THE FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN
CHAPTER 17- MAKE IT TWO


"Two pair...winner...the young lady here with the white face!" the dealer called out, proclaiming Sherry as the victor in the latest round of Texas Hold 'Em poker.

"Woo hoo!" Sienna cheered loudly in celebration, her spirits clearly brightened. "Way to go, Sher!"

"I think I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead," Sherry informed her. "I'm out. Let's go find Brandon. He ought to be done stuffing his face by now."

As they were leaving, one of the other players at the table reached out and touched Sherry's arm, nearly scaring her to death.

"Nice playing," the bearded man said in a raspy voice. "You sure are a pro at this."

"Thank you," Sherry replied with a sigh, clearly relieved at the man's calm demeanor. She didn't know much about the guy, but he had played several hands with her at the table, joined by a couple of his friends. They were sporting dirty black jeans and t-shirts, complete with leather vests that read "PARAGONS OF PERDITION-- PONTIAC" across the back in a white and black circular pattern with a flaming skull in the middle. The man's, in particular, also had a rectangular patch that read "PRESIDENT" across the right chest.

"Call it beginner's luck," Sherry lied, taking her winnings from the table.

The man didn't respond back. He just waved to her as she disappeared from view with Sienna in tow.

"How much did you win?" Sienna eagerly asked.

"About 50 bucks," Sherry answered.

"Not bad!" Sienna stated. "So I guess you're treating the rest of the night?"

Sherry guffawed.

"Yeah, right," Sherry said. "I'll be lucky if this covers what Brandon spent on food already."

"Speaking of which," Sienna muttered. "Look! Deep fried Oreos!"

Sherry rolled her eyes, but followed her friend to the booth, happy to see her having a good time.

"I'll have one deep fried--"

"Make it two!" Sherry interrupted, approaching the counter behind her. "It's on me."

"Aww, thanks hun!" Sienna smiled, putting her head on Sherry's shoulder and hugging her. "Nothing like some fattening carnival food to make a girl feel better."

Sienna bit into her fatty concoction almost immediately, and Sherry paid the cashier and joined her in that delectable first bite.

"Oh my god...so good!" Sienna joyously mumbled with her mouth full.

"Mmmmmm," was all Sherry could say, but she nodded in clear agreement. As she took the second bite, she noticed Logan Dean in the distance, walking the perimeter in his Michael Myers costume.

"Oh my god...I can't believe he actually did it," Sherry grumbled.

"What?"

"Logan," Sherry informed her, nodding in his direction. "He came by my house earlier tonight and scared the crap out of me in that Michael Myers costume while we were passing candy out to the kids."

"What a prick!" Sienna added, looking off into the distance. "He has a lot of nerve. I'm surprised Brandon didn't beat his ass!"

"He almost did," Sherry affirmed. "But he pretty much scared everyone away after that, so I'm left with a bowlful of candy that I'll probably end up eating myself."

"JERK!" Sienna shouted, to no one in particular. "He better hope the police don't see him in that costume, or his night will be over early."


***


SPLASHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

On the opposite side of the festival, Haddonfield High principal Marvin Simpson went crashing down off of his rigged chair into the cold water of the celebrity dunk tank.

Sporting a gray Haddonfield High t-shirt, orange shorts, and goggles, the African-American head of HHS had been dunked on and off night, with students and citizens alike paying a dollar for a chance to throw a ball at the target and get him wet in the process. If they were successful, his seat, about ten feet above the water, retracted, sending him crashing down into the chilly tank below. All proceeds benefitted the school's new stadium fund, so, as expected, the turnout was very high.

"How are we doing, Wade?" the balding Simpson asked as he reset his seat and wiped his head with a towel.

However, as he glanced over at his compadre, he noticed that he was less concerned about the dunk tank, and more concerned with friend and fellow teacher Diane Moulson.

"Mr. Robertson?" Marvin called out.

"WADE!"

It was the second shout that got Wade Robertson's attention. When he turned around, Wade looked at him not through his eyes, but the dark eyes of The Joker, the infamous comic book villain Wade had chosen for his costume. Sporting a fancy purple suit and green vest, Wade hopped around like a jester, joyously determined to get people involved in the dunking contest. And, much to the delight of Miss Moulson, Wade has also painted his face white, shadowed his eyes in black, and drew a fake smile on his face with red lipstick. He even dyed his hair black with green highlights to complete the look.

"Yes, sir?" Wade responded, turning his attention away from Diane only briefly.

"How we doing?"

"We are up to two thousand, sir," the math teacher informed him. "Everyone loves dunking you like a donut."

At that point, a slight rain shower began to fall down onto the festival, scattering the attendees like cockroaches.

"I guess that's our cue to take a break," Marvin stated. "I need to dry off anyways. Let's see how long this weather lasts, then I'm sure it will pick back up. What do you say we meet back here in 15 minutes or so?"

"Sounds good," Wade replied. "Diane and I are chaperoning the rave later, but I think I can manage a few more hours. See you in a bit."

With that, Principal Simpson climbed out of the back of the tank and proceeded toward a nearby tent, when Miss Moulson stopped him a few steps away.

"Oh, wait...Marvin?"

"Yea?"

"I brought you some funnel cake."

"Oh, well, thank you, Diane, that was very thoughtful of you," Marvin smiled, disappearing from view with the paper plate full of the confection.

Diane, meanwhile, had also chosen a popular character for her costume-- that of Carrie White, the telekinetic prom queen of Stephen King's infamous horror epic. She had had her auburn hair done special for the occasion, curled at the edges. In addition to that, she was wearing a long pink dress and high heels to match. To top it off, she had a fake jeweled crown on top of her head designating her as the prom queen. The only difference was that her costume was pre-prom Carrie, meaning there was no fake blood anywhere in sight.

"That ought to butter him up," Wade stated, grinning at her with his makeup even though he wasn't smiling for real.

"You know what I want to butter up?" Diane asked. "A nice...big....plate of Irish colcannon."

"Irish what?" Wade quipped, initially thinking she meant something else.

"It's mashed potatoes with cabbage and kale," she explained. "You in?"

"Sure, why not," he accepted, raising an umbrella over both of them.

"Well, then, come on Mr. Jester, take me to the prom," Diane snickered, holding out her arm.

"It's Joker, not Jester," Wade corrected. "And I'd be delighted, um, Miss White..."


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