"The bulk of the thing that I was thinking about was really having two Isabellas, and the dynamics of their interactions. It'd be funny."

"It would?"

"Well, maybe funny's not the right word, but the thing I told her I imagined was something like 'unstoppable force meets immovable object.' She said they'd probably cooperate, though, so I'm imagining the two of them in a conference room discussing the fate of humanity."

Snort.

Previews! And then movie! It's a cute animation with talking animals, heartwarming moments, good orchestral music, and cheesy life lessons.

Jackson steadily consumes popcorn and absorbs cute talking animal plot.

Something sad happens, and then there is a journey during which people learn important things about something or other.

How edifying.

The movie has some jokes and moments that would probably sail right past a child's head but are funnier to a more mature audience, and then the main characters solve the problems and everyone's implied to live happily ever after, however, implausible that may be.

"Yup. I'm gonna go check something out and then go back to school."

It is closed. It closes at four thirty.

Drat. He'll have to return earlier tomorrow. Oh, well. He can go catch a bus back to school.

School has all of its usual properties.

Including, amongst them, Isabella, on whose door he will knock after showering and brushing his teeth.

She's already in her pajamas. "Hi, lovely, how was the movie?"

"It was really cute! It had talking animals and important life lessons."

"And what important life lessons did you learn?"

"That family isn't about who's related to you but rather about who cares for you, or something." Pause. "Which, I mean, I knew already from quite extensive personal experience."

Hug pat pat.