the journal of literature and the arts at saint david ’ s school
He paused for a moment . “ Oh , yeah . The job interview … Good news ! You ’ re hired . Now get to work . The time machine ’ s waste processor is clogged , and those pipes aren ’ t going to clean themselves ! There ’ s only one rule . Don ’ t touch any buttons that you don ’ t understand .”
I stared at him , perplexed . I hadn ’ t expected to get this far on the first day . “ But sir , I just got here . I don ’ t know how anything on this time machine works .”
“ And you think I do ? Here , take this .” He grabbed a book from one of the counters and threw it at me . I snatched it out of the air . “ That ’ s the Quantum Horizons time machine manual . You can read it if you want . I sure didn ’ t .”
I looked down at the thick book . How had he not read the official manual ? I was going to say something when I noticed the flapping wings of a brightly spotted insect to my right . “ How ’ d that weird bug get in here ?” I asked . “ Oh , that ’ s another one of those Spotted Lanternflies . They were indigenous to China , but they migrated to the U . S . about a hundred years ago . The diagnostics indicate that they keep sneaking into this room from the year 2056 . It ’ s becoming a real problem .”
“ That doesn ’ t make any sense . I thought this machine was a unilateral passage through time , meaning it ’ s a one-way trip to the past . How are these bugs traveling forward through time without a time machine ?” “ Do I look like I understand quantum physics ?” he retorted , exasperated . “ Isn ’ t it your job to understand the time machine ?” I was getting frustrated . “ Do you meet any of the job criteria ?” “ Ha ! Don ’ t get smart . I didn ’ t even read the job criteria . Listen , kid . We ’ re somewhat lax down here . But don ’ t get too comfortable . The last guy we hired
44