I sat at the back of the classroom, arms folded over my chest. I hated days like today. There was nothing wrong with me.

Put anyone else in my shoes and ask them what they wanted. I'm sure they would tell you the same thing. To never, ever do that again. I shook my head quickly to clear the memories. No point in keeping them. No point in making more.

"Eleanor!" Mr. Tarniby barked, hitting his fist on the table. "I can't help you if you don't listen to me!"

"I never asked for help," I answered sharply. It was true. None of this was my idea.

"You don't want to train anymore," he said. It was the same argument every time.

"I didn't know what it was like," I told him.

That's the truth. I never knew how bad it could hurt to lose someone. Someone you cared about. Someone you loved.

The problem was that no one knew what really happened. No one knew where I went. No one knew how I got so off track. And no one knew about Chase.

"You spent two years traveling, Eleanor," Mr. Tarniby said. I hated the way he said my name.

I really hated my name, period.

And I definitely hated our sessions in the dusty, unused classroom.

"From what I have been told, you really enjoyed it," he said.

"Traveling through time is just like traveling our world," I insisted. "Some places rock. Some places suck."

"Watch your language," he warned, his forehead growing sweaty. "Look. I can understand it must have been scary to fall so far off track. And it took a long time to find you. That's true. But you have a gift, Eleanor. A rare gift. How can you be willing to give that up so easily?"

I looked over at the clock and almost smiled. Five minutes left. The problem was, he would keep me all day if he had to. It was a pretty big deal to refuse the "gift."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know what you want me to say," I lied. I felt my chest getting tight and my head was pounding. "If you want me to admit that I am afraid, I will. If you want me to say I am bored, I will."

"I want you to tell me what happened! Eleanor, this is a huge problem," he answered.

"We need to know what happened so it doesn't happen to others. It's been six months. We have been patient. You are not a child, Eleanor. You are seventeen and next year you become a trainer yourself. Do you understand your responsibility, Eleanor?"

Eleanor, Eleanor, Eleanor!

Mr. Tarniby had moved very close and his voice had grown louder. I could smell cigars on his breath. His large face was even bigger this close up. But his eyes were still very, very small. The veins across his forehead were a deep, ugly blue.

"I am not going to train. I am not going to travel. I told you I can't remember what happened. I remember feeling weak. So tired. I remember my reflection. I don't know what I was looking into but I saw myself. My eyes were bloodshot and my hair was thin. My face was pale and sagging. I was dying," I answered.

I watched his face change and his shoulders slump. I always won when I played the death card. It was a low move on my part, but I had to get out of there.

He nodded his head and reached down beside my desk. When he stood, he was holding my red backpack for me. I slid my arms into the straps and walked quickly out of the room.

The air was soft and fresh on my face. I could smell the trees budding and a hint of rain in the air.

Mrs. Beils said that time travel makes a person more aware of their surroundings. Smells become stronger. Noises become louder. Colors become brighter. I guess that's true, but it's not a reward. Not when you consider what I had lost.

I shook my head again. I promised myself I would stop thinking about him. For all it mattered, he was dead. I would never see him again. I didn't even know what year he was from.

And if I did, it wouldn't matter, since I could never stay. Jumpers can't exist for long outside of their own time.

Before me, the longest known jump happened two generations ago. A man named Idan was gone for just over a year. His jump was planned to be no longer than three months.

But he fell in love. Unfortunately, the woman lived three hundred years in his past.

He came back only when his body was very close to dying. He was too weak to jump back to her and it drove him mad. We learned about it in class. Mrs. Beils felt sorry for him and was almost fired for saying so.

"You all understand, don't you?" the head trainer had yelled. "It's his fault and we should not feel bad. He broke two of our most important rules. You do not EVER disobey your return time. And you never, NEVER become personally involved."

Then the head trainer had stomped out of the room, still angry. A very embarrassed Mrs. Beils was left to continue class.

Idan was imprisoned for attempting a jump without permission. He had shown signs of recovery the week before. He had decided it was the only way.

It turned out that he was not strong enough to jump alone. And he was too weak to move afterward. They found him lying on his own broken legs. He had been in prison ever since. I must be a horrible person, because part of me wished that I were him. At least he got a chance to try. He knew where to find her and what to do. I wish for him that he had succeeded, but at least he got to try.

There would be no trying for me. It was not only illegal but impossible to jump forward.

At least it was... until I accidentally did it.

"Ellie," he had whispered into my ear. "Wake up."

I opened my eyes to see Chase sitting on the bed beside me. A quick peek at the window told me it was still nighttime.

"What're you doing?" I asked, rubbing at my eyes as I sat up.

He smiled. "I have a surprise," he said. "Something they didn't have back in your day, old lady."

I giggled as I swung my feet to the floor. He helped me to slip on a pair of soft shoes and held his finger to his lips.

"Shhh," he warned, opening the bedroom door.

We tiptoed down the dark hallway and quietly crept through the front door. I continued following him all the way down the perfectly smooth road. The sky was filled with the colors of passing space vehicles.

Finally I asked, "Where are we going?"

"Just a little further," he answered. He pulled me down a winding path and I could hear water running. I looked down and saw a river moving beside us. "Right down there," he said, pointing his finger toward the water's edge.

We stepped carefully over large stones until the water was only inches away.

"It's beautiful," I said, giggling a little. "But we do have water where I come from."

I watched the way his blonde hair moved when he shook his head. "No," he said, his brown eyes staring down at me. "That's not the surprise."

He pulled a small red can from his back pocket and waved his arm. A mist of spray came rushing out of the can. He continued moving his arm: up, down, circle, and over again.

When he stopped, I just looked at him, confused.

"Takes a minute," he told me, feeling confident.

In the next moment, there were tiny lights moving quickly in our direction. They were coming from everywhere. As they grew closer, I realized they were tiny lightning bugs.

"They're attracted to the spray," Chase said. "It hangs in the air for a few minutes."

The insects flew nearer into the mist. They began flying close together, in a sort of pattern. It was beautiful. But then it got even better.

In awe, I pulled my hand to my mouth and felt tears in my eyes. I looked at Chase and then at the light show once more. I stared for a few moments at the three little words spelled into the air in front of me.

Then I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to the base of Chase's jaw. "I love you too," I whispered.