Episode 6: Ordinary Lives

ALEXA:
Just, uh, thinking about that report due Thursday. 

BENI:
Ugh. I haven't even started. I think my best ideas come to me last minute.

JAIDEN:
Ben-ji-mi-ah.

BENI:
My name is Benito.

THAD:
Weirdito?

JANELLY:
Hey, Beni. So...I think we said we'd try to finish level nine tonight?

SONIA:
Hi, Lex. I’ll send you a recording of the song. If you have time, let me know what you think?

ALEXA:
"She will change everything." It's Maria. Hurricane Maria will change everything.

BETINA:
Newark Public Library North End Branch. This is Betina. People are congregating here. Some brought donations. Others want to know if we've got any news.

CLARA:
We need to plan how we're going to deal with the community response to the hurricane.

BENI:
That's him there. Peña y Ruiz. Look! The paper is still there in his front pocket.

ALEXA:
Celestina's plea. Get it, Beni!

HORACIO:
You completed the quest in just under eight hours. You'll be back for your next quest before you —

MUSIC: THEME SONG - "IN THE TIMESTORM"

Witness. Find. Remember.
The hidden past seeks its dawn, showing us that we all belong.
Horacio, Alexa, and Beni take back time, find history in the timestorm.
Witness. Find. Remember.

2017. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. THE VENTURA HOME. BENI’S ROOM.

BENI and ALEXA laugh as they land. CLARA knocks on the door.

CLARA:
(in the hallway) Beni? Have you seen your sister?

CLARA opens the door.

CLARA:
Alexa?

ALEXA:
Hey, Ma. Beni just told me the funniest story.

CLARA:
Oh, si? You wait until the last minute to write your report, and then you decide it's comedy hour? Benito Ventura, get your butt in front of the computer.

BENI’S stomach growls.

CLARA:
Was that your stomach?

BENI:
I'm so hungry.

ALEXA:
Yeah, I’m starving, too.

CLARA:
Okay. Fifteen minutes ago you two were in a rush to finish eating. And now that I’ve packed everything away in the Tupperwares, you act like I’m not feeding you.

BENI and ALEXA each kiss their mother.

BENI:
Your food is the best.

ALEXA:
So much better than bread.

ALEXA and BENI walks past CLARA into the hall.

CLARA:
Pero, I don't understand these children.

2017. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. THE VENTURA HOME.

MUSIC: “HOME” TRANSITION.

CLARA:
How’s it coming along, Beni?

BENI jolts up in the office chair.

BENI:
Huh?

CLARA:
Were you sleeping?

BENI:
Just resting a minute. I’m pretty tired. 

CLARA:
It’s seven o’clock.

BENI snores.

CLARA:
Benito.

BENI:
Sorry. 

CLARA:
Honestly, with everything that’s been happening, I’m exhausted, too. But we can’t let this hurricane completely disrupt our lives. We all have to make sure we’re getting our sleep. How about this? I'll set an early alarm and you can finish the report before you leave for school. Okay?

BENI:
Thanks, Ma.

2017. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. RAFAEL HERNÁNDEZ SCHOOL. 

MUSIC: "BELL, LOCKER...CLASS!" TRANSITION.

BENI:
I'm serious, Janelly. I don't know what I'm going to say to Ms. Thompson. 

JANELLY:
So, why didn't you finish the report again?

BENI:
I thought my best ideas would come to me last night. But I kept falling asleep.

JANELLY:
Guess that's why you never called back?

BENI:
Called back? Oh, man. We were supposed to beat that level in Ancient Americas. I totally forgot, Janelly. I’m sorry. We've got a lot going on right now.

JANELLY:
I hear you. The hurricane, right?

BENI:
We haven't heard from our grandparents yet.

JANELLY:
We can't reach our cousins.

BENI:
Epic stuff.

JANELLY:
Seriously. Like Magneto ripping out Wolverine's adamantium epic.

BENI:
Yeah. Like destroying the Death Star epic.

JANELLY:
Interdimensional travel epic.

