Chapterdandruff™- Accidently Leaning on the Buttons: "So,....how bout them Lakers?"

("chapterdandruff™" definition: an unintentional idea for a chapter that just kinda falls off of a story while writing....like dandruff falls off one's head.

I'd also consider it to be a 'bonus chapter', kinda like a deleted scene.)

#Intro cheesey old-school rocky and bullwinkle type music/generic intro animation#

#also intro cheesey rocky and bullwinkle type voiceover#

When we last left our hero.. she stood alone, blood soaked and irritated. pause

We rejoin her in the same condition:

#cut to setting in very last line of chapter two#

Elizabeth pondered her next move. She glanced at the small wrist watch that controlled her presence in the film.

Just as she was about to press "exit", things began to change. A wave of intense nausea hit her, she stumbled and fell to the floor. Her head pounded as though tiny DDR-thletes were in her skull playing 'Paranoia Rebirth'... doubles, on heavy mode. Everything around her blurred. Distorted voices and a buzzing sound assaulted her ears. Then, everything went black. I'm not just talkin' some bitch-ass Oprah Winfrey black...I'm talkin' Snoop Dogg black.

Slowly, things began to fade back in. Elizabeth wondered where she was. Her vision was still really out-of-focus. 'am I still in the simulation?', she focused on the sounds around her. She heard a tv, it sounded like the news...she only caught a few words, "..pulled off a daring daylight escape....changes death toll to 15, and 1 hostage, a young girl. Her other wherabouts are unconfirmed", it sounded like a familiar newscast. Her vision was returning to normal, she then became aware of the fact that her wrists were bound together. She looked down, and saw that they were bound with duct tape. She was no longer covered in blood, which was definitely a plus, and was dressed the same as before. She was sitting on a couch in what looked like an ugly motel. Still not quite able to process information normally, she began to recognise where......

"You wanna come over on the bed and watch tv with me?"

'oh fuck..', Her mind snapped back to full awareness. She was definitely still in the simulation. She was even in the same movie, but, how did she get HERE in the movie? More importantly, why had she completely removed, and replaced a small charater that was already in the film? ....of course, this was trivial at the moment. She wasn't gonna be able to pull this duct tape off herself, and it covered her watch, so no escape. 'shit shit shit....ok. just think...we don't wanna get shot, among other things. So, whaddaya do?'

She stood up and shuffled over to where Richie sat on the bed, flipping through TV channels. He looked at her sympathetically and patted the spot next to him.

' Well.........I don't know how to feel just now..' nervous eye twitch

Elizabeth sat down, "do they have cable?", she slipped her sandals off and layed her feet on the bed.

'well that was stupid as hell....'

He replied in a semi-disappointed tone, "No...".

Elizabeth looked disgusted, "Shit! That sucks. No-one ever has anything worth a rat's ass on local channels during the day. ", she paused momentarily, "Unless you're a dumb fuck that watches soap operas...."

Richie laughed and nodded, that sure was different from what most hostages said....there was a lull in the.. well, you couldn't really call it a conversation...

"Hey, will you do me a favor?", he heard her ask aprehensively......that was definitely different from what most hostages said,

Elizabeth could almost hear the 'shoof' sound effect as his eyes fixed on her. "Yeah?", he asked.

Elizabeth's subconscious spoke up again, 'you certainly worded that in the worst way possible. I'm starting to think that you like causing trouble for yourself sometimes.'

She smiled, "I wondered if you'd take the duct tape off my wrists....it really cuts off my circulation. You can put it back before..."

He cut her off, "Ok..."

'that was easy..', She held out her wrists. Richie carefully removed the crudely placed, and unessicarrily abundant layers of duct tape....damn, she had long fingernails. There were a few moments of quiet. A few too many, for this situation, by Elizabeth's thinking. She said the first thing that came to her mind, "So.........how bout them Lakers?"

He arched an eyebrow and removed the last of the tape, flinging it across the room over his shoulder, "uh....I dunno. I don't like basketball."

Elizabeth nodded, "Me either....I just couldn't think of anything else to say...still can't." She then realized that Richie neglected to let go of her wrists, '....and so it begins.' , she thought....

Two things remained constant despite the thick, awkquard-ness floating thorugh the room......1. Elizabeth lacked the ability to fear Richie. 2. Her little strategic mind was also constantly thinking of ways to better this situation; because as long as she couldn't push the little 'exit' button on her watch, she was stuck in it. (....and we don't wanna end up like the hostage in the movie. X.x)

Elizabeth inadvertently caught Richie's glance. Her eyes seemed to be glued to his in a unintentional staring contest..it is debateable who was victorious in this..

Elizabeth, still having not gained control of her wrists, tried to make conversation, "What happened to your hand?" (of course, she already knew what had happened to it....but he didn't know that she knew.)

He grimaced, "A convienience store clerk shot a hole throught it..."

