"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the deadliest of them all?" she asked her reflection.
She fastened the last few pins and taped her first and third fingers with black mechanical tape. Glancing back in the mirror she decided to add one more band of tape around her forearm.
"That's going to hurt like a bitch to peel off later," her sister said, walking into the bathroom.
"Hey, there's money on the line for best costume. You have to admit that this will win. And that is worth a few arm hairs."
"And your top three layers of skin?" Her sister was bemused but teasing. It wasn't the money that she was after. Halloween was like a one woman performance to her sister. This was her only night to shine now that she had matured, or rather, now that she was in her mid-thirties and couldn't play dress up or go to a legal office wearing clothes that she had made for herself.
"Why don't you ever dress up? It's Halloween. It's the one time of year that normal people like you get to be someone or something else... go wild... have some fun. Be spontaneous!"
"I like looking like me. And if you think about it, as myself I stand out the most in a room filled with costumed people. Did you ever think about that?"
"Ha. That's funny. I think people probably focus more on the sexy nurses and the sluts wrapped in patent leather."
"You know I was being sarcastic," she said, making a "fuck you" face in the mirror and flicking her sister in the back of the neck.
"I know."
They arrived at the party and one thing was certain: Jess would win best costume. Few people put their heart into Halloween like she did. Of course, the girls at the party were still playing out the horrible trend of Halloween equals Whore-la-ween, which started some time before they were born but had been haunting their generation since the 90s and had no signs of ending anytime soon. They'd just have to wait until the majority of the ladies had babies, got fat and saggy, and stopped showing off the bottom of their ass cheeks to a room half filled with strangers. Lily didn't mind Halloween. She looked forward to the party. The costumes did make her uncomfortable for a number of reasons though. Lily preferred to always look the same, regardless of being on holiday, or a at a baseball game, or on Halloween. She was one of those women that was entirely comfortable in her own skin. Or, maybe it was more like, she was one of those women that looked and portrayed herself as being entirely and effortlessly comfortable in her own skin, but there was more than enough effort involved. Jess was the wild one. Lily was the laid back one. You know the story. Jess became the center of attention at almost any event. Lily found the handful of people that she wanted to talk with and just enjoyed watching the rest of the room interact.
They parted company early in the evening but Lily was hearing whispers about Jess' costume all night. The number one question was predictable: what is she supposed to be? Lily just laughed. "She's Jess. She's some dark, deadly, wicked character that Jess probably spent months sketching during her down times."
And then, just like that, the night was over. Lily heard someone whistling from the living room. Costume time was wrapping up and it was time to announce this year's winner. Slowly, like a reluctant herd of costumed cattle, everyone headed for the living room. Throughout the night guests voted by writing the best costume, not the costumed person's name, on a piece of paper and placing their vote in a box on the kitchen table. The host, Jonathon, counted up the votes. He got everyone's attention from midway up the staircase and called for Jess and three other guests to come over to the stairs. The group of four looked fatigued. Alcohol mixed with uncomfortable clothing, thick makeup, and ungodly amounts of hair product always led to the Halloween meltdown. Imagine a waning candle, and the puddle of wax surrounding it or Hollywood make-up under hot lights gone really wrong. Lily disliked the end of the night at costume parties for this very reason. Even if a girl started her night out as a sexy waitress, her eye makeup was now running and her blush and lipstick were smeared, someone had spilled something on her, she was limping due to her four-inch heels, nylons had been ripped, and she could now pass for a zombie in the local college production of Dawn of the Dead.
Lily's focus snapped back to the evening's host. "Biiiig surprise, everyone!" Jonathon said raising an eyebrow to Lily. "The lovely lady in black and red, with the paint, and safety pins, and tape, who was referred to as both scary and sexy, and also a superhero and an assassin... I'm assuming that means Jess... wins best costume. Nice try to everyone else, but you're amateurs at a professional's table tonight."
Jess just bowed and kissed Jonathon on the cheek. She was accepting of the praise, but Lily could tell that she was tired. Playing a character is exhausting. It was time to head home and go to sleep. When she woke up, she would be herself again, until the world demanded another costume.
