Saxon Brightlight, Time Surfer

By D. Blakesley Falt

Thrilled to be recruited into the secret society of Time Surfers, fifteen year old Saxon Brightlight, along with her two time traveling buddies, Firetop and Sugar Boy, surf to past eras by the use of their "Tri-Meters" and meet famous historical figures.

Between time jumps, Saxon must keep up with school, home, social life and her growing love for Firetop. She also must contend with her high school nemesis, Pamela, who is obsessed with besting Saxon academically and socially.

Our three Time Surfers are concerned with recurring mysterious strangers who appear to be watching them. They are challenged to decipher their meaning and intent.

When Sugar Boy sets off on his own to a "hot zone" to dissuade Nat Turner from his slave rebellion of 1831 and fails to return, Saxon and Firetop vow to bring him back. From reading Nat's bio, they conclude that he must have been manipulated by a rogue Time Surfer bent on altering the past for his twisted pleasure.

When Saxon and Firetop jump down, they discover a message written in Sugar Boy's blood telling them when and where to find him. They jump again, missing Sugar Boy by minutes. Jumping a third time, they find him hogtied in a cabin, missing his Tri-Meter and one of his fingers.

While trying to figure how to get the three of them back with only two Tri-Meters, the rogue appears, and a bloody fight ensues. Sugar Boy grabs the rogue's Tri-Meter. Nat and his gang show up and realize that their plan to kill all white people has been discovered. They decide the four Time Surfers must die. Leaving the rogue to the merciless gang, our three jump to Sugar Boy's present where they are treated as heroes.

Back in her own time, Saxon suffers from post traumatic shock. She has a meltdown at school. Pamela offers insult to injury.

Saxon and Firetop meet Sugar Boy. They console each other, but they are worried about the rogue's brother coming after them. They decide on a preemptive strike. Unwittingly, the rogue gave them clues where to find him, a time and place fraught with danger and death. However, they decide, in order to save their lives, they must jump into another hot zone and put a stop to this twin and his evil doings. Then, Saxon, teeth clinched, hands balled into fists says, "Now,...let's dog the devil down."

• Language: English
• Publisher: D. Blakesley Falt
• Release date: Jul 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476436067

D. Blakesley Falt

Born in San Francisco, D. Blakesley Falt (Blake) is a graduate of California State University San Francisco with a BA in Theater Arts. He lived in Hollywood for some years, working in film, TV and stage before relocating to Tokyo. After years of hard but enjoyable work in Japan's entertainment industry, including eleven years on a daily TV program, a national monthly magazine declared him a "Tokyo Super Star". Blake speaks fluent Japanese and French. He has traveled extensively throughout the world and has written several travel and music articles for various periodicals.

Book preview

SAXON BRIGHTLIGHT, TIME SURFER

BOOK 1 IN THE SAXON BRIGHTLIGHT SERIES

BY

D. BLAKESLEY FALT

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 by D. Blakesley Falt

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PROLOGUE

THE MAKER

Somewhere on earth in a time beyond our present, a grandfatherly little man is diligently working in his laboratory. He wears glasses that look like small binoculars that zoom in and out, seemingly on their own, for detailed work on micro bits and pieces of who knows what that he places one by one into a small curved box about a quarter inch thick, two inches wide, and three inches long. His deft hands attach each piece in its proper place with something that looks like a pen light. He looks tired. His breathing is somewhat arduous, but controlled and steady. He dabs sweat from his brow with a kerchief. It is obvious that he has been working on this little box for some time, but time takes time. One has to spend time to make time, and time is what he’s after,...all the time in the world.

After the final piece is set in place, he removes his binoglasses, sits back in his chair, takes a sip from a steaming mug and lets out a deep sigh.

Ahhh...That should do it.

He picks the box up and turns it over. It looks like a small curved TV screen or iPhone. He places his right index finger, print down, on the center of the screen and says, Verify new owner.

The screen lights up. The box hums. Small colored lights around the edge blink on and off. After about five seconds, words appear in the upper center of the screen, OWNER VERIFIED.

