Boys and girls of every age Wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see This, our town of Halloween This is Halloween, this is Halloween Pumpkins scream in the dead of night This is Halloween, everybody make a scene Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright It's our town, everybody scream In this town of Halloween I am the one hiding under your bed Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red I am the one hiding under yours stairs Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair This is Halloween, this is Halloween Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! In this town we call home Everyone hail to the pumpkin song In this town, don't we love it now? Everybody's waiting for the next surprise Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll... Scream! This is Halloween Red 'n' black, slimy green Aren't you scared? Well, that's just fine Say it once, say it twice Take a chance and roll the dice Ride with the moon in the dead of night Everybody scream, everybody scream In our town of Halloween! I am the clown with the tear-away face Here in a flash and gone without a trace I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?" I am the wind blowing through your hair I am the shadow on the moon at night Filling your dreams to the brim with fright This is Halloween, this is Halloween Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Tender lumplings everywhere Life's no fun without a good scare That's our job, but we're not mean In our town of Halloween In this town Don't we love it now? Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back And scream like a banshee Make you jump out of your skin This is Halloween, everyone scream Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin patch Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King This is Halloween, this is Halloween Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! In this town we call home Everyone hail to the pumpkin song "Eve of Saints" Olivia couldn't help but hum the song as she made her way to Miss Madsen's class. Despite Halloween falling on a Sunday that year, she had taken the liberty of dressing up, as had many of the girls in Stanton: she chose to go as a princess, and frankly, her parents had thought it a good idea. She met several other people who had dressed up, though some chose outfits even more elaborate than hers. Wondering if Madsen herself wore anything special, she shyly entered the Literature and Writing class and waited for her friends. Gabrielle, Mira, Haley—or Alex, as she was being called now—and Lilian were already there, talking quietly amongst themselves. Olivia grinned bashfully as they waved at her and commented on her dress. Haley—Alex was going as herself, so it seemed, for she dressed in the exact same fashion she always did, thus passing off as a raver. Mira was dressed, though as somebody Olivia couldn't tell, and Gabrielle and Lilian, she guessed, went as a couple, though she couldn't identify which one. "Who're you two supposed to be?" she asked as she sat down. "Well, I'm supposed to be Asuka Langley from Neon Genesis Evangelion," said Gabrielle, "and Lil's supposed to be Rei Ayanami." "Never heard of it." "What?" said Mira, balking. "Is famous anime! Very popular! I myself would have gone as Yutena, but I changed my mind and went as Lunamaria Hawke from Gundam Seed Destiny. Blake is Yutena instead." "And who is that?" "Utena, from the anime of the same name," said Gabrielle. She saw the look on her friend's face and shrugged. "I dunno either. I guess she's some lass with pink hair. Usha's going as Utena's love interest, some Hindu lass named Anthy." "Oh. So that's why you wanted to dress like that. I guess, uh, Utena and Anthy don't have a third love interest." "There's always a crossover!" exclaimed Mira happily. Furious Hail—Alex Blair—rolled her eyes. "Oh, boy..." More girls came in, some dressed well, others could be debated upon. As promised, Victoria traveled as Tsukasa from the anime dot hack, and June, she said, was going as Subaru (which was fitting, since Tsukasa's love interest in the show was supposedly handicapped, as was Victoria's own love interest). Blake did indeed look a little formal (Usha popped her head in the classroom briefly to say hello to Mira), although wearing a pink wig was not her style; May went as Supergirl, and got several calls and cheers from the girls. "Now if only we could find Lois Lane," chuckled Gabrielle. "I'd settle for Jimmy Olson," murmured Tramble. This only caused the girls to giggle even more. Alexis Walker went as herself, saying her own clothes were quite suitable enough for any occasion; Janine had unearthed