CC Babcock was not a patient woman. It was a crisp autumn day, the bright sun took some of the briskness out of the cool air, children could be heard laughing as they walked home from school, but CC was indifferent to it all as she sat on the green couch quietly seething. She gripped her red script-grading pen so tightly that her knuckles turned white, as her ice blue eyes watched the scene that was unfolding in front of her. The new nanny, some loud woman with a horrendous voice, was sitting on Maxwell's desk and taking up precious work time.
"But Mr. Sheffield, it's a family occasion! We're all supposed to go out togetha!" Fran Fine exclaimed. Maxwell avoided her gaze before stuttering,
"Miss Fine, I'm afraid that I'm-"
" -too busy to spend time with your children who adore you?" Fran cut him off. Maxwell sighed,
"Alright, you win, I'll go trick or treating with you and the children tonight."
"Oh Mr. Sheffield, you won't be disappointed, I promise! This will be so good for all of you!" Fran said happily. Just then, Niles entered the room carrying a tray.
"Niles should come too!"
"Thank you for the invite Miss Fine, but I think I'll-"
"No Niles, Miss Fine is right. If the whole family is going, you'll be going too" Maxwell stated, giving Niles a look that seemed to say, "If I'm going through with this, you'll suffer with me". Niles rolled his eyes and smiled at Miss Fine as he responded,
"I mean, I would love to join you."
CC noticed Fran had turned her attention on her. She watched as the nanny bit her lip, as if debating whether or not she should say something. Finally she asked,
"What about you Miss Babcock?"
CC raised an eyebrow, confused
"What about me?" She questioned. Fran looked between Niles and Maxwell as she clarified,
"Will you be joining us?"
CC hesitated before answering
"Actually Nanny Fine, I do not have much interest in trekking around at night for a few pieces of candy. You have fun though."
"But I thought you said you were like part of the family?"
CC froze. She was on thin ice now; she better tread carefully. She searched Fran's face for signs that she was purposefully playing this game. The nanny held a steady gaze. Damn she had a good poker face, thought CC. She weighed both options cautiously in her mind. If she went, she could use the off work time to get closer to Maxwell, whom she had set her sights on as a worthy husband. However, if she didn't go… well it's not like she had other plans. CC sucked in a deep breath before quickly answering,
"In that case, I'd love to go"
"Fantastic" shouted Fran, causing the other three to cover their ears, "We'll leave at seven o'clock, so be ready!" And with that, she pranced out the door. Maxwell groaned loudly as Niles poured the tea and CC went back to her scripts. She wouldn't allow this dreadful turn of events to distract her from her work.
At ten of seven, CC stood in the front hall smoothing her hair and reapplying her lipstick in the hall mirror. Suddenly a voice behind her whispered in her ear
"Don't you think that mask is a little too scary? I know it's Halloween, but you wouldn't want to give the children nightmares"
CC turned quickly around, whipping Niles in the face with her hair in the process. She brushed her blonde bangs out of her face as she curtly responded,
"Very funny Niles. You should know all about scary. You are a rotten, good for nothing corpse, after all." She chuckled at her own joke as she walked over to the door. Niles rolled his eyes but refrained from responding as the three Sheffield children came down the stairs. Maxwell entered from the office and smiled as he crossed the living room.
"Well don't you all look adorable," he grinned "And what are you supposed to be?"
"I'm a go-go dancer!" said Maggie, spinning around in her platform heels and sequin-studded dress.
"And I'm a ninja!" exclaimed Brighton, as he pulled the black hood over his head.
"I'm Sigmund Freud, Daddy!" responded little Grace, smiling under her fake mustache.
"Of course you are, sweetheart," Maxwell said, trying to mask his confusion. However his attention was quickly diverted to Fran as she came slowly down the stairs in the shortest, tightest nurse outfit he'd ever seen.
"So how do I look?" she asked in her nasal whine. Both Maxwell and Niles responded with the highest praise, while CC just glowered. She couldn't believe how quickly the men had been reduced to begging dogs with their tongues lolling out.
"So are we going or what?" CC asked, hoping to take the attention off of the flashy nanny. Fran's face contorted as she squinted at the other three adults.
"Well aren't you guys going out in a costume?" she asked. Maxwell chuckled as he said,
"We are in costume Miss Fine. I'm going as a successful producer, Niles is going as a butler, and CC is going-"
"-as a drunken drag queen " said Niles quickly, with a smirk at CC.
"Niles" Maxwell reprimanded. CC gave Niles a death stare, but chose not to respond. She would not sink as low as him (at least, not in front of Maxwell).
"Alright then everyone, off we go!' shouted Fran, and the whole party followed her out the door and into the night.
