Woke Up Like This

When they arrive, J. T. asks his uncle for a quick summary of time travel. Larry explains that nothing is certain, and there are only theories. One has to do with the grandfather paradox: the theory that future events cannot be changed and that, if one tries to prevent them, they will simply come about in a new way. Regardless of how one might interfere with the past or the future, the big picture stays the same. Larry warns them, though, that this is only a theory and that no one should ever mess with time travel because the consequences could be catastrophic.

Char considers her mom’s claim that adults just wing it and hope for the best, but J. T. says that it doesn’t have to be this way. Char, however, finds adulthood boring so far, so he encourages her to think of things that she’d like to do now that would be fun. Char is “shocked and frankly a little turned on” by J. T.’s logic (152). He says, for example, that he’s always wanted to have a food fight, so she throws a piece of apple at him. After spraying the entire contents of the condiments in their fridge at one another, they resume their discussion, Char thinking that fun has never gotten her anywhere or anything she wanted. She suggests that maybe, if Larry is right and they can’t change things, they are supposed to learn a lesson from their current predicament. Their lives look quite different from what they expected as teens, so they agree to try to figure out what happened in the last 13 years.

At her computer, distracted by her wedding notes, Char opens the reception seating chart to see that her father isn’t on it, though Alexandra and the girls are. There’s also no seat for Kassie, so she stalks her socials, learning that Kassie lives in the city and owns a yoga studio. When Char sees that Kassie is teaching a class that afternoon, she decides to go and see her. When J. T. enters the room, pretending to be someone who wants an appointment with her, she playfully asks what she can help him with, calling him “Joshua” rather than “Renner,” as she always does. He is stunned but wants her to say it again because, he says, “[i]t’s hot.” They flirt openly with one another, and when Char claims to be insusceptible to his charm, it feels like a lie. She tells him about her plan to see Kassie, and he pleads with her to be back by prom so that she can help chaperone. He is nervous and fearful of messing up and tells Char that he needs her, which makes her feel good.

At Kassie’s studio, Char trips over a giant plant. When Kassie reaches to help her up, Char’s eyes well with tears, and they hug. Char tells Kassie that she missed her, and Kassie says it back, but Char can feel the distance between them. They go next door for smoothies and sit outside to chat. Char is shocked to hear that Kassie learned of her engagement to J. T. via social media, reminding her that they’d promised to be each other’s maids of honor. Now, though, Kassie says, “settling down” is not what she wants. She recognized, in college, that romantic relationships consume her, so she vowed only to date casually, and she’s been so much happier. She has freedom, a successful business, and friends; her life is full. Char feels incredibly proud of her. Then Kassie mentions Char’s father’s funeral.

Char goes into shock over the news of her dad’s death, and Kassie is kind, validating Char’s conflicting feelings. She promises that she’ll always be available if Char needs her. Later, Char finds her father’s obituary and reads it over and over. She checks her texts and sees an old one from Alexandra, offering Char some of her father’s things and telling her that her sisters would love to see her. Char never responded. She thinks about how she really needed Kassie when they started high school, though they never had much in common. On the other hand, at the end of senior year, Char doesn’t need Kassie like she had before, and she thinks that that’s why she didn’t notice Kassie’s absence at Ollie’s party. J. T. texts that he had to leave for prom without her, and a text from Nori suggests that they come to Ollie’s house for a bonfire after the dance.

Char digs a little black dress out of her closet and bikes to school. J. T. looks dashing in his navy suit, and he is clearly glad to see her. When he calls her “beautiful,” he doesn’t follow it by laughing or saying that it was a joke. Students ogle them, and Char hugs him. Astonished by her attraction to him, Char looks for a distraction. A coworker puts her and J. T. in charge of finding all contraband alcohol and drunken students. While they patrol, J. T. tells Char that he went to see his mom and her new boyfriend, Jared, who is a nice guy. He clearly feels a lot better, and this makes Char feel “much lighter” too. After several hours of intense chaperoning, they are persuaded to dance. “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing is playing, and J. T. wants Char to do the big lift. She refuses, but they keep dancing while she tells him about Kassie. J. T. tells her that Char deserves a better friend, and Char defends Kassie. When J. T. pulls her closer, she likes it. When their eyes meet, she imagines kissing him. He leans down, and just as their lips touch, the song changes and students surround them, killing the moment.

After a successful prom, J. T. asks Char if she’s okay. He can tell that she’s not, and she shares the news about her dad. She downplays it, but J. T. gives her the space to feel however she needs. Char doesn’t want to keep talking about it, and J. T. offers to show her the “funnest night” of her life, if that’s what she wants. She does. He suggests car hide-and-seek, and they drive to Ollie’s. Everyone wants to play, and J. T. stops for a Frosty and some fries for Char before they get the first team’s clue. In the drive-thru, J. T. charms a grumpy Wendy’s worker, asking about her day and wishing her a good night before ordering. Char marvels at his “magic,” but he says that he’s just being a decent human being. Char realizes that her assumption that he only charms people for personal gain was incorrect.

