The Halloween Party
By Melanie Brown
Copyright © 2006
"Don't be
such a pussy, Ron," Gary Kleinman said from the entrance of my spacious
cubicle.
Frowning I
said, "Gary, look...I'm just not much of a party person, okay?" I
put down the sports section of the newspaper I was looking at, realizing it
would be a minute or two before I could get back to it.
I’ll admit
it. I’ve always been something of a social outcast. I’m an introvert and very
uncomfortable in social situations. I think I’ve been on two dates in my whole
life.
Joanne
McClarity popped her head over the top of my wall, where my Dallas Cowboys
Cheerleaders calendar was hanging. Playing with the paperclip I used to hang
the calendar, she said, "You're not going to the Halloween party?
Everybody goes to that! It's always a lot of fun!"
Joanne, Gary
and I, along with about eight other employees, all lived at the same apartment
complex. In fact, right after I hired on with the company and moved to this
town, Joanne suggested I get an apartment there. I think they were looking for
a new carpool buddy. But I enjoyed riding my motorcycle too much. Maybe after
the cold weather settled in…
Gary asked,
"You weren't here last year, were you?"
"No,"
I said. "I was hired last May, remember?"
Gary laughed.
"You missed it man. It was funnier than hell."
Joanne scowled
and said, "Don't tell that story, Gary. Joseph almost got fired and it
really isn't funny." Joseph Youngman is our CIO. As near as I can
figure, he's CIO only because he's an old college chum of our CEO, Michael
Stone. I don't think he even knows how to change the wallpaper on his
computer's desktop.
Gary laughed
again and said, "No, wait. It's great. Youngman was so drunk he somehow
managed to trip and fall right in front of where Stone's wife was sitting. And
then he somehow managed to get his head up inside her skirt and right on her
privates. Joe says..." Gary starts laughing again. "...Joe says,
'Hey, I'm suddenly hungry for tuna!'" Gary laughs so hard at the memory,
his eyes tear up.
I glanced at
Joanne, who was frowning, and then to Gary who was still chuckling and wiping
his eye. I said flatly, "That's a real knee-slapper, Gary." And
then with a little more sarcasm in my voice I said, "And to think I missed
all that hilarity."
Jerry Rushing,
whose main goal in life is to convert everyone to his religion – Linux –
stopped by my cubicle and said to Gary, “Are you telling that story about
Youngman again? That’s a hoot, huh? God was he drunk.” He looked around a
second and asked, “Are you guys having a meeting?”
Joanne said,
“Actually, we were trying to talk our network guru here to come to the
Halloween party next week.”
Jerry
inexplicably glanced at his watch and asked, “Oh. Is that next week?”
Gary said,
“That it is. You comin’?”
Jerry nodded
and said, “Probably. Hey, did any of you guys tape Survivor last
night? I was tweaking my system and rebuilt my kernel and I forgot all about
it.”
After a chorus
of “No, sorry…,” Jerry looked sad for a moment, and then said to me, “Oh,
Daniels. You should definitely go to the party. And those chicks from
Accounting really get wild.”
“Seriously,
Ron,” said Joanne. “You should go. It’d give you a chance to socialize with
the rest of us.”
I really
didn’t want to go. I’d lost interest in Halloween somewhere around the age of
twelve. Dressing up as a pirate, or a ghost, or a Frankenstein monster
definitely didn’t appeal to me now that I was twenty-four.
My age was a
joke too. I’m still somewhat baby-faced. Just last week, while wandering
through the cube farm on the fourth floor trying to find a particular office to
trouble-shoot a network problem, a woman came up to me and asked if I was
looking for one of my parents. When I first interviewed for the job, our
department manager told me he wasn’t interested in hiring any high school
interns.
I said, “Well,
guys…you know...like I said, I’m not much of a party person.” I didn’t want to
sound too anti-social so I added, “Besides, I wouldn’t have a clue what kind of
costume, except for maybe an early twenty-first century Earth human?”
Joanne just
shook her head and said, “Philip in H.R. did that last year. He took some flak
for that.”
Gary chuckled
and walked across my office and tapped my calendar. He said, “How about that?
We haven’t had a guy show up as a cheerleader in a few years. With your
physique, you could probably be pretty convincing.”
Joanne’s face
brightened. She said, “Hey yeah! You’re young and thin enough that you’d make
a cute cheerleader. A few years ago, Ralph from the mailroom dressed like a
cheerleader. He looked like a linebacker in cheerleader uniform. It was
hilarious. Before that was…uh…who was that…about five years ago. Oh, it was
Larry. He was a cute cheerleader too. His name is Laura now and
he’s…she…married some guy and is living in California somewhere.”
I glanced back
and forth between Joanne and Gary and said, “Well, that definitely sounds like
a really bad idea then. Come on guys, I got work to do.” I started to pick up
the sports page again.
Joanne said,
“Oh, come on, Ron! It’ll be a hoot! Me and some of the girls would just love
to help you with your make-up. I think you’d look really cute! You might even
win the annual costume contest.”
Gary laughed a
moment. His face then turned serious as he said, “You know, Ron. You really
should go to this party. I mean, it’s being noticed that you don’t socialize
with any of us. You don’t go to lunch with anybody, or out for
Friday-after-work beers…”
Frowning, I
interrupted and said, “Gary, I’ve told you before, I don’t drink alcohol. And
I’m a very private person. It’s still a free country, isn’t it?”
