To Infinity...

Fall had arrived in Briar Glen, and Halloween was in full swing at Blackwood Middle School. Every year, the school hosted its annual Halloween party, complete with orange streamers, hanging bats, carved pumpkins, and enough sugary snacks to make a dentist cry. The gym smelled like caramel apples and popcorn, while Monster Mash blasted through the speakers.

I couldn't have been happier! 

I stood near the center of the gym, adjusting the purple hood of my Buzz Lightyear costume. My white armor and green chest plate shone beneath the lights, and my oversized wings bumped into people whenever I turned around. I had spent weeks putting the costume together, even convincing my dad to help attach the wings.

Tonight, all that hard work was going to pay off.

Especially because Caleb Foster, my best friend, had been bragging about his vampire costume for weeks. Caleb wore a long black cape with red lining, slicked-back hair, and plastic fangs he clicked together whenever he talked.

“Just wait,” Caleb said. “When they announce the winner, you're going to wish you picked something better than a space ranger.”

I pressed the button on my wrist.

“To infinity and beyond!”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “You're so annoying.”

Across the gym, Sadie Collins, dressed as a witch, argued with Ethan Brooks, a mad scientist, about his black-painted pumpkin. Jordan Reyes, dressed as a skeleton, stole candy corn from the refreshment table. Nearby, students bobbed for apples, raced around chairs during musical chairs with desserts, and hurried to finish painting pumpkins before the timer buzzed.

Orange and purple lights flashed across the basketball hoops. Fake spiderwebs stretched between the bleachers, and a plastic skeleton guarded the entrance beneath a sign reading ENTER IF YOU DARE. 

I love Halloween. For one night, nobody worries about homework or tests. Everyone gets to be somebody else.

Then the principal announced the costume contest winner.

“And this year's winner is... Milo Bennett, as Buzz Lightyear!”

The gym erupted in applause. I accepted a golden plastic pumpkin trophy and grinned, waiting for my picture to be take.

Caleb disappeared.

I finally find him near the back of the gym, squeezing his second-place trophy so tightly that its plastic base cracked.

“Hey, man. You okay?”

“Congratulations, Buzz.”

“Come on. You had a good costume, too.”

“Right,” Caleb muttered. “Because that's what matters.”

He disappeared into the crowd.

I give up and wandered toward the refreshment table. Among the cupcakes, caramel apples, and popcorn balls, one snack caught my eye. It was tied with a purple ribbon, unlike the orange and black ribbons on the others. This one matches my costume!

“Victory snack.”

I took a bite. The popcorn was sticky and sweet; with a strange aftertaste I couldn't quite place.

Across the gym, Caleb stood near the exit. Our eyes meet, then Caleb turns away.

A few minutes later, the lights seem too bright, the music too loud. My stomach twists, and the gym tilts beneath my feet.

I need air.

The party continued. Students bobbed for apples in a plastic tub, shrieking when their faces hit the freezing water. During musical chairs, Jordan knocked over a bowl of candy corn trying to save his seat. Sadie painted a pumpkin with a crooked witch’s face, while Ethan attempted to convince everyone that his mad scientist costume included a real experiment.

By the time my parents picked me up, I was sweating beneath my costume. My mouth felt strange, and the gym lights still seemed too bright. Mom asked if I had eaten too much candy.

“Probably,” I said, leaning against the car window.

At home, I stumbled upstairs and collapsed onto my bed. The clock on my nightstand read 9:17. I remember staring at the glowing numbers, wondering why my chest felt so tight.

Then everything went dark.

The next morning, I woke up feeling cold.

Not the normal kind of cold, either. It felt like I had spent the night inside a freezer. I sat up, rubbed my arms, and looked at the clock.

7:32.

Great. I was going to be late.

I rushed downstairs, shouting for Mom, but she didn't answer. She was standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, staring out the window. Her eyes were red, and her face looked as if she hadn't slept.

“Mom? I'm going to miss the bus!”

She didn't turn around.

I grabbed my backpack from beside the door and hurried outside. The bus was already pulling away, so I ran after it, waving my arms.

