Chapter Thirteen: Pie
The brush stayed in the bottom of my backpack for a few days… I wasn’t sure what to do with it except hang onto it. We wanted to give Stella a little time to notice it was missing before we returned it.
“That’s stupid. You should give it back.” Liam said on the bus after we told him about the brush. He looked at Olly’s short red hair. “Olly, you don’t even have hair.”
“I do too. And she literally hired her little siblings to attack us. I was there. So Adam thought he’d turn the tables on her…”
“Yeah, we didn’t choose the brush in particular,” I said. “I just hired the twins so they’d get it for us. They’re the ones who attacked us before because she paid them, so we can pay them too! It’s fair game.”
“I thought you liked Stella,” Ash said. She was sitting next to Liam across the aisle from us, reading.
“No,” I responded, feeling heat rush to my face. “We’ll, I don’t now.”
Ash shrugged. “Are you going to the Halloween dance? Liam and I are going. I love salt and vinegar chips and Liam's never tried them, we're going to eat all the salt and vinegar chips there if they have them. And we might go in our costumes.”
“I…” I hesitated. It was the first time I’d thought about the dance since before Stella flew the drone and the twins came out and accidentally revealed that she’d been planning the twins' attacks all along. The whole reason I’d initially been really excited about going to the dance was now the same reason I was spending all my money buying massive candy bars and why a dirty hairbrush in the bottom of my backpack. “I’m not sure if I’m going…”
“Come on, you have to come to the dance. You should dress up too, if you want to.”
I thought of the dance. It was only about a week and a half a way – right on Halloween. The choir would be there. Stella would be there.
But so would Liam and Ash and probably Olly. I tried to envision the night and how I would feel if I went. Would Ash and Liam just go do their own thing? Would I be alone or would I have fun eating a bunch of snacks and jamming to music with Olly or someone?
I wondered what type of music the choir was going to sing…
We got a preview of the songs for the Halloween dance on Friday. All of us crowded into the little music room to hear the choir practice a few of their Halloween songs… Usually I wouldn’t have music with Stella because she was not in my class, but today she was among the choir members giving us a preview.
It’s Halloween!
The wind is blowing
The crows are crowing
The moon is showing
It’s trick or treat!
Do you hear that laughter?
Do you see their shadows?
As all the children gather…
They shared a couple of songs. One had to do with Halloween being a festive time of year. The rest of them were a little more unusual, like a song about a pumpkin getting squashed into pie.
Mmm… a thick orange slice
Beware, pumpkin, soon you’ll be pie
Mash it to mush, and mix it with spice
Pumpkin beware, soon you’ll be mine
“Okay, we’re going to practice together in the last half of class. Choir, go ahead and lead,” Ms. Heart, the music teacher, said.
I had a sudden inspiration and reached into my backpack, pulling out Stella’s hairbrush. As the choir sang and then the rest of the class followed, I held the brush to my mouth and sang into it like it was a microphone.
Pumpkin, pumpkin grows on the vines
But pumpkin beware, it’s Halloween time
Roll it to the kitchen, and spoon out the guts
Bake it! Slice it! Chill or serve steaming hot!
As I sang, I looked around me. My classmates nearest to me were all laughing and smiling at my dramatic rendition of the pie song. I held the brush closer, holding it like I was a contestant on the TV.
And then, I caught Stella’s eye. She was not smiling. One glance at her expression told me that although she'd probably noticed the brush was missing, she hadn't known until now that we had stolen it.
The choir swelled around us.
Beware, pumpkin, soon you’ll be pie
Mash it to mush, and mix it with spice
Pumpkin beware, soon you’ll be mine
But Stella was no longer singing. She stared at me, blinking, her eyes sparkling with the tears at the corners.
So the twins had been right; this was Stella’s favorite brush. Sweet, sweet payback. Only, as she looked away, and I held my ‘microphone’ closer still, I wasn’t sure how Stella would strike back next.
