Video game developer convention it was, they decided.
Karyn held her game console and game as Sarah made the wish: “I wish the 3 of us, AND everything we’re wearing AND everything we’re holding, would be transported through time and space to a video game developer convention in 1980.”
They suddenly found themselves on a street sidewalk. It was snowing hard.
“What the, this isn’t snow, this is, I don’t know what this is!” Jon remarked.
It was covering them quickly, whatever it was.
“Boom!!” went the mountain a few miles away. They looked at it and a massive column of smoke was rising out of it.
“You three, what are you doing, get to cover! Didn’t anyone tell you breathing in the ash is bad for you?” a man called over to them, while holding an umbrella in one hand and his shirt up and over his face with his other.
“Is that a volcano?” Karyn asked.
“For god’s sake yes, haven’t you been paying attention or listening to the news? Mount Saint Helens is erupting! You 3 need to seek cover! And be careful around this ash!” the man hurriedly yelled to them, and then ran off.
“Should I look for a different convention?” Sarah whispered to the others.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Jon whispered back.
“I wish we were at a different video game convention in the same year, that WASN’T near Mt. Saint Helens,” Sarah said.
Nothing happened.
“Maybe this was the only video game convention in 1980 so the wish can’t be granted?” Jon asked.
“I wish, the 3 of us would be transported to a different video game convention, within 5 years of this moment in time!” Sarah shouted.
Nothing happened.
At this point Sarah was starting to panic. She had a terrible idea of what was going on. “I wish for an ice cream cone!” Nothing. “I wish for a hundred dollars in quarters to appear right in front of us on the ground!” Nothing. Sarah started bawling.
“Why isn’t it working?!” Karyn asked.
“Because,” Sarah said in horror, “it’s before I wished to have the power! It’s 1980! I won’t have it for decades!”
“Oh no…” Jon said. “Then that means, we’re stuck here, like this. Unless. Unless there’s some other way back? We have to find some other way to get back to the future!”
“Hmmmm,” a man quietly said, off to the side, listening in on this conversation. “That’s an idea. Maybe I should talk to my friend in Hollywood.”
