//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Dinner and a Movie // Story: Worlds Apart // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// The next morning, I dial the numbers to Penny’s cell on my phone. I wait for her voice. “Hello?" “Penny? It’s me, Ian.” “Oh yeah. Hi!” “I just looked on Fandango, and there’s a 8:30 showing for Prometheus at IMAX.” “IMAX? Doesn’t that seem a little pricey? Are there other cheaper showings?” “Meh, not if you want a late dinner. Plus, I was really looking forward to seeing it in IMAX, and if you wanted to too, I wouldn’t mind.” “…Okay. What about dinner?” “Reservations at 5:30 sound fair?” “Alright.” “I’ll pick you up at 5, okay?” “Sounds great, Ian. I’ll see you then. Bye.” “Byebye.” *click* Shining Armor was standing over me the whole time. Needless to say, they were very proud and excited for me. “You’re doing great,” says Shining Armor, rubbing my back with his hooves. “So what should I do then?” “Don’t dwell on it. Just try and have a nice conversation with her and everything will go smoothly." “How did it go for you? Your first date with Cadance that is.” “It went well. We met at a café for tea. Oh Ian, you should have seen her. She looked gorgeous.” “I bet she was,” I agree. “Anyways, I showed up a little late, as I had an exam I needed to finish that I got a little behind on. When she saw me approaching, the light in her eyes sparkled brighter than the biggest firework. She was really happy to see me, and I was happy to see her. I began our conversation with an apology for the ball incident and we just went from there.” “You really like to paraphrase your stories, don’t you?” “I don’t understand. That’s just what happened. I mean we had some fun with each other the next few days, but other than that, there’s not much to tell.” “It’s just that I want to do this right.” “You will, Ian. You just have to believe in yourself. Trust your instincts, and you’ll go far.” Still, Shining’s confidence in me is overpowering. “Thanks man,” I say. ________________________________________________________________________________________ It’s now 3:30, and I want to leave in a half an hour to go to the bank and get some cash for tonight. Shining Armor and Cadance want to use this time to make me look presentable. I have already shaven and bathed, but they want to help me out even further. I tell them that I don’t want anything too fancy, as it’s only a dinner and a movie date, so Shining Armor suggests a pair of khaki pants with a grey shirt and a black vest. I tell him that this is just fine, to his delight. Cadance helps with putting the right cologne and styling my hair. After applying the right cologne, she uses her magic to take a small gob of hair gel and lather it into my hair, styling it into a short faux-hawk. After showing me the mirror, I gasp at how well of a job they did. It’s now five to 4. I check that I have everything: wallet, phone, keys, watch. I’m good. I just have to make one stop and I should be able to go to Penny’s house. Before I exit my door, I look at Shining Armor and Cadance. “Good luck!” they both call. I then walk over and give them both a hug wrapping an arm around their necks. “Thank you both so much for all you’ve done,” I say. “Don’t worry about it,” says Shining Armor. “Now knock her dead.” I chuckle a little and leave my friends inside the house to get to my car. After a twenty minute drive to the bank where I get some cash, I pull out the MapQuest map with Penny’s address on it. It’s 4:50 when I finally arrive at the apartment. I get out of my car and walk up to her room. I knock on the door, and it isn’t long until I see a woman standing in front of me. She’s wearing a buttoned up blue flannel shirt with black jeans and black Converse shoes, her hair in her usual ponytail. “You’re early,” she says to me with a seductive smile. “You know what they say,” they mutter. “Plan on showing up early…” She giggled and pawed at my chest. “Come on,” she said. “I’m starving.” “You and me both.” I escort her to my car, open the door for her like a gentleman, to which she makes a joke about being a valet based on my choice of clothes (my vest), and we head to Maggiano’s. Despite it being a Sunday afternoon, we are lucky enough to pull into one of the closest parking spaces after a family of four backs out of their spot. “This is going to be a good night,” I say pulling in. As we walk into the restaurant, I go to the maître d and ask if our reservations are ready. He tells us that we’re early, but