It's my day off. Anna and I have plans for tomorrow. I am not sure what to do today. Maybe I'll catch up on my texts later, for now, I get dressed and head downstairs.
"Hey, Ryan. What are you up to today?" I heard Grandma say to me from the kitchen table.
"I thought about doing some shopping," I say back to her.
"Oh, in that case," Grandma got up from the table and pulled some money out of her wallet.
"Here, I assume you probably can put this to use," She walks over to me and puts a 50$ in my hand.
"Nice! Thanks, Grandma!" I say, surprised by the amount of money.
"Maybe bring back a job application or something, just so Grandpa doesn't get annoyed," She gives me a lighthearted smile.
"I'll be back later," I say while putting my shoes on.
"Please come back before dark, dear," She sounds worried.
I don't think I have told grandma about Bethany going missing. I am sure she read it in the paper or something, but I doubt they knew I was friends with her.
I went outside and tried to think about where I wanted to go. There was the school, which is out of the question. I could go to the park and... Sit? What do people do by themselves at the park? I guess I could hang out at The Frying Pan, but that is just food; I am not spending 50$ on diner food.
Welp, guess I have to find something new. I head to Main Street, the same street as The Frying Pan. I had seen some other stores on the walks there but never had time to check them out. I saw other restaurants and bars, some stores for phones and appliances, A mattress store? As I almost decide to just settle for going into one of the appliance stores, I see something that truly caught my eye: Main Video Rental.
I rush over to it so fast that I almost trip on the pavement. I honestly never thought I would get to see one of these kinds of stores in person! These were rare, a dying breed in the modern age! I walk through the door into a dimly lit room with rows of shelves. There was another teenager behind the counter, I looked over to him, and he appeared asleep. I start looking around the store, trying to see if I can find anything interesting. Something surprised me though, there weren't any DVDs or Blu-Rays, only VHSs. I don't know whether to be disappointed or thrilled. I don't have a VHS player at home, but I have one at Seattle and prefer it to DVD. I just collect DVDs because it is more convenient and still produced.
Maybe I can find a VHS player somewhere? I want to revisit this store, but I need a VHS player. I dejectedly decided to leave. As I approach the front door, something hits my foot. I look down to see a little brass bell, like the ones in stores that are above the entrance to alert employees of a new customer. I look up to the top of the front door to see a matching brass hook. I decided to be a model citizen and put the bell back in its proper position. I open the door as a test for the bell.
*RI-I-ING* The bell chimes.
As the bell goes off, the sleeping teen falls from his position behind the counter and gets into something I can only describe as an "employee stance."
"Hello, fine customer of Main Video Rental. Are you renting or returning today?" He says with a tone that tells me he had repeated this a couple of times before.
"Sorry, nothing today. I don't have a VHS player, so I can't rent yet," I say plainly.
The teen looks a little more awake now.
"Oh, you aren't one of the usual customers" He looks surprised.
"Well, listen, you said you didn't have a VHS player, right?" He looks interested.
"Yeah, why?" I say.
"Ok, so let me check something in the back, don't go anywhere." He rushes to the back room behind the counter.
"..." I waited in silence.
"Ok, I found one!" The teen comes back carrying a dusty box.
"What is it?" I'm curious now.
"A VHS player! We got like, 5 of these donated just this summer alone." He pulled a silver VHS player out of the box and plugged the three AV cables into a nearby mini CRT TV."
"I was thinking that I could give this to you if you do a year subscription." He popped a nearby tape into the player, and a movie came onto the screen.
"Ok, but how much for a full year, and what do I get out of it?"
"A full year for... I dunno, I'll say $44.99" He looks like he's just making this shit up now. "And you can rent out five tapes at any given time until today next year."
I sure as hell shouldn't be here this time next year, so I shouldn't have to worry about renewing it.
"I'll do it, let me look around for some movies," I say, looking at the shiny VHS player.
"Nice! By the way, I'm Thomas," He says as he pulls out some sheets of paper and starts filling stuff out.
I walked around and picked out some tapes; at least one of them had Japanese typing on it. I walk back up, and Thomas points out the spots for me to sign. I slap the 50$ on the table, and Thomas gives me my change. I put the VHS player in the box and put the tapes in.
"Thanks for stopping by, be sure to stop by again," Thomas shouts as I head out the door.
I took my box of goodies back home and put them in the corner of the room. I took out the VHS player and set it up under my DVD/Blu-Ray Player. I still need a shelf. I throw in the Japanese tape and lay on the bed. I suppose it's time to tell Anna what I know.
To Anna:
Ryan: Are you ready for tomorrow?
Anna: fuck yea, hope u have ur sunday best ready
Anna: im kinda tense tho, i havent met her parents yet
Anna: i dont want to upset them :|
Ryan: We just have to walk on eggshells about the subject.
Ryan: We can't push them.
Anna: i wish we had more to go on.
Ryan: Oh, before we go on, I have some information I haven't relayed yet
Ryan: This is the stuff that even the cops don't know.
Ryan: I didn't say anything before because I wasn't really sure what happened myself.
Ryan: But if you are serious about trying to find her.
Ryan: I will tell you what I know.
Anna: wat
Anna: u serious?
Anna: thats scary
Ryan: I haven't said anything yet.
Anna: but that u know stuff
Anna: like, think about it from my pov
Anna: strange city boy comes and reveals he knows stuff about missing girl
Anna: like, i know u
Anna: or i think i know u
Anna: ur like a harmless mouse
