The gymnasium was filled to the brim with costumed revelers. Kendalgroves Jr. High School annual Halloween celebration was in full swing with all the students dancing their cares away as the DJ was playing the latest pop hits. The room gym had been decorated in full Halloween style, with spooky glow in the dark skeletons hanging from invisible strings and plastic bats too. And in the center there could be a strange attraction.
The attraction was some kind of contraption was a booth of some kind with three plastic walls. Sitting in the middle of the booth was an old wooden three legged stool and above the stool there could be seen a funnel feeding into a reservoir. The tank held around twelve gallons of orange slime that had touches of white swirled into the mix. A few square bales of hay had been scattered around the tank with three freshly carved smiling Jack-O-Lanterns sitting around the booth.
Standing by the booth was a young, petite woman with long brunette hair that reached down to her shoulders. She was dressed in a low cut version of the dress worn by Alice in “Alice in Wonderland” the dress was both flirty and adorable. The low cut, pastel blue dress hugged every inch of her frame and highlighted her curves and made her seem more endowed than she really was. A fact she was grateful for. Going the extra mile she had decided to also ditch the white stocking that came with the dress. After all she had spent hours upon hours running up and down the driveway of the manor house, and even more hours sunbathing in the backyard. All in an effort to add curves and to hopefully tan. All in all she had only seen marginal success as she had gone from flour white to a light brown color.. but it was something. And she was proud of her body too.
You see Jane was transgender. Discovering that fact had solved a lot of her problems. Also discovering that had opened up another can of worms. But with the help of her new mom and dad she was slowly working her way through those problems, one problem at a time. Supporting her were a dozen or so aunts and uncles, cousins and brothers and sisters. And that was a blessing in itself.
Not that any of that mattered of course, Jane was still kind of accepted by her peers at school. The girls had kind of stopped seeing Jane as a major rival for the attention of the boys. And a few of them had even extended the olive branch. But still there were a group of girls who had looked down on her, because she was transgender and also because she was a manor girl. The same group of girls looked down on her older sister Susan the same reason, she too was a manor girl.
Anyway the reason behind the booth in the center of the gym was simple enough. A week or so ago, the student present had decided to hold something of a fundraiser. Because you know there was always one organization that needed a quick transfusion of ready cash into their checking accounts. And so, after a few rounds of debating it was decided that the best way to raise a lot of money with very little effort was a gunge vote between three popular girls. And those three were, Rebecca Marie Chapman, a blonde hair blue eyed girl who was the captain of the cheerleading squad. She had also been homecoming princess five years running and proudly boasted that she could trace her family line back to the early days of Erehwon. Back when Erehwon was just a tiny outpost of the budding British Empire.
Rebecca came from money and she was not afraid to let you know it. Up next was Yua Sato. She was one of the handful of ethic Japanese that were enrolled in the school. Jane also knew she was quite popular with the boys because she was Japanese and often played the part of a demure schoolgirl. Complete with bringing her own homemade lunch every day.
And while many of her classmates thought of her as naive and something of a pushover. Yua used her looks and her manners to make the boys dance and she could make them dance like puppets on a string. She was also cruel, cunning and wicked. And she used her heart shaped face to her advantage. And then it was her, the mystery girl who appeared one day at the annual back to school carnival. Jane had volunteered for the dunking booth that year. And while none of the girls had really thrown at her, a dozen or so had watched from the side lines giving her dirty looks.
From that day forward, Jane had learned that girls can bully just as hard as boys. And that female jealousy was far more toxic than male jealousy. Jane had found herself pushed into a world she did not understand. A world where gossiping, backbiting and slander were the tools of choice. A world where clandestine meetings held in the girls bathroom decided your fate.
Jane took a deep breath and shook her head. Maybe she was starting to overthink this. After all, nobody had forced her to volunteer for the booth. Nobody had forced her to sign up. Sighing deeply she started to shuffle toward the refreshment table. She needed something to drink, she really did. She needs something to clear her head too.
