Motel Halloween

As I'm getting up, "I'll take the first shower and then make breakfast. I want to clean up before the health department shows up."

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I made breakfast, we cleaned up, and the chef showed up. However, until the health inspection is done, we can't cook anything for customers. For ourselves, no problem. It isn't until 11:00 that they show up. Stan goes with the business license guy and Fire Marshall. We didn't even know about the Fire dude. The city is good friends with Stan's dad; they took care of us. There were a few things we forgot. Since they're minor, we got licensed for business and promised to fix it within thirty days.

The health department was much harder. She picked at everything we did and made us move things or change where things were on shelving. I forgot that cleaning products must be below food items. We had to turn down the refrigerator's temperature, and the grill was too hot. She showed us how to adjust it and how to dispose of grease properly.

I was afraid we might not pass, but we ended up with a ninety-four. I have a long list of things to be fixed in thirty days. Most I thought they were petty, but I guess the last thing we want is to get people sick.

Sandy, our chef, says to me, "You looked afraid like we might fail. They will always find something. Forget about a perfect score, it is never going to happen. The key is to leave enough easy fixes each time. You had this place in good shape; I knew we would pass. I know a clean kitchen when I see it.

"Now the bad news. I should have been cooking the last three hours. We're way behind. I need everyone to help in the kitchen. Wash your hands well, and then I will give you tasks. Ask if you need instructions, and then yell when you're done. I will provide you with another job.

"Charlie. It's almost noon. I have some nice ground steak in there. I want you to make hamburgers for lunch. We need fries, onion rings, and pickles. Grilled onions would be nice if you have time. I need two onions and three sliced tomatoes. I need several leaves of lettuce and then buttered and browned buns. That's for lunch. I need three bags of potatoes peeled and a bag of onions sliced. Half a dozen onions diced. I will do the garlic and start the dough."

Meanwhile, Stan has a crew setting up the hotel for a unique theme we will use monthly. Typically, our LED sign calls us "Motel 60s." We will have other special weekends, but "Motel Halloween" is the main event. It will be special due to our senior projects.

Yes, I already explained about teaching History. I also helped two other friends with their projects. These were just as interesting and involved hardware, software, and my artistic abilities. No more hints. Oh, and don't tell the girls. I want to surprise them.

I made lunch under a watchful eye from Sandy. Then I helped make dough for bread, rolls, desserts, and pizzas. The big mixer is not my best friend. I spent a lot of time with it today. Not exactly the best day of my life, but it was needed. We have fifty pizza crusts ready for tonight. It looks like 1,000 hors d'oeuvres are prepared for baking. I helped carry in four kegs of beer. All four are in a small walk-in refrigerator. Two are hooked up for on-tap.

They have a small mechanical system that puts the keg on its side and high, so it's closer to the tap. Someone went through an awful lot of effort to make that work. I find the engineering fascinating. No time to admire the beer cooler, more work to do.

Stan surprises us at 5:00 with Chinese carry-out. The party starts at 7:00. There will be plenty of food then. But until then we need to eat something. He bought a variety of dishes, and we each took some of a few so that we ended up with a small dinner that was interesting. I didn't know that many Chinese dishes, so I got a chance to try a few I would never have. General Tso was a bit too spicy. Egg Foo Young was excellent, and Pepper steak was slightly offensive to me. Others loved it.

At 6:00, the chef is still furiously cooking and now has paid help. We are free to shower, change, and costume up. Naturally, I am first done. In college, I wanted to have fun for Halloween, as everyone does. Not everyone has an uncle that is a retired LAPD officer. The last name is correct. Every other patch that said LAPD, was removed. I purchased gag patches. For example, there is usually a city patch on a shoulder with the city. Mine says Gotham City and has a bat on it.

I had to buy a few more gag things to complete the uniform. I bought a second-hand belt as my uncle kept his belt. I have a fake black handgun that shoots nerf bullets, two pairs of handcuffs, an official-looking hat, and a gag badge for my wallet. The baton is real and, so far, hasn't been needed. Even a drunk doesn't want to mess with a cop ... so far. It is incredibly realistic unless you look at the details. Then it's hilarious.

