Hell's Belles (18 page)

Annie hit the button for the café's “sound system,” which was really just a fancy CD player with an AM/FM radio.

As she went into the kitchen to begin boxing up the cupcakes, the DJ's voice gave way to the silly lyrics of “Monster Mash.”

Annie smiled because the song reminded her of Jesse. The invigorating run, the spooky decorations, and the pleasant scene in Dad's café had all combined to put her in a great mood. And tonight promised to be even better — she would finally be skating in a bout after more than three weeks off! And of course there was the post-bout Halloween party Liz's parents were hosting for the Belles.

Annie sighed happily as she began arranging the gorgeously iced cupcakes in a white cardboard box. Halloween was going to be amazing.

If she could just manage to keep her mind off Tyler holding Kelsey in his arms, it might just be perfect!

Johnny Rotten smiled a snaggle-toothed grin at her from his place on her front steps.

Not
the
Johnny Rotten, the legendary punk rocker from the 1970s. Johnny Rotten the jack-o'-lantern, who was making a special Halloween appearance on the Turners' front porch — courtesy of Lexie and a really sharp knife!

“It's uncanny,” Annie said, giggling as she wiped the slimy pumpkin innards off her hands. “It looks just like him.”

“Thanks,” said Lexie, who'd been the one to carefully draw the singer's likeness on the orange plant before allowing Annie to carve it out. “And the funny thing is that in about two weeks, he'll really live up to his name.” She thumped the firm fresh pumpkin shell and smiled. “This jack-o'-lantern will be so rotten he'll have maggots.”

“Lovely thought,” said Annie, wrinkling her nose.

It was six o'clock and the sky was a lovely shade of cobalt behind the silhouetted branches of the nearly leafless trees. The air was crisp and all along Annie's street, porch lights were being turned on.

“It's showtime!” cried Lexie, lighting a stubby little candle and placing it inside Mr. Rotten's empty head. “Let's get our costumes on for the trick-or-treaters.”

That was fine with Annie. She couldn't wait to get into her vampire outfit!

Upstairs, she dusted her face with white powder to create a creepy pallor, then she lined her eyes with black and used a deep purple eyeshadow to give them a sunken look.

She outlined her lips heavily with black and filled them in with dark red lipstick, drawing a red “dribble” out of the corner of her mouth. It looked like she'd just made a fresh kill and there was blood trickling down her chin.

False eyelashes would be her only concession to glamour tonight. After all, her persona was a “sexy” vampire.

She bent over at the waist and shook out her hair. With Lexie's help, she teased it to within an inch of its life and coated it with nearly an entire can of maximum hold hairspray.

When she flipped to an upright position, she looked in the mirror and gasped.

“I like it,” said Lexie, nodding. “You've got this kind of elegant undead look. Very enticing.”

Annie didn't disagree. Although she couldn't imagine how much conditioner she was going to need tomorrow to detangle her undead hairdo.

As Lexie went into the bathroom to put on her costume, Annie slipped into the vampire dress her friend had designed. As per Dad's instructions, they'd shortened the slit that ran up the leg and added a little more fabric to the neckline. But even with these alterations, the dress still showed off Annie's long legs.

All that remained was to pop the plastic fangs into her mouth. Just as she was doing that, Lexie burst out of the bathroom and flung her arms open wide.

“
Estoy aquí!”
she announced in Spanish. “Translation: here I am!”

Annie's fangs literally dropped out of her mouth. “Ohh-kaay,” she said. “
Here
you are . . . but I have absolutely no idea
what
you are!”

“You mean
who
I am?”

“Fine,” Annie said with a giggle, taking in the man's suit and tie and the thin black stuck-on moustache that curved up wildly at each end. “Who are you?”

Lexie twirled one end of the curly moustache and said, “Only the greatest surrealist painter who ever lived.” She took a debonair bow. “The artistic genius, Salvador Dali!”

“Lexie, that's incredible. You look just like him . . . well, almost.”

Annie had seen paintings by Dali in the museums back in London. In her opinion, the only word to describe both the artist and his work would be “bizarre.”

“I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you'll be the only person in Liberty Heights dressed like that.” She readjusted her plastic teeth and laughed. “Maybe even the whole world.”

“That, of course, was my intention,” said Lexie. “Now, let's go introduce some trick-or-treaters to surrealism.”

“I think they'd rather we introduce them to chocolate,” said Annie.

Lexie rolled her eyes. “And that,
mi amiga,
is the problem with America's youth!”

Laughing, the girls headed downstairs.

After a steady stream of princesses, ballerinas, devils, clowns, and superheroes, Annie was getting anxious. She knew it was still hours before she had to be at the rink, but she just couldn't wait any longer.

“Let's just leave out a bowl of treats,” she suggested, closing the door on a giggling bunch of witches and monsters. “We can leave a note that says ‘help yourself' and go to the rink right now. We can start putting up the decorations.”

