Quantum Leap Oh Boy

Dbz77

Project QL Intern
Sep 22, 2022
72
6
8
Long Beach
Choking

All he wanted was a quiet snack break, after working ten hours this day, on top of three previous days of working sixteen hours on set.

But in his hunger, some food did not go the right away.

He tried coughing it out, but to no avail. He can feel being deprived of life-0sustaining oxygen.

He tries harder and harder to cough, but it does not dislodge the food.

He tries to cry for help, but his airway is blocked.

He can only hope that in the next few minutes, someone shows up to save him.

And someone does show up...sort of.

He can see a flickering image of a man wearing a bright silver jacket even as he slips from consciousness.

The man in the silver jacket looks down at the fallen stagehand.

“Don't worry,” says the man named Al. “I'll get help!” he presses buttons on this multi-colored boxlike device, and disappears.

Seconds later, a man who calls himself Sam Beckett rushes into the dark sound stage. He is followed by several people.

“There he is, Sam!” yells Al, screaming desperately. “He'll die in fifteen seconds!”

Sam grabs the fallen man and wraps his arms around the chest. He squeezes and thrusts up.

He tries again.

And he does so again. Something flies out of the stage hand's mouth.

Sam, Al, and the others all glance at each other and looks at the unconscious man.

Sam can hear breathing.

“Get a medic!” yells Sam. “an ambulance. Someone!”

He looks at the stage hand, whose eyes open.

“Bruce?” the stage hand asks, still trying to make up for not breathing the past three minutes or so.

All punches buttons on the colored device. “You did it,” says the observer. “He goes on to have a family and live a normal life.”

Others rush in to help the stage hand who nearly choked to death- would have choked to death, without intervention from a quantum physicist from the future.

Sam notices a mirror on the wall.

The leaper glances at the stage hand, still lying on the floor of the sound stage, and then looks at the mirror, taking one last look at Bruce Lee before he is surrounded by a blue aura and leaps.

The blue coalesces around Sam again. Even as it fades, he knows he is lying down on something soft. And he feels warmth.

He notices he is lying next to a woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenties, with light brown hair and hazel eyes.

An d there is not a stitch of clothing on her. Her breasts are certainly pleasing to look at. He notices that he too is naked.

“I hope you enjoyed your lesson,” says the woman. “I give the best lessons”

“Uh, sure,” replies the quantum physicist. He checks his hands- there is no wedding ring.

“You have a lot of stamina for someone your age.”

Is she with a much older man?

“I guess so.”

I'm getting close to half a century myself.

“We can cuddle, or we can go in the living room and play the Coleco.”

“I'll use the bathroom first.”

“sure, I mean, you had three glasses of wine. Just be careful. You lost a lot of fluid already.”

Sam smiles. He had leapt into far more stressful situations than being post-coital with a comely young woman. The leaper takes another glance at the woman's nude form. He walks into what appears to be a bathroom and becomes startled when he sees a boy.

“Oh, I didn't know you were using..”

Sam looks further and moves his hand.

The boy moves his hand.

The leaper blinks.

The boy blinks.

Sam looks towards the mirror in the bathroom. He clearly sees a boy who could not be older than fourteen.

“Oh boy,” he says.
 
April 28, 1984

I've had close encounters with women in my six years of leaping. About two years ago, I even leaped into a man having sex with his fiance. But this....

Dr. Sam Beckett still stares at the boy in the mirror. He notices the woman- still naked- approaching from behind him.

“What's wrong, Joey?” asks the woman.

“Uh, I got to go home.”

“You said your mom was working late at the casino...wait, it's about 8:30 now. I forget. It's not like someone your age can just hang out in casinos.”

“Of course.”

The woman throws Sam some clothes. “Better put these on.”

The leaper notices Levi's jeans and a wool sweater as well as undergarments. He quickly dons them.

“Okay,” he says. “I...I'll be going home now.” He starts towards the door.

Oh no. I don't know where I.. this Joey lives.

“It's uh, late,” says Sam. “I think I need a ride home. I mean, since it's night time and all.” Another idea arises in the quantum physicist's mind. “and, do you have a copy of today's newspaper?”

“Newspaper? Oh, of course for your civics class.”

“I need to study.”

“I got the weekly Tribune here,” she says, handing Sam some newsprint. The leaper reads the newspaper.

Tahoe Daily Tribune Week of April 20, 1984

“Thanks,” says Sam.

“I'd better give you a ride home. And you'd better put this on.” The woman hands Sam a jacket.

Sam puts it on. It feels light and comfortable. He leaves through the front door . He can feel chilly air. He looks and notices he emerged from a small cabin. He notices very tall trees rising from the ground, practically surrounding the neighborhood.

“That's your bike there, right?”

Sam looks and the woman is standing next to a bike rack, where one bicycle is attached. The leaper pulls a key out off the pocket of the Levi's jeans and uses it on the bike lock. The lock is unlatched.

“You still want a ride home?”

“Yes, yes, I do.”

“Well, I suppose I can do this. You gave me a good time.”

“I'll bring the Jeep out.”

Seconds later, a red 982 Jeep CJ drives out onto the street. He sees a bike rack attached to the grill, so Sam secures the Schwinn bicycle to the rack. He then hops into the front seat and fastens his seat belt.

The woman starts the gasoline engine, puts the Jeep in gear, and pulls out. Soon it reaches a main road, with plenty of cars with their headlights on.

The leaper can see tall buildings in the distance. It becomes apparent, as the Jeep slows down due to the traffic, that these buildings are hotel towers. He notices the High Sierra and Harvey's on his right, and Caesar's Tahoe and Harrah's on his left.

The Jeep stops at a red light right where Harrah's and Harvey's are, and continues on, and the hotels and casinos abruptly stop. Past the light, there are a row of motels and gas station and convenience stores.

“I wish I could take you to the Stateline casinos here,” says the woman.

About five minutes later, the woman makes a left turn onto a side street, and then makes a right turn. She soon parks the Jeep.

“I'll walk you to your apartment,” she says. “I'll have to keep my distance of course.”

Sam unfastens his bolt, unlocks the bike from the Jeep's bike rack, and heads to an apartment. He unlocks the gate with his host's key, and he and the woman walk in. Sam notices a bike rack and locks his bike.

The woman stands near the door. The quantum physicist retrieves Joey's keys from then pocket, inserts the key into the keyhole, and turns it.

The door unlocks and Sam pulls the door.

“I wish I could kiss you, Joey,” says the woman. “I wish I could take you to the clubs here, or even down in Reno.”

“Good night,” says Sam, entering the apartment and shutting it.

He turns on the lights. The apartment looks like a typical apartment, with a small living room and a dining room to the left and a mini-hallway in the back. A coffee table in the middle of the dining room, and there are some magazines. The leaper picks up one of the magazines, a bridal magazine.

Looking at the label, Sam notices that it was mailed to a Brenda Schultz in South Lake Tahoe, California. Going to the back of the apartment, he opens the doors and finds one bedroom and a bathroom.

If that's his mom's bedroom, where does Joey sleep?

The leaper finds the answer when he sees a room divider partitioning a corner. Going around, he unfolds part of the divider and sees a small, narrow bed.

Sam yawns. He figures he is still exhausted from spending hours doing stunts as Bruce Lee. He soon falls asleep on the small bed.