Joanne said,
“Please consider it, okay?”
“Okay, okay.
I’ll give it some thought,” I said.
Gary said,
“You really should. And trust me on this, Ron. If you go with the cheerleader
outfit, the chicks will be all over you, wanting to help you with your make-up
and instruct you how to sit and all that.”
“Speaking from
personal experience?” I asked.
“No!” howled
Gary. To Joanne he asked, “Am I wrong? Or am I wrong?”
Joanne giggled
as Gary’s face flushed red. Looking back down at me she said, “The girls will
probably fuss over you. If you look as good as I think you will, you might
have some of the guys fussing over you as well. Especially Gary. He’s got a
thing for cheerleaders.”
From two
cubicles down and slightly muffled, I heard Jerry call, “Everybody’s got a
thing for cheerleaders.”
Joanne said,
“Well, I need to get back to work too. Think about it. See ya, guys.”
As Joanne’s
head disappeared behind the cubicle wall, Gary grabbed my newspaper out of my
hand and stared at the front page of the sports section. He said, “Oh,
speaking of cheerleaders, get a load of her. Man, she’s really hot.” There was
a picture of a middle school cheerleader just about to start a routine at a
local middle school football game.
I looked at
Gary sideways and said, “She’s fourteen, Gary. That’s a little sick, isn’t
it?”
Gary handed
the paper back to me and said, “Like I’ve always said, ‘If there’s grass on the
field, play ball!’”
*
* *
The phone
rang. It was my boss, Bob Sikes. He said, “Hey Ron. I need you to go to the
tenth floor and check out the network switch up there. Tony called this
morning and says he can’t get on the network.”
“What does he
need a network connection up there for? That floor’s being gutted.”
Bob sighed and
said, “He doesn’t really. But he takes his notebook up to keep up with his
email while overseeing the renovations up there.”
“Are you
convinced now we need to go wireless?”
“Ron, I think
I gave you something to do. Why don’t you go do it?” Bob hung up the phone.
I gathered up my tool bag and headed to the elevators.
There was
already a guy standing in front of the elevator as I approached it. I’d seen
him around, but didn’t know his name. He’d already pressed the “Up” button and
I resisted the silly temptation to press it again, as if that would make the
elevator return faster.
“Elevators
slow today?” I asked. I really wasn’t interested, but I thought that maybe I
should start being more ‘social.’
The guy,
burdened with a briefcase and a pen said, “We’re down to one.” He looked
intently back up at the floor indicator as if mentally trying to change the
number to a “1”.
I set the tool
pouch I was carrying on the floor and said, “Oh really? Is the other one
broken?”
The guy gave
me that ‘what tree did you fall out of’ look and said, “Yeah. You could say
that, I guess. You didn’t hear?” He continued after I shook my head. “Last
night the cable snapped. Can you believe that? As thick as those things are?
They inspected just last month too. Anyway, one of the guys in sales and his
assistant were going down after… cough! …working late.”
Wide-eyed I
asked, “Are you kidding? I didn’t hear about that. Were they hurt?” I guess
I am out of the gossip loop. I’m sure the buzz had been around the office
several times, but I never heard about it.
“Nah. The
emergency brakes kicked in. A couple of guys from facilities helped them out.”
About that
time, the elevator door opened and about ten people got out. Feeling a little
nervous, I stepped into the elevator with the other guy. I punched number ten
and he asked if I’d punch in his floor.
After my
fellow passenger got off at his floor, I continued heading for the top floor.
The company had bought the building just a little while before they hired me.
They were renovating one floor at a time. Most of the building was in good
shape, but with a little out-dated décor. But the top floor – the floor where
the executive offices were going to reside – that floor was a total disaster at
the moment.
I stepped out
the elevator as soon as the doors parted. I was expecting a lighted foyer, but
instead a dim, ambient light greeted me. It wasn’t total darkness or even
spooky. The overhead lights were out and construction workers were busy
gutting the floor under lights mounted on tripods. Most of the ambient light
flowed through the outside windows.
“Watch your
step,” called a voice off to my right. I looked and Tony Milano, the head of
the facilities department came walking towards me. He silently pointed to his
left. I looked and saw that the doors to the other elevator were wide open and
the shaft was a gaping black hole. Yellow caution tape made an “X” pattern
across the opening.
Tony said,
“Don’t fall down that shaft. We’re trying to get more light in here. When that
cable snapped, it took out most of the electrical conduit.”
I carefully
stepped over some cabling on the floor and said, “Let me take a look at that.
That might be why the network is out up here.” I carefully poked my head
through the open elevator doorway and glanced around. Looking up I could see a
couple of guys inspecting the elevator’s pulley system. Their light was
lighting up this end of the shaft. I looked at some conduit running up past
the doorway. Sure enough, the network cable had been sheared through. The
conduit had even been pulled away from the wall a few inches.
“How does it
look Ron?” Tony asked as I pulled my head back through.
“That cable
did a lot of damage, Tony.” I said. “Until the power’s been restored, I don’t
think we can do much. Maybe your guys can help me run some temporary cabling
up here.”
“When some of
them are not so tied up, I’ll give you a call.” Tony said as I stepped back
into the working elevator. He held the door open a moment and said, “I heard
you were going to the Halloween party as a cheerleader. What made you decide
to do that?”
I just looked
at him for a moment before answering. “I haven’t decided that I’m even going
to the damn thing. Who told you that?”
