Half Past Destiny. The Dragon Savior

Jenna sat on the steps of the old stone church. She leaned up against the steps and traced her finger along with the cement of the stairs. She looked towards the street in front of her. Cars drove on the street and people walked by. The town she lived in was called Pleasant Valley but it wasn't very pleasant for her. She waited on the steps for her foster parents and their children to come out, The Morgs. Today was Jenna's 17th Birthday but it didn't matter. Jenna had been in foster care since she was three. Not all her foster parents were bad.

The Morgs were nice enough people but they weren't her family. They doted on their biological but not her. Birthdays, holidays vacations, she was rarely included. They weren't mean or vile like some of her previous foster parents. She had clean clothes, food and she went to school. They just didn't treat her like family.

Jenna's mother was an alcoholic. Jenna had been placed in care one fateful night when her mother had taken a ride with her drunk. There was a car accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but they took her away when the police came into the apartment and saw their living conditions. She had pleaded with her mother many times to get sober and get help, but it never worked. She had been to multiple rehabilitation centers and therapy but nothing stuck.

She looked away from the traffic and at the great big tree, she sat under next to the steps. The wind blew and she remembered all of her previous foster parents.

Jenna was in a group home from 3 to 5. At 5, she was placed with the Millers until she was 10. The Millers were wonderful. Mrs. Miller couldn't have children of her own. They wanted to adopt Jenna but her mother wouldn't sign off. That made Jenna so incredibly mad. The Millers had no other children. She was like their biological child. She was included in everything. Vacations, holidays, anything family-related. She even had her own room, and she decorated how she wanted. The millers tried for 4 years to get Jenna's mother to change her mind, after that year they were placed with another child. They ended up adopting him and Jenna was placed at the Canters. It had broken her heart that they didn't want to keep her then. That felt like home but they wanted to build a relationship with their son with no other interference which meant Jenna had to go.

She was with the Canters from 10 to 14. They were also nice people but after what happened with the Millers, Jenna didn't allow herself to get close to them. She had to build up a wall so she wouldn't get hurt again. When Jenna was 14, Mrs. Canter had gotten sick. She had stage 4 breast cancer and she passed away. So she was placed with the Morgs.

The church doors opened and out walked The Morgs. Evelyn ( Mrs. Morg) was talking to the pastor. "Oh yes, of course. I would love to help organize the bake sale for the fundraiser. We can make it so much fun." She smiled as she spoke and touched the pastor's arm. Jenna rolled her eyes. Out here in public, they looked like the perfect family but at home, they were anything but. Mr. Morg (Mark) smiled and nodded in agreement. Out stepped their two children. Max and Melanie. Max and Melanie were 10 years old and twins. They were annoying but they weren't terrible.

Mrs. Morg looked down at Jenna " Come along dear. Let's go home and celebrate your birthday." Jenna smiled up at her and got up, playing the picture of the perfect family. They got to their dodge journey SUV and everyone climbed in.

Mr. Morgs hands were on the steering wheel, his knuckles were white with anger. Jenna knew it was coming. She passed the twins their tablets and headphones. " How about you guys watch something on youtube while we drive home?" she said smiling. The twins took the tablets and headphones and zoned out. Jenna braced herself.

Mr. Morg looked at his wife. She was sitting in the passenger seat, playing on her phone. " WHY Evelyn?! Why would you even agree to help right now? You know everything is wrong right now. In our marriage, in our relationship? Why are you trying to ruin my life further?!"

Mrs. Morg had an affair. On the outside, yes, they were the perfect family. Pillars of the community. They helped with local charities, helped the homeless, and even fostered children. They had a perfect reputation. Mr. Morg was running for city council and his wife's adultery could never be known. There couldn't be a scandal now.

Evelyn looked at him with disdain on her face. "Well maybe if you would put your family first! ME FIRST, I wouldn't have been lonely. I would have stayed within our marriage. You don't even try, Mark. All you care about is your career!! I can't take it anymore. When the election is over, I want a divorce." She scream.

The car pulled into the driveway and Evelyn got out, slamming the door. Mr. Morg sighed. He turned and looked at Jenna, looking out the window pretending she hadn't heard any of that. Mark spoke, " remember, your life is good here. Do not tell anyone any of this. It would suck if we suddenly had to tell her social worker you couldn't live here anymore." Jenna nodded. She already knew about all of it. He was right. Her life wasn't bad here. They weren't her family but she was content. They lived in a huge house. Almost a mansion. She had her own room and there was a pool. She had 1 more year until she aged out of the system. She could make it.

Jenna tapped the twins and motioned for them to go inside. They all climbed out of the car and walked inside the house. Jenna walked up to her room and closed the door.

She could keep their secrets. It's not like she had ever had control over her life anyway. She had been moved from a different home to a different home so many times. She really just wanted to control her own destiny.

