Based Off: At the Movies
Age Group:
Chuckie (13)
Tommy, Lil, Phil (12)
'Total Mayhem V' is playing at the Octoplex. While the last one had been rated PG-13, this sequel is rated R like the third movie. Betty had bought it for the twins, for their Friday Night Movie Night a couple years back. Everyone at school has been talking about this movie and the kids are put off when they realize they can't get in. Didi, Howard and Chas are fickle about what movies their kids see. Kira is away with Kimi; Charlotte and Drew are away with Angelica. Lucy and Randy aren't budging from their 'No R movies until you are 17' rule. Even Edwin, who is a brainiac on his third year of college, isn't allowed to see it until he turns 17 in three months.
Betty is working overtime at the Java Lava, so she can't take them. Lou is on a third honeymoon with Lulu, and Stu is working on his "latest greatest project that'll put Pickles Industries on the international map." The kids hang out in the arcade for a while. Chuckie separates from them to go to the restroom when an older teen walks up to the others with a smirk.
"You all wantin' to see the new Mayhem?"
"Yeah." Tommy replies, not really looking at him. "We're too young, so we're just gonna hang here for"
"That's stupid."
The teen interrupts, waving his hand between the video game screen and Tommy's face. Tommy ignores him, fully intent on playing the game. The teen sighs then looks over to the twins.
"You two wanna go see it?"
"How?" Phil asks. "We. Are. Too. Young."
"I need cash. You want some fake IDs?" He hands one to each of them.
Phil and Lil take a look at the pictures, glance at each other's, and angrily shove them back. The teen is flustered.
"What's wrong with 'em?"
"These pictures look nothing alike." Lil points out.
"So?"
"We're twins!" They yell at him.
"Hey, hey, keep it down."
A group of teens and several kids from across the theater look up and immediately identify the teen. He meets their eyes and runs. Chuckie walks back over, watching the horde chase the kid.
"Who was that?"
"Some jerk who tried to sell us fake IDs." Lil shrugs.
"Yes!" Tommy cries. "First place."
He turns his attention to his friends as Chuckie speaks.
"Fake IDs? That's stupid. That's worse than sneaking into the theater."
Tommy's eyes light up. "Hey, not a bad idea."
"No, it is a bad idea. Very bad idea."
Lil and Phil are already on the ball. "Four tickets to 'Lazy Bears and Hug-a-Lug's Big Surprise'."
They collect the tickets and enter the theater. They stick to the wall and walk behind the screen, to the back greenroom. Through there, they count over two screens and enter the next door. The lights have dimmed by the time they creep in, suggesting the movie is about to start. The twins take heed and find a cozy place near the middle. Tommy excitedly and Chuckie begrudgingly follow.
After about thirty minutes into the movie, there has been one explosion and a small gunfight halted because of a pretty woman. The movie is more of a romance than anything and hardly features any of the original cast. Phil loudly complains about this, causing another patron to report him. When the theater usher walks in, he immediately collects Tommy, Phil and Lil. Chuckie watches as the man skims their tickets before escorting them out.
After roughly another fifteen minutes, Chuckie is bored with the film. He sneaks out the way he had come in, and ventures back to the Lazy Bears movie. Unfortunately, he trips upon entering the other theater and falls to an usher's feet. Although he has a ticket for the movie, Chuckie's feeble excuse for being up and behind the screen is "A friend of mine lost a contact." When the man had asked which friend, Chuckie had replied with, "You wouldn't know him. He's in the bathroom."
Chuckie is escorted over to his friends. In less than five minutes, they have come to an agreement. In lieu of calling their parents, the kids will come by everyday to work off their tickets. Tommy and Phil are assigned to the concession booth. Chuckie is sent to the register and Lil is the new ticket taker.
The next day at three pm, Nicolas jogs over to Lil's locker. "Hey, Lillian. 'Sup?"
"Hey, Nicolas." She giggles. "Not much."
"Yeah. Y'wanna come hang out? Watch a movie or s'mthn?"
"Yeah, oh! Movie? Sorry, Nick, I can't. I'm busy today."
"S'cool. See ya."
"Bye."
She mutters softly before kicking nonexistent dirt and slumping against the lockers. She watches as Nicolas moves over to Sean Butler's crowd. Lil sighs and in very little time, Phil joins her. Silently, Tommy drudges his feet toward them. Phil had to pass up on going to the arcade with Trevor and Tommy has to ditch his photography club. A few minutes later, Chuckie sullenly walks up to his younger friends.