The refreshment table was heavy laden with seasonal treats, pumpkin pie, a bowl of cheap seasonal candy that was wrapped in heavy orange plastic paper, another bowl that held mini versions of snickers, mars and other brand name candy bars sitting beside that was another bowl that was overflowing with peanut butter cups. And at the center of it all was a big bowl of orange looking punch. With trembling hands, Jane reached over and picked up the medal ladle and poured herself some of the fruity smelling punch.
As Jane stood there, sipping her punch she noticed everybody at the dance seemed to have a date. All save her, She noticed Rebecca was standing off in a corner, Rebecca had of course gone with your cookie cutter princess outfit. A pink gown with her blonde hair pulled back and braid back. Her best friend Yua was standing beside her, she was dressed as, it was hard to tell, but if Jane had to hazard a guess it would be something morbid. It was like a cross between a zombie costume and a schoolgirl outfit.
Taking a deep breath she slowly took a sip from her paper cup and swirled some of the juice around her mouth before she swallowed. It was not the biggest fan of fruit punch, she really hated the way it tasted, but she needed something to drink.
“Oh hello there Jane.” A voice called out from behind her. “I'm so glad you're here. Even if it cost me a new pair of shoes.” The voice belonged to Rebecca. “Yes I totally made a bet with my best friend that you skip this little party, even if your names are on the hat to get gunged. You know, with it being Halloween and all.
“We totally expected you to bail on us. You know, because you live in that foster home and such. And we know they only allow you guys to eat chocolate like three days a year or something?” Yua said, smirking as she rolled her eyes.
“Good one!” Rebecca said falling into a fit of giggles. “I mean, most of their clothing is second hand anyway right? And most of their lunches are second hand anyway right? And Halloween is totally a beggar's holiday right? Free candy and all that good stuff?
Jane blinked and blinked again as she rolled her eyes and peered toward the two girls. She wanted to say something so bad, but she knew better than to feed into their teasing. After all she was a gamer girl and she knew better than to feed to trolls if you will. She was just about to walk off when she had a sudden change of mind. She had the perfect retort in mind.
“You know, we get plenty of free candy and at least my mom lets me wear something flattering.” Jane started to circle around Rebecca like a hungry wolf encircling a lost and confused sheep. “Unlike yours, I mean really a princess costume. Come on now, it's not like we're in elementary school anymore girl. Then again.” She made a sniffing jester. “I guess because it reeks of moth balls this was your elementary school costume.”
Rebecca blinked and blinked again and a stunned look took hold of her face. Her facial expression kind of reminded Jane of the facial expression somebody would make when smacked with a heavy cast iron pan or a float board on those old Saturday morning cartoons. It was safe to say she had stunned Rebecca into silence. So with one down one to go she turned her full attention toward Yua.
“And you.” Jane said, shaking her head. “I don't know where to start, so let's start with your outfit. You know, even though you're supposed to come from one of the richer families in the school. Your outfit looks like you just raided your closet, then raided the mark down section of the CVS Halloween Costume Section. You know the one they have next to the candy displays. Because let me down low with your girlfriend. Your outfit looks more thrown together than a preschooler going trick or treating. Okay I take that back, even preschoolers can pick out a better costume.”
“Oh girl! I'm going to be straight up with you. You're cruisin for a bruise right now.” Yua said to her as she flipped her long black hair back and peered into Jamie's eyes.
Jamie, never being the one too back down, stepped up and peered into Yua's eyes, and for a minute the whole school held its breath. The music stopped, the dancing stopped and all eyes turned toward the two. A stunned silence had fallen over the crowd. And a few whispers could be heard from the very back of the room. You could almost cut the tension with a knife.
“You know, you're not even worth my time.” Jane said as she stepped away. “You're not even worth the trouble.” She added as she started to walk toward the back of the room.
“Watch yourself girl, you're in our world now. And we play by our rules.” Yua said huffing as she watched Jamie walk away, her bottom switching as she walked. Her blood started to boil as she watched her slip into the crowd. “Just be sure to watch your back girl, you're now on my shit list.” She whispered as she watched Jamie slip away.
Once Jane was away from the girls, she took a deep breath. She was now standing at the edge of the crowd. Classic Halloween music was playing. And Jane for the first time tonight was starting to have second thoughts about being here. Everybody seemed to have a date, everybody saved her. Blushing deeply she folded her arms across her chest and started to pout, she could be home right now, gorging herself pizza from Pizza Hut and watching a marathon of classic Disney horror movies like Don't Look Under the Bed or Something Wicked This way Comes and who can forget the cult classic Hocus Pocus.
