Rule #6: Dress Code - No Costumes
Rebels Have Their Own Style
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A shadow flutters across our porch.
I press my nose to the glass, craning my neck to get a better view of our porch. My eyes scour the area around my bowl of cat food for any signs of life. But, no, I lean back on my knees with a sigh of disappointment. It's just a leaf that the wind blew across the floor. It gets stuck under one of chairs before flying away to the darkness.
"Honestly, Peyton, don't you have anything better to do?" Mom questions from her place on the couch, although she looks like she's not expecting any answer. What are you looking for anyways?"
"Nothing," I mutter and go back to the window.
In truth, I put a bowl of cat food outside, in hopes to attract Lucky. She's learning how to hunt - I know because I found a dead squirrel under the porch the other day - so she must be on the prowl for food. Hopefully, the smell attracts her. Then, I can slowly gain her trust until I call animal control or something.
The doorbell rings.
I repress a groan. Except for that little problem.
"That's your job." Mom reminds me, flipping a page of her magazine.
Stupid kids, I think, pushing myself up. They ruin everything. I can't believe I signed up for this - although, the alternative was hanging out with Archer, so I guess I had no choice. (Still, a part of me really wants to see that haunted house.)
I grab the bowl from candy (half-empty, since dad ate like ten Kit-Kats already) and swing open our door, tossing my wings to the side.
"Trick or treat!" Three kids cry in unison. They fight for their place in front and hold out the orange baskets. They're dressed up as Mr. Incredible, a cowboy and Princess Tiana.
"Are you a parrot?" Mr. Incredible asks.
"I'm an Salmon Crested Cockatoo," I correct, putting two M&Ms in his basket. "They're an endangered species - people trap, kill and sell them."
But Mr. Incredible's already running across the field again, trying to conquer another house. The other two thank me and rush to follow him. They run to the house across the street.
Groups of children walk everywhere, laughing and screaming at each other. One of them, dressed like a bumblebee, slips and falls into a puddle and starts crying. His mother rushes to him and picks him up, looking embarrassed from all the people looking at her.
Rolling my eyes, I brush my hair (which I styled to resemble the bird) back and slam the door shut.
"It's nine o'clock. Shouldn't they be going home by now?" I mutter under my breath.
"Hardly. You used to stay up until ten, remember," Dad says, his lips twitching at the memory. I just shrug and go back to my spot in the window.
Mom and dad suddenly go on a rampage of all our childhood memories. I block them out, focusing on the window again. My reflection makes it hard to see, but all of a sudden, I spot a figure approaching the bowl. My heart skips a beat.
It's Lucky.
I would have squealed with joy - you know, if ever I squealed. Or felt joy.
I shield my eyes from the light and press my face against the glass. Lucky pounces at the bowl and suspiciously takes a sniff. Her yellow eyes, larger and wiser, seem to match the eerie atmosphere for Halloween. She looks stronger now, as well. Her body is more full, as if she's actually feeding herself. Lucky munches on the cat food curiously and then, starts to gobble it down.
I jump up from the couch, trying not to look too eager.
Mom, still going on about how adorable James was in his homemade astronaut suit, barely notices as I climb outside. Lucky continues to chow on her food. Â It's only until I shut the door quietly that she looks up.
She hisses.
I pause, sucking in a breath. "Hi. I'm Peyton. Do you remember me?"
She narrows her eyes as I take another step. Her fur stands on edge and she hisses again, but otherwise, makes no other move to leave. I take another step.
"Do you like the food?" As slowly as I can, I take out the extra box I hid under the porch (I might have bought three - or four more than I needed to). "I have more if you want."
She continues to stare at me. I take one more step forwards, but she darts away, to the edge of the porch, near the bushes. I freeze completely, cursing every word I know in my head.
Okay, calm down, I tell myself. She's not completely gone.
Instead of advancing, I open the box and push a little more food into her bowl. Lucky perks up, tilting her nose in the air. I try not to seem to eager as I set the box down next to the bowl. After I'm finished, I move all the way to the opposite side of the deck, sitting in the wooden chair my dad set out.
I bring my knees up, so that my feet are resting on the rim of the chair, trying to show I mean no harm.
Lucky looks at me suspiciously. After a minute of waiting, she strolls over the cat bowl. She takes a bite, looks up, takes another bite and looks up again. Poor thing, I think. I hope nobody's tried to hurt her before. What makes her so suspicious?
