People crowded the mall, making their last-minute purchases of Halloween decorations and costumes. As he stood in the line at the food court, his mind drifted to how much he hated coming home from college. He hadn't been back since he'd left for college two years ago.
At college, no one knew what a socially inept dork he'd been in high school. He'd managed to shed some, though by no means all, of his shyness, and had even made a few friends.
"Steve? Is that you?" shook him from his reverie. He was surprised to see the homecoming queen and most popular girl in school standing there in front of him. "Hi, how are you?" she exclaimed as she reached in to hug him.
He stiffened at the unexpected embrace. Wendy had always been kind to everyone, but they had not been close enough for this sort of greeting. "Um, good, I guess. How have you been?"
"I'm good. I'm taking dance classes at the community college. Why don't we eat together and catch up? Get your food and join me right over there." she said, pointing to a nearby table.
He got a salad and made his way over to her table. Unlike most, he'd started eating better at school, and had shed twenty pounds since high school. He wasn't pudgy any longer, and while he'd never be mistaken for Adonis, he was in good shape.
"So, tell me all about school in the city. I've missed you so much. How have you been?"
"Things are good," he replied, "I'm in a joint physics/computer science program, and I like it." He didn't know what to make of her comment about missing him. They'd never been closer than her saying 'hi' in the hall. Mentally, he chuckled, because he realized that might qualify her as his best friend from high school. He'd been invisible since grade school to most of his classmates.
"I'm sure you're doing great. I bet you're popular with the girls at college. Us girls like the smart ones." she gushed.
"Um, Wendy, I've never been popular with girls. Us talking now is the longest conversation I've had with a girl in years."
"Oh, stop. So, got any plans for Halloween?"
He shook his head, "No, I'm only here for some family stuff, and hoping to get back to school as soon as possible."
She reached out to touch his hand, "Hey, want to help me set up for the Halloween festival at my church?"
"Um, I don't know. My schedule's tight." Steve stammered.
Batting her eyes as only the gorgeous girls can, "Pretty please?"
He couldn't resist and relented. "Sure, I can give you a few hours."
"Great, how about right now? We can head over in my car, and I'll drop you back here after?"
He agreed, and after they'd cleaned up the remnants of their meals, followed her to her car.
She agreeably chattered as she drove, reaching out to rest her hand on his thigh every so often. After about twenty minutes, they arrived at her church.
"Looks like we're the first ones here," she said and unlocked the door, leading him into the darkened church. She flicked on a few of the lights, "Don't need to turn them all on; we try to save electricity when we can."
In the dimly lit center area, he saw a weird contraption. It looked like a table standing vertically with four straps, two at each end. He looked at Wendy, wondering what it was.
"Oh, that. It's for the haunted house attraction. It's always a big hit. Come here, let me show you." and took him by the hand, guiding him to the table. "See, a person puts their hands up there and their feet down there, and the straps hold them in place."
She laughed, "Here silly. Stand right there, and I'll show you how it works."
He obeyed, with his back against the table, and she quickly strapped his arms and legs into the device. He struggled against the restraints but realized he couldn't move.
She kissed him lightly on the lips, "Stay right there. I'll be right back."
He heard the click as she turned off the lights, and was in the darkness for several minutes. Then, he heard another click, and a brighter light came on, illuminating the table and the surrounding area.
"Come on, Wendy. Let me out of this. It's not funny," he growled.
