It starts during the coming attractions
They stop watching the movie
In favor of other thoughts
Perry and Greg sit next to each other
Watching a movie they didn't really want to watch
In a movie theater in a mall
Somewhere outside the city
Next to a suburb where Greg lives
They're watching the movie
Because it's something to do
Because in less than five days
Greg is going to Ithaca College
And presumably they should do something
Something commemorative
And this is the best they could come up with
'That looks good.'
'Yeah.'
'Is that Maggie Gyllenhaal?'
'Yeah.'
'She's fucked up.'
'I know.'
'She was in "Secretary."'
'Yup.'
'Did you see that?'
'Yeah.'
'You did?'
'We watched it at my house.'
'When?'
'When you came over that time.'
'Oh yeah.'
The girl in the trailer
For a movie called 'Nosa'
Which is, I would imagine
About a secret cult
That girl
Is not
Maggie Gyllenhaal
It's Bryce Dallas Howard
Not that it matters
They're not watching the movie
Perry is thinking
That when all these movies come out
Greg will already be at Ithaca
Seeing all these movies
With his new college friends
While Perry sees them
With the assholes like him
Who couldn't get into a good college
And who's too proud to go to community college
So he'll end up working retail
Which is fine, because it's lucrative
But still he feels pretty lousy
'That looks good.'
'Yeah.'
Perry will call every day
But he won't
He knows he won't
He'll try to
But it won't happen
It'll be too weird
How can you call every day?
They don't even talk every day now
They just see each other every day
And when they do
They don't talk
They just sit
They sit and watch movies
They play guitar
They eat
They get high
They watch more movies
But they don't really talk
And they don't talk about how they don't talk
So now they're pretending they'll talk
Once Greg is gone
'I didn't know Sanaa Lathan was in this movie.'
Greg could give a flying fuck
About Sanaa Lathan
He's not really even sure
He knows who Sanaa Lathan is
He thinks she might have been in Love and Basketball
But then he remembers that was Gabrielle Union
Or was it?
'Was she in--?'
'No, that was Gabrielle Union.'
Weird
But not weird
Because they do that all the time
So that pointing it out
Now seems stupid
Was it possible somebody else would be able to do that?
Somebody at Ithaca College?
Somebody in the Physics Department?
Somebody who would willingly see five movies a week?
Sometimes two in a night?
It didn't seem likely
Greg doesn't really want to go
He'd be happier going somewhere close by
Somewhere where he'd still know people
Where he wouldn't have to give up familiar settings
Like the restaurant where they serve that pie late at night
Like the club he snuck into to see Van Gogh play
Like the guitar store he and Perry stand outside of
For at least an hour
Every Saturday afternoon
Talking to the employees when they go break
Like that girl Perry sort of might have a crush on
But who probably likes Greg more
He'd really like to stay
But he knows if he did
He'd hate himself
He'd feel like an asshole
He wonders if that's how Perry feels
And at the same time
He knows it's how Perry feels
'Is that her boyfriend?'
'No, it's the guy who killed her boyfriend.'
'Where they twins?'
'Uh...they might have been?'
They might as well leave
Neither one likes the movie
And they could easily sneak into another one
But that being said
They're fastened to their chairs
By a pulsating fear
That when they get up
And walk out
Something they've done three times--
All Three Mummy Movies
There's a fear
That Greg will keep going
And walk right to Ithaca College
Leaving Perry standing in front of the movie posters
Wondering where to walk to
'This movie sucks.'
'Hardcore sucks.'
'Does that apple mean anything?'
'She's eating it.'
'But does it mean anything?'
'It means she's hungry.'
'Shut up.'
'You shut up.'
Perry finds his eyes
Climbing right up the screen
Right onto Sanaa Lathan's face
Clinging to her projection
Hoping to hang out
Hoping to slow down the movie
Slow down the film
Have the characters stop where they are
And just wait
Just wait
Please, just wait
Can't they just wait
What's the hurry?
Honestly, what's the hurry?
'I have to pee.'
'Don't.'
'Huh?'
'Uh...nothing. Never mind.'
What an idiot
Why didn't he just kiss him?
That would have been less gay at least
'Never mind. I'm cool.'
The credits snuck up on them
It was one of those endings
Where it just...ends
'That sucks.'
'Fuck that.'
'That really sucks.'
'Seriously, fuck that.'
'Yeah.'
They sat there
Through the key grips
And the assistants
To the assistants
While a thematic song played
And right up until
The ushers came in
To sweep up the popcorn
'So it's over.'
'Yup.'
'It fuckin' sucked.'
'Yeah, it did'
For a second they just hung there
Eyes locked forward
Sweaty palms pressed down
On the armrests
And they sat
And wondered
If maybe another movie
A better movie
Would be coming up soon
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