Little Sister Academy: Halloween

"Miss DeWitt, what's Halloween?"

The question came from a young blonde girl sitting on the ground. Her, and the eleven other girls each sat cross-legged, staring up at the young brown-haired woman attentively. The young woman smiled and paced around the circumference of the room, the gaze of the little girls following her as she went.

"Halloween is a special celebration that comes once every October." She starts. "Young boys and girls like yourselves dress up as monsters, princesses, whatever you can imagine. Then they go door to door and ask for candy. It's...a bit more complicated then that, but that's the idea."

One girl, a young blonde child named Cindy, raises her hand and asks. "Did you ever do that when you were our age?"

"No, I...never really had the opportunity."

"Oh...can we celebrate Halloween?" Several other young voices join Cindy in her inquiry.

The young woman looks out the small window of her makeshift classroom and smiles. Well, it would get her out of her lighthouse; Eleanor always said she spent too much time cooped up here. And the children deserve some normalcy, or as normal as they could give them. A holiday would be the perfect thing, for her and the girls.

"You know what, Cindy? I think that sounds like an excellent idea."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright Elizabeth, let's see it."

"Promise not to laugh?" Elizabeth replied, peeking her head out from behind the small privacy screen in her room.

"I wouldn't dare." Eleanor said, matter-of-factually. Her arms crossed.

A pale,  black-clad figure glides from behind the privacy screen and up to the young woman in a blue dress. Her fangs bared, she sweeps aside her cape and hisses menacingly. A smile creeps across the young woman's face as she reaches into the figure's mouth and removes the plastic mouthpiece.

"Very scary, Elizabeth." Eleanor says in a mocking tone.

"I need those!" She insists, reaching out her hands in protest.

Eleanor gingerly tucks the fangs into one of the small pockets on her white apron. Contrary to Elizabeth, who hemmed and hawed for days over her costume choice, Eleanor's decision to dress as Alice had been a quick one. Alice in Wonderland was one of her favorite stories.

"Later, now, let's check up on the girls."

The girls had proved surprisingly resourceful, transforming the assorted fabrics and materials they could scrounge up into makeshift costumes with very little help from either Elizabeth or Eleanor. Actually getting them to put on the costumes proved far more problematic. The inevitable roughhousing had caused some damage and some tears, and Cindy had to redo her angel costume nearly from scratch. Claire was the worst; her "Mr. Bubbles" costume brought out a wild streak in her. She ran in circles about the room wailing until finally Eleanor had to put her on time out, to which she protested that 'Mr. Bubbles never gets put on time out!'

Finally, after nearly an hour everyone had settled down and was dressed to go. In the end the promise of candy had done wonders to organize them. Each of the girls had her very own bag and was lined up behind Elizabeth, eager to start their very first Halloween night.

"Well, shall we get going?" Eleanor questioned, turning to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth averted her gaze and replied "About that..." Letting the statement trail off.

"What's going on?" Eleanor inquires, raising an eyebrow.

"I...invited the Luteces." Elizabeth replies, looking up at Eleanor with a pleading expression.

Eleanor rolls her eyes. "Elizabeth..."

"Please play nice. They aren't as bad as all that." Elizabeth insists, grabbing Eleanor's hand.

"Fine, but don't expec-"

Eleanor's statement is cut off by a loud rapping at the front door. That must be the Luteces, it's not like they ever got visitors out here. As Eleanor opens the door her eyes widen in a mixture of emotions as what she sees in front of her.

Standing in the doorway are the Lutece siblings, only different. Robert, wearing a wig and dark red skirt. Was he dressing as Rosalind? It made sense, as Rosalind had combed her hair back in a parody of Robert's usual hairstyle and wore a near perfect replica of his favorite suit.

"Trick?" Rosalind inquires.

"Or perhaps treat?" Robert intones.

"Uh...come on in." Eleanor responds in bewilderment, looking back at Elizabeth with a raised eyebrow.

Elizabeth rushes up to hug Robert. Rosalind declines the hug, but nods respectfully. "It's good to see you two again."

Rosalind opens her mouth to say something but turned her attention to the young girl pulling on her pant leg. "Miss Rosalind!" The girl, named Marie exclaims, shaking her body to make her costume's tail flop about. "Look at my tail."

Robert stifles a smile and Rosalind pats Marie on the head. "You certainly make a convincing shrimp, dear."

Satisfied, Marie scurries under Elizabeth's legs and rejoins her sisters. "I know you two just got here, but I think it would be best to get started before the girls tire themselves out."

"Of course."

Elizabeth  and the others gathered in front of the tear. A quiet Pennsylvania suburb on Halloween night, 1963. The perfect place to take the girls trick or treating. As Elizabeth lead them through the tear Eleanor put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, and Elizabeth." She begins, reaching into her apron pocket.

"Hm?"

"You'll need your fangs."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"YAY, CANDY!"

The children were all crowded around the front doorstep of a small, suburban home with white exterior and Gambrel roof. In the door-frame was an elderly woman in a black dress adorned with fake spiderwebs and stuffed black cat resting on her shoulder, her attempt at a witch costume. The children stand at attention as the woman produces a large bowl of candy.

"Well, here you go children." The woman says, beaming with matronly pride.

Several of the children look back at the adults watching them with a questioning look, unsure of how to proceed.

The woman pushes the bowl out insistently. "Feel free to take a handful,  we don't really get many children coming up this way anymore."

At that several of the children reach into the bowel and deposit the prized treats into their Halloween bags. A few can't help but try a sampling of their new treasured candies.

Eleanor looks over at Elizabeth. "Hey, why don't you go up there?"

"I can't do that I'm-"

"Elizabeth, this is your chance. You never got to have a Halloween." With that Eleanor pushes Elizabeth forward. "Well, here it is."

Flushing slightly Elizabeth approaches the house. The elderly woman looks up at her as she's about to close her door. In her hands she still holds the bowl of candy. Elizabeth can see it was nearly empty, but that didn't matter. Stopping up the the doorway Elizabeth breaths deeply, gathering her courage.

'Trick or treat!'