“Hey guys! Wait up. You’re always making me wait for you. I’m a little slow. Please don’t always run off ahead. You guys will have too much fun without me.”
But Bryan and Kyle—the former Batman and latter Spiderman—had already ran, sniggering, to the next house, not bothering to look back.
They have their excuses to leave me behind.
By the time he received candy from a neighbor gushing about his adorable costume he said was sewn and hemmed by his mother, Bryan and Kyle were racing each other to the apartment down the street, candy spilling everywhere. Anderson was tempted to grab it all, the night being so dark no one would see him.
No one saw him anyway. The kind old woman put a huge check in his pillowcase bulging with Kit Kats, Reese’s pieces, candy corn, Jolly Rancher’s, licorice, Hershey’s chocolate bars, Sweet n’ Sours, Mike n’ Ike’s, Laffy Taffy and little packs of Oreos, Skittles and M&M’s. The soccer players all hoisted Bryan and Kyle up on their shoulders, chanting their names as the boys held up the shining black and gold trophy claimed that year.
Anderson hurried throughout the neighborhood lit only by street lamps, front porch lights and parents’ flashlights. The rest was up to the trick-or-treaters to either wonder about or dare each other to go down.
Probably to eat kids like me. Anderson huffed and puffed. He heard ripping. Oh no—my candy! It’ll all fall out, and all these kids running past me will scoop it up quicker than the Flash runs on a nice sunny day. He clutched the pillowcase’s bottom with both arms, hurriedly collecting candy, coins and a fifty dollar bill before racing home. His parents greeted him, his father hoping he had some Snickers Bars and his mother complaining they never give out enough Hershey’s. Anderson ignored them as he spilled his candy onto the living room carpet.
I wish I could wipe this whole world out and start over, like God did with the flood. He wiped away all those sinners. I wish I could wipe my loser life away. Anderson grabbed some, told his parents to have whatever they wanted and went to his room. Closing the door, he jumped on his computer.
Hey, man!
What’s up besides this stupid holiday America’s got to celebrate? If you can even call it that. Why does Halloween exist, Rick?
Don’t know, Andy.
He laughed, shaking his head. Don’t call me that, Rick. Or should I say Ricky!
Whatever. Hey, Carla’s having a party at her place. Want to join?
Duh! Carla’s your girlfriend, right?
Girlfriend? *Sputters laughing* Dude, you don’t know me that well.
We’ve been besties since before preschool. So, basically, since we were, like, one? I don’t know. I just turned thirteen last month. You didn’t get your T-shirt. I think you ran out the minute the party was over. Were you okay?
Yeah—I vomited those two slices. I think I’m allergic to coconut.
That’s nothing, Andy. You’re not eating enough cake if you’re saying two slices. Throwing up would require eight or more. I even looked it up.
I’m not a math expert. I don’t even—
Andy, you’re always saying you’re no good. Believe in yourself for once. Hanging out with you is the bomb dot com.
About Carla’s party. When is it?
Tonight.
Like—right now??
In two hours. Calm down, man. Ten to three.
Wow. For a thirteen year old—
No. Her parents are hosting it. She’s way too young—
Liar.
An emoji appeared. Anderson laughed so hard he lost his breath. Another emoji appeared.
And then it’s like we throw juice all over Bryan and Kyle! I mean, what a night. No one will care.
Carla will.
So you like her.
No, man! You’ve known the twins since first grade. Remember when she dyed her hair in second grade, and Mrs. Klees was like, ‘Go home and get that stuff out of your hair right now!’ Clara never liked her, and when she was in fifth grade, she told Mr. Juniors she was going home because her teacher told her to, and she did—and didn’t come back. For the rest of the day. Called in sick. I was like, ‘Dude, she’s brave!’
Yeah, and that’s why you’re going to her house in an hour. To remind her of that.
No!
Yeah.
No, I mean it.
Yeah. Right.
Dude! Stop.
Or what? You’ll tell on me?
Rick sent him an emoji face smiling evilly.
What the heck. Rick, that’s not cool. So not cool! Why do you need to be Bryan and Kyle combined?
*Rick left the chat*
Anderson heard a knock at the door. After opening it, Anderson’s jaw dropped. “What—in—the—world?”
