Chapter Five: Monster Massive

With Stephenie and Tank’s help, unloading was easy.  Now the two were mingling in the audience while Jessica and Holly waited backstage with the other contestants, all eager to unveil the costumes they created.

The place was packed, and Holly was reminded of the crowded lines at the Mass Defect haunted house.  Perhaps she would meet someone interesting tonight.  Hopefully someone cute.

It then donned on her she didn’t get one boy’s number from the haunted house.  Tank had effectively scared away all of her admirers when he fell from oblivion and landed in his terrifying Krogan costume.  Technically she got Tank’s number, but since he and Steph seemed to share a mutual interest in each other, he didn’t count.  What was the point of going to a haunted house if it didn’t yield any prospects? 

A jolt ripped through her shoulder as someone bumped into her.

“Pardon me,” said a voice.  It was a boy wearing green Halo Spartan armor.  He removed his helmet, revealing jet black hair and smoky eyes.  Well, well.

“Sorry, this helmet makes it hard to see,” he apologized smoothly.  “I’m Jack.  Is that your costume?”  He pointed to the enormous Lady of Pain.

“It is,” Holly replied.  Speaking of prospects, she thought to herself.

“I’m impressed.  I thought I had a shot at winning tonight, but after seeing your costume, I’m not so sure,” he said pleasantly and grinned at her.  Holly grinned back.  Damn right.

 “So…” she said, her nerves beginning to fire.  “You live around L.A?”

“Right in Glendale.”

Holly celebrated inwardly.  He lived nearby. 

“How long have you been making costumes?” he asked as he smoothed back his dark hair.

“Almost all my life.  My first costume was taping a pillow to my back and pretending to be a Koopa Troopa.”

Jack laughed.  Holly was glad he found her remark amusing.

They talked a while longer, discussing costumes they’d made, the various contests they’d entered, and how they spent their time when they weren’t costuming.  The two had a fair amount in common, and conversation came easily.

“Hey, I’ve gotta jet,” Jack suddenly announced, hearing his name called. “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck!” Holly told him.  “But I want first place!”

Jack laughed, replaced his helmet, and walked toward the stage.

“Gross,” Jessica said once he was out of ear shot.  “‘Hi, I’m Holly.  I think you’re great, Jack,’” she said in mock imitation.  “‘Hi, I’m Jack and I think you’re hot stuff, Hol.’  God, for a second there I thought I’d have to hide inside your costume to avoid feeling sick to my stomach.”

“Whatever,” Holly said, visibly annoyed.

“Ohhh, does somebody have a cruuush?  You wuv him, don’t you, Holly?”  teased Jessica, enjoying herself tremendously.

“Shut up!” was all Holly countered.  Jessica knew her too well.  Pretending she wasn’t interested would be pointless.  She was excited she met Jack.  Why deny it?

At that moment a girl approached them, putting an end to the mocking.

            “You’ll be on in ten minutes,” the polite young woman told Holly and Jessica.  Her brown hair was short and she wore dark-rimmed glasses.  Behind the glasses shone two brown, intelligent eyes.  Were it not for the playful lip ring, Holly would’ve assumed the refined young woman was some kind of physicist rather than a stage director.

“Ten minutes?  I have just enough time,” remarked Jessica.  “I’ll be back.”

Jessica walked away abruptly, leaving just Holly and the director.

“I love your costume,” she said, indicating the gigantic Lady of Pain.

“Thank you,” Holly replied.  “I’m Holly.  I take it you’re the director?”

“I am.  My name is Lizzy, Lizzy Maier,” she introduced herself.  “I tend to work behind the scenes, but I love my job.  I wish there were more costume contests in L.A.”

Holly smiled.  She had said the same thing herself on many occasions.

 “What the heck, Maier?” a stage manager bellowed in the distance.  “Send the next contestant!”

            “Right away!”  Lizzy yelled back, then turned to face Holly.  “I’ve got to work, but it was nice meeting you.  I hope to see you again sometime.”

            “Likewise,” Holly replied sincerely and watched Lizzy leave to send out the next competitor.  That meant she and Jessica were next. 

            Several minutes later Jessica returned.  “You have no idea how awkward it is to pee in this thing,” she declared, flapping her black robe about her.  “I should’ve gone before we got here.”

            Holly ignored her comment.  “Perfect timing, Jess. We’re up next.  Let’s get closer to the stage.”  She carefully stepped into her Lady of Pain costume and moved closer. 

“All set?” Jessica asked as they arrived.  Holly nodded before disappearing completely into the Lady’s robes.  Jessica gripped her staff anxiously, her eyes lingering on the Lady’s expressionless face.  It looked serene, displaying no indication of anything like nervousness or fear.  Taking a cue from the Lady, she steadied herself.  When the director called her name, she walked boldly onto the stage.

Chapter Four: The Lady of Halloween

Holly and Jessica ogled at Hilary’s wedding ring before saying goodbye.  The diamond was beautiful.  It was large, brilliantly cut, and it sparkled almost as much as Hilary’s eyes. 

The two walked quickly back to Jessica’s to finalize their plans for the day.  Monster Massive was tonight, on this most holy day of All Hallows’ Eve, and they had a costume contest to win.

“We need to put your makeup on in my garage,” Holly told Jessica. “And I’ll need your help loading my costume in the Normandy.”  She paused.  “Come to think of it, why did I come over here at all?  You should’ve met me at my apartment.”

