"Sis, I'm home!"
"In your room!" Becca's voice carried across the house. They were on summer vacation, but Dad was still at work.
Rich was happy to hear that she felt comfortable enough with him to be in his room alone. He'd extended an open invitation to his twin. Anytime she wanted, Becca could go in and play on his Nintendo. He had the same privilege with the PlayStation in her room.
Conscious of the rules of modesty in this world concerning males, Rich stepped into his closet. "Don't turn around," he said.
Becca was playing Resident Evil 4 on his GameCube, quite engrossed in zombie Spain, not engrossed enough to refrain from sniffing the air, though. "You stink," she said simply.
"Karate was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I need to take a shower before my date tonight. Julie is taking me to see Star Wars." He stripped off his filthy clothes, tossed his gym bag on the floor, and fished out a towel. "Where are the clean washcloths?"
"Uh," she paused the game, "I'm not sure," Becca said sheepishly.
Rich sighed. "It's okay if you forget to wash them. I'm not mad." He was mad, but emotional regulation had always been his strong suit. Rebecca needed encouragement right now. Underneath the newly-fit surface, she still lacked self-esteem, and a tongue-lashing from her twin brother wouldn't help at all.
"Why can't you use the loofah?" she asked.
"Because," he lectured her, "loofahs get wet and stay wet. Anything that gets wet and stays wet grows bacteria. That's why we have one-time-use washcloths to soap up with. Use it once, then wash it. I told you, sis, hygiene is important. Boys like it when you smell good. You want a boyfriend, you're going to need to internalize this."
"Okay, okay, sorry. I won't forget next time." She went back to the game. Rich took a shower.
***
"So, Episode 3, huh? I heard it's good," Becca said while Rich dressed for his date.
He held up two shirts for her to inspect, a tight black one and a looser navy blue one. "Which one, do you think?"
"The black one is way sexier, but this is just a casual movie date. Go with the blue. You don't want to drive Julie mad with lust, do you?"
He laughed at the idea. "Guess not. We're trying to go slow, I told you. "
"Julie is super clingy, though," his twin pointed out. "She can't keep her hands off you."
"True, true," Rich agreed, ducking behind his closet door and putting the navy blue shirt on. It was still decently form-fitting, but didn't show the outline of his pecs or anything. Little by little, he was getting a feel for the standards of the reverse world.
"It's funny how dick-whipped she is for you, actually." She went back to the game. "It's like her personality changed when you two met, seriously. Julie used to be a menace. Now she's coming over for dinner, calling Dad 'Mr. Rice', and taking you to the movies."
"Hey, I'm trying to be a good boyfriend over here! Give me a little credit!" Rich complained.
"Oh, but I am. Lowkey," she laughed a little, "see? I can use Louisiana slang, too! Lowkey, you're every girl's fantasy, Rich, and I'm not just saying that because you're my brother. You can do it all. The height, the muscles, that would be enough, but you can cook! You play video games! I'm not surprised at all at how crazy Julie is about you. You're a catch, bro."
Rich blushed at the praise. Was he really that cool? "Anyway," he redirected the conversation before he died of embarrassment, "take a look at that SAT prep book I bought, at least the math section. It's easier to raise your math score with test prep. We've got all summer to study. There's no reason we can't maximize our test scores and get into a good college. The AP classes we're taking next year should help, too."
Rebecca groaned. "Seriously, Rich? Studying in the summer? Can't we just chill?"
"No. We're also working at Chili's tomorrow, all day, don't forget. We need to stack paper now so you'll have some in the bank when you quit to focus on football. Games are great, but we've got lots of things to do. Your training continues. I've got karate. College applications are right around the corner. This is not going to be a lazy summer, not at all."
"You're the boss, bro," Becca said in resignation.
He nodded firmly. Rich was the boss. "Dinner is in the oven. Just take it out when the timer goes off. I'll probably fill up on popcorn tonight, so don't worry about me."
"Got it." Becca didn't sound like she was listening, but the alarm on the oven was loud enough that she couldn't fail to hear it. They'd be okay while he was gone, probably.
***
"Hi, honey!" Rich ran up to Julie, stood on his tiptoes, and hugged her around the neck the way she liked. His girlfriend melted into his touch, her strong arms snaking around his waist possessively.
"Hey, babe. Did you have a good time at your karate class?" The hug began to sway like they were dancing together.
"It was tough, but worth it. Alice-sensei worked us hard."
Julie froze. "Who's Alice-sensei?" she asked carefully. Rich answered equally carefully. Julie was probably the jealous type.
"Karate teacher, real hard ass. The whole class could barely walk by the end. She was like some kind of drill sergeant!" He tried to make it sound like he was complaining rather than praising her.
Julie looked down into his eyes. Her purple irises burned with an emotion he couldn't place. "You don't have to go, you know. I can protect you. I can protect you from anything."
"I know," he agreed. "But I need a physical activity, and I'd rather it not be a school sport. I don't want the boy's volleyball coach on my ass for skipping practices. I can skip a karate class if I need to, and nobody will say anything."
Julie didn't look exactly happy with that answer, but didn't push it. "Okay. Ready to go?"
He smiled happily. "You bet!"
They both got into her expensive BMW, and Julie drove them to the movie theater. "So, uh, do you like Star Wars?" Julie asked uneasily. It was early evening, and the sun was still out. "We can watch something different if you want."