Ooooooooooo

Sam stirs awake. He walks over to a clock hanging on the wall in the apartment's kitchen. The time is around 8:30.

I've been asleep for over ten hours!

“Mom!” calls out the leaper.

He hears no response. He opens the door into the apartment's bedroom, and finds that the room is still empty.

I guess I have to fix breakfast myself. I wonder how often Joey did this.

Sam pours himself some Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Minute maid Orange juice. He soon bites into the cereal, feeling the texture of the corn flakes and tasting the sweetness of the sugar coating.

“Just a cold breakfast, Sam?” he hears.

The quantum physicist looks and sees Rear Admiral Albert Calavicci, the project observer from the future, whom Sam is able to see and hear via brainwave transmissions from about seventeen years in the future. He sees him wear a bright silver jacket.

“Al,” he says.

“I'd better fill you in,” says the observer. “You're Joey Schultz, a 13-year-old junior high student living in South Lake Tahoe, California, with his mom.”

“Brenda,” says the leaper. “Brenda Schultz.”

“Today's date is Sunday, April 29, 1984- more or less seventeen years in my past.”

Sam notices Al's subdued tone of voice.

“Is there anything wrong? What happens to Joey? I don't think his future looks to bright based upon what I've seen since I leaped in last night.”

“It's Gooshie. He's dead.”
 
Sam Beckett can hardly believe it.

Gooshie is dead.

He sits down on the couch, leans back, and sobs.

Al Calavicci can only watch. Tears flow down his cheeks.

"How?" asks the leaper. "When?"

"He died a few hours after you leaped out of Bruce Lee," answers the observer. "He was battling melanoma- cancer- for the past three years."

"My God," says Sam. "The last time I spoke to him was a few months ago- my time. He had to pitch in for you. His family flew in to see him. They're hoping for the funeral to be next week at his family home in Nebraska."

The telephone rings. After it rings three times, Sam walks to the kitchen and takes the handset.

"Uh, hi, its Sa...Joey," says the grieving leaper.

"Oh hi, Joey," says a woman's voice. "It's your mom,."

"Hi, Mom," Sam replies softly.

"Listen, I spent the night with a man after I got off work. He lives in a cabin in Homewood."

"Homewood?"

"It's off the 89 on the west side of the lake, north of Emerald Bay. He's invitin' me to spend the rest of the day with him. I know you can take care of yourself, Joey."

"I guess I have to to."

"Love you."

Sam turns towards Al. "His mom's hooked up with a man and leaving Joey here alone," the leaper says softly. He walks to the couch and continues sobbing in grief.

"Gooshie..Gooshie still alive in this time," he says.

"What would you say to him?" asks the observer. "He'll hear the voice of a 13-year-old boy. And his death...it's one of those things leaping can't prevent."
The telephone rings again, and Sam answers it. "Hello. Joey here"

"It's me, Jimmy," says a voice on the other side, a voice that sounds Joey's age. "Listen, my dad and I are going to brunch at Caesar's. You wanna come?"
"Thanks, but..." The leaper mulls it over. "Yes, I definitely want to come."

"Listen, you better get dressed. We should be at your place by 9:15."

"Sam?" asks Al.

"This boy Jimmy asked me...Joey, for brunch," replies the quantum physicist. "I..I need to find out more about Joey's life. He or someone close to him needs my help."

"I'll be by your side," the observer says softly, still speaking through the grief over losing Gooshie.

A few minutes later, Sam waits outside. He can clearly see the tall pine and fir trees that dominate this neighborhood. In the distance are mountains, still capped in snow.

A blue 1979 Oldsmobile pulls over to the side of the street and its horn is honked.

"Joey," calls out a boy sitting in the front seat.

"Coming," says Sam. Al pushes a few buttons on this brightly-colored box called a handlink, and he immediately appears in the back seat of the car.

"He there," says a man who is Jimmy's father. "Seat belt fastened?"

"Uh, yeah," replies the leaper, pulling on the seat belt.

The driver soon drives the Oldsmobile on Lake Tahoe Boulevard, the rubber tires rolling against the asphalt. Sam and Al notice plenty of motels lining the road, and of course, the towering pines and firs that rise high above the buildings.

Very soon, the hotel towers of Harrah's and Harvey's are visible. The4 car soon crosses Stateline Avenue and into Nevada.

They pass Harrah's and Harvey's and both leaper and observer see the tall tower of Caesar's Tahoe on the right. Jimmy's dad turns right and drives along a driveway leading to the parking lot in the back.

Sam follows Jimmy and his father, through some glass doors, into the casino. He notices slot machines and tables with various games like blackjack and three-card poker and roulette. The clanking sound of coins spilling onto stainless steel coin trays fill the floor.

They soon reach this cafe, where many casino patrons and hotel guests are waiting to get seated.

"Pete," says Jimmy's father. "Party for three."

"Right this way," says this woman whose blond hair is tied in a ponytail. She leads the three of them into the main room where there are many wooden tables, most of them occupied by brunch diners. They are finally seated.

"How are things going, Joey?" asks Jimmy's father.

"A lot of stress," replies Sam. "So much going on."

"Yeah, you're almost two thirds the way done with junior high. Another year and you're in high school."

Sam briefly recalls his time starting high school in Elk Ridge, Indiana back in 1967, before these memories are drowned out by his grief for Gooshie.

Soon, a waitress- a young woman with black hair and olive-0cxiomplected skin- arrives to take their order.

"Good morning," she says with this thick accent. "What do you want?"

"A mimosa," says Sam.

"Oh, you are such a kidder," replies the waitress with a laugh, and Jimmy and his father join in the laughter.

"You got to wait eight years to get a mimosa here," says Jimmy's father.

"I could use a mimosa myself," says Al.

I forgot I look like a 13-year-old boy to everyone in this time.

Sam smiles is a brief flash of happening before grief dominates. "Medium steak and fried eggs, with ice water and tomato juice please."

"All right."

Jimmy and his father also take their orders. Sam decides to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"I am old enough for coffee, right?" asks the leaper.

"Sure," replies Jimmy.

Soon, brunch arrives at their table, and Sam starts cutting into the whites of the fried eggs.

"Looks delicious," says the observer. "Beth and I actually stayed in Caesar's just two months from this time. And back in '88, a year before we started Quantum Leap, I took Beth and the girls to this vacation condo near the beach." Al is soon once again consumed with grief.

He is still trying to process the fact that Gooshie is dead and never coming back. "Gooshie," says Al.

The three of them eat quietly for a minute.

"How are things?" asks Sam.

"Still working,:" replies Jimmy's father. "Still playing golf Saturday mornings, still going to the casinos. There are times when I still miss Jimmy's mom."

"I'm sorry."

"You and your mom were there at the funeral," says Jimmy, holding a slice of bacon. He can still remember that day, the priest saying those departing words, with the Carson Range visible in the distance.

"Hard to imagine what it's like," says the leaper. "I mean, to lose a good friend is sad enough..."

His thoughts drift towards his father who died in 1974. it was only two years ago in his time that he finally had a proper chance to say goodbye, albeit while looking like someone else.

I miss him.

Brunch continues, with very little conversation going on.

"So tell me about yourselves," says Sam, hoping to break the silence and learn something that could help Joey or his friends.

