“It sounds kinda cool to me,” Kash agreed. For a moment, Cadence wondered why Drew and Kash ever broke up.

“Listen,” it was Taylor this time, “it’s the night before Thanksgiving. I don’t think my parents will like it if I’m out partying until the wee hours of the morning. My mom is going to expect me to help with the dinner, you know.”

“What time is the witching hour anyway? Midnight?” Sydney asked, her expression seeming to indicate that she was considering going with Drew.

“No,” Cadence said almost automatically. “It’s 3:00 AM.”

“Are you sure?” Jack asked. “I always heard it was midnight.”

Cadence’s glance became a bit sterner. “I’m sure,” she replied.

“Search engine it!” Taylor said, taking over the mouse.

Jon laughed, “Because the word Google is trademarked,” he commented quietly, almost to himself.

“She’s right!” Taylor exclaimed. “It is 3:00 AM. Says so right here.”

“On Wikipedia? The most reliable source of information since the invention of the Internet,” Jon sneered.

“No, it’s not Wikipedia! It’s a site about witches!” Taylor said defensively.

“There’s no way I’m going out to a party at 3:00 AM the night before Thanksgiving!” Sydney stated emphatically, her hands tugging absently on her light brown ponytail.

“Me neither!” Taylor agreed.

“Come on!” Drew pleaded. “We’ve gone out that late lots of times! Remember when we snuck off to Red Oak Tap? We all told our parents we were staying at Cadence’s house, and she told her mom she was at your house, Syd. It was the best time ever!”

Sydney seemed to contemplate this argument for a moment, her green eyes flickering with memories of times well spent with this group of friends. “I don’t know….” she said as the tides began to turn in favor of one last hurrah with her gang.

“Well, I’m in. And I’ll drive,” Kash said, slapping both hands down on his legs.

“I’m too scared to go!” Taylor proclaimed, pouncing back on the bed next to Sydney.

“You’ll be fine!” Kash proclaimed.

“I’ll protect you,” Jon added, rapidly raising and lowering his eyebrows.

Taylor laughed. Jon was always flirting with her, but thus far, nothing had ever happened between them. “You’re going then?” she asked, tossing her long blonde hair back over her shoulder.

“Well,” Jon said hesitantly. He looked at Kash, who was nodding his head. The two of them had gone almost everywhere together since the beginning of high school. Even now that Kash was attending Iowa Western Community College, they still found plenty of time to hang out together. Cadence knew it would be hard for him to miss out on a chance to have another adventure with his best friend. “I guess so,” he said slowly. “If Kash is going, then I’ll go. I’ve never been to a festival based on wickedness before, but I can only assume this may be a prime opportunity to see some boobies.”

The girls all groaned in disgust, and Sydney threw a pillow at him while the boys chuckled in agreement.

“Jack?” Drew asked.

Jack was fairly reserved, so the prospect of seeing topless women probably wasn’t a motivating factor for him, at least not one he would be willing to verbalize. But as his eyes glanced around the room at his friends, they lingered on Cadence. She felt uncomfortable and had to look away. “I don’t know,” he began. “Cadence, what do you think?”

Having turned her back to the group when the pressure of Jack’s intense stare became too much, she slowly turned back to face them. She was silent hoping no one would remember that she was present, and therefore, she wouldn’t be asked to go. Of course, since they were sitting in her bedroom, the chances of this were slim. “Well,” she sighed, “this certainly isn’t my thing. There’s nothing at all interesting to me about ghosts and goblins, vampires, and all that.”

“Seriously?” Drew asked, slumping her shoulders. “You know no one else will go if you don’t, Cadence.” The pouty face was back, and Drew released a loud sigh before crossing her arms and leaning back sharply. “Fine, I’ll just go by myself!”

“I said I’d go,” Kash reiterated, but Drew didn’t lose her wounded kitten expression.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for some of us to go and not all of us,” Jack stated assertively.

As much as Cadence wanted to disagree with him, he did have a point. Drew was only seventeen years old, and even if Kash and Jon went with her, they still might end up in a situation that wasn’t safe. However, if all seven of them stuck together, like they always had, she felt better about their chances of avoiding evil regardless of the theme of the revelry. She glanced at Sydney, who was chewing furiously on her bottom lip, a sign that she had not decided whether or not to risk it, and Taylor who was staring at the floor, shaking her head back and forth slowly. Taylor clearly did not want to go. Then, Cadence looked back at Drew. Her arms were still crossed, her chin forced into her chest. “Fine,” she finally acquiesced. “Let’s go.”