it angered me a lot that despite what
Shayne had done, I hadn’t hated the flow of his breath on my face. Or the grip of his fingers, tight around my wrist.
On Hallowe’en night, as soon as it was dark, the three of us went outside. Mel met up with the rest of the boys and Sandra skipped off with the twins. She’d made it
clear she didn’t want to be seen with me, mainly because I’d decided not to go overboard with the dressing up. I wore just the devil mask, my dark grey slacks and a black polo neck
jumper of Dad’s. She’d wanted me to wear a length of red ribbon for a tail but I said no. She said I looked stupid but I didn’t care. I preferred to go around by myself
anyway.
Bridie’s was the first house I went to. Despite my plaits dangling out from behind my mask, she had no idea who I was.
‘And who’s the little devil?’ she asked, genuinely puzzled. It was only when I asked her had she sliced the brack I’d help her make that she realized who I was.
‘Ruth! I’d never have guessed it was you!’ she said, getting all excited. She reached in to her hall table then thrust a plate of brack under my nose, making sure the biggest,
thickest slice was the nearest to me and giving me a big wink when I took it. I slid my mask up to the top of my head and bit into the brack, pretending to be completely surprised at finding the
ring buried in the middle. ‘Well, now! You’ll be married within the year!’ she laughed, flinging a whole net of monkey nuts into my bag along with a bunch of red grapes, a handful
of Iced Caramels and two large Jaffa oranges. I slipped the ring on my finger, squeezed it tight, and went on my way.
Out on the green, a throng was beginning to gather. Shayne was dancing around the unlit bonfire, wearing Liz’s fringed suede waistcoat, a pair of cowboy boots like the ones I’d seen
peeping out from under Liz’s bed, and a purple feather stuck behind his ear. David sat on the black leather armchair, dressed in his normal smart clothes, unconcerned at the scene around him.
He had one of Paddy’s offcuts on his knees and was using it as an imaginary keyboard, tapping his fingers across its surface, his hair falling over his eyes as he ‘played’. He
made a face over at me, acting as if my disguise had given him a fright, then he laughed really loud and stared at me for ages.
My plastic bag rustled as I walked, its contents banging against my knees. The inside of my mask became damp and warm as I breathed, and I kept having to push it to the top of my head so I
didn’t feel like I was going to suffocate. As I went along the path, I held out my hand to admire the emerald stone in the ring. I loved the way it flashed and glittered like a cat’s
eye in the moonlight. I was glad Bridie had made sure I got it. Sandra might demand the one from our own brack, but she could hardly make me hand over this one too. Bridie had been wrong about her
brack though; shop-bought tasted much better than homemade. I spat out the bite I’d taken and tossed the remainder of the slice over a wall.
When I called to David’s house, Mr O’Dea answered the door. He glanced up from the folded newspaper he was reading then stared at me when I asked him to ‘help the
Hallowe’en party’, as if he’d no idea what night it was. So I said it again, in case my voice had been a bit muffled coming from behind my mask. He scratched his head and called
for Mrs O’Dea, who came to the door carrying a brown speckled banana and four brazil nuts, which she dumped in the bottom of my bag without saying a word.
As I went from house to house, the crowd on the green continued to grow. More parents came and stood around chatting, stamping their feet against the cold. Some kids gathered in small groups,
heads bowed as they looked into each other’s bags, while others ran in and out of the trees and bushes, whooping and shrieking with excitement. I made my way over, satisfied now that
I’d done my
Shayne had done, I hadn’t hated the flow of his breath on my face. Or the grip of his fingers, tight around my wrist.
On Hallowe’en night, as soon as it was dark, the three of us went outside. Mel met up with the rest of the boys and Sandra skipped off with the twins. She’d made it
clear she didn’t want to be seen with me, mainly because I’d decided not to go overboard with the dressing up. I wore just the devil mask, my dark grey slacks and a black polo neck
jumper of Dad’s. She’d wanted me to wear a length of red ribbon for a tail but I said no. She said I looked stupid but I didn’t care. I preferred to go around by myself
anyway.
Bridie’s was the first house I went to. Despite my plaits dangling out from behind my mask, she had no idea who I was.
‘And who’s the little devil?’ she asked, genuinely puzzled. It was only when I asked her had she sliced the brack I’d help her make that she realized who I was.
‘Ruth! I’d never have guessed it was you!’ she said, getting all excited. She reached in to her hall table then thrust a plate of brack under my nose, making sure the biggest,
thickest slice was the nearest to me and giving me a big wink when I took it. I slid my mask up to the top of my head and bit into the brack, pretending to be completely surprised at finding the
ring buried in the middle. ‘Well, now! You’ll be married within the year!’ she laughed, flinging a whole net of monkey nuts into my bag along with a bunch of red grapes, a handful
of Iced Caramels and two large Jaffa oranges. I slipped the ring on my finger, squeezed it tight, and went on my way.
Out on the green, a throng was beginning to gather. Shayne was dancing around the unlit bonfire, wearing Liz’s fringed suede waistcoat, a pair of cowboy boots like the ones I’d seen
peeping out from under Liz’s bed, and a purple feather stuck behind his ear. David sat on the black leather armchair, dressed in his normal smart clothes, unconcerned at the scene around him.
He had one of Paddy’s offcuts on his knees and was using it as an imaginary keyboard, tapping his fingers across its surface, his hair falling over his eyes as he ‘played’. He
made a face over at me, acting as if my disguise had given him a fright, then he laughed really loud and stared at me for ages.
My plastic bag rustled as I walked, its contents banging against my knees. The inside of my mask became damp and warm as I breathed, and I kept having to push it to the top of my head so I
didn’t feel like I was going to suffocate. As I went along the path, I held out my hand to admire the emerald stone in the ring. I loved the way it flashed and glittered like a cat’s
eye in the moonlight. I was glad Bridie had made sure I got it. Sandra might demand the one from our own brack, but she could hardly make me hand over this one too. Bridie had been wrong about her
brack though; shop-bought tasted much better than homemade. I spat out the bite I’d taken and tossed the remainder of the slice over a wall.
When I called to David’s house, Mr O’Dea answered the door. He glanced up from the folded newspaper he was reading then stared at me when I asked him to ‘help the
Hallowe’en party’, as if he’d no idea what night it was. So I said it again, in case my voice had been a bit muffled coming from behind my mask. He scratched his head and called
for Mrs O’Dea, who came to the door carrying a brown speckled banana and four brazil nuts, which she dumped in the bottom of my bag without saying a word.
As I went from house to house, the crowd on the green continued to grow. More parents came and stood around chatting, stamping their feet against the cold. Some kids gathered in small groups,
heads bowed as they looked into each other’s bags, while others ran in and out of the trees and bushes, whooping and shrieking with excitement. I made my way over, satisfied now that
I’d done my
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