"Let's get this over with."
The kids get to the Octoplex with their temporary boss waiting. He hands out nametags and takes their bags. Phil is forced to tie his hair back, settling in by the nachos and popcorn. Tommy takes a stand behind the drinks and candy. Chuckie takes the register, being used to it at the Java Lava. Lil has quickly been taught the basic dynamics of ticket taking. She walks over to the window in time to see a crowd forming. The older teen girl at the window looks up.
"Oh, good. Break time!"
Lil watches her leave then takes the girl's seat. The first few are groups of little kids with their parents, wanting to see 'Lazy Bears and Hug-a-Lug's Big Surprise'. Lil cringes inwardly, but sends them in with ease. Some college kids and a few teenagers breeze by with IDs to see 'Total Mayhem V'. Lil groans but also lets them through. Just as the thought of the punishment being easy sets in, it gets so much worse.
"Five tickets for 'Revenge of Reptar's Return.' Oh, hey, Lil." The blonde kid in the green-striped shirt leans in.
She looks up to see Justin. Behind him, Sean is dribbling a hackeysack, Nicolas is finding some interest in a bug on the ground, and Harold is holding a pink backpack, while Angelica has an argument over the phone.
"Hey, Justin."
"Didn't know you got a job."
"Yeah, just, y'know. Temporarily. Here's your tickets."
"Cool. See ya."
"Yeah, tomorrow."
Sean, Justin, Harold and Angelica walk in quickly. Nicolas calls out to Lil from the doorway. "You coulda just said somethin'."
Lil slaps her forehead in annoyance. Tommy and Phil freeze up at the incoming crowd. The first few had been some rowdy kids and parents with concession money. The next had been high school and college kids who really didn't care. Now, these are kids their age; kids they know. Sean walks up after kicking his hackeysack to rest on his shoulder.
"Yep, two jumbo popcorns an three boxes o' fudge nuggets. An' I'll take a coke."
"Ditto." Justin agrees on the drink.
"Sprite." Nicolas raises an eyebrow, also identifying Tommy and Phil.
"We'll take Diet Cokes."
Harold obliges, not bothering to ask why the two of them are working here. Angelica, finally having ended her call, is still furiously typing a text without looking up. Tommy and Phil silently fix the group's food and drink. They move on to Chuckie, to get their tickets punched. Sean and Justin, no longer impressed, simply go on through. Nicolas raises an eyebrow but nods and goes in. Harold opens his mouth to say something but Angelica takes her bag and sneers at the redhead.
"What are you dumb babies doing here?"
"I, uh, working."
She lets out a small bout of her usual maniacal laughter, sending Chuckie and Harold into somewhat of a quiver. Tommy and Phil look over, uncomfortable with the discovery. Angelica scoffs but shrugs and walks in with Harold. Chuckie hands back the halves and looks up to Tommy.
"That coulda gone better."
Phil retorts, "That coulda gone worse."
Two adults approach the window, arguing about comic books. One is tall with blonde hair and the other is chubby with brown hair. Lil watches them argue but grows irritated.
"You gonna buy something or what?"
"Yeah, yeah, Mayhem V."
As Lil searches for the tickets, she responds to his choice. "Y'know it's nothing like the first four."
"What would you know, pipsqueak?" The chubby one asks. "It's rated R."
"What some girly girl like you sneak in?" The tall one eggs on.
They continue to ridicule her as they walk inside. Lil slumps over in embarrassment but looks up to face the next crowd. The college kids walk up to the concessions and speedily order a variety.
"One jumbo popcorn with chocolate sauce and double extra butter, a diet coke, a regular coke, a Sprite, a bag or Doritos, a box of fudge nuggets, a box of rainbow bites, a box of chocolate melts and a jumbo popcorn plain."
After the tall one recites the order, the chubby one adds something else. "We'll be in the arcade when our order's ready. We're Larry and Steve."
Larry and Steve head to the arcade, leaving Tommy and Phil in a frenzy. Chuckie steps out of his position for a moment to give Tommy and Phil a note: what he could remember of the college students' order. Once Tommy and Phil finally have it completed, they have butter on their shirts and more than one spilled soda on the floor. The two trays are jam-
packed, but they call for the two students. When they fail to come however, the kids push the order to the side, make a note saying 'for Steve and Larry', and take orders from the restless crowd.
