Nora leaned against the wall of the theater hallway, holding a broom and dustpan as she waited anxiously for the movie in Theater Five to end. The tanned-skinned, dark-haired eighteen-year-old worked part-time at her local movie theater, regulating herself to whatever menial tasks her middle-aged manager assigned her. After hours of working the concession stand, cleaning up various messes, and manning the ticket window, her shift was almost over. All she had left to do for the day was to clean up Theater Five, and then she would finally be home free.
Finally, after an endless wait, the theater door flung open as a rowdy mass of theatergoers poured out. The noisy crowd was an ethnically diverse group consisting of various Black, Asian, and Latino families and friends. Conspicuously absent was the one race now considered insignificant in the modern world. Nora paid the seemingly typical theatergoers no mind as she eagerly waited for the last person to leave so she could start cleaning.
"'xcuse me.” an older black woman approached her, directly getting her attention.
“Yep?” Nora responded, putting back on her fake customer service smile.
“Y’all know you got some whites in there?” said the woman nonchalantly.
“Whites?” Nora inquired, a bit confused by what she meant at first.
“Yeah, we were sitting in the third row. We saw two or three of them scurrying around on the floor. Almost caught them too, but those little crackas managed to run under the seats. Lord knows how many are under there.” the woman elaborated.
“Oh my. Well thanks for letting me know. We’ll be sure to take care of it.” Nora reassured.
“Better get the rat traps.” the woman’s friend, another older black woman, joked.
“Hell, some Raid will do the trick.” the original woman quipped back, sharing a laugh with her friend as the two departed with the rest of the crowd.
Nora entered the now-empty movie theater. As usual, after showings, the place was littered with popcorn, empty soda cups, wrappers, and other small trash that people were too lazy to throw away. To make matters worse, she now had to deal with some hidden white vermin that apparently lurked in the theater. Although she was tempted to leave the problem for someone else to deal with, it was probably better to handle it now. Who knows how long the theater room had been infested with whites. She imagined her manager would probably be angry with her for not keeping the theater clean enough to prevent an infestation. She sighed, realizing she would have to stay later than expected, and got to work.
Nora cleaned up as usual but decided to save the third row of the theater for last. Once everything else was tidy, she tackled the aforementioned row. As she swept the floor, she scanned the ground with her eyes, looking for any little white people scurrying about. Though, as she expected, it wouldn’t be that easy to find them. They wouldn’t just be out in the open so carelessly, she figured.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Nora whispered, trying to lure the tiny creatures, though it likely only intimated them. She continued her routine, sweeping up popcorn as she searched.
After Nora cleaned up the usual trash and debris, she crouched down on the floor and looked under each seat one by one, using her phone as a flashlight to help aid her search. The first four seats yielded no results, just typical crumbs and gunk. She had started to doubt whether there were even any whites in this row, that is, until she looked under the fifth seat.
“Bingo.” she thought to herself as she eyed the seven four-inch white people cowering in the far back, shaking with fear as her phone light blinded them. She backed away before pressing the button on the seat, causing the recliner to rise. With the chair's footrest up, she had ample room to snatch all seven of them with her hands. She held them in her fists, careful not to drop them accidentally as they wriggled restlessly until she placed them in an empty popcorn bucket. The tiny whites had no chance of climbing up the flat walls of the massive bucket, leaving them trapped.
Nora continued to search the rest of the row, figuring there may be other whites hiding out. Her hunch was correct, as she discovered two more lurking in the shadows. Once she was through, she observed her nine prisoners contained in the ordinary popcorn bucket. Their skins were pale from no sunlight, and their hairs were long and unkempt. Cries rang out as the tiny creatures pleaded for help or mercy, but they fell on deaf ears as Nora ignored their whining. She clocked out for her shift and decided to take the bucket home with her, placing it on the floor of her car for safe travel.
When she arrived at her house, Nora walked through the front door with the popcorn bucket in her hands. Her mother was on the couch in the living room watching television.
“Hola mija. ¿Qué tal el trabajo?" her mother welcomed her home, her attention still half-focused on the television program.
Hi my daughter, how was work?
“Bien. Bien. Un día largo.” Nora answered as she slipped off her shoes at the doorway.
Fine. Fine. Long day.
“Hay sobras en la cocina. No me digas que te llenaste de palomitas.” Her mother said as she noticed the popcorn bucket Nora held.
There are leftovers in the kitchen. Don't tell me you filled up on popcorn.
“No, no comí. Traje algunos blancos a casa.” Nora explained as she tapped the bucket.
No, I didn't eat. I brought some whites home.
“Ah, pues asegúrate de no perderlos. Lo último que quiere tu padre es volver a encontrar otro blanco en su zapato de nuevo.” Her mother responded back.
Ah, well, make sure you don't lose them. The last thing your father wants is to find another white in his shoe again.
“Lo sé, tendré cuidado.” Nora assured before heading upstairs to her room.
I know, I'll be careful.
But first, she stopped at her younger sister's room, knocking on the door instead of bursting in.
“Come in.” Her younger sister, Vanessa, shouted behind the door. Nora entered her sister's room and found Vanessa lying on her bed, browsing her phone with earbuds in her ears.
"What?" Vanessa asked, seemingly irritated to be interrupted from whatever she was doing.
"I brought you some more whites." Nora showed off the bucket in her hands, shaking it repeatedly, causing the tiny white people inside to tumble around.
"Sweet! How many?" Vanessa said excitedly as she jumped off her bed.
"Nine." Nora answered. The siblings both gazed into the bucket, striking fear into each of the whites.
"Wow, where'd you even find that many?" Vanessa asked, amused.
"Work. Those little buggers were hiding out in a theater. I'd probably wash them if I were you. Who knows where they've been." Nora suggested as she offered her sister the bucket.
"Thanks! Love you sis!" Vanessa accepted the offering as she gazed at the fearful whites. More pets for her to play with.
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