Chapter 1
Bette Sanderson was planning on settling in after a long day of work. Her drive was a short commute. A whopping twenty minutes. She pulls into the driveway. Walks into her house with her keys and puts them on the end table near the door at her apartment. She turned on the 9 o’clock news. She grabs a plate of leftover noodles and pours herself a glass of Merlot. She turned her head to her TV monitor to see images of the town teenagers, growing hair, fangs, and acting peculiar. She turned up the volume to hear the news anchor on the screen.
“ There are reports of teenagers growing fangs and hair. Parents are reportedly in distress and have no answers. What’s worse is that the girls have grown fur in places that shouldn’t be physically possible.”
Bette held her mouth in her hands in terror. She continued to watch images of teenagers with pale skin jumping off trees in high places, werewolves wrestling each other. The anchor stood still through the action in her black trench coat. She pursed her lips together. The doorbell rang. To Bette, it seemed sudden. She walked up to her door and opened it. There was a slow “creek.” The door revealed one of her math students on the other side. Sam?” Bette said. Sam stood at the door looking terrified. His hair was chestnut brown. A ball of hair has grown on his arms. Most of his face was covered in a nest of his hair. “Mrs. Sanderson, you have to help me,” The boy said. Sam invited himself in, and he clasped what he thought were his hands on to Bette’s shoulders. Bette felt what she thought were his fingers sink into her shoulders. A shriek belted from her mouth. SAM, YOU JUST STABBED ME!” She could feel the blood running from her shoulders. The last thing Bette saw was Sam’s terrified face as he slit her throat. On instinct, she covered her hands with her throat. She hurried to the kitchen with her first aid. Sam did the best he could, stitching it up with gauze and duct tape. Bette treated her shoulder wounds with gauze and Tape before calling 911. The image of Sam being scared settled in her head. It felt like a projector froze on the image, and nothing could turn it off. She couldn’t blame him. “911, what is your emergency?” The operator said calmly. “ Yeah, I cut myself, and I’m losing blood really quickly,’ It was a lie. As simple as a fairytale. Sam, unable to resist the urge to turn, saw a full harvest moon on the screen. His arms suddenly grow four times their size. Bette witnessed Sam rip the screen door off clean.
In came a draft of cold. Bette sat in the kitchen waiting for help to arrive. She snuggled herself in her black cardigan. Her gaze rested on the tiled floor below her. She noticed blood drops on the floor from her being stabbed in the throat. “I should clean this up before the ambulance gets here, she thought. She got the disinfectant from the bottom drawer of the kitchen and poured it onto a dry cloth. Because she was sitting, it didn’t take a lot out of her.
John finds his classmates running around in his neighborhood. It was a starry night. John felt a tranquil piece like he could tell that some looked like werewolves, and others looked like vampires. Suddenly, he was stabbed with a claw. He could feel the pain as well as the scabbiness of his blood escape onto the claw. John looked up to see the monster; he fainted and woke up in his bedroom. Or at least he thought. He looked over to his closet to see a hallucination. Was it a hand, a clown, no one could ever know. It was October 30th. He felt a strange excitement. Strange as in John gets startled easily but likes Halloween nonetheless.
He sat up in his bed. He reached for his phone on the nightstand. His phone lit up with the clock reading; 6;04. October 30th appeared in a smaller font below that his mom is a light sleeper. Afraid that she would be awoken, John just lay on his back. He knew about the disgust his mom would have if she were woken up early. Of course, because he was yelled at by his mother so many times, John’s brain registered it as “Bahhhh bada bada baaaa.” His white mattress supported him.
John eventually arrived at school at 7;45 am and went throughout his day. In the hallway, he was greeted by his best friend since kindergarten, Michael. Michael had pale skin and blonde hair that was held neatly in a crew cut. He typically wears a jersey with a pair of pants to match. “Hi John,” He said good-naturedly. “ Hi Mike,” Adam said. Mike widened his eyes, turned his back, and began to behave as if he was going to run away. Mike looked back, and John scoffed. “I’m kidding,” Nike said. “What class do you have now?” "I have English,” John replied. “Cool, I have chem,” Mike said. See ya.” John watched as Michael turned and walked away. It was as if he wanted the moment to last longer.
Suddenly, someone jostled John into the locker next to him. “ Hey, aren’t you going to say hello to me?” a familiar voice said. John turned to see that it was his classmate, Victor. Victor had tan skin, black hair, and brown eyes. Victor offered a friendly smile. “ How’s that for an effective greeting?” he asked. “ Give me some more, John said bravely, opening his right arm. Victor hugged John against the wall, squishing his back against the lockers. John felt grounded. Grounded more than usual. The impact wasn’t as swift as he was expecting. “Looks like Trank has got you know Johnson.” A familiar voice said. John looked up to see that it was none other than his former English teacher, Mrs. Andes. “Yeah, he certainly did,” He replied. Suddenly, the thought of John’s math teacher saying that Coach Andis does her nails during practice for the girls' soccer team. He avoided saying a remark about this to her, lest he be chased down the hallway to English Class. “I gotta go.” Before John could let go, Victor lifted him up and put him down. He smiled. “English,” he asked. Yep,” John replied. If you need anything, find me.” “ok, bye, Victor.
