Travel through music

It was the year 2010 and I was 23 years old and unemployed. I didn’t know what to do. I should have kept my idea a secret. They called it dumb and said it sounded like a drunk person's suggestion. I worked hard. I graduated high school at 14 and graduated college at 19. I was a very smart kid. I still am to this day. It was one day after my job fired me and I was still thinking about my idea. I loved oldies and always wanted to be where they started with them at the same place and time. A light bulb flashed above my head and gave me the best idea ever. What if I create a music time travel machine? I rushed down to my basement with excitement thinking about how perfect this would be. I get my blue paper to draw how the machine will work. I had many ideas but one felt perfect. I decided to make a bed that you lay on and with it, you had a headpiece that when you put it on music fills your ears. The way for it to work is if you close your eyes and feel the music. Once you start getting into it, a blue light will shine and it starts to work. You will find yourself in a dimension of years and decades of music and its development. Explore at any time and leave at any time but the only way out is if someone is with you. I had to learn that myself. Knowing that I got stuck. I started to get products like metal beds, helmets, wires, headphones, buttons, and any tools that I felt I needed. If I forgot I would search for them. Working on my project was like running fourteen miles down a forest. Thinking about which way I should go. A loud knock on the door disturbs me and I jump. I run up my basement stairs and lock the basement. I looked to see who was at the door and it was my brother. My rich brother owns multiple famous clubs and hotels. He was always skeptical about my theories and ideas. I open the door with a smirk. He loudly greets me” What is up little brother”. My ears hated it.” Hello brother” I said in an uninterested voice. “Still mad about the incident from two years ago?” the brother said laughing.” Anyway I decided to visit and I was hoping to crash for a month,” He said. I let out a huge sigh. ”Don’t you have enough money to rent a nice room?” I rudely ask. He dared to knock at my door asking me to stay. I stupidly say yes knowing I would hear an ear full from my mother for not being nice to my manipulative brother. “ sleep on the couch. The bedroom is mine. I have a lot of work to do so it requires sleep. Good sleep at that” I said irritatedly. He puts his things in the corner of the house next to the couch and turns on the tv. I asked,” do you need a blanket and a pillow to sleep with”? He grabs a huge suitcase and takes out a blanket and a pillow.” No don’t worry I bring one of my own” he said. Of course, he had an expensive pillow and blanket. I end the day with dinner in bed then sleep.

Monday-

It’s the next day hoping to grab some cereal and get straight to work. I walk downstairs to my brother with a girl over and his pj's on. The girl was my neighbor Sasha. She was a 20-year-old girl who lived on her friend's couch. I don’t want to insult her but she was irritating. She was looking at my brother up and down. She was inspecting him like a metal detector. She was acting all sweet around him and asking questions. A lot of questions. I walked into the kitchen and my brother was making authentic pancakes, eggs, bacon, and potatoes. I felt myself gag right then and there. I don’t want to burst your bubble brother but some of that authentic food is processed and can be bad for you. I grabbed my yogurt and right when I was leaving my brother stopped me.” you don’t want any breakfast?” He asked. I respond” No I have work to do. I will just eat this yogurt”. I storm down to the basement and lock myself in so no one disturbs me. I start building and measuring the size and length I need the wires to be. I hear loud workout music so I put on my headphones and turn on Rolling Stones. I finally finished the helmet and I set it on my shelf. Proud of myself I stare at it for minutes and then snap out of it. I started to work on the bed. I put myself on a schedule so I had to stop at one point. The timer goes off to stop working and I notice that it's 3 pm. I haven’t even eaten lunch yet. I went up to have a snack and grabbed an apple. I noticed my brother left a note. It said:

Dear bro bro, I am out at the bar. Call me for anything. I left some breakfast in the fridge if that's ok. I took the extra key if you don’t mind. See ya later!

-Mikey

I cringed so badly at the bad writing. I walked into the living room and my mind switched to clean mode. My brother didn’t clean his mess. I cleaned it because the behavior was not tolerated and still won’t be. Not in my house. I was ready to scream because of the mess. I prevented myself from making a childish decision and sat in bed and watched TV. I didn’t last for too long and fell asleep.

