Halloween is only a few days away and there is already a certain air of impatience. I suppose it is because there will be a lot of strangely shaped candy available to us, because not everyone dresses up; therefore, it would be wrong to attribute that motivation to everyone to be excited about the arrival of the 31st of October.

Like the previous two years, I plan to dress up as a ghost, because it is an effective costume in arousing the emotions that such a celebration requires in order to work.

Ayla will dress up as a witch, which is scary only for the likelihood that someone will say something about her wearing purple and she will get angry. She hates it deeply, because she thinks it is a colour that doesn't even know what it wants to be. According to her, it tries to be mysterious and, at the same time, friendly, but it's just ugly.

I'm not sure what Rae will wear, because she always tries to surprise us in some way. I guess we'll both have to wait until the big reveal, but I'm sure it will be pretty eye-catching. Two years ago, she dressed up as a wicked stepmother and, usually, it's Watari who buys the costumes – the ones that are missing, mostly, because we tend to rotate them amongst ourselves (and they're few, since there are few creatures to choose from) –, but I think she got help from Castalina, because it was pretty elaborate.

As for the rest, I don't know the habits of the others to be able to predict their costumes, except for The Dame and Zhee, who always pair up. The Dame dresses as a dame, although she cannot have the actual iron armour, and Zhee as a composer of that time, with a long tunic – which is very similar to the tablecloth I use, but it is coppery in colour and he does not put it on his head –, and a strange cap that hangs to the left.

I have not yet immersed myself in that period of history completely, as I have no reason to read books about people with whom I am not on friendly terms, but I am beginning to understand better the world from which The Dame comes from. She gave us her favourite book and Ayla and I haven't finished it yet, but it is quite interesting.

It is about a young girl – vague, because her age is never hinted at – who finds herself becoming a dame at the exact moment when a battle breaks out against the enemy kingdom. The first in line is captured and she ends up having to give orders on how to best win the war. We have reached the point where she has to swear an oath of allegiance before the king, which means we have not advanced that far. We are on the fifty-sixth page, because Ayla falls asleep every twelve to fifteen pages. I suppose it's because she's not sad enough, which is good, but I wish I could finish the book and see how it ends, since I'm used to completing them in a day, two at the most, whereas she sometimes tends to start and abandon them, because they bore her, and I feel obliged to read them for her and tell her what happens.

About Lex... Last year he didn't dress up, because he didn't think it was a big party, but I heard he'd like to try being a vampire this year. I haven't spoken to him, and between us, there is the situation I was so desperate to get, but I don't like it, because I still have that unfinished business. He keeps avoiding me and, whenever his gaze meets mine, he turns the other way. I am mentally working on the letter of apology, but it is more difficult than I imagined and there are no books that tell you how to write it. I'll have to improvise, like Rae does.

I don't remember if I told you, but she continues to be interested in the world of acting. I continue to be sceptical about this new passion of hers. She doesn't say anything to me or Ayla, but we see that she brings several books on the subject to her room. They are mainly biographies of various actors and a few screenplays.

I have never seen her practise and cannot judge her skill based on her first test run on Ayla and me. I do wonder, though, if it is related in any way to her entry into the Apex, because the two events fell more or less simultaneously.

I'm not saying it's not possible that she spontaneously started liking it. I just have a bad feeling about it, like it's some kind of dangerous activity she's getting into, but I don't think pretending to be a role will cause her any serious harm.

I find it strange, but I don't understand the reason for this feeling; therefore, I can't even

"Here I am!" Ayla announced her presence, sitting down at the table. "Did you miss me?"

"Terribly." I put Mazzaroth away, placing it on my lap so I could hide it from the sight of Elioenai, who, at that moment, was particularly close.

I had honestly expected him to approach while I was alone, as he would have been able to refer to my little intrusion, without being interrupted by Ayla, but as he hadn't, and I risked being suspicious while observing him, I started to write, so that the diary wouldn't even seem that important.

"What are you looking at?" Ayla turned her head to the right. "Oh! Oh… Do they have to do it this year...? They really have to interact with us commoners, huh...? I bet they are screaming inside."

"I don't think they see us that way." I told her. "They're just more reserved."

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "V.H.P.! That's what they think they are. Very high-profile!"

"You mean VIP?"

Ayla looked at me confused.

"Very important person." I clarified.

She took a while to answer, and I was about to explain her mistake, but she shrugged.

"Same thing. They think they are better than us! So annoying!" She picked up her fork and began to separate the food in the order she would eat it, while I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye, but avoided moving my gaze in that direction, because I already knew what it meant. "The only good thing is that they've stopped bothering me since they've been in the Apex."

She had explained to me in detail what the two of them were up to years ago. They loved tormenting her, as she was the youngest child within Wammy's and the only one under the age of five required to be a member. One of her earliest memories was them wetting her favourite puppet and putting it in the freezer. This had changed when they had gained access to the Apexes or, rather, when they had created that rank.

"That's not true. We're just refining our tactics." Commented Natal with a smile, approaching our table.

