• Original air date: December 7, 2002
• Writer: Jeff Biederman
• Director: Anthony Browne

  Guest Stars:
  Actor's name	Character played
  Lindy Booth	Amanda Durst (1977)
  Michele Popovich	Sarah Lynch
  David Reale	Young Victor Pearson

  In Science Club, Professor Zachary is explaining gravity and friction. While he is speaking, he hears a clinking noise coming from Josie’s hand. Josie is playing with Chi Gong balls. She started to help relieve stress but now is addicted to toying with them. Professor Zachary makes a comment that she can stop because of friction. After explaining Newton’s first law of motion to her, he then takes one of the two Chi Gong balls, telling her she can come get it at the end of the day. While that is happening, Professor Zachary realizes that Vaughn is not present. Corrine says she last saw him standing outside of Professor Zachary’s office. It occurs in their minds that that is where the wormhole is and they dash to Professor Zachary’s office.
      Vaughn is already standing over the wormhole which is about to open. As Vaughn is about to step on the warping tiles, Josie, Corrine, Marshall, Lucas, and Professor Zachary open the office door. As Vaughn is going into the wormhole, Josie tries to stop him, grabbing his arm. She however, gets sucked in with Vaughn.
      The wormhole drops them in Professor Zachary’s office. Professor Zachary, Corrine, Lucas, and Marshall are not present. Vaughn is disappointed, exclaiming that they didn’t go anywhere. He then points out that the others aren't in the room (like they were when Josie and Vaughn went through the wormhole). As they walk out of the office, Josie tells him how lucky they are that they didn’t go anywhere as a teacher in an odd outfit passes them. Looking around Josie asks another student where exactly they are. He replies that Josie and Vaughn are at Blake Holsey High. Josie inquires what the current year is. The student replies that the year is 1977.

  Looking at the bulletin board outside of Professor Zachary’s office, they are surprised to see a poster for a disco. Vaughn begins to walk off, saying that he was hoping to end up somewhere else. Josie asks where it was that he wanted to venture to but Vaughn just replies that he was just curious to go somewhere. Josie tells him that they are lucky to have arrived where they did and tells Vaughn that they need to go back to where they belong. Vaughn refuses, however, telling Josie that she can go back but he wants to stay and look around and perhaps meet some people.

      While Josie tries to get Vaughn to tell her who he was expecting to meet, a wandering teacher, who is peering into the rooms she asks Josie and Vaughn if they know where the teacher’s lounge is. It is the teacher’s first week and she keeps getting lost and Josie points in the direction that it is. The teacher introduces herself as Miss Durst, to Josie’s and Vaughn’s surprise. Miss Durst is about to walk off when Vaughn asks her if she knows of a Sarah Lynch. Miss Durst apologizes, it is only her first week and she doesn’t know many of the students. Josie tries to get Vaughn to tell her who Sarah Lynch is but Vaughn is distracted by Josie’s backpack. The top of it is moving. Josie opens it up and the two watch Josie’s one Chi Gong ball float out of the backpack. Josie taps the ball and it flies through the hallway, bouncing off the walls and ceiling. Josie manages to catch it with her backpack and speculates that the gravity field around the ball was affected when they went through the wormhole. Josie decides to hide the backpack in a closet right near them in the hallway. While she does that, Vaughn walks off.
      Vaughn walks into the science room. He encounters a boy tinkering in a red casing. The boy asks if Vaughn is there to join the new Science Club. Vaughn says that he is just looking around as Josie walks in. The boy asks Josie the same question but Josie replies that she isn’t. Vaughn asks if he knows Sarah Lynch and the boy enthusiastically responds that he does but Sarah, however, does not know him. Vaughn then inquires to what the boy is working on. Josie sighs in disbelief.

The boy introduces himself as Vic Pearson.
      The three walk outside in the back. Vic is telling them that he was interested in science ever since his parents gave him an electric train. Vaughn excitingly tells Vic that he knows exactly what he is talking about and that Vaughn’s father gave him the same one. Josie wanders with them bored. Vic asks them why he hasn’t seen them around school. Josie comments that they try to keep a low profile and she pulls Vaughn aside. Vic sits down at a picnic table.

      Vaughn tells Josie how excited he is that he is actually talking with his father. A girl walks by the table and Vic begins to hide himself. Josie tells Vaughn that it is time for them to go. Vaughn looks back at Vic and sees him laying low against the picnic table. Vaughn asks him what he is doing and Vic points out Sarah Lynch who is just taking a seat at a bench near the trees.

      Vaughn stares at Sarah and Josie tries to regain Vaughn’s attention. Vaughn tells Josie that the girl, Sarah Lynch is his mother. He tells Josie that his mother died in the Pearadyne explosion and he never really knew her. She tells Vaughn that he can’t save her without changing the timeline that they live in. Vaughn says he just wants to talk to her. Josie accepts and goes back into the school. Vaughn walks up to Sarah but just stutters in front of her. Sarah gets up from the bench and walks off. When running her fingers through her hair, she drops a hairclip. Vic tries to tell Sarah but he can’t get the words. Vaughn, instead, picks up the hairclip and puts it in his pocket.

      Inside, Josie and Vaughn are heading back to Professor Zachary’s office. Josie remembers about her backpack and Vaughn offers to get it for her. Vaughn places Sarah’s hairclip in Josie’s backpack, without Josie’s knowledge, and gives the backpack to Josie. He thanks Josie for giving him the opportunity to meet his parents. The two then go back through the wormhole.

      Josie walks out of Professor Zachary’s office, without Vaughn. Josie sees Corrine, Lucas, and Marshall walking up in the hall and goes to them, telling them that Vaughn didn’t make it through the wormhole and that they’d better get Professor Zachary.

