Would You Like Some Dirt With Your Soda?

by Crystal Coons
Jun 18, 2003

We went out for a nice, quiet dinner the other night. Over a delicious plate of Applebee's spinach and artichoke dip, we decided that we would head over to Chandler's Fashion Center Mall, which had the brand new Harkin's Theater. I really enjoy going to the Chandler Mall's Theater. It's new enough that your feet don't stick to the floor, the seats are clean and comfy, and the cup holders take effort to pull down.

We were seeing the new Matrix Reloaded movie for the second time. We walked in leaving the clear blue sky and 100-degree weather outside. We found our perfect seats, dead center of the upper section. Excited, we got settled in and waited for the movie to begin. About 20 minutes in, the movie abruptly shut down, the lights came on, as well as a signal to evacuate the building, there was a fire. We stood up and headed for the emergency exit . The door flew open, and suddenly we were engulfed in... dust.

I couldn't see my hand in front of me. It was what I envision a tornado to be like. Well, that's a bit dramatic; a small tornado. As we headed back towards the box office, our eyes were stung with dust and sand, our clothes and hands our only shields. By the time we got back, my brown curly hair had become a tan color, thanks to all the dust. It had then become apparent to us that the dust storm outside had become so strong that it managed to get in through the two open doors and trip off the alarm. We were told to calm down and head back to our auditoriums. We did so, and once we got back and realized everything was alright I did the first girlish thing that came to my mind, I ran to the bathroom to get the dirt out of my hair. When I got in, I realized I wasn't alone.

"That's some storm out there, huh?" said the woman shaking out her coat next to me.

"Yeah, it is. My hair wasn't too thrilled thought," I replied. She laughed as I shook it out.

I cleaned up and went back to my husband, who was waiting patiently with my purse. A few minutes later, we were told our movie would be starting again in a few minutes, and that, as thanks for our patience, we were all receiving free movie passes. Thrilled at their kindness, I forgot about how my hair still had some gunk in it, and relaxed. A few minutes later the movie picked back up right where it left off, and I got into it. I picked up my Dr. Pepper soda and took a big swig. The soda entered my mouth and it was great until I realized something.

It was filled with dirt.