Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.
Chapter 13: Party Time!
P3
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 30, 2031
9:00 pm
"Aisling, why are you so distracted?" Piper asks Aisling as she approaches the table, where Aisling has just spilled another glass of margarita on an unsuspecting customer's white shirt.
"Are you the manager?" the bald man whose white shirt got soaked with margarita asks before Aisling can come up with a reasonable excuse.
"No, I am the owner," Piper replies.
"Then, I am lodging a complaint against her," the customer says as he points to Aisling.
"Aisling, you are fired," Piper says.
"Now, bring a gift certificate and a spare shirt for this customer," Piper orders.
Aisling goes into the backroom of P3 and calls for Chris.
Chris arrives in a shower of blue and white lights.
"What's the matter?" Chris asks Aisling when he arrives and sees a teary-eyed Aisling.
"I need a spare white shirt because I spilled a margarita on a customer's shirt and a gift certificate. Also, Piper fired me," Aisling says.
"Is that all?" Chris asks.
Chris conjures a white shirt that fits any body type and hands it to Aisling.
"This shirt will last until tomorrow. The gift certificates are in the drawer next to the cash register. As for getting fired, you were never really on the payroll. Halliwells never get paid except for Aunt Phoebe at the Bay Mirror, Uncle Henry and Wyatt at the San Francisco Police Department and Aunt Paige at Magic School. White-lighters and Cupids are not paid and the profits from the Charmed Restaurant and P3 are family funds, but Mom and I get the largest share. Besides, you are technically a Halliwell now," Chris says and disappears.
Aisling takes the white shirt, exits the backroom of P3 and rummages through the drawer next to the cash register until she finds the gift certificates. Then, Aisling returns to the table of the man who complained against her and hands him the white shirt and the gift certificate. The man accepts the shirt and gift certificate.
"Where can I go to change?" the man asks Piper.
"Follow me to the backroom," Piper says as she leads the man to the backroom and closes the door.
"While the man changes, Piper pulls Aisling into the alleyway next to the dumpster and asks Aisling, "Why are you so distracted?"
"Mom was an elementary school teacher. She taught at Gabriel Knox Elementary School. Yesterday, somebody murdered her and another teacher who turns out to be Emily Blake's grandmother. Chris orbed Emily to her grandmother and me to Mom, but the Elders wouldn't allow him to heal Emily's grandmother or Mom. Emily and I got to say our goodbyes and Chris, Emily and I watched Clarence take them away," Aisling says.
"It is hard to believe that Mom is gone. Chris took Emily and me to the Halliwell Manor after the murder. Emily got sick from the orbing, so Chris is taking care of her, but I need something to keep me busy, so I decided to go to work today, but it looks like I make more mistakes than I usually do like spilling that margarita," Aisling continues.
"How many people know about the murder?" Piper asks.
"Emily, Chris, you and I know. That much I know. I do not know if anyone else knows. Chris might be able to tell you that," Aisling replies.
"Do you have any plans for the burial?" Piper asks.
"I do not know. Maybe Dad knows Mom's last wishes, but he doesn't know about Mom's death. Maybe I should tell him," Aisling says.
"However, you want Chris to be with you when you tell your dad," Piper says.
"Yes," Aisling whispers.
"It is sad that murder has occurred, but Halloween is also a time to have fun. So, let's host a Halloween party here at P3 and invite your Mom's and Emily's grandmother's students with their parents," Piper says.
"That sounds like a good idea," Aisling says with a smirk as she takes down an order form from an order that has already been filled.
On the order form, Aisling scribbles:
01. Contact the parents of the students in Mom's and Emily's grandmother's classes.
02. Buy orange and black streamers.
03. Buy lots of pumpkins.
04. Buy lots of candy.
05. Buy a pail in which to put all off the candy.
06. Buy Halloween-themed paper plates, paper napkins, paper cups and plastic cutlery.
07. Buy a Halloween-themed tablecloth.
08. Buy a barrel of apples.
09. Rent a dummy dressed like Frankenstein that will pop out of a casket whenever someone approaches it. The casket must be included.