"Well," says Jimmy's father, "my grandparents immigrated from Italy to America in 1913. I was only a year old when my dad was killed in Pearl Harbor. I was lucky to survive a charlie bullet in 'Nam, because being shipped home after taking that bullet gave me a chance to meet Sally- Jimmy's mom. We moved to the Tahoe area when Jimmy was seven."

The man recalls his first meeting with her, his wedding day, the day his son Jimmy was born.

And then arise memories of her death and her funeral.

"Looks like we're done," says Jimmy.

"Ah, yes," says his father. He faces the leaper. "I'll drop you off at home, and then I'll just take Jimmy home."

They leave the table, and Jimmy's father pays at the counter. They soon walks through the casino towards the parking lot. Sam notices a blackjack table with an empty spot, and walks towards there.

"Joey, where are you going?" asks Jimmy.

"Sorry, I forgot I'm just a kid."

Maybe I could leap out of Joey, and as myself, into this time. I've done it before.

"Hey there!" says a woman, standing.

Noticing the light brown hair and freckles on her face, Sam immediately recognizes her as the woman whom he was laying next to when he first leaped into Joey.

"Hi, Miss Brown," says Jimmy.

"Ah, yes, I remember you," says Jimmy's father. "Math teacher."

"No, science teacher, Mr. La Palma," says Brown. "I'd chat with you two and Joey here more, but kids can't hang out in casinos. See you boys in class."

"You too, Miss Brown," replies Jimmy.

"Looks like Jimmy has a crush on her," says Al.

Joey has a lot more than a crush.

Twenty minutes later, in California, Mr. La Palma drops Sam off at the apartment.

"Thank you, sir," says the leaper.

"see you tomorrow," says Jimmy.

Sam walks into Joey's apartment. Joey's mom is still not in.

He lies down on Joey's bed, grieving over Gooshie.

Al wordlessly opens the door to the control room, and leaves the imaging chamber.

Ooooooo

The office is clean and neat, with a telephone and an Apple Macintosh Performa. A leather chair is behind the desk. Two framed photographs are also on the varnished wooden desk.

Al just looks at the empty chair.

We'll have to clean the desk out, and we need to train a replacement alternate observer. Oh, Gooshie.

Gooshie had been with them from the beginning, when he and Sam were testing the prototype components for the accelerator. He was the one who first notified Al, way back in 1995, that Sam was leaping.

And now Gooshie will not sit in that leather chair again.

It does not seem fair to Al.

It does not seem right.

It's not fair to Tina or the kids.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Sam is on the beach, looking out towards Lake Tahoe, still processing the news that Gooshie is dead. All he can do right now is looks towards the lake.
All he wants to do now is grieve.

"Sam, you okay?" asks Al.

"No," answers the leaper. "I know I will be."

"I 'm glad you're here. I guess looking out at Lake Tahoe will ease the pain somewhat." The observer looks towards the lake, seeing the blue waters and the various watercraft ridden by locals and tourists. He walks around, Before looking at his feet and noticing it looks like he is walking on the surface of the lake.

There is silence as the sun slowly sets.

The leaper takes a deep breath. "I need to know what I've got to fix," he says. "I mean, I can tell Joey's life isn't all that great; I haven't met his mom yet and it's obvious his dad's not in the picture. He or his friends need me."

"Let me check,' says Al, pushing buttons on the handlink. "Ziggy found the answer real easily. It was actually big news in the Tahoe area in '84."

"What big news?"

"On Friday, May 4, 1984, Jimmy La Palma gets into an argument with Joey Schultz at school. There was a fight, and Jimmy stabbed Joey to death."
 
Sam Beckett continues to stare out towards Lake Tahoe, barely noticing the others in the water and on the sandy shore.

His mind is dominated by his grief over hearing about Gooshie's death from melanoma, and now he hears that his leapee, Joey Schultz, was- will be- stabbed to death in school by a close friend at the age of thirteen.

I wish there was something I could do now to keep Gooshie from getting cancer.

"So Joey dies on Friday," says the leaper.

"Yeah," replies Al Calavicci. "It was big news here, the biggest news until Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in '91."

After a few seconds, Sam collects himself. "I know there's more to solving this leap than making sure Joey isn't at school on Friday. What happens to Jimmy La Palma?"

Al presses buttons on the handlink. "Jimmy La Palma was a ward of the California Youth Authority for four years due to manslaughter. After that, he had a life of crime. In my time, he's an inmate in San Quentin for aggravated assault." The observer pushes more buttons. "Wait a minute. In 1986, Jimmy testified against a teacher accused of sexual abuse."

"When I leaped into Joey, it was in bed with a woman. And that teacher we saw at the casino this morning, that was her. I have to expose her. She might go on to abuse other students like she's doing with Joey. I have at least five days to figure it out." Grief arises to the surface again, and the leaper looks out towards Lake Tahoe. "Gooshie."

"Beth and I agreed to help the family with the funeral planning," says Al, pressing the buttons on the handlink and opening this white rectangular light that is the Imaging Chamber door. "I'll be with you on your first day of school."

The Imaging Chamber door closes.

Ooooooooo

Joey's mom is not as the apartment, so Sam cooks Stouffer's macaroni and cheese inside the Kenmore microwave oven in the kitchen. As he eats the soft macaroni in the gooey cheese sauce, his thoughts and feelings wander towards Gooshie.

He's dead. I mean, he'll be dead seventeen years from time, but I can't stop him from catching melanoma.

After sitting on the couch wallowing in grief, the leaper goes to the partitioned corner where Joey sleeps. Taking a deep breath, he looks around, hoping to learn more about the thirteen-year-old boy.

He finds some Playboy magazines, schoolbooks.

And,. Under the bed, he finds a tin box. Removing the lid, there are several Polaroid photographs. The first one is clearly that of Joey and Jimmy when they were about ten years old, both of them dressed in heavy coats and wool hats on their heads, standing next to a towering snowman. Another picture has them looking a built younger, on a pier of some sort; it is apparent that the water in the background was not that of Lake Tahoe.

He then sees a picture of that teacher Miss Brown, with the cute smile and freckles.

And more pictures of her , only she is nude. One of them has her standing up, another has her sitting on a couch with her legs spread open, and there are close-up photographs of her breasts and vulva.

Oooooooooo

Sam, Al, and Gooshie are smiling in the photograph. All of them were sitting down at a wooden table. Memories surface in the observer's mind; that picture was taken at a bar and grill in town, just a twenty minute drive from the Facility.

He sits on the leather chair behind his desk. He had been spending so much time organizing a memorial for Gooshie, as well as sending e-mails and making phone calls for the funeral in Nebraska.

Gooshie. We are all less without you.

A tear flows down his cheek.

Ooooooooo

Dreamscape

"We're ready to go, Dr. Beckett," says Gooshie.

"time to make your leap," says Al.

"I'm not ready."

"We've been doing this for twelve years," says Gooshie. "after animal testing, it's time for the first human test subject. We'll only send you back to yesterday, and if the retrieval program doesn't work, you just relive yesterday."

"Uh, sure, I'll go get dressed," says Sam, loosening his red necktie.

"I need to tell you one more thing, Dr. Beckett," says Gooshie. "Joey, wake up."

"Joey, wake up."

Sam stirs awake and gets out of bed. He looks and sees a woman with big blond hair, appearing to be in her early thirties, wearing sweat shirt and sweat trouser.