Tony shrugged
and said, “I dunno. It’s going around the building.”
I frowned. As
the door started to close I said, “Why couldn’t the rumor about me say I’m dating
a super model or something?”
*
* *
I gave Joanne
the third degree, but she maintained her innocence. She said, “Ask Gary. You
know what an asshole he is. Maybe he said something.”
Joanne and I
both walked over to Gary’s cubicle. Sternly, I said, “Gary, what’s the deal
about telling everyone I’m going to the party as a cheerleader?”
Looking taken
aback, Gary shrugged and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I said
nothing to nobody.”
Joanne said,
“Come on, Gary. Fess up.”
Before Gary
could reply, Jerry popped his head up over the walls. He said, “Oh, sorry.
That was me. I just mentioned it to Sue in Accounting. She thought you’d look
cute in a cheerleader uniform. Sorry, I thought it was a done deal.” His head
disappeared again.
Scowling, Gary
snarled, “If you don’t have your facts straight dickweed, don’t come barging in
here again accusing me of something.” Without another word he turned his back
on us and went back to his computer screen.
“Sorry, man.”
I said. Gary just grunted.
Joanne walked
with me back to my cubicle. As we walked, she said, “Well, in a way it’s a
good thing.”
“Why is that?”
I asked, already guessing the answer.
“Now you
pretty much have to go.”
“What’s with
this party? What’s so goddam important about it? And why the hell does any
one care if I go or not?” I know I sounded too harsh, but I was getting fed
up.
“Jeez, Ron.
You don’t have to be such an asshole about it.” Joanne wrinkled up her brow.
“Everyone has a lot fun at the party. I thought you might use a little fun
yourself. I guess I was wrong.” She spun on her heel and left my cubicle.
Her cubicle is just adjacent to mine. She slid drawers out of her desk and
slammed them back in which made the stuff on my walls rattle. The paperclip
hook holding up my calendar slipped from the fabric of the cubicle wall and the
calendar fell behind my desk.
*
* *
As I wearily
climbed the stairs up to my apartment, I just happened to look up. There was
my next-door neighbor, leaning over the guardrail, drinking a beer. She looked
down at me at the same time.
“Evenin’” she
said as I stepped on the last landing. Her name was Margaret. I could never
remember her last name. She was living at these apartments when I moved in
back in May. I guessed she was about twenty years older than I was. She lived
alone as far as I knew. At the laundry room, while just trying to make
conversation, I had stupidly asked her once if she was married. She then told
me about how her husband had died several years ago in a plane crash. Since
then, other than exchanging pleasantries, we didn’t talk much. She kept to
herself more than I did.
“Good
evening,” I said back to her. I noticed she wasn’t wearing a jacket or a
sweater and here it was, getting dark and late October. I said, “It’s a little
on the chilly side, though.”
She smiled and
said, “A little bit I guess. I really hadn’t noticed.” She took another swig
from the can. She lifted the can up and asked, “Want one?” When I shook my
head, she then returned her gaze to sunset.
I was going to
just go inside since I was tired and feeling a little cold. But some reason I
stopped and leaned against the guardrail and looked out at the sunset myself.
The buildings, trees and power lines obscured a portion of the sky, but the
rest was quite beautiful. All I did was go to the office in the morning,
almost never leave the office during the day, only to return to my apartment
and either surf the web or watch T.V. I never stopped to look at the world
around me.
I just stood
there for a few moments, just watching the fading rays of the sun disappear
behind the clouds stretching across the horizon. Not really saying it to
anyone, I said, “You know, I never give myself the time to just stop, and look
at what’s going on around me. I’ve been here five months and this is the first
time I’ve stopped to watch the sunset.”
Margaret said,
“The view is quite good here, actually. Never put off anything thinking you’ll
have time to do it later. That chance might not ever come your way again.”
“That’s true,
I guess.” I said. After a few moments of silence, I looked over at her. I
could see some tears welling up in her eyes.
Thinking that
I said something stupid to somebody once again, I asked, “Are you okay? Is
something wrong?”
She tried to
smile, and said, “No, nothing’s wrong. Not really, I guess.” She looked at the
fading sunset again and said, “It’s my daughter Elisabeth’s birthday today.
She would have been eighteen today.”
I caught the
“would have been” and said, “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
She cast me a
questioning glance and said, “It’s okay. You weren’t living here then, so you
wouldn’t really know.” She paused again, obviously finding speaking
difficult. “It was almost a year ago -- a week after she turned seventeen –
she was coming home from a Halloween party. She called me just before she left
to let me know she was on her way.” Margaret paused for a moment and stared
glassy eyed at the darkening sky.
Continuing,
she said, “She also said she was stopping to get some gas and buy a bottle of
soda. She said she thought she’d be home in about thirty minutes. An hour
went by. Then two. I called all her friends and they all said she’d left the
party right after she talked to me.
“That’s when I
called the police. Thirty minutes later, they found her car in a ditch behind
the convenience store where she bought gas. There was no sign of her. I also
found out later from one of her friends that she’d talked to Elisabeth on her
cell phone at the convenience store.” The apartment complex’s lights came on,
throwing Margaret’s face in shadow.
I wished now
I’d kept my big fat mouth shut. This was obviously a painful memory for her.
I said, “I’m very sorry. Look, I shouldn’t have said anything. I should
probably go.”
She shook her
head. “No. No, it’s okay. I need to talk about it. Get it out of my
system.”
