Going to the Movies . . .
by Rufie

     "Bailamos," shouted Michele out the car window. "Let the rhythm take you over!'
     Elara rolled up the window, embarrassed that any of her friends should hear -or even worse see- her in the car with this Enrique Iglesias fan. She actually liked some of his fast-placed songs, not to mention his body, but she never admitted it.
     Jareth, in the back seat, was happily oiling his elf bow. Glancing in the mirror, Michele rolled his eyes."You're not seriously going to a movie dressed like that? They won't let you in at the door."
     This was directed towards Jareth's elf cloak and hood, not to mention Elara's Gondor garb. Her chain-mail shirt clanked as she shifted uneasily in her seat.
     "We're going to be late if you don't speed up."
     "I'm not going to get a ticket just so you two can see some stupid fantasy." He had never gotten into the series by J.R.R. Tolkien, no matter how his step-family pushed the books at him.
     At long last, they were at the theatre. Before entering, Michele glanced up at the clouds.
     "Those look a bit ominous, don't they?"
     "Naw, that's just blowing out to sea," chided Jareth, indicating Hurricane Eowyn. "Seriously, don't you ever watch the weather?"
     Once in the theatre, Michele found himself pushed -against his will- towards the ticket stand. The current of the crowd prevented him from escaping. Before he knew what was going on, he had also been pushed into the theatre. At least I didn't have to pay, he thought as he was standing to leave. He found himself in the middle of the third row with line upon line of middle-earth monsters glaring at him. There were orcs, hobbits and wizards all urging him to sit down.
     "Sit your ass down, boy," snarled an ancient wizard, complete with staff and beard, behind him.
     He sat, unwillingly. The movie began and Michele found -although he didn't like it- that it was semi-captivating. The special effects were far better than the last movie he had bothered seeing in a theatre (Independence Day, which one of his friends dragged him to) and he was always willing to watch a fight scene or two.
     Settling back in their seats, the three kids were soon too engrossed in the movie to hear the growing winds around them and the pelting rain on the ceiling. No one, however, missed the building shaking to the sound of thunder. To everyone's horror (except Michele's) the screen wavered and went blank along with a loud "ffzt."
     Shrieks, screams and hollers followed shouts of indignation from all sides. People began to stampede towards the still-glowing exit sign -the red gleam being the only light in the gloom. Michele, not to be out done by some hobbit-wannabes, rushed at the front of the crowd. To his surprise a man stepped in front of the one exit (this was a rather old theatre, due for a renovation), holding the door behind himself he shouted:
     "You shall not pass!" As if they hadn't heard his speech, he slammed the door. This got everyone's attention. "We must proceed in an orderly fashion to reduce the risk of stampede."
     With a sneaking suspicion, Michele glanced at the wizard's robe. Sure enough, he was sporting a nametag that said in blue letters: Hello, my name is Ed Tupperman (that was crossed out and below, written in terrible block letters) Gandalf. The wizard -Michele now realized that he was really only about twenty or so but with a beard taped to his face- watched everyone with a hawk's glare, trying to convince them to get into a line.
     "There's another exit," said a boy, dressed up as a hobbit. "I'd gladly show everyone, but I do not know the way."
     He led a procession of three other boys, a rather short man, a teen and two older men towards the other side of the theatre. Michele had an uncontrollable urge to follow the strange group but realized his siblings were among the missing.
     Walking back along the ranks of middle-earth creatures, he found Jareth conversing with a sick-looking orc who was complaining about a stomachache. Elara wasn't far behind, talking to a dwarf who was proudly showing her his axe that he had ordered off eBay. Apparently, it had arrived that morning and none too soon for the dwarf.
     "C'mon, you two," grumbled Michele at his twin siblings. "We gotta get outa here before mom and Davis worry."
     Rolling their eyes and groaning in twin-like unison, the two followed dutifully behind their stepbrother. Passing Ed, er, Gandalf, Michele gave him an "accidental" shove, causing the poor usher to plummet into darkness on the sticky theatre floor. His hat flew off, exposing the dirty-blonde hair beneath.
     On the drive home, none spoke to the others. This was continued inside the house, with a brief pause when Michele explained their early appearance -as it turns out, the parents hadn't even noticed the hurricane. After ridding himself of his clingy siblings, Michele retreated to his room. He opened and dusted off the book Davis (his stepfather) had given him a week ago. Turning to the first page, he read: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."