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Kicking the front door closed behind her, Ty Lee hops out of her sneakers and skips through the house, dropping her backpack onto the floor.
On the spookiest night of the year, she’s chosen to forgo all the parties and mischief—her only plans involve a big bowl of popcorn and a scary movie. (But nothing too scary, or she’ll wake up screaming every night for the next month.)
Passing the front windows, something catches the corner of her eye: a man out on the sidewalk, facing her house from across the lawn and brandishing a kitchen knife. A white hockey mask hides his face, but he ducks behind the bushes before she can step closer to the open window for a better look.
“Is someone there?” Ty Lee calls out. She scopes out the dark neighborhood street, watching the wind drag dry leaves across the pavement, loud and scratchy. A few houses nearby have their porch lights on, but it’s not enough to see much.
“I guess my eyes were just playing tricks on me!” she announces to the bushes. “I sure hope I’m not wrong, because I think I forgot to lock the door!”
With a spring in her step and not a worry on her mind, Ty Lee bounds out to the kitchen. She digs through the pantry for a bag of popcorn and pops it into the microwave for a few minutes. While listening to the pleasant hum, she glimpses a white hockey mask again—this time out in the backyard.
“Who’s there?!”
The figure disappears behind the shed without a word or sound, leaving Ty Lee peering through the kitchen window at nothing. Tree branches sway in the wind and her mom’s pinwheels make a fluttering noise as they spin, but no one answers.
“It would be a real big bummer if someone was lurking out there, waiting for a chance to kill me! After all, I’m just a ditzy, unobservant girl who’s home alone for the night! I wouldn’t stand a chance!”
Letting her popcorn finish in the microwave, Ty Lee cartwheels out of the kitchen and back down the hall. She climbs the stairs two at a time, hurrying up to the second floor landing. By the time she reaches the threshold of her room, she can hear the distinct sound of the front door opening and footsteps downstairs.
“Uh oh! If there’s a super scary serial killer inside the house, I’m in big trouble! I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that bosomy girls always get stabbed while they’re changing clothes!”
Putting herself in mortal danger, Ty Lee turns her back to the door. She takes her time removing her pink sweater, humming a careless tune as she unfastens each button. Footfalls approach on the stairs as she tosses the sweater onto the bed and reaches for the hem of her blouse, slowly pulling it over her head.
Once that’s discarded, she reaches behind her back for her bra clasp—only to be interrupted by heavy breathing coming from directly behind her.
As the straps go slack, Ty Lee throws an arm over her chest and turns to see a knife descending towards her collarbone, wielded by the man in the hockey mask.
“EEEEEEEEEEEK!!!”
🔪 🔪 🔪
“So…you really weren’t scared?”
“Nope!”
“Not even a little bit?”
“Not a bit!”
“Aw, seriously?”
Ty Lee smirks as she snuggles closer to her boyfriend, reaching over the blanket to grab another kernel of popcorn. She answers his silly pout with a peck on the lips, which instantly lightens his mood.
“Because those scary movies are super unrealistic!” she explains, nodding to the horror flick playing on the TV. “Those crazy slasher guys are always stabbing jerks and jocks—and cheerleaders, like me! The jerks and jocks I understand, but not even a psycho serial killer would want to ruin these!”
As she gestures to her own chest, Sokka’s mouth splits into a grin. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he kisses her cheek, shrugging lightly.
“Guess I’ll just have to aim lower next time.”
Under the blanket, his plastic retractable knife pokes the side of her ribs, and she breaks out in a fit of giggles.