UNDERWORLD | ❝One summer can change everything...❞
Cath, Daphne and their friends are in for a 1985 they will never forget. The tides of change are rocking their lives, as the inevitability of growing up dawns on them. Childhoods packed away, t...
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SATURDAY 29th JUNE, 1985
THIS time of year is usually a goldmine for the Hawk Theatre — relatively speaking, of course. With school out and the sun beating down on Hawkins, the townspeople choose these months to flock into the cool, food-stocked movie theatres for a slice of summer blockbusters. It is good business, and reassuring when it comes to nurturing a nice pay check.
But not this year. No, 1985 has not granted Thomas Delaney that peace of mind.
Instead, while framing movie posters in the foyer, he watches a dismal four people walk out of 'Pale Rider' (a Clint Eastwood movie, for crying out loud!) with little excitement over the moviegoing experience. One of them is the same elderly lady, who has seen the new James Bond movie a record number of times. Thomas lets out a jaded sigh, his face twisting into a frown. He carefully frames the 'Back To The Future' poster on the wall, still smelling crisp and new since he unrolled it a moment ago.
So much for summer blockbusters, he thinks with a scoff.
Since the Starcourt Mall was opened a few months ago, the commercial giant had inhaled most of their demographic in one clean sweep. It was to be expected — things come and go, and the old has to make way for the new. But he thought there was something special about this place. Thomas had frequented the Hawk since he was a young boy, and everything about it represented the authentic cinematic experience in his eyes; the vinegary smell of the film reels he prepared, the collection of ticket stubs in the booth after a busy Saturday night, the soft glow of the marquee lights outside on the street, which drew moths to the welcoming flame of a movie. He will always choose that over the digital frenzy used to supply Hollywood giants.
Maybe it's just a sign of the times.
Thomas glances over at the ticket booth, now acting as a greenhouse with a sweaty-looking Daphne inside. This summer, every glance at his daughter has become associated with a twist in his gut — the knowledge that she will be leaving home soon. While he could not be prouder of her going to college, he finds himself wondering where the hell all that time went. Yesterday, she was nudging him awake to read her bedtime stories; now she has started packing her bags for New York. About a thousand aspects of that sentence terrify him...
In the Hawk, there is a sense of familiarity with Daphne that he craves. It's just like the old days, when he had no other options for babysitting and had to sneak her into work. The only remarkable difference is that her days are split between this and — of all dreaded things — the Starcourt Mall's cinema. Although it is the bane of his existence right now, Thomas and Daphne had gotten into a huge argument over whether she should get another job there. He loved that she fought for her authenticity and dedication to the Hawk, but as he fired back, they simply weren't bringing in enough money on their own. Raising money for college was far more important, in his eyes ("You'll have time to pick and choose your jobs later in life..." he'd told her, "... if you get lucky.")
