Trick or Feet by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underage characters. You have been warned
The night is old, and streetlights glimmer along a street corner. A luminescent moon gazes down upon the land, its bright hues filling the community with its warm glow. Houses are just as lit up, with many of them having decorations out front. Ghouls, goblins, witches, spiders, and all sorts of other trinkets fill the yards with playful fright. On the porch of each home, somewhat well-carved pumpkins flicker with the wavering glow of candles within.
The community is a small one, close enough that many of the neighbors knew each other. The events held by the community were usually the rave and really fostered an environment of belonging. Cubs and teens of various ages filled the streets, many wearing well-thought-out costumes that mirrored their interests. Even those with less well-to-do families participated with either hand-me-down wear or costumes donated from other families. No one was left out.
Amir was a young fennec fox boy who had recently moved to the community from the Middle East. At 11 years of age, the cub was an only child of two loving parents. His father, now a middle-aged businessman who ran his own stock brokerage that operated both in his home country and here. His mother a clothing designer who also had a side gig making custom garments for those who weren't in the know.
They had only been in the country a few months now. Amir had very much been thrown into the thick of things. Not even fully knowing the local tongue, it was very much a strategy of immersion. He had been taught the language in his home country but had never had a chance to practice it except at school. Obviously, things had changed, and he was forced to learn on the fly as he struggled to get by in school.
The boy was enrolled at the local Junior High, a division that didn't exist in his home country. A prestigious academy that is lauded in both academia and extracurriculars. Of course, Amir wasn't quite so willing to dive in headfirst. Only knowing some parts of the language, he was finding it hard to fit in. That is, until the school set him up with a buddy, a boy of the same age who had been known for being friendly by the name of Ezekiel.
Zeek, as he was known by his closer friends, was also an expat. The cheetah boy had been in the country for a few years. His own family was from South Africa but had quickly assimilated into the local culture. The boy had even gone as far as to start his own club on comic books. A group of like-minded boys and girls who favored the finer intricacies of both the Marvel and DC universes.
Amir and Zeek quickly hit it off, even if the fox cub didn't quite understand everything. His broken conversation was easy enough for the cheetah to understand. When Zeek invited him to his superhero club, the smaller fox was all too keen to join. Yet when it came time to attend, the fennec found himself nervous and ended up not going. Of course, the cheetah asked about it, but the other boy wasn't quite so willing to open up to him just yet.
Several weeks passed, and Zeek continued to try to get his new friend involved in most things he did. Yet, every time the fennec turned him down. As Halloween neared, the cheetah tried to come up with something else to include the other boy. Finally, coming up with the idea of inviting him to trick or treat with him. That day at school, the feline decided to bring it up to his friends in hopes that he would join him.
It wasn't until lunchtime that they came across one another. Amir had been put in all the different classes because of his language issues. He had even been given a digital translator, which hadn't helped the issue until this point. Zeek found the smaller fox sitting by himself, as he often did during the lunch break. Taking it upon himself to sit next to him, not just feeling bad but genuinely wanting to offer him company.
"Hey, Amir. How's it going?" The bigger boy put his tray next to his friend and sat down next to him.
The fennec smiled at it. "It good. How you?" The fox's speech was still broken but getting better with each day.
"I'm alright. Do you have any plans for Halloween?" The cheetah began to eat his food.
Amir was confused by it. "What this?"
"You don't know what Halloween is? You know the holiday where we get to go trick-or-treating and stuff." The feline was surprised by it.
The smaller boy shook his head. "No?"
"Well, it's fun. Do you want to go with me? We could dress up as superheroes and stuff." Zeek was hopeful he would agree.
The tan-furred boy quickly nodded, seeming excited about it. "Yes. Want dress up."
"Cool, my parents can pick you up this Friday after school, kay?" The feline smiled warmly at him as he sipped on a small carton of juice.
Amir's tail swished behind him gently. "Yes."
So it had been decided. Zeek was excited that the other cub agreed. The fox, on the other hand, wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. The only part of it that interested him was the dressing-up part of it. After all, his mother was heavily involved in costuming for several television shows. He was fully aware that she could make him whatever he wanted. Already in his mind, he was contemplating what he wanted to go as.
That night, Amir talked to his parents about the ordeal. Surprisingly, they knew more about the holiday than he thought. Telling him all about the practice and what was involved in it. The idea of going house to house in search of candy or tricks seemed all too intriguing to him. Already, he was starting to get excited. The boy knew just who he wanted to dress up as, his favorite fictional character, Superman, and his mother was all too happy to help him with the request.
