All Hallows' Eve Mischievousness
When Abby walked into calculus class that Monday she could immediately see how tired Mick appeared. "You look worn-out," she said as she sat down next to him. "I thought you didn't work late at the bar on Sundays?" Abigail asked him. "I don't,"
"I was just up late cramming for all the upcoming midterms," Mick responded.
"That reminds me," Abby shot back, "I'm free tomorrow night. Do you want to get together and study?"
"Sure, that would be good," replied Mick.
"Clear your calendar for Thursday night though," stated Abby. "It's the night of the big Halloween bash at the student union."
"Yeah, about that," Mick said hesitantly.
Abby looked at Mick for a moment with her mouth slightly agape before asking with a tone of disappointment in her words, "You're not going?" Mick didn't say a word. "But Zoe is going and so is Jimmy," said Abby.
"Jimmy," thought Mick to himself, "Why wouldn't I want to go hang out with Mr. Personality instead of hitting the bars for beers and women in hot costumes throwing inhibition to the wind?"
"Well, a few of the guys from the gym invited me to go to The Boulevard," Mick told his friend, "I was thinking about joining them."
Abby let out a breath of exasperation. "Seriously?" she asked annoyed. Mick could see she was very unhappy with him. Abby turned away from him but laid on the guilt trip by saying, "Didn't think my friends would abandon me when I could really use their support. I've worked really hard on this event." Mick didn't know how to respond and sighed quietly to himself.
"I don't even have a costume anyway," Mick to Abby, interrupting the sudden awkward silence.
She spun back around and exclaimed "Don't worry, I have it taken care of for you."
Mick raised an eyebrow and asked suspiciously, "Oh you have?"
"I do," said Abby, "I got all of us costumes." Her proclamation made Mick anxious.
"Zoe is going as the Statue of Liberty," Abby announced.
"A little short to pull that off don't you think?" Mick asked under his breath before snidely suggesting, "Wouldn't wallflower be a more suitable costume?"
Abby frowned and poked Mick in his side with her finger. "Be nice!" Abby proclaimed, defending her roommate, "She's a nice person."
"I know, I know," replied Mick, "Just kidding."
"What are you and Jimmy going as?" Mick asked gingerly.
"Oh!" Abby said rather excitedly, "We are going as Raggedy Ann and Andy."
Mick closed his eyes tightly while grimacing. Even though he did not think much of Jimmy, he was embarrassed for him and felt some empathy for what he would probably have to endure. "Pretty damn emasculating," he thought to himself. "Did you run that past Jimmy first?" asked Mick.
His disapproval was obvious to Abby. "What's wrong with it?" she replied defensively, "I think we will look cute together."
Mick stared for a moment at Abby before inquiring, "Let me guess, there is an award for best couple's costume, isn't there?"
"Yeah, so what?" She continued defensively. Mick put his hands up and said nothing, trying to gracefully end the conversation which he successfully did just in time as the instructor entered the room and began the lecture.
"Wait!" Mick suddenly let slip, piercing the silence and surprising several nearby students including Abby who turned and looked at him. Mick leaned over to quietly speak to her and being mindful of his volume whispered, "What did you get for me?"
Abby sat back up in her chair and turned to face the front of the lecture hall as a smile came across her face. Mick could see her scribble something on the edge of her notepad which she slid over to him. "Bed sheet -- Eunuch -- Don't you remember?" was written on the paper. Annoyed, Mick shoved the pad back at her.
A minute later Abby once again pushed her notepad over to Mick. She had scratched-out her previous words and wrote, "I got you Batman." "Batman," pondered Mick. "Guess that's not so bad. Hope the utility belt has a pocket flask built into it," he thought to himself.
Mick collected his costume from Abby after their study session on Tuesday night and hung it on the back of his door. "Must be pretty nice," he thought, as it came in a protective suit bag. Between classes, studying and work, he did not have a chance to look at it until Thursday evening just prior to the party.
After downing a couple of rum and cokes in his room Mick sighed heavily and went to put on his getup. "Let's get this over and get on with the evening," he thought to himself as he unzipped the bag. He reached in the bag and found a dark blue boot in the bottom of the bag which he dropped on the floor. Next he retrieved a yellow utility belt and tossed it over on his bed. Then he found the hood.
Mick pulled the flimsy mask out and examined it for a second before looking again at the boot on the floor and the belt on his bed. "Looks kind of chintzy," he said out loud. He appreciated that Abby had taken the time, not to mention the expense, to rent him a costume but this was not what he presumed he would find in the garment case.
He took the bag off the door hook and slipped the hangers free from their container removing the costume. Mick glanced quickly at the dark blue satin cape before turning the garments around to see the rest. "Oh shit!" he shouted, as he spied a yellow, oblong circle with a bat silhouette inside it adorning the chest of the costume. Instead of the modern, muscular, rubber-type suit which the character had worn in the modern movies, this tacky costume was reminiscent of the 1960's television show.
"You have to be fucking shitting me!" Mick shouted once again to an empty room, as this was not what he was expecting at all. Agitated, he ran his fingers through his hair before returning the outfit to the back of his door. He walked over and sat on his bed, leaned forward and placed his head in his hands in disbelief. Mick wasn't thrilled about going to the party to begin with, but having to go in this costume was more than he thought he could stomach. He got up and made himself another drink. For several moments he pondered the repercussions of not going to the event while banging back his cocktail, but the look of disappointment on Abby's face that previous Monday kept creeping into his mind.
After several minutes of contemplation, he had talked himself into putting in an appearance and figured that after half hour or so he would quietly slip out of the party for a quick change before heading to The Boulevard to find his buddies. Mick donned the outfit and looked in the mirror. The suit was very tight but he had the body to actually pull it off. He could see that the outfit accentuated every muscle including the one between his legs. There just was no getting around it. Mick had nothing to be ashamed of but was embarrassed by his own outward display nonetheless.
Mick walked into the student center on a mission to find Abby as soon as possible so he could start the clock running for countdown in his mind to finding the exit. As he roamed throughout the party in his search, he noticed more than a few people gawking at him and even though most of them were girls, he still felt very self-conscious.
A familiar voice from behind shouted, "Hey there caped-crusader!" Mick spun around to see the whole group walking towards him--Abby, Jimmy and Zoe.
"Hey," he said unenthusiastically.
"What's wrong?" Abby asked.
"Nothing," Mick replied again in a dispassionate tone.
"You look great," Abby replied as she thrust a cup of punch in his hand. Out the corner of his eye, Mick could tell that Zoe was checking him out from below the belt which made him feel even more self-conscious than before.
"Thanks," he flatly replied to Abby for giving him the drink. Before he could say another word she looked past him and said,