1We Were Only Kids
We were just kids at the time. What else were we supposed to do? It was Halloween. It was a Friday night. Everybody was talking about it, but no one really did it.
Now I'm not too sure how we came to the conclusion; but somehow we did.
That Halloween we were going to egg Kellys' house.
I mean…there's nothing wrong with that right? She's mean and snobby, and deserves it anyways. Someone else would have done it sooner or later…Right?
It was four o 'clock pm and I was sitting at home, in our cherished home at 1234 Wimmplebee Lane. I was all alone as usual. My parents are still to this day workaholics.
With my heartbeat gradually rising, I bustled about the kitchen trying to plan the night ahead of us. Anxiety, haha, I wish. My fidgeting couldn't have been greater if I had drunk a gallon of espresso. I sat down at the kitchen desk, and took a deep sigh.
What was my Halloween costume again? Oh yeah. A light gray skeleton mask with white hair about a foot long, Courtesy of Spencers. I was genuinely surprised my mother had let me into the store, let alone buy anything. But amidst the rude pictures and intricate gadgets I found my costume. There was no doubt about it. It was cool. To top everything off, I had long flowing black robes. Kind of nifty wasn't it?
It was Four-ten and I sat waiting, unable to figure out what to do. It was like having a never-ending thirst. The only thing that could quench it was throwing those eggs!
With nothing else to do I decided to get ready. I could just work slow and by the time everything was set, it'd be time to head out.
So I began to gather my supplies, stomping around the house with my childish glee. I collected them one by one, from all the corners of the house: A pillow case from the towel closet; for candy and other accessories. Toilet paper from the garage; just in case.
Some left over firecrackers from the basement; only to be used if we got bored. My hands trembled as I opened the fridge and last but not least I took the eggs the eggs.
Slowly, I carefully picked six eggs from the crate. With my fingers I twirled the eggs around in the air, scrupulously checking them for cracks and any other defects. I was selecting my weapons of choice. They were round and oval, still cold from the fridge; textured, but fragile.
Sighing, I closed the fridge; each egg gently placed on the counter. I hoped my mom wouldn't notice; she was absentminded after all. Carefully, I wrapped the eggs in toilet paper and placed them gently into the pillow case.
I glanced at the clock, wondering how much time I had spent.
I did a double take.
And then shrieked. I was going to be late! It was already six o clock! And I didn't even have my costume on yet. Hurriedly, I grabbed my robes from the closet and stuffed it over my head.
As I went to put my arms inside the garment, I winced. I'd put my head through the wrong whole. Frustrated, I took the robe off and tried again. After successfully putting the robes on I grabbed the mask and jammed it on my head. With a quick check in the mirror I took my bag and headed out the door
The first stop was my friends house, Matt Compton a.k.a. Accomplice # 1. Now, Matt was your ordinary kid, while I tended to stay indoors playing video games, he tended to stay outdoors playing sports, but between the two of us there was a balance. If you gave him a chance he would do anything once, maybe even twice.
With my legs moving monotonously I traveled through a gravel path in the woods, a shortcut to Matt's' house. It was dark creepy, the only light was that of the moon, which was slightly tinted red. The clouds billowed sharply. I quickened my pace.
With each step I took onto the path, the clicking, hissing and snapping of all sorts of animals grew louder. I broke into a run. I hurried across the path, the gravel crunching at my feet.
The wind picked up causing the trees to sway and rustle. I slowed down my pace as I neared the end of the path. I took a deep sigh and smiled. I made it. I knew I was a big kid, I could handle this. I was really growing up
"BOO!"
"Ahhh!" I screamed in terror. My eyes widened in shock and I dropped the pillowcase full of eggs, turned on my heels and was about to flee, but when I glanced up-
"BOO!"
I gasped. I was surrounded. What should I do? I had only just started Tae-Kwon-Do. Surely a white belt couldn't take on these creepy bandits? I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on what moves I would have to pull.
Click!
A flashlight turned on, and I took a deep long sigh.
My so called villains were just Matt and John Dill- Accomplice # 2.
John Dill was a reserved type of guy but if you put him in the right situation, watch out! He was somewhat wimpy, but quick to talk. With him our triangle was complete. Together we were the three musketeers, unstoppable, and on a mission.
I checked the eggs, making sure they were still okay; fortunately they were.
Fighting to catch my breath I could only say two words.
"You." Gasp. "Suck"
Chuckling we trudged our way up the hill, eventually reaching the main street. Standing there on the sidewalk, with our Halloween costumes we blended in perfectly. I was dressed as a skeleton, Matt as some devilish looking creature, and John as…well John was scary enough without a costume.
We pointed and laughed at the little kids running around dressed as pumpkins and angels; ringing neighbors' doorbells and practically begging for candy. Choruses of "Trick or Treat!" could be heard all around the neighborhood. But we weren't after the candy. Not yet at least. We were on a mission.
We walked towards Kelly's house, trying to act normal. Johns hand was shaking. I could tell he was nervous.
Matt lead the way, me and John followed close behind. As we approached the house we slowed down.
The lights were off.
It was so like her family not to give out candy. You'd at least expect pencils, or dental floss, or purposely unwrapped candy so you couldn't eat it. But no, their lights were off. Yet somehow, we knew their kids were out mooching off our families. Well, we had to teach them a lesson. I reached into my pillow case full of eggs and divided them between us. Two throws each.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" John said skeptically, eying the eggs as if they were poisonous.
"Yea we're sure" I said rolling my eyes, We were grown up, we could do this.
"Alright then, on the count of three" Matt whispered, his arms in a position to throw them as hard as he could.
"One. Two. Thr-
Whoosh!
My jaw dropped. John had jumped the gun and threw one of his eggs, sadly it broke in mid air never reaching its target; instead it splattered over the car.
John shrugged "Whoops."
I glanced at Matt. "Hurry up, before they come out," I said.
Matt grinned. "Alright! Alright! One. Two. Three!"
I pulled back my arm and scrunched up my face. With all my might I chucked the eggs at the tall brick house. Matt and John did also in a similar manner. The three of us stood there, on that cold October night, with the wind blowing into our faces. All we could do was smile.
"What if they come out?" John questioned.
Us standing there, looking like guilty culprits was not the best idea.
"RUUUNN!" Someone shouted; and so we did. We ran and ran laughing all the way until we were out of breath. Once we caught our breath, we laughed again, and laughed and laughed; the laughter kept on coming until our chests began to sting and warned us we were running out of breath. We lavished in the simple happiness that can only come from pulling a harmless prank. And of course the glee that came from not getting caught.
When I finally got home it was well after 12:00. My mom was sitting on the sofa watching a late night rerun of All My Children. I think Erika Kane had just gotten a divorce….
"How did it go?" she asked
I smiled "It was alright"
Alright? I thought to myself. It was great. But it was our moment. Never to be forgotten.
Of course the next day Matt decided to go back, by himself, and egg the house again.
This, of course, resulted in a bike chase and him stupidly getting caught. But that's not the story, and that's not the point. The point is, we were kids, and we had fun. Every Halloween afterwards we always had a blast, whether it was toilet papering a tree, or just hanging out.
We're good all year, but Halloween is our night of fun. It's our tradition.