Ch21: When it works all too well (a happy ending.)

Last night. Last night. Y'know... it's never like you expect, for better or worse.

This is going to be one of those long Sunday morning posts. Excited? I know I am.

Now, then, as I was saying: It never turns out the way you expect.

I'd been stressing about Saturday the 27th for quite a while. Even before I knew it was going to be Saturday the 27th, I was stressed about whatever date would end up being the inevitable premiere of my opus, "Half-Past Eight PM." This was exacerbated throughout late 2005 and early 2006 whenever I'd see the old gang I'd inevitably be harrassed (there's just no nicer way to put that,) with questions about the state of the movie. They hungrily awaited news on the state of this movie, and for a long time the answer was inevitably to the effect of "No news," or "nothing yet," or "still in editing" or "we still can't get the DVD" etc, etc.

So finally as we all know, Kyle came through like the champ he is and got me the DVDs. The date was set. The location was set. now all I had to worry about was... entertaining. Yes, I would literally be providing entertainment, but I needed to set up the house for entertaining. I discussed it at length with mom. I'm not sure I was able to impress upon her the true nature of most drama kid gathering, I think she thought it would be bigger or more elaborate than things usually are; and much moreso than this ended up being. But, being a kind and generous person, she opted to go visit Tim in Port Erie (or is it Fort Erie? I don't know.) for the evening and give me the house to myself. I was undecided until a few days earlier about where the screening would be held. The basement was my first thought; it had a larger TV and it is my domain. However, it is a much smaller space and I'd be remiss in underestimating exactly how many people would show up and thinking they could all fit in the basement. So a few days ago I changed the venue to the upstairs - this was a plus because it has a much larger couch and is already quite tidy and apt for hosting guests.

So the big problem became this: mom's questionable television. mom doesn't watcha whole lot of TV, so she's been subsisting for a while on one she inherited I think from her father. It's old and not very good. I think, "well this tv is, as the kids might say, sketch to the max" (and if you actually talk like that, what's wrong with you?) So midway thorugh the afternoon, as the time is approaching, I take it upon myself to test the TV's DVD screening capabilities.

And... shitty. The picture was warped all around the edges deep into the frame. The fact that it's about 15 inches or so doesn't help either. It is basically a crummy old TV. Oh, what to do? I considered replacing it with the TV from my room, but that is much smaller and totally inadequate. I was turning anywhere for TV satisfaction and I found it unexpectedly in an old relic.

A long while back, my brother and I noticed that our TV's screen had been growing dim. We'd had it about a decade, the company that made it (Mitsubishi) doesn't even make TV's anymore, so it was time to replace it. Thus, the Mitsubishi had been sitting in our basement acting as a sort of bookshelf, gathering dust and waiting for the next junk day. Thus approaching, mom instructed Eric and me to take it out to the curb. Instead, we decided to take a chance and see if maybe the old girl had a little magic left in her. We figured - well, we're hauling it out to the curb anyway, might as well see what she can do. So we schlep it up the stairs and whaddayaknow, she's still got it. Not perfect, the dimness is still there, but it's a much less severe detraction from the picture quality than total warpage. I mena, the picture quality of the DVD isn't all that great anyhow. This just makes the nighttime scenes more difficult to watch, but that's life.

Thus set up, I awaited arrivals. Around 8:30, as expected, the first people pulled up. Unexpectedly, it was a troupe of Grade 11's, several of whom hadn't been on the initial invite list. Now, this reminded me of something that had been broached when I first announced the date, which was that "Cassie Cummings' Birthday is that night," a fact to which I replied, "well then, T.S." So many of the reverlers for that event came along to the show, since there was considerable overlap, including Cassie herself. not that they were unwelcome. However, they just happened to show up early enough to snag all the seats on the cornercouch. People continued to trickle in, with the very last person being Doug -- at about 9:06, which forced me to go back on my "9:00 Sharp" pledge, thus exposing me to ridicule. In the meantime, Emily's pug Dolby came out and visited with the gang, and squeezed out a little business behind the couch. That dog is endless frustrations for me.

Anyway, the movie got underway. There was a little bit of side-conversation at the beginning, but they settled in. It didn't take long for laughter to get going, which I was pleased about - all the jokes that by now seemed stale to me after having written, re-written, rehearsed, shot, and edited them, were fresh to many of the viewers. And I did, after all, end up watching, from the back.

People said that instead of "motherfucking Ghost," I should've had Mark say "Stinky Bitch" when his conversation with Beth is over with, but I disagree. I think, instead, that when he tells Perry what happened, Perry should've said, "Man, what a stinky bitch." Maybe next time.

The screening went off well, everyone agreed it was a good show (to my knowledge.) I noted at the exact right moment that we cut out the scene that revealed the hooker's name is Carol (accessible as a deleted scene.)

Then things got weird, and here's where the "not as expected" business comes in. The grade 11's began to disperse for Cassie Cummings' birthday. As the party drains of people, there is an irresistable pull to go along, as we are not unwelcome. So we go, we see the illegal fireworks, we go over to Cassie's place, and... there's this woman there, sitting idly in the doorway, intent on ensuring nobody has a good time. The elders among us began to get disgruntled, feeling awkward and thinking, all of a sudden, "what are we doing?" Cary notes, "as a grade 11, it'd be cool to go to a grad party. As a grad, it's not the same to go to a Grade 11's." Truer words, Cary, are seldom spoke. Despire the eventual removal of the fun-killer, the fact remained that we simply didn't feel we belonged. After much (much, much, much) discussion and consideration, several of us agreed to come back to Casa Williams. Not everybody I would liked to have come... I would like to have stolen a few from the birthday, but that was not happening. And several of my amigos, such as Ana, Becky, Ryan and Doug, had gone off to Kelsey's apparently. So ultimately, Chrisbrown, Cary, Alyssa and Anisah all came over and we drank and talked for about an hour (well, those of us who were not driving,) until the fact of lateness comes upon us and they disperse and I feel like falling into bed.

So they left and I made a last sweep around the house, cleaning up chip bags and glasses when necessary, turning out lights, etc, etc., when I notice a small rectangular golden package on the counter. It was a birthday gift from Robyn, who had missed the movie and appeared only briefly afterward, before the diaspora took everyone away, because she felt ill. She left it there for me to find. It was a Coca-Cola bottle opener. I was, and remain, speechless at the gesture. I can think of no more appropriate gift to have given on my 19th Birthday; my love of Coca-Cola is legendary. Mythical, even. And given that I'm 19, I might just need a bottle opener here or there. Thank you. That's all I'm really capable of saying to that. Even being as verbose and grandiloquent a raconteur as I am, I can sum it up no better than that.

So that about sums up the night. Not eventful, but more chaotic than anything since Lauren's last month. It was an unfortunately clusterfucked evening, but my sincerest thanks to everyone who came, and sorry to those who missed it. I'm sure you'll see it someday.

And... I'm done. It's really, honestly over, until the inevitable day when I'm so strapped for a project that I begin tinkering with that old thing again. I think it'll end differently next time.

But it's amazing, for years that has basically been the extent of my existence, despite not nearly being the only thing I've done/been doing. I wrote the goddamn thing when I was 16, the summer before grade 11. When I was 17, and had just started this blog, it was a play. When I was 18, I started working on it, and now, I'm 19, and it's done with for now. It's been a long year, a long three years, but for the time being, Half-Pst Eight PM is out of my life.

It's a brand new day, full of bright possibilities and new ideas.

Hello world.

Keep on Rockin'
Now more than ever, Scott Williams.