BENI:
(nervous laughter) Hey, Alexa! There you are!

ALEXA:
I checked the stairwell, tore apart my bag, even looked by the school entrance.

JANELLY:
No report?

ALEXA:
I bet I left it in my room under that blanket I've been knitting. Ma's going to kill me.

JANELLY:
What about the portal?

FLASHBACK:

HORACIO:
Inter-dimensional portal.

FLASHBACK END.

ALEXA / BENI:
What?

JANELLY:
Didn't you upload the report onto the homework portal?

ALEXA:
Of course. I'll print it out again in the library.

THAD:
Look who it is, Jaiden.

JAIDEN:
Weirdito and crew.

STUDENT:
Thad, what's in there?

A STUDENT yanks THAD’s backpack.

THAD:
Hey! Hands off my stuff!

THAD trips and falls. Change flies from his bag.

STUDENT:
No way.

BENI:
Um, I think you dropped something.

Several kids laugh.

THAD:
Shut up!

JAIDEN:
What's with all the change, Thad?

THAD:
Never mind, okay?

JANELLY:
Um, Thad, you probably don't want to lose these bills.

BENI:
Maybe you should get a wallet.

STUDENT:
And a change purse!

Several kids laugh. THAD scrambles to pick up the change.

THAD:
Stop it! Stop laughing.

STUDENT:
Look at him. He's over there, trying to pick up nickels.

JAIDEN:
Yo, I’m out of here.

STUDENT:
Whoa-ha-ha. Wow.

JAIDEN runs off.

THAD:
Great. Thanks a lot, Jaiden.

SONIA:
(singing) I don't know what you— (to THAD) Whoa, Thad. You looked stressed. 

THAD storms off.

SONIA:
Morning, my lovelies.

ALEXA | BENI | JANELLY:
Hi, Sonia. | Hey. | Morning.

SONIA:
Whoa, Lex. Um. Excuse us.

SONIA grabs ALEXA’s arm.

ALEXA:
Ow. Hey, watch the sleeve.

SONIA flings the girl’s bathroom door open.

ALEXA:
What is it?

SONIA:
I'm going to let go of the fact that you didn't text me back…which, I'm guessing, means you didn't listen to my song.

ALEXA:
Sorry. I—

SONIA:
Don't worry. I ended up reworking the whole thing after sending you that file. Right now, we've got an emergency situation happening.

ALEXA:
Emergency?

SONIA rummages through her purse.

SONIA:
Lex, I know your mom doesn't let you wear makeup, but she can make an exception about a tiny bit of concealer because you are rocking serious bags under those eyes.

SONIA opens a tube of concealer.

ALEXA:
Yo. Get that concealer out of my face.

SONIA:
Just a few dabs.

ALEXA:
That's not even my color and my mom would definitely notice. Besides, I don't think that bags under my eyes counts as an emergency.

SONIA:
Fine. No concealer. But tonight you should put teabags over your eyes.

ALEXA:
Sonia. 

SONIA:
For the puffiness.

ALEXA:
I'm sorry that I didn't listen to your song. 

SONIA:
You can listen while you're knitting.

ALEXA:
I was doing some stuff for...family.

SONIA:
Oh, wait...you guys still have grandparents down in PR, right?

ALEXA:
Yeah. A bunch of family, actually.

SONIA:
Mom's really upset and she doesn't even have relatives down there anymore. On the news, they showed the town where she was born. I didn't even recognize it.

ALEXA:
I forgot that you've been down there.

SONIA:
It was years ago. But I still remember.

ALEXA:
We went last summer. You're right. It looks completely different on the news. 

A bell rings.

SONIA:
Oh no. Two minutes to haul it over to the other side of the building.

SONIA opens the door to the bathroom.

ALEXA:
Blame the bags under my eyes.

SONIA:
You're so funny.

2017. NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY NORTH END BRANCH.

MUSIC: “LIBRARY” TRANSITION.
CLARA moves cardboard boxes.