Tuesday - My brother wakes me up with a stupid look on his face.” Brother, I am sorry you have to hear this but I have to leave. There was an incident at the club in Los Angeles. I know this is a sad moment but I will be back whenever I can” He told me. The first thing that went on in my mind was a celebration but I couldn’t be loud. I responded with the best thing ever. I took drama in high school and I knew exactly how to play it out.” I hope you can stay. Sadly, you have to leave” I reply with a fake sad voice. He grabs his bags and waves goodbye and exits the door. I peeked through the window waiting for him to drive off. As soon as he left I screamed and jumped around in happiness. The man who has picked on me and tried to ruin my life left. My phone reminds me to work so I rush down and start working. I took the whole day on the chair and noticed that I’m almost finished. The only way to see if it works is if I try it. Finally done with the finishing touches I leave the basement locked and closed. I decided why not go out. I go to get lunch and I meet this girl. Her name was Hailey. She was a sweet girl. In the beginning, I wasn’t used to her. She loved to converse with people. We started talking more and I don’t know what I was feeling I was getting but I started to like her.

Wednesday- I decided to try the machine. I walk down to the basement. I breathe and lay on the bed. I bring down the helmet to put it over my head. Music starts and I close my eyes. I noticed the song was” Candy” from Cameo. I started to get into it and I started to see myself moving through a very colorful tunnel. I landed in a luxury hotel room in the 80s. A person that worked for Cameo was waking me up telling me” Hey wake up sleepy head! It’s time to record the music video”. I quickly knew I was the camera operator. I get up and get ready. I start to walk down and I see him. I saw Cameo. My heart starts racing out of excitement. I calmed myself and got to work. After working I turned on the tv. I had to get used to using these TVs because I got used to using new technology. I watched soul train and I was amazed. I wondered where it all went. I slept and the next day I wanted to leave because I just wanted to test my machine out. I started to close my eyes and say wake up but I couldn’t. I was stuck. I noticed that I had to press the button to wake up. I couldn’t do it. I had to figure out a way. I took hours and rubbed my head and ended up hitting the button. I start to wake up. I see Hailey and my eyes close again. I ended up unconscious because I was asleep for days. I woke up again to Hailey holding my hand.” Thank goodness you're ok. I was worried sick. What was that you were laying on?” She cried. “ I’m ok. I will tell you later but not here,” I replied.

Monday- I planned to have Hailey experience what I did. She arrived and she was smiling.” I’m ready! I want to go to the 1960s where my grandma was in her teen years! Ugh so excited” she shouts. I reply with a nervous voice” This can get dangerous knowing what happened to me”. I knew I couldn’t lose her. The feeling I had was a feeling I needed. Love. We go down and start the process. Nervous as ever. I put the helmet on.”Ok, what you have to do is close your eyes while the song is playing and get into it. Once you get into it you will feel yourself going through a colorful tunnel and boom in your year you imagined and you will experience something amazing” I tell her. I set her up and looked at me.” Promise I will be ok?” she asked. I respond” don’t worry I will keep you in for 30 minutes. You won’t end up like me”. She closes her eyes and music starts. I press the button and she gets into the music. The light starts to flash and she knocks out. I start the timer and wait. I closed my eyes and time went by fast. I hear the alarm and quickly press the button. She wakes up and panicked and calms down quickly.” That….that was amazing! I saw my grandma at a rock concert. She was a wild girl” she yells in excitement. The day ends and Hailey at my front porch smiles at me.” Listen I had the best time of my life today. I want to help. Let me help you” she calmly says. I blush and get very shy.” Really?” I asked. She grabs my hand and sighs” you have created something incredible and people need to experience it. It’s time to prove them wrong”. Hearing what she said broke the rope holding me back. I fully knew that I loved her. Next thing you know I kiss her. She looks shocked and smiles. She kisses me back. She leaves and waves goodbye.

Tuesday- I wake up and start to hear the chit-chat in my room. Five people are in there and one of them is Hailey. I was confused at first until Hailey shouted my name.”Henry sweetie, I have guests that want to try your machine! It’s this band who wants to go viral for their rock music and they wanted to experience and learn some things from past music. They would like to pay you” she said. They stared at me with nervous grins on their faces. It was one girl and three boys.”Hello sir, we are the denim crew and Hailey is my cousin. We believe in the paranormal and I know that if any kind of magic can open a portal for spirits then I know this might work. We will pay 40 for this experience” said the boy in denim. I was excited. Finally able to show this to people. I still had to think of how to get more people. We go downstairs and get set up. The band took turns and all of them were amazed. They asked me if they can help. I said yes.

Wednesday- I ended up having people working with me and I started to make money quickly. I ended up making a group. I made it to either sign up on paper or online. If you signed up online you had to print out your signup application and show it to Hailey. I called it the TTM experience. I had 20 people and decided to purchase my first-ever warehouse. I bought it and scheduled a meeting for everyone who wasn’t an employee and wasn't.”My friends, I am proud to announce I have purchased a warehouse to expand the experience. I have made more chairs and devices so more can have the experience of their lifetime” I said proudly. Everyone cheered and we celebrated our success.

