Into the Shadows (7 page)

* * *

The evening of the Halloween Party had
arrived, and the air was cool and crisp. The leaves crunched under
their feet as Paivi and Michaela walked up the ridiculously long
driveway that led to Amanda Montoya’s house.

Amanda’s parents were well known in town. Mrs.
Montoya was one of the top realtors in the area. There wasn’t a
house for sale in St. Andrew that didn’t have her picture in the
front yard. Her large, white SUV was covered with her picture and
the logo of her real estate firm. Mr. Montoya owned a very
successful chain of supermarkets called ‘Alfredo’s.’

The girls had known Amanda since their grade school
years at Prairie View Elementary. They had been Girl Scouts
together, and even though they didn’t see her all of the time, she
still invited them to all of her events.

Paivi and Michaela were always thrilled to go to
Amanda’s parties because a party at the ‘Montoya Mansion,’ as it
they referred to it, was not to be missed. Amanda’s parties always
out-did all others. At Amanda’s tenth birthday, her parents had
ordered a small carnival to be set up in their huge back yard.
There had been a Tilt-a-Whirl, a little roller coaster and a huge
Ferris wheel, along with a ton of carnival games.

There was no telling what the Halloween party would
have in store for them. Scattered throughout the front yard were
real gravestones. Moss hung from their decrepit exteriors and there
was a slight fog drifting among them, skimming across the dead
leaves on the ground.

“Wow, Amanda’s parents have really outdone
themselves, if that is possible!” Paivi pulled her cloak a little
closer around herself, trying not to shiver.

Paivi and Michaela had decided to dress as vampires.
Cute vampires, not icky ones. They both had on long, crushed velvet
dresses. Paivi’s dress was a deep burgundy. She topped it off with
a long black wig and a set of fangs. Michaela’s dress was a deep
purple. She didn’t need a wig, as her hair was already long and
dark.

“Ooo, come on, this is creepy!” Michaela grabbed
Paivis arm, quickening her pace. As they neared the door, they
passed one last gravestone, a pile of leaves lay at its base.
Suddenly, the pile jumped off the ground and lunged at them.

“Uhhhhhh,” it moaned, echoing through the front
yard.

The girls let out a blood-curdling scream and ran to
the front door, knocking frantically. The leaf-creature was
advancing on them. They started pounding on the door, screaming.
The door creaked slowly open and the girls didn’t bother to wait
for an invite. They tumbled through the door, nearly falling over
each other. They had not yet noticed the large figure standing
before them. The sound of a chainsaw ripped through the foyer, the
figure held the machine over its head. Its face was covered with a
white hockey mask. The girls screamed again and fell into a heap
against the front door.

At that moment, the light switched on, illuminating
the foyer. Mrs. Montoya appeared, dressed in an elaborate witch
costume. She carried a tray filled with goblets that were emitting
a green smoke.

“Hi girls,” she said, smiling in their direction.
“Sorry about that.” She gestured to the large figure next to her.
“Honestly, Fredo, you are going to give these kids a heart
attack!”

“Hi girls! We were just having a little fun, weren’t
we?” Mr. Montoya removed his mask. “Boy did we get you good!”

He laughed heartily.

“I take it you ran into Chase in the front yard.”
Mr. Montoya boomed as a leafy figure waved through the window next
to the door. Chase was Amanda’s younger brother.

Paivi and Michaela picked themselves up off the
floor and straightened out their costumes.

“Man, Mr. M., you had me scared out of my mind! That
was crazier than the last haunted house I went to!” Paivi’s heart
was still pounding in her chest.

“Well, go on down, everybody is in the basement.
Have fun!” he shouted, revving the chainsaw again.

Mrs. Montoya laughed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t
mind him!”

The girls followed her down the spiraling stairs
into the basement. The Montoya’s basement was hardly normal. It was
considered a wing of their already expansive home. There was a full
second kitchen, where Mrs. Montoya was setting down the smoking
drinks.

“Here girls, try a ‘Witch’s Brew.’ Amanda is down
here somewhere.” She emptied the tray and turned to leave. “Have
fun!”