“Ready?”
After Anderson put on the T-shirt Rick shoved at him, they raced to Carla’s house, a few blocks away. Her older brother, Caleb let them inside to her very small but heavily decorated mansion before shutting the rickety, chipped, sloppily painted gate door. Caleb was, as he claimed so professionally, “checking the IDs or names of those invited”. Anderson knew the high school sophomore was really checking out the other sixteen-year-olds, especially those wearing extremely small purses and fake rings and light makeup and dangly earrings. They flashed him a smile, and he gave a weird half-shrug. Once they showed him the stupidly fake ID, their driver’s licenses and the insides of their wallets—credit cards and all—Caleb flashed a rare smile, letting them all in, regardless of the number of friends they brought, slipping each girl his phone number and Facebook password and username. Some of them rolled her eyes, but others thanked him while he jerked a nod, shut and locked the gate and walked behind the last teen, hoping to catch some football before the five-hour party was over.
Anderson always thought the white and blue house looked like it was bought off Craigslist. Avoiding a couple weirdly costumed classmates as Rick and he walked up the heavily decorated front porch, Anderson gazed around—black, white and orange streamers hung smilingly from the hallway ceiling. A tablecloth boasting of hissing black cats, witches on brooms and booing ghosts covered a table with bowls of potato chips, pretzels, Halloween candy, Dorito’s and pixie sticks. About two hundred middle schoolers congregated in one of the kitchens, living rooms and stairwells, holding red party cups filled with Sprite and sparkling water. Mr. Corns laughed with some funny preteens outside.
“Hey, Andy! Dig into the candy bowl with me.”
“Don’t call me that!”
But Rick was already laughing, his mouth full with Reese’s Pieces. Anderson snatched a Pixie Sticks, and both boys went to find some place not clogged with teens. When they finally found a bathroom, Anderson turned off the lights after closing the door. The plain T-shirts glowed bright blue.
“Cool!” He whispered.
“Cooler is that these T-shirts—which are different from the others I gave out—allow us to have superpowers! Whatever we think of, we can do.”
“What!”
“But I want a T-shirt, too! Everyone at Rick’s party got one but me.”
Anderson dared to crack it open—Evie was twirling her annoyingly bright wand. Her crown reached the ceiling, and her poofy dress awash with sparkles made Anderson wish he could snap his fingers and exchange this costume for something real. But Rick shut the door.
“Where are you guys?”
Anderson heard Evie ask her mother where they were—
“Found you!”
Hands on hips, Evie stood there, a ballet shoe tapping. Mrs. Corns reached around, flicking on the light. “Boys! Go enjoy the party.” She left. Evie, her eyebrows raised, pointed at Rick’s T-shirt. “Explain why I don’t have one.”
“Uh…” Anderson stuttered, but Rick pulled him out of the bathroom, leading him towards the front door.
“Come on, man. Let’s go. This party’s lame.”
“Okay.”
He ducked under a football player about to hurl a football from the hallway to the kitchen before Mrs. Corns called that should anything break, he’d have to clean it up and pay for it. The football went away. As soon as they left the party, Rick bobbed his head up and down.
“I know of hoodies that glow in the dark.”
“Where?”
“Down at Ms. Reep’s store.”
Anderson stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
He pointed down the street at two boys wearing bright blue glow stick necklaces and bracelets, their superhero costumes looking ugly in the street lamp lights. “Bryan and Kyle are picking on Evie.” Anderson wanted to shapeshift into a lion, but he’d traumatize Evie. He thought of a sword appearing in his hand, but Evie would get hurt. An axe would murder someone.
“I don’t know—maybe run over there, give Evie’s wand back, and then run. Besides, the shop closes soon.”
“Do we have money?”
“Our parents can pay for them!”
They took off towards the trio. Rick stole the wand from Bryan, got called something Anderson wished Evie didn’t hear and threw it to Anderson, who caught and returned it, telling Evie to go home. Kyle swiped it, holding it way above all three kids’ heads. Evie jumped up and down, arms waving frantically. She sounded like she was about to cry as she begged for it.
“Give it back!”
