alyssum

Tonight's been a really surreal night.

I approach the ticket counter and ask for one ticket. The guy behind the counter asks "Student?" I smirk, trying not to laugh out loud. "No..." I feel a soft hand on my shoulder, I turn around and the adorable girl who'd let me go ahead in line says "It's good to go to the movies by yourself!" We talk for a minute about the movie we're both going to see, and then each of us go to separate sides of the food court. I curse myself a little for not having offered a seat next to me for when we get into the theater, as some random guy tries to start up a conversation with me about the questionable merits of pretzel-nuggets. Ah well.

I get into the theater, stand on the side for a minute as I assess the many available options for seating, and half looking for the girl again. Ah, there she is, and she's motioning for me to come sit next to her. I thank her and introduce myself. Her name is the same as the first girl I ever fell in love with. It's a beautiful name. We share snacks, whisper to each other throughout the show. Turns out she came to see this movie because they'd just read about it in AP English. Too funny. I keep having to remind myself she's younger than me, I still feel like a gawky teenager myself most days.