I try to stay by the front entrance until Stan gets here. I like greeting people, especially the kids. A couple is walking toward me. The woman is hot but looks uncomfortable. Some people have an aura that says, "I am an asshole." The boyfriend has one of the auras. He gives me a snide comment about my costume. The girlfriend looks at me like she's sorry. I smile back at her, which surprises her.

As he passes me, I turn to follow them with my gaze. I blink my eyes three times, and the outline of a huge man with a knife that strikes the boyfriend appears with a room-shattering shriek. The boyfriend jumps back and screams a high pitch and pathetic scream of surprise. Everyone can see the image slowly fade away.

The boyfriend is uneasy. The girlfriend and everyone else laugh their asses off. Naturally, the boyfriend is unhappy with the girlfriend and harshly grabs her, causing the girlfriend to cry out in pain. My hand on his shoulder causes him to look back at me.

I have seen enough and am not happy, "You came in here surly and your girlfriend unhappy. You now make her cry out in pain. If I don't see a smile on her face all night, you will have the honor of having your ass being the first kicked out of here and banned from coming back. So lay off the woman and have a good time. We will ALL be watching you. This place has a lot of eyes. Comprendo?"

The boyfriend doesn't have a chance to speak before the girlfriend says, "If you can't behave, I will call my brother to pick me up. Get me a beer."

I leave them alone, and a family of six is next to come in. They have four small children. One is young enough that the wife holds her. The other three boys are pretty active."

The father asks, "What makes this a Halloween Motel?"

I smile, "It's decorated nicely, good food, and it's haunted."

The man smiles, "Yeah, right."

As if on cue, a medium-sized children's ball appears behind the husband and rolls through his legs, past the kinds, and they run after it. It fades away. For the next hour, they search for the ball. It comes back, rolls, they chase, it fades, and they start the search again. As people walk to a corner, they're likely to be surprised by a man with a knife, a bear, or a troll for a flash, and then poof, it disappears.

From the hallways, there are occasional screams of terror. Nobody ever finds anything. About half the people have dressed up. The two city inspectors came back dressed as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Excellent costumes.

I can smell the pizza's being made and the little food going around with the servers on trays. Amanda is first down. My heart stopped at seeing her. She has cat ears, a cat tail, a black top, pants, and shoes. Someone painted on a black nose and whiskers on her face. She is one hot kitty tonight. Jenna is next to appear. She comes for a kiss. She is a devil, maybe a succubus. Either way, she's wearing a red bikini with enough extras like a cape to keep it G-rated, yet capable of an R in an instant. So damn hot.

Kate comes down in an adorable outfit. She looks like a six-year-old dressed for school. She has two pigtails, pink cheeks, freckles on her face, a short black skirt, and a white blouse that is about two sizes too small. Her breasts want to spill out at any wrong move. The white stocking, black shoes, and a Sesame Street lunchbox; make me want to fuck her on the closest table.

I want to spend time with them, but several of my college buddies show up and a gaggle of Amanda's friends fills the room. There are several families here from travel agencies and the city. It made it a nice mix of people.

It wasn't long before Amanda, Jenna, and Kate are pulling me outside with a scowl on their faces. They're mad at me and I know why.

Amanda attacks first, "What the hell is going on in there?"

It's hard not to laugh as I say, "Duh, it's a party."

Bad idea. A haymaker comes quickly at me. I knock it aside, but Amanda is mad and is rushing to follow up. I stop it by reaching out and hugging her.

With my hands around her, I recount my story of college, "I had several friends that were extraordinary in one way or another. In our senior year, we all get together to discuss our senior projects. Stan and I did our thing and we sold it for great money. My friend Mike was an electrical engineer. George was a programmer. Mike has this idea that detects faces and eyes using cameras. George took the data to determine where the person is and what they can see. My artwork was then projected at the edge of their peripheral vision.

"All the sounds and projections, that's the stuff we used to audition at Disney. There, we're going to have faces at centers where the visitor sees a friendly face with hands so that directions and instructions can be given. Some rides will use our technology to see where people are looking and then respond to them. Theye're also going to be integrated into the Haunted House redo after they saw our demo.

"Yes, I was behind the chains, screams, balls, everything. Before you start yelling, the system does a lot of stuff on its own. When Amanda was pissed at me, the system sensed it and reacted. Other stuff was purely random. If you see an asshole, blink three times at them."

