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Dragged by Sin from behind, we made a beeline from the clothing store towards the top floor of the mall where the low, black ceiling paired well with the patterned, red carpets. Combined with the soft, coloured lighting and the chilling atmosphere of the cold air, the floor felt like some grand, mysterious, expensive space whose entry can only be bought at a price equal to its mystique.

I thought to myself that it seemed like an unwarranted fortune’s worth for interior decoration, especially for an establishment as simple as a cinema.

Though, as it’s evident before my eyes, it worked. The cinema was bustling when we got there. It was the type of crowd where you either get a constant move on or risk having your foot or tail stepped on. Judging from the never-ending stream of moviegoers being shepherded to and from exits, the cinema could probably recoup its losses in the decorative department from a day’s worth of operation. That was after separating the demographics too; the entrance to the cinema had a fork leading to three different corridors, each built to accommodate different sizes of patrons. It was expected; it wouldn’t be easy for fairies or rodent beastkins to navigate a crowd several times their size, nor would it fare well for ogres or minotaurs to walk without tripping over a few passersby each step they take.

As always, Sin was quick on her feet as she dragged me from behind. She took no delay and managed to find the shortest queue towards the ticketing booths. There we stood in our little pocket of space, away from the stream of bodies pushing and shoving all over the place. I took the time to catch my breath and glance around the place.

I looked to the front where the ticketing booths sat. There were a good dozen of them, and between each three, there was a wall-mounted television hanging from the ceiling. They played the kind of things you’d expect to see in a place that sells you tickets for movies - previews showing attractive actors pulling death-defying stunts and striking poses in clothes that, if any scanter, would’ve been pulled off the screen and put in a dark corner on the Internet. I’ll admit that some of them enticed my tastes; I’m only human. To my surprise, they also played snippets of the latest news in between the trailers. I wasn’t one to catch up with the daily happenings, so I wasn’t complaining.

When the televisions began looping the clips, I turned my eyes towards the crowd itself. As always, there was the usual sight of horns and perking ears and wings popping up from a sea of people’s heads. Among lone movie connoisseurs, friend groups and families with kids, there was also an abundance of couples lining up before the booths. It was nearing the end of the month at that time when paychecks would begin to roll for most workers looking to impress their partners and spouses. I had different circumstances but like others, I too had my pride as a man on the line; at least as much pride a man could have in this situation.

"You can probably scalp these tickets," I shrugged as our turn was up.

Sin raised an eyebrow as she followed me from the side, "Scalp?"

"It's like when you buy something to sell it back to someone for a profit,” I opened up my wallet and slipped a large note to the avian beastkin manning the ticketing counter, “Couple seats. Screen K and J. We'll take the earliest time for K and the subsequent screening for J.”

Sin stood to my side, "What, like a regular shop?"

“Sort of, but different,” I turned towards the avian beastkin again, “Any seat’s fine. Just need them to be side by si-”

“And away from the screen, please," Sin pushed me away and stuck her face towards the avian beastkin.

 

 

Without a word, the avian beastkin pushed some buttons on a computer and punched some numbers into the cashier. In exchange for my money, she gave me two pairs of tickets and the change along with a warm smile.

“Thanks,” I returned a nod of my own as I turned away.

Sin linked her arms with mine as she tagged alongside, “So? How different from a shop?”

I pocketed the change into my pants while waving the former to Sin, “You buy something a lot of people want and sell it back to them at a higher price.”

“What,” Sin raised her eyebrow, “Like a scam?”

“No, you buy the stuff legally,” we squeezed our way out of the queue and walked our way towards the turnstiles partitioning the lobby and the screens, “It’s yours. You just sell it back to the market at a higher price.”

“Then it’s a scam.”

“How is it a scam?”

“See it from your perspective,” Sin let go of my arm as she walked alongside, “You want something to drink, but some guy’s brought all the drinks in the area. What if the guy charges you a fortune just for one bottle? What do you do then?"

"I drink from the tap,"

Sin pouted, "You know what I mean."

"I do, but scalping's not that," I showed the tickets in my hand once more, "You take something exclusive that everyone wants but not everyone can have. Water's not exclusive. Hell, it rains water. You scalp something like a toy or medicine. You buy them all, keep them to yourself, then sell them back to others at a higher price. They can't get them anywhere else, so they can only buy it from you."

