The Shadows Of Yesterday

The Shadows Of Yesterday {9}

I finally pulled myself away from Arlo to stretch as the credits rolled. Arlo leaned over me again to turn it off.

"That was a good movie," he said, elbowing me in the shoulder as he sat back up. "Good choice, Jeremy."

"The fuck kinda ending was that? Is there a sequel?" Nicky demanded.

"No. I heard they were making one with a female lead, but no one actually wants a sequel," I said. "I think it ends just fine. I like the mystery of it."

"Me too," Harley agreed. "It's a refreshing ending. I don't need answers spoonfed to me all the time. I like wondering."

"I don't," Chief said moodily. "Why did they get superpowers?"

"I vote Jeremy always picks the movie!" Brooks said, raising her hand. "I hate the ones Arlo, Nicky, and Chief pick. And Harley doesn't watch a lot of movies."

"Yea, and you always like those stupid action movies and those shitty horror ones," Arlo said.

Brooks looked offended. "There is nothing shitty about Piranha 3D. Nothing at all. You take that back right now. Richard Dreyfuss didn't die in the opening scene for this slander."

"Who the hell is Richard Dreyfuss?" Nicky said.

"Oh! He was in, uh, in Jaws, right?" Arlo said. "Like, the Chief or somethin'. No, Chief, not you, sorry."

"He was Hooper, you idiot," I said.

"A man of culture. A man after my own heart. Please tell me you like women too so I can steal you away from Arlo," Brooks said.

I flashed her thumbs-up. "Women, men, and Seto Kaiba when I was, like, six."

"Are you saying Seto Kaiba isn't a man?" Brooks said. "Also, same. Dude had a fashion sense that stole my heart. Hottest cartoon character back in the day."

"Freaks," Nicky said.

"Please, we've all had a crush on cartoon characters as children," Brooks said, rolling her eyes. "No shame."

"Great, I gotta fight not only Brooks, but a cartoon character just to win you over," Arlo said moodily.

"No, no, I've grown out of the cartoon character crush," I assured him.

"Oh, good, slightly less competition," Arlo said. "Brooks, you're going down."

She looked thoughtful. "No, I think I want to be Jeremy's new best friend. Arlo, I'm leaving you. I've found a better best friend. A man who understands and appreciates Richard Dreyfuss, and who doesn't watch shitty sports movies. Jeremy, how do you feel about sharks in tornadoes?"

"I'm going to decline to answer that, but will say it's not a high point plot for Daniel Logan's career," I said.

"Aha! Jeremy HAS watched it!" Brooks said triumphantly.

"I can neither confirm nor deny this," I said, then noticed Arlo's look. "Stop that. I haven't seen someone look at me with such profound disappointment since the last time I saw my mom."

He got an expression that said he wasn't sure whether to laugh or console me. I cracked a smile to show it was meant as a joke, even if it was...well, true.

"Now what?" Nicky asked. "We can't end with that. We gotta watch something else. I need closure."

"Austin Powers?" Brooks offered.

"Hell yea, we love a classic in this house," Arlo said, pushing me back so he could lean over me. I propped my arms on his back again.

"Hey, hey, what're you doing tomorrow, Jeremy?" Brooks asked eagerly. "You should come get lunch with us."