Stirring Up Trouble Read online

  “Famine,” Milo answered. “Wow. Things could get really ugly.”

  “Not for us,” I muttered. If only I were as confident as I pretended. As far as actually surviving Halloween night, I just wasn’t so sure.

  With our plans intact, we ordered a movie off pay per view and got comfy on the couch. We were on our third movie in a row when I asked him if he’d seen the Zac Efron movie yet.

  He didn’t answer.

  I looked over to see that he’d fallen asleep on the couch. It was weird seeing him sleep. Sleep was such a private thing. I kept sneaking glances at him until the movie ended. For some reason, I felt this tug of affection for him. I couldn’t tell if it was sisterly or not. Finally, I left him on the couch and went up to bed.

  Mom didn’t let me ditch school on Monday. I had a chemistry test which I’d studied for on Friday night. It was a good thing too, because that exam was murder.

  Milo swore he’d be fine hanging out at the house alone. He promised my mother he’d do something constructive for at least two hours. He’d brought some books with the work he was missing, but I really doubted he opened them.

  When I walked in the house with Jake that afternoon, Milo called, “Hi honey, how was your day!”

  Jake tensed beside me.

  I laughed at Milo sacked out on the couch. “Have you been there since I left?”

  “No. I went for a run earlier.” His eyes were glassy like he’d been watching television for hours.

  “Were you watching soap operas?”

  “No.” Milo glanced at Jake. “I wasn’t.”

  Jake laughed because Milo totally acted guilty. “I can’t stay long. I have to help Mom and John with the party decorations.”

  I blanched at the thought of the party.

  “We’ve got work to do on our costumes,” Milo said. “We just might have a few surprises ourselves.”

  I mouthed “Good idea,” to Milo. It couldn’t hurt to have Jake expecting something weird. He just might get it. I was really glad Milo was in town. He had my back.

  Tuesday night, Milo looked fabulous in his rented prince costume. My chubby little friend really had grown into his...everything.

  “It’s kind of redundant though,” Milo said as he placed the hat on my head. “You already are a witch.”

  “Technically, we aren’t.” We didn’t use dark magic or spirits. We just used our magical gifts.

  “Give it up, Zoe. We stopped fighting that label centuries ago. For all practical purposes, we are witches.”

  “Whatever. How do I look?”

  Milo stood back and studied me. “Kind of dull actually. A hat and a dress. Are you sure we can’t risk a wand or some makeup?”

  I shook my head. “No way. It’s not worth it. I’ll just have to be dull. Besides, you look wonderful. I’m sure Anya will have trouble keeping her hands off you.”

  Milo gulped. “Maybe I should be the boring witch.”

  “You can’t begin to be this boring,” I teased. “Plus, she’ll be panting after you regardless.”

  “True.” Milo held out his arm. “Would you give this prince the honor of escorting you to the party?”

  With an exaggerated giggle, I took his arm. “Why prince, I thought you’d never ask.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  When Dad, Milo, and I got to the party, it was already hopping. We had to park a block away.

  Milo helped me out like a gentleman.

  “I wish you didn’t have to do this, Zoe.” Dad adjusted his Darth Vader mask and wiped some lint off the long dark cloak.

  “It’ll be fine,” I assured him. I held Milo’s arm for courage as we walked down the leaf-strewn sidewalk.

  Milo spotted Anya standing by the gate before I did. “You didn’t tell me she was coming as a princess.”

  “Oh, didn’t I?” I braved a look at him. “You just looked so great in the costume. And I knew she’d bother you even if you weren’t a prince.” I hung my head going for ashamed. “So, I didn’t tell you.”

  Her tiara sparkling in the moonlight, Anya danced out onto the sidewalk. “My Prince Charming has arrived at last!”

  “You betrayed me,” he hissed. “Kill me,” Milo mumbled so only I could hear. “Kill me now.”

  “I would if I could.” I had to admit Anya’s costume really flattered her figure. With a beautiful silk ball gown, how could you go wrong?

