Skater Girl (Editing)

Chap 15 - No Masks

"I need a picture."

"You do not," I argue back. Kenzie eagerly readies to take a picture on his phone, additional to the dozens of candid ones he already took. He takes notice of my reluctance and places a hand on his hip, reminiscent of an angry mom.

"When was the last time we got a proper Halloween photo? Hurry up before I'm late for work."

We scoot in tight for the photo, and the energy is too contagious not to smile at. I wasn't exactly excited to be trick-or-treating, mostly because each year I'm more worried about getting Austin and I home safely.

This time, though, I felt at ease. Austin clung to Keith's side immediately, providing me with relief, but making Terry very jealous. Kenzie pats him on the back to reassure him.

"He's always like this with new people," Kenzie says to him. "He likes options."

The car ride is eventful as Keith and Austin make fun in the backseat. Keith entertains Austin's many, many bird facts, while Terry and I spectate from the front.

"Your sister didn't want to come?" I ask Terry. He shakes his head as he hits the brakes for the stoplight, the red hue illuminating his face.

"She's at that age where she thinks it's lame. She'd rather spend it with her friends."

"You sound...hurt? Big brother sad that his little sister won't hang out with him?"

"I mean, a little," he admits. I was joking around with him, but from his tone I could tell that he meant it.

"I know what you mean," I try to relate. "Austin is only seven, but I know that soon he'll be a little older and I won't get to take him out like this." Sentimental couldn't begin to describe how I felt about my time with Austin. Part of that is thanks to dad, who left a lot of holes in Austin's life to fill. He's really only ever known us, a family of three, with a mom from time to time.

"She's just not as open with me as I'd like. We used to talk all the time, but now she just keeps to herself, goes to her room, and blasts her music. Or maybe I'm just a clingy brother."

"I could definitely see why Kenzie took a liking to you."

"Are you calling Kenzie clingy?"

"I'm calling him a great older brother, but you're not allowed to tell him that," I reply, trying my best to give the most subtle compliment without boosting his ego.

Terry turns to me, the cutest grin on his face. You could tell that he needed to hear something like that. I was exactly like his sister at one point too.

The neighborhood is packed when we get there, even though it's barely past six. It's a rich neighborhood, so we expected nothing less. The streets are lined with cars parked along the curbs, Halloween goers walking down the sidewalks.

Austin wastes no time starting his collection. Each year we go to a different rich neighborhood, solely to get double the amount of candy we would in any other neighborhood. The outlandish decorations are a plus.

"Whoppers or Maltesers?" Keith asks us.

"Maltesers," I quickly answer, and Keith nods with me in approval.

"What? Aren't they the same?" Terry asks.

"No! Maltesers are from the UK," I inform him. "And they just taste better. Whoppers are like the cheap version."

"They're actually an artificial coating. Maltesers is real milk chocolate," Keith adds.

"How would I know that? I just eat the cheap American candy I get," Terry says to us.

Austin runs over to us from his fifth house so far. Terry immediately looks into his candy bag and reaches for a Whopper.

"This is all I know," he says, waving the mini Whopper in the air. "I never got Maltesers in my trick-or-treating days."

"I don't know if they sell small versions," Keith says. "They're still better. My source: because I said so."

The three of us share the fun size Whopper and make our way to the next house. Per usual, we stand off to the side as Austin practices independence, going up and asking for candy all on his own. He used to be too shy to ask, but the past year he's been a lot more confident trying different things.

"Aw, a little Hedwig! It's like we're matching!"

At this point, my coincidence quota had reached it's all time high.

"No, I'm an owl. You're not an owl," Austin states. "But you're matching with my sister and her friends."

Austin points in our direction, and I make direct eye contact with the dark brown eyes beneath the circular glasses. Prescripted, not costume jewelry, because she really loved Harry Potter.

"That's so cool!" Jenna replies. "What kinda candy do you want? I wanna give you extra for your costume." She smiles sweetly at him, a look on her I haven't seen in a long time.

"Do you have Swedish fish? Owls like to eat fish."

"Swedish fish, no. Not a very popular candy." Jenna rummages through the basket in her arms and pulls out a fun size Trolli packet. "Will you settle for worms?"

"Yes!" Austin says excitedly. "Owls eat worms. I will take it."

"It's all yours," Jenna laughs. She triples the amount and adds another two packets to his bag. "All for you. Happy Halloween!"

"Happy Halloween!" Austin cheers. He immediately makes his way over to us to show off his candy. I look over and Jenna stands in the doorway, watching Austin from afar. We make eye contact once again, but this time I show a small smile.

Maybe it was my imagination, but in a split second, I could've sworn she smiled back.