" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 19

5th Grade English class, everyone reading books that the teacher had assigned, even though they didn't really like to read, but they had to do it in order to pass 5th grade and not be held back a year. But thankfully, this was their last class of the day before going home. Plus, its's not only Friday, but it's also Halloween!

" Tell me why... uh... Why did Ms. Harris even give us these stupid books and not even help us? " Natsuo asked, looking up from a random page in his book.

Edgar shrugged " I dunno " He responded, looking up from his book too " She's not even in class! She's at her lunch break! " He gestured over to her desk " Maybe she doesn't like our Halloween costumes? "

Natsuo shrugged in response.

Edgar and his friends were all dressed in Halloween costumes, much like the rest of their classmates and the rest of the school, but compared to the rest of the school, Edgar and his friends were all dressed up as various horror movie characters.

Edgar was dressed up as Otis B. Driftwood from the movie ' House of 1000 Corpses '

Gary was dressed up as Beetlejuice from the movie ' Beetlejuice '

Fatima was dressed up as Dr. Herbert West from the movie ' Re-Animator '

And Natsuo was dressed as Kayako Saeki from the movie ' Ju-On: The Grudge '

Gary adjusted his tie, rolling his eyes " She just doesn't like us because we're too awesome for her! Our parents spent a long time on our outfits and makeup! "

Natsuo shrugged " I-i mean, my costume is just a long haired wig and a white nightgown that's choppy and messed up. " 

Fatima giggled, adjusting her fake glasses " Maybe it's cause we're dressed as people from scary movies! " She gestured to the rest of her classmates " Everyone else is dressed in... regular costumes "

Fatima was right, everyone else in class were dressed up in your stereotypical Halloween costumes, hell, even Brody and his goons were dressed up in Halloween costumes, albeit, they were dressed up as cops, which Fatima and her friends found nasty, but they had to act nice towards him, they didn't want to get in trouble.

" Maybe its cause out costumes as scary? " Gary spoke " B-but who cares? Our costumes are cool and awesome! "

Fatima nodded " Next year though, we should pick something from a cartoon movie! Edgar! " She exclaimed, catching her friends attention " You need to dress up as a toy underneath a traffic cone! "

Edgar blinked before furrowing his eyebrows " Is it cause i'm short? " He asked, tilting his head to the side " Or is it cause i'm adorable like a toy? "

Fatima laughed as she flipped her paper over and began doodling on it " Both! " She exclaimed " You're adorable as heck! And you look like a toy! Like a doll! "

Ms. Harris slammed the door open and slammed it closed as she stormed into her classroom. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked around at her students, who were all either shaking from fear or were simply just looking down, trying not to make any sort of contact with her.

" Who peed in her cereal? " Natsuo whispered to Gary, who shrugged in response " She's always so mad at everyone and everything! Maybe if she didn't have an attitude she'd be nice! "

Edgar smirked as a quiet giggle escaped his mouth " I put pee in her cereal! " He whispered, causing his friends to laugh " I replaced her milk with pee "

" What kinda pee? " Gary giggled out " Human pee or animal pee? "

Before Edgar could answer, Ms. Harris slammed a stack of books down on her table, making the classroom go silent " Class! " She yelled out " I should not hear anybody talking! Focus on your work, keep your lips closed, i do not, i repeat, do NOT want to hear a single peep coming out of your lips. " Her eyes scanning the room before focusing on Edgar " Especially from you, Edward! "

Edgar groaned out " I didn't do anything! " He exclaimed " A-and my name's Edgar! Not Edward! Quit calling m-me that! "

Fatima nodded " Yeah! They're name is Edgar, not Edward! They're not a sparkly good-looking vampire! "

Ms. Harris rolled her eyes as she clicked her tongue " Oh please, Get over it, it's just a name. " Her tone was a mixture of dismissive and annoyance " Plus, your costumes are scary! Why didn't you go as something normal, like Brody's costume? "

Natsuo groaned loudly as he looked over at Brody, who was dressed in a stereotypical Police officer costume that was most likely bought from a costume store.