"Still a scam," Sin remained adamant.

"How?"

"It's just wrong. It's everyone's right to buy something they want. You can't just take it away from others."

"I'm not. Just selling back at a high price."

"That's an asshole move."

"But it's not illegal."

"It should be."

We reached the turnstiles where an old, lanky human lady stood in front. I didn't recognize her as part of the cinema staff at first until I saw her uniform. Her skin was wrinkled and weathered until it's akin to cracked leather, blending with the dark walls of the place. Squinted were her eyes to the point where they could be mistaken for being closed. The two reasons I could tell she could see were because she turned towards us when we approached her, and that no sane management would put a blind, geriatric woman in the service sector.

She extended her thin, bony hands as she spoke in a slow, almost creaking voice, "Ti...ckets please…"

I obliged, flashing the tickets towards her. For good measures, though, I brought it closer to her eyes, just in case.

The old lady shook her head, “Not… so close… I can’t… see…”

I brought the tickets back by an inch as I wondered who would be cruel enough to put an elderly like her in such a position. A queue began forming behind us as she struggled to read out the letters on the tiny strips of paper I had shown her.

Sin leaned in towards the old lady, “Do you need us to read it for you?”

The old lady had her eye(lids?) stay on the tickets for another second before ignoring Sin and turning to me, pointing a crooked finger towards the tickets, “You sure… you’re of age… to see… this?”

Right, I was still wearing my school uniform then. I dug into my pockets and pulled out my wallet, showing her my identifications. That took another second’s worth of squinting before she relented, giving us a nod.

That wasn't the end, though.

The old woman swivelled her frail head towards Sin, "Weapons… regis...tration…"

Sin stared at the old woman for a moment before freezing in shock. She turned towards me, eyes widened, "Fuck."

I didn't need an explanation from her to know.

She turned back towards the old woman, the freckles on her dark cheeks contorting in panic as she pondered in hasteful desperation for a solution.

I pulled back in surprised zeal from the odd moment of dim wit from Sin, "Just show her."

The woman's face brightened as my suggestion registered in her head. She forced her hand open, sparkles manifesting in her palm as a switchblade began materialising from within the light. She swivelled the blade's handle towards her fingers, grabbed it tight, and dangled it in front of the old woman.

Sin waited in anticipation as she watched the old woman contemplate before her squinted sight.

After a few seconds of bated breaths, the old woman finally relented, "Enjoy… your movie…"

I gave a courteous nod while Sin delivered several sets of bows for her utmost gratitude. We passed through the turnstiles in fast expedience.

As we made our way to our screening hall, I glanced towards Sin, "Where'd you leave it?"

The woman took a moment to sigh in relief before answering, "The drawers, I think. Or in front of the TV. It's in the room, I'm sure."

"You're lucky I'm paying," I snorted.

We proceeded down a short corridor, the interiors following the same theme from the lobby outside the turnstiles. This time, posters aligned the walls in between the double doors to the screening halls. They were much like their advertising cousins, only that they didn't have the privilege for a preview

 before turning into a small hall. There were two directions we could take; one straight towards another corridor or a short escalator that led to a lower floor in the cinema.

I led Sin down the escalator.

“You can’t scalp movie tickets,” she chimed in as we were halfway down.

I turned to face her, “Why not?”

“It’s a media form, not a physical object,” we reached the lower floor and made a turn, walking past the concession stand that stood at the foot of the escalator. It was manned by a dwarf who seemed reluctant to be there. He didn’t even bother to shoot a glance our way as we approached him. He just stared off into the distance, his eyes looking at a place. Wherever he was seeing, I couldn’t tell, but I could claim with confidence that it wasn’t here.

I repaid the same treatment the dwarf provided us and continued along, “Tickets are physical, right?”

“But that’s not the end goal,” Sin managed to snatch the tickets from my loosened grip just as I wasn’t paying attention, waving it in front of my eyes, “You don’t buy a ticket just to own one. You buy a ticket to watch a movie.”