they have tables available. I thank him as he sits us in a booth across from each other. Now the night can begin. “What are you going to get?” asks Penny. I know Cadance told me not to eat meat in her presence, but I feel that not eating meat at all would be an even kinder gesture. I mean, she did help get me a girlfriend. “I love the eggplant parmesan here.” “So you’re planning on the 'pick-two' special?” “Sure, along with some spaghetti marinera , that sounds nice.” Before Penny can tell me what she wants, our water comes and orders our drinks. Being the designated driver, I order a ginger ale, while Penny orders a glass of red wine. “So anyways,” I resume, “what are you getting?” “I love the ziti, so I’ll get that, and take home some spaghetti and meatballs. By the way, none of the items you wanted has meat in it. Are you a vegetarian?” “No,” I respond, “I’m just trying something over the Summer.” “Weight loss or something?” “Yeah. That doesn’t bother you does it?” “Certainly not. You just didn’t strike me as the vegetarian type.” “What’s wrong with vegetarians? I mean look at the members of Between the Buried and Me.” “Oh my God, I love that band!” Now the conversation’s rolling. “I mean,” she continues, “they’re one of the few metal bands from the twenty-first century that I can take seriously. Nowadays, it’s nothing but people screaming into the microphone and the “riff” is a single note strummed really fast.” The waiter comes with our drinks. She asks us if we know what we want to order. Penny and I both tell her what we discussed earlier with side caesars. I also ask the waitress to get some bread when she has the chance. Penny observes my ginger ale. “You said you ordered a ginger ale, right?” “Yeah?” “I think I’ll get one of those soon.” “What about your wine?” “Please, I don’t want to be blind-stinking drunk for the movie.” “Right, right. So, have you seen Alien or it’s various sequels?” “Yep. I have a special Two-Disc Special Edition DVD at my house.” “I’m guessing it’s one of your favorites?” “Mmhm. Tell me. What kind of movies do you like?” “You know. The classics.” She giggles at the in-joke. “Such as?” “Big Fan of Kubrick and Scorsese. But if I had to pick a favorite movie, it’d have to be Magnolia.” “Magnolia? Didn’t that just come out?” “No, but compared to my taste in movies, it’s just that it’s a relatively new release. It’s 1999.” The waitress comes out with a basket of bread, which leads me to pour a tableside bottle of oil onto Penny’s and then my plate. I ask her if she wants cheese, to which she says no, so I sprinkle cheese on my plate. “Are you sure you don’t want any cheese? “ I ask. “Yes, it’s fine,” she tells me. “It’s just, if you want any cheese, it’s right… I mean, I don’t mind sharing, I-” “Ian.” “Yes?” “Please. You don’t need to be a gentleman around me. I really like you, so don’t try too hard. If I want some cheese, I’ll gladly ask you to pass it to me. Deal?” “Deal,” I say with a smile. She seems like a very self-managed woman, unlike my mother. I think that we are going to get along great. After 10 minutes of pleasant conversation, our salads finally arrive. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Our pleasant meal is over and we head over to the movie theater. Upon reaching the box office, I tell the cashier to get two tickets for Prometheus in IMAX. She tells me that it will be twenty-nine dollars. Jeez, I forgot how expensive movie tickets have gotten. Before I can pull my wallet out, Penny reaches into hers and hands her an ID with her picture on it. With a twenty dollar bill. The cashier says the new total will be twenty dollars, just enough to cover the tickets. Two pieces of paper are printed and are handed to Penny. “Enjoy your show,” says the cashier. “Thanks,” I mutter back. As we walk to the concessions booth, I stop Penny. “Penny, you didn’t need to buy my tickets. And how did you get that discount anyways?” “I work here,” says Penny. “And before we continue this any further. I want to let you know that I’m not one of ‘those’ girls. I don’t mind paying my own way when doing things. I appreciate you buying dinner for me, so let me buy you the movie and popcorn. I honestly don’t mind.” “Okay,” I sigh. “It’s just I don’t want to look like one of ‘those’ boyfriends.” “Ian,” she giggles, “you are quite easily one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met. You don’t have to worry about being one of ‘those’ boyfriends. In fact, when we do this next week, I’ll buy dinner, and you buy the movie. Fair?” When? She wants to do this next week? “Fair!” I exclaim. “Let’s go then.” We get our popcorn and soda and make our way to the theater. