The alarm clock rang and showed 6:00 AM on the glowing digits. Thomas swiftly flung his arm out and flipped the switch to silence the electronic chirping. With a sigh he swung his legs out of the bed and sat on the edge rolling his shoulders and neck. He then stood and padded naked to the dresser. His underwear, shorts, socks, and t-shirt were stacked neatly on top.

The house was silent as Thomas descended the stairs and let himself out the back door. He took a few minutes to stretch, then started slowly jogging up the street to get warm before adding speed to a more aggressive jog.

As his feet pounded the pavement he reflected on his life. Or at least the past six weeks of his life. On the morning of Thanksgiving he remembered waking with a severe pain. He was divorced and lived alone so there was no one to notice his distress. Before he could reach for his phone he passed out. The next thing he knew he was transported into the past almost 40 years and he awoke in his mom’s house where he lived through his high school years.

“Good morning, Thomas,” called Mrs. Willow as she collected her newspaper from her porch. “Seems to be a much nicer morning for a run than yesterday. Warmer and no rain.”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied Thomas. “Much nicer.”

“I don’t know why such a young man would need to be out running before daybreak, but God bless and have a good day,” called Mrs. Willow to Thomas’s back as he passed her house.

Thomas waved over his shoulder and kept his pace as he turned south on third street. Mrs. Willow was a widow and he thought she stood at the door waiting to collect her paper as he ran past. He may be the only social contact she has most days. He kept thinking he should go back after school and visit. It would probably make her very happy to have some company.

After being distracted by Mrs. Willow, Thomas returned to his current state. It was the second week of January. Whatever caused him to be sent to the past was not a short-timed detour. He didn’t know when, or even if, he would ever return to his present. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t know if he wanted to return.

Thomas turned left on Pineapple St., which marked the halfway point of his run, and looked at his watch. He was happy to see that he was on track with his current goal. He was happier to feel that he was not winded. He was tempted to push his speed and set a new best time, but instead kept his pace, thinking he would try for a faster time next week.

Daylight started to break over the horizon as Thomas made his final turn and the last ten-block straightaway until he reached his house. He enjoyed the thrill of completing his run, but also lamented the end of his alone time to meditate and think. He again thought about returning to his future. He was debating his answer, if he ever had a say in the matter. His life had fallen apart – divorced, two adult kids that could no longer be coerced into visiting him by their mother, and who oftentimes chose not to visit on holidays, a dead-end job that he hated with a salary only a fraction of what others were making, and a house and car that needed constant repair. Add in a divisive political climate that didn’t seem like it would resolve and Thomas was beginning to prefer the relative calm of being a teen in the 1980s. He had all of his memories from his previous life, so the decade wasn’t quite as idyllic as he remembered from his first time, but the problems seemed less catastrophic and the people less confrontational.

A block from his house Thomas slowed to a walk and took the last few minutes to cool before climbing the stairs to his back door. He saw the light was on the kitchen and knew he would find his mom sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee before catching a ride to her first job of the day.

“Hey, kiddo, have a good run?” asked his mom as he entered.

“Yeah, I don’t feel too winded and I had a great time. I could have set my best if I wanted to push myself a little bit.”

Sandy rose from the table and took her coffee mug to the sink. She was already dressed in her waitress skirt and blouse. She rinsed the cup and turned to see Thomas looking at her as if he wanted to say something.

“Say it,” she commanded.

“Mom, why are you working two jobs? I told you, Mr. Earnest will hire you as a data entry specialist. That salary alone will be more than both of your current jobs. It means you can then go to night school and get a degree and really open up your career opportunities.”

Sandy stared at her son. Thomas returned an even gaze.

“When did you become such an adult?” said Sandy as she shook her head and softly chuckled.

Thomas grinned, then said, “I think it started to hit me that this is my senior year and I need to get my shit together.” It was the first time he cursed in front of his mom in which he didn’t stammer on the dirty word or immediately apologize.

“Get your shit together, huh? I’d say you are well on your way to accomplishing that goal.”

Neither moved for a beat, then Sandy said, “I have tomorrow morning off. I promise I’ll call Mr. Earnest.”

Thomas shook his head. “No need to call. He said just stop by and say hello. Do you have that gray skirt and white blouse you wore to Jimmy’s baptism?”

Sandy nodded.

