“Halloween?”

“Yes, are you doing anything?” I asked Emelia the next time we made our way to her house. It’s worth noting that the pile of junk in the entryway had been moved altogether. She was reading on the couch when we walked in. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail today, which made her look less disheveled. Allison and I scrambled through formalities before I asked her about Halloween.

Her voice said “Not really,” but her tone communicated, “Have you seen my situation? Not exactly throwing house parties here.” Which was fair and deserved.

“Well, now you do! Want to hang out with us?” Allison asked.

#

After visiting Emelia that second time, I filled my weeks playing basketball with classmates and a few freshmen. Allison remained dedicated to doing the unexpected—by leaving me alone. She didn’t insist we visit Emelia or walk home together.

In the chill of late October, I sat down to catch my breath at the end of our game. A freshman (Kevin?) turned to me and asked, “So, who’s that senior you’re always with?”

I was taking a drink of water, grateful I didn’t have to answer right away. That is, until I realized someone else thought that gave him the right to answer for me.

“You haven’t heard about Allison? Think she’s turnin’ our Dani into an apprentice,” Nate Powell, who I have known since junior high, answered.

“Are there any open spots? ’Cause sign me up!” Kevin (?) replied.

“You’re kidding. Her?”

The kid shook his head. “You have no eye for the game. This is why you’re in a year-long dry-spell.”

Nate kicked his leg out. “Shut up, Calvin!”

Ah, it was Calvin. I was close.

“You know you’re talking about her right in front of me, right?” They shrugged. I let it go. Defending against these two wasn’t worth the effort.

Maybe it’s because I’m a fraction above average height and I always keep my hair short, just above my shoulders, but guys my age tended to treat me as “one of the boys,” or something. They always said it like I should be honored by the distinction, too.

I changed the subject. “Halloween’s coming. What about your annual prank?”

I regretted bringing it up as soon as I said it. Nate was one of those people who thinks it’s cool to pull pranks on Halloween. The usual grave vandalizing, graffiti, ding-dong ditch—juvenile stuff like that. Once, in junior high, he convinced me to go egging with him in exchange for borrowing some racing game, but never again. I ignored his attempts after that.

“Oh, I’ve got something cool planned. You can join if you want,” he said.

Calvin shrugged. “Sounds fun.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t some kiddie stuff. You have to prepare your soul.” Nate shoved my foot; I tried to hide my scoffing under coughs. “I heard this story from my brother’s sister’s cousin—”

“Isn’t that just your cousin?” I said.

“Shut up. It sounds cooler this way. Anyway, he goes to the private school on the other side of the city. There's a house on the street next to his where a couple murders took place. They say that one day a man mysteriously died. They couldn't find any proof of homicide, but a couple years later she murdered her only child. She was locked up for life. No one should be living in that house, but every now and then they hear noises and at night they see the ghost of the child wandering in and out of the house looking for the mother.”

My huffed laugh was my body’s natural response to hearing something ridiculous. Then I realized there was something familiar about the (no doubt greatly exaggerated) story. “Wait. What street does your cousin live on?”

“Walton, why?”

Was it being optimistic to hope that Walton being right next to Emelia’s street was just a coincidence? “That’s far. What are you even going to do?”

“Sounds like I have your attention. I’m going to check it out.”

Calvin squinted. “You mean break in?”

Optimism didn’t suit me, anyway. I stood. “This is stupid. I’m out.”

“You’re just scared!” Nate shouted at my back.

“Of being associated with you, yes.” I waved to the others. “Later.”

There was little doubt he was talking about Emelia’s house. I don’t know why, but I was irritated. If Nate did find her, he wouldn’t just scare her to death—he would also blab to the whole school. Then the teachers would find out. If anyone was going to tell the teachers, it would be me. It’s not like I thought he would actually break in. He would probably be dissuaded by the first hint of a locked door—that was the problem, though. There was no lock.

Halloween was a few days away. I would have tried to talk him out of it, but he would just take it as a challenge. Maybe I wanted to keep Emelia’s secret. Maybe I just wanted to make Nate look stupid. But I started to devise a plan.

I sent a text to Allison, asking if she was free. To which she replied, I’m never free, unless there is chocolate. Once we moved past the immaturity, I brought her into my scheme.

That is how I found myself biking up the hill by school, once again.

#

After I explained this story, I was expecting Emelia to start panicking. But she waited for me to continue, eyes already open with trust. Wonder what that’s like.

“He thinks this house is haunted and he’s looking for a thrill. If I try to stop him, he’ll be more determined.” I paused to gauge her reaction again. No change. “So, we’re going to give him what he wants.”

“Huh?” I watched the trust turn to defense. Now that was more like the response I was expecting.

“Nate is the kind of guy that acts tough, but is easily scared. We—I mean, he went egging once and ran off after the third driver started yelling at him. If we play it right, he’ll never come back.”

She looked to Allison. I tried not to be offended that she was where Emelia looked for assurance.

Allison rubbed salt in the wound by saying, “You’re right to question Dani’s intentions. But I wouldn’t be here for anything less than the noblest of goals.” She placed a hand on her heart. Bravo.

“What would we do?” Emelia asked.

I smirked. “To start with, do you have any creaky floorboards in your house?”

#

Halloween for me usually meant a small after-school party with free food. It was the school’s way of cutting down on egging incidents and my way of extending the time I spent away from home. I opted out this year and headed home. I noticed Nate stayed. Probably waiting until dark for dramatic effect. Allison wanted to get something ready early and said we should meet at Emelia’s.

I gathered some stuff from home to take over to the house. I was about to leave when I heard shouting in the living room. I sighed and poked my head in the doorway. Now, as an older sister, I was taken aback when I saw my little brother with swollen eyes and blood dripping down his arms.

“What will the neighbors think? Why can’t you go as a superhero or something like the other good kids?” My mother demanded, arms crossed.

“I don’t want to!” Jay shouted.

“I can’t deal with this.” My mom spotted me as she walked out of the room. “Dani, do something with your little brother. I don’t have time for this.”

She didn’t wait for my protest. I stared forward as she breezed past me. I took my hands out of my pockets and walked over to Jay. “Your costume is scary-realistic. What are you, a zombie?”

“No, I’m a ghost. Amiyah helped me.” He batted my hands away when I picked up strands of goo in his hair.

“Why didn’t you go trick-or-treating with her?”

“Her parents won’t let her.”

“Ah.” I looked out the window. I could probably get to Emelia’s by dark. “Did you really want to go?”

“I just wanted to go with Mom, like we used to. You don’t have to do this just because she said so.” Kids are really good at looking sad. He stared at the floor and all.

I stuffed a hand in my hair. “No, I just—Hey. Do you want to chill with my friends, instead? We’re staging a bit of a haunted house. There’s an opening for the role of a ghost.”

He lifted his head. “You mean with Allison?”

“Yeah, it might be a long ride, but they’d be glad to have you.”

And the smile returned. “Okay!”

I tried to ride with Jay on the back of my bike, which was harder than I thought it would be. We walked half of the way.

When we stepped into Emelia’s house, Allison shouted from inside while leaning against the second door. “You’re late! State your codename so I know you haven’t been compromised!”

I sighed. “Oh Dani Boy.” I looked down at Jay. “With an actual boy.”

Allison swung the door open. “Oh, hey lil’ bro. Lookin’ wicked.”

Jay bounced up. “Thanks!”

“Come on! There’s work to do.” Allison said as she led us into the living room. “They’ll be here any moment!”