"I like Star Wars. Don't you want to see the origins of Darth Vader? This is big, Julie, really big. Anika Skywalker is falling to the dark side tonight!" In fact, Richard had made a special point of researching the names in this world so he wouldn't say something out of place. Paulo Admidala's actor was surprisingly handsome, if you were wondering.
His girlfriend breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god. I was worried you'd have no idea what was happening in the movie." She looked at him through the corner of her eye and smirked, one hand casually resting on the steering wheel. "I should've known a mollygirl like you would know about Star Wars."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly the romantic comedy type of boy," Rich agreed. That comment didn't seem to please Julie like he thought it would.
"But you like romance, right?" Objectively, Julie Cohen was a gorgeous, statuesque woman, and seeing her look, frankly, insecure, was odd to say the least.
Rich put a hand on her arm. "With you, yes," he said softly.
Her unease melted into a dopey smile. "Oh. Good."
The theater was packed, just like Rich knew it would be. Episode 3 was an event release, and they made sure to get to the theater early. The day before, Rich showed Julie how to buy tickets online at Fandango.com, so they skipped the line.
"Man, this is convenient as hell," Julie said happily as they printed their tickets at the kiosk. Technology like this already existed in 2005, Rich was happy to find out. Keeping straight what was and was not possible in a given year was hard sometimes. The years sort of ran together after a certain point.
"I hope Stinger doesn't show up," Rich said idly. The fight against the monkey monster had taken a lot out of him. He didn't know if the ring even had enough juice for him to transform.
Julie froze. "Trust me, they won't." She sounded awfully sure about that. It was probably nothing, Rich decided.
"How about snacks?" he asked.
Julie lit up at the suggestion. "Are you hungry? Me too! Come on, we can get anything you want, anything at all."
"What about your nutrition plan?"
"Fuck my nutrition plan. My boyfriend gets whatever he wants."
Well, you didn't have to tell Rich twice. They walked, hand in hand, to the concession stand. He scanned the menu, looking for deals. Man, these 2005 prices were shocking. What a time to be alive.
"Look here." Rich indicated a place on the menu hanging above with pictures and prices. "They've got a package with two large sodas, a large popcorn, and FOUR hot dogs!" he said excitedly. Those movie theater hot dogs were always a favorite of his. The smell hit just as they walked up. Manipulative? Yes, but oh so good.
"If that's what my Rich wants, that's what my Rich gets." Julie took out her mom's credit card.
Their hands were completely full as they walked in, very carefully, just before the previews were about to begin. There was a bit of awkwardness as they had to step over people to get to two empty seats in the packed theater. Julie wanted to sit somewhere in the back, for reasons of her own, and Richard wasn't about to argue with her.
There was a bit of an awkward silence once they got situated. "Let's eat the hot dogs while they're still hot," Rich suggested.
"Oh, uh, good idea." Of course, two hot dogs each took them about two minutes to eat, even with washing down every bite with soda. Once they were done, Julie looked like she didn't know what to do with her hands.
"Do you want to put your arm around me?" he whispered as the previews began.
"Yes," Julie replied quietly. He couldn't quite tell in the dark theater, but it sounded like she was blushing furiously. It was best to take the lead in a situation like this, Rich decided.
"Okay, let's roll up the armrest between us." Rich scooted over to sit close enough for their thighs to touch. Julie stiffened like she'd been shocked. "Let's work out the logistics of this real quick: you put your arm around me, and I'll set the popcorn in your lap. We can cuddle the whole movie, and each of us will have a free hand to eat popcorn or sip on our drinks."
His girlfriend followed his instructions downright enthusiastically. At first timid, it didn't take long until Julie was really leaning into his touch, warm and soft next to him.
"You're the best boyfriend ever, Rich," she breathed into his ear while an ad for Tokyo Drift played on the screen. "You made it so this wasn't awkward at all. I was so nervous."
"No need," he replied. "I told you, you've got me, you won."
"Yeah, I think I really did." Her fingers traced gentle circles as they rested on his shoulder. They stayed like that the entire time.
Later, during a romantic scene with Anika and Paulo, Julie remarked, "literally us." Looking at them on the screen, Rich had to agree. The actress playing Anika Skywalker even kind of looked like Julie.
The movie was pretty much a rehash of Revenge of the Sith from his own world, but there were a few key differences. The movie glazed Palpatine more, for one. She fought Windu to a draw and clearly defeated Yoda in a fair fight. Julie tensed against him when Anika choked Paulo. There was even more body horror since Anika was the pregnant one. Seeing her burn nearly to death, then get imprisoned in the Vader suit, was legitimately disturbing.
Rather than dying of a broken heart, Paulo died rescuing the twins from the clutches of the empress. It was a legitimately moving scene. Taken altogether, Rich would say it was a superior film to the one he witnessed in his own world.
Afterwards, as they walked back to her car, Julie was oddly quiet.
"What's up?" Rich asked. "Didn't you like the movie?"
She winced, as if the words caused her physical pain. After a few false starts where she tried to gather her thoughts, Julie finally spoke. "You know I'd never do that, right? I'd never hurt you like that."
The movie must've affected her more than Rich thought. "I know." He tried to sound reassuring. Sensing his girlfriend's obvious distress, Rich made a split-second decision. Reaching out with one hand, he cupped her cheek and gently brought their lips together. Julie gasped. This was her first kiss, after all.
Whatever she was worried about didn't matter. They'd work it out. The longer the kiss went on, the more they both relaxed into it. In that moment, Richard Rice accepted his new life. This was his world now.