Page 26 of Make You Mine

“A haunted house it is!” Principal Schultz announces.

All of us nod, while some let out sounds of approval. Everyone except Mr. Broadsmith, who groans.

“It’s decided, then. We don’t have much time left, though. So we’ll have to work hard to make it happen. Starting with the items we’ll need to decorate the place.”

“Such as?” Regina takes out a small notepad and a pen, ready to write everything down.

Principal Schultz stares at Kayden. “Mr. A’gosto?”

Kayden’s mouth opens and closes. “B-Black…stuff?”

I hold back from bursting into laughter. He did not think that one through.

“What kind of black stuff?” I ask. “There are so many black things.”

Hannah eyes me, a smile painted on her red lips. A big black dildo, she mouths, and I almost die.

Composing myself, I continue. “Fabric, maybe? We could use it to cover the walls and halls, make it a bit dark and macabre.”

Kayden grits his teeth. “Yep. That’s obviously what I meant. And…” He pauses. “Other Halloween-like prompts, to decorate the halls. Some costumes for the teachers to dress up and scare the students. We can pop up from our respective classrooms.”

“Perfect,” Principal Schultz says. “I’m thinking we can utilize both levels of the school for the haunted house. I’m visualizing a sort of dark maze.”

“We could keep the reception family-friendly,” Regina suggests. “We’ll add some snacks to the front desk and have the ticket box there as well.”

“Sounds good.” The principal agrees while Regina jots everything down. “So, I’m taking both you, Miss, and Mr. A’gosto will take care of the decorations for this haunted house?” He turns to us again.

I open my mouth to complain. I never agreed to take on that role, let alone with Kayden.

“You can both pick a day this week and leave before your last period so you can get to the shops on time. We’ll cover your classes. I’m guessing it won’t be hard to find fabric, but I’m not sure what your idea is for Halloween prompts this time of year.”

“I know a place,” Kayden interjects. “Can we use that early leaving pass today?”

Principal Schultz purses his lips. “Oh. Sure.”

“We’ll do it.” Kayden doesn’t allow me time to refuse.

“Great. It’s settled then.”

“Okay, so there’s that. Now we need to assign everyone else roles,” Regina says, scribbling down unknown things in her notepad. “We’re going to have a long week.”

“We’ll volunteer to fill up the snacks table,” Martha and Berta say in unison.

“I’ll draw some flyers to put up and share on social media,” Hannah, who is our art teacher, suggests.

“Perfect.” Regina smiles.

“I’ve got such an efficient team.” Principal Schultz folds his arms in pride. “What else is left?”

“The costumes for the teachers,” Hannah volunteers. “I can do that, too. We can go simple and get masks and black gowns.”

“Works for me,” Kayden says.

“And someone will have to chaperone the students,” Mr. Broadsmith adds, wanting to feel relevant. “I can do it. And Regina, darling, you could, too.”

“Sounds right,” Regina says. She doesn’t quite smile at him.

“Yeah, we don’t want them to get a heart attack from us being too scary,” Ethan jokes.