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Leap Year

Jonathan Allan's Time Jump

By Gordy YatesPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Leap Year
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

On March 1st, 2021, Jonathan Allan woke up to a phone call from his literary agent.

He groggily rolled over to answer the loud buzzing beside his bed.

“Jonathan, good news! Great news!” a man’s voice exclaimed. “LBB Publishing is offering a $20,000 advance for your novel! Not bad for a first-time novelist. Congratulations!”

Jonathan was dumbstruck. He didn’t know how to respond.

“That’s … wow,” he finally uttered.

“Ha! At a loss for words, are ya? Well you better get on that cuz we’re gonna have meeting with the publisher later today to work out the details. Make sure to wear something nice -- maybe even put on pants!” The man chuckled. “I’ll send you the link for that meeting in a few hours. See ya!”

The man ended the call and Jonathan sat up in bed, slowly rubbing his eyes.

This was a dream come true. Jonathan had always wanted to be a full-time novelist, and it sounded like he was coming closer to his goal.

Only two things didn’t add up: he’d never written a novel and he didn’t have an agent.

He looked at his call history. The call had come from someone entered in his phone as “Martin Kelin LA.”

He searched the name online and quickly found a website for the Martin Kelin Literary Agency. Not only that, he had dozens of emails from Martin Kelin in his inbox -- starting from all the way back in September.

Jonathan looked up from his phone and realized he wasn’t in his own apartment. His own bedroom was big and his own bed was wide, but now he was in a dark, narrow room, sitting on a small, uncomfortable mattress. But all his things were here -- his clothes were strewn over the floor, his duvet and blankets (although too large for this bed) covered him, and even his desk and lamp sat in the corner of the room. His things were here, but where was here?

He looked back down at his phone, eyes settling on the date and time:

9:54 AM, Monday, March 1, 2021

No, that was wrong. The day before had been February 28th, but it was a leap year. Today should be Saturday, February 29th, 2020.

His phone buzzed again, this time a video call from his sister.

“Hey, Jon,” she said as she set her phone down and began tying her hair in a ponytail. “How are you?”

“Laura, I don’t know where I am,” Jonathan said, trying to sound calm, lighthearted.

“Oh?” Laura’s hands paused behind her head as she peered more closely into her phone screen. “Well, where are you?”

“I don’t know where I am,” Jonathan repeated.

“Um, it kinda looks like you’re in your room,” she said, bemused. “Are you still in bed?”

“This isn’t my apartment. Why is my stuff here?” He paused. “Laura, what day is it?”

“First day of March, dude.” Laura stepped away from her phone and began stretching from side to side.

“No, it’s the last day of February,”Jonathan said.

Laura continued stretching. “Jon, don’t confuse me. Are you gonna get ready or am I working out solo today? Are you hungover or something?”

“Am I? I don’t feel hungover.” Jonathan blew into his hand and smelled his breath. “What year is it?”

“2021, thank goodness.” Laura bent to touch her toes, ponytail falling upside down past her head.

“It's not 2020?”

“Ha! Definitely not. I would not relive 2020 if you paid me.”

“My phone says it’s 2021,” Jonathan thought out loud. “And it’s not February 29th? It’s not leap day?”

“It’s not,” Laura breathed. “How was writing this morning?”

“Um, I got a call from my agent Martin,” Jonathan said almost questioningly, experimenting with how the words would sound coming from his mouth. “He said someone wants to buy my book.”

“What?” Laura stood up, her ponytail flipping behind her head. “No! You’re lying!”

“I don’t think I am,” Jonathan said.

“Oh my gosh! That’s huge! I’m so happy for you!”

“I know, it’s great,” he said uncertainly.

“Wow! When is it being published? Who’s doing the cover art? How much are you getting paid?”

“It’s a $20,000 advance. Martin said we’ll discuss more details later today in some link meeting and I might need to wear pants.”

Laura’s eyes and smile were wide. “Holy crap. That’s awesome! Oh my gosh, getting fired from that stupid job paid off, didn’t it?”

“I got fired from my job?” Jonathan scanned his dingy surroundings, pausing to quizzically stare at a surgical mask poking out from the pages of a small black notebook on his desk. “I made a lot of money at that job.”

“Yeah, but it ate up all your time so you couldn’t write like you wanted, you and I never got to talk, and now we talk everyday and you’re gonna be a published, famous author!”

“I guess so. Laura, if today is March 1st, not February 29th, and it’s 2021, not 2020, can you tell me what happened this past year?”

literature
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About the Creator

Gordy Yates

@gordyyates on insta

gordyyates.com if you're crazy interested

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