If soup and oil balloons were before I’d ever done anything to her, who knew what she or even the twins would do next.
Beware, pumpkin, soon you’ll be pie.
“That’s stupid. You should give it back.” Liam said on the bus after we told him about the brush. He looked at Olly’s short red hair. “Olly, you don’t even have hair.”
“I do too. And she literally hired her little siblings to attack us. I was there. So Adam thought he’d turn the tables on her…”
“Yeah, we didn’t choose the brush in particular,” I said. “I just hired the twins so they’d get it for us. They’re the ones who attacked us before because she paid them, so we can pay them too! It’s fair game.”
“I thought you liked Stella,” Ash said. She was sitting next to Liam across the aisle from us, reading.
“No,” I responded, feeling heat rush to my face. “We’ll, I don’t now.”
Ash shrugged. “Are you going to the Halloween dance? Liam and I are going. I love salt and vinegar chips and Liam's never tried them, we're going to eat all the salt and vinegar chips there if they have them. And we might go in our costumes.”
“I…” I hesitated. It was the first time I’d thought about the dance since before Stella flew the drone and the twins came out and accidentally revealed that she’d been planning the twins' attacks all along. The whole reason I’d initially been really excited about going to the dance was now the same reason I was spending all my money buying massive candy bars and why a dirty hairbrush in the bottom of my backpack. “I’m not sure if I’m going…”
“Come on, you have to come to the dance. You should dress up too, if you want to.”
I thought of the dance. It was only about a week and a half a way – right on Halloween. The choir would be there. Stella would be there.
But so would Liam and Ash and probably Olly. I tried to envision the night and how I would feel if I went. Would Ash and Liam just go do their own thing? Would I be alone or would I have fun eating a bunch of snacks and jamming to music with Olly or someone?
I wondered what type of music the choir was going to sing…
We got a preview of the songs for the Halloween dance on Friday. All of us crowded into the little music room to hear the choir practice a few of their Halloween songs… Usually I wouldn’t have music with Stella because she was not in my class, but today she was among the choir members giving us a preview.
It’s Halloween!
The wind is blowing
The crows are crowing
The moon is showing
It’s trick or treat!
Do you hear that laughter?
Do you see their shadows?
As all the children gather…
They shared a couple of songs. One had to do with Halloween being a festive time of year. The rest of them were a little more unusual, like a song about a pumpkin getting squashed into pie.
Mmm… a thick orange slice
Beware, pumpkin, soon you’ll be pie
Mash it to mush, and mix it with spice
Pumpkin beware, soon you’ll be mine
“Okay, we’re going to practice together in the last half of class. Choir, go ahead and lead,” Ms. Heart, the music teacher, said.
I had a sudden inspiration and reached into my backpack, pulling out Stella’s hairbrush. As the choir sang and then the rest of the class followed, I held the brush to my mouth and sang into it like it was a microphone.
Pumpkin, pumpkin grows on the vines
But pumpkin beware, it’s Halloween time
Roll it to the kitchen, and spoon out the guts
Bake it! Slice it! Chill or serve steaming hot!
As I sang, I looked around me. My classmates nearest to me were all laughing and smiling at my dramatic rendition of the pie song. I held the brush closer, holding it like I was a contestant on the TV.
And then, I caught Stella’s eye. She was not smiling. One glance at her expression told me that although she'd probably noticed the brush was missing, she hadn't known until now that we had stolen it.
The choir swelled around us.
Beware, pumpkin, soon you’ll be pie
Mash it to mush, and mix it with spice
Pumpkin beware, soon you’ll be mine
But Stella was no longer singing. She stared at me, blinking, her eyes sparkling with the tears at the corners.
So the twins had been right; this was Stella’s favorite brush. Sweet, sweet payback. Only, as she looked away, and I held my ‘microphone’ closer still, I wasn’t sure how Stella would strike back next.
If soup and oil balloons were before I’d ever done anything to her, who knew what she or even the twins would do next.
Beware, pumpkin, soon you’ll be pie.