10. Rent a mummy that will push open a sarcophagus and chase people. The sarcophagus must be included.
11. Cook food.
12. Buy costumes for Piper and me.
13. Rent or conjure a guillotine.
14. Buy a dummy of a witch that screams "Help!" Tie the dummy to one dowel rod and hang the witch over the flame of a candle.
15. Buy a beheaded dummy.
16. Buy spooky music.
P3
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 31, 2031
7:00 pm
"Are you sure this is the place?" Timmy who is wearing boot-cut blue jeans, a plaid shirt, a black belt with a huge gold buckle, black cowboy boots with gold buckles on them and a black cowboy hat on his head asks Aisling as he eyes the dummy of a screaming witch that is tied to a dowel rod that serves as a stake over a candle flame to the left of the door, the bloody head of a beheaded enemy of Vlad the Impaler over the door and the guillotine to the right of the door.
"Of course, it is," Aisling who is dressed as an angel says with a smile.
She is wearing a long, white billowy dress. A pair of store-bought angel wings that consists of white feathers that are glued together is attached to the dress. Furthermore, the glass slippers on her dainty feet peek out from under her dress. In addition, a silver tiara sits on her head and diamond earrings dangle along her jaw-line.
However, she is deathly afraid of the guillotine and her eyes stray to the guillotine, despite her best efforts to not see it.
The sharp blade of the guillotine that she had dipped in ketchup an hour ago so that it appears as though the guillotine had claimed a victim recently reminds her of the time when she was a prisoner in Ailin Callahan's dungeon.
Flashback begins.
Ailin Callahan's Dungeons
In an Undisclosed Location
Far away from Ailin Callahan's Lair
October 31, 2021
4:00 pm
Aisling wakes up and finds herself shackled to the damp, dark gray limestone walls of a room in Ailin Callahan's dungeons. Her arms are pulled together and raised above her head. Her legs are spread apart. She looks around her. Thousands of sizes and types of rope and whips hang on a coat rack in the far left corner of the room. A guillotine stands next to the coat-rack. All types of swords and shields that bear various coats-of-arms adorn the wall. On the right far wall is a medieval water-dripping torture bed and above it on a little shelf is a little vial full of water.
Next, she sees the guillotine next to the coat-rack. Her first thought is that she will be the guillotine's next victim. So, she prays that Chris will find a way to save her soon. She never imagined that Chris would switch places with her using a potion and a spell.
Flashback ends.
P3
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 31, 2031
7:15 pm
She doesn't know what Chris endured in Ailin Callahan's dungeons, but she knows that he doesn't want to talk about it. So, she has accepted that Chris will tell her when he is ready to share the information. The only other people who know are Vesperto, Ailin Callahan and Harry Potter. She wouldn't go near Vesperto or Ailin Callahan again even if her life depended on it. She could speak to Chris' Uncle Harry. She tried once, but Harry said that it was Chris' story to tell.
To stop Chris from coming to P3, Aisling tells Chris that she will work his shift and that he should stay at the Halliwell Manor and take care of Emily. Chris surprisingly agrees without a fight.
"Aisling!" Violet shouts into Aisling's ear, effectively interrupting Aisling's thoughts and returning her attention to the present.
"What is it, Violet?" Aisling asks Violet in a honey-sweet voice.
Her initial reaction to hearing a student shout her name is to reprimand the student for shouting and calling her by her name until she remembers that she asked the students to call her Aisling since Mrs. O'Keefe would be her mother's title.
"Open the door," Violet says as she gestures toward the door.
"Finally," Max, a short black-haired, black-eyed boy who is dressed as a vampire says when Aisling finally opens the door and gestures for the students and their parents to enter P3.
