Cinema Cleanup (Tomomi / Kendra)

Another day of work. At least today, the litter picking boy was not picking the rubbish from a dark alleyway with minimal enjoyment. That wasn't to say work today was nice, but at least it was indoors in case it started raining. Indeed, today Tomomi was waiting for the movie to have finished and people to start leaving the viewing area of the recent film that finished viewing, letting people past before eventually entering the slowly lighting up area with a litter picker in one hand, and a big black bag in the other. Today, Tomomi was on rent to the BND Theater.

Walking in front of the still rolling credits, Tomomi moved with borderline grace in his job, picking up the empty popcorn boxes and bags, empty drinks, and all sorts on the ground and seats. He left the popcorn that had gone loose or been thrown by kids, deeming that to be something to do last due to its intricacies. So there, he walked. In terms of attire, he had latex gloves over his hands, and everything about him seemed to be a normal, casual attire with a red shirt, aside from one fact: the location of his jacket, which was slung over his left shoulder. Still, despite the nature of the job, Tomomi worked with as much of a smile as he could muster, occasionally looking at those who had just watched their movie.

He really hoped he wouldn't get spoiled on the film though.

Kendra knew people often already found her childish and child-like. Really, she totally wasn't, she had decided, but she was going to see a movie that was aimed at kids. It was a superhero moving, so obviously she was going to see it child-friendly or not! And nobody seemed to really question her presence, so that was good too.

Comfortable in just sitting down while watching the credits, Kendra watched people leave before the credits, frowning. All of these people slaved over this masterpiece and this was how they were repaying them? If Kendra could all just control them, she'd make them show their gratitude for sure. Her urge for anything in her control rose again, and she combated it by remaining firmly seated. She was going to just casually sit in a chair while the credits rolled. She felt a little bad for the guy she saw cleaning up, having always felt a little guilty people were left to deal with the chaos left behind in an unorganized jumble, but she still wasn't going to move.

"I'm queen of the chair!" She loudly and proudly proclaimed, now that more people had left. Really, there wasn't really anybody else, most parents eager to get out of there. Her only audience was the guy who had been unlucky enough to have to clean up the mess.

At first, Tomomi thought that everyone had left. After all, not many people stayed to support and watch those who had made the film what it was. So, he continued working.

Then there was the sound of a proud declaration, someone exclaiming that they were queen of the chair. It was so unexpected for the litter boy that, in surprise, he nearly fell over on the spot, stumbling on one of the steps for a moment and letting out a sharp "Eek!" before catching himself and preventing his own crash. Still, he turned to face the source of the noise, trying not to look surprised because, you know, professionalism.

And upon seeing a small person sat there, he smiled to himself, before offering a slight wave, continuing to work while he spoke up. "Nice to see someone else watching the credits. Or, uh, were you, well, waiting for the cinema to clear? N-not that there's a problem with that!"

A sharp noise of surprise managed to catch Kendra's attention. She still wanted to focus on the credits, but it was so hard to focus when there was something else clearly going on. She saw a guy looking at her, and stared back, beginning to worry this guy might throw her out. That had happened once or twice before when she had ended up creating too much noise. It wasn't her fault she got so invested in the film! Kendra managed to focus back on the guy as he waved, the girl now smiling as he made it clear he was friendly.

"Ypu were right! I like seeing the credits! People work really hard and it's important to acknowledge that! Like you! You're stuck cleaning up this unorganized hellhole. Seriously, all the bits of popcorn everywhere are making me wanna do it myself!" Kendra froze for a moment as though she was considering something. She felt like she was forgetting something basic. And then it hit her. "I'm Kendra by the way! Saying her last name was too risky, considering the missing posters everywhere. Inwardly, she hoped this guy didn't recognize her despite her similar appearance. Her hair was down for a reason, after all.

At the explanation, Tomomi blushed slightly and let out a gentle giggle. "Aha, thanks! I appreciate the sentiment, but, um, I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer for help. It's a part of my job, so, it's not really as much of a passion project as those that work on movies. And, um, because it's a part of my job, I'm afraid I cannot allow someone else to help, for, um, health and safety reasons."

