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“Hold up,” Omar said, practically standing up in excitement. “This sounds like some seriously Satanic shit!”

“It’s not Satanism,” David said with an eyeroll. “It’s Wicca.”

“I’ve heard of that,” Anthony said with a smirk. “It’s the same thing as witchcraft.”

“That’s right,” Dave said while attempting to sound mysterious. “We’ve tapped into ancient powers.”

“Does that make you witches?” Ricky asked.

“Not really,” Dave said when Omar began laughing.

“But kind of,” David added sheepishly.

“Have fun humping broomsticks together,” Omar said with a shake of his head. “We’re going to be doing something much cooler.”

“Like what?” Dave challenged.

“Uh…” Omar looked around the table for help.

“Do you guys have haunted houses here?” Ricky asked.

“Yeah!” Anthony said. “That would be perfect! I’ve been before, but never on Halloween.”

“Those are downtown in the warehouse district,” Omar said. “Think we can get there with the bus?”

“I’m not sure,” Anthony admitted.

Omar sighed. “Man… I wish I was still dating Silvia. She would have given us a ride. I’d invite her, but she probably doesn’t want to do stuff with me anymore.”

“We could cast a love spell,” David offered.

“Would you stop?” Dave hissed. “You’re making it sound lame!”

“I’ll ask my parents if I can borrow the car,” Cameron said.

Omar slammed his hand on the table. “Dude! I forgot that you have your license! Think they’ll say yes?”

Cameron shrugged. “Probably.”

“That’s it then,” Omar said, looking at them one by one while wearing a grin. “We’re going to the haunted houses!”

— — —

Cameron was on his knees, hunched over a wooden piece of the set that Whitney had backed into and knocked down. The damage was minimal, but the stand that held it up had broken off. Lucky for him, Mr. Henderson was still in the wood shop and able to lend him some supplies. Cameron had glued the wood together and was tightening the clamp to hold it in place when Keisha strolled over to watch.

“That’s my fault as much as it is hers,” she said. “Having thought about it, people don’t actually back away while talking, no matter how scared they are. In real life, you turn and run.”

“It’s fine,” Cameron assured her. “Once the glue sets, I’m going to add a couple more supports so people can bump into it all they want.”

“Good call.” Keisha squatted to get a better look at what he was doing. At his request, they each took a side and carefullymoved the backdrop out of the way, so it wouldn’t get stepped on. “It should be safe here until Monday,” she said. “I’m ready to go home.”

“Me too,” Cameron said, stretching his back muscles by reaching for the sky.

Keisha looked him over, which made him self-conscious. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?” she asked.

“Yeah!” He told her about the trip downtown to visit the haunted houses.

“That sounds fun,” she replied.