Char recognizes that hanging out with J. T. doesn’t feel like a punishment anymore, and they win the first round of the game. She’s conflicted, having fun just hours after learning that her father died, but she is so happy in this moment. She feeds J. T. fries while he drives. They drive to a park to “hide,” and she cannot stop fantasizing about him. They get out and sit on a dock, overlooking a stream, and J. T. asks how much Char wants to push him into it. He jokingly says that she hates him, but she sees his forehead crease and knows that he thinks it’s true. She assures him that she doesn’t hate him and explains that her animosity began when he ditched her at homecoming for another girl. He denies this, saying that he had a “family situation.” Char is shocked because Kassie told her that he was seeing a girl called Tessa from another school. J. T. doesn’t know a Tessa, and he suggests that Kassie lied because she was resentful that he rejected her just before Kassie met Ollie. This is news to Char. She thinks back to the assembly when she first met J. T. and Ollie and how Kassie started flirting with Ollie immediately; maybe, she thinks, Kassie did that to make J. T. jealous, but it feels strange now to believe J. T. over Kassie.

Char also tells J. T. that he is effortlessly and “annoyingly likable,” and he confesses his massive fear of being disliked, saying that he works hard to be likable. He says that he’s been that way ever since his little sister died when he was 10. On the night of homecoming, his mom was struggling with grief, and he couldn’t bring himself to leave her; that’s why he stood Char up. J. T. recalls making his parents laugh for the first time after Susie died and says that he’s been trying to do that ever since. He just wanted to make them, and everyone around him, happy. Char sympathizes. She asks if her resentment bothers him, and he confirms that it does and that he acted obnoxiously because some attention from her was better than none. When she asks him why he would do this, he is surprised that she doesn’t know why. Just as he’s about to tell her, they are found by the others.

As they drive home, J. T. observes that their attempts to return to 2024 haven’t worked, and he figures that they’ll have to tell people soon that the wedding is off. However, the thought of canceling makes Char want to cry now, though she attributes this to her grief over her dad. She says that she wants to visit Alexandra and her sisters, and J. T. offers to go with her. Char realizes how good it feels to rely on someone for the first time.

Pulling up to the lake house the next day, Char thinks of how J. T. seemed to want to kiss her at the dock and how she wanted him to. Lily, the younger of the two girls, greets them at the door and shrieks with happiness. Marianne, the older girl, is just as happy to see Char, though quieter. Alexandra says that the girls have really missed Char since the last time she saw them, at their father’s funeral. Char is surprised to see so many photos of her in this house, and Alexandra tells her that Char was her dad’s favorite conversation topic. When Char begins to cry, Alexandra confirms that he wasn’t good at communicating but that he was very proud of her. J. T. and Char stay for the day, and he is wonderful with the little girls. In the car, Char thanks him for coming, and he promises that he will always be there for her. She doesn’t want to go home, and he tells her that they are adults and can do whatever they want.

Char believes that preparation can greatly reduce one’s stress, so she is a little overwhelmed when they pull up at a random thrift store called Dead People’s Stuff. J. T. challenges her to find him the most ridiculous outfit that she can, while he does the same for her. She accepts this challenge, abandoning her typical methodical way of shopping and allowing her heart to guide her. Two preposterous outfits later, they spot something metallic on a shelf. It is their class time capsule, and it shocks each of them—again—as they touch it. It’s empty, and they put it back on the shelf. Outside, Char knows that she’d typically be embarrassed by how absurd they look, considering how much she always wants to fit in. However, it doesn’t faze her, and she notes that, with J. T., she feels brave. They hold hands and go inside a candy store, filling bags to the top.

With their haul, J. T. and Char collapse onto the grass at a nearby park. When she pulls her hair up, J. T. asks why she doesn’t wear her hair like that more often. She reminds him that he’d once called her head “humongous,” and she hasn’t worn her hair up since. He gawps at her, saying that he meant it figuratively because she’s a know-it-all, not that her head is literally gigantic. He tells her that she’s beautiful and that she took his breath away the first time he saw her. He nudges her affectionately, and she realizes that she doesn’t want to think about returning to 2024. Then it begins to rain.

They run for shelter, laughing hysterically. They hold hands, and Char realizes that she’s never felt “so solid, so sure” of herself as she does now, with him (204). She says that she feels like an idiot for holding a grudge against him when they could have been friends this whole time, and he asks if that’s all she wants to be. Although it isn’t logical, she likes him a lot, and she hates that she does. She tells him that friendship is not all she wants, but this wasn’t the plan. He says that things don’t always have to go according to plan, but she disagrees; the unknown is frightening to her, and so she feels a deep need to be in control. He wonders what she misses out on by always trying to plan for everything. Her brain feels fuzzy, but he looks at her deeply like he’s seeing into her soul. She feels out of control but peaceful, too, and she kisses him.

It is an amazing kiss that leaves them both breathless. J. T. tells her that it’s the best day of his life, and she says that it’s her best day, too. She’s not sure now that she’d choose to go back to being 17 if given the option. From a nearby pub, they hear the song from Dirty Dancing, and J. T. asks Char to dance with him, but she’s embarrassed about what others might think. He tells her that she shouldn’t let it stop her from being in the moment, and he asks her to do the dance lift from the movie. He tells her to trust him, and she does. She thinks that she might trust him the most out of anyone in her life. She runs to J. T., he lifts her up, and then his pants split. When she leans over to look, she falls face-first toward the pavement.