Jones St., Chapter 6: Pages 17-18

Page 17, 5 Panels- Tate’s, Jones St., Las Vegas NV

Panel 1: Back to Tara in the same setting and layout as Panel 5 of the previous page, except for the disappearance of the shadow copy of him that was visible in that panel. His face shifts to a look of surprise blended with sadness and sympathy to the statement.

TARA [to Melanie]: Oh wow…Can I ask how he died?

MELANIE [Off-Panel, to Tara]: Bad luck. A piece of shrapnel from an IED went into the hospital he was working in, tore his lungs and chest up. The wrenching part is that he died a week before the flight was supposed to.

TARA [Bubble 2]: I'm--I'm so sorry. If I knew that, I would’ve postponed this date another week or…

Panel 2: Back to Melanie in the same setting/layout as the end of the previous page. She chuckles lightly at the course correcting Mr. Myers engaged in in the previous panel. You can clearly see by her body language that what he thought of as offensive is nowhere close to being offended by it.

MELANIE [scoffs, to Tara]: It’s okay. Don’t be sorry over something you didn’t know about. Besides…this has been pretty nice for me. So far, at least.

Panel 3: Same setting/layout as Panel 1. He nods respectfully at the statement; his hands touching the top of the table in front of him as he speaks. You can see in his body language one of defense, trying to explain his thinking at that moment.

TARA: Okay. Cool. I just…I don’t want you to feel too uncomfortable or tread into something painful for you. As someone with more than a fair share of experience in both kinds of situations, I know how much of a pain it can be and I'd rather—

Panel 4: Same setting/layout as Panel 2, along with the same background. Melanie looks over and gives the young man a degree of respect at the feat, without any type of condescension as she speaks.

MELANIE [interjecting]: I get the point. All things considered…I think you handled it pretty well.

MELANIE [thought bubble]: Man, is he a weirdo! But also…genuinely sweet, I think!

Panel 5: Back to Tara in the same setting/layout as Panel 3. He smiles sheepishly at the compliment, blushing ever so slightly on the left side of his face; his eyes glancing down toward a point away from the table as he speaks.

TARA: Thanks…so, uh, what’s your favorite movie?

TARA [thought bubble]: I haven't asked her that, right? ....Right.

Page 18, 6 Panels- Tate's, Jones St., Las Vegas NV

Panel 1-2: A two-part set of panels that moves back to Melanie in the same setting and layout as Panel 4 of the previous page, along with the same changing background. In Panel 1, she looks over at a spot at the table, lost in a brief moment of thought before springing back to Tara in Panel 2 with her fully confident answer.

MELANIE [elaborating, Panel 1]: Besides "Firefly"? Hmm...

MELANIE [to Tara, Panel 2]: Two come to mind that I really love. There's Foxy Brown, the old Blaxploitation film with Pam Grier.

Panel 3: Back to Tara in the same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page. He has the soda glass gripped in his left hand; his head poking out forward in order to take a sip from the unbent straw.

TARA [partially knowing, to Melanie]: That was the Quentin Tarantino movie from the '90s, right?

MELANIE [Off-Panel]: HA! Fuck no, I hate everything from that pretentious prick...

Panel 4: Back to Melanie in the same setting and layout as Panel 1. We see the young woman lean back slightly against the seat, flashing a bright smile from ear-to-ear as she speaks. Deep in the background, you can see the shadow of a waiter briefly in view.

MELANIE [Cont.]: I'm talking about the original 1974 Jack Hill version. My dad plays it every New Year's- it's not the greatest. But it grew on me after awhile.

MELANIE [Bubble 2]: I actually had my first Blood and Sand one New Year's when I was 18 watching it. Ended up puking ten minutes into the movie--was not one of my prouder moments.

Panel 5: Same setting/layout as Panel 3, along with the same background. It consists primarily of the young Mr. Myers taking a long sip of the Diet Dr. Pepper as he speaks. Part of him understands the story, and another part just wants to steer it off to the next part of the question.

TARA [curious]: I can empathize. And what's the second one?

MELANIE [Off-Panel]: Hackers...

Panel 6: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. The same suck of soda that he had in Panel 5 is now frozen mid-sip upon hearing the second movie; a look of pleasant surprise on his face as he speaks.

TARA [pause]: Huh...that one I've seen.