While Chuckie makes small talk taking the tickets, he four times calls out Larry and Steve, who are attempting to sneak in. At six-thirty, the manager walks in. Chuckie's hair is sticking up more than usual. Tommy and Phil are covered in food and drink. Lil is exhausted and her eyes have little dark circles threatening to form. The manager looks impressed and pulls out a sheet, tallying the profits.
"Looks like you worked off a lot and no terrible screw-ups. Finster, you stopped a couple of kids from sneaking in. Alright, Deville."
"Yes, Sir?" Phil and Lil step away from the others.
"Eh, Philip. You've paid off your ticket. The rest of you come back tomorrow afternoon."
They do so and the cycle begins again. They are assigned to the same areas. Tommy feels nervous without the added respective of Phil. The first three crowds, again, are little kids and their parents out to see 'Lazy Bears and Hug-a-Lug's Big Surprise'. Once again, the next crowd, a group of college students, decides to see 'Total Mayhem V'. Scarily enough, the next group is also from the school. Trevor, Wally and Dil walk up.
"Hey, Lillian!"
"Hey, Dillan. Wally, Trevor. What movie do you guys wanna see today?"
"We're gonna catch 'My Mom, the Kid.' Ever seen it?"
"No, sorry, Dil." She responds, handing him the tickets.
"Oh, well, we heard Mayhem V is basically a kissy movie, so we decided to check this out instead."
"Good call." She replies, knowing full well about Trevor's fake IDs.
"Yeah, see later, Lil."
"See ya, Dil."
As Dil, Wally and Trevor move on to pester and order from Tommy, another group settles in by the window. Lil looks up to see Savannah analyzing her. Brianna and Paris are right behind her. Lil feels herself shrink but manages to ask.
"Three tickets to 'Lazy Bears and Hug-a-Lug's Big Surprise'? Here."
"Cute, Deville. 'In Love Part Troi' for these two. 'Taxi Hard III' for me."
"You watch action movies, Miss Perfect?"
"Deville, I'm fourteen going on fifteen. You're what, eleven? Just make with the tickets."
Grumbling to herself, Lil does so. As the three girls walk into the theater, Dil and his crowd near Chuckie. Wally and Trevor walk in without a word, drinking their cokes all the while. Dil stops to chat.
"You're not watching Mayhem?
"Nah, comedies are better. 'Sides if I ever wanted to see an R-rated movie, I'd just sneak it. Y'know Li'l Q's pretty good at certain things."
"What are you talking about, Dil?"
"Exactly. See ya, Chuckmeister."
"See ya, Dil.. Pickles."
By the time Savannah and her crew leave Tommy, Angelica and Susie reach the ticket window. Susie smiles to Lil as she asks for two tickets to 'Adventures of Idaho Ike and The Search of Spearacus.'
Lil hands them to the girls. "I'm surprised you wanna see a show like this, Angelica."
"I'm a girl of many tastes, Deville."
"She wants to see it because Darrel said he was going to."
"Ah, okay."
Angelica and Susie walk into the theater. Angelica tells Susie to order for her, as she advances on Chuckie's booth.
"Y'know your shoes are untied. Don't you ever learn to"
"Y'know, you've never changed your hairstyle. It's always those same three little ponytails. And for what purpose is that? Of course, it's not like any of your style's changed since we were in preschool. It's still uppity snob and another thing,"
Before Angelica can finish, Savannah grabs her ticket stub and shoves the other girls ahead of her. They race to their theaters. Angelica stares back around. Some patrons are staring at her, along with Tommy and Chuckie. A customer outside asks Lil what had just happened. Surprising herself, she had responded with, 'My cousin.'
"That was impressive, Angelica." Susie walks over with a tray of two cokes and a jumbo popcorn with extra butter."
"It was nothing, Suze. Nobody messes with them but me. It's my only rite since I was a baby." She crosses her arms and takes a drink.
After Angelica and Susie go in for their movie, thirty minutes pass and 'Lazy Bears and Hug-a-Lug's Big Surprise' is over. Screaming kids scatter the lobby. The older ones head to the arcade, waiting for their parents to pick them up. Another hour passes and 'Total Mayhem V' is finished. High school and college couples walk out hand-in-hand. Others go to the arcade or simply walk out for a smoke on the steps. After another hour, two movies are out. 'My Mom, the Kid' and 'In Love, Part Troi'. Wally and Trevor are laughing, leaning on each other for support. Dil is walking on his hands, burping while laughing. Brianna and Paris are smiling, crying about how that movie had been so much better than the other two.
