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Friday, October 31, 2003: 7:30 p.m.
The full yellow moon shined bright in the clear black sky. The kids below the Lafayette residence were trekking with their candy bags, yelling ‘Trick or Treat!’ after ringing the doorbell. It was Halloween after all, so why wasn’t Genevieve apart of the crowd?
Well, Luka gets pretty skeptical, but it became more prominent this year. While watching the news half asleep the other day, the TV broadcasted some warnings about candy being tampered with, and theres hidden needles and glass shards shoved into chocolate bars and candy boxes. That made him sit up immediately, and he watched the whole thing through. After the broadcast finished and moved onto different news unrelated to Halloween, he decided that it was best to cancel Trick or Treating this year, but he didn’t tell Genevieve until this day.
Hyuna doesn’t seem to mind those candy scares, as she usually cuts them open and check, then give it to Genevieve afterwards.
Now, Hyuna and Luka were in the kitchen preparing dinner, which was udon and salmon. With caviar…Luka still didn’t tell Genevieve about him canceling Trick or Treating. Meanwhile, the trio were in Genevieve’s room, finishing up the rest of their costumes. They were dressing up as the Heathers. Genevieve being Heather C., Drew being Heather M., and Chloe being Heather D.
“K guys I’m gonna get some water. Brb!”
Genevieve reminded Drew and Chloe before leaving her room to tell Luka and Hyuna that they were ready. She took a couple steps out of her room before meeting face to face with the ‘NO SLANG ALLOWED!!!’ Poster Luka put up a few months ago. She grimaced and shook her head as her red heels clicked down the stairs. That was when she noticed Luka and Hyuna preparing dinner.
*Why are they making dinner at this hour… and why does it look so filling…* Genevieve thought to herself. Luka and Hyuna never made dinner before trick or treating, they would always make dinner after they went back.
*and why the hell is dad wearing his Sacramento sweater…and pj shorts…He would NEVER wear that to go out. Mom too. Why is she in a nightgown and robe…with no makeup…Something seems wrong. VERY wrong.*
She viewed them busying themselves cutting veggies, slicing mushrooms, dumping udon in the pot, taking their sweet old time. She slowly made her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen.
“Dad?”
Luka was too concentrated to respond back.
“Daad?”
”Hm?” Luka answered, but his main focus was dicing the scallions at the moment.
”So, we’re going out right? To y’know, get some candy?”
Genevieve smiled nervously, hoping that he just forgot and would change immediately.
”No.” Luka responded flatly, scooping up the scallions with his hands and dropping them in the already boiling noodles.
“W-wait, what do you mean?” Genevieve flinched. She couldn’t believe what she just heard.
*Plus why is he speaking English to me? He barely does this. Is this serious?* She thought to herself again, fidgeting her fingers.
“We’re not going tonight.”
“Why…”
”It’s for your own safety. They’re putting needles and glass in candy now. Teenagers these days…” Luka sighed and stopped what he was doing and rolled his eyes, now facing Genevieve while leaning on the counter.
”Jenny dear…I know there’s a lot of candy scares from the past, but this one’s really bad. We just don’t want anything happening to our baby…” Hyuna chimed in, placing both hands on counter, then on Luka’s waist to hug him. She really did want Genevieve to go with her friends, but she was equally as paranoid as Luka.
Luka nodded in agreement before turning his head to kiss Hyuna on the lips and chuckled.
”Genevieve, we love you. We can’t afford to lose you.” Luka added once more to what Hyuna said before going back to preparing dinner with her. All Genevieve could do was stand there, still in a state of confusion and disbelief.
”Oh, Jenny! Can you turn put a vinyl on for me? I don’t wanna contaminate them.” Hyuna requested right as Genevieve was about to turn around and storm back to her room.
Genevieve was so pissed, but she had to comply.
*Glass in candy my ass. They were lacing them back in 1978, so why is he out of all people making a fuss about this?*
Genevieve muttered to herself while skimming through the vinyl drawer. She just chose one at random. It was some soft 1970s music. After that, she stormed up to her room, her red heels clanking aggressively on the ceramic stairs.
Meanwhile, Drew and Chloe were fixing their hair and makeup with Genevieve’s closet mirror, still waiting for an answer. Abruptly, Genevieve swung the door open and shut it behind her, leaning back against it.
”So…What they say?” Drew turned around.
”They canceled it.” Genevieve crossed her arms.
”WHAT?!” Both Drew and Chloe exclaimed in unison. All Genevieve could do was nod her head.