He then places the box on his left wrist and it automatically fastens itself together. He taps once on the left side of the screen, and a 24 hour clock appears. Again, words appear on the upper center of the screen, SET PRESENT TIME.

With his finger, he guides the hands of the clock to coincide with the clock on his wall. He sets the date and year.

He then taps the clock two times, and a slowly spinning earth appears in its place. The words at the top now say, SET PRESENT LOCATION.

With his finger, he stops the earth at his selected spot, then pushes lightly to zoom in with pinpoint accuracy, the room where he now sits.

Next, he taps the center of the screen. Another clock appears, and the words say, SET TIME OF DESTINATION.

He goes through the whole procedure once more, setting the time and his chosen destination.

He then taps the right side of the screen, and a third clock appears. The words say, LAST DEPARTURE, but since he hasn’t yet departed from anywhere, the clock is blank, so he says, Cancel check, and the clock disappears.

He looks at the clock on his wall, takes a deep breath, let’s it out slowly and says to himself, Now, let the fun begin...Go destination!

The colored lights around the screen flash. There is a low hum. Suddenly, the man disappears, but just as suddenly with a blip! of light and sound, reappears wearing a Mexican sombrero, a lipstick kiss on his cheek, and laughing uproariously. He looks at the screen and taps the right side. A clock appears, indicating a time six hours later than the center destination clock but with the same date. He taps it twice and the earth with a zoomed in location appears with the words LAST DEPARTURE.

He laughs loudly and says, Perfect, then says, Cancel screen.

The screen goes blank.

He holds his arm up in the air, looks at the instrument on his wrist, and says, I shall call you...Tri-Meter.

CHAPTER 1

SAXON AND FRIENDS

My name is Saxon Brightlight. I know that means nothing to you now, but it will. First of all, let me just say,...I’m alive. We,...(Well, I’ll explain the we later.)...are all OK,...wounded, inside and out, but alive. Sadly, we had to kill a man,...indirectly,...a very bad man,...and it never feels good to take a life. It hurts inside, even now, when I think about it. I guess it will hurt forever,...and that’s a long time. But if we hadn’t done what we had to do, we would be the dead ones, and I wouldn’t be telling you my story, a story that hasn’t ended, since we are now being hunted, with no safe place or time to hide until the evil that is hunting us is killed, caught, or put out of commission. Anyway, I’d better tell you how it all started. It seems so long ago, but it’s been really no time at all. Time has a way of altering your perception of it, lengthening, shortening, and bending until you feel so much time has passed, but when it’s over, it’s really just the same time. I know that sounds confusing, so let me confuse you even more by saying, I’m older than I am, so much older, yet I’m really still the same age...I’m a Time Surfer.

I just might be the only girl Time Surfer in all of time. I really don’t know. I’ve never met any others, only men and boys, and that doesn’t seem fair.

Perhaps first I’d better tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a fifteen year old girl, half way through my second year of high school. I have short light-brown wavy hair; I’m about five foot three and kind of on the thin side. I want to be a fashion designer. I love to go to the Salvation Army and Goodwill and buy different old clothes then make alterations and mix and match with new clothes. I love bright colors and lots of costume jewelry, mini skirts, unusually patterned tights or knee socks and high-top tennies. Most of my friends think I look weird, but someday they’re all going to want what I design. Also, time-surfing to the past has given me a chance to see and try on a lot of old fashions then use some of them in my designs. My favorite classes are art, history and French. I’m pretty good at sports too, especially swimming. Probably our having a pool helped with that. Next year I might even join the school swim team. My mom, besides being the coolest mom ever, is a really good cook and has taught me a lot. My dad died when I was five. I don’t remember much about him except he used to make me laugh, but Mom never remarried, so it’s been just the two of us since then.

Now maybe I should explain what a Time Surfer is. A Time Surfer is someone who surfs the past using a Tri-Meter, which I’ll explain later. With your Tri-Meter, you pick a time and place you’d like to visit, and off you go. Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that, but it’ll all become clear as we go along.

