31 Frights of October

Scary Movie Night / October 29th

Tonight was going to be perfect. Jelly and Sasha, Anne's best friends, were coming over. Anne had picked out her favourite moving which she had been resisting the urge to spoil for her friends for weeks. She had popped two big bowls of popcorn and seasoned them to perfection with butter, salt and vinegar.

Anne heard the sound of a car pulling into her driveway and almost burst with excitement. She scampered up from the couch cushions which she had spent hours vacuuming earlier than laid with her friend's favourite blankets.

She jogged up the stairs from the dimly lit basement into the living room. She swung open the door to greet her friends who jumped on her immediately, they hugged her so tightly the air was squeezed out of her.

"Eek! I'm so excited to show you girls this movie! I've been so obsessed with it since I watched it in the theatre! I think you girls will adore it!" she beamed before gesturing to them to follow her down to the basement.

Sasha and Jelly had been Anne's best friends since the second grade, which awhile now considering they were in the 8th. Jelly's real name was Jenna but they'd given her that nickname for her famous jelly sandwiches throughout elementary school and it just kind of stuck.

The girls lit up when they caught sight of the decorated basement. Fairy lights were strung over the back wall and the windows were covered with thick blinds. Snacks and sodas were neatly arranged on each side table, and finally the couch was thick with their favourite stuffed animals and blankets. Anne had perfectly curated this night for them.

"Oh Anne! You're the best!" Sasha shook her shoulders while following her down the stairs, she shot an excited grin at Jelly who was equally pumped.

"Oh come on, It's nothing special!" Anne said, her words lisping on her missing front tooth. Anne had always been a late bloomer and socially was not an exception, but her friends loved her regardless.

The girls plopped down onto the couch, it was tighter than it was when they were younger and honestly a little uncomfortable. Anne squeezed out of the middle and slid the CD into the television. The screen lit up and the words The Last Flicker displayed across the screen before Anne pushed play almost immediately.

She looked over her shoulder at her friends who were now laid out across the couch, her spot had been swallowed up. She rolled her eyes and promptly sat at the foot of the couch nestling up nicely with a few pillows and blankets, the credits rolled and then the screen play started.

The movie had an eerie start which made the room haunting dark, or well, it was supposed to. Anne looked back at her friends, the bright blue glow of their cellphones illuminated their faces and surroundings.

They took note of Anne's puzzled expression, simply turning the brightness down. Anne scoffed.

"Guys? The movie just started, is it really that boring already."

"Oh, it's not boring Anne, it's just Reigen updated his bio to single and we need to know what's going down between him and Roshuto." Jelly giggled slightly elbowing Sasha in the side.

They were completely oblivious to how Anne felt. Anne tightly crossed her arms before she muttered something under her breath.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you guys watched the movie."

The two girls were too lost in their phones, the words didn't even make it to them.

As the movie continued Anne attempted to persuade her friends to watch the movie, every time they promised they would, but she'd find them within minutes glued to their phones again. They would break out into howls of laughter in the most tense parts of the movie over gossip Anne hadn't even heard of, or they'd whisper so loudly Anne had to bite her own hand not to yell at them to shut it.