“They can’t do that! Halloween is like a tradition! They can’t just cancel traditions like that! It’s like canceling Christmas! If they can’t cancel Christmas why should they CANCEL Halloween?!” Chloe muffled in her hands. She was in a spiral.
”Chloe. They’re Christian. What makes you think they can cancel Christmas?” Drew had to remind her.
”It’s not about that. It’s just some stupid fear mongering crap about glass being in candy.” Genevieve explained in annoyance.
”Are you…kidding me…” Drew and Chloe said in unison once more, slowly turning their heads toward Genevieve. To them, that was one of the stupidest reasons to why he cancelled Halloween.
”Now what do we do?” Genevieve sighed. This was the first time Halloween was cancelled. Plus, it’s also surprising that Hyuna also agreed with him.
The three of them now sat on the floor in silence, pondering on what their alternative plan should be.
“Have you ever done a ritual before?” Chloe suddenly asked, abruptly breaking the silence that shrouded the room. Drew and Genevieve side eyed her, as they thought she only said that to compensate for the silence.
”Chloe. You know my parens don’t play about shit like that…”
”Yeah Chloe what the hell…”
”Wait guys stay with me now.” Chloe tried to get their attention.
”Okay fine, what do you wanna say?” Drew sighed, preparing for the bullshit that was about to come out of Chloe’s mouth.
”So! I was on the library computer scrolling through some websites because I did not wanna do my homework, then I ran into some sketchy looking website, and like I clicked it, and it was a bunch of sleepover rituals!”
”…”
Drew and Genevieve looked at each other, then back at Chloe.
”And AND, there was this one that I found that we should totally do. Oh my gosh Jennie your dad’s gonna be SO pissed!” Chloe squealed with excitement.
”…Go on” Drew sat upright this time.
“Okay, uhh. So basically it’s to summon a spirit that mainly targets French people. I’m not even lying that’s what it said.”
As soon as she mentioned French people, Genevieve, who was slipping into a deep sleep, immediately sprung up and widened her eyes.
”Oh so now you’re awake?” Chloe noticed Genevieve staring directly at her.
”Keep. Going. Now.” Genevieve stared into her soul.
”Okay okay so uh, my memory’s kinda shitty but I’ll try and remember most of the steps.”
”Stop stalling and tell us already!” Both Drew and Genevieve yelled in unison, seeming agitated. They really needed to cure that boredom of theirs and pass the time.
“Okay fine! We need the lights off, a candle on, a glass of water, incense burned, and a strand of hair from everyone.”
“That seems pretty easy…” Drew added
“Including Mr. and Mrs. Lafayette.”
“oh…”
”How are we gonna do that though?” Genevieve doubted. She knows that Luka was going to suspect something was going on if she just pulled a strand of hair from the two of them.
”Just say it’s for science. Here what if I do it? I’ll go right now.” Chloe stood up and headed for the bedroom door.
”Chloe wait-“
”Everything okay?”
Just as soon as Chloe was about to open the door, it swung the other way, nearly aiming for her face. It was Luka who was on the other side of the door. Chloe froze in shock, since he was about to bust her nose.
”Oh hey. Yeah, we’re fine.” Drew then realized that this was a great opportunity to get that strand of hair, so her eyes were fixated on Chloe, signaling that she had to do it.
Chloe, who finally recovered from the sudden shock, glanced at Drew, who was staring back at her. At first, she didn’t know why she was staring so harshly at her, until she realized that they still had to continue the ritual, and they needed the hair strands.
“Hey Mr. Lafayette, where’s the water? I’m like so thirsty right now.” Chloe fanned herself with her hand, chuckling out of nervousness, hiding it with a forced smile.
”It should be in the kitchen no? Want me to get you a glass?” Luka insisted, leaning against the doorframe.
”Oh no it’s fine. Totally fine.” Chloe made it quick, and immediately went out the door. As she left, she managed to pluck a strand out of Luka’s collarbone length hair. Now she needed Hyuna’s. This one was more difficult as she kept moving around, sorting through pots, pans, and other cooking utensils, each on different parts of the counter.
As Chloe made her way down the stairs, she saw Hyuna carry on with her tasks like the usual. She gulped, clutching Luka’s hair strand in her fist. She quietly shuffled her way from the living room to the kitchen, making sure that no sound is produced. When she finally reached the kitchen, she tiptoed towards Hyuna, who was adding some light seasoning to the veggie salad, and reached for the longest hair strands she could find.
“This is a piece of cake.” Chloe initially thought to herself.
”Hm? Chloe, what do you need dear?”
Hyuna abruptly turned around and looked down at Chloe. Chloe quickly put her hand behind her back to not raise any suspicion.
