Ever since I can remember I’ve been different. Special. Extraordinary. I’m not even sure where I got these powers and, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t want to know. The crazy thing is, I don’t think anyone else has even caught on to my powers, which I suppose kind of makes sense. I mean, it’s kind of hard to catch someone freezing time, since you yourself are, in fact, frozen in time. And it’s not like I’m advertising my powers to the world. Even if I did, nobody would believe me—they would just try and take advantage of me. So why would I bother? It’s not worth it. I’ve known that since I’ve had this power, which is quite literally since I was born.

But don’t worry, I don’t abuse my power either. Actually, I consider myself a pretty responsible, morally correct person for a 16-year-old with this kind of power. Usually I just use it to get some extra time to sleep, or if I’m worried I might not finish a test in time. It’s really nothing too serious; I never use my power dangerously.

Or I guess I should say I hadn’t, until curiosity took over. It was bound to happen at some point, as with a power like this, there’s always more to explore. I had just never really thought about it before, until Tuesday, March 10, 2043. I was at the annual job fair my school puts on, walking around and exploring it with my friend Bea.

“See anything interesting yet, Jada?” she asked.

“No, all these jobs are just dumb. They all revolve around businesses and going into business and starting your own business or working for someone else’s business. I. Don’t. Want. To. Go. Into. Business.”

“Fair enough,” Bea replied, chuckling. “Then what do you want to go into?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure,” I said. “I mean everything I think I might be good at, I can think of a million reasons why I would be bad at it or shouldn’t do it.”

“I hear ya. Especially going into junior year, people are starting to pressure me into looking at colleges and majors and what I want to go into. But I can’t make a single decision to save my life.”

“Yeah! I don’t know, just thinking about it stresses me out. I wish someone would just tell me what I wanted to do with my life. It would be so much easier.”

“Seriously. Sometimes I wish I could just go forward in time and see what I’m going to do with my life. That way I can just do it and know that I’m making the right decision,” Bea said walking towards one of the few non-business booths.

And there it was. That was the moment that something clicked in my head that could never be undone. An idea had been born and I couldn’t take my mind off it: what if I could go forward in time? I mean, I could freeze time, couldn’t I? So in theory, shouldn’t that mean I could also go back in time, or, go forward in time? It had to be possible; I could feel it in my gut. And I knew that I was going to figure it out.

After the job fair I rushed home and went straight to my room. My parents wouldn’t be home until 5 and my puppy, Rocky, was out cold on the couch, which wasn’t unusual since he usually spent his days chasing himself around the house. It was the perfect time to figure this out.

I usually freeze time by snapping my middle finger and my thumb together on both hands, which is incredibly simple. No wonder I figured it out from such a young age, since that’s the way most people snap their fingers! But that made me think: What if I tried snapping my pointer finger and thumb together on both hands? Or my ring finger and my thumb? It was the only thing that made sense. That had to be it!

I looked at my fingers and realized I had two options: my pointer finger or ring finger. But the question was, which one would make me go forward in time and which one would make me go to the past? Because let’s be honest, no one wants to go back to middle school. I went back and forth between which one to try, knowing full well that it might not work at all. But this could be the only chance I had, so I had to try. Plus, I was truly curious now about what my future self was like. If I had the power to find out, why wouldn’t I?

“Well, here goes nothing,” I said under my breath. I looked at both of my hands and then closed my eyes, pressed my pointer fingers and thumbs together, and snapped so dramatically, you would think I was Thanos or something.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a space with white endlessly in every direction. I was standing on some kind of floor, but I couldn’t see it. It just blended with the bright white that surrounded me in every direction. The air was still; it was neither hot nor cold—just stale. I was about to scream for help, when someone emerged from the endless white light a few feet away. I squinted, trying to see who it was as the figure drifted closer and closer. They wore a huge, almost tan cloak covering everything from their face to their feet to their hands. They seemed to be floating over the light towards me rather than walking, and it was then that I realized how much danger I could be in. I started backing away from the figure and holding my trembling hands out in defense.

“Who are you?” I yelled out to the figure, my voice shaking. “What do you want?”

“Relax, Child.”

The figure had an old, raspy voice with a faint French accent, exactly the type of voice that should have put me on even higher alert. But it was oddly comforting; it invited me to trust this figure that had just appeared out of the light.