"Uh, Mom?" he asks.

"Glad you were able to take care of yourself," says the woman who clearly is Joey's mom. "You have thirty minutes to eat breakfast."

and so Sam eats a simple breakfast of Frosted Flakes and orange juice.

"Can you get ready in ten?" asks Brenda Schultz.

"Sure."

Sam opens the closet and pulls out some jeans and a sweater. He goes into Joey's partitioned corner and gets dressed. He then picks up the Jansport backpack.

The Imaging Chamber door appears, and Al steps in.

"Al," says Sam.

"What is it?" asks Joey's mom.

"I'll be heading off to school now."

"You're in luck," says Brenda. "I'll drive you to school. I guess I owe you one since I was away all weekend. It's too bad that guy I was with wasn't stepdad material. However, I'm working at the diner tonight, so we'd better tie your bike to the front of the car. It sure beats walkin'."

"So that's his mom," says Al. "A lot of boys would crush on her."

Joey's mom removes something from her leather purse. "In case you want to go to McDonald's or something for dinner."

"Thanks," replies the leaper.

He and Brenda leaves the apartment and go to a 1981 Toyota Corolla parked on the street. It had been customized with a bike rack on the front. Sam places Joey's bike on the rack and secures it with the chain and lock.

Sam and Brenda get into the car, and soon the car pulls out on the street. Sam looks around, noticing plenty of motels and beds-and-breakfasts, as the Lake Tahoe area was just as much a tourist destination in 1984 as it will be in 2001. Al also looks around, noting every detail, wondering if he should go here on vacation to find out how things have changed.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Brenda stops the car at the drop-off area, where many other cars are already stopped, with doors opening and children aged 11-14 getting out.

"Have a good day at school," says Joey's mom. "Don't forget your bike."

As Sam goes out to unfasten the bike from the car, Al looks towards the school.

"Junior high," says Al. "A real jungle. I remember when the girls went to school."

"Hey Joey," says Jimmy.

Sam looks and sees Jimmy, wearing a blue sweater and black slacks.

Jimmy had ridden his bike to school, so Sam follows him with Joey's bike. They both lock their bicycles at the bike rack.

"Another day," says the 13-year-old boy. "see you at Miss Brown's class."

"Ziggy did manage to find Joey's schedule," says Al.

Minutes later, the leaper is sitting at a desk, with both boys and girls 13-14 years old. It looked more or less the same as the classrooms at his high school in Elk Ridge, Indiana. The teacher- a bespectacled man- walks in.

"Good morning, class," he says.

Oooooooooo

About two hours later, Sam sits down in a desk in a classroom in another building. Jimmy La Palma sits next to him. Boys and girls walk inside, carrying their textbooks.

Al places a folding chair right next to the teacher's desk. "I'll sit right here," says the observer.

And then the teacher walks in, the same teacher Sam saw at Caesar's Tahoe yesterday. She wears a white blouse and a black skirt. She walks right through Al and sits behind the desk.

"This is Miss Brown's class," says the leaper.

"Hello, class," says Miss Brown. "I hope you all were at least reading the material instead of spending all weekend playing the Atari or Coleco. Today we will be discussing quantum mechanics"

"Quantum mechanics?" asks Sam.

"Yes, Joey," replies the teacher. "I can tell you're excited. Now all of you pay attention. Quantum mechanics was formulated as a principle to resolve several observations. Basically, light is not a continuous ray, as it seemed, but in fact is made as discrete particles called quanta.

Sam looks into the science textbook. The information is very basic, and even with his swiss-cheesed memory, he can remember everything in this book. Of course, Joey, Jimmy, and the others in this room would only be able to understand the rudimentary foundational principles.

As he observes, Al notices Sam frequently raising his hand to ask questions.

And then the bell rings.

"Thank you, class," says Miss Brown. She then touches the leaper. "I'm impressed, Joey. Perhaps an after-hours study session here?"

"Sam," says Al.

"Sure."

Sam, Jimmy, and Al go to the cafeteria. The observer looks around at the furniture and the children. Aside from the different hair and clothing styles worn by the children, it looks pretty much the same as the cafeteria he had eaten lunch when he was 13 years old in the late 1940's.

And with kids being dumbasses. Not that I was much better.

He listens in as Jimmy speaks with Sam.

"You really are into that quantum machine stuff," says Jimmy.

"Yeah, I've read about it," replies the leaper. "I once read this article written by this guy, Sam Beckett."

"I see. Miss Brown's a great teacher though. I kind of like science myself. I'm glad you're okay.'

"Okay?" asks Sam.

"Well, when you were at brunch with my dad yesterday, you were awfully quiet."

"I had a rough week."

"The week's not getting any easier," says Al, thinking of Gooshie.

"Yeah, school's getting tougher. I remember how tough it was last year when my mom died. And I'll never forget what you did."

"What is that?" the leaper asks curiously.

"You volunteered to sleep over at my place for a whole week, just to watch over me. It helped me deal with it. I can't imagine anyone else who'd do that for me."

"Your dad?"

"Well, technically he does live at my place. Though I haven't seen him that much. He often has to work really late, ever since mom died. To make up for the loss of income,"

Sam eats some more. "Yeah, I guess fatherhood could be hard. I remember when..."

Joey doesn't have a brother.

"..when my mom and I visited..this family friend, Tom, when he had his first child. It was back in the 70's. He was in the Navy at the time. I remember holding the baby."

"His first child's just a few years younger than Joey," says the observer.

Jimmy holds Sam's hand. "Listen, Joey," he says. "We're best friends. I can't imagine anything that would put an end to that."

Sam and Al stay silent, wondering how this boy would end up killing Joey- would likely end up killing Sam- on Friday.
 
After the last bell rings, Sam Beckett walks to the bike rack near the front of the school, where many of the junior high students are already unfastening their bikes.

"Listen, Joey," says Jimmy La Palma as he unlocks his own bike. "I've got to go home. Dad doesn't have to work late tonight, so he'll be there. Got to study."

"Yeah. I remember how my mom and...insisted I study instead of going outside to play."

Jimmy hops onto his bike and rides off.

"There you are," a female voice says.

Leaper and observer turn their heads to see Miss Brown.

"I'm still inviting you," she says. "Are you in?"

Sam glances towards Al Calavicci. "Yes," she says.

"Careful, Sam,," says Al. "She's cute, but remember that you look 13 years old to the people of this time."

Minutes later, Sam follows the teacher into the classroom where he had been hours ago. Miss Brown shuts the door and locks it. She then draws down the blinds on the windows.

"I did enjoy that you're interested in quantum mechanics," says the teacher.

"Thanks, Miss Brown," replies the leaper.

"Katie," she says. "It's always Katie when we're alone."

"Okay, Katie."

She stands before Sam and places her arms on his shoulders. "Now to teach you sex ed."

"Uh, no.."

she looks into the leaper's eyes. "I can tell something's wrong."

Her voice sounds soothing.

"It's just that Gooshie died," says Sam.

"Sam," warns Al.

"Gooshie? Was this Gooshie a student."

"A family friend. He didn't go to school here, but we were close. He battled melanoma- cancer- for two years and he lost." Grief overtakes Sam's mind and he sobs. "God, I miss him."

