Popcorn Blackout

The wind rattled the windows and rain tapped the roof. A perfect night for snuggling up for the Wilder family's weekly movie night. On the giant couch sat Mom, Dad, Lila, and Nicky. In front of them, a mountain of kettle corn popcorn, a rainbow of sour gummies, neat rows of strawberry licorice, and a bowl of bite-sized assorted chocolates. Nicky, in rocket pajamas, lined up popcorn asteroids. Lila, in her pink skateboard T-shirt, went straight for the licorice. The lights dimmed, the movie starts, everyone leaned in. Suddenly, blip! The screen went black.

"Oh no! The baby lion just got held up in the air. I need to know what happens next," Nicky said.

Dad looks out the window and says... Looks like the blackout bandit strikes again. The power's out.

"Good thing the snacks are still operational," Lyla said.

Four pairs of eyes blinked in the dark. What now? Then Mom suggests...

"Well, if the power's out, maybe we make our own show?" Mom said.

Just like that, movie night flipped into something new. Dad held a flashlight under his chin, turning his face into a spooky pumpkin. Lila and Nicky cackled, the couch bounced, snack bowls wobbled. They all got up, chairs and pillows slid across the room. Sheets became walls, flashlights glowed like lanterns in their new fort. Lila balanced on the couch arm like a skateboard ramp. Nicky tossed popcorn meteors into orbit. Mom pretended to faint whenever a sour gummy zoomed past her nose. Mom waltzes back into the room to reveal a sweet surprise. A little s'mores kit.

"I present to you our first indoor s'mores night!" Mom said.

A tiny flame from a tea light candle puffing marshmallows on bamboo skewers and plenty of melty chocolate. Lila waved a gooey marshmallow like a sparkler. Nicky leaned sideways, catching drips before the goo splattered on the fort floor. All of a sudden, the lights flickered back. Nicky lay on the rug with marshmallow in his hair. Lila snuggled under a blanket, chocolate on her cheeks.

"I thought the best part of movie night would be the movie, but it wasn't," Nicky said.

"That's 'cause you were too busy blasting popcorn into space," Lyla said.

"And saving us from the sour gummy uprising. See? Sometimes when the screen switches off, the best parts switch on," Mom said.

Nicky looked at their glowing fort, Lila's chocolatey grin, and the sticky marshmallow between their fingers. The storm rumbled, but inside felt brighter than any screen. For once, the main event wasn't the movie. They were.