Over the next few days, his mother got to work on the costume. Making all the fineries in the best of her skills could muster. A sky blue spandex suit with that all too familiar yellow crest on its chest. That signature red "S" demarking who it represented, but most who looked upon it would know from first glance. Topping it off with matching candy red boots and cape, making sure it was long enough to flap in the wind.
Those next few days flew by rather fast for the young fox. The usual responsibilities that came with school kept Amir busy. After all, he had more work to "catch up" with since he was a foreign student. The school was only doing what they thought was best to get him integrated as quickly as possible. But it wasn't a long wait until even Friday frittered away and the final bell of the day clanged down the halls.
The crash of students through the hall at the end of the week was almost always a calamity of noise and disorder. Nothing the administration had ever attempted had ever sated the problem. Amir never rushed himself and always kept to the rear of the flow of traffic. The cub filed out from the entrance of the school as his friend waved over toward him. Zeek had a big smile on his face, and it looked like he'd been waiting for a bit.
"Hey, Amir. Did you bring your costume with you?" The bigger boy asked, casually grinning with glee.
The tan-furred boy nodded. "Yes. In bag."
"Awesome, come on, my parents are picking us up and taking us to my place so we can trick or treat." Zeek skipped along ahead, already looking more than excited about the night ahead.
Following slowly along, the fennec was feeling a bit nervous. His tail between his legs as he was still uncertain about the whole thing. It wasn't until the cheetah was at his parents' car that he turned around and noticed. Quickly retreating to take his friend by the paw.
"Come on, my parents won't bite." The feline just wanted to help his friend.
Before he could protest, the bigger boy had whisked him away. Taking him toward the car loop where the other boys' parents were waiting. Zeek's mother smiled at him from the front seat, the elder feline with a soft but comforting look on her face. The two cubs filed into the back seat, one after the other.
"Hi there, sweety." The cheetah boy's mother said in her usual cheerful tone.
Zeek whined a bit. "Mom…don't call me that in front of my friend."
"Oh, hush. Are you two ready for some trick or treating?" She was fully aware of her son's plans and had permitted them to go.
The feline cub nodded excitedly. "Totally, put the pedal to the metal. I don't want to miss a single second."
She chuckled at her son's enthusiasm but had no intention of playing along with his request. Going no faster than he usually did on her way home. After all, traffic was usually heavier at that time of the day, and she didn't want to get a ticket. It took them the usual amount of time before they arrived at the cheetah's family household. A single-story abode with a modest garden out front. The shrubs and flowers, all equally well kept and trimmed, as his mother was quite the gardener.
The moment they arrived in the parking spot, Zeek wasted no time in exploding out of the door of the car. Pulling along Amir with him, the two of them almost tripped out of it as they got out of it. The woman couldn't help but chuckle at the playfulness of her son, but hoped he wouldn't go and injure both of them in his excitement. She casually got out of the car, seeming unconcerned by the fact that the two of them were waiting at the door.
"Come on, ma. Hurry up…" The bigger boy said impatiently.
Yet, she did not pick up the pace, keeping a small grin on her face as if she were taunting him. Even going as far as to slowly turn the key, only hold the door shut for a moment.
"No running inside." She said firmly, reminding him of the house rules.
The cheetah cub rolled his eyes and nodded. Once again, tugging his friend but going at a much slower pace. She kept an eye on them, and the moment they passed the corner, she heard the quickened pitter-patter of feet across the floor. Chuckling, she knew very little could be done about it and just decided to let it go. Zeek pulled Amir back down a set of stairs to his room, which had been set up in the basement of the property.
The cheetah boy's room was a mess with clothing strewn all over the place. Dirty socks, underwear, and shirts could be seen all across the room. Zeek didn't care much for cleanliness, and his parents weren't ones to pick up after their son. The bigger boy led his friend over to his closet, a small space inside an alcove that was just as messy. Peering within, he didn't search long before pulling out a costume and showing it to Amir.
"Check it out." The feline showed off to him the flash costume his parents had bought him.
Amir had no expectations of what it should look like and simply smiled. "Cool."
It was the first piece of slang he'd learned at school. Zeek's costume was much simpler than his own. A two-piece body suit that was designed to cover him from head to toe, even coming with a hood. Like Amir's, it had a symbol near the chest, except that it was a lightning bolt. The bright red spandex and matching yellow boots and belt were the only things that made it stand out from an otherwise mostly solid color.