her old cheerleader's outfit and went as that (earning even more whistles than May's super-suit had). She was even asked to do a little cheer, which she was more than happy to do, seeing as how she missed the sport so. Zane came in, humming a sea shanty, dressed as some scallywag, borrowing the outfit she was given for the musical; Ivory entered as basically herself, although she didn't wear her blue contacts. "And just who are you supposed to be?" asked Victoria. Ivory gave a smirk. "Ever hear of Marimite?" "I have!" exclaimed Mira. Ivory smiled at her. "Then you know who I am." "So is Ancelin Youko, Sei?" "Ah, very perceptive." As usual, the girls had no idea what van Dijk was talking about. That was everyone, then, except for Miss Madsen, of course. Despite always being the last one in class, unless somebody was very late, she always seemed to know exactly who had came first. She came in humming the theme song to Ghostbusters, carrying in her hands the Gregory Maguire novel Lost, and attracted the attention of more than one lady there. Everything was different about her: the long black hair she usually wore up was now down, and frankly, quite blonde. She wore denim, not the slacks that so defined her business decorum, and had a sleeveless red shirt that must've been horrible in the late October weather. Only anime buff Mira recognized her. "Good morning, class," she addressed, waving the dyed hair from her eyes. The girls tried hard not to grin or laugh. "Good morning, Miss Madsen." "Good morning Mireille!" exclaimed Mira. Hitomi gave her a coy look. "Yes, I'm Mireille Bouquet from Noir, if any of you are wondering. And no, there's no Kirika." Mira moped, "Aww", but the rest of the girls looked puzzled. It seemed as if they had a very loose, narrow grasp of anime—and so did Hitomi, but her girlfriend made her dress up. ......... For the record, Abby Keeping went as Madlax, and had to alter herself very little for the change. A few heads turned, of course, as she walked down halls and taught classes, but heads turned in her presence all the time, for she was a very lovely woman. She had not dressed for Halloween (or even Near-Halloween) in years, not that she had any excuse to. It was sort of like a thing that passed once she got out of college, but thankfully, getting back into the groove was easy once she had a girlfriend. She tried to forget that she and Madsen had "accidentally" slept together again the previous night as she came into her class. Many of the girls looked quite lovely in their costumes: Gabrielle, Mira, cute Janine and Victoria, elegant Usha. Others were harder to identify, like Erica and Ancelin, while some seemed to just throw something on and get to class, like X and Corona. "My, what an assembly," she remarked. "Is it in human nature to mask ourselves, or perhaps our masks do not hide us, but instead make us more apparent? Just something to think about." By that time, of course, the women were used to her making comments meant to stir their minds. They ignored most of it, but some of her quotes made sense (not that one). "Let's just hope your wonderful outfits don't offer a distraction," she warned coyly. "After all, we have quite a bit of work to do." The girls groaned; Hero was too busy staring at the new transfer students to pay attention. Kula the skater and... what's she supposed to be, Sonny Chiba? ......... "So how was it like dating another girl, mom?" "Not as unusual as I thought it'd be," answered Janet Keys. "So what'd you do?" Jocelyn leaned forward and grinned. "Did ya kiss her?" "No." "Did ya hold hands, hug, what?" "We just... went out to eat and took a walk." "But that's the same thing you did last time." "Well honey, you gotta remember that I haven't been on a date since my husband died. I'm not really experienced in it." "So're you gonna go on another date?" "No, two was my limit. That's what we agreed on." "Oh." Janet couldn't help but think that her foster daughter looked a little crestfallen. She didn't think the young mother-to-be really wanted her to date women, she was probably just anxious to see her happy and going out more often. True to her promise, Janet had only dated Elspeth twice, although they had exchanged a brief kiss their first night out (the second was less romantic). Now they were both free again—Janet had a date with a divorced father, Elspeth with Sarah Jo briefly (that was a tale in itself). "So otherwise you're doing okay?" Janet laughed. "Hey, I'm supposed to be the one concerned about you, Joss! Speaking of which, how are you?" "Good," she said, "but I could always do better." "I see. You know, you look really pretty as... who?" "Terra Branford, from Final Fantasy