Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [76]
She sat next to Tyler, and he handed her his notebook. “You write down something they say, then I’ll hit PAUSE. Then we’ll play it back, and I’ll tell you what to write down about their mannerisms.”
“Okay, I’m ready.” She thought, I don’t have to watch the show. But I do have to listen to the lines.
“We have to wait until the commercial’s over.”
“Commercial?”
Tyler stared at her. “Are you for real?”
Katy started scribbling.
“Not yet!” he cried. “It’s a commercial.” He shook his head as if she was from the dinosaur era. “Just wait, and I’ll tell you when the show comes on.” Then he displayed an uncharacteristic gentleness. “You’ll get the hang of it. I’m gonna get a soda. Be right back.”
She started to protest, that he should turn off the television while he left, but her gaze went to the screen as if magnetized. She watched a seductive woman caress a car, and felt the heat rise up her neck. Then some men climbed through a refrigerator and stepped into a bar, and Katy instantly regretted the glimpse into such a dark sinful place. However, she couldn’t look away. Next two guys in a truck cracked jokes about fast food, and she laughed at their silly conversation. Just when her interest was growing, Tyler interrupted, “Okay, now. It’s starting.”
She gripped her pencil. The show was about an Indiana family with three kids. The teenage boy sauntered into the living room in his underwear, and Katy gasped.
Tyler laughed at the actor. “He’s hilarious. Did you get that?”
She shook her head, still embarrassed over the teen’s bare chest and legs and low-slung boxers. “I don’t know. I missed it.”
Tyler sighed, then pressed the remote and to Katy’s amazement it all reversed back to the beginning of the episode. “Just write what he says, okay?”
“All right,” Katy stared at her pad, determined not to watch the screen again and to get it down and get this assignment over with as quickly as possible. After about three more tries, she had his line and Tyler’s mannerism description, but listening was almost as bad as watching. Katy was appalled that the teenage actor would talk to his mom with such disrespect. It was eye-opening, how Tyler’s behavior mimicked the teenage star’s attitude.
The process took forever, and Tyler fast-forwarded through a batch of commercials. The next round of note-taking included a scene with a scantily dressed neighbor. Her eyes had strayed to the screen again, because it made it so much easier to get the lines down. “Are you sure you should be watching this?” Katy asked with concern.
“Are you kidding? My mom loves this show. Remind me not to delete it. She’ll want to watch it later. She says it’s true to life.”
“Maybe your life,” Katy mumbled.
“Yeah, well, Miss Pilgrim, what do you do at night? Clean the toilets?” He snickered and flicked the show on PAUSE. “Huh, where do you live anyway? On the Mayflower?”
“I live in a doddy house with my friend Lil.”
Tyler laughed. “What’s that?”
“It’s like a guesthouse.”
“Whatcha do there?”
“We cook, read, play games.”
“What kind of games?”
“We play Rook.”
“A video game?”
“No.” At Tyler’s confused look, she explained, “It’s a card game.”
“But you don’t watch television and don’t know anything about it?”
“Nope.”
“That sounds boring to the max. I’ll bet you don’t even have a computer, do you?”
“No. But it’s not boring. I don’t like to watch things that aren’t God-honoring.”
“Whatever. You ready to go again?”
“Yes…wait a minute.” Suddenly things clicked for Katy. “You can stop and start the show?”
“Duh, that’s what we’ve been doing.”
“And you just said you’re going to save it for your mom. So why do I have to be doing this with you?”
“Because my mom told you to on the note.”
Katy felt her anger flare. “Tyler. We’re done now. Your mom can help you when she gets home, or you can finish this tomorrow.”
“But my teacher checks my notes every day. I lose points, and you’re gonna be in trouble. You may have to do something really crummy for your punishment like”—he looked about the house—“clean under