Audrey waited by the tree. According to her skateboard watch, it was eight o' five. Melvin was nowhere to be seen.
And then something grabbed her shoulders.
She shrieked and jumped away, clawing at the air.
The sound of Melvin's hysterical laughter came from behind the tree. He emerged, wiping away imaginary tears.
Audrey rolled her eyes and faked an angry face. Melvin just kept laughing. "Got you!" He said between laughs.
"Very funny. Come here." Audrey waited for him to finish, and then he came to her side.
The two looked very different beside each other—Audrey was short, Melvin tall. His skin was a cool copper shade flecked with freckles, while Audrey's was pale. Hazel eyes and blue. Black hair and brown. But they looked good together.
"So, you know about this tree, right?" Audrey asked, pointing to the Carving Tree. If you looked closely in the dark, you could see the etches and marks made by generations of Harvey Kids.
"Duh. Here, look around it. You'll see the Bloogies signature." Audrey felt around the trunk, and sure enough, found the Bloogies, which still held an interesting odor.
"So, let's take a sharp rock," Audrey grabbed one lying by her foot. "And we can carve our initialetters."
Melvin's wide eyes glinted in the dark. "But that...isn't that what couples do?"
"Sure. That doesn't mean we can't either." Audrey threw a glance back at him. "Coming?"
They both took turns with the rock, until there were three new marks in the tree.
A + M
Audrey stepped back to admire their work. "Looks good." She turned back to Melvin, eyes glittering. "Now we get to turn into vampires together!"
"Uh...wait, what?"
"Super Todd told me one time that if you write your initials on the carving tree with one other person, you get to turn into a vampire on your tenth birthday."
Melvin scoffed, though he looked a little nervous. "Come on, Audrey. You don't believe that, do you?"
"Says the one who still believes in his evil neck basement twin,"
"Hey! We don't speak of that." Melvin turned his nose up. "Well, I turn ten in two weeks. I'll prove to you that nothing happens."
"Wait, you're older than me? By five months? No fair."
Melvin smirked. "Ha."
——