”Water. That’s all.” Chloe smiled once more. Again to not make her feel skeptical. Hyuna sighed and pointed to the water dispenser next to the counter. Chloe thanked her, but she wasn’t there for water. She was there for that hair strand.
Hyuna went back to seasoning and stirring the veggie salad. Noticing that she was now focused on the food once more, she swiftly pulled a strand out of Hyuna’s hair, and remembered that she also needed the glass of water, so she headed towards the dispenser to get water. She clutched both strands in her fist, ran up the stairs to Genevieve’s room, and slammed the door shut.
“Got the goodies” Chloe dragged a book that was lying in Genevieve’s room, and placed the two hair strands and glass of water on it. They all plucked their own stands and placed it on the pile.
”Okay the last two should be easy. I have a candle and incense. It’s somewhere in my room so don’t worry about side quests.” Genevieve stood up and took the candle off her vanity, placing it next to the book. She pulled a pink lighter out of her drawer, then opened the side of her closet where clutter is typically stored. She went on her tippy toes to get her lavender scented incense off the shelf.
”Okay Chloe. Lead the way.” Drew finally spoke after waiting for so long.
“First step. Lights out.” Genevieve got up and turned off her lamp light, leaving the city lights and their only light source.”
“Now what?” Genevieve retreated back to her sitting spot.
”Okay I know this sounds weird, but the next step is that we all have to take a sip out of that glass cup.” Chloe pointed to the flower printed cup. Genevieve grimaced at that step. She never really shared a drink with anybody.
“Ew! I’m not doing that-“
“Genevieve do you wanna continue this ritual or not?” Drew solicited her, already feeling impatient.
”Okay fine! I’m not consuming anyone’s spit so I’m going first.”
Genevieve quickly picked up the glass of water and hastily chugged it, putting it down a second later.
”Drew.” Genevieve eyed her and leaned her head towards the cup. Drew sighed and took a sip of the cup, leaving it a quarter full. The rest was for Chloe. She didn’t seem to mind because she always shared utensils and cups with her family.
”Jenny, light the candle up.” Genevieve leaned in and lit up the candle with the lighter on Chloe’s command.
“Now, the incense, then we get to the real deal.” Chloe’s hand crept towards that same lighter, igniting the top, watching the smoke climb and dissolve towards the ceiling.
”Okay, now we have to sit around the candle, hold hands, and chant.” Chloe put down the lighter and flipped her hair out of the way.
“Finally” Drew rolled her eyes and scooted towards the book where the incense and candle were placed.
“Now, what do we chant?”
”Uhh…” Chloe paused. She forgot what the website said when it came to the chant. Sh was so hyper-focused on the steps she didn’t even bother to look at the chanting spell.
”Chloe, did you forget?” Genevieve turned her head towards her.
“…Maybe…” Chloe smiled nervously.
”Oh my God, Chloe, do you at least remember what some of the words were?” Drew muttered to herself, pinching her nose bridge.
”I don’t know…the only words I could remember were baguettes, Eiffel Tower, and Paris.”
”Is that all we say?” Drew crossed her arms.
”I know it’s stupid but yeah. We do. Now let’s just get this shit over with I’m starving.” Chloe held Drew and Genevieve’s hand, and Drew held Genevieve’s. They closed their eyes and chanted all those three words about fifteen times.
“Okay, now what?” Genevieve whispered to Chloe, opening one eye.
”Now, there should be side effects, affected person may be random BUT, when they’re chosen, they’ll start sneezing like crazy, and they may come down with some really bad cold. Also their appetite may increase due to the chanting of baguette fifteen times.”
”Hmph, like that’s even gonna happen-“
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
”Girls! Dinner’s ready!”
Before Drew could finish her sentence, someone was knocking on the door. It was Luka. Again
”Ugh finally!” Chloe immediately stood up, swung the door open, and made her way downstairs to the dining room, leaving Genevieve and Drew behind.
”So, you two coming to eat or not? Food’s not going to eat itself you know~” Luka raised an eyebrow at the two, still holding the doorknob.
“We’ll be there. Just give us a minute.” Genevieve stood up and dusted her skirt.
”Alright then.” Luka let go of the doorknob and moseyed his way down the stairs, leaving the door open.
“Whoever gets sick from this mess it has to be either my dad or Chloe, especially Chloe since she dragged us into this.”
Genevieve whispered to Drew, who equally felt the same as Genevieve.
At the dining room:
*At the dining room, things seemed pretty normal. Everyone enjoyed the food like the usual. I mean, who wouldn’t like it. The Lafayettes were known not just for their good looks, but also for their good cooking. That was until something happened.*
”Achoo!” Luka sneezed and sniffled, but still continued eating anyway.