  “Wow, Mr. Miller, you look great.” Anya waved the glitter-covered wand with a star on the end that I thought was a little much. “And you’re a witch, Zoe?” She sighed. “At least you didn’t come as a doctor.” Turning to Milo, she added, “That wouldn’t really count as a costume because she really is going to be a doctor.”

  “She’s a real witch, too,” Milo said.

  Thank goodness she thought he was referring to me as a witch in the sense of starting with capital “B”. I smacked him hard on the arm anyway.

  “Oh, you are terrible.” Anya giggled. “I guess you’re getting a little tired of being with Zoe all the time. You can hang with me tonight.”

  Somehow, Dad had broken loose from our dysfunctional group and was heading up the steps.

  Spotlights in the yard illuminated the spider webs draped over the porch and windows. The spooky façade of the formerly cute house and the ghostly sounds coming from the shadows brought a grin to Milo’s face.

  “This is going to be awesome,” he said with the enthusiasm of a boy who’d missed out on a lot of Halloween parties.

  “We’ll just see about that,” I muttered.

  As soon as we walked through the front door, a cloud of fog enveloped us.

  A pirate with a mustache and a faded red bandana on his head moved toward me. I just had time to think he was way cuter than Johnny Depp, and cleaner, when he bowed and took my hand.

  “Jake!”

  “Yes, my pretty little witch.” He winked and patted his toy sword. “It’s me.”

  “You look great!” I hugged him, avoiding the sword, and then took another look at him. “Are you wearing eyeliner?”

  Jake coughed and his cheeks turned red. “Shhh. My mom bribed me with the X-box game of my choice.”

  God, he was adorable. “It was worth it. You look hot.” I wouldn’t have thought he’d look good with long dark hair, especially with the little braids, but he did.

  The gold hoop on his left ear bobbed when he tilted his head. “How hot?”

  This time, I blushed.

  Jake said ‘hi’ to Milo and Anya.

  Then, a very convincing Cruella De Vil appeared. Jake’s mom had really gone all out.

  “Welcome to the party, Zoe.” Her stiff half-white, half-black hair didn’t move as she hugged me.

  “Thanks, Sheree. Nice costume.”

  After I assured Sheree that Jake also looked fabulous, Jake dragged me and Milo past the other party guests and into the kitchen for soft drinks. The table and counters were covered with goodies, and my dad had taken off his Darth Vader mask to munch on a caramel apple.

  I slowly, cautiously fished a cold Coke out of a giant witch’s cauldron, passed on the chocolate eyeballs in the skeleton’s head, and spared one longing look for the bowl of candy corn. Yum.

  “Sweet.” Milo grabbed a handful of Starbursts.

  A song came on that sounded familiar.

  “Bobby Boris Picket,” my dad said. “The Monster Mash.”

  “I love this song.” Sheree danced a little and the stuffed Dalmatians she’d pinned to her red cloak bounced around. The hair still didn’t move.

  I looked for a path of escape but several groups of party guests had crowded into the kitchen to grab some snacks.

  The song wound down, and I thought we were safe. The next song was my least favorite of all time.

  “It was Halloween,” the speakers blared. “We ran out of gasoline.”

  “I hate this song,” I said, turning away from Dad and Sheree who kept dancing.

  “Me too,” Milo said. “Too cree
py.” Then he chimed in as the song continued, “It was a murder scene.”

  I flinched and braced myself. Milo paled. Dad looked frantically around the room.

  A dozen bats appeared in the kitchen. They flew furiously around us.

  I don’t know who shrieked loudest over the frantic flapping of wings, but I think it was my dad.

  I ducked under the kitchen table.

  Dad opened the back door, and they headed out into the darkness.

  “What the—” Sheree said, adjusting the wig she’d finally shaken loose in the excitement.

  “Sorry,” Dad said. “It was supposed to be a surprise. I thought,” he said, turning to Sheree, “you’d like it?”

  “Wow, Dad! That was so cool.” I had to try to help him.

  Milo jumped in too. “You rock, Mr. M. That really scared me.”

  Jake didn’t sound so sure. “Are you okay, Mom?”

