Friday night. Jackie’s house.

Every other week, no exceptions.

Team movie night.

By the time the final bell rang at school, the girls had already made plans to meet at the strip mall down by the woods, where the fluorescent-lit Reel Time Video store stood waiting like a beacon of weekend freedom.

The door’s little bell jingled violently as they all shoved inside, voices overlapping.

“Okay, romcom. Shauna and I already decided,” Jackie announced the second her sneakers hit the carpet.

“You decided,” Taissa muttered, flipping a case around in the horror aisle.

“I just think it wouldn’t kill us to watch something with kissing and good outfits for once,” Shauna said, holding up a VHS with a pastel cover and two people embracing in front of a convertible.

“You say that like ‘The Exorcist’ didn’t have good outfits,” Van chimed in from the other aisle, holding up a box with dramatic cover art. “And possession. Possession counts as romance if you squint.”

Natalie was wandering near the back, spinning one of the revolving racks lazily. She grabbed a random tape with an alien on the front, flipped it, scoffed, and dropped it back in. “Let’s just get whatever has the most blood or the most boobs.”

Lottie stood quietly by the kids' section with Laura Lee, running her fingers over the spine of The Last Unicorn. “I loved this one,” she said softly. "when I was a kid."

Laura Lee smiled at her. “Have you ever seen The Iron Giant? I cried. Like, sobbed. Three times.”

“Only three?”

They giggled. Behind them, Jackie’s voice grew louder.

“Taissa, no. We are not watching a movie where someone gets stabbed in the eye again. That’s a team rule.”

“It’s not a rule,” Taissa argued.

“It is now,” Jackie shot back.

Van leaned on the shelf beside her. “Come on, drama builds team bonding.”

“I’m bonding just fine with lighthearted banter and a predictable love arc,” Shauna said, still cradling her romcom choice like it was a kitten.

Natalie strolled past them, holding up a battered tape. “This one says ‘banned in seven countries.’ That’s gotta be a good sign.”

“Absolutely not,” said Jackie and Laura Lee at the exact same time.

Meanwhile, Misty had already appeared out of nowhere, holding up a tape no one recognized. “I brought my own just in case you all got lost in indecision again. It’s a survival docu-series. Super informational!”

Everyone stared at her in stunned silence for a beat.

“Thanks, Misty,” Lottie said kindly. “Maybe next time.”

In the end, after a near vote that almost turned into a wrestling match in the comedy aisle, they walked out with three tapes—one cheesy romcom, one spooky classic, and one animated film.

“Triple feature,” Jackie announced, victorious, handing her cash to the tired clerk.

Shauna linked her arm through Jackie’s as they walked out. “We’re going to regret this by movie two.”

“No regrets.” Van said with a wink.