Ignorance Is Swiss!

6 ♦ Run, Hun, As Fast As You Can!

6 ♦ Run, Hun, As Fast As You Can!

The forcefulness of the rain was unreasonably sporadic. At some points, the drops came down slowly, which made us think the storm was over. But a second later, it would come down harder than boulders falling from Mount Everest, to our dismay. The sky was covered in gray clouds, but the dark blue sky could be seen in tiny, open specks above. As my feet continued to run past the distressed drivers in vehicles, I checked my phone in my pocket, not taking it out into rain. Mom didn't call to make sure I was alright in this storm, I noticed. I was thankful she did not. There was nothing I needed less than to have my mother hear the thunder and honking cars in the background of my voice.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Aric turned towards Kei and I, who were behind him. He began skipping backwards, a feat I knew would land me on the floor if I tried. Moving his light hair out of his face, he held out his hand.

"Kei, you're usually faster than me." When Kei obviously did not get the memo, Aric took it upon himself to grab his hand. The lanky boy walked with longer strides to keep up with his boyfriend's skips. Aric then pointed at me. "What time is it, by the way? It's the number in the middle of your screen, not the one near the battery logo."

His teasing was innocent enough to make me laugh. I looked down at my phone again, and saw that I had a missed call from Valerie. It's only from a couple of minutes ago. How did I not see this? I wondered. However, I had no willpower to explain to her where I was, with who, and why.

"It's thirty-three," I finally said. "We have two minutes." He nodded and summoned me to come closer to them. Aric then turned around and ran even faster, his black sneakers clashing with the murky puddles on the ground.

"I can see the pizza shop over there," he observed. "That means we're close."

Still trapped in his hand, Kei tailed Aric as I sprinted to catch up with them. As our run came to an end, the large theater covered in recent movie posters stood prominently down the road. Aric jumped childishly and continued to sprint until we reached the parking lot. My legs were finally going to give way after all of the running; the gross mix of humidity and sweat made my skin sticky. However, the sensation subsided as the rain washed the perspiration off.

I was the last one to let my feet touch the staircase to the entrance. I sat down on the stairs, the closeness to our destination not enough of an incentive to continue into the building. The two boys' chests lifted up and down. I was surprised; with the amount of energy they had, I didn't suspect that they were as tired as me.

"Lucky," Aric said. He bent down to tap my hat. "You have your work cap on." He began twisting bundles of his hair strands, water squeezing out of it. I hadn't even thought of that until he pointed it out. 

"Anyways, wasn't that fun, guys?" Kei and I said nothing as we regained our breaths.

"Let's go in. We didn't run that far to just sit out here," the less enthusiastic one pointed out. Nodding, I held onto the banister with my hands, lifting myself up with the power my legs could no longer exert.

Once we entered the well lit ticket area, more posters and a short line of customers greeted us. I could tell that we smelt like a mix of dew and sweat, because everyone in the line stared at us with turned up noses. Kei began tapping his foot. Impatiently, we waited for our turn.

"Next," the young man, likely a college student, called. His voice was full of misery and fatigue, and the dark bags under his eyes confirmed such. I understood him on all levels, being someone who had a very similar job to him.

"Hi," Aric greeted. He held out his hand, palm up, and Kei dug into his pocket. "We have tickets for The Hunter." Hearing that name, my heart leapt. Apparently, it was a horror movie that was actually, well, horrifying. I was hoping for a movie more calm, like The Fairy's Wish. Then again, it was almost Halloween.