Howdy, young writers! So, as promised, I’m sharing one of my very own original stories. *dies of fearful anticipation for you all to read it* I thought it would be cool to share a piece of my own writing and use it as a means by which to learn from and to just share what my writing process was like when I wrote this piece. Does that mean that I think it’s a perfect work of art and therefore, I’m going to go on and on about how amazing my writing is and how you should mimic everything I do? Heck no. 😛 My writing (and this story especially) is NOT amazing. I do hope it’s a cute story, however, and that you enjoy it. I also hope, for myself as well as all of you, that we can learn what to do, and what NOT to do when writing a story based on reading this one. I always find that going back over old writing is a great way to see how far you’ve come over the years, how you can improve, and what old ideas you can rewrite so they become new and exciting.

All that being said, here’s some things to keep in mind…

• I wrote this story in 10th grade for an English short story assignment, which means that my writing has gotten A LOT better over the past 2 1/2 years…at least I think so. 😛
• Some of the story elements I was working with at the time included: characterization, description, plot development, dialogue, and writing in first-person point-of-view. In fact, I still remember the morning I spent having breakfast at the Double D Diner and drafting character profile sheets for the 3 characters in this story. #goodtimes I still have those sheets today, along with a brief scene-by-scene outline. Let me just say having both of those things was extremely helpful when it came time to actually start writing the story.
• I went through many drafts with this story, primarily because of one particular scene. (I’ll let you know which scene that was once I’ve posted all the chapters.)
• I have slightly edited this story already (along with the help of KD17, thanks gurrrrrrrrrl) and may or may not be done with this story. I’ve been experimenting with idea of doing some more, holiday-inspired sequels, as well as expanding this one.
• The theme of this story was based around friendship, loyalty, and the importance of acting a little “childish” sometimes. 😉

Without further adieu, here’s, “The Halloween Special”! (Super original title, I know.)

The Halloween Special

by: Young Writer

Chapter 1:

Today was like any other ordinary day. I got up, washed my face, brushed my teeth, combed my mass of curly hair, slipped into my jeans, and headed downstairs. As I started into the bright and airy kitchen, my little sister slammed into me, almost spilling her orange juice all over my favorite green top.

“Lily! Watch where you’re going!” I exclaimed exasperatedly. Lily is nine years old and has a knack for creating chaos wherever she goes. Today was no exception.

“Sorry,” she giggled lightheartedly, “But I was just showing mommy my Halloween costume. Look!” She starts prancing wildly around the room with a bagel in one hand and her orange juice in the other, “Don’t I look beautiful?” Lily beamed as she sashayed around the kitchen in a her purple tutu and matching fairy wings. She set down her bagel to grab her sparkly wand, and then proceeded to bop me on the head with it all while shouting, “I’m a fairy princess!”

Oh, it’s Halloween, I suddenly realized, rubbing the now sore spot on my head. It’s Halloween…Oh man, I need more time! I thought to myself as I slowly began to panic. Normally, I love Halloween; the costumes, candy, spooky house decorations, and of course trick-or-treating.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve gone trick-or-treating with my two best friends: Gwendolyn Spencer and Nadia Jones. In fact, that’s how we met. My family and I had just moved into the neighborhood, and Gwen’s mom invited us to go trick-or-treating with them and Nadia’s family, since we didn’t know our way around the neighborhood very well; we’ve been best friends ever since. We’ve never missed one year of trick-or-treating, even that one year when it was below freezing and Nadia had a really bad cold. But, this year…well things were different. Right before school started, I had my fifteenth birthday. Besides getting a little taller, I began to feel as though things I used to do with best friends, like trick-or-treating, were childish. I mean, we were practically adults now, so we should start acting like it. Right?

So, as my first mature and adult-like decision, I silently vowed to hang up my candy sack and enjoy a scary movie instead. Of course, I had always planned to tell Nadia and Gwen about my decision…I just sort of put it off until the last minute because I was afraid that they would be mad at me. Now, my timing couldn’t be worse. It was the day of  Halloween, and I had yet to face them. I had to tell them…

“I’m not going trick-or-treating this year.”