An hour later, CC knew what hell was like. And she was not a fan. She had walked up and down five blocks in high heeled shoes that were definitely not made for that kind of walking, all the while being constantly shoved by greedy children running to doors for candy. Why didn't the parents just buy their kid's some damn candy in the first place, instead of making them run all over town, taking other people's? It would save the parents both time and money. CC shook her head at the lack of common sense. Suddenly, she heard Fran squeal behind her.
"Ooh kids look, a haunted house! Let's go!"
The group headed over to a large haunted house that had been set up between some of the buildings. As they joined the line on the sidewalk, screams and strange noises could be heard from within.
"Are you sure we have to go in?" asked Gracie with a nervous look on her face.
"Oh honey, there's nothing to be afraid of, it's all just for fun!" Fran told her gently.
As they reached the front of the line, a worker told them to line up single file and place a hand on the shoulder in front of them. The unenthusiastic CC ended up in the back of the line with her hand placed on little Grace's shoulder. As they began their journey into the house, several costumed actors jumped up from behind dusty couches, and wind whistled through broken windows. The group slowly crept up the creaky stairs, and as they reached the top, a hologram ghost came flying down the hallway straight at them. Grace screamed and covered her eyes with both hands. CC winced at the noise before realizing they had stopped walking.
"What's the hold up?" she hissed to no one in particular. There was no response. CC squinted in the dark, trying to see in front of her, but there was only pitch-blackness. Suddenly she remembered her hand was still on the little girl's shoulder.
"G… Ga… Girl! Why did we stop walking?" CC whispered in Grace's ear. The little girl was shaking and even though it was dark, CC could tell by her voice that she was crying.
"Everybody. Is. Gone." Sobbed Gracie. CC realized that the little girl must have let go of the other person's shoulder when she got frightened. She rolled her eyes as the girl continued sobbing. Jesus, it was only a haunted house. Wasn't she old enough to know that all this garbage was fake? Why were all children such fraidy cats?
"Come on kid, follow me, we'll catch up to them." CC stated, and began to walk cautiously down the dark hallway. Grace ran after her, and when she caught up, she clutched on to CC's hand like a lifeline. CC was taken back, and jumped slightly when she felt the contact. When was the last time a child had wanted to hold her hand? When was the last time she had wanted to hold a child's hand? As Grace shivered next to her, she suddenly felt an odd sense of protectiveness. CC was caught off guard by the foreign feeling. As they made their way down the hallway, a few more goons popped out into their path, and when Grace screamed, CC pulled her closer.
Finally, they reached another staircase and descended down towards the final hallway. CC could see the exit door at the end, and she rubbed Grace's hand with her thumb to give her encouragement. The roar of a chainsaw ripped through the silence and a sinister laugh that brought goose bumps to CC's skin, echoed through the hall. Grace let out a shriek as she pointed behind them, and CC turned to see a man in a mask holding a bloody chainsaw above his head. CC knew it was all fake, but she couldn't stop herself from picking up the trembling little girl and taking large, fast steps towards the exit. She refused to run from this sorry excuse of an actor, but she moved as quickly as she could for the frightened girl's sake. Grace was still shaking in CC's arms as they reached the exit and she could feel the hot tears on her shoulder as the girl hid her face.
As the cool air touched CC's face, she placed Grace down on the sidewalk.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" CC asked awkwardly, attempting to break the silence. Gracie whipped her face with her sleeve and some of CC's pity for the girl was replaced by disgust as the girl's costume became covered in snot. CC sighed and looked around, hoping to find the rest of the family.
"Grace! CC!" shouted Maxwell as he, Fran, Niles, Maggie, and Brighton came running over.
"Oh Gracie, we were so worried!" shouted Fran, as she enveloped the small girl into a hug.
"We thought you might have turned into a werewolf and eaten her yourself!" said Niles quietly into CC's ear.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" asked Maxwell. Grace nodded and both Fran and Maxwell smiled at her.
"Well you were so brave for making it through there! What a big girl you are!" Fran exclaimed.
"Yes, I'm so proud of you, darling" agreed Maxwell. This drew a smiled from Grace and she soon began to perk up. CC just stood there, disgusted by the scene.
Why were they encouraging her? She had done nothing to be worthy of their praise. And Grace just stood there enjoying the attention. CC suddenly remembered why she didn't spend time with children. They were manipulative little things that blind their parents with their false greatness. Everyone thought that their kid was the best. Well CC knew better. They were all the same. Selfish and irritating.
The family turned and began to walk down the sidewalk, ready to turn in for the night. Suddenly, Grace ran back over to where CC stood. She motioned for her to bend down, and CC rolled her eyes before kneeling (and she only humored the child because Maxwell was watching).
"Thanks" Grace whispered in her ear before running back over to the rest of the family. CC stood back up, stunned by the little girl.
Maybe they weren't all the same.