FicWad

Aleena sat at the kitchen table and looked through the newspaper to find the times for the movie Sonia wanted to see.
 Sonia was all dressed to go in her favorite purple dress and sandals.
 Manic was sitting at the table, drumming his fingers on the table as he drew a picture.
 Sonic paced by the door. “C’mon, I’m waiting.”
 “We have to wait for your dad to get out of the bathroom.” Aleena said.
 “What did he do?” Sonic asked. “Did he fall in the toilet?”
 Sonia’s eyes widened. “That can happen?”
 Manic laughed. 
 “No, Sonia, he’s being a smart aleck.” Aleena said. “Sonic, behave or we’re not going to the movies at all.”
 “How’s that fair?” Sonia asked.
 Aleena froze. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
 Manic stopped drawing, then clipped a velociraptor keychain to his fanny pack’s zipper. 
 Aleena looked at the picture Manic drew. “What’s that supposed to be?”
 “Filburt.” Manic said. He started drumming his fingers on the table.
 “Well, that clears up that mystery.” Aleena muttered. “Sweetie, who is Filburt?”
 “Rocko’s turtle friend, duh.” Manic replied.
 “Yes, clearly I’ve been living in a cave.” Aleena said flatly.
 “Are we seeing the Matrix?” Manic asked.
 Sonic started bouncing. “Yeah, can we?” He asked. “You and Dad already went to see it to see if we could watch it.”
 “Honestly, it probably would scare and confuse you.” Aleena replied. “I still don’t really know what I saw.”
 Manic groaned.“Ah, but it looks so cool.” He said, tossing his head back. “I want a coat like Keanu Reeves’ coat.”
 Aleena bit her lip. “Yeah… I’m not sure if we can find them easily or if they’d let you wear it to school now.”
 “Why?” Manic asked.
 Aleena’s eyes widened. “Nothing you need to worry about, just something sad that was in the news.”
 Manic nodded.
 Aleena breathed a sigh of relief.
 Sonic groaned. “Dad’s taking forever!”
 Aleena got up and walked toward the bathroom door. “Hon, hurry up.” She said as she knocked on the door.
 The phone rang.
 Sonic ran over and yanked the long cord down. He caught the receiver before it could hit the floor. “Hello?”
 “Who is it?” Aleena asked.
 “Oh, hey, Bunnie.” Sonic replied. “Oh, sorry, she can’t come to the sleepover tonight.”
 Sonia looked at Aleena.
 “Oh, you mean tomorrow night?” Sonic asked. “Let me ask Mom.”
 Sonic pulled his phone down. “Mom, can Sonia go to the sleepover at Bunnie’s tomorrow night?”
 “Sure.” Aleena replied.
 Sonic moved the phone back to his ear. “Mom said it was cool.” He said as Brenden walked out of the bathroom. “Oh, Dad’s out of the bathroom. We gotta go.”
 Sonic hung up.
 “Really, Sonic?” Brenden asked.
 “What?” Sonic asked.
 “Nevermind.” Brenden replied.
 Aleena picked up Manic. “Come on, let’s try to make it to the six o’clock showing.”
*
 Manic and Sonia stood with their parents in the lobby while Sonic paced in front of them. 
 Manic stared at the Matrix poster. “Ma, please, I want to see it.”
 “No, we already bought tickets to Tarzan anyway.” Aleena said. 
 Manic sighed. “Why do you care if it’ll scare me?” He asked. “You took us to see the Lion King.”
 Brenden shrugged. “He’s got a point, Aleena.” He replied. “Besides, if he handled the face melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark or the shoe melting scene in Roger Rabbit well, then he should be able to handle the scene where Neo’s mouth gets erased or whatever.”
 “Fine, but we still already bought these tickets.” Aleena said.
 Sonic noticed some other people and Mobians standing around with pillows. “Why do they have pillows?”
 “The seats aren’t comfortable.” Aleena said.
 “Then why don’t we have pillows?” Sonic asked.
 “You’re a tough guy, you can handle it.” Brenden replied.
 Finally, everyone was allowed in the screening room.
 The first thing the kids noticed was the sticky floor.
 “I thought they cleaned this.” Manic said. 
 “Soda is hard to clean up.” Aleena replied.
 The family settled into the back row since it was higher up so the kids could see the screen.
 Aleena sat on the end of the row, the triplets sat between her and Brenden. 
 Aleena and Brenden held the popcorn bags while each family member held their drink cups between their legs.
 Sonic and Manic fidgeted in the hard and rough seats.
 Manic rested his arms on his lap to keep from touching the scratchy fabric.
 Sonic accidentally dropped his drink on the floor. “Oops.”
 Brenden picked up the cup and stepped around to throw it in the trash. “Okay, you’re sharing Manic’s drink.”
 “Gross!” Manic protested. “I’m not sharing a drink with him.”
 “Fine, Sonic, you can share mine.” Brenden said.
 “Thanks, Dad.” Sonic replied. “I’m sorry.”
 “It’s okay, try to be more careful this time.” Brenden said, patting Sonic on the head.
*
 An hour into the movie, including the trailers, Sonic fidgeted in his seat again. 
 Brenden leaned closer. “What’s wrong?” He whispered.
 “I gotta go to the bathroom.” Sonic whispered back. 
 “Ask your brother if he has to go.” Brenden whispered.
 “No.” Manic whispered.
 Brenden got up and took Sonic to the bathroom.
 Manic leaned behind Sonia, who was on the edge of her seat, and tapped Aleena’s arm. “Ma? Is it over?” He whispered.
 “Not yet.” Aleena whispered.
 Manic settled in his seat and sighed.
 Sonia shushed Manic.
 Manic leaned over again and tapped Aleena’s arm again. “Ma?” He whispered.
 “What?” Aleena whispered back.
 Manic pointed toward one of the rows ahead of them. “What’s that couple doing?” He whispered.
 Aleena noticed what Manic was talking about. “Nothing, sweetie.” Aleena whispered back. “Watch the movie or take a nap.”
 Manic reluctantly turned his attention to the movie.
*
 The family got back into the car. Brenden started the car and backed out of the space.
 “That was more violent than expected.” Aleena said.
 “And sad.” Manic added.
 “He was crying during the first five minutes.” Sonic said.
 Manic half heartedly shoved Sonic. “Shut up.”
 “That had me crying too, Sonic.” Aleena replied.
 Brenden pulled the car out into the street. “So how’d you like the movie, Sonia?”
 “It was pretty good.” Sonia said. “I want the video when it comes out.”
 Sonic and Manic groaned.
 “Hey, we'll buy you two plenty of movies she doesn’t like.” Aleena said, glancing back at the boys.
 “Yes, Mom.” Manic and Sonic replied.
 “So can we rent the Matrix for next week’s movie night?” Manic asked.
 “We’ll see.” Brenden replied.