Rick went for Kyle, whose smile sent shivers down Anderson’s spine, threatening to get Caleb. Bryan grabbed the wand from him, snapped it in half and told them to have fun cleaning up all the glitter as Kyle and he made off. Anderson knew Mrs. Corns, Carla, Brandon and maybe even Ms. Reep would have to clean.
“Jerks!” Evie shouted. Rick and Anderson apologized, but she started crying, tears pouring down her cheeks. She could be annoying, Anderson knew, but he bent down, putting a hand on Evie’s shaking shoulder.
“We’ll tell your mother and brother what happened, and I’m sure everything will be awesome—”
“Hey! What’s up?”
Caleb had a hand in one pocket, the other holding a half-eaten Kit-Kat bar.
“Just missed them.” Rick said. “They broke her wand. Now we’ll be cleaning glitter all night long!”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “Those jerks! Always messing around with you, aren’t they, Evie?” When she ran to him, throwing her arms around his skinny waist, he consoled her, tousling her hair. Anderson, who returned to Rick’s side, wished Caleb could be a little more aware of who his sister was. Evie was a skinny, defenseless, scared, silly, naïve, carefree princess wanna-be. She could get pummeled by Bryan and Kyle. They always won in a fight. Anderson even believed they could break a tooth with one punch.
“Are you going to tell your mom?” Rick asked.
“Yeah—and I’ll also give this little squealer a candy bar.”
When Evie jumped onto Caleb’s back for a piggyback, them taking off, Evie asking for a Hershey’s, Anderson and Rick bolted to the store. They dodged some staring customers, almost crashing into the hoodies.
“Wait—Rick, why are we getting hoodies if these shirts give us superpowers?”
“Bryan and Kyle are much more powerful than we. We need backup!”
Black, gold, indigo, red, pink, light pink, yellow, white, silver, brown, green, evergreen, purple, blood-red, stone-grey, orange, white, striped, poka-dotted, swirlies and weirdly designed hoodies hung ready for customers to buy.
Anderson grabbed Rick’s arm. “Rick, which ones will defeat Kyle and Bryan for good?” But his eyes went from the blue to the grey to black quickly. He finally chose a blood-red one.
“Now, let’s pay for these.”
But Anderson saw a tiger hoodie. And a shark. And a zebra. Rick whispered that those glow in the dark. Anderson could hardly breathe. Choosing the tiger hoodie, Anderson checked the price. Fifteen dollars for this?!
“I can’t pay for this!”
“It’s Halloween, so I’ll offer you something.”
Ms. Reep stole their attention. The boys listened intently. “If you boys clean up that glitter, I’ll have Mrs. Corns make Bryan and Kyle pay for the hoodies. Sound like a deal?”
Rick and Anderson left their hoodies with her, taking her broom and dustpan, but couldn’t find the glitter. The street lamps had gone out. Carla’s house lights had been turned off. Was it three already? Anderson asked. Rick went back to Ms. Reep’s shop. The clock said two-thirty. So why was everything dark?
“Um, Ms. Reep? Why’d the lights go out now? Carla’s party doesn’t end until three.”
Ms. Reep shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Rick’s mouth went dry. He blinked back tears of fear. He exited, joining a boy in a glowing T-shirt. Anderson, able to see in the dark, cleaned up the glitter. Still, Anderson had a sick feeling the lights shouldn’t have gone out this early. Unless Rick was lying about the time the party ended.
They threw away the glitter, returning the broom and dustpan. Bryan and Kyle sauntered in with their wallets, tossing the right amount. Anderson and Rick got their hoodies, and all four boys exited the shop after Anderson and Rick thanked Ms. Reep while Bryan and Kyle decided to go somewhere else to, as they said, “have some real fun!”
Anderson led Rick back to his house. Once they shut the bedroom door after his mom told them to go to sleep, Anderson and Rick put on their hoodies. A blood-red one, Rick’s hoodie looked weird. Anderson’s hoodie—a tiger pattern—looked rad, as Rick said.
“Dude! You’ll be the most popular kid out there.”
“Bryan and Kyle will be so scared, they’ll poop their pants!”
Rick said he wasn’t tired after Anderson pulled out a sleeping bag, pillow and pajamas.