Katie Brown gives him a hug. "I wish I could make you feel better," she says, hugging him.

Sam, welcomes her embrace, feeling as if it diminishes the grief, knowing that when he leaps home, Gooshie will not be there to greet him.

And then she kisses him, and Sam kisses her back. The kiss feels like a salve on the festering wound of grief.

Miss Brown starts to unbutton her blouse and soon it falls on the floor. She places her hands under Sam's clothes.

Sam pushes back. "No," he says. "This isn't right."

"You never refused before," says the teacher, most of the pale skin above her waist laid bare, with only her bra covering her breasts. She unhooks her bra and lets it drop to the floor, fully exposing her boobs. "Remember when he started school this winter. That first day after school, you took me right on that desk, right from behind."

"It was wrong. I'm not going any further."

"Very well, then," Miss Brown replies, refastening her bra. "No means no. It applies to boys as well as girls."

"It was wrong for you to accept my yes," says Sam. "I'm only thirteen. You exploit underage boys. You need to go down for this."

"I went down on you and you liked it."

"It was still wrong."

"I suppose you will waltz on over to the principal's office and tell him that you've been drilling my vagina."

"I wouldn't put it in those words, but yes."

"And they'd believe you? You have a a permanent record here, Joey. You were a bad boy. No one would believe you,. And I am certain you'll be expelled for lying about a teacher."

"Telling the principal now won't do anything," says Al.

"What you're doing is wrong, and you will go down for this."

Miss Brown fastens the last button on her white blouse. "We are down here, young Schultz."

"See you tomorrow, Miss Brown," says the leaper.

He then leaves the classroom.

Just a few meters away, Jimmy looks as he sees the man who appears to be his friend walks away from the classroom.

Miss Brown walks out into the hallway.

"Hi, Jimmy," she says. "Staying after school? I have extracurricular activities."

oooooooooo

At the "y", which is the intersection of Emerald Bay Road and Lake Tahoe Boulevard, is a McDonald's restaurant, catering to both locals and tourists. Among the diners is this restaurant is a quantum physicist from the future.

Sam sits at a table, eating french fries, purchased along with a hamburger with the seven dollars Joey's mom gave him.

Al looks around at the place, which looks like pretty much every McDonald's the observer has ever been through. He recalls the time Sam ate at the very first McDonald's in history.

"I was thinking," says the leaper. "I wonder if Jimmy really killed- will kill- Joey. When I spoke to him at lunch, he had absolutely no problems with me- with Joey."

Al punches buttons on the handlink. "Well, there an eighty percent chance Joey gets stabbed to death."

"Eighty?"

"Well, it's better than a hundred."

"I mean, I was thinking. What if Jimmy was wrongfully convicted?"

"Several witnesses did identify Jimmy as the killer. It happened at school, many witnesses"

"I guess we find the truth on Friday, May 4th. I can sort of understand why Joey would fall to the teacher's seductions. I mean, his mom is basically neglecting him. Joey wanted a parent figure, and Katie Brown provided it."

"I understand. When I was in seventh grade, I had this cute teacher with nice boobs. She was nice, cared about her students. I was an orphan, my sister was in a mental institution. If I had a chance with her, I would have taken it. I was a very lucky boy."

"You and her?" asks the leaper.

"She kept things professional," answers the observer. "That's how I was lucky, Sam. I was lucky not to have been exploited by some predator teacher. Joey wasn't so lucky."

"Okay." Sam eats another french fry. "How's the funeral arrangements?"

"Finalizing the arrangements. I also have to arrange for a new backup observer. Gooshie excelled in that role in the two times he did that."

Sam sips the last of his Coke. "I'd better head home- I mean, Joey's home.

Al opens the Imaging Chamber door. "I'll follow up on Gooshie's funeral."

He leaves the chamber. Sam gets on Joey's bike and soon bikes along Emerald Bay Road. After about twenty minutes, he enters the Schultz apartment.

Once again, Sam looks at the pictures of Katie Brown. She is a rather attractive young woman.

Then grief rises to the top of his mind, and the leaper sobs.
 
n six years of quantum leaping, I've been back to school more times than I can remember. I can't remember having to deal with an illict relationship with a teacher.

And on top of all that, Gooshie left us.

Why did you leave us, Gooshie?


Katie Brown gives a slight glare to Sam Beckett as the leaper sits down at Joey Schultz's desk. Jimmy La Palma takes his usual seat, grinning wildly.

"You seem to be happy," says Sam.

"Uh, yeah," replies Jimmy. "Miss Brown's starting class."

"Attention, everyone," says the teacher. "We will begin.."

As Miss Brown teaches the science class, Sam raises his hand several times, but the teacher refuses to call on him. The leaper does notice that Jimmy gets to ask a question or two.

The bell rings.

"Okay, class," says Miss Brown. "Make sure you finish your homework, study, and I'll see you tomorrow."

As Sam walks towards the door, he once again glances at the teacher, who glares at him.

He notices Jimmy walking in a direction other than that where the school cafeteria is.

"Jimmy," the leaper calls out. "Where're you going?"

"I only brought a small snack for lunch," replies the boy. "I need to study in the library."

"Library?"

"My dad and my teachers are telling me we need to study more often. I mean, it's already past Easter and we need to step up our studying."

Jimmy walks off, leaving Sam to eat alone in the cafeteria.

Oooooooo

The last bell rings, and the students in the class are excited to finally get out of school, either going home or going to extracurricular activities that they are passionate about.

Sam walks towards the bike racks. In the distance, among the students there, the leaper sees Jimmy.

"Jimmy!" he calls out.

The boy bikes away faster than Sam can catch up to him.

Oooooooooo

Upon entering the apartment after a Tuesday at school, Sam notices Joey's mom inside.

"You're in," he says.

"I'm off work, the girls are all at work, and I have no dates," says Brenda Schultz. "I might as well cook dinner." She holds up a picket. "you can help Mama make some chili."

"Sure," says Sam.

And so he helps her with the beans and the ground beef and Hunt's tomato paste and the McCormick's chili packet.

"I'm not much of a cook- but at least the chili packet has simple instruction. Soon, the smell fo the chili fills the kitchen.

Finally, Brenda places sour cream and scallions on the chili, and serves it in bowls. The leaper takes a spoonfuil and puts it in his mouth.

"Not bad," says Sam.

"Haven't had a home cooked meal with my boy in weeks," says Joey's mom.

The leaper feels a little guilty about being here instead of Joey, as this would likely be the last home cooked meal he had with his mom, originally.

But the chili tastes so good.

After dinner is over, Sam washes the dishes and Brenda weacthces television while drinking bottled Corona beer and smoking a Camel cigarette, blowing a puff of smoke from her lungs.

"She died of lung cancer in '97," says Al.

Sam looks at the observer's eyes. "Hi."

"Still hard to believe I've been talking about Gooshie's funeral."

"If only I could leap there."

After Sam wipes down the last of the washed dishes, he walks to the couch.

"Hi there," says Sam.

"You gonna watch TV?" asks Joey's mom.

"I noticed that you didn't ask me about school, Mom."

"Why would I? "No principal's called me about no trouble from you."

"I mean, do you know the names of my teachers?"

"I don't remember. If I need to know their names, I could just talk to you or talk to the principal." Brenda leans back against the couch. "Well, you did mention Miss Brown, the science teacher. I met her once,. Smart teacher, even though she looks young. You told me how she helped you with yer studies. That's what teachers are 'sposed to do."