"We will attack when you least expect it." Elioenai added, patting her lightly on the back, narrowly managing to dodge Ayla's fork and ending up settling to my left.

I avoided looking at him, keeping my eyes in front of me and tightening my grip on Mazzaroth, fearing that Elioenai might steal it away with a swipe of his hand. I didn't really believe he would do that in such a public place and especially with my best friend present, but there was still a small percentage that he would decide to do the unthinkable.

"So..." Natal shifted her attention from Ayla to me.

"Pumpkin-shaped jelly sweets." My best friend replied.

"Already marked. You ask them every year."

"So why are you here? Get lo—"

"Can I see the list?" I intervened in the conversation, before Ayla could say her piece and make them leave.

"Why?" Elioenai asked. "Do you think we are stupid cunts that can't even write?"

"Elioenai..." Natal reprimanded him, albeit rather softly.

"What, that's a valid question. I want to know if she still thinks that."

"Of course! And don't bother her." Ayla answered for me, but regardless, I had no intention of entertaining any bickering with Elioenai.

Natal handed me the pad and took off his glasses, placing them on his head. I put it down on the table and used only my left hand to flip through it.

"When will you use the old ones again?" Ayla asked.

"They were ugly... They were a disgusting neon green. Preferably never."

"But you were so easy to notice and avoid!"

Natal chuckled. "Another reason not to wear them so you don't see me coming."

I soon realised that my goal would prove more difficult to achieve, because everything was written in Natal's perfect handwriting and there was nothing to indicate who had asked for what. There were no aliases or initials, only numbers relating to the amount of bags that would be needed to satisfy all the kids, which ranged from a minimum of one to a maximum of three.

It would have taken me longer to analyse each point and work out how likely it was to have been a request from him, but the conversation between Ayla and Natal was slowly coming to an end and I didn't want to seem interested in anything specific. I decided, therefore, to abandon that search. I could always resume it later, asking Watari directly to show me the list.

Suddenly, Elioenai's hand took control, going back a few pages and pointing to an entry under the current year in the upper part, which, before his intervention, was partly hidden by the fold of the previous sheet.

"Curious, isn't it?" He asked in a low voice, as if he did not want to be heard by the others, which decided the tone of the conversation we would have. "He added it, before anyone else."

I didn't answer immediately, because the idea that he had foreseen what I was looking for made me extremely uncomfortable, but it was definitely interesting what that chicken-scratch print reported.

'9 cupcakes + handcuffs'.

"Do you think he plans to share them with us? The cupcakes?" Elioenai continued, and when I looked up at him, I noticed a smile on his lips. "Us in the project, I mean."

Was he making fun of me? Did he think that bringing up that failing attempt to create something so absurd would make me act irrationally and reveal my intrusion? Or was it just a matter of making me feel inferior?

"He is not that generous, and you are more than nine." I rearranged the pages and handed him the notepad.

"You haven't written anything."

"It's not required."

I regretted saying that, because it would have been better to tell him that what I wanted was already written down, since they tended to be the same sweets and I could have repeated Ayla's words, but it wasn't my thing to write anything on that list. I had avoided doing it the previous two years – the first because I wasn't used to it and the second because my only request to buy me something had nothing to do with that holiday –, but I didn't know if Elioenai was aware of it and revealing that information about me meant that he would have added it to his encyclopaedia on the people inside the Wammy's House.

"Yes, but if you give me the list back, without writing anything down, someone might think you are up to some shady business." He retorted and tried to sound rather innocent in that remark of his, but it was beginning to be more and more apparent what the truth was.

The questions, then, appeared to be two: how had he found out and what was he going to do, should he get concrete proof that it was me who had entered his room?

"Don't you have to be somewhere else?" I said in a normal volume of voice, which managed to get Ayla and Natal's attention, and raised the notebook as high as I could to his eye level, so that he would stop giving me that derisive look.

He grabbed it, but did not take it out of my hands. He merely moved it to the side, and since he had more strength than I did, it was hard for me to fight him off, so I let him go.

"You know my routine?"

Trick question. He didn't have one. He followed Natal, which meant he indirectly had one, but that wasn't the same thing.

"Why should I care?" I answered him. "The food will get cold because of you."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Let's go, Elioenai." Said Natal, signalling his best friend to follow him towards the other tables.

Elioenai took a few seconds too long to respond to that order and didn't look as happy as he did at the beginning of that discussion, but he tried to mask it with a smile that couldn't reach his eyes.

He decided to pass behind me and, on instinct, I moved Mazzaroth to the left.

"I don't see Rae, though..." He whispered behind me, before reaching Natal.

Author's note

i want to take this moment just to thank whoever's reading this story lol i usually don't make notes here on ffn, because the way the site is designed makes adding any note that is not about the story itself, about the plot, feel wrong but yeah. feels like i should some thanks. you are the world's strongest reader if you took an interest in this very niche, very oc-centric story and is continuing to read it. bless your soul and brain. feedback is always appreciated even though i don't think i have ever said it.

take care.