“I’m Lord Temps, and I’m only here to help you, Child. To guide you. To help you make the best decision for you.”

“Stop playing games! Where am I? What do you want from me?”

“From you? Child I want nothing from you. My only job here is to assist you through this marvelous journey you’ve placed yourself upon!”

“Sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but everything you just said means nothing to me. Tell me straight up: where am I?” My fear was rapidly turning to annoyance. I was getting over this guy real fast.

“Well, you’re in the Transit Zone, of course! It’s a place where time is not a factor. A place between time, if you will. It’s almost like a train station, or an airport for time travelers to get to where they want to go.”

“So, so I was right! Snapping different fingers together does bring you to different places in time!”

“I suppose so, yes. I mean, any snap other than your basic one to freeze time will bring you here. And since you’re here, I’m assuming there’s somewhere you want to go?”

“Yes. I…I want to see my future self. See where I go, what I do. Just a little peak! So I have a better idea on what to do now, in the present.”

“You want to go to the future?” asked Lord Temps.

“Yeah, can I do that?” I asked, beginning to worry that my journey may be stopped by some French guy in a cloak.

“I suppose so, yes. But it’s very, very dangerous. One small move can mess up the space-time continuum, something as little as stepping on a butterfly. It may not be the smartest idea for one’s first trip through time.”

“Please! I’m 16 years old! I’ve had the power of time since I can remember. I’m ready for this! I promise!”

“You cannot get caught. I mean it, Child! One person sees you from the future and the space-time continuum will be ruptured. Fragmented. The consequences are unmatched by anything we’ve ever seen!”

“Sooooo I need to be careful. Is that what you’re saying?”

“More than careful. You should be afraid to breathe when you’re time traveling into the future, and spend the least amount of time there as possible. The fewer chances of you being seen, the better.”

“So are you saying I can go?”

My heart was racing. I was so close to being able to see what the future had in store for me. I needed to know! There was no other option except to go to the future.

“I suppose you may, Child. Someone blessed with the power of time at such a young age must be made for adventures like these. But you must stay hidden at all times, you hear me Child? If anyone sees you the consequences would be catastrophic. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir, I do. I promise, I’ll go as quickly as possible. I’ll be like a ghost! No one will even know I’m there, I swear!”

“You’d better. Now, listen to me very carefully. Using your thumb and pointer finger, snap the amount of years in the future you want to go. In your case, if you want to see where you end up in life, I would recommend going about 14 years in the future. Usually by age 30 most people have at the very least an idea of how they wish to utilize their life. You’ll arrive in the future in the same place from which you came to the Transit Zone. From there, do what you need to do, and when you’re ready to go back home, just snap the same amount of years with your thumb and ring finger. You can just override the Transit Zone completely to get home as quickly and as safely as possible.”

“Okay, so snap 14 times with my pointer finger and thumb to go 14 years in the future, and then 14 times with my ring finger and thumb to go back to the present?”

“Good listening, Child. I’m trusting you. Don’t do anything irresponsible. Time itself depends on it.”

“I won’t. I’ll make it quick. I promise. Thank you, Lord Temps, for all your help.”

“But of course! It is my job, after all.” And with that, Lord Temps was absorbed by the light.

I closed my eyes and snapped my fingers 14 times.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my bedroom, except it wasn’t my bedroom. It was more like a storage room, with piles of boxes and books stacked everywhere. The closet was open and spilling over with even more boxes, clothes, and anything else my parents seemed to have been unable to find a space for. Even getting to the door was a challenge through such a maze, but I did it. I opened the door as slowly and cautiously as possible, not daring to take a single breath the whole time. I crept out the door and down the hall, hiding behind the wall right before the staircase. There was no creaking of wood panels anywhere near me, so I knew I was the only one upstairs. I listened down the staircase and could faintly hear my mother’s voice in the kitchen.

“Ugh, you know how those colleges are. Constantly asking you for more money even when you’re still paying off your loans. They’re so greedy! Power has really gone to their heads.” There was silence for a few moments, and then my mom started up again. “Well you know, Wentworth is a private school, so they can get away with more. But little stuff like constantly nagging you for more money is pretty common for all colleges. You just have to ignore it.”

