http://spillwords.com/author/phyllispcolucci/
https://www.amazon.com/Phyllis-P.-Colucci/e/B00VMU8B44
"HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES" is a submission to Spillwords Press (Spillwords.com) for their "13 Days of Halloween" Theme - OCTOBER, 2022. This piece is a short story/prose about an Annual Halloween Dance and some High School shenanigans. Sometimes Halloween is more about the trick than the treat! Ha! - HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL! Try to grab the treats - not the tricks...
"HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES"
All Josie wanted was to finally make “Danny” her boyfriend. She wanted to be escorted by him, and only him, to the Annual Halloween Dance at their High School. She wanted to show all the popular girls at school that she was popular too. It was the event of the year, and she knew it would take a spell or a miracle for that to happen. Josie did everything within her power to grab Danny’s attention at school. He was in a few of her classes and she always managed to sit next to him, or in front of him; but he never noticed her. He never said a word to her, except to ask her if she had an extra pencil or pen, or extra change. He always eyed the other girls who dressed with short sexy dresses and plunging necklines. She could see his eyes bulge out of his head and his mouth salivate whenever they walked by. They teased him with their feminine strut, and he melted before them like butter. He was so handsome with his dark hair and blue eyes, and she knew she could never compete with the other girls. They attracted him like a magnet. Josie wished she had that effect on him, but she did not. His ego was larger than life and she knew she could never fit into his world. She always faded into the background, and it seemed he preferred she stay there. This hurt her deeply; yet, she so wanted Danny. She would play the fool for him, if that was the only way to get his attention. Unfortunately, he could care less; and asking Josie to the Annual Halloween Dance was never a thought in his head.
Josie’s Mom insisted that she dress conservatively at all times and act like a reserved young lady. She hated that. She wanted to be like the rest of the girls at school. Being like the other girls may possibly get her Danny and a date with him to the Halloween Dance. That was her hope for quite some time. However, her Mom was still in charge…How Josie hated wearing those oversized t-shirts, button-down blouses, and neatly ironed jeans - All her Mom’s idea, but certainly not hers. Sometimes she would wear a pair of fitted dress pants her Mom bought for her, that had unknown tags sewn on the inside; but never a designer label. Never! - Her shoes were plain old flats that weren’t even made of leather. The only thing Josie felt she had going for her was that she was as thin as the other girls, had decent boobs, long blonde hair and hazel eyes, and wore trendy eyeglasses; still, not enough to get Danny’s attention. Perhaps hiding behind a seductive witch’s costume might do the trick, if she could only have that date with Danny to the Halloween Dance. Maybe then he would notice her.
Halloween was approaching, and it scared her. She felt sick inside thinking about spending the night of the Halloween Dance home alone again, amongst Halloween decorations and marshmallow ghosts. She had nightmares about it. It was the same old song. Josie would spend that special night at home, with no date, crying into her pillow, while Danny was at the dance with some other glamorous girl - or girls...and Josie - well she would just stay locked away in her room indulging in self-pity, as her parents and two smaller brothers sat around the kitchen table talking and giggling, while joyously preparing Halloween candy bags for the trick-or-treaters who would be stopping by in a few days…These thoughts turned her stomach and pierced her heart. When she finally fell asleep this evening, she had an interesting dream that would change her world by tomorrow.
Once morning came, Josie eagerly walked to school as usual, but stopped off at the specialty bakery along the way. She saw the most delectable Halloween cupcakes ever. She thought about her dream last night and put the magic to the test. She dreamt that she bought Halloween cupcakes for Danny and anonymously left them on his desk in one of their shared classes. Josie felt this was an omen, since she had heard that Danny loved cupcakes. He loved all kinds of cupcakes. She wanted him to love these cupcakes, especially since her Mom always told her “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. She never cared much for her Mom’s old- fashioned words and ideas, but this morning she cared deeply. Everything from her dream, to the bakery, to her Mom’s words, felt right. Only she planned on adding a special something to this Halloween treat…and that she did! Danny was in for an unusual Halloween surprise; a magical spell that would rock his world. Josie was ready to put on her gorgeous, “imaginary”, witch’s hat this morning to do her thing. It was time for Josie to act if Danny chose not to.
…So she ordered a half dozen super huge, bright orange Halloween cupcakes, with chocolate frosting. Each cupcake had a special word going across the center, written with candy corn. She bought two that said “love”, two that said “kisses” and two that said “hugs”. The inside of the box was lined with orange tissue paper, and the lady behind the counter pushed a little flag on a toothpick into each cupcake, that read “Halloween Dreams”; then she carefully placed each cupcake into a pastel-colored, orange box, with the name of the bakery etched across the top. She tied the box up with a bright orange ribbon and handed it to Josie. Josie paid for the cupcakes, thanked the lady, and then rushed off to school so she could arrive there early and leave the cupcakes on Danny’s desk without anyone seeing. She wanted only the best for her Danny, and the best was yet to come!
Ahhhh…Yes! - Mission accomplished! Josie found herself sitting in the classroom by herself, patiently awaiting the others - especially Danny – to enter the room and take their seats. Her heart was beating faster and faster in anticipation of Danny’s reaction when he found the box of these special Halloween cupcakes on his desk. All of a sudden the students entered one by one, and took their seats. Danny soon followed appearing confident and smiling, as always. When he spotted the box of cupcakes on his desk, he quietly looked around the room at all of his glamorous young ladies who he often referred to as “arm candy”, and hoped someone would say something to him. No one had noticed him, however. No one knew what was going on, except Josie. She sat back with a smile on her face and just watched things play out. Danny ran his fingers through his thick dark hair, and arrogantly looked around the room one more time for answers. No one looked back. Danny sheepishly sank back into his chair and remained silent, as he tried to hide his bruised ego. He placed the box of cupcakes under his desk, until class was over.
