AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

E. 4. "This Spells Real Danger" (1/5)

October 2016

Over a year later...

A spine-chilling, yet high-spirited atmosphere hangs in the night of a neighbourhood in Brandon: people dressed up in various costumes are roaming the streets, stopping at houses festooned in frightening decorations from spider webs to skeletons to graves. This is all because of the celebrated holiday: Halloween.

Inside a humbled two-story house in his room, Kale Clague is standing in front of a mirror, preparing himself for the holiday.

With a marker of black face paint, he colours the tip of his nose. "Almost done...and..." He draws three whiskers on each of his cheeks. "...there!"

He caps the markers and places it on his dresser below the mirror. "And then—" He reaches behind his head and pulls up the black hood connected to his black jumpsuit over his head. The hood fits snugly over his voluminous hair, displaying the black cat ears sewn on top of it.

"Tada! I'm a cat!" He raises his gloved hands in the air, gazing at his outfit his mirror can capture: He is wearing a black, velvet jumpsuit with a wired, slim tail peeking out from behind him. His gloves are connected to his outfit in the shape and colours of a cat's paw.

Kale smiles happily at the mirror. "Yup, looks good." He waves his paw at it with a playful look. "Meow."

He shifts back to his excited expression, pressing his paws against their soft palms together. "Okay, now that I'm dressed up, what should I do: trick-or-treat or go to a Halloween party?" He taps his stubble-dotted chin with his paw. "Hmmm, I'll see what Duker has to say!"

With that, Kale speeds out of his bright room, rushes down the dim hallway, and bursts through a door to his right.

On the other side in his bright room, Reid Duke is lying on his stomach on his bed, immersed in video memes playing on his laptop.

"Duker!" Kale exclaims from the doorway.

Reid instantly perks up with his arched eyebrows raised. "Claguer!" Bewilderment fills his face as he takes in his friend's feline outfit. "Whhhyyy are you dressed up as a cat?" He peers back up at him. "Is it National Cat Day? Do I have to dress up as a cat?"

Kale gives him back his look. "It's Halloween."

"Halloween?" He tilts his head, gazing at him like he just said there's a national day for raccoon dogs. "Why're you all dressed up for Halloween?"

"Because it's Halloween." Doubt clouds Kale's face. "Or is it not? Wait..." He shuffles out of the room, leaving Reid alone for a moment.

He quickly returns, this time with his one-piece suit zipped down to his waist, revealing his salmon-colored T-shirt. In his bare hands is his smartphone, which he is gazing at.

"Yes, it is!" Kale reverts his eyes at his friend with a mad look. "It's the thirty-first of October! That's Halloween!"

Reid gawks at him. "No, it can't be, it's..." His voice fades off as realization appears on his face. "Cheeseburger cupcakes, it is!" He peers down at his drab clothes, which consists of a thick beige sweatshirt and jeans. "Oh my mars, and I am not dressed up!"

He scrambles off of his bed and rushes up to his friend. "I GOTTA DRESS UP, DON'T LOOK!" He shoves Kale through the doorway and slams the door in his face.

Kale stares at the white, wooden door, stunned. He then looks down with knitted eyebrows and scratches his head. "I still don't know whether to trick-or-treating or go to a party." He lets out a sigh. "I'll ask Pat."