Midnight Movie Club Ch. 05

Eleanor put the cup down on the table. Then, she sighed and flopped forward face-first onto her Finance textbook. "I'm hitting the wall," she mumbled. "The last couple of pages were one big blur. Studying compound interest is compounding my brain."

A gentle hand fell on her shoulder. "It's OK," Alexander whispered in an attempt to reassure her. "I think everyone's brain is fried right now."

A forlorn look of desperation sat in her eyes as she looked up at Alexander. "Yours isn't," she noted. "Cole's isn't." She gestured with her head towards the glass enclosure at the far end of the room where her friend was leading a study session. "And Julie's definitely isn't," she concluded before taking a sip of hot tea. She motioned to the pile of papers, notes, and textbooks that dominated her side of the long table. "I'm worried I'm going to end up confusing how to calculate mortgage rates with the equation for velocity."

Besides herself and Alexander, several other students sat at the table, their noses in books, laptops, or going over their written class notes. Despite being packed on a Saturday night, a pall of silence hung over the James Edward Jouett Library. The only sound was the faint rustling of paper, or the clicking of computer keys when someone opened the door to the computer lab.

"You're psyching yourself out," Alexander suggested as Eleanor drank her tea. "You're getting inside your head worrying about studying and it's affecting your actual studying."

Eleanor nodded. "You're right. I'm too focused and it's messing with my reality. I should have gotten a study partner like you guys," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "Julie's got three study groups, Cole's downstairs with that skinny redhead from his jazz class, and you have... what was her name? Kerry?"

"Karen. And she's frazzled too." Alexander sipped at his black coffee. "I've got a study session with her tomorrow morning, 9 AM, to go over our Psych midterm again."

"9 AM? Wow. More power to you two, getting up that early on a Sunday."

"I'm not going to have that far to walk. I'm crashing in her room tonight."

"Oh." Eleanor gave her friend a tired smirk. "That's one way to get defrazzled."

"It's not like that... OK, it's kind of like that," Alexander chuckled as Eleanor raised an eyebrow in jestful disbelief. "RSL's playing the Sounders tonight in the Western Conference semis, and she's a huge RSL supporter..."

"English?"

"No, North American soccer."

"I mean, speak English."

"Sorry. Seattle's playing Salt Lake City tonight in a playoff game, and Karen's a fan of theirs. I'm going to watch the game with her. If they win, she gets victory sex. If I win, I get victory sex."

"What's victory sex?"

"I can't define it, but the last time I had it, it damn near blew my mind. Speaking of which... what time is it?"

Eleanor touched her smartphone. "Pushing 5:45," she answered. "We've been here since noon. Alexander, I'm sorry, but I'm at the end of my rope. If I try to study any more I'm not going to retain a single piece of info."

"Then this is a good place to call it. The game starts at 7, this gives me time to run back, shower, throw on my gear, and get to Karen's room for the pre-game show. And you..." Alexander pointed at Eleanor gently but firmly. "...are going to go back to your room and put your books away for the rest of the night. Relax, listen to music, watch a movie, just do something that isn't studying. Your brain needs a chance to... collate. Defrag. It needs to take all the information you crammed into it today and organize it. Tomorrow morning, wake up, get a cup of coffee or tea, and just focus on your first two midterms. Don't try to study for everything at once. Slow down, learn at your own pace, and don't try to cram. Got it?"

"I suppose I should listen to you," she replied. "You are taking Intro to Psych."

Alexander grinned as he loaded up his textbooks and paper into his backpack. "What can I say? I'm a credible source." He got up from his chair, cup of coffee in hand, and lightly kissed the top of Eleanor's head. "No studying. Go chill out."

"I will." Eleanor sipped on her tea as Alexander headed for the stairs. She gave a tired sigh before sweeping her study materials into her knapsack. Hey, she texted Julie, going to grab dinner and head back to the room. Need a change of scenery.

Even as she was getting up from her chair, a nearby student swooped in to grab it. Eleanor nodded with approval, handing ownership over to them. Knapsack over her shoulder, she proceeded to finish her warm tea in one fluid swallow and toss the empty container in the nearby recycling bin. Her walk out of the building took her towards the study room, where behind walls of glass Julie was leading her Intro to Philosophy study group. As Eleanor approached her roommate happened to glance down at her phone, and then happened to glance up to see Eleanor coming closer. She gave Eleanor a thumbs up before reaching for her phone. I'll probably be here until well after midnight, Eleanor's phone displayed. _Don't wait up for me. I don't plan on returning to our room._

Got it. Don't burn your brain out, Eleanor texted back. See you when I see you.