Jenna fell on her bed backward, sighing as she landed. "Ugh," She thought. she heard yelling coming from the outside of her bedroom door. Evelyn and Mark were still at it. " I'm getting the house you bafoon! You can sleep in your office," scream Evelyn. You could hear the stomping by her bedroom door. " Maybe I will!" replied Mark. Jenna rolled her eyes. This had been going on since Mark had found out about the affair. Jenna had known for months that something was up with Evelyn.

She had a perk In her step, she was happy and laughing her attitude improved like she was when she first had moved in. As time went on, Evelyn had lost her spark, her shine. She was down and depressed. Jenna could see the change in her attitude when the affair started, she had gotten it back again.

Jenna sighed and put in some earbuds. This is not how she wanted to spend her birthday. She hit shuffle on her playlist and tried to relax. Tomorrow was visitation with her mother. She had asked for it to be on her birthday this time but the Morgs denied that wish because of church. They needed her there for their picture-perfect.

Daylight slowly became night and there was a knock on her door, It was Melanie. " come in" said Jenna. Melanie opened the door and peered inside. My mom just left and dad ordered pizza. He asked that you come down". Jenna nodded. " ill be right there. Thank you, Melanie. " Melanie smiled and closed the door. The twins sure could be annoying but they were sweet too. If she had allowed herself to get close to them, maybe they would feel like an actual brother and sister but she had learned her lesson and vowed to herself never again.

"She hopped up off her bed and stretched. She put her phone in her back pocket and walked to her bedroom door, opening it and walking out. She headed down the stairs and walked into the dining room. There was a single cupcake and a card on the counter. Jenna looked up at Melanie and Max and they both had the biggest grins. " Happy birthday!" They said together. Jenna smiled. She was happy someone remembered her Birthday. Mark walked into the kitchen and handed all of them a plate of pizza. " Happy birthday, Jenna." He said. Jenna smiled. " Thank you" she replied. The 4 of them sat at the table together. Talking about church and what the pastor had said. Jenna could tell Mark was sad but he didn't let that lead on to the twins, Jenna knew that they had probably heard the yelling but Mark and Evelyn were trying to keep their falling apart lives from their children.

After dinner, Jenna cleaned up the plates and ran the dishwasher. The twins and their dad sat in the living room watching a movie. A movie about a human finding a vampire castle and falling in love with Dracula's daughter. Jenna laughed as she walked back up to her room. " How silly," she thought. Vampires and supernaturals weren't real. There were no zombies or bloodsuckers in the real world. She opened her bedroom door and went to get her pajamas out of her drawer. She slipped them on and then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth to get ready for bed. Afterward, she lay in her bed and opened up her book. She was reading a novel about living in the 1500s. A palace made of stone, a prince, and a banned relationship was involved. She licked her lips as she read the part about the prince. He was tall dark and handsome and of course, charming.

There was a knock on her door. Mark peaked his head in " Don't forget, Jenna. Tomorrow you told the twins you would take them to the history museum." Jenna nodded. It was summer vacation. The Morgs also viewed her as a babysitter and since she liked the Twins, she didn't mind as much. Most of her friends were on vacation with their families anyway. " Goodnight," Mark said. " Night" Replied Jenna. She continued reading into the night and fell asleep with the book on her chest.

Her alarm started going off at 8 am. She got up and walked to Melanie's bedroom first. She knocked and then opened the door slowly. Melanie was still sleeping, "wakey, sleepyhead." Said Jenna. Melanie groaned and rolled over. " we're going to the museum today, remember?" asked Jenna. Melanie sat up quickly in bed. " YAY. I'm so excited." She exclaimed. Jenna laughed." Good. Come down for breakfast so we can all get ready." Melanie nodded.

Jenna went to Max's room next. She could hear him inside playing video games. She knocked louder so he would hear her. She peaked her head into his room . " come on and get ready for breakfast. We're going to the museum today" she told him. " Okay," said Max. "I'll be down in a minute." Jenna nodded and closed his door. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen and got out the ingredients for pancakes. She had all the plates ready when the twins came down. Mark walked into the kitchen. " Looks good, Jenna. I gotta run. I'll see you guys tonight." Jenna nodded. " Bye," They all said. Jenna looked around. Evelyn must not have come home, Jenna sighed.

" Alright guys, I'm going to take a quick shower and we can go." The twins nodded and she ran upstairs. She took a shower and put on her favorite pair of jeans with her favorite black shirt. She then French breaded her hair and did a little makeup. She was back downstairs in 30 minutes and everyone was ready to go. She grabbed the keys to the Honda Civic and they all climbed in. " You guys ready for an adventure?" The twins nodded with excitement. "Good." Said Jenna. She started the car and they drove to the museum.

The car pulled up to the old stone building. The building was magnificent. Old but well taken care of. The old stones lined the building and there were two dragon statues out front. The children gasped when they saw it. They had lived in this town their entire lives but had never been to the museum. Their parents were always too busy. Jenna had only been here once on a school field trip in the second grade but that was just a distant memory now.

