RE: Trailer Trash 4 Finale pt 5 (Patreon)

   Still cut a pretty poor protagonist, I guess, Tabitha sighed to herself. Which is… unbelievably frustrating. Am I being melodramatic? Are the teenage hormones in control again?

   She couldn’t help but feel that she’d been incredibly self-centered and conceited to have expected anything else. This wasn’t a teen novel where the police would insist she ride along in their car so that she could be part of the story resolution and see them rush to Ashlee’s rescue or make some sort of dramatic arrest. In the real world, events simply didn’t revolve around thirteen year old girls, and she was to have no further involvement—the adults handling the situation hadn’t even thought to tell her what was going on, or what was being done.

   What seemed like this intense personal watershed moment for Tabitha as a person didn’t elicit much of the same reaction from everyone else. Mrs. Cribb had spoken over their phone with someone in a rather heated discussion for several minutes, and said her goodbyes shortly afterwards. Just like before with the shooting incident, Tabitha felt like she was out of the loop; like things went personally unresolved. She wasn’t privy to what was going on, and despite asking, information stubbornly remained beyond her reach.

   Just focus on resting and recovering, Tabitha couldn’t help but scowl at the response they gave her.

    Sharing the details about her guilt regarding Ashlee with her mother afterward hadn’t gone like Tabitha expected, either. Mrs. Moore didn’t seem to get it, didn’t seem to see any issue with her neglecting to speak up.

   Well, of course you wouldn’t, her mother had tried to console her. Tabitha—they were threatening to hurt you girls!

   Tabitha didn’t know how to feel about that.

   Everyone else would naturally treat her as if she was this naive young girl, but she wasn’t, not exactly, and there wasn’t any way to explain her own obligation to hold herself to a higher standard. It was an uncomfortable situation, exacerbated by how strange her mother was acting now. The woman was… different. Friendlier, motivated even, she did a loop walking around the neighborhood with Tabitha in the mornings, and asked for assistance in learning some basic daily exercises. In the dismal days that followed, however, Tabitha felt listless and emotionally empty, going through all of the motions of a somewhat normal life without much spirit.

   Then Saturday finally arrived, and nine different people showed up to see her.

*     *     *

   “Sit there and stay there,” Grandma Laurie warned the boys as they trooped into the trailer past her. She pointed sternly at the sofa in the Moore’s living room. “I hear one more foul word—from any of you hooligans—and you can forget about trick or treating this year!”

   “Have they not been behaving?” Tabitha asked with a wry smile, sharing a look with her mother.

   For trick-or-treating, the four cousins were dressed in the brightly-colored winterwear of the main cast from South Park, and from their silence and stiff expressions it seemed as though they’d already gotten themselves into trouble. The only one of them Tabitha could identify with any certainty was the youngest, Joshua, who wore the orange hoodie—the meme character Kenny who died every episode.

   The other ones are… Cartman, Eric, and…? She drew a blank what the last character’s name might be. Having never actually watched the show herself, everything she knew about it was gleaned by cultural osmosis, and she considered her partial recollection to be not too shabby.

   “Apparently, that South Park cartoon isn’t for children,” Grandma Laurie sounded exasperated. “They used to sit and watch it with their mother, so I thought it must be okay—but, it’s not okay, it’s just this… mindless, absolute filth!”

   Seems to fit perfectly with what I remember about Aunt Lisa, Tabitha refrained from wincing, instead schooling her expression into a tacit look of sympathy for Grandma Laurie’s difficult position.

   “What did they dress as last year?” Mrs. Moore asked. “The Beatles? I remember they wore those handsome little suits.”

   “Men in black,” Grandma Laurie shook her head. “Whatever that is. Shining those little toy laser wands in everyone’s faces the whole night, ‘till I took the batteries away.”

   “There’s no lasers this year, at least,” Tabitha reassured her with a slight smile. “I’ll look after them, Grandma.”

   “Well, I wish I’d known about this South Park earlier, then they wouldn’t be wearing these,” Grandma Laurie griped. “It’s not even a proper cartoon! They’re paper doll cutouts, and all they do is swear at each other and make vulgar jokes. I want to get the boys watching proper cartoons like Felix the Cat, Porky Pig, and Betty Boop, but I can’t find tapes for them anywhere.”

