Page 23

JULIE

“I really don’t want to go to this stupid Halloween party,” I declare.

Tyler shoots me a look while he dons his leopard costume. “You don’t have a choice. Now, go put on your costume.”

I groan and lay on the floor of his bedroom. I stare at the ceiling, noticing the outline of stars. I point at them.

“Do the star stickers still glow?

Tyler glances up, then shrugs. “I think so.”

“Remember when we put those up?”

Tyler laughs and chimes in, “Worst idea ever.”

“And Mom found us in a pile on the floor after we tumbled off the ladder.”

“She was so upset,” adds Tyler.

He continues to get dressed. With a black eyeliner, he draws whiskers on his face. He colors his nose in, then wiggles it in the mirror.

Ever since Ahma found out about Randall and me, Tyler has been keeping a close eye on me, like I could vanish any second. He’s my shadow and I hate it. Tyler wants to go to London Park’s extravagant Halloween party so therefore I must go too, since Tyler has vowed to keep an eye on me as my big brother.

“If you want to show up as a melancholy girl, be my guest,” says Tyler.

I show him my middle finger.

“Get dressed.”

I head to my bedroom. Normally, I love Halloween. As a kid, collecting candy was the best. London Park’s party became the highlight of high school because he always had some elaborate theme. This year’s theme is animals.

Mercy let me know that Randall would be there. I didn’t ask what he would be dressed as because I didn’t want to spend the party searching for him.

I pick up the black cat ears I bought at CVS for $2.99. I gather my long hair into a ponytail and wind it into a bun. I use black eyeliner to draw whiskers from my nose. To finish, I put on black jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt.

Before I head back to Tyler’s room, I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Last year, I made a beautiful green shimmery mermaid tail and a matching top for the Under the Sea theme. I even put sparkles in my hair.

This year, I can’t be bothered.

I step into Tyler’s room. He whirls around. His spotted leopard tail swishes in the air. His hands are covered with fuzzy white gloves.

“What do you think?” he asks.

“Amazing,” I say flatly.

He looks me up and down. “Wow. You really went all out this year.”

I smack his leopard tail. “Can we just go and get this over with?”

“You’ll probably win best costume this year,” says Tyler.

I scrunch my nose at him. He digs through his closet and pulls out a plastic cat face.

“At least wear this,” says Tyler.

“How do you have a cat mask in your closet?”

He grabs my hand.

“Let’s go, kitty girl. You can be a grump in another house.”

I roll my eyes as I follow his fake leopard tail.

RANDALL

“Are you sure this works?” I ask.

Mercy nods. “Trust me.”

I’m inside a fuzzy gray mouse costume. I feel like an off-brand Disney character. I peek out through the eyeholes and indeed I look ridiculous.

“No. I’m not wearing this.”

“It’s cuuuute!” counters Mercy.

“You’re really not my friend if you believe that. I’m part of the rodent family. Cute and rodents don’t go together.”

“Hold still,” says Mercy, lifting my mouse head to apply some makeup to my face.

“Not too much,” I remind her.

I’ve never really been a fan of makeup. When Julie and Mercy went through their makeup phase, carrying lip gloss in their backpacks, I did not. I hated the way it stuck to my lips.

“See. Just part of the mouse face look.”

She’s applied little silver dots to my face with small whiskers jutting out. My cheeks are a ruddy red. I put the head back on.

“I feel like Chuck E. Cheese.”

“Oh stop it. Plus, you used to love going there.”

“I was six. I liked fart jokes and saying the word ‘butt.’”

I plop down on my bed, extracting the mouse head off of mine so I can breathe. “Remind me why I have to go to this party.”

“Because you promised me and you owe me like a million favors,” says Mercy. “And we always have fun.”

She’s right about that. Ever since freshman year, we’ve had the best day coming up with duo costumes, like Mario and Luigi, or Luke and Leia.

“Why mice?”

Mercy adds the finishing touches to her makeup. “Just trust me.”

There’s a twinkle in her eye that I do not trust. “What do you know?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Before we leave, Halmeoni wants a picture of us. She puts up our Halloween photos by the fireplace.

“Say cheese,” says Halmeoni as we pose.

“Cheese!”

Halmeoni squeezes our cheeks. “So cute! Text me when you are coming home. And please thank London for the bank meeting.”

“I will, Halmeoni.”

I head out. I squeeze into the passenger seat. My pink mouse tail gets stuck in the door. I wrangle it into the car.

“Is Julie going to be there?” I ask.

Mercy shrugs. “How should I know?”

“Because I know you text her all the time.”

“Snoop much?”

“Just answer the question or this mouse is out,” I say.

She turns on the car and starts driving. “Yes, and Tyler will be there too.”

I groan. “He’s such a butthead.”

“You’re both buttheads. Please don’t start anything tonight. I just want to have fun and make out with someone. I don’t want to have to break up a fight between the two of you.”

“I promise nothing.”

“You’re just as stubborn as he is. If you both got over your bullshit, you might actually be friends again,” says Mercy.

“Never. I’d rather eat my fingernail clippings.”