“So you scalp the tickets,” I tried to snatch it back from her, but her nimble fingers transferred them from one hand to another, casting them far from my reach before I could even lock my elbow, “People need it to watch the movies. People who want them can get it from me.”

“People don’t want the tickets. They want to watch the movies,” Sin shot back at me, throwing her arm around and smacking the tickets at my cheeks, “They don’t even need the tickets. They can wait until they go on TV, or the internet, or buy the disks.”

“So what? Just scalp the movie,” I tried to grab them again, only for Sin to retract her arm just in time, leaving my fingers with nothing but a brush against my face, “Own all the copies, disks and all. Sell them at a premium.”

“Sure, if you’re from fifty years ago, when they used films and rode horses,” Sin waved the tickets in front of me, taunting them so near, yet so far, “Pray tell how you sell something on TV, or the internet.”

“Put a price on it,” nevertheless, I made an attempt; a fruitless one, yet again, “Don’t let them see it until they pay.”

“Then they record it from the screen, and send copies to their friends,” as if it weren’t enough, as soon as I pulled my arm back, Sin dangled it back in front of my eyes again, “What can you scalp from that?”

My tongue was fast, “You-”

But my mind couldn’t keep up anymore.

Sin stopped in her tracks, raising an annoying eyebrow, “Hm?”

I too held my steps. I thought about the conundrum for a while. I mulled over Sin’s words, reconsidering our conversation as I replayed it in my head. The pieces fell into place, and I came to the realisation.

I conceded, sliding my hands into my pockets, “You have a point.”

Like pouring salt over a wound, Sin handed me the tickets back, “You can’t even do a scam right.”

“Whatever,” with utter defeat, I grabbed the tickets from Sin.

Right as I was sliding the tickets into my pockets, however, a flash of brilliance shot through my head. I stopped for the second time in the cinema, reeling in from the sudden spark of genius that had transpired between my skull.

Sin had noticed, for she raised an eyebrow from my sudden stop, and too paused in her steps, “What?”

“What if,” I fought from splitting an ear-to-ear grin on my face, “You put a hot girl as an incentive?”

Sin’s expression didn’t change. She remained stationary, staring at me as her eyes stayed on me. She was silent for the first few moments.

I took those moments as an opportunity to elaborate, “You buy a seat for a hot chick, then sell the tickets around her at a high price. Now they’re there for the hot chick, not the movie, and there’s only one hot chick. It can’t get any more exclusive than that.”

As I was feeling satisfied with my amazing business model, Sin smudged a critical finger in my ingenuity, “That's just pimping.”

“I still make money,” I raised a counterpoint.

“That’s not even scalping anymore,” Sin raised an arm in disbelief, “That’s an entirely different sca- wait, it’s not even a scam. Yeah, it’s just pimping.”

I held my stance with an iron will, “But I still make money.”

Sin sighed as she shook her head, “I don’t know if you’re more crooked than you’re stupid.”

I let out a grin, “I'm surprised you know what pimping is.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Sin continued down the corridor, “Girls will be girls. Remember that.”

We both shared silence as I tagged along with her from behind.

We turned towards another corridor. This time, it led to a dead-end where a double door sat at the opposite side. A large K was etched into the surface itself. That was where we needed to be. As we proceeded, we passed a broom closet, sitting in between two screening halls. where the janitors’ equipment was stored. The door was left ajar, leaving its contents visible for all to see. It was a small room encompassing four walls, one of which was the open door itself while the rest were racks filled to the brim with chemicals and mops and whatnot. In the middle was a yellow cart with a blue jumpsuit somebody left behind dangling off the side of its handle.

As we passed the closet, I threw Sin a question, “How much can I charge, though?”

“Depends,” she shrugged, “How hot is that chick?”

“Not sure,” I scratched my chin, “Every guy’s got a different idea of who’s hot.”

“How about this,” Sin stopped on her heel for the third time that day and spun around towards me, “How much would you pay to sit next to me?”

I kept on with my steps, pointing towards the double doors which were only a few dozen steps away, “I think I hear the movie rolling already.”

With a soft yet swift turn, Sin twisted her hips and knocked my belly with a kick; her skirt fluttering an inch or two up her muscular thighs, “Don’t dodge the question.”

