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“Brother! May I please go trick-or-treating this year?” asked Flayn.
“No,” replied Seteth.
“Why not?” Flayn responded in annoyance.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“But the other children are allowed to go!” protested Flayn.
“None of them were kidnaped,” explained Seteth.
“What will convince you to allow me to do so too?”
Seteth rested his chin in his hand and thought about what Flayn said. He did feel bad about not letting her enjoy one of the most beloved rituals of the year, but he really did worry about her safety.
“I’ll let you go if three chaperones join you and the other children.”
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” exclaimed Flayn as she hugged Seteth.
“Hello Lysithea,” said Seteth. “I’m here to let you know that you’ll have two other chaperones joining you while trick-or-treating today.”
“Two…other…chaperones?” asked Lysithea as she tried to hide her nervousness.
“Yes, after Flayn was kidnapped, I figured it was best for there to be more people to provide more safety,” explained Seteth.
Lysithea’s heart raced due to nervousness. Halloween was the one day of the week where she didn’t have to completely hide her affinity for sweets or fear of ghosts. Acting as a chaperone for the trick-or-treating children gave her access to candy and allowed her to act scared by the Halloween costumes in front of people who wouldn’t judge her for it. But going with two other chaperones would expose her secret love of sweets to people who she tried to keep it a secret from at all costs. Still, the thought of the sweets overtook her worries. Plus, her fellow chaperones would probably see it as her getting in the Halloween spirit.
“Very well,” she said. “Who will the other chaperones be?”
Lysithea walked through the streets with Flayn, the other kids, and her two fellow chaperones: Raphael and Ignatz. Lysithea was dressed as a witch, Raphael as a pirate, Ignatz as a tree, and Flayn as a fairy. Things were going alright, although Lysithea did get annoyed by her fellow chaperones more than a few times. Raphael really got into his pirate motif and was playfully letting out “arghs” to people who talked to him. Ignatz would constantly compliment people’s costumes, but he wouldn’t give out simple compliments. He would give elaborate ones that commented on the fine details and technicalities of their costumes. This made Lysithea want to curl up and hide under something, but she was still determined to get as much candy as possible. Soon they arrived at their first house. They rang the doorbell and a woman dressed in Victorian era clothes answered it.
“Trick or treat!” exclaimed the group.
“Aren’t you all just the cutest!” exclaimed the woman as she handed out the bowl. “Here, have some candy!”
The trick or treaters all grabbed some candy except for one of them. Lysithea stared at the bowl hesitantly. She still didn’t feel right grabbing candy with Raphael and Ignatz around.
“Excuse me. Little girl with white hair in the witch costume, don’t you want some candy?”
‘I am NOT a little girl!’ snapped Lysithea in her head. ‘I’m 15 years old! I tutor the hulking lunkhead standing next to me in every subject except phys ed!’
She knew that saying that would just make things more awkward though. Instead, she said that she was just waiting for everyone else to grab their share first. She then took some for herself.
The woman who answered the door smiled.
“Well aren’t you a considerate young lady,” she said.
Lysithea wasn’t expecting to hear that, but she wasn’t complaining.
“Thank you,” Lysithea replied.
The trick or treaters then thanked the woman and said their goodbyes before heading to their next house. Everyone was feeling good.
“Oh, this really is a most wondrous experience!” declared Flayn.
“Yeah! Why can’t Halloween be every night?” asked Raphael.
“Well it wouldn’t be so special then,” said Ignatz.
“Besides, sweets should only be eaten in moderation,” added Lysithea, although she secretly wouldn’t mind if Halloween happened more often. Maybe once a month or so.
Across town in another, rougher neighborhood, a group of kids stood before Kronya in a vacant lot. Kronya had told them to meet her there for a cool surprise.
“Hey kids, do you want to do something fun?” asked Kronya.
“Yeah!” cheered the kids.
“Alright then! Follow me!” said Kronya.
She led the kids to her stockpile of eggs, shaving cream, and toilet paper that were hidden in an abandoned car. The kids looked at it in awe.
