Somehow Maya, Amy, and I had to find proof that Caden was blackmailing Mr. Goshen. Maya wanted me to use my ability, but I didn’t think that was the right idea.
While I thought about what to do instead, I put the final touches on my Halloween costume. My mom had dyed my costume blue on Friday. Today, we painted the mask blue to match the rest of the costume. When we finished my mask, my mother had to finish my sister Katie’s costume. Katie said most of her friends were dressing up as princesses, but she wanted to be a zombie. They finished her costume with a half hour to spare. My sister and I got dressed and ready for our first trick-or-treating experience. My dad was staying home to pass out candy while my mom went with my sister.
“What kind of candy did you get?” I asked my mom. I had heard in school that the type of candy determined whether your house was a good stop. I heard my classmates bragging about the candy at their house.
“I forgot to get some. I’ll run to the store,” my dad said.
“Trick-or-treating starts in ten minutes. You don’t have enough time.”
“I’ll just be late.”
“I don’t think you can do that.”
“Why not?”
“I think to be a stop, you have to be open with lights on from six to eight or else kids will pass by your house.”
“Maybe we have some candy in our house.” My dad and I went into the kitchen and looked through the pantry. I didn’t see anything that could be passed out in bulk until I looked at the top shelf. The shelf was filled with red boxes of popcorn.
“Do you have the same idea that I do?” I asked.
Yes, he said in my head.
We grabbed all the popcorn boxes off the shelf. “Should we pass it out popped?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
I looked at the clock. “It will take forever to pop it.”
“What if I run out?” he asked.
“I think that’s okay. Maya said they ran out of candy last year.”
“Perfect.”
“Charlie, are you ready to go?” my mom asked.
“Almost.” I helped my dad empty all twenty-four boxes of popcorn. With six bags in each box, my dad had enough bags for one hundred and forty-four kids. That had to be enough. I had no idea if popcorn was an acceptable treat to pass out, but if it wasn’t, hopefully nobody would know it was my house.
I met my sister and mom in the living room. Mom handed me a canvas bag, and we loaded up in the car.
“I’ll pick you up here about eight,” my mom said as I shut the car door at Maya’s house. I waved as she backed out of the driveway.
I knocked on Maya’s door.
“Hello, Ninja,” I said. She wore all black with a black hood and a black scarf covering most of her face, except for her eyes. Her skirt and top were outlined in red and she had two swords tucked into a loop on both sides of her.
“Charlie?” she asked.
“Yes.
“You are an alien.” She started laughing.
“I am!” She looked from top to bottom at my bright blue costume with the blue mask and big black eyes and tiny nose and mouth. “It’s not exactly right, but it’s the best I could do.”
“Is this what …” she looked behind her, then continued, “real aliens look like?”
“In a way. I am bright blue with big eyes in my natural body, but that’s about it.”
“Charlie?” Maya’s mom asked, walking up behind her. She wasn’t wearing a costume.
“Nope. I am an alien invader,” I said. Maya laughed again. Her mom smiled. We heard a knock on the door.
“Trick-or-treat!” Amy said. “Or smell my feet.” Her outfit was like Maya’s except her ninja costume was red.
“Smell your feet? Okay, if you want me to.” I started to bend over. Maya and Amy started laughing.
“Ewww. It’s a saying,” Amy said. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Hot Spaghetti, that’s a weird saying!”
“And Hot Spaghetti isn’t?” Amy asked with a giggle.
“Good point!”
“C’mon, let’s get going,” Maya said. “I want to fill my bag before we go to Mr. Goshen’s house. ’Bye, Mom!”
“Call us if you need picked up or need anything. Be safe,” Mrs. Bennett said.
“’Bye, Mrs. Bennett.”
Maya lived at the top of the street, so we went next door and continued down the street to the cul-de-sac. At every door, we all shouted “Trick-or-treat!” An adult would put a piece or two of candy in our bag, and on to the next house we’d go. Maya and Amy were fast so I had to jog most of the time to keep up. Halfway down her street, we slowed down a bit.
“Lickity split, I need a break. This trick-or-treating is hard work,” I said.
“What time is it?” she asked.
I looked at my watch. “6:17.”
We approached the next house. The lights were off and it was dark, but I heard ominous music playing from somewhere.
“Shouldn’t we pass this one?”
“Nope,” Maya said, but she slowed her, letting me take the lead. Amy trailed behind. I followed the path around to the door, but I felt someone else nearby. I looked around, but I didn’t see anyone.
“Maya, somebody is here,” I whispered. She didn’t say anything.
“Happy Halloween!” shouted a gorilla who jumped in our path.
“Hot diggity dog!” I yelled, and shuddered. Maya and Amy cracked up.
“That was a good one, Jerry,” Maya said. The gorilla gave her a high five. Then he grabbed a bowl from behind a tree and placed two giant candy bars in our bags.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, and we left the house.
“You knew that was going to happen!” I said.
“Yes. I thought with your ability, it might not work. But it did, and it was great,” Maya said.
“Wait, what ability?” Amy asked.
Lickity split. “I have really good vision,” I said. “I knew he was there.” Amy looked at me funny, but didn’t say anything about my “vision ability.”
“Come on, no you didn’t,” Maya said.
We finished up the last few houses on her street and turned toward Mr. Goshen’s neighborhood.
“Do you have any ideas of how to find proof about Caden?” I asked Maya and Amy.
“I was hoping you had an idea,” Maya said. She nudged me in my arm.
“What was that for?” I asked. She sighed.
“Try asking about Tommy Thunder?” Amy said. “If that doesn’t work, ask about Caden. Maybe he will slip and tell us something we don’t know.”
Maya nodded and nudged me again. Amy walked out ahead.
“Use your ability to find proof,” Maya whispered.
“My parents don’t want me to use my ability right now,” I muttered back.
“Please, Charlie,” she said.
I let out a deep breath.
“Maybe.”