”Bless you.” Everyone said in unison. None of them seemed to be concerned about it.
“Aaa…aaaCHOO” Chloe was next. Drew and Genevieve stopped eating and slowly turned their heads towards Chloe.
She looked at them in confusion since her mind was all on the food. “What?”
”The ritual…” Genevieve mouthed, seeming more worried.
“Oh that? It’s probably not real don’t worry about it.” Chloe shuffled in her seat, slurping the udon noodles.
”Worry about what?” Chloe forgot that Luka was next to her. He stopped eating for a while and looked at Chloe warily.
“Nothing.” Chloe shook her head and picked on the salad with her fork, hoping that Luka would not interrogate any further.
”No. What are you worrying about, and what’s not real? Are you three hiding something?” Luka raised an eyebrow, looking more apprehensive. Hyuna also stopped eating to eavesdrop on what was going on.
Now, all eyes were on the three of them. Both of them put their forks down and studied them. Hyuna leaned back and crossed her arms, while Luka folded his hands together on the table, demanding an answer from them.
That was when Luka realized when he opened the door to call them for dinner, the lights were off. He pushed back his chair and left the dining room, making urgent strides to Genevieve’s room.
”Dad! Wait!” Genevieve echoed from the distance, sprinting behind Luka.
”Please dad I can explain, we just wanted to have fun.” Genevieve trailed behind him, trying to convince him not to investigate her room more.
“Vous croyez vraiment que jouer avec le diable est amusant tous les trois?” (You think messing with the devil is fun to you three?) Luka scoffed while he opened the room door, taking a good look at the remnants of the ritual. Just by looking at it made him rethink his decision of becoming a parent.
Meanwhile, Hyuna was questioning Drew and Chloe more about the ritual downstairs.
”So, all three of you decided to risk our lives for some silly little ritual hm?” Hyuna started daggers at them. They’ve never seen her this serious before. Drew and Chloe hung their heads low in silence.
”I don’t know if your parents believe in what, demons or whatever, but in this house, you two should know not to mess with stuff like that. Ever. Got it.” Hyuna glared at them. Before they could respond, Chloe sneezed so loud her chair shifted back a little. Drew looked at her as she bit her lip anxiously.
“Shit the symptoms are showing…” Drew thought to herself. She didn’t think that the ritual would work, but on the wrong person. Chloe said that the ritual targeted French people, and Chloe wasn’t French. She’s half Irish. How is that possible? Unless she has some French in her.
”Je ne veux rien entendre, Geneviève, tu es dans de beaux draps.” (I don’t want to hear it Genevieve, you’re in big trouble.)
“Dad please, it’s not real just trust me!” Tears were streaming down her face.
“Je m’en fiche…ACHOO!” (I don’t care.) Luka sneezed once more. This time it was louder than the other one, and his nose became stuffy
”Oh no the side effects…” Genevieve wiped her tears, eyes widening in shock. She too also thought the ritual also didn’t work.
“Ah, alors maintenant, il y a une malèdiction aussi, hein?” (Oh so now there’s a curse too huh?)
“Well, um, maybe it’s the dust levels in this room. Man it sure is stuffy in here I think I should be heading to the bathroom now hehe.”
“Arrêtes tes conneries, tu sais quoi? Tu es puni. Ne tergiverse pas et ne trouve pas d’excuses bidon. (Miss me with that bullshit you know what? You’re grounded. Don’t stall or make stupid excuses.)
“J’ai joué avec le feu et maintenant je dois en subir les conséquences? Génial. Tout simplement.” (Messing with demons and now I have to suffer? How great. Just wonderful.) Luka stormed out the room, not giving a damn about what Genevieve had to say.
Back downstairs, Chloe and Drew were trying their all to make Hyuna stop questioning them, but she wouldn’t stop. That was when Luka finally came back to the dining room, ready to present his answer.
“They had a ritual. Now I have to suffer from the hands of three curious teenagers.” Luka sniffled, wiping his nose with his sweater sleeve.
”My God we should’ve taken them trick or treating.” Luka stormed towards the kitchen to grab some tissues to blow his nose. All Hyuna could do was sigh and look at Drew and Chloe, shaking her head. Chloe sneezed again before rubbing her red nose.
”So it got to you too huh?” Hyuna asked Chloe.
”Yeah…”
“Well deserved.” Hyuna picked up her fork and took a bite out of her salad, not wanting to deal with any more ritual related things.
That was how the Lafayettes had to spend the rest of their Halloween.