It’s 9:30 am, and I’m pretty sure I’ll arrive there 15 minutes early. Or maybe not. The traffic jam showed up and rained on my parade a few minutes before I realized how doomed I was. The Annual Theory Presentation and Scientific Forum Rhode Island starts soon, and I’m here stuck in traffic. I frowned.
I moved a little and reached for my bag beside me. I opened it and grabbed the sandwich I prepared for myself. It’s made of turkey, some tomatoes, and Caesar’s dressing. We ran out of mayonnaise and ketchup. What? It’s not that bad, though. To be honest, I preferred fresh tomatoes because of the lycopene it contained. It’s incredible how such a small thing can protect us from heart disease. Protein from the turkey is important for my muscle growth. I wanted to be like a football player someday, but I think I’m taking the geeky, clumsy path. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the sporty type.
I couldn’t take muscle cramps, open wounds and blood easily. Sport injuries and complications could make me faint and wake up two days later. It’s horrible. Trust me, I’m not lying. I don’t like seeing blood. I bet my whole… wait, I don’t have anything to bet yet. I’m twelve and jobless. My mum is unemployed, too, but my father gives us money every week while he’s staying with another woman, I call Mrs. Keeson. It’s weird, you know. My dad married Mrs. Keeson when I was 8 even though he was already married to my mum before I was born; then, my mum became what she is now. She would always watch a movie on Netflix, and I’d catch her either crying or sleeping. Sometimes I couldn’t talk to her. Most times, I stay at Albert’s house, and I have fun checking out his brother’s astronomy and insect books.
Anyway, maybe you can get the trophy I’ll win later after this competition because I’m confident that I’ll win this. What? Did you forget already? We’re betting on my muscle cramp issues. Remember?
The bus moved for like an inch, then it halted. A huge guy went in, and I’m pretty sure his size was quadruple my whole body and Albert’s combined, maybe even bigger. Did you know that too much adipose tissue is not healthy? And adipose tissues don’t really ‘disappear.’ They just decrease in size through exercise and get bigger when you eat burgers and fries. They shrink in size, multiply, too, but they don’t shrink in number.
Yeah, I learnt that at Albert’s 12th birthday party thanks to his big brother’s book. He’s my best friend. We’re like cells, but he’s not really into science stuff. He likes playing baseball, and I think that’s amazing if only I wasn’t afraid of muscle cramps. But his older brother, Keegan, is graduating soon, and he’s going on to study astronomy at George Mason University. He’s astute and kind. Sometimes, I wonder how his real parent felt abandoning him one night in front of Mrs. Jay’s home door. It’s a good thing because at least she had a replacement for her miscarried son. I heard she wanted to call him Neil, like Neil as in Neil Armstrong–the first man on the moon.
When I told Keegan about my theory, he listened to me. He even helped me to plot everything and signed me up for this event.
One time I asked him if I could go to his room and check his books, to which he agreed because I told him I don’t like swimming during birthday parties and I’m not really into birthday parties. If it wasn’t for Albert and I’s best friend status, I wouldn’t attend. Also, I’m not into beach volleyball because I’m afraid of muscle cramps. I’d faint if I ever developed one.
He opened his room, and it was astonishingly tidy. And oh, did I mention he has a telescope in his room? He has the Orion 8945 SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope. I’m pretty envious of that. He also told me that he’ll be setting up an appointment for me and Mr. Wallace, his university professor who literally agreed to fly all the way here to Wisconsin.
I said, “Mr Wallace?”
He answered, “Yeah. Mr. Wallace. Like you, nobody really knows his real first name. Even his colleagues just know him as the very smart, very serious, and always thinking Mr. Wallace.”
“Whoa. That sounds really boring. I hope I won’t grow up to be like him. I want to be the complete opposite of boring and grumpy.” Then we both chuckled.
***
I stared at the window to my left awkwardly. I tried my best not to meet his eyes, but it was too late. He was standing beside me, and I guessed he wanted to sit next to me.
He did sit beside me, and I couldn’t breathe. We’re stuck in the middle of traffic and I was struggling to stay seated beside this really annoying guy. I wanted to escape, but maybe I should just accept my fate.
A few more minutes and we finally got moving . Just a few more kilometres left to go.
I’m so late and forgot to thank Mr. Dunkan for letting me ride his bus even though I’m still a kid and don’t have an adult with me.
When we stopped, I ran up to the gate and walked through to the entrance of the building. An old guy with long white hair was standing at the door looking agitated. He was checking his watch repeatedly as if he was waiting for someone. He was wearing a black coat, and looked very formal. He looked like my science teacher, but grumpier, and scarier.
I chose to not mind him. I went for the big wooden door, and a guy standing there stopped me. I supposed he was the guard. Then he asked for my parent or guardian.
“I’m sorry, kid. But children aren’t allowed inside. Where are your parents?”
I didn’t mind his question. I reached quickly for my bag and showed him my entrance ticket. “Let me in. I’m one of the presenters. I signed up for this. Not really, but Keegan did on my behalf. He helped me sign up, and he also paid for it. He’s an Astronomy student. Let me in, or I’ll call him,” I told the guard, and I gave him a stern look. His expression was a mix of awe and laughter.