“Disgusting.”

“Exactly,” I say.

W hen we arrive at London Park’s house, the huge driveway is filled with cars. We see people dressed as sharks, goats, even a group of chickens in a coop.

Before we get out of the car, Mercy grabs my hand.

“I just want to have fun tonight.”

“I know,” I say.

We walk up to the front door. Someone is handing out glow bracelets and necklaces. I snap a green one around my wrist. Mercy puts her pink necklace on. When we enter, we see that the house is filled with black lights and everything is illuminated in neon colors.

“This is epic,” whispers Mercy.

I give her a thumbs-up. Each room is decorated like a different animal habitat. The living room looks like a jungle. There are plants draped everywhere and misting machines.

I follow Mercy to the kitchen, which is decked out to be a park, complete with a picnic table stuffed with food. Somehow there’s fake grass on the floor. Mercy fills her plate with cheese cubes.

She nibbles on a piece of cheddar. “Get it?”

“Please tell me I didn’t dress up as a mouse so you could eat cheese all night.”

“Hardly. But it’s a bonus.”

I grab a plate and layer it with cheese, grapes, and crackers. Mercy plops down on the artificial turf and eats. I join her, pushing my pink tail out of the way.

While I eat, I glance around to see if I recognize anyone, but everyone is in elaborate costumes, so anybody could be anybody.

“Looking for Julie?”

“Nope,” I lie.

“After we finish eating, let’s do a lap, then I’d like some time to roam solo.”

Mercy cracks open a beer. She passes it to me. I take a sip. It tastes like a fizzy sour raspberry. I glance at the bottle.

“Framboise?” I ask.

“London gets the good stuff,” says Mercy. “Speak of the handsome devil, there he is.”

She points and all I see is a tall lion, complete with a furry mane, joking around with other lions, like a pride.

Mercy hands me the bottle. “I’m going to say hi.”

Without a glance back at me, Mercy beelines for the lion pride.

I mumble to myself, “So when you said you wanted solo time, you meant now. Cool.”

I take another sip, then I notice a black cat watching me. When I stare back, the cat pretends to be listening to a leopard. I look down at my gray costume. The pink tail sticks straight up. I push it away.

The cat and leopard are walking this way. I feign intense interest in my last remaining cube of cheese.

“You don’t have to trail me like I’m a toddler on a leash,” says the cat.

I freeze. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It’s Julie.

“I made a promise to Ahma to keep an eye on you. Unlike you, I keep my promises,” whispers the leopard.

And that’s definitely Tyler. They eat side by side. I stay silent in the safety of my mouse head. When they finally walk away, I keep my eyes on Julie. She and Tyler weave through the crowd.

I get up to follow them. It’s a very stupid idea. What do I even have to say to Julie? Absolutely nothing.

As I wind around different animals dancing together, I see Mercy the Mouse pressed close against the body of a lion.

I see the trail of a leopard tail disappear into a room. When I enter, it’s like I stepped inside an ocean. The lights are dimmed and the walls have a blue tinge. The floor is decorated with fake coral and a sunken treasure chest.

Tyler was not joking around when he said he’d stay close to Julie. I have no idea how I’m going to get close to her, but I decide to stay in the room for a chance.

JULIE

I step out onto the balcony. Tyler is right behind me. A few stars sparkle in the sky. I take out my phone and open my Sky Guide app. I point my camera at the night sky, the outline of mountains in the distance.

“What do you see tonight?” asks Tyler.

“See that bright star?”

He gazes upward. I shift my phone to trace the skyline.

“It’s actually Venus. Called Earth’s twin because they are similar sizes.”

As I watch the constellations appear on my screen, I say, “Isn’t it boring just to follow me around? Don’t you want to talk to other people that aren’t related to you?”

Tyler laughs, then sips his sparkling water can. “I know what you’re doing.”

“There’s plenty of cute guys here.”

He wags his finger at me. “Don’t tempt me.”

I slip my phone back into the pocket of my black jeans. I cross my arms over my chest. I give him a side glance.

He takes off his leopard mask. Sweat outlines his forehead.

“Why Randall?” he asks. “You could go out with anyone. London Park is practically waiting in the wings.”

I shrug my shoulders. “He makes me happy. Made me happy.”

He finishes his drink. I notice that his phone lights up in his back pocket. I retrieve it before he can stop me. I read the text on the screen.

Ricky

Just got here. Can’t wait to see you!

Tyler snatches his phone back from me. “You’re a thief.” He reads the text and gets a ridiculously happy smile on his face.

“Ricky can’t wait to see you,” I tease.

He rolls his eyes at me, but he’s still staring at his phone. This is my opportunity to finally break free from him.

“Let’s make a deal. I promise to stay here on the balcony. You go hang with Ricky. Come back and I’ll join you.”

He squints his eyes at me. “What do you have up your sleeve?”

I push him toward the French doors. “Go already. Ricky is waiting.”

Tyler sticks his hand back through the door. “Pinkie promise?”

“Seriously? Are we ten?”

“Do it.”

“Fine.”