The girls leaned back against the counter of the bar
and surveyed the scene. Music thumped from speakers hidden out of
sight. A mix of popular and Halloween themed songs, including
‘Monster Mash’ and ‘Thriller,’ had a few people dancing.

In front of them was a huge recreation room. Off to
one side, in front of a roaring fire, was a grouping of fluffy
couches and opposite on the wall ‘The Exorcist’ played on a large
movie screen. There were a number of costumed people lounging in
the cozy corner.

With all of the costumes and make-up, it was hard
for Paivi to tell who was who. She looked to see if Jason was over
there, but she couldn’t tell.

In the center of the large room was a pool table,
where Dracula, Frankenstein, a hockey player, and a banana were in
the middle of an intense game. Off to the side was a poker table,
which at the moment was being used for a Ouija board. Candles were
the only light on that side of the room. Paivi could hear gasps and
shrieks as the crowd around the Ouija board read the messages it
gave them. She could see Amanda, dressed as a mermaid, sitting at
the table.

Beyond the table was a wall of windows with large
French doors that led to a stone patio and fire pit. Paivi could
see more people outside sitting by the fire, roasting
marshmallows.

“Hey, let’s go say hi to Amanda and then go out and
roast some marshmallows before it gets too cold. I am absolutely
dying for one!” Paivi wondered if Jason was outside.

Oh, stop it, she told herself. What is the point? He
would be here with his girlfriend.

Anyways, maybe she would meet a cute guy at the
party to tide her over until Jason and Melissa were no more; there
were definitely plenty of them around!

“I love roasting marshmallows!” Michaela
squealed.

They headed towards the group at the Ouija
board.

“Is it bad when most of your marshmallows end up in
the fire instead of in your mouth?” Michaela laughed.

They approached Amanda’s chair, attacking her with
hugs from both sides, careful not to crush her elaborate mermaid’s
costume.

“Hey!” She jumped up, turning around to hug them
both. “You guys look fabulous!”

“Uh, guys, I think the board has a message for
Paivi,” squealed one of Amanda’s friends, Darcy. “Look, Marina is
writing it down while it moves.”

Darcy gestured to their hands on the small device
gliding across the Ouija board.

“What did it spell out, Marina?” she asked.

“Just a second, I don’t think it’s done.” Marina
waved Darcy off, her eyes following the planchette eagerly.

Their hands continued to move with the device.

Paivi started to get nervous. What was it going to
do, tell her I KNOW for the eightieth time?

“Okay! I’ve got it!” shouted Marina. “Oh my god,
Paivi!”

Paivi could feel her heart start to sink.

“Paivi loves Jeff!”

“Who is Jeff? Is he here at the party?” asked a girl
dressed like Princess Leia from Star Wars.

Paivi laughed and felt a sense of relief wash over
her. “Jeff? I don’t think I even know anyone named Jeff. I guess
he’ll just be my mystery man!”

The banana shooting pool had overheard the girls’
conversation and raised his hand.

“Hey, my name is Jeff! Who loves me?”

They all laughed.

“According to the all-knowing Ouija, Paivi here
does!” Amanda pointed her out. “Jeff, meet the new love of your
life!”

“Nice!” He walked over to Paivi. “Hi, I’m Jeff the
banana. Damn glad to meet you!”

He pumped her hand in an exaggerated handshake.
Paivi blushed.

“Hi Jeff the banana. It’s a pleasure?!” She wasn’t
so sure.

“I’ll be seeing you,” he pointed his two fingers at
her like pistols, pretending to shoot, blew the smoke off of them
and winked, “later! But right now I’ve got to finish my game!
Bye!”

Amanda turned to Paivi and Michaela. “Do you guys
want to play? We can pull up more chairs.”

“That’s cool, we’ll come play in a little bit. We
want to go roast some marshmallows! Did you get stuff to make
S’mores?” asked Paivi.

“Girl, you know I did! Hey, Michaela, try not to
drop all of your marshmallows into the fire this time!” Amanda’s
laughter followed them out the door into the crisp evening.

