Eugene greenwart’s
Epic Halloween adventure!
Dark and wispy clouds ringed around the lemonade-colored full
moon. It was always scarier on Halloween, when there was a big freaky
moon watching you. A dense fog hung around the corners of the quiet
neighborhood of Oakdale County. Jack O’ Lanterns lined the streets, with
their candles flickering and the smell of candles drifting through the air.
Kids and parents in a variety of costumes were just heading out to go
Trick or Treating. Little boys and girls went door to door, with pillow
cases filled to the rim with candy. “Trick or Treat!” they would scream.
This was always a wonderful night in Oakdale, as long as kids never,
EVER, crossed the town gates. Parents were a little bit nervous and stuck
close to their children. All of the lights of the houses were on; giving the
street and eerie glow that chilled the bones of kids passing. But there
was one house, in which the light was never on. Everyone in town avoided
the house on the hill. Well, anyone in their right minds would, anyways.
The house was rumored to be haunted, and one young skinny little boy,
who was totally insane, was about to find out.
The boy was dressed in a too-tight Spiderman costume. He walked
onto the road, holding a partially stained shopping bag. Eugene
Gibbleston S. Greenwart loved Halloween, but not as much as he loved
chemistry and physics class. Eugene was a very good geek. He had greasy
black hair that was slicked back and pale skin the color of paper. His
clothes were hand-me-downs from his sister Matilda, so he would wear
girl clothes. His pants were pulled up to his chest and his checkerboard
pattern red suspenders were super nerdy. His coke bottle glasses,
freckles, acne and braces never really made him popular at school.
Eugene wanted friends, even one would be nice. But every time he tried
to talk to someone, he would spit, stutter and sweat a LOT. People
thought he was weird. The kids at school constantly teased him and made
him do their homework. It just wasn’t fair. He seemed to always be doing
something he did not want to do, in order to impress the cool kids. The
poor geek couldn’t help but daydream about being the most popular kid
at school, or at least a well-known kid, as he walked down the seemingly
lonely sidewalk.
Eugene went from door to door, getting miraculous sizes of
gorgeous, gluten-free candy. He was so happy about his stash, and very
badly wanted to eat it. His happiness was about to fade away. He turned
the corner and bumped into the back of Butch Butegger, the toughest,
biggest, meanest, strongest and SMELLIEST bully in all of fifth grade. His
entourage was made up of Roderick Rufferson, Jimmy Kicker and Bobby
Bobloski, also known as Big Bobby. Eugene was always bullied by them,
and had to deal with swirlies, wedgies, wet willies, and worst of all,
FOOD FIGHTS. Not only did Eugene hate Butch, but he wanted to have
major fun revenge. He was still dreaming about throwing the bully to the
ground, when he noticed he dropped all of his candy. Eugene wondered if
he should run away, of take his punishment for ramming into Butch the
Bad Behemoth. Hopefully, he thought, it would be quick and painless,
but he doubted it.
“Watch it!” yelled Butch, as he spun around to see who bumped
him. His face lit up like a Jack O’ Lantern when he saw it was Eugene.
“Hey, Eugee Poogee!” he teased. “It looks like our little loser has a little
baby spider costume!”
“I think you costume is... um.... beyond dumb!” Eugene spat back
stupidly. It was then that he noticed they weren’t wearing costumes.
Punch City, here I come, thought Eugene glumly. But Butch and his gang
just laughed.
“Braceface has some rage! What a moron!” Roderick Rufferson
pestered.
Eugene didn’t like being teased, but he was desperate to be cool
like them. He deepened his voice and said:
“What are YOU cool kids going to do?” he hoped it would work.
Eugene crossed his fingers and hid them so they couldn’t see.
“We’re about to go to the house on the hill,” Jimmy Kicker
announced proudly. The house on the hill, were they CRAZY? Eugene did
not want to go. But he really wanted to impress Butch and his gang.
