Sarah sat on the couch waiting for her roommates to finish getting ready for the New Year's Eve Costume party their friends were hosting on the other side of town. Word around campus was this was the "party of all parties" and was not to be missed. Everyone was invited – jocks and geeks, dimwits and debaters, the popular and the not quite so popular – and no one wanted it said they were not there.
Except Sarah.
It had been a rough week for her and going to a loud party was not how she wanted to spend her night. Instead, she wanted to be in her flannel pants with the torn knee and a big gallon of her favorite ice cream enjoying her favorite black and white classic, The Phantom of the Opera. She had failed her chemistry final the week before, messed up a very important order at the school library for the dean, overslept for her theater tryouts leaving her only option for involvement was to work on the scenery for their upcoming play and - to top it off - she forgot to call Toby to send him New Year wishes. She just wanted to be alone with no one badgering her with any questions.
She had reluctantly agreed to go with her roommates to the "totally tubular" party after days of incessant pleading and her final attempt to dodge the party failed. She claimed she wouldn't be able to put her costume together in time with the party being only a few days away. They argued stating that she had an imagination and together they would be able to come up with something spectacular.
Her roommates were right. After a few minutes of trying to decide on a unique costume, Sarah quickly decided what she would be dressing up as. Her idea came from what was last discussed in her History of Western Civilization class: The Oracle at Delphi. It was for one a simple costume to put together at the last minute – a light green hooded robe covering an off the shoulder Grecian dress, a glowing crystal wrapped around her wrist, and her hair piled atop her head with random strands falling loose. She was sure this would be a great way to start a conversation with others who would also be attending that evening, which she could easily turn into a weird conversation where they would bolt and leave her in peace. Or so she hoped.
She looked at the clock on the wall and knew her roommates and her would be arriving late, but what was new? Sarah found herself late when going places with them – dinner, movies, concerts – and over the couple years of college she had grown accustomed to this regular occurrence. She found she wasn't concerned in the slightest being late to this evening's event, but she did mind postponing her own New Year's celebration with her friends from the Labyrinth.
Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo would meet with Sarah often. They would use her apartment to meet and play Scrabble when she would be the only one home. Sometimes she would meet them in a secluded section of the local park woods and they would replay some of their most daring adventures. On occasion she would invite them to the local movie theater and watch a show where she was sure there would be few to no others in attendance, she'd buy the tickets and they would meet her inside magically.
Their New Year's celebrations were one of her favorites, though. Each year they would dress up in eat goodies until they were sick while telling stories about the past year laughing at the funny parts, crying at a sad memory, or cheering when they mentioned a triumphant moment. It was nothing too spectacular, but it was a tradition which they all held dear. Instead of meeting that night she sent them each a message that she would need to postpone their party until the following night when her roommates would be out. She felt bad cancelling on such short notice she promised them a special surprise to make up for it, which was to have a decadent fondue spread for them.
"C'mon, ladies! The night grows old! Let us away to this enchanting gathering before the midnight hour comes and we are wished away to the dreaded lands of goblins and trolls!" Sarah cheerfully teased.
A blonde girl stepped into their living room and joined Sarah.
"Sarah, just earlier today you didn't seem too excited to be going and now you are overly eager to get there. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Maybe my costume coming together has put me in a lighter mood. And you, Melissa, I like your costume as well. Or should I call you Marilyn Monroe for the rest of the night? Your costume has turned out perfect! The dress, the hair, and you even got the make up to look just right – perfectly balanced 'come and get me' and still a bit coy."
"Thank you, and you look good yourself. Remind me again who you are?"
"I'm the Pythia, priestess of the Temple of Apollo. I am she who shares prophesies with those who are worthy."
Both girls were laughing at the serious and ominous tone Sarah had used while explaining her costume. A loud crash was heard in Sarah's bedroom and the laughter stopped. Dashing from the couch to her bedroom door, Sarah stopped. Unalerted to her friends' sudden halt, Melissa ran into the back of Sarah causing both girls to fall in a tangled mess on the floor.
Catching the eyes of the person who caused the crash, Sarah yelled, "For the love of all that is holy! Charlene, what are you doing in here? You've just knocked over my bookshelf!"
Both Sarah and Melissa were staring at a disheveled looking witch with long dark tresses and a pointed hat lying under a heap of books where a book case had her pinned.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, I really am. I was trying to get your book of ghost stories. I know you have several really good ones, and I'm not very good at telling stories. So I thought I'd take a book to read from while we are driving to the party to try to keep them fresh in my mind. That way I can tell scary stories to go with costume."
"Why didn't you just ask? I'd have gotten one for you," Sarah said, pausing for Charlene to respond. When it was clear she was embarrassed, Sarah sighed, "Help me lift the bookcase, Melissa. It doesn't appear that Charlene is hurt. I'll get you the best book, Charlene. But you'll need to help me clean up tomorrow."
Charlene nodded and smiled.
As the bookshelf was put back in place, Sarah found a book to let Charlene borrow. Unknown to her, another book was slipped into the witch's bag by– one bound with red leather and the title in glimmering gold lettering.
"Let's go," the witch said leading the blonde bombshell and the priestess to their garage.
She sighed, straightening her gown and followed her friends to her car where she drove to the party.