  Corrine says that Professor Pearson can clear up the situation; she has not heard of Professor Zachary. Professor Pearson, a man holding a stack of textbooks, wearing glasses, and uncombed black hair, walks quickly in their direction. Josie stops him but he doesn’t know who she is. Josie tells him that Vaughn is missing. Professor Pearson, however, does not know what she is talking about and angrily walks into his office.

      In the recreation room, Josie pulls up the enrollment for the school to try to prove to Corrine, Marshall, and Lucas of Josie’s and Vaughn’s existence. Vaughn Pearson is not on the list. Josie then searches herself which reveals that she attends New York Music Academy and plays the tuba. Trying to find out how they both are right, Josie makes a phone call.

      In the kitchen of a restaurant, while grilling hamburgers and fries, Mr. Zackary is reading through a science book. A phone call comes in. We only hear Mr. Zackary’s side of the conversation.

      In the hallway, alone, Josie hangs up the cell phone and turns around. She immediately runs into the Janitor. He effectively scares Josie down the other direction.

      Outside, in the front of the school, Josie is trying to convince Mr. Zackary, Corrine, Marshall, and Lucas. Mr. Zackary is having a hard time believing Josie’s story as well. To prove her story, Josie shows them the floating Chi Gong ball. Tapping the ball, it bounces from the fountain to a corner in the school’s roof, then back and forth between tree branches, and off the Quirk Burger’s car that Mr. Zackary came in (it has a hamburger on the roof). Josie then catches it with her backpack. The demonstration gets all of their attentions. Looking into the backpack, Josie discovers a hairclip. She tells them it isn’t hers but it belongs to a Sarah Lynch in 1977.

      Inside the science office, Josie, Corrine, Marshall, Lucas, and Mr. Zackary hover over the wormhole, astonished by it. Josie goes back through it, successfully arriving in 1977.

      In the science room, Josie is carving a message on the leg of a desk when Vic walks in. He sees her backpack moving and wants to know what is wrong with it. Josie shows him the Chi Gong ball.

      Vic taps the ball and it flies around the room. After Josie catches it, Vic asks if he can keep it. Josie refuses and forces him outside.

      At the picnic tables, Josie has Vic wait for her. Josie places Sarah’s hairclip on the ground. While she is doing that, Vic takes the Chi Gong ball from Josie’s backpack, without Josie knowing. Returning, Josie tells Vic pick up the hairclip and give it to Sarah. Vic picks up the hairclip and works up the courage to give it back to Sarah, who is sitting on the bench. Sarah is appreciative of him for that. She tells him that the hairclip belonged to her grandmother.

      Back inside the school, Josie is about to enter the science office when the Janitor calls her name from the other end of the hallway. Looking at him, Josie sees him gesturing for her to hurry back. Josie disappears through the wormhole. Papers fly everywhere as Vic walks into the room looking for Miss Durst. Papers are everywhere. Miss Durst comes in the side door looking at the condition of the office. Vic’s poor attempt to explain the mess and him being the only one in there while it was happening causes her to believe he is responsible. She orders him to clean up the room immediately. She then walks out.

      Josie and Vaughn come through the wormhole back into Professor Zachary’s office. Josie tells Vaughn that she found Sarah’s hairclip in her back. Vaughn apologizes for the action and Josie informs him that takes it resulted in Vaughn not existing and that it was the way they met.
      Josie walks up to the Janitor. He is pawing through papers in a trash can. She tells him that he was right about the hairclip. The Janitor denies knowing what she is talking about. She tells him he is the reason why everything is back to normal. He laughs at what Josie is saying, though.

  In the science room, Josie shows Professor Zachary the writing she did on the desk in 1977. She asks Professor Zachary why the hairclip affected him. Professor Zachary explains that his grades in everything but science weren’t ultra-great and he didn’t believe he would be able to go to college. At the last minute, however, he received a scholarship from Pearadyne Industries. When the teacher position opened at the Blake Holsey high, Victor Pearson called Professor Zachary personally to invite him to teach at the school. Professor Zachary accepted, figuring he owed Victor for what Victor had done for him. Professor Zachary then returns the other Chi Gong ball that he took from Josie.

      At Pearson mansion, Vaughn sees that his dad brought out the electric trains. Victor says that they bring back memories of his youth. Vaughn thanks his father for getting him into the science club. Vaughn walks out and Victor goes to the telescope. Opening up a compartment in the telescope, Victor looks at the floating Chi Gong ball and thinks about the future.

Episode notes:

• On the Blake Holsey High enrollment page, it appears that the names of the crew were used.
• Josie's student page, during the altered timeline, gave her birthdate as July 28, 1988.
• In Quirk Burger, a sign on a cabinet reads "Don't forget to refrigerate"
• To see the student enrollment page, click here

Personal thoughts:
I thought this was a great episode. It was actually the first episode I saw and the one that got me interested in the show.
Even though it is a Josie/Vaughn episode, and we learn a good amount about Professor Zachary's and Victor's lives and even some of Principal Durst's life. While Josie did see most of the air time, the rest of the actors did an excellent job in the scenes they had. I really wasn't confused the first time I saw it, I wanted to see more. The episode even had a faint brownish color to it, kind of like an old piece of paper. I wonder if that was done on purpose.
This episode is one of the most important of the series. It basically explains what we did not see in the beginning and helps wrap up most of the questions we had about the school. I wonder if Victor remembers Principal Durst yelling at him.
This episode even has that feeling in it like it is one of those better shows that transcends what we normally see on television. My only question is, how did Josie know where to call Professor Zachary in the alternate timeline?
Rating: 8/10