Costume Shopping

Tuli

It’s been a fortnight since Jayce took me on that midnight picnic. The memory still gives me butterflies.

I even spent the night at his place. We didn’t do the deed, just watched TV until we couldn’t keep our eyes open.

The morning was just as sweet. Jayce let me take over the kitchen this time. He’s usually the one cooking, but now it was my turn.

I whipped up omelets and couldn’t help but laugh when Jayce exaggerated how much he loved it.

I framed the star certificate he gave me and hung it right above my bed, next to Mr. Biggles’ paw print.

Now, when I looked up, I didn’t feel a pang of sadness seeing the only memento of my pet.

I just imagined him in ferret heaven, probably getting chubby from all the treats. The thought brought a smile to my face.

It was a Saturday morning, just a few days shy of Halloween. I still hadn’t picked out a costume. I didn’t know who I wanted to impersonate.

I also wasn’t sure if I was going to celebrate Halloween.

If I wanted candy, I’d have to hit the store.

And Megan had her two cents about me skipping the festivities.

“You can’t miss a Halloween party!”

“I just don’t feel like it, Meg.”

Daniel had to step in to get her off my back. I adored my roommate, but she was relentless when it came to parties. Maybe a bit too relentless.

I plopped down on my bed and turned on one of Gabriel Iglesias’ comedy shows. This one was titled “I’m Sorry For What I Said When I Was Hungry.”

It was a riot. I cracked up when he impersonated a girl and shrieked, “Fine, I’ll be a whore!” before prancing away in a girly fashion.

When I finally stopped laughing till I was gasping for breath, my phone pinged.

I unlocked it and opened my text messages.

Jayce

Do you have plans for Halloween?

Tuli

If you count sitting around on my ass and watching a couple of bad horror movies, then yes.

Jayce

For a 21 year old, you’re not very fun. :I

Tuli

Complain all you want, I like being lazy sometimes.

Jayce

How about we be lazy together? You can come over, I’ll order some pizza, and we’ll watch It.

Tuli

Ooh, the new one? That sounds good to me!

Jayce

Buuuuuuuuuut, we gotta dress up!

Tuli

-.- You’re joking, right?

Jayce

Nope!

Tuli

On second thought, I think I’ll just go to bed early that night.

Jayce

Bububububu... Think of the children! The kids want to see their heroes! I even have my house all decked out for their enjoyment. We gotta go all the way!

Tuli

Are you going to make me dress up as some slutty vampire?

Jayce

Be whoever you want! You can even be a slutty Deadpool. ;)

Tuli

xD You’re a perv! Alright, alright, I’ll do it.

Jayce

I’ll buy you an extra bag of candy for your help. c(x

Tuli

It better be the candy I like!

Jayce

Well, obviously, goofball! ;D

I smiled and exited our conversation.

For some reason, I was thinking about Armand. We hadn’t hung out since we patched things up.

I was also curious if he had texted Nicolette yet. Neither of them had texted me, so I guessed he hadn’t.

I pulled up his number on my contacts list and hit the call button. I held the phone to my ear and listened to it ring. He picked up after the third ring.

“Hey, Tuli, what’s up?” Armand asked.

“Hey, are you busy today?” I asked.

There was a brief pause before he replied. “My schedule’s clear! Did you want to hang out?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I was wondering if you had a Halloween costume. If not, we could hit the mall and look around. Maybe grab lunch, too.”

“Sure! What time should we meet?”

“Does eleven-thirty work for you?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

“Great! See you soon!” I ended the call and went to get dressed.

***

Armand and I spent a good chunk of time browsing. Sadly, we didn’t find anything.

“We could check out Spirit,” he suggested as we sat in the cafeteria, placing our food on the table.

“I probably should have thought of that first,” I said, rolling my eyes as I forked some lo mein noodles.

Armand chuckled. “Who would have thought the mall didn’t have a great selection.”

“True,” I agreed as he popped a piece of sesame chicken in his mouth. “So, have you and Nicolette hooked up yet?”

He choked on his food. I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. “Is that a yes?”

A blush spread across his face. He scratched the back of his neck.

“Well, you know, it’s a long story. One I’m not sure I should share with you. Or maybe you already know.”

“I have no clue. Nicolette keeps her private life private. What’s going on?”

“That’s actually something you should ask her,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Let’s just change the subject.”

I eyed him curiously but decided to let it slide.

“So,” he asked, “how about you and that professor?”

“Shh!” I exclaimed.

He bit his lip to stop from laughing and I shot him a look. “I’m serious. We don’t know if other students might be around.”

“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “But how are you two doing? It seems like you’ve managed to keep it under wraps.”

“It’s actually going well between us. But it’s hard to say how long it will last. I feel like if we wanted to take it further, I would need to switch schools or something. It’s tough.”

“Well,” Armand said with a shrug, “chissà?”

I nodded. When we finished our food, he asked, “Ready to go?”

“Sure.”