Midnight Movie Club Ch. 07

"I have one final question. And in answering it, I want you to be totally, utterly honest." Gwen narrowed her eyes as she stared at Alexander. "Is this movie night tomorrow a recruitment drive to expand your numbers?" she asked as she settled onto her knees.

"Not at all," Alexander answered. "We want to expand our social circle. Make new friends, meet interesting people, that kind of thing. Cole's inviting his study partner from his Jazz course at the moment and I think he's asking her roommate as well."

"Her?"

"Yeah. This tall redhead named Lynn."

"And is she someone that he'll have to tell the rest of your club about?"

Alexander hesitated before answering. "Yeah. I don't know if he's informed Eleanor and Julie yet, but he told me about it last night."

Gwen nodded. "Just making sure in case I meet her tomorrow night. So that's all tomorrow night is, then? A college mixer without alcohol or drugs? No one's going to try to pull an Allison Mack and pressure us into joining the... Midnight Movie Club, right?"

"Just a friendly get together, I promise. And if I can turn this around for a moment, why all the questions?"

"Nothing more than pure curiosity. College is all about new experiences and yours is the most unique experience I've heard since coming to Farragut. And to be honest," she said as she stood up from her chair and reached for her sweatpants, "it sounds fun. Movies and responsible sex? That's a pretty good Saturday night."

Alexander took Gwen pulling on her sweatpants to begin getting dressed also. "Well, I won't speak about the responsible sex," he said while sliding his boxers up his legs, "but if you want to have fun watching movies, show up at 8 PM tomorrow. Karen and I won't be there until after ten. We're going to be watching the game over at the Lake House Grill. But I promise, Eleanor and Julie are cool and I'm sure the people they're inviting will be cool as well."

Gwen nodded after putting her black tank top back on. "I'm in. Sitting around, making new friends, and screaming our heads off at a horror movie? What's not to like?"

X X X X X

Eleanor reached up and drew the curtain shut. "Grab a seat and I'll hit the lights."

Julie walked to a nearby couch and sat down. As she settled in, the lights of the student lounge switched off. The only source of illumination came from the large flatscreen TV on the wall, which at the moment was showing the still image of a lit jack o'lantern. After studying the screen for a moment, Julie nodded in approval. "From where I'm sitting," she told her roommate, "that should be enough to block any ambient light. There might be some leakage along the top but I don't believe it will be enough to damper the movie experience."

"Outstanding." The lights came back on, followed a moment later by Eleanor flopping onto the couch next to Julie. "All we have to do is wait for Cole to get here and we can finish setting up."

"It was commendable of Cole to volunteer to run to the dollar store, especially in this weather. We should make sure to show our gratitude upon his return."

"Absolutely. Think a blow job should cover it?"

"I was going to suggest words of affirmation and a grateful hug," Julie laughed. "But whatever works for you."

The two young women had spent the last half-an-hour preparing the student lounge for movie viewing. It had been empty upon their initial arrival as most of Farragut's students were hunkered down due to the inclement weather outside. After testing the flatscreen TV bolted to the wall for its compatibility with streaming from Julie's smartpad, it had simply been a matter of shifting couches and tables while doing their best to cut off any outside light from spilling inside. "Do you think we'll get any walk-ins?" Eleanor asked, glancing over her shoulder at the lounge door. "I'm guessing we've got an open-door policy going this evening."

"Anyone who wishes to join us is indeed welcome." Julie shook her head. "However, with the freezing rain and accompanying wind, it might end up just being you, myself, and Cole..."

"Don't think that." Eleanor lightly punched her roommate on the shoulder. "We invited people. They will show up."

"I believe you are right. However, I also don't believe you are right. Because brains are stupid."

Eleanor smiled. "Because brains are stupid. Did Jaxon ever say if he was going to show?"

"He had a prior engagement this evening," Julie answered. "Understandable, as it is a Saturday night and this double-feature was conceived in haste. Plus slasher movies are not his cup of tea, despite Halloween being a classic film that transcends the genre." She shrugged half-heartedly. "He said he'll swing by later if he's able."

"Are you hoping he does?"

"Yes. From a purely platonic standpoint, of course."

"Of course."

Before Julie could provide a rejoinder to Eleanor's comment, which had been delivered with a friendly smirk, the door to the lounge swung open. "Mind providing a hand or four?" Cole called out. "Don't think I can manhandle the cart through the door without blowing someone's security deposit."