I was curious,
but not sure if I should ask. I thought a moment, and then asked, “Did you
ever find her?”
She nodded.
She took a deep breath and said, “They found her a few days later in the river.
She’d been raped, but she was dead before she was put in the water. It looked
like she’d been strangled. There was no water in her lungs…” Her voice trailed
away.
“I’m very
sorry. I never knew this.” I said, sincerely feeling bad for her. “A loss
like that must be terrible. Did they ever catch who did it?”
She shook her
head. “No. No one saw anything. They have DNA evidence. But there’re no
suspects. The police don’t have a clue where to start. All the boys at the
party had to submit DNA samples as did some other boys at school. There were
no matches.”
I clasped my
hands together and leaned over the railing. Margaret’s story depressed me
quite a bit.
She must have
noticed my expression. She said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a
downer.”
“Oh, don’t
mind me.” I said. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through. It makes
my problems from today look pretty trivial.”
She said,
“Oh? What kind of problems did you have today? Anything you want to talk
about?” She seemed anxious to change the subject but still wanting to talk to
someone.
I laughed and
said, “My problems are really pretty small. I’m being forced into going to a
Halloween party.” Crap, I shouldn’t have said that! It must make me look a
little petty compared to the emotions she’s going through. I should probably
just go watch T.V.
She didn’t
react though. Instead she said, “What’s bad about that? I thought all you
young folks like to go to parties.”
I smiled and
said, “Well, I’m not much of a party person. But that’s not the worst of it.
Now I have to try to find a cheerleader uniform that fits me. Dressing as a
cheerleader was also kinda forced on me as well.”
Margaret
laughed. It was easy to see how twenty or so years ago she would have been a
beautiful woman. She said, “They want you to go to the party dressed as a
cheerleader? That’s funny. Although, I’d bet you’d look pretty convincing.”
“Thanks. I
think.”
“I meant that
in a positive way,” she said. “Have…have you found a uniform yet?”
“Not yet. I
need to check around at some local athletic stores.” I said. “I hope I find
something quick since the party is next week. I don’t have a lot of time.”
“I have a
cheerleader uniform in the closet that might fit you.” She looked me up and
down.
“You have a
cheerleader uniform?” I asked. I thought, it’s probably been hanging in her
closet for twenty-five years with that funky smell old clothes seem to get.
She looked
away for a moment before saying, “Well, actually it was my daughter’s. She was
a cheerleader at her high school. She’d been cheering since about twelve.”
She paused a moment and then said, “She was a tall girl. The uniform just
might fit.”
“Oh, God,
ma’am! I couldn’t use your daughter’s uniform! I mean, it’s your daughter’s.
It has sentimental value. I mean…it’s like a link to her. I’d be afraid I
might get something on it.”
She shook her
head sadly. “It’s just a piece of cloth. Yes, it was my daughter’s. But
she’s never going to wear it again. It’s just going to hang in the closet and
collect dust, and not doing anyone any good. You might as well get some use
out of it.”
“Are you
sure? I appreciate the offer and all, but I just can’t imagine you would let
someone else wear it.”
Ignoring me,
she said, “Come on in. I really don’t mind if you borrow it.”
As we walked
through her apartment, I glanced around the room. Her daughter’s pictures were
conspicuous by their absence. I couldn’t see one photo. I thought that was
very strange. She opened a door to a room and I followed her inside.
The room had a
desk with a computer on it, and on one side of the room was a bed. Some stacks
of paper were on the floor.
“This was her
room,” Margaret said. For a few months I keep it exactly like she left it, in
some crazy hope that she’d come back home to me.” She opened the closet and
started rummaging through a rack of girl’s clothes. “I finally decided that
was nuts and was making me depressed, so I turned her room into a home office
and boxed up all her pictures. Every time I saw her picture I wanted to cry.
Ah, here it is.”
She handed me
the uniform. It was wrapped in plastic. The uniform was blue with white trim.
The colors of the local high school.
I said,
“Thanks. I appreciate it. Are you sure this is okay?”
She said, “I’m
sure. Just bring it back when you’re done with it.”
*
* *
I felt
incredibly silly sliding the cheerleader uniform over my head. I felt like I
was being stared at and glanced again at the blinds in my bedroom to verify
they were shut securely, as if I could be seen up on the second floor anyway.
After a few moments of fumbling, I managed to zip up the back.
To my utter
amazement, the uniform fit. For the most part.
I stood there
for a few minutes turning this way and that, posing in front of the mirror. It
actually didn’t look too bad if you discounted my hairy legs and the armpit
hair hanging out of the uniform’s armholes.
Damn. I’m
going to have to shave my legs and armpits. This was a really stupid idea. I
felt ridiculous standing in my bedroom wearing the short dress.
While posing
in front of the mirror, I brought my hands to my hips and put my feet together
and said, “Ready? Okay!” I laughed and then I shouted, “Gimme an ‘S’!” I
proceeded to spell out the word “schumck”.
I stepped
closer to the mirror and studied my face and upper torso. What kind of wig do I
need to get? I was originally thinking of getting a cheap blonde wig, since
most cheerleaders I’ve ever noticed were your typical dumb blondes. After
studying my reflection a few minutes, I started imagining myself with long,
dark brown hair, flowing past my shoulders. The more I thought about it, the
more convinced I became that that would be the best look. The next day was
Saturday, so I guessed my first order of business tomorrow would be to go
downtown and buy myself a realistic wig.