Jane took another deep breath as she peered out the one of the windows. The weather outside the gymnasium had changed from peaceful autumn mist to down right spooky Halloween. She could already see frost starting to form on the window panes. And she could tell the wind was starting to blow because of the way the trees out in the school yard started to lean this way and that. The howling of the wind filled her with dread. She breathed a silent prayer for her sisters who wanted to celebrate Samhain surrounded by Gaia.
“So.” A voice from behind Jane chimed in. “Pretty dull party.”
Jane blinked and blinked again as she quickly turned around and noticed that standing close beside her was a boy, one of her classmates, a tall, handsome fellow with slender shoulders and a equally slim waist. Jane knew a little about him, for one he was on the track team and he was captain of the boys swim team. Jane knew this, because she had passed him a dozen or so times in the hallway of the two changing rooms.
“Kind of.. thought it be something more to this you know? Like I always thought Halloween parties are supposed to be spooky and a bit sexy.” She said blushing as she reached up and started to swirl some loose strains of her hair around her fingertips. “Can't believe I gave up on going ghost hunting with my big sister to attend this lame party.” She quickly added.
“Hey, you're the girl from before right? You know the one who volunteered for the dunking booth at school carnival or something right?” The boy asked as he slid a little closer to Jane. He was standing shoulder to shoulder with her. So close Jane could smell his body spray, it was a strange scent that reminded her of warm, tropical breezes, coconuts and palm trees. Inhaling that scent gave her a slight titillating, a feeling that was strange and yet welcoming to her.
“Yep.” Jane said turning around and giving the boy a small smile. “You know, being the new girl in school, I figured I had to make a big splash or something. And what better way to make a big splash than volunteer for the school's dunking booth.” She added as she forced a laugh.
“I know, you looked totally cute sitting up there. I spotted you.. I was helping with the food trucks, I kind of wanted to dunk you, but once I finished my shift. I think your shift was up or something. Because you know, you were already down or something. You kind of struck me.” He said blushing a little.
Jane blinked and blinked again and slowly she started to laugh a little as the boy tried to flirt with her. She found his attempts at flirting bad, but amusing, they also made her feel special and she hated to say this, they she was kind of enjoying being the center of his attention. She wanted to say something, to flirt back. Instead she said.
“You know, you're really bad at flirting.” She said as she fell into a fit of giggle. “But it's kind of cute though!”
The boy flushed a deep red and then became silent as the grave.
“Hey my name is Jane by the way..” Jane quickly added. Feeling a twinge of guilt over what she just said. Here she was complaining about not having a date and when a boy started a little romance toward her what she did, lay down a backhanded comment. “Sorry about what I said earlier.”
“No problem..” The boy said, “I'm Percy by the way..” He added.
Jane tilted her head to the side. “Is Percy short for something?”
“Percival.” Percy said blushing a little. “Both my folks are English Majors and they decided the name kind of suited me.”
“A princely name for a prince of a man.” Jane mused a little as she turned toward the booth that stood in the center of the gym. “I wonder when they're going to announce who's going into that thing? I mean the dance is almost over.. maybe they just forgot about the thing.” Jane added,
“Fat chance, our student council has been pushing this thing for weeks on end. Somebody going in.” The boy said, shaking his head. “I just hope it's Yua, she honestly needs to be taken down a peg, or two or heck even three.” The boy added.
Jane was about to say something when one of the teachers strolled into the center of the crowd. It was one of the young teachers, a petite woman with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Jane knew she normally wore her blonde hair down or pulled back in a bun, but with tonight being Halloween she was sporting something of a double bun style. And her costume of choice was of course, the classic battle outfit worn by anime's most famous heroine, Sailor Moon. And the more Jane looked at the costume the more she noticed how everything seemed to be tailored and how the whole thing looked hand sewn.
“Okay can I have everyone's attention!” She said in a loud, clear, commanding tone of voice that cut through the bedlam of noise like a hot knife through a stick of butter. Quickly all eyes zoomed in on her. The teacher waited for a minute and once she was sure she had the undivided attention of the eighty something students who had crowned themselves into the gym she pushed on.
