Jake’s Tale: I was going to meet Hal to see Rashomon,
but the guy in the booth didn’t have change for a ticket
so I went next door to the stationary shop to get change.
I had to buy a soda since they wouldn’t just give me change.
That’s why I was late to meet Hal.

Alicia’s Tale:
Cute guy comes in, asking if he can break a twenty dollar bill.
I tell him I can’t do that. He says it’s so he can buy a ticket
for a movie next door. I say I feel for him,
but policy is I can’t make change without a purchase.
He gets testy and says what can he buy. I shrug my shoulders
and say “Maybe a soda?”
He picks out a Mister Pibb. I give him seventeen fifty for his twenty,
and he’s out the door like Meat Loaf on to his next sandwich.

Thurston’s Tale: When Jake tried to buy his ticket for Rashomon,
I’d just provided all my change to a bunch of kids coming in to see
the new Warners Brothers Meets the Commies jam.
Lotta kids are coming in for that; they all needed change.
I couldn’t give Jake change for his ticket, so I asked him to go
and get change so I could keep working for the rest of the day.
I guess he could have charged his ticket,
but nobody thought of that then.
When he came back, he brought a soda with him.

Now, you can’t bring outside consumables into a theater.
Everybody knows that. So he had to finish the soda before entering.
I watched him finish the liter drink before he could go in
with his new ticket. Seemed pissed.

Hal’s Tale: Jake was a little late to get into Rashomon. No biggie.