“You’ve been told your whole lives to not make messes,” said Kronya. “But tonight, you’re going to be making them. Vandalism is a complex art form, but we’ll just stick with the basics for now.”
With that, Kronya and the kids began causing vast amounts of mischief throughout the area. Some people target other people that they know and have a bad history with. Other people target strangers to reduce their chances of being recognized. Kronya targeted any building that she came across. She was bold too. Sometimes, she’d wait until the homeowners were distracted by trick or treaters before she led her group to vandalize the house. She’d even have the kids in her group be the trick or treaters while she did the vandalism alone.
However, like a lot of delinquents, Kronya eventually got overly confident. And with overconfidence, comes carelessness. At one point, she didn’t even bother checking to see if there was anybody around to see the vandalism. It turned out that there was a cop in his cruiser within plain sight, but Kronya didn’t even bother to turn her head ninety degrees. The cop was Officer Gilbert Pronislav, and he was not in the mood to let a bunch of troublemakers get away with causing a major mess. He got out of his car and approached the group.
“Excuse me, what are you kids doing with all that stuff?” he asked.
Kronya internally panicked. She couldn’t tell the cop the truth, so she had to come up with a good lie and fast. Luckily for her, lying was something she could do as easily as brushing her teeth.
“We were dropping off some supplies for the people who live here,” explained Kronya.
“Eggs, shaving cream, and toilet paper?” asked Gilbert. “That’s an odd combination.”
“I’ve worked in a grocery store for years,” said Kronya. "People have bought far stranger combinations of items.”
Gilbert nodded. As a police officer, he’s seen people do some strange things. Still, it seems a little too unbelievable that the group of kids in front of him weren’t planning on vandalizing a house. He decides to not call Kronya’s bluff just yet though.
“Who lives here?” asked Gilbert.
“It’s not professional to divulge that information,” said Kronya without an ounce of hesitation.
“You make a fair point,” said Gilbert. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I watched them pick up their goods from where my cruiser is parked.”
“We don’t mind at all,” said Kronya. “Come on kids, let’s deliver these items.”
She discreetly winks at the kids and they understand that she’s lying to fool the cop. Kronya knocks on the door and Catherine answers it. She’s dressed in a knight costume with a fake sword attached to her costume’s belt.
“Hello ma’am,” said Kronya with the utmost confidence. “Here are the items you ordered.”
Catherine looks at her with a confused look.
“I don’t remember ordering any of these things,” she said. “Shamir! Did you order eggs, shaving cream, and toilet paper?”
“We got pranked, Catherine,” called back Shamir from another part of the house. “Someone ordered those things online and used her house as the address.”
“Sorry kids, but it looks like someone was pulling a trick,” said Catherine. “I wish they would at least do one that requires leaving your house. Would you kids like some treats?”
Catherine reached for a basket near the inside of the house near the door and held it out for Kronya and the kids. It was full of healthy food like apples and granola bars. Kronya and the kids were taken back by the sight.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass,” said Kronya. “I like those foods, but it’s Halloween. It’s supposed to be an excuse to eat junk food.”
“You can’t out exercise an unhealthy diet,” explained Catherine. “But since it’s Halloween, I’ll give you a deal. If you get some exercise in, I’ll give you some candy.”
Kronya, and the kids, determined to get something out of stopping at this house all agree.
“Alright then, everyone give me fifty jumping jacks!” ordered Catherine.
Kronya and the kids did as Catherine told them. After they finished, Catherine called out to Shamir to bring out the candy. Shamir arrived at the door holding a basket of candy. She was dressed in a Robin Hood costume and had her usual stoic expression on her face.
“I don’t see why we can’t just hand out candy in the first place,” said Shamir as she held out the basket.
“It tastes better if you work for it,” said Catherine.
With their candy collected, Kronya and her group of protege vandals thanked Catherine and Shamir and wished them goodbye. Gilbert, who had seen the whole interaction, couldn’t help but smile. The house wasn’t vandalized, the kids got some exercise, and they got candy. It went a lot better than he thought it would go.