Boy+Nerd

I Can Show You The World

  So, that's how it happened. That's how I began training my padawan. I scribbled my number out on a sheet of paper to a complete stranger and we began meeting at the library once a week to watch movies together.   

This is where things get a bit complicated. My cousin and I, we work together at the movie theatre and three days before my padawan and I were meant to watch The Princess Bride, we got a new guy at work. Presented before me was my padawan.

"This is Tristen. We've been friends since, like, the third grade," Matt explained.

"Does your cup say 'The New Guy'?" I asked him. It was almost funny to me because with most new people I would call them 'New Guy' because until they had worked with me for three months, no matter how often they told me, I wouldn't remember their name. I needed to know if they were hardworking and committed enough to stay. Otherwise, what was the point in remembering their name?

"Oh yeah, no one has learned my name yet."

"It's just right there. On your name tag." Neither of us addressed that we already knew each other outside of work, "I'm Ashley. Welcome to the team. It can suck. But we have good people to show you the ropes."

So an inside view of my job. I feel things are a bit sexist and for months I had been fighting like mad for an usher position. An usher is like your mom. We help you find things you've lost, we clean up your messes, and we talk bad about you for leaving your shit lying around and not putting it in the trashcan like a decent human being. Since December I had been in a new position called Cleaning Crew, but it's basically shit detail. It usually is me swapping with a person on Door and both of us are doing Restroom checks. For hours. Most of the time people will ask me what I'm doing there, whispering about my gender, and asking if they can use the bathroom. For those of you who might know what this means: I am a female of the pansexual persuasion, like Deadpool or my main man Lando. I'm 5'9" with broad shoulders and hair buzzed off. I like to chop it in the summer because it's so hot. So basically I look like an older, fatter version of First Season Stranger Things character, Eleven or El, or a taller, fatter version of Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Ellie, from the first Deadpool movie. Damn, I wish I had her bone structure. But enough about how tall and fat I am. Anyway, I am sick of Cleaning Crew. And on his first day, Tristen got to work as an Usher.

 In the midst of his first day and what felt like my billionth on Cleaning Crew, I got called 'sir' in the restroom and a customer asked me to get out of the bathroom. I didn't need a person on door to do men's so I told my friend Hunter who was on door what happened. The Ushers then walked over to the next hallway right beside us.

"From the back you do look like a boy." He turned me around, facing my back towards him, "Yep. Excuse me, sir," he said, proceeding to giggle. I rolled my eyes. 

"What are you doing?" Mikey, the Usher Supervisor asked. Hunter proceeded to tell him what happened to me, laughing all the time.

"Why did they call you sir?" Tristen asked.

"Look at her from the back," he said, turning me again, "with her shaved head and broad shoulders, anyone would think so." He laughed again. I turned back around to face the ushers.

"I like her shaved head. It looks cool," Tristen said, earnestly. I smiled a shy smile. 

"Thank you. I like your floofy hair. It's majestic."

"I bet you could seriously headbang with that hair," Hunter said. Tristen banged his head in agreement.

"My hair doesn't do that," I said, banging my head as well, no hair flying around my head, "Or lack thereof." The ushers laughed and went into the theatre to clean it. It was a good day.

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"Let's start with the basics," I said, presenting him two of my favorite movies: The Breakfast Club and The Princess Bride. He pointed to The Princess Bride.

"What is this? It looks kind of..."

"Say it."

"Girly."

"This movie is a classic. 'You will enjoy. I guarantee.'" He stared at me blankly. "Really? The Princess and the Frog, Disney, 2009. You have got to get out more."

"I'm here, aren't I?" He sighed, but smiled. Dazzled.  I nodded. 

"Since it looks so 'girly' as you put it, Breakfast Club it is. Let us begin. 'Take a good look around Tristen, because your future is about to change.'" Meet the Robinsons, more Disney.

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Authors Note:

Hello, I am A. Thank you so much for reading the second chapter of my book.  Some of the situations you are reading about are true and some are not. No, I am not actually writing a Lando Calrissian fanfiction, although, how cool would that be? I will have a lot of pop culture references in this book just because I am a nerd.