"Hi, I'd like one large popcorn with extra butter, a large Coke, and a large Dr. Pepper please," Benny taps his fingers on the counter of the concession stand as he patiently waits for the employee behind it to fill his order.
Meanwhile, standing about 10 feet away from the concession stand, was Luan gazing at the various movie posters that hung up on the wall. Half of them were currently playing in the theater they are in while the other half indicated that the film won't hit theaters until the next year or the following years. Many of the films on the posters had been advertised on TV several times, but unfortunately only a select few captured Luan's interest even the slightest bit.
The film that she and Benny were going to see today was called "The Andersson Family Holiday", which was a sequel to "The Andersson Family Road Trip" that came out two years prior. Both Luan and Benny adored the first film and were looking forward to seeing the sequel; especially since today was their first date.
Back at the concession stand, the man behind the counter had Benny's popcorn and drinks ready to go.
"Is that all for you?" The employee asks.
Benny looks down at the glass case below him at various candy, "Hmmm." He looked behind him where Luan was, "Hey Luan, come here."
Once the braces clad girl was summoned, she approached the counter, "Yeah?"
"Want any other snacks?" Benny wonders as he points at the candy.
Luan stares at all the candy she can choose from: M&M's, Lemon Heads, Reece's Pieces, even licorice and gummy worms. However, one particular treat catches her eye since she was strangely craving it: Skittles.
"We'll take one box of Skittles please," Luan taps the glass where the Skittles are located.
After the employee retrieves the box of candy, he places it next to the popcorn and drinks on top of the counter.
"Now is that all for you?" The employee wonders.
"Yep," Benny answers with Luan nodding in agreement.
The employee taps keys on the cash register, "Alright, that'll be $24.99."
"You've got it," Benny replied confidently as he pulled out a black leather wallet from his pocket and handed the employee $30.
"You can keep the change, good sir," Benny states politely, igniting a smile from Luan.
After the employee retrieves the money and places it in the cast register, he pushes the food and drinks towards the teens.
"There you are, have a nice day," The employee says.
Benny turns to Luan, "You wanna give me a hand?" Luan obeys Benny's request and grabs her soda and the Skittles while he grabs his own soda and the popcorn.
"Thank you," The two of them say in unison as they walk away.
Shortly after they gave their tickets to the ticket taker, they enter the corridor that lead to the various theaters playing different movies. Next to each door was a small marquee that displayed the title of each movie so that people don't accidentally walk into the wrong picture. Benny saw that the last door on the right was playing "The Andersson Family Holiday"; thus he walked towards it with Luan following suit.
As they walked, Luan glances at Benny for a brief moment and then looks ahead, completely lost in her thoughts. She couldn't believe that a boy that she has grown very fond of took her to the movies. On the one hand, she was so happy that she was spending time with him outside of school doing something that they both enjoyed and thus had something in common. On the other hand, was this really a "date" though? Or was this more of a "casual hangout between friends"? Luan definitely liked Benny a lot, but his own feelings towards her were pretty vague according to her.
Luan was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Benny's voice calling out to her, "Luan, where you going?"
Luan turned around and saw Benny standing in front of the entrance to the theatre with a look of bewilderment on his face. Then she looked in front of her and saw that she was standing in front of the wall. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she aimlessly walked past the theatre towards nothing.
"Uh…sorry," Luan was too embarrassed to even make a pun.
Benny gave a slight chuckle, making Luan blush; not because of her embarrassment, but because she thought Benny's laugh was quite cute.
"After you," Benny chivalrously offers.
Luan grins as she enters the auditorium where the movie will be playing. She glances at the screen and so far the only thing that is displayed is a message in white letters against a grayish blue background: "Welcome to Royal Woods Cinema. Please turn off all cell phones and pagers and be sure to properly dispose of trash in the nearest trash receptacles. Our feature presentation will begin shortly."
Despite the lights still being on and only a few people in the theater so far, Luan decides to be polite and whisper.
"Benny, where you wanna sit?" Luan whispers.
"Go up a little bit and scoot towards the middle," Benny whispers his instructions.
Luan obeys his commands and walks up the steps towards an aisle in the upper part of the auditorium. Then she walks down the row of seats until she's directly in the middle and sits down. Benny sits right next to her and places his drink in a built in cupholder on his seat's left arm rest.
As Benny rests the large popcorn container on his lap, Luan reaches over and grabs a small handful. Benny playfully pretends to slap Luan's wrist.
"Hey now, easy tiger. You've got braces," Benny teased quietly.
"Yes mother!" Luan teased back as she playfully rolls her eyes. She munches on the popcorn and takes a sip of her own soda, which is now resting on her own seat's cupholder.
As Luan watched Benny retrieve his cell phone from his pocket and turn it off, she grinned. It was very surreal to be in a public place with someone whom she has barely known for the short time they had attended Royal Woods High School. As the memory of that fateful day came back to her, she started to wonder if Benny also recalls meeting her.
"Benny?" Luan tries to get Benny's attention.
"Hmm?" Benny answers while putting his phone away.
"Do you remember the day we first met?" Luan questions in a sweet tone.
Benny's eyelids droop slightly as he gives a smirk, "Of course. I remember it like it was yesterday…"
A/N: I know this first chapter seems a little short and even kinda pointless, but this is mostly just exposition. I promise the story will get better as it goes on. So stay tuned.