I see them all grin at me.

I chuckle, "Good luck. Don't you think we thought to avoid us?"

Kate says it best, "You fucker, you're no fun."

I go back inside, and the kids have all the areas staked out looking for the balls. A mother watches me closely as I walk up to, then bend down, and whisper in a kid's ear.

He looks at me in shock, "Really?"

I look defensively, "Your parents must order for you."

The boy runs to her mother, "Mommy, mommy, we want a pizza. PLEASE!!!!"

She looks at me suspiciously, so I reply, "Watch him, it will be cute."

The mother goes to the counter and orders a large cheese and sausage. It will be fifteen minutes.

At fifteen minutes, the boy rushes to get the pizza. Naturally, the mother receives the pizza and takes it to a table. The boy gathers his friends while I gather Stan, Amanda, Kate, and Jenna, along with several of their friends. There is a large crowd around four boys looking at a pizza in a bag. The mother pulls out the pizza, and everyone looks at it, wondering why they're looking at a pizza.

The boy yells out, "Alpha, Beta, Delta."

Quickly, an unstable structure is built about three feet above the pizza in my translucent graphics. This looks more solid like it might be real. Four slingshots were mounted on the table with an "angry bird" loosely in the slingshot. The boys yell out, "COOL!" They can't feel the bird, but they pinch their fingers and pull far back. They change the angle, so the birds go high. The first boy lets go, and the bird zooms towards the structure, and like the game, it does damage.

As pieces fall to the pizza, there is a sound of glass shattering. Soon all four are shooting an endless supply of rapid-fire birds at the now destroyed structure. It finally blows up in a mini volcanic explosion, sending bits of pieces over everyone nearby. Many kids and dads like the superheroes on another pizza that beat up the bad guys. The best was Mr. Ice. He froze the bad guys and then hit them with a hammer, shattering them in an explosion of parts that stuck to people.

The kids are screaming, "Cool." Several dads are nodding their heads and saying, "Cool." Several mothers are now placing pizza orders. I give out several other codes. One had a bunch of fast dinosaurs that chased each other. One was a paintball game of tiny people on a pizza where the sausage were walls. One had planes that did acrobats over several tables. One had fireworks that filled the room. Each pizza had something special.

Adults got more humorous things like a hunter that's chasing animals. Yes, like Buggs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. I liked the one that made the room into a fishbowl and fish swam between people. Everyone liked that one.

I don't think I have ever been happier than I was for those two hours. It wasn't technology, software, and computer-aided graphics. It was watching children and adults laughing and having fun because I spent many hours of trial and error to perfect everything. A whole year of almost nonstop work culminated today in the most perfect way.

I just got hugged by a husband-and-wife werewolf team. No shit, it's mom and dad. I can hear her crying as she hugs me hard. Stan's, Jenna's, and Kate's parents are also here, just behind mom and dad. They just took off their masks so I could recognize them. Mom tells me there have been here for three hours and all have rooms next to the building. I spend an hour at a table drinking beer and explaining how we got the idea, how it works, and that we have a deal with Disney. We're going to do the information stations, Haunted House, and other projects as time permits. I won't discuss money.

The city people and travel agents want to spend time with Stan, to work on advertising and making us a destination. Kate has had enough talking. She takes my hand and guides me to the dancefloor in the great room. The average age in this room is much higher. No children want to dance. I amuse people tonight by having two monsters dance together where there is room.

I must admit, it was kind of weird seeing it myself. I have a smoking hot woman and right next to me is a pile of slime that is dancing with a zombie. Kate laughs as the skeleton cuts in to take the zombie.

An excited Kate says to me, "You are a naughty boy. You played tricks on us all week and made us think we were going crazy."

I snicker, "It was our soft opening. I had to test my toys. We rushed to install everything in one night. We must have had fifty people here running cables and verifying the angles. Today was the culmination of many months of work with lots of blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights. It looks fantastic, but each animation took a lot of time to design and program how to handle the randomness of where people stand and how tall they are.

"Too many 'hauntings' or too few, and the mood is compromised. It's a fine line between cute and annoying to scared out of your head. Like me, the system doesn't handle anger well. This has been the best day of my life. Everything has worked as good, if not better than expected. Mike sure is a genius."