I was forced to a halt as she kept her foot in front of me. She wasn’t wrong. I was dodging the question. I was just to do so. Hell, I was asked to put a price on a girl. To give a legitimate answer would be vile. Yet, to do otherwise would be admittance to a rude notion. It was an unfair, one-sided conundrum that worked for and only for the instigator.

I was used to working uphill, however.

I turned to meet Sin in the face, “As much as I’ll pay a cute girl to watch a movie with.”

Sin gave a pout, “That’s not an answer.”

“It’s as good as the one you’re ever gonna get,” I grabbed Sin’s foot and pushed it away from my belly.

Sin retracted her outstretched legs and continued down the corridor, “I’ll probably pay an extra five from the ticket price.”

“I never thought you’re the kind to be humble,” I walked alongside her.

“Not me,” Sin rolled a beaming smug towards my direction, “You.”

“Thanks,” I paid my regards, “I would’ve only paid an extra three for you.”

Sin struck a low kick to my ankles as I let out a small chuckle.

Sin drew her foot back, “Where’d you learn about scalping anyway?”

“It was on the news,” I recalled the clip from the television between the ticketing booths at the cinema lobby, “Some guy brought all the toys in some fast-food place.”

“Scum,” Sin didn’t hesitate one bit.

I provided more material, “Sold it at twice the price.”

Sin was quick to paint it in her shade of colour, “What vermin.”

“The website he sold on took his profile down, though.”

Sin let out a loud snicker, “Serves him every right.”

I imagined the guy wiping his tears with the profit he earned, but I held off from visualising that thought to my tongue.

We reached the end of the corridor, standing before the double doors. To the side of the doors was a poster hanging behind an enclosed frame with the words Now Playing written below. Sin scanned across the graphics with a curious gaze.

“Woah,” she pressed a finger against the glass, “Check this out.”

I took a look at the poster. It was a close-up of this grotesque creature unhinging its bloody jaw, with half its face covering one side of the poster while the title was scrawled down across the opposite side. It was an intriguing composition that would interest me in watching the film, which it did. The tickets in my pocket were for its screening, after all.

Looking closer, however, discrepancies began to emerge.

The title was a word of a foreign language I couldn't recognise, much less pronounce. What I could recognise, however, was the number scribbled with a marker beside one of the alphabets. Next to a neat, typed-out 'E' was the number '3', written down in a manner that seemed incapable of caring less about its appearance. Every other alphabet was left alone and untarnished.

It wasn't just the title on the poster that was sullied. The star of the poster itself too wasn't immune to defilement. Within its open mouth was a pair of sharp teeth and fangs, each of which was painted over with some bright, yellow highlighter, turning an otherwise horrifying mien into a rather comical depiction of poor dental hygiene.

Not even the frame itself was spared. As I glanced downwards, I noticed a faint, golden circle drawn around the Now from Playing Now. It seemed like a dried grease stain, gleaming under the soft lights of the corridor. I didn't know what it was, and I wasn't keen on finding out.

"Hell," Sin breathed out as she drew her finger upwards, "They even signed it."

I followed her finger, leading to the discovery of a small letter written on the top of the poster. A miniature, black 'Ü', written in the same fashion as the '3' scribbled beside the 'E'. It was drawn just big enough to be noticed upon scrutiny but small enough to be hidden in plain sight.

Sin became fascinated with the poster before her, "It's like baby's first vandalism. What's the point of this?"

"To make me feel for some popcorn," I sighed.

Sin turned toward me with an expression of perplexity, "What?"

"You want some?"

"How? No, I-" Sin paused and reconsidered for a moment, "Actually, get me a lemon tea. Large."

I reached into my pockets for the tickets, grabbed Sin's hand, and dumped the paper into her palm, "I'll be back soon."

"Hurry up," she pushed open the double doors, revealing an air of complete darkness behind the other side, "I hear it playing already."

I threw Sin a casual wave as she disappeared into the dark bowels of the screening hall.

The double doors swivelled for a few good seconds before coming to a complete halt.

I turned around and broke into a sprint, scanning the ceiling for signs indicating directions towards wherever the hell Screen E is.

 

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