Howling Halloween Ⅱ: Harrowing Halloween

Happy Reunion

One year later, Ben and Elly were on a trip to New Orleans for Halloween again. They had spoken to each other and made a plan to make sure their mom and dad booked the same mansion they stayed in last time. The carved columns were beautiful and the weeping willow was blowing in a slight breeze.

"Say, is that weeping willow laughing at me?" Asked dad.

"It's a weeping willow, dad. It's probably crying," said Ben, looking around the place. It was a warm autumn day in New Orleans and the sun was shining.

"Nah, that weeping willow is laughing at me," Dad mumbled. He started to sing. "The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree... and an old weeping willow is laughing at me... Oh what a beautiful morning. Oh what a beautiful day... I got a beautiful feeling, everythings going my way..."

Dad kept singing as he brought the bags into the house. Ben and Elly took a look around the house and tried to find their friends from last time. "I think the bathroom, yeah?" Ben said. He had saved the black lollipop from last time, he put it on the counter next to the sink.

"Silly Ben. It won't work until it's dark!" Elly said.

"Kids! We gotta go! It's po'boy time!" Dad yelled. Po'boys are a famous type of sandwich in New Orleans.

"Oh oh, daddy!" Ben yelled as he came down stairs. "It's also GUMBO time!" Ben loved Gumbo, which is an okra and rice soup. He started singing to the same tune dad had sung to before. "Oh what a beautiful Sandwich. OH what a beautiful soup. I got a beautiful hunger and everything's going to be gooood!"

"Oh what a silly family, oh what a silly brother!" Elly sang.

"Anyway, when's Hook gonna come out looking for a black lollipop and saying stuff like 'I'm gonna get a makeover' or 'Coco Chanel is awesome'?" Ben asked.

"Are you guys talking about some video game or something?" Dad said as they walked down Bourbon street in the French Quarter. "Oh guys, this is the place we went to last time!" There was a cute little Po'boy restaurant called "NOLA Po'boys" (NOLA means New Orleans Louisiana) and they ordered po'boys, fried alligator and, of course, gumbo for Ben.

Dad says "Gumbo for my dumbo." But the man behind the counter didn't laugh. The man behind the counter gave an odd look at the dad and said "Who dat dumbo?"

When the food came out, the man behind the counter brought it and called dad "Dumbo". "Here ya food, dumbo. Enjoy!"

Dad didnt mind but Ben found a note tucked away under his gumbo.

It said:

Look at me, I want to play.

I'll move like you in every way.

Be tricky, but the result is always a draw.

Why? Because I'm an expert at response and call.

What am I?

Ben shrugged. "What a silly note." He thought. He shoved it into his shirt pocket.

When they went back to the mansion, Ben and Elly were brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed when they heard a familiar voice.

"Where is the black lollipop? Marie's gonna get SO mad at me!"

Ben and Elly looked at each other. It was Hook.

They turned around. They saw a girl jumping inside the bathtub wearing a black dress. CLANG! A bottle of Chanel number 5 perfume fell out of the girls dress pocket.

"Oh! Wow!" The girl said. "It's Elly! And I forgot what the boy's name was but yay! You're back!"

"My name is B-diddy Dizzy Ben!" Ben said as he crossed his arms. Both Elly and Hook shook their heads.

"Well, B-diddy Dizzy Ben," Hook said. "I will call you Ben."

"So you DID remember my name!" Ben said. "B-diddy dizzy in da house!" he crossed his arms again.

"It's better to just ignore him," Elly said.

"Yes I bet," said Hook. "Hey do you want to meet the rest of the old crew? Let's go to ghost town! I know they would love to see you!"

"Up to the attic!" Elly said and she was out the door before Hook even had a chance to say anything.

"She's pretty excited," Hook said.

"You have no idea; we've been talking about this for months!" Ben said.

The attic was full of ghosts just like last time. Hook introduced some of them. "That's Bolo over there, this is Cross, that fat one is Slip and the one with no teeth, well, we just call him 'Uppercut'."

"Oh my! It's Elly and Ben!!" A familiar teenage voice said. Ben and Elly looked around. Hook smirked. Lily D' Inky was running toward them.

"I got some new blood colored nail polish," Lily said. "Elly, do you want to try it? Hook already put it on." Hook showed her nails to Elly. They were so red, it freaked Elly out.

"Those. Look. Exactly. LIKE BLOOD!" Elly said.

"Da doy!" Lily joked. "That's why they are called blood colored nail polish!"

Jib and Jab popped out from behind a coffin. "Yo baby, remember this?" Jib was holding a black lollipop. Hook gave a surprised look.

"That's mine!" Hook said.

"I know. Oh who dat? It's Ben and Ellers!" Jib said, "Jab check it out!"

"It's Elly," Elly said. "I missed you Jib and Jab." Elly gave both of them ghost hugs. Ghost hugs look like a real hug but it feels more like hugging air.

Just then, Dolia flew out of a bar. It was the vampire bar who doesn't serve garlic bread. "Lily! I came to try out the nail polish!" She said. "Oh! Hi Elly and Ben! I'm glad you came back!"

She went into the bar. She came back out with Terissa and Cosmo.

"YAY! Elly and Ben are back!" Terissa was happy.

"Benjamin and Eleanor Iverson the daring duo of danger, the investigators extraordinaire and orators beyond compare!" Cosmo said.

"Oh great, he's at it already," whispered Hook with a wink and a smile.

"You can try the nail polish later, Dolia," Lily said. "We need to spend some fun time together!"