"Yeah. You know my friends?"

"I do remember that boy Jimmy. We went on vacation with him and his parents to San Francisco back in '82. I think we have pictures from that somewhere. I'm sure I'll come across it someday. Please excuse me. Mama needs her TV time. If you're done with homework, there must be some comic books you can read."

Al's childhood memories temporarily displace his grief over Gooshie's passing. His own mother was not there, and eventually abandoned him and his father and his sister for an encyclopedia salesman.

And Joey's mother had abandoned the boy emotionally. She is living in the apartment, paying all the bills.

And yet it is empty relationship.

Rage briefly surfaces, and Al kicks at the counter, and his legs just pass through the holographic projection.

"No wonder Joey went into the arms of an older teacher," he says.

"She's asleep."

The observer looks and sees that Brenda had fallen asleep on the couch. "okay."

"Jimmy's not as talkative as he was yesterday," says Sam. "Whatever problem he had with Joey, it must have started recently."

"I'm gonna go back out to help with the memorial. Get some sleep, Sam." Al opens the Imaging Chamber door, and leaves. Not long afterward, the leaper brushes his teeth and goes to sleep in the partitioned corner.

Oooooooooo

Two more days.

Two more day's 'till Jimmy's going to stab me to death. He's been blowing me off. Is anger against Joey building inside him?


Sam is once again at the junior high school. Jimmy had once again left school without at least saying goodbye to him.

His thoughts once again drift towards Gooshie. He had not seen Gooshie in months, but Al had always mentioned him.

And now Gooshie is gone.

The leaper's grief is temporarily buried by hearing Miss Brown's voice and another teacher's voice.

"...told me he had pictures of you," says a male voice.

"And he showed them to you?" asks Miss Brown.

"No, but I do believe it is true."

"Are you going to go to the principal's office and snitch?"

"No, I have nothing..."

"That's right, you have nothing."

"Listen Katie, it would be best if you resigned, telling the principal you have family issues. The longer you stay here, the more likely it is that you'll be exposed. It'll be a big scandal.

"I've taught here for fifteen years; I don't want my school to be marred by scandal."

"You'd better watch yourself, Jonah."

Sam looks and sees a bespectacled man with a big nose, wearing a sweater vest over a white shirt, walking out.

He walks away and hides himself in a corner. As he peeks out, he notices Miss Brown walking outside the classroom.

He soon gets on his bike to go to Joey's apartment.

Ooooooooo

Once again, Brenda Schultz is not at home. Sam notices an envelope on the kitchen table.

"Working at Harrah's tonight. Here's money for dinner," reads the note.

I know you have to work, but why can't you spend more time with your son?

The leaper hears a door open, and he looks and sees the white rectangular light of the Imaging Chamber door, and Al Calavicci enters.

"How are things?" asks Sam.

"Still sad," replies the observer. "I still sometimes call Gooshie for help."

"How's Joey doing?"

"He's fine. He's enjoying the PlayStation 2."

"What's a PlayStation 2?" asks Sam, confusion in his voice.

"A video game system that only came out last year, my time," answers Al. He pushes buttons on the handlink. "Only the Atari and Coleco are available in this time; Nintendo wasn't released until next year."

"I know I have to expose Katie Brown," says Sam. "I should call Joey's mom at work. She works at Harrah's."

"I can get you the number."

"No, wait. There must be a more direct number." Sam walks around the kitchen. He does notice a slip of paper taped next to the telephone. "There it is, the number for Harrah's." the leaper picks up the telephone and dials the number for Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

"Harrah's Lake Tahoe, Michelle speaking," says a voice.

"this is Joey Schultz," says Samn. "Brenda Schultz is my mom. Is she available. It;'s an emergency."

"Let me check." Sam and Al wait a while. "She's not available. Are you in danger?"

"Well, no."

"Have you been arrested?"

"Uh, no."

"Are you at the emergency room?"

"No."

"I'm sure you can talk to your mom when you get off work. She gets off at 11 PM. Have a wonderful evening."

The leaper puts down the handset. "I still need to talk to his mom."

He stands up and takes Joey's keys.

"Where are you going?" asks the observer.

"Too see Joey's mom."

Sam unlocks the Schwinn bicycle from the bike rack outside. Soon is he is biking northbound on Pioneer Trail towards the stateline, with All appearing to hover beside him a few inches above the asphalt.

The leaper is surrounded by forest on both sides of the road. Cars pass him at about forty miles per hour.

After roughly twenty minutes, there are retail businesses on both sides of Pioneer Trail. It soon ends at a signalized intersection with Lake Tahoe Boulevard. Noticing the hotel tower of Harrah's Tahoe rising above towards the purpling sky, Sam bikes along Lake Tahoe Boulevard towards the place.

He crosses the stateline and goes around the property, finally finding a bike rack. After he fastens the bicycle, Sam enters the casino.

He walks along this hallway with a tiled floor, and then passes the registration area which has the registration desk where guests check in for their stays, and a rack has pamphlets that tell visitors about attrections within an hour's driving distance.

The leaper soon reaches the carpeted casino floor. There are many, many slot machines. The sounds of coins spilling into the steel trays fill the whole chamber. Most of the leather seats are occupied by gamblers. Blackjack, poker, roulette, and craps tables are in one section of the casino floor, with patrons holding various sorts of alcoholic beverages.

Sam reaches the security desk where security officers can watch over a large swath of the casino.

"Uh, hi there,," says the leaper.

"What do ya want, kid?" asks the security officer, a bald man in a long-sleeve white shirt with a patch on the shoulder.

"I'm Joey Schultz. My mom is Brenda Schultz. She's working here now. I just want to talk to her."

"Just stay right here, kid, I'll see what I can do." The security officer picks up a handset. Sam and Al take in the sights and sounds- and for Sam, the smells- of the Harrah's casino floor.

After a few minutes, brenda walks up.

"We can chat for a few minutes," she says to the man who appears to be her 13-year-old son. "Let's walk outside, right by the stateline."

Joey's mom leads Sam through the casino floor and just outside the front entrance, where the California-Nevada stateline is.

"What's troublin' you, boy?" she asks.

The leaper takes a deep breath. "I have to confess something," he says. "You might want to lean against the wall."

Brenda places her left hand against the exterior wall of the hotel-casino. "Go on."

Sam takes another deep breath. "I'm having sex with my teacher, Katie Brown."

Joey's mom's eyes widen. "This isn't a joke, right? You didn't take mama out of work just to tell me a joke."

"It's no joke, Mom. I have naked pictures of her."

She slaps Sam on the shoulder. "My little stud muffin!" she says. "you bagged the teacher. Have you told anyone else?"

"Uh, no."

"At least tell Jimmy. You'll be the coolest boy in school. The girls will think yer a stud; maybe you can teach /em a few lessons about sex."

Leaper and observer are shocked as to what they had just heard to come out of this woman's mouth.

"It's not cool," says Sam. "I'm thirteen years old! It's sexual abuse. How can you say this?"

"You were the one who seduced her, my little man. You know. I take us for a round of drinks right inside, but Mama has to go back to work. I'll buy two six-packs after work and we can have our own little celebration at home."

"you nozzle!" Al yells to her, though of course she can not hear.

