Seeking An S.O.S.: Behind The Scenes

8. Eye of the Principle

"When the face of evil occurs there is no turning back."

Martina shifted in her seat with discomfort as the narrator's ominous voice reverberated through the seats of the theater and she straightened up her spine.

Blood drinking, flesh-eating extraterrestrial humanoids weren't at the top of her list when Roman and Harley invited her to the movies this evening, but Martina needed a minute away from her cranky roommate Frankie. Earlier they had an argument about the rent and she was not in the mood to squirm under the weight of Roman's wry grin.

Martina frowned at Roman when she caught him staring, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of the fear filled in her face. The picture faded, draping the theater in darkness before Roman could tease her about it and soon the lights came back on.

As the shuffle of feet filled the theater, Martina turned around and noticed the fear plastered on the faces of those hurrying to escape the rows of seats they'd been confined to for the last hour. Martina didn't blame them. It was a gruesome movie. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, smearing the leftover buttered popcorn she ate. "That was stupid."

"What?" That was awesome!" Roman negated, high-fiving his step-sister Harley. She joined Roman's enthusiasm for the horror flick by laughing, but inside, Harley hid the fact that the movie terrified her.

Martina stood up from her seat, placed a hand on her hip . "Come on, you expect me to believe that mumbo jumbo? You think Aliens from outer space are going to visit us. That's baloney!" she exclaimed, gesturing to the screen with her free hand.

Roman grinned. "Well, why not? Didn't it frighten you Marti?"

It did, but she wouldn't tell him that. Or that the only reason she agreed to go out with them was to escape Frankie's wrath.

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Marti worked two jobs in order to pay for the apartment she rented with her former boyfriend, Frankie. Martina worked as a waitress in a family restaurant by day and was a radio disc jockey during the weekends. She enjoyed being in parties, where Marti could mingle with people her age. And this is where she met Harley. They met in a bar where Marti was dared to dance with her for a dance contest, and when they won, the two became the best of friends. One kiss just said it all and the two were a match made in heaven.

Marti knew she struggled to find her true identity after she told her parents she was gay. Being their only child, they were devastated to hear the news. They tried to accept her for who she was, but also wanted to prove her wrong by playing matchmaker. In the coming weeks, several boys would come to woo Martina for a date, but she would turn them all down.

However, to appease her parents, she went out with a Casanova. Even though she knew Frankie was eyeing other women from the start, she made an agreement with him where they would remain as platonic partners. 

It was also Martina's way of telling her parents to back off and to leave her alone.

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It was a tale as old as time when the two met. Marti was shattered into pieces once her parents asked her to leave her childhood home when she told them she was in love with Harley, but a handsome Prince Charming came along to sweep her off her feet. It wasn't exactly what Martina wanted, but at the time, she needed someone to comfort her. He saw her crying on a park bench, and couldn't spare to leave the girl with punk hair alone. One thing led to another and her feelings for him wavered, as she kissed him.

Marti knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself from touching him, as he was quite cunning with his charms and looks. Confused on what she wanted in a relationship, Marti accepted the fact that she might be straight after all. The news that she had a new boyfriend delighted her parents, but they refused to let their daughter stay  with them as they already rented out her room to their friend without her permission.