Maybe if he joined them, they might want to hang out with him more.
They might even think he’s cool and become friends!
“Okay... I guess that would be cool,” Eugene reluctantly agreed. He
felt uncomfortable, but he shook of his doubt and thought to himself,
what did I get myself into?
The path to the house was long and bumpy. The cemetery snaked
around the back of the hill. There, sitting like a cougar on the prowl, was
the haunted house. The architecture was brutal, with an uneven rooftop
and snapped shingles. The windows were cracked in so many different
places, and the front door was pretty much destroyed off its hinges, and
the chimney caved in unsafely. Plus, Eugene could the faint stench of dog
poop coming from the back yard of the house. He could make out some
light in the distant grave yard. It might’ve been the moon, but with the
fog, it was hard to tell. As the group approached the house, Eugene
started having second thoughts; maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go
to the house on the hill, after all.
Finally, the boys made it to the foot of the house. It immediately
became colder. The freezing wind cut through the light material of his
costume.
Butch shoved Eugene to the front of the group. His asthma was
acting up, so he took out his inhaler and puffed. He never felt so scared
in his life. He hoped they would come in with them, but he knew better.
“There it is, Brains-for-Muscles,” Butch cowered in amazement as
he stared up at the house in front of him. “Now, get in there! I don’t
need to tell you twice...” he put his arm up and made a fist. Eugene was
about to explode with fear. He looked at the bullies on his left, then at
the house on his right. He automatically chose the house rather than the
bullies. He shivered in fear. His back started to sweat and his mouth
quivered anxiously. He very badly wanted to go home, in his safe room,
but he knew that would be impossible now. The bullies crowded around
him, pushing and punching. Eugene trembled so badly, he stumbled over
and onto the front porch. Big Bobby grabbed him by the armpits and
dragged him inside. Butch, Jimmy, and Roderick followed behind, highfiving each other as if they won the “Take a loser to the haunted house”
contest.
Suddenly, the door closed hard behind them. A yellow glow
materialized and turned into a transparent girl.
“You mustn’t have entered the house on the hill. It is too
dangerous, too scary, and too shrill. Ho, ho, ho! Hee, hee, hee! Turn
around and look who peed!” her voice was soft and frail. The gang looked
at Eugene, expecting him to have a wet bottom, but it was Butch who
had gone pee. The bully’s face was turning beet-red. His friends and
Eugene laughed at him, pointing fingers. Even the ghost girl started
laughing, and then she disappeared.
“Loser!” Roderick Rufferson teased. Eugene felt good. For once, it
wasn’t him who was being humiliated
After Butch had calmed down, Jimmy tried the door to escape. To
his surprise, it was stuck. He tugged on the knob again. It still didn’t
budge. Eugene, who felt silly wearing a Spiderman mask, took it off, and
helped Jimmy. Eugene felt braver, not just because he made Butch look
ridiculous, but because he had somewhat a buddy. He kicked the door
and scowled in pain. Maybe he wasn’t strong enough yet.
“Let me help,” Bobby said. Roderick saw him back up until his back
was against the far wall, and charged.
Butch, Roderick, Jimmy and Eugene looked away. Bobby’s arm was
bent in a weird way, and the door was still closed. For some reason, the
door seemed to fix itself. Eugene was familiar with the way the door
repaired itself.
“The Kaka-Glomaka plant!” he exclaimed. Through his howling,
Bobby looked at him, surprised.
Eugene continued: “They grow on the edges of doors and are as
strong as solid iron”. That was it; all the doors probably had KakaGlomaka plants on them. Maybe they could escape through the upstairs
window...
“Hey, smarty-pants! Where do you think you’re going?” asked Butch
in a tone that meant he was annoyed. He was a little shaken, especially
after he saw the riddling girl ghost. He was also very surprised at
Eugene’s sudden bravery. Butch wasn’t used to being made fun of. His
angry and envious thoughts were interrupted by Roderick.
