Ah, Halloween. Filled with candy, pranks, and fun costumes, it's a favorite holiday among children... And others...
"Trick or treat!"
Aylin Bayramoglu grins at the old man (at least 80 years old) standing in front of her, a large, festive bowl choked with butterscotch candies. There's barely a dent in the sweets, despite the fact that it's almost ten at night, but Aylin thinks she knows why; who would want butterscotch candies?
"Here you go, young lady." The old man rasps in a scratchy voice, apparently from smoking, by the strong smell of cigarette smoke that wafts out of the house and Aylin knows is sticking on her clothing. He scoops a handful into her bag, and she smiles as sincerely as possible.
"Thank you!" She backs down off of the concrete porch, waving a small goodbye as she rushes to greet her friends waiting for her at the end of the driveway.
"I told you not to go there." Dani smirks as she notes Aylin wrinkling her nose as she stares down at the candy that was placed in her bag moments ago. "Mr. Hawthorne always hands out the worst candy."
"You could've warned me that he was here before we decided to trick-or-treat in your neighborhood, Dani." She retorts, throwing the pillowcase over her shoulder.
"But I see that he gave you a lot." Nellie snickers. "Must love your costume, Ay." She gestures to Aylin's pirate costume with a suggestive wink.
"Shut up." She mumbles, looking down at her costume to make sure it's not too provocative.
"Hey!" A voice comes from down the block, and the trio looks up to see their friends Michael and Charlie grinning towards them at the other end of the street.
"Guys!" Dani, Aylin, and Nellie rush to meet them halfway, and, soon, they do, greeting each other with grins and hugs. (Nellie and Michael hug a second longer, and Dani and Aylin notice, giving grins and double thumbs-up. Nellie sticks out her tongue).
"So, how much loot have you guys gotten so far?" Charlie asks, swinging his bag from off his shoulder.
"A fair amount." Aylin shows off their supplying sweets, although she's distracted by his entirely purple outfit, purple painted face, and horn on the top of his head. "Hey, what are you supposed to be, anyway?"
"Oh!" He subconsciously reaches for the point on his crown. "I'm a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater."
"But where's your one eye?" Dani questions with a quirked eyebrow.
He shrugs. "Couldn't exactly pull that part off."
"And I'm a woman." Michael stand with his hands on his hips in a lady-like manner, grinning slyly. The blond wig on his head is slightly crooked.
"You look great in floral." Nellie inquires, tugging on the sleeve of his pink-and-yellow flowered dress. "It really complements your eyes."
"Why, thank you." He nods, smirk twisted onto his face. "And underwear over clothes seems to be the right fit for you." He teases, motioning towards her superhero getup.
"I dunno about you guys," Dani changes the subject, adjusting the (fake... mostly) seaweed on her sea monster costume. "But I want more candy before it gets too late."
"Then let's go."
And so they all continue through Dani's neighborhood, gathering more and more sweets, until the late hour of eleven.
It's that year that they collected the most candy any of them ever had.
It's also the year that it was all mugged from them after they were finished.
Go figure.