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Upon leaving the theater, we are discussing the movie. “It was okay,” I said. “It didn’t have the best script or characters, but the visuals were awesome.” Penny was less than amused. “I can’t believe the creator of his own craft screwed up that badly.” “You didn’t like it?” “Not so much ‘didn’t like it’ as ‘incredibly disappointed by it.’ That Abraham Lincoln vampire movie looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” Interesting change of subject. “Oh, I know! I read the book twice.” We get into the car to drive Penny home. “Tell me,” says Penny, “was the book anything like what you saw in the trailer?” “No, no, and no,” I laugh. “The book is more of a historical fiction piece while this movie is set up to look like a mindless action film.” “There’s nothing wrong with mindless action though.” “I agree.” Penny is wiped from popcorn and Cherry Coke, and she leans her head on my shoulder as I drive. I decide to be quiet for the rest of the night, despite my wanting to continue talking to her. I finally get to her apartment. I gently nudge her awake. “We’re home,” I whisper. Penny unbuckles her seatbelt and walks to the door with her leftovers from dinner, me following her. “Did you want something to eat or drink?” she asked. Should I decline? Knowing her thus far, it would seem disrespectful to. “What do you have?” “I have some oreos and milk.” “That sounds really good.” As I walk into her apartment, I can see that it’s not in the best of shape. The carpet is in dire need of vacuuming, and with all the junk on the table and counters, it looks like placing anything anywhere is next to impossible. “Sorry,” says Penny. “I can get a bit messy.” She pours me a glass of milk and sets a stack of five oreos. I happily take them to the couch and cluttered table. I dunk the first cookie into the milk and hold it in until the bubbles stop. “What are you doing?” she amusedly asks. “This is how I eat oreos. I hold them in the milk and soak them until they get all nice and chewy.” I take the oreo from the glass and eat it. Sure enough, there is no crunch to the bite. I then smile at her with my teeth caked with cookie. She laughs and pushes me on the couch. That’s when I remembered something. “Shh,” I hushed, “what about your dad?” “My dad? What about him?” “Won’t we wake him if we’re too loud?” “Oh no. My dad’s not here.” “Where is he?” “…Away.” “On business or something?” “Yeah, something like that. In fact, my dad is good friends with our landlord, so our rent is really cheap.” “Oh, that’s nice.” I then notice her bass guitar on a stand. “Your guitar looks good.” “Well,” she chuckled. “You helped.” “Would you mind playing something for me on it?” “You… want me to play… for you?” “Nothing would make me happier?” Too much of a compliment? It doesn’t seem to be. She immediately puts the guitar’s strap on her and begins playing Phantom of the Opera by Iron Maiden. I’m transfixed on her wonderful playing. The look of determination on her face and speed of her fingers really make her a sight to behold. After her little concert, I tell her that it’s getting late and that I need to get to work tomorrow. I even ask her if she wants to come early as always to hang out. I even tell her I’d a have a surprise for her. She agrees. “Bye, Ian. Thank you for tonight.” Before she closes the door, she pecks me on the lips. I stand at her door, shocked by her action. I then leave the apartment with the biggest smile on my face that doesn’t leave me until I get home. Upon entering my house, I know that it’s late and Shining Armor and Cadance are asleep. Instead, I find them in the living room, awake and anticipated. “So, how did it go?” asked Shining Armor.” “Wonderfully,” I blissfully sigh. I then give Shining Armor and Cadance a very big hug. “Thank you for all that you’ve done for me. You are without a doubt my best friends.” Cadance and Shining Armor are touched to hear that. I had no idea that they could be so emotional, as I feel teardrops on my back. “Thank you for that,” says Cadance. “Do you have work tomorrow?” “Yes, I do. Good night and, again, thank you.” “It’s my pleasure, Ian. Goodnight.” After putting my leftovers in the fridge, I prance up the stairs and dive into bed. It isn’t long before I fall asleep, happily basking in the memories of my date with Penny Lewis.