At Westgrove High, three names flocked together in the loudest din as the school bell would have done-Nate, Leo, and Eli. Not being trouble-makers or jokers, but simply being different.
Scientific difference. Weird difference.
Different enough for teachers not to find words to describe them, while classmates would bitterly admire or completely avoid them. Some would say: "These guys are too serious." Others would call them mad geniuses. But everyone knew that whenever these three got together, something would happen!
Nathaniel Quinn was the quiet one, so twisted by the mathletics of his thoughts that the science club audibly called him Hawking. Gazing with clear eyes where an ocean of stars engaged his mind, one had the immediate feeling that he was at least two conversations ahead. Not that he was a fast runner or particularly loud, but put a physics equation or cosmic theory on the table and just watch how the guy lights up. In class, even his ideas made teachers stop in their tracks.
Leo Santino Valez, better known to all as Vinci: hands-on brilliance; he too sat doodling in the math notebooks. Creating strange contraptions from spare parts in the robotics lab. Painting, sculpting, and carving a soap bust of the principal that looked better than the real guy. You'll never forget that one.
Then came Elias Grant, adroitly etching himself into school value as 'Einstein' while demolishing some mathematical conundrums with a sandwich in one hand. Eli was charming, confident and most importantly- funny. All it took was a small chit-chat and a few scratches on a whiteboard to stave off some chaos.
They were not simply-their schoolmates. They were best friends, three-way capacitor of one triangle.
At break times, while others were busy playing or scrolling through their phones, the three could be found under the enormous baobab tree next to the science block engrossed in discussions about black holes, alternate dimensions, whether time was really an illusion, or why toast always lands on the butter side. They were nerds-the cool kind. Even sometimes with seniors strolling in to listen.
One sweltering Wednesday afternoon, after breezing through a chemistry test, the three had congregated under their usual tree with the heat shimmering about.
"I'm bored," said Leo, throwing a pebble at an ant trail. "We keep talking about space and the universe. We should do something real."
"Real, like what?" Eli asked, leaning back, stretching. "Build a rocket? Hack into NASA? Steal the moon?"
Nate laughed. "No. I mean--what if we tried manipulating time?"
Eli blinked. "You mean like...time travel?"
Leo perked up. "Now that's a conversation!"
Nate nodded. "We always talk about space. But time: it's literally the fourth dimension. I've been reading about timelines. Maybe-just maybe-we could create one."
Eli lifted one eyebrow. "C-Creating a timeline? Like overriding time itself? That is-whoa. I hope your brain isn't overheating casually."
Nate said, dead serious. "But what if time is not just what we move through but what we might actually be able to shape?"
Leo laughed. "Like a sculpture? I'll make the most beautiful timeline, all curves, gears, and golden lines of memory."
Nate grinned. "Now we're not talking about art, Vinci. We're talking about locking a moment for eternity."
Eli propped his chin on the table, half-interested. "But if we mess with time... we mess with everything. Cause and effect. Reality. That is not just physics; that's bending the universe."
Nate leaned in close, his voice low. "But what if we found a loophole? A way that the universe would never notice?"
And so, silence reigned. It was no longer just a joke.
"I would need the tools," Leo said, staring blankly into the sky. "Sketches, wires, some kind of stabilizer..."
"You'd need equations," Eli said. "To calculate when we land and where."
Nate said, "And I'd need logic about how the different timelines might overlap with us."
They rang the school bell, and nobody stirred.
"How about... We should actually go for it?" said Leo.
The sparkle in Nate's eyes answered, "Then we begin by asking the right question."
Eli swiveled sideways, intrigued. "And what's that?"
Nate leaned in close and lowered his voice, almost as if he was sharing secrets with the stars in the sky:
"What if we could build a timeline?"