Holiday Homework

“Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies, asses ashes we all fall down.” Giggles and laughter sounded through the air as the three girls fell to the ground. Dandelion parachutes flew up into the air and lofted on the breeze. Each girl laid there watching as the white fluffs as they were tussled about in the wind. Ginger’s orange hair laid tussled in with the green grass all around her. Such perfect color for the perfect holiday, Green and Orange, Halloween.

Ginger rolled over to her belly and looked at her friends. “Hey, you two. What time are we going to go trick-or-treating?

With a heavy sigh Tosha said, “I will have to call you when I get home. My mom, well, she has this tradition of a ghoulish meal before we go out for the night. I don’t want to miss her goulash. Get it? Ghoulish meal, goulash? Ugh, anyways, I will call when I know supper will be done.”

Jazzy rolled back on her back at the sky, “I would guess about 6 o’clock then. Can you believe that we have homework from Mrs. Flynn? On Halloween? Seriously? I know it is supposed to be fun but I don’t want to be responsible for anything tonight.” She flopped back over onto her belly and elbows, “I mean seriously, we have to do the crossword puzzle and take it to the house with the green light on Clifton Ave. Perhaps, it will be worth it.” With a sigh she rose to her feet. “I will call too when I find out what mom has for me to do.”

Crisp air nibbled at Ginger’s nose as she scuffed her feet in the red leaves on the ground. The new teacher isn’t as bad as she thought. Today, at lunch, she transformed into a witch with nauseating deathly features. Math was never so weird as seeing your teacher standing in front of the class all decked out in her Halloween finest. Not all teacher’s join in the Holiday fun with the kids. Ginger stopped and looked at the folded homework with a frown. Crinkled it put and threw it in her backpack. “Not tonight, dear teacher. Not tonight.”

“Mom! Mom! What time will…” Tosha closed her eyes the moment the warm air and the tomatoey, garlic smell from the goulash filled her nose. “Supper be done?” When no response came, she called for her mother again. Upon entering the kitchen, she saw a note sitting on the counter top. It read, “Please take the goulash out of the oven at 5. Do your homework as you eat. I will see you after trick or treating.” Tosha stood there in surprise. What about the family tradition? Abandoned on Halloween night was not the way Tosha thought it would go. She always found happiness on Halloween over a bowl of goulash with her mother. She took a deep sigh, shoved a bite of goulash in her mouth, and slowly chewed as her pencil scribbled words on a paper.

“Hello?”

“Just finishing up here.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t go, I am not happy. Never mind, I will be there shortly and I will explain then.” Tosha shoved her paper in her pocket and ran out the door with her Wonder Woman cape flying behind her.

On the corner of Division and Emmet St., the kids gathered for their seven eleven slushies. Children mulled and talked excitedly until everyone’s friends showed up and divided off into small groups. Jazzy sat Indian style on the wall waiting for her friends to arrive. She could see her friends’ blue and red outfit coming towards her. As she watched, she could see her friend lulling her way toward her. “Okay, you sounded miserable on the phone. What is up? Must be miserable to not go trick-or-treating.” Tosha sat down next to her with a sigh.

“You see, Mom has always made a big deal of Holidays. Big or small, she kept them all. Always there with a smile on her face taking pictures. Her favorite line is, “eat and be happy” is the very thing she would say as she scooped a bowl of goulash up for us to eat. This year, mom went and did something else instead of celebrating with me. So strange of her to do so.” Confused, both girls sat there in silence as their brain freeze numbed them to the world.

It wasn’t long before the girls spotted Ginger’s bright red hair bouncing toward them. “Hello ladies, I am so not original. Harry Potter uniform. I am a cousin of the Weasley’s. I am just here for the candy and this will have to do. Boring I know.” Not even waiting for a response from her friends, she grabbed her friends and dragged them around the corner to begin their foraging for treats.

“It’s getting dark, we should be able to see the greenlight anytime now.” Said Tosha. “I did my homework even though I didn’t want to. Mom knew I had homework and she said so in her note. I wonder where the darn light is.”

One, four, nine houses and there was no show of the light. “Pstt… Pstt..” said Jazzy as she pointed down at a sign that said, trick-or-treaters this way. A green witches’ finger pointed down the side ally at a green glowing light. A scream echoed down the ally. A witches’ cackling could be heard and all the little kids came out looking a little scared. “I don’t know you two. I am sure this is right. It just doesn’t look right.”

