"I hate Halloween," repeating it louder the second time hoping it will shut Diana up.
Walking next to me she replies in a sarcastic voice, "You are hopeless. Your parents named you Rhiannon, after a Celtic fairy. The fairies are supposed to come out of their world and into ours, to do all that fairy stuff during their one night on earth, Halloween night." She waves her hands in the air with a look of disgust on her face. "So come out of your world little fairy, it is the night of goblins, vampires, elves, ghosts, and magic. I just don't get it. How can you not like Halloween? Everybody loves Halloween." I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and turn to face her. "This is a night full of mischief and trouble, perpetuated by groups of wandering, misplaced teenagers, not goblins, ghosts or vampires."
Diana places her hands on her hips, glaring at me.
Shifting the grocery bags in my arms, I launch into a theoretical rant. "I believe it has to do with the pack mentality and the frontal cortex. The frontal cortex is responsible for planning, strategies, and judgement. It is not fully developed in the brain of a teenager. To make up for that lack of development they must band together to form one big master brain in order to function effectively, and that goes hand in hand with their pack mentality."
"Whoa girl, stop right there with the attitude. You have been spending way too much time out at the college." Diana replies with her arms crossed, and her chin jutting out.
Based on her body language I believe she means business this time. I decide to take the direct approach, before giving her a chance to bitch at me anymore.
"I will say it again. I hate Halloween. No, I am not going to the party with you; end of discussion and if you even hint about me in a fairy costume, I swear Diana, I will drop this chocolate devil's food cake right on the top of your curly blond hair."
I watch the emotions play out across her face, surprise at my firmness, then wariness because she knows I am the type of person to back up my words.
Her boyfriend, Jimmy, has been wise enough to keep his mouth shut throughout our entire discussion. He now grabs Diana by the waist just below her breasts. I can tell by the look on his face and the sharp intake of his breath, he enjoys the sensation of her soft breasts resting on the top of his forearms as he wraps his arms around her body. I watch his tongue come out and lick the side of her neck, at the same time pressing his body in tight.
"Don't worry baby girl. I will gladly lick it off every inch of your sweet tasty body." He winks at me, "Rhiannon quick, while I'm holding her," and he starts to tickle her until she can't take it any longer, she slaps his hands away, grinning.
"All right Rhiannon, I give up. But if you change your mind, don't forget the party is at Mark's."
She gives me a quick hug, picks up Jimmy's hand in hers, and the two love birds walk down the sidewalk. I just shake my head at the sight of them joined at the hip, and watch them disappear around the corner.
It is getting late. All of the young children have stopped trick or treating for the night, and are in their homes probably coming down from a mean sugar high. The street on my block is empty, except for the pools of dim light glowing softly from the old metal street lamps. I can hear faint sounds of animals scavenging for food in the dumpers hidden at the end of the alley. I watch a metal can trip across the ground as a small gust of wind kicks it down the street. It is followed by some loose dirty pages of an old newspaper, which twirl around on the ground for a second before the wind pushes them upwards, making them disappear into the inky sky above.
I walk up the stairs to my apartment building, with my keys jingling, when suddenly I am grabbed from behind. Emotions of shock, fear, and flight rush into my brain all at once. I fight back wildly, kicking and scratching at anything I can reach, trying desperately to free myself from the attacker. The grocery bags drop from my hands onto the cement where the chocolate cake smashes into one big blob. The rest of my groceries bounce down the steps, scattering among the trash on the sidewalk below.
During the struggle I vaguely register the sound of my shirt ripping away from my body, exposing my skin. I take a deep breath to yell at the top of my lungs when a large beefy hand is pressed firmly against my mouth cutting me off. Instinct takes over as the adrenaline surge hits my blood stream. I sink my teeth deeply into his palm, biting down hard, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.
"Bitch!" he yells.
He captures me by the throat in a vice-grip tight strangle hold, an effective way to keep me from screaming out for help; the blood from his hand drips down the side of my neck. The next thing I feel is a sledge hammer pounding me, as he slams his other fist repeatedly into my side knocking the wind, and the fight, out of me. It is a teenager in the pack mentality, big for his age; he drags me easily down the steps into the recess of the dark alley in between the old apartment buildings. The stench of rotten garbage and decay permeates the night air as a second teenager follows closely behind us.
"Trick or treat, bitch," the first one says, "Did you get the purse?" he asks his friend.
"I got it here."