Like a museum guide, Aisling leads the students through the different areas of P3. A casket containing Frankenstein rests at the foot of the entrance. As Aisling walks by the casket, a tall green-skinned man with a screw through his head pops out of the casket. Some of the students scream when they see the toy tarantula sitting next to the casket. From the casket, Aisling leads the group over to the center of the room. Then she claps her hands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please select a pumpkin from the stage, draw a creepy face on it with permanent black marker and carve it. I will put a candle in each jack o'-lantern and you can take them home with you. The best jack o' lantern will get a prize. I will randomly select a couple of parents to judge the pumpkins. The judges will wait backstage," Aisling says .
Then, she picks a mom who is dressed as a cheerleader, complete with orange and blue pom-poms, a dad who is dressed as a doctor in a scrub suit and Piper who is wearing a tight white t-shirt, blue jeans, black leather jacket and a red bandana on her head to be judges.
The students sit at the tables that are covered with white tablecloths that have pumpkins, witches, vampires, and black cats printed on them after selecting a pumpkin and draw jack' o lanterns that have two triangles for eyes, one triangle for a nose and curved mouths with missing teeth. When the students are finished drawing, Aisling hands out carving knives to the parents and the parents carve the pumpkins. When everyone is done, Aisling places a lit candle in each jack o' lantern.
Then, Aisling shouts, "Judges, you may now judge the jack-o'-lantern masterpieces."
The judges walk onto the stage, walk down the stage steps the tables. They study each pumpkin. Next, Aisling sends the judges backstage again to decide which pumpkin is the best.
While the judges decide, Aisling leads the students and their parents over to the right corner of the room, where there is a barrel full of apples and water.
"Pick up an apple with your teeth," Aisling instructs.
The students form a line and one-by-one they bob for apples. While, some students bob for apples, the other students cheer. Some students catch lots of apples, while other students get none.
When the judges are done making their choice, they walk onto the stage. Piper taps on the microphone. Aisling hears the taps, claps her hands to get the students' and parents' attention and leads the students back to the tables.
"After a lot of thought, we have decided that the best jack- o'-lantern belongs to Elena Velasquez.
A dark brown-haired, brown-eyed little girl who is dressed in a lavender poodle skirt and white blouse walks onto the stage. The other students clap. When the applause dies down, Piper takes out some candy from the pail that has a picture of a pumpkin on it and gives the girl a handful of candy and a $20 bill.
While everyone is listening for the judges' decision, Aisling moves the pumpkins to a corner of the club away from the tables. Next, she goes over to the bar and ladles some spaghetti onto the black plates that have little jack-o'-lanterns printed on them. Then, she spoons some steamed peas and carrots to the left of the spaghetti. She adds breadsticks to the left of the spaghetti. She also randomly selects a sugar cookie from an assortment of cookies that are in the shape of a ghost, a black cat, a witch, and a pumpkin and places the sugar cookie next to the breadsticks. After filling a plate, she places each plate in front of each person. She also places a fork to the left of each plate and a spoon and a knife to the right of the plate with the cutting edge facing the plate. She also places a clear plastic cup above and to the right of the plate and fills the cup with fruit punch.
After the judges announce Elena as the winner, Elena returns to her seat. Everyone says grace and they eat.
After eating, Piper turns on some spooky music and everyone dances under the disco ball that has orange and black streamers protruding from it.
After dancing, Aisling leads the students and parents over to the sarcophagus that contains the mummy. When Aisling approaches the sarcophagus, the mummy pops out. Everyone dances some more. Then, it gets late. So, Aisling walks onto the stage and taps the microphone.
When she has everyone's attention, she announces, "It is getting late and tomorrow is a school night. I hope you enjoyed the party and will come again next year."
Then, Piper sends everyone home. As each person exits, Aisling waves goodbye and hands each parent a bag full of candy and their respective jack-o'-lantern at the door.
After everyone has gone, Aisling helps Piper clean up and they go home.