CHAPTER 5
1959 Words
FIVE: "Method."
THE celebration of Health Awareness Month has just arrived, and Quint is still unable to return.
He was walking around that morning when he saw Flor in a booth of booths lined with nutritious vegetables and fruits.
"Flor!" he called to her vigorously as he walked towards her.
She stopped arranging the displays of the fruits and vegetables for sale to look at him, and then she smiled brightly when she saw him. "Quint, there you are!"
He nodded. "May I ask what makes you busy?”
“I sell healthy veggies and fruits. I have minor Science subjects, so here we are because our professors have required us to participate in such programs at the culmination of Health Awareness Month.”
He suddenly remembers his early years in college, even in modern times. Some science-related teachers would require students to participate in Nutrition Month Culmination, and if the student failed to do so, their grades would also fail. Just like Flor, he always puts in all his efforts and works hard together with his classmates to do their tasks successfully.
He immediately thought of helping Flor. “Do you want me to join her and help you here? After all, I don't have anything to do all day. I also don't have minor Natural Science subjects, so I'm free all day long.”
“Really? You’re offering to help me here?” She was surprised but delighted, as well.
He nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Why not."
“All right, then. Thanks a lot, Quint!”
“By the way, where’s Lili? Does she also have her own booth? Why aren't you together?” he asked while fixing what needed to be fixed in the goods and displays.
“Only individual booths are allowed, no pair or group. Then Lili was assigned to another task. Maybe she's in a different activity now and taking the lead there. ”
He nodded, and the girl nodded as well. Later, Quint suddenly thought of a gimmick. He hung other vegetables on his body, made beads of alugbati and nettle, and then tied the eggplants and ampalaya with string to hang around his waist. He even made bracelets and others that looked like decorations on his body.
"What are you doing, Quint?" Flor was laughing beautifully when she noticed the crazy thing he was doing for a market strategy.
He wrapped a bunch of beans around his forehead. He gazed at the girl with a silly smile. "I will help you. We will sell your goods.”
Later, he went out and stood in front of the booth and then started dancing a funny disco dance and some stepping that he remembers that they used in their Mass Dance Entry when he was in his first year of college, and it was an Intramural event.
Quint was still holding the hem of his uniform while dancing sexily, so finally, the passing fellow students noticed Flor’s booth, especially the women who approached and watched Quint with excitement. Some were laughing, and most were really thrilled and super entertained. Who wouldn't be thrilled? Apart from having a sense of humor in the way he moves, Quint's gentle and happy face is also handsome, which can attract girls’ attention.
“Buy it! Buy nutritious vegetables here at Flor’s Booth! Come on, woohoo!”
So, that was it. People and co-students were finally encouraged to take a look and purchase products from Flor’s booth. She felt so glad that Quint was doing his best at helping her in a way she didn’t even expect he could do such a thing. Many customers were being accommodated, and he was busy entertaining and talking to them, convincing them to buy his goods. She glanced at Quint now and then, no matter how busy she was with her selling.
“Ha! I felt tired but somehow satisfied that we made the markets,” Quint said lightly as he removed the vegetables and fruits from his body one by one.
There were only a few left because the vegetables hanging on his body earlier were not missed by the female customers who pretended to be his fans with great comfort and excitement for him.
Flor moved to help him remove the other straps on his forehead.
“You're good at selling, aren't you? Your marketing strategy was so effective that I almost ran out of my products,” she proudly complimented him.
"Not too much, just a little," he replied humbly. "We also had this in my early years in college as well as in high school, so let’s just say I had some experience, then we had a little bit of knowledge of marketing, which was also the idea of my classmates who used to do these marketing tactics.”
The girl nodded. “You're probably tired now. You danced there for an hour in front of my booth. By the way, I reserved a vegetable cake and fruit juice for you. I made them myself, and I really keep them for you. This is my little way of saying thank you, really, for your help.”
Quint felt surprised and good. “Wow! Did you reserve one for me? Great! I’m sure these will be tasty!”
Flor nodded cheerfully and then grabbed a fork of vegetable cake. "Here, taste it."
And so he tasted the creamy cake, and his eyes brightened a lot with its deliciousness.
“What do you think about it? Does it taste good?”
He nodded with a smile. "So good! It's like I could even forget my name about the taste of the cake you made!”