BETINA:
Clara? Are you in here somewhere?

CLARA:
Yeah, behind the pile of Pampers boxes.

CLARA lifts a cardboard box.

BETINA:
Oh, hey. I just put up more “Section Closed” signs and roped off the area. 

CLARA:
We’ll have to find more room for these donations.

BETINA:
How about upstairs?

CLARA:
We’ve got so much scheduled for the community room.

BETINA:
I know. But we can’t remove any more tables. Or block shelves or computers.

LENA:
Hola. Hello. Yo traje unas baterías y también traje unas...ay, como se dice...tarps.

CLARA:
Si, si. Las llevaré.

LENA:
Mira. Aqui, Jose Luis!

JOSE LUIS shuffles.

JOSE LUIS:
Yo, these D batteries are heavy.

CLARA:
Especially when you’re carrying that many. They must weigh more than you. Mira, right around here.

JOSE LUIS sets the tarps and batteries down.

BETINA:
It’s nice to see you helping your mom.

JOSE LUIS:
She can’t be carrying around those batteries.

CLARA:
Muchas gracias, señora.

LENA:
Ay, mamita. Ni lo menciones. Esa es mi gente.

JOSE LUIS:
Looks like you’re running out of room. 

BETINA:
I don’t know. Maybe we should tell people to bring their donations to the main branch.

JOSE LUIS:
See now...you wouldn’t find us dragging this stuff all the way over there. Ma doesn't even go downtown since her foot surgery, and my lunch break's the only time I can help her. Anyway, you gotta have a drop-off right in the neighborhood.

CLARA:
You’re right.

LENA:
Ay, pero mi’ja, tu te ves bien cansada.

CLARA:
Si, pues. I am exhausted.

Toddlers run toward the donations.

BETINA:
Clara! Toddlers from the reading hour are in the maze of donations. (to toddler) No, don’t climb on the Similac!

FIRE MARSHAL:
Excuse me, Ms. Ventura?

CLARA:
Hi. Dropping off donations?

FIRE MARSHAL:
Not quite. I'm the fire marshal. I'm here to conduct an inspection.

2017. A DIGITAL SPACE.

A cell phone beeps.

MS. THOMPSON:
(via phone) Hi, Mrs. Ventura. It’s Ms. Thompson, Alexa and Beni’s social studies teacher. The twins seemed...a little off today. Beni didn't have his report and...both of them fell asleep in class. Now, I know a lot of my students are waiting to hear from family down in Puerto Rico. If that's the case with the twins, it's certainly understandable. I'm happy to give Beni an extension, but if I don't have his report by Monday, I'm afraid it'll affect his grade. And listen, I'll be devoting all of tomorrow to a discussion about Hurricane Maria. Maybe it’ll help some students process the situation. I just hope everything's okay, you know? Have a good day.

2017. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. THE VENTURA HOME. OFFICE.

MUSIC: “HOME” TRANSITION.
BENI types.

BENI:
During the cold, harsh winter in Jockey Hollow in Morris County—

ALEXA:
Hey, Beni. Oh. Sorry. You're doing your project.

BENI:
Please, interrupt me.

ALEXA:
Even after the way Ma laid into you when she got home from work?

BENI:
Why'd Ms. Thompson have to go and call her like that?

ALEXA:
And why'd she have to tell her that I fell asleep in class?

ALEXA flips through Take Back Time.

BENI:
Don't let Ma see that. She said no comic books until I'm done with the report.

ALEXA:
Really quick, do you know why L. J. Ortega never published anything besides Take Back Time?

BENI:
There's a theory that she did. Only it was under a different name.

ALEXA:
Where'd you hear that?

BENI:
It's ComicKidsOrbit.com.

BENI types, and scrolls.

BENI:
Wait a minute: there's a new post. (reading) Secret audio of the elusive L. J. Ortega!

ALEXA:
Wait. What?

BENI:
(reading) Greetings Take Back Time fans, I found a short clip of audio with the voice of the mysterious L. J. Ortega. I can't say where I got this, but the original cassette tape was definitely real. It was transferred to this MP3 file. Link can no longer be found!