“It's way too early,” said Lexie, peering out the window. “Coach Ritter isn't even there yet.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because she's standing on your front porch.”

On cue, the doorbell rang, and Annie tugged open the door with a big, fang-filled grin.

“Trick or treat!” sang Abbey and Brandon.

“Oh my goodness,” cried Annie in mock alarm. “What have we here?”

“I'm a roller girl!” announced Abbey, showing off her skates and elbow pads.

“And I'm a fiuhman!” Brandon pointed to his red helmet.

“Well, please do come in,” said Annie, happy to see that Abbey wasn't afraid of her costume this time. Even Coach had dressed up — she was wearing a sequined cowboy hat, a checkered shirt, and cowboy boots.

“Giddy-up,” she quipped, following the kids into the hallway.

“Coach, you look terrific,” said Annie.

“I couldn't agree more,” came a voice from the kitchen doorway.

Annie glanced back to see Dad standing there, smiling. He was holding rather than wearing his werewolf mask, which was a good thing given Abbey's aversion to it.

“Howdy,” said Coach, tipping her hat to him.

Annie noted the batter-and-icing-smeared apron Dad was wearing over the furry suit and torn clothing that made up his werewolf costume. “Were you baking?” she asked.

Dad nodded. “I'm going to bring some goodies to sell at the bout,” he explained. “Sort of a fundraiser for the team. I just thought of it this morning and when I called Susan . . . I mean, Coach Ritter . . . she thought it was a great idea.”

This was news to Annie. She managed to stop herself from blurting out, “You
called
her?” but she was pretty sure her surprise was written all over her face.

After a couple of minutes, Coach Ritter said it was time to be going. They had a few more visits to make before heading to the rink.

“I'll see you later,” said Dad, then added quickly, “at the bout, of course.” Then he ducked back into the kitchen to finish the cupcakes.

Brandon and Abbey thanked Annie and they were off.

While Lexie stepped into the bathroom to adjust her moustache, Annie lingered in the open front door, watching Coach and her little ones go. Dad and Coach Ritter . . . talking on the phone! Did it mean anything? And if it did, how did she feel about it?

She didn't get to mull it over for long; just as Coach and the kids disappeared around the corner, two more trick-or-treaters started up the Turners' front path.

Annie had to laugh at this unusual pair. The little one, who Annie guessed was around seven, had long brown hair covered with a wide red bandana wrapped around her forehead. She also wore a fake tattoo sleeve and a Guns N' Roses T-shirt.

“Wow!” cried Annie, smiling at the little girl as she climbed the porch steps. “It's Axl Rose, right here on my front doorstep!”

“You were right, Jesse!” little Axl cried, turning to her big brother, who was sporting a black top hat, black wig, and press-on nose ring. “She knew exactly who we were!”

Annie smiled at the Slash impersonator standing at her door. “Great costumes,” she said.

“I had a feeling you'd appreciate them more than the soccer moms on the block would.”

Annie dug into the bowl and dropped a hefty helping of treats into Axl's plastic pumpkin. “You'll need energy if you're planning on trashing any hotel rooms later,” she said. “I'm Annie, by the way.”

“I'm Katie. I'm only Axl Rose for tonight.”

“Did I hear someone say Axl Rose?” called Dad, once again appearing from the kitchen. He took one look at Jesse and Katie, gave them a huge smile, and began to sing “Welcome to the Jungle” at the top of his lungs.

“Well now I know where Annie gets her awesome taste in music,” said Jesse.

Lexie, returning from the bathroom, shot Jesse and his sister a grin.

“Nice to meet you, Axl,” Dad said. “I'm a really big fan of yours.” To prove it, he launched into a few bars of “Patience” as he made his way back to the kitchen.

“Okay, rock star,” said Jesse, adjusting Katie's bandana. “We can hit about three more houses before it's time to get you home.”

Katie gave Annie a big smile. “Thanks for the candy, and good luck in the bout tonight, Anne R. Key!”

This took Annie by surprise. “You know my derby name?”

“Sure,” said Katie with a shrug. “I know you came from England and you used to be a gymnast. Jesse talks about you all the —”

“All right then!” Jesse said quickly. “Gotta be going now. See you at the rink.”

As he hastily turned to leave, Lexie cried out, “Wait!”

Jesse turned back.

“Before you go, one question . . .” She did a slow turn, showing off her costume. “Who am I?”

“That's easy,” said Jesse. “Salvador Dali.”

“That proves it,” said Lexie, as she and Annie watched Jesse and Katie hurry down the path.

“Proves what?” asked Annie.

“He's the perfect guy.”

Annie gave Lexie a genuinely bewildered look. “For who?”

“
Seriously?”
Lexie stared at her for a long moment, then rolled her eyes and sighed. “Let's go to the rink,” she said.

But Annie was already out the door.

In Annie's opinion, not since the Twilight saga had a bunch of vampires looked so good.