   “...I’ll talk with them about it,” Tabitha promised, looking at each of the boys in turn. “I know of a few series that—”

   A knock at the door interrupted. Perplexed, Tabitha crossed over to the door and cautiously opened it, revealing her friend Elena. The tall blonde was dressed rather conspicuously in black slacks and a long-sleeved black shirt and nervously glancing around as though she were a cat burglar.

   “Hi!” Elena said, stepped forward to grab the surprised Tabitha in a quick hug. “We missed you this week! Did Alicia talk to you about trick or treating? Is she here yet?”

   “Hi!” Tabitha laughed. “No? Er, were you guys wanting to—”

   “Oh, we definitely are,” Elena nodded, hefting up a large handbag. “Got everything here. Mom’s waiting out in the van, though. Um... is it cool if she talks to your mother?”

   “Uh—” Tabitha began.

   “I’ll go out and see her,” Mrs. Moore had already overheard, patting Tabitha on the head. “I invited some of your friends, Tabitha. Thank you so much for coming, Elena.”

   “Thank you having us, Mrs. Moore,” Elena said politely.

   Mom—what? Tabitha was stunned enough to be unable to process the news immediately. You invited my friends? Wait, WHAT?

   It was great news, and she was thrilled, but the surprise came so far out of left field that she was blindsided into wide-eyed silence. Her mother was a reclusive and bitter woman. Or, at least—she was, she used to be. Mrs. Moore certainly wasn’t someone who took the initiative to make social calls on her daughter’s behalf.

   Did… did something I do accidentally set this off? Tabitha struggled to come to terms and adjust to the new outlook. Is this really all just from agreeing to let her teach me to be an actress? We only even did practice exercises twice since I withdrew from school!

   “Tabitha?” Grandma Laurie called over from the bathroom. “Tabitha honey, we need to get started on your hair!”

   “Um,” Tabitha remained flabbergasted.

   “Go ahead!” Elena said with a smile, stepping over into the living room to set down her bag. “Joshua. Nicholas. Aiden. Samuel. Very cool costumes, guys! We’ll be taking over the trick-or-treating mission this year, so I’d like to begin our strategy meeting.”

   The Moore household had never had so many people visiting all at once, and Tabitha was able to persuade Grandma Laurie to instead plug in the straightening iron and set up her bag of hair products in the kitchen, so as not to inconvenience anyone needing to use their bathroom. Standing as still as she could in front of the kitchen sink, Tabitha watched over the counter in amazement as Elena managed to gather the four cousins into an obedient huddle.

   “Okay! We are here right now,” Elena unfolded a black and white photocopy of a Springton map on their coffee table, and was marking notations on it in pink, blue, and yellow highlighter. “The playground where we had that game of tag is over… here. By these streets. Can one of you show me where you live?”

   “Here,” Sam, wearing a red sweatshirt and a blue-and-yellow ski cap tapped a finger at the map. “Grandma’s place is right here.”

   “Thank you! Now, I don’t know what route you all had planned, but I’d like to suggest the course I used to take back when I used to go trick or treating. Mom helped us plan a Springton route based on population density and median neighborhood income—if no one dawdles, we should be able to hit these eleven different neighborhoods marked in yellow before people start turning off their lights!”

   This got… unexpectedly serious? Tabitha couldn’t help but smile as her Grandmother gently ran a comb through her hair.

   “For this one, and this one, we’re going to have to double back after getting to the end of a street,” Elena continued. “Then, these three areas are too far apart for us on foot—Mom’s going to follow us with the van to shuttle us across. Each of you should bring an extra pillowcase or grocery bag or something for candy. If our hauls are anything like Carrie and I got in ‘95 and ‘96... each of us should be filling two whole bags.”

   “Two whole bags?!”

   “Is that even possible?!

   “Ohhh my gosh… how many pounds is a bag?”

   “Two bags of good candy?”

