Mind made up, Rabbit shoved the necklace into his pocket and sent a reply to his mom that he’d fixed things with Arlet and everything was now back on track.
Then he shoved the rest of his snap candy bar into his mouth, barely even tasting the chocolate or mint as he chewed.
Chapter 5:
The darkening azure blue sky had Rabbit tipping his head back and taking a moment to take it and the briny seaside air in. The two moons that rotated around Vitality—Illusion, and Echo—were tinged gold. The sound of hovercar engines and the soft lapping of waves in the distance created a hum that could have lulled him into a sense of easiness…If not for the massive building looming before him.
Rabbit didn’t have time for movies so he’d never visited the Seaside Cinema before, but knew it was one of Sila’s new favorite date locations due to the privacy features it offered. The Seaside held a couple of main auditoriums, but for the most part, people came here to rent out the private viewing rooms. There was apparently a range of films one could choose from, with the promise of anonymity, and though he didn’t quite understand what that meant or why it would be so important to someone to hide their movie preference from others, that wasn’t the reason he was here anyway.
He’d come for a redo date with Arlet, whom he still hadn’t been able to get ahold of since yesterday. The necklace she’d gifted him was around his neck, and he’d chosen an all-black outfit, this time with a matching tie. The silver and white multi-slate and the candy bar shoved into his left front pocket were the only two items on him. He’d debated whether or not he should come with a gift but opted to wait it out. If things went well, he could get her something next time, with a better understanding of her likes and dislikes.
He fiddled with the rabbit charm as he entered through one of the sets of eight doors leading into the black and red building. It was a thoughtful gift, and he didn’t want to come off ungrateful by simply purchasing the first thing he saw and passing that off to her as though he’d put as much effort into it as she clearly had.
The thin carpet of the theater was inky black with random stars and constellations in gold throughout. There were two check-in booths, one on each side, and straight ahead was the concessions stand. The station to his right had a sign that said it was for public viewings, whereas the one to the left was for private, so Rabbit headed that way.
A woman dressed in the Seaside uniform of red ribbons and a sleek white dress shirt greeted him with a polite smile as he approached. “Good evening. How can I help you?”
“I’ve got a reservation,” Rabbit explained. “It should be under Zimir.”
The worker clicked on the flat screen before her, typing in the name and scrolling with her finger through the list before finding it. She tapped on it and scanned the number of guests and the location of the room and then hit another button to print out one of the tickets on a heavy clear plastic card.
“You can either keep this with you or scan the barcode into your multi-slate for easier access. There’s a bathroom on each floor, and all doors to private rooms lock automatically when they’re closed. You’ve selected our premium package, so there’s no need to be concerned about being overheard so long as the door is shut. The room itself is soundproof.”
“Great,” that sounded like a lot, but sure, “Thanks.”
Rabbit took the card and immediately added it to his multi-slate. He didn’t think he’d leave to go to the bathroom, too eager to get this done and over with, and hopeful their chemistry was as good as that night at dinner, but better safe than sorry. How embarrassing would it be if he did leave only to be locked out?
“Your preselected menu is on its way up to your room now,” she added just as he was about to step away. “It should be there by the time you arrive. If you need anything else, there’s a call button located by the door. Thank you, and we here at Seaside hope you enjoy yourself this evening.” She placed her hands over her stomach and bowed.
Rabbit nodded his head a bit awkwardly and then turned to find which of the two hallways set between the check-in stations and the concessions he’d need to take. As he went to find the room, he thought about how considerate it’d been of Arlet to also order them food ahead of time. It seemed like she was interested in trying it again, and the set of his shoulders relaxed some.
He’d had more time to adjust to the idea of getting married, and while it wasn’t necessarily something he would have chosen for himself, so long as the two of them got along, he couldn’t come up with a good enough reason why they shouldn’t. The positives far outweighed the negatives, especially since their parents had arranged everything and were on board with this merger.
Besides, if he did agree to date her, that meant he’d be able to spend time outside of the practice room. His mom wouldn’t say no to him having to go out with his girlfriend or meet her friends.
Rabbit could maybe start having an actual life.
He had to take an elevator to reach his level, but finding the door to his room was easy enough since large golden numbers were nailed to each, matching the one on his ticket. He’d kept hold of the card and used that on the panel, listening to the soft click of the lock a second before the thick black wood swung inward on its own.
The room inside was on the smallish size, more intimate than he’d been expecting, with a single loveseat in black leather set a little bit closer to the large glass screen that took up the entire wall opposite the entrance. Currently, it was blank, and he wondered if Arlet had also chosen the movie in advance or if that was something they were going to do together.
Those nerves returned tenfold as he realized he’d have absolutely nothing to contribute if that ended up being the case. Rabbit couldn’t even recall the last time he’d seen a movie. Since he didn’t bother surfing around online, he didn’t even know any of the latest titles of ones that were out and popular.
Arlet came from a musical background though, surely she’d understand that he had to dedicate most of his time to practicing the beiska. If there’d even been a slight chance that she would hinder his future career, his mother would have never agreed to the arrangement, of that he was positive.
A small table set off to the side had a spread of various movie theater foods, from the traditional gummy jiggles to the salty and buttery puff pops. The puff pops reminded Rabbit of a cereal he used to eat as a kid and he picked one of the small, circular balls from the top of the pile and smiled at the buttery taste when it hit his tongue.
There were several bottles lined up behind the food, but when he checked them, they were all alcoholic beverages. Some of the name brands stood out from fancy dinners he’d been forced to attend with his mother and some big-wig over the years, but since he didn’t typically partake himself, they weren’t all recognizable.
Was Arlet a big drinker? They’d both had water at the restaurant. Had he made a mistake by assuming she’d want to start with that and check the menu herself? He was so bad at this.
The sound of a screen coming on distracted him, and he turned with a frown, watching as it flickered to life. Since she wasn’t here yet, he expected there to be a beginning sequence, something monotonous yet informative, like a video explaining where the exits were located or what to do in the chance of a fire.
Instead, a movie began to play, skipping completely over any type of credits. The camera trailed down a dark, empty hall and then turned into a room cast in the same shadowy ambiance. There was a bed and it seemed to be heading toward that, but Rabbit was busy searching the loveseat and the wall for the remote so he could pause it, not wanting Arlet to miss anything.
He was so frustrated over not being able to locate one, that it took him a minute longer to process the new sounds coming from the surround sound speakers.
Heavy breathing.
