Chapter 5 Popcorn & Power Plays Luna
Popcorn & Power Plays
Luna
“What’s playing again?” I purse my lips in the mirror, dabbing on a generous coating of frosty pink lip gloss. It’s hard to believe people used to wear this in real life.
Nineties movie night at Beddington Hall is always a blast. They run a few every semester, and it’s become something of a tradition for the ladies of the Lightning. Our costumes have gotten a little more outrageous every year.
“How dare you forget? Only the best movie of the era.” Maisie is something of a movie buff, and she has a particular fondness for the eighties and nineties.
She staged a home showing of the first two Home Alone movies before we all went home for winter break, complete with props.
“Starring my number one girl crush, Julia Stiles. Pretty sure Kat Stratford is my fictional soulmate.”
Right, 10 Things I Hate About You. “Not all of us spent our childhoods watching movies that were made before we were born.”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just insult the greatest era in cinema.”
“Pretty sure nine out of ten film experts would disagree with you on that one,” I tease her.
She pauses in the middle of clipping her dozenth pink butterfly to her blonde bob. “Pretty sure nine out of ten film experts would be egregiously wrong. And for that, I’m going to grill you about how things went with the dreamily handsome captain of the men’s team.”
“I think you’re mistaken. What you meant to say was the privileged asshat captain of the men’s team.”
“Well, yeah, but he’s still hot. How did it go?”
“Even worse than at practice. There was the briefest glimmer where I thought there might actually be a human under that slick haircut and fancy suit, but then he opened his mouth again. I do not know how I’m going to survive this year.”
She nudges a blue plastic cup filled to the brim with some dangerous fruity concoction toward me, picking up her own. “Alcohol and good friends.”
“Why, Maize, are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Who me? Bad influence on our team captain? Never.”
“She’s lying!” Beth steps in wearing camo pants slung so low on her hips you can see her sharp hip bones.
They’re paired with a high ponytail and red tank top.
The skinny straps are completely inappropriate for the weather.
“She got me so drunk the night I got back from vacay I missed an entire day of classes.”
My bestie bursts out laughing at my glare. The ridiculously shiny lips and space buns are probably taking the bite out of my stern look. The one that usually gets them all in line at games.
A mix of cheers and boos fights for airspace as the three of us are heading down the stairs. Beth and Maisie shove each other to get down first. I thought a ski trip would be the thing to land Beth in the ER, but apparently, she doesn’t need the help of a dangerous sport.
“Ladies, cut the shit. I feel like I’ve told you before no playing on the stairs.” Great, now I sound like my mother. Way too soon for that.
“Yes, Mom,” they say in unison, bursting into giggles.
We follow the sound of the cheering to find our other two roommates sacked out on the couch watching a hockey game.
I glance at the screen to see Vancouver is playing LA.
Shots fired. Jenna’s a Condors fan, and Krista’s hometown is Vancouver.
I’m always worried the house is going to get burnt down anytime the teams play one another.
“You going to break this up and come to movie night with us?”
“Hang on one sec, only a couple minutes left on the clock, and the Condors have a power play.” Jenna holds up a finger.
I’m impressed they’re dragging themselves away from the small screen to join us on our trip to the bigger screen. But it has become something of a tradition, and some of our teammates who live elsewhere are going to meet us there.
Beth takes a long drag of her drink before turning to me. “Should I call us a ride?”
“Nah, I’ve got eight am class tomorrow. I’m not drinking.” Jenna doesn’t peel her eyes off the action as she speaks.
My phone buzzes in my hand with a call. That could only be one of a few people. Spammers or my family because no one else ever actually calls me.
My stomach twists with anxiety as I debate picking it up. It’s going to be something bad, right? Someone’s been in an accident or sick? A variety of scenarios race through my head, and even though I know how unlikely each one is, I can’t chase them away.
It stops and starts again while I was grappling with my thoughts, so I step away to answer it, heart racing.
“What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing. Well, other than my payment that’s due on Friday. Have you got it for me?”
Celeste. Right. I’m not sure why she felt the need to call me about this. A text would have been sufficient and way less anxiety-inducing.
“I’ll get it together. I always do.”