Brody Smiled " Thank you, Ma'am! " He exclaimed, his lips curling into a smile as he adjusted the cop hat on his head, his blonde hair poking out from underneath it " I do think my costume is amazing! My daddy's a cop now too! He's a hero! "

Fatima and Edgar giggled as they both looked at each other, clearly not believing Brody or the hundreds of lies he loved to tell. They both knew that Brody's father wasn't a police officer, at least, not anymore after he wrongfully shot someone and nearly killed them, of course, he didn't go to jail though, he was just fired and was nothing more then a man who didn't even wanna work.

' A hero? ' Edgar signed to Fatima, who giggled quietly ' More like a villain. He harmed someone, my Maman told me so '

Fatima nodded ' My Baba and Um told me that Brody's dad is like a pig. Nasty, smelly, and covered in poop '

Edgar frowned slightly ' Pigs are cute though, what other foods are you allowed not to eat that we can use as insults? ' He signed.

Fatima thought for a minute, scratching her head as she thought ' Um said that we can't eat bugs, which... why would i? ' She signed as she laughed quietly, when a thought came to her head, making her face light up like a light-bulb " A-ha! Alcohol! ' She signed ' Brody and his dad are like alcohol, foul smelling, nasty taste, and leads to bad choices and bad outcomes! Like my Um and Baba said! '

The friends continued to sign back and forth at one another until school was over. They all made their way to their respected houses where they continued getting their costumes ready by adding the final touches; Make-up, wigs, shoes, and fake blood splattered here and there.

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The Autumn air was crisp and somewhat cold, as leaves of various colors danced in the wind and fell to the roads and sidewalks below, where numerous children would walk and run as they went from house to house, getting various candies and treats. Spooky music blasted from houses, ranging from horror movie music, to Halloween cartoon music.

The aroma of candies, smog machines, and pumpkins wafted through the air, creating a somewhat unpleasant yet nostalgic smell that would be remembered by all the kiddos and adults that were out that night. Whether the kids were with their parents or family members trick-or-treating, or there were adults and teenagers throwing parties, this Halloween night was unlike any other.

" Now now, stay together kiddos! " Aisha called out to the children as they ran up to another house excitedly " Mustafa, Nooria, be nice to each other, okay? "

The house that Edgar and his friends ran up to was Halloween incarnate. With decorations all over, from fake cobwebs, to a smog machine in the front yard, to props that would jump out and scare you, to various props from machetes, to chainsaws, to knives hanging from the tree like a windmill.

Gary eagerly knocked on the door, a excited smile plastered on his face, he was practically bouncing in excitement.

" Trick or treat! " The friends all called out.

The door opened, and standing in the doorway was a young woman, she was dressed up as Mary Shaw from the movie ' Dead silence ', her makeup and costume were on point, as if she had actually been in the movie. She held a large bucket underneath her arm that was overflowing with candy.

" Oh My! " She exclaimed happily " And what amazing costumes you all have! I've never seen such amazing costumes before! " She placed the bucket down, allowing the friends to see that inside said bucket were large chocolate bars and bags of sour candies.

" Jackpot ' Natsuo whispered to Edgar, who giggled in response.

The woman then noticed Edgar's costumes and her eyes lit up with joy " Are you Otis. B Driftwood? " She asked with a smile, Edgar nodded happily, the blonde wig on his head bouncing slightly.

" Y'know what? I don't really see many children dress up as horror movie characters, why don't you all take the bucket and share it between everyone? " The woman said as she handed the bucket to Fatima, who nearly dropped it from how heavy it was " Careful there, Herbert west, wouldn't want you to get injured while trying to bring people back! " She winked with a smile.

Natsuo and Gary gasped in unison, completely taken aback by this woman's offer. Edgar looked into the bucket and noticed some of his favorite candies, yet, he felt kinda bad for taking this woman's whole bucket of candy, it was a lot after it all!

" A-a-are you sure Ma'am? " Edgar asked, tilting his head to the side " W-what if m-m-more people ask for candy? It'll be a-all gone! "

The woman smiled softly, she got down on a knee to get to Edgar's height " Don't worry about that, Little Otis. " She spoke in a comforting and reassuring tone " Me and my partners have a bunch of other bowls full of candy to give out to trick-or-treaters tonight, we always have a lot of candy on Halloween to give out, okay? "

Edgar smiled and thanked the woman, so did all of his friends as they all made their way back to Aisha, who was simply staring in shock as she saw these little 10 year olds dragging a large and heavy bucket full of candy. She simply laughed as she helped sort the candy into each pillowcase, making them heavier and denser then before.

