Peter Hunter and the Minions of Mara

Chapter 33: Halloween Night

"Alicia!" Gina squealed as soon as they entered the packed house. "I'm so glad you could come! I love your Native American dress."

"I wore it with a purpose," Alicia declared. "Did you hear about that oil spill by the Reservation?"

"No!" Gina gasped. "What Reservation?"

"I can't remember what tribe it was," Alicia said. "But it was enormous and there's, like, no media coverage at all."

"Hey, Peter," Gina said with a forced smile. "How cute. You're a ninja," she added insincerely. "But where's Zahid? I only invited you because I thought you'd bring him."

Peter smiled pleasantly. "Thanks, Gina. Nice to see you, too."

"He's my boyfriend now," Alicia scolded her. "You have to be nice."

Gina rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. Just don't talk about martial arts and Buddhism all night."

"Do I really talk that much?" Peter asked.

"You might be a little long-winded," Alicia admitted. "But you're also totally cute. Now come on, let's have some fun!"

She pulled him along through the party, which was everything Peter had thought it would be. The music was so loud he had to shout to be heard. Kids were laughing loudly at seemingly nothing and playing pointless games. On top of that, they were all talking about music and TV shows that Peter had given up months ago.

Peter almost wished he was at a library with Zahid.

"I've got to be honest," Peter shouted over the music. "I feel really awkward. I never know what to do at parties."

"Well, there's talking and hanging out," Alicia suggested, as if it were obvious.

"Yeah, but I can't talk about martial arts, right?"

"Right," she confirmed seriously.

"Even though I just proved myself to be the strongest male age thirteen-to-fifteen in four states?"

"Is that what happened?" she asked.

He laughed. "Yeah. That was the whole point of the trip."

She turned and flashed him a bashful smile. "Sorry. I was just thinking of how cool you looked. I guess I wasn't paying attention to all the other things. Look, just keep it to school. What teachers you hate, what subjects you hate, what lunches you hate."

Peter realized that he'd be at a disadvantage considering that he had spent the last year trying to eradicate hate from his vocabulary and thoughts.

He voiced his concerns, "But I don't really hate a lot of things."

She linked her arm in his. "Come on, idiot."

"That's not going to be your pet name for me, is it?" he complained.

"Just stick with me. I'll teach you everything."

He followed her lead and made casual conversation with a few friends as they wandered through the party. Peter was almost enjoying himself when Jeremy showed up and ruined it all.

He walked by with a drink in his hand and a flushed face. Peter guessed that he had snuck in his own beverage.

"Hey, Ali," he slurred. "Did you wear that short skirt just for me?" Then he slapped her rear.

Peter instantly grabbed his wrist in a lock. "I'm going to need you to apologize to my girlfriend right now," he warned.

"You gonna make me?" Jeremy spat.