In the News

“Why the long face?” asks Mom when I walk into the kitchen. “Are you feeling OK?”

“I’m fine,” I say. But the truth is that I’m in a grumpy mood.

I pour cereal into a bowl and top it with sliced bananas and milk. Then I sit down at the table and eat a spoonful. I see Mom and Dad look at each other. I was quiet the whole car ride home when Dad picked me up from Pamela’s. Then I went straight to bed. I know my parents can tell something is wrong.

Ever since I woke up, I’ve been thinking about last night. No pizza. Not much candy. And not much fun.

Halloween definitely didn’t turn out the way I planned.

Dad puts down the newspaper and looks at me. “Anything you’d like to talk about?” he asks.

I put my spoon down. I tell Mom and Dad about missing the pizza at Mary Ann’s house and then missing most of the trick-or-treating.

I wait for Mom and Dad to say something like You shouldn’t have tried to do two things, or We tried to warn you.

But my parents surprise me. “I’m sorry your night didn’t work out the way you wanted,” says Mom.

Dad takes a sip of his coffee. “The good news is that Halloween was just one holiday and there are several more coming up. Hopefully, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be better.”

Mom smiles at me. “Maybe there’s something you can do to make them extra special,” she says.

“I’d like them to be better,” I tell my parents. I pick up my spoon and take another bite of cereal. The truth is that I don’t think they could be much worse. As I eat my cereal, Max walks into the kitchen and sticks a slice of bread in the toaster.

“Would you like some eggs?” Mom asks Max.

“No thanks,” says my brother. “I’m not that hungry. I ate too much candy last night.” As he waits for his bread to toast, he gives a bite of scrambled eggs to Champ and talks about the party he went to.

It sounds like fun and I’m glad he had a good time, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about the night I had. I should have listened to Mom and Dad when they tried to tell me I was doing too much.

Max sits down with his toast and starts eating.

Dad takes a sip of coffee and turns the page of the newspaper. “Here’s a cool story,” he says. He reads an article aloud. It’s about a group of high school juniors who hosted weekly bake sales to raise money to host a Halloween party for underprivileged kids.

“Over one hundred kids attended the party,” says Dad. He reads a quote from a little boy who went to the party.

“They gave everyone candy and costumes. There was a DJ, and we played scary games. I had so much fun. It was the best Halloween ever!”

“My history teacher told us about that party,” says Max. “When she heard the kids at the high school organized it, she said that next year she’s going to try to do the same thing at the middle school.”

“That’s a good idea,” says Mom.

“Here’s a quote from one of the girls who organized the party,” says Dad.

“‘Seeing all the happy faces of the kids at the party made it the best Halloween ever,’ says Jenny Perez, a junior at Fern Falls High School.”

Mom looks over Dad’s shoulder at the newspaper. “It sounds like a great night for the kids who attended the party and for the kids who organized it,” she says. “I think it’s wonderful that the kids who organized the party made a difference in the lives of other people.”

I finish my cereal and then take my bowl to the sink. While I rinse it out, I think about what Jenny Perez said. Seeing all the happy faces of the kids who came to the party made it the best Halloween she’s ever had.

As I sling my backpack over my shoulder, I can’t help but think about the difference between Jenny and me.

I thought I had the worst Halloween ever.

She thought she had the best Halloween ever.

When it comes to holiday planning, maybe I, Mallory McDonald, can learn something from her.