I head towards Shelly, who’s made her way to the steps next to the stage. Principal Crowe, in her usual Halloween costume (Oz from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) is holding two white sashes and adjusting her green top hat. She smiles at me. 

“Great Bash,” she says. “I’m impressed you were able to get so much done with… well your assigned helper.”

“It wouldn’t have been as great without her,” I reply. “I mean, she had a lot of great ideas and helped build a lot of this.”

“Well, I’m glad she had an outlet for her emotions,” Principal Crowe says, sounding like she doesn’t fully believe me. 

The Babes in Black finish their song and bow to the applause. Principal Crowe trots up the stairs and takes the microphone. 

“Yes, yes, great performance!” she says, her voice sending a screech over the speakers. “Now, while these lovely ladies take a rest, it’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for.”

The Babes in Black look less than pleased at being called ‘lovely ladies,’ but I quickly hand them a bunch of tickets to go get some snacks. The drummer winks at me as she takes the tickets. 

I double check the stage. The spotlight is on Principal Crowe, but there’s a weird line wriggling in the breeze behind her. It looks like something is hanging from the metal rafters, which is impossible because we didn’t hang anything. Or at least, I didn’t approve anything to be hung there. 

I swear to God, if someone tried re-decorating after I left this afternoon, I think, feeling my cheeks flush. 

“Everyone really went above and beyond with their costumes this year,” Principal Crowe is saying.

“Except you!” A voice in the crowd calls out. 

There’s scattered laughter and a few more comments about how old her costume must be. 

“Albeit, some costumes were disqualified for being… inappropriate,” Principal Crowe continues, ignoring her hecklers. 

I move towards the back of the stage. There’s definitely something hanging from the rafters. Did something come loose? No, because then the whole thing would’ve fallen down (which would definitely end my run for Student Council President).

It looks like rope, I realize. But why would there be rope on the stage? Unless someone forgot to tie something down. I feel my heart race. Principal Crowe is listing off the criteria the faculty used to choose Best Costumes. I try to look calm as I move towards the back of the stage. It’s definitely rope, but it’s not loose. It’s holding something above the stage. I can’t tell what it is, though. It looks just like a blob, due to all the lights. 

Just as I debate following the rope to see where it leads, it snaps. I hear screams and turn to look at the stage. 

Principal Crowe is covered in red liquid, a silver bucket overturned next to her feet. My stomach clenches and my esophagus feels the punch from earlier crawling up. Then I realize it’s only fake blood. 

It still makes me a bit nauseous.

Principal Crowe turns to glare at me. At least, I’m pretty sure she’s glaring under all the fake blood covering her face. 

I’m so dead is all I can think. I try to force a smile on my face as I feel everyone looking at me. It’s so quiet I don’t even need a microphone. 

“Oh, uhhhhh,” I say, stepping forward onto the stage. “Sorry, Principal Crowe, we, uh… timed your speech to finish earlier than this when we set up the fake blood. Our homage to the classic film, you know?”

I really hope she doesn’t call me on it. And that this kind of thing actually happened in a horror movie. I give an apologetic smile and hope the microphone doesn’t pick up on my racing heart.

The crowd starts clapping slowly. Then, they erupt into cheers. I’m pretty sure most of them are cheering because Principal Crowe just got doused in goo. I force myself to stand still and give a wave. When Principal Crowe says there will be a slight delay in awards while she cleans herself up, I run away.

The girls’ bathroom is empty, which is rare for events. I run into the first stall and slam the door behind me. 

I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, my brain says on a loop. I try to smack the voice out of my head, but I just give myself more of a headache. I hear the bathroom door open. 

“Ash? Are you in here?”

It’s Bec. I wipe my nose and hope my makeup isn’t too smudged. I open the stall, and she’s sitting at the sinks looking at me with a worried expression. 

“That was a pretty good save,” she says. “I’m impressed you could think that quickly on your feet.”

“What can I say?” I mutter glumly, walking out to her. “I guess I know how to respond to pressure.”

She nods. I glance at myself in the mirror. I’ve definitely lost most of the eyeliner on my lower eyelid. 

“You’ve gotta admit, though,” Bec continues. “It was pretty satisfying to watch Principal Crowe get soaked.” 

I glance at her. There’s a small smile on her face, and she’s looking at me strangely. Like hoping I would agree with her. My mind starts racing. 

“The blood,” I say. “Was it a reference to one of your movies?”

“Carrie,” she answers immediately. “A classic. We should watch it sometime.”

“You set up the stage today,” I continue. 

Bec’s eyebrows scrunch together.

“I’m not sure I like where this is going, Park,” she says in a low tone. 

“Was this what you wanted to tell me earlier?” I ask. 

“Was what?”

“Your—your… revenge plot against Principal Crowe!” I exclaim. 

“What are you talking about?” Bec snaps, but there’s a weird look on her face. 

If I had to guess, I’d say it was guilt. I realize how stupid I’ve been. I mean, Bec literally got assigned to work the Bash because of her performative rebellion. And I’d left her unsupervised during most of the setup. 

“I can’t believe it,” I say, shaking my head. 

“Ash, wait,” Bec begins.

I don’t give her the chance to say anything else. I storm out of the bathroom, almost knocking over Fraya. I don’t know if she was eavesdropping or coming to clean up the red punch she’s obviously spilled on her costume. Probably, she spilled it while laughing at my failure. 

“Nice performance, Ash,” she begins in her usual mocking tone. 

I don’t stop to exchange pleasantries. Shelly is still by the stage, triple checking her costume, which is luckily untouched by the fake blood being mopped off the stage. I walk to her and wait for the reprimand. 

“So, that was… unconventional,” Shelly says slowly, looking around. “I mean, officially, I’d say Principal Crowe is upset about not being warned.” She smiles. “But unofficially, it was so satisfying watching that. I mean, the look on her face.” She chuckles. “It’s so not you, Ash, but everyone loved it.”

“Oh,” I say, still bracing for the other shoe to drop. “Yeah… I guess it’s not something I’d usually do. I should’ve warned everyone… but I thought the surprise would be… better.”

“You should see the videos people are posting,” Shelly says with another laugh. “It’s so good. And Principal Crowe probably won’t punish anyone, or she’d look like a bad sport.”

I almost breathe an audible sigh of relief. At least this won’t be the thing that gets Bec expelled. I shake my head. I shouldn’t be worrying about her. Not after she did this without telling me. 

Without meaning to, I glance around. Bec is at the edge of the dance floor, looking at me. Her eyebrows are still scrunched together. I force myself to look away. 

“I’ll see if I can find another mop,” I tell Shelly, who’s already turned her attention to someone else. “And do another lap to make sure everything’s running smoothly.”

The Babes in Black come back on stage to entertain the crowd until the awards can resume. I hear their music on the speakers, the crowd cheering, and people laughing. But my party spirit seems to have left me. I wish the Bash would end already.