X X X X X

Her head hurt.

Six hours of reviewing notes and reading highlighted passages in her textbooks would give anyone eye strain. Eleanor felt the dull pain resonating throughout her skull. She slowly made her way down the hallway towards her dorm room, moving more on autopilot than anything else. The dorm was quiet, with no chatter or music evident to her ears. Every door she passed by was closed, the occupants most likely preparing for their midterms. As she walked Eleanor began having second thoughts about what she had for dinner. A salad and a bottle of water had been the healthy option, but maybe she should have gone for a more unhealthy choice. Pizza and diet soda would ironically be the perfect brain food to recover from today...

"Would you move, please? You're blocking the hallway."

Disdain dripped from every word of the supposedly polite request. Eleanor sighed as she recognized the voice. "Sorry, Tricia," she murmured, stepping to one side. "I didn't hear you coming."

"And I haven't heard you for several weeks. Thank God for small favors." Tricia's raven-black hair was pulled back in a single braid. The tall, regal-framed young woman was in designer jeans and a high-quality black blouse, a far cry from Eleanor's ankle-length black skirt dress and a loose red t-shirt. "You look disheveled," Trica observed as she passed. "Returning from an afternoon of pre-midterm debauchery?"

"I'm really not in the mood tonight Tricia."

"That's good to know," Trica spoke over her shoulder as she headed for her room, fishing her key from her pocket. "It means I can study without worrying about your sexual proclivities disturbing my train of thought. After all, one of us came to Farragut to get an education."

Eleanor was too drained to work up any sort of response to Tricia's comment as her neighbor stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. Even pulling her key from her knapsack was done with a lack of energy. Maybe instead of unwinding, she should go right to bed...

"I see you've fallen prey to Tricia tonight as well," spoke a quiet voice. Eleanor turned to see Beatrix, Tricia's slender pale-skinned roommate, standing behind her. "I apologize for my roommate's behavior. She's been acting worse than usual this week. I have the impression that she breezed through high school and is having difficulty adjusting to the studies methods college classes require."

"That's only the third time I've ever talked to Tricia," Eleanor responded. "I honestly couldn't tell you if she's being a bigger bitch than normal. If she is, then I should be telling you that I'm sorry."

"Knowing the baseline measurement, your sympathy is appreciated." Beatrix smiled, but a frown crossed her face as she took a good look at Eleanor. "She was correct in one regard. You do appear as if you had a rough day."

Eleanor acknowledged her observation while also dismissing it with the same wave of her hand. "I spent most of last night as well as the past few hours studying. My brain is ready to shut off, so I was about to flip the switch and crash. What's on your agenda for the evening?"

"My agenda closely mirrors yours, save I'm not going to be anywhere near my room or my roommate. I plan to change into comfortable clothes, go down to the lobby, and sit in the lounge to watch television until I fall asleep on the couch. I might order a pizza from Vinny's as well and share it with any other wayward souls congregating in the lounge."

The mention of pizza made Eleanor's stomach rumble. "Let me make you an offer. Order the pizza, I'll split the cost with you, and you can crash in our room tonight. Julie's not going to be home so you can sleep in my bed and I'll take hers."

Beatrix tapped her lip as she pondered. "I would prefer the privacy of a dorm room over the lounge, as well as the comfort of a bed over a couch. And I have been meaning to get to know you without life getting in the way. How about this? I'll pay for the pizza, you pay for some breadsticks."

"Cheesy breadsticks," Eleanor countered, "and a two-liter of Diet Coke."

"Cheesy breadsticks and a two-liter of Coke. At this point, our systems need to be gunked up."

A semi-evil grin grew on Eleanor's face. "Deal. If I'm going to hate myself in the morning, getting there might as well be delicious. We can even watch a trashy movie while we eat."

"A deal then." Beatrix extended her hand. Eleanor laughed quietly as they sealed the arrangement with a handshake. "Let me change clothes and I'll be right over."

X X X X X

Eleanor had just finished putting on a ratty powder blue tank top when there was a knock at her door. "Come in!"

The door opened a crack. "Are you decent?" Beatrix inquired softly.

