Halloween Scare

Faith wandered aimlessly through the kitchen of her uncle's restaurant, completely bored out of her mind. Her mother had to go practice with her band, but had promised she would teach Faith how to cook when she got back. The prospect excited the girl, but the waiting was driving her crazy.

Where the hell was her mother? Wasn't she going to break up her band anyway? If that were true, then why was she still practicing with her bandmate?

She spproached the swinging doors that opened to the eating area of the restaurant and peeked out. Business was steady, as usual for the popular bar-and-grill, but not overcrowded. She wouldn't get in the way of her uncle's empoyees if she stepped out of the kitchen for a bit.

Slipping through the swinging doors, she looked over the occupants dining in the restaurant with detached curiosity. They were chatting, laughing, talking, bonding as they ate their meals. Some were in groups of friends or family or a mix of both, but most were just couples. Sometimes a man with another man, or a woman with another woman, but usually it was a man and a woman sitting together, talking, whispering, smiling, exchanging glances -- she looked away, blushing, when her eyes caught a man and a woman kissing at a far table.

Her mother and father used to kiss like that a long time ago. Then it was her mother and one of her uncles. Not the one who owned the restaurant. Another uncle who was kind of dorky, but always managed to make her mother smile.

That was the last time Faith remembered her mother smile like that. There was one other who almost made that smile come back again, and made Faith smile too, but he never seemed interested and her mother gave up on him.

Shaking her head, the girl turned her attention away from the happy, smiling people. They were reminding her too much of what she and her mother didn't have. Instead, she looked over to the bar and wondered if the new bartender who just started working today knew how to make a decent milkshake.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind, and she turned, expecting to see one of the cooks or waiters wanting to ask her to run an errand.

Instead, she was greeted by a growl and a set of fanged teeth.

She screamed in surprise and back-pedaled to get away, only to trip over her own feet and fall to the floor.

Then she noticed the laughter that filled the restaurant. Looking up at the figure standing over her, she watched them slip off the monster mask from their head to reveal a baby-faced boy about her age. He grinned at her, seemingly satisfied at the results of his scare.

She groaned to herself. She had forgotten it was Halloween.

Faith frowned up at the boy, but that didn't seem to change his expression as he walked away.