[ WP ] The History textbooks you ordered finally arrive in the mail . However , you notice an error - these are the wrong edition . Instead of the 2014 Edition , you received the 2024 Edition . The last few chapters appear to be accurate .

**No Medal for Jones** 
 
 
 
 “ 2024? What the fuck? ” 
 
 Jones stared at the textbook. Someone was messin ’ with him. It was probably that skank Cindy that worked the front office of this sorry excuse for an apartment building. She ’ d always given him shit ever since he brushed off her flirtations. He wasn ’ t interested in no girlfriend and he definitely wasn ’ t interested in over-used, over-makeuped rent collector. 
 
 He tossed the book on the floor next to his mattress. “ Forget this noise. ” 
 
 Plopping down on the mattress Jones watched as dust and dirt and god knows what puffed up into the air and got caught in the sunbeams coming in through the window overhead. He knew his mom tried her best to keep the place up, but it always just felt dirty. He always felt dirty. Guess he was. 
 
 Jones glanced back at the book and puffed a half-laugh out his nose. “ 2024. Right. ” 
 
 He stared at it again. “ It ’ s 2014, motherfucker! ” 
 
 Anger tightened his chest. Didn ’ t this just figure? The one fucking time he decided to try to do something right. The one time he decided he ’ d make things better, this happens. Someone comes along and points out what a huge joke it is. Of course it was a joke. Shit didn ’ t get better for Jones or his mom or his sister. GED? Army? Yeah right. Keep dreamin ’. 
 
 The door to the apartment squeaked open and Jones looked over. His sister, Marce, skipped in, saw him, and started bouncing up and down. 
 
 “ JoJo! I get to go! I get to go to school. They ’ re going to pay! ” 
 
 Jones propped up on one elbow and stared at her. 
 
 “ Everything? ” he finally asked with a whisper. 
 
 Marce had stopped bouncing and stared back. A letter was clutched against her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped and just nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes. 
 
 He felt like he was in a dream. Jones got up and went to Marce, wrapping her into a huge hug. His baby sister was going to college. He felt weird. Happy and proud and... hopeful. 
 
 The door squeaked again and his mom slid inside. The smile on her face said she ’ d already heard the news and before he knew it his whole family was in a big embrace. 
 
 “ She ’ s doing it, ” his mom whispered in that voice that made him feel safer than anything else. “ She ’ s changing the world. ” 
 And Jones knew it was true. His mom didn ’ t mean his sister. His mom meant their president. The first woman president of the United States of America. 
 
 *** 
 
 Dinner was over. Beans and cornbread. Again. But Jones didn ’ t care. It was the best fuckin ’ meal he ’ d ever had. He was amped and nothing could ruin his mood tonight. 
 
 The TV flickered in front of him but with a swift slap to the side the picture cleared. He ’ d been glued to the news channel since they finished eating. President Mayes was always being covered. Her first term was almost over and re-elections drew near. 
 
 Jones didn ’ t really care about politics. Growing up the topic was always boring and all the politicians seemed the same. They never did shit and they certainly didn ’ t care about Jones, his family, or his friends. 
 
 Until President Mayes. This woman was a fucking bull. In her first year alone she ’ d passed some health law things. Jones didn ’ t know or care about the details. All he knew is that his mom had finally been able to be treated for her headaches. No more days of staying in bed in the dark or throwing up. His mom almost seemed normal now. She even got up on the weekends and made breakfast. Breakfast! 
 
 Jones chuckled to himself and flipped off the fat, old, white dude that was on TV. The dude was whining about something affecting the rich. Please. 
 
 “ Oh, Jones, I forgot. This came in the mail for you. ” 
 
 Marce pulled a flier out of her backpack and handed it to him. It was from the US Army and listed days they ’ d be having information sessions and enlistments. 
 
 His high dipped. President Mayes ’ had also made changes so anyone could go to college. It ’ s how Marce was getting to go. But college wasn ’ t for him. Shit, he didn ’ t even finish high school. But the army? He could do the army. The plan was to enlist and send his paychecks to his mom and sister. Make things better for them. 
 
