The Premier Theatre

Kayla looked up at the ringing bells, tears were making their way towards the ground, and she made her way towards him. A bead of sweat slowly made its way down Kayla’s back, making her think that the feeling was really caused by Greg. The unusual cold air blew through the summer skies, and Kayla wondered if it was the first day of her end.
Every time her tears ran, she ran back to him, he was the only person that with a word could make them stop or start, no one else could come close to making her expose her shame.
Greg sat on a wood bench outside of Lily’s Roses, and as much as Kayla tried to blink and rub her eyes in vain, another girl had taken her most precious job.
What was she to do now? Who would tell her the things she wanted to hear? Who would bring in the mail? Who would make her feel like there was no failure to love, that it always was there to catch her?
She took a seat were she stood, right in the middle of South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. People would occasionally stumble over her legs, and look at her with a face of confusion, but all her attention was on Greg. She watched as he whispered in the ear of the girl he had in his embrace all the things he told Kayla before, the things that leered her in but now sounded so silly to the ears that felt so new. He gave the girl that same smile; he told her all the amazing things that happened in his life. Kayla just wanted to get up and tell the girl that it wasn’t so wonderful, but she just sat there in amazement as he continued to make her come closer into his trap hidden behind roses and journeys. As he started his final move, Kayla couldn’t believe how she fell for it; he didn’t ask for the girl’s number, he made her ask for his.
Greg started to hurry his words, hint towards how he appreciated her company, told her how his phone just got fixed a week ago, and he made slight scoots towards the end of the bench, foreshadowing his departure. What girl wouldn’t ask for his number?
He knew all the right things to say, all the smiles and sympathy calls, no one else could make a girl feel the way he did, but in the end all that did was tie knots around their ankles and wrists, making them puppets in his own world of illusions.
As he walked off the girl looked down at the piece of paper resting on her hand, her eyes glowing with future dreams, ideas of what 10 little numbers could change.
Kayla stood up and looked around for a moment, realizing that Tommy worked at the nearby record store she began to take her first steps without the confidence she once had, the sureness that nothing cold hurt her as long as Greg would come home to her and care for her battle wounds. Tommy had been Kayla’s friend for as long as she lived in the big white house on Wilmette Avenue. They tried dating at least twice, but things just didn’t work out like they were supposed to.
In the shop the air had a light scent of hazel, just enough to make her smile.
“Is Tommy in, Jeff?” Kayla asked leaning in against the glass display letting her ears fill with the Plain White T’s. She looked into Jeff’s black rimmed blue eyes, and noticed how his blonde hair curved around his cheeks giving them off as chubby. He was an honest man, Kayla had always admired his hard work, but he seemed so unapproachable.
“I think so; I’ll go check in the back. one sec,” Jeff walked across the store into the back room, which supposedly had all the new CD’s that weren’t out yet, Kayla never believed a word of it because Tommy never let her in there.
“Hey Kayla! What’s a girl like yourself visiting me for?” Tommy exclaimed, as if straight out of a movie holding his eyes straight at her.
“No money, sorry,” Kayla said as Tommy’s face dropped.
“It was worth a try, poor George, I’ll have to skip feeding him tonight,” he said with a spark of hope in his eyes.
“Tommy, you know I hate cats,” Kayla said, giving reason for her lack of sympathy, “Anyways I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch with me, I’ll pay,” she offered getting off the display and walking over to a Saosin CD and ringing it up herself.
“Yes! But only if I get a meat ball combo with Cheetos and a large drink at Subway,” Tommy jumped at the opportunity and grabbed Kayla’s arm and ran out of his work.
“Fine…”Kayla sighed; Tommy got way too exited for what was coming his way.