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 Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:00 pm
Anyone watching today was likely to think Toby and Maia were a couple. They held hands at times, touched arms and shared jokes. Toby fell into his usual playful persona. Whether it was to protect himself or keep himself happy couldn't be definitively derived.
It was an hour and then some before the next show and Toby brought Maia to the concession stand to marvel at the candy and popcorn.
"What do you want to drink?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:11 pm
The selkie had thoroughly enjoyed the shopping trip. She'd picked up a book for Dari, spent time with Toby and shared jokes.
Maia was so interested in the popcorn machine that Toby's question didn't register at first. She hesitated for a moment, looking over the flavors of soda. She wasn't particularly fond of them. "Ice tea?" she asked.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:13 pm
"Alright, can I get a medium iced tea, a bottle of water, a Milk Duds and a Junior Mints, a large popcorn... Maia, do you want anything else?" He turned to her from the amused cashier who began collecting their haul.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:29 pm
"No," Maia shook her head, eyes back on the popcorn machine. It was fascinating. Could Toby make popcorn like that? How did that machine work? "You got everything," she added, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from it. "Ready?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:33 pm
The employee went over to the popcorn machine last.
"Oh, could I get a little butter in the middle?" Toby asked, flashing a winning grin.
"Sure!" The big metal scoop, the kernels, the bag. Toby couldn't help but notice Maia was staring. Had she never seen a popcorn machine before? Or was popcorn itself mind-boggling to her?
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:49 pm
When they headed towards their seats, Maia looked to Toby. "How does that work?" she asked. She'd never seen one before. How did people even make popcorn? She let Toby lead to the ideal seats, focus now on the big screen. It was like a tv, she supposed. A giant's television.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:51 pm
Toby was headed for prime real-estate and it turned out that they were only the second group into the theater. Awesome.
"What, the popcorn? It's a special kind of corn, but other than that it's just heat. We can make it on the stove, or in the microwave. They used to sell little home poppers but I have no idea if they exist any more."
He sat down and began to settle in. "We'll have to sit through some ads and 'trivia' and things, unfortunately. And previews."
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:07 pm
"Can we make it sometime?" Maia asked. Poppers sounded interesting, and microwave popcorn sounded less fun. "Lets make it on the stove," she said. "When we play a game or see a movie at home."
She sat down next to him. "What's behind the screen?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:12 pm
"Sure." Toby took a few pieces of popcorn and popped them into his mouth. The eating always started before the movie. Always.
"Oh, uh. Nothing. No, a concrete wall." He lifted up slightly from his seat as he twisted around and pointed up toward the back of the theater and a window high up. "There's a projector up there that uses light to project the film on the screen. If you look closely you can see it in the glass. Just the colors." A blue ad. "Like that." He pointed, unsure if Maia would be able to see.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:33 pm
Maia seemed distinctly disappointed that there wasn't anything behind the curtain. She did turn to look at the projector. Technology really was human magic, wasn't it? She turned back and reached for Toby's hand. "Thank you for bringing me here."
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 2:52 pm
Toby gave a bright, boyish smile and took Maia's hand. He shook it lightly. They were almost like a couple today. Almost. It was nice to have some modicum of affection in today.
"Of course," he said after a moment, "Anything you want to do, just ask."
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:05 pm
This prompted the selkie to recall what she'd looked up days ago. Activities in Arizonia. "There's a fair in September," Maia had read about it, Some kind of state fair thing, she wasn't entirely sure what a fair was. "Would you go with me?" She probably should have asked if Dari would like to go, too, but that hadn't come to mind.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:09 pm
"Mmhm." Toby had a Milk Dud in his mouth at the moment but he looked sincere. He swallowed before elaborating. "It comes every year. I wasn't sure if you'd still be around for it."
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:27 pm
Maia gave his hand a squeeze. She didn't plan on leaving for a long while, but she wasn't sure she could reveal that to Toby without his guessing her motives. He was very clever, after all. He had to be, with his job.
"I was thinking about staying a while, at least. So I might be!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:59 pm
"Alright," Toby said with a smile, "If not, that tends to be fair season everywhere in the country. Elsewhere, not usually."
He figured Maia wouldn't want to be in the middle of the ocean or without humans with all of the classes she was taking.
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