“You’re totally sure he has all the newest gear?” Kayleigh prodded. “The last time I was in there, I’m sure I saw him selling cassette tapes.”
“That’s not true,” April scoffed.
“It may as well be. The place is a junkyard. Why don’t we just go to Best Buy?”
“Don’t invoke the name of that place in my presence,” Sean said. “That horrible place, and all the big chain stores like them, are nothing but a pile of thieves and charlatans. Bob has everything we need, and at a price that won’t require you to bend over and grab your ankles.”
“Alright, calm down,” Kayleigh said. “ I trust you to do the right thing.”
Reaching into her purse, Kayleigh slid an envelope filled with a stack of bills across the plastic tabletop. “I added more than the amount Bob agreed to, just in case something else comes up. If not, then use the extra money and take your gorgeous girlfriend for a bite to eat.”
“Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing ever,” April chimed in, grinning from ear to ear.
“Not really, no. I’m not going to be able to get you both home for a couple of hours, so this should keep you out of trouble until I get finished,”
“Finished what? Where are you going?” Sean asked.
“You are joking, right? April, please tell me that I’m not crazy and that he was there when we went over the plans for today?” Kayleigh said, exasperated.
“She’s going to see that new horror movie, remember,” April said, playfully nudging Sean on the shoulder.
“Riiiiight. I tuned out once we got done talking about the cameras and all the cool shit.”
“Please make sure that you get this right. I want to get started on Phase Two this weekend.”
“Don’t stress it. I know what I’m doing.”
Kayleigh believed him, but she also knew that Sean was the kind of guy you needed to stay on top of if you wanted anything done quickly. “Cool. The movie starts in twenty minutes, and its quite short, so how about we meet back here in two hours? That’ll still leave us time to get home and at least get a start on setting the cameras up tonight.”
They stood and headed in opposite directions, but not before April threw her arms around Kayleigh and pulled her in for a rib-crushing hug. “I love you, Kaylz. We won’t let you down.”
Chapter Two
Kayleigh looked on in frustration as the customer standing at the snacks counter surveyed the candy selection for easily the twentieth time. Glancing at her watch, she saw that the movie start time had already passed, which meant she was going to miss the trailers. While annoyed, Kayleigh also knew that she would be in her seat by now if she hadn’t stopped to take a selfie beside the movie poster for Martians Alive, the ridiculous piece of schlock horror that she just had to see on opening day.
As much as she loved all things horror, Kayleigh also had to force herself to do certain things to keep her followers happy. The trailer for Martians Alive was awful in every conceivable way, but her fans demanded that she see it and give her always honest review on her Instagram page.
The bigger theaters offered a glitzier experience for their moviegoers, but Kayleigh agreed with Sean in that she found those places to be soulless and nothing but a money grab. Hollywood at Sugarmill was as low-budget as it got, but Kayleigh loved the fact that it was never that busy and that they would show B-movies that might otherwise never see the light of day anywhere else. The downside was that staff was limited, and the pace was slow, the latter of which she had become used to growing up in small-town Georgia.
When Kayleigh moved from her hick town to Lawrenceton, friends and family viewed it as her believing that she was too good for the place in which she had grown up. While they weren’t exactly wrong, the reality was that Kayleigh wanted something more from life than marrying some former high school football player and dropping a kid out of her womb every couple of years. She did love her home and went back to visit her parents and older sister as often as she could, which was not often enough in their opinion.
The customer at the counter finally made his selection and waddled off to his movie, leaving a trail of spilled popcorn in his wake. “Great choice,” Kayleigh shouted after the man, causing him to spin around and spill soda down the front of his shirt. Casting a withering stare in her direction, he turned again and used his butt to open the door and head into the theater.
“What can I get you today?” the pimply-faced kid behind the counter asked.
Kayleigh was always stunned to find that the staff at the theater seemed to be new every time she visited. There were a couple of familiar faces, but for the most part, she could not remember seeing most more than once. “Yeah. I’ll have a large Diet Coke and a pack of peanut M&M’s, please.”
“You got it. How about some popcorn, too,” he said, launching into the upsell.
Kayleigh looked at the giant zit that looked ready to go full Vesuvius on his cheek and imagined squirting butter on top of her popcorn. “Just the Coke and candy is fine.”
The young man nodded and filled her order. “Are you a Hollywood Honors cardholder?”
Handing over the card, Kayleigh watched as he swiped it through the register three times before finally handing it back. “Great news. You have earned enough points to pay for your purchases today,” he said, his voice cracking. “Would you like to redeem them now?”
“No, I’d love to pay cash and continue saving for something bigger.”
“Well, in that case, it’ll be...”
“Of course, I’d like to use my points. I was kidding.”
“Ah, that was a joke. Good one, ma’am.”
Aware that she was now probably missing the start of the movie, Kayleigh spun on her heels and headed toward her theater, only to collide with a kid sweeping up the spilled popcorn. The plastic cup holding her soda crushed against her chest, the lid flying off and sending the icy beverage upwards in a spray that would have made Old Faithful proud.
“OH MY GOD. What is wrong with you?” Kayleigh screamed.
The kid dropped the broom and pan and scurried away from Kayleigh, repeatedly hitting his head with the heel of his right hand. Throwing the now useless cup to the ground, she turned back to the concessions stand and grabbed the napkin holder off the counter. Wiping off her soda-soaked glasses, Kayleigh cursed herself for the jab at the previous customer, believing that karma has just paid a rather swift visit.
Cold soda soaked through her shirt and started streaking down toward her jeans. Leaning over, she pulled the fabric of the shirt away from her skin and gave it a shake. It was then that Kayleigh noticed the brown liquid all over the front of her purse. “No, no, no, no,” she moaned as she reached inside and pulled out her smartphone, which was still bone dry.
Pulling the phone out of her purse, Kayleigh gave it a quick inspection, just to be sure that no soda had found its way inside. Relieved that it appeared to be fully functional, she went to place it back in her bag, which was when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The sudden contact made her jump, which sent the phone flying from her hand and face down onto the floor.
Wheeling around, she saw a startled looking man standing with his hands in the air. “I’m so, so sorry,” he said, reaching down to retrieve the fallen phone.