Beauty & the Geek

Chapter 4

The spookiest day of the year arrived, bearing a bag of treats. Well, technically, the treats were inside an orange pumpkin pail that was overflowing with candy. Halloween at the Newby household is always something special. Bob goes all out in every way possible. Halloween is similar to Christmas when it comes to decorations, and Maddy's father is known as the Clark Grizwald of Hawkins. Bigger is better, especially with lights and over-the-top displays.

Each year has its own theme. This year Halloween, 1984 is all about The Great Pumpkin. Both father and daughter have a tradition of watching the classic Peanuts cartoon together ever since Maddy was a wee girl of three. So, Bob shared his thoughts in his happy, go-lucky way, "Why not decorate the front yard like the Great Pumpkin? Who doesn't love Charlie Brown? Plus, it won't scare the children. Remember last year? Little Adam Rogers wet himself when I jumped out dressed as a werewolf."

How could Madison forget? That was horrific. Not only did Bob scare little Adam, but he also scared Lucas, Will, Mike, and Dustin. However, they'll never admit it. Katie told her Lucas had to sleep with a nightlight for a week afterward. So, as her father began organizing and putting up the display, it was Madison's job to purchase all the real pumpkins. According to Bob, "We need lots of pumpkins--- big ones, small ones, round, square, green, orange, whatever. But remember, you have to pick the most sincere one to be the Great Pumpkin! It's a requirement, you know."

Maddy may have rolled her eyes, but she knew it was true. Linus says so. One pleasant October Saturday, Katie and Jen went with her to the local pumpkin farm. The intent was to load up the trunk with the orange treasure. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans go awry. When the trio arrived at Merrill's, there were no pumpkins to be had. They were all ruined. Taking one look around at the nasty, rotten gourds sent a chill over the girls. It also turned their stomachs to the point of gagging.

Jen wrinkled her nose in disgust and declared, "That's gross."

As far as the eye could see were nothing but blackened, spoiled pumpkins. "Poor Mr. Wright. The majority of his income is made with the patch's sales," Katie remarked.

Maddy agreed, and they loaded back into the car. They tried another pumpkin patch, but it was more of the same. That made Madison say, "Something is very not right here. Pumpkins don't turn all blackened and charred like that out of thin air. They grow in the ground, so there has to be something wrong with the ground environment. But what? It makes me wonder if it's some farming experiment gone haywire."

She took one last look around at the pumpkin patch and shook her head--- what a devasting loss to these farmers.

Jen, who loves science stuff as much as Maddy, declared, "I would love to get my test kit out here. I could test the soil quality and learn so much from it. This year, I'd be a shoo-in to win top honors at the science fair for sure. Katie, you could help me research the history of farm diseases that last hit Indiana."

Katie, who loves history and anything historical, smiled at the thought of digging through the old archives. The trio made plans to return another day and collect data. Aside from that, the girls had to settle for pumpkins purchased at the local supermarket. It's not the same as picking them yourself fresh from the vine, but it had to do.

That was then, and now the Newby house is all decked out for Halloween--- store-bought pumpkins included. When Maddy awoke, she pulled out a particular spice orange t-shirt to wear. She, Katie, and Jen all bought the same one a few weeks ago at a store in the mall. The shirt says Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun. They believed wearing them on this day would be cute since they won't be dressing up later. Neither of Maddy's friends is going to Tina's party. Instead, they're going to come over and watch scary movies with her. It's their own kind of Halloween fun. The kind that they've done every year since middle school.