When I awakened, my head felt as though someone had taken a hammer to it. I heard strange sounds around me—a beeping noise, raspy breaths, and worried murmuring. Peeling my eyes open, I saw a white ceiling above me. The mattress beneath me was stiff, and the blankets thin. My bed at home was a large, soft canopy bed with thick furs and blankets. This was not my bed. Looking to the side, I saw rows of white metal beds with sickly looking people in them, and beside the beds were complex metal machines. I tried to recall what had happened to me. I had run away from the ball, and someone had pushed me into an alleyway! I must have knocked my head, and then someone had found me. But where on earth was I? Ignoring the raging pain in my head, I tried to sit up. The pain doubled, and I fell back onto the pillow. Three women with worried expressions rushed over. One wore a long white coat, another had a matching set of blue pants and a shirt, and the last one had a purple sweater and white pants. Women wearing pants?

"Noelle!" the woman in the purple sweater exclaimed. She had dark brown hair and tanned skin.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Are you speaking to me?" I inquired. It seemed like she was, but why did she address me as Noelle?

"Of course I'm talking to you! Are you okay, Noelle?"

"Stop calling me Noelle. That is not my name."

The woman paled.

"What are you talking about? You're Noelle Adelaide Abara, my daughter. I'm your mom. You're joking, right?"

I raised my eyebrows. This woman claimed to be my mother. Ha! What a liar! The woman in the white coat furiously scribbled in a notebook. Suddenly, I noticed that the woman in the blue clothes was fiddling with a clear bag that had a tube coming out of it. She gently lifted my arm. I looked at it and screamed. There was a needle in my arm connected to the tube. A needle!

"Not a fan of needles?" she asked. "I'm sorry, but you need to hold still so I can take the IV out."

"Why is there a needle in my arm?" I demanded.

"We had you hooked up to some saline earlier. But since you've woken up and your vitals have all been normal, we can take it out. Unless you want to keep it in?" she asked wryly. I didn't understand any of what she had just said. IV? Vitals? Saline? But I did know that I wanted the needle out of my arm.

Holding it out, I closed my eyes. I despised needles. It was still a mystery to me why there was one in my arm, but I could figure that out later. She took off the bandage covering the needle and then gently slid it out. I held my breath, willing myself not to squeak in terror.

"Noelle?" The woman in the purple sweater tried again. "You know me, don't you? I'm your mom."

I sighed, crossing my arms. The motion made me realize I was wearing a thin, short-sleeved shirt that came down to my knees under the blanket. Looking around, I noticed that the other people in beds were wearing similar garments. Almost all the people walking around were wearing white coats or a set of blue shirts and pants, like the two women. Perhaps this was an odd sort of hospital? The people in beds all looked sickly; they must have been patients. The place did seem clean and uniform. The other people must have been nurses or doctors. Although, I didn't know there were female doctors. This must have been a very progressive hospital. I knew Papa would try to find a good hospital for me if I was injured. But why wasn't he here? And why was that stranger claiming to be my mother? Could he...could he have sent me to an asylum because of my behavior? He wouldn't. Would he? The white-coated woman interrupted my thoughts.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you'll do your best to answer. Is that okay?" I nodded gingerly. I would do whatever it took to get me out of this place.

"What is your name?"

"Clara Marie Smith."

"Your parents?"

"My father is Pierre Smith, and my mother left me when I was a baby."

This made the woman in the purple sweater gasp, her face crumpling.

"Where do you live?" the doctor continued.

"New Shire City, in the county of Laurenta." This seemed to make everyone relax. I supposed I was still in the city, so that was good.

"Age and birthday?"

"16 years old, and my birthday is May 5th." This also seemed to appease everyone.

"What year is it?"

"1840," I answered confidently. The doctor froze. My "mother" gasped. The nurse paled.

"Are you sure?" the doctor asked again.

"Yes," I replied, puzzled. "It's 1840, December 6th."

"The 7th, actually," the doctor corrected. "You were unconscious through the night. But the year is 2020, not 1840." I stared at the doctor for a moment before breaking out in laughter.

"You're a terrible liar!" I exclaimed. "That's preposterous! The year 2020?" Did she really think I'd fall for that?

"I'm not lying," the doctor insisted.

"She's not," my "mother" chimed in. "It is 2020." I looked back and forth between the two of them, then over at the nurse. She nodded in confirmation. My heart sank. What on earth had happened?

I struggled to grasp what I had just learned, my mind racing. If this was truly the year 2020, then I had somehow traveled over a century into the future. I couldn't understand it. My head throbbed. I looked around the room, the strange details from earlier finally connecting. The metal machines, the strange clothing, the female doctors. I was in the future.

The woman in the purple sweater moved closer, her face filled with concern. "Are you alright, honey?"

I shook my head, "How is this possible? How could I have ended up here?"

The doctor took a deep breath, and tried to explain. "You were in an accident, and you've sustained a head injury. It seems it has caused a form of amnesia. It's not uncommon for traumatic events to cause such confusion."

"But I remember my life! My father, Stepmother, Christie!" I insisted.

The nurse then tried to explain, "You were found unconscious and taken here for treatment. You may think you have memories, but they are most likely altered or fabricated ones caused by your concussion."

I still didn't understand. My life was real, I knew that much. I knew I had somehow time traveled, even if they didn't believe me. But who did they think I was? Some girl named Noelle?

"Can you tell me more about the accident??" I asked, desperate for information.

The doctor glanced at my "mother" before responding. "You were found in an alleyway with a concussion. You must have fallen and hit your head on the ground."

She continued explaining details about my injury and treatment, but I didn't listen. Instead, I tried to think about what to do. I was in the future, far from everything and everyone I knew. I had to try and adjust to this world. Who knew how long I would be stuck here?