“Now can anyone tell us the positive aspects of
globalization? Why is it a good thing?” Dr. Hasenpfeffer stood
before the class. She was oblivious to the fact that most of the
students in the class were not paying any attention to her. Some
had snuck their headphones up through their sweatshirts and were
listening to music. Some were passing notes. And some had even
succumbed to a sweet mid-class slumber, brought upon by the
consumption of too many Tartan burgers at lunch and the overly warm
conditions in the classroom. Paivi turned to look at the clock and
couldn’t help noticing that Michael Giannotti was in such a deep
sleep that he was emitting a snore every so often and a large
puddle of drool was spreading slowly across his notebook, causing
the few notes he had taken to run. She was astounded by Dr.
Hasenpfeffer’s lack of attention to this fact. She felt it was
quite possible that the good doctor had just stopped caring whether
they listened or not.

Paivi genuinely liked Dr. Hasenpfeffer, even if she
had the worst case of scatterbrain Paivi had ever seen. She really
felt her teacher was a nice lady. And when she wasn’t captivating
them with astounding tales of Clarence the cat and his habit of
pishing all over her carpets, she did have interesting things to
say.

Unlike the rest of her classmates, Paivi was not in
a food coma, in fact, her stomach was twisted in knots of hunger
because she still hadn’t been to lunch yet. And even though she
could see the future, she couldn’t make it arrive any faster, so
she figured she might as well say something. Besides, she was
slightly bored and a little annoyed that she was surrounded by such
lazy idiots. And she felt kind of sorry for Dr. Hasenpfeffer.

She raised her hand.

“Dr. H., globalization could be considered positive
because it gives jobs to people in other parts of the world. That
might give them more opportunities and maybe they would earn more
money than before,” she said.

Dr. Hasenpfeffer seemed surprised that someone had
actually answered.

“That is correct Paivi. One could say it is also a
positive for the consumer. Companies generally take their
production offshore in order to reduce costs. This gives them more
of a profit, but it also passes some savings along to the
consumer.”

Jason, paying attention to their discussion with
interest, raised his hand.

“Dr. H., what about all of those toys that we get
from China? I mean, I know they are cheaper than if they were made
here, but lately they have all been found to contain lead paint. My
aunt had to throw out all of my little cousin’s Super-Bots last
week. You should have seen him cry — I thought someone had
died!”

“Yes, Jason, that is one of the negative aspects of
globalization. If the toys are made in China, we have to trust that
the Chinese companies will abide by U.S. laws. Unfortunately, they
don’t always check the toys coming over, and that is why you have
seen toys from China being recalled every day. I’ve heard a rumor
that Chinese-made toys are going to be banned and will all be sent
back. Think of how that could affect what Santa Claus puts under
the Christmas tree!” she said, tapping her head with piece of
chalk.

The idea of no toys or gadgets for Christmas rousted
a few of the sleeping and comatose students, and the remainder of
class was spent arguing about where else they could get them and
how people would deal with the prospect of Santa delivering gifts
filled with socks and underwear.

As the bell rang and they left the classroom, Dr.
Hasenpfeffer shouted their homework at them through the din.

“Please don’t forget to watch the presidential
debate on Sunday night! Who would you vote for and why! We will
discuss on Monday!”

“I can just see it now,” said Jason as they filed
through the door, “parents buying Chinese-made Chuckling Charlies
like druggies score drugs! Instead of drug dealers, there will be
toy pushers hanging out at the playgrounds and on street
corners!”

“Yeah, they will open their trench coats and instead
of watches, they will be lined with dolls and action figures!”
Paivi pretended to be opening a coat, laughing. “Got your Soldier
Steve toys, step right up!”

“So, any big plans for the weekend?” Paivi asked as
she walked down to lunch with Jason.

“We’re going to some Halloween party tomorrow.”

“Oh, is it Amanda Montoya’s party?” Her heart
fluttered.

“I’m not sure. Probably. Melissa just told me we
were going as Hansel and Gretel.” He sounded a bit angry.

Paivi laughed.

“We’re going, too! You sound less than enthused. I
don’t understand why! Lederhosen are one of the more attractive
costumes a guy could wear!” She poked him in the side and
snickered. “I haven’t quite picked out what I’m wearing just
yet.”

“I just don’t like being told what to wear and what
to do,” he snapped.

Paivi smiled inside. Maybe there was trouble in
paradise. Her mind flitted to the thought of dancing with Jason at
the Winter Dance.