sparkle Something spooktacular I just have to figure out what that something is Finley and Henry crunched through the leaves They came to a stop in front of Finley’s house I gotta go Henry said I have soccer But don’t worry I know you’ll think up a Fin-tastic costume You’ve got so many idea seeds in your head The right one just hasn’t sprouted yet Let’s hope it hurries Finley said I only have until Friday After waving goodbye to Henry Finley let herself in the front door She hung up her jacket and dumped her backpack on one of the dining room chairs Hey I’m trying to work here Finley’s older brother Zack pointed to the homework spread out in front of him Finley ignored him Guess what she said I get to have a Halloween party and a costume parade at school this week Zack grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table I remember the fourth-grade costume parade Make sure you wear something good The whole school will be watching What are you going to be for Halloween this year broccoli Finley scowled Very funny At least I dressed up last year I dressed up too Zack said chomping on his apple I was a baseball player Finley raised an eyebrow You wore your own baseball uniform you basically went as yourself And the year before that you stuck one googly eye on your forehead and said you were an ogre
So Zack said What’s wrong with that You couldn’t even see the googly eye Your hair covered it up Well this year I’m not dressing up Zack said matter-of-factly Why not Finley asked Too old Finley laughed That’s ridiculous Even grown-ups dress up Look at Mom and Dad They’ve been Zeus and Hera Green Eggs and Ham a rainbow and a unicorn Zack shook his head That’s different They dress up for us They wouldn’t do it if we weren’t around That’s not true Finley said They like it I just don’t see the point Why pretend to be something you’re not Finley sighed Because it’s fun And what about trick-or-treating You can’t go trick-or-treating if you don’t dress up Zack shrugged I don’t want to trick-or-treat Fine Finley said But don’t expect me to share my candy I’ll have plenty of candy Zack said smirking I’ll be the one giving it out Finley rolled her eyes Grabbing one of the Halloween mail-order catalogs from the counter she marched upstairs to her room She flopped onto her bed and leafed through the pages There were costumes of angels monsters superheroes villains movie characters and ten different types of witches But somehow they all looked the same Finley frowned as she came to a section labeled BOY COSTUMES Since when is an astronaut a boy costume she wondered It almost made her want to be one just to prove them wrong But an astronaut didn’t have the sparkle she was looking for
Tossing the catalog down Finley pulled out her craft box from under her bed and rummaged through it She found origami paper pipe cleaners beads of every size and color a kajillion pencils that needed sharpening but no ideas Maybe I’ll organize my art stuff she thought That way when Fin-spiration strikes I’ll be ready By the time Dad called Finley to dinner she’d organized everything in her craft box Her markers were arranged in rainbow order Her papers were stacked Her stickers were sorted But she still hadn’t thought of a spooktacular costume Finley was just sitting down at the table when her little sister Evie came skipping into the kitchen Something smells good Evie said as she twirled on tiptoes toward her chair Have a seat Zack said You’re making me dizzy Four more days till Halloween Evie announced We need to get decorations
and treats She plunked down in her chair gulped some milk and turned to Dad Remember those leaf hammocks Finley made for her class art project You said we could make some in the yard Dad raised an eyebrow I did Evie nodded You said we could put mummies in them Dad made his trying-to-remember face I did Yep Zack said I believe you said we’d have the best-decorated house in the neighborhood Mom laughed Well I guess we’d better get started We need pumpkins Finley reminded her I’m going to a pumpkin patch Evie said We’re taking a field trip to a real farm with hayrides and a corn maze She stirred her soup and sipped a drippy spoonful I remember Puckett’s Pick-Your-Own Pumpkin Patch Zack said We went there in second grade Don’t get lost in the corn maze it’s haunted Haunted Evie put her spoon down Zack Mom gave him a knock-it-off look as she set a bowl of salad and a plate of rolls on the table