Mike was dancing with a nice friend of Amanda behind me, so he buts in, "You're wrong, Charlie. Your positive attitude, good humor, and amazing animation skills made this project work so well. Yes, my engineering is really cool. But if we only had Stan to do the animation, it would be a flop. You made this work. I've been thanking God for allowing me to be your friend."

I'm blushing; time to get even, "Mike, you know we never liked you much. You were the first to turn twenty-one and could buy beer. That's the only reason we kept you around."

Mike laughs hard, "That is so you. Can't take a compliment and make a joke about it. You know we got the Disney money and contract because of you." He raises his hand, "Yes, we did the optics and programming, but you made it cool and funny as hell. I like the fireworks, fishbowl, and the birds. All A1 in my book. These dancing partners, I don't need that. I guess it adds to the atmosphere. What do you do tomorrow?"

I grin at him, "We have elves."

The parents walk into the room, mom saying, "There you are, dear. We lost you. Jenna is unhappy."

Kate retakes my arm for the next song, "She can have her turn later. I need some dancing."

Kate's father asks timidly, "Where have you all been sleeping?"

Ah ha, there is it. The fathers are worried. I'm not sure I want to answer that question. Lucky for me, Kate is up to the task."

Kate has a huge smile plastered on her face, "Oh, daddy. Do you really want to know?" With a breathy voice, "Do you want to know where my fingers, tongue, and mouth have been this week? Do you want a listing or listing per partner? Would you like a list of my explosive, unnatural, and spectacular orgasms, my moderate, impressive ..."

Her dad is short, "KATE! Not here. We will talk at home, young lady. You're staying with us tonight. I'll not have you whoring ..."

I stopped dancing and was two inches from her father's face, "I advise you not to finish that statement. Kate is twenty-one, has a job, and can make her own decisions. I encourage you to talk with your daughter, but you do not control her life anymore. She can decide where she sleeps and with who she wants.

"She is a young sexy woman. She's also wise and intelligent. I trust her completely, why don't you? Uniform or not, you disrespect her one more time, and you will be asked to leave."

He stares at me, and I stare right back while placing Kate behind me.

Kate's mother breaks the stalemate, "You happy now? Done showing how big a man you are? That young man just schooled you, protected your daughter, and stood up for her. See how he is between you and her? He loves her, and they've fucked already. From the goofy smile, he was damn good as well. Now put your pecker away, he's bigger, better, cuter, and I'm half tempted to see how good he is myself."

When Kate objected strongly, her mother laughed hard and hugged her daughter. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn into Jenna, who wraps me in her arms, and we start dancing.

I whistle, "Damn, that was smooth. Right in front of the bickering parents."

Jenna kisses me on the cheek, smiles, and then says, "I'm motivated. Kate got distracted, and she lost."

Jenna pulls me close, and we dance for a while like that. Kate and her family went to our room to talk. After thirty uninterrupted minutes, Amanda taps Jenna on the shoulder for her dance. Jenna, surprisingly, isn't unhappy. She isn't happy, but she's accepting of the situation. Amanda is silent as we waltz around the dance floor, holding each other tight.

We part when our parents cut in, dad taking Amanda and mom taking me. Mom placed her head on my chest and shoulder.

Mom chuckles, "No wonder those women want you. This is pretty darn good. You have those muscles and good looks. How will you ever pick just one woman?"

I replay, "I won't have to, they will decide."

Mom reflects, "Those pizzas were nifty. Disney is going to love you. It's not just your artistic ability. It's your sense of humor and your creativity. There are many artists, fewer good ones, and relatively few that are special like you. I can't wait to see what you do. How does this place fit into your empire?"

I am soft spoken when I reply, "I am partners with Stan. I helped him get set up. He will take it from here. I'm really looking forward to my new job. Monday, I hop on a plane to Florida."

Mom seems unhappy, "I thought you were staying out here? Why must you go so far?"

I sigh, "That's where the home offices and R&D are. My whole world will be there. They're even giving me a secretary to keep me organized. OK, she's also a Project Manager. They have high hopes for our stuff and are going to dump a lot of money into us. In return, they will get some cutting-edge technology. I haven't even mentioned Star Wars yet, and what I can do in that realm."