Ch:1-The Set Up

Time.. something I've always felt I had not enough of. Sleep is also one of those things but being a world famous Inventor there just never seemed to be enough time on the clock.

In the year 2089 there has been dramatic changes to everything around me in the world. People found ways to fix genetic problems and recreate dinosaur DNA as well as a great many inventions mostly made by me I should add. My name is Michael Montgomery the 4th after my father and his father before him. I was raised in the country and moved to Phoenix when I was 16 so I could go to high school and take college at the same time. Since then I've lived in the city ever since, but you get the gist of it. So before we get any further with my travels and travails. My story has some hiccups starting with back when I was in my young adulthood.

One day when I was 22 I was at a college party celebrating the graduation of 6 years of college done and gone. To then move on to get our masters in Stanford University. My friends had already received their admittance letters to Stanford already, but I had yet to get mine. Although this hung over my head I was going to live it up that evening as we partied down with my friends and pretty much the entire school body. Last thing I remember was toasting to the future with my buddies and tipping back my 7th beer bottle I had downed that evening. Tyler had a girl under one arm and Clark nervously looking about as he drank up his second girly fruity drink.

The next morning I awoke with an intense headache and queasy stomach and found that some dude I didn't even know was strewn across my lap passed out and snoring. I immediately pushed him off my lap and got off the couch.I then left and made my way into my own apartment. I noticed the mailbox digital read out by my door showing I had mail. I entered the apartment closed the door behind me quietly and taped the mail box screen to finish the delivering process. Hey Alex? Can you display the mail for me and read it off? I asked the home AI system. I continued on with the pounding pain in my head as I walked over to the windows and set them to dim mode because the light coming through was hurting my head immensely. "Dear Michael Montgomery" the AI started "we are sorry to inform you..." and at that point I stoped listening to Alex as everything in my hands including a beer bottle, keys and my phone at the time was thrown to the ground and broken. Breathing heavily and not caring about the mess I leaned against the wall and slumped in my couch. With my head in my hands I couldn't help but think of all the work I put into trying to get into that school. I had no social life outside my two friends and a few people at the dinner I ate at and studied with and on top of that I had nothing else in my bank account. The rest of the day was wasted as I sat around in my apartment moping and staring at the ceiling. I couldn't understand why I hadn't gotten into the school of my choice. My friends had and it tore me up inside. Towards the end of the day a hope popped into my mind as I thought to myself. ' Maybe it was just a mistake! I can contact them and maybe even talk my way in.'

With that in mind I thought it best to get out of the house and get my mind off this horrible issue. It was the weekend anyway, and there was no way the school had anyone I could get into contact with anyway. I took a shower and ate my dinner before I left and called up the boys to hang at our favorite dinner. As I pulled up to the old school dinner with its shiny streamliner design with "Maas Dinner" lit up across the front. It's a funny place but they have really good shakes and all my favorite drinks. I walked in and found my friends sitting already in our favorite spot. "Hey Kira can I get a chocolate shake" I asked the waitress as cool as I could with a wink at the end. Bonnie dressed in a yellow skirt with a white apron blushed and tried to hold back the big smile on her face. She hurriedly turned around hiding the growing smile leaking through. I knew she had a huge crush on me but I didn't have time for girls prior so I usually tried to avoid as much contact and conversation with girls. Kira was the exception though as she was one of the few girls I talked to as a necessity under penalty of starvation as I studied. She was very pretty with her strawberry blond hair and lovely curves and her contagious smile. I always liked messing with her a little while I ordered. I wouldn't like to call it flirting but I guess in a way it was. The only thing that detracted from her beauty was her large coke bottle glasses she usually wore but that wasn't all that bad after all.

"Hey look who finally showed up?" Tyler said turning around in the booth causing Carter to look up from his coffee. "I see you two are pretty chipper after last nights party" I said scoffing a little seeing their bloodshot and bagged eyes. "Ya last night was pretty lit! I hope we can find a group as awesome as we had last night" Tyler said looking satisfied with himself. I knew he was referring to the girls he had probably taken home with him last night so I'm an effort to avoid that conversation I hurriedly thought of something to detract from that thought. Soon Kira had come around and brought my chocolate shake with the dark syrup swirls on the outside of the swirled glass container. Thanks I said looking up and smiled. " hey mr country bumpkin. I thought you said you were broke" Tyler said snidely looking at me with a not so impressed look on is face. The night before I had told Tyler that I couldn't ouch in for alcohol because I was broke. Of coarse there is a huge difference between a chocolate shake and a six pack or angry orchard and kilt lifters ale. I brushed off his comment and started to sip at my shake and noticed Kira was still standing by me with her pad and pen in her hand looking nervous and was biting her lip. She then shifted her feet a little and said tentatively " hey umm I was wondering since Tyler said you were from the country does that mean you know how to drive Standard?" Referring to driving a car with a stick shifter. "Ya I do actually" remembering how my dad when I was little put me behind the wheel of his very old Ford f100 and how badly I frogged about trying to shift and push the gas pedal. After practicing for a few years I felt proficient at it so I said " ya I sure do. Why do you ask?" "I've been trying to get the hang of driving my brothers car and it's been really hard, so I was wondering if you could give me some pointers". Ya sure thing I said without giving it a second thought.

Her face lit up with a bright smile and she turned quickly and walked back to the kitchen. Before she got to the kitchen she shouted back to him " I get off at 11 by the way"! "Ohhh you got yourself an admirer" Tyler said giving me an elbow to my ribs with a super cheesy smile on his face.

Later that evening I waited out in the parking lot on one of those old fashioned park benches. Kira came out and it shocked me as she wasn't wearing her usual yellow skirt, but instead was wearing some tight jeans and had a baggy sweater jacket. The jeans exposed her long legs and the jacket was baggy everywhere except for around the waist where it tapered to show off her curves. She no longer had her glasses on as she looked up after putting something in her purse she noticed I was staring at her. "What?" She asked as I picked my jaw off the ground and gained my composure trying not to look like a dweeb. "Nothing I just haven't ever seen you without your glasses on" shyly she smiled and pulled her car keys out and lead me to her car in the corner of the parking lot. Without thinking of how she had gotten the car here I assumed that she just needed help with driving as burning up a clutch was a common action of a new driver to standard vehicles. Automatic vehicles are easier to drive because of that reason since the clutch pedal doesn't exist in anything but stick shift vehicles.

I started up the vehicle and music came on the speakers. Some sappy love song or something and Kira quickly changed it and looked away but I could tell she was embarrassed and so I said " it's ok I like that song". She didn't reply so I continued to check the gear layout on the shifter and adjusted the seat and mirrors and realized it had been quite a while since I had driven a car let alone a standard. so wouldn't you know it the car stalled while backing out. Ughh! Sorry I haven't driven in a while. I don't own a car here since I live on campus" I said apologetically. I started the car and drove out and we continued to drive for a while and we talked and I gave pointers. She talked about her life and where she came from and what she liked to do and eat. We came to stop at a light and she told me to turn there and since I had no idea where we were I did as she said and went in as the road turned and twisted going up hill. As the road looked like it would crown the sky seemed to open up to a sight of all the stars and down below the lights of the city could be seen all around us and the road dead ended.

It was all so beautiful that I couldn't help but gawk. A hissing sound and a pop was heard and when I turned she had two old fashioned A&W root beers in each hand with a mischievous smile on her face and she handed me one. "Thanks wow this is awesome... wait did you plan this the whole time"?!