Round Robin: Let's see where this story goes!

F

felicity709

Guest
Hello, I'm new to Al's place, even though an old fan of QL, I have just recently rediscovered it on SciFi Channel, and am glad to find so many fans are still out there! I have an unfinished story and thought it might be fun to see where it goes with input from other authors. So...I am posting it here. Feel free to add as much or as little as you'd like and then the next person can add on. The point of view starts out as Al's, but it can switch to third person or Sam's point of view or whatever works for the scene at hand.

Should this not work as a round robin (but I hope it does) perhaps there is someone who would be willing to cowrite the story with me. But let's see how this goes first. Enjoy!

Thank you, Chris B.

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I centered on Sam just as he found himself standing in an empty classroom behind the teacher?s desk. He was wearing a neatly ironed tweed suit and glasses. It was the typical professor look, the kind of teacher no one took seriously. And when Sam found out what kind of teacher he was, he was literally going to have a stroke. I was embellishing the thought, actually, as I adjusted the handlink and came through the Imaging chamber door.

?Hi, Sam,? I greeted him, just as he was orienting himself to the new situation.

?Al.? he responded, feeling his face and looking around him, searching. ?Where am I??

?Let?s see.? I pretended to hit the handlink a few times for good measure, even though I already knew the answer.

?It is?February 19, 1980, Denver, CO. Your name is Robert McKenzie. You are a teacher and your class should be in here in about 5 minutes.? I let this info sink in before I really laid it on him.

Sam sighed and looked halfway relieved. ?A teacher, eh? Well, that can?t be too threatening. So what am I teaching??

I smirked, this was going to be good. As much as I respected my friend for all his boy scout ways, I also loved to tease him for the same reason. ?You teach sexual education.? I said with triumph.

Sam?s mouth hung open. It was a Kodak moment if I ever saw one.

?I?I?what?? he stammered.

?You heard me right, Sam.? I smiled.

He sat down, obviously the shock was too much for him.

Sam was in virgin territory here, and I do mean virgin. The man was one until he married Donna, and had he known he was married, he?d be aghast at the few sexual encounters he?d experienced since he began leaping. The fact that his swiss cheesed memory had blotted all of this out was probably a good thing.

?I can?t be a sex ed teacher!? Sam gulped.

?I know, kid, you don?t have the experience, me on the other hand??

?Al.?

I shrugged. ?Oh come on, Sam, it?ll be fun.?

Sam looked thoughtful, which wasn?t always a good thing.

?Maybe you?re right, I could teach them about how you should wait until marriage to have sex.?

There it was. ?This is the 21st century, Sam. Well, this isn?t exactly, you?re in 1980, but in our current time period no one believes that anymore.? I was exasperated.

?But I believe it, and it should be an ageless philosophy. There aren?t enough people in society today who believe in traditional values.?

Sam should have time traveled to the 1600?s and visited the Puritans. He would have fit right in.

The kids were piling in now and I could see the sweat on Sam?s brow. I felt sorry for him, being in such an uncomfortable situation, I would go as far to say that this was one of his most challenging leaps. For me, it would have been a piece of cake. At least he had me to help him along.

?Don?t worry, Sam, I?m here for you.?

?Don?t you dare leave me, Al?? he trailed off, as he got out of his seat and smiled at the incoming students.

I feigned urgency. ?Oh gee, Sam, Ziggy is calling me back for something?I?ll be back soon.?

?Al!? he said with a pleading whisper, but that?s the last I heard before going back in through the Imaging Chamber door. I would never in a million years think of leaving Sam at a critical moment, but this was just too tempting. I wouldn?t be long though, the kid simply couldn?t survive in this situation without me.

I waited about 10 minutes and then came back, meeting Sam?s sideways scowl as I noticed the class looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat and I just stood there too, waiting like one of the little fifth grade students.

Seeing I wasn?t going to do anything, he looked back at them and tried to do the best he could with what he knew. ?Well,? he coughed, ?Where did we leave off last time??

I was scouring the room. The faces were a myriad of variation?from the very astute student, paying attention, to the girl chewing gum and doing her nails, to the know it all girl raising her hand, to the two boys whispering in the back about what they were going to do after school. Typical class, and Sam was sinking fast trying to maintain their attention. Just as I was about to say something, the handlink started beeping. I hit it hard, finding it distracting even though no one but myself and Sam could hear it. I was getting a shitload of info coming on the small screen, and it involved the kid sitting in the far right corner. He was listening intently, but was no teacher?s pet. No, this kid was eyeing Sam with contempt.

I smoothly tried to fill in words between the jibberish that Sam was spouting off to the class. ?Sam, Ziggy has percentages on why you?re here. Just get through this class and I?ll be able to tell you.?

?I?m trying?? Sam said from the corner of his mouth. Then, back to the class, ?So, we were, um, talking about sperm. Yes, I see.? His face was beat red, a student had just informed him what they?d been discussing the day before.

?Mr. McKenzie!? the girl with the uncontrollable hand called out.

?Yes?? Sam asked, trying to keep calm even though he was squirming with every word.

?So what exactly do sperm look like??

?Um, well, I suppose you could call them fishlike?? Sam responded. I swear his face could have fried an egg.

Just then, the kid who had been staring maliciously at Sam yelled out, with nary a raise of his hand, ?No?no no. Sperm are not fishlike, they are round with a point.? He looked proud of himself. As for me, I was crinkling my nose in confusion at how he could come up with such a lame description and expect it to sound convincing.

?Well, um, I suppose you could call them that?? Sam cleared his throat again.

?Are you uncomfortable, Mr. McKenzie?? the kid teased. ?Uncomfortable that a student might actually know more than you??

?No, I just??

Just then, the fire alarm went off and Sam sighed with obvious relief. This drill had really saved his behind. He began filing the kids out of the room, taking charge like his usual self, now that he didn?t have to talk about a difficult topic for him. I took the opportunity to give him some much needed info as everyone headed for the doors.

?OK, Sam. That kid who just mouthed off, his name is Sydney Mac. From what Ziggy can tell, there is an 85% chance you are supposed to help him. How yet, is unclear.?

?Maybe give him a better attitude about respecting his elders?? Sam suggested.

?I think his attitude points to an underlying problem, as it usually does in kids this age. I think your job is to find out what that problem is.?

?I can talk to him, if he?ll listen, but it would help if Ziggy could clarify things a bit more.?

?I?m working on it,? I said sincerely. ?Looks like you can handle things for now, I?ll be back when I know more.?

I left Sam standing outside the school.
 
Thanks to everyone who has commented on this story so far. I noticed that it's a bit hard for people to have the time to add to these round robins (I can see the allure of the one sentence at a time thing!) and thanks to your suggestions and encouragement, I am currently working on the second part of this story and think its coming along well! So, even if not done as a round robin, I still would welcome ideas and thoughts. I would be very happy if it could be used in the VS, so MJ, let me know if there'd still be a slot :)
 
Felicitous Leap

Hi, Erin--

I just found a message from you, written to my PhilosophicalPunster alter-ego on a different site last August; I sure wish I'd checked sooner!

Funny that we'd both be Bakula fans--if you're still in Lincoln, would you like to compare notes over coffee?

--Ray
raydar@inetnebr.com
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this end up as a VS episode?
 
McDuck said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this end up as a VS episode?

Yes, it did. It was in Season 11, Episode 1103 titled "The Birds and the Sleeze". The portion of the story posted here, is in at the beginning of Part One of the story.

Eleiece