ANOTHER DAY
Just another boring day for me. Wake, shower, shave, work, and sleep. It's the same thing every day, but I have a feeling today will be different. I was unusually happy today which is uncommon for me because I hate my dead end job. Working at the local movie theater is boring it's more hype than everyone says it is. Sure I get free movies plus an extra free ticket for whoever I decide.
The thing is I don't have anyone to go with. I haven't dated in like five years no one finds me attractive, my coworkers only put up with me because they have to or else they get a write up. But besides the point that extra ticket is useless to me.
"So... Now what?" I ask myself as I clock back in from my break.
I walk slowly to the podium for the clipboard I use to check off the theaters. Nothing really happens that much except for helping the average customer find the bathroom or helping people in a crowded theater find a seat for their family, sure there have been a few cases where I have spotted someone recording the movie but once the manager stepped in he high tailed his ass out of the theater when no one was looking.
I'm slowly walking from theater to theater talking to my friend Dylan about voice overs for games, something that has become a normal thing for us to talk about when trying to kill a few minutes while cleaning theaters or walking in the halls.
"What if any famous people came to this theater?" I say to Dylan
"Who knows this place would be completely over run by a lot of people wanting autographs and what not. It wouldn't be good for us you know cleaning and what not." Dylan replies
"Yeah. I know where your coming from, but I don't know it might be good for sales or something." I say to him as I walk into a theater to check on the customers.
"I sure hope that I get to meet someone famous." I tell myself in a hushed tone while looking up at the crowd watching the movie. I finally got off at 6:00 pm walking out to my car I take out a cigarette from my pack, only about a handful left. I light it and get into my car and drive off.
Once home I dropped my shit on the counter and started to take off my jacket and put my cigarette butt in the ashtray sitting on the end of the counter when I herd a knock at my door. Lighting another on the short walk to my front door, I looked through the little peep hole and saw a tall woman about 6 foot accompanied by a much shorter woman about 5'6. Opening the door I was greeted by a warm motherly voice.
"Hello there, my name is Princess Celestia." The tall woman said, I was in shock; politely bowing in front of the princess, she proceeded to do the same.
"Come in Princess make yourself at home. May I get you anything, some tea or any food?" I said to her. As she walked past me into the living room.
"No thank you, I am here on official business and your name came up somehow." Celestia said to me as we walked over to the couch.
"Why did my name come up?" I asked with a slight worry in my voice.
"It's nothing to be worried about my loyal subject, it's just someone made a threat against my colleague here and I thought that you might be the perfect person to help her." Celestia said as she motioned toward the younger woman sitting next to her.
"Me? I don't think that I would be the best of help, I am a nobody why would you want my help. I bet the royal guard would do a mighty fine job at what ever you want me to do." I reply to Celestia.
"You see it's not that simple." The younger woman said to me. "Someone wants me dead for reasons unbeknownst to the princess."
"Twilight is right. I don't know why but someone wants her dead, my guard is working on finding that said person right now. I can't have her stay in Canterlot anymore so I have picked you to keep her here where no one would think of finding her." Celestia said to me, I sat up from the chair across from the princess. Rubbing my goatee as I thought to myself.
"So you are asking me a nobody from Ponyville to watch over your friend?" I question at the princess.
"She is not just a friend but my closest student, you remember when nightmare moon came back, she helped stop her." Celestia said. I nodded slowly as I ran that whole night back into the front of my brain again.
"I see, so what exactly do you want me to do Princess?" I reply.
"I want you to have her stay with you and if you can get her a job where you work so she blends in. She already has her alias so no one would suspect it's her. I would like for you to help her to keep a low profile." Celestia said to me, "now I must go attend to royal business Twilight come get your stuff so you can stay here."
I walk with Celestia to her car and got Twilight's things. Bowing then saying goodby to the princess, I headed back inside with Twilight's things.
"So..... Brian what do you do?" Twilight said to me.
"I don't do much just wor... How do you know my name?" I reply
"The princess told me when she first found you and wanted me to blend in like you." Twilight said to me. I just looked down at the ground and hung my head.
"So that's what the princess wanted, for you to blend in like me, to be a nobody." I told Twilight. She looked at me with a little twinge of remorse when I said that.
"Well let's face it you are just a face in the crowd not really doing anything blending in. So yeah that's why Celestia picked you." Twilight said. I looked at her and just shook my head.
"I can't believe it." I said as I took out a cigarette from my dwindling pack. "Want one?" I offered Twilight. She shook her head "suit yourself then." I said as I lit my cigarette. Twilight looked at me with wonder and asked.
"Why do you smoke? It's so bad for you."
"I do it because it helps me to relax and if I'm going to die in might as well die happy or at least try and be happy. Not to mention no one is going to miss me when I'm gone anyway so why should I give a fuck." I tell Twilight.
"Oh. Well in that case sorry I asked" Twilight said. We just sat in silence for what felt like forever then Twilight spoke
"So my 'new' name is Talia Smith just so you know. Call me that from now on just so you get use to it."
"Okay. Well thanks Talia for making my life sound like complete and utter shit." I said to her she hung her head low and had a look of depression on her face.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up I know my life is shit you can't change that or anyone else who try's to help me. I have accepted the fact that I am a nobody and I forever will be." I tell Talia "now if the princess wants you to be a nobody for your own safety then just do what I do if you want to blend right in. Rule one keep to yourself and shut people out. Rule two be a loner."
