January 2, 1960
When Nova landed in a brightly light alley alone she knew that they had messed up again. She didn't know where she was or where the others were and most importantly she didn't know when she was. Unlike the others, this girl had been trained for situations like this. She knew that she couldn't draw attention to herself so also unlike the others she didn't call out for anybody.
The first thing the girl did was shove her Umbrella Academy blazer deep into a dumpster. She didn't want to risk anyone seeing it. Depending on what time she landed in that could bring a lot of attention to her. Nova knew she needed to proceed with great caution.
Nova swiftly left the alley with her head angled at the sidewalk so as not to get people to notice her. Her first priority was to find something to tell her when she was. Whether it was a newspaper, a television, or a radio.
Based on her surroundings she guessed that she was somewhere in the mid-twentieth century. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw the poster for the movie The Unforgiven. The date of release was January 1, 1960. Unease settled in the girl's stomach. She knew that she would be in a world of trouble if she landed alone in 1960.
The girl felt even sicker when she found a copy of The Dallas Tribune. The headline showcased Senator John F. Kennedy had announced his campaign for the presidency. The date said January 2, 1960. Nova felt like she was going to throw up. She had landed in the South at the cusp of the civil rights movement. Most people don't know this but in Texas especially the segregation laws didn't just apply to African-Americans but also the Mexicans who managed to gain access to the country.
As she wandered the streets deep in thought night began to fall. Nova had nowhere to go, no money, and no food. She was screwed.
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August 17, 1960
Six months, Nova had been stuck in 1960 for six months. The girl had been arrested after she defended herself against multiple drunk guys who were trying to mess with her. She ended up in juvie for three months and she had recently escaped.
As of right now she was hiding from the law and stealing from small stores for food and supplies. The good thing about 1960 was that most stores were low security so it was easy to steal. The bad thing was that Nova was only allowed in certain stores. But honestly, that didn't stop her.
She had been living in alleyways and under bridges since. The streets were a dangerous place for a young girl. Most nights she didn't get much sleep. Nova was always watching her back. She had to watch out for other homeless people who would try to steal her stuff, she had to watch out for all the racists who liked to pick a fight with her because she was small and seemingly weak. But most importantly she had to watch out for the drunk men who liked to get handsy. The men in this time for the most part didn't respect women and everybody turned a blind eye when one of those men cornered a young girl in an alley.
Nova had almost fallen asleep alone under one of the various bridges when she caught someone trying to steal the can of peaches she stole from a supermarket earlier that day. As quick as lightning Nova used her training to catch the person by surprise and pin them underneath her. She didn't weigh much so she made sure to jab her knees into the person's ribs. As an extra precaution, she also put her knife to the person's throat.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't need the food!" The person exclaimed in fear. When Nova looked down she realized that underneath her was a boy her age.
"What the hell are you doing here? A kid shouldn't be living on the street." Nova said as she let the boy go.
"I could say the same thing about you." The boy said as he winced while rubbing his ribs.
"Fair point." Nova nodded as she put her knife in her bag. "What's your name?"
"Ronnie." The boy responded as he glanced at the can of peaches. Nova just rolled her eyes and used her knife to open the can. She was feeling a bit generous since this was the first person she had talked to in months.
"No last name, Ronnie?" Nova asked and the boy shook his head.
"I've been in and out of too many foster homes for any last name to really stick." The boy shrugged and Nova offered him some peaches. "What about you? What's your story?"
"My name is Gen. No last name either. My dad was never in the picture and my mom died when I was young." Nova said. It wasn't exactly a lie because she doesn't have a biological father and her mom did die when she was ten. Plus her name is GEN-ova. So technically her name wasn't a lie either.
"Seems like we're both on our own," Ronnie said, and the girl nodded as he handed back the can of peaches. "We should stick together."
"Sure, why not. I can teach you how to steal. Your technique is terrible." Nova joked. There was something about this kid sitting next to her. He kind of reminded her of Ben before he died.
"As long as it gets me food and keeps me out of juvie I'm fine with it." Ronnie shrugged with a chuckle. Sitting next to this stranger and laughing like they had known each other their whole lives Nova couldn't help but feel like things were starting to look up for her.
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A/N
QOTC: What holiday do you celebrate this time of year?
I celebrate Christmas, but I'm not a huge fan of how commercialized the holiday has become. Plus this year I didn't get to see extended family. The good thing though was I got snow where I am so that was nice and my dad made really good steak for dinner.
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Nova's Spotify Playlist: Nova Perez's Epic Time Travel Jams
First Published: 12/26/2020
Edited: 07/25/2023
Chapter Word Count: 1,060
Book Word Count: 42,531
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Shadows & Mirrors // f.hargreeves fanfic
Fanfiction[Formerly titled: The Angel of Death] : : : Genova Perez was never your average girl. She was born on the twelfth hour of October 1, 1989. This was unusual because her mother hadn't been pregnant when the day started. Along with the unusual circumst...
