Chapter 39 - Halloween

The day began as usual: with a shared breakfast in the campus cafeteria. It was an unspoken tradition among the three of us, something we did without needing to coordinate much. Sack and I arrived together, as usual, while Olivia was a few minutes late. We knew that being late was her way of making a dramatic entrance, but it didn't bother us. In fact, we were already used to it.

We sat at our usual table, near the window overlooking the central courtyard. The campus was decorated for Halloween, and the cafeteria was no exception. They had hung strings of orange and purple lights, and the tables were adorned with small plastic pumpkins and flickering LED candles. Even the menu had a festive touch: there were pancakes shaped like ghosts, waffles with spider decorations made of chocolate, and bright green smoothies called "Magic Potion." Everything smelled like cinnamon and pumpkin spice, which made me smile. I loved how the university took these celebrations seriously.

"No, I didn't," I replied, surprised. "Really? Where?"

"In the main hall of the Fine Arts building. I saw it on one of the posters this morning," he said, vaguely pointing toward the hallway. "There are prizes and everything. It looks pretty serious."

"Interesting," I murmured thoughtfully. "But I think we should keep it to ourselves. If Olivia finds out, she'll probably cancel our competition to force us to participate in that one."

Sack nodded, understanding my point.

"Exactly. Besides, our competition is more... intimate. I don't want it to turn into something formal."

I was about to respond when I noticed someone watching us from the cafeteria entrance. It was Olivia, with a suspicious look on her face as she observed us whispering. She raised an eyebrow and walked toward us with determined steps.

"What are you two plotting?" she asked, setting her tray down on the table with a soft thud. She looked back and forth between us, as if trying to decipher some secret code.

"Nothing," we responded in unison, perhaps too quickly.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said, dragging out the words as she sat down. "That innocent face doesn't fool me for a second. But fine, I'll figure it out later."

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help but smile. Olivia always had that detective instinct, even when there was nothing to investigate.

"Changing the subject," I said, trying to distract her, "don't you think it's amazing how they've decorated the entire campus? Even here in the cafeteria, it feels like we're in a Halloween movie."

Olivia looked around, apparently satisfied with the change of conversation.

"It's true. I love how they've transformed this place. Although they could have added more cobwebs. And maybe some artificial fog. You know, to give it a spookier touch."

"I think you've got enough fear from the paranormal legends you found last night," Sack joked, earning a glare from Olivia.

"That was serious, Sack," she retorted, though she couldn't help but smile. "But yes, I admit the atmosphere is great. Even breakfast has style. Look at this."

She lifted her teacup, which had a bat-shaped tag hanging from the edge, and then pointed to her plate of waffles with chocolate spiders.

"The spiders are well done," she commented, inspecting them with feigned solemnity. "Although they could have been bigger. That would have made them scarier."

We laughed as we continued eating, enjoying the festive atmosphere. After finishing, Sack and I went to our respective dorms to fetch our pumpkins and the tools we had prepared for carving. I carried a small bag with LED lights, a special carving knife, a large spoon for scooping out the pulp, and a pencil to draw the design. I had also brought some permanent markers in case I wanted to add extra details.

When we met outside Olivia's room, she was already waiting with her pumpkin in hand. She wore an apron decorated with skulls and had a determined expression on her face.

"Alright, team," she said, opening the door to her dorm with a theatrical gesture, "it's time to create masterpieces. But remember: whoever wins, we're all winners."

"Yeah, yeah," Sack muttered, rolling his eyes.

We entered and settled on the floor, surrounded by materials and tools. Olivia's room was already decorated for Halloween, with strings of orange lights, paper bats hanging from the ceiling, and a small illuminated pumpkin on her desk. It was the perfect setting for our contest.

Each of us took out our materials and began sketching the first outlines on our pumpkins. I had decided to do a minimalist geometric design, something that would stand out with the LED lights I had brought. Sack seemed to be working on something more detailed, perhaps a nighttime landscape with stars. Olivia, on the other hand, was already scribbling what appeared to be a cartoonish ghost dancing salsa.

Just as we were about to start carving, Sack raised a hand, as if he had just remembered something important.

"Hold on a second," he said, setting his pencil aside. "Who's going to decide who wins?"

We looked at each other, surprised. It was true: until now, we hadn't thought about that.

"Obviously Olivia would vote for herself," Sack said with a half-smile, pointing at her with his pencil. "Without hesitation."

Olivia pretended to be offended, placing a hand over her chest dramatically.

"Hey! That's unfair! Just because I'm incredibly talented doesn't mean I'm biased. Although… now that you mention it, I probably would vote for myself. But it would be an act of poetic justice, not egoism."

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help but smile.

"Exactly why we need an external jury," I said, trying to keep the conversation moving. "If each of us votes for ourselves, we'll end up in a tie. And if we vote for someone else, Olivia will protest, saying we're manipulating the results."

"Of course I'd protest!" Olivia exclaimed, pointing at me with her knife as if it were a microphone. "Because we all know my design will be the best. But I get your concern. I don't want this to turn into a political drama. Well, at least not too much."

"What about Megan?" I suggested after a moment of thought. "She studies political science, so she should be objective. Plus, she's always been honest."

Sack nodded slowly, considering the idea.

"Sounds good, but what about Daniel and Charlotte?" he suggested. "Daniel studies law, and Charlotte is in the same university. Both are good at being impartial."

Olivia frowned, visibly uncomfortable with the idea.

"No way. They're too close to you guys. They'd definitely cheat. Besides, Charlotte still hates me from that video call a few weeks ago."

"When you told her her hairstyle looked like a bird's nest?" Sack asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey!" Olivia raised her hands defensively. "I was just being honest. And besides, she laughed at first, so technically it was a compliment disguised as an insult."

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine, then Megan will be our official judge," I said, ending the debate. "She's neutral, studies something related to objectivity, and lives on campus. We won't have to go far to find her."

"Sounds fair to me," Sack said, shrugging. "Besides, Megan has always been honest. If you win, we'll know it was deserved."

Olivia huffed but didn't protest further. Instead, she raised her knife dramatically.

"Alright, then let's get to work. May the best pumpkin win. Though we all already know who the winner will be."

We laughed as we continued working on our pumpkins.