"The air is so clean and the waters are so clear everywhere!" Mrs. Parker exclaimed.

Mr. Parker matched his wife's excitement, "Yeah, we traveled hundreds of miles away, everything is wonderful everywhere!"

"Mom, dad, I'm glad you had a good time." Liz hugged her parents. "You've been gone for so long, I was getting worried."

"We can't wait to go out of town again. The world is so fresh and new, Liz." Mrs. Parker moved her hands with her mouth. "We were do dedicated to owning and managing the Crashdown Cafe that we stopped taking notice of all the things around us."

"Yeah, and when Claudine stopped time..." His wife's cold look cut Mr. Parker's sentence off.

Mrs. Parker hopped back on the original subject. "You and the rest of our extended family should join us. We're going out of town again next week."

"Next week?" Liz looked taken aback. "You both just got home. Mom, dad, I missed you and worried about you. Besides, you have not been home for more than a week since we all arrived here, in this time."

"I'm sorry, Liz." (He apologized for not being home and for mentioning Claudine.) Mr. Parker touched his daughter's shoulder. "We worked so hard for so long in the 'present,' I guess the time, the freedom, and the money has been a real eye opener for us."

"I had not realized that we have not been home that much. I promise, we will stay home for a few months, Liz." Mrs. Parker took her coat off and placed it on the coat rack near the entry way. "We brought goodies for everyone, and extra goodies for the children. Where are Genndy, Mark and Mason?" She unfastened the largest piece of luggage and exposed a hill of wrapped gifts.

"Liz's eyes widened, "Mom, everyone is already so spoiled..."

Mrs. Parker kissed her daughter on the cheek, "Nonsense. Kids, we're home!"

Liz sighed, rolled her eyes and braced herself for the stampede of little feet.

"At age 10, I discovered I could stop objects in time. When no one was around, I practiced throwing and stopping plates in time." Genndy spoke in the 'past.' "Thanks to my heritage, the plates that broke were easily fixed with the wave a hand. The family often spoke of Max, cars, computers, televisions, and sky scrapers. I wanted more than anything to peek into the 'present' and the 'past' to see Max and those things for myself. One night, after many weeks of failed attempts, a window of time was successfully opened. Very scared but more curious than scared, I stepped through the window of time."

The next scene showed Genndy in the day time. She hid in bushes with amazement punched on her face. Liz and Maria were about 10 years old and they played together on the playground. Genndy followed the gaze of eyes that burned into Liz. Nearby, a same aged Michael, Isabel and some dark haired boy looked at Liz.

"Why don't you take a picture, Max. It lasts longer. Michael told the dark haired boy.

"Max?" Genndy gasped.

Max gave Michael a look that Genndy recognized as, "Shut up, Michael!"

Isabel looked obviously perturbed, "Save it, Michael!" She snapped. "Max, Liz is not like 'us.' Why do you spend so much time pining over her? You're like the definition of a stalker."

"I can't explain it or help it, Isabel. There is something about Liz that captivates me. Her eyes swallow me when she finally looks my way." Max dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Isabel glimpsed over at Michael and caught him as he stared at Maria. "Michael, you're just as bad when it comes to Maria."

"No, I'm not!" Michael blurted out. "Max likes Liz. I hate Maria! Oh, I see Maria and just want to pull her hair, trip her when she is not looking, or push her too hard on the swing until she cries." He balled up his fists. "I can't wait for Dodge Ball at recess, today. Pow! (He struck one of his fists into the sky) Straight to the moon, Maria...Straight to the moon!"

Max and his sister, Isabel, shared an uneasy look of concern.

"Why are you so hostile towards Maria, Michael?" Max asked. She's super nice to you all the time and on Valentine's Day, unlike everyone else in the class, she always gives you a Valentine."

"I know." Michael squinted his eyes and looked disgusted. "For that...she must pay."

Max shook his head left and right, touched his sister on the arm and said, "Tag...You're it."

Isabel picked up where her brother left off. "Michael, I see you look at Maria more than I see Max look at Liz..."

Michael put his right hand in front of his face, "Talk to the hand!"

Max, Isabel and Michael were distracted by laughter that came from a bush They walked over and moved some of the bush branches aside.

"What's so funny?" Michael demanded. "Are you laughing at me? I need to know because I never buy that whole 'They're laughing with you' bit."

Genndy had immediately stopped laughing when she was discovered. She raised her head and saw Max, Isabel and Michael. Max's hands were still in his pockets. Isabel's right hand was on her hip. Michael's hands held the bushes apart. Genndy dropped her jaw and looked back at where her window of time was. It had closed. Her eyes watered and she stumbled back, in fear.

"Whoa...Calm down. We didn't mean to scare you. His bark is worst than his bite. I'm Max Evans, this is my sister, Isabel Evans and that's our friend, Michael Guerin." He kept his hands in his pockets.

Genndy jumped up and hugged Max. "I'm so sorry, Max. I'm Genndy, you never met me." She cried into his shoulder.

Isabel and Michael seemed puzzled. They looked at Genndy's antiquated clothes and her reaction to Max.

"Hi," Liz waved a hand at Max, Isabel and Michael. Maria was with her.

"Liz," Max stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"I am curious what you are doing over here." She answered. "Who is that crying on you?"

Michael looked at Maria like he would attack her at the drop of a hat. Maria blushed in Michael's direction.

"Oh...we just met. We found this girl in the bushes. Her name is Genndy." Max's hands remained in his pockets.

Genndy let Max go, dropped o her knees and cried into her hands.

The next scene showed Genndy in a police car. She still cried in her hands.

"I tried every day to get back home, but failed. When people asked about my family and my home I answered them that I could not remember anything but my first name. Mr. and Mrs. Binoche adopted me a few months later. At 15 years old, nightmares of Claudine and the distant time to come haunted me. To this day, I wake up so scared that sometimes I shake, cry and laugh all at the same time." Genndy said in the 'past.' Since 15, when the nightmares started, my greenish yellow eyes have glowed and images of the distant past and the distant present play over my eyes. I use my powers to make them look as normal as possible." She stopped projecting the images on Max's Jeep. "That was the 228,935th time I've shown you the scenes (with sound) on my eyes. I am a prisoner of this day in time and it's probably Claudine's doing. Tomorrow morning will be the day of the Biology test, for the 228,936th time. After tonight, you will have no memory or record of me or what you have just seen and heard. You will all go on and live out this 'past' into the 'present.' I'm sorry there is no future and I'm sorry I was born." Genndy broke down, cried in her hands as she had when she was 10 years old.