The reason I said we surf the past is because each individual surfer’s future doesn’t exist yet. No matter what time your personal present is, you don’t yet have a future, so you can’t go there. That’s why I can’t visit my friend, Firetop, in his time, which is a hundred years in my future, and our friend, Sugar Boy, who is from one hundred years in my past, can’t visit either of us in our presents, but Firetop can visit me, and we can both throw our hands back to jump down and visit Sugar Boy. Then the three of us together can slice some time anywhere we want below Sugar Boy’s present and surf the past.

We enjoy surfing together, and it’s a lot safer that way too, strength in numbers. We’ve had some pretty scary scrapes, but on most of our surfing trips, we shred time waves to sweet spots and enjoy the best of the past. I’ll tell you later about some of the people we’ve met, you won’t believe it. Just let me ask you this: If you could pick three people from the past to visit, who would they be? It’s hard to decide, isn’t it? That’s why when Firetop, Sugar Boy and I get together, we take turns on who picks the who, when and where of our surfing trips. We always do some research before we jump, and if it’s to a foreign country, we try to learn a bit of the language first. Of course, clothing styles of the time, and money, if we should need it, also have to be considered.

Sometimes Firetop and Sugar Boy call me their sister. I like that since I don’t have any real brothers, so I guess they’ve become my pretend brothers. And they both have nicknames, but I didn’t, so they decided to call me by my last name instead of my first name. They said Brightlight suits me better because of all my bright colors and shiny jewelry, and the way I tend to light up every place we go. So my last name has become my nickname. Together we are Firetop, Brightlight, and Sugar Boy. It sounds like a rock band, doesn’t it? Oh, but we are so much more than that. We’re Time Surfers.

CHAPTER 2

WHEN TIME SURFERS MEET

How I met Firetop and Sugar Boy was also caused by a Tri-Meter feature. When one Time Surfer gets within twenty yards of another, their Tri-Meters will light up and throb. As they get closer, the throb rate increases until they are within ten feet of each other. Then it goes into a gentle quiet hum that quickly fades away.

I had just gone on my first short time hop, destination Tokyo, ten years before I was born, as my mentor, the man who gave me my Tri-Meter, instructed. I was in a section call Harajuku on a weekend, and the place was packed with kids my age. Harajuku is Tokyo’s fashion center for kids. There are clothing shops for the young and hip everywhere, eateries of all kinds, loud music playing, and even a street blocked off where kids can dance. The dancers were all in their separate groups with their own music playing, and each group was dressed differently. The group that really got my attention was the twisters, I guess because they seemed to be out of a different time period, like me. They were all boys and dressed all in black: tight black pants, pointy black boots, black T-shirts, dark glasses, and their black hair was greased and combed up to a roll on the top of their heads. I was mesmerized by them, all in a circle and twisting away. When the song stopped, one of the boys came up to me and motioned for me to join them. I had never done the twist before, but I’d seen it in those TV commercials where they try to sell a collection of songs from the past and in a couple of old movies. It looked pretty simple, so I figured, why not, and jumped into center circle as the music started up again. I guess I was doing pretty well, because the boys were all smiling and shouting. I had to turn slowly around to give each of them equal attention as we twisted. A crowd of onlookers gathered around us and many of them were taking pictures. I guess I seemed to legitimize the twisters that day as they became the most popular group to watch. When the song ended, we got a big applause from the crowd. I thanked the boys, and each in turn shook my hand and bowed. They all said, Arigato, which means Thank you in Japanese. One of them even said, You so pretty girl. See you again. They were all so sweet.

As I moved away, some girls came up to me and said in broken English how lucky I was to be asked to dance, because the twisters never ask anyone to join them. Then they started admiring my clothes and commenting on my fashion, and I was commenting and admiring theirs. We even traded a few things.