We stay silent.
I rest my chin on my knees, watching her as she eagerly gobbles her pile of food. The laughter starts to fade away. It sounds like the demons are going back to their lairs.
Lucky's almost done. I want to go closer and pet her, but she seems less trustful of me than she was before. I don't even know if she remembers me at all. I don't want to push my luck.
The bowl is clean and finished. Lucky licks the last crumbs and looks at me hopefully. I put my hands up, indicating I don't have any more. Then, before I can stop her, Lucky gives me one last look and jumps right into the bushes.
"Wait," I gasp, but it's too late.
I sigh and lean back on my chair, trying to not to feel too disappointed. I did make an achievement today, after all. I just wish she had stayed longer.
I sit out for a few minutes, letting the cool breeze wash over me. Lights from the Halloween decorations and houses cast a yellow and orange glow on the beach and ocean, making everything seem more beautiful than eerie. I guess this place is - kind of - growing on me.
In the distance, there's a faint rumbling like a broken-down car. It pikes my curiosity because I know that nobody is this neighborhood has a car like that - and even they did, they wouldn't be caught dead with it. The sound becomes louder and louder, until it stops abruptly near this house.
Frowning, I wait for a doorbell or a knock on the door, but nothing comes. So I stand up and go around the house, my boots make soft noises against the sand. Soft voices drift in from the front yard.
"...we're lost, you moron. I can't see shit out here."
"This the address she gave us. Are you doubting my navigating skills?"
They sound awfully familiar. I quicken my pace, my heart thudding. No - it couldn't be - they don't have the means to come all the way here.
"Just give me the fucking GPS, Irene!"
"Shut up! Do you want to get shot?"
Three, all-too-familiar silhouettes stand in my lawn. One of them crouches in at the hood of the beat-down truck, muttering to himself. The other two argue over a phone. The light of the screen illuminates their grim faces, giving me no doubt to who they are.
"Jake," I gasp. "Irene, Andrew?"
Their heads whip up.
My heart skips a beat. There's no mistaking Irene's smile, Andrew's eyes or Jake's fake scar.
Irene's from Mexico, although she can speak English better than Spanish. Usually, she puts highlights in her hair and has many piercings. Today, she's dressed up as Cruella Devil, having a black and white purse and a fake red boa.
She squeezes her arms around my waist, pushing all air out of my lungs, but I'm too dazed to care. I'm pleased to see that she seems much healthier than the last time we met. Â A surprised laugh escapes my mouth and I hug her back.
Behind her, Jake and Andrew high five each other in victory.
Jake's Caucasian, just like me. He's muscular, tall and wears his costume - Frankenstein. With a white lab coat and tossed hair, he looks every bit of crazy like he really is.
Andrew's also Mexican. He and Irene have been friends way longer than Jake and I, since they bonded over culture. He has the usual chocolate colored skin and hair as the rest of them. But he looks even scarier than he usually does with his fake scar and teeth - he's Frankenstein's monster.
Both of them stare at the top of my head.
With a start, I didn't tell them about my recent of change of color of my hair.
"Is this why you didn't skype us?" He asks coolly and Jake bursts out into laughter.
Irene pushes away from me and looks at the top of my head. Her lips twitch and she presses them together to keep from giggling, but soon she gives in. The only one isn't laughing is Andrew, who barely laughs at anything and me, but I can't bring myself to become mad.
"Blame Melody," I shrug.
"That girl is awesome," Jake says, wiping tears away from her eyes. He and Melody have always gotten along. "Cruel, but awesome. Why did she do this anyway?"
I shrug again.
"It looks surprisingly good," Irene says after they finished laughing. "You would have look pretty damn cute if it weren't for the wings. What animal are you this year?"
"The salmon-crested cockatoo,"Â I say and they all nod in understanding. I dress up like an endangered animal every year, except freshman year when I was too busy being Jasmine from Aladdin. Last year, I was the Amur Leopard.
"You make those wings," Andrew asks, but phrases it like a sentence.
I nodded, smiling. "So, is this the surprise you guys were hiding from me?"
"Nope!" Irene elbows me. "We got an even bigger one - it's amazing - actually, we didn't even plan it - it just happened. We were just wandering around the Zoo, looking for something to get you and well, - Jake, grab the present!"
