As the night went on, I observed Rosey from afar in a Ghostface costume. The eerie glow of the hanging lanterns painted everything in soft shadows, casting an otherworldly air around the Haunted Hook-Up attraction. The chill of the October air sent shivers across my skin, but that wasn't just the cold; it was anticipation. I was knee-deep in my shift as head of security and overseer of the entire event, and I loved every second of it. There was something magical about watching people get lost in their fears while I was charged with ensuring both their safety and the integrity of the haunt.
I had only seen Rosey during the day shift, exchanging quick grins amid as she face painted with her coworkers. Her laughter was a melody that echoed through the tent as she painted children's faces. But at night, when the adults began to arrive, something changed. She seemed unrecognizable under the eerie white mask, blending seamlessly into the throngs of excited patrons. I found myself lingering longer than usual by the shadows, keeping an eye out for her, half-hoping she'd cross my path.
After scaring a few patrons – an older couple who almost toppled over each other in fright, and a girl who squealed and playfully shoved her friends – I tried to shake off the bittersweet sting of disappointment that crept in when I realized Rosey was nowhere in sight. Perhaps the sexual part of the night wasn't her thing after all.
I walked around, checking the various attractions, my heart racing for reasons beyond the job. That was when I spotted Jason, my co-worker who helped with tech, dressed in a grotesque mask inspired by Michael Myers. He was hunched over a flickering TV monitor in the operations tent, the remnants of a happy Halloween party brewing away in between the screens of monitors displaying various parts of the haunt.
"Hey, man," I said, approaching him—hoping to distract myself, hoping to gather my thoughts to focus back on the work I had before me.
"Hey!" he replied, glancing up at me before returning to his screen. "What's up with you tonight? You seemed… different," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah? I'm just working the thrill factor a bit more," I lied. Normally, I would scare people, enjoy their immediate reactions, and then slip back into the humdrum of paperwork in the office. But tonight, my mind wasn't on the patrons or the tasks; it was fixated on one particular ghost in the shadows.
"Come on, man," Jason pressed on, an unwelcome smirk blooming on his face. "It's the way you keep glancing around. Got a crush or something? You've been hanging out longer than usual, like you're waiting for someone."
I stiffened, the blush creeping up my neck betraying the casual facade I was trying to maintain. "Just drop it, Jason," I said, my tone sharper than intended.
He held his hands up in mock surrender, but I could see the glint of mischief in his eyes. "Alright, alright. Just saying, it seems like more than just a job for you tonight," he said after a beat.
"Yeah, well…" I trailed off, desperate for a distraction. The truth crept back in like a chill, taking me over. "Let's just check the sound system for that last section."
I would've given anything to have someone asking about my crush in the light-hearted, joking way he did, but how could I explain that the ghost I was after was far more terrifying than the ones scaring patrons in the tents? I needed to mix the allure of fear with a dash of charm. Jason finally dropped it, his focus returning to the tech, leaving me to sift through my mingled thoughts.
The night dragged on, the sounds of screams echoing throughout the attraction. By the end of my shift around 5 AM, I headed back to the office with a low haze of exhaustion settling into my bones. Shower first, I thought, tracing the pathway through the darkened lot back to the trailer where our paperwork resided. The fluorescent lights buzzed up above as I shed my layers—costume, responsibility, all of it.
With the hot water cascading down my arms, I tried to scrub away the ghost of a night filled with more questions than answers. And once I was dried off and dressed, a steaming cup of coffee in hand, I busied myself with paperwork.
But even as I filed the reports and logged the night's occurrences, my heart whispered a challenge, daring me to make a move. Scanning the clock's hands, I found myself wishing for a moment that Rosey would pop in late to share a laugh about the night's antics—gathering the courage to finally speak to her as the haunted shadows ebbed away into dawn.