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"Please Julie? Please, Please, Please, Please..." Luke was currently begging Julie to let him and the boys go to the movies with her and Flynn.
"No!" Julie yelled yet again. "I told you Flynn and I are going by ourselves. We want a break from everything."
"A break from us?" Reggie questioned looking down and fiddling with the sleeves of the flannel tied around his waist.
"No, no it's not like that," Julie started to regret her choice of words. "It's just..." she struggled to find the right words.
"It's okay. We understand..." Reggie had the same sad tone. Luke and Alex glared slightly at Julie while trying to comfort their friend.
"W-well I'd have to check with Flynn, but I guess it's okay with me if you come," Julie finally gave in.
Reggie immediately perked up, scaring Luke and Alex. "Yay! Thanks, Julie," he clapped his hands excitedly.
All three of his band members looked at Reggie in disbelief, but he ignored them and skipped over to the couch, picking up his bass on the way. Julie pulled out her phone and texted Flynn asking if she cared about the boys tagging along. She of course did not because in her words, "Who wouldn't want three cute boys to accompany you to the movies?"
"Flynn said you guys could come," Julie told the boys and rolling her eyes at Flynn's response. There was a chorus of cheers. Julie laughed before heading back into the house to get ready.
About an hour later, a car horn honked outside. Julie recognized Flynn's usual announcement of her arrival. She quickly gathered the rest of her things and ran out the door, hopping into the passenger seat of Flynn's car. The boys poofed into the backseat not long after causing Julie to jump and Flynn to look at her confused.
"The boys are in the backseat," she glared at them.
"Oh, Hi!" Flynn waved in the rearview mirror even though she couldn't see them.
The boys all waved back. Julie laughed and plugged the aux cord into her phone and pressing play on her 5SOS playlist. The group danced to the music, as best they could in the limited confines of the car, and sang along until they reached the mall. Julie and Flynn linked arms as they walked into the mall and through the long hallways into the movie theater. Quickly buying their tickets and snacks they made it into the theater not long after the previews started.
Not even halfway through the movie, the boys were already complaining about being bored. Julie tried her best to quiet them and tell them to poof back to the studio without disrupting the other movie watchers in the theatre. The boys refused to listen and instead started grabbing handfuls of popcorn out of the bucket in Flynn's lap and throwing it at each other. Julie quietly yelled at the ghosts as the popcorn flew through them making contact with the back of people's heads. Flynn glanced around trying to see if people were noticing her friend talking to air and popcorn hitting them. She made awkward eye contact with a few of the angry guests and tried to give them a kind smile.
Julie was still trying to get Luke, Alex, and Reggie to stop messing around when suddenly they all froze. The girl looked at them confused before Flynn tapped her shoulder causing her to turn around. She locked eyes with a very tall security guard with broad shoulders who gestured for the two girls to follow him. They both stood up reluctantly as a few cheers and sighs of relief filled the theatre. Julie turned her head and glared at the three boys who stood in the aisle, regret evident on their faces.
Once the security guard had led the girls out into the hallway, he turned and spoke to them. "You know, this isn't my first time having to remove rambunctious teenagers from a theatre. Usually, it's a group of boys though. You guys don't seem to be the type of kids to cause a ruckus," he laughed.
"Yeah, I don't really know how to explain it," Julie responded starting daggers at the three teenage boys who were profusely apologizing from behind the security officer.
The security guard led the two girls into an office containing a mini-mall jail cell outside the theatre. He told Flynn and Julie that they would have to stay there until a parent could come to pick them up and asked them which parent they should call. Julie immediately offered up her dad becuase he knew about the boys and she knew that she and Flynn wouldn't be in trouble with him.
She pulled out her phone and called her dad. After a very heated conversation, Julie could tell that her dad was angry, but she couldn't really explain with the security guard right there. She sat back down on the bench with Flynn. The two talked and the boys sat nearby quietly. Luke trying to get Julie's attention every now and then, but she ignored him.
About fifteen minutes later Julie's dad walked into the office. His arms were crossed and his eyebrows were furrowed in anger.
"Care to explain why I had to leave work to come to pick you up after CAUSING A DISRUPTANCE IN THE MOVIE THEATRE!" he was clearly angry. Julie could feel her blood boiling at the thought of getting in trouble for something the boys did, but she knew getting angry at her dad was not going to help the situation so she maintained her composure.
"Dad, it wasn't us..." she emphasized the word us trying to get her point across without revealing her secret to the security guard. Her dad seemed to get the message.
"Sure it wasn't," Ray rolled his eyes but then winked at the girls who did their best to hide their excitement. "I'm so sorry sir, I will take these two home and make sure that they won't get into any more trouble."
The security guard nodded as Ray gestured for the two girls to stand and follow him out to the car. Once they reached the parking lot, Julie climbed into the passenger seat, and Flynn got in the back. The boys also got into the car but seeing as one of the seats in the back was taken up by Flynn, Reggie laid across Luke and Alex's laps. The ride was silent as they pulled out of the parking lot.
"So just to make sure I got your message right..." Ray started as he turned onto the main road, "It was the boys right?"
Julie laughed and nodded. "Yes," her demeanor shifted as she glared at the back seat.
"Are they here now?" Ray asked.
"Yes, they're in the back next to Flynn," Julie responded.
"Ok boys listen up," Ray started glancing into the rearview mirror. Luke, Alex, and Reggie perked up and all turned their attention to the back of Ray's seat.
"I understand that you are ghosts and that you can't get in trouble. I also understand that you are teenage boys and that you are going to mess around and make mistakes. But what you need to understand is that since you are ghosts you have a new set of responsibilities. You are not the one to face the consequences of your mistakes anymore. In this case that falls on Julie and Flynn. With the amount of time you are with my daughter, I expect you to be sure that you are keeping her out of trouble and in turn keeping her out of trouble. Imagine if Julie and Flynn weren't there tonight. You could've gotten a ranger stranger in trouble. Now, I'm not your parent, but you are living under my roof so I feel that gives me a right to deal with some sort of punishment. That being said I am canceling band practice for today."
Ray was instantly met with protests from the boys. Julie was also upset but figured yet it again it better not to argue with her father. Predicting the boy's reactions Ray spoke up again, "I don't want to hear it. You guys can practice again starting tomorrow, but for today you need to think about your actions and the consequences they have on others. Today I had to get the girls from mall jail, but next time I might be bailing them out of actual jail, and I'm not sure I have the money for that." Julie scoffed and hit her dad on the arm. "Sorry, kidding, kidding," he laughed, "but seriously boys please think about the consequences of your action before doing them next time."
The boys all nodded and agreed and Julie told her dad. Ray smiled as he pulled into the driveway of the Molina household. "Now who's hungry?" he asked as the wave of teenagers rushed into his house.