"On it!" He yells, already opening the trunk door.
Irene clasps her hands over my face. I've forgotten how cold they were. "Close your eyes," She commands. "We need to prepare."
She pushes me down on the front porch. "Keep them closed."
The urge to peek is strong, but I keep my eyes shut as I wait. I can feel the plastic jack-o-lantern next to me. I'm actually pretty excited, although that just might be the happiness from seeing my friends again carrying on. I listen to the murmuring, - 'be gentle, dumbass' - scuffling and a loud bang, followed by an angry hiss.
Finally, Irene lets me open my eyes.
I blink. There's no moon tonight, so the only thing I can depend on are the Halloween lights. At first, I see nothing, but then I see they set a gift basket on the ground.
"Too heavy," Andrew explains, seeing my expression.
"It looks pretty big," I say, standing up to examine it. The gift basket is huge and there's a large red and white blanket placed on the top, so I can't see what's under it. It shifts steadily and I think I might hear something in it.
"Yeah, she looks young, but she's still big."
My smiles fades. "She?"
I yank the blanket off and repress a gasp. Inside the basket, sleeping peacefully, is a brown grizzly bear cub.
"Is that-" I start to screech, but Jake slaps a hand over my mouth.
"Shut up, you'll wake Lola."
I yank his hand away. "Lola?"
"Don't you like it?" Their smiles fade.
I brush a hand through my hair, unsure what to say. "It's just - I can't believe you stole an animal from the zoo!"
"We didn't steal," Irene rolls her eyes. "We broke - er, went in to the souvenir shop to go find you something extra when this little thing wandered in!"
"It wandered in?" I say skeptically.
"It's true," Jake pipes up. "Do you know how easy it was to break in? I'm pretty sure their surveillance cameras are fake. Half of the locks are busted. It's a surprise nothing else escaped. I have no idea how they passed those inspections. "
I raise an eyebrow. Â "Fine, whatever."
They cheer quietly.
"But we can't keep it."
They stop cheering.
"What?" Irene gasps. "Why not? The Zoo obviously doesn't care of it - her! And you could be the perfect mommy -with your animal mojo and all!"
"Nah, I'm going to have to agree with Peyton on this one," Andrew says after a long moment.
"Yeah, even Peyton can't tame a wild bear." Jake agrees.
Irene glares at him. "Traitor."
"Okay!" I clap my hands together, effectively getting me a bunch of annoyed glares. Lola rustles in her sleep for a second, then continues on snoring. "Let's take her back to the zoo. But I think it should be closed by now."
"Great," Jake mutters. "Time to bring out that damned GPS again."
"You'll manage, big boy," Irene punches him lightly. "Come on, Andy - let's go start this piece of shit that you call a truck again. Peyton," She glances at the bear. "Maybe you should take Lola - it is your present after all."
The three of them hurry away, leaving me alone with Lola.
With a sigh, I look down at her. From this angle, the sleeping bear looks strangely adorable. Her smooth fur shines in the light, looking soft and healthy. A part of me wants so stroke, but I know that's a horrible idea. So, trying to be as quiet and gentle as I can, I pick the basket up - god damn, that animal is heavy - and walk towards the car.
Andrew opens the door for me as we get in.
Irene and Jake argue with the GPS. I tell them to shut up and get my phone out so I can text my parents that I'll be out for a while.
Even though I'm so annoyed with them right now, I can't stop smiling. I missed them, crazy antics and all.
Andrew switches on the car while Jake and Irene start to argue again.
"...no, that's not the zoo, remember - they spelled with three Os. " Irene mummers.
"That was just the sign, not the address."
"Why would they put on the sign if it wasn't on the address..."
I tune out and turn to Andrew instead. He's driving down the street - there's dark circles under his eyes.
"You must be exhausted."
He shrugs. "Just tired - the plane ride was boring - we nearly got kicked out. Jake tried to get some alcohol out of the flight attendant. It's a good thing we were already in the air."
I roll my eyes. Jake and I are the younger ones of the group - both of us are still seventeen. "How's school?"
"Same old - let's see - we finally broke the record of having the most detentions in two years - it was awesome, we but a paint bomb under Mr. Robinson's chair - oh!" Andrew snaps his fingers. I check the little speed thing - we're almost at sixty miles per hour. "Xavier got suspended."
