The Fourth Witch

Trick or Treating

   Max and I were walking together while Dani ran up ahead with the other kids to get their share of candy. Halloween was the most popular holiday in Salem.

Every ten seconds I would hear Max groan in boredom, and it was starting to drive me insane.

"Would you quit it?" I snapped after a while. "What." "You keep groaning, you're supposed to be spending time with your sister and you should be more grateful!"
I stomped forward to walk with Dani. Mrs. Dennison had given me an extra treat bag so I wanted to join the fun of getting candy.

Dani and I ran up to a house that was decorated with an array of pumpkins, skeletons, and any other Halloween oddities you could think of. I was having fun! Even though I was a teenager trick or treating, no one batted an eye; I actually saw other kids from our school going house to house participating.
I knocked on the door and an older lady answered with a bright orange bowl full of candy.
"Trick or treat!" Dani and I chirped.

The old lady chuckled, "Aren't you two the most adorable witches I've ever seen." "Thank you," we said at the same time.
We each took a handful of candy and we ran back to join Max. He did not look happy.

"Lighten up, Max." Dani told him while we were talking to the next house.
"Can we go home yet?" he groaned. "No," she scowled.
"We have only been out here for ten minutes," I informed him. "Ten minutes too long." Max retorted.

Up ahead was chaos, a large group of teenage boys were smashing pumpkins into the street, throwing toilet paper on people's front yards, throwing eggs, and causing all sorts of trouble.

"Dani, let's go the other way," Max warned. She didn't listen and she walked right into the mayhem.

I should have known Jay and Ernie were the ring leaders.
The two bullies saw Dani coming and stepped in front of her so she couldn't go any further.
"Ding ding, stop and pay the toll, kid." Ernie warned. "Ten chocolate bars and no licorice," he requested. "Dump out your sack!" Jay demanded.
"Drop dead, morons," Dani said with boredom. "Hey kid, how would you like to be hung over that telephone pole?" Ernie threatened.
"I'd like to see you try, it's just so happens I got my big brother and my friend with me, Max! Destiny!" She called for us.
Max and I walked forward to prevent her from feeling the wrath of the two biggest idiots in Salem.
Jay and Ernie pretended to shake in fear and screamed in a mocking way, "Hollywood! Oh no!" they got all the other boys to join in the teasing.
I stepped forward, "Look who it is, it's Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dumber." I mocked.
"What did you just say, witch?" Ernie sauntered up to me trying to be intimidating. He smelled like shaving cream and B.O. and it was making my eyes start to water, but I grinned in confidence.
"You heard me." I raised an eyebrow showing him I wasn't afraid.

"So, Hollywood, you're doing a little trick or treating." Jay observed. "I'm just taking my sister around," he snapped.
"That's nice, and I love the costume! What are you supposed to be? A New Kid on the Block?" he laughed at his joke. "You know your originality never ceases to amaze me," I said shaking my head, but Jay ignored me.
"For your information, he's a little leaguer!" Dani said. The boys guffawed in laughter.
Max shoved his bag of candy in Ernies's hands, "Here, pig out, come on Dani let's go." We walked away from the scene and looked for a better route to continue our night.

"You should have punched them." Dani told her brother just as she was about to ring the doorbell of the house we were at.
"They would have killed me," he snapped. "At least you would've died like a man," she said under her breath, but Max heard her and he was angry.
"Hey! You just humiliated me in front of half the guys at school, so collect your candy and get out of my life!" Max yelled at her.
His words were like a gunshot in the night with how severely he said them.
Dani's eyes began to well up with tears, "I wanna go home, now!" she ran away.
"Nice going," I scolded him and ran to look for her.

The little girl was laying on the bales of hay sobbing and it broke my heart. 
Max did catch up with us and he looked guilty, "Dani, I'm sorry. It's just I hate this place, I miss all my friends. I wanna go home!" he took off his baseball cap. "This is your home now, so get used to it," his sister told him tearfully. "You're right," he accepted the circumstances.
"Will you give me one more chance?" Max asked. "Why should I?" Dani avoided eye contact. "Because I'm your brother." When she looked up, she saw him giving her an exaggerated pout and it made her laugh and I laughed as well.
Suddenly, he looked up at the sky, "Whoa!" "What?" she asked. "Something just flew across the moon." he made it seem like he was looking at the alleged mysterious shape and then he scared his sister.
"Let's go, jerk face," Dani laughed.