Julie and Eleanor got to their feet and headed for the door. As Eleanor stepped through the doorway, she whistled when she saw Cole. The thin dots of wetness on the young man's jacket spoke to the weather outside, as did the pink color adorning his cheeks. Next to him was a metal luggage cart similar to the one Eleanor had used when moving into her dorm room. A blue plastic tarp, speckled with water, covered the cart's contents. "You're slightly drenched," she said. "Still raining, I take it?"

"Weather can't decide between raining and misting," he answered while unzipping his jacket. "Splitting the difference by being miserable. What a perfect night to have a horror movie 5K."

"A horror movie 5K?" Julie asked, curious.

"Two movies don't make a marathon." With that, Cole grabbed the tarp and slowly pulled it away, revealing the bounty underneath.

"Whoa," Eleanor exclaimed as she took her first look at Cole's acquired bounty. "How much stuff does thirty bucks buy at the dollar store?"

"Exactly one luggage's cart worth," Cole casually answered as he gently hit the side of the luggage cart with his foot. The cart was packed with snacks for the evening - two flats of water, one case of soda, one case of diet soda, and a one-gallon jug of iced tea, along with various bags of chips and popcorn, several small boxes and bags of candy, and a collection of cheap paper cups and bowls, all wrapped up in plastic bags. "You buy generics, pretty much stretch your money's purchasing power until it's calling out its safe word."

"Where did you find the cart?"

"Snagged it from the storage room in McMaster," Cole replied to Julie. "Tarp as well. Security guard didn't even bat an eye as I rolled right past. Gotta remember to bring both back at the end of the night. Don't want to abuse the privilege in case a guard pays attention down the road. Never know when having access to a luggage cart might come in handy."

"Don't forget the tarp. Between the cart and the tarp, I believe we'll be covered should the day come where we need to move a dead body." Julie didn't catch the amused glance shared between Eleanor and Cole as she nodded to the collection of food. "This is indeed impressive, Cole." Julie stepped closer to give him a grateful hug. "Thank you very much for braving the inclement weather. Eleanor and I truly appreciate it."

"Welcome, although like I said, weather's more 'clement' than anything." With that Cole grabbed one of the flats of water and headed for the door to the lounge. Eleanor and Julie quickly followed suit, and within a few minutes, the refreshments had been laid out on a wooden table. Almost every inch of the table was covered by the time they were finished. As he looked over the spread, Cole muttered, "Coolers and ice. Gotta remember those for next time, providing there is a next time."

"That's... a lot of food," Eleanor whistled. "We're going to end up throwing so much of this away if we don't pull a large crowd."

"Oh." Cole scratched the back of his head. "Didn't consider that. Damn."

"There's no need to worry." Julie picked up the large ball of discarded plastic bags. "We'll encourage people to make take-home bags. Whatever we don't eat or drink, we can just divide up the remainder among us broke college students..."

A buzzing noise emanated from Cole's pocket. "Damn," he said as he checked the incoming text message. "Girl I invited from the Gaming Club, Caroline. Ain't coming. Appreciates the invite but in Spokane partying with her boyfriend." As he spoke, his phone buzzed again. "Heh. Wants me to make sure to fill her in at the Gaming Club next week."

"I'm sorry Cole," Julie offered.

"Eh, can't win them all. Besides, pushing 8 o'clock and all's set up. Guess now we're just waiting on guests."

"Sounds like we're the first ones to show up then!"

Julie, Eleanor, and Cole all turned to look at the door as a tall redheaded young woman in a black long coat stepped inside. "Suppose there's something to be said about being fashionably on time. Hey Cole."

"Lynn. Piper." Cole's second greeting was to the blonde-haired woman who followed behind, wearing a faded jean jacket and carrying a pillow under one arm.

"Piper?" At the sight of the blonde-haired woman, Eleanor's face lit up with a friendly smile. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Hi, Eleanor!" Piper gave her a cheerful wave. "Cole invited me when he invited Lynn!"

"Guess introductions are in order then." Cole motioned to Lynn and Piper. "Eleanor, Julie, this is Lynn, my study partner for History of Jazz, and her roommate Piper. Lynn, Piper, this is Eleanor, went to high school with her, and Julie, her roommate."

"Pleased to meet you," said Lynn as she shrugged off her black long coat to reveal a red sweater and tan slacks. She held out her hand to take Piper's jean jacket. Underneath the blonde was wearing a dark green patterned shirt and blue jeans with several holes in them, along with a pair of black boots. "So," Lynn inquired as she hung up the jackets, "how do you two know each other?"

