Dimension Surfing with {Joey Rosedale}

(1987. Portland, Oregon.)

“Dimensional travel.” Joey turned the words over in his 12-year-old mouth.

In front of Joey was a girl that could have been his twin. They wore that rainbow of neon used exclusively in the early 1990s and late 1980s. His look was a Hawaiian shirt, a t-shirt with Mt. St. Helens underneath, and khaki shorts.

“Yes. Dimensional travel makes you hungry.” The girl walked toward the kitchen and Joey walked closely behind her. The girl, who introduced herself as Jay, asked, “Whatcha got to eat around here?”

Joey looked at Jay. She wore jellies shoes, a neon polkadot jumper skirt, sticker earrings, and plastic glitter bangles. He thought of how his mom would likely have dressed him in the same way, possibly with a Get Along Gang keychain hanging off a belt loop like hers was.

“Dude, you’re not making sense,” Joey demanded.

Jay looked up from the fridge after having removed a cake Joey’s mother had made for a party the previous week.

“Yes I am. You just need a little prep work to make it all fit.” Jay asked for a fork and Joey wordlessly passed her one. “Thanks! So, anyway, you gotta find a passage point first, and then you need a transition device to getcha from here to there. You lose the time in the other dimension and gain time in the new dimension, so time won’t freeze and people will sometimes notice when you go missing. You are the 17th ‘Boy Me’ that I have met.”

Joey’s jaw dropped. “And… Girls?”

“15. It’s a coin toss.”

“Wait,” Joey said. “Your name is Jay though.”

“Keep up. Jay, short for Joey Rosedale.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You’re not real,” said Joey.

Jay pinched Joey’s cheek, and was rewarded with a yelp.

“Did that hurt?” She asked.

“Yes,” Joey admitted, rubbing his reddened face.

“I’m real,” Jay said, “And you are not dreaming.”

“Huh” Joey sat down in the kitchen, processing.

After a brief moment, Joey began to pepper Jay with logistical questions and travel instructions, which she fielded gamely. Once he had a clear understanding of what it entailed—a slightly convoluted tesseract system—he asked the biggest question on his mind:

“Can I go too?”

Jay cracked a wide grin. “I knew you’d be the one. I knew it the second we met. Come with me, Joey Rosedale, and we’ll explore our infinite possibilities one world at a time.”

Joey hesitated. “Can you get us back by dinner?”

Jay nodded. “Easy Peasy.”

A grin started to spread on Joey’s face. Jay’s optimism was contagious. He wanted to be part of the world as she saw things. “Yes. Yes! Let’s do this!”

Jay smiled. “Okay!” She took a bangle off her wrist. It was plastic, sparkly, and clear blue. She walked up the stairs and straight into Joey’s room. Leaving the bangle behind on the dresser, she turned back to Joey. “This should anchor us here as a waypoint to get you back home.”

Jay was obviously stoked to get a traveling companion.

“Now remember, any doorway will do to get you home, but stick with me the first few times we do this, I don’t want us to get separated or lost. Are we ready?”

Joey took a deep breath. “Ready.”

Jay firmly took Joey by the hand, and strode with purpose towards the door.

With a blink and a flash, the only evidence left of their departure was the blue bangle now sitting on the dresser alone.