I leaned
forward and studied my face. I’m going to need make-up. I grimaced at the
thought. I decided to look for make-up while out driving around looking for
the wig.
I stood back
from the mirror and wiggled my rear. I thought that Joanne was going to be
right. I will make a cute cheerleader.
*
* *
I had never
really paid much attention to it before, but now I was overwhelmed. I just
stood there a moment, looking at this one, very long wall, lined from floor to
ceiling with cosmetics. I went to my usual grocery store to buy the make-up.
I didn’t even know where to start. I guess I should have brought Joanne with
me. I was very self-conscious about being in this section. A couple of teen
girls kept giving me funny looks. Apparently a lot of people do their grocery
shopping on Saturday mornings. I just hoped nobody I knew saw me shopping in
this section.
I had a sudden
inspiration to head over to the magazine section of the store. I picked up a
glamour magazine and started to peruse it, making special note of the
advertisements. After thumbing through the magazine for a few minutes, I felt
that I was about as ready as I would ever be to make my first, and most likely
last, make-up purchases.
I went back
and forth along the wall, and up and down the short aisles in front the
cosmetics wall with my mental checklist of foundation, mascara, eye liner, eye
shadow, blush and of course lipstick. On a whim, I also bought nail polish in
the same color as the lipstick I’d chosen.
I was about to
make my way to the check out when a small kit of make-up brushes caught my
attention. I thought that I might need that, so I put it in the basket with
all the other goop. I wound up tossing in a pair of pantyhose before I was
done. This was the first time I was truly glad that the grocery store uses the
automated checkouts so I wouldn’t have to face the checkout girl.
Next I visited
some of the shoe stores in the mall. I didn’t have any bright white sneakers
that I thought would go with the uniform. However, I wound up buying a pair of
white, high heel pumps with three-inch heels. I saw them, and something just
shouted in my head how sexy they’d look.
I thought the
wig would be the easiest part. Just grab something close to what I wanted that
would fit and leave. I spent almost an hour trying on various wigs until I
found one that I could afford that looked really great. I finally chose one
that was a dark brown, long and flowing, that cascaded down my back.
I must be
going nuts, I thought as I got into my car and started heading back to my
apartment. I couldn’t believe how much money I’d spent for a costume I didn’t
want to wear to a party I didn’t want to attend.
Margaret was
unlocking the door of her car as I approached. She stopped and waited for me
to stop. I correctly guessed that she was curious about what all I’d bought
for my costume. I parked and got out of my car carrying a bag of stuff I never
dreamed I would have ever purchased for my own use.
Margaret waved
and called out, “Hey! If it isn’t the reluctant cheerleader! Did you get all
your stuff?”
I waved back
and said as I walked towards her, “I sure hope I got everything. I don’t want
to go through that again. Buying girl’s stuff is frustrating and
embarrassing.”
Margaret
smiled and said, “Not if you’re a girl. Can I see what you got?”
I said,
“Sure. Maybe you can tell me if I got the right things.”
As she went
through the bag of cosmetics, her smile slowly began to fade. She picked up
the bottle of nail polish and just stared at it.
Confused, I
asked, “Did I buy the wrong thing?”
She snapped
out of her reverie and said, “No. In fact, this is exactly right.” She gave
me an odd look and then said, “It’s an odd coincidence though, that you’d pick
Elisabeth’s favorite polish. She wore this color a lot.”
I shrugged and
said, “How weird. I just picked a color that I thought a young girl would
like. I mean, what do I know about nail polish?”
“Weird is the
right word,” Margaret said with a frown. “What else did you get? What’s in
the box?”
I set the
other items on the pavement so I could open the box. I said, “Oh, that’s my
wig. I tried on a bunch until I found this one. When I tried it on, it just
looked so perfect.” I pulled the long, dark brown wig from the box.
Margaret took
a step back with a slight gasp and said, “Now…tha…that’s just too damn freaky.”
Again I was
puzzled and asked, “Why? What’s wrong with it?”
She gingerly
touched the wig and said, “This is her exact hair color. And..and this style
is very close to way she …to the way she wore it.”
I furrowed my
brow and said, “You gotta be kidding me, right? I mean, that kind of
coincidence just isn’t believable.”
“No, I
swear.” Margaret opened her purse and started fumbling around in it. “I never
took her picture out of my purse. It’s in here somewhere. Ah, here it is.”
She handed me a slightly crinkled photo.
There in the
picture was a beautiful teen girl, with long flowing dark brown hair cascading
around her shoulders. The wig looked almost exactly like this picture when I
had it on.
“Crap. I just
got Goosebumps. That’s just crazy.” I handed the picture back to Margaret.
“Maybe you saw
a picture when you were in my apartment?”
I shook my
head. “No, in fact I tried to spot one. You said you had removed all of
them.”
Margaret
smiled weakly. “Well, I guess it’s just one of the things. You can’t explain
it. It just happens.” She looked at her watch. “Well, I need to be going.
Let me know how your costume goes or if you need any help with the make-up.”
“Will do,” I
said as she climbed into her car. I stood there a moment while she drove
away. My legs felt weak and there was a cold, clammy sweat down my back. I
looked at the wig and said aloud, “This is just too damn freaky for me too.”
*
* *
I stood back
from the mirror and looked at myself. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I looked
incredible. From the moment I’d stepped back into my apartment, trying out the
make-up had become an almost overwhelming desire. I also put the uniform back
on and tried out the wig. I was a knockout.