"That's a loaded question," she cracked back. "I'm dressed, it's safe to come in." In deference to her guest, Eleanor had put on a pair of panties before drawing her light blue booty shorts up her legs. She smiled at Beatrix as she closed the door behind her. "Did Tricia give you any flak about spending the night over here?"

"No, but I was specifically vague. I told her that I was going elsewhere in the dorm for the rest of the evening so she could study in peace. She was..." Beatrix's gaze drifted to one side as she pondered the correct word. "...appreciative. She said she'd pray that I was able to reset my brain and get some quality studying done tomorrow."

"That was nice of her."

"Tricia can be nice when she wants to be. Sadly, it doesn't appear to be very often, and she's never shown so much as a crack in her emotional shell so I could peek inside. She's one of those mysterious wheels within wheels the Old Testament mentioned."

"If you crack her code, let me know." Eleanor sat down on Julie's bed. "Until then I'm going to do my best to avoid her. I'm 0-for-3 and each time she's managed to sock me right in the self-esteem. Please," she said, motioning to her bed, "grab a seat."

Beatrix nodded her head in thanks before sitting down on Eleanor's quilt. Her comfy clothes for the evening consist solely of a long blue-and-gray nightshirt that fell past the slender girl's knees. Her feet disappeared under the fabric as she sat cross-legged. Her wispy blonde hair, hanging straight down in a curtain around her neck, almost matched the pale complexion of her skin. "Is this your work?" she inquired, gesturing to the tropical treasure map drawn in chalk above Eleanor's bed. "It's breathtaking."

Eleanor beamed at the compliment. "Thank you. I've been touching it up, but for the most part, I'm pretty happy with it."

"You should be. If Tricia saw this, she might hire you to draw frescos on our ceiling. So then," Beatrix asked as she pulled her smartphone from a pocket on her nightshirt, "what do you like on your pizza?"

"The only kind of meat I like is pepperoni, although I'll take sausage in a pinch. Veggie wise, anything really."

"How does pepperoni and green peppers sound then?"

"Like a combination I've never had on a pizza before." She pointed to her nightstand where a twenty-dollar bill was sitting underneath her smartphone. "I figure that should cover the cheesy sticks and the soda, and just throw in the rest for the tip."

After the pizza and sides were ordered, Beatrix set her phone face down on the nightstand next to Eleanor's. "They said half-an-hour and that they'll call when they're in the lobby. So while we have some time, tell me a little bit about yourself. We've been neighbors for several weeks and I don't even know your last name."

"Freeman. Eleanor Flower Freeman." Eleanor settled on Julie's bed, putting her back against the wall, as she gave Beatrix the same rundown she had given Julie during their first night as roommates. "And what about you?" she asked once she had wrapped up. "I've interacted more with your roomie than with you."

"Let's rectify that then. My last name is Ames, so Beatrix Ames. Beatrix Marilyn Ames, for full disclosure. I grew up in Twin Falls. My mom's a professor at the College of Southern Idaho and insisted I go to school anywhere else in the state. My dad's a firefighter who spends his time either dealing with forest fires or BASE jumpers who get stuck under the Perrine Bridge. I don't know what my major's going to be but I think it might be forestry or something nature related. I love Yellowstone and would enjoy working there, or any of the national parks around here if given the chance."

"Cool. My Dad works with a couple of people who've gotten a forestry degree from Farragut. If you go that route, it's a pretty good program. So, are you still up for that trashy movie?"

"As long as we wait until the food arrives before starting the movie. Delivery always shows up at the worst possible time, either in the middle of an action scene or when someone's naked in the shower. One's annoying to pause on, one's embarrassing to pause on. What do you have? Netflix or Amazon Prime?"

"Try over two thousand movies," Eleanor said, holding up Julie's smartpad. "Julie's an incredible movie nut. Anything you're in the mood to watch, she'll have something on here to scratch that itch."

"Even trashy movies?"

"Especially trashy movies. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll text Julie. She'll come back with a movie in five minutes."

Beatrix hummed thoughtfully. "Considering we're attempting to reset our minds, I'm thinking...I'd like to watch something that's legendarily trashy but in that 'so-bad-it's-good' way. A paper-thin plot, big explosions, gratuitous nudity, and...a general factor of 'what are we watching.'"

"Got it. Throw me my phone?" Beatrix took Eleanor's smartphone from the nightstand and walked across the room to hand it to her.