   Elena’s apparent commitment to help them collect the largest volume of candy physically possible impressed the boys beyond measure, and none of them dreamed of questioning her sudden imposition of authority over their prior plans. Sam, Nick, and Aiden immediately swore oaths to follow Elena’s every command for the night’s mission, and each of them warned Joshua to never lag behind or complain about all the walking.

   I was going to divide up my spoils for the boys after each house, based on how well they listened to me, Tabitha watched them interact with her friend in amusement. My carrot and stick approach really can’t hold a candle to Elena’s.

   Then Grandma Laurie’s hand carefully covered Tabitha’s eyes, using enough hairspray on her to choke the trailer with the acrid smell of aquanet. Ariel had voluminous, gravity-defying bangs that swept over her forehead from left to right, and a worn Little Mermaid Goldenbook was propped open in the dish strainer for constant picture references. Her hair was a more natural shade that was visually more orange than fire-engine red like Ariel’s, and Tabitha was a little nervous about how the final look would come out.

   When Alicia and her mother arrived twenty minutes later, Grandma Laurie had already washed out and towel-dried Tabitha’s hair in preparation for a second attempt, this time liberally using bobby pins before adding spray. Everyone was wowed by Alicia’s entrance, and all four of the cousins leapt up from the couch to get a better look.

   “Holy cow, Alicia,” Elena laughed. “Is that what I think it is?”

   “Are you… from Star Wars?” Tabitha guessed, staring at her dark-skinned friend in surprise.

   “I’m Luke Skywalker, and I’m here to rescue you!” Alicia flashed everyone a nervous smile. “C’mon, nobody laugh at me. Please.”

   Alicia’s outfit was an orange jumpsuit with black boots and gloves, complete with all of the appropriate harness straps, air tubes, and sci-fi doodads instantly recognizable as a rebel pilot uniform from Star Wars. A toy lightsaber hung from the belt of her flight suit, and Alicia even carried a familiar pilot’s helmet in the crook of her arm.

   “That. Is. Awesome!” Joshua blurted out.

   “I wish I was Luke,” Nick joined in. “I wanna be Luke next year. Or Han Solo.”

   “You watch Star Wars?!” Sam seemed shocked. 

   “My dad and I love Star Wars,” Alicia confided, looking a little relieved at their admiration.

   “Which do you like better, Empire or Jedi?” Aiden demanded. “Because Return of the Jedi is way betterer.”

   “‘Betterer’ isn’t a word, Aiden,” Tabitha corrected him in a soft voice.

   “Oh, don’t even get ‘Licia started,” Alicia’s mother laughed, rolling her eyes. “Sorry we’re late—the gloves and boots needed one more coat of spray paint. I wanted to make absolutely sure it all dried right before anything got traipsed into someone’s carpet.”

   “You made that?!” Elena asked, eyes going wide. “Alicia—that’s amazing.”

   “Thanks! And yeah, kinda... sorta?” Alicia grinned, awkwardly tugging at her costume. “Started out as this prison jumpsuit costume—which dad didn’t find funny at all, ‘till I told him what we could turn it into. White flak vest’s cut outta this old shirt I had, wearing my rain boots and some dishwashing gloves. Rest of it’s all stuff from the junk drawer in the garage, put together with hot glue. The helmet’s my dad’s—it’s a Don Post replica. I helped repaint it, so it looks more like it does in the movie.”

   “Can I see your lightsaber?” Joshua begged.

   “No, can I see your lightsaber?” Aiden chimed in.

   “I’m sorry... but this is the weapon of a Jedi knight,” Alicia refused with a solemn face. “An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.”

   “Can I see your helmet?” Joshua tried.

   “Nope!” Alicia grinned. “Dad will actually murder me dead if I let anything happen to it. He already started digging a grave—just in case. He said he can have another daughter anytime, but he only has this one helmet.”

   “Oh, stop,” Alicia’s mother protested. “It’s a toy helmet. Damn thing just sits up on the shelf collecting dust.”

   “Don’t let him hear you say that, or there’ll be two graves,” Alicia joked. “Tabs, you are looking awesome! Did you get the dress to go with that, or are you goin’ with the coconut bra tonight?”

   “They were seashells!” Tabitha said with an indignant laugh. “And no—we have the dress.”

