Authonomy – Friday Flash Fiction [FFF]
Post: FFF – July 26, 2013
Theme / Genre: “The
Movies” or for us Brits “The Cinema”
Include: –
Words: 735
The Secret Film Club
The timber and glass doors swung outwards with a long
squeaking sound; they hadn’t been opened in a while. Pushing over the tall weeds that grew in
front of the garden room, they revealed a darkened space full of various boxes,
bags and unused items. As he stepped
over the threshold, Joshua gasped, half in wonder at what stood before him, and
half in disbelief at the amount there seemed to be. Now he could see why his mum had agreed to
the idea, he thought she had given in to his demands all too quickly. He would certainly have his work cut-out, to
pull off his plans; the room was a tip, and there was little time before the
others arrived.
Cobwebs covered his face, as he squeezed through a gap of
teetering towers of cardboard boxes, and he quickly wiped the strands
away. The air smelt damp and when he
pushed through to an open space at the back of the room, he could see patches
of mould in the corner. Nothing a few
well-placed boxes couldn’t hide.
It’s perfect, he thought, and set about arranging the room.
Heavy boxes of books he slid, others overflowing with
dressing-up clothes he lifted into place.
Bigger boxes at the bottom, then smaller ones, and finally plastic bags
filled with old clothes on top, filling any odd spaces between. The constructed wall was placed close to the
door, with a folded decorators table bridging a gap at the bottom, which
created a tiny access route through the wall, like an igloo’s doorway. A room within a room.
At one end of the space, Joshua carefully arranged a
broken-legged plastic table, sitting atop a pile of scooters, skateboards,
hula-hoops and other garden toys, providing the perfect position for a
projector. To the opposite wall, he made
a gap in the centre of some old tea chests exposing a rectangular section of wall
up to the ceiling; perfect 12×7 viewing ratio, he calculated. Any other leftover bags he then squashed into
leftover boxes, and stacked up along with an assortment of old pieces of
furniture against the wall.
Strategically placed ledges in the stack would provide handy places for
bottles of coke, bowls of sweets and popcorn later, he envisaged.
Several unrolled threadbare rugs covered the floor, although
a little musty, they were fine for the boys.
Various scattered cushions, pillows and old duvets provided reclining
space, which he finally laid back on. He
reached out flicking a switch; an old set of fairy lights illuminated the dark,
the final touch to the SFC: Secret Film Club.
There was a knock on the boxes.
‘Joshua, you in there?’
Joshua’s mother asked.
‘Yep, here,’ he said.
‘You can’t come in.’
‘Oh, go on. Just a
peak.’
‘Only a peak then.’
Through the low-level opening, his mother pushed a large
tray of drinks, sweets and popcorn; to Joshua’s delight.
‘Oh, excellent,’ he sounded surprised. ‘I was just thinking the same thing.’
‘Thought you might have been,’ she said, sticking her head
and shoulders through the small opening. ‘Oh, this is cool. I better send in the others.’
‘Are they here?’
‘Yes, everyone.’
‘Send them in then,’ he said excitedly.
‘Ok, ok,’ she said, retreating backwards.
Joshua took up the tray and quickly filled the stacked up
box-tower with drinks and food; awesome, he thought.
‘Oh wow, Josh,’ a voice behind him said, the first of his
friends to appear from the igloo hole.
‘Great isn’t it?’
‘Deffo.’
Soon six boys all buzzed with delight, jumping around, high
on sugary treats.
‘Right let’s watch the film,’ Joshua announced, and pressed
play on the remote.
‘I’ll just slide this box into the hole, Josh, so it blocks
out all the light,’ a muffled voice said from behind the wall.
‘Oh, thanks dad.’
The boys sat quietly in the dark, as the movie played, until
they heard some scratching.
‘What’s the noise Josh,’ one of Joshua’s friends asked,
slightly worried.
‘I’m not sure, it’s coming from the box in the doorway,’ he
said, and paused the movie, so they could hear.
Switching the lights back on he crawled to the box; more
scratches could be heard.
‘Open it,’ someone said. He pulled the box inwards revealing the words Happy
Birthday formed out of small holes on the top. Nervously, he began opening the lid. Then to his surprise, a small damp puppy’s
nose poked out.
