"Sorry, I think I might already have plans that day," Mike said, trying to let her down gently.
Even though he didn't actually have anything nailed down for Halloween yet, with Katie and the other girls in the picture, he figured he wouldn't exactly be sitting around doing nothing.
"Come on, Mike, please? The church event only runs until midnight. You'll have plenty of time for your own stuff after that," Mary pleaded. She wasn't ready to give up her ace in the hole just yet.
Compared to everyone else in the family, Mike was obviously way more critical to the success of Mary's event. I mean, the guy was a total heartthrob.
Seeing the hopeful look on Mary's face, Mike thought for a second. "Tell you what, let me think about it and I'll get back to you."
He actually wanted to check in with Katie and the girls first to see if they could push their plans past midnight. After all, he'd have the whole night for Christmas later in the year, so Halloween was negotiable.
Seeing Mike waver, Mary didn't push her luck. "I'll be waiting for your good news," she smiled.
With Mary's church plans basically taking shape, everyone started digging into dinner.
Just then, Missy raised her hand, looking annoyed. "Mom, you haven't asked for my opinion yet!"
Everyone had totally ignored the little girl during the discussion.
Mary looked at her youngest daughter with amusement and quickly tried to smooth things over. "Well then, Missy. Would you like to help Mommy?"
"Of course!" Missy said, satisfied now that she was getting enough attention. "I can dress up as a little angel and follow Mike around."
Her blunt honesty got a round of good-natured laughter from the table.
---
After dinner, Mike called Katie and the others to figure out the Halloween game plan.
Surprisingly, the girls—let's call them the "Bombshell Squad"—seemed to have planned this out already. They told Mike to meet them at Karen's house a little later on Halloween night. They said there'd be a surprise.
As for what the surprise was? No matter how much Mike probed, none of the girls would spill the beans.
A surprise?
Mike couldn't figure out what was going on in their heads, so he shook it off and called Lena.
According to Lena, she had to spend Halloween with her parents.
This actually worked out perfectly for Mike's schedule. He could help out at the "Angel House" first, and then head over to Karen's for the surprise.
The next day, as soon as Mike told Mary he was in, she dragged him straight to the church.
The church grounds were huge. Because of past events, there was already a large-scale "Hell House" set up. Outside of it was a big exhibition hall used for fundraising.
So, Mary's plan was pretty simple: just rename the "Hell House" (or tweak the signage) and build an "Angel House" right next to it. She was all set.
Mike's job today was mostly getting measured so someone could design a custom angel costume just for him.
Yes, Mary—who now saw Mike as her star attraction—was taking this part very seriously.
Plus, the church was reimbursing all the expenses, so Mary didn't feel any pressure spending the money.
Just as Mike finished his measurements and Mary was discussing the look with the costume designer, Mr. Randy walked over.
"Mary, I don't think 'The Spook House' sounds as good as 'Hell House.' I strongly demand we change the name back," Mr. Randy said. He was clearly a man of artistic integrity.
Comparatively speaking, the old name was definitely more direct and catchy.
"No. I am the chief organizer of this event, and I'm responsible for it..." Mary said firmly, looking like she was ready to fire anyone who couldn't get with the program.
"Fine, you're the boss," Mr. Randy yielded. But he quickly got excited again. "I plan to divide the activity over there into seven units, based on the Seven Deadly Sins..."
The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.
You had to hand it to him, Mr. Randy really was an artist; his brain just worked differently.
His plan was to use realistic scenes to make visitors viscerally feel the horror of these sins.
"That's actually a pretty good idea..." Mary was convinced after hearing the full pitch. However, she added a caveat: "Actually, the scenes don't need to be too realistic."
The Seven Deadly Sins sounded scary enough; if it was too real, Mary was afraid it would traumatize the kids.
"Why?" Mr. Randy, ever the purist, didn't get it.
"Let me put it this way..." Mary explained, "I heard that in previous years, a lady playing the role of 'Lust' actually got pregnant. I do not want that happening at my event."
Mr. Randy was visibly shocked by that juicy piece of gossip. "Okay, you've convinced me. I'll tell this year's actors to tone it down."
Having made his promise, Mr. Randy was about to leave when he spotted the handsome Mike standing nearby.
As the faculty advisor for the drama club, Randy knew Mike was a big deal at school. He enthusiastically invited him, "Mike! Interested in joining my performance? I have a role that would be perfect for you."
From the look on his face, he probably wanted Mike to play "Lust."
With a face like Mike's, he'd only need to do the bare minimum to spark the ladies' imaginations.
Before Mike could even say no, Mary cut in. "Randy, don't even think about it. Mike is my hand-picked angel."
"That's a shame," Randy said, looking disappointed. Then he added, "But he does fit the angel role. How about I design a few moves for him..."
This time, neither Mike nor Mary turned him down.
Randy really lived up to his title as the drama teacher. He coached Mike on everything from facial expressions to body language and stage presence.
[Performance +66] ... [Performance +55] ...
Mike crushed the glowing skill orbs he "picked up" from Mr. Randy. He couldn't help but have a newfound respect for the drama teacher, despite his odd appearance.
The guy really had skills. The last time Mike picked up this many skill orbs was from that Chameleon alien.
Coincidentally, he had gained a lot of performance experience that time, too.
His performance skill had now reached the mid-stage of Level 2, meaning he was good enough to perform on stage.
On the other side, Mr. Randy was stunned by Mike's talent. "Mike, have you studied acting before?" he asked with burning intensity.
"No, but I've looked into it a little..." Mike made up an excuse.
"It doesn't matter, it's not too late." Randy looked at him like he was an uncut gem. "Would you be willing to join the school drama club? Trust me, with just a little effort, you could become a great performance artist."
Drama club?
Mike immediately flashed back to Randy's eye-searing performance last time.
Even without that memory, Mike wasn't really interested in studying acting professionally. "Thanks for the invite, Mr. Randy, but I don't plan on specializing in acting."
"Sigh, what a waste," Randy sighed heavily, looking at the diamond in the rough he wasn't allowed to polish.
The last time he felt this emotional was when young Sheldon quit the drama club.