I remember, climbing with my sister,
spying pot roasts from the crow’s nests
of jungle gyms. I am excited and a little scared
when the screen door slams and mom yells,

Dinner! Propelled though shortcuts past cat tails,
growing in dried up creeks, mentally thawing
until the sun comes around once more;
we leap onto five-speed bikes to go one last time
around the block before headlights rule the streets

and dad comes home. We lie
and tell them we finished our homework
so we can watch other families on TV.
After The X-Files end on a cliffhanger
cries through yellow teeth fill the air.

Do we have to!?
Yes! and brush your teeth too

No matter what I try it still isn’t fun,
so I do it quick and jump under the covers
with a flashlight and Spider-Man comics.
Anything is possible when I close my eyes.
I always wake up hoping I can stick to walls.

Cast of Thousands, chapter 24

They got in the car and drove to a crafts store in [Sacramento, California that carried party supplies] and, currently, everything Halloweeny. Jessie was enraptured by every string of shiny purple bats and every pumpkin-shaped dancing light-up whatnot. Gail finally had to nearly drag her to the costume section.

"Ooo, look at this one." Gail held up a full-length sequined silver dress.

"Wow. What's that for?"

"Who cares! I wonder if it would fit me?" She held it up against herself.

Jessie giggled and moved on. "There's a big Oscar the Grouch costume in here!" she called from the depths of a clothing rack.

"Aren't you a little old for Sesame Street?" Gail wondered aloud.

Jessie snorted. "You might as well say I'm too old for trick-or-treating."

"Yeah, aren't you getting a little old for trick-or-treating? Man, soon they're going to start turning you away at the door."

"I'm only ten!" Jessie yelped.

"Twelve," Gail reminded her.

"Twelve! Same difference. Anyway, when you're too old for trick-or-treating, you're... you're too old for life!"

"Heh. I guess I'm gonna be kicking the bucket any day now, then, since I haven't gone trick-or-treating in like thirty years." Gail pulled out a vampire dress and looked it over speculatively.

"Not a bad score for a sixteen year old," Jessie teased her.

Gail just laughed. "What about that Bride of Frankenstein get-up next to you?"

Jessie tried the wig on and looked at herself in the mirror. "I vant to suck your bluuud... no, wait. What does the Bride of Frankenstein say?"

"Nothing, I guess." Her sister cocked her head, thinking it over. "There should be some kind of speak-and... whatever those things are called... for horror movie characters. You know, like, 'The werewolf says--'" and Gail let out a chilling howl.

"Ooh," Jess shuddered. "You're going to get us kicked out of the store!"

"Doubtful," Gail said, tossing her hair. "Anyway, if they don't like a little werewolf howling, what are they doing selling this stuff?" She waved her hand in front of a candy bowl with a hand sticking out of it, and the hand began clutching at nothing and saying loudly, "I want... some CANDY! RAAAAR!"

"You see?" she said with some satisfaction. "Hey, maybe you should be a werewolf. You know what sound they make now and everything."

"Hmm," Jess said noncommittally. "Oh, look at this." She drew a full-body Spiderman costume out of the rack. "Look, it has see-through fabric in the eyeholes and everything! Look, Gail!" Jessie held it up against herself and then looked at the tag. "It says it should fit me."

"But would you want to be Spiderman two years in a row?" Gail asked skeptically.

"Well... if I didn't, I could just have to make my own costume next year or something. I have some good costume ideas, anyway."

"Then why don't you make one this year?"

"No! Spiderman!" Jessie disappeared into the makeshift changing room and struggled into the bodysuit before Gail could make any more suggestions like that.

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