Four Rubbings

Chapter Sixteen: Josie and Movie Night

"HEY, THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA, Casey," I say, grabbing a bottle of water from the basement mini-fridge. It has been six long days since Halloween and Casey had the great idea to invite Seth, Blaze, and me over for movie night. I am grateful someone else stepped up to plan an activity and am excited to see Seth in particular, since we don't see him at school anymore. If he made any headway on his research about the sergeant, I am sure to hear about it tonight.

I pick a seat on the lumpy, beige, pull-out sofa that doesn't manage to do any job very well; it's a terrible bed and bad seat too. I stuff a blanket under my rump to keep the metal spring from poking through my jeans. The Starbaugh's media room has walls cluttered with a collection of Drew's football jerseys, and framed articles from local and national newspapers and magazines. They transformed their old play room into a media and games room the summer before Drew's senior year of high school, so all of his friends and adoring fans would be comfortable as they sat around worshipping him. The sofa might have been comfortable four years ago, but not now. Still, we're Casey's friends, not Drew's, so it is the best we are ever going to get.

Casey checks her phone and hands a napkin to me. "Movie night, my favorite! Oh, Blaze just sent a text. Seth's dad just crossed the bridge; they'll be here in a few minutes. We need to hurry up and choose the top five. Otherwise, we'll be stuck watching a Star Wars marathon!"

She shoves half a slice of pizza into her mouth, wipes her hands, and then slides open the giant oak drawers that store the Starbaugh'sexpansive DVD collection... if old high school football games count, that is.

"I'm thinking nothing animated right?" she says before taking a gulp of soda.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a trip down memory lane. Do you remember Seth's crazy obsession with Treasure Planet? I think we're the only kids on Earth that watched that sucker more than once."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Josie. We don't have it." Casey slams the drawer shut and rifles through another. "How about The Goonies?"

"No, thanks. Those boys are obnoxious. I'm not in the mood. What about The Day the Earth Stood Still? That's a great movie."

Casey nods. "Sounds like a top five to me."

I nod too as I reach for a slice of pizza. She pulls a drawer open extracting the black and white DVD case. "Do you remember the words to say to the robot in case of an emergency?"

Seth and Blaze storm down the steps as she asks this. Seth throws chips and dip onto the long snack table on the sidewall. He looks down at his phone and says, "You're such a nerd, Casey."

He scrolls down his phone screen with his thumb, no doubt finding the answer to the trivia question. "Klaatubaradanikto! Doesn't everyone know that?"

Blaze adds a baking dish covered in foil and a bag of tortilla chips to the offerings. He turns around to Seth, eyebrows raised.

"Klaatoo, what? How does anyone remember that? Only people from the 1950s should remember that, Seth!"

"I didn't remember. It's too obscure even for me. Was the magic of the phone." Seth twirls his black phone in the air, blows on the end, and stuffs it into a front pocket like a gun-slinging cowboy.

Blaze makes a quick bow. "You are now, and always will be, the god of research, Seth. But what I can't believe is that a classic sci-fi makes it to the top five, and it's not even my birthday!" A giant grin breaks out across his face. "Oh yeah, it's good to know my love of science fiction has influenced your lives for the better. Speaking of lives, I might not have one tomorrow if my mom finds out I'm going to church! Say your farewells tonight folks." He removes the foil from the top of a yellow ceramic baking dish with a flourish, and a spicy aroma fills the media room.