A Day Off

I get it. I should go test out my power, right? Figure out how it works? Understand the nuances of my new life, since I could likely never go back to normalcy?

Well, too bad. I am tired. I’ve been getting beaten over the head by bullshit for days now. I finally have an opportunity to take some time off myself; I’m going to take it.

Not to mention: I already had worries about how exactly we’d go about testing anything. What, I keep stabbing myself with a knife or something? Over and over until it eventually sinks into me? That doesn’t sound fun, to say the least.

Anyway. Instead of driving back to the apartment, I went to the movie theater. I looked at the options… yikes. Tough weekend at the multiplex, eh?

I bought a ticket to some movie I’d never heard of. Seemed to be some horror flick. Considering we weren’t near Halloween, I had to imagine it wasn’t a very good one.

I bought some popcorn and a big soda. I buttered my popcorn to oblivion and filled the cup with the dirty syrupy nonsense they called soda. I may have multiple Swords of Damocles’ hanging over my head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the unhealthy lifestyle ends up killing me first.

I got seated for the movie. The theater was completely empty except for me. Cool. I guess most people were at work this time of day. If I didn’t show up, would they have even bothered putting it on?

I watched trailers for movies that would definitely but better than the one I was going to watch. After a few, I saw someone else enter the theater. It was dark, but it seemed to be a womanly figure. She took the seat in front of me.

Once the ad with the annoying actress started playing telling us to go to the theater we were already seated in (I fucking hate that ad), the woman in front of me looked around.

She turned around to look at me. She seemed to be a freckled red-head. She gave me librarian-vibes, based on the clothing choices and wiry glasses.

“Just us, huh?” She giggled.

She was cute. Really cute. Was this an opportunity for something good in my life? A pretty girl was talking to me, and we’d be confined to the same area for a little under two hours. Should I… flirt? Gasp! I don’t know how to do that!

“I have some popcorn.” I said.

She raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“I… it’s big. The popcorn, that is. Not anything else. Well, I mean, I… uh….”

She giggled again. “Are you offering to share?”

I nodded. “Yes. I am.”

She put her finger to her lips in thought, like you’d see a cartoon do. After a second, she shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

She stood up and walked around to sit beside me. Lucky for me the lights really went down, because I think I may have started blushing.

The movie started. Right off the bat, it was bad. Shitty acting, shitty script, shitty jump-scares; just an all-around shit-fest.

This actually worked to my benefit. We laughed together at the slop, enjoying each other’s company rather than the movie. About halfway through we basically started ignoring the movie completely.

Her name was Caitlin, but she said to call her Cait. Cait owned a small bookstore downtown. Apparently, her store had something of a cult-following. She had a very choice selection of novels available, only allowing what she saw fitting. She hosted events, and was working on incorporating film into her store soon (which is why she was at the theater today; she was watching everything out to know what DVDs to purchase.

She was smart. I mean, she was my age and had a successful business, so I guess that speaks volumes, but she was witty. Her jokes during the movie were pointed, she was able to observe things that I never would have (she could even tell they used genitalia doubles during the incredibly **** sex scene). I think some people would be put off by her, but I was enthralled. I hung on her every word like it was a preacher telling me the way to salvation.

Before I was even close to ready, the credits began to roll. To my surprise, she stayed and talked to me until the worker asked us to leave.

As we exited the theater I knew I needed to say something or risk losing her forever.

“Hey, I don’t usually do this, but… could I get your number?” I asked hesitantly.

I was about to immediately backtrack and save myself from the humiliation. But, to my surprise….

“Sure! I had a good time. You seem sweet, Michael.” She pulled out a card and a pen from her bag and quickly scribbled numbers down. When she handed it to me, I saw it was a card for her business, Cait’s Collection. On the back was her personal number written in ink with a small heart at the end. My heart swelled.

“Call or text me sometime. Maybe we could get a dinner instead of seeing another bad movie?” She giggled. God, her laugh was pretty.

“Yeah, sure thing! I’d love to!” I grinned.

She stood on her tiptoes, grabbed me by my collar, and pulled me down to her height. She let me go after a quick smooch on the cheek.

“See you around, Michael.” She smiled before leaving.

I was smitten. Good things can happen to me. That was good to know.

-

Sorry guys, I’m more-or-less bedridden with some kind of disease (my bet is COVID) atm and am finding it hard to focus on writing. I believe I got sick from my vacation out of the country. I’ll try not to, but I may miss a day or two again. I really would prefer to not, considering I just missed like a week and a half, but I’m kiiiinda fucked up right now lol. Thanks!