Thursday- I woke up to a knock on the door. They heard about my project.``Henry the drug addict. Your machine only proves how psycho you are. The word is going around town that you changed people's lives with this pathetic project. You're ruining everything for us. We are supposed to change lives. Not crackheads like you. This means we, Stardust Corpse will be suing you. You have been served” says Tabatha. Tabatha used to work with me and she hated me and tried to manipulate me. I remember the times she tried destroying me and I say the most hateful thing to say.``Tabatha, I don’t need any confrontation from you or those ignorant pigs. I have multiple people who experienced my idea and they love it. You have manipulated me for years in the industry. I think I know why you're so jealous. You are jealous because I got the promotion before you did. This situation was probably your idea. So go take your immature, greedy, and selfish self elsewhere” I angrily say. I slam the door and she yells” Oh no we aren’t done yet you punk. Get ready for your worst nightmare”. I look to see the court date and I write it on my calendar.

Friday- Hailey comes over and she notices the stress I’m going through. I show her the papers and she is furious.” Are you serious! Do I have to knock some sense into her?!” she yells. I sit and pout with my head down. That’s when an idea comes up.” Don’t worry about fistfights. What if we expose them? We disguise ourselves as different people. I know how to make a James Bond voice and no one knows. I can act like a journalist and interview them” I shout. She thinks about it and smiles with her head agreeing to my idea.” I know how to do a deep woman's voice and I can be the recorder. I have the outfits for it too” she replies. As we start to plan it out, my mind is figuring out outfits. I didn’t have any outfits for it.” I don’t have any outfits to disguise myself. I need a wig and suits. Cheap ones though because I am not a spoiled brat” I said politely. We went out to many thrift stores and got many suits. I tried them on and they fit perfectly.”Ok, next Monday we go to expose those pigs. This will be perfect” I laugh in an evil voice. She laughs with me.

Monday- We arrive at the facility and ask our way in. We convinced the security perfectly. We got our guest passes and walked in. Thank goodness Hailey was into cosplay because people would have noticed me quickly. My makeup was on point and it didn’t melt for hours. The boss of the facility greets us with a handshake.”Good morning and welcome to Stardust Corpse. I am Stanley Baker, the boss of this company. Pleased to meet you” He smiles at us. We look at each other knowing what to do. He asks” so what are you guys here for?”. I get my deep voice ready and play it out well.” We are interviewers and we are hoping to learn the history of this place” I replied. I lead myself to Tabatha and she has her back faced away from me talking to employees and not working. Hailey grabs her attention and asks” Hello ma’am are you free right now?”. Tabatha awkwardly says yes.” Great! My partner and I would like to interview you on this place and how you came here,” she says. Tabatha smiles and replies” I would love to! My parents would be proud if I was on the paper”. She leads us to her office and starts talking. An hour later we took a break. I go up to her and ask” did you hear about that crazy dude doing that time machine?”.She laughs” oh Henry James? Yeah, I think he's on drugs”. She leans closer and tells me exactly what I wanted to hear. Luckily Hailey was behind me to hear everything. We leave and get into the car. Hailey rushes into the car and we drive off. Thinking about how Tabatha was the one behind the situation about suing me was angering me. She convinced my boss to sign the papers.

