red hot | grayson dolan

one

june 10th, 1983

AVERY

My fingers anxiously tap against the sticky countertop of the concession stand. Whoever was working last night forgot to add extra windex to the glass texture that displays the candy to the customers.

My brown eyes latch onto the giant clock that is wedged between the male and female restrooms. Five more minutes and it's three o'clock, which means my shift is finally over.

A short breath exhales my mouth as I look around the empty movie theater lobby. Rush hour happened at noon, when every teenager in town came in to catch a matinee of Psycho ll.

I'm assuming it's a sequel to a horror movie called Psycho, but I wouldn't know. Scary movies are not on my radar, I didn't even go to the premier of Halloween when it came out a few years ago.

I would much rather pass the time by watching Grease and belting out the words to Hopelessly Devoted to You. It's not because I'm a singer, or because I played the role of Sandy during my senior year production of the musical, it's simply because I refuse to watch anything other than a musical or a romantic comedy.

Okay, I made an exception for The Outsiders and sat front row just to drool over Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe, but can you really blame me? The boys at my college don't look like that, which is such a shame.

My eyes glance back at the clock, and I do a victory dance when I realize it's time to get out of here. I have a boombox in my bedroom waiting to be blasted through the house.

I quickly remove my maroon vest and place it in the back of the supply closet. My hands ruffle through my dirty blonde locks, making sure that extra bounce doesn't lose its volume.

The door opens, and I notice Alice standing in front of me. Her light brown hair is tied up into a ponytail, and she's aggressively snapping bubble gum between her teeth. I can see the pink color mixing around her mouth, which is a pretty gross sight to see.

She's in her mid-thirties and works at this movie theater full time. Her hazel eyes do a double take of my outfit, and she shakes her head back and forth.

"Lucky you, your shift is over." She groans and grabs her vest.

"Maxwell gave me the morning shifts this summer, so I'm not complaining." I smile and let out a small laugh.

"Oh, to be young again. You don't know how good you have it." Alice looks like she's ready to jump out a window, but she needs to paint on a smile in order to please the customers. That's one of the rules for working at Video Max.

"I'll see you on Monday, Alice. Enjoy your weekend." I swing my backpack over my shoulder. "Oh, and you might want to try to wipe down the counter again, it looks like butter is still smeared onto it."

"Great, just what I want to be dealing with." Her voice is nasal, and there is always a complaint escaping her mouth.

Before she can nag me anymore with negativity, I send her a polite smile and rush out of the building. I don't need my boss hounding me with more tasks when I'm off the clock. I already filled up the popcorn dispenser four times today. That's how you know business is booming.

I head over to the back parking lot and take the lock off my bicycle. I know Mom needed the car to go to the grocery store, but I didn't mind. The weather is stunning today. Warm, sunny, a light breeze. It's California's finest weather, before it turns into the Sahara desert tomorrow.

Hopping onto my bike, I begin my short ride back to my house. My favorite part about living in Inglewood is that everything is pretty close together. It's not spacious like San Francisco, but it's not packed like Los Angeles.