Hey Eleanor texted. Beatrix from next door and I are going to watch a movie. Any suggestions for something trashy that's got action, comedy, and blatant T&A?

"Alright." She set her phone down on the mattress next to her. "So while we've got a couple of minutes, you mind telling me about Tricia..."

Eleanor's phone chimed as, indeed, Julie had a rapid answer. 'Hard Ticket to Hawaii.' Look under the 'Action' icon on my smartpad. Do you need the passcode?

"I believe that was less than a minute," Beatrix said with a hint of awe.

"As I said, my girl's a nut about movies." No, she texted back, I remember it. FYI, I offered Beatrix a chance to crash in our room tonight to get away from Tricia. Is that OK?

Absolutely. I was planning to change the sheets tomorrow so she's more than welcome to sleep in my bed if she feels comfortable. Text me if you need anything else.

Will do. Let me say it now though, good night roomie.

Good night Eleanor.

By the time Eleanor had found the movie and hooked Julie's smartpad to their television, Beatrix had answered the call to the lobby and returned to the dorm room with a large box, a smaller box stacked on top, and a plastic bag hooked over one arm. "I realized too late," Beatrix said as Eleanor took the boxes from her, "that I forgot to inquire about paper plates or napkins."

"On your left, shelf above the microwave. Plates, paper towels, and paper cups."

"This feels more like an apartment than a dorm room. You don't mind if I sit on the floor to eat, do you? I would hate to stain your quilt."

"I'll join you," Eleanor said with a bright smile. "I mean, this is almost like a slumber party, right? Turning off all the lights, sitting on the floor eating pizza, watching a cheesy movie?"

"It is," Beatrix responded warmly, "isn't it?"

X X X X X

"We just watched that movie, right?" Eleanor turned to look at Beatrix. The pale blonde looked like a ghost in the dim light of the television as she sat there with a look of disbelief on her face. "We just watched a movie called Hard Ticket to Hawaii? It wasn't some kind of insane fever dream?"

"Maybe it was a shared delusion brought about by school-related stress." Beatrix chuckled, her hand now resting over her face. "Oh my word, Julie chose correctly. That movie checked every single box that I requested."

"Seriously," Eleanor agreed. "That was simultaneously the best AND the worst movie I've seen since coming to college. Like... how do you even EXPLAIN that movie to somebody?"

"Did you ever see the character Stefon from Saturday Night Live? Imagine him trying to describe that movie." Beatrix took a deep breath. "If you're looking for a tropically trashy experience," she said breathily, "then look no further. Farragut's hottest movie is Hard Ticket to Hawaii. Filmed on location at the Honolulu Sheraton, this live-action Playboy photoshoot has it all. Palm trees, secret agents, diamond smuggling, a catchy theme song, grade school levels of acting, a cast that's blonde or blonde adjacent, exposition delivered in a hot tub, poison snakes, razor frisbees, and assassins on skateboards carrying blow-up dolls."

"No, no, not poison snakes... toxic snakes, because they had been injected with numerous...oh my God... numerous toxins from cancer-infested rats." Eleanor put the side of her hand against her mouth as she tried to stifle a potential gale of laughter. "She shot the snake in the face with a gun and just blew its fangs out, and then her boyfriend...rode a motorcycle THROUGH the wall and shot the snake with a fucking rocket launcher and all that happened was its head exploded like someone stuck a firecracker in it!"

"That snake came out of the toilet first, don't forget. Oh my, that was... the love scenes weren't even that sexy. The scenes where the women were standing around topless held my interest better."

"And don't forget the greased up dudes with nice pecs. But hey, they replayed the love scenes during the closing credits, on the off chance you weren't paying attention!"

"I was paying more attention to the diamonds while the two blondes... I don't think I could recall their names under duress... looked at them in the jacuzzi. If those had fallen into the water, they would never have been able to find them. In a movie as stupid as this, that's the one scene I found implausible, and that includes the rubber sex doll being blown up by a rocket launcher."

"What, you didn't know nunchucks are supposed to be thrown like ninja stars? OK though, there's one legitimately awesome part in this movie. The opening credits. You can tell that's the one section of the movie they put some real thought into."

"Indeed. Putting the cast and crew on the crates and boxes was inspired. But you have no love for the kitschy theme song?"

That was what broke Eleanor. She flopped on the floor landing on her back, hands over her face as she did her best to sing the movie's theme song between fits of giggling.