‘Wentworth,’ I thought. ‘That’s a college. A good college, one that people seem impressed with when you tell them you are a student there.’ There was more silence, and then my mom began to speak again.

“Yes, well, I wouldn’t worry about it too much Jada. You need to focus on your career, and your family. I mean being a full time employee at NASA and being a mother cannot be easy by any means. The less extra stuff you have on your plate, the better.”

Jada. She said Jada. Suddenly, it all clicked. She was talking to me on the phone, in the future! This could not have worked out better for me. Now I knew everything: where I went to college, what my job would be… I mean, working at NASA? That’s insane! Above anything in my wildest dreams! And to go to school at Wentworth, in the city but not too far away from home? I officially had nothing to worry about! Except for maybe the kids; that was one I decided could stay Future Jada’s problem.

Feeling satisfied and relieved, I crept out of my hiding spot and hurried back to what used to be my bedroom. I was in such a rush to get out of there as fast and as discreetly as possible, I almost tripped over Rocky, who had decided to curl up in the middle of the hall right before my room.

“You couldn’t have picked a better place, you lazy dog?” I hissed at him. He just stared at me with his aged eyes and went back to sleep, as if it couldn’t have mattered less. I rolled my eyes and slipped back into my room, closed my eyes, and snapped fourteen times with my ring finger and thumb.

But when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in my room, or in any version of my room. I was in the Transit Station. Except it wasn’t quite right; something was off about it. The air was colder than I remembered, as if there was a swift breeze blowing through. It wasn’t as pure white and open either; the space now had a brownish tint, and it felt more confined, like the Transit Zone had grown walls that were closing in rapidly. I looked around at the strange state of the Transit Zone, barely able to take it in before Lord Temps appeared in front of me.

“What in time’s name did you do, Child?”

“What do you mean, ‘what did I do’?”

“Well, I mean what did you do? Do you see this place? It’s a disaster! Time itself is falling apart at the seams, unzipping as if it were only held together by a few threads. Flying cars in the Ice Age? Dinosaurs in World War III? It’s madness, absolute madness!”

“How could I have caused that, exactly?”

“Anything, literally anything you did could have caused all of this! The butterfly effect is no joke Child, and the evidence is here, right in front of you! Is there anything, anything you did that could’ve caused this? Anyone you saw or touched or interacted with?”

“No! My mom was on the phone with me. I just eavesdropped on her conversation from upstairs. I never even came close to being caught by her or anyone else!”

“No one else? There was no bug you stepped on to get to the stairs or… a cat that you tripped over?”

And then I remembered.

“No, but, um, I might’ve, uh, tripped over my dog,” I practically whispered to the Lord Temps.

“Oh great Gods of time, please tell me you didn’t say anything to this dog. Did you?”

"I, uh, may have said a few things. But I was so quiet, there’s no way anyone else could have heard me! Even my dog, Rocky. He barely even looked at me when I said it! He just went right back to bed as if nothing happened. I swear, it was practically nothing!”

“Yes? Well what about this? When you tripped over your dog and said whatever you said, that opened up a time warp. From that point on, there were two realities: one in which you spoke to your dog as your past self, and one in which you didn’t. This time warp opened up endless possibilities for people or animals or even objects to teleport from different dimensions with a million times more ease. And as more teleportations happened, the easier it became. So easy, in fact, that some could even do it by accident, and you know where that leaves us? With Woolly Mammoths stomping on George Washington and cell phones in the hands of the ancient Romans!”

“I’m so, so sorry sir I-- I didn’t know…”

“But I told you Child, I warned you! And now I have to fix this mess.”

With a long sigh, Lord Temps was about to fly off, but I had one more question.

“Wait, sir, what about me? What should I do? Can I still go home?”

“Well Child, since you ruptured the space-time continuum until further notice, this is also the only safe space until further notice.”

“What? What do you mean?” But I already knew what it meant. My heart began to sink.

“It means, Child, that the Transit Zone is a place between time, like I told you. This means that nothing from other dimensions can get in here because it’s outside the space-time continuum. Sending you back there could almost definitely be suicide, and I can’t have that. We need at least some survivors if we’re going to start a new space-time continuum.”

“So you’re saying I’m stuck here? Forever?”

“Until further notice. Try not to get into any more trouble.”

And with that, Lord Temps was gone, and I was without a home.