Free Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) by John A. Heldt Page A

beach? Could I do that?"
    "I suppose you could."
    "Really?"
    Mark nodded.
    "You would have to find another place to stay, of course. I don't think my mom would want to share her bedroom," Mark said with a laugh. "Other than that, I don't see a problem. It's not like your parents or the Bells would notice you were missing. You would be able to return to the morning of June 2, 2017, as if you had never been gone."
    Mary Beth joined the conversation.
    "What are you getting at, Piper? Do you want to spend a month here? I thought you didn't like the fifties and wanted to go back to the future."
    "You're right," Piper said. "I did want to go back. Then I started thinking about the money you won in Vegas and the fun we could both have here."
    Mary Beth fixed her gaze.
    "Be more specific."
    "I will," Piper said. "I will right after I ask Ben something."
    "What's that?" Ben asked.
    "Where do you go to school?"
    "I go to Midway High in South Pasadena."
    "Is it a good school?" Piper asked.
    Ben leaned forward.
    "It's a great school. It's just four years old."
    "How do you get there?"
    "I drive. It's about fifteen miles."
    "So you commute?" Piper asked.
    "I commute," Ben said. "Normally I take the Bird. Today I took the Edsel. Now that I have my car back from the shop, I'll drive it to school tomorrow."
    "Can you take me?"
    "Can I take you to school ?"
    Piper nodded.
    "I want to go to your school tomorrow. Can you take me?"
    Mark smiled.
    "If Ben won't, I will."
    "Thank you," Piper said.
    Mary Beth stared at her sister.
    "Why do you want to go to Ben's school?"
    Mark laughed to himself. He guessed where this was going.
    "I want to enroll," Piper said.
    Mary Beth widened her eyes.
    "You want to enroll ? Are you crazy?"
    Piper laughed.
    "No. I'm as sane as I've been for days."
    Mary Beth furrowed her brow.
    "Then explain what this is about."
    Piper sighed.
    "It's about wanting to make the most of an opportunity."
    "Haven't you done that already?"
    "No, Mary Beth. I haven't. I went to Nevada. I rode in a car for several hours, ate cheap food, and played the slots. I didn't make the most of anything."
    "So what do you want to do?" Mary Beth asked.
    "I want to have an experience ," Piper said. "I want to do the things I've done for the past four years, but in a different time. I want to take classes, make new friends, and go on dates. I want to jump into the fifties headfirst."
     

CHAPTER 15: PIPER
     
    South Pasadena, California – Tuesday, March 24, 1959
     
    Piper pinched her side as she walked through the sunny campus. She pinched her side to remind herself that the letterman sweaters and poodle skirts she saw outside Midway High School were not costumes for a musical but rather the everyday attire of real human beings.
    "Can you believe this place?" Piper asked. "It's like Pleasantville in color."
    Mary Beth laughed.
    "You wanted this, remember?"
    "I did. I do," Piper said. "This is so cool."
    "I agree."
    Piper slowed her step to take it all in. To her left, boys with crew cuts talked, laughed, and slapped backs. To her right, girls with ponytails giggled, gossiped, and clutched books. Boys gawked at girls. Girls gawked at boys. A few couples strolled the grounds hand in hand.
    Piper did not see Ben. She had not come with Ben. He had left the Painted Lady that morning to attend his usual classes. Mark had volunteered to drive the girls to MHS, wait in the Edsel while they met with the principal, and then take them home. He had nothing on his afternoon slate except an engineering class that he happily skipped.
    A moment later, Piper and Mary Beth approached the school entrance, opened a double door, and entered a lobby with a gleaming checkered floor. Several girls in sweaters, skirts, and saddle shoes manned tables along two walls and raised funds for a variety of causes.
    Piper walked to one row of tables and saw students selling raffle tickets for the science club, the debate team, and a senior trip to San Diego. Other students