The Girl of Nightmares

By: Augustine Lesiuk

Does falling in love during Halloween bring bad luck? Anthony had fallen in love in almost every season of the year. His first girlfriend dated him during Christmas and dumped him before the New Years. Girlfriend number two dated him during Valentines and in the end; she gave him a box of broken hearts. His latest girl friend ditched him during an all night Easter eggs hunt.
Sitting in a McDonald’s store with his friend, Anthony described his latest break up.
“She left me in the park all night and she took the flashlight with her. It took me till morning before I found my way back home,” said Anthony.
“Dude, you’re the unluckiest guy in the world,” said Dave.
“I know, but I’m looking forward in finding another girlfriend before the Halloween dance,” said Anthony.
“Is it a habit for you to get dumped during the seasonal holidays?” said Dave.
“Hey, how do you know I’ll get dumped this time? I might actually get a keeper,” said Anthony.
“Well, who are you planning to go out with this time?” said Dave.
“Elizabeth” said Anthony.
“Elizabeth? That pale creepy girl in our grade?” said Dave.
“Why not? She’s hot” said Anthony.
“I’m not complaining, it’s just that she seems really strange. I’m afraid what she’ll do to you when you get dumped by her,” said Dave.
“When?” said Anthony.
“Sorry, I mean “if”,” said Dave.

The next day when school started, Anthony went straight to Elizabeth’s locker and waited for her. When she came, he asked her to dance with him in the Halloween dance. Not surprised, she immediately accepted.
During the week before the Halloween dance, Anthony began to wonder if asking Elizabeth out was a good idea. Sure she’s hot, but like what Dave said about her, she was really strange. She tried to follow Anthony where ever he goes, stuck close to him like a shadow. She would mumble to herself half the time whenever Anthony tried talking with her. And when he wasn’t looking, she kept trying to pull strands of his hair. He started to feel irritated.
Finally on the day of the dance, Anthony was dressed up in a suit. He waited for Elizabeth in the dance room while everyone else danced. After waiting for her longer than he wanted, he decided to dance with someone else.
“Hey, wanna dance with me?” Anthony asked the girl who was sitting next to him.
“Sure, why not?” said the girl.
While Anthony was dancing with the girl, he didn’t notice Elizabeth entering the room. Once she saw Anthony dancing with another girl she stared at the couple with fueling anger. She immediately left the dance room.
Outside, Elizabeth pulled out some sort of a flask filled with green liquid. While chanting some sort of (repetitive) a spell, she put some of Anthony’s hair inside the flask. A puff of smoke came out.
“Well Anthony, I hope you enjoy this dance. It’ll be the last dance you’ll ever enjoy,” she said with a (an evil) grin.

The next day, Anthony got up from his bed with a headache, as if someone hit him. When he walked to the mirror he screamed at the top of his lungs. All of his hair was (hairs were?) gone. His bald head was shiny enough to reflect his reflection.
“Wh-what happened?” said Anthony.
Looking at the clock next to his mirror, he realized that he was going to be late for school. He quickly changed his clothes without a shower. Then Anthony hid his bald head with a bandana. After that, he grabbed his bike and began riding.
The moment he left his neighborhood, the front tire of his bike wheel burst. Anthony fell on his side into a muddy sidewalk. His clothes were ruined.
“What’s going on? Why is this happening to me?” said Anthony as he got up.
Deciding that he was in no condition for school, he began to walk back. On his way back he found a McDonald’s shop. He was hungry so he ordered a cheeseburger for his breakfast from the counter. After swiftly getting his order he left the store and took a bite out of the cheeseburger. Suddenly he felt something explode in his mouth. He pulled his burger out of his mouth and found half a cockroach on top of the meat. He immediately spat the burger out.
Suddenly his cell phone rang, Dave was calling him.
“Dude what happened? Are you sick or something?” said Dave.
“I have no idea, strange things are happening this morning,” said Anthony.
“Strange?”

“Yeah, I woke up to find myself bald.”
“What? How can that be? Look, I have to get to class, good luck with whatever problem you’re having, ok?”
After Dave hung up, Anthony dumped his burger and grabbed his bike. His torment had only begun.
Ever since that dreadful morning, his whole week had been a living nightmare for Anthony. In a few short days, pimples covered his entire face. In school he was bullied by the people who used to like him. All of his quizzes and tests had grades below average no matter how much he studied. His volleyball games were horrible as the ball always somehow hit’s him on spots where it hurts. By the end of the week, he was in terrible shape.
One day he saw Elizabeth and thought that maybe all of his bad luck had been her doing. So he waited in front of her locker for a chat.
“What did you do to me? You did something didn’t you?” said Anthony.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” said Elizabeth.
“Look, I’m sorry for dancing with another girl, but what you’re doing to me is pure torture,” cried Anthony.
“What am I doing to you?” said Elizabeth.
“I don’t know, but it’s obvious you did something,” said Anthony.
“If you want my opinion, this looks like something you did to yourself,” she said.
“What?”
Elizabeth remained silent. It was obvious that she wasn’t going to help him. So she turned her back against him and started walking away.
“What are you?” said Anthony.
She stopped and looked him in the eye. “Your newest nightmare,” she said.