six." "Right. And your friend Erica agreed to be... Celes, right?" Jocelyn smiled brightly. She had agreed, all right, but not just because they were friends. "Yup." "All right. Well, we better get to class. Swing on by later and maybe we can have lunch together." "All right. Have a good day at work, mom." Jocelyn hugged Janet and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You too, hon. Take care." Keys smiled as her foster daughter, a girl she was considering a biological child more and more, walked off to history class. She made sure the medallion of Peace was straight on her own costume, and resumed her station in the art room, dressed conveniently as a hippie. Janna Raulson definitely had the look of a Bollywood star, albeit one overwhelmed by debt and work, and unappreciated in matters of love. She found herself drawn to her friend McGowen more and more, since the eccentric science teacher had ended her relationship with Sarah Jo (again, quite a tale it was). The Hindu-born Raulson had tried hard not to get involved in the "bedroom politics" of Stanton and the surrounding area; she just wanted someone to love, but that seemed an unlikely possibility. She watched as a couple who were having similar problems in love came into her room. Rumors had spread to her about Rai breaking up with Ana, and the way they behaved around each other, it seemed like the rumors were true. They didn't speak to each other unless necessary, and avoided one another like two magnets of similar polarity. They still went through the trouble of dressing up as their agreed-upon characters: Ana was Mihoshi, Rai Kiyoni from the infamous Tenchi Muyo animated stories, but they acted less like a straight-lace cop and her bubbly sidekick and more like people who had once liked each other only to face harsher or more frightening realities. Nomi and Amina came in, dressed as themselves (although perhaps as a joke or homage, Nomi took upon an old Native American garb). They had not went through very rocky times, considering how the Fox sisters had both pined after them, and were now very close, collaborating on many art projects. Amina sketched Nomi practicing a side of Bach; Nomi wrote her own ballads to the work of her friend. Rumors had already started that they were a couple, but Amina's stressed heterosexuality dispelled them. Get some water, girl, said Janna to herself. She did. You're getting involved in bedroom politics. Ignore it, they're children. You have a history lesson to give. "It seems as if everyone's here," she said once she took roll. "And in case you haven't noticed, we have a new student, transferred very far. This makes the second one this month, I believe. Perhaps she can help us with our next history lesson—we're going into ancient Japan this next month, starting with The Tale of the Genji, and ending with the Meiji revolution that made the shoguns obsolete." "Cool," said Ana. Looking over, she noticed Usha Krishnan already writing notes, but she was using her left hand instead. Ana edged a little closer and whispered, "Hey Anthy! You sure you're okay? I heard you got pummeled at homecoming." "I'm all right," answered Usha. "I had to stay in the hospital for two days, but that was just to set this bone." She nudged her right arm, which was in a cast, and concluded with, "Aside from a few bruises and a limp, I'm all right." "Boy I hope that creep Kula got what she deserved." "I heard she was punished ruthlessly by Miss Marbel personally." Ana made a face. She had heard about Rai being punished as well, just for trying to stop the fight, and the stories had not been good. Raulson heard their murmurings and cleared her throat. "Is something the matter, ladies? You're disrupting class time." "Uh, no ma'am. I was just asking if Usha was okay, seeing as how she got hurt during homecoming." "I appreciate your concern, but please take that kind of inquiry outside. I'm assigning you two extra homework for the delay. Now, Shikibu Murasaki wrote Tale of the Genji around a thousand years ago, and she based it all loosely around the goings-on of the court in her day. Japanese was frowned upon back in those days, so men wrote in Chinese, but women were free to write in their own language, so this story..." Rai Zanders tuned her teacher out. She had something else on her mind. It was usually common to see people dressed up differently in Miss Post's class, so even if it were, say, August 3rd or February 24th, the girls wouldn't have felt any different. Post herself donned her usual Renaissance dress, passing off handsomely as an English maiden. Alisha stole the show briefly by coming in as Morticia Addams, but was usurped by Farrah, who came in, despite her foul mood, dressed as a harlequin. "That Tristan!" she screamed, pounding her desk. Elspeth raised a concerned eyebrow and told the young girl to quiet down. "Sorry, Miss P, but my boyfriend really pissed me off today! He said he'd give me a ride to school, but ditched out at the last second! I'd like to see what his excuse is today!" She snorted and growled, but sensibly calmed down once she saw how everyone was reacting. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just a little PO'ed right now. I'll get over it." "You sure?" "I hope I do," she growled quietly. Farrah apologized again and sat down. The room became lighter when Hero and Ayanna entered, arms around each other and smiling brightly. "Ta-daa! The knights of love have arrived!" "Don't you worry, never fear, it's Elma and her love Lucile!" "Not bad!" exclaimed Vai, appraising them with a smile. "Y'know, you look just like them." "Like who?" asked Janine. "You ever play Final Fantasy ten?" "Nah, I don't play video games." "Oh. Well in this game, there are two female knights, see, and they're not the main characters. They're Elma and Lucile, and a lot of people think they're secret lovers." "Not secret anymore!" exclaimed Ayanna, who was playing "Lucile". She gave Hero a big public kiss, earning a good share of whistles. Jocelyn laughed. "Yeah, you do look like them, sort of." "Thanks. We were originally going for a Kill Bill motif, but my hair's not long enough, and I'm a little chubby to be playing Darryl Hannah. Plus I can't see too well out of one eye." "I'm sure ya coulda pulled it off," said Gabrielle. Jocelyn agreed, and since she was dressed as another character from Final Fantasy, she just had to ask: "Hey, mind if I join for a crossover?" "Sure, who else is into cosplay?" Half the girls had no idea what they were talking about; the other half raised their hands, joined the divas, and got a few pictures taken to commemorate the moment. Elspeth let their shenanigans slide for a moment before calling order. "All right, all right, that's enough. We all love our costumes, but it's time to get down to business. Today we're going to study wardrobe, of all things, so please open your books." The class became calm (absolutely positively no Final Fantasy puns intended) and found their seats, Hero and Ayanna giggling the whole way. "They may look like Elma and Lucile," murmured Jocelyn, "but they sure don't act like em'." ......... "Come in." Em McGowen, dressed as Albert Einstein, slipped through Dr. Andrews' door. The good doctor never celebrated any holiday, least of all one such as the Eve of All Saint's Day (New Year's was the only exception). "Uh, hi Jacks," greeted McGowen sheepishly. "Listen, you got a moment?" "I have several. What seems to be the problem?" "Us." Dr. Andrews shuffled some papers on a desk until they began to resemble order. "That's a mighty big problem, Professor. I don't think you can solve it." "Please, Jackie—" "Like I told you before, McGowen." Andrews stood to her full height, which completely dwarfed the petite sciences teacher, and crossed her arms like a titan before a sheep. "Don't come to me unless you're injured. You don't have anyone to blame but yourself for what happened." "I know, but—" "Out, please. Unless otherwise." Emma's body was fine; t'was her heart that had been destroyed. She glumly stepped away. "Can't we at least—" "No. I'm seeing someone else now, if you care." "You and Abi broke up?" "Odd, isn't it?" Andrews raised her eyebrow and even smirked. "Odd, that two people who detest short-term relationships should really last this long. She was very kind to me, and I found myself becoming fond of her. I didn't want to let her go, but we agreed that our fling could never work. I hear she's seeing your ex-lover Sarah Jo, now that McGowen's getting into the play and musical." "I was... unaware of that." "It's the price I pay for overhearing too many people talking, and having chatty patients." "Oh." McGowen smiled, sensing some friendliness at last. Andrews did not say anything for awhile. The peace was not meant to be. "Don't waste my time anymore, Professor. Go bother someone else. I hear the history teacher likes you, so go cry on her shoulder. Just try not to break too many hearts along the way. I'm mildly surprised I didn't catch Sarah weeping into my arms, but well..." She ended it at that and closed the door. McGowen frowned and crossed her arms. She noticed Johansson walking past her, and waved lamely. Though they were no longer seeing each other—or for that matter, sleeping together—they still shared a loose friendship and community, or at least decorum. "You don't look so well. Do you miss me?" She smiled