A striped wool sweater hung neatly on an empty rack; separate and ignored. That is, until an eager young teen snatched it up. She held it up to her body and turned to her friend.

"What do ya think, Allie?" she asked, grinning.

Allison turned around from another rack and made a face. "Ugh! Can you say tacky or what?"

"Yeah, it is kinda tacky." the girl agreed, holding it up to her body again and looking into a mirror. "I'll take it!" she stated eagerly and grinned.

"What? Come on, even you wouldn't wear that! I mean... come on, red and green? It's not even Christmas!" Allison complained as she tried to talk her friend out of buying it.

"Who cares? I like it. Besides, it'll go perfectly with...this!" she said picking up a long black skirt off another nearby rack.

Allison eyed her suspiciously. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Carrie?" she asked, a hint of mock-seriousness in her voice.

"Allie, you know it's me! I just wanna make a unique impression for my first day of school in a new town, you know?" Carrie smirked. "So, what do ya think? Bold? Unique?...Eccentric, maybe?" she grinned impishly.

"Bold?; Yeah, maybe. Unique?; I guess. Eccentric?; Definitely, maybe even a bit...insane?" She grinned then winked as both girls burst out laughing.

"Now, all you need to complete the outfit is something totally unexpected." She glanced around the store and spotted the perfect accessory... in the men's section.

Dragging her friend along, Allison led Carrie into the men's apparel section. "Now, this is perfect!" she said grabbing a crisp, new brown hat. Carrie looked at it and put it on her head, giggling.

"Perfect! What is it?" she asked, eyeing the label. "Well, the tag says it's a...'snap-brim fedora', whatever that is." Allison answered.

"Neat, let's go pay for it, then you can show me around town. I'm sure Springwood is very interesting." she said jokingly.

"You have no idea." giggled Allison as they headed for the check-out.

------------------

Carrie and Allison walked up the school steps early Monday morning and pushed open the heavy double doors.

"So, you nervous?" asked Allison.

"Moi? Of course not, it's not like there's anything to be worried about. Besides, how nervous can I be if I'm crazy enough to wear this to school?" she said, gesturing to the striped sweater and long black skirt. "Not to mention this." She placed the brand new fedora atop her head.

"Yeah, I gotta hand it to you. You gotta be pretty brave to wear that and not care what people think." Allison giggled, giving her friend a gentle shove. "So, where's your first class?"

"Room 113, English." she answered, looking at her timetable.

"113? That means you got Miss Barrey." she said.

"You mean 'Hairy Barrey'? The teacher who gave you detention all the time?" Carrie exclaimed.

"Yup." she replied. Carrie giggled insanely.

"I wonder what she's gonna say when she sees what I'm wearing."

"Probably stare at you like you were a mental patient and send you to the principal's office." Allison said, trying to hold back more giggles and glanced at her watch. "Uh-oh, better get to class. Room 113's just down that way, okay? See ya!"

"Bye, Allie!" Carrie shouted and headed off down the hallway. "113, 113..." she muttered, glancing at the classroom doors. "111, 112...113, here we are."

She peeked in through the window of the door and saw that class had already begun. Oh well, not a problem. She slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside. Miss Barrey looked up from her desk at Carrie, raising an eyebrow in question at her choice of wardrobe; Carrie just grinned.

"And, just who are you supposed to be?" she asked coldly.

Carrie smiled, "I'm your new student." she said in a sweet voice.

"Oh, yes. Right. Of course. Class, this is Carrie Morgan. She's just moved here from Tuscon, Arizona. I'd like you to make her feel welcome to Springwood. You may have a seat now, Miss Morgan, and take off that ridiculous hat."

"Of course, Miss Barrey." Carrie replied sweetly, making a gagging motion behind the teacher's back. She took off the hat and sat down in a seat next to the window.

Joey nudged his friend as Carrie sat down next to him. "Hey, get a load of the new girl." he whispered.

Tyler turned to look at the girl, a sly grin crossing his face. "Hey, who does that outfit remind you of?" he asked, grinning.

"You mean that old Krueger guy that kids talk about?" Joey questioned. Tyler nodded, grinning. "Yeah, she's got the hat and everything. Just give her an old dirty glove with knives for fingers and you've got the new Springwood Slasher, or should I say, Nightmare Stalker?"

Joey groaned in annoyance and whispered, "You know that's only a myth. A person can't come back from the dead to kill people in their dreams."

"It's not a myth!" Tyler whispered angrily. "I have a friend who knows one of the survivors; Alice Johnson."

"Crazy Alice? Oh, come on, you can't believe what she says; she's crazy. You remember how she took her kid halfway across the country because some so-called 'dream demon' murderer killed all her friends." Joey whispered. "You know, I betcha she killed 'em."

"That's not true! It really happened!" Tyler yelled.

"WHAT IS GOING ON, MISTER BALE!?" shouted Miss Barrey.

Everyone stared at Tyler, including Carrie. She had been pretending to look out the window while listening to their conversation. Their little argument had sparked her curiousity. Myths and legends were always interesting in small towns.

Tyler was sent to the principal's office for disrupting class and the lesson continued, but Carrie wasn't paying attention. Her mind kept wandering over what she had overheard. Apparently, this 'dream demon' thing could kill people in their dreams. Interesting. She'd have to ask Allison for more details on this myth.