Loving Wright

Chapter 11: A Happy Halloween

Eli...

"Arggg, shhhhhot!" I yelled in pain, pulling my foot away from the smaller trampling ones

Do these kids ever get tired? They almost knocked the camera out of my hands.

"Hey, be careful!" I shouted to the group of boys as they ran away into the backyard

It was Halloween. A time when sugar rushes in children were at an all-time high.

Every year Uncle Barnard had a Halloween party at his house for his kids and those in the neighborhood. He always went all out with the decorations and games. I remember looking forward to it as a young boy, and planning my costume with Alex. It had become a big deal around here and more kids would show up every year. For that very reason, he decided to have chaperones to help out this year. Of course, Alex and I were first on the list. He said we were the only adults he knew that would do it for free. I didn't mind, but Alex claimed he wasn't quite down with not being paid to be around children. That's why, presently, I was the only one here standing on the porch scanning the yard to make sure these kids didn't injure themselves. The only fun thing so far was to see them in their costumes. They may be annoying but they had some creative minds.

While standing on the back porch, I heard the screen door open and footsteps coming my way. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine Auntie," I said, "you can go back inside now."

She had been peeking through the curtains since I got here, checking up on me. It was infuriating but at least someone was looking out for me and these crazy kids.

"Uh...I'm not your auntie," said a familiar voice

I quickly turned around, almost tripping on my own feet. There she stood, rocking a black and purple long-sleeved dress with a perfectly placed slit and a witch hat.

"Kendra, hey." I smiled stepping towards her

I lifted my arms to give her a hug but quickly pulled it back, playing it off by waving and rubbing the back of my head. Was our friendship at the point of hugs? Did she even consider me her friend?

"Hey," she smiled back with a tiny wave

"Sorry for thinking you were my aunt. Well, she's not really my aunt, she's just Uncle Barnard's wife. And he's not really my uncle, he and my dad are just really good friends and..."

Was I rambling?

And did she just giggle?

"Anyway, she's been checking up on me to see if I was doing OK with the kids."

"It's fine," she said, "And how is it going? Holding up OK?"

"They're slowly breaking me," I said tiredly and she laughed

Never thought I'd enjoy hearing someone laugh.

"But you're a grown-up, you're stronger than they are."

"But there's one of me and a ton of them," I point to the yard full of hyper kids "Alex is supposed to be here, but he hasn't shown up."

"I think he's at another party with Iris."

I raised my hands in frustration, "Of course he ditched me for a girl."

"You'll be fine," she waved off

"I hope so," I said "So what are you doing at this party? Here to help me chaperone?"

"Unfortunately, I wasn't enlisted to help you like Alex," she began "Mr. Cooper invited my son and I. Just came out here to check up on him. Have you seen him?"