“What do you mean you’re not going trick-or-treating this year?” Gwen asked me, astonished. At least she wasn’t stunned into complete silence, like Nadia. I had ended up confronting them in the hallway of our school, right before class started. Somehow, I had “sensed” them turning the corner into the hallway before I actually laid eyes on them. This “super-sense” happened a lot…especially around Halloween. It always came in real handy when my friends and I would try to figure out which houses had the biggest candy bars.

“I…I…I mean…” I started to stammered. My sight dropped to the floor of the hallway and my cheeks started to turn pink. Oh no! Don’t you chicken out! I warned myself. I was starting to lose my courage, but I had to stand strong. I couldn’t go trick or treating with them. It was beneath me now, a thing of the past. Besides, who needs trick-or-treating, anyway? It’s for kids. After a brief, mental pep talk I clenched my jaw and tilted my head up to face my friends. “You heard me; I’m NOT going trick-or-treating this year.”

Gwen, much taller and more menacing than me when she didn’t get what she wanted, marched closer. She glared right into my face as she loomed over me, and I thought I was going to turn into a puddle right on the spot. I swear, that girl could scare off even a wizard, if they were real. Then, her dark eyes lit up with amusement; she started to chuckle, which quickly grew into a full-out laugh.

“That’s-that’s…” she tried to choke out between her roars of laughter, “That’s a good one, Cass! You really had us going. Right, Nadie?”

I glanced at Nadia, who hesitantly looked at Gwen for reassurance that I was kidding. She too began to laugh, though it was more of a nervous giggle.

I stared bewildered at my two friends as I tried to convince them of my sincerity. “Seriously guys, I’m not going this year. Look, I know we have had a habit of going together in the past but…”

At that, Gwen’s brow started to furrow. She cut me off,  “We have NEVER missed a year as long as we can remember! Right, Nadia?”

She glanced at Nadia, who has always been more of a shrinking violet. Sometimes, Gwen and I forgot she was even there whenever we got into our ‘heated debates’. It was like she turned completely invisible. At that moment, she had drooped her curly, red hair over her eyes as if it would prevent us from forcing her to pick a side. Gwen glared at her intensely, and finally she spoke up.

“Um…yes…that’s correct,” she whispered. She was the most soft-spoken person I had ever met, but she also had the kindest heart, so naturally, Gwen and I were lucky to have her. I sighed, starting to get annoyed at my friend’s persistence.

“Yes, I know we have gone every year since we were little, but times have changed. I’m fifteen now and going trick or treating now is just, well…”

“Go ahead. Spit it out!” Gwen demanded.

“Well, it would just seem…CHILDISH!” I yelled. Both Gwen and Nadia winced at those words, and it was evident on their faces that I had hurt them. However, unlike Nadia, who seem more wounded by my words, Gwen just grew more furious and saucily scowled at me. She crossed her arms.

“So what are you saying, Cassie? That going trick or treating with your friends is stupid and too ‘immature’ for you?!” Gwen challenged.

“YES! THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING!” I bellowed. One look at Gwen and Nadia’s shocked faces and I knew I’d messed up. I had made it seem as though spending time with my friends was ‘uncool’ They weren’t; trick-or-treating was. I took a moment to breathe and gathered myself as any mature adult would have done in my predicament, “Look, that’s not what I meant. I love spending time with you guys, but I just feel that now that we are older we should end our old traditions…like trick or treating.”

Gwen and Nadia were silent as they took in my words, and just when I thought that they had finally come to accept my decision, Nadia came toward me.

“But Cass,” she muttered sadly, “you always come with us. It won’t be the same without you…please, just come with us, for our sake. We need you.” Her bright blue eyes pleaded with mine. Darn her innocent little face. She reminded me a lot of my little sister. I groaned. I knew that at that point, I couldn’t say no, not to Nadia. She never asked anyone for anything. She always thought of others first, especially when it came to me and Gwen. I had to do this, for her, even if it was childish. I stared at her large, puppy-dog eyes as I reluctantly changed my mind.

“Fine,” I relented as Nadia’s face lit up with a smile. Gwen, still peeved at my outburst, turned away. “I’ll go trick or treating with you guys.” At that, she turned, a slow smile spreading across her olive-skinned face. “But don’t expect me to enjoy it!” I spat back at her smug expression. Completely frustrated, I grabbed my history book, shut my locker, and slumped off to class. This was going to be humiliating.

To be continued…