Jenna rolled her eyes. “You know, right?”
He nodded. “You’re one of the most famous ladies in history. Queen Elizabeth.”
“Wrong country.”
“I’m kidding. Cleopatra.”
“Wrong again. Are you even trying?”
“Seriously? I thought I knew it for sure.”
“I’m Cleopatra’s twin sister.”
“You got me.”
“Maybe I should have come as Dorothy all shot up with arrows,” Jenna said. “Then we would have matched.”
“We could have been the sadder ending to The Wizard of Oz.”
“The ending where the wizard turns out to be Robin Hood.”
Laini Palmer sat in the desk next to Jenna’s. She was dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Jenna turned and started talking to her.
Cole glanced at the clock. There were still a few minutes before class would begin. Jenna had a habit of arriving by the first bell, and Cole had coincidentally developed the same habit. More kids were coming in: a zombie, a vampire fairy, a rock star, an army guy. Kevin Murdock wore no costume. Neither did Sheila Jones.
When Jenna had finished talking to Laini, Cole tapped her shoulder. “Have you heard about that new haunted house?”
“On Wilson Avenue?” Jenna asked. “People keep talking about it. I’ve never really been scared by Halloween decorations. I always know they’re fake.”
“The guy who just moved in there supposedly did effects for Hollywood,” Cole replied. “I heard that some of the stuff in his spook alley is real. Like, live bats and tarantulas and amputated body parts from hospitals.”
“I guess that might be freaky,” Jenna admitted. “I’d have to see it to believe it.”
“It’s supposed to be free. Are you going trick-or-treating?”
“Yeah, with Lacie and Sarah. You?”
“I was planning to go around with Dalton.” He was relieved she would be out hunting candy as well.
“Do you know the address?” Jenna asked.
“For the haunted house? I wrote it down.”
“We should check it out. Want to meet up around seven?”
Cole tried to keep his expression casual. “Where?”
“Do you know that old guy’s house on the corner, with the huge flagpole?”
“Sure.” Everybody in the area knew that house. It was one story, but the flagpole was basically a skyscraper. The old guy looked like a veteran. He raised and lowered the flag every morning and night. “Meet there?”
“Bring the address.”
Cole retrieved a notebook from his backpack and opened it. While he looked for his homework, his mind strayed. He had never hung out with Jenna after school, but it wasn’t like they were going on a date. They would just be part of a group of kids checking to see if a spook alley was actually cool.
Mr. Brock started class a few moments later. He was dressed as a cowboy with chaps, a big hat, and a sheriff’s badge. The outfit made it tough to take him seriously.
Cole walked along the street beside Dalton, one foot on the curb, the other in the gutter. He was still a scarecrow bristling with arrows. The straw poking out from his neck kept tickling the bottom of his chin. Dalton remained a gloomy clown.