Eliza couldn't help but smirk. She hit the button on the mic. "That’ll be twelve dollars. But since you’re the only one, and it’s ten minutes to start time, I can let you in early."

He gestured to the seat next to him. "It’s a big theater. It’s lonely up here."

But she didn't want to go back to the lonely ticket booth. The movie was free for employees, after all.

The rain in Seattle didn’t just fall; it drummed against the roof of the old Civic Center like a warning. Inside, Eliza sat at the ticket booth, watching the clock tick toward 9:00 PM. She was twenty-four, broke, and working a double shift to pay off her student loans. Her "romantic life" currently consisted of watching Pride and Prejudice on a loop while eating instant ramen.

It wasn't a movie ending. It was a beginning. And best of all, it was free.