Then the scary, formal, old man approached us. “I’m his grandfather. I’m sorry. Here.” He showed his ticket, the same as mine, and the guard stared at him and me then him again and me again then showed us the way. “Enjoy your stay. Have fun.”
I didn’t say anything for a moment. I secured my bag in front of me, and his hand was on my left shoulder. As if he was really my grandfather. I wanted to ask who he was, but he was too focused on the dark hallway that led backstage where the presenters were supposed to stay until their cues.
A lady was standing by the small entrance backstage and asked what our concern was.
“I’m one of the presenters. My name is Nicholas Wallace. An aspiring astronomer, time and space theorist, future astronaut, and rocket ship enthusiast. Here is my ID.”
The woman didn’t say anything. The old guy beside me smiled and nodded proudly.
“Alright, kid… I’ll just check if your name is–” She went through her iPad and checked, “–yup. Nicholas Wallace? Presenter number 12. You’re last in line. Please join the others inside, and be sure not to cause any trouble.”
As soon as we arrived backstage, a bunch of older guys around the old man’s age turned their heads to us. I felt uncomfortable, but I had to act cool. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, and nothing can stop me.
We took the empty seat just a few feet away from the entrance to the front stage. My heart was beating so quickly, if it kept up, I might develop headaches and get dizzy. My system would release too much cortisol, and that’s not good. So, I took a deep breath and drank water to relax. I brought the stress ball I’ve been keeping ever since I was 9. That helped me every time I’ve had to present my inventions at a science fair.
“Are you alright?” the old man asked me. I flinched a little.
“Y-Yeah. I’m okay. How about you?”
“I’m also good. Just a little nervous. But I know you can ace it,” he said.
“T-Thanks,” I replied. “By the way, my name is–”
“Nicholas Wallace. My name is–just call me Mr Wall-E.”
I chuckled. “Mr Wall-E? Like the Pixar Wall-E?” I asked in delight.
“Yes. Actually, I’m Mr Wallace. Keegan’s professor. I assume he told you about me?” He raised an eyebrow.
My eyes widened. I mean, he’s Mr. Wallace. The intelligent Cosmonaut and Astronomer? I couldn’t believe I was sitting beside him! I forgot to reply. I was so stunned, then reality hit me when Mr. Wallace tapped me and mouthed, ‘It’s your turn!’
“–las Wallace!” the announcer called.
I stood and collected myself. I brought out my iPad Mini, walked to the entrance, then went back to put down my bag, went to the entrance again, and burst out onto stage where bright white lights almost blinded me.
When the audience saw this Nicholas Wallace was, murmurs echoed across the room.
I stood in front where the X mark was pasted on the floor. An indication of where I should stand and present my theory.
I stared at the judges in front of me. I had no idea who they were except for Dr. Jacques Richard III. He’d been one of the judges ever since this place was established. He was also the current president of the Rhode Island’s Association of Astronomers or RIAA.
“Hi, everyone.” I waved, cleared my throat. I clicked open my iPad. My device was mirrored to the massive screen behind me. The wallpaper was a picture of my bird, named Carl Sagan, and me. He’s a white cockatiel. I saved him from a nasty pet shop. Keegan bought it for me for my birthday, and I was delighted at the time, even though I didn’t receive the telescope my mum promised me five years ago.
Anyways, I tapped open the Keynote app, and my presentation popped up.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I call it No Future Theory,” I stated proudly .
The crowd was quiet. I wonder if they though this theory was ridiculous. “You might be wondering why I call it No Future Theory. That’s a brilliant question, and it deserves an equally plausible, brilliant answer. The answer is obvious. What’s ahead of us is uncertain. Right before I say the word that I am saying now, I am not certain of it. Because the future isn’t fixed and tangible like the past.” I paused, examining the judges’ impassive faces. Not quite convinced yet. I had to impress them.
“That made me theorize that time travelling to the future is impossible. My theory is that there’s no such thing as the future. Because if what’s occurring now is the future, does that mean it’s an alternate form of the past? Because the future is crafted every second after the present. And once a second passes, it becomes past. And the future is like a long chunk of wood in a wood-chopping machine. The chopping is the present, the chopped part is the past, and the wood being chopped is time, where time = future. The future is certain if the presence of time is present and certain. If the world ends now, the future won’t happen. That leads me to my research. Where the future is based solely on both occurrences and instances.”
The judges’ looked a little amused. Oh my gosh. Mr. Wall-E was there in the audience, listening to me. I thought he was going to watch me from backstage.
I tapped my Keynote presentation, and it was me testing my hypothesis.
“Here’s a video clip of myself testing my theory. Suppose that I throw this apple, would you think that the apple would land exactly five metres away from me? What if I didn’t throw it after I told you I’d throw it? Did I change the future? Did I destroy the future? What if last night you time travelled 12 hours ahead and saw that I’d be testing this theory, and you saw me test it with the help of the Free Fall experiment in Physics? What if what happened to the present is different from what you saw in the future?”
It took me an hour and a half to finalise my presentation. It was the best time of my life because I could finally say that I took part in the Annual Theory Presentation and Scientific Forum Rhode Island. It was on my bucket list, and I’m glad it finally happened.