String of Fate

Chapter Sixty Nine

My mother was complaining to me about the stupidity of my idea and that I should definitely reconsider. I just didn't want to. It was only two nights – and missing two days of school wouldn't be too bad. Besides, there would be people there who would look out for me. I'd checked on Facebook and there were meant to be a lot of people joining the queue tomorrow, so, I was going today. "Riley, please, don't go. You've never missed school before, let alone for something like this. Staying on the street with strangers is a crazy idea."

"Mum, I'll be fine. These people will look out for me. It's only two nights and I've come prepared." I explained as she drove me to the cinema anyway. The streets were quiet on this Thursday morning. She knew that I'd always wanted to experience something like this and it had been a perfect opportunity when it had been announced that the film was being released on my sixteenth birthday. I'd already booked the ticket for the half past midnight showing but I still wanted to experience a line with a group of people. It would be an experience.

"Riley, you couldn't possibly queue here. There's not even another girl for you to talk to." My mum complained as she pulled up in the parking bay across the road from the cinema. There were only two guys there – a big burly guy that looked like he would feel at home on the back of a motorbike or in a wrestling match and a young guy who looked around my age and I somehow recognised him. I started to get out of the car, pulling on my backpack over my coat and picking up my sleeping bag.

"Mum, I'll be fine. I'll message you if I need anything. I'll see you Saturday." I spoke quickly, shutting the car door and walking behind the car to cross the road. As I headed to the line, I plastered a smile on my face – I was not good at social interactions. This might be a bit difficult, but I really wanted to experience this at least one in my life. "Hi, is this the line for 'Heroes at War'?"

"You're in the right place! Welcome to the line! I'm Peter, I've been here since Monday." The older guy said, holding out his hand. I reached over and shook it, shuffling around with the stuff that I was carrying for the week. He seemed like a really nice guy, which was lucky for me. "This is Isaac. He only showed up yesterday."

"It's nice to meet you both." I replied, grabbing a seat on the other side of Isaac and pulling my coat off. I noticed that Isaac was reading a fantasy novel that I knew very well – it was my favourite book. I'd only read the whole series a couple of times. "I love that book! Is it your first time reading it?"

"No, I've read it a few times. I actually enjoy re-reading the series regularly." Isaac answered, not even glancing up from the page. It was clear that he wasn't in the mood to talk and that he was really into the book. I guess he just didn't want to be disturbed.

"Is this your first time being in a line?" Peter wondered, looking at me from the camping chair on the other side of Isaac. I looked up at him and nodded over Isaac's head. "See, I could tell! I queued for the Star Wars prequel series, and I couldn't help but want to queue for the latest one, but I couldn't get the time off work because one of the other journalists was reviewing that one. My boss let me take the week off for this movie because of the hype, and I kind of begged him to let me review it. Why did you pick this movie to queue for?"

"Well, it's being released on the day of my sixteenth, so, I saw it as a sign. I know it sounds stupid but I thought it was the perfect time to skip school and I'm doing it as a little birthday present from me to me." I explained, wrapping my arms around my knees. "I know that I'm technically not meant to be here because I'm not sixteen yet but I really wanted to experience a line at least once in my life and I thought that this would be the quietest lines that I could experience."

"It's fine. We'll look after you. We won't tell the manager that you're underage, either." Peter told me, and I was really thankful that he wouldn't grass me up. He could have had me sent home but he really was a nice guy. I mean, my mother was still sitting in the car across the road. As I looked at her, she turned the engine back on and drove off. "Clive, the manager, would really try to get you sent home, otherwise. He's a sucker for the rules."