I’d never worn
make-up before, but I had to admit that I looked like I’d been using make-up
for years. I looked just like your typical teenage girl. Another impulse and
a few minutes later, I was wearing the pantyhose and slipping my feet into the
pumps.
After a few
initially wobbly steps, I was soon walking confidently in the high heels. The
bathroom mirror wouldn’t let me view below my waist, so I ran into the living
room and stood in front of the television. I could see my legs and feet in the
reflection of the screen. I was blown away by how sexy my legs looked.
I strutted
around the apartment, feeling wonderfully sexy and feminine. I walked back
into the bedroom and looked at myself in the mirror again. Something was
definitely missing. Then it dawned on me. My chest was flat. I decided I
needed a bra to complete the costume. I started heading for the door, when I
stopped and slapped my forehead.
“What are you
doing, Ron?” I said aloud. I couldn’t go out wearing make-up and a cheerleader
uniform! Have I lost my mind? This was nuts. I hurried back into the bedroom
and stripped down to my birthday suit. I hoped a quick shower would get rid of
the make-up and maybe get to feeling back to normal again.
While in the
shower, I had a sudden impulse to shave my under arms and legs. I reached out
of the shower, and fumbled blindly through the drawer. A moment later I found
my safety razor and after a few more minutes, my legs and under arms was nice
and smooth.
*
* *
I dumped my
new purchases on my bed and stared dumbfounded at them. I didn’t remember
buying most of the items. I went to a clothing store in the mall to buy a
bra. That’s all I went there to get. The bra was there, of course. But
joining it on the bed were a package of panties, a cute top and a ruffled denim
miniskirt. There was also a satin camisole and what looked like baggy shorts.
It was some kind of sleepwear. I had also bought some skin care products.
My God, I
thought. I’m actually losing my mind! I don’t remember buying any of this
stuff except the bra. How could I lose track of this? I sat on the bed and
shook a moment. Maybe I need to see a doctor? And maybe a change of diet?
*
* *
“Hey, now
that’s a great costume!” Jeremy said with an ear-to-ear grin.
“Thank you!”
I said. I was getting a lot of attention at the party with my costume. It was
simple and I’d made it myself. Just a black leotard with a tail attached,
black stockings, black three inch pumps and cat ears protruding through the top
of my hair. None of the guys seemed to think it was bad luck when this black
cat crossed their paths! Meow…
The party
was quite loud. The place was packed. Jeremy leaned in closer so he wouldn’t
have to yell. “Elisabeth. I’ve been wanting to ah… ask you…are you like, free
tomorrow night?”
I tried to
be coy and ask, “I could be. Why do you want to know?”
I guess I
shouldn’t have tried to be coy. His confidence was already starting to waver.
He was a babe and a half, but terribly shy. “I was ah…I was hoping you might
be interested in maybe going to a movie? Maybe get some pizza first? I mean,
if you’d like to…”
I move my
lips close to his ear and said, “I’d love to! What time?”
Jeremy
flashed his ear-to-ear grin again and said, “The movie starts at seven-thirty.
How about I pick you up at six?”
One of
Jeremy’s friends popped up behind him and grabbed his arm and shouted, “Hey
bro! We need you over here for a minute. Come on!”
I shouted
to Jeremy as he was tugged away, “Sounds great! I’ll be ready!”
I turned
and saw Linda, dressed in her anime Dirty Pair costume, pushing her way through
the crowd towards me. I’ve been trying to talk to her all evening. She had a
questioning/expectant expression. When she finally caught up to me, she asked,
“Did I just see you talking to Jeremy? Did he finally ask you out?”
Laughing, I
said, “Finally! I mean, God! He’s the cutest guy in school but he’s just so
shy.”
“Yeah.
You’ve been trying to get him to notice you for a long time.” Linda commented.
“He’s
noticed for a while now. It’s getting him to talk! That’s the
problem!” I laughed.
“So. When
are you two going out?” asked Linda.
“Tomorrow.
Pizza and a movie. I can’t wait!” I was almost giddy.
Linda said,
“You two are made for each other. You look really cute together!”
*
I should
have brought a coat or something. Jeez it’s cold out here. Does it always
take this long to fill up this car?
Finally the
car’s gas tank was full and I backed the car into a parking spot in front of
the convenience store. I had some change coming from the deposit I had left
with the clerk and I wanted to get a soda.
Just as I
walked out of the store, my cell rang. I looked at the screen and it was
Denise calling. I answered it. She asked about my upcoming date with Jeremy.
I paced up and down the walkway in front of the store as I talked. I wasn’t
far from the apartment -- it’s a good neighborhood and the area is well lit. I
felt fairly safe there as I talked. It was late and there was very little
traffic though.
We only
talked a couple of minutes. I had walked to the far end of the walkway with my
back to the car. I closed the phone and stuck it back in my purse. I turned
around and there was this big guy standing there in the shadows. I couldn’t’
see his face. I sucked in my breath in surprise.
“Excuse me,
Miss!” He said as he moved a little out of the way. The darkness hid his face.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
I gave him
a nervous smile and said, “It’s okay. Good night.” I started to walk past
him.
*
My head
throbbed. I was lying in a darkened room. My head pounded. I saw a figure
move in the shadow. I had no idea where I was. My hair was pulled violently
and painfully back. In my ear a voice snarled, “Don’t struggle, Sweetness.
This won’t take long. God, you’re gorgeous.”