Amir took his costume out of his bag, showing it briefly to the other boy.
"Dude, that's awesome. Let's get changes so we can trick or treat. I think we have an extra bucket for you." The cheetah showed him to the bathroom so he could change.
Both of them changed into their costumes in short order. Amir popped his head back into the room with the tight-fitting spandex stretched over his body. His mother had made it rather fit well for him, but not enough to show every curve of his body. Looking at Zeek, his own costume was stretched against him. The cheetah tried to stretch at it, but with each time he did, it just slapped back on his fur.
"Bleh, forget it. Let's just go." The bigger boy figured he could just deal with it.
Leading him back up the stairs and into the living room, Zeek found that his mother had left both of them a candy bucket. A bright orange pumpkin-shaped one for himself and a simple white skull-shaped one for Amir.
"Make sure you're back for dinner. You're friend's parents are picking him up before the usual time." His mother yelled to them from down the hall.
Zeek yelled back to her. "Okay, Mom. I promise."
As he was about to head outside, Amir tugged on him slightly, seeming nervous.
"What's wrong? I promise this will be fun." The cheetah just wanted him to let go of his fears.
Amir got closer to him. "Sorry…"
After a moment more of hesitation, the fennec finally gave in and stepped outside. It wasn't quite that dark yet, though the street lights had already illuminated. Through the streets, cubs of various ages could be seen dressed up in all sorts of costumes. Some of them are wearing silly things, and others trying their best to seem scary. The feline looked back to make sure the other boy was still comfortable.
Amir softly nodded to him, wanting nothing more than to fit in. Sure, he was afraid, but he had convinced himself that he needed to do this. He wanted not only Zeek to like him but the other kids as well. Slowly, they began to trek into the cheetah family's front yard as a group of younger cubs wearing paw patrol costumes passed them. The fox couldn't help but look at them, even cracking a smile at the younger ones holding their parents' smiles.
The cheetah was glad he was relaxing a bit, but knew it was far from over. Making their way out of the front yard, they headed into the main street. A light breeze cast through the area, causing their empty buckets to sway a bit. Heading into the main street, they began following the rest of the foot traffic. A short distance away, they joined some younger cubs who were going to one of Zeek's neighbors.
The house, an undecorated one, was well-lit and had quite the unkempt lawn. The blades of grass were overgrown enough that they brushed against the boys' ankles as they walked through them. Standing there with a few girls, they waited a few moments after the bell was rung. A few moments later, an old Rhino answered the door, handing each of them a small assortment of candy. The older boys thanked him before making their way out of the home.
Zeek's community was a medium-sized one with the typical cookie-cutter shape design. They were all single-story abodes with the same-sized front yards. Only the ones near the edge of it had back yards, as they were larger plots of land. The cheetah and his friend proceeded to the next home. A much more in-season home that had all sorts of faux spider webs spread over the place. Even an animatronic spider could be seen crawling through one of them with its bright red eyes glowing into the night.
The smaller boy hesitated a bit, as he had always harbored a bit of arachnophobia. The over-sensationalized sounds of skittering didn't make it any easier on him. Even tugging on his friend to try not to get him to go into the yard.
"Oh, don't be scared. The spider is fake. See?" The cheetah lightly touched the plastic spider, which continued its regimented movements.
Amir still shied away from it. "But.."
"But nothing, come on." The bigger boy tugged on his friend, forcing him into the yard.
They passed right by the spider, and once they did, the fox didn't feel nearly as anxious about it. Only looking behind him once to make sure they were clear of it. Knocking on the door, they were greeted by a lanky spider woman. Her gray cultist's robes were flowing with black and red frills. A pure white mask half covered her face, and she was wearing faux crimson red contacts to emphasize her eyes. Amir's eyes grew wide as he saw her, darting away in an instant.
Zeek sighed as he apologized to the woman. Of course, she felt just as bad since she had been the reason for the scare. The feline grabbed a bar of chocolate and an extra one for his friend. Immediately padding back to find Amir, he quickened himself back across he front lawn. Looking around, he saw no signs of the other cub until he checked across the street. Finding the other boy hiding behind a hedge of bushes, bundled up and shaking.
"You alright?" He knelt next to the smaller boy, feeling a bit bad about the situation now.
Amir shook his head. "No. Spider."
"That was just Ms. Naze. She is very nice. See?" The cheetah handed him the bar of chocolate he'd gotten for him.
