Through the Window - Chapter 1 (youngsters:adventure, 1647 words) [1/2] show all parts
Author: Walt	Updated: Apr 23 2013	Views/Reads: 9797/2916	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Jerry is a young student who finds and travels through a window into the past. Chapter 1 fnds Jerry commiting himself to the adventure as a class project.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

June at school were normally more relaxed – except for old Shingles' 
class. Jerry was small for his age. He had the size of a thirteen-year 
old, small for a boy going on fifteen. He was agile, but simply lacked 
the bulk for any of the contact sports. His only hope was to get on the 
golf team. He hoped and prayed that he would have the spurt of growth 
this summer that the others had already experienced. The only thing he 
had going for him was the gift of gab. Sure, he thought, and look where 
that just landed me. 

Jerry stared at the window. Shingles was talking about China's rice crop
but Jerry's mind was wandering again. The glass seemed to have a 
reflection, as if something was shimmering. He glanced at the overhead 
lights to see if a fluorescent bulb was flickering. Nothing.  He 
shifted his head to a different viewing angle. It was not a reflection. 
It looked like a TV show was playing somewhere behind the glass. No one 
was paying any attention to it. He nudged Harry who sat in front of him 
and whispered, “Check out the window.” 

Harry looked and said, “What?” 

“Don't you see anything?” 

“Naw.” 

“Oh, I thought I saw something.” 

The class bell rang and everyone filed out. “Sir, can I stay a few
minutes?” Jerry asked. 

“Certainly, Anthony. Good to see you taking an interest today. Do you
know something about tai jiquan?” 

“My mother takes classes, sir. I have watched her practice a number of
times and I thought I could use some of her written material for 
research.” 

Shingles gathered some class books and began working on a report. Jerry
checked out the window. There was something there. It looked like a 
scene from a Chinese classroom. Students were talking. They seemed to 
be speaking English. A beautiful girl was staring out her window, 
looking right at him. “Who are you?” she asked. 

Jerry gulped and whispered, “Anthony Breckenheimer. Who are you?”
Shingles had his head down. 

The girl seemed to have a problem repeating his name, “Just call me
Jerry,” he said. “That's my nickname.” 

“Jelly. My name is Li Haun. What are you doing in my window?” 

“I'm not in your window, I'm in Vancouver.” 

“I have never heard of that place. Are you near Beijing?” 

“Good heavens, no! I am in Canada.” 

“I never heard of that place either.” 

“Uh, where exactly are you, Li?” 

“I am in Xiaoping.” 

“Geez, I never heard of that place. Listen, I don't know how this is
working – like, how am I talking to you?” 

“I don't know, Jelly. I just looked out my window and there you were.” 

“Listen Li, maybe you can help me. I have to give some class talks on
Tai Chi in 19th century China. Do you know anything about that?” 

“I practice tai jiquan, if that is any help. And this is the 19th
century, in English years.” 

“Wow. Like it is 2008 where I am! We must be time-travelling or
teleporting, Li.” 

“I don't understand that word, Jelly.” 

“Teleporting is when people or things move through space and time,”
Jerry said, remembering the Star Trek programs. “We must be travelling 
in the same beam.” 

“Is it like when the monks go into a trance and see things?” Li asked. 

“Uh, I don't know. It might be something like that. Look, Li, I don't
know how this is working, but let's not worry about that. I guess we 
are reading each other's mind, because I am not speaking out loud right 
now. If we can meet like this tomorrow, can I ask you questions about 
your life and then relate them to my class as a story?” 

“I guess that would be all right, but right now my life is a total mess.
I have been promised to marry someone I don't know or love – a man 
named Fan Lu. The man I love, my teacher Cheng, has suddenly gone away 
and I don't know where he went.” 

“Wow – an arranged marriage. Like, those have gone out of style over
here. Anyway, maybe we can help each other. I just hope you are there 
tomorrow.” Jerry heard a tinkle, like a small bell and the window 
cleared. “Weird,” he said. He looked at his watch. It had stopped, and 
then while he was looking at it, the hands began to move again. He 
looked at the wall clock. It showed the same time as his watch. 

Jerry thought he would read his mother's Taoist Tai Chi handbook that
night and make some notes on the history of the internal art of Tai 
Chi. His plan was to name each lesson after a move in Tai Chi and try 
to show the class that move during his ‘lecture'. He thought he could 
copy the move depicted by the man who wrote the book, Master Moy, and 
get the class to try it together. Class participation was always good 
for an additional mark or two in Shingles' class. His only hope was 
that the window would be working like today and he could ‘talk' to Li. 
Perhaps she could show him the move and he could do a ‘live' report. If 
the girl in the window could show him the countryside and how the 
people lived, he could do a ‘Report from Xiaoping'.  ‘This is Jerry 
Breckenheimer, reporting live from Xiaoping.' He would have to look up 
the Chinese town on the internet in case Shingles asked him where it 
was. He needed the window and the girl for 12 days. 

The next day was going to be a test of his plan. He also needed some
cooperation from Shingles. Gerry passed several hours on the internet 
that evening, searching for items on China. 


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