The bell rang the end of the last period, and I pulled the practice sheet from the platen of the Selectric typewriter in front of me, slipped it into the class folder, and tried not to be obvious about watching Sapphire collecting her books in the front row.
It didn't look like there was going to be a gap in her conversation with the girl sitting next to her, so I put my books together, stood up, and moved between the desks, making sure I would pass her desk.
She stood up and glanced my way as I approached.
"Uh, Hi, Sapphire." I tried to sound and act natural, but I'm sure I didn't.
Before I could say, "You don't remember me, do you?", she smiled and said,
"Hi, Joey. How did you manage to get into my typing class?"
"Ah, uhh, it was the only section that fit in my schedule."
"Oh?"
I couldn't read whether she was playing with me or not.
She collected her books, and the girl she had been talking to collected her books and stood as well.
"Yeah," I stalled. "Typing is supposed to be a useful skill for working with computers."
"Oh, computers." She grinned a wry grin. "More math."
"Uh, Yeah."
"Oh, this is Cyndy. I don't think you've met."
"Hello Cyndy. Nice to meet you."
Cyndy smiled. "Nice to meet you," she paused, her smile turned sly, and she put just a little too much emphasis on "too," and she smirked, but then paused again. "Uhm, ..."
I grinned back. "Joe."
"Not Joey?"
"Well, either way."
Sapphire turned and moved with her friend toward the door. Then she casually glanced back at me. "So how is it you're taking typing here?"
"Industrial electronics." I followed them. "The Industrial Electronics class here is doing microcomputers this year."
"Always such a complete nerd. So smart."
"Eer ... uhm ...." High school senior and still not sure how to respond when girls called me smart.
At the door, they paused, and I moved through first, checking hall traffic.
"And cute." They followed after me. "We're heading this way." She nodded one direction down the hall.
"Ah, I gotta go meet my buddy for my ride home." I glanced down the other direction, where Rick was just stepping into the hall from his class. He saw me and gave me a doubtful look.
Sapphire gave me a quizzical look.
"Rick Stanton. Maybe you remember him, too. He's also doing half-day here. We're splitting the lunchtime driving duties across town."
"Oh. I see." She paused and gave me a smile that could have meant anything or nothing. "Well, I guess I'll see you next week."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Cyndy nudged her as they walked away and she nudged back and they both giggled.
When I caught up to Rick, he shook his head.
"You're reaching way too far out of your league."
”Yah, I know. But she's in the class. I had to say hi."
We made our way to the parking lot and got in his car. He started the engine and shoved Queen's Night at the Opera back into the 8-track, clicked through the tracks, and "Death on Two Legs" blared from his speakers as we left the parking lot.
"7400, 8080, 6800, 6502, LSI, you got any idea what Mori's talking about?" Rick paused to focus on navigating the intersection at the parking lot exit.
"Probably no more than you. Lots of circuitry in a small package."
Rick looked down at his 8-track. "You think they can pack the circuit boards for my 8-track in one of them li'l ol' chips?"
"The power stuff has to be separate, I think. And I'm not sure how the digital stuff fits with the analog stuff."
Rick slowed down for the next red light, signaling and moving into the left turn lane. "Yeah, yeah, tell me again the difference between digital and analog."
"Digital is about discrete values and analog is about continuous values. You know that."
"Mmm, huh. Switches versus pots." He shook his head. "You think we can figure all that out this year?"
The light changed, and he moved the car forward.
"Isn't that what college is for?"
Rick snorted. "You're always just along for the ride. Nothing fazes you."
Oncoming traffic cleared, and he turned.
Author's Preface
This may appear to be a pseudo-memoir. It isn't. Yeah, the characters are (loosely) based on people I knew when I was a kid, but the events described are almost completely whole-cloth.
I definitely did not have the courage to talk to Sapphire that first day in typing class, and Joe is way ahead of me on other fronts, as well.
Besides, this is about the second microprocessor revolution that never happened, not Sapphire or me or our friends. And about the illusion we call the butterfly effect.
This belongs squarely in the class of alternate history fiction.
3809
A Tale of MCUs and Time, Part 1
2801
Marion Joseph Reeves
Copyright 2025 Joel Matthew Rees
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