Lola Levine and the Halloween Scream

Dear Diario,

Yay! It's almost Halloween! And since Halloween is on a Sunday this year, it's going to be a Halloweekend! I am so excited. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and not just because I love witches and ghosts and monsters, but also because I love candy! And I really don't get to eat a lot of candy, except for Halloween. My parents don't let me. Mom says that candy doesn't help build strong bodies. When we want something sweet, she sometimes suggests raisins, which she says are "nature's candy." About two days after Halloween, Mom always has the idea that we should trade what's left of our candy for something else, like a new book or toy. It's her idea, not ours, but it seems like we always end up agreeing to Mom's ideas. I'm getting sleepy now, so…

Shalom and good night,

Lola Levine

Chapter One

Boo!

On Monday morning, I wake up extra early because I have a plan. My plan is to scare my little brother, Ben. He's okay most of the time, but he also bugs me. He likes to make jokes, and sometimes they are about me.

Last week, he kept saying "Dolores is a brontosaurus! Dolores is a brontosaurus!" because he likes rhymes. Dolores is my first name, but I go by Lola.

"I'm NOT a brontosaurus!" I tell Ben. "Dinosaurs have small brains, and mine is big!"

Ben might be good at rhyming, but guess what? I'm good at scaring people, and since it's almost Halloween, I'm going to scare Ben this morning. I wait outside his door until I hear my dad call up the stairs like he does every morning before school.

"Kids! Wake up! Breakfast in fifteen minutes!"

I hear some mumbles and grumbles, and then I hear Ben get up. I know he'll come out of his room soon, so I pretend to be a ghost and throw on a white sheet with holes cut out for the eyes. I crouch and wait, and when Ben steps into the hallway, I jump out in front of him and say, "Boo!" Ben jumps back and trips over his own feet. "Gotcha!" I say, and start laughing.

Ben does not think this is as funny as I do.

"You scared me, Lola! And it's not even Halloween yet," he complains.

"Well, it's Halloweek," I say, and pat him on the head. Then I go back to my room to get ready for school.

"I'll get you back!" Ben says.

"I hope so!" I say. I like surprises.

Dad makes us pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. Not only do they have pumpkin flavor, but they are shaped like pumpkins, too! It's going to be a great day.

When I get to school, I run over to Josh Blot and Bella Benitez, my super best friends.

"What are you going to be for Halloween?" I ask.

"I'm going to be a firefighter," says Josh.

"That's awesome," I say. "How about you, Bella?"

"I'm going to be a fairy," she says.

"How cool!" I say. "You'll be a great fairy. When you dance ballet, it sometimes looks like you are flying." Bella loves to dance.

"How about you?" Bella asks.

"I'm not sure yet," I say. "I might be a zombie—or a vampire. It has to be something really scary. We always make our costumes, because my dad believes in 'creative expression,' but we did buy lots of black and white makeup and fake blood at the store this weekend."

Alyssa Goldstein and Makayla Miller must be listening, because all of a sudden Alyssa says, "Gross. I don't know why you'd want to wear fake blood or look like a monster."

"I happen to like monsters," I say back. "What are you going to be for Halloween?"