Dear Diary,
I feel like I need to write out the events of the day so there is a record of why I died. I can still feel my heart beating as I toured around Corning today, braving the early morning frost and the ghouls and goblins out running amok. Knowing that I survived a little longer, I feel that I should put the adventure down for the world to see in case some of those misfit creatures catch up with me…
It was cool, clear day in October. I showed up to work early, noting the decor of the office and taking in the pleasant sounds of a screeching cat and a frenzied bat. Soon though, I started getting calls…and no one was there. Doors began creaking and the lights began flickering. Calmly, I went outside to see if there was a power issue. There was none, but I began to see phantoms flitting from store to store and flying high in sky. I thought it was just myself at first, but then I saw that there were others looking around in confusion too.
I went over to them and noticed they were members of Corning High School’s Future Business Leaders of America Club. They had been up for an early breakfast together and were headed downtown when they began to notice the strange sights. I grabbed my camera, which was being bewitched as well, and went back outside. Odd clouds were now hovering over the Library and we saw J Wilson taking exteior shots. Bravely, we told him that we were going to head over there and see what was happening. He decided to join us, increasing our party and giving us more security.
We entered the Library and saw:
Four Bookworms, human in nature, but ravenous in appetite. We managed to snag a picture before they began to chant about their favorite books on which to chew. From dictionaries to Stephen King, these bookworms would munch on any book. As we began to file out before they decided humans tasted good too, they warned us that the surest way to gain their ire would be by buying a Nook, Kindle, or some other device. Assuring them that our houses held no such devices, we threw an encyclopedia at them and ran for it.
Outside, gunshots rang and we heard the muttering of several people. We headed through Central Park, tracking the noise and still concerned about how no one but us could seem to sense the activities of the day. We finally managed to track the noise to Okey Vernon Bank. Entering cautiously, we saw that we had stepped into a different world. Instead of vaults and tellers, there were criminals and bars. Okey Vernon Bank had stopped existing and was now Okey Vernon State Prison! Jim Whitmore had become the warden and Tysen was his number one criminal catcher. In fact, ALL of the former Okey employees were closet criminals and had been arrested on charges ranging from jaywalking to robbing banks before buying shoes! Tysen even seemed certain that all of us were criminals and sought to shoot us before we escaped. Thankfully, J was able to distract him with his flash and we got a shot of them posing for LAW ENFORCEMENT MONTHLY:
Regrouping outside once again, we decided that it was time to take our evidence to City Hall and have them put out offical notice to the police that something needed to be done. Unfortunately, City Hall was dark and dank and we received the fright of our lives:
City Clerk Iona Allen had been replaced by the Grim Reaper!! We tried to run, but our legs were frozen in place as she sweetly offered us to sign up on her ledger of appointments. We could sign up for death or taxes, but she would see us either way at some point. While some of us had our eyes glued to the dismembermed arm in her file cabinet, others were trying hard to resist bringing attention to the eyes scattered on her desk, payment forcibly taken from those who had not paid their taxes. The Reaper herself began offering the eyes, encouraging the students to eat them and then pointing menacingly at her cemetary plot books for those who resisted. She told us all we could go now…but she would see us soon…
Outside in the daylight again, we all managed to shiver and pretend it was from the cool breeze. Woodenly, we left, not sure where to go and wondering if the whole county had gone berserk. As we were passing the Extension Office, we heard weird cackles from within. Looking at each other with resignation, we entered, hoping our hearts were not about to burst forth in fear again. If City Hall scared us to death, then the Extension Office drove us mad, as the ladies were Mad Hatters, crazies with different hats on for each different emotion they would feel at any given time:
After the Extension Office, one of the members said that maybe Bella Vita Salon had some idea of what was going on since they were neighbors to the Extension. We all decided it was worth a shot and headed next door. Inside we found that Sheila and Beccie had gone over to the dark side!
They admitted that they had been out living life and had been caught by Sheriff Tysen early on. They had surrendered and gone to the County Work Farm over prison. They had done some hard time and each showed us the new tattoos they were sporting. Sheila said that her sentence was almost over and that her salon training in the work release program would translate into a job after she was paroled. Beccie said that her parole hearing was coming up in the next few weeks. An astute student asked why they were handcuffed…
And they ran for it!!!!
In case either of them were maniacs and wanted to use us as hostages, we took out the other door. Someone suggested that we go to Hy-Vee Pharmacy and see if maybe there had been a raid on any pills. At a loss and completely confused, we headed to the pharmacy. We entered and things appeared normal. We went up to the soda fountain…and a studio audience applauded!
Looking around, seven suitcases appeared with pharmacy employees holding them, each of the suitcases numbered. Next to them, someone who resembled both Howie Mandell and Troy Waddell apppeared, asking for a contestant. It seemed we had stepped into an episode of Deal or No Deal and we were the contestants. At the urging of the FBLA members, Crystal Combs stepped foward and was transported center stage to engage in a contest of wills against the banker and all the monetary prizes in the cases.
Crystal stared at the cases and chose case number 5 to be hers. Howie Waddell (or Troy Mandel) told her to eliminate two more. With help from the FBLA gang, she managed to eliminate two of the higher dollar amounts. Not only did that mean she got offered very little money to escape this weird dream, but she had to guess correctly on the rest or risk having to do it all over again for eternity!
After some more help from the FBLA students, Crystal managed to knock out the lower dollar amounts and get her offering up to $8000. Howie told her that she could keep case 5 or switch it for another one. Crystal, a savvy business operator if I ever saw one, gave him the following look of superiority:
And chose to stay with her case. The other one was opened and……
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She managed to knock out the final low dollar amount and be a winner with $10,000!!!! Howie offered her congratulations as well as a soda to her for her efforts and we all left again. Outside, we all determined that we had no idea what had happened, but FBLA is not one to waste a golden opportunity to put their business sense to work. They promptly turned the weird morning into a costume contest and ranked the winners in the following categories:
Most Original: Corning Public Library
Best Costume: City Clerk Iona Allen
Best Theme: Okey Vernon Bank
Most Entertaining: Hy-Vee Pharmacy
As soon as those decisions were made, the veil lifted and we were all back in Corning where the people were friendly and the oddness had stopped. We made our way to Chamber Coffee and saw that the weird characters were there, but they were no longer menacing or forcing us through little tests or games. We looked at each other in confusion, shrugged, and decided we needed a drink…until we saw it was Spider-laden punch. *Gulp*
So, Diary, while it seems that the worst is over and that the challenges have all been met, I’m not convinced. I saw that Iona Allen had called and emailed me several times. And since I had paid my taxes already, there is only sure thing left for me…
THE ADAMS COMMUNITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES FOR TAKING PART IN THE BUSINESS HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST. WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS OF AMERICA CLUB FOR TAKING PART IN THE CONTEST BY JUDGING. WE HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT TIME AND THAT WE SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!