Jessica shrugged.  “That would’ve been a better idea than you driving to my place for no reason.”

Holly and Jessica looked at each other bewildered.  Talk about an oversight.  Oh well, what’s done was done.

“I’ll call Stephenie and Tank and tell them to meet us at my place,” Holly said.  “Before I came over they offered to help us get ready for tonight.”

“That’s really cool of them,” Jessica acknowledged.  She was rarely impressed by others, but Tank’s and Stephenie’s apparent interest in helping them win the contest tonight was noteworthy.

The girls boarded the Normandy-SR2 and were soon pulling into Holly’s driveway.  Holly’s apartment was small, but it had the distinct advantage of offering her a garage where she could work safely.  A garage was crucial because not long ago, while mixing one of her wizardly concoctions inside her old, garage-less apartment, she had nearly killed her roommate.  The noxious fumes had almost killed her as well.  Greg got the worst of it, however, since Holly was at least wearing a white surgical mask.  The doctor informed them that if Greg had inhaled just a little more of the fumes, he would’ve needed a lung transplant.  In other words, he would’ve died.  It was at that point Holly decided to find a place with a garage, and it was at that point Greg decided to move out.

Unfortunately, the potion fiasco was not free from tragedy.  The cockatiel wasn’t so lucky.  Cheepers’ death would have normally been cause for great remorse since Holly was quite fond of avian life forms.  But the old bird was grouchy and bit frequently.  Holly had to ruefully admit it was nice being able to work without its incessant chirping as well.  Once she owned a mage tower, however, she would have plenty of room for a new and nicer bird. 

            Stephenie and Tank were already at the apartment quietly talking to each other by the garage.  Jessica and Holly parked the Normandy on the driveway and walked toward their friends.  Was it Holly’s imagination, or was Stephenie blushing?

            “Thanks for coming, guys,” Holly told them cheerfully.  Steph and Tank smiled and said hello.  Holly entered the code on the keypad next to the garage and it noisily opened.  “I’m so excited.  Let’s do this!”

            The crew walked into the garage and awaited orders.

            “We have a few hours until we have to leave,” Holly explained.  “It should be plenty of time.  Do we want to order some food while we work?  I know I’m hungry.”

“No argument here,” Tank told her.

“I’m in,” Steph added.

“What do we want?”

“I don’t want anything greasy,” Jessica blurted.  “I’m trying to maintain this awesome figure.”  As to her self-directed compliment, she was oblivious.

“What about Indian food?” suggested Tank.

The girls all agreed on Indian food.  Indian food was tasty, but not ridiculously tasty.  It wasn’t like they were going to binge on curry and naan and thus threaten their girly figures.

*

When the delivery boy arrived, Tank was surprised to see a delivery fee attached to the order.  Friggin' America—home of the fee.  He signed the receipt and began closing the door.  Before he could close it, the delivery boy forced the door back open.

“No tip?” he shouted brazenly.

“I’m sorry.  I do have a tip for you,” Tank told him politely.  “Stop charging a delivery fee!” With that, Tank slammed the door shut.  Unfazed, he walked back to the garage and laid the food out on the counter for everyone to partake. 

            Stephenie had painted most of Jessica’s face an eerie black and white, giving her a very witchy appearance.  Jessica wore a cowled black robe to add to the witch effect.  To top the look off, in her hand she clutched a large wooden staff with black feathers on the top that spurted out on either side.

The witch’s costume, however, was only a minor part in the production.  The real costume, the one Holly hoped would win tonight, was an enormous recreation of the Lady of Pain.  The Lady of Pain stood over nine feet tall, her head an impressive display of intricately carved metal completely surrounded by a mantle of golden blades.  The Lady’s hands were ominously concealed inside a black and crimson robe which covered her entire body.  Magical gold chains and trinkets dangled from her robe, their purpose clearly more than mere decoration.

The idea for such an imposing costume came to Holly while working on a commission for a large Meeting Stone.  From that project she understood a real American value—bigger is better.  And since the Halloween contest was called Monster Massive, what better way to win than to create a massive monster?

Holly stepped inside the Lady of Pain and practiced moving its colossal form across the floor.  It was hard to see much of anything outside the costume, but she had just enough light to navigate the nine-foot costume smoothly.  Hopefully things would go equally as smoothly on stage.

With Jessica’s face now completely painted, and their bellies full of delicious Indian food, the girls helped Holly disassemble the Lady of Pain.  It had to be reduced into three pieces in order to fit in the Normandy.

“Make sure to load the ladder,” Holly called out as she ensured they had everything.  Tank promptly loaded the ladder into the back of the Normandy and with that, everything was ready.

“Tank and I will follow you to the arena,” Stephenie told them, noticing there would be no room for extra passengers.

“Is Hilary coming?” Holly suddenly asked.

“I don’t know,” Jessica answered.  “I haven’t heard from her.”

Everyone entered their respective vehicles, eager to disembark.  Before turning the ignition, Jessica noticed her old gum wrapper in the Normandy’s cup holder.  She opened it and happily placed the piece of already-been-chewed gum in her mouth.  Mmm, pineapple—never loses its flavor. 

After a short drive, Jessica parked the van.  They were there.  Monster Massive.  The arena was already filling up, and judging would soon commence.

Anxiously Holly and Jessica stepped out of the Normandy.  Tonight was the night they either reached the stars, or burned like one.