Chapter 6-Training

Thankfully, they were paying me a good bit of money for training, so I could afford my hotel room along with food with a little bit to spare. Thankfully, I wasn't quite 18 yet, so the enormous tax on income didn't apply to me yet. I was told it would take 2 weeks to train before I was assigned a time period. The training mainly consisted of a class and telling my disguise family and I what to do and what not to do. Here is the list they provided of dos and don'ts:

Never reveal any piece of technology, clothing, or information about the future.

Remember your training and act like the people in that time period did.

Do not form any personal relationships with anyone outside your time.

You must return for a break no later than a month after being in your assigned time period and no sooner than a week.

Reports on progress are due by 11:00 each night.

Have cover stories ready if any suspicions arise among the people in your time.

Once the two weeks of training went by, Susan, Rob, and I were all given an evaluation, which we passed. This consisted of scenarios in which our cover was blown and when personal relationships started to form. Our next step was to receive our assigned time period. Dan said I would receive a message by 10:00 that night, telling us what time period we would be assigned to. I sat on my bed in the hotel room, constantly refreshing the message page. I was so eager to know when I would be going. I was hoping for some time after the First Revolution or before the Civil War, a time in which I could see early America when the world was vastly different. Finally, I received a message, and it said that I would be in Mississippi in the year 1856. I was so excited about this good news, so excited to the point that I could not sleep for one second the whole night. "Wow," I said to myself, "I get to experience life in the southern USA in the 1800's!" Just the thought of that made me smile. Unfortunately, I would have to go through another week of training to learn about my time period, how to act, how to dress, etc. Although it was going to be a long week, it would definitely be interesting to learn about history (remember, big history geek here). We had briefly learned about this time period in school, but not to the extent we were about to learn about it. Rob and Susan were also pleased with our assigned time period, and they said that they looked forward to working with me. I could definitely say that my life has significantly improved, but I, honestly, was terrified to see what the future—well, the past—would bring me…