Haven’t missed a day yet! I finished this one up watching The Big Sleep.
Flapper
It is 1927 and Cyrus, a stockbroker is sitting at his desk at work. His desk is immaculate. He is called into his bosses office. Cyrus is overly eager talking with his boss, really buttering him up and humblebragging. His boss cuts him off and says he should calm down, he got the promotion.
Cyrus is overjoyed. At exactly 5pm he gets up to go home but his coworkers stop him. They are bros and say they are taking him out to celebrate, and one whispers that they will get him drunk. Cyrus protests as it is against the law but is finally convinced.
The coworkers take him to a speakeasy. He feels out of place but warms up after a few drinks. A gorgeous woman catches his eye. She is dressed in typical flapper attire but the lighting makes it seem like she is the only one there. He continues to look over at her for a while until she notices him, stares him down then laughs and gives him a military salute. Cyrus looks away sheepishly.
Cyrus is getting ready to leave but his coworkers force him to say hello to the woman. Even after a night of drinking Cyrus is shy but manages to get out that he would like to see her. She is amused, says her name is Betty, and she will be at a Jazz club next weekend and maybe he will see her there.
Cyrus is counting down the days to the weekend. The day arrives and he gets all dressed up and goes out. He searches everywhere but can’t find her. He settles in and watches the music. It’s not his type of music or crowd but he does his best not to look out of place. It’s around midnight when he finally gives up. Just when he is about to leave Betty walks in. She greets him and seemingly everyone else in the club including the musicians who pull her onstage and have her sing a song.
Betty introduces Cyrus to her friends and they start passing around a Jazz cigarette. Cyrus reluctantly tries it. They all swing dance as Cyrus begins to feel high.
They all dance all night. As the club is shutting down and everyone is dispersing Cyrus pulls Betty aside and says he wants to see her again. She doesn’t really seem into until he says he will bring her to the new movie everyone is talking about, to which she says why not.
A few days later Cyrus takes Betty to see the Jazz Singer. Betty loved it. She is giddy. Cyrus wasn’t a big fan. He says the audio is a gimmick and was missing the elegance of silent cinema. Cyrus pushes for another date but Betty turns him down. She says she just isn’t interested in anything serious at the moment but he is a nice guy.
Cyrus is heartbroken. He can’t get her out of his head. He starts asking around about her. He learns that she has a reputation of being easy. That she parties a lot and has been with a lot of people. He is tracks her down to her apartment.
Betty is surprised and a little scared when she sees him at her door. She reluctantly lets him in. Her apartment is tiny but is clean. Cyrus starts blurting out how much he loves her and how he doesn’t care about the mistakes she made in the past, he thinks she is perfect for him. She should start taking life seriously.
Betty sighs. She says he doesn’t know her at all. She takes life extremely seriously. She says everything is temporary, all of this will come crashing down and no one can control it. All you have control of is how you live your life, and dammit she is living every second like it’s her last because before you know it, it will be.
We cut to two years later. Cyrus is the head stockbroker at his firm and it is pandemonium. People are following the ticker tape and crying or yelling. It’s full blown panic. Cyrus excuses himself and closes the door to his corner office. He opens the window and pulls himself out. He is about to jump but we hear voice over of Betty. Thinking better he pulls himself back into the room and closes the window.
Cyrus goes on a walk. In the crowd he sees Betty. Betty stops in the middle of the street and salutes him. He smiles and they both go on there own ways.
The End