Brinnng…!
The school bell went off indicating the start of the Halloween buzz. But in my words the beginning of a gruesome, horrid, nasty night. I remained in my seat while my peers barged out of the room like a herd of elephants. It’s unusual for me to remain in my seat at the end of the day but circumstances can change a man’s thoughts. I started to slide my hand across the table and my eyes started to drop down. Then I heard a deafening “Freddie Hookham!”
The Halloween Scare
I got startled by this and as I lifted my head up, I saw my infuriating teacher Ms Jones, standing in front of me with her pointy nose and sickening vibrant pink top. As I was staring at her, as though she was the most annoying creature the world had ever witnessed, I got interrupted by her as she boomed, “Go home now, give me a break as well.” I was about to reply back, but she gave me a look which indicated not to state anything else. I slowly dawdled across the corridor until I reached the gate. A few seconds later I found myself stepping foot into the world of ghastly ghosts, witches and worst of all… the spine-chilling, horrific and hideous PUMPKINS!
I tried to avoid the young witches cackling or the petrifying faces of Frankenstein or the white bodies that were moving around, but they kept on coming at me, haunting me each second of the 10-minute walk. After 10 minutes I finally reached my house, the nut-brown bricks and the dark-hued roof brought me tranquillity because unlike all the other houses my house wasn’t covered with pumpkins and ghosts. Instead, the plants were arranged in lines with a swing in the lawn. Instantly, I lost all my worries.
Wendy Hookham
After school I usually sit on the swing and forget all my school work and stress and that day also, I started towards the swing. But as I glanced at my watch, I ran inside the house and locked myself in my room. It was nearly time for my elder sister Wendy to come back. Wendy Hookham is the scariest sister anyone can have. There is nothing good about her- she makes fun of my beliefs, she shouts at me for no reason and when she gets mad at me, the torture I go through is unbearable.
The only thing I like about my sister is her drone which sits perfectly on her bookshelf. She barely uses it therefore I keep asking her if I could use it, but the answer is predictable, as always. Unlike me and like many other children, Wendy loved this bitter festival, hence I devised a devilish plan to get my devilish sister’s drone.
The Drone
As I worked on my plan an imaginary Wendy kept on shouting at me from the keyhole to not step foot in her room. I sang a tune in my head to block out the nonsense which was being spoken continuously. A few minutes later I creaked open the door. After a moment of hesitation, I took a step out of my room. I got startled a few times by the dog barking or my parents talking but I successfully reached Wendy’s room without getting caught. I tried not to make the floorboards creak under me as I made my way to the drone. It was a beautiful specimen- red and green with traces of blue.
I carefully picked it up like a baby and I retreated myself out of the room and ran to the backyard. It took me a few minutes to study the drone but after that the drone took its first steps. It went higher and higher and higher and was a sight to behold. But then, it became impossible to control and it fell in someone’s house. Biting my lip I mumbled to myself, “I’m dead!”
The Worst Possible Scare
I looked up at the sky as tears welled up in my eyes. I kept on repeating, I’m fine but I sniffled between my words causing me to say no more. At that moment I realised that the two things which scared me the most had to happen that day – Halloween and losing my sister’s drone. I thought my day couldn’t get any worse until I was interrupted by mum. She shouted for me and repeated after the phone “Take out Wendy’s drone, it’s in her top bookshelf. She’s coming back home to get it in an hour.”
I gaped and stood there fixated. I could feel the sweat run down my forehead and I seemed to choke for breath. Knowing my sister, I knew she WOULD come in an hour to get her drone and if she didn’t get what she wanted, it would be the end of my life. I had to do something- REALLY QUICK! But what could I do? Face Wendy’s anger? Or find the drone on a creepy Halloween evening? The scary pumpkins, the insipid zombies and the horrid ghosts filled my mind with terrible fears. But as soon as Wendy’s image came in front of me, I knew what I had to do- Go and find the drone!
The Intimidating Night Walk
It was almost 9 pm. To protect myself, I stepped out of the house with my cricket helmet on my head, a watch on my hand, a cricket bat stuck to my back and my Nerf gun in my hand. Furthermore, I had a cushion stuck to my stomach so that if I fell, I fell on something soft. I slowly took a step to the first house. The cobwebs and demons were pushing me away from the house, but I knew I had to do this, so I rang the doorbell. The people living there thought I was asking for treats so before they were about to offer I asked them in a faint voice, “Do you, by any chance, have my drone?”. The young lady gawked at me awkwardly but she felt bad for me so she gave me a whole packet of cookies.
The same exercise went on in 10 different houses- asking the same question, people knowing nothing about the drone, and, cookies, chocolates or toffees being handed over to me as a TREAT! By the time I left the tenth house, my pockets were overflowing with sweets and my little bag also had a sugary bulge to it. The Halloween Spirit was starting to come to me, I guess it wasn’t that scary after all. The witches were only girls being silly and the zombies were just normal boys playing it ridiculous. Maybe I was wrong all along, maybe there were no crazy ghosts in pumpkins at all.
Pumpkins and the Pink Top
After about 50 minutes of asking and goofing, I finally reached the last house on the street. Just as I was getting used to the Halloween culture this house had to come. It was a house covered with huge ghastly PUMPKINS with crooked smiles!
I didn’t want to go in, I stared at my watch, I only had 10 minutes. Taking a big gulp, I made my way to the door. I mumbled- 1,2, 3 and rang the doorbell. There was no turning back now. I could have run for my life right now, but for some reason, my feet were glued to the ground. I waited for a minute, then another minute and then another. The pumpkins seemed to be turning red and their glow was becoming all the more ghastly. Being able to bear it no longer, I finally turned back to make a dash towards the gate when someone called my name- “Freddie Hookham!”
As though almost involuntarily I turned around. And there I saw the sickening pink top and the pointy long nose of Ms Jones. She looked totally enraged. I fumbled and wanting to quickly get away from there, I asked her my question, “Do you, by any chance, have my drone?” She left me standing there and disappeared without warning. Before I could clear my mind, she came out again- looking as ghastly as her red-orange pumpkins. In one hand she was holding the drone. She roared, “So, this is yours?” I muttered, “Yes”. My teacher stared at me with fiery rage and uttered, “I can give you this drone for now, but tomorrow I’ll be expecting two hundred lines saying … “I, Freddie Hookham swear, not to ruin anyone’s Halloween night”
The Way Back Home
My clock was ticking away and I had no idea what had happened there. Without inquiring about anything I quickly left with the drone in my hands. I again checked my watch on the exit of the house and I realized I had to dart back because in 3 minutes my sister would be there. I sprinted past all the houses forgetting all my worries and then reached my house with 10 seconds remaining. 10… I started to open the door…
8… I made my way towards Wendy’s bedroom…
5… I put the drone where I had found it…
3… I took off the pillow, bat and helmet…
1… The door burst open and Wendy appeared magically!
I stood glued to a safe corner not daring to breathe.
Wendy took the drone and left in a flash. I heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled as she had left the house without getting suspicious.
I don’t know what the drone had gone through at my teacher’s house, in fact I never came to know as Ms Jones seemed to have forgotten all about it by the time we all went to school after a week-long holiday. But I do know one thing that the intimidating night walk on Halloween taught me. As I sucked the delectable treats I had gathered from various eerie and mysterious-looking houses, I had finally realized that Halloween wasn’t that bad after all.
Writer : Aarna Sharma
Grade : 6 (Year 2023)
Place : Sydney, Australia
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