At the introduction, Tomomi offered another grin, now going back to working while he talked. "Ah! Nice to meet you! I'm Tomomi! And, um, thank you for showing respect to the behind the scenes people!"

Kendra beamed. "Are you really sure? I mean, it's a total mess and somebody needs to do it soon. This whole area was a lot more organized before. Now it's been ruined!" Her joy melted into irritation as she surveyed the damage that had been done by the moviegoers. "Besides, it's not like anybody would find out. And if they did, I could just pretend to eat it from the floor. By actually eating some!" She saw absolutely nothing wrong with her plan, getting up from her seat.

"Also, not an issue! Hard work needs to be rewarded, and if that means sitting through credits then so be it!" She casually picked a few pieces of popcorn up despite what Tomomi had said.

"O-oh, seriously, no, I can, um, I can do it!" He exclaimed desperately at her insistence and her soured mood. Quickly, this turned into more desperation as she talked about eating it from the floor. "Ah! Please no! T-that kind of stuff is exactly why I can't let you help! I-I don't like to doubt members of the public, but you never know when there are diseases, germs, or other problems on the food and floors! So, um, p-please don'-"

His words cut off as Kendra, ignoring him, began picking it up, Tomomi panicking slightly and practically dropping his picker to run over, holding out his gloved free hand to Kendra. "A-ah, um, p-please quickly put those in my hand so I can dispose of them properly, and, um, I don't mean to be rude, but, um, p-p-please do not pick up the rubbish! I wouldn't want you to get unwell or injured as a result, and though unlikely, there are possible dangers from just carelessly picking up litter! So, um, please just stop there and let me get on with it! T-there's no massive worry, as the next movie in this screening isn't for a while, w-which is why I'm the only one, since usually it'd be two or more. S-so, please don't worry about me taking a while, or it needing to be done soon, and just, don't risk it, please!" He pleaded, posture as if begging.

Kendra seemed to begin to frown when Tomomi began to insist he could do it. She knew he could do it, but she wanted to help. Besides, it was seriously bugging her messy and chaotic everything was. "If I get a disease, at least the floor won't be a total mess, right? I'd take a gum disease over a messy, unorganized floor. Especially if I could help clean the floor at the cost of a gum disease." She looked at Tomomi, a serious look in her eyes.

However, the sight of his pose seemed to make Kendra loosen up a little, the girl feeling a little guilty for causing him such distress. She moved to drop the pieces of popcorn she had into his hand. Usually, Kendra would've fought him for a few more minutes, but he already seemed so nervous and frazzled. She wasn't heartless! "Fine. Fine. I don't wanna cause you to have a heart attack or something. I mean, I totally don't see the harm in actually picking it up and getting sick, because it was my idea and I was helping, but if you're so against it I'll actually try to help." She seemed to grow more curious after that. "Wait, how often do you work here? You seem pretty familiar with the setup and things!"

"I-it's, um, a-a part of health and s-s-safety r-regulations from the business I work for... I-I actually got in trouble and l-lost out on p-pay last time I let someone help, so, I-I-I do a-a-appreciate it, but, I just c-cannot accept the help." He explained, sighing in relief and his posture dropping as she expressed that she wouldn't do it. At the question regarding how often Tomomi worked here specifically, Tomomi shook his head, laughing a bit awkwardly. "A-ah, um, haha... Um... I-I don't really work here specifically very often, and u-usually I'm a-assigned to work at Little T-tokyo. I-I've worked here a couple times, but, i-it's a fairly standard s-set up, going along the chairs, putting s-stuff in the bags, u-unlike street routes where there's n-no real s-schedule or d-di-direction. S-so, um... I-I just had the b-basic briefing..." He answered, continuing on his route now that he didn't have to try and stop Kendra from helping.

Still, he coughed a bit, not wanting to make things awkward. "S-so, did you... Um.. E-enjoy the movie?"

