31 Days of December

December 29th

My family was sitting in the living room, watching Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Even though all of the new Star Wars movies have been disappointing, we keep watching them every so often for family movie night. They all had been okay at best, but they didn't have the same magic as the original movies or even the prequels. The fate of the Star Wars franchise survival now relied on the tv shows because those were at least good.

I was laying on the couch with my feet up on the back of the couch, drinking a Mountain Dew and UV Blue, and occasionally stealing a few pieces from the popcorn bowl between Sam and me every so often. For the next few hours, I focused on the giant screen in front of me. The only time I wasn't focused on the movie was when I had to adjust my position to a comfier one or take a drink.

After the movie, my family all headed to the kitchen to get more snacks or drinks. Some even went to the bathroom. No matter how long the movie was, none of us went to the bathroom unless they absolutely could not hold it. The only time I could remember breaking that rule was during Avengers Endgame. My dad left halfway through to go pee. It was his rule too. He broke his own rule.

"Well, it was better than the previous one, but that is because they brought back J.J. Abrams to fix everything they ruined in The Last Jedi," Sam said.

Dad scoffed, "Anyone could tell they were setting up Kylo Ren and Rey since The Force Awakens."

"They spent three movies building this yin-yang relationship, and then they kill him," I said. "Then again, it was probably a good idea. A relationship like that probably would have been toxic."

"And what is with Rey being a Palpatine?" Dad said.

"All part of J.J. Abrams fixing the trilogy," Sam answered.

I shrugged, "It is better than her being a Kenobi like everyone thought she would be until the trailer for this movie dropped. A kinda plot twist."

Ryan and Mom didn't say much as we all decided we have had enough of each other. I headed straight to my room. My social battery had enough of my family, and I didn't want to be around them any longer than I already had. The struggles of being home for break.

"So what did you think of the movie? Ethan asked. After taking a nap to relieve my migraine, Ethan decided to FaceTime me. At least he was smart enough to wait to FaceTime me after my nap instead of during.

"It was okay," I said. Ethan looked at me, very disappointed. "It wasn't the worst Star Wars movie, but it was nowhere near the best. I give it a 5.5 out of 10. An okay."

"How dare you say that!" Fun fact, Ethan is a huge Star Wars nerd. He has seen all the movies and shows. He has read the books and played the games. Ethan knew all the deep lore. He could probably win Star Wars Trivial Pursuit without having to try. Ethan was such a nerd.

I said what I said. You don't have to agree with me, but it doesn't mean I'm wrong. You know full well that the original trilogy is much better even though the prequels were better."

"Every Star Wars movie is a masterpiece. It's like me saying that not all Marvel movies are as good as everyone makes them out to be."

"Not all Marvel movies are good. Hulk, Age of Ultron, the first two Thor movies, and Civil War. They don't compare to the rest of Marvel's movies."

"Is there any film series in which you like all the films?" Ethan asked.

I thought about it before saying," Not that I can think of."

"Are you serious?"

"I have already mentioned Star Wars and Marvel. For DC, I only like The Dark Knight trilogy, V for Vendetta, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. Even though the last two aren't the best movies out there, they have their own little charm to them. I couldn't sit through Lord of the Rings or any of The Hobbit movies. I haven't watched all of the Harry Potter movies in a while, so I can't really judge. I love the Rocky movies, but the last two were okay. I can't watch Rocky Balboa because nothing happens. I can make it to the speech Rocky gives to his son, and that's about when I turn off the movie. Never got into Star Trek. I have seen bits of each of The Godfather movies but none all the way through," I said. Ethan looked at me in shock.

"What is the most underrated movie, in your opinion?" Ethan asked randomly to slightly change the subject.

Without a second thought, I said, "Secondhand Lions."

"Never heard of it."

"My point exactly," I said. Ethan rolled his eyes at me while I just smiled. "It's a coming of age story with Haley Joel Osment, Michael Caine, and Robert Duvall."

"Interesting cast. What is it about?"

"Walter, a 14-year-old boy, gets dropped off at his two uncles' house, for the summer, by his mom, who is supposed to be going to school. Walter learns that his uncles are wealthy, and that is why his mom dropped him off. Just like the rest of the family, she was trying to get Walter close to the uncles so he could get their money. Walter runs away at some point and finds out his mom never went to school. The uncles convince Walter to stay with them to keep their family away, and Walter convinces them to start spending their money. Through the summer, the three of them bond, and Walter learns about their past and how to become a true man."

"That sounds..." Ethan paused. I'm a horrible storyteller, I know. "Interesting."

"It's a lot better than what I made it seem," I shrugged.

"Why is it called Secondhand Lions?"

"Symbolism. Also, during the movie, they buy a secondhand lion that Walter keeps as a pet."

Ethan whined, "I want a pet lion." Don't we all? Who wouldn't want a pet lion?

For the afternoon, Ethan and I talked about the most random topics. We talked about movies, my obsession with talented brunette men, and my lack of self-confidence.

"I'm just saying if you spent years believing in Santa, why can't you believe in yourself for like 10 seconds?" Ethan asked.

I shrugged, "Santa never disappointed me."

"Really? That is your answer?" Ethan said, trying not to laugh. Was I wrong? "You think you have disappointed yourself more than Santa has?"

"Well, yeah. I may not have gotten everything I wanted for Christmas, but I was never disappointed by what I got. However, I do a lot of stupid shit that makes me feel like I should have done something completely different, and therefore I am a disappointment to myself."

"You're weird."

"And yet you want to be a part of my life," I said.

"And I'm not going anywhere," Ethan smiled. I felt like Hannah Baker from 13 Reasons Why and the meme. I knew I was in trouble when I saw him smile because my heart skipped a beat. Ethan was everything to me, and he kept making sure that I knew that I was everything to him. It would be interesting to see what happens when we see each other in person again.

Soooo, 31 Days ended up on like 51 in the romance section of Wattpad sometime this week, bringing in a handful of new readers before it dropped off the list again. Welcome to the party. Not a lot is happening.

Also, I went to publish this part, and Wattpad somehow deleted the whole chapter. Luckily I keep an extra copy that I can copy and paste and not cry that I have to rewrite the whole thing