I intertwine my pinkie finger with his. We shake on it. He disappears. I sigh. Finally. I lean over the edge of the balcony. Below is a manicured backyard with rows of red, yellow, and pink roses. A fountain shaped like two ducks kissing sits in the middle. I watch it spray up water.

The French doors open. I turn to say hello, but instead I see someone dressed in a frightening mouse costume. Less Mickey, more Chuck E. Cheese, who terrified me as a kid at birthday parties. I straight-up squeal. The self-defense training I took kicks in. I reach out and slam the palm of my hand against the mouse’s nose.

The mouse takes off the mask. It’s Randall, and his nose is bleeding.

“Oh crap, I’m so sorry!”

Randall covers his nose. I rush to get some toilet paper from the nearest bathroom.

There’s a line of costumed people that snakes down the stairs. I cut to the front of the line.

“Hey, there’s a line,” whines a girl dressed as a sloth.

I show her the blood on the palm of my hand. She raises her three-toe costume hand up and gestures for me to go in front of her. I bang on the door.

“Hurry up! I’ve got a bloody nose situation,” I shout.

The person comes out in a pug costume, staring at my nose. “I don’t see any blood.”

I push past the pug to grab a fistful of toilet paper. “It’s not for me, nosy.”

When I come back, Randall is on the floor of the balcony with his head tilted back. He pinches his nose shut.

“You’re not supposed to do that. Lean forward. Here.”

I wad up the toilet paper into a ball and place it under Randall’s nose as he sits up. I press the toilet paper around the contours of his nose. After a few minutes, Randall waves away my hand.

He holds on to the toilet paper ball. “Where did you learn to do that?”

I laugh. “Ahma wanted me to take a self-defense class in West Hollywood before I go to college. She came with me to this three-hour seminar. We got to beat up this guy dressed in a full-body protective suit.”

Randall smiles under the toilet paper. “I bet your grandma kicked some serious ass.”

“You know it.”

I sit down next to Randall. He starts laughing. I look at him quizzically.

“What’s so funny?”

“Cat and mouse. Mercy wanted me to find you. She made me wear this ridiculous costume and I didn’t get why until now.”

I wiggle the whiskers on my face. “I told her I was going as a cat.”

I tap my black sneakers against Randall’s white sneakers. “I didn’t want our families to find out that way.”

“Yeah, it sucked.” Randall peels away the toilet paper from his nose. “I haven’t heard my grandmother yell like that since a gang of squirrels plundered our persimmon tree.”

“I wish I could rewind time and throw the notebook out,” I say.

“I wish you wouldn’t. That notebook means a lot to me.”

“A lot?” I ask.

Randall turns to face me. “I loved what you wrote in there, and I would hate to lose it.”

“Okay. I won’t rewind time then.”

Our faces are inches away from each other. Any resolve I had dissolves at the sight of Randall’s hair sweeping over his forehead and the way he bites his lip. I lean in and press my lips against his.

Randall’s hand caresses my face. I touch his hand to keep it against my cheek. I move closer and closer to his body. Suddenly, something sharp pokes me in the side. I look down and laugh.

“Your tail is hitting me,” I say, giggling.

“Stupid tail,” mumbles Randall. He shoves the fake tail under his butt.

Randall loops his arms around me and pulls me in. I am lost in the kisses Randall rains from my cheek to the soft spots of my neck.

I don’t hear anything until I hear Tyler grunt. I feel his hand yank my arm.

“Get away from my sister!” he shouts.

“Tyler, stop,” I say.

Inside the room, curious faces turn toward our shouts.

Randall stumbles to get up. Tyler is already too close. I wedge myself between them. I hold Tyler back as much as I can.

“Haven’t you already ruined enough?” barks Tyler.

“You’re a jerk!” shouts Randall.

“Stop it, you two! Enough.”

I pull on Tyler, but he’s still as a statue. His glare is fixed on Randall. I can feel his anger vibrating off him. None of this can lead anywhere good.

“Let’s go, Ty.”

By now, a crowd gathers in the room to watch. I see Mercy pushing her way through until she emerges behind the French doors. She reaches a hand out to Randall.

“You don’t want to do this,” says Mercy.

Randall takes Mercy’s hand to leave. Tyler breaks free from my grip and gets so close to Randall’s face. He pokes Randall’s cheek.

“I never want to see you near my sister again,” he declares.

Randall looks at me. I should say something. Defend Randall. I should intervene, but my words are frozen on my lips. Randall shakes his head as he leaves with Mercy.

“There’s nothing to see,” says Mercy, waving her hands at people to disperse the crowd.

I wait until people start to leave before I turn to Tyler. The top half of his leopard costume is completely gone.

“What are you thinking? You’re acting like an idiot,” says Tyler.

Tears spring into my eyes. I refuse to let them fall.

“I like Randall a lot.”

“Get over it,” says Tyler. “Our family means more than some stupid crush you have. That person insulted your grandmother and you’re here sucking face with him.”

I look away. “Stop it, Ty. Please.”

“We’re going. Now.”

He grabs hold of my hand and drags me off the balcony. I’m too upset to resist.