Chapter Three: The Girl Next Door

            The conversation with Tank was fruitful.  He had adroitly avoided answering questions about himself by utilizing his quick wit, but he had informed Stephenie, Holly, and Jessica that Mass Defect was running for a couple weeks after Halloween and could use their help.  The ladies were excited about getting paid to wear costumes and scare people, even if it didn’t pay much and was only for a few weeks.  But for Stephenie, as she listened to Bradley, or Tank rather, she had to admit there was an additional reason for her excitement.

            “Think about it,” Tank said, continuing his story.  “Jesus promised the end of all wicked people.  Odin promised the end of all ice giants.  I don’t see many ice giants around.  Do you?”

            The girls all laughed irreverently.  Tank seemed to be a natural fit, despite his guarded behavior.

            “You’re going to hell by the way,” Stephenie giggled to Tank.

            “The only part that bothers me about hell," he said mockingly while motioning to the girls, "is that I might see all you there."

            They laughed and talked a while longer until finally it was time to go.

            “It was nice meeting all of you!” Stephenie shouted.  “Goodbye, Tank.  Bye, Jessica!  Bye, Holly!”

The new friends said their goodbyes, and with their phone numbers already exchanged, it was time to part ways.

            Jessica and Holly walked to their stellar blue van, the Normandy, and drove home.  As they rode, Holly gazed quietly out the window, noticing the beautiful silhouettes the palm trees made in the dark night.  Tonight had gone fantastically.  Her costume was a huge success, she had a new job lined up, and tomorrow was Halloween—but more specifically, tomorrow was the Monster Massive costume competition.  And with this year’s secret costume, she might just win.

            Nearing home, Jessica turned the van around the corner and into her neighborhood.  She and Holly gasped.  In front of them was a horde of men frantically chasing a lone girl.  Even with their windows up, Holly and Jessica could hear a strange yelping noise coming from outside.  As Jessica drove closer, she realized the noise was coming from the girl’s throat.  Was she yelling for help in some peculiar, frightened way?

            Before they could offer assistance, the girl dashed across the street, heading straight for the house next to Jessica’s.  The boys were not far behind her, still desperately trying to catch her.  One of them was close enough that he reached out to grab the girl, but before he could make contact, the door slammed in front of him.  His hand rammed into the unyielding door and he screamed in pain.  He shook his hand to ease the throbbing and glared angrily at the closed door.  The pursuit now over, the caravan of men dejectedly shuffled off and abandoned their prey.

            Holly and Jessica looked at each other puzzled.

            “What was that all about?” Jessica asked bewildered.

            “I have no idea,” Holly said, also confused.  “She must’ve just moved in though.”  Holly pointed to an orange moving van parked directly in front of the house.  “Looks like you’ve got a new neighbor.”

            Jessica nodded in agreement.

            “Hey, I’m going to head home,” Holly declared.  “Thanks for coming with me to the haunted house.”

            “It was fun.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            Holly exited the Normandy and walked to her own car.  Jessica pulled inside her garage and docked the Normandy.  She spit out her pineapple-flavored bubble gum into an old wrapper.  Tomorrow was a big day, and it was time to get some rest.

***

The afternoon was surprisingly warm and sunny for the end of October.  Holly waved to Jessica as she walked onto Jessica’s front lawn.  Jessica waved back, her body stretched out on a lawn chair.  She was capitalizing on the good weather, soaking up as much of the California sun while she could.  A perfect skin tone was essential to complement her perfect hair, after all.

Together the girls walked inside and into Jessica’s kitchen, where Jessica promptly began slicing apart a fresh pineapple. 

“I have some bagels in the bread box if you’d like one,” Jessica offered.

“You do?  I completely ran out this morning.”  Holly greedily reached for a bagel.  She took a bite and groaned.  Heaven.  Now if only she had some coffee to go with it.  “So what’s with that girl?  The girl next door?”

“The one that got away?”  Jessica asked before placing a slice of ripe pineapple in her mouth.  “From those boys?”

“Yeah.”

“Her name is Hilary,” Jessica stated, slowly chewing the tasty pineapple.  “She’s a writer, but she makes costumes too.  I met her this morning.”

“Really?  We should invite her over sometime.”

“She might be free now.  I’ll introduce you.”

            Together they walked to Hilary’s house and rang the doorbell. 

            “Jessica!” the blonde-haired girl who answered the door screamed happily.  “Please, come in.”

            Holly and Jessica entered Hilary’s new home and took a seat on the couch in the living room.  Hilary’s long blonde hair cascaded delicately past her shoulders, her eyes a dazzling blue.  When she smiled, she revealed a set of perfectly-aligned white teeth. 

            “This is my friend Holly,” Jessica said by way of introduction.

            “Good to meet you,” Hilary said.  “And please, don’t mind me.” She put a silver spoon into a bowl on the coffee table.  “I’m just having lunch.  After all, it’s good for the soul,” she added, pointing to the chicken noodle soup in front of her.

            Holly smiled.  “Your place looks great.  I can hardly tell you just moved in.”

            “Thanks, but God I hate moving,” Hilary confessed.  “Packing everything up and moving is annoying enough, and then you’ve got to unpack it!”

            “Looks like you’re about finished,” Holly noticed, motioning to the near-perfect living room.

            “Thankfully,” Hilary said and sighed in relief.  “I have a few boxes more, but I’ll do those later.”

            “I meant to ask you earlier this morning,” Jessica finally inquired, “what happened last night?  And what was that weird yelping noise?”

            “I didn’t know what else to do,” Hilary explained.  “I was hoping someone would run outside to investigate and help me.  Luckily I reached my house before they could catch me.”

            Holly still did not understand.  “Who were those guys?”

            “Oh, those are my exes.  They do that every time I move,” she said nonchalantly.

            Holly and Jessica exchanged a quizzical look.

            Jessica turned to face Hilary.  “And that seems…normal to you?” she asked carefully.

            “It’s not normal, but by now I’ve become accustomed to it.  They’ve been chasing me for years.  You’d think getting married would put an end to it, but apparently not.”

            “You’re married?” Holly asked suddenly, somewhat surprised a girl her age was already settled down.

            “We’re newlyweds!” she said cheerfully.  “My husband Dave and I bought this place a week ago and moved in yesterday.”

            “That’s great!” Holly congratulated her.

            “Hilary,” Jessica said, a thought suddenly occurring to her.  “We’re going to the Monster Massive Halloween party tonight here in L.A.  There will be judges giving away awards for the best costumes.  It’s a pretty big deal.  You and your husband should come with us.”

            Hilary smiled brightly, her blue eyes sparkling.  “I’ll think about,” she promised.