Don't Leave

Halloween Vault 2024 Entry

You see, as the universe expands, fewer folks believe in haunted spirits.

Supposedly, these haunted spirits reside in a 300-year-old mansion-well, not exactly living, but you get the idea. But the town and neighbourhood still reek of the fresh white paint from their walls. The mortgage documents remain as crisp as the day they were inked. The only spirits dwelling there now are the moods to decorate the empty walls.

Every day at school, Georgie Herschel, one of those folks who doubts spirits, religion, and his own parents, tries his darndest to charm the new girl, Victoria. Everyone in this school is essentially a newcomer. And when I say "new," I mean pretty much everyone in this town is a newcomer. You could almost see the "new kid" tag hanging on their backpacks.

She's the polar opposite of his wayward compass, looking like a devout Christian with a cross dangling from her slender neck.

Georgie's courtship isn't a well-kept secret; it's about as subtle as a freight train. Everyone in the 11th grade knows about it because he makes sure of it. The only thing that remains a secret is her answer about joining him on Halloween party next week. To give Georgie some credit and make him seem less like a stalker, everyone's new in this small Winchendon town, so folks are still trying to unravel each other's secrets.

Like a hopeless romantic, he fixates on the back of Victoria's fiery, curly head, contemplating whether the red hue is natural or from a product of some fancy hair dye. He's rooting for the dye, just because. He should be paying attention to Mr. Collins, who's now glaring at him, waiting for an answer to the question: "Mr. Herschel, would you mind explaining why the back of Ms. Smith's head seems to be more captivating to you than my meticulously drawn quadratic cone?"

The response "Because your hairless head just can't compete," earns him a one-way ticket to the antiseptic-scented detention class.

Fast forward to the next morning in detention, and here comes Victoria with her fiery hair, immediately stealing Georgie's attention. Her hair exudes energy, but her eyes are filled with anger as she marches toward him. In Georgie's eyes, it looks like she's passionately eager to talk to him.

"Go tell Mr. Smith I have nothing to do with you," she jabs him in the stomach, as she's about as tall as his diaphragm, requiring a bit of extra effort to reach. "Why should I be in detention?"

"Well, he got distracted thanks to you," Mr. Smith makes his grand entrance, waving a piece of paper. "And I need ten students for a special assignment." He brandishes the paper like a prized trophy.

"That's pure hogwash!" Victoria curses, and her fiery hair adds a flourish to the drama.

"And you're cursing at your teacher," he remarks, pulling his chair to the front of the class. "Bureaucracy won't help you now. Sit down like good students, folks."

Victoria marches to the back of the class, and Georgie follows as if he's on a springboard. Detention has been a recurring theme on his report cards since 8th grade, but none have been quite as eventful.

"Let's get this straight, rule breakers," Mr. Smith waves his piece of paper again. "You broke some rules, so you get another set of rules to make up for them."

So, there they all are, the rule-breakers, getting another set of rules as part of their punishment. Mr. Smith unveils the grand plan: a Halloween dance party in a week. It's going to be the school's first event since they kicked off operations in September. You see, this is a new school, and not a lot of students are in the mix just yet.

"A dance party? Like prom? On Halloween?" Georgie inquires, finding the concept bizarre but not entirely objectionable.

Mr. Smith nods but doesn't elaborate; he appears to be the most reluctant person in the detention class.