

"I'll catch ya after school." I say as I walk out the front door.

"You're not taking your car?" She asks.

"Car?" I say and go back to the kitchen to see two sets of keys. "I guess dad already left huh?" I try to make it seem like I didn't realize my keys were in the bowl.

She seems a bit surprised to hear that. I grab the keys and hold them up for both sets. I examine them for a moment.

"You know, the hotrod." She seems a little concerned. "Are you feeling okay?" She asks.

I take the keys that have a flame chain on it. I assume that would be my set. I turn to the woman again.

"Yeah, sorry, just feeling tired." I say.

"Drive safe, Charles." She says to me.

"I will." I reply.

I head back out the door and close it behind me. I take in the bright colored grass and leaves on the trees. I am taken in my the beauty, where I am the colors are usually a fair bit darker. The vibrance here is breathtaking. I know I want to draw somewhere while I am here. The road is full of old jalopy cars that I only ever seen in a scrap yard. I want to stand her and sketch it out now, but ill be late, which if I am like I am at home at all, I am never late.

I get into the titanium white Thunderbird. its painted with purple,blue,orange and red flaming along the sides. The hood has a hole that reveals the engine top, the three slots of its beautiful engine top, have three red rotating vents. It is absolutely breathtaking. My leather seats are red and black, like the modern bucket seats I'm used to seeing in race cars. The shift stick is a crystal looking skull. I am absolutely in love with my car.

I never had a car of my own. I used to drive back home. Mind you, it was my mother's car. The crappy old Sunfire. I think about this particular change in the feel of this place and I must admit, I feel a fire that i never had before. I start my car with no more thinking about it. I want to see how this baby runs.

"Dunno what the other me called ya, but I'm gonna call ya Betty." I say as the engine roars to life.

I shudder to the sound. Engines don't sound like that back home. Man, what it is to be in the fifties. I turn the radio on. I still am in the same town, but it seems like its back in time, but still my actual life. What could this possibly mean?

I back the car out of the driveway, accidentally smoking out the entire driveway. This vehicle has a lot more power under the hood than I am used to. I shift into first and let it rip. The car begins to fishtail as it begins to move up to twenty miles an hour. I pop into second gear and it starts to rev up, the smoke stopping and the tires cease their cry of the heat. I find myself in utter joyous freedom for the moment.

"Wahoo!" I shout in my car.

It dawns on me, what's the name of my school here?! Oh Shit! I shift again, hitting into third gear at a whopping fifty-five miles an hour. I see a school coming up and I slam the breaks. The car begins to slide sideways, I try to counter steer.

The car flips into the air from the sudden shift of angles. I already feel the dread of possibly wrecking my car. I just got into it for the first time, as me at least. I close my eyes, the car hits the ground. The tires scream again and I open my eyes. I pull my emergency brake and shift into park very quickly. It's almost like I have done this before. Why does this feel like it was on purpose?

I look to see I have landed myself in an actual parking spot. Was this version of me some kind of stunt driver? What the hell happens with me in the fifties? I am so excited to see just how different things for me are here. Maybe I have a cool life.

I get out of my car and look up at the school. There are people shaking their head as they see me. I think this is something they see alot of from the me they are used to. I guess instinctively I will be like my old self to these people?

I walk up the path to the door of my supposed school, I hope. I see the halls filled with guys and gal of many ages. I can't help but feel a little like I'm home. I walk into the hallways and take a deep breath. I hope I survive the first day of school.

"Hey Charlie." A blonde woman approaches me.

"Hi." I reply.

"I hope you have something for my art class today. You have a gift Charles, don't squander it with stunts and drag racing." She says. "It would be a shame to see such potential within you go to waste because of one wrong move." She adds.

Her blue eyes are like piercing sapphires. She is glaring at me as if I have already been up to some shenanigans. I hope that i can figure this out before I add to the existing problem. She places her hands on her hips.

"I will be in art today. To boot, I think you'll love what I have." I say.

"So, you're going to present today?" She asks.

"Yeah, I have no problem with that." I reply.

What am I saying? I dont know what he even had in his backpack before I wound up being me here. Oh this is so confusing. I can't let her down though, it seems I have on many occasions already. I want to see what they think here of my art. She says I have potential but, I need to be able to show her what I can do. I guess this could be the opportunity to the rest of my life. I never seen this coming.