sweetly and took McGowen's hand. "Oh, it's not that. It's Jackie." "Dr. Andrews, huh? Do you two have some kind of a past together or something?" "Uh... that would be... an understatement, Sarah." McGowen grinned sadly, but turned happy as she saw her ex-lover. "My, you look nice. You going out this evening?" Johansson wore a black evening gown that would've been sensible and sexy anywhere; she had a string of pearls and a corsage of lilac. She smiled humbly and dusted off the material. "No, it's just for Halloween. I'm having a sexy police officer over for a little midnight tryst." McGowen stuck her tongue out. Miss Cerio had came dressed as a police officer that day. "Didn't need to hear that," she groaned. Johansson laughed and gave Emma a brief hug before walking back to class. McGowen was now alone, right in the hallway—she passed many doors on the way back to her own classroom. So, Jean-Jacques Andrews was still being stubborn, eh? Not that she didn't have reason to, but a lot of time had passed since those ugly days! She should've at least forgiven Em by now! Well, maybe more time was needed. "So," she murmured to herself, "Janna Raulson likes me, huh? But the stench of Sarah is still on me. Better just lay low and spend my weekend in the tub or something." Vai Knox watched her walk away in sadness, and had to wonder what sort of thing could influence the semi-mad scientist so powerfully that it took away her vigor. Maybe they just had the same symptoms. "Hey Vai." Vai snapped out of her thoughts and noticed Avelina walking towards her, wearing a holocaust cloak. She wielded a humorous papier-mâché sickle, painted a bright gray on the blade and black on the pole, and even wore mittens that had little white bones sewn onto them. Her freaky smile was her mask. "Oh, you look cute. Why'd you come as the Grim Reaper?" "I dunno. I look great in black and white, and I can actually dress myself. I think somebody else came as the Phantom of the Opera." "Katt Parkin." "Yeah. But she seriously looks like a scarred monster organist. Poor girl seems to have had better days well before the Stanton era. Still. Don't it beat all if I make the Reaper look cute. Who're you supposed to be?" "Myself," sighed Vai, not having the best of days. The closest thing she had to a costume was a little dress modeled after what people wore in the Roaring Twenties, hardly festival fare. "But myself," she added with a smile, "is a pretty scary thing on its own." "Halloween isn't about being scary, I think. But oh well. So do you have weekend plans?" "Yeah, I got a hot date with my parents," she said in disgust. Vai's parents were all right, for fully-grown lesbians, but sometimes their behavior was very, no pun intended, queer. "There's this stupid country/western thing going on at church, and they want me to come. I'd much rather stay home and hand out candy to the kids." "Oh. You think Ethan and I could come to this thing?" "I don't see why not. You want me to give you directions?" "Yes please." "Okay, gimme your number and I'll call you, since I don't have it with me." "Gee," said Skater-Girl Kula to Super-Girl May as they observed the two, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say that those two would make a cute couple." "Well, I'm glad that you do," noted May. Kula gave her a wink. "So you say you didn't go to Homecoming, eh?" "No, I had to practice." "Oh, right, you're in the play. So how's that goin'?" "Mediocre," answered May glumly. "My costars and I had to twist a few arms to change the script so it doesn't give us an aneurysm every time we act it out!" Kula laughed out loud—poor May was genuinely miserable, but she made it sound so funny—and asked why it bothered her so much. May sneered. "I have to kiss somebody in the script, several times." "Like... a romantic kiss?" "Yeah," she groaned wearily. "Janine and I were practically making out before we made Gabrielle change script." Kula gave the older girl a foxy stare, curling her lips and eyebrows just right so her face fully accentuated her intrigue. "You don't sound too happy bout' that." "I'm not." "Oh." The look on May's face was too strict to laugh at, but Kula still had to hide a grin. "Why?" "Look, never mind. I'll tell you once you tell me why you asked if I went to Homecoming or not." Kula wanted to keep that part silent—after all, she felt kind of bad for starting all that violence, no matter how much Usha deserved it, and the less people knew about her behavior, the better—so she just gave a goofy grin and glided away. With her skating outfit, she made the polished tile of Stanton look like a rink, or pavement, or air underneath the wings of Icarus. ......... "You look