After that I moved a little farther down the street, checking out a few boutiques. I was having a blast. This was the most exciting, interesting place I’d ever been in my life. I was really in my element. Then, all of a sudden, my Tri-Meter lit up and I felt a slow throb. I held my breath. I looked around. I was thinking, Who could it be? Is it one of these Japanese kids?

The throb started to increase, and I thought, Well, whoever it is getting closer.

Then, about fifteen yards away, with his head above the crowd, walking straight towards me, I saw this strange looking guy in a bright red jump suit, sparkly dark glasses, and his blond hair with red ends peaked up to a point on the top of his head. As he got closer, the Tri-Meter throb became a gentle hum and faded away.

With a big grin on his face, he reached out his hand and said, Hello. They call me Firetop.

I shook his hand and said, I’ll bet they do. I’m Saxon, Saxon Brightlight.

Well, Miss Brightlight, he said, how about we sit down for a cup of tea and a chat?

We had the nicest talk. I learned all about him and his time, and told him all about me and my time.

When I said, Your accent is different than mine. Where are you from?

He said, I’m a Scandy.

A Scandy? What’s that?

You know, a Scandinavian.

But Scandinavia includes a number of countries.

In this present it does, but in my present it’s all grouped together.

Well, what part of Scandinavia are you from?

Greenland.

Greenland!? That’s not part of Scandinavia, I said in surprise.

Well, Greenland had been administered by Denmark since 1721, but in 2008, its citizens voted for increased independence. It became a self governing dependent of Denmark until 2075 when United Scandinavia was formed. Denmark had always been our benevolent big brother, so when Scandinavia got grouped together, Greenland just naturally went along.

But Greenland is all ice and cold, how can you live there?

In this present that’s true, but after global warming took effect, and dramatic changes occurred all over the world, Greenland became, well, very green and warm and fertile. It’s a wonderful place to live now,

Firetop is sixteen years old. He really doesn’t have a grade in school, because the education system in his present is totally different. He never told me his real name. He said everyone just calls him Firetop because of his hair style which makes him look like his head’s on fire.

After our chat we went for a walk around the area. We looked at some interesting shops and tried some snacks from vendors on the sidewalks, even a little sushi, which Firetop declined. Then we found a large green park with many trees and a big koi pond. In the center of the park was a very old shrine called Meiji Jingu. We spent some time there just in awe of everything. We even got to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession, all dressed in colorful kimonos and holding colorful parasols, parade across the center ground from one building to another. They were so beautiful.

Finally, I told Firetop that I’d better be getting back to my present. He said there was no reason to hurry, because when I got back, it would be the exact time that I left. I explained that it was my first time surfing and that my mentor had said to make my first jump a short one, but that I wanted to see him again, so he said he’d meet me at my place in a week. He wanted to see where I came from. I said that would be cool and gave him my coordinates.

This has sure been a sweet spot, he said, but I guess you’re right, it’s time to kiss the Time Keeper’s daughter and skip a 2-4.

I beg your pardon. What does all that mean?

Time Surfers have their own language. A ‘sweet spot’ is an enjoyable point in time. To ‘kiss the Time Keeper’s daughter’ means to leave this time, and ‘skip a 2-4’, since we have a 24 hour clock, means to jump time to the max and return to your present.

Wow! That’s so cool. I guess I have to learn a new language. Anyway, I’ll see you in a week.

He gave me a thumbs up, and by our saying, Return present, we both skipped a 2-4.

That’s how Firetop and I became time-surfing buddies.

CHAPTER 3

SAXON RECEIVES HER TRI-METER

I suppose I should tell you how I got my Tri-Meter. As I said before, one of my favorite school subjects is history. I’m really fascinated with many of the different periods of the past, not just because of all the old clothing fashions, although that’s a big part of it, but because of all the stories that my history teacher tells us, and the way he tells them makes everything so interesting. This history class is called Free History, and our teacher is allowed to lecture on any period or point in the past. It’s more of an elective, because you can chose it over a regular history class, so the students are a mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors, no freshmen allowed. When I said you can choose the class, actually, you have to apply for it, and if the teacher thinks you have promise, he lets you in.