"..I bet that hurt. But, if duct tape won't fix it, nothing will.", she smiled half-heartedly. He nodded rather absently. There was silence. '...Never give up on the good times, Gotta believe in the love you find. Never give up on the good times. Livin' it up is a state of mind...', Elizabeth mentally sang to herself. She was now damning her idea to listen to the Spice Girls, just for nostalgia, on the drive down to the theme park. , 'Irony.........odd song for this situation..', Spice Girls songs had always stuck in her head like a son-of-a-bitch.

Outside:

A small sedan pulled up in front of the hotel. The couple inside was far too large to have any business owning such a small car, but that isn't the point. They parked the overworked little vehicle just in front of the room that our present plot's main characters inhabit. The man opened his door. He pressed the little red button that popped the trunk. He stepped out onto the paved parking lot, stretched a little, and trudged over to the trunk. This whole time he didn't bother to turn off the car, or even shut the door.

"Earl??" The woman he was travelling with called to him. She was standing a few feet away on the concrete sidewalk that lay at the doorsteps of the rooms. He looked at her, "Yeah honey?", he said starting to pick up a suitcase. She giggled, "We should probably get a room before we unpack.." The man smiled. He put the suitcase down and walked over to her, " Yeah I suppose you're right....I've been driving too damn long today.", he said. The hefty pair laughed loudly and headed towards the office.

Meanwhile back in the room:

Muffled speaking and laughter could be heard from outside. Elizabeth leaned over and peered out the window. She saw the man and woman as they moved ever closer to the office. She also saw their totally ungarded car, "man those dumbasses are just leaving their car wide open for god and everybody....I'm gonna laugh when someone steals it."

She could almost see the lightbulb appear above Richie's head. His gaze sharpened and he turned his head to look out the window. He turned back around, and thought for a few moments. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but hesitated.

Elizabeth paraphrased, in one word, what he would've taken alot longer to say.

"Roadtrip?", she asked sarcastically, arching an eyeborw. (A-n: Dammit, I'm witty!) She'd never before felt such a strong conflict between weather to act rational or nonsensical.

The way time passed, and events occured next are best described with a simple adjective: quick (A-n: like a bunny?)

Elizabeth was yanked from where she'd been seated and was now being led out the door. Richie kept a tight grip on her elbow as they headed toward the car. 'We're off to see the wizard!' , Elizabeth thought to herself.

Meanwhile, in some other room:

An old woman, probably in her 70s, sat looking out the window. Her daughter had asked if she'd wanted to go on vacation with her, her husband, and her teenage son. Of course, the old woman didn't say no. She loved spending time with her daughter, thought she wasn't totally sure about that man she married. She'd would've really enjoyed spending more time with her grand-son, but he was that typical teenager. He hated being with anyone but his peers, and people less than 5 years older than he was. The elderly lady was looking out the window while waiting for her daughter and son-in-law to prepare for the family outing. He grand-son sat on a bed, drowning in his MTV( he watched any tv, anytime...but MTV was his fav.) She saw a young girl walking hurriedly to keep up with a grown man. The girl was dressed nicely....pink shirt, not trashy looking, combed blond hair that was a little past shoulder length. The older woman smiled, "See Thomas...", she turned and pointed at her grand-son, "Now that's a nice girl.", she gestured back out the window, "That girl respects her elders. See how she stands right with that man. She isn't off all willy-nilly, messing about. You should find a nice girl like that Thomas. She would have a good influence on you." The old woman continued grinning. Her grand-son scoffed, "Yes Grandma..", but he was interested in the prospect of a girl....he stood up and walked to the window. He looked at the girl for a moment, but the man caught his attention more. He squinted, that guy looked really familliar. The boy sifted through his memory, trying to match the image. Then it dawned on him. He'd been watching the boring news with his boring mom this morning...but there had been one interesting story. Two brothers.......dangerous guys, not too far from where they were. Robbers....murderers....kidnappers. The one of them was a sex offender...and THERE HE WAS, with a young girl...she had to be a hostage.

The boy gasped, "Oh shit!", he yelled.

His grandma looked appauled, "THOMAS!!!!!!"

His mother was soon seen storming out of the bathroom. She had a towel wrapped around her wet hair, and a glob of bright blue toothpaste on her cheek. She held the toothbrush it'd come from. She yelled, "THOMAS GLEN BRODY!!! You better thank you're lucky stars that your daddy's in the shower!!!"

The boy just pointed out the window, "but....it's the...and he.."

His mother kept fussing, "No sir, you cannot talk you're way out of this."

The boy looked very concerned, "But, ..THAT GIRL!....and she'll....we gotta!"

His mom now grabbed him by the ear and, despite his struggling, drug him away from the window, "son...when your father gets out of the shower I'm telling him what you said. I don't want to hear one WORD from you for the rest of the night. If I do....no tv for a month. do you understand?"

The boy couldn't do anything other than nod.

Back to our regularly schedueled programming:

Richie looked in the trunk, it was full of luggage. "Dammit.", He slammed it shut. Elizabeth felt really lucky for the first time in awhile. She looked at the trunk, 'boo-yah..' , she smirked.........

CLIFFHANGER!!!! ......stay tuned to see the shocking conclusion!!