Halloween Hell:

Halloween came rather coldly that year. It rained the night before. The number of guards on the streets and at our school had doubled by that point. I noticed something rather unsettling at this time. Nobody was talking out in public anymore. They wouldn’t even make eye contact with each other. This wasn’t the Germany I grew up with anymore. This country had turned into a silent, nightmarish world that I didn’t even recognize anymore. I’m even starting to get scared of walking out on the street in public.

“Kat,” I said that morning before heading out the door. “Is this even our Germany anymore?” She shook her head at me while containing her own emotions.

“No,” she replied. “This isn’t our Germany anymore.”

“Will we have to move?” I asked. Lyle gave me a strange look.

“And go where?” he asked. I shrugged.

“If it gets any worse, then yes,” she replied. Lyle looked at him with big eyes.

“But where would we go?” he asked. Kat pressed her lips together.

“I will have a plan once I work through everything,” she said. “Now, get to the bus.”

“Yes!” we all said. We turned to walk out the door.

“Wait!” Kat called. Lyle, Milo, and I turned to see her standing up from the table.

“I’m coming with you,” she said. We all looked surprised.

“Kat!” Lyle said.

“You sure?” I asked. “You’ll be late for work.”

“I feel that I must,” she replied. Somehow, we all felt better for hearing that. I nodded at her.

“Alright,” I said. Kat hurried over to us.

“Right, let’s be off now,” she said. Then, she ushered out the door to hurry to the bus station. For some reason, it felt much better to be walking the streets with Kat at our side. The people still stared at us, but I just felt much safer with her. I looked up at her, smiling. She gave us a little smile back. In fact, she took us bus with us en route to the university. I still looked rather concerned for her.

“You’re sure about this?” I asked. “Won’t you be late for work?”

“It’s better in a time like this for me to accompany the three of you,” she said. “These are uneasy times.” I didn’t ask any more questions after that. Kat saw us off to school before going to work. I waved at her, hoping that she wouldn’t get in trouble for coming in late. Lyle nudged me along.

“Come on, Claud,” he whispered. I nodded and followed behind my boys. The school day tried to relax enough for the upcoming fall pageant coming up at six tonight. Ms. Diederich was much calmer today as well. In fact, she was actually…

Milo leaned in close to my ear. “Is she really smiling?”

“I’m not sure,” I lied. I squinted my eyes for a better look. I nodded with a smirk. “Affirmative, our teacher is smiling.”

“Whoa!” Milo whispered back. Ms. Diederich cleared her throat at us.

“Is there something you want to share with the rest of the class?” she asked. Milo looked slightly panicked, but I stood up boldly.

“We were just complimenting how pretty your smile looks today,” I announced. The class giggled at my English accent when I said that in German. Ms. Diederich eyes quickly moved away as her cheeks pinkened.

“Oh my…” she mumbled. I sat down feeling quite proud of myself. Milo looked at me rather amazed. I glanced over at the clock as Ms. Diederich went back to the lesson. Nine more hours to go before the pageant. I did my best to put on my poker face to mask my buzz.

At five, I waited at the front door of my house for Lyle, Milo, and Kat. I was a clown for the fancy dress contest that year. (I didn’t know why I agreed on that choice, but it just happened like that.) I puffed up my cheeks and tapped my foot.

“Come on!” I yelled. “We’re going to be late!”

“We’re comin’! We’re comin’!” Lyle yelled from down the hall. I sighed and tapped my foot.

“That’s rich coming from you!” he shouted. “You acted like you didn’t care about this pageant!”

“Shut it!” I snapped back.

“Claudia, be nice!” Kat yelled.

“Yes, Kat!” I replied. Finally, the three of them came down to living room. I looked at each one of them. Milo’s costume was a vampire. (That didn’t really surprise me there.) Lyle looked like a footballer. (Again, that didn’t really surprise me.) Kat had on black slackers, a white blouse, and pearls. I stood smiling.

“Are we really?” I asked.

“Yes,” Lyle said. I put my hands on my hips.

“Good,” I said. “Let’s good!” I turned and walked out the door. The streets in the evening look worse nowadays. The guards double at this time. I tried not to look at them. Somehow, my black and red costume made me feel like a mark. I turned to Kat.

“Do I stand out too much?” I asked.

“No, dear,” she replied. “You look fine.”

“Okay…” I mumbled. We walked all the way to the bus station. Milo held my hand the whole time. I looked away, blushing. He held my hand for the whole ride. I wanted to loosen it away, but my heart wouldn’t let up. I couldn’t even look him in the face.

Inside the school, music invited us inside. The pageant looked rather normal. The teachers ran booths for games and snacks. The main stage was set up for the fancy dress contest. The orange and black lights pretty much competed with my face.

“Claudia Gains!” I heard a teacher yell out to me. I looked up to Ms. Fuchs ran over to me. She grabbed onto my hand.

“Where have you been?” she asked. “Come on, the contest is about to start!” The bull-built teacher dragged me away before I could speak. I looked over my shoulder and waved at my family and Milo. They gave me a smile wave back before I disappeared from view.

I waved backstage with thirteen other kids. I looked among my competition. Two witches, a huntsman, a ladybird, a cow, a cat, a sausage, a bobby, a fairy, Godzilla, a monkey, I think Elvis, and a ghost with a fox mask. I smirked to myself. I will win this hands down! I walked over to the cow.

“Excuse me,” I said. “When do we start?”

“In about fifteen minutes,” she said. I nodded.

“I see,” I said. Plenty of time. Suddenly, I heard someone whisper, “Psst,” to me. I turned and saw Milo standing just inches away from me. I blinked at him, confused.

“Milo?” I whispered. “What are you doing here?” That pale vampire shuffled his feet for a bit.

“I have something to ask you,” he told me.

“What is it?” I asked. He pressed his lips together.

“Promise you won’t laugh?” he asked. I blinked at him.

“Yeah,” I said. “Spit it out. I don’t have much time.” Milo swallowed hard and clenched his fists by his side.

“Will you marry me?” he asked. I gave him the strangest look.

“What?” I asked. That American vampire boy blushed at me.

“I really like you,” he said. “I really, really, like you. So, will you marry me?” I stood there at a loss for words. He liked me too? My head went too fast for me to keep up.

“I… I… I…” I began.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Ms. Fuchs announced on stage. “Now for the moment you all have been waiting for! Here is the Costume Contest!” I took a step back.

“I have to go,” I said. I walked back to the other contestants. I could just image his face of despair. I couldn’t really answer him there anyway. Could you blame me?

The contest was basically a fashion show. All fourteen of us showed off our costumes. I was the fifth girl up. I looked out to see my family watching in the front row. Lyle grinned at me the whole time. Milo looked at me kind of sad. Poor chap, I’ll have to make it up to him later.

The modeling part lasted for thirty minutes. Afterwards, the judges totaled up their votes. I grinned to myself backstage. First prize was as good as mine. When the judges were ready, Mrs. Fuchs called the contestants back on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” she announced. “The votes are in and judges and made their decision.” I crossed my fingers for good luck. Mrs. Fuchs pulled out the envelope and opened it up. She read the results to herself.

“And the winner is…” the teacher began to announce. That’s when the lights and power cut out without warning. Everyone looked up in a panic. I looked up with big eyes in my own worry.