Brenda walks back into Harrah's.

Sam just stands there, wondering what kind of life Joey is having. It is so clear why he had an illicit relationship with Katie Brown in this time.

The observer collects himself, after elarnign another bad detail about Joey Schultz's life. "I'm gonna talk to Jimmy," he says.

"Jimmy's too old to see you," notes Sam.

"Not in this time. I'll talk to him in my time." Al holds up ther handlink. "We can center me on Jimmy, to find out more about him."

He presses a button on the handlink, and Sam, and the Harrah's casino, diseappears. He finds himself inside the living room of someone's home.

Looking art the handlink, the observer notes that his virutla location is near the east shore of the lake, in Nevada.

"Jimmy La Palma lives in California," he says.

He then looks at a 36-inch Magnavox television with a ColecoVision plugged in. Jimmy La Palma is playing the game Donkey Kong, Jr.

Also in the room is Miss Brown.

Al looks around. It is a very nicely furnished place, with a fireplace. On a counter he can see two champange glasses and an open bottle of champagne.

Jimmy turns off the Coleco.

"did you enjopy the game?" asksthe teacher.

"Yeah," replies the thirteen-year-old boy.

She unbuttons the topmost button on her blouse. Al instantly knows what will happen.

"Gooshie!" yells the observer. "Anyone! Just center me on Sam!"

Al vanishes from Miss Brown's cabin.
 
March 16, 2001

Opened in July of 1852, California State Prison San Quentin is located on the shore of San Francisco Bay, near the western end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Al Calavicci drives a Ford Crown Victoria along Main Street to the eastern gate, where visitors arrive. One of the uniformed guards walks up to the car and checks his credentials.

"You may enter, sir," says the guard.

The observer parks the car in the visitor parking lot. Only a few other people are here, mostly to visit inmates in prison. Al himself wears a black jacket, black dress pants, and back dress shoes, clothing much more subdued than what he wears in the Quantum Leap imaging chamber.

He waits inside some sort of lobby for the visitors. It is bare. While waiting, Al takes the time to read some files that Ziggy printed out with an Apple LaserWriter 12/640 PS. He had to make quite a few phone calls to make this happen.

As usual for the past few days, Al thinks of Gooshie. Gooshie would be pulling observer duty. He did identify a promising successor.

"Mr. Calavicci," says a uniformed guard.

"Yes?" he asks.

"Prisoner La Palma is waiting for you."

Two guards lead Al through a door and they walk along a plain hallway. He soon goes to a door on the right.

The room only has one stainless steel table. Only three people are in the room. Two of them are prison guards, and one of them is an inmate with black hair, olive-complected skin, and a goatee, who appears to be about thirty years of age.

"Hello there," says the observer. "My name is Al Calavicci."

"Italian, eh?" asks the prisoner. "I'm Jimmy La Palma. Never learned Italian, though."

"Glad you take the time to see me."

"I still have a few years left," replies Jimmy. "Every break in the routine is like a mini-vacation. I mean, two years ago I even got to leave to testify in a prisoner lawsuit. It was bogus, but at least I got a field trip to San Francisco. It was nice looking out over the Golden Gate Bridge."

"I want to talk about Joey Schultz," says Al.

"Joey," says the prisoner. He had not forgotten about his friend even after nearly seventeen years. "Not a day goes by."

"Were you in a relationship with a teacher named Katie Brown back in 1984?"

"Yeah. I can't forget. I mean, it felt good, but I knew it was wrong."

"I understand why you were vulnerable, Jimmy. Your mom died in 1983, your dad had to work extra shifts to make up for the lost income."

"Yeah, looking back on it after a decade and a half, I know."

"My mother walked out on me and my dad and my sister when I was eight," says Al. "Sometimes I feel it, even after more than fifty years. Back then, I would have..."

"My mom didn't choose to die."

"You were looking for a mother figure, and so was I. I do remember one thing. Joey used to sleep over the first week after your mom died."

Jimmy stands up, his arms handcuffed together. "How did you know? Wait a minute. I must have said it in juvenile court, just before they sent me to the youth camp." The prisoner briefly recalls his time there. He had finished growing up there, released on his twenty-first birthday. "I can still recall the look in his eyes. He felt betrayed. And he was right to feel betrayed. After everything he did for me. There wasn't a truer friend."

"And the fight that led to you stabbing him, it was because of Katie Brown," says Al.

"Yeah," replies the prisoner. "I knew he was having sex with her. I wanted her for myself. If only I had known."

"Well, you did testify against her. At least she went down."

"What?"

"I thought you testified against a teacher for sexual abuse."

"That wasn't it," says Jimmy. "Miss Brown would visit me in the youth camp. She would often send me letters, and nude pictures. She met with me and told me to report that this teacher, Mr. Weinstein, abused me and Joey. She said she's be waiting for me when I got out, and we'd live together in a cabin by Lake Tahoe. So I testified. Miss Brown personally visited me to tell me that Mr. Weinstein has convicted. After that, I never saw her again,. Never sent me a letter. After I got out, I found she moved away.

"That must be why you're here. You're Mr. Weinstein's attorney, trying to free him. Can you get me out of here? I mean, I know I stabbed a cop and all while resistin' arrest, but he's okay now; it's not like I killed him."

"Maybe I can make it so as if you were never here at all," says Al. He looks at the guards. "I'm done here."

"Very well, sir," says the guard, who leads the observer out of the room.

Two guards then pick up Jimmy La Palma and escort him to the San Quentin yard.

Oooooooooo

Handlink in hand, Al walks into the little hallway connecting the control room with the Imaging Chamber. He presses a few buttons on the multicolored electronic device and the door opens. Walking inside, he is surrounded by a swirl of images which quickly unravels itself.

He finds himself in the hologram of what looks like a pizzeria. There are several wooden tables,. A counter is in the back , with a sign advertising various types of pizza like cheese and pepperoni and mushroom and sausage, various sides like breadsticks and cinnamon sticks and salads, soft drinks like Pepsi and 7-Up, and beers like Budweiser and Corona.

"Sam!" yells the observer.

"Right here," replies Sam Beckett, standing up by one of the wooden tables.

Al walks over. "You're not home."

"Joey's mom left some money," replies the leaper. "I just biked along Lake Tahoe Boulevard, and found this little pizzeria." Sam takes another bite from a slice of pepperoni pizza. "I mean, I can't exactly hang out in the casinos."

"I visited Jimmy at San Quentin Prison today," says Al. "He did stab Joey because he's also having sex with Katie Brown."

Sam sips a Coke. "I'm not surprised to hear that."

"We've all been grieving over Gooshie."

"Yeah, I figured it would feel better to be around people, than just cry in an empty apartment."

"Remember when I told you that Jimmy testified against a teacher in 1986 who was being charged with sexually abusing students."

"Uh, yeah," replies the leaper. "He testified against Katie Brown."

"That's not true, Sam. He testified against a Jonah Weinstein, who was a teacher at the school until 1985, when he was indicted. Brown asked Jimmy to accuse Weinstein of sexual abuse. She promised that they would live together after he was released from juvie hall. She got him to commit perjury against an innocent man."

"I remember something. I overheard a man arguing wirth Brown, knowing she shared dirty pictures. He was trying to get her to resign. His name was Jonah. Let me guess, this gets worse."