“Good. I’ll pull it out and make sure it is clean and ironed. I bet he hires you on the spot!”

“I take it back, you have got your shit together. I’m supposed to be the one raising you, but you’re the one helping me.”

Thomas blushed and murmured, “Thanks, it’s no big deal.”

“Give your sister a few minutes, then go wake her up to give you plenty of time for breakfast before going to school.”

“Of course, mom. See you tonight.”

Sandy returned to where Thomas stood and gave him a hug. “Thank you. Love you!” She spun on her heel before he could see the moisture in her eyes and quickly exited the kitchen to head to her job.

Thomas looked in the pantry and fridge for breakfast and found English Muffins and eggs. He put them on the counter and then headed to his sister’s room. He knocked loudly and called out, “Tammy, time to get up and ready for school.”

He did not hear a reply so he knocked again and opened the door a crack. He could see her leg but no movement. He fully opened the door and stepped across the threshold. He saw Tammy spread out on her back on top of the comforter. She was wearing a pair of tight underwear and he could see tufts of pubic hair poking out the top. Her top was a sleeveless t-shirt and along with a good side-boob her nipples were clearly poking through the thin fabric.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” he said in a loud voice. “Get up! You have about forty minutes to shower and get dressed. It’s our first day back to school.”

Without opening her eyes Tammy threw a pillow in Thomas’s direction. He easily avoided being hit.

“Nice try, now come on, get dressed. I’ll have breakfast ready when you’re dressed.”

Thomas shut the door, waited a beat, then knocked again and said, “Thirty-nine minutes.”

He made his way back upstairs to his bedroom, pulling his shirt off as went. At the top of the stairs, he entered the bathroom and dropped his shirt in the hamper, followed by the rest of his clothes before standing over the toilet to relieve himself. He turned on the shower and while the water warmed he went to his bedroom to pick out clothes for the first day of his final semester of high school.

The water was steaming as Thomas stepped into the shower. As he wet his hair he thought of his sister. He was used to seeing her in skimpy clothes this time around, though he didn’t remember, or was clueless, on his first trip through the 80s. As he washed and rinsed his hair, his thoughts caused his dick to swell.

Thomas reached down and started to stroke himself. He wasn’t thinking about his sister now. He thought of the last week of school before Christmas. Denise Hoffman, the Denise Hoffman, hottest girl in the whole school, asked if he could help her with Trigonometry. She was struggling and without doing well on the final she was at risk of getting a “C” in the class – her first ever. He went to her house and diligently helped her for several nights in a row. On the last night of his tutoring, she paid him back by kissing him. He made a move for more, but she wasn’t comfortable with anything more than a make-out session. He ended up leaving with a severe case of blue-balls.

Thomas imagined how the night could have ended as he stroked hard a final time or two. His load erupted across the shower, splattering onto the far wall. He pumped a final time then took the soap and finished his shower. As he cleaned himself he thought about all the girls he lusted after in high school and knew that with his years of experience and knowledge, as well as self-confidence, many would now be within his reach if he wanted to pursue them. But he also knew that they were probably like Denise. Inexperienced, and while likely eager to learn, they would not be lovers that could give him pleasure without instruction. He desired someone like Rachel. The fiery blonde he would know in about three years in college. She could give as good as she could take.

Showered and dressed Thomas headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. The English Muffins popped up in the toaster just as Thomas cracked the eggs into the pan. He buttered each slice, plated them, and timed it perfectly to retrieve the eggs just as they finished. Making the timing even better, Tammy sashayed into the kitchen and took a plate from him as he slid the eggs onto it.

“Thanks, bro. Big man on campus. Your final semester.”

“Yeah, and you know me, I’ll be sure to lord it over all the unsuspecting freshman, thinking they are halfway through the year and they know what they’re doing.” Tammy just rolled her eyes.

They ate and cleaned up, then headed to the car.

“I feel bad that mom leaves us the car in the morning. She has to leave so early to meet Peg to get a ride to work.”

Thomas nodded as he slipped the key into the ignition and started the car. “Yeah, then getting a ride to the school to get the car to get to her night job is out of her way.”

“I saw you looking at the ads in the paper for cars. Are you really going to buy a car?”

Thomas paused. He didn’t think Tammy saw what he was doing but knew that she may have gotten a glimpse of him pouring over the paper’s advertisements.