ridiculous." "No worse than you." Samantha O'Brien laughed. She doused out her cigarette and picked up the rest of her tuna sandwich, taking it into her mouth with a single gulp. Half a napkin and a slurp of Sprite later, she was finished with lunch. Headmistress Marbel ate with a little more elegance. "I actually look dignified, or more so than you usually do," she argued. "I mean, both our outfits have history on them, but I'm afraid mine has more than yours. Now you can argue how many fights that shirt's seen you through, and the revolutions it's weathered, but mine... The armor of a Roman Centurion clearly trounces your raggedy hippie clothes!" "How the damned do mock," muttered Marbel. O'Brien snorted. "Here I am making harmless fun, and you go and insult me for real! I ought to slap you for that remark." "Mm, sorry. And it isn't my fault, I told you that. You've had your chance to plead your case to the superintendent, but I told you that man is stubborn. He especially watches out for my activity, since I'm so quote, ‘Liberal with who I accept into this school', and let's not forget the quote, ‘Infamy of my past dealings with the United States government and my present open-minded activities'. Meaning of course that doing the right thing and following my heart might get me in trouble, and better to do as I'm told and not speak unless spoken to, yes, all well and good, just like a little robot." Bernadette did not ramble very often, but when she did, it was a tough act to follow. "He is a pig," agreed O'Brien seriously. "He just doesn't share your kind heart for these students. He doesn't appreciate how your protests and your activities made this country what it is today. And as for your love life, well... men tend to be intimidated when women show no interest in the opposite sex. Strange things, these men: homosexual women seem to appeal to them, yet how intimidated they become shortly!" She chortled and finished her Sprite, burping politely behind a napkin. Marbel smiled and took her old friend's hand. "I am sorry about your class, Sam," she said. O'Brien rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry too. You think I'd scare the super if I went up to him dressed as a Centurion?" "No, dear. Best to merge with Mrs. Torvald and keep your dignity rather than fight it." "I hear that AT's leaving," murmured O'Brien carefully. Marbel frowned. "Actually," came a voice from their side, "that rumor is true." It was Andeira, hands full with boxes and mouth full of a smile, as she passed briefly before them. Marbel called out to her and gave chase; O'Brien remained to refill her drink and read the paper. She hoped the girls in her next class would appreciate her apt costume more than the last ones did. ......... If Leena didn't know it was Katt behind that mask, she could've sworn that it was a true phantom, risen from the grave or the ruins of an opera house, come to wail or take revenge on some past crime. Katt certainly seemed depressed enough. She had not stayed the night at her teacher's house for a long time—mostly because her brother needed her or her father had been simply away—but lack of companionship didn't seem the case for her mood. Leena's gentle heart went out to her even as she took roll. "I'm guessing most of you won't want to do anything very strenuous with your costumes on," she said, observing her crew. Haley (or Alex), Ancelin, Ivory, Janine, and Kula looked normal enough and ready for action; the rest of the girls had on outfits that made them stand out, but didn't really prohibit their movement. Only Hero and Ayanna as chocobo knights, Zane as a pirate, and Katt as the Phantom really seemed unable to do a great many things (with Katt, that was a given). Leena pondered for a bit before making her plans. "Since most of you seem dressed, I figure today's a good time to work on the more mental side of physical education. I suggest a brief field trip to Dr. Andrews' office, if she has the time. I for one know that the good doctor would be more than willing to instruct everyone here. If there's no opposition...?" Most everyone agreed that they had been physically pushed, that Health class had been greatly ignored, and a few minutes in front of the tall, handsome doctor would certainly be bearable. Everyone filed out and made their way to the doctor's office, save for Kathlyn who Leena singled out. "You okay, Katt? You don't look very well. You need to stay at my place again?" "...Mmn." "I'd like for you to talk about it. I want you to be comfortable, but I also hope we can trust each other with these things. Tell me. What's wrong?" She kneaded the younger woman's hands in hers, causing Katt to moan a little. She let go