Hollow Mass (a.k.a. the Samhain of Silence)

And so Halloween arrived.

Actually, it wound up coming early this year. I make it a