“But how will you buy a car? Do you have any money?”

Thomas tried to laugh off Tammy’s questions. “Oh, you know, I’ve saved a little, but not nearly enough for a car.”

Tammy looked unsatisfied with his answer but let the topic drop as a bolt of thunder rocked the car and heavy drops of rain started to pelt the windshield.

In reality Thomas had over ten thousand dollars stashed. He arrived in the past after the baseball World Series, and before the NFL Super Bowl, but he remembered two huge upsets that the local college basketball team pulled off that year. He also knew the rumors of a bookie that worked out of a dive bar near the high school. The first bet was a hundred bucks that paid eight-to-one. The second bet is what got him banned from the bar. He collected all the money he could and put a thousand dollars down on a twelve-to-one game. The bookie threatened him and tried to strong arm Thomas out of his money, but Thomas showed more moxie than at any point in his life – past, present, or future.

He hid the cash and figured he could use it for a car. He considered using half of it to invest in what would become the hallmark companies of the internet but wanted a pot bigger than a few thousand dollars.

As they neared the school Thomas said, “Grab your stuff. I’ll drop you off at the door so you won’t have to run through the rain.”

Thomas fell in line with the parents that were dropping their kids off at school. He paused when it was his turn, letting Tammy jump out and scurry to the door. His homeroom teacher saw him but did not wave. Thomas parked and jumped across and through puddles as he made his way into the school building.

The bell rang as Thomas jogged down the hall. A few seconds later he opened his classroom door and slipped inside as Mr. Blane took roll.

“Thomas, you are late. Not a good start to your final semester.”

“Sorry, sir. With the weather it took longer to get to school, and then I had to park at the far end of the lot and run. I won’t be late again.”

Mr. Blane looked up and scowled at Thomas. In his attendance book he marked Thomas down as present and on time. He may have a tough exterior but was a softy at heart.

The morning progressed as had almost every school day since Thomas started high school. When the bell rang signaling the end of fourth period and the start of lunch, Thomas slipped his textbook into his backpack and headed to the cafeteria. Normally he would meet his best friend Matt and they would leave campus for lunch, but the weather had not relented so they chose to eat in the cafeteria.

“Hey, man, it’s the final stretch,” said Matt as he came up from behind Thomas.

“That it is, that it is,” said Thomas as they exchanged an elaborate handshake and hand slap routine.

As they entered the cafeteria they headed for the a la carte counter. Denise and her friends were standing directly in front of them in line. Denise blushed as they approached.

“Ladies,” said Thomas with a smile.

There was a chorus of giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Thomas asked. “Are you not ladies?”

More laughter ensued as they all blushed.

Thomas enjoyed the banter. He assumed Denise told her friends of their tutoring night. He also assumed one or more of her friends may be interested in a similar tutoring session, but he was not going to be the one to initiate any contact. After six weeks of high school make-out sessions he wanted someone older and more experienced.

Thomas and Matt sat with Denise and her friends. Matt didn’t know how his buddy got so friendly with the “in” crowd but was happy to ride his coattails and hang out with the popular girls. After lunch, the guys headed toward their English classes while the girls went the other direction to the gym and physical education.

“Dude, did you really? I mean, rumor is she won’t do anything other than kiss.”

“A gentleman never tells,” laughed Thomas. Before Matt can say anything he adds, “Even to his best mate.”

At the end of the hall, they went separate directions. The second time through high school Thomas elected to take a few advanced classes, including AP English. That left Matt alone in American Lit for his final semester.

Thomas entered the classroom and found a chair at the back of the room. He settled in and took out a notepad and pen. The classroom was full. Of course, he knew everyone, but it was the first time he actually had the same class, other than PE, with most of these classmates.

As the bell rang Mrs. Downey entered the classroom, followed closely by a beautiful brunette woman with perfect skin and the most iridescent green eyes. She wore a sweater that somewhat hid her figure, but her breasts still made ample mounds in the fluffy fabric. A straight calf-length skirt and one-inch heels completed her ensemble.

Being a fifty-something year old man trapped in an eighteen-year-old body meant Thomas could hide his ogling better than the rest of the guys in the room. He scanned the room and laughed to himself. All the guys were transfixed. He bet more than half were probably hard at that moment, too.