ALEXA:
Hey. There's an update from the person who posted the link.

BENI:
(reading) A moderator said I can't post an audio file if I don't say where it came from. Here's a password-protected page instead. For the audio: figure out the password with this clue.

CLARA enters the room.

CLARA:
What's going on? Benito, I said no comic books until you're done….pero, qué es esto? You're not even working on the assignment? You're supposed to ask me before going onto that site.

ALEXA:
It was my idea, Ma. 

CLARA:
And the comic book?

ALEXA:
It's mine.

CLARA:
I think you're covering up for your brother. You're both on restriction through the weekend. 

BENI:
How am I getting in trouble for this?

CLARA:
No comic books, video games, no going online except for school work. No knitting.

ALEXA | BENI:
Not fair! | Come on!

CLARA:
I'll take your phones.

ALEXA:
What?

CLARA:
Nah-ah-ah. No, no, no, señor. We're dealing with too much right now. We're still waiting to hear from family down in P. R. Things are crazy at work. I don't need you adding to the chaos. Okay? Your phones. Dame.

ALEXA | BENI:
All right. | Fine.

ALEXA and BENI hand her their phones.

CLARA:
Mira, your father comes home tomorrow…and I'd like to have a somewhat ordinary weekend. I know this hurricane has kicked my nerves into overdrive, but you two shouldn't have to take that on. I don't want to see it affecting your school work.

ALEXA:
No, it's not you, Ma.

BENI:
Really, it's not you.

CLARA:
¿Seguro? There's nothing else you want to tell me?

ALEXA/BENI:
No.

CLARA:
Two pages typed before you go to bed, Benito.

BENI:
Got it.

CLARA leaves the room.

ALEXA:
This is getting out of control. 

BENI:
What is?

ALEXA:
Keeping all this a secret. Making excuses for being super tired all the time.

BENI:
We stole a plea for equality from that Peña guy in San Juan eighteen thirty-eight. We can do this.

ALEXA:
Maybe you're fine with missing assignments, but I'm not okay with forgetting my homework and falling asleep in class. We need to plan out these trips. 

BENI:
Like Atabey said, we can't control the weather. 

ALEXA:
We don't have to travel every time there's a storm. Maybe we just stick with weekends?

BENI:
This isn’t like scheduling a gaming tournament. We’re following laws for another dimension, Alexa. I think we kinda have to go with it.

ALEXA:
Ugh. I'm gonna make a really huge blanket. 

2017. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. THE VENTURA HOME, LIVING ROOM.

MUSIC: “HOME” TRANSITION.

RAMIRO opens the front door. ALEXA and BENI hug RAMIRO.

BENI / ALEXA:
Papi!

RAMIRO:
You haven't called me Papi in years.

ALEXA:
Feels like we haven't seen you in years.

CLARA:
Rami.

BENI:
Hey, Ma said we could go to Mario's for pizza since I finished my history report last night.

RAMIRO:
Mario's sounds perfect right now. 

BENI:
Pizza's always perfect.

RAMIRO:
Sorry I got in late. Had to alter course to avoid a string of pop-up storms.

ALEXA | BENI:
Ooh, really? | Coming this way?

CLARA:
Oh. I was thinking we'd walk to Mario's, but if it's raining...

RAMIRO:
Eh. We can walk in the rain for a few blocks. When I was growing up in Puerto Rico we—

ALL:
—danced in the rain.

RAMIRO:
That's right!

ALEXA:
I'll get my raincoat. You know, something I need for this...um...weather.

BENI:
Yeah, I have to grab...an umbrella.

RAMIRO:
There's a bunch by the door.

BENI:
I mean, an old one I have - it's my favorite.

ALEXA and BENI walk out of the room.

RAMIRO:
Beni has a favorite umbrella?

CLARA:
They've been saying strange things all week.

RAMIRO:
Ay. Have you heard from any family?

CLARA:
No. You? 

