AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wyatt
It’s funny how, sometimes, you don’t realize how much you want something until it feels like it could be taken away from you. I wanted Tilly. I’d always wanted Tilly, but this program in UCLA—well, that was different.
I wanted it. Or, at least, I thought I did. I had sent in my application with a recommendation from Professor Cohen and a sample of my work. Then, once I told Tilly about it, I kind of forgot about it for a few weeks. I was so consumed by being with Tilly and finishing up my final semester animation project, that it had honestly slipped my mind.
That is, until I checked my mailbox on a Thursday afternoon. Most of the mail was for Jeremy, and casually, I glanced at each envelope as I walked to my room. But then I saw it, the postmark from Los Angeles. And the return address was from UCLA. In that split second, everything changed.
My pulse raced, my mouth went dry, and I was standing outside of the elevator, terrified to open the long white envelope. Rather than go up to my room to open it, with Jeremy most likely watching me from across the room, I thought of an alternative. Glancing at my watch, I knew Tilly was at the video store, and I also knew it was their slow time of day.
Stopping back at the mailbox, I returned everything addressed to Jeremy to the box, knowing that he would come down to check it before dinner as he always did. Unzipping my backpack, I shoved the envelope inside and walked to Spotlight Video.
The bell rang above my head as I entered the store. Dutch, the stoner kid, was scanning in returned tapes. Wearing a burgundy Phish T-shirt over a long-sleeved white T-shirt that was fraying at the ends, he smiled wide as we made eye contact.
“Norway!” he said. “Welcome back, bro.”
“Hey, Dutch.”
“Okay, you’ve gotta settle this; come here.” Dutch waved me over to the desk. Sully and a tall, slim guy were also standing at the counter. “Okay, Norway’s gonna weigh in, guys.”
“Leave him alone,” Tilly yelled from the corner of the store. “I’ll be right there, Wyatt!”
“What’s going on?” I asked. Tilly had told me that her coworkers got into daily debates about movies, so I was prepared for the hornet’s nest I was about to walk into.
“Hey, I’m Emmett, one of the assistant managers,” the tall guy said, “You’re a friend of Tilly’s?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, man, he was here the night Kevin got the ax, remember?”
“Ah, right. Well, thanks for helping that along,” Emmett said with a laugh. “And it’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“Okay, enough clucking,” Sully said, crossing his arms. “Time to weigh in, Norway.”
“So, that’s a thing now?” I asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Just go with it; arguing is futile. Trust me. I live with him,” Emmett said, shaking his head.
“Watch it, Polaroid. We may be roommates, but I’ll still bitch slap you.”
“Can’t you guys try to be professional?” Tilly said, approaching the desk with three video clamshells pressed against her hip. “I mean, you are the managers.”
“Assistant managers,” the guys said in unison, and I had to laugh. I could see why Tilly enjoyed working there so much. It seemed like they had a way of passing the time when business was slow.
“An-y-way,” Sully said, shaking his head.
“Alien vs. Aliens,” Emmett said, enunciating the “s” at the end. “Have you seen them?”
“Of course,” I said with a nod. “So, you guys are debating between styles, right? Ridley Scott vs. James Cameron?”
“Yes!” Sully’s lips curled into a satisfied smile, and he walked around the register and put his arm around me. “Finally, someone gets it! Are you looking for a job?”
“Sully!”
“Dude, I mean it. I just spent ten minutes trying to explain this to Dutch, and Norway comes in and hits the nail on the head in ten seconds flat. I’m impressed. And Emmett will tell you, that hardly ever happens.”
“True.” Emmett nodded, tilting his head to the side.