It nears closing time. The last two movies, 'Taxi Hard III' and 'Adventures of Idaho Ike and The Search of Spearacus' end. Savannah is energized. Angelica keeps going on about how cute Idaho Ike is and how they should go back and watch it again. Susie shakes her head but listens to her friend's rants. As they leave, the manager comes out. He has with him the two college students from yesterday Larry and Steve.
"Pickles, you can leave. These two were caught sneaking backstage. They'll be working in your place."
Day three starts up. Lil once again mans the tickets and Chuckie punches them. The first crowd is group of kids from her school, but they don't know each other well. They want to see 'My Mom, the Kid.' The next two groups are college couples, wanting to see 'Total Mayhem V'. The next five groups are little kids, screaming about seeing 'Lazy Bears and Hug-a-Lug's Big Surprise'.
Inside, the first group was simple with their concession order, while the next two overlapped. The kids proved to be a big spectacle, including knocking down the popcorn machine so they now have a very limited supply. Chuckie receives several complaints. He nods, saying he'll tell the manager but there is nothing he can do at the moment. The next group includes Darrel from school. They want to see, as Angelica suspected, 'Adventures of Idaho Ike and The Search of Spearacus'.
Lil hands the group their tickets and they walk in to place their orders. 'My Mom, the Kid' ends as another group of handholding high schoolers want to see the next 'Total Mayhem V'. The next group is Brianna, Paris and Nicole. They want to rewatch 'In Love, Part Troi.' Angelica and Susie reappear. While Angelica wants to see 'Adventures of Idaho Ike and The Search of Spearacus' again, Susie wants to see 'Taxi Hard III'.
Nicole is chatting with Chuckie as the first 'Total Mayhem V' lets out. The other girls drag her away. The next group goes in. The Lazy Bears movie ends an hour and a half later, followed by the second screening of 'My Mom the Kid'. The second screening of Mayhem ends an hour later, followed by Idaho Ike. Angelica is arguing over the actual plot of the movie with Darrel. The 'In Love' movie ends shortly after. Brianna, Paris and Nicole are walking through the lobby across from where Angelica and Susie are talking when the grape soda dispenser erupts and pours all over the girls.
Everything is silent for a while, then Angelica starts laughing. In a mocking tone she remarks, "Thought purple wasn't your color!"
Larry and Steve try to remedy this, and instead pour out ketchup and mustard onto unsuspecting customers. One woman angrily stomps out, shouting "Worst theater I've ever been to!"
A man, throwing away his food agrees with her. "Yeah! The popcorn here tastes like soda pop!"
Most of the customers leave. Brianna, Paris and Nicole head to the bathroom. Larry and Steve try to sneak out but Angelica stops hem. Susie lingers beside her friend as the manager comes out.
"What in the name of Reptar's Rampage happened out here?"
"It's their fault!" Angelica immediately places the blame on Larry and Steve. "The lanky one who used to work at Zippy's and the fat one who used to work at my Aunt Didi's school."
"Larry? Steve?" The manager stares at them. "What did you do?"
"The grape soda's all out." The short one mutters softly.
"Girls washing up."
"Popcorn's out."
"Candy's melting."
"You, blonde girl." The manager calls out. "Did all that happen?"
"Yeah, they spewed stuff up, got on people and three girls got grape soda all over 'em. They're in the bathroom."
"Thanks, kid. What's your name?"
"Angelica Pickles."
"Angelica, huh? Related to Tommy Pickles?"
"And Charlotte Pickles." She nods.
"Charlotte? Drew's wife?"
"My mommy and daddy." She responds with a smile.
"Huh." He turns to his workers. "Lil Deville, you can go on home. Finster, you're still ten bucks short."
"I've got it, Chuckie." Angelica smirks.
She hands the man a ten-dollar-bill. He takes it and nods to Chuckie before grabbing Larry and Steve's arms, dragging them to his office. As Angelica, Susie, Lil and Chuckie walk out, the twin has to know.
"How'd you do that, Angelica?"
"Easy." The smirk hasn't left her face. "His boss is Daddy."
"Hey, why don't we go see another movie next week?" Susie suggests. "All of us."
"Ok," Chuckie agrees. "But next time, let's go to another theater."
[[How was it? Reviews?]]