One day, Erin and Paul had a major disagreement. Pretty soon, it got really ugly. Erin pretended she needed to use the restroom so that she could cry. When she came out, Allie said, "Erin, you've been in there a long time. Are you okay?" Erin said, "No, I'm not." Allie asked, "What happened?" Erin said, "Paul and I got into an argument." Allie said, "Oh, no. I'm so sorry. What were you two arguing about?" Erin said, "I don't want to talk about it." Then, she walked away. It was an awful feeling, arguing with her best friend. She had to make up with him. She just had to! She couldn't lose her best friend, not again! She already lost her first best friend, Barry. She couldn't lose Paul, too! The weather was quite pleasant, and their science teacher decided to have class outside. Toward the end of class, Erin saw a couple of bullies being mean to Paul. Suddenly, they were throwing rocks at him. Erin quickly rose to her feet and shouted, "Oh, no! Not on my watch!" She punched one of the bullies in the nose, causing it to bleed. She glared at them and said, "I better not see this again, or next time, it won't just be a nose!" The teacher winked at her and said, "I didn't see anything." She smiled. The bell rang, and she turned around, but Paul had already gone inside. At the end of the day, Erin walked down the halls with Allie, and they talked. Erin then spotted Paul at his locker and said to Allie, "Allie, you go on. I'll check on Paul." Allie said, "Okay, cool." Erin walked up to Paul and asked, "Are you okay?" Paul looked at her and asked, "Why did you step in like that?" She said, "They were throwing rocks at you, Paul." He said, "You stood up for me after all those terrible things I said to you." She said, "You're my friend, Paul, arguments or no arguments." He smiled and said, "Thank you. I'm really sorry about what I said." She said, "I'm sorry, too." The two friends hugged. Erin never felt happier. She then said, "You're not hurt, are you?" Paul smiled and said, "No, I'm okay." She said, "That's good." After the bus stopped near Paul's house, Paul said, "Erin, you're my best friend." Erin smiled and said, "You're mine, too, Paul." From that day forward, Erin began to value friendship even more.
Some time later, Una and Everett were settled in a cozy small cafe eating sandwiches and sipping pumpkin spice lattes while foil cutouts of cute ghosts and pumpkins hung from the walls around them.
"Thanks again, Una," Everett said after a time. "I just... I don't like small spaces very much."
Una smiled at him and reached across the table to touch his hand. "Hey, you saved my life once. It's time I saved yours."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, enjoying this much calmer stage of their Halloween celebrations. Una was first to break it.
"I can't believe we solved a real mystery! I can't wait to go home and tell Mother what the secret of the haunted house is."
"Yes," Everett smiled at her. "The secret is my talented actress and her ghost impression."
Una beamed.
"Thanks again, Una," Everett said after a time. "I just... I don't like small spaces very much."
Una smiled at him and reached across the table to touch his hand. "Hey, you saved my life once. It's time I saved yours."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a bit, enjoying this much calmer stage of their Halloween celebrations. Una was first to break it.
"I can't believe we solved a real mystery! I can't wait to go home and tell Mother what the secret of the haunted house is."
"Yes," Everett smiled at her. "The secret is my talented actress and her ghost impression."
Una beamed.
"What lead you to the club where you first saw us, Henry?" Les asked. Henry replied, "One of my neighbors told me that a rock band called A Wave Tossed in the Ocean was going to perform at the club that had opened the previous week. I thought that the name sounded interesting, so I asked him what kind of rock music, and he said, 'I think it's stuff from the sixties and seventies.' I was eager to hear the songs from my youth. When I saw you perform, I knew you were the right fit. Of course, you know how we met backstage." Jimmy said, "And the rest is history." Everyone laughed. "Yes," Henry said. "The rest is history." Just then, Felix looked at his cellphone and said, "It's 10:00, guys." Henry said, "We better go to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow." The boys all said, "Okay. Good night, Henry." Henry smiled and said, "Good night, boys. Pleasant dreams." With that, they retired to their beds for the night.
THE END
THE END