Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Mayor Jamison smiled at the crowd of teenagers who were anxiously waiting to go inside. He was very pleased with the overwhelming response to the party. He called Sally and Laurie to join him at the top of the stairs. The mayor spoke into his megaphone. Let's have a big round of applause to these two ladies who put this whole party together for you. Come on up, Laurie and Sally. The girl smiled proudly as the kids cheered and clapped. A few of the boys made catcalls that their sexy costumes. Laurie peered out at the faces in the crowd, wondering which one was the infamous Brinda. The mayor thank the girls again in terms of the crowd of teenagers. Their bodies entirely filled the massive staircase and were spilling out into the streets. Are you ready to scream every one heel? The cheers and excited hoots grew even louder. Filling the cold night air in downtown Haddonfield, the mayor swung open the lobby doors. All right, then went on to the scream factory. Crowds of teenagers poured into the lobby and down the basement stairs. Laurie and Sally led the way. The strobe lights flickered and fog poured through the maze. A tape of howling wind, cackling witches and screaming banshees filled the air. Sally laughed as she heard some of the kids behind her jump with surprise when they saw the monsters. The menacing faces had been placed around every corner of the maze. The old guillotine gleamed eerily between the stage and the end of the maze. Laurie had personally chosen to put the monster with the wolf man head and its metal clutches. Hundreds of bodies spilled out onto the dance floor from the narrow corridors of the maze. Max giant spider web hung overhead, holding hundreds of black and white balloons for release at the end of the night. Lots of kids made their way to the refreshment tables and drink the green fruit punch and chomped on orange pumpkin shaped cookies. Laurie looked at the stage, which was completely hidden by a heavy black curtain. She couldn't hear any sound coming from behind it. Overall, the noise. All of a sudden the scary tape clicked off and the dim lights went out. Smoke billowed through the room. Confused voices and frightened cries filled the room. Sally grabbed Laura's hand in the darkness. What's going on? This wasn't part of the plan. Laurie looked around nervously. The smoke seemed to be getting thicker. I don't know. Laurie cried up on top of the storage cage. A flashlight clicked on. Lighting up the face of what looked to be the devil himself. An evil laughter filled the room. The crowd held their breath. No one knew what to think. Suddenly, a red light and siren flashed on and the curtain across the stage fell to the pounding beat of drums. The devil jumped off the top of the cage, landing in the middle of the stage. He screamed into the microphone as the band went into a fast, hard rock. No, it was Jake. His energy filled the whole room as he climbed up and down the cage walls like a wild animal. Laurie squealed with excitement before she remembered how mad she was at him. She had to admit it was a great trick. He'd really surprised everyone. Sally yelled over the blasting music. He is so hot. Look at him go. Oh, my God. The crowd began dancing to the wild music. Colored lights flashed across the masked faces of what must have been a crowd of 300 or more people. Lori couldn't take her eyes off of Jake. He'd painted his face and bare muscular chest. Bright red and had to warn sticking out of his head. He ran the stage in his skintight black leather pants with the Red Devils tail sewn in the back. He did look very sexy. She thought a bunch of girls made their way up to the edge of the stage and were holding their hands out to him, screaming his name and giggling. The other band members were black t shirts and jeans and stayed in the background, blending in with the curtains. Laurie listened to Jake's beautiful, haunting voice as he sang out the chorus of the song he'd let her listen to. A few days earlier, I'm the boogie man, baby, and I'll never die. I'm the boogie man, baby. And that's no lie. I'm the boogie man, baby. So don't even try to get away from me. Laurie forced herself to look away from him. She wanted him so badly, wanted to kiss him again right now. She wished she could turn back time last night at his house when they laying on the couch together and she felt the electricity flowing between them a time before everything got all screwed up. Before she knew the truth, the song ended and the room thundered with the applause and screams. Jake had it all. Now, Laurie, thoughts, girls, popularity, talents. There was no turning back a huge grin spread across Jake's face as he caught his breath. After the song, he peered out into the crowd looking for Laurie that couldn't make out anything but a sea of screaming faces. The crowd screamed out for more. He took a moment to introduce the band members. Jake shouted into the microphone, Are you ready to rock tonight? The audience cheered, and they played an old kiss on the drums, beat furiously and the crowd danced as Jake same. Laurie walked over to the refreshments table and not as hello to the old clerk who was foreign cups of punch. Laurie sat down on a folding metal chair and buried her head in her hands. She was hopelessly miserable. She was in love. Sally found Laurie sitting by herself. She came bounding over. You see Matt around you at lower? No, Laurie said, her eyes cast downward. I can't wait until this night is just over.

What's with the wallflower? Bit lower. It doesn't suit you, Sally, joked Laurie Side does. Sal, what do you think? I'm totally infatuated with the hottest guy in the room, and he couldn't care less. Sally pushed her snake bracelet up on her arm. Her mind wandered back to her own love problems. You'll be fine, Laurie. She was silent for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. It just wasn't like Matt to totally disappear off the face of the earth. I'm going to call Matt's house. She declared, I'm starting to get worried, I'll catch you later. Yeah. Lori said inside glumly later. Sally made her way through the maze and climbed up the basement steps to the deserted lobby, the Jack Leonard's cast a creepy orange glow across the polished hardwood floor. She pushed a quarter out of a tiny purse and drafted in the slot of the payphone.

She dialed Mat's number, which she'd memorized the first week they started dating so long ago, how she longed for things to get back to normal. Matt was really missing out on a great party and she was missing Matt. Why did he have to pick tonight to freak out? She wondered. Matt's mom answered. Hi, Mrs. Hudson, it's Sally. She said into the receiver is Matt there? Her hopeful expression became a massive disappointment. Oh, she answered, yeah. We did have a date, but we argued earlier, she explained. OK. Thanks, man. I'll talk to you soon. Bye. Sally, hang up the phone and shivered. Her skimpy costume was doing nothing to protect her from the drafty cold air. Next year I'm going to dress up as an Eskimo, she said to herself. Where was he? He hadn't even come home to change into his costume. Sally flopped onto the couch in the lobby and stared at her reflection in the glass doors. Come on. That's you big jerk! She thought. Haven't you tortured me enough? Unbeknownst to Sally and everyone in the screen factory, there was an uninvited guest on his way through the woods coming to crash the party.

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