Young Annabelle (10 page)

Let it happen? That’s a laugh!
Oh, it would have happened,
I thought, recalling how the only thing that had kept me
from cracking into a hysterical fit of angry tears was the pasta
from Luigi’s.

Don’t think about
pasta.

My stomach grumbled at the delicious reminder
of rich tomato sauce slathered over beautifully cooked pasta.

Damn it!

I was walking back home after declining
Jenna’s dinner invitation. I regretted saying no, especially when I
realized what I’d be getting for dinner tonight: salad again, and
steamed fish with lemon, ugh!

I turned to the patch of grass next to the
sidewalk and kicked it. I was beyond frustrated and the only thing
here to kick the shit out of was someone’s front lawn.

Damn it, my entire summer has
been
horrible
!

From working under Shelby and meeting James
only to realize he was a cocky asshole, to Jenna quitting work to
train and spending all her time with the swim team. And the nasty
cherry on top was this freaking diet I had been forced to endure
from the beginning of summer vacation. When was I going to have any
fun? Wasn’t summer supposed to be fun?

I glanced around the neighborhood; I’d been
walking on autopilot. I stopped in my tracks. I was only a few
blocks away from the best plaza, featuring all kinds of
entertainment and shopping.

The movie theatre!

I hadn’t been to the movies since before
summer began, back when rules were less strict in my household. It
wasn’t that I didn’t want to go, it was Mom’s paranoia about me
possibly eating popcorn and regular Coke that drove her to plead
for me not to go. I didn’t have energy to fight anymore, nor the
will, so I gave in to her ridiculous request about skipping the
movies for a while.

Well not now!

I decided then and there that I was going
to watch a freaking movie. With popcorn.
And
a regular Coke. I was determined; this was summer
and, for the first time, I was going to enjoy it.

I texted Mom, telling her that the meet was
running long and that I’d be home in a couple of hours.

Not surprisingly, she responded with:

Don’t eat anything. Dinner will be
waiting!

Jesus,
always about the food with her. Is it
ever going to be about, like, if I’m safe or not?

As soon as I hit Main Street, I was visually
attacked by the traffic – it was insane! I entered the expansive
parking lot; the only empty spots were the ones on the periphery.
There were cars everywhere, trying to get a closer parking spot. It
was looking more like some new sporting event than a parking lot. I
was glad to be on the safe sidewalk. But soon crowds of people
replaced the aggressive cars.

I paused for a moment to look around and the
crowd bumped its way by, almost taking me along unwillingly.

I wandered passed a few clothing stores and
shoe stores that I wanted to check out later, after I received my
next pay. I’d allocated a certain amount for back to school
shopping and couldn’t wait to get started.

I stopped in front of
Mark Theatres
. It was the biggest theatre complex I’d
ever seen. Truly amazing. I rejoiced at the sight of the massive
structure before entering the box office.

Here’s to taking
control.
I mentally
clinked glasses with myself.

Smiling, I examined the show times, hoping
there was a movie starting soon. Unfortunately, the only one about
to start was a horror.

Damn it!

I grimaced at the thought of
watching
Final Destination Twelve
. I didn’t like scary movies. At all. My body was already
tensing and breaking into a nervous sweat at the mere idea of
watching one alone.

“
Do it,” I pressured myself
quietly.

I nodded and joined the long ticket line.
There were a surprising number kids lined up, all jumping up and
down excitedly.

No way, they can’t be here
for
Final
Destination
!

I scanned the listings board again, searching
for any children’s movies playing later.

None!

I shook my head in amused disbelief. Here I
was sweating over watching a scary movie and these kids were
bouncing off the walls for it.

Am I pathetic or what!

I listened in as a father and son
approached the counter:
Final Destination
, they announced to the ticket agent.

I watched as the ten-year-old peered over the
counter as his father exchanged money for tickets.

“Cool!” the boy yelled.

His dad laughed. “Daniel, calm down.”

“Come on Dad, we need to get a good
seat!”

Come on, Dad… Come on, Mom…
Come on, Charles and Katherine.

I couldn’t even imagine being that pumped for
a movie.

I lived in the real world. And in the real
world, I was alone.

The sight of each family made me depressed as
I thought of my own family. We each did our own thing most of the
time.

The line moved plodded along. My turn finally
came and I hesitated for a few seconds.

“Are you going?” someone asked from behind
me.

I didn’t respond, just rushed up to the
counter and ordered my ticket. Next, I bee-lined it for the
concession stand where I stood with silent glee. It was time for
what I’d been craving all day: popcorn and regular Coke.

“Having a hard time making up your mind,
Fireball?”

I froze. James was behind me, towering above
me with a giant smirk on his face.

“What are you doing here?” My shocked heart
began to race.

“To watch a movie, obviously,” he said with a
scowl.

What’s his
problem
?
Douche!

I turned my focus away, deciding what size of
popcorn I wanted.

“Whatever. Have a good one,” I replied and
walked to the counter. I could feel him follow, close enough that I
could catch his scent over the buttery popcorn.

Damn it! Why does he have to smell so
good?!

“Why are you always running away from
me?”

Focus on the popcorn… Focus on the
popcorn…butter…yum…James, yum…I mean, NO! Damn it!

“I’m not. I need popcorn.” I turned my head
to hide the blush I knew was creeping in.

‘
I need popcorn’?
Couldn’t come up
with something better than that?

“When are you going to stop lying to
yourself? I make you nervous, it’s so obvious,” James declared,
ostentatiously.

The heat burning through me cooled down just
a touch at his cocky candor.

Yeah, you make me nervous, but don’t flaunt
it in my face, asshole!

I tossed him a dirty look over my
shoulder.

“
You. Need. To. Get. Over.
Yourself!”