"You managed to lose pay because somebody helped you!? That's stupid. Do you have a copy of the safety regulations? I wanna see them!" If there was one thing Kendra could understand, it was regulations and similar policies. Despite how dense the girl could manage to be, she still had taught herself basic things about laws and policies. After all, if she wanted to make it into the government she'd have to know this stuff. And she would also continue to be a psyche terrorist, but she could work on modifying her life plan later. "That's really admirable though! You're a very hard-worker!"

"I did enjoy the movie. I mean, it was aimed for kids, but it was still really entertaining! I mean, it was about superheroes, and everybody loves superheroes, right?! She was beaming. "Have you seen this movie before or not? I don't wanna spoil it for you!"

At Kendra's outburst requesting if he had any of the regulations, Tomomi grew surprised once more, really not expecting something like that, or any, well, accurate or borderline sensible response such as that? "A-ah, um, I'm n-not really... I uh... I-I don't tend to carry that on me, in case it gets damaged or lost, s-since, I um, d-don't have access to a printer so I'd have to pay printing fees if I wanted to get it replaced... O-oh, but, um, thanks for the compliment!"

At the comment about the movie, Tomomi grinned, nodding at first. "Ah! Yeah, I like super heroes! My favourite is Fantastic Female, by VC Comics! She's just so amazing! A-although, I um... Haven't seen this film. I-I tend to wait until film popularity dies down a bit to go view, w-when it's um... Q-quieter. S-still, glad you enjoyed it, and w-who cares if something's for kids? I mean, there's tonnes of good films that are labelled as family friendly, and disliking them because of that is a phoey move!"

Kendra frowned. "I see. That sucks, but it's good you don't carry on you just in case. Still, you'd think they'd make, like, cheap paper versions for employees to carry around so they don't have to memorize everything themselves. Seems a little bit unfair to the employees, right?And don't thank me! I'm just stating a fact, you know? Nothing to thank me for!" At least she could make Tomomi feel better.

"Fantastic Female is great! The movie was amazing, when I went to see it, but that version of her is never gonna live up to the comic version! She's just too cool! Though uh... this was the movie for the Unbelievables 2. It was very much a kids film, but I still liked it! Though it could've been better, considering it was for kids I liked it a lot! Seriously though, people are so up-tight about kids films. It's stupid, they're fun, and people who dislike them are dumb! Superheros are for all ages! Unless the movie is bad." It had been a while since Kendra had met another fan of superheroes.

At the enthusiasm, Tomomi momentarily forgot he was working, grinning and nodding along as well. Cheerfully, he echoed Kendra's sentiment. "Yeah! I-I mean, if something's for kids, that just means it's not d-dangerous for kids to view, right? T-there's nothing saying other people cannot enjoy! I mean-"

Then, the lights began to turn back on, and Tomomi's eyes went wide momentarily, before the boy hastily began to pick up the pace of his clearing, like a robot put on overdrive, clearing an entire row before speaking to Kendra again in a hastily apologetic tone. "I-I'm sorry, I forgot I was working. I-I really need to get this place cleared up before the next film starts or I'm probably going to lose my job... U-um, if you need anything else, I-I'll be in here until I'm done, o-otherwise, um... I-it was nice to meet you? A-and um, t-thank you again for en-enjoying the movie!"

Kendra had been thrilled to finally have somebody to understand why kids movies were fine to watch when the lights had to ruin things. If she wasn't unsure of whether or not Tomomi would get in trouble, Kendra would've kicked something in frustration.

She still wanted to help Tomomi, especially after seeing him speed up, but it would cause more trouble than good. "Alrighty! Well, I'll leave you to it. Losing your job would be pretty bad. Anyways, it was nice to meet you! Hopefully we can see a kids superhero movie together! It's nice to meet a possible friend!" She wasted no time in dashing out of the cinema now, feeling a lot better than she had before.

With the farewell done, Tomomi waved Kendra off with a smile, before getting back to work with a renewed vigor, Kendra's last words causing the boy to feel more pleased with himself than usual. A new friend, huh?

[Exit]