"Eleanor and I are in the Environmental Club together," Piper answered, her quiet grin reciprocated by Eleanore. "Small world, huh?"

"Come on over," Julie waved. "Make yourself at home, and please, have some snacks. We spent next to nothing and somehow wildly outdid ourselves."

"Oh good, soda and empty calories. Just what a college student needs." Lynn walked over to Cole and gave him a firm hug. "Thank you for the invite, from both me and Piper." Cole nodded as he returned the hug. Lynn slipped out of his arms, and as she walked past him added, "And thank you for Thursday." Her comment was punctuated by a firm smack of Cole's ass, delivered with enough impact to make the young man jump slightly.

As Cole absentmindedly rubbed his butt, Eleanor tilted her head to give him a quizzical look. With a chagrined sigh, he made a circle with his thumb and forefinger and shoved the index finger on his other hand through it. After a moment Eleanor's eyes widened with understanding. "You terrible manwhore you," she quietly mouthed with a sly grin.

By the time all five students had put their plates together, the next guests were arriving. In this case, it was two males who stuck their heads inside the door at almost the same time. "Yo," a dark-skinned man called out, "this the place to get your pants scared off?"

"Hello, Alcide!" Julie moved towards the door as Alcide, her colleague from the Farragut Film Society, stepped inside the lounge, followed by a young man with slicked-back black hair wearing a black trenchcoat. "Did you have any trouble finding the theater?" she joked.

"Oh, it was a hassle," he answered. "I was about to resort to Waze." Alcide was in a pair of faded blue jeans and an olive moleskin jacket. His brown hair was loosely styled, and there was a day's worth of stubble adorning his face. "But fortunately I ran into Brian out front," he continued, gesturing towards the other young man. "He was the Bing Crosby to my Bob Hope and put me on the Road to the Lounge."

"While I appreciate the comparison, I'm more likely to be Dorothy Lamour than Bing Crosby." The black-haired young man extended his hand. "Hello. I'm Brian McKenzie. Eleanor extended me an invitation."

"Julie Wyndham, Eleanor's roommate. It's a pleasure to meet you." Julie motioned to the long table on the other side of the lounge. "Eleanor's right over there if you'd like to give me your coat." Brian nodded his thanks before unbuttoning his coat and handing it to Julie. Underneath he was dressed in a dark blue button-shirt and black dress slacks. As he made his way towards the table, Eleanor raised her cup in greeting, as did Piper. A moment later, Cole joined in as well, calling out to the young man and giving him a hearty handshake once he was within reach. "A friend of yours?" she asked Alcide.

"Nada. Met him coming down the steps from the ground floor. He knows Eleanor from the Environmental Club. And," Alcide added, "judging by the reaction of the other guy, they know each other too."

"That's my friend Cole. Maybe they share a class." Alcide shrugged at Julie's comment as he began to unsnap the buttons on his jacket. "Is that an Army jacket?" she asked. "It looks military in style and cut."

"Yep. You are looking at an official Bundeswehr jacket." Once he had taken it off, Alcide held it up for Julie to look at. Several patches had been sewn onto the fabric in various places. As best Julie could tell, they mostly appeared to be political, relating to undocumented residents and refugee rights. "My uncle served in West Germany and snagged this coat for my older cousin. He never wore it, so my uncle regifted it to me when I turned 18. He said every political rabble-rouser needs at least one piece of military surplus."

"That would explain all the patches," Julie noted as she hung up his coat with the others. "Come on over and meet my roommate Eleanor. I wouldn't call her a rabble-rouser, however saving the planet is a topic she's remarkably passionate about."

As Alcide went to follow Julie, another newcomer stepped through the doorway. "Thank goodness," exclaimed a short, petite woman wearing a red hoodie. She took off her knit hat to reveal black hair done in a pixie cut. "I thought I was going to be late. The wind picked up and I ended up chasing my hat halfway across campus." With a warm, friendly smile on her face, the woman held out her hand. "Gwen Crutchfield. Alexander invited me. You must be Julie."

"Indeed," Julie said as she shook Gwen's hand. "Julie Wyndham. And this is Alcide Angelico."

"Pleasure to meet you, Gwen," Alcide said as he enthusiastically exchanged a handshake with her. "You're right on time. They haven't even started running the coming attractions yet."