“You need to get over me,” he replied,
laughing.

I ignored him and ordered a small bag of
popcorn and a small coke.

Food in hand, I turned back to him. “Enjoy
your evening.” My tone sounded surprisingly polite, even to me. It
caught him off guard long enough for me to make my exit.

“Thank you. Enjoy your evening as well,” I
heard him call after me before approaching the snack counter.

As I walked into the theatre I found myself
wondering what movie he could be seeing. I climbed the stairs and
sat at the very back. The three rows ahead of me were all empty,
making it feel very private. If I had a mini panic attack during
the movie, there wouldn’t be any witnesses. I leaned back and
rested my feet on top of the chair in front of me.

This feels so good,
I thought, closing my
eyes.

“Excuse me.”

My eyes snapped open to find James towering
over me again. His legs were nudging mine; clearly, he wanted to
get by.

“There are so many other rows you could sit
in, why here?” I asked, keeping my legs where they were.

He crossed his arms. “I always sit in the
same spot whenever I go to the movies,” he explained and nudged my
legs again.

Really?

“Fine.” I dropped my feet down so he could go
through. He took one step and stopped in front of the seat beside
me.

“
Really?” I asked, bewildered.
“
Really
? This is
your spot, the one you always sit in when you come to the
movies?”

“That’s right.” He stretched out his long
legs, mirroring the position I’d just been in.

How am I going to get through an hour and a
half with him right next to me? I could pick another a seat…

I stared straight ahead and accepted it. New
thoughts began to surface.

Maybe…he likes me?
I squirmed at the
thought.

We remained silent until the movie began.
Then he leaned into me, whispering into my ear. Sending waves of
feelings so strong, I was beginning to think I was
hallucinating.

“Feel free to hold on to me if you get
scared, Fireball,” James offered.

Be cool!

“I’m good.” I calming shrugged, my eyes not
leaving the screen. I felt him turn back to the movie.

Well done!

“We’ll see,” he whispered huskily.

He was so full of himself.

*****

I made good on that promise. For the first
half hour, I managed to keep a brave face at things that, had I
been alone, would have had me flinching and screaming

Then the worst scene imaginable happened.

Why? Why’d I pick this
movie?

I fidgeted in my seat, sliding further down.
My hand had a new home next to my eyes, saving me from experiencing
the horrific deaths of the next few scenes.

I looked away from the screen and picked my
popcorn bucket off the ground. James had been drinking a bottle of
water gradually since the movie started. He was fine. He didn’t
jump or slide down into his seat or cover his eyes. Not once.

He’s got courage. His eyes never close, even
when it gets gory. I’m so jealous!

I peered into my bucket of popcorn; I had a
lot left. I contemplated sharing with James so it wouldn’t go to
waste.

It would be rude not to offer
any.

“Want some?” I whispered, leaning the bucket
towards him. I was instantly assaulted by his signature scent of
shampoo and cologne.

Smells so good!

He leaned in and grabbed a few.

“Thanks.”

He never took his eyes off the screen. I
turned my head back to the movie just in time to see a car pinning
a girl to the wall by her neck.

“Oh God!” I whispered involuntarily, covering
my eyes as fast as humanly possible. I didn’t want to see this play
out to its inevitable end.

A warm hand closed over mine then tried to
pull my hand from my eyes.

“Fireball, it’s over.” His whisper sent
shivers down my spine.

“Are you sure?” I asked, worriedly.

“Yes, don’t worry, it’s over.”

I allowed my hand to be pulled from my face.
He didn’t let go. I stared at our clasped hands, unsure what I
should do. Do I let go or play dumb and continue to joyously hold
onto his large hand?

I’ll take option two, please!

I was a fool.

And a fraud.

The mirror of truth would have reflected back
the image of a little girl so delusional she’d believe shit didn’t
actually stink. The tight grip of his rough, callused hand over
mine sent my brain into overdrive. I was no longer on Earth as my
brain pulled its entire offensive line from the game and instead
put them hard at work analyzing this thing that was happening
between him and I.

What movie were we watching
again…?

Thank God theatres weren’t equipped with
special lighting that illuminated bodily fluids. A warm layer of
sweat formed between our hands, increasing by the second. My heart
was pounding erratically, the handholding was too much for it to
handle, or comprehend. Unlike my body. My body knew exactly what it
wanted when his skin touched mine: to tell my brain to fuck off and
just go with it.

The movie theatre’s air conditioning
enveloped me. I shivered and my body covered itself in goose bumps.
I didn’t realize I had been that hot but my nervous excitement had
me sweating profusely, and the A/C was cooling me down far too
much. I was glad I had my black cardigan on, covering the now wet
green t-shirt I chose to wear this morning. I grabbed the ends of
my cardigan with my free hand and tugged them closer to one
another. As I did so, I felt my held hand get jerked off the
armrest. He was pulling my hand closer to his body! I suddenly felt
warm again; the A/C no longer stood a chance against James and his
new play. I subtly glanced at our joined hands, then to his face.
He was staring fixedly at the screen, oblivious of anything
monumental going on between us.

But it
was
monumental! For me.

I was sweating like a whore in church. This
was the closest thing to ‘naughty’ I had ever experienced; yet he
just sat there, engrossed in the film, as if this handholding was
no big deal. It didn’t affect him at all. That bothered me.

Was he some sort of experienced Casanova? Was
this an everyday thing for him, charming girls and holding their
hands? Was I, simply, the lucky girl of the week?

I tried to pull my hand from his but I felt
his grip tighten, not letting me go, not even a little bit. I
pulled again and he gripped my hand even tighter. I stalled in my
next attempt. If I tried again his grip would be so tight it would
begin to hurt.