Under the Influence

Chapter Eight: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Crawford

   “But how are we going to decorate this place in a few hours?” I asked, glancing around the comic book store. Last year it took us hours just to set the party up.

   “Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of time,” he assured me confidently. “And I’m going to call in some back-up.”

   I watched in amusement as he dug his phone out of his pocket and began to rapidly scroll through his contacts. “Back-up?”

   “The Dungeon Master.” Ah, Scott’s geeky best friend who had a thing for playing D&D.

   “Hey, what’s his real name?” I questioned curiously, realizing that I didn’t actually know.

   Scott thought about it for a minute, and then shrugged. “Beats me. I’ve called him ‘The Dungeon Master’ for so long that I forgot he even has a real name,” he answered with a laugh.

   As Scott walked into the back room, his cell pressed again his ear, I decided to call in some back-up of my own.

   Hunter picked up after the second ring. “What?” he demanded roughly.

   “Uh, hey. It’s me, Charlie.”

   “Oh.” His voice softened drastically. “Sorry, Charlie. I thought it was Aaron calling.” He went on, muttering a few names I really hoped he was calling Aaron and not me. “So what’s up?”

   “Nothing much, just… It’s Halloween tomorrow.”

   “Ah, Halloween. Right. Of course. I didn’t forget that it was tomorrow.” He made it sound like he forgot. “Wait, are you cancelling the tutoring session because it’s Halloween? ‘Cause if you are, that’s cool. I’m okay with it.” I couldn’t tell if he was actually okay with it or if he was just saying that.

   Oh yeah, it was Saturday. Hunter and I still had a tutoring session planned for today.

   “No, I’m not cancelling our tutoring session. Well I am, but—“ I cut myself off and took a deep breath before trying again. “Hunter, I need your help.”

   “With…,” he prompted.

   “With, I don’t know, Halloween,” I told him, though it came out sounding more like a question than I would’ve liked. “Costumes, decorations, a lot of stuff, actually.”

   “Wow,” he breathed. “That is a lot of stuff to do. Lucky for you, I have no life and I’m free for the rest of the day. Are you at your house right now?”

   “No, Crawford Comics.”

   “Meet you there in fifteen minutes.”

   “Thanks, Hunter.”

   “Anytime.”

 ***

   Precisely fourteen and a half minutes later, a car horn sounded right outside Crawford Comics and when I glanced out the window, I saw that it was Hunter’s car. I told Scott that I’d be back soon and was going to get some stuff for the party. I went outside and heard Hunter impatiently honk the horn until I slid into the passenger seat.

   Before we went anywhere, I had to ask, “Did you need any help with your homework? I mean, if you want me to tutor you, we can always do that instead.”

   “I’ll be fine,” Hunter assured me. “So where are we going first?”

   “Well, I kinda need to get a costume first.”