C.R.E.W

Chapter 24 ~ Movie Plans

        Noelle was the type of person to ask you if you are okay after a minor inconvenience, recently, she has done just that...except, she's done it with her actions and humbleness. She wanted to have some fun together, so I continued off to her house expecting a normal day. I once again met myself back at her doorstep, waiting to be invited in. Before I could wait long, Noelle opened up the doors to her home and allowed me inside. We smiled at each other as I closed her red painted door...no, blue, no, red? I looked at her door and it was a flashing blue, the same thing had happened last time I visited her house. The colors of her door changed which seemed meaningless, but really confused me, generally. We walked in and I shook off the idea of a color changing door out of my head assuming it was just a thought. We went up her twirling carpeted stairs and went upstairs. I went to hang my bag on her wooden end of the bed, a cylinder corner with a lined detail on top making it look like someone had taken a head massager and scraped it against the reddish wood. I put my stuff down and sat on her bed, intrusive thoughts running through my brain and not leaving. Noelle was talking but it was muffled, I couldn't hear anything but my clouded thoughts. 'What if you die, today?' One said. Another worse, 'how long do you think it will take until she just gets up one day and decides she doesn't want you anymore?' 'What would happen if I just ran across the top of the carpet and yelled random thoughts? ' 'What would happen if I just jumped off the top balcony right outside her door?' Ideas ran through my head, bad ones. Noelle patted the bed, soft, hard, and harder as I began to lose focus.

"Hm?" I questioned, eyebrows perked up in both amusement and confusion.

She looked at me with a soft smile, "just checking."

I smiled at her, not a big one to make a huge difference, but a small one that did show I was listening.

"Girls!" I heard her mom call.

"What!?" Noelle yelled.

"Just come down here!" Her mom replied, voice softer as she said the different syllables.

Noelle shrugged and brought herself off the bed as she landed on her gray socks that were only one unnoticeable shade darker than her carpeted floor. I was going to ask what her mom wanted, but didn't want to burden if it was something important. Noelle turned to look at me and could probably tell the question I wanted to ask just by how I looked at her. She shrugged, her mid-length auburn hair getting scrunched by her shoulders.

We came downstairs and her mom met us at the other dining area right by the front door and to the left of her stairs.

"So, I was wondering if you girls wanted to see a new movie in theaters? I know there are a few that Noelle might like." She said, turning to us as she rummaged around her black leather purse, gold chained handle just seeping on the wooden table.

I stayed quiet. I didn't go to theaters a lot, I preferred to stay home and wait until a movie became available to the T.V. I didn't want Noelle to not be able to go just because of me, so I tried to get a response out, "I-" was all I could get out. I just stuttered until I shut my mouth. I couldn't look up at her. I tried to glance at Noelle, but all I could do was notice her gray socks that were planted on the floor beneath her. I could feel her gaze upon me, wanting me to try and speak for myself.

"I think it's fine, mom." She said with a smile, despite the fact that her best friend just ruined her chance at seeing a good movie.

"No, we can go." I muttered, with only one mistake when speaking.

She was proud, I had only made one mistake. The only adult I could talk to without stuttering was my mom, but lately, that had started to change. I can't even focus on her which is complicating everything I do. Everything I did was for her, I tried to pay attention in school, so I could come home with a good grade and see her face light up. Anything was better than the grades I had gotten previously, I just wanted to make her smile and see her be proud of me. Sadly, she has been taking breaks out of the house which leaves me to go hang out with Noelle all the time after school. My dad had gone on more business trips to make up for the days he missed, but has gotten called into the office more often than normal.

"Are you sure?" She asked, making sure I was actually confident in my answer.

I nodded and mumbled, "mhm" under my breath.

I could feel Noelle and her mom exchanging looks, "Alright!" Her mom exclaimed enthusiastically to brighten the mood, "what movie are we going to see?"

"Well, which movies are in theaters?" Noelle asked.

"Look it up on your phone, their website should tell you." She said, walking away with both her phone and her purse.

We went over to her counter in the kitchen and leaned against her black and white, granite countertops, "Prixx?" She questioned, tilting her head to my side.

I looked over at her, head falling to the side as I stared her directly in the eyes.

"You pick." She said, handing me the phone, the rim of her orange case was flashing back at me in despair, why?

I just stared at the selection of movies and slowly scrolled through them. I looked at some of the covers and most were just the actors all piled onto one image with their names under them and the title of the movie in the middle, sticking out in the blue. I tried to look for movies Noelle would like, normally, those would either be ones that fall under the category of mystery, romance, or fantasy.

"What kind of movies do you think I like?" I asked her.

She looked at me confused but made up for it by thinking not too long about it and almost instantly answering my question, "you seem like you would enjoy a good mystery..." she rose her eyebrows, hinting at the fact that we are both living a mystery right now, "...and definitely a thriller, occasionally fantasy, depending on the type of plot and filming setup." She knew me all too well, I didn't even know what kind of movies I liked, I just watched the movie and got on with it.

I looked on the website for movies that were both a mystery and fantasy, since that fits into both of our categories. I narrowed it down to two and let Noelle decide which one we watched. We confirmed it over with each other and her mom came trotting down the stairs with her purse in hand and walked over to the long cabinet that held all of their snacks.

She packed a few granola bars and cookies, "any specific candies or snacks, girls?" she asked, not moving her gaze nor attention off of the newly barren cabinet.

"No, nothing specific. Oh! Maybe those little crackers that you bought a few days ago!" Noelle said, snacking on a pack in the moment, stuffing one of the whole grain crackers right into her mouth.

She offered one to me but I declined. Her whole grain cracker seemed the least bit appetizing.

She turned to me, eyes off the screen as she blinked, "you want anything? Like, to eat? We have crackers, granolas, pretzels..."

"I'll eat whatever your mom brings for us." I shrugged. I hadn't gone to the movies a lot and just assumed we were going to buy stuff there, when her mom came down and started packing things in her bag, it confused me a bit.

"No, what do you want to eat. I'm not saying you can't eat whatever she brings, but I'm just saying, we can bring you foods that you want to eat. I want you to be comfortable at the theater and not have to worry about feeling hungry, or pressured to do something," she rubbed her hand down my navy colored long sleeved shirt, "now, what kind of snacks do you want us to bring?"

I looked at her with pressed lips and lifted my shoulders again, "I'm fine with whatever. I'll eat some crackers and granolas."

"Okay!" She smiled and turned to her mom.

Her mom listened and as soon as I said what I wanted, she grabbed it out of their snack cabinet.

I smiled, I was actually going to go to the movies with my best friend. We were going to hopefully see a good movie, one that will distract me and grasp my full attention, one that will allow me to feel like me and not worry about the surrounding people, one that might even become my new favorite movie.