A Midnight Mind

Chapter 16: The Halloween Festival

There were dozens of students and a few teachers milling about the school, many on their way to the gymnasium for the party. Ethan got a few thumbs up from people he didn't know as he passed them by, and he couldn't help grinning. He was glad he didn't go for the other costume option, which would have had a helmet covering his face, even though it was tempting given his anxiousness about being labelled a geek.

The gym was packed with costumed students. Spears of colored lights moved hypnotically around the floor and walls. A student DJ dressed as Mickey Mouse played top-40 tracks from the stage. Long tables of snacks and drinks flanked either end of the gym. It was hard to find anyone Ethan recognized thanks to all the costumes and the low lighting, so he meandered over to the drinks table to get some punch to start things off.

"Nice work keeping the psychic thing on the down-low, Luke," said a voice beside him as he filled his cup.

Ethan glanced to his right and saw Duncan dressed in blue overalls, white gloves, and a bright red hat, along with a fake, bushy mustache.

"Good job pretending you're not a video game nerd, Mario," said Ethan in return.

"I'm not pretending anything," said Duncan. "You see Ms. Stafford yet?"

"No, have you?"

Duncan pointed a big white glove across the gym. Stafford's wild hair stood out among the costumes, though much of it was hidden behind a wide-brimmed hat. Half the brim was folded up, and a large white feather protruded from the hat's rim. Her outfit was royal blue with a gold trim, and a white cross emblem was emblazoned on her chest. On her hip hung a fake fencing sword that reminded Ethan of her black hole sword from Tuesday night. All in all, Stafford's outfit had the look of something from The Three Musketeers, and while it was perfectly modest, the form-fitting pants and knee-high boots drew the eyes of many male students.

"Do you prefer this one to Dorothy?" Ethan asked, smirking.

"The Dorothy costume will always have a place in my heart," said Duncan. "But so will this one. It's times like these I really appreciate my photographic memory."

"You guys are creeps," came another familiar voice. Ethan was surprised to find Kara standing next to Duncan. He wondered if she had been there the whole time, or if her general quietness and small stature (compared to Duncan) made her invisible. Or maybe Stafford was more distracting than Ethan thought.

"Speaking of Dorothy," said Duncan, looking down at Kara's puffy blue dress. Her bright blonde hair was curled into waves and was tied back with blue bow.

"I'm not Dorothy," said Kara crossly, "I'm Alice. And yes, there is a difference, Duncan."

The three of them chatted for a few minutes as the gymnasium filled up with students. Ethan couldn't say for sure, but it seemed as though Kara was deliberately avoiding mentioning the Worldmind, even in passing. He wondered if she was told by Stafford not to bring it up around Ethan, or if she was generally tight-lipped on the subject. It didn't seem as though there were strict rules about keeping psychics a secret, so maybe it was a social thing. Perhaps she thought she would be seen as crazy, or a conspiracy nut or something.

To Ethan's embarrassment, Duncan revealed that he now knew that Ms. Stafford was psychic. He didn't say how he knew, exactly, but the lingering glare at Ethan from Kara made it clear that she had a pretty good idea who told him.

"So why Alice?" Ethan asked to change the subject. He expected that, like himself, Kara was dressing up in a way that quietly revealed a little bit about her secret life. Stepping into another world so different from reality, much like a certain girl and her tumble down the rabbit hole.