Message From the Future

I was walking home when, suddenly, I noticed a phone lying on the sidewalk. It was black with a cracked screen and no case.

I looked around, but nobody was there, so I picked it up.

The screen suddenly lit up with a new message.

“Don’t go home yet.”

I frowned. The phone had no contact name, and the message was from an unknown number.

Before I could think about it, another message appeared.

“Go to the basektball courts instead.”

I almost laughed. Someone was probably playing a prank on me.

Still, wondering about the messages made me uncomfortable.

I decided to keep walking home – but, just as I reached the corner, a huge tree branch crashed onto the sidewalk in front of me. The loud crack echoed across the street, and pieces of bark scattered across the pavement.

I stood there, frozen.

If I had taken a few more steps forward, I would’ve been hit by the branch.

I turned around and headed for the basketball courts.

When I arrived, the phone buzzed again.

This time, the messages said, “A kid wearing a red hoodie will lose a blue backpack at exactly 5:15. Return it to him.”

I checked the time; it was 5:12.

For the next three minutes, I sat on a cold metal bench, watching people pass by. The wind blew through the trees, and the basketballs bouncing on the courts made a steady thumping sound.

At 5:15, a kid in a red hoodie ran past me. His blue backpack slipped off of his shoulder and landed near the bench.

I picked it up and returned it to him. He thanked me with a quick smile before running off.

Another message appeared.

“You saved his science project. I remember doing that yesterday. I’m you, from tomorrow.”

My stomach twisted. The person texting me knew what happened.

Then I noticed the date displayed on the top of the screen: it was tomorrow’s date.

Suddenly, the screen went black. No matter how many times I pressed the buttons, it wouldn’t turn on again.

The next morning, I walked into school and saw a poster announcing that our cafeteria’s lunch delivery had been delayed because of a problem with the food.

I remembered the phone and wondered if the person in the future knew. .

Then my own phone vibrated.

A new message appeared from an unknown number.

“Nice job yesterday. Now look behind you.”

My fingers went cold. Slowly, I turned around.

Someone was standing at the end of the hallway, holding the exact same cracked phone.