John went up to the second floor into the back hallway, where he had English. Mrs. Roane was waiting for her students to pile in. John took a seat and watched his other classmates saunter in. The boys sat behind John, and the girls sat in the back, giggling to themselves. John looked up at the screen to see that the projector froze the display. Their assignment for the day was pulled up.
A tale of old clothes” reflection.
John felt a gentle tap on his shoulder from the student behind him. His name was Jerry. Jerry had fiery orange hair and light brown eyes “ May I borrow your laptop charger?” he asked. “Yes,” John replied. Suddenly, John’s vision blurred for a moment. It was the thought of Jerry sitting in the back of his math class that had dyad tables pushed together, telling his math teacher in an offbeat tone that gingers have no souls. His mind reverted to him with his laptop charger in hand. He turned to give Jerry his charger.
As soon as he turned back, the four-ringed bell rang. Mrs. Roane’s desk sat in a corner behind a window. Wearing an orange-yellow dress. She had black hair with red highlights, beady eyes, and felt very methodical. She unfroze the screen and approached her students with a water bottle in hand. She took a sip. “Ok, everybody,” she said. So today, we will be reflecting on the meaning of the “Romance of Certain Old Clothes. Now that we have covered it for the past couple of weeks, and Halloween is coming up, I thought that this would be fitting. Julia, tell me what you took away from the novella.” Julia looked up from her notes in front of her and then answered. “Bitch became crazy because she married her cousin.” I appreciate the honest answer,” Mrs. Roane said. “Let’s focus on the overall narrative. The feelings that it invokes are just bread and soup. Kat, give me the meat! She said emphatically.
John felt that underneath her comedic exterior, Mrs. Roane wanted her students to learn something. It was as if the girls took their potential for granted. “ Ducks,” Kat replied, making the girls giggle. Mrs. Roney smiled and said, “ Kat, you need to find a more creative safe phrase if you don’t know something. John snickered “... and John, that goes for your prank material, rarely will you ever see the janitor outside our classroom window trying to wash it.” The class giggled. Now John, tell me what is the main lesson of the story?” All eyes were on John. This one was for all the marbles. If only one drops, the rest of them do. John looked up from his copy of the Romance of Certain Old Clothes. “Mrs. Roane,” he said confidently. The moral of the story is.. It does not do well to stay angry. The protagonist turns into a hollow version of herself, trying to do her routine of waking, walking, finding a child, and sleeping, and forgetting that she’s just angry. “ Correct, John, I am missing meat. Jerry, how about you?” “Time takes all things,” he replied. “Yes! Mrs. Roane said. Finally, the main course has been served. For John, the period flew. He said goodbye to his teacher and classmates after receiving his next reading assignment.
John started to make his way down the hallway. He ran into who he called Mrs. Sanderson. “ Hi, kiddo,” She said. Mrs. Sanderson lives in the same neighborhood as John and would see each other on neighborhood walks. Hi, Mrs. Sanderson,” he replied. “How’s the dog?” The dog is doing well. The more he’s outside, the more our neighbors think he’s a bear.” Mrs. Sanderson laughed. “ Yeah, that is hysterical.” “ How’s nursing kittens going. “ It’s going well, they poop outside of the litter, but you know, they’re kittens.” I can imagine,” John said with a smile.
After that, John went down to the cafeteria for lunch. He didn’t feel like eating so he grabbed a small bowl of macaroni salad. He walked down the aisle with a tray in hand. “John, a familiar voice said. John looked over to see Michael waving him down. Next to Michael, sat Troy, Elle, Bridget, and John C. It never ceased to amazon John that most of his class mates from the gym. Michael moved down to make room for John. Hmm, Macaroni salad today,” Michael asked. John looked down before answering. “Yep, I don’t feel like eating, but I am tired. John hugged his chest. Hey, John,” Ellie said. “Yeah,” John said, looking up. John smiled when he looked up, seeing Ellie’s curious expression and grey eyes. “ How about that Halloween playlist during gym class? “Yes,” John said. Bangers! Every last one of them.” Spooky Scary Skeleton,” The group sang while twisting back and forth. The bell eventually rang, and before John knew it, the day ended. The main office intercom played the riff on John Carpenter’s Halloween for the last ten minutes of school.
As soon as John got on the bus, he reflected on how relaxed his school day was because it was Halloween. They played horror trivia pretty much every class except for English where it was a book review headed by a teacher who wanted them to learn about literature. He reminisced about gym class and while they were playing kickball, all the legendary saves, the dramatic impact of his classmates getting hit, and how the mats would shift with every close call.
He did his homework, visited his parents, did his homework, and went to bed.
Suddenly, at Midnight on Halloween, John woke up and looked out the window. He saw Wolves and Vampires chasing each other as if they were cats and mice. John got dressed and went downstairs as quietly as he could. He saw Michael walking towards him. Michael sped up as soon as he saw John. He gave him a tight hug. He wasn’t his normal jolly self. “ Dude, I don’t know what is happening, but this is bat shit. " Michael sounded like he was painting. Michael let go but kept John nestled and moved into a nearby tree. John felt like he was surrounded by wolves and vampires. He recognized the claw that could be lodged in his stomach any second. Are we safe for now? How long has this been going on? And why does it feel like De ja veau?
