Mark Miller sat on the edge of his bed staring at a magazine cutout taped to his wall.
He had cut it out 2 weeks ago with his mom's scissors. The edges were sort ofjagged, but the picture was still visible.
The text at the top said "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."
He couldn't sleep.
It was a Saturday morning in 11 of June 1977.
His internal clock had kept him awake hours before his alarm.
He pulled his worn leather wallet from the nightstand drawer and unzipped the coin pouch.
He dumped the contents onto his quilt.
Crumpled dollar bills and a pile of quarters, dimes, and nickels tumbled out.
He counted for the 4th time this week.
12,47$
A fortune for an 11 year-old.
He'd earned every penny mowing lawns and washing his neighbor's dusty Fords.
And now, today, that money was being traded for an experience his friends hadn't stopped talking about.
A kid named Kevin said his older brother saw an early screening in Los Angeles and it was great. So today he wanted to go.
Down the hall, he heard his sister still asleep.
His father was already awake, preparing for a weekend shift at the Ford auto plant.
Mark crept down the carpeted stairs and peeked into the kitchen.
His dad sat at the table, sipping from a ceramic mug. A TV hummed on the counter.
The morning news anchor was discussing a cultural phenomenon.
The screen showed grainy footage of crowds on sidewalks.
"The new science fiction film from Paramount is breaking box office records," the anchor announced with surprise.
By early afternoon, summer heat beat down on Mark as he stood on the sidewalk outside the local cinema waiting.
His three best friends Tommy, Eddie, and Danny were already waiting by the brick wall.
The line for tickets stretched all the way around the block.
Parents idled their station wagons at the curb as they dropped off packs of excited kids.
A few adults were even parking and joining the queue themselves.
Tommy bounced on his heels.
He shuffled a deck of Ben 10 trading cards.
Duke Hauser had introduced the alien transfomation hero years ago.
"You think Duke Hauser will show up here?" Tommy asked, glancing up and down the street.
"I heard he visits random theaters to check the sound. If I see him, I'm asking him to sign my cards. It'd be worth 100 bucks in the future."
Mark laughed. "He lives in a mansion in Hollywood, Tommy. He isn't coming to Michigan."
Mark reached the glass box office and slid some of his money under the metal grate.
The cashier, a bored teenager in a vest, handed him a small paper for the movie.
They stepped out of the heat into the cold lobby wheren the center stood a cardboard standee.
Darth Vader.
Mark bought a large greasy bag of popcorn and soda.
The four boys hurried down the aisle, and luckily found four empty seats right in the middle row..
"This is it, man," Tommy whispered.
The Paramount mountain logo appeared.
The audience sat silent and keep watching.
When Luke Skywalker appeared on the sand, Mark saw himself.
A restless boy stuck in the middle of nowhere.
The story progressed to a shady cantina where Mark's jaw dropped at the variety of aliens.
Han Solo slid into a booth with a cocky smirk.
Tommy leaned over. "Wait, is that the guy from Love Story?"
Mark shushed him. Captivated by the charismatic smuggler.
When Solo navigated the shootout and led them to the Millennium Falcon, Eddie leaned so far forward he was practically falling into the aisle.
The pacing was relentless. Science fiction films of the past were often slow .
This was a high-speed adventure crafted to keep blood pumping without a single dull moment.
When Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, revealing a blue lightsaber, Mark gripped the armrests. He decided right then that he wanted one of his own.
The tension spiked when Vader strode into the conflict.
The duel between master and apprentice was unlike anything they'd seen. Fast, and strong swings were normal on it-
The climax arrived with the Rebel assault on the narrow trench.
When the torpedoes found their mark and the Deathstar exploded. The theater erupted too.
Grown adults and children jumped from their seats.
The blue credits rolled as the four boys spilled out the side exit.
They couldn't stop discussing what they'd seen.
Tommy held his hands to his mouth. Imitating Vader's mechanical breathing.
Danny snapped his notebook shut. "We have to see it again. Next week at the same time. I still have allowance left. So we need to sit closer to see the background details."
To burn off enthusiams, they wandered to a local arcade.
Tucked in the back corner was a new cabinet, Star Wars: Trench Run.
Mark pushed through the crowd and stood on his tiptoes to see the glowing screen.
A teenager in a denim jacket played for 5 minutes.
The machine used glowing green vector graphics to do a simulated three-dimensional trench.
In the 1977 video game industry, this was revolutionary. This was the first 3d game in the world.
Tommy pooled three quarters from his change and slid them into the slots.
He grabbed the flight yoke and a steered his ship directly into a wall. His turn ending in seconds.
"This is impossible!" Tommy complained.
Mark stepped up to the panel. He wiped his palms on his jeans. He gped the yoke, staring at the glowing green lines on the monitor.
The screen instructed him to dodge obstacles and fire at TIE fighters.
And survive long enough to reach the exhaust port at the end of the trench.
Mark crashed three times in succession.
The synthesized sound effects transported him back to the theater.
He dodged a final barrier and hit his torpedo into the glowing square.
The screen flashed as a new high score was achieved.
A blinking prompt asked for initials. Mark entered his, MM.
A younger boy tugged on his sleeve. "Can you show me how to do that?"
By early evening, streetlights had come to life.
His dad shifted into drive. "So? Was that space movie actually any good? Or just hype to sell you toys?"
Mark opened his mouth. He couldn't find the right words.
How could he describe the scale of the Death Star? The sound of the lightsaber? The experience was too vast for simple words.
"Dad," Mark said softly, his voice full of wonder. "You have to see it. It's the best thing I've ever seen."
His father's smile widened, he had already planned to come on his own, after all this was directed by the man who did Jaws
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Fslling aslwwp but wanted to publish before asleep