Of course everyone got really excited and shouted, “YEEESSSSS!”
I could NOT believe what Brianna said next!
It’s pretty obvious that my kid sister has some SERIOUS issues!
She didn’t have the slightest idea I was Mr. Rat, and I decided not to tell her.
Hanging out with the girls and painting their faces was actually kind of fun.
A unicorn told me everything she wanted for Christmas, like I was Santa Claus or somebody.
And this cute little witch whispered into my huge rat ear that if I came to her house in the middle of the night and bit off all her brother’s toes, she would keep it a secret!
Just in case I wanted to do something like that.
And I felt really bad because I think I may have traumatized this cute little cat.
She pointed at me and shrieked, “I’m scared! That big kangaroo is stinky and has eyes inside his nose!!”
I was like, AMEN, SISTER!!
After I finished painting faces, I led several rounds of the Hokey Pokey dance. It must have been 120 degrees inside that costume.
I was relieved when Mrs. Hargrove asked the girls to be seated for pizza and punch.
I decided to sneak away for a while and told Mrs. Hargrove I was going to take a short potty break.
I grabbed my duffel bag and raced back to the bathroom.
It felt good to finally get out of that smelly rat getup.
I splashed cold water on my face and arms to cool down and freshen up.
But my heart was pounding from the excitement of what I was about to try to pull off.
Within minutes I had completely changed into my Juliet costume.
I pinned on the wig thingy, smoothed on three layers of Very Berry Krazy Kiss lip gloss, and then gazed at my reflection in the mirror.
It took a few seconds for me to get over the shock of what I saw.
I barely recognized myself!
I threw my duffel bag over my shoulder and hurried down the sidewalk to the haunted house, which was located in the zoo’s community center.
Once inside, I found the nearest bathroom and hung my bag on the hook behind the door of the very last stall.
I put on my mask, walked back down the hall, and stepped inside the dance.
Even though it had just started, the room was already packed with people. The decorations and food we had brought in looked fabulous!
And the whole haunted house scene with the antique furniture, cobwebs, and assorted animated witches, ghosts, and ghouls that randomly popped out of coffins and closets really helped set the fun mood.
Even though I was Juliet, I felt more like Cinderella because everyone around me was staring.
Most of the CCP girls just glared and whispered.
The crazy thing was that nobody seemed to recognize me. And I wasn’t that worried about Chloe and Zoey because they were up front helping Violet with the music.
Violet was onstage rocking the house with some hot tunes by Justin Bieber! I think she was supposed to be an evil clown or something, but I couldn’t really tell.
That girl is TOO weird. But in a good way.
I couldn’t wait to see Brandon. When I finally spotted him, I couldn’t help but stare.
OMG! He looked SO handsome in his costume. I thought I was going to faint!
I think he was really surprised by my costume too because he blinked a few times and then just stared right back at me.
We just stood there kind of staring at each other for what seemed like forever.
It wasn’t until I said, “Hi, Brandon,” that he finally seemed sure it was actually me.
He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, smiled, and offered me a seat.
“Wow! Nikki, you look, I mean, your costume is really . . . cool.”
“Thanks, Brandon. I think you make a great Mouseketeer!”
“Um . . . it’s ‘Musketeer.’”
“Oh, sorry! Musketeer.”
“So . . . would you like to dance?”
“Sure!”
Thank goodness it was a fast song.
Brandon was actually a pretty good dancer. And he was cracking jokes the entire time, which made me laugh really hard.
We were having so much fun I didn’t want the song to end.
We were just about to sit down again when I saw Chloe and Zoey heading in our direction.
I was like, UH-OH!
“Brandon, I think I’m going to go to the bathroom and then check on a few things, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll be waiting right here.”
“Would you like me to bring you anything back? Like some . . . wing-dings?”
“Wing-dings. Um, sounds . . . interesting!
“You’re gonna love ’em! Back in a few minutes!”
I headed for the door.
And I got there just in time.
When I peeked back inside, I saw Chloe and Zoey talking to Brandon. Then he pointed in my direction.
I took off running like a maniac down the hall to the bathroom.
I slammed the stall door shut and frantically pulled off the dress and wig and stuffed them into my duffel bag.
Then I slipped into the garbage bag costume and tied the drawstrings into a bow at my neck.
My fingers nervously fumbled as I put on the hot pink wig, sunglasses, and rubber gloves.
Finally.
FINISHED!!
And not a second too soon. Just as I was coming out of the stall, Chloe and Zoey rushed in.
“Hi, Nikki! We’ve been waiting on you. Brandon told us you were in here. Isn’t this great?” Chloe said breathlessly.
“I’m so happy we decided to go with your costume idea! We look SO cute!” Zoey gushed, posing in the mirror.
“Hey, girlfriends! It’s time for us to take out the trash!” I teased.
We did a quick group hug and rushed into the dance.
Just about everyone was out on the floor having fun. Even the teachers.
I totally avoided the side of the room where Brandon was sitting and prayed he couldn’t see me because of the crowd and dim lights.