Our teacher likes to play a game with us now and then. Actually, it’s really teaching, but he makes it feel like a game. Each student has to pick a person from the past then stand up in front of the class and explain who he’d like to meet and why. Some of the kids come up with some pretty lame picks, like Santa Claus, or a caveman (Forget that fashion.), or Bozo the Clown, or Jay-Z when he was young, because, He was so cute. But our teacher says my picks are always interesting and well thought out. His name is Mr. Futuro, and that should’ve been a dead give-away right there.

Mr. Futuro is about fifty five years old. He wears wire rimmed glasses, suspenders, and usually a bow tie. His hair is brown with white sneaking in around the edges, longish, parted in the middle and combed back. He’s really nice, has a kindly face and is very proper, but he insists on his students’ complete attention and loves to pull pop quizzes and give out assignments.

One day, Mr. Futuro asked me to stay after class.

He said to me, Saxon, you are without doubt, my best student. Your interest in history and your attentiveness, I find very admirable. Your choice of topics is commendable and well researched. You have an eye for detail, and you show a very mature approach to your assignments. You always seem so excited when delving into the past. You confront each history lesson as if it were the most important, and that is how it should be when going to,...I mean,...when studying about a period or person in the past.

Thank you, Mr. Futuro. That’s the nicest thing any teacher has ever said to me.

Oh, I’ve heard good reports from most of your other teachers too. In fact, I’ve had my eye on you since you first came to Lakeside High. I was so happy when you finally got to my class. Let me ask you, Saxon, how are you at foreign languages?

Well, I’ve been studying French for a year and a half. I guess I can carry on a limited conversation. My Spanish is mostly food, like, ‘Uno mas taco por favor.’ I can insult you in German. I like to watch Japanese dramas on channel 9 sometimes. I read the subtitles in English, but I think I have most of the greetings down.

That’s good, Saxon. That’s actually better than I expected. It’s certainly a very good start. Now, I suggest you begin to study and memorize the basics of as many languages as you can. Approach this idea as if you were taking a trip around the world, and to prepare yourself, you research the places you plan to visit and study a country’s language first.

O...K. I wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It just wasn’t clear to me yet.

Well, I don’t want to make you late for your next class. We’ll continue this later. Perhaps, if you haven’t other plans, you can meet me here after school, and I’ll explain everything.

Sure, that’ll be fine, Mr. Futuro, and thank you so much for what you said. You’ve made my day.

I left for my next class, which I knew I’d be late for, but I didn’t care. I was walking on air.

After the bell for the end of school rang, I packed up my books and started heading for Mr. Futuro’s history room. My best friend, Nacy Day and her boyfriend, Kale, caught up with me.

Hey, Saxon, where you goin’?

Mr. Futuro wanted to see me after school.

Oh, yeah? Can we come?

I don’t think so. I think it’s a private talk.

OK, what ever, so meet us later in the mall at Smoothie Heaven. Kale’s gonna try and chug down a jumbo mango smoothie in less than one minute without puking. He’s got a bet with Billy Iron.

Yeah, sure. See ya, I said, and started to walk off.

Billy Iron was Kale’s best friend, but he was always daring Kale to do something weird, and Kale could never turn down a dare. Sometimes those dares were pretty challenging, even dangerous. Billy was a borderline bad boy, but he was kind of cute in an impish sort of way with his curly hair, dimples, and a twinkle in his eyes.

Oh, by the way, Saxon, I really like your outfit today, said Nacy before I got out of ear shot.

Thanks, I said and beamed her a Cheshire Cat smile.

Saxon, you are so weird, said Kale.

Coming from someone who’s about to chug a mango smoothie and puke, that’s a compliment, but just you wait, Kale, someday the world will be mine. I gave them a joking Hmph! turned up my nose and walked away. They laughed and set off in the other direction. Little did I know that those words were about to come true.

