Page 50 of A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love

Until the Store Closes

Christina

There isn’t time to do any research on psychics after lunch and before needing to hurry over to the haunted house after school for our first official night, so it gets added to the list of things to do for later.

The hours before “curtain up” race by in a frenzy of activities—you’d think Taylor Swift herself would be coming to the show tonight, not that it’s opening night to the general public.

The rush of excitement is really what makes this event all worth it.

It’s a feeling that I can’t even describe—a euphoria that pulses through each and every person as props are set out, makeup and hair get done, and costumes are put on.

There’s already a line when we open the doors at six o’clock sharp.

I position myself with my walkie-talkie headset at the exit.

The screams coming from inside tell me things are going according to plan.

Once the event has started, I never walk through.

Even though I know it’s all fake—it’s too much for me.

The kids really get into character, so with the sounds and the darkness, the scary factor increases by a thousand.

The first group of ten people exits—a bunch of teens laughing and pushing one another as the door opens, then closes. Four of them are alumni who worked on the event and graduated last year.

“That was amazing!” one of them says.

“I almost peed myself,” says another.

“Let’s do it again!” a third one calls out.

“Hey, Ms.L,” they all shout at me as they rush back off to the front of the house.

If the rest of the night goes like this, we’ll be in great shape. I press the talk button on my headset and give the front of the house an update—letting them know the first group is done and how enthusiastic they were.

“Things are great up here, too,” Steffi says over the headset. “We are almost out of tickets for tonight, and the art booth is on fire—in a good way,” she quickly adds. “Like, the line for it is superlong.”

Out in the front of the house there are activities like pumpkin painting, simple carnival games—like throw the ring on the bottle—and some much less scary Halloween characters wandering around for the little kids who aren’t quite ready to go inside the house, and this year our art teacher, Mrs.Fuller, suggested her students paint faces and give temporary tattoos.

We splurged on some pretty pricey markers that can be used on the body and last a few days—but it sounds like it’s worth it.

A few hours later, twelve hundred people have come through already. We should have at least two thousand more before the night is over. These numbers are better than last year—assuming we can keep up this volume for the rest of the week—and history is on our side for this.

Overall, the event is running smoothly, and we’ve only had to do one hard stop to get someone out who decided it just wasn’t for them.

That’s when we have to turn all the lights on and one of the kids who isn’t in costume but dressed all in black and generally unseen during the show assists someone who gets a little overwhelmed. It’s rare, but it does happen.

The exit door opens again, but it isn’t a group of rowdy teens who spill out but my family.

I have to do a double take. I almost can’t believe my eyes.

Mom pushes her scooter forward while her other foot is propped up, Ashley is as pale as a sheet of printer paper, and Emily, Antonio, and Dad are laughing hysterically.

I officially told them that I was turning down their offer.

Without knowing what is happening with Pepper, I can’t commit to leaving.

Even if I forget her, I have to make the promise to stay.

To give us another chance to be together.

I can’t leave now, knowing what I do and what I could have.

While they were supportive of my decision, I’m not sure they completely understood, so it’s surprising to see them.

“What are you doing here?” I have to give them credit that this year they said they were going to come out—something they haven’t done yet since I started teaching—and then actually followed through.

Emily is the first to race up and give me a hug. “That was fantastic.” She squeezes me so hard that for a moment I can’t breathe.

“Thanks,” I’m barely able to respond.

Mom hugs me next—which is only a little awkward with her scooter—followed by Dad. “This is quite the event,” Mom says.

“And quite the turnout,” Dad adds.

“It’s really impressive,” Ashley says, and I’m ready to fall over.

A compliment from my big sister? Did someone get a recording of that?

I should keep it tucked away in my back pocket forever.

Ashley saying nice things to me doesn’t come often.

I wonder how those words tasted coming out of her mouth.

“Great job, sis.” Antonio squeezes me into his side. I have to admit, he’s going to make an awesome brother-in-law. And he’s good to Emily, which is most important.

“I guess I’m just surprised to see you all here,” I say.

“And it shouldn’t be like that,” Mom says. “We should’ve come sooner. We should’ve been more supportive. We’re going to try more from here on out.” She reaches over and hugs me again.

“Thank you,” I tell her, because coming back with something dismissive—like, “It’s no big deal,” or “You don’t have to do that”—would be disingenuous.

And saying something like, “Yeah, for real” would just be inappropriate.

“It feels good to be here,” I tell them, which is true, “and the kids are great.”

“They seem like it,” Emily confirms.

“If you like this, you’ll really love our spring production.” I’m probably pressing my luck, but I don’t care. They should come out here more—they should make the effort to be a part of the things that I find important even if they don’t think they are.

“Will there be as much blood?” Ashley asks with a sour look on her face.

“We’re doing Alice in Wonderland , so it’s unlikely,” I tell her.

“We’re really proud of you,” Dad says. It’s been years since he’s said that to me, and it means a lot—he’s not a man of very many words, but he always means what he says.

“She’s really amazing, isn’t she?” Pepper comes up and hip-checks me.

“You’re here early.” I pull her in for a hug. I’m so excited she gets to witness this historic event for herself, so I don’t have to tell it to her later.

“Someone finally decided to show up for his shifts, so I got to cut out,” she says.

“Pepper, it’s lovely to see you again,” Mom says.

“Likewise. Did you enjoy the performance?” she asks.

“We were just telling Christina how we’d never seen anything like it,” Mom says.

“Or seen anything as disgusting,” Ashley adds.

“A lot of people don’t understand horror, but I like it.

It helps us dissect things that are wrong in our society without being preachy.

Wouldn’t you agree, Christina?” Pepper turns to me and winks so that no one else sees.

Now I understand how she knows how to deal with Ashley so well. She’s had practice.

I nod. “That’s a great way to put it.” I still don’t like all the blood, but the way Pepper gets under Ashley’s skin is poetry in motion.

“Well, we won’t keep you,” Dad says.

“We have a long drive back,” Ashley adds.

“I’m glad you all made it,” I tell them. And I really am. I hope this means they will attempt to come this way more often, so it isn’t always me going down to them.

We all say our goodbyes, and finally I get a chance to talk to Pepper about my conversation with Cami earlier and her idea to go and see a psychic.

She listens so intently, and I have to give her credit for not making faces or interrupting or laughing—which all seem like they could be reasonable reactions.

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up,” she says. “But we can try it if you want.”

I squeeze her hand. This could be it. The thing we need. I lean in and kiss her cheek quickly since I’m technically still on work duty. “You’ll see,” I say. “You’ll see.”