“What are you waiting around for, dude?” he called. “Eugene’s got
a plan!” with that, he climbed the rickety stairs to what looked like a
loft. Butch followed his friend. The second floor was even messier than
the first. Insulation was strewn all over the floor. Loose papers and
cheques were ripped up and occupied any available spot. The stained
glass windows had multiple layers of dust on it, and an old lamination
machine lay in a deserted corner. He spotted Eugene and the others in
the center of the room, holding hammers and axes. Eugene held his
hammer weakly in his hands. He made a grunting noise in his chest.”
“Hey, Butch. We’re trying to bust open the window and escape,”
Bobby explained. HIs arm was in a makeshift cast. Jimmy aimed his axe
and whipped it. It shot straight through the window. The glass broke like
candy. The glass wasn’t extremely pointy, and the hole was big enough to
squeeze through. It would only be a short fall into the yard. Eugene
dropped his tool and looked awkwardly at the ground below. He felt his
breath get knocked out of him right there.
He was so scared. He started worrying and sweating and
hyperventilating. You have to do it, thought Eugene; you can’t live your
entire life afraid. Gathering his guts, he held his breath and jumped
out... into the yard guarded by two large bulldogs. He landed face-first
into the yard, face to face with the beast.
“EEEEEEEEEP! I’m allergic to dogs!” Eugene rapidly scurried around
the yard, screaming like a little girl. The dogs barked and one ripped a
piece off his costume.
“Help! Roderick? Jimmy? Bobby?” he wailed desperately. Luckily,
Butch heard his screams and hopped out to the rescue. He scooped
Eugene up and threw him over the fence. He landed once again on his
face. He got up and rubbed his cheek. He saw the rest of the boys jump
out the window and scream. One by one, the boys emerged over the
fence. Jimmy must’ve been strong, because he carried Bobby all the way.
Butch was still in the back year, probably being ripped to bits. Butch
wasn’t the nicest boy, but he was still a friend. Soon, Eugene found
himself running again, over the fence, and onto the damp grass. He
landed on his feet and found Butch laying in the grass with the two dogs
piling on him. Eugene puffed out his chest.
“Get off of him!” he hollered. He jumped angrily on one dog and
forced it down. Wrestling one cross dog was NOT easy. Wrestling TWO
cross dogs was downright difficult.
“Eugene, behind you!” Butch screamed. Eugene couldn’t
comprehend what he said in time, and one of the two animals tripped
him. Eugene felt his head tingle, like it never did before. He got up
groggily and stomped over to a dog, picked it up, and shoved it into the
dog house. He did the same for the other and shut the door tightly. Butch
got up and limped over to the geek.
“Wow, dude, I’ve never seen you do that before. That was
awesome!” He shouted happily. “Now, we have to get out of this yard of
death”. Eugene looked up at the window of the house. The bully followed
his gaze. The only way out was to go back into the house of horrors and
bust another window. Eugene shrugged.
“Let’s blow this popsicle stand”
And so the duo hefted themselves up, which wasn’t easy for
Eugene, who was weak at gym and couldn’t last through a single chin-up.
After what felt like hours, they finally made it to the window and climbed
in. Butch picked up a hammer and...
BAM!
The window flew wide open, throwing glass shards all over the
room. The geek and the bully peered out the hole. It was big enough to
fit at least a body and a half.
“You’re a good kid, Greenwart,” Butch said, patting Eugene’s
sweaty back.
“You, too, Butegger,” Eugene did the same. And so the two unlikely
friends jumped out the window into freedom.
That Monday the popular kids were flabbergasted at the sight of
Eugene Greenwart, the geekiest geek at school, sitting at Butch
Butegger’s lunch table in the cafeteria. Things were looking good for
Eugene. He started to become a real kid, with real friends and real
clothes. But inside, he was still the same candy-loving chess-playing dork
he always was.
The End!