Jenna parked the car and they all got out. Melanie gleamed with excitement. " this is so cool! I hope the inside is just as cool. " Jenna laughed and smiled. "I haven't been here since I was young but I remember it being pretty fantastic. " Max had brought his handheld game with him. Jenna walked over and took the game and put it in her pocket. " okay you two. Time for rules." Both twins rolled their eyes. " Jenna we are 10 now. We're practically adults. We don't even need a babysitter. " said Max. Jenna laughed. " you two are super impressive kids. I'll give you that but there are going to be a lot of people here today and it's my responsibility to keep you safe." She said, eyeing them both. The twins groaned but listened. " you two are to stay together, with me at all times. There will be much to see. They even have vendors out front and a few special new attractions inside. The museum is celebrating its 500-year anniversary. It's going to be packed. Now if we do get separated, I want you to find the front of the building and wait by the doors. I'll find you." They both rolled their eyes but agreed.

These two children had no idea what the real world was like and Jenna felt a little annoyed they didn't understand the importance of an adult looking out for them. Jenna had wished so many times for that alone. She had to grow up more quickly than other children her age. She was pretty much on her own with some occasional guidance.

They walked to the front entrance. Pebble stones lined its path. Jenna smiled at Max and Melanie when they saw the dragon statues. She told them to stand next to them so she could take a picture. They took silly pictures before they headed inside.

Inside, the floors were marble and the stone was still present on the walls. The museum was massive and beautiful inside. It was almost like a castle. They waited in line as they took in all of its glory. " wow" said Melanie. " look. This was a castle. It belonged to the king and queen, Richard and Angela. " she pointed to the plaque she had read that from. Jenna nodded. " that is pretty cool." She said looking at it. " I know that the town here is old but it's weird to think of that long ago. Can you guys imagine having a queen and king now? Everything is so manicured and well taken care of now in this town. The castle doesn't match." Melanie laughed. "I bet the whole town looked so much different 500 years ago." Jenna nodded. "I bet it did." Max nudged Jenna "it's our turn to pay." He pointed to the line. They quickly moved up to the window. " hi, how can I help you? " asked the ticketer. " we need 3 tickets. " Jenna smiled. " of course. Here you go. And today don't forget we are celebrating 500 years. There's a special exhibit with different clocks and photos." Jenna took their tickets " thank you. We'll check that out."

They walked through into the main area and grabbed a map. There were so many different rooms with different exhibits. Max looked at the map "let's go to the exhibit on the town first. I know we learn different things in school, but id like to see what they have. " Jenna nodded " okay, then Melanie gets the next pick " Max agreed.

They followed the map until they found the room. It was massive. There were old horse-drawn carriages, pictures of the town, and what people would have worn 500 years ago. Jenna studied the pictures. She found a picture of the church they were just at yesterday. It looked the same but everything else was different. The town was still beautiful but a 500-year-old way. People walked the streets, there were horse-drawn carriages on the main street. It was surreal.

Melanie called over Jenna " look at this picture. This girl looks a lot like you." Jenna looked and Melanie was right. They could be twins. " that's so strange," said Jenna. Max nodded " you have a doppelganger " they all laughed. "I guess I do. One from 500 years ago ." She shrugged.

Melanie smirked, " well it's my turn now. I want to see the clock exhibit that the guy at the front mentioned. " Jenna nodded. " okay. Let's head that way. " they followed the map until they got to another room.

So many different clocks lined in this room, watches, clocks on walls, and grandfather clocks. All different. " wow .this is cool." Said Max. The three of them walked around the room observing the different clocks. A man approached them. " are you enjoying your day at the museum ?" He asked. Jenna nodded. " we are. Thank you."

"You know the grandfather clock you are standing in front of now has a legend behind it. " Jenna looked at the old clock. It was larger than the others in the room and was made of almost a black-colored wood. " it does?" she asked. " yes. This clock was rumored to change your destiny. " he smiled. Jenna looked at the clock " but how would a clock even do that?" The man smiled almost magically " it was rumored to be a time machine. " he grinned. Melanie and Max were both captivated by this. " wouldn't that be so cool to travel back in time?" Asked Max. Melanie nodded in agreement. " it would be amazing " she said excitedly.

Jenna smiled at the two children. She knew that this was make-believe but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. She could have a new destiny. One that she could mold. So much was out of her control. Her mother, her housing situation, and where she was placed. Even next year when she aged out of the system, she'd be on her own.

She sighed as the two children marveled at the clock. " well thank you so much for telling us that." She smiled at the man. " no problem." He said as he winked at her.

Jenna rolled her eyes " what a creep." She said under her breathe

" Alright, max. Your turn again." Max pointed to the map to a new exhibit and off they went but she couldn't help thinking about the time travel clock