Monday was a chilly and cloudy afternoon, and the air was buzzing with excitement. The Herrera sisters strolled down the street with a purpose. Their first mission: to borrow a fog machine from the mysterious old man, Mr. Grimsby, who lived at the end of their street.
No one really knows Mr. Grimsby. He’s a private person, keeping himself isolated from the community. The mystery of Mr. Grimsby has become lore among the kids in town. What’s interesting though is Mr. Grimsby was known for his elaborate Halloween decorations. It was the favorite destination for the entire neighborhood, and this year, everyone expected something that would surpass last year’s spectacle. He owned many contraptions, one of them being a fog machine that covered his yard in fog so thick, you could barely see your hand.
Determined to make their haunted house the spookiest on the block, Olivia had the idea of asking Mr. Grimsby for it, and while Amelia objected initially, in the end, she went along with it.
They approach Mr. Grimsby’s house.
“This won’t work,” says Amelia shaking her head as Olivia beams beside her.
Olivia enjoyed how Mr. Grimsby’s house scared all the other kids. It was fun to see them scurry away.
“Why?”
“Have you heard the stories? Mr. Grimsby is scary,” says Amelia.
“Oh please. He’s just a quiet old man. He’s harmless. All we’re going to do is knock on his door and ask to borrow his fog machine.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You wanted a fog machine, right?”
“Yea, but I was thinking of asking daddy, not asking creepy old Mr. Grimsby,” says Amelia.
Just then, a loud growl surprises the sisters from behind.
“RWAR!!!”
The roar sends them stumbling forward over each other, squealing as a Friday the 13th mask appears out of nowhere behind them. The sisters quickly recover and turn to each other, their hearts pounding as the growling sound is replaced with bullish laughter. A laughter Amelia recognizes all too well. She turns slowly to the perpetrator who removes his mask. Her eyes fill with rage.
“Sebastian!” Amelia yells as she gets to her feet.
Sebastian is in Amelia’s class and known to be a bully among his peers, but Amelia has never experienced his antics directly, though she’s heard whispers from her friends.
Sebastian holds his stomach as he belts with laughter.
“You should’ve seen your faces!” he says, pointing at the sisters.
Olivia grabs Sebastian by his collar. “You little booger! What’s your problem!” she says.
Sebastian raises his hands in surrender. “Whoa, calm down. It was only a joke.”
Olivia shoves him away and dusts herself off.
“What are you doing here Sebastian?” asks Amelia.
Sebastian looks at her confused. “What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here. What are you doing here.”
“Wait, you know Mr. Grimsby?” Amelia asks.
“Of course I know him. He’s my grandpa.”
“Grandpa?” both sisters say in unison.
“Yup. I stay with him in October to help with the Halloween decorations.”
Olivia chuckles. “I feel for him, having a dimwit for a grandson,” she says.
Sebastian gives Olivia a side glance and picks up his mask. “So, why are you both here?”
“Just walking by,” says Amelia.
Sebastian looks at her suspiciously. “Look, if you’re here to poke fun at my grandpa, I won’t let you. Everybody makes up stories about him and none of them are true. Gets me angry. They call me a bully, but they’re the ones being mean.”
Amelia looks surprised by Sebastian’s sincerity. All this time she thought he was just some mean boy who enjoyed messing with other kids for fun. Turns out, he’s just defending his grandpa.
“We’re not here to make fun of your grandpa. We’re here hoping to borrow his fog machine,” she says.
“His fog machine? Why?” he asks.
Amelia hesitates. Olivia rolls her eyes. “Look, we’re setting up a haunted house party and the fog machine will help. Can you get it for us or not?” Olivia says impatiently.
Sebastian crosses his arms. “Well, not with that attitude. Besides, grandpa doesn’t like people touching his stuff.”
“You’re not people. You’re his grandson,” Olivia retorts.
Sebastian thinks about it.
“Just think of it as an adventure,” Amelia chimes in.
Sebastian eyes go wide, and he smiles.
....
Sebastian leads Olivia and Amelia into the backyard. The grass is almost as high as Amelia’s 4-foot frame. Vines cover the fence and the tree branches overhang above, like arms reaching out to them. Amelia held on to Olivia’s shirt tight.
The garage door creaked as Sebastian pulled it open. The kids enter.
Inside the garage was a world of man-made machinery and tools scattered everywhere, unorganized. It was dirty and smelled of rust. The single lightbulb above flickered. It was very creepy.
Sebastian rummages through the mess. “Grandpa spends a lot of his time here building all kinds of things. He’s very smart.”
Olivia picks up a contraption that looks like a mouse trap. She holds it up for Amelia to see. Amelia only shrugs as if to say, I don’t know.
“Ah ha!” yells Sebastian. He pulls out the fog machine. “Found it.”
Just as he holds it up, Mr. Grimsby’s voice calls out from outside.
“Sebby, is that you?” says Mr. Grimsby.
Amelia turns to Sebastian, a cringey look on her face. “Sebby?” she whispers to him.
Sebastian turns red from embarrassment. “It’s my nickname, shut up!” he whispers back.
He waves for them to hide. Olivia and Amelia quickly scurry behind some machines out of sight. Mr. Grimsby enters the garage.
“Sebby, what are you doing in here?”
“Oh, hi grandpa. I was just looking at your stuff.”
“Yea? What are you doing with my fog machine?”
Sebastian forgot he was holding it. Amelia leans in closer to get a better look at Mr. Grimsby.
“Oh, I was um, just looking at it… it’s so shiny” Sebastian says nervously.
Olivia looks down and shakes her head.
“Shiny? What are you up to Sebby?” asks Mr. Grimsby suspiciously.
Amelia stumbles forward, knocking down several tools, startling Mr. Grimsby.
“What in the world!” Mr. Grimsby says startled.
Amelia looks up speechless.
“Amelia? How did you get here?” Sebastian says, playing dumb.
His grandpa looks at him suspiciously. Olivia comes out of hiding and sighs out of annoyance. Mr. Grimsby looks at the sisters then back at Sebastian.
“Sebby, what’s going on?”
“uhhh…”
Sebastian doesn’t know what to say. Olivia crosses her arms waiting to hear whatever smart remark comes out of his mouth. Mr. Grimsby helps Amelia to her feet.
“Are you ok little one?” he asks Amelia.
“I’m ok.”
“Good. Now, can someone tell me what’s going on? Sebby, who are these girls. You know I don’t like people in my garage, especially kids. It’s too dangerous,” Mr. Grimsby says with authority.
“Sorry grandpa. They just wanted to borrow the fog machine for their haunted house party.”
“Haunted house?” says Mr. Grimsby excitingly.
Olivia steps forward trying hard not to show her giddiness. “Hi Mr. Grimsby. Big fan. My name is Olivia, and this is my sister Amelia. We live down the street. My sister here has this grand plan for a haunted house activity at the stable behind our house for Halloween and we thought the fog machine would be a nice touch so --.”
“So, you thought sneaking into my garage and stealing would be ok,” he says sarcastically.
For the first time, Olivia doesn’t know what to say. Mr. Grimsby turns to Amelia and kneels beside her.
“So, you’re the one with the grand plan. Tell me then, why a haunted house? Do you like scaring people?”
“No,” says Amelia.
“No? So, then why do you want to do this.”
Amelia glances at Sebastian, then at Olivia.
“It’s ok. Go on,” he says.
Amelia leans in and whispers in his ear. Mr. Grimsby smiles big, his eyes brighten. Olivia and Sebastian look at each other confused. Mr. Grimsby stands up with new energy.
“Well then, you’re going to need more than just a fog machine.”