Chapter 1: One Fateful Night in 2008
The moon rose above the sky as the sun set behind the Great Smoky Mountains. Two teenage girls sat in the back of a 2003 Toyota Corolla, as it drove down the road at a steady fifty five miles per hour. Classic rock blared from the speakers of the slightly beat up car which has survived many family vacations. The air was lively, the dad reminiscing his younger days from the late 1980s as Aerosmith blasted from the speakers singing of sweet emotions, and the two teenage girls in the back harmonizing the chorus. The dad, a rugged man in his 40s, looked back at his daughter with a loving smile. In the back Maya Roberts, a teenager with hair the color of chestnuts looked out the window with an aura of excitement and nerves.
“Come on Maya, where are we going? Better be worth driving out to Maryville in my pajamas,” Claire snorted.
“Now Claire, you know what they say, “good things come to those who wait,” Maya’s Dad retorted.
This received a playful eyeroll from Claire who looked over at her best friend who was staring out the window until suddenly Maya perked up with excitement. She signaled for Claire to shut her eyes, who playfully agreed. Maya continued to stare out of the window, taking occasional glances at Claire sitting in the seat next to her. Maya smiled as a funny feeling bubbled up inside of her, looking at the friendship bracelet made from rubber bands and scotch tape Maya had made during a long ago sleep over. Can’t believe she still wears it, Maya thought warmly to herself before staring back out of the window. The road was dark, the road lined with businesses closed for the day, but one thing illuminated the darkness, a road side sign for a drive in theater, and under it a line of cars that stretched back for the next mile and a half. The sign advertised the films for the evening. One film was Kung Fu Panda, but the other film, the purpose of this trip in the night, shined like a beacon of hope, “Mamma Mia PG-13”. Maya, who was trying to fight back the excitement herself, nudged at Claire’s arm to uncover her eyes who failed to hold back a squeal.
“Mamma Mia!” Claire shouted like opening up long anticipated Christmas presents.
“Happy birthday,” Maya replied with a cheerful smile.
Claire grabbed Maya in a tight embrace thanking her profusely. Maya laughed at the sight and shared in her excitement. I mean after all this was as much of a gift for Maya as it was for Claire and she gets to spend this moment with her best friend.
After enduring the traffic, crowds, and Kung Fu Panda, Claire and Maya climbed back into the car after bracing the concession stands, refilling their supplies of soda and sugary snacks in an effort to stay awake for the main event.
“Thanks again for doing this, you’re the best,” Claire said with a smile.
“Anything for my bestie!”
“I’ll remember that,” Claire snorted.
“Don’t go overboard.”
Maya shushed Claire as the opening credits of the culmination of months of chores and childish obsessions finally appeared on the screen on a scene shrouded in mystery as the lead, played by Amanda Seyfried, deposited some letters into a lonesome mailbox before Mamma Mia glittered across the screen. The two girls looked to each other gitty and completely in the moment as the dad sat like a statue in the front snacking on a box of M&Ms.
The beautiful Aegean Sea shined blue and beautiful even through the grainy dim picture from the projector that slapped it to the screen. Amanda ran to her friends and gave them a warm embrace before revealing her amazing plan to bring all of her mom’s exes to the island for her wedding in an effort to find her dad. She ran to a tree where she began reading her mother’s diary from the time which revealed love longed and steamy affairs with three lovely young gentlemen. The hairs on Maya’s arm shot to attention as the opening chords began to play. The two young girls shot each other a look of an excitement they haven’t felt since the first time they heard the musical together. Claire, the performer of the two, began the song.
“Honey Honey, how he thrills me,” Claire sang with the same bright smile that carried every school performance.
Maya joined in putting her heart and soul into every lyric, every articulation, giving Claire a sly smile on the parts where she took the lead. The song was filled with giggles, funny poses, and silly little dances as the anxiety of being a teenager washed away from them and they once again felt like they were ten years old, meeting each other for the first time. The song came to its slow climatic end, with Amanda Seyfried staring longingly off a balcony, and Maya and Claire, in harmony, sang the last lines of Honey Honey with the suspicion that their story, and this movie, is just beginning.
