Episode 12: My Own Worst Enemy

Cody finds himself caught up in the Smokers’ mysterious plan for his Jeep, and a conversation with an old friend forces him to confront how—and why—they drifted apart. Meanwhile, Wes may be having the “best night ever,” but his activities have not gone unnoticed by Jessie’s boyfriend.

As Cody looks back on the choices that shaped his friendships, he’s reminded that some connections survive years of silence. Others… don’t. Flash forward twenty years to the present day, and one familiar car makes a surprising return to the mall.

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DVD Box Sets You Were Borrowing from Your Friends in the 2000s

Remember what it was like, prior to about the year 2008 or so, to get really into a TV series… and then just miss an episode?

Before streaming, if you missed an episode of a TV series you liked, there was no guarantee you would ever catch that episode again, unless somebody you knew had used their VCR to tape it. If you missed it, too bad. Maybe it was a plot-heavy show with lots of mysteries that took place on an island somewhere (can you believe they really had no plan for how that show would end?), a lighthearted comedy about young doctors that had some… deep and genuinely heartbreaking moments, or an anime with lots of filler… lots and LOTS of filler. Regardless, even when reruns aired, you never knew when that one, specific episode you missed might pop up again. If you missed that one Dawson’s Creek episode, or had a dentist appointment on the day Goku went super saiyan for the first time, sorry dude. You were outta luck.

See, I know this is hard to fathom now, but back then, there was no such thing as scrolling through five different streaming services trying to watch a show’s episodes, in sequential order, back to back, as many times as you want. Your only hope… Was a DVD full season box set. And man, we used to covet those things as the very lifeblood of entertainment. Do you remember what it was like, waiting your turn to borrow your one friend’s box set of a season of LOST or HEROES or something similarly epic, like Family Matters? I mean, come on, the reveal of what was inside “the hatch” was nothing compared to Steve’s transformation into Stefan Urquelle.

I’ve put together a collection of DVD box sets you were probably borrowing from your friends in the 2000s, including some shows you may have completely forgotten that you were obsessed with for a couple weeks one summer.

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LOST - https://amzn.to/4j3IWZd

HEROES - https://amzn.to/4hLlrSn

Scrubs - https://amzn.to/4hwcfCx

Dragonball Z - https://amzn.to/4hQkYyt

Freaks and Geeks - https://amzn.to/4rSTexI

Family Matters - https://amzn.to/3VQU5Tu

Boy Meets World - https://amzn.to/4dovr2y

Cowboy Bebop - https://amzn.to/4znBcX0

Dawson’s Creek - https://amzn.to/47CfxOH

Veronica Mars - https://amzn.to/4hN6UWr

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If you’ve enjoyed Last Night at the Mall so far, a monthly commitment on Patreon can help me keep this thing going and release new fiction. Plus, you’ll gain access to short stories and full novels (written by yours truly) as a thank-you. There’s enough of them that I don’t feel like listing them all right now, but you can download and keep all of them when you become a supporter on Patreon.

A couple of bucks a month goes a long way, so thank you for considering.