Two months later- Finally my court date came and I was ready. Hailey was my witness and we had everything we needed. Most importantly each other. We arrive at the city hall and wait for everything to go down. We get called up. We see Tabatha standing and staring at us with an evil look.” Order in the court!” yells the judge. Everyone quiets down.”So this is about a situation of copyright?”The judge asks. Tabatha replies” Yes sir”. The judge reads the papers and notices I have a witness.” I want to hear from both sides of the story. We have a witness so we will talk to her too. It says here she has evidence” says the judge. Tabatha looks at me then looks at Hailey with a stink eye. “ Tabatha Stewarts start first.” the judge commands. Tabatha clears her throat and starts to speak.” Your honor as you know we ended up firing him due to him slacking a lot. We started to hear around town that his project was going viral. It was the time machine that we were making. He stole the blueprints and stole our creation. The whole facility was betrayed that someone would pull this. I looked more into it and saw his website. That’s how I found out it was him. Thank you so much your honor” she says. I couldn’t believe her. She lied about me. This was my idea and she tried to steal it.” Henry what is your side of the story.” the judge commands. I look up and sigh.” Your honor I came up with the project myself. I tried to share it and they fired me for it. I didn’t let it affect me so I worked on my project at home. People heard and wanted to experience it. I was doing fine until Tabatha came to ruin my life some more. She tried to ruin my projects in the past out of jealousy. If they made the thing then why aren’t people trying it? It would have been announced. Thank you very much for your honor” I said.” Witness please come up” the judge commands. Hailey walks up and sits down.” Hello your honor” she introduces herself as she sits down.” You have witnessed what's been going on?” asks the judge. She nods yes and replies” Yes your honor. She came up to his door insulting him about how crazy he is and how he is on drugs. He is not on drugs. He is smart and full of curiosity and knows how to use it wisely. It hurts that his hard work has to be treated like this” she cries. The judge with a sad tone in his voice replies” I’m sorry that you feel that way”. Tabatha brings up pictures and gives them to her lawyer and looks at me.” These are photos of the papers that he stole. They found it in his bag. They fell out” says Tabatha's lawyer. The judge looks at the photoshopped photos and believes her. Hailey quickly gives her lawyer the recorder. Before the judge decides who's in the wrong. The judge grabbed it and looked at me.” Is this evidence?” he asks. I nod yes and the judge proceeds to play it. It’s a new recorder so there was only one thing on it. The judge hears it and it plays everything. This is what we all heard:

The interview plays……..

The secret:” I hate Henry James. He always did better than me. The boss promoted him before me. He shared his stupid idea and no one believed him. That's how I knew it was over for him. I found out about that project and started to realize he wasn’t fully over so I decided to sue him. My boss agreed and now I will ruin everything for him once I win”.

The judge couldn’t hear anymore and was furious.” You are pathetic for your actions Tabatha Stewarts! We will see who gets justice for this. It’s for sure not you Tabatha you pig” He yells. The jury comes back with their decision and everyone is crossing their fingers. “ Henry I am sorry you had to deal with this so therefore Tabatha Stewart you are guilty of class B misdemeanor. As a result, you will spend 6 months in prison and pay a 1,000 dollar fine. After 6 months you will be on probation and paying restitution. I am very disappointed. I should increase your date but I don’t want to overdo it. If you resist, prepare for an extension of your date” the judge yells.” all rise” yells the bailiff. The judge was so fed up that he didn’t say anything else. Everyone left and I walked to the car with Hailey. I notice my boss staring. He walks over with a guilty look.” Hello Henry, I am sorry that I let her manipulate you like this. I fired you for your idea. Knowing we are a science facility, we are supposed to believe stuff like that. I am hoping maybe you can work with us again” he says sincerely. I look at him with a smirk.”I forgive you but...I don’t want that job anymore. Unless you want to join me instead. Working at that facility for me was hell. I didn’t get the right credit and so I know for sure you don’t get any either. Call me if you make your mind up” I tell him. While getting in the car my old boss looks confused and walks away. We go home and celebrate.

Next year- It’s been a year since I met Hailey and I already have so much that I feel about her. I thought about proposing to her. I met her parents and even asked them for their blessing. I even told my parents. I bought this beautiful pink diamond for her. Hailey was with me at the beginning of my journey and stayed. I started to plan my special gift and had the best idea. I met her at this diner and the diner is known to be romantic. I come into our room and tell her we are going out on Saturday on a date. Her face brightened.” Oh really? Yay I can’t wait!” she yells in excitement.

Saturday- It’s 6:00 pm and I sat waiting for Hailey to finish getting ready. I was nervous. So nervous my feet felt slippery from the sweat draining from my body. Luckily I had a suit jacket on so no one saw the sweat. Hailey comes out and skips her way to me. I grab her hand and we walk out the door to the car. We drive to the diner and arrive just on time. The waitress comes to us with milkshakes and then gives us a menu.”Honey, what is this? You're up to something, aren’t you? This is so sweet” Hailey blushes. I look at her and then smile.” Don’t worry. My surprise isn’t finished yet” I said. She looks at me with a silly face and our food comes. We eat our food and enjoy each other's company. Finally 8:00 pm and it’s time for the big question. I grab her and lead her out of her seat. I grabbed both hands and started to talk.” Hailey, I have many things to say to you. Ever since I met you, I fell in love. You taught me a way to love you. I know that it's been a year with each other but the way I feel I don’t want to let you go. Hailey, will you spend the rest of your life with me?” I cry. She looks shocked at first then smiles.” Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes!” She screams. I put the ring on her finger and she admires it so much. I was so happy. So relieved.

This ends right here. In the future, you will see many things. My wife and I will be back for more. Thank you for learning my story. See you guys later.