Edgar was practically dragging his pillowcase full of candy on the ground as they struggled to lift it up over their shoulder " We got lucky! " They said happily " That lady loved our costumes! We got so much candy! Brody is gonna be so mad at us! " They giggled quietly.

" Hey, who cares what Brody thinks! " Gary exclaimed " His costume sucks! We're awesome horror people! "

Fatima nodded " Next year, let's all go as the Sawyer family! " She pointed to Edgar " She gets to be Leatherface! " She then pointed to Natsuo " You gotta be Drayton cause you're always grumpy! " Natsuo rolled his eyes and chortled " And you Gary... " Fatima thought for a moment " You can be Chop-Top! Cause you laugh like him! "

Gary howled with laughter at that, tears forming in his eyes " I do laugh like him! You're right! I'll go as Chop-Top! I'll get Mai and Bao to make the jacket for me! They both have a lotta pins! "

" Y-you'd be Nubbins then! " Edgar spoke, pointing at Fatima " I can ask my M-Maman for an old camera for you! "

The four friends continued to discuss how they would make their Halloween costumes for next year as they went from house to house, their pillowcases filling up more and more with various candies and sweets as they became nearly full, almost overflowing with treats that would last them a while.

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Slowly, but surely, it was getting later and later in the night, and Edgar and his friends were becoming more and more tired. They were becoming irritable, and Aisha noticed it. Thankfully, they weren't too far from their houses, just right around the block and they'd be there.

Edgar was no longer walking at this point, his body was having a flare up, he felt his entire body ache with pain, so Aisha was carrying him in her arms. His wig was barely hanging on his head as it stuck to his skin from sweat.

" You doing good there, Otis? " Natsuo exclaimed, turning his sleepy head to look at his friend, his eyes filled with sleep.

Edgar slowly blinked, his eyes also filled with sleep, his hands clenching to Aisha's abaya tightly as he tried to keep himself awake. He quietly blew raspberries in response to his friends question.

" We'll be home soon, i'll place you in your bed, okay? " Aisha spoke, rounding the block and seeing their houses come into view " See? And looks like Your Maman is standing outside waiting for us. "

And she was right! Esmeralda was standing outside, she had just gotten done taking the trash out and was fixing up some of the pumpkins that she had placed on her front porch. Her eyes lit up as she noticed her child and his friends.

" Mon Ange! You're back! " Esmeralda exclaimed happily as she unlatched the front gate and let the group into her yard then into her house " Did you all have fun tonight? "

Gary nodded as he dragged his heavy pillowcase into Edgar's bedroom " We got a lot of candy tonight Miss Esmeralda! " 

Fatima clicked her tongue as she also dragged her pillowcase into Edgar's room " And we didn't run into Brody at all! He didn't even notice us! It was awesome! "

Aisha walked into Edgar's room and placed Edgar down on his bed, removing his wig and the wig net that covered his hair " Try to stay awake, sweetie. I'm gonna clean your makeup off, wouldn't want you to get stains on that cute face of yours! " She then walked off to the hallway closet and searched for makeup removal wipes.

Fatima sat on Edgar's bed, gently tapping on his cheek " We did good, we did good. " She quietly spoke " Brody didn't see us, and we got a lot of candy! Our costumes are amazing and we did awesome tonight! " 

Edgar smiled weakly as he blew raspberries again. Aisha came back in the room with the makeup removal wipes. She carefully wiped the face paint off, making sure she didn't get it in his eyes, nose, or mouth.

" After this, you all go to sleep, okay? " Aisha spoke quietly " You're all tired, i can see it on your faces. " She giggled quietly as she looked down at the floor, noticing that Gary was curling up into a ball, his eyes slowly closing as he drifted off to sleep.

Aisha and Esmeralda made sure the kids had their makeup off, and that their wigs and costumes weren't ruined as they helped them all get ready for sleep. They both carefully placed blankets over the kids and made sure their heads were all resting comfortably on pillows as they all drifted off to sleep.