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!