When I opened the history classroom door, Mr. Futuro was standing in front of his very large and detailed earth globe, spinning it slowly. He turned to me as I walked in.

Ah, Saxon. Put down your books and come over here.

Sure, I said, putting my books on the nearest desk, and walked over to the globe.

Look, the spinning earth.

Are you going to hypnotize me, sir?

No, Saxon, I don’t know how to do that. Now watch. As I put my finger on the globe, it stops.

That’s very interesting, Mr. Futuro,

He ignored my sarcasm. Now take this magnifying glass, and hold it up to where my finger is. As I held up the glass and looked, he said, You see everything close up. Small details become clearer.

Uh huh, I said, still looking through the glass.

Now, imagine a very, very powerful magnifying glass and a very, very detailed globe, so detailed that you could pick out a village square or someone’s backyard, even a room. Now, imagine that attached to the globe was a clock, and you could change the time, date, and year of that clock, then the globe would instantly change to what the earth looked like at that time.

Well,...that would sure be something.

It is something,

Huh?

Saxon, I’m about to tell you a secret I have never told anyone in my life, not even my wife. This secret can only be passed on to one person, an heir apparent, so-to-speak.

Well, now my interest was pretty much peaked. I was holding my breath.

As I said before, I’ve been watching you for some time, observing your interest and approach to history, and I’ve concluded that you are worthy of this gift.

I couldn’t say anything, I was just staring at him.

He continued, Saxon,…I’m a Time Surfer.

I took a gulp. What? A w-what!?

I come from the future, and I surf the past,...that is, I did until about thirty years ago when I decided to settle down in this time period with the woman I fell in love with. I’m what’s referred to as an ‘Old Timer’, a retired Time Surfer, and I haven’t regretted my decision once in all that time. We never had any children of our own, so for many years I’ve been looking and waiting for the right person to pass my gift on to and take up the mantle of Time Surfer. I believe I have finally found her. I believe you are that person, Saxon Brightlight.

Uhh... I couldn’t think of a thing to say.

I know, he said, I know what you’re thinking.

Are you a mind reader too, Mr. Futuro?

No, like hypnotism, that’s another talent I’ve never acquired. I know what I’ve just told you sounds unbelievable, even crazy, but I’ll show you how it’s done and what makes it happen.

From a drawer in his desk, he took out an intricately carved wooden box. He opened the box and took out what looked like a small curved television and placed it on his left wrist. It seemed to automatically fasten itself to him. He tapped the left side of the screen. A 24 hour clock appeared with the time, 11:45. Under the clock was a date, February 1, 2080. He tapped it again, and a globe appeared and zoomed into an up close view of a house. The words, PRESENT LOCATION, appeared above the globe.

This was the time and place I left thirty years ago. This was my present time.

That’s,...uh,...really nice, Mr. Futuro, I started to slowly look at the door, but...I,...uh,...

Saxon, I know you’re skeptical, and who wouldn’t be? So allow me to demonstrate. He said to the screen, Return present, and in an instant he was gone, then in an instant he was there again but wearing different clothes.

I couldn’t help but give a yelp of surprise. This can’t be happening!

Oh, but it is, said Mt Futuro. You see, Saxon, I returned to my present time. I stayed there for three days, and I aged three days. I purposely didn’t shave during that time to show you a three days’ growth. A Time Surfer only ages in his present. I met old friends and relatives. They hadn’t changed, since for them, no time had passed, but I couldn’t tell them who I was, because I had aged thirty years.

How could you have aged thirty years? I thought you said you could only age in your present time?

You won’t age in the past as long as you wear your Tri-Meter, but I took mine off thirty years ago when I retired from time-surfing, so I’ve aged naturally since that day. My Real Age Time, or ‘RAT’, is fifty five. That doesn’t include the time I’ve spent on surfing trips, which, according to how many trips I’ve taken and how much time I’ve spent on those trips, actually adds up to years more. That’s my ‘NAT’, Never Age Time, because, while wearing your Tri-Meter in the past, you won’t age. If someone, like myself, wanted to stay in a past time forever and age normally, all he’d have to do is take off his Tri-Meter. In that case, he’s supposed to find a worthy person to pass it on to.

