Halloween was on a Saturday, so Lyric took her time getting ready. She must have spent twenty minutes on her hair alone, making sure the little snowflake sparkles were in precisely the right places. Another hour, and nearly a full package of makeup wipes later, her makeup was good to go.

Pleased with herself, she glided down the stairs at 3:30. Her parents were there, setting up the bowls of candy for trick-or-treaters. They both stopped to look at her.

“There’s our ice queen.” Her dad grinned.

Lyric laughed. “Snow queen.” She corrected. “Frozen is based on The Snow Queen. Ice queen, or ice princess, is an insult directed at girls who push people away.”

“Sounds pretty accurate, then.” Her mom commented with crossed arms.

Lyric felt a stab of guilt in her chest. She had hoped they hadn’t noticed how little time she spent at home. She tried to think of something to say, but her mouth was dry. What could she say that wouldn’t hurt them even more?

“Let her be.” Her dad came to her rescue. “She’s enjoying a social life before school get’s too demanding. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Lyric’s mom didn’t seem convinced, but she sighed and turned back to the bowls of candy. Lyric thought of telling her it was too early to be worried about trick-or-treaters, but she was afraid of pushing her mom more.

“Do you have plans for tonight?” Her dad asked, hanging a lame looking spider over the door.

“Michael and I are going to the rink.” It was the truth, and she was grateful that she could give them that. Luke had to work, so they had agreed to hang out there so that they could all enjoy Halloween together.

Her dad nodded. “Rick told me about the costume skate.” He tried to put up a fake cobweb, but only managed to tangle up his hands. “Are you bringing your skates?”

“No.” She didn’t bother telling him that the skates she had didn’t fit her anymore, and hadn’t for a few years now. “We’re just going to hang out there. People watch.”

“Let us know if you see any neat costumes.”

“Will do.” Through the open door, she saw Michael’s car pull up the driveway. “Bye.” She waved to her parents as she ran out the door.

“Wait!” Her mom cried after her. “Where’s your coat?”

“The cold never bothered me anyway!” She yelled back with a grin. Who cared if it was a major lie? It was fun to quote the movie.

Michael grinned as she got into the car. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks. So do you, in a Halloween way.” She took in his tattered brown jacket and ghoulish face paint. After much discussion, she had convinced him not to be a football player in hockey equipment. Instead, he was Jason from Friday the 13th.

On the drive to the rink, they went back and forth quoting the two movies. Mixing Frozen and Friday the 13th was not something Lyric ever wanted to imagine again.

The arena was already packed with families. Small children ran around everywhere, and as soon as Lyric walked in, she was swarmed by little girls in princess dresses and ballerina tutus. Maybe her costume was too good.

“Elsa! Elsa!” There was one girl dressed as Anna, and her face was glowing with excitement.

The girl’s parents swooped in and picked her up before she could attempt to climb Lyric’s dress. “Your costume is spot on.” The girl’s mom complimented.

“Thank you.” Lyric smiled at them.

The girl whispered something in her dad’s ear. The dad smiled apologetically at Lyric. “She wants to get a picture with you.”

“No problem.” Lyric grinned. This was why she loved Halloween. It wasn’t the candy, but the costumes that made the day fun, and when people asked for a photo of your costume, that was the highest compliment possible.

Lyric posed with the little girl and her parents took photos. Then about a dozen other kids also wanted photos. It took over half an hour before Lyric was done with her princess duties and she and Michael could find Luke.

He was laughing as they approached the concession stand. “I guess I should have warned you it would all be kids obsessed with Frozen.”

Lyric shrugged. “I don’t mind.” She nodded at Luke’s attire. “It turned out great, don’t you think?”

He self consciously tugged at the shirt. “Yeah, I love it.”

Lyric beamed at her success. Then Luke turned to the side to get a hotdog for someone and Lyric noticed something.

When sewing on the sequins, she must have accidentally bunched the material a bit, because Luke’s profile had a strange curve to it. She bit her tongue before she could mention it, but made a mental note to offer to fix the mistake before his competition.