This is my entry to the Halloween Writers' Jam. I suppose I should warn people beforehand that there is some strong language and a bit of violence in this story. Also, copious amounts of goofy ass humor. Enjoy.
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Jonathan rubbed a hand through his hair. Light from the lamp beside the couch glinted off his glasses as he contemplated how he ended up there in a gray suit with a Halloween bag at his feet.
It was her smile. Oh yes. Miss Martinez's pearly white teeth glittering gloriously through that smile ... Jonathan slapped his face twice at the thought. She was ... she was ... he did not know how old she was, exactly, but it was not right to think about her that way. And yet he did -- and here he was.
If it weren't for the smile, he might not have done it. Miss Martinez was in a hurry. Her sister had been involved in an accident, and the hospital she was in was far away, so she couldn't take her kids with her. Something like that. Jonathan was a tutor -- definitely not a babysitter -- but he could let it slide this one time. After all, there was nobody else she could turn to. She said that herself.
But this. Well, this was where the suit came in. Jonathan could remember the phone conversation up to a point -- that is, the point where Miss Martinez said, "I need you as quickly as possible, please hurry!" The rest of the conversation did not seem to matter at the time, although it did once he arrived and found out what he was supposed to do.
"Are you ready to go out?" Jenny, Miss Martinez's 15-year-old daughter, asked.
"Not quite," Jonathan said, standing up. "Why am I wearing a suit?"
"It's your costume, of course," Jenny said.
Yes, a costume. It was part of the deal: not just taking care of the kids but taking them trick or treating, going door to door and asking for candy. What a way to spend a few hours; he could be studying for his midterms instead. But the image of Miss Martinez was so clear in his head, with her standing in the front door, worried, with the sleeves of her blue dress shirt all rolled up ...
"Who am I supposed to be?" Jonathan asked, shaking his head.
"You look sort of like a character from a show we like -- not the right suit, but the glasses fit well," Jenny said.
"I'm sorry to say these aren't part of a costume," Jonathan said.
"That's OK," Jenny said. She looked at the bag at Jonathan's feet. "Go get some better bags, Ryan."
"OK," Ryan, Miss Martinez's 13-year-old son, said. He left the room.
"So," Jonathan said. "Who are you dressed as?"
"I'm Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket," Jenny replied, modeling her blue schoolgirl outfit a bit.
"Fruits Basket?" Jonathan asked. "What is that?"
"It's an anime," Jenny said.
"Oh, you mean those weird Japanese cartoons with all the fighting and, er, other things?" Jonathan asked.
"Sort of," Jenny said. "There isn't much fighting in Fruits Basket, though ... and there aren't any 'other things,' either."
"I see," Jonathan said, rubbing the back of his head. "Hm, Fruits Basket. It's not at all about what I think it is, is it?"
"Nope," Jenny said.
Ryan came back into the room. He handed Jenny a bag, kept one for himself and gave the last one to Jonathan.
"Another one for me, huh?" Jonathan asked. "Look, I don't want to beg for candy."
"Come on," Jenny said. "You know you want to." She nudged Jonathan lightly in the ribs, and he backed away.
"Fine," Jonathan said. "I'll get candy, too. Jeez." He looked at Ryan. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"I'm Makoto from Minami-ke!" Ryan said. He was dressed in a cream colored suit, with a white dress shirt, red tie and dark slacks. "My sister keeps laughing when she sees my costume, though."
Jonathan looked at Jenny with one of his eyebrows raised.
"He hasn't watched most of the show, so he doesn't know what's so funny," Jenny said, smirking.
"And she won't tell me!" Ryan said.
Jonathan kept staring at Jenny. She shook her head slowly from side to side. Jonathan closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his head.
"I get the feeling you and I are better off not knowing why, Ryan," Jonathan said. "Let's just go out and get this over with as quickly as we can."
Jonathan opened the front door and held it while Jenny and Ryan stepped outside. He followed and closed the door behind him. They walked out onto the street, and Jonathan looked at all the houses. The lights were all off; the night was cold. A breeze flicked by Jonathan's cheek, smooth as ice.
"So, where to?" Jonathan asked, rubbing his arms. "It doesn't seem as if anyone is home here."
"Oh, they're home," Jenny said. "They're just not giving out candy."
"Why not?" Jonathan said.
"They just stopped," Jenny said, shrugging. "More people around here stop every year. We go to another neighborhood to do our trick or treating."
"Fantastic," Jonathan said. "Fine, we'll take my car to wherever we're going, and--"
"Oh, we can walk," Jenny said. "It's fine. It's not very far from here, is it, Ryan?"
"Nope," Ryan said.
"So," Jonathan said. "We're walking."
"Yep," Jenny said.
"My feet are going to feel this in the morning," Jonathan said, looking forlornly at his tight dress shoes.
