Free Summer of Yesterday by Gaby Triana Page A

have to just go with it.
    Maybe I will wake up. Or maybe my dream will shift to another year. But for now, I have to accept that it’s not, that it is 1982, and I am the fish out of water here. But I can’t tell him when I’m from either. He would inform his lifeguard brother, and the word would get out that there’s a raving lunatic roaming Fort Wilderness. So I need to lie as low as possible until I figure out how to get back.
    â€œOkay, look,” I say, letting go of a huge sigh. “My dad is . . . an inventor.” Not true, of course, but perfect. “He builds all kinds of things, and I, you know, test them out for him.”
    â€œOh.” He sits back in his chair and folds his hands again in front of him. “Now you’re starting to make sense. So he made that thing? Well, that’s pretty good for a home-cooked invention. How did he get that silver apple so smooth on the back like that? Does he work for Apple Computer or something?”
    â€œNo, he doesn’t work for—wait, you know about Apple?” I’m not a computer-history buff or anything, but I thought Apple started around the time I was born. Or maybe I’m clueless.
    â€œWell, they’re not like Commodore’s computers or the TRS-80, but I’ve heard of them. Hey, ask your dad if he knows anything about the Commodore 64 that’s coming out next month. That’s supposed to be really killer. I can’t wait for it.”
    â€œYeah. Killer. I . . .” I have no clue what he’s talking about. “I will. I’ll ask him.” I smile.
    His face lights up suddenly. “So rad if he had photos of one. I love getting sneak peeks at stuff before they come out. Every year when the TV Guide Fall Preview comes out with descriptions of the new shows starting, I rush out to get one. That’s one of the reasons why I applied to work here this summer.”
    â€œBecause you love TV Guide ?” What even is TV Guide ?
    He laughs. “You’re real funny. You don’t come to Disney often, do you?”
    â€œActually, I’ve come a bunch of times. Why?”
    â€œThen you should know what we’re all waiting for around here. The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow?” His eyebrows raise, full of hope that I’m as excited as he is. “Opening October first?” A crooked smile and sideways glance test my knowledge of insider Disney information. Which is completely blank at the moment.
    â€œMaybe I’m still a little disoriented?”
    â€œEPCOT Center!” he cries, his smile as goofy as a little kid getting a new game system. “The new Disney park! They just finished the new monorail that extends that way. It’s a two-and-a-half-mile trip. The new trains are so sleek. We got to preview them before the public does. They took cast members on a tour of Future World. You would not believe some of the inventions they have there—these computers that you can touch the screen and choose different options, and it responds to your fingertip! It is the coolest technology you have ever seen! It’s incredible!”
    â€œNo way!” I sit back and pretend it’s really amazing to hear about stuff that’s been around forever. “That is really awesome!”
    â€œYeah,” he says, genuinely happy. “Awesome.”
    Good thing my phone battery is dead, or else he’d be more fascinated by it than by me.
    The waitress brings over the pitcher of soda and pours us two cups full of ice. “Jason?” She nods at his tag, still pinned to his shirt.
    He looks down. “Oh.” And removes it. “I’m not a cast member right now,” he whispers. “In fact, cast members aren’t supposed to eat here, but they know I’m staying through the summer, so it’s not like I can eat anywhere else.”
    I take a big gulp of my Coke. It’s sweet, icy cold, and perfect. “What do