Although, even if he had, there was no way he would have recognized me. He was not expecting to see me in a wacky trash bag costume, and the wig and sunglasses practically covered my entire face.
Chloe, Zoey, and I had a blast dancing!
But I was starting to get a little worried about being away from the ballet party for too long.
“Um, guys, I ran into Brandon a few minutes ago and convinced him to try some of our yummy punch and wing-dings. I was going to take him some snacks, but I just found out I have to go drop off papers at the zoo office. Could one of you take Brandon over some punch and a plate of wing-dings and let him know I had to run an errand?”
“Sure!” Chloe said, and headed off toward the food table.
“Hey! I’ll come with you,” Zoey said, following me out into the hall.
I started to panic.
“NO!! Zoey, you can’t!” I almost screamed at her.
She froze and just kind of stared at me, wondering why I was freaking out like that.
I plastered a fake smile on my face and tried to regain my composure.
“Actually, what I meant was, um . . . no, you CAN’T miss this really great party! I’ll be back in a sec, ’kay?”
Zoey shrugged and smiled. “Sure!”
As soon as she was out of sight, I sprinted back to the bathroom.
I dived into the last stall, changed back into that funky-smelling rat costume, and hightailed it back to the ballet party.
I was superworried because I had taken a heck of a long potty break.
But it was perfect timing because the girls were just finishing up their dessert of Steaming Witches’ Brew Ice Cream Punch and Worms-’n’-Mud chocolate cupcakes.
“Oh, there you are!”
Mrs. Hargrove rushed over and tried to peer in at me through the rat’s left nostril.
“I think we’re rea
dy for another game,” she said.
I gave her the thumbs-up sign.
But in my head I was like, WHEW!!
We played Simon Says and Duck, Duck, Goose! and the kids loved it.
Soon Ranger Roger arrived to take the kids around to see the animals.
Since the kids were going to be distracted for the next half hour, I told Mrs. Hargrove that the rat costume had gotten+ a little warm and I was going to step outside for a few minutes to cool down.
I grabbed my duffel bag, raced to the bathroom, and changed back into my Juliet costume.
Within three minutes I was back at the Halloween dance sitting next to Brandon.
“Hey! You’re back.” His smile could have lit up the entire room.
“Sorry. I just had a few errands to take care of! I’m, like, the most horrible date!”
“No, I don’t mind, really. I figured you were going to be kind of busy tonight.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
Then it got really quiet and I just kind of stared at him with this stupid smile on my face.
I started to get butterflies in my stomach.
That’s when I decided to say something witty and intelligent.
“Soooo . . . how did you like those wing-dings?”
“Actually, they were pretty good.”
“I just knew you would like them!”
“Oh, I was supposed to let Chloe and Zoey know when you got back. I think I’ll just text message them . . .”
“Um, you know what?! Boy, am I hungry! I think I’m going to run over and get us both some more wing-dings. ’Kay? Be right back!“
“Hey, wait! I’ll go with—”
But I disappeared before he finished his sentence.
Chloe and Zoey had made their way back to Brandon’s table by the time I reached the door.
I raced back to my bathroom stall to change again.
Okay, garbage bag, rubber gloves, sunglasses, and . . . rat head!
NOPE! Wrong party!
Hot pink wig was what I needed.
I tried to calm down.
But knowing that Chloe and Zoey could pop into the bathroom at any second looking for me made me a nervous wreck.
I was back in my trash bag costume and at the food table getting more wing-dings when Chloe and Zoey caught up with me again.
“Hi, Nikki! There you are!”
“Brandon said you went to get more wing-dings.”
“Yeah! They’re delish!!” I said. “So, where do you guys want to sit?”
“Brandon said we could sit with him. There’s plenty of room at his table.”
“SIT TOGETHER?!” I gasped. “Sure. Umm . . . you two go right ahead. I have to, um . . . go to the . . . bathroom. So I’ll meet you guys at the table. ’Kay!”
Suddenly I remembered Brandon’s snacks. There was no way I could let him see me in my trash bag costume, so I asked Chloe and Zoey for help.
Then I took off running as fast as I could.
ARGH! There was NO WAY I could sit with all three of them.
What was I going to do?!
But my bigger headache was that I had barely two minutes to get back to the ballet party.
I ran to the bathroom stall, changed back into the rat costume, and rushed over to the petting zoo.
Ranger Roger was finishing up just as I arrived.
Mrs. Hargrove handed me a box of goody bags and peered at me through the rat’s right nostril. “As soon as you give these out to the girls, you’ll be done,” she said, smiling.
I was like, YES!!
I could not believe my crazy scheme was actually working.
Since the ballet party was almost over, parents were lining up at the front door to pick up their kids.
I decided to close out the party in a dramatic way.
“Well good-bye, kiddies! I hope you all had fun with Mr. Rat! I’m on my way to Disney World to visit my cousin Mickey! Bye, bye!”
All of the kids waved good-bye, and a few of them even looked a little sad to see me go.
Just a few minutes more and the whole funky rat fiasco would be history.