Darkness
Unbearable
pain
Nothing…
*
* *
I woke up
sweating and gasping for air. I unconsciously reached up and felt my throat.
My eyes darted fearfully around the room. The blinds were catching the early
morning sun. It was my room. I just sat there for a few minutes, catching my
breath. What an incredibly weird nightmare!
I looked down
at myself and saw I was wearing the satin camisole. I didn’t remember putting
it on when I went to bed. A cold chill went down my spine when I remembered
the dream. Someone called me ‘Elisabeth’. What the hell?
I looked at
the cheerleader uniform draped across the back of the chair. I just stared at
it. I began to feel cold. I knew it was just my imagination, but I got up and
hung the uniform in my closet and shut the door. I’ve got to find something
else to think about today. I’ve got to get out of this apartment. Maybe go to
the mall. Victoria’s Secret was having a sale today. Okay, the mall was out.
Maybe I’ll see two or three movies this afternoon.
An idea popped
into my head. Tomorrow after work, it might be a good idea to go over to the
public library and sift through the newspaper archives. I wanted to know more
about the tragedy from a year ago.
*
* *
“Uh, Ron.
Where do you think you’re going?” asked Joanne.
I gave her an
‘are you nuts?’ expression and said, “What do you think? I’m going to the
bathroom. Is that against the law?”
She gave me an
odd look and said, “Probably.” She pointed in the direction behind me and
said, “Maybe you should try that one instead.”
I looked up
and the door was clearly marked as “Women”.
I said,
“Sorry. My bad. I must be overworked lately or something.”
Joanne smiled
and said, “Or something.” She started to walk away.
“Joanne,
wait.” I said. “I know this sounds like a stupid question, but do you believe
in ghosts?”
She shrugged
and said, “I’d like to believe there’s a spirit world. I’ve never seen a ghost
and I don’t know anyone who has though. Why would you ask that?”
“I borrowed my
neighbor’s cheerleader uniform Friday…” I said.
Joanne
interrupted and said, “Oh, good! You’re going after all!”
“The uniform.
I think it’s haunted.”
Joanne looked
puzzled and asked, “That’s an odd thing to think. Why?”
I swallowed
audibly and said, “It was my neighbor’s daughter’s. She’s dead. She was
murdered a year ago. I’ve had odd feelings and nightmares ever since I brought
the stupid thing into my apartment.”
Joanne rolled
her eyes and said, “I think you’re just obsessing over the girl. Was she
pretty? Yeah, see? You’re obsessing. And you’re letting yourself get spooked
because you have clothes that belong to a dead person. I think you’re getting
too caught up in Halloween. Don’t be silly, okay?” Before I could say
anything else, Joanne walked away.
I turned and
entered the proper restroom. I went into a stall and sat down. As I was doing
my business, I asked myself, why am I sitting down? I just came in here to
take a piss. And I’m sitting down. I looked down and saw that I was wearing
one of the pairs of panties I’d bought.
*
* *
“Can I help
you sir?”
I walked up to
the librarian behind the counter and said, “Yes. Can you tell me where I can
find the archives of the local newspapers?”
She smiled and
said, “Certainly. Second floor. Just ask the librarian on duty what dates
you’re looking for.”
I thanked her
and headed to the elevator to ride to the second floor. The librarian there
handed me a CD-ROM loaded with PDF files from the newspaper from last year. I
located as secluded a computer as I could find in the public computer bullpen.
I scanned the
folders until I came to the page for last Halloween. I scanned through the
whole paper and was disappointed to find nothing about Elisabeth. Then I
though, you moron! She won’t be mentioned in the paper on the day of the
murder. I scanned ahead to November first.
There it was
on the front page. The headline read, “Local Girl Missing.” The article
mentioned the last place she was seen was by the clerk at the convenience
store. “A friend of hers claimed to have talked to her on her cell phone right
after she left the store. The mother, Margaret Manning, said that her last
conversation with her was just before her daughter left a Halloween party
attended by other students from her school. Her daughter said she was going to
stop for gasoline for her car on the way home. Her car was later found
abandoned in a shallow ditch only fifty yards from the convenience store. Tall
grass obscured the location of the car. At this point, the police have few
leads. There has been no demand for a ransom. In a statement this morning,
Ms. Manning said, ‘Please. Whoever took my Elisabeth, please don’t harm her.
She’s my baby. She’s all that I have left. Please let her come home. And if
anyone knows where she is, please, please let me or the police know. I just
want my daughter back.’”
*
* *
Now I knew I
had officially lost my mind. Waiting at the red light, I looked across the
street at the convenience store where Elisabeth was last seen. It was almost
midnight and it was getting a little cold outside. I wasn’t really dressed for
it. I was wearing a sleeveless top, the ruffled denim miniskirt, the wig,
pantyhose, high heels and fully made up. I had completely lost my mind.
The light
changed and I pulled the car into the store’s parking lot. I parked it in the
same spot I …Elisabeth…parks it in the dream. I look at myself in the mirror
and I’m amazed about my appearance. I climb out of the car and enter the
convenience store where I buy a bottle of soda. The clerk kept a close eye on
me, but I doubt that it was because he thought I was going to steal something.
I came out of
the store and sat down on the concrete walkway. The concrete was cold and my
skirt was so short, that I was sitting on my panties, not the skirt. But I
didn’t really care. I opened the soda and took a drink.