  “Fine,” Sheree said with a feeble smile. “I wanted the scariest party ever, didn’t I?”

  “You’re the greatest, Dad.” And I meant that too.

  Anya popped into the kitchen. I guessed she’d greeted her admiring public and come back to stalk Milo.

  “C’mon guys,” Jake said with one last glance at his mother. “I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

  “Jake, who did you invite?” Anya asked as if she didn’t have enough adoring subjects.

  “Just Camille and the guys. Mostly it’s Mom’s friends.” He led up the stairs motioning to the walls. “Mom wants us to vote on the worst Halloween candy.”

  I looked at the orange and black wrappers on the wall. “I hate that peanut butter stuff.”

  “No,” Jake said, motioning to the licorice. “That stuff is just gross.”

  Glow-in-the-dark decorations covered the upstairs hallway leading to Jake’s room. He hadn’t decorated his room for the party, so Milo got to see my mother’s handiwork.

  “You need to be more careful,” I hissed to Milo.

  “Thanks.” He straightened his crown in Jake’s mirror. “I figured that out for myself.”

  “Nice picture,” Milo said, pointing to a photo on Jake’s mirror.

  Not just any picture, but the one of us at Dollywood. My heart did this funny little thump-thump, and I turned to Jake.

  He glanced down and then met my eyes. If we were alone, I would have kissed him right then and there.

  “Hey guys,” Camille called, coming through the door from the hall. Kent, dressed as Anakin Skywalker, followed.

  It took me a minute to realize what she was dressed as.

  “You look great Camille,” Jake said. “But shouldn’t you be Amidala instead of Princess Leia? Otherwise, you’re on a date with your father.”

  Milo and Anya cracked up.

  With a frown, Camille said, “They were out of Amidala costumes.”

  “How’d you get those buns on the side of your head?” Anya stepped closer for a better look.

  Camille swatted her away. “It’s a hairpiece. It came with the costume.”

  They sure had jumped into the whole couple thing quickly. Last month, they weren’t even dating. Now, they wore coordinating costumes. Well, almost.

  The situation was really weird. Usually, Anya had the boyfriend and Camille and I tagged along. Unfortunately, Anya was directing her newfound single status at pestering Milo.

  “You’re crown’s a little crooked,” she said, and tried to straighten it.

  “I like it crooked,” Milo said, but he was forced to stand there for her ministrations.

  “Wow,” Camille said. “I love the prince and princess thing. Did you guys plan that?”

  “No,” Milo snapped. “We didn’t.”

  I couldn’t help smiling. “Come on downstairs, Anya. We can see if anyone new has shown up.”

  Her face brightened. “Good idea.”

  Downstairs, Sheree had taken a break from her hostessing duties to dance with my dad. A slow dance. For some reason, seeing that was almost worse than catching them kissing. And spotting me watching didn’t make them stop.

  I stumbled as the realtor couple bumped into me. They were trying to dance, but their house boxes didn’t make it easy.

  “Sorry,” they said. “Maybe next year, we’ll just come as For Sale signs.”

  Or people, I thought. But I didn’t say anything.

  I felt a hand on my waist and turned to find Jake.

  “My grandmother’s here. I want you to meet her.” He motioned toward the other side of the room.

  His grandmother looked cute in a flapper dress. She was very nice.

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Zoe. I’ve met your father a few times. He’s such a dear.”

  A few times? I smiled and concentrated on making her like me. “I love your costume.”

  She reached up to smooth her hair. “Thank you. I like to see a young lady in a sensible outfit.” She smiled warmly. “So many of those costumes are indecent.”

  My drab costume couldn’t be any more decent.

  She turned to Jake. “Although, I must say, makeup looks fabulous on my grandson.”

  I laughed at Jake’s discomfort.

  “This headband is driving me crazy,” she said. “Jake, aren’t you going to dance with your friend?”

  Unfortunately, Milo and Anya joined us then so we couldn’t dance. It wasn’t like we’d get any privacy at the crowded party anyway.

  My toughest moment came an hour later when Jake’s grandmother asked me to bring her some punch. Dad wasn’t anywhere close, and Anya was distracting Milo again.

