Friday Night

 

Jodie was the type of person who liked to be sure of whatever she did, leaving nothing unknown to her, for the unknown made her a little uneasy. She sat on her living room couch, in a very serious and also very nervous manner. Matilda had set both herself and Jodie up on a double-date tonight. Matilda would be accompanied by a man she had already met and Jodie by a man about whom the only information she knew was that he was Matilda’s friend’s cousin, or something like that, and that he was, according to Matilda, “pretty cute”. Basically the man was a stranger to Jodie, and meeting him made her nervous. The weather did not cheer her up either for it was a stormy evening; every clap of thunder seemed to make Jodie’s heart stop for a few seconds.

 

“I don’t think we should go out in this kind of weather,” said Jodie after the latest clap.

“I went through a lot of trouble fixing you guys up; so sit down, relax, and as soon as they arrive, put the tape in,” replied Matilda.

 

The plan was that they were going to watch a few rented movies, eat popcorn, laugh and have fun; then go to a bar and have a few drinks before returning home, but at the moment Jodie really was not up to it. However it was too late for her to back out, for the sound of the doorbell made her heart stop like the thunder earlier. Before Matilda went to open the door, Jodie said, “You know today is Friday the 13th, right?”

 

“I know,” replied Matilda, “That’s why I rented this scary movie.” The doorbell rang again, much to Matilda’s delight and Jodie’s fright. Matilda went to answer the door and as Jodie sat down on the couch, she realized that the TV was on and images were forming on its screen. Jodie, who had watched that particular rented movie multiple times already, did not recognize the scene she was currently seeing on the screen; she was positive that it was not the same one. Matilda walked in again, this time in the company of the two men, but Jodie was more focused on the TV screen than on her guests. On the screen, Jodie saw four teenagers in some sort of horrible situation. She also realized that the characters on the TV screen held an unbelievable resemblance to Matilda, the two men, and herself. Jodie thought that she was losing her own sanity, for the others realized that she was staring at a turned off TV set.

 

“What are you watching?” one of the men asked.

“I’m not sure,” replied Jodie. This strange occurring seemed like a joke to the men and Matilda.

“Alright, stop fooling around, Jodie,” said Matilda. The men were starting to be annoyed and uninterested in continuing this charade.

 

“There’s nothing on the TV, Jodie,” said Matilda.

“Yes, there is…” replied Jodie. “Something horrible …”

The men decided to leave for the bar without their dates even though Jodie begged them not to, stating that nobody should leave right now, that something very bad was going to occur if they did. Wanting to prove her point, Jodie asked, “See for yourself. Look at the TV…” Matilda repeated that there was nothing on the screen that Jodie was looking at, horrified. Josie begged Matilda no to go, looking her in the eyes as if somehow she knew the future and knew it was a horrible one. The men turned their back and left and Matilda followed. She pleaded in favor of her friend, asking the men both to stay and not go to the bar, but in vain. The man whom Jodie was going to accompany believed that all of this was a play not to go out with him, which made him frustrated. Both men had left and Matilda was furious at Jodie, but Jodie believed that she would not regret her decision not to go to the bar. Matilda went to her room very angrily, but Jodie continued staring at the TV, and as the images were getting clearer, she could see the four characters being involved in a horrific accident.

 

A couple of hours after the men had left for the bar, Matilda was watching TV in her room, flipping through the channels when she stumbled upon the news broadcast. The news woman stood near a car, which was literally torn to pieces, just like a sheet of paper. “A car was hit by a speeding bus just minutes ago. The two passengers of the vehicle were killed upon impact,” said the news woman. Matilda called Jodie to watch. News update revealed the names of the two passengers. They were the men who were supposed to be on the date with both Matilda and Jodie, but decided to ignore Jodie’s warning. Both were in a state of shock upon the news of this tragedy. Matilda thanked Jodie for persuading her to stay at home that night. They were both lucky to be alive.

 

Later that evening, they were startled to realize that there was no tape inside the VCR.

 

Gaël, Bridge Academy, 12th grade