Friday July 15, 1994:
AUSTIN:
Work today. Don't get me wrong, I love my job at Blockbuster- I get to bring home movies every week, I get a 50% discount on the merchandise and popcorn, candy and soda, and I even get to work alongside my home skillet, Dez Wade. However, today is so slow and we're short staffed. Jimmy Starr, my manager, is on his lunch break, so he left his daughter, Kira, in charge. Kira is the assistant manager and she trains the newer employees. I have about two hours left of my shift and I decide to try to make time go faster by dusting off the counter. Dez asks,
"Dude, do you watch Married with Children?"
I say,
"Sometimes. It's a guilty pleasure for me- like Full House or Brady Bunch."
Dez sighs dreamfully.
"Kelly is so hot."
I pipe in.
"Does Carrie know about your crush on Kelly Bundy?"
Dez chuckles.
"Yeah. She has a shrine to Luke Perry in her room."
"OK, fair enough."
Speaking of crushes, I watch as Ally Dawson enters the store. Ally Dawson is the most gorgeous girl I know. I see her quite a bit- I see her at school and her dad is my barber and I see her when I get my hair cut from her dad. She's always sweeping hair off the floor, dusting the chairs and restocking the lollipops in the kids' area. I really like her, but I've never interacted with her beyond greeting her. Kira comes out of the manager's office and she asks,
"Austin, will you go help that customer over there?"
I say,
"Way ahead of you."
"Thank you."
I go over to her and I ask her,
"Hi, is there anything I can do for you?"
Ally's face lights up when she sees me.
"Oh I know you! You're Austin Moon. You get haircuts from my dad!"
I chuckle.
"Yeah, I am."
Ally says,
"I would greatly appreciate your help, actually. Tonight, I'm having a girls' night with my friend Trish and she asked me to rent her some movies."
Trish De La Rosa is Ally's best friend and she's the school's biggest gossip. She loves the 411 on every secret. She's on the yearbook staff and she writes the school's newspaper. She won the talent show by dancing to a medley of Ricky Martin songs with her boyfriend, Jace Dillon, one of the most popular guys in school. Ally says,
"The ones she wants me to get are La Bomba, Prince of Tides and Steel Magnolias. She says they're all that and a bag of chips."
I ask Ally,
"Do you guys watch a lot of movies together?"
She giggles.
"Yeah! We even watch our old video cassette tapes of cartoons from our childhood- Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake."
I smile.
"You know what was truly all that and a bag of chips? She-ra!"
Ally blushes.
"She-Ra was a great one too!"
I say,
"As kids, Dez, my coworker over there, he and I loved Inspector Gadget, Duck Tales, and GI Joe. Heck, he and I still even watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Ally says,
"Kids today deserve what we had as kids. Sometimes I babysit the local neighborhood kids and the shows they watch weird, trippy shows like Barney & Friends or Veggie Tales."
"Got that right."
She follows me to the drama section and I guide her to the biographies where she finds what she's looking for. God she's beautiful, on the outside and on the inside. Her personality is so sexy and I'm dying to ask her out. The thing is, we're different. She's academically-conscious and political, and I'm a jock who struggles in school. She fights for equality and womens' rights and I have always admired her activism.
She goes to the snack cabinet and picks ICEE squeeze candy, Jujyfruits, chocolate cigars, and two bags of popcorn. I ask,
"Why don't I let you use my employee discount?"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Aww, thanks Austin! For your help and for letting me use your discount."
I say,
"Anytime. I also want to know, do you have a boyfriend?"
She giggles.
"No."
"Would you maybe want to go on a date sometime?"
"I'd love that."
I watch as she picks up a pen from the counter where I just rang her up and she writes a phone number on it.
She says,
"Why don't you call me sometime?"
I say,
"Oh, I definitely will."
I watch as Ally exits the store and stops to wave at me and I wave back. Dez says,
"You actually just engaged with Ally Dawson. Beyond school and your barbershop."
"I did. It was way easier than I thought."
"That's funny. A popular guy wondered about talking to a nerdy girl and it wasn't to copy her homework."
"I'm not one of those jocks, you know that."
Kira walks out of the office and Dez says,
"Hey, Kira! Guess what?"
Kira says,
"Is Days of our lives getting a movie?"
I say,
"Better! You remember that customer you asked me to help out earlier?"
"Yes I do. I didn't get her name, but I kind of remember what she looks like."
"I asked her out and she gave me her number!"
Kira sighs dreamfully.
"That's great, Austin! Don't forget to invite me to your wedding."
I chuckle.
"A guy can dream."
ALLY:
My childhood home skillet, Trish De La Rosa and I are covered by our blankets- hers has Pink Panther and mine has Rainbow Brite (even as a teenager, I really like Rainbow Brite) and we're watching the first five of the movie marathon. She's staying the entire weekend and it's going to be so much fun.
We're both stuffing our faces with popcorn and candy and I say,
"Guess what?"
"Ricky Martin wants to give me a private concert?"
I laugh. Trish is absolutely besotted with Ricky Martin. She has even said,
"I want to become a throuple with Ricky Martin and Jace."
I laugh and I say,
"No. I went to Blockbuster and Austin Moon works there."
"Austin Moon, as in that guy who gets haircuts from your dad?"
"Yeah. He asked me out!"
"Ooh, that's so exciting! Maybe Jace and I and you and him can start double dating!"
"That's a great idea!"
"We can have a double wedding and set up playdates for our kids."
Trish says,
"Or even better, maybe have it be a Full House dynamic. You know, friends and family becoming one big family?"
"That'd be fun!"
After a couple of hours, we both fall asleep on the couch.
So, what did you guys think of that little one-shot? I hope you all are doing well and if you like the story, remember to review, follow and favorite! Have an awesome day my audience!