Genevieve felt exhausted. Halloween was the last thing she was thinking about, what with juggling her newborn twins and barely managing her everyday life. But Brad, her neighbor?

 

 

It was his life. With skeletons, flashing lights, and gravestones, his house had become a scary carnival. Every comment he received from onlookers made him feel more proud.

When Genevieve went outside one morning, she discovered her car covered in eggs. She knocked on Brad’s door, annoyed but thinking it was a joke.

Brad surprised her by confessing to the crime. “Your car’s blocking the view of my decorations,” he sarcastically remarked.

Genevieve was shocked and angry, but she was too tired to protest. Rather, she grinned, already formulating a strategy.

“Why don’t you upgrade your display?” she suggested to Brad the following day. Add ghost projectors and fog devices. It would be the town’s talk.

 

Brad followed her counsel since he was motivated to surpass himself.

When Halloween night finally arrived, Brad’s house was crowded with people. However, things quickly started to go wrong.

When the fog machine broke down, water was sprayed in place of mist. His ghost projector made a funny glob as it flickered.

At last, his enormous inflatable Frankenstein rolled down the street after deflating.

 

His scary presentation was ruined when children laughed and some naughty teenagers threw eggs at his house.

Brad humbly apologized to Genevieve the following morning. “I overreacted,” he said to himself. She smiled as he apologized, knowing that her subtle retaliation had been a success.