At the Movies

 

            “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Marie glanced at the giant screen in front of them that was currently showing an ad for Coca-Cola. “How did I let you guys talk me into this?”

            “Ah, come on, Marie. You never come to the movies with us.” Stacy put her feet up on the seat in front of her as she settled back with a bag of popcorn. “This one’s supposed to be really good, and the dragon looks pretty believable. There’s so much bad CGI out there.”

            Marie took a calming breath. There was a dragon in this movie? She couldn’t stay here! What if it happened again? Her mind went back to the last time she had watched a movie in the theater. She had been five years old when she watched one of the Toy Story movies. The results hadn’t been great. True, she’d ended up with a bunch of new toys, but they weren’t normal toys. It had taken a week for everything to clear up. Her parents made sure that she never went to the movie theater again after that.

            She had to get out of here. As she stood up to leave, one of her friends, Jen, asked, “Oh, are you going to the concessions? Mind if I come with you? Stacy’s popcorn is making my mouth water.”

            “Uh, sure.” Marie headed down the steps with Jen right behind her.

Jen was really excited about the movie. “I’ve actually already seen this movie, but it’s so good and is definitely worth a re-watch.” She proceeded to tell Marie everything that was good about this movie, and Marie found herself getting more and more interested.

            Maybe this won’t be that bad, Marie thought. Jen has told me so much about this movie, I have to see it now. She waited in line with Jen, and both girls got a bag of popcorn. When they headed back into the theater, the movie previews had already started, and they quickly found their seats.

            When the movie finally started twenty minutes later, Marie was shocked to find that her bag of popcorn was nearly gone. She finished it off before the opening credits were done. Despite her misgivings, she found that she was thoroughly enjoying the movie. She felt connected to the characters as they went on a fantastic quest to find a treasure. The dragon appeared near the end as the guardian of the treasure. It made its entrance amid roaring flames.

            A prickle of fear ran down Marie’s back. She couldn’t look away from the immense dragon as he chased away the characters from the treasure. She felt the heat from the flames, and the dragon’s roar filled her whole soul. Power from deep within her rose up and surged toward the movie screen. The dragon turned and looked directly at her as it tore from the screen and into the theater.

            Now, the screams of people all around jolted Marie out of her trance. Her stomach dropped as the dragon unfurled its wings like a giant umbrella and grabbed the seats with its fearsome talons.

            Everyone ran for the exits, but Marie felt frozen to her seat. She had done this. She knew she should have never watched a movie here. She had to do something, but what? She thought back to how she had felt a minute earlier when she brought the dragon out.

            Searching deep within herself, Marie felt the raw power inside her. Focusing with all of her might on getting the dragon back inside the movie, she sent a wave of that power headed straight toward the dragon. The dragon stumbled in the middle of a roar, and Marie stood up as she sent more magic towards it.

            The dragon was still roaring, but it didn’t sound so bad now. With a final effort, Marie pushed the dragon back into the movie and then collapsed onto the seat behind her. The movie continued playing, but the theater was now empty. Without another thought, Marie left to look for her friends.

            Stacy and Jen were trying to explain what had happened to a theater employee. He looked bored as he explained, “Yeah, I know the dragon looks real in that movie, but you have to remember that it’s still just a movie.” He turned and walked off, just as Marie reached her friends.H

            “Are you guys okay?” Marie asked shakily. “You’re missing the rest of the movie. After you guys left, the dragon disappeared.” When her friends only stared back at her with incredulous faces, she continued. “They must have used some amazing 3D technology. It was almost like the dragon had actually left the screen.”

            It took her a while, but Marie was finally able to convince her friends that the theater was safe now. They opted to go home and not finish the movie, and Marie heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe the dragon movie hadn’t been the best choice, but she had definitely learned some things about herself. Now that she knew how to use her power, she might actually be able to watch a movie every once in a while. At least, only movies without dangerous creatures.