She chuckled. "You're exaggerating! Hahaha! ”
He couldn't help but stare at her gently. His eyes really adore her―her smile, her beauty, almost everything about her. For him, she is the most beautiful girl he has ever met.
He continued eating the cake and sipped the glass she handed him to taste the fruit juice she had almost made.
“Wow! Even the fruit juice you made tastes so good!”
Later on, though it was already late at night, Quint still couldn't sleep in his bed. Flor was still on his mind, and how much fun he had when he was with her earlier when he helped her in her booth. Quint found out that he was also staying in a boys’ dorm in this era, so he went there after his classes.
He closed his eyes but still couldn’t sleep. He smiled as he looked up at the ceiling of his room, and then he remembered Flor. The maiden smiles and laughs, guessing he really was fascinated by her.
The next day, he woke up feeling as if he already had an answer to the questions in his mind. He had a dream about how exactly he teleported here in 1990.
He was reading his father’s letter in his locker, and then there was an old gold clock! He turned the hands of this old gold clock at exactly 12:00, so he suddenly landed at the wrong time! He knew it! Maybe that golden clock is also the key to returning him to finally going back in 2018!
He hurriedly walked down the hallway to Lili and Flor's classroom to find the two and tell them what his dream had been, and it looked exactly like they had just arrived and were walking their way to their classroom.
“Flor! Lili! ” he called the attention of the two.
His friends immediately turned to him.
"I have something to tell you."
“Do you have something to say? I also have something to tell you, Quint.” It was Lili.
“What’s that, Lili? All right, you go first.”
“Quint, just this morning, before I woke up from a nightmare, something appeared in my vision. A word 'REVERSE,' I don't know exactly what it is for, but I feel that it has something to do with you and your return to your original era."
He thought about it deeply. REVERSE.
Could it be that it is also connected to his dream? Reverse the old gold clock… Reverse…
"How about you? You said a while ago that you had something to tell us. What is that, Quint?” Flor asked.
“I dreamed the whole thing before I came here in the past. I read my father’s last letter to me, and he told me about the old gold clock. I turned its hands to 12:00 the way I was instructed in the letter to do so, so here is the result. I came here at the wrong time. Here at your time in the past, I accidentally teleported.”
"If your dream is connected to the words that Lili had seen in her vision, don’t you think that’s the ultimate key to returning to your time?" Flor stated her opinion as to if she had just resolved a mystery puzzle. “Reverse… mysterious clock… Reverse, mysterious clock—“ She stared at him seriously as if something concrete had finally formed in her mind. “Reverse could mean counterclockwise. That’s right! Counterclockwise! If that clock has been able to get you here in the past, your return to the time you actually came from also probably depends on that clock. Try to turn the clock in the opposite direction. Maybe that's the way we're looking, Quint, so you can get back.”
He was stunned. Flor had a huge point. If the clock brought him here from the past, maybe turning its hands counterclockwise would bring him back to modern times!
“Flor is right, Quint! Do you remember which part of this school you could find that old gold clock?” Lili asked, totally agreeing with Flor’s bright idea.
He nodded at the latter's question. “Yes, I remember. It’s inside the school’s library. ”
"In that case, go there now, Quint. Just give it a try, and you may finally be able to come back as you have always hoped since you landed here at the wrong time. We will be wishing you to succeed.”
He smiled softly at the woman who seriously captivated his heart. "Thank you." Even with Lili, he was grateful for having such great friends for a short while. “Thank you very much, Lili. Thanks for your help, friends. I hope I can really go back now to the time I came from. ”
The two nodded positively. He also nodded before turning around and running to the library.
He entered there and was not disappointed to see that his daddy's locker was there. He immediately searched for the key in his bag’s pocket and found it there. He opened the locker and immediately saw the old gold clock inside. He held it and reversely turned its hands to exactly 12:00, and then he closed his eyes.
A few seconds passed, and he could hear the laughter of his schoolmates inside this library.
“I really love this Youtube vlogger. His content is super funny and makes sense. His other pranks are also entertaining to his subscribers. Highly recommended. Also, try to subscribe and watch his vlogs, guys!”
Quint's forehead furrowed while his eyes were still closed. Why did he hear such words? Does it mean that he is back?
Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw himself standing right in front of his father’s closed locker. When he looked out the glass windows, he saw again the familiar faces of his uniformed schoolmates and classmates walking and chilling on the school’s ground. What he sees around the buildings is all modern. He succeeded!
I'm back!
- Writer