When the bell rang, Danny remained behind as everyone else ran past him, eager to get to their next class. Each girl he ogled paid him no mind at all. Josie did, however, as she remained behind as well to enjoy this moment. She knew he would ask her for the small scissors she carried in her bookbag so he could cut the bright orange ribbon from the box. He was so predictable; never fully prepared for much, but always had his school books, thankfully. Josie loved that about him. He was a typical male and he needed her help most times in class. She handed him the scissors, and the self-absorbed Danny cut the ribbon off the box without uttering a simple “thank you” to Josie. He dismissed her presence as usual, yet she would always come back for more…and more…and more! Poor Josie! Or is it, poor Danny?
Danny opened the box and eyed each huge, delectable Halloween cupcake, but shook his head. His curiosity was stronger than his love of cupcakes today. Josie asked, “What do you have there, Danny?” Danny quickly turned to Josie and said, “I guess one of the ladies in this class has a major crush on me. I love cupcakes. Wish I knew who left these for me. Do you have any idea, Josie?” Josie responded, “Sorry Danny. I do not keep track of your secret admirers. Maybe they left a note somewhere in the box?” Danny lifted each cupcake, disappointed that no note was to be found. He wondered hard on who might have left the Halloween cupcakes for him. His ego needed to know as well.
Danny picked up the one that said “Love” and bit into it, as he licked his lips like a little boy. He didn’t even offer Josie a cupcake – or even a tiny bite of his. Not even a crumb. She expected as much. As she walked out of the room she said, “Danny, I do know who left you those cupcakes. I was sworn to secrecy, until you have devoured each one of them. Once you have eaten all the cupcakes, give me a call tonight and I will reveal your secret admirer to you.” Danny said, “Really? Okay, I’ll call you tonight Josie…Yummy. These are great!” – She gave Danny her cell phone number as he grabbed his books, and the box of cupcakes, and ran to his next class. Again, not even a simple “thank you” to poor Josie.
When Josie got home after school, she ran upstairs and pulled out a beautiful black sequined witch’s costume, which she purchased online. It was a sparkling, form-fitting, ankle-length dress; a black lace witch’s hat and black patent leather stilettos. She was prepared for the Annual Halloween Dance at school. This year, she would attend proudly and beautifully. All eyes would be on her. She would be “The Belle of the Ball”…As she tried on the costume, and admired herself in the mirror, her witch’s spell was now in motion…Ahhh… Her cell phone rang. It was Danny.
Danny was screaming into the phone like a crazy man. He yelled, “Josie! I ate all the Halloween cupcakes as you asked! I am sick as a dog! I can’t leave the house tonight because I have to stay close to a bathroom! I have a date! What’s going on here? What’s in those cupcakes? – and who is my secret admirer? The Devil?” Josie held the phone away from her face and chuckled silently. She said, “Oh poor Danny, I can’t imagine what happened. Maybe the icing was bad? I don’t know what to say. So sorry about that. All I can tell you is your secret admirer is someone you never asked to attend the Annual Halloween Dance with you. She is someone you have always ignored, yet used her when you were in a bind in class. She told me you treated her as if she was beneath you. I cannot give you her name. You will have to figure that one out for yourself.” Danny said, “You’re nuts Josie! This is a sick game you and your friends are playing! This secret admirer could be any girl in the school for all I know. There are lots of girls I didn’t ask to the Halloween Dance, and lots of girls I ignored. That’s me! That’s just the way it is!” Josie replied, “Exactly Danny. Hope you enjoyed your special Halloween cupcakes. Sorry you can’t make your date tonight. I hope you feel better in the morning. I guess you fell for the trick and not the treat, dear boy. Nighty-night.”
Josie, quite proud of herself, hung up the phone and decided it was time to call “Steven”; an admirer from school. Steven had asked her out on a date several times and just recently asked her to the Annual Halloween Dance. Unfortunately, she turned him down every time, because she judged his looks as harshly as Danny judged hers. Tonight she came to the realization that handsome and sexy wasn’t always the answer to her dreams. Steven was plain, nice-looking, conservative, quiet, sweet, kind, polite – and wore trendy glasses like she did. So she picked up the phone and called him. She accepted his offer to take her to this year’s Halloween Dance. He was ecstatic, and Josie was so glad he still wanted to take her. They spent the next few hours chatting on the phone and truly getting to know each other. They laughed, they talked and joined hearts, as they planned their big Halloween date to the Annual Halloween Dance.
Tonight she and Steven both enjoyed a Halloween treat as Josie left her awful Halloween tricks behind her. She actually found the boy of her dreams - without an ego…After she got off the phone with Steven, she hung up her witch’s costume and placed it in the closet until the time of the Halloween Dance, and then dressed for bed. She closed her eyes with a smile upon her lips and whispered, “Happy Halloween Danny. I hope it’s one you will never forget. Perhaps I’ll see you at the Dance. I’ll bring the cupcakes!” Josie giggled, as she could never look at “Halloween Cupcakes” the same way ever again, and she was sure Danny would not either… Such Sweet Halloween revenge!
