Spicee and Margaret were best friends, even though they didn’t agree on much of anything.
“Edgar Allen Poe,” Margaret would say.
“Absolutely not. R.L. Stine,” Spicee would counter.
“Bluegrass,” Margaret sighed happily.
“Punk rock,” insisted Spicee.
But they agreed about October.
“Apple cider,” said Spicee.
“The colors on the trees,” said Margaret.
“Halloween!” they shouted as one.
“What is Halloween?” asked Allen.
“Are you from Mars?” Margaret cried.
“Something like that,” he said.
“Halloween is our favorite,” Spicee said.
“Why is that?”
Spicee screamed with delight. “Oh, all the candy and the decorations and the costumes and the ghosts and goblins and dancing skeletons and the Monster Mash and the parties and the unicorns and ten thousand princesses and everything!”
“I’m surprised you like ‘Monster Mash,’” Margaret said.
“It’s a graveyard smash!” Spicee said with glee.
“You look unhappy, Mr. Alien,” Margaret said suddenly. “Are you OK?”
“You can call me Allen,” Allen said, taken by surprise. “What makes you think I’m sad?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe you just look thoughtful.
“No, I thought he looked unhappy, too,” Spicee said. “What’s the matter?”
Allen said. “Fearless Leader is not convinced that Earth is ready to join the interplanetary federation. And even worse — oh, never mind. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world,” Margaret said.
Allen started to reply, but chose not to.
“You should come to our Halloween party!” Spicee said. “It will cheer you right up.”
“And your little dog, too,” Margaret added.
“I don’t have a dog,” Allen said.
“That’s just something Margaret says,” said Spicee. “I’ve never figured out why.”
The fierce happiness of the two friends did shake Allen out of his funk.
“When is this party?” he asked.
“Yay!!” they cried together.
“This gives me goosebumps!” Spicee said.
“Nevermore,” Margaret said.
This planet might be backwards, but it was not beyond hope. Allen decided then and there that he would not let Fearless Leader make any hasty decisions about its future.