*
* *
A hand went
across my mouth and nose. My left arm was pulled tightly behind me. I tried to
scream, but only muffled sounds came out. A man’s voice growled into my ear,
“Shut up, bitch! And don’t struggle. You’re only making this harder.”
My arm was
in terrible pain as he wrenched it around. A rag was shoved into my mouth. It
had an odd smell and taste. My arms where pulled roughly behind me. I was
pushed into the backseat of a car. I hit my head. I was so scared. And I was
angry that I was seemingly completely helpless.
Fading
Darkness…
*
* *
I was sitting
there crying when I heard footsteps. I looked up with a start. A large man
had walked up to me, his face in darkness, silhouetted by light fixture over
the parking lot.
“I’m sorry,
Miss.” He said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I stood up
quickly and took a step backwards from him.
“Are you
okay?” he asked. I nodded, but my eyes never strayed from him. He started to
walk towards the store. He said, “You probably should go home, Miss. It’s
pretty late and this isn’t the best neighborhood at night.”
I just nodded
and started to walk towards my car, never taking my eyes off him as he entered
the store.
*
* *
“Shut up,
bitch! And don’t struggle. You’re only making this harder…”
*
* *
I awoke
sweating and gasping. I looked at the uniform draped across the back of the
chair. I thought, I’m taking that fucking uniform back to Margaret. Fuck the
uniform and fuck the Halloween party.
I stepped out
of my apartment on my way to work. I had the uniform folded across one arm. I
rang Margaret’s doorbell. She usually left for work about an hour after I did,
so I thought she should be home. I knocked. No answer. I pounded. No
answer. Just great.
I knew that
Margaret chatted a lot with the old lady downstairs – a Ms. Opal. Maybe she
knew why Margaret wasn’t answering her door. She did. Turns out Margaret’s
job had sent her out of town for a few days. She’d be back sometime Saturday
night – Halloween. I tossed the uniform back into my closet and left for work.
*
* *
“Doing a
little light reading, Ron?” asked Gary. I didn’t know he had entered my cube
and I jumped slightly. I looked around and he was picking up a magazine from my
desk. It was a copy of Elle Girl.
I shrugged and
said, “Hey, it’s got a lot of pictures of cute girls in it.”
Gary laughed
as he thumbed through the magazine. He said, “A man after my own heart!” He
put the magazine down and continued, “Since you’re trying to be more social, I
thought I’d let you know that bunch of us are going to Hooters for lunch if you
want to join us.”
Maybe I did
need to do something different. My brain was completely out of whack. I said,
“Sure. Just grab me on the way out.”
“Cool.” Gary
looked at me thoughtfully. He then sat down in one of my guest chairs and
pulled it close. He idly lifted the pages of Elle Girl as he said,
“People have been saying a lot of weird shit about you lately, Ron. Like
you’ve been acting kind of feminine lately and then shit like this magazine.
What’s going on?”
I shrugged and
said, “I’m just trying to get into character for my costume this Saturday.”
Gary just
stared at me a moment before saying, “It’s just a costume, Ron. And it’s just
a Halloween party. There’s been some guys that came dressed as women before.
It’s always for laughs because they always look ridiculous, even if they tried
to look convincing. This isn’t a play. Nobody expects you to actually become
a girl! Joanne and I both think you’re getting way too carried away with this.”
“Thanks for
your concern.” I said
*
* *
We sat down at
one of the tables with the stools. Like everyone else I watched the “Hooter
Girls” as they took orders and brought out food. Slowly an odd nervousness
fell over me. I felt…uncomfortable.
I looked
around and noticed that except for the waitresses, there were no women here.
The place was full of men. I know there was no rational reason for it, but
being surrounded by all these men was making me feel uneasy.
I turned to
Gary and asked, “Hey, do you know where the head is?”
Gary pointed
and then laughed at some comment Jerry made. I got off my stool and headed
that way. I double-checked the door to make sure I wasn’t going in the wrong
door this time. I didn’t need to go. I just needed some space by myself.
I washed my
hands and looked in the mirror.
*
“Oh God!
Please don’t! Let me go, please? I promise not to tell anyone.” I almost
screamed. The man, wearing a ski mask pushed his fingers up inside me, hard.
It hurt. I was lying naked on a bed, my arms tied behind me. My legs seemed
to be tied together.
“Not yet,
babe. Not yet. Not until I’m done with you.” He squeezed my breasts.
“Beautiful tits, girl. Some of the best I’ve seen.” He got closer. In the
darkness I could see that except for the ski mask he was naked.
He climbed
up on top of me and put his thing between my breasts and pushed my breasts
against it. I tried to get my hands free. Oh God I’m scared! God, please help
me!
*
“Get the fuck
out of my head!” I growled while squeezing my skull with both hands.
“Dude, this
ain’t your head,” said a tall black guy standing behind me in the restroom. “I
can’t be completely sure, but I think it belongs to Hooters.”
I splashed
some water on my face, and hurried out the door. As the door closed, I heard
the guy in the restroom say, “Asshole…”
I walked back
to the table. Our “Hooter Girl” was just starting to take our orders. I
hadn’t had time to look at a menu, but who needs one? I just ordered a burger.
As the
waitress walked away, one of guys looked out the window. “Aw shit, man. It’s
starting to rain. I just washed my car last night!”
Jerry shrugged
and said, “What are you gonna do? Rain is like rape. You can’t do anything
about it so you might as well just sit back and enjoy it.” There was a round
of laughter at the table.