Jade Awakening

Ghoul's Night Out

"What's the name of the place we're going to?"

"Ghoul's Night Out," Cat said from just a few feet ahead of me. We were both on our bikes, expertly maneuvering around pedestrians down Sunset.

"Ugh! I hate that word."

"What, ghoul?"

"Yes!" I shuddered. "Stop saying it!"

"What's wrong with ghouls?"

"Cat! It feels like nails on a chalkboard. If you say it again, I'm going to knock you off your bike."

She became tightlipped – probably too worried to accidentally say the word again to talk anymore. I couldn't tell if I made her sad, but I did feel slightly guilty for snapping at her.

"How far away is the store?" I redirected.

"Just a couple more minutes. It's in the stripmall on the corner of Fountain and Wilcox."

"Hey, isn't that close to where you live?"

"Yup – ooh! Jade, you should come over afterwards. You've never been to my house before – it'll be fun!"

"Uh, sure. Why not." It could be fun, I thought.

Not much later, we arrived at a long stripmall full of shops and restaurants that I'd never heard of before. But sure enough, on a far end, there was a sign for Ghoul's Night Out. Cat and I dismounted from our bikes and set them on a bike rack just in front of the building before heading for the door.

I probably should have had some idea of what a Halloween store would look like on the inside, but without ever having celebrated the holiday before, I was surprised nevertheless. The inside was a completely different world than what it appeared to be on the outside.

The lighting was dim, although there were some areas where the lights strobed or clashed with the sound of thunder coming from a machine. Animatronic skeletons and clowns pivoted around to show customers their frightening effect. Cat quickly stepped behind me when one of the clowns suddenly moved in her direction. They didn't scare me so much, though – I thought they were cool.

Past the animatronics, there were a few rows of Halloween decor. Spiders, webbing, severed limbs, jack-o-lanterns, witch's cauldrons, tombstones, and everything else that you could imagine. My eyes were wide, trying to take the whole spectacle in. I walked along all of the decor, entranced by the appeal of the horrific items. I could be perfectly content to live in a place like this, I thought.

"Jade, can we just go to the costumes? This is all too scary for me."

I didn't want to be pulled away, but I reluctantly obliged. The costumes were in the back of the store, occupying at least six aisles. I had no idea where to even begin to look.

"What costume are you looking for?" I asked Cat.

"I don't know yet," she said. "Nothing too scary... Or too expensive."

I hadn't really considered how much a costume would cost, but I had $100 on me, which would surely be enough to afford one.

"What about you?" Cat asked.

"I don't have a clue... What do you think I should get?"

"Whatever you want! On Halloween, you can be anything you want to be."

Okay, I thought, but isn't there some sort of unspoken rule about what we should or shouldn't wear? Should I dress in something scary? Something recognizable? Classic? Attractive? I wished for some guidance.