Email: ctepossum33@hotmail.com

Story:
I'm not part of an experiment. Nor am I a guinea pig. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. But lying isn't going to get me anywhere. Maybe that's why I'm stuck here, 500 years from my original time. Don't get me wrong - there was nothing wrong with the experiment, they'd worked out all these stupid formulas and everything about a thousand times already. They were crazy about experiments. The more twisted and controversial the ideas, the more these people jump at it with enthusiasm. Everyone was sure it was going to end up to be another successful experiment.
Maybe it was a little too successful.
I don't know what I did wrong - (the word 'marooned' comes to mind) - but, hey, this is a great way of ditching people! Grab someone you hate, shove them into that time machine and, poof!, they've gone 500 years forward with no hope of ever coming back. Kidding- it was just a thought. Of course, I always dream about going back to my own time. Who wouldn't? I mean, I was only just born at that time when they wanted a 'volunteer' for their time experiment thingy and... yeah... volunteer? The bit about 'volunteering' is a load of.... babies in their right minds don't just get up and scream "pick me!", do they? But every night, just in case they've sent someone else to this time, I climb up the tallest building to check. Just in case. It's all in vain, I know - a person with the genes of an angel, even if they are half human like me, with pathetic, not even angel-like wings... they're pretty hard to come by. But still, I wait. So stupid - I know...
And back to before where I'd mentioned my great idea about shoving someone you hate into another time... if I had that machine right now, I know who'd my lucky victim would be. Toshi.
He so annoys me! Can't he ever leave me alone? Is it even possible for him to leave me for just a moment? He'd even crushed my hopes about ever going back to my time or having someone from my time to come to this time. The other day, he'd followed me into this library - I was looking up for books written 500 years ago - a pretty futile thing to do, I'd have to admit but... anyway, Toshi beat me to a book which recorded notes about this time machine. It didn't say anything about when or where it was created, but it was pretty clear that this was the one I'd gone in. One good point about me is that I have this great memory and all - well, most of the time, anyway. Toshi knew it, too. About me coming from another time, I mean. Not that I would ever tell him about it or anything - just having him around all the time was more than enough... but he was the one who saw me arrive and all.
Me: "What does it say?" (He'd lifted the book high away from where I was standing - grrr.) Toshi: "Why?" "You know perfectly well why," I answered, irritated. "Now, gimme the book!" Toshi: "I'm still reading it." I yanked his hand behind his back and twisted his arm. Toshi screamed. "Aiiiiiiieeeeeeee!!!!"
"Now, what's going on in here?" That crabby librarian had sneaked up behind us. Toshi, still in obvious pain: "Uh... she..." (Here, I kicked his shin.) "...OWwww! -I... nothing. Nothing..." Librarian: (To me) "You know very well the library rules here: 'no forcefully seizing possession of a book off another person.'" (Here she points at a sign that she's just quoted off from - I must've missed seeing that one.) Then she forcefully takes the book off me. Me: "B..but... you've just broken one of your rules, Miss Librarian." Toshi coughs: "Hypocrite."
The librarian gives Toshi a warning look, but walks off with the book, nonetheless. Toshi, safe out of earshot of the librarian: "She must've made signs for about everything in this library, I swear." I didn't care - I was fuming. "You idiot! You've just lost the book I wanted to read!" Toshi shrugged it off. "No, you lost it yourself by breaking one of the library rules." "It's YOUR fault," I retorted. "Who asked you to scream so loud?!" Toshi quickly changes the subject. "Relax, I've read all you wanted to know." Me: "Well? Toshi: "There... there was only one record of time travel was made, 500 years ago..." Me: So... what about the time machine?" Toshi: "It was lost. No further records on it." I was lost for words. Toshi: "Looks like you'll be stuck here for quite some time." (He looks happy) Then I totally lost it. It was partly due to the way he said it - why can't he be a little more sensitive and not so blunt with his words? I tried to kill him, but by now he was on guard (stupid spear of his...) and I didn't manage to scratch him (I almost got scratched instead). After that, we got kicked out of the library (quite literally, actually) – not for the first time, too.
After waiting on the roof of a building for some time, Toshi coughed, and it wasn’t from his cigarette, either.
Toshi: "I've been thinking." Me: "You sure don't do that often." Toshi: "I'm thinking of helping you." Me: "Really? That's new." Toshi said, rather crabbily: "Can't you drop the sarcasm even for a second?" (Can't you even stop following me even for a second? But, boy, did he sound touchy. So I dropped it.)
Me: "Ok... sorry. So, what are you thinking about?" Toshi: "I can help you get back to your time. Or, at least, I think so."
I looked at him incredulously. "Don't tell me. This is one of your pranks, right? Well, you're not fooling me with that one." Toshi said sternly: "I'm not. Listen, I found some plans of a time machine in the library." Me: (Impulsively) "I love you, Toshi!!" Toshi ignored me, though I swear I saw him blush a little. "It's a little rough and very outdated, but I think we could manage to rebuild it - just like what your people did, 500 years ago." Me: (Even more impulsively) "Toshi, I really do love you!!" Toshi blushed even deeper. "It's going to be a huge task- as well being a big risk, though." I was ecstatic. "I don't care! At least I'll be able to go home!"
Toshi was silent.
Me: "Toshi...?" Toshi: "When I first saw you, you were just a star in the sky, you know?" I almost groaned aloud. "I remember that moment clearly. I was falling through the sky, screaming for help. And you just stood there, watching me plummet through the sky -and you didn't even bother to catch me..."
Toshi ignored me again, though he looks a little guilty this time. "Even though you say you're half... - you're no angel, you know." (Neither is he.) Me: "I'll accept that - I'm Cho." Toshi said slowly: "You know... the time machine only carries one person at a time?" Me: "Yeah, and -?" Toshi: "It'll probably break down here by the time you'll get back to your time."
Me: "That's okay, as long as I get back-" (I suddenly realise what he's getting at.) Toshi: "That's probably what happened in your time, after you reached here." Me: "But can't you make another one? It's pretty simple -right?" Toshi hesitated. "Judging on the plans, we'll most likely be incredibly old people when it's finished. I'll be long gone before I get anywhere distantly close to finishing the second one."
Me: "Why are you even doing this? Why are you giving up your life for mine?"
Toshi: "I.... I..." I cut him off. "Thank you, Toshi." Toshi, still struggling with his words: "I..." I hugged him. "I know what you're trying to say, Toshi. You don't have to-" Toshi said, rather hesitantly: "I... have a confession to make. Actually, I knew about those plans long ago."
I glared at him. "Then why didn't you tell me about it before?!"
Toshi said a little too quickly, "Just kidding."
Me: (Tries to kill him with his own crazy spear).
But I think I'll stay here in this time. After all, wasn't I sent here to have a life in the future? Of course, it'll take some work and all - especially getting along with that crabby librarian with her thousand and one rules, and Toshi's an even bigger challenge - but I think I'll get used to it. I really appreciated the thing about him thinking about sending me back to my time - maybe there's something about him that I haven't found out yet. I even have to admit that having Toshi stuck to me all the time is not so bad... Just don't EVER tell him I told you that.

Comments: I have no idea of where the end of Toshi's spear went... and I do realise that Cho is a 'half angel', but I reckon that angels come in all different forms (not always those cute, feathery-winged creatures), even more so if they are half human, anyway - hence those weird 'butterfly' wings of Cho's. Oh, and my brother wanted to remove the cigarette from Toshi and give him one of those playing cards instead - ^_^;