The tan-furred cub looked at it before gingerly taking it from his friend. "Sorry."
"It's alright. I promise we won't go into any more yards with spiders." Zeek offered the other boy a hand up.
The fox cub lightly smiled at him, stashing the bar into his bucket. Joining him once again as they continued down the street. House by house, they went, Amir got more comfortable with each one. Even taking the lead on one that had an Egyptian mythology-themed yard. A sand-covered front lawn with a sphinx and an animated mummy skulking. Finding out that, like himself, they had immigrated from the same part of the world that his family did.
The pitch black coated dog man wished them well, tapping him on the shoulder with his staff of the Anubi. Amir found himself getting more into things now. No longer nearly as worried about the spider they had seen earlier in the night. Zeek was just as glad he was finally relaxing. The rest of their night going much better and getting a lot more candy than they expected. As they finished both stretches of streets in his community, the feline looked back at his friend.
"Let's go chill out back in my room. We can take a load off and relax until your mom comes to pick you up."
Amir nodded and they began to head back to Zeek's home, following through a single back yard to get back to the street where the cheetah family was. Passing right by the yard where the spider woman was greeting other children. The chilled reaction was much the same as Amir's own. The fennec couldn't quite bring himself to look at her and even walked a bit fast so he could put it behind him. Still behind the other boy, the cheetah didn't notice.
Arriving at Zeek's home, the bigger boy announced their arrival. His mother yelled at them from down the hall to take their shoes off so they didn't track dirt in the house. Both boys shuffled off the shoes of their costumes before darting off towards the basement of the house. The woman laughed at the two boys but decided to let it go again. Besides, it wasn't every day that her son was allowed to have friends over.
Inside the cheetah's room, Zeek plopped his bucket of candy on the bed and urged his friend to do the same. Pouring his onto the pile, the fennec created quite a variety of candy. Making sure to take the Arabic candy that the nice dog man had given him earlier.
"We got quite the hall. Wanna make a bet?" A smirk crept across the bigger boy's face.
The smaller boy looked over at him, seeming confused. "What?"
"You know. A deal. Winner gets all the candy." The cheetah knew just the way to get what he wanted.
Amir still had no idea what he was talking about, but decided to go with it. "Uh…kay?"
"We have to smell each other's paws. The one who does it the longest wins all the candy." The feline had been told a few times by his mother that his feet reeked.
The fox looked at him curiously. Still not knowing what he meant, he simply nodded. Watching as the other boy peeled down the lower portion of his costume. He had seen him in his underwear before, after gym class, so it didn't bother him to see him undressed. Sitting down on the bed, Zeek patted the spot next to him. Amir was still going through the motions, still having no idea what to even expect.
"Come sit." He patted the spot next to him.
The tan-furred boy sat down alongside him, waiting for instructions. A moment of silence passed before the bigger cub lifted his right paw, peeling off the sock so it was bare. Plucking it right in front of his friend's snout.
"Sniffy sniff." The feline cub said with a continued smirk on his face.
Amir felt himself being pushed back with that rank-smelling paw, only a centimeter from his nose at most. Inadvertently sniffing it, but struggling almost the moment he did. The stench was strong and not pleasant. Wriggling from underneath the paw, fighting himself free after only seconds of smelling the foul odor.
"5 seconds, weak!" Zeek was confident he could win.
The fennec's face was completely twisted from the small act. Even the short act was enough to convince him that he didn't like the smell of it.
"You're turn." The bigger boy put his feet back on the ground.
For a moment, Amir didn't move. Still uncertain what his friend wanted to do, it wasn't until the other boy lifted his foot that he understood. Placing the smaller cub's paw right by his nose. The sudden shift in his body again put him on his back. Zeek took a much shorter whiff of the other boy's paw. Just as ripe with an odor smelling too similar to rotten eggs. The cheetah lasted even less time than the other cub before forcing the paw away from his nose.
"Holy moly, do you even take showers? That paw smells, funk-ee…You win." The cheetah pushed over the horde of candy, seeming none too satisfied with his choice.
Amir looked at the candy, thinking that his friend had given it to him, and he snatched it. Offering up that foreign bar of chocolate he'd been given to his friend as a consolation. Zeek's face was no doubt gisgruntled, but he was the one who had come up with the little game. Ripping open the wrapper, he took a single bite of it and folded his arms in dismay. Telling himself that he would never do such a thing again. At least neither would speak about this again…or so he would tell himself.