My heart skips from hearing that name. "What - why?"
"Got into a fight."
I lean back on my seat, not sure whether to feel overjoyed or just confused. "Xavier got into a fight?"
"Yeah," He shakes his head, a nasty grin on his face. "Can you believe it? Guess somebody finally saw the bastard for who he really ways.
"Who was it?"
"Nobody knows," We jump as Irene pokes her head.
"Wear your seat belt," I tell her.
"But rumor has it that he and Gwen broke up."
"What?" A sense of smug satisfaction comes over me. For a moment, I let myself distracted, but then I remember what I'm doing. I promised myself never to get involved into their affairs again. "No - never mind, I don't care."
"You don't even want to know why?" Irene coaxes.
"No, put your seat belt on." I push her head so that she falls back on her seat. Irene sticks out her tongue and leans against Jake, still without her seat belt.
I roll my eyes. "Jake, how far away is the Zoo?"
"Around half an hour?"
"Half an hour?" I groan. The grizzly bear shifts again. I freeze and continue. "Look for a faster way for us to get there - please."
"Yes, ma'am." He snorts. "I forgot how freaking bossy you are."
I shake my head. Andrew's lips twitches, but he smartly decides not to say anything else. I turn back to Lola and think about what I should do.
As far as I know, grizzly bears are supposed to hibernate in this time of year, but I also know that most of them tend not to do so in warm places like Florida. I look at the baby bear, wondering how old she is. Bears also do not consider humans as dangerous and since she seems to be an offspring of a zoo animal, I'm guess she's not as wild as a normal wild animal either.
I guess I don't know much about grizzly bears. I wish I could see her claws but they're hidden under her head. She snorts again. Gently, I tuck her into a blanket, hoping she isn't too hot.
Let's just hope she doesn't wake up.
The car rustles.
Irene and Jake, who were arguing about something or other in the back, fall silent. Andrew and I share a look, but say nothing. For the next few minutes, Andrew drives, Irene and Jake argue, and I try - uselessly - to search for information about baby grizzly bears.
I look out the window. "How much more time, Jake?"
"Twenty minutes."
We're on the countryside part of Brooksville now. The road is decorated with jack-o-lanterns and fairs that came in for Halloween. Haunted houses and carnival games roll up on either side of us. I see teenagers chatting with each other in strange costumes.
I look back at the bear, unable to take my attention away from it.
There are so many questions I want to ask like - how did they get the bear, how did it fall asleep, why was it out of its cage, why did they even bring it and even more. But I want to do all this after Lola is safe and sound with her parents, or just in her cage.
The car sputters.
"God damn it," Andrew snaps, slamming his fist on the top of the car. "I knew that piece of shit was lying to us."
"Is it breaking down?" Irene demands, poking her head between us again. "We can fix it, right?
Just as she finishes the words, the noise drowns out and the engine fades. For a moment, it's silent and then, all four of us open our doors at once.
I place the gift basket with the bear on the ground, making sure it's still steadily asleep before walking towards the front.
Andrew opens the hood. It burns his hand and he yanks it away, hissing. Thick and black smoke streams out of the engine, making a slow hiss and radiating heat. We take a step back. I press my hand to my face, feeling a headache coming on.
"Holy shit." Andrew mutters, running a hand through his hair.
"God, no wonder he sold it to us so cheap. And I thought we were lucky."
"Bastard," Jake hisses.
"Can we fix it?" I interrupt. "Or are we going to go ask for some help?"
"I don't I can," Jake sighs, rubbing his eyes. "This is way too much damage and I don't have the right tools."
"Why don't we call a taxi?" Irene suggests.
"Too long." Andrew shakes his head. "Besides, the tranquilizer is going to wear off soon."
"Tranquill-" I stop, realizing I should ask the questions later. Besides, it's not like Andrew, Jake and Irene have got into crazier things. As long as the bear doesn't wake up and as long she isn't hurt, I can't focus on her right now.
My focus shifts away from the group who are busy discussing how long it would take for a Taxi to get here, to the haunted house across the street.
Thirteen Floors
"Hang on, guys," I say, putting a hand up. "I think I got us a ride."
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If you want to see how dangerous of a bear cub Lola really is, I put in a gif.
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This chapter's dedication goes to Dinoheadedninja for her lovely ideas last chapter!
QotC: Halloween costume? Halloween plans?