"Well that's easy for you because you went to a public school, I didn't I was taught by the princess and I couldn't just shut her out. You wouldn't understand I have always been told that I would amount to great things if I kept to my studies and kept to it. Do you know how much stress I am under! It's NOT FAIR!" Talia yelled at me not meaning to. "Sorry for yelling like that, I've been under a lot of stress with the princess and now even more so because of this person that is trying to kill me. I wish I wasn't like this."
I walk over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders and start to give her a massage. I could tell she started to cry for realizing what she has just been through.
"Wha-what are you doing?" Talia said to me.
"Giving you a massage because you need to relax, try not to be hard on yourself all the time. I was constantly doing that to myself back when I was in school and then I dropped out and got my G.E.D and look where I am." I tell her.
"In a dead end job at a movie theater and you wish you were at a mother job that doesn't pay 8 bits an hour?" She said to me in a blunt tone.
"Not funny, but it is also true. I just wish I could make a name for myself but look where that got me. Tried my hand a voice over stuff. Haven't gotten a single script, tried to go on one of those searching for the stars tv shows where I sang and played guitar that only lasted me till the second round, I just sorta gave up on all of that." I said with a low voice with a hint of sadness at the end, I walked away from Talia to go over to the freezer to get two drumsticks, walking toward the table I notice Talia get up and walk toward me. She hugs me and doesn't let go for what felt like hours, but in all actuality it was only a few minutes.
After breaking the very sorrowful and awkward embrace I hand her one of the treats, she thanks me and unwraps it.
"I have a guest room if you'd like to sleep there or..." I begin before she stops me.
"As apart of my relocation and new identity we are supposed to be a couple apparently." She says to me "it was not my idea but the princess demanded on it." I just nod as I take a small bite of the ice cream.
"So how long have we been 'dating' and you still haven't answered my question of where you would like to sleep." I say in a sympathetic voice. I try not to sound rude or have a harsh tone with anyone but that's how I sound all the time.
"We have been dating for quite some time now online and I finally had enough money to live with you. So as to stay in 'character' I will be sleeping with you if any of your friends come they won't get any suspicion to why I am here and staying with you." Talia said while keeping a professional tone the whole time. I just look at her wide eyed and almost drop my ice cream on the floor.
"Okay." I said slowly and a little confused at what just went on.
After a few minutes of our enjoyment of the ice cream treat Talia gets up and stands face to face with me, she is a little shorter than me but I'm only 5'6 or 5'7 at least. I can tell that she is very tired and is slightly confused given her new situation. I take Talia's hand and held it there for a few good minutes.
"Let's get you to bed I can tell your tired." I say to her I turn off the lights and start to head up the stairs when I hear Talia start to cry again.
"What's wrong?" I say with a very soft hearted voice
"I just can't believe that someone is trying to kill me and now I have relocated to this small town away from my teacher and family. It's not fair!" She said as I came back down the few steps I had managed to walk up toward the upstairs. I hold her tight to my body in a futile attempt to comfort her.
"Let's get you to bed and see what tomorrow has for us." I say to her in a whisper. I pick her up and start walking toward the stairs, I can feel her warm tears on my shoulder as I carry her off to our room. I can feel her legs wrap around my waist and her arms wrap around my neck, holding me tightly as I walk down the hall. Opening the door after that short walk up the stairs and in the small hall that opened to a loft area where I held all my books on custom made book shelves.
As I gently lay Talia on the bed gently she looks up at me through a sleepy stare
"Why are you so willing to help me? You don't even know me." She said
"Besides having a gun at my back by the princess? I don't know really, maybe because of the chance that people never gave me when I was in school like you." I told her
"Oh; well I can say that the princess doesn't get me." Talia replied
"Get some rest you need it, I'll see you in the morning." I tell her as I walk towards the door.
"Wait!" Talia said to me as I was half way out the door. "Aren't you going to sleep with me?"
I reply "I am wide awake and I don't sleep that much. I only get three maybe four hours of sleep. As I said you need it more than I do. Good night Talia."
I head down stairs after turning off the light in the room. I turn the kitchen light back on and pull the ash tray close to me and light up a cigarette, I open the sliding door to have a little bit of ventilation. I hear a faint knock at the door, I get up out of the chair and start to walk towards the front door. It opens but gets stopped by the lock chain.
"We need to talk about what happened earlier tonight." A voice came through the small crack
I could only imagine what or who was behind the door, I unlocked it and fully opened the door. Princess Luna walked through the door when I opened it fully.
"Princess Luna." I said as I bowed in front of the lunar princess. "Come in make yourself comfortable."
"I know who is upstairs Brian, I will be appearing to check up on you if you haven't figured that out already." Princess Luna said in a tone most unpleasant.
Now we just stare at each other for a long while. I know somehow Luna knows my thoughts, it wouldn't be the first time I saw her in a dream. But this isn't a dream it's real life and I know why she is here.
"I know why you are here Luna this might not be the safest way to meet, I might have to meet you somewhere else say a dream if you catch what I'm getting at." I tell the Lunar princess. She nods and gets up.
"As I recall your dreams are horrific a very dark place no one shall want to go not even I. But alas I shall make an acceptation because I know of the risks meeting in person like this. Tonight be ready listen to my words and know why I check on you and Twilight." Luna said as she walked toward the door.
I look out. She gets into a black trans am like the one used in that one movie that I can't put my finger on.