"Weinstein was convicted and imprisoned. He was found murdered in the shower rooms in San Quentin in '91. If I wasn't distracted over Gooshie's death, I might have found this out."

"There was no way to stop what happened to Gooshie," says Sam. "We can stop Katie Brown!"

"Right," says Al. "First thing, I need to check up on Jimmy La Palma." he presses buttons on the handlink and disappears."

oooooooooo

May 3, 1984

I bought a ticket to the woooooorld

But now I've come back again

Why do I find it hard to write the next line?

Oh, I want the truth to be said

I know this much is true

I know this much is true

This much is true

This much is true

This much is true


Al once again appears in Katie Brown's cabin in Stateline. He notices Jimmy playing the Coleco, a game called The Dam Busters.

"Time to go home, Jimmy," says Katie Brown.

"Already?" asks the thirteen-year-old boy, turning off the Coleco Vision. He approaches the teacher, who wears a sweater and a skirt. "How about we have sex?"

"No," she says. "It's over."

"What do you mean, it's over?"

"I found someone better."

"who?"

"Joey."

"As in Joey Schultz?" Jimmy asks, confused.

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Joey is the man for me," says Miss Brown. "He knows how to please a woman, how to arouse a woman. He's bigger than you. I can feel him inside."

"He'd never do that to me."

"Oh, he did. He pleased me in ways you could never please a girl. He told me you're a weak, little boy who still cries for his mommy. He says you just want your mommy. He says you'll never grow up."

"No!"

"From now on, you'll have to use your hand. I'm Joey's woman. Leave."

Al is fully enraged and he takes several strong swings at the woman, but his fists just pass through Katie Brown.

Joey's shock turns to anger, anger at Joey Schultz.

Al can see the anger in Jimmy's face.

"She's using you!" yells the observer. "She's using Joey. She's an abuser in the worst way! You need to realize it before you kill Sam- Joey!"
 
May 4, 1984

Jonah Weinstein, wearing his sweater vest, white shirt, and slacks continues his lecture, telling his junior high students to turn the pages on their textbooks. Among the students in the class is Sam Beckett, appearing as 13-year-old Joey Schultz, and Al Calavicci, who can only be seen by Sam.

Sam is focused. Even grief over Gooshie's recent death is buried.

He knows that in about ten minutes, Jimmy will stab him- Joey- to death, over the manipulations of a sexually predatory teacher.

The leaper does his best to appear that he is paying attention to Mr. Weinstein. He has to be in that hallway so that Jimmy can confront him.

The observer is also worried. He had just lost Gooshie; he does not want to lose Sam as well.

The bell rings.

"We will see you Sunday," says Weinstein. "Remember to take time to go over our material over the weekend."

Most of the students are going through the door to get to their next class. Sam glances at Al.

He walks outside to the hallway, the hallway where Al had told him Joey Schultz would be stabbed.

"It should be about this time," says the observer.

The leaper glances and in the distance he recognizes Jimmy La Palma.

"Sam, look out!" yells Al.

Sam looks and sees Jimmy's fist approaching him. He makes a quick sidestep. The 13-year-old boy takes another swing at the leaper, who once again dodges and Jimmy;'s momentum causes him to make contact with the locker.

About a dozen boys and girls already gather around Sam and Jimmy.

Sam notices that Jimmy's hands are empty.

"Are you going to kill me?" asks Sam, loudly.

"What?" asks the boy.

"Are you going to kill me? Because if you intend to kill me, say so in front of everyone. Right here, right now."

The boys and girls in the hallway all look at Jimmy and the leaper who appears to them as a 13-year-old boy.

"Sam," says Al.

Jimmy takes a deep breath.

"No," he says.

"This is about Miss Brown, isn't it? You can tell me. I'm your friend. I stayed over at your place after your mom died."

"Yes."

"What she has been doing to us is wrong," says the leaper. "We're only thirteen. We're vulnerable, and our teacher, Katie Brown, exploited us."

"She told me you are her man. She told me she doesn't need me anymore. She said she was with you."

"It's not a real relationship. We're only thirteen. She's an abuser." He looks around at the junior high students who have gathered. "I, Joey Schultz, have had sex with the teacher, Katie Brown," continues Sam.

Jimmy looks around. He had been mad at Joey, madder than he had ever been, ever since Miss Brown told him it was over. Now he is confronted by these words.

"Me too," he says.

"Excuse me," says a female voice.

Sam, Al, and Jimmy notices Miss Brown walking in the hallway, wearing a skirt and blouse and coat.

"We can go to the principal's office," says the teacher. "I'll intercede for you, make sure you can continue to go to school here even with these lies you've told."

"I have pictures," says Jimmy. "She gave me naked pictures of herself."

"This is a criminal matter," says Mr. Weinstein. "I will notify the police."

"How could you do this?" asks Miss Brown. "I did you boys a favor. You wanted your first time to be with some flat-chested girl with braces? We all know you're popular with the boys for being with me. I made you into men!"

"That's enough, Brown," says a female voice. "You're fired."

Sam, Al, and Jimmy notice a five-foot tall, black haired woman wearing a gray coat, gray skirt, and white blouse.

"I can explain," says Miss Brown.

"All I want is for you to clean out your classroom, pick up your check, and get out of my school," says the woman. "And I advise saving the money from your final check, as you will need it for an attorney."

The observer presses buttons on the handlink "It's done, Sam," he says. "Katie Brown spends seven years in federal prison for transporting minors across state lines for immoral purposes. In my time, her last know address was a tiny bungalow in Silver Springs in '98. Jonah Weinstein never goes to prison; he's still a teacher here in my time. Jimmy never goes to prison either. As a matter of fact, his dad remarries and Jimmy has a stepsister, and a nephew and a niece in my time. And he is married and has kids of his own."

"And Joey?"

"Joey is..in jail?" Al presses buttons on the handlink. "Well, he did serve three months in the Douglas County Jail in 1990, but he hasn't been in trouble with the law since and is making an honest, comfortable living in my time. The important thing is that his future is his, now."

Mr. Weinstein looks at Sam and Jimmy.

"You boys okay?" asks the teacher.

"We will be," answers Jimmy, softly.

"So she is not a teacher?" asks a girl with blond hair tied in braids.

"That is right," replies the black-haired woman.

"Hey!" the girl yells at Katie Brown, "you're a creepy filthy pervert and I hope you lick carpet in jail!"

All the students in the hallway laugh, including Sam, as the latter is surrounded by a blue glow and he leaps out of Joey Schultz's life.
 
March 24, 2001

Gray clouds cover the sky. At the cemetery on the ground, a crowd of people gatyher, all wearing dark coats. This is the funeral for the man called Gooshie.

Accompanied by his wife Beth, Al looks at the tripid containing the picture of Gooshie, wearing a blue coat, white shirt, and blue necktie. It contrasts to the dark clothing everyone here wears.

Memories arise as the preacher delivers his sermon, memories of first meeting Gooshie at Project StarBright nearly twenty years ago. Not only did they work together, they hung out together and attended various social events- including weddings. Gooshie was such an integral part to Project Quantum Leap, and now they all have to say goodbye.

The preacher finally ends his sermon. Memories of Gooshie still dominate the surface.

Al knows, deep down, that tomorrow he must continue his mission to bring Sam home.