Newfound Family

Happy Halloween

"What are you going to be for Halloween, Wanda?"

Wanda, Jamie, and another classmate, Phoebe, sat on the bench during gym class, waiting to go on the soccer field.

Wanda shrugged. Despite carving pumpkins in class today, she hadn't really thought about it.

"I don't know, I haven't decided yet."

"What!" Jamie yelled over-dramatically. "Halloween is in tomorrow!" Well, I'm going to be Indiana Jones," Jamie said, grabbing a nearby stick and whipping it around. Both Wanda and Phoebe ducked their heads, avoiding being hit.

"Jamie, put the stick down, please!" Miss Peterson yelled, barely looking up from her clipboard. It was a common occurrence for Jamie to be warned for his reckless behaviour, multiple times a day.

He dropped the stick.

"Sorry," Jamie turned to Phoebe. "What about you, Phoebe?"

"I'm going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, because my mom found a pair of red sparkly shoes at the store the other day."

"Do we have to dress up for school?" Wanda asked her friends.

"Uh, yeah! Of course!" They both said at the same time. Wanda's eyes widened at the sudden enthusiasm.

"And for trick or treating, too. Haven't you been before?"

Wanda thought back to a vague memory of trick or treating with her brother. Halloween had been one of their favourite times, because they used to dress up in whatever they had and ask strangers for something to eat with no suspicion whatsoever. Plus, it was always something sweet, like chocolate or candy apples.

"Yeah, of course, I have. I just don't know what I want to dress up as this year yet."

"Well, we could give you some ideas," Phoebe smiled sweetly. Over the past two months, she had increasingly joined Jamie and Wanda to play every day, and the three of them became quite close, although Wanda still did prefer Jamie.

"Okay." Wanda nodded.

"What about a cowgirl?" She asked.

"Or a Vampire? Or, ooh! A witch?" Jamie asked. Wanda shook her head. She didn't really want to be something scary.

"A princess? You could be Elsa." Phoebe suggested.

"Or you could be somebody cool, like Iron Man," Jamie suggested.

Wanda shot him a discrete look.

"But Iron Man is a boy, Jamie," Phoebe stated, like it wasn't already obvious with the name.

"So," He defended, "Girls can dress up as Iron Man, too."

Miss Peterson rang the bell, signaling the end of the day.

"Well, I'm sure I'll think of something. Thanks for your ideas, anyway."

They waved goodbye, and she grabbed her bag to find the truck.

School had increasingly become even easier for Wanda. After befriending Phoebe as well as Jamie, the days seemed less stressful when she always had friends by her side. Although she still did sometimes prefer to be by herself.

There were rough days for sure, but the past two months had gotten less stressful and more bearable for Wanda. She really had started to fit in at Westview Elementary.

Steve and Nat had begun to take turns picking her up from school, and they now refrained from actually exiting the car, instead, picking the same parking space every time so Wanda could easily find them.