45. As short as Nishikino Maki's would be nice

                                    

                                          

CHAPTER 45
          "See, I always like a good plot twist, but her brother's murderer being her girlfriend? What the actual—"
          "It's way too cruel," Saki agreed, tightening her hold around my arm as she reached over for a scoopful of popcorn with her free hand. Considering the silence of the movie theatre I was internally grateful she cut off my swear.
          "They can't end up together now," I agreed, feeling a tug at my heart. "Even if it was an accident that's messed up, man."
          "Oh, I already read a spoiler Mi-chan," she said. "They do still end up together."
          "What, for real?"
          "Yeah, there's another plot twist where the whole girlfriend being the murderer is a set up and the one who killed her brother is actually her neighbour."
          "Like, her neighbour she thought she was madly in love with until she met Mao?"
          "Yeah, that swoon worthy one. Ryuji. He apparently got into some trouble with her brother at a party, and—"
          "EXECHUSE MEH."
          The shout that rang out from behind us snatched our focus. Saki loosened her grip on my arm and we craned our necks back. Through the darkness it was difficult to place the face it belonged to, but I was betting it was the sourpuss lady a couple rows up.
          "Exechuse yourself," I shouted back. "We're trying to watch a movie here."
          "We'd appreciate some peace and quiet, please," Saki added.
          The middle-aged woman, the only other spectator in the entire theatre besides us, was gawping. "You're the ones spoiling the—"
          "See, look, there's Ryuji now," Saki whispered to me, extending out her finger to the large screen.
         I hummed through a mouthful of popcorn. "That is definitely the face of a killer."
          "AGH," grunted the woman.
          Saki rose off my shoulder to glance back at the groaning and moaning lady.
          "She probably has cramps." I nudged her back. "Let her suffer in peace."
          "Aye, aye," Saki chirped, replanting her head on my shoulder.
          Ignoring the rather graphic sounds going on behind us, Saki and I refocused ourselves to the movie. By the time the credits began to roll and we left the dimly lit theatre, we were still raving about the craziness of that romantic mystery.
          "I am so glad I listened to you today," I told her, tossing the empty popcorn container into the trash.
          "I told you it was great," Saki replied.
          I fought a smile as we made our ways to the exit. "And who knew how empty the theatres were during the day. Having an almost empty one to yourself is awesome."
          "That lady was pretty rude though," Saki said as she carefully sidestepped around the ice in our path.
          I waved it off. "It's not our fault she couldn't grab a friend to see a movie with. Besides, I give her serious props for coming here during her time of the month. That's never a pretty time for me."
          "It's never a pretty time for anyone," Saki snorted. She glanced up at the clear sky and then down at her cell. "It's only two o'clock. What do you want to do?"