Oona Out of Order

The Post-it Note continues, explaining that Oona is there with her boyfriend, Crosby, and describing him. Oona looks at her tattoo and wonders if the C is for Crosby. She cleans herself up in the bathroom and struggles to find him. As the drugs wear off, she begins to feel bad she cheated on her boyfriend, whom she hasn’t even met.

Eventually, Crosby finds her. He is concerned about Oona and agrees to take her home when she asks, though he is disappointed that she doesn’t want to stay. The drugs make her talk too much, and she says things that make her uncomfortable immediately after she’s spoken—for instance, that Crosby is good-looking and that she is happy to feel young. Though confused and hurt, he is understanding and kind when she says she wants to be alone and drops her off at her home. Her house is empty, but she finds a letter from her earlier self that is labeled “DO NOT READ IF UNDER THE INFLUENCE” (90). She reads it anyway; it tells her to try to make the relationship work with Crosby, as he is incredible, and warns her not to tell him about cheating. She falls asleep before she finishes the letter.

Oona wakes up the next day to the smell of burning and thinks she burned the letter. When she finds she hasn’t, she reads the rest, which tells her how amazing Crosby is and says that she has wonderful friends: Cyn, Desi, and “the rest,” all of whom are into New York nightlife. The letter warns her about drug addiction and safe sex. It also explains that she won’t encounter Kenzie this year—he is currently a child—and that every leap will bring both good and bad things.

Oona realizes that the burning smell is a cheat sheet of important people her earlier self left; she accidentally dropped it in the fireplace after falling asleep. She checks the message on her machine. It’s from her mother and says that Madeleine is snowed in and can’t be with Oona on her birthday. However, she’s left a present: a gold necklace with interlocking clock parts and gears.

Crosby takes Oona to a formal restaurant where their outfits and dyed hair make them stick out. Conversation is hampered by Oona’s lack of knowledge, so she tries to play a game, pretending that it’s their first date to get to know him. It doesn’t work, and they have a miserable dinner. When they get into the limousine Crosby rented, Oona feels awkward as they kiss. She takes her own advice from the letter about safe sex and suggests a condom. Crosby is suspicious since they were both just tested for sexually transmitted infections, and Oona confesses she cheated on him. He gets out of the limousine and tells her never to try to see or call him again.

Oona gets the flu and is miserable, but Madeleine shows up to comfort her. Oona expresses that she now believes in the time travel but doesn’t think she will be able to have a relationship without an “expiration date.” She wonders what the point is of getting attached to anyone or anything. She asks Madeleine for information about her life to deal with the problem, but Madeline will only say that Oona sometimes assigns themes to years to help give them meaning.

Feeling guilty about Crosby, Oona decides she needs a change. She gets a dramatic black bob with bangs and takes a flyer for a club from the hairdresser. She decides to go but feels she needs new clothes, so she goes to a store called Patricia Field, where the salesperson seems to know her. The salesperson’s name is Cyn, one of the people mentioned in the letter. Cyn invites her to the house of someone named Jenny before they all go to the party at the club. When she gets home, Oona ignores her mother’s call and gets ready to go.

Oona makes her way to Jenny’s apartment, which is in a dangerous part of New York that Oona knows will be cleaned up in the future. Jenny turns out to be a drag queen, and she, Desi, and Cyn welcome Oona and ask her where she’s been while they all do Special K.

Oona passes out but wakes up when they go to a club in the Meatpacking District, where Jenny deals drugs. They go to a back room, where they do more drugs. Oona, happy to have friends again, has a trip where she sees Dale and her father in the stars. She wakes up to her friends worriedly trying to revive her. When she can walk, they all head home. As they walk, Oona gets upset at a man’s anti-trans and gay insults and provokes him until he chokes and punches her.

Cyn takes Oona to her apartment, doctors her face, and gives her Vicodin for the pain. Cyn is upset that Oona picked a fight and says that as a transgender woman, she (Cyn) must deal with harassment all the time and simply ignores it. Learning Cyn is trans surprises Oona, and she wonders what else she doesn’t know. Cyn confesses that she didn’t like Oona at first because something felt off, but then she realized that, like Cyn, Oona is experimenting with different things and trying to figure out life.

Oona tries to call her mom but gets the machine. She is happy to have Cyn as a friend, and as she drifts off to sleep, she realizes that the attack made her feel invincible. This leads to months of partying with her friends; they become regulars at clubs and at impromptu dance parties. Oona happily disconnects from reality. Drugs, club music, and dancing fill her nights, while recovering in her music room takes up her days.

Her mother interrupts this cycle of partying by checking in to express her concern about Oona’s drug use. She shares that addiction runs in the family and says that Oona needs to be careful. Oona blows her off.

One night, Oona runs into Crosby with another woman. He refuses to speak with her, which makes her vow to be better next year. In the meantime, people have noticed Oona is rich, and there are rumors about where she gets her money. Oona, under the influence, tells her friends the reality of the situation. They all laugh, though Cyn seems to believe her.

On New Year’s Eve, Oona prepares for the time leap by sneaking away from her friends. She is exhausted and burned out from her lifestyle and drug additions. Cyn catches her and Oona confesses her need to leave their world. Cyn understands and encourages her to go. Oona gives Cyn stock tips that Cyn takes seriously. They hug and Oona leaves, her last view being the Manhattan skyline from a cab.