   “Shame,” Alicia snorted. “And, Elena—where’s your costume?!”

   “Mine’s… actually super lame,” Elena seemed to realize, gesturing towards her long-sleeved black shirt and black pants. “I have cat ears, a tail, and a bit of face paint to put on for whiskers in my bag… I was just gonna be a black cat. Is that too lame?”

   “It... doesn’t have to be,” Alicia said, carefully passing the pilots helmet to her mother. “Don’t drop this! Elena, I mean, it won’t be lame if I do your nose and whiskers. If that’s cool?”

   “I… yeah?” Elena brightened. “You’d do that?”

   “Are we friends?” Alicia challenged.

   “...Yeah?” Elena sounded more hopeful than confident.

   “Then, duh,” Alicia smirked, looking around to size up each of the cousins. “I suppose you boys must be Tabitha’s warrior tribe? Elena, if you have a kit with white paint, I can draw them up big round South Park eyes on their faces.”

   After a round of belated introductions while Alicia was crouched down in front of half of those crowded into the living room to apply face paint, Grandma Laurie finished fussing with Tabitha’s hair with a final tie of the enormous blue bow and declared her perfect. She was shooed off to her bedroom to put on her Ariel dress, where she finally got a look at her enormous— albeit impressive Little Mermaid hair in her bedroom mirror. This is just… amazing!

   When she returned, she received a heartwarming round of oohs and aahs as everyone praised her look.  Elena now wore impressive feline facepaint, with a painted pink nose adorning the tip of her actual nose, a slender downward line that connected to her upper lip, and a series of dots artfully clustered on the inside of her cheeks that spread out to beautifully painted whiskers along the outside. In contrast, the four boys looked absolutely ridiculous with enormous South Park eyes that took up most of their faces. The Rebel Pilot helmet looked a little too big and out-of-proportion when Alicia actually wore it, but everyone agreed her outfit was the most impressive of all.

   “Pictures, pictures!” Alicia’s mother insisted, pulling a Kodak disposable camera out of her purse. “C’mon, everyone, get together.”

   “Um—” Tabitha glanced around nervously. “Is… my mother still outside?”

   “I think they’re all still talkin’ out there, your daddy just pulled in the drive,” Grandma Laurie said, stepping over to lean out the open door—while it was a brisk late October afternoon, the hairspray fumes had been a little too strong. “Alan! Get yer butt in here, we’re taking pictures!”

   “Pictures?” He called back. “Hold up, wait for me!”

   Mr. Moore appeared in the doorway and took in the strange gathering with a big smile. The moment he caught sight of his daughter, he made a tossing motion, lobbing what looked like a yellow pillow towards her in an underhand throw. Surprised, Tabitha clumsily fumbled it between her hand and her cast, nearly dropping the thing. A boy darted forward beneath her hands and caught it before it hit the ground.

   “Thank you, Aiden,” Tabitha said sheepishly, accepting the pillow to take closer look—it was a large stuffed plush doll in the shape of a familiar large-eyed yellow guppy with blue markings.

   “Oh my God—it’s Flounder!” Elena exclaimed. “That’s so cute!”

   “Coworker ‘cross town mentioned his kids had it,” Alan said proudly. “Glad I caught you girls before you headed out! You girls all look lovely—er, Miss Alicia, are you from Star Wars?”

   “I’m Luke Skywalker,” Alicia answered with a beaming smile.

   “You look great,” Mr. Moore said. “Boys, good to see you all again. Mrs. Brooks, thank you so much for comin’ on out.”

   “It’s my pleasure!” Alicia’s mother replied. “You’re just in time for pictures!”

   Her four cousins crouched down in a row on their knees to better emulate the squat forms of their South Park characters, and then Tabitha was jostled back and forth until it was decided she would be situated in the center. Elena in her kitty-cat makeup stood on one side of her, and Alicia in the orange pilot uniform posed on the other side, flicking out the toy lightsaber to extend the blue plastic blade.

   Hugging the Flounder pillow tightly against her chest and looking into the camera lens with a bashful smile—Tabitha didn’t think she’d ever been so happy in her life.

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/// This one was pretty different to write, hopefully doesn't come across as too weird.