Noel looked forward to Sundays more than any other day, because it was Sundays - if it was a bit wet and if it was a bit miserable - that his Daddy would normally scratch his mustache and say “Who wants to go to the movies?”
When he would say this, Noel didn’t normally answer. Because he didn’t have time to answer in the two seconds it took him to race out the room, but on his coat and stand waiting by the front door!
You see, Noel loved films. He liked the smell of the cinema, he liked the feel of the red seats, he liked the lights going down - and then… well, that was all he could ever remember. Because although Noel liked films soooo much, he always always fell asleep.
It didn’t matter if it was an action spectacular, with loud missiles and guns, it didn’t matter if it was a fairy story set in a magical land. Noel would always nod off.
“We don’t know why you like movies so much, if all they do is make you fall asleep!” said Mummy as they drove to the theatre. Noel was sat in the back, barely able to contain his excitement. He wouldn’t fall asleep this time, he knew it!
At the theatre, Noel’s family has a custom. His daddy would go off and collect the tickets, whilst his mummy went to the candy sweeties stand to get some treats. Noel always went for a medium sized, sweet popcorn.
“Medium sized sweet popcorn, and a bottle of water to wash it down,” said Noel.
Mummy was about to ask the man for exactly that, when she had a thought: “You always have popcorn…” she began. “And you always fall asleep. Hey! I wonder if it’s the popcorn that’s making you fall asleep?”
“Oh, I — I doubt that,” said Noel. “Popcorn please.”
“No,” said mummy. “We’re the ones spending the money on the tickets, so I say we try an experiment. No popcorn, and instead you might see the whole film?”
Noel couldn’t really argue with that. Mummy might have a point…
So, with just a nice cold bottle of water, Noel walked towards the big blue doors of Screen One.
“I don’t think you’ll fall asleep during THIS one, Noel,” smiled his Daddy. “We’re going to see Smashicus. It’s the most exciting film of the year.”
Smashicus was set in Rome, in Italy, a long long long time ago. It was hundreds of years before electricity or cars, and the people in the grand city of Rome lived under sunny skies and had fun going swimming and putting on plays. They also went to the Colosseum, a huge stadium in the middle of the town to watch the Games. And Smashicus was all about the scary, nasty games. It was the blockbuster hit of the year! Everybody was going to see Smashicus. And now it was Noel’s turn.
They found the seats that they normally sit in. Row 4. Seats 22, 23 and 24. Right in the middle and near the front.
Noel smelt the air. It smelt of candy sweeties and excitement. He felt the soft velvet arm rests. And then — the lights went down. The film was about to start!
In the first five minutes, Smashicus featured a huge sword fight. Mummy and Daddy’s eyes were GLUED to the screen.
But Noel felt his eyes begin to droop. “No!” he thought. “This is Smashicus, the most exciting film of the year! I can’t fall asleep now!”
He turned around and looked behind him at the hundreds of people staring - gobsmacked - up at the huge screen.
Coming down one of the aisles close to him was a man selling popcorn.
“Well if it isn’t the popcorn that makes me sleepy, I might as well get some,” thought Noel. He checked he had enough coins in his pocket - granny has given him some for Christmas - and went towards the popcorn vendor and his cart.
But it was dark, and Noel couldn’t see properly. The popcorn cart and all the people sat either side of it, and even the carpet kept changing color depending on what was on the screen!
It made Noel feel dizzy… And then he tripped, straight onto the cart! The cart rolled backwards, towards the screen, carrying Noel with it! They couldn’t stop, and got closer and closer and closer to the screen, faster and faster until - SMASHICUS!
Horses hooves thundered past Noel’s head. He stood up, and looked around him at sun-bleached colosseum and the thousands of cheering Romans.
“What?”
“QUICKY!” said one of the grey horses in front of him. “We’re losing!”
Noel didn’t have time to think. But he saw that the popcorn cart was on its side in the sand. So he picked it back up onto his wheels with all his strength and then saw that it was attached to the two horses.
“GET ON! QUICK!” said the other horse.
Noel got on top of the popcorn cart, grabbed the reins and OFF THEY WENT around the course!
Other horses pulled Gladiators in their chariots, and as they got to the corner, one of the Gladiators tried to hit Noel with his sword!
Noel reached into the popcorn cart, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and threw it at the Gladiator! And as he did so, all the other horses of all the other chariots went wild! They turned and stampeded towards the popcorn on the ground.
As Noel’s popcorn cart chariot roared towards the finish line, he threw more and more popcorn about until the whole stadium was in chaos!
Running over the line, Noel and his two horses had won! The crowd went bonkers!
“He’s a magician! He’s magic!” they yelled. But they weren’t shouting approval. They were angry.
“Get the wizard! He’s ruined the games!”
Up above, in the grandest seat of all, Noel saw the Emperor. He was scowling. “Soldiers! Get the wizard!” he commanded.
From all around, soldiers began to advance. What was Noel to do? He looked into the popcorn cart and he had an idea.
“GO!” he cried to the horses, and off they all went around the track.
“But we can’t escape!” said one of the horses.
Noel rummaged around inside the popcorn cart and brought out a bag of small, hard uncooked popcorn kernels. As they raced around the colosseum, past golden crucibles of fire, he threw the uncooked popcorn into the flames.
Around and around he and his horses and his popcorn chariot went, until -
POP! POP! POP POP POP! POP POP POP! POP POP! POP POP POP!
The popcorn in the golden crucibles began to explode in the flames! The crowd - who had never even seen popcorn before - began to panic. And the soldiers, who thought this must be evil magic, were too scared to move!
Even the Emperor hid his eyes!
“Now!” said Noel, and he and his horses dashed for the dark exit where the gladiators came out from, and as they crashed into the blackness -
“What a film!” said Daddy.
“You awake, Darling?” said Mummy.
Noel looked about him. Everyone was getting to their feet and the screen was black with white words going up it. The film was over.
“Y-Yes. Yes, I’m awake,” said Noel. He was a little giddy.
“Then let’s go for ice cream,” said Daddy. “You must be starving.”
Mummy took Noel’s hand, and they walked up towards the exit. But in the darkness, he felt something on his sweatshirt. He brushed off some popcorn, and then - grains of sand.
“But how did that get there?” he asked himself.
