Rosethorn Read Online Free Page B

butter-drenched popcorn contentedly and looked forward to the next movie about a plane crash and zombies in the wilderness. However, her enjoyment of the movie was ruined when she kept getting distracted by a noisy crowd two rows behind her, who kept laughing and making loud comments. When the group erupted into laughter and drowned out a climactic scene, Sera turned out angrily and yelled, “Shut the hell up!” which only made them laugh some more.
    “Make me, bitch." More laughter. Then they started throwing popcorn at her.
    How original, Sera thought, and decided to just ignore them, until she felt them catapult something dense and sticky on the back of her head. She started patting her hair and felt moist gum stick to her fingers. Rage overtook her and before she knew it, she had launched her ice-filled soda cup at the laughing face of the biggest of them all. Caught in mid-laugh, outrage exploded on his wet face. She recognized him as somebody who went to Nova, the alternative school for those who had been thrown out of the two high schools in town.
    She had made a big mistake.
    “You fucking bitch!"
    Sera grabbed up her bag and started running as he jumped over seats to get to her.
    “Get her, Kevin!" His friends egged on.
    By his purple-mottled face and grunts, Sera knew no one would be able to hold him back from getting at her. She ran down the aisle in a panic, seeing shocked and laughing faces blur as she ran past them to get to the exit. She could hear the goon close behind her, who moved surprisingly fast for someone so big. She quickly gauged the distance to the double doors and realized he would get to her before she escaped. He was so close that she could hear him breathing. She felt the floors shake as he thundered towards her.
    Sera winced, expecting to be grabbed back. Instead, she heard him fall with a groan.
    Still running, she turned her head to look back and saw his body splayed on the theater floor, next to someone who sat by the aisle with one big foot and a long leg next to him on the floor. By the movie’s flickering light, she instantly recognized Andrew’s thunderstruck face, eyes wide with growing fear, and paused in disbelief. But only for a moment for the goon started getting up.
    “Run!” she yelled before she pushed open the doors and ran through the small lobby to the front.
    Once outside, Sera pelted down the sidewalk and threw herself into a dark alley. She crouched down behind a big garbage bin in the dark, trying to catch her breath. Her chest felt constricted and she struggled not to breathe so hard or move. The smell of something rotting assailed her and she almost gagged. She listened for the sound of approaching feet or voices, but heard only cars driving by.
    Slowly, her heart calmed down. Still listening, Sera relaxed a little and leaned against the wall. She decided to wait five more minutes, in case he was still looking for her. She silently counted to three hundred then quietly edged to the front of the garbage bin, trying not to make any noise. Once she got to the mouth of the alley, she peered around the wall and scanned both sides of the street to see if anyone was around.
    A couple of loud drunks were in front of the bar across the street, but otherwise, it looked safe. Sera turned down a side street, away from Main to lessen the chances of anyone seeing her. Once she got far enough away, she breathed easier and stopped looking over her shoulder every few seconds.
    She put on her headphones and started playing “Stand Back” in her disc player again, the only song that fit her mood tonight. At least Stevie Nicks understood how she felt. The pounding notes filled her with energy and fueled the anger simmering inside her. She almost regretted running away from the ugly thug in the theater, fantasizing what she would have done to him and imagining him cowering with fear, his face underneath the heel of her combat boots. The image gave her so much pleasure that she