[ WP ] You 're part of a small team of researchers about to discover time travel . Just as you 're about to publish your findings , you find that one of your colleagues has already published them - two weeks ago .

I sat motionless as mom looks at me with a mix of pity and disappointment. I ca n't believe I'm breaking her heart all over again. It was a mistake coming here. 
 
 Mary Manchester, that cut-throat bitch. I should have known she was going to pull something like that. Last Wednesday, we finally get conclusive results on a project we've been working on for 3 years. On Friday, I walk in to see her desk filled with little post-it notes and wishing her luck on the conference next week, an office tradition that was in place even before I started working here 10 years ago. I wanted to ask but humility is n't exactly my strongest suit. Through the little tidbits I overheard, I learned that my beloved partner, Mary, was going to present something at the 10th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation in Belgium. She leaves tomorrow. 
 
 I could n't understand. I know about that conference. The submission deadline was February 6, 2015. I know that because that's my sister's birthday. The only reason she would be able to submit on time is if she goes back in... 
 
 That motherfucker!! I yelled expletives in 3 different languages. I was blind with rage. I wanted to stab her, watch the life get drained from her eyes. But I decided against it. I was still dizzy with anger but I wo n't approach this that way. Two can play your game, Mary. Justice will be served. 
 
 Where, or rather when should I go? February? No, that would be the deadline. A bit too late. A year back? Possibly. I wanted it to hurt. It would be great if some 15 year old kid surprises the world with this discovery. I did the math and quickly punched in the numbers. I'm glad I know the algorithm by heart. 
 
 I sat on the cold bench across my mom. She was n't saying anything. I should n't have chosen this year. What the hell was I thinking? Mom wants to say something, I could tell. Should I break the silence and tell her that things would really get better? That I would eventually clean up my act, go to college, and work with world-renowned physicists? This is the first time she's seeing me here -well, it's the second but she does n't know it. She stared some more. I chose to kept my mouth shut. When you're serving time in juvenile hall for aggravated assault, there really is n't much you can say to make things better.