I’m getting a bit of an information overload. I need to sit down and think.

Of course, do sit down. Take your time. You have all the time in the world...below you.

What do you mean?

A Time Surfer can only surf the past. For each individual surfer, the future above his present does not yet exist. You can only surf what has been. And when I say you can only surf the past, that is excluding any point in time where you already exist. For example, you could not visit yourself as a baby. There is an anti-magnetic bubble over us below our present time. It’s as if you take two magnets and try to put two plus poles or two negative poles together. They will bounce to the right or the left. That’s what your Tri-Meter will cause to happen if you try to go to a time where you already exist. It will either bounce you back to your present or to a point below that time. Also, the same Tri-Meter cannot exist at the same time as itself, so you cannot surf to a time where I have already been. You’ll get bounced.

Who made the Tri-Meters, and how many are there?

No one knows for sure where the Tri-Meters came from or who made them. Time Surfers refer to this person as ‘The Maker’, and no one, other than The Maker, knows exactly how many Time Surfers there are. Everyone who has a Tri-Meter received it from someone else who got it from someone else and so on. Oh, and no one can steal your Tri-Meter and expect to use it, because it has to be released from its old owner and reprogrammed to its new owner. If an unauthorized person were to put it on, it would deliver a very uncomfortable shock and make him nauseous. He’d want to take it off immediately. Tri-Meters have safeguards and rules. The Maker saw to that, anticipating possible scenarios of abuse, but with a little intelligent thought, often inspired by necessity or cunning, or with the aid of other Time Surfers, there are ways to get around some of those rules.

I sat there for a moment, trying to take it all in, then, in awe, I simply said, Wow.

Yes,...wow, indeed...Well, that’s enough for today. Just answer me one thing. Saxon Brightlight, are you interested, willing, and able to be a Time Surfer?

Uh,...I guess so...I think so...I mean,...yeah!

Then, what I want you to do is go home, get on the internet and read up on Harajuku, Tokyo.

What’s that?

It’s a section of Tokyo, Japan, that I think you’re going to like. Then tomorrow we’ll give you your first trial run. And remember, you can’t mention this to anyone. This is your secret until you pass on your Tri-Meter to someone else. As I said, there are other Time Surfers out there, and there is a remote chance that someday you’ll bump into one. If you do, small lights around the rim of your Tri-Meter will blink, and you’ll feel a pulsation that will increase in rate as you get nearer to each other. A word of warning, however, not all Time Surfers are good. There are some rogues and renegades out for their own personal pleasure, careless of any havoc or destruction they may leave in their wake. Let’s hope you never run into one of them.

Now you’ve got me a little scared, Mr. Futuro.

Don’t be. The chances of running into that type of Time Surfer are miniscule. In fact, I would venture to guess that most Time Surfers spend their entire surfing careers never meeting another surfer. So belay your fears and off you go. Get some rest after your research. Of course, don’t neglect your other homework, and eat a good meal. Tomorrow will be your time-surfing debut.

So off I went for home. I forgot all about Nacy and Kale and the jumbo mango smoothie. I wanted to get on my computer right away and check out Harajuku. On the way, everything that Mr. Futuro said was running through my head and how he disappeared and reappeared with different clothes on. That would sure be some party trick, but it wasn’t a trick. Mr. Futuro was not that kind of person.

When I got home, I said hi to my mom who was doing the laundry.

Saxon, honey, you’re home. How was your day?

Oh, pretty normal, except Mr. Futuro said he was really happy about my interest in history and that I was his best student.

That’s wonderful, Saxon.

I didn’t mention anything about time-surfing.

Then I added, I was supposed to meet Nacy and Kale after school at Smoothie Heaven to watch Kale chug a jumbo mango smoothie in under one minute.

Now that’s an accomplishment one can be proud of, and we both laughed.

"But I had better things to do, like get