Chapter 15: A Week to Remember

Meanwhile, on Main Street, Briar and the others are looking at the Halloween decorations in Main Street. They also see a large crowd of people around Main Street. Some are even looking at the statues of the Great Seven.

Grim says, "Man, it's fresh meat as far as the eye can see! With crowds like these, there's no doubt this is gonna be a week to remember."

"Yeah. It sure will," Briar says.

The group begins to walk down Main Street, and soon meet up with Jamil, Ace, and Floyd.

Floyd happily says, "Heya, little Shrimp. Sealie. And let's not forget the little Twin Catfishes, Angel Fish, and the Plankton. Happy Halloween.

"Happy Halloween!" Briar and the others reply.

Grim giggles, "Heh, heh, y'see that? I'm a total pro at this Halloween stuff already?"

"Hey guys. Nice threads you're rockin' there," Ace says.

"Thanks Ace," Briar says.

"Thank you," Tanzanite replies.

Just then, Grim says, "Ace…" Then he smirks and says, "You were worried about us, right? That's why you put in a word when you did. Don't try to play coy with me!"

Then happily says, "As long as you're feelin' so gracious, maybe you can do all my homework and cook my meals while you're at it. Nya ha ha!"

"Grim!" Briar sternly scolds.

"What makes you think I was…" Ace asks, but the next thing he knows, Grim climbs up on him, and nuzzles his face, "-hey! No nuzzling! You're gonna get fur all over me!"

"Either way, thanks for letting the ghost know about our costume situation," Briar says.

"I mean, don't read into it TOO much. Halloween's supposed to be a group experience. Where's the fun if some people get left out in the cold? So if you wanna thank anyone, thank the ghosts. They made the costumes," Ace says.

Then Jamil asks, "Are you all here to see the holiday sights?"

"Yup. By the time we finished touring all seven spots, it was noon!" Grim says.

Then Jasper asks, "So what're you guys up to?"

"We're on our way back from Basketball Club practice. They let out early today, actually. After all, it's the first day of Halloween Week!" Ace says.

Then Jamil says, "the freshmen were so antsy that practice was going nowhere."

"Whatever, Jamil. You've been peeking at your phone all day," Ace points out. "You're worried about how the Scarabia decorations are holding up, I take it?"

"Look," Jamily says, "I have to keep checking in case I get a call or text about Kalim pulling one of his stunts.

"Yo guys are really are big fans of this whole shebang, huh? Guess I am too, though," Floyd says.

Then asks, "So little shrimpy. Which dorm's decorations did you like the most?"

Before Briar can answer, Floyd interrupts her, "Wait, don't tell me. Octavinelle, right. Duh. Ne NAILED the creep factor. That's what Halloween's about, after all."

"Well…" Briar says.

But Jamil interrupts her, "You make it sound like a threat. Scarabia has much more in the way of positive messaging."

"I have to admit it does…" Briar replies.

But Ace says, "Hey, don't give into peer pressure, okay?"

Then says, "Heartslabyul matched our venue and costumes better than anyone. Admit it."

"Uh," Briar says worriedly.

Then all three ask, "SO? WHO'S THE BEST?"

"Uhhh…?" Briar says, nervously.

"C'mon, admit it. The skeleton costumes are the coolest thing here, and you know it," Ace says.

But Jamil says, "You don't have to kowtow to Ace just because he's your classmate, for the record."

"Yeah! It's okay to say Octavinelle's the best," Floyd says.

Briar grows even more nervous and says, "You guys are way too hung up on this."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Jamil questions, "Night Raven College's reputation in many ways hinges on Halloween."

"Professor Crewel was right. The location is one thing… But we've also got non-islanders dropping in to check out our setup," Ace says.

"Non-islanders?" Grim says confused.

"Yeah. Visitors from outside Sage's Island," Ace says.

"Really?" Sereia asks.

"Yeah. You may not know this, guys, but this island's in a pretty remote place. The school mirrors let us go home and back instantly for holidays and stuff, but anybody else who wants to travel here…" Ace says.

"Really? They have to travel to get there?" Sereia asks.

"Yeah," Ace says, "They have to take a train from the nearest airport, transfer to the bus, board a ferry, transfer and ANOTHER ferry, then another bus…"

"I think we get the idea, Ace says," Tanzanite says.

"Right," Ace says. "Anyway, the point is, getting to Sarge's Island is a chore and a half!"

"So we're out in the sticks here?!" Grim asks, shocked.

"I prefer to call it a mystical retreat," Jamil says.

"That means getting lots of visitors is a huge boost to the island's economy and stuff. Campus events like Halloween and Spelldrive tournament are part of our local tourism industry. If we do anything to make ourselves look bad, it can cause problems for way more people than us," Floyd says.

"Correct." Jamil says, "That's another reason we have to stay on the ball during campus events. We've also been getting more visitors in recent years who come specifically to see Vil, so we expect a larger crowd than usual. But more importantly…"

"Yeah…?" Grim questions.

"I want someone to say my dorm was the best!" The three shout.

This shocked Briar and the others.

Dumbfounded, Grim says, "Yeesh. Everybody on this campus has an ego."

"Yeah. Those guys egos are big as boulders," Jasper says.

Then Jamil says, "The students in each of our dorms pulled together and threw themselves into the Halloween effort. None of us want to hear guests saying our dorm was the least impressive."

"Yeah! It's all about reputa-" Floyd says.

Suddenly, a young child ends up bumping into Floyd from behind.

The child yelps, "Ow!"

"Huh?" Floyd says, confused.

The group soon looks to see a little girl.

"That little girl just ran straight into him," Grim says.

Floyd looks down to see the child and says, "Whoa, you're TEENY. I was wonderin' why it felt like a minnow was brushing by me."

The little girl looks up and yelps, "Eep! I-I-I… I'm s-s-sorry…" and looks very scared.

"You're scaring her, Floyd," Jamil says.

"No kidding. I'd be scared too if someone twice my size loomed over me menacingly," Ace says.

"Aw, really?" Floyd says, to the guys.

Then looks down at the child, "Hey, sorry, little minnow. Here, I'll crouch down." and Floyd crouches down to her level, "Is this better?"

He then says, "You gotta watch where you're going, or you could hurt yourself."

"I'm sorry. I just… I couldn't find it…" The little girl says.

Then Jamil asks, "Couldn't find what?"

"Did you get separated from your mom?" Ace asks.

"No…" The girl says. "I'm looking for the place where you're supposed to go when you're done collecting all the stamps."

Ace soon understands, "Oh! To finish the stamp tour?"

"Easy enough. I know where it is," Floyd says.

Then says, "C'mon, kiddo. I'll walk you there."

And with that, Floyd takes the child to where she needs to go for the stamp rally.