 God. Why the fuck did he drop out of school? Fuckin ’ dumbass. If he ’ d just finished he could enlist and head straight into the service. Get this shit started. But no. He had to get his GED first and that meant passing the test. 
 
 He glanced over to the corner of the living room that was his bedroom. The history book still lay where he ’ d dropped it earlier. 
 
 “ Marce, the president is going to be in our city tomorrow, ” his mom said from the kitchen. “ We should try to go see her in person. ” 
 
 Marce ’ s eyes shined. “ We should! ” 
 
 As the two talked on about where to try to see the president, Jones looked at the book again. Maybe it was just a printing mistake on the cover. 
 
 He looked at the army flier again then got up and headed to his mattress, picking up the textbook as he went. 
 
 *** 
 
 It was 4:23 am. Jones hadn ’ t slept. No, he ’ d read the history book. 
 
 At first he flipped to the end. The last few chapters covered ten years worth of history that hadn ’ t even happened yet. Confused, he skimmed over the chapters. Some of the names he recognized but the setting was in the future. Maybe someone made a fiction book loosely based on history? 
 
 But then he turned back to the chapters of recent history. And from what he knew, it was all accurate. President Mayes being elected. The uproar it caused. The good it caused. So much good. 
 
 Jones had smiled as he read these chapters. Yeah, the rich were pissed off but the poor were finally getting a little piece of the pie. 
 
 “ Fuck those assholes, ” Jones had muttered as he read. 
 
 He ’ d glanced at the only bedroom door in their apartment. His mom and sister shared the room, but he still heard their soft, sleeping breaths, so he read on. 
 
 But what came next made his chest clench. 
 
 The chapter was titled: The Assassination of President Mayes. 
 
 On May 12th, 2014 the president of the United States of America, President Mayes, was shot in the head on her way to a meeting in Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 May 12th. Jones had looked at the clock. May 12th was today. 
 
 Still staring at the clock, Jones shook his head to clear the fog. The clock ticked over to 4:24. 
 
 The book described everything about the assassin. Who, what, and where. 
 
 It would happen in three hours. 
 
 “ I could stop it, ” he whispered. 
 
 Running his hand over his face, Jones sighed. This was fucking nuts, man. He was losing it. Books don ’ t tell the future. 
 
 But he sat there and stared at the clock. Minutes ticked by. 
 
 His sister ’ s face was clear in his mind. The permanent smile she ’ d had all night was engraved on his brain. Marce was changing her life for the better and she was able to do so because someone finally came in and put their foot down. Someone finally stepped up and said shit isn ’ t right in this country. Someone finally decided to stop helping the rich get richer and threw a fuckin ’ bone to the masses. 
 
 Marce wasn ’ t going to end up on the streets. Sellin ’ dope or sellin ’ herself. She was going to fuckin ’ college! Because this woman finally stood up for them. 
 
 Jones no longer worried that his mom was going to put a damn gun in her mouth to end the pain. The emotional pain of knowing her kids had no future and the physical pain from her sickness was going away. She had help now. She didn ’ t have to choose between going to the doctor or paying the damn rent. 
 
 And all this could just get wiped out by some greedy fuck with a gun? 
 
 Jones tossed the book down and fell back on his mattress, hands covering his face. This was dumb. So dumb. He was tired and his head was just whacked from no sleep. 
 
 But he knew where the building was that the assassin shot from. And he knew how to get on the roof without being seen. He could go. He could stop it. 
 
 “ There ain ’ t nothin ’ to stop, ya damn fool, ” he muttered. 
 
 Then what difference would it make? If no one was there he could just go home. But if someone was… 
 
 *** 
 
 Jones slowly climbed up the fire ladder that resided on the backside of the bank building. A parking garage was butted up close to the bank tower and when Jones looked down and around he knew the only person that might see him was the janitors that brought the trash out. 
 
 When he reached the top, he paused. His heart was racing like a goddamn methhead. Reaching in his pocket, Jones felt the hard metal of the 9mm he ’ d brought. He ’ d bought the hot gun from a buddy back when he was fifteen. Fired it plenty of times when he and his friends were fucking around, but never actually at someone. He realized then how stupid he and his friends were. Actin ’ all hard and shit. Now that he might actually have to kill someone, Jones felt ready to piss his pants. 
 
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