Chapter Four
1490 Words
San Jose, Roxanne - Avid Second Chances Bundle: Time Travel [Avid Book, Mainstream MF, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/New Adult Romance] Chapter Four
Angelie arrived in New Jersey in 1970. Shocked to see how different the city was from 2015, from the cars to the buildings, she began to wander the streets.
Since her boyfriend loved to make her cappuccinos, she went inside a café and asked some people if they knew the boy in the picture she held in front of them.
A customer, who introduced himself as Aaron Bastin, put down his coffee. “No, have you tried the police?”
Angelie replied, “Not yet, but my boyfriend loves cafés, so I thought maybe he would be here.”
“I suggest you report him missing to find him faster.”
She ignored him and looked around the café, but still found no sign of John. She finally decided to follow Aaron’s advice and proceeded to the police station.
Angelie entered the police station and asked to report a missing person. Officer Elvis Canton motioned to his desk. As she sat down across from him, he said, “I need more information about the person you want to report missing.”
Angelie did her best to describe John without getting emotional. “Yes, sir. It’s my boyfriend. His name is John Salvador. He is five nine and has brown hair.” She handed him John’s photo.
Officer Canton replied, “We will notify you when we get more information. What is your name and number?”
“My name is Angelie Thompson. I do not have a number due to… well, I will just visit regularly.”
Officer Canton answered, “We will begin our search by searching around the city and make telephone calls to other states. Please come back to get more information”.
Angelie replied, “I will,” and she left the police station.
Officer Canton watched Angelie walk out of the station, and he empathized with her. He immediately searched on the computer for any information about John, but found nothing. Standing up, he went to a fellow police officer. “I have a woman named Angelie Thompson who seeks help finding her boyfriend.” He handed a picture of John to the police officer.
“I will contact our missing person division so we can quickly find him.”
Officer Canton replied, “Okay, keep me posted.”
Angelie’s eyes turned watery. “This is history.” She walked to the street past a badminton court and still could not find him.
Aaron, who was in the café during Angelie’s search, approached her. “So, did you go to the police station like I told you?”
Angelie blinked back the tears in her eyes. “Yes, I did.”
Aaron thought of an idea, “Here, come with me. Let’s make copies and distribute them to the people in the streets.” Angelie smiled at him, and they went to the administration office to make copies.
Meanwhile, in New York, John left Central Park and thought of places he could stay. He had money, but it was not enough to cover his expenses. The first thing that came to mind was the homeless center he’d seen in the newspaper.
Remembering the address, he walked to there. As soon as he walked inside, a receptionist greeted him. “Sir, what can I do for you?”
John replied, “I am currently homeless. I need help.”
The receptionist stood up and escorted him to a bedroom, where he found a fellow homeless person named James Elis that he would be sharing the room with. He extended his hand to John. “Nice to meet you, brother.”
“Same here,” John nervously responded.
The receptionist smiled. “You guys will definitely get along here. Oh, John, I will get you fresh clothes and food.”
They watched her walk away before James asked, “How are you? I’m glad you found this place.”
John replied, “Me too.”
Soon, the receptionist entered the room with food and clothes. John took the plate, nodding at the woman. “Thank you,” he said as he sat down to eat it.
James said, “To improve your life, you need to be good to others and find a job.”
John listened carefully as James recited jobs for him to look up. He replied, “I will consider it.”
Angelie and Aaron bid each other good-bye after posting photos of John and passing flyers to the passersby. Aaron asked Angelie if she had a place to stay.
Angelie said, “No, I think I will stay in a hotel.”
Aaron suggested, “Why don’t you stay at my place?”
Angelie felt uncertain since she just met Aaron “Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you.”
“I understand your situation. It’s okay,” Aaron said. Angelie smiled. “All right, then. Let’s go to my house.”
They soon arrived at Aaron’s house and proceeded to show her the guest room. Aaron opened the door. “Here is your room. Do you need anything? I have water, milk, a cappuccino—anything to make you feel at home.”
Angelie shook her head even though she wanted a cappuccino. “No, thank you, Aaron.”
Aaron patted her on the back. “Things will get better. Don’t worry.” He closed the door.
Angelie grabbed a piece of paper from the table and immediately wrote down places where she thought John could be, such as hotels and other public places.
The next morning, John woke up, took a shower and got dress. He went outside to figure out what he would do now since he didn’t know how to build a time machine.
He thought to himself, . He stared at the floor, heartbroken, and dismayed.
He later pulled out a list of jobs from the newspaper. He found a cashier in a café, a hotel receptionist, and a school janitor. He picked the hotel receptionist.
He walked towards the Lesti Hotel.
Once he entered the hotel, looking around he walked nervously toward the receptionist.
The receptionist looked up at him. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I read in a newspaper about a job opening.”
The receptionist replied, “We will need your resume, and we will call you after we have read through it.”
John managed to smile despite losing hope of going back to 2015. He replied, “Okay, I will be back with my resume. Where is the library?”
The receptionist gave him directions while pointing. “After you exit this hotel, turn right, and you will see our local library.”
After following her directions, John saw the library and went straight to the computer to type his resume.
John Salvador
Elias High School (1952-1956)
He thought of a real college’s name and a degree. He searched on the internet and read about Aeriel College. “Aeriel College it is.” he decided.
Aeriel College (1956-1960), with a degree in Hotel Administration.
He printed the resume and walked back to the Lesti Hotel. “Here it is.”
The receptionist squinted her eyes. “That was fast.” She accepted his resume and escorted John to the Human Resources Department.
Knocking on a door, she said, “Someone wants to apply to be a receptionist. His name is John Salvador.”
A woman shouted back, “Let him come in.”
The receptionist wished him good luck, and John replied, “Thank you.” As she left him at the door.
John opened the door, his heart racing as he entered the room. The woman stood up and offered him her hand. “My name is Elisha Captor. Please sit down.” she said gesturing to the chair. After sitting, he handed her his resume. Elisha scanned over it. “I see you have a degree in hotel administration.”
“Yes,” John lied.
Elisha knew she needed to hire him. “You are hire. We will have a training session tomorrow, so please do not be late.”
John relieved, “You will not be disappointed with me.”
“Good. See you tomorrow, then.”
John left her office in disbelief that he had quickly found a job. “Yes!”
He walked back to the homeless shelter and he immediately gave James a hug. He was happy, “James, I got the job!”
James asked, “What kind of job?”
John answered, “A receptionist in Lesti Hotel”. James delighted, “Well done.”
- Writer