“I know. I’m so sorry to bother you with this. But Mom found out how much it was and was talking about taking out a loan to pay the fee.”
“Celeste, how’d she find out?”
“I may have left the letter lying out on the table. I’m not sure. Bri came over and I showed her. I was so excited. But don’t worry. I told Mom I had a scholarship for it.”
Relief is fighting with the worry. I’m relieved our parents don’t have to deal with this. Ever since Mom got sick, they’ve been tight on cash. And I’ve been doing so well online I’ve been able to cover the shortfalls. But it’s a constant battle to keep things going for both of us.
“Good. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this covered.
” I’ll reach out to a couple of my influencer friends.
We can work in some collaborations, and maybe I’ll do an extra couple of lives this week.
That’s always good for boosting my numbers and bringing in some funds.
Putting it on my credit card is manageable when I know the funds are coming in to pay it off.
“Thanks, sis. You’re the bestest.”
A cheer blasts through the house, probably taking a bit of my hearing with it, then Krista comes trudging in, swearing under her breath.
“Okay, little sis. I gotta go. Talk soon. I’ll send you a text when I’ve got that paid.”
“Great. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
Celeste says bye and hangs up. I lift the cup to my mouth, and a burst of tart cranberry hits my tongue as I tilt it back to drain the rest of it. I won’t drink anything else tonight. That will be enough, since Beth makes them strong.
A pleasant warmth has spread through my body by the time we’re piling out of Jenna’s car, and we line up on the stone stairs in a shivery huddle.
The stately old building looms above us.
It’s giving strong castle vibes. A stone stairway leads up to two large wooden doors set in the grey stone facade.
At least the line isn’t too long. We bought our tickets in advance, but sometimes the hall gets pretty packed for these things, and it’s hard to find seats for all of us.
It’s moving pretty fast, and we’re almost at the door when a deep voice calls out to us. The line has grown rapidly. Sab, and the rest of the girls from the team, are near the end.
“Save us seats!” she yells, waving.
“You should have been here sooner,” says Maisie.
“We will.” I add, shaking my head at my bestie.
The smiling guy taking our tickets is dressed in a windbreaker scattered with blocks of neon color.
We flash our phones at him, and a blast of heat provides immediate relief from the chill of the air outside as we step through the big open door.
The scent of buttery popcorn replaces the usual funk of the building.
It’s got the stale scent of something that was built hundreds of years ago.
“Who wants popcorn?” Krista asks.
“Everyone, of course. We can grab it if you ladies get us seats.” Jenna links arms with Kris, and they make a beeline for the popcorn cart to our left. Team rivalry abandoned as soon as they left the house.
“Follow me.” Maisie holds out a hand, dragging me down to the fourth row. We toss our belongings around to save the bench for our friends. Need to make sure we have space for ten.
The noise level in the old hall increases as students fill the long wooden benches.
I crane my neck looking for Jenna and Krista until I spot them weaving their way down the middle aisle, arms overflowing with popcorn bags.
It’s a relief we’re going to get a little more backup to hold the seats for the rest of the team.
This is the reason I always show up early for anything that doesn’t have assigned seating.
My anxiety about not getting a seat can destroy even the best experience.
The smell of rich, buttery popcorn surrounds me as Jenna hands me some bags to hold, and I tuck my legs in tight so she and Krista can slide by.
The extra bodies are helpful in claiming our spots, but we still get a few other students asking us to scooch.
As the holder of the aisle seat, I have to ward them away from our saved seats. Not my favorite pastime.
Maisie drags in a noseful of the popcorn and leans into my shoulder. “This is the best part of movie night.”
I turn to her. “So, what I’m hearing is you’re not actually a movie fan. You’re just in it for the popcorn.”
“No, never.” Her mouth twists up in her crooked smirk.
“Sure, sure.”
I’m about to dig into my bag when someone taps me on the shoulder.
“Sorry,” Sab says. “Can we sneak in?” I look up to see her looking at me with an apology in her dark brown eyes. A few more members of our team are lined up behind her. I tuck my knees in again to let the four of them by.
“Is Lil getting snacks?” I ask, turning to Sab. Our goalie usually doesn’t miss these movie nights.
“Nah. She’s doing something with Finn. He made plans.”