“Okay, first things first. The dance will be ending in about twenty minutes. So make sure you got a ride. All students will need to leave school grounds no later than thirty minutes after the dance is over. Okay with that out of the way, it's time to see who will be going into our gunge tank.” She paused as a hushed silence fell over the crowd. The moment of truth had arrived. “Okay, we had three girls to volunteer for our first annual gunge booth and of those three girls, the student body has that they want to see.. and that girl is.. Jane Harris!” The woman cried out in a loud, booming tone of voice.
Jane blinked and blinked again. She felt like a ton of bricks had just smashed through the ceiling of the gym and crashed down on her. Slowly she forced herself to move toward the center of the gym. People seemed to move away from her, for the gathered sea of faces parted like sea did the Hebrew Children.
Than her fears started to fade away as she peered toward the gunge tank. Sure she felt like her throat had jumped up into her throat. But she also knew this was a chance. And as she moved toward the tank, she made a effort to make her bottom wiggle and the helm of her dress to ride up a bit. She even reached up and tossed aside her the hairband that held her hair in place. She tossed it aside and allowed her voluminous brunette tresses to fall down her shoulder and bounce around her shoulders. She then poked her chest out as she walked the two girls from before, she might only have a slight 'B' club but she was proud of it.
Then she was standing before the tank. Taking a deep breath she stepped inside.
Once inside the tank, she folded the bottom of her dress over and eased down upon the stool. The teacher made a notion for the handle that would release the gunge, but Jane thinking quickly raised her voice and said.
“Hey! Just hold up a minute please.” She said taking a deep breath as she reached in and pulled out a small metallic make-up case from the pocket of her dress. The teacher paused and rolled her eyes as she watched as she pulled out a small tub of mascara. A stun silence fell over the room as she pulled out the wand and started to apply a fresh coat of mascara to her eyelashes. Once she was finished she returned to wand to the tub and placed it back in the case. She then reached in and pulled out a small tub of lip gloss, she then added another frosty layer of strawberry pink lip gloss to her lips. She then returned it back to the case and returned the case to the pocket of her dress.
“Are you done?” The teacher asked as she peered toward Jane.
“I'm done.” Jane said smiling as she then placed her hands down at her side and looked up at the thirteen gallons of freezing cold gunge. She could feel the chill, she had even felt a sudden drop in temp when she stepped into the tank.
“You know that make-up going to wash right off?” The teacher said as she rolled her eyes. A large crowd was starting to gather around the gunge tank now. “So why in the world are you putting it on before I pull the leaver?” Inquired the teacher
“Because I want to look pretty when you pull the level.” Jane said, smirking as she watched the crowd swell. She took a deep breath and pushed her hands down to her side, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, but she opened them a half a second later. A little smirk formed on her lips and the crowd started a countdown, it started at three and when it reached zero the teacher yanked hard upon the chain.
Then it happened. Jane could hear a plug being removed from the bottom of the tank above her. A split second later, a sudden downpour of orange gunge was falling down upon her head. The gunge was as thick as batter and rolled down from the top of her head down to her shoulders and down her shoulders to to the bottom of the tank. A deep blush colored Jane's cheeks as the gunge started to roll down her back, soaking her back.
The horrible orange mixture then rolled down the front of her dress, soaking her modest cleavage, the coldness caused her to shiver and jump. She could feel her ears starting to burn a bright red as the sound of her classmates laughter filled the area around the tank. Their laughter soon gave way to applause and catcalls and shouts as the last ounces of gunge dropped down from the tank onto her head.
“And there we have it folks!” Shouted the teacher as she started to clap her hands together. “Jane, you've been a great sport. Thank you for letting us gunge you like this. I think you'll be pleased to know that you raised six hundred and twenty eight pounds for charity! And you have shown amazing school spirit.”
Jane felt herself smiling as the teacher started to praise. She then fell into a fit of giggles as she noticed the boy from before standing by the tank. She offered him a little wink and a deep blush colored his face. And that is how Jane spent her first Halloween as Jane. Another chapter in her life draws to a close.
