Yes, the kids just thought this goofiness of the grown-ups was part of the Halloween doings, because there was always shopping and swapping between piles of junk. But this was different than last year, and the year before that, and probably the year before that even!

"Was this different than the year before that?" Horsehead Miller asks Coach. Coach takes off his baseball cap and slaps it back on his hair the color of straw in time to a baseball thrown in the air. He catches it just as a bubble of orange gum pops from his mouth and covers his nose.

"What a play!" Coach shouts wiping the bubble gum from his nose as he tosses the ball up in the air again. "Yeah, it was the same score, or no, it was a different score." "Well, was it the same or was it different?" brays Horsehead Miller. "I dunno," Coach says tossing up the ball again. "I think it was different. I don't remember."

"I remember!" says Missy brightly. "I remember!"

 

"Oh, Missy!" laughs Nikki stretching herself up to her own full tall height and turning in a dance, "you're only six years old, you can't remember how it was three years ago."

"A-huh! I can too!" she nods defiantly.

"OK, what time was it three years ago?" brays Horse head Miller.

"Um, it was three o'clock," she answers nodding.

"What time is it, Red?" brays Horsehead Miller.

"When?" Red shouts trying to skateboard on hard earth. The sun shines on his wavy red hair to make it look like a red flag in the breeze.

"What do ya mean when? Now!" shouts Horsehead Miller.

"Oh, that's easy. It's right now!" says Red on his skateboard.

"Yeah, yeah, but what time is it?" insists Horsehead Miller

"It's three o'clock, fool! Ask Missy!" Missy nods vigorously.

"Yeah," says Coach tossing his ball in the air and thinking out loud,