RAMIRO:
Nothing yet. Lots of people stopping by the library?

CLARA:
Oh, si. Including a surprise inspection by the fire marshal. 

RAMIRO:
Oh no.

CLARA:
We've got to find another place for the donations as soon as possible.

RAMIRO:
Can't you send people over to the main branch of the library?

CLARA:
People want a donation drop-off in this neighborhood. 

RAMIRO:
Of course. Well, we'll work on getting these items down to Puerto Rico sooner rather than later.

CLARA:
You said there were no flights going down there.

RAMIRO:
No commercial flights to San Juan. But I've been talking to other pilots about flying into airports on the western side of the island.

CLARA:
Of course! In Ponce and Aguadilla. We’ve been so focused on the airport in San Juan.

RAMIRO:
With all of us pitching in, Clarita, we'll see this through.

CLARA:
I know we will. 

RAMIRO:
But first: pizza.

CLARA:
You know it.

2017. NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. MARIO'S FAMOUS PIZZERIA.

MUSIC: “MARIO’S FAMOUS PIZZA” TRANSITION. 

CLARA:
More antipasto?

RAMIRO:
No, thanks. The pizza should be out any minute. And I'm ready.

The barometer buzzes in Beni's pocket.

RAMIRO:
You hear that? Is it someone's cell?

CLARA:
Not like any I've ever heard.

ALEXA grabs her raincoat and stands.

ALEXA:
I want to put my raincoat on the coat rack down the hall.

BENI grabs the umbrella and stands.

BENI:
Yeah, my umbrella, too.

CLARA:
Okay?

ALEXA:
Be right back.

RAMIRO:
Hurry, or I'll eat your slices.

BENI:
That was a close call with Ma and Pa hearing the barometer.

A dramatic thunderclap.

ALEXA and BENI shout as they travel through the portal.

MUSIC: "IN THE TIMESTORM" (INSTRUMENTAL).

NARRATION:
This episode of Timestorm was written by Dania Ramos with audio engineering, sound design, and original music by Michael Aquino. The role of Alexa Ventura was played by Leilany Figueroa. Beni Ventura was played by Claudio Venancio. Clara Ventura was played by Jennica Carmona. Horacio Méndez was played by Orlando Segarra. Ramiro Ventura was played by Walter Rodriguez. Janelly was played by Frances Ramos. Sonia was played by Jessica Bracken. Thad was played by Philipe AbiYouness. This episode also featured Trevor Brown, Amanda Faison, Alina Figueroa, Luis Figueroa, Christine Mariani, Alexis Pérez, and Edward Terhune.

Now, it's time for our Listener Share-out! 

EMILIANA:
Hello. My name is Emiliana. I’m seven years old and I live in New Jersey. For my culture share-out, I want to share my trip to Puerto Rico. We went to the beach in Isabela and it was so much fun! After that, we had arroz con pollo - it was muy rico! My favorite Timestorm characters are Beni and Alexa y Rami. I love Timestorm!

NARRATION: 
We’re so glad you enjoy the show Emiliana. And I love arroz con pollo, too!

Hey, listeners, we want to feature your voice in an upcoming episode! You can learn more about how to submit a Share-out by visiting Timestorm Series dot com.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX from PRX. Support for TRAX comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. To learn more about TRAX, visit TRAX dot fm: that’s t-r-a-x-dot fm. Additional support comes from the PRX Google Podcasts creator program.

If you enjoy the show, ask your parents to subscribe to Timestorm on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or the KidsListen App. A quick message for our adult listeners: please be sure to check out our free resources, including episode guides and transcripts over at Timestorm Series dot com. And if you're interested in more bonus and behind-the-scenes content, we hope you’ll consider joining our Patreon community over at Patreon dot com slash Timestorm. You can also show your support for the series by sharing it with a friend or leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Podchaser.

Timestorm is produced in Essex County, New Jersey, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Leni Lenape people.

As always, thanks for listening.

ATABEY:
Witness. Find. Remember.