Page 9 of Halloween with a Daddy
“What about Mark?” I perk a brow.
“Last time I saw him, he was talking to two girls dressed like Harley Quinn. Maybe I picked the wrong outfit.” She shrugs. “But whatever, his loss!”
Amelia doesn’t seem to be too heartbroken over Mark, so that’s a positive. The crush must not be serious. Since I have the courtyard to myself, I look around a bit and admire the craftsmanship. After several minutes, two guys walk out on the patio and start vaping, so I decide that’s my queue to leave.
“Well, hello there. You look like you got lost on your way home from school.” A heavyset guy dressed like a Jedi gives me a look over. “Do you need me to help you find your classroom?”
“Or maybe she’s teaching the class.” His buddy is dressed like one of the kids fromStranger Things. He blows a cloud that blinds me for a moment and I wave my hand in the air.
“Sorry guys, I’m just looking around.” I try to push past them.
“I wish I was what you were looking for.” The Jedi grins, but then steps aside.
“We’ll find you inside, babe.” His buddy steps out of my way as well.
No thanks.
I quickly make my way back into the house and look towards the stairs. Only one guy at the party caught my eye and he seemed to check me out as well. He didn’t seem like he was that interested in the party either, so I assume he’s already taken off. Too bad. I would love to compliment him on his costume, because I don’t think many people here have seenSomewhere in Time. The guy at the top of the stairs made the costume look a whole hell of a lot better than Christopher Reeve did. My grandmother would appreciate it. Amelia would probably call me weird for even knowing the movie it’s from.
“Where’s my naughty schoolgirl at? I want her to do some naughty things to me!” I hear a loud voice and turn to see the two guys coming back inside the house.
Nope. I am not getting involved in that. I look around the room and notice that nobody is really paying attention, so I scurry up the stairs. The downstairs is getting pretty crowded anyway, and I can’t do much more exploring without opening doors, which might make someone notice I’m more interested in the house than the party itself.
I planned to do some networking, but that seems like a wash. I don’t really want to introduce myself to people I might work with one day wearing this outfit. My chances are better if I just submit a resume after I graduate.
I wander down a hallway and it’s much quieter, which is a relief. I walk slowly, sipping my beer, and admiring the decor. There’s a moment of hesitation when I get to a door, but there’s nobody up here to notice, so I decide to push my luck. I open the door to what appears to be a bedroom. It’s clean, but it doesn’t look like anyone has stayed here in quite some time. My grandmother would love this room, so I take out my phone to snap some pictures. I got a few pictures downstairs, but it was hard to get a clear shot of anything with the party in full swing.
“God, this looks amazing.” I run my fingers along the furniture and the bed before feeling content enough to continue my exploration.
I feel like a kid in a candy store. Better than that, actually. I cross the hallway and open another door, which also appears to be a bedroom. It’s different enough to warrant a couple of pictures. After that, I walk further down the hall. I assume the other rooms are bedrooms, but there’s a door at the end of the hallway that is bigger than the others. It draws my attention. I don’t have all night to look around, so I’d rather see something more interesting than bedrooms. I make my way to the door, pull it open, and step inside.
“Holy…” My eyes get big as a rather enormous library greets me with rather dim lighting.
“That was my reaction too, the first time I saw it.” A voice echos from the other side of the room and I nearly jump out of my shoes.
It’s the guy I saw at the top of the stairs. He leans forward, puts down a glass of whiskey, and stands up.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was here!” I panic, completely caught off-guard. “Forgive me! I’ll go!”
“No, come on in. You might as well look around since you’re here.” He walks closer and I feel a slight flutter in my stomach from his piercing gaze, which is backed up by almost onyx-colored eyes. “Nice costume, by the way.”
“You too.” I say, unable to get anything else out because my mouth dries up.
He smiles as he gets closer, and he’s got such a wonderful smile that it relieves some of the panic building up inside of me. He’s a trespasser too, it would seem. I guess we have that in common.
“Did you get bored with the party?” He asks, tilting his head slightly.
“Honestly, I only came because I wanted to see Grimwillow Manor.” I look around the room. “How about you?”
“I got invited and figured I would put in an appearance.” He shrugs.
“This library is amazing.” I walk over to the shelves of books.
“It’s more than just a library.” He walks over next to me. “Well, it used to be. Back in Grimwillow Manor’s heyday, the mayor lived here, and he took care of the town. When the schoolhouse burned down, he brought all the kids here, and they held class in this room.”
“Wow.” I look around the library, noticing the tables and how they’re aligned. “I can almost picture it, but I’m surprised it’s still set up like a classroom.”
“Probably no reason to change it.” He shrugs. “Even after they built the new schoolhouse, it took a while to get the library over there up and running, and the mayor let them use his until they did.”
