“Molly,” Alex said. “No. Don’t even think like that.”
Then Molly’s phone rang for the fourth time. This time she picked it up, knowing that if she ignored her mom any longer, it would result in a less eventful Christmas break for her. She slipped out of Alex’s car and into her own. He watched as her car disappeared down the lonely road.
And now, almost 1 p.m. on Friday, he still hadn’t heard from her. The rumor in the hallways was that over a hundred students weren’t there that day. Some thought it was because they were too saddened by the news. But Alex knew better.
They were scared. Afraid to be the next victim. Some parents even forced their kids to stay home, anxious for the same reasons.
It’s amazing how one incident can shake up an entire town. One person. One action. And the emotions of seven thousand people are wrecked. That is the power of tragedy.
Molly finally responded to his text.
“I’m okay. I stayed home today.”
Alex was relieved. Eager to reply, he decided to wait a minute. He didn’t want to give off the impression that he was just waiting by his phone. Even though he was literally holding it in his hand. He counted to sixty and then he typed in a reply.
“Are you working tonight?”
She replied much sooner this time.
“I’m supposed to work the early shift. Off around 8. I’m not sure I’m up for it though.”
Alex quickly texted back. “I’ll cover your shift if you need me to. I’m here for you.”
The school bell rang for the last period, which was a study hall for Alex. He made his way to his car, checking his phone every few moments. Still nothing. Was his last text too much?
Getting to his car, he moved his two current employee DVD rentals – Primal Fear and Shutter Island – to the backseat. He had been on a ‘90s movie kick since he and Ken started ranking the best decades for film the week prior. It wasn’t until he got home that Molly finally replied back.
“No. I think it’s better if I go in. I need to keep my mind off things. I’ll just drive myself crazy if I sit at home. Plus, I actually feel safer at work. Is that weird? I don’t know.”
Alex replied from his bedroom. “I completely understand. I work tomorrow morning so I have tonight off. Sucks we aren’t working together.” He paused and debated saying more, but ultimately decided to set his phone by his side. He popped in Shutter Island and started watching it on the blu ray player in his room. If he could finish at least one of the movies by tonight, he could have an excuse to go in to the store.
He pulled out his phone again to type another text. “Want to get together after you get off? It might be good for you to not be alone.” Part of Alex felt slimy for manipulating the situation. But at the same time, he didn’t.
His heart raced. It’s funny how much is on the line for certain text messages that you send. He waited for, what felt like, an hour. In reality, it was eleven minutes.
“Sure. I would like that.”
“Great. Bruno’s?”
Bruno’s was one of the two other places on the strip with Movie Madness. When you pulled into the little plaza, it was Movie Madness, Bruno’s Italian Kitchen, and an insurance agency on the end. Bruno’s owner, Sofia, was a regular at Movie Madness. The employees and she worked out a deal. Free movies for free pasta. So, Bruno’s was perfect. Because it was free.
Alex looked at his phone as the most beautiful text he’d ever received binged onto the home screen.
“I’m in.”
His heart was still racing, but now for a different reason.
4
Friday Night Shift
Friday, December 17 - 6:15 P.M.
“Which would be worse? To live as a monster or die as a good man?” Then Leonardo DiCaprio’s character got up and walked off with the guys in white. Roll credits.
Shutter Island was one of Alex’s all-time favorites. As he hopped up to turn off the DVD player, he asked himself why he didn’t own the movie yet. It was the third time he’d rented it since he started working at Movie Madness. Maybe that was why. With unlimited free rentals, why buy any movie anymore? It was perhaps the greatest job perk Alex could imagine. Definitely made up for the minimum wage pay.
Alex walked over to his desk, cluttered with unfinished homework assignments and film school applications. He stacked them up nicely and set them to the side. Pulling out his journal, he jotted down a few notes.
Amy Powers. Found at Wilson Park.
Last seen alive on Sunday afternoon in Williamson Plaza.
Still no suspects.
Alex paused for a moment, tapping his pen against the page as he stared out his window.
Keep Molly safe.
He circled the last line and closed the journal.
Across town, Molly was trying her best to manage the rush. Peter had opened up a second register to help.
The video store was packed, as usual for a Friday night. All types of customers had made their way into the store over the last several hours.
It began with the crowd of teenagers that stocked up for the weekend on their way home from school. Then came the commuters, stopping by on their way home from work with their list of movies that had clearly been texted in from their kids. They were all business and were in and out as soon as possible.
Peter’s favorite customers were the families that came in all together. The excitement of parents rushing in with their little ones was contagious. Kids would burst through the front doors with the Friday night excitement, ready to race to the Kid’s New Release section and claim some titles before they ran out of copies. Many times, Peter would hear them murmuring about getting pizza from Bruno’s too. Family pizza and movie night. Just the thought brought him back to sweet memories of his own childhood.
That was the magic of the Friday night crowd. There was always an unrivaled energy that came during this shift from families that celebrated that they had survived another week of work and school. Friday night was when the candy flew off the shelves and people were most likely to be upsold. Friday night just brought good moods and happy customers.
And this particular Friday night was no different. Perhaps the snow was bringing people in to load up. Maybe it was the breaking news about Amy’s death that was causing people to stock up for a weekend at home. Either way, movies were flying off the shelves.
Ken had called out sick earlier in the day, leaving it to Peter and Molly to handle the lofty crowd of customers. Molly had almost called Alex to see if he could close, but she didn’t want to interrupt their plans. She really needed someone to talk through everything with, and Alex was the only one who offered.
She felt like she could trust Alex, though she wasn’t sure quite yet. Molly wasn’t quick to spend time with boys. She’d avoided dating like a mathlete avoids gym class. Her number one focus was on her school work. But now, with all of this with Amy and her scattered emotions, she needed someone she could talk through things with. And her parents had proved to not be that for her.
After the line died down for a minute, Peter turned to her.
“Well…” he said, resting on the computer monitor. “You can definitely tell the breaking news has had an effect on the town. This is crazy. I would’ve guessed business would be slow tonight.”