I was heading toward the back door when Brianna yelled, “Hey, wait, Mr. Rat! Can I come with you?”
“Yeah! I wanna come too!” said the little girl who had tried to convince me to come to her house and chew off her brother’s toes.
Pretty soon the whole group of kids was crowding around and begging to come with me.
“I’m really sorry. Maybe next time, okay?”
I turned around to leave but suddenly realized there was a slight complication—
—Courtesy of my bratty sister, Brianna. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening to me!
“I’m not gonna let go of your tail until you promise to take us with you!” Brianna screamed.
I had to think fast!
The rat costume was starting to give me an itchy rash, and Brianna would not let go of my tail.
I was sure Chloe, Zoey, and Brandon were wondering what had happened to me.
“Okay, I have an idea! Everyone close your eyes and make a wish. Then count to ten. And when you open your eyes, you’ll all have a wonderful wish to take home with you! Okay!”
All the girls jumped up and down and cheered together. “YEAHHH!!”
“Hey, Mr. Rat! I’m gonna wish that I can go to Disney World with you to visit your cousin Mickey!” Brianna said stubbornly.
I was like, Sheeeeesh! Brianna, just let it go, will you?!
“Now let’s all close our eyes and start counting. One, two . . .”
All the girls closed their eyes and counted with me.
“Three, four . . .”
I grabbed my duffel bag and flung it over my shoulder.
“Five, six . . .”
I opened the back door . . .
“Seven, eight . . .” And ran for my life!
And I didn’t stop running until I had made it safely back to the dance.
I felt really guilty having to ditch the ballet class like that, but I didn’t have a choice.
Although I meant well, all the deception and running back and forth was exhausting.
The dance was going to be over in less than two hours, and I planned to enjoy every minute of it.
That’s when I decided to ditch the costumes and just have fun hanging out with Zoey, Chloe, and Brandon as plain ol’ . . . ME!
All I had to do was change out of the rat costume and into my favorite jeans and sweater.
But as soon as I entered the girls’ bathroom, I realized one major obstacle was standing in my way.
MACKENZIE HOLLISTER!
She was dressed as a very chic vampire and was at the mirror applying an extra-thick layer of Bloody Mary Really Scary Red lip gloss.
I thought I was going to have a heart attack right there on the spot.
But mostly I was shocked and surprised she had the nerve to even show up at the dance after trying to undermine the whole thing.
MacKenzie was capable of doing anything to anybody to get what she wanted.
And I was pretty sure she’d do everything within her power to totally RUIN this night for me.
I desperately needed to change my clothes, and this was the only girls’ bathroom in the entire building.
So I decided to just play it cool by pretending I had to use the bathroom.
I was praying she wouldn’t recognize my costume—or rather, HER costume, seeing as she was the one who bought it.
I had just grabbed the stall door handle when suddenly MacKenzie whipped around and stared at me.
I instinctively froze. Then, pretending I wasn’t me, I nodded my head kind of friendlylike and waved at her.
Her pouty lips turned into a scowl as she narrowed her eyes at me.
I broke into a sweat.
“EWWWW! What’s that horrible smell?!”
I didn’t dare say a word for fear she might recognize my voice.
So I just sniffed under e
ach of my armpits and frantically fanned the air under each like, P-U!
Then I held my arms out to my sides and shrugged my shoulders as if to say, Sorry ’bout that!
She rolled her eyes at me, turned back to the mirror, and continued applying her lip gloss.
THANK GOODNESS! I wasn’t sure if my little antics had totally annoyed or totally disgusted MacKenzie. But I was really happy they had worked!
I quickly entered the stall, dropped my duffel bag on the floor, slammed the door shut, locked it, and collapsed with relief against the wall.
WHEW! That was close.
Although, to be honest, I found it a little puzzling that MacKenzie didn’t recognize the raunchy odor or the dirty, matted rat fur.
I took off the rat head and dropped it on the floor. I couldn’t wait to slip off the hot, scratchy costume and then take it home and burn it in our fireplace.
My comfortable jeans, sweater, and sneakers were going to feel like heaven.
Suddenly I heard quick footsteps approach my stall.
Before I knew what was happening, a manicured hand wearing Ravishing Red Revenge sparkly nail polish reached right under my door and snatched my duffel bag.
I frantically lunged after the strap and pulled with all my might. But somehow I must have stepped on that stupid rat head or something.
I slipped, lost my balance, fell over backward, and hit the back of my head on the bathroom floor.
OOOWWWWWW!!!!! I moaned. The ceiling above me was spinning like a merry-go-round. I closed my eyes.
I pulled myself up and massaged the back of my head. The pain was quickly subsiding, and luckily I didn’t feel a lump or anything.
I staggered to my feet, fumbled with the door lock, and peeked out.
Just as I had feared, the duffel bag containing all my clothing and personal belongings had completely disappeared.
Along with MacKenzie.
I was sure she hadn’t gotten very far. And if I went charging out into the hallway, I might even catch her.
But I was a little worried that tackling a fellow student at a school function might end up on my permanent record and negatively impact me getting admitted into a major university after graduation.