ChapterNine

Andrew watched Alyson put their baby daughter for a nap after eating and a diaper change. He needed to talk to his wife, but knew she was busy. He wasn't sure how she would react to the news that his younger self and Amanda were in the same time as them. Hell, he didn't even think those two would attend Alex's fall weekend dance classes!

He watched Alyson close the door. Like Andrew, her career as a movie actor was also put on hold due to the pandemic. Recently, she was in virtual meetings to discuss how to return to work. In the meantime, she did publish a teen novel that fictionalized her experience with UTurn; on top of releasing dance tracks on Spotify.

Andrew asked, "How's Britney?"

Alyson sighed, "Finally asleep. What's up?"

He asked, "You know how 2020 is beyond crazy, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, my seventeen-year-old self and Amanda are in the same time as we are."

Alyson's eyes widened at the statement. She clearly couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not even Andrew could believe his own words.

"How?" she asked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but I got an idea."

>>>>>>>>

Andrew and Amanda stared outside their window. They were watching a fight going down between weird-looking people and their strange friends. Hell, there was even a wolf!

Andrew pulled the curtain on the window and said, "That's enough fights for an entire year."

Amanda asked, "Yeesh, how much did this virus evolve humanity?"

"Probably enough to create all of those weird people."

"So you agree with me? That this virus has caused evolution?"

"I don't know, but that seems to make the most sense."

Andrew heard a "ding" coming from the modern laptop. He walked over to it to see an incoming Zoom meeting.

He said, "We got a Zoom meeting coming."

Amanda asked, "Really? With who?"

"I'm about to find out."

Andrew opened the notification, eyes widening at the sight of his older self and a brunette woman next to him. He assumed she was Alyson. She had the same facial features as her younger self; just without the blonde dye.

"Andrew?" his older self asked.

"Yeah," he said as he blinked his eyes.

"I'm assuming you recognize my wife, Alyson, here."

Andrew could feel his heart melting at those words. Alyson would one day become his wife. Sure, he knew they were both too young to get married, but still, their future was staring right at him.

His older self asked, "So you two took Alex's dance class?"

Andrew could feel his face warming up like he did something wrong. Amanda replied, "Yeah, we did. So I was told I married a music producer? Is it Derrick?"

His older self chuckled, "No, you're not married to Derrick. He's got his own girlfriend."

"So what happened between me and Alex?"

Andrew watched his older self bite his lip, bare of any piercings. He figured Alex and Amanda broke up, but when and how was the question. Alex didn't really want to tell Amanda the truth about himself. Something bad must've gone down between them.

His older self said, seemingly hesitant, "I'd rather you find out yourself from him when the time comes...if you ever get out of 2020."

Curious, Andrew asked, "So this virus, did it cause human evolution to happen?"

He watched the married couple look at each other, as if they were shocked by that question. They faced him. Alyson said, "In a way, sort of."

His older self added, "It showed who the stupid people are, and who are the smart ones. The stupid ones are those partying and having massive tantrums over wearing masks while being racist as fuck."

Andrew asked, "Masks? It's that bad?"

"Yeah, it is."

Andrew looked away, feeling a bit scared now. Would he and Amanda have to go into quarantine before heading back to their old school?

He noticed on the screen a young boy walking up to the married couple. He was the same one from his older self's Instagram page.

The boy asked, "Mom? Dad? Who's that?"

The boy got in between his parents, clearly to get a better look. He said, "Dad, why is UTurn you on the screen?"

Andrew studied the boy's face, wondering if he had his features. He did with the piercing blue eyes and the faint freckles. He had black hair, but it was flat and straight.

His older self said to Andrew, "This is our son, Eric. He just turned ten. You became a father right before you turned twenty-one."