"Oh!" Julie's eyes lit up. "That's a wonderful idea! I should run some appropriate trailers before the movie. It would be the perfect addition to complete the evening's experience."

"You gotta let me help you with that," asked Alcide, who was in the middle of hanging up Gwen's hoodie. "I have an entire class' worth of Advanced Placement credits in cheap '70s and 80's exploitation movies."

"Outstanding," Julie said eagerly. "I apologize, Gwen, for introducing myself and running, however..."

"No need to apologize," laughed Gwen. "Alexander said you loved movies. I can see he wasn't exaggerating." She headed towards the crowd gathered around the refreshment table, turning around halfway to add, "Just don't do more than two or three trailers, otherwise people might want to watch one of those movies instead of what you have planned!"

"Gwen has a very good point," Julie said as she reached into her pocket for her smartphone. "Let's go with two trailers. I have one already in mind, so you go ahead and pick the other one..."

X X X X X

As everyone began to take their places, Eleanor heard a quiet voice call out, "It appears that we arrived in the nick of time." She looked up to see a pale-skinned young woman with blonde hair the color of ice leaning through the doorway.

"Perfect timing, Beatrix." A wide smile crossed Eleanor's face as she crossed the lounge towards the door. "Everyone was just about to sit down," she answered, "but there's still..." A second young woman followed Beatrix into the lounge, the sight of whom caused Eleanor to stop in her tracks. "Oh. Wow. Hey Tricia."

Tricia nodded sharply as she took off her black overcoat to reveal a black skirt and a white blouse, over which she wore a black vest. "Hello, Eleanor. How are you this evening?"

"Surprised, to be honest. But I'm glad to see you. Both of you."

"It's nice to see you as well," Beatrix said as she undid the cinch to her black leather trench coat. Underneath she wore a pair of black tights and a dark silver button-up shirt. She took Tricia's overcoat and hung it up along with hers. "I do apologize for straddling the line between 'fashionably late' and 'arriving after the movie started.' There was some last-minute arm twisting that contributed to our delay."

"There was?" Eleanor looked at Tricia. "I'm glad you decided to join us, however, if you don't want to be here..."

"I don't..." Before Tricia could continue, Beatrix coughed politely. Tricia's eyes darted to her roommate for a moment. Then she sighed wearily. "Rather, I didn't. I would have been perfectly content to spend the evening by myself in front of the computer. However, Beatrix rightfully pointed out that meeting new people was better than spending a Saturday night chatting on Discord."

"And?"

There was a firmness in Beatrix's voice that threatened to send a delightful shiver down Eleanor's spine. Tricia sighed once again, her shoulder slumping as she blew out a deep breath. "And she brought to my attention that I haven't been treating you fairly. You took dedicated steps to muffle the noise of your carnal activities. In return, I have been haughty, rude, and judgmental. In other words, I have not acted in a manner becoming a proper Christian." With a tight grimace that hinged on being a smile, Tricia extended a well-manicured hand. "I apologize in good faith for how I treated you, and I've come here tonight as an act of goodwill."

Eleanor took Tricia's hand without hesitation. "Apology accepted and appreciated," she answered. Tricia's skin felt smooth as sick under Eleanor's touch, and once again she picked up the faint scent of lilacs. "Why don't we start right now with a clean slate, tabula rasa."

Tricia responded with a nod. "Hello. I'm Tricia Young."

"Nice to meet you, Tricia! I'm Eleanor Freeman. So, are you a fan of horror movies?"

"Not remotely," she answered with a straight face. "However, Beatrix has assured me that these movies contain minuscule amounts of gore and even less in the way of nudity. And as I am over the age of 18, I don't have to worry about a parent or a guardian looking over my shoulder. Please don't take offense, however, if I look away from the screen during the more intense moments."

"Oh, you should sit next to Piper then." Eleanor pointed to the blonde-haired girl sitting on the end of one of the couches. "She brought her own pillow to bury her face in when things get scary."

"Clever girl. Do we have time to grab something to eat before the movie begins?"

"Absolutely. Julie's still got her opening remarks and I think she and Alcide are running some trailers first. I don't know," Eleanor shrugged, "I'm just along for the ride." With that, Tricia headed for the refreshment table. As Beatrix went to follow her, however, Eleanor put a hand on her arm. "How the hell did you convince Tricia to show up?" she asked in awe. "Did you physically twist her arm?"