I started pacing in circles.
"Okay, that's fine. It's fine. I've seen Doctor Who. I've read fanfiction. Time travel is totally… survivable. I just need information."
Zane slowly lifted a hand. "Russell, dude… you're sweating."
"Quick question!" I blurted. "Do you guys know what TikTok is?"
They both blinked in unison.
Zane: "Tick… what?"
Damien: "Tick… tock? Like the sound a clock makes?"
I tried again, looking more desperate. "TikTok! TikTok! You know… ring light, teenagers dancing, people crying at 3 a.m., cooking videos that make you feel broke…"
Damien's eyebrows scrunched. "Are you describing… MTV?"
"No! Oh my God, okay, Instagram?"
"What's that?" Zane asked.
My breath hitched.
"X? Twitter? Threads? Does any of this sound familiar?!"
Zane crossed his arms tighter. "Are those indie bands?"
"Indie…?!" I sputtered. "No! They're apps! Social media! The internet, where you can text your friends and fans."
Damien exchanged a concerned look with Zane.
Zane whispered, not very quietly, "Is he having a fever?"
"Maybe it's the turbulence," Damien murmured. "Did he hit his head on the plane?"
I grabbed the sides of my head.
"No! Listen to me! What iPhone is out right now? iPhone 17? 13? At least XR right? Right?"
Zane blinked. "iPhone…?"
My soul left my body again.
"You know," I said weakly, "iPhone. Apple. Touchscreen. Apps."
Damien shook his head slowly. "Dude… I don't know what you're talking about. I have a Nokia 3310. The battery lasts three weeks."
Zane nodded. "Dude, he said apple. We have some in the fridge, Aiden eats all the apples."
A Nokia?
A freaking Nokia?!!!
"Holy shit," I whispered, grabbing the wall. "I'm in the Stone Age. Where are the cavemen?"
Damien stepped closer, looking worried. "Russell, do you want us to call a nurse? You don't look okay."
I was about to answer when….
A door behind them swung open.
And out walked a shirtless guy.
And I mean shirtless-shirtless, like a catalogue model for "Do You Like Muscles? Here's All of Them."
Tan skin. Black hair. Sweatpants hanging dangerously low.
He yawned like someone waking up from a nap.
"Dudeee," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Why is he yelling? I'm trying to sleep. This is why we shouldn't let weirdos on the team."
Weirdos.
Weirdos?!
I'm having a panic attack, and he's..he's….
My eyes widened.
"Did he just call me a…?" I gasped, pointing at him.
The shirtless guy looked me up and down.
"Yeah," he said. "A weirdo. A freak, actually."
My jaw dropped.
Damien threw him with a pillow. "Aiden, shut up."
Aiden just shrugged, grabbed his water, and walked away, whispering.
"Should've recruited from Lakeside. Those guys have normal brains."
Did his man just indirectly call me unstable???
My eye twitched, as I turned towards him.
He had a faint scar cutting through his right eyebrow, not big, just enough to say I've been hit before, try me.
And his green eyes, the kind that flicked over you once and decided exactly how unimpressed he was.
I stood there, with my mouth open, shaking.
My whole body stiffened.
Oh hell no.
Oh I had a comeback brewing.
A good one.
The kind of cunty, unfiltered comeback that had gotten me blocked, unfollowed, and uninvited to parties in 2025.
I even did the little head tilt. The one that meant I'm about to ruin someone's day and look fabulous doing it.
I opened my mouth…
Then it hit me. Wait!
I was in a stranger's body.
In the year 2000.
In a room full of large hockey guys, who could fold me into a Pringles can.
Oh.
Yeah.
Maybe not the moment for a slayful comeback.
If I said something slick and they all jumped me?
Who would even call 911?
Was 911 even invented yet?
So I shut my mouth.
And smiled.
"Can I… uh… go into my room? For privacy?" I asked, sweetly.
Damien stepped forward immediately.
"Sure, man. You really need to rest. Don't mind Aiden, he's only teasing you."
Teasing.
Right.
In 2025 we call that verbal assault.
He led me down a hallway and pushed open a door.
A big bed, wooden desk, with posters from bands that definitely hadn't been cancelled yet.
"That's yours," Damien said warmly. "Get some sleep, okay? Tryouts start at ten tomorrow. Don't stay up too late."
I nodded, still smiling my "help me, God" smile.
"Right. Tryouts is tomorrow."
For the team I didn't know I was on.
In the century i didn't belong in.
He gave me a thumbs-up and shut the door.
I waited until the footsteps faded.
Then collapsed on the bed and screamed into the pillow.