Opposite of Always

“Because big lesson number one is this: all the time travel in the world can’t save the people you love.”

One of the novel’s main themes is Lessons Learned Through Facing Repeated Challenges, as Jack learns from repeatedly living through the same time. This quote foreshadows what lessons Jack will learn about accepting the limits of time and making the most of life. Framing it as a life lesson in the first prologue establishes it as a central takeaway from the action that will follow.

“Maybe it’s that, for the first time in three years, I feel like it’s okay that Jillian and I will never be. That after a few minutes on some crusty stairs I can suddenly see a different future. An alternate ending, or two.”

When Jack first meets Kate, it has a considerable effect on him. Particularly, it allows him to start letting go of a longstanding crush he has had on Jillian. The author juxtaposes the ordinary nature of the location they first meet—“some crusty stairs”—with the sudden feeling Jack has that everything will change, evidenced by describing “a different future.” Justin A. Reynolds’s presentation of one or two alternate endings foreshadows the time-traveling Jack will soon experience and each timeline’s different outcome.

“But sometimes it’s like they want so much for me, they’re planning on me doing all these cool things, and I don’t know, like, I worry about letting them down. I mean, they’ve funneled so much of their energy and love into me, while doing their best not to seriously screw me up, but sometimes I still feel like I’m just a screwup waiting to happen.”

These lines reveal Jack’s low self-esteem and fear of failure—characteristics he must overcome in his character arc to achieve his goals. Jack’s use of language like “a screwup waiting to happen” and feeling that others are waiting on him “doing all these cool things” emphasize the self-criticism and weight of external expectations Jack feels.