“Me, neither.” Anderson lied.
They snuck downstairs, going through the front door. Rick led him to a gravel driveway he said was a place where thirteen year olds were the concertgoers, sixteen-year-olds the singers and band members. Anderson asked how he knew about all this.
“I get around.”
Anderson felt betrayed. His best friend didn’t tell him? What kind of pal was Rick?
Anderson tried not to overthink, but he felt Rick wasn’t who he seemed. But once he introduced Anderson, his weird feeling melted. And he added a glow stick necklace, glow stick bracelet and glow stick armlet to his glow-in-the-dark hoodie awesomeness. Anderson headed for the snack table, absentmindedly grabbing a bag of Cheez-It’s.
“Rick?”
His stomach turned to lead. He abandoned the snack, asking anyone if they’d seen his best friend. “Rick. He’s been here. You must know him. Strong, white, brunette, a little arrogant, weird—”
“Never seen him!”
Something flashed in Anderson’s mind—Bryan and Kyle’s bright blue bracelets and necklaces. Rick had said the boys were much more powerful. But how?
Finally, Anderson saw someone on stage.
“Rick! Those bracelets and necklaces—”
Suddenly, a door slammed. The concert went eerily quiet. Anderson jumped behind Rick. Bryan and Kyle strutted up the stairs like they owned the place. They commanded the current singers for their microphones. As the band played and they sang, Rick pulled at Anderson’s hoodie. “Cut it out, man! You’re hypnotized.”
Anderson was amazed the bullies didn’t shove them off. He couldn’t look away. The concert-goers looked like they were having the time of their life, but Anderson had the feeling they didn’t want to do this—they had to. They were stuck in a world where thirteen-year-olds would never leave this prom-like life, forever cheering at a concert.
Anderson and Rick strove to find that door. It didn’t exist. The boys killed the lights. Stage lights exploded, the concertgoers singing along with Bryan and Kyle. They searched for an outlet, but, they discovered, the more they tried leaving, the harder it got. Anderson asked Rick how he would leave. Rick’s face went pale. “The world must’ve shifted. I can’t leave anymore!”
Anger raged inside Anderson. “I’ll kill them!”
Rick and he grabbed the microphones from the older boys, half-singing, half-talking. Nothing changed. Rick even tried pushing one. After threatening him with a coke bottle, the kid refocused. Rick tried breaking the microphone. Some kids slammed their hands over their ears. Others threatened Rick with knuckle sandwiches.
Anderson tried stopping the band. Then he stopped, asking Rick how Bryan and Kyle were able to get in and out.
“They rule everywhere!”
“What does that mean?”
Rick added that there are other worlds out there.
“Why weren’t Carla and Brandon at Carla’s party?”
“I don’t know. We need to get them back before we’re concert-goers, too!”
“So those bracelets and necklaces control others?”
“The more you wear, the more powerful you are.”
“But I’m wearing them!”
Rick looked terrified. “Take those off—the longer you wear them, the more drawn into this place you’ll be.”
Anderson immediately ripped off the glow sticks, kicking them away. Brandon and Kyle absentmindedly snatched them up, putting them on. Anderson and Rick bolted to a certain place not populated at all—a bridge in a swampy area. They could still see the two sophomores. They were now waving one arm, the crowds going crazy.
Suddenly, the room went deathly quiet. Bryan and Kyle turned around, grabbing them by the shirt collar and hurling them to the stage. Terrified, Anderson scrambled up, drawing back a fist to punch Bryan. Kyle laughed, but he didn’t scare Rick, either. Both boys stood back-to-back. Kyle ordered Anderson to get Carla and Rick Brandon.
Neither boy moved.
Kyle snapped his fingers, all lights dying except the hoodies and glow sticks. Suddenly, there were the sounds of hooves and braying. Kyle and Bryan kicked Anderson, but his bear paws swiped at the zebras. Rick, a lion, lunged at Kyle and Bryan.
“Give us those hoodies, and we’ll give you Brandon and Carla!”
Anderson knew they’d use them to become even more powerful shapeshifters. The more glow-in-the-dark stuff they wore, the more powerful they became. Rick and he ran away, searching for the twins.
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