“HEY! WAIT!”

The bus kept going.

I hurried toward Blackwood Middle School. By the time I reached the building, students were pouring through the doors, laughing and complaining about homework.

I spotted Sadie, Jordan, and Ethan near the lockers.

“Guys!” I called.

They walked straight past me.

I turned around; certain they were messing with me.

“Very funny. You can stop now.”

Nobody turned.

Caleb stood a few lockers away, talking to two boys from our science class. When he saw me, his smile vanished. He glanced at the floor and hurried toward the classroom.

I felt my stomach twist again.

So that was it. They had all taken Caleb's side. He had probably told everyone that I had cheated in the costume contest or stolen his idea. Knowing Caleb, he had made himself the victim, and everyone had believed him.

I followed them into homeroom.

Mrs. Hensley was writing the day's assignments on the board. I dropped into my usual seat and pulled out my notebook.

“Good morning, everyone,” she said, though her voice sounded tired.

She looked toward my desk for half a second before turning away.

I raised my hand.

She continued talking.

I raised it higher.

Nothing.

I waved my arm like I was trying to flag down a helicopter. She called on Jordan, who answered a question about the reading assignment.

I stared at him.

Seriously?

A strange feeling crawled up my spine.

During English, I tried again. We were discussing symbolism, and I actually knew the answer for once.

“What does the broken watch represent in the story?” Mr. Danner asked.

I shot my hand into the air.

Mr. Danner called on a girl in the front row, who gave almost the exact same answer I was thinking.

I slumped in my chair.

This was ridiculous. I had spent years trying to get teachers to call on me, and now that I was finally participating, they were acting like I didn't exist.

At lunch, I found my friends at our usual table.

“Move over,” I said, sliding toward the empty seat between Sadie and Jordan.

I passed straight through the chair.

For one horrible second, I felt as though I were falling through an endless pit. Then I was standing on the other side of the table, staring at my friends.

My mouth fell open.

I looked at the chair. Then at my hands.

They were pale and almost see-through, like fog pressed into the shape of fingers.

“No,” I whispered.

I reached for Jordan's shoulder. My hand passed through him.

He shivered and rubbed his arm.

“Why is it so cold over here?” he asked.

I backed away.

Sadie lowered her voice. “I keep thinking Milo should be sitting with us.”

My name hit me harder than a punch.

Jordan looked down at his lunch tray. “I still can't believe he's gone.”

Gone?

Ethan swallowed. “They said his parents found him in his room this morning.”

I stared at them, waiting for one of them to laugh. Waiting for someone to say this was a sick joke.

Nobody did.

Sadie wiped her eyes. “The police think he ate something poisoned at the Halloween party.”

The cafeteria seemed to tilt.

Poisoned?

I remembered the popcorn ball. The bitter taste. The pain in my chest. The clock glowing 9:17.

I tried to scream, but the sound came out as a thin whisper that nobody heard.

I was dead.

And apparently, my friends were discussing it over chicken nuggets.

I spent the rest of the school day following my friends. I needed answers, and if anyone knew what had happened at the party, it was them.

After the final bell, Sadie lingered near the lockers, digging through her backpack. I drifted beside her. Caleb walked by her, bumping his shoulder into hers.

I followed him home that afternoon. His house was dark except for the blue glow of a television in the living room. He sat on the couch, still wearing his school clothes, with the costume contest trophy on the coffee table.

My trophy.

He stared at it as if it might bite him.

“You did this,” I whispered.

Caleb jerked his head toward the stairs.

“Who's there?”

I stepped closer. “Caleb.”

He stumbled backward, knocking a pillow onto the floor.

I felt the room grow colder. The television flickered, and the trophy slid a few inches across the table.

Caleb stared at it, trembling.

He started crying.

As I drifted toward the door, something caught my eye. A scrap of purple ribbon was sticking out from beneath the trophy's cracked base. I reached for it, but my fingers passed through the plastic.

The lights flickered again.

The trophy tipped over and struck the table with a sharp crack.

Caleb screamed.

I didn't look back.