  I’d just met the petite woman, and I wanted her to like me.

  “Wouldn’t you rather have a soft drink?” I asked. “Or some water?”

  “No, dear. I love Sheree’s punch.” She patted my hand. “Will you bring me a cup?”

  “I’ll be happy to,” I said as I frantically searched for someone to help me. Scooping out punch could be a fiasco.

  Because punch didn’t come straight out of a can. His mother had mixed juice and sherbet and stuff to make it.

  I walked towards the punch bowl and turned to see if Jake’s grandmother was still watching me. She was.

  Of course.

  Helplessly, I continued on my journey, past the realtor couple dressed as houses, past the vampire from next door, and past Jake’s uncle who’d dressed in a toga for some reason.

  Still no sign of my dad or Milo.

  I chanced one more look at Jake’s grandmother. She was still watching, fingering the long strand of beads around her neck.

  I reached for a cup. Timidly, I picked up the dipper. I poured the punch gently into the cup.After turning slowly, I took several steps toward the elderly lady.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  On my fourth step, a roar filled the room and a gaping vortex opened in the living room wall. The nearby decorations were sucked into the spiral and disappeared.

  “Dad!” I shouted.

  No one was close enough to be hurt, but I was pretty sure from the shouts and gaping stares that everyone had noticed.

  A couple of Jake’s friends started to approach the phenomenon.

  “No!” My dad yelled as he entered the room. “It’s dangerous.”

  “Cool, Mr. Miller,” Anya said, coming up behind me. “How’d you do that?”

  “Is this the last surprise?” Sheree asked in a shaky voice, close on Dad’s heels.

  “Yes. It’s a, um, complex blend of light, mirrors, and chemicals, guys. You can’t touch it until the half life, about ten hours.”

  Sheree frowned. “It’ll be like this for ten hours?”

  “Is there really a hole in the wall?” Anya asked.

  “No.” My dad pulled out his reassuring voice. “That would be crazy.” He came up to me and took the punch glass.

  “For Jake’s grandmother,” I whispered.

  Dad delivered the drink to the slightly shaken older woman. Her flapper headba
nd had gone askew.

  Then he returned to my side. “Call your mother to pick you guys up. I’ll run interference here.”

  While the party guests admired my dad’s impressive work, I slipped away to call Mom.

  I told Milo we’d be going soon. Then I located Jake for some goodbye time.

  “I wanted to show you the back yard.”

  “That’s right. I haven’t said hello to Indiana yet.”

  “Not just that.” He took my hand.

  Indiana, looking one-hundred percent back to normal, greeted us effusively at the side gate. Then we went in, and he followed us to the back yard.

  The moonlight illuminated a cluster of gravestones.

  “You made a cemetery?”

  Jake grinned. “Cool, isn’t it? I worked on it all day Sunday. Of course, it can’t compete with your father’s black hole, or whatever.”

  “It looks real.” I shivered. “It’s creepy.”

  “Well, if you’re scared, maybe I should put my arm around you.”

  “I’m not—” Duh. “I am scared. Very scared. Save me, brave pirate.”

  He put his arms around me and was about to kiss me.

  A rustling behind a gravestone caught our attention.

  Indiana ran over there and barked twice.

  Camille and Kent emerged, looking sheepish.

  “Hi, Zoe.” Camille gave me a weak wave. “We were just heading in to get more punch.”

  Even in the dim light, Kent’s red face was apparent. Jake started laughing.

  “Who’d have thought there’d be so much romance in a graveyard?” I teased.

  We waited until they rounded the corner of the house.

  Then Jake pulled me close and kissed me.

  And I kissed him back with the knowledge that all was right with the world.

  Except for the vortex in the living room.

  With any luck, I’d have the toad slime substitution perfected by Thanksgiving. I had the perfect boyfriend, and Halloween wouldn’t come again for another year.

  If only I could keep from stirring up more trouble in the meantime.

  Footsteps crunched through the leaves, and we pulled apart to see Anya at the side of the house, her tiara glittering as it caught light from the windows.