Page 4 of Hilarina and the Ogre

She snapped the mirror back up. “Let’s go.”

Hilary was surprised once he saw the gymnasium. He’d been expecting crepe paper streamers and maybe a couple of plastic cauldrons, but the place had been transformed. Someone (a lot of someones) had put significant effort into the space. Giant murals covered the walls, while painted plywood created distinct photo areas. Fog machines had also been strategically placed to add to the ambiance as well, and even the lighting was doing its best to be ‘spooky.’ Hilary was impressed.

“Of course,” Varda said to his look of amazement. “Dad sponsors it every year.”

That helped explain the food too. No way did the $10 tickets afford anything like what was on offer. But Hilary couldn’t so much as glance at the spread before he was being tugged over to the first of the photo areas, drafted for picture-taking duties.

It was a role he was well familiar with, since he knew Varda’s angles better than her friends did. Or maybe her friends were sabotaging the photos on purpose. Either way, he was stuck taking photos—a lot of photos. He didn’t know why she needed so many, considering Varda was the most photogenic person he’d ever met, but his job was to play photographer, not to voice comments.

Varda did eventually give him license to eat, citing the need for a makeup touch-up. “Keep your phone ringer on,” she warned him. “I might need your help adjusting my dress.”

Hilary made whatever promises he needed to, not even waiting until she was through the door to begin overloading his plate. He was nowhere near done when he spotted the boy. Most of the other tables were swarmed, but that one, tucked behind the plywood forest, housed only Trenton, textbook open in front of him and his phone flashlight propped up to better light the page. Without quite meaning to, Hilary found himself before him.

“Real social butterfly, aren’t you?”

Trenton looked up. “Are you done with pictures, then?”

So Trenton had been watching him. That ought to have creeped him out, but Hilary was too hungry. “Saved by some makeup emergency for now, but I’ll be called back in eventually for the second costume. Speaking of, where’s yours?”

Trenton pointed to his head where a cheap pair of elf-ears had been clipped over his real ones.

“Elves aren’t monsters,” Hilary said.

“They’re imaginary, aren’t they?”

That felt like cheating. “The monsters are supposed to be frightening.”

“You’re a unicorn,” Trenton pointed out.

“I’m sure unicorns gore people all the time,” Hilary said. “And anyway, I’m a Yeti-corn. What’s the other half of your monster mix?”

Trenton paused, clearly considering the idea for the first time. “Ogre,” he decided after a couple of long moments.

“You only have the elf ears.”

But Trenton wasn’t tripped up. “I’m big, aren’t I? And ugly.”

“Not that big.” And not that ugly either, though Hilary didn’t care enough to say so. “Is that our Calc book?”

“Yes.”

Trenton also had a notebook with him, with examples worked out in neat and blocky squares.

Hilary pulled out a chair and sat. “I don’t think this chapter is on the test.”

But he didn’t just think it; he knew it. They were only at the start of the school year, but Trenton was nearly at the back of the book.

“I like to get the learning over with,” Trenton said. “Then I don’t need to remember things like which chapters for tests.”

“You a genius or something?”

“No.”

Hilary wasn’t sure about that. He’d never seen Trenton participate in class, yet the kid got top grades and was rumored to have gotten a perfect score on the SATs.

“You do any pro-bono tutoring?” Hilary asked. “I’m screwed for the test.”

The exam was Monday, and he’d spent the week doing idiot party shit. Well, he might have been screwed regardless. The algebra at his previous school had been taught by a ninny, so every time he opened the textbook it set off his fight-or-flight response.