and gradually, lifted off the white face mask, revealing to Leena an ugly black circle around her eye. So, her mask was not just a prop; it concealed aggression and abuse, something even Leena was unaware of. Shock, followed by anger and kindhearted sadness, took over the Finnish woman's emotional system. She gave Parkin a hug. "Oh, Katt, I'm so sorry. Please, you can come stay at my place, it's no problem at all. Katt," she whispered, stroking the girl's beaten face, "who did this to you?" Katt sighed, still reluctant to cry. "I think you know the answer." Leena could feel her student shiver and gasp for breath as the silent realization came to her. She knew, all right, from all the horror stories Katt had told her. "Come on," she said at last, "Dr. Andrews is waiting for us. We can discuss this in full at my place. I'll order us some nice Italian food. Is your brother going to be safe?" Parkin took a big, somewhat relieved breath. "He is staying at a trusted friend's house indefinitely." "Good. You know there's always room at my place for you, Katt; you just have to ask me." "I know." She managed to smile, and in spite of the eyes she knew would be upon her, she took Leena's hand and clasped it gently so they could go down the hallway together. ......... Once Leena dismissed the class, Ana walked outside and searched for her bus. Her legs searched for the big yellow machine, but her eyes looked for Rai; her heart searched for hope, and grimly wondered how foolish it was to even bother. In the show, Kiyone and Mihoshi always managed to stay together, no matter how irritated Kiyone got. Mihoshi was an example of faithfulness and loyalty, even in the face of adversity and destitution, and Ana had always hoped that in the end, Kiyone would swear undying love and take her into her heart at last. But that was just some stupid cartoon, and real life—if indeed anything upon the Earth could be "real"—just did not work that way. "Ana." She heard and saw Rai, and waved meekly. The tall girl dangled some keys and asked, "Wanna ride?" "...Okay." Ana joined her quietly and got inside. Rai stiffly turned the radio on. "Mind if we listen to K-Billy? He's been playing a few so-called holiday hits." "I don't care." Ana sounds sad, Rai thought to herself. Ana is sad. It's because of me, isn't it? But why am I so guilty? I'm just giving her a ride. I shouldn't pour my heart out to her on the road. I wanted to break up with her. But is that really what I wanted? Do I even know? I don't care. Just drive. "I like this song," said Ana lightly, turning the volume up. She hummed along to the lyrics. I was working in the lab late one night When my eyes beheld an eerie sight For my monster from his slab began to rise And suddenly to my surprise He did the mash He did the monster mash The monster mash It was a graveyard smash He did the mash It caught on in a flash He did the mash He did the monster mash From my laboratory in the castle east To the master bedroom where the vampires feast The ghouls all came from their humble abodes To get a jolt from my electrodes They did the mash They did the monster mash The monster mash It was a graveyard smash They did the mash It caught on in a flash They did the mash They did the monster mash The zombies were having fun The party had just begun The guests included Wolf Man Dracula and his son The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds The coffin-bangers were about to arrive With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five" They played the mash They played the monster mash The monster mash It was a graveyard smash They played the mash It caught on in a flash They played the mash They played the monster mash Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring Seems he was troubled by just one thing He opened the lid and shook his fist And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?" It's now the mash It's now the monster mash The monster mash And it's a graveyard smash It's now the mash It's caught on in a flash It's now the mash It's now the monster mash Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band And my monster mash is the hit of the land For you, the living, this mash was meant too When you get to my door, tell them Model A sent you Then you can mash Then you can monster mash The monster mash And do my graveyard smash Then you can mash You'll catch on in a flash Then you can mash Then you can monster mash And if you hear a snarling sound at your door tonight, and you see something out of the ordinary--or if you hear the howling of wolves gone mad by the moon, don't worry. That's no werewolf--it's just Halloween.
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