“Chicken!” yelled Ginger as she quickly scurried down the ally. “I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I mean seriously, homework for candy is not cool. I mean a full-sized candy bar is a nice thing but I just didn’t do it.” With her opened cape Ginger flew down the ally leaving her friends lugging behind. One would think that Ginger would have seen a ghost in the way she stopped so fast. She didn’t run, yet she didn’t move either. Her face was glowing green from the lights that decorated her teacher’s home.

When the other girls arrived by her side they sat there in awe. There was her teacher standing in front of Calderon that was glowing a green light. Beside her was Egor, her servant, who seemed to be waiting to grab little children who were trying to take more candy. Smoke, fog, or something was swirling this way and that way in the light. The girls could see a to the side, a wicked mansion silhouetted on the side of the two Halloween demons.

Cackling rang through the little hovel in the ally, “Come closer my darlings.” The girls shuffled closer. The wicked math teacher peered at the girls earnestly. “Do you have something to give me tonight? Something that I requested of you?” Jazzy set her bucket down, and searched the bottom for her homework. Her cat paws made it very difficult to unfold the paper and hand it to Mrs. Flynn. Ginger opened her robe to indicate she did not have hers. “Ah, detention.” She said to play along with her costume. Tosha’s crinkled paper was heatedly unfolded and presented to her teacher. “Hum, two out of three is not bad. I had hoped for better. Egor, take these two for their reward. You, Miss Ginger, will have to wait for them there.”

Egor grabbed at the collar of their girl’s outfits and led them away to the wicked mansion. Ginger looked on helplessly as her friends were led off. She thought, “This is a teacher’s house, they will be fine. No harm will become of them. The wicked mansion’s door shut and her friends were gone. Just like that. Screaming sounds echoed inside from Tosha and Jazzies’ high screeching voice rang in Ginger’s ears. A moment of terror went across her face. In confusion, her friends busted out the door and ran past her. Egor stood in the doorway laughing in the background.

“Bye mom! See ya when you get home!” yelled Tosha. She waved at Egor with a smile and turned to face her friends. “My mom is so cool. I’m not sure I want her to be friends with my teacher, but look how cool this is!” Turning to face Ginger who was gawking with confusion. “Mom told me that they have been planning all this for weeks. Look what they gave us. Cookies, candy and a bag of goodies.”

Behind them crept the witch clutching her broom, she snuck up to the group and with a loud witch’s cackle screeched, “Why did you not do your homework?” She stepped out of the green light and into the streetlight. “Aren’t you a student?” Her green skin almost paled to a grey in the white light. “Aren’t you sent to school to learn?” She peered down her long plastic nose at Ginger. “Leave it to a Gryffindor to choose not to complete an assignment. What is it that Snape said? Lazy, arrogant fool.” With a stern face she peered at Ginger. A moment later, with a wide smile stretching over her, “I had to follow your costume you see. That is phrases from the movie. Seriously, Ginger, when you do not want to do the things you must do, you lose out of opportunities in life. You just missed out in the cool Wicked Mansion and treats.” Perhaps next time, you will not miss out. With a smile, Mrs. Flynn reached into her pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb and lit it. With a small toss of the billowing ball, green smoke mingled with the streetlamp and swirled with the breeze. Soon the girls watched as the teacher descended into the green light.

“What was the screaming about? I thought you were being killed?” Ginger’s wide eyes were peering at her friends. “What is inside and what did you get?”

“When Jazzy and I were walking up to the wicked mansion, we thought we were doomed. I was so scared that I clung onto her tail out of fear.” Tosha dumped out the contents of bag onto her cape. “I was so jumpy that I wasn’t seeing straight. Egor, my mother, pulled us in. I screamed and screamed again when I saw my mother was Egor.”

“The inside so cool. It has a corner of shrunken heads, Witch’s potions line the wall, the black cat hissed when you pushed a button, spiderwebs draped perfectly over a skeleton in a coffin and lastly, the game of ‘Who can scream the loudest?’ got us our goodie bags.“ Jazzy dumped out her goodies. Halloween trinkets, candy, and a gift certificate for a free ice cream fell on the apron. “Hey look, together we have three ice creams. I guess Ginger, you won’t be out of a treat after all.”

A flash of light blinded the girls for a moment. When their focus came through, they could see Egor standing there with a smile. “See, I didn’t miss the Halloween picture and fun after all. I may do this again next year. Would you ladies be willing to help?” With a hug, Tosha stood up and hugged her mother.

“A new tradition? I would love that.” Tosha hugged her mother and they turned to walk home.