Long Islanders

25 - Movie Scare

It was Friday night at the drive-in theater. Jimmy, John, and Andrew had gone to see one of the new horror films that had just been released. The windows were rolled down as they pulled into a slot in the parking lot, allowing a surprisingly cool breeze for the summer night to flow through.

They all went in Jimmy's truck, Jimmy and Andrew up front with John in the backseat. Jimmy felt tense as the movie opened. He supposed the feeling was natural; they were watching a horror movie, after all. But he didn't enjoy horror films and was now wondering why he had allowed his friends to talk him into coming to this one.

When he was thirteen, he had gone with Nathaniel and his family to see a horror movie in the local theater. He had walked out in the middle of it, calling his parents at a nearby payphone for them to come get him.

Jimmy did not like horror, and he was really regretting coming to this one.

As the movie progressed, Jimmy felt himself growing tenser and tenser. Andrew and John both seemed to be enjoying the film, but he certainly was not. But he couldn't exactly leave this time.

Just as the monster burst into the room where the main character was hiding, the climactic point in the film, Jimmy felt something grab the back of his neck.

Jimmy jumped, slamming his head into the roof of his truck. "Ahhh!" he screamed, twisting in his seat to find John's hand clamped on the back of his neck. "What the –?"

John fell over laughing and Andrew doubled over, also howling.

"It's not funny, guys!" Jimmy seethed, turning to look back at his friend. John had apparently reached his hand out his window and back in through Jimmy's without him noticing to grab him by the back of his neck. His timing had been superb.

Jimmy still didn't have to like it and he promised himself, then and there, not to go to another horror movie with his friends.