The Professor

Five

"You said you were looking for fun, so here we are." I hear Blake explain next to me.

I currently can't see. My eyes are blinded by my hands. He told me that where we are going is a surprise.

I assume we are in the small part of town considering the traffic is less quiet. What could be so fascinating here?

"Can I open my eyes now or do you not want me to see you murder me?" I ask, turning my body to the location of his voice.

He chuckles. "Go ahead."

My eyes open and I immediately gasp. In front of me is an abandoned building with a large white board above the entrance. The board has letters spaced out from each other, leading to the word, tonight.

While still staring at the large building, I ask, "What is this place? A movie theater?"

"It sure is." He steps in front of me, his back facing the building. "Ready to see the inside?" He grins, lines appearing on each side of his mouth.

"What?" I glance back behind me to see if anyone is near. "Are we allowed to do that?" I whisper back at him, watching him wipe off dirt from his white T-shirt.

He puckers his lips to the side and shrugs. "No one ever said that we couldn't."

I suck in my lips and think about it for a second. "Will we get in trouble?" I pinch the hem of my skirt.

He relaxes on his right leg and sighs. "This is your problem, Rosie. That's why you never have fun." He shakes his head. "You're too cautious."

My jaw drops and I defend myself, "I am-" I stop to realize that he is right. Earlier today, I was convincing myself to break the rules. Who cares if we get caught? What's the worst that can happen?

He smiles. "Now can we go in?"

I nod my head and follow him through the entrance.

As we walk in, I observe what used to be the lobby. It's red color has faded and the wallpaper is peeling. The place is so dull.

"How old is this place?" I ask quietly while admiring every feature of the aged interior. I can already smell the distilled air. I cough from the dust.

"I think it was built in the thirty's or forty's." He shrugs while stepping over a pile of wood. I mimick his motion so I don't trip on it.

"That's amazing." I whisper in awe.

We stop in one of the rooms. There are rows of red seats filled in the room. The color is almost a gray from all of the dust. In front is a large, blank screen with a long tear across it.

The projector flicks on, startling me. It covers the screen with an introduction to Betty Boop.

I glance back to see Blake walking towards me from the projector. "It still works." He then gestures his head towards the screen and softly commands, "C'mon."

I follow him to the middle section of the fifth row. After we sit down, I declare, "This place is so amazing. I wish I could have lived the time this place was full of life." I stare at the black and white screen, imagining myself here decades ago.

"How would you rate your satisfaction of entertainment for this evening?" He raises an eye brow at me. His fingers swipe back his short, brown hair.

I hum. "Well, throw in a pony and I would say about a ten." I smile.

He smiles back and nudges my shoulder. "Okay, smartass."

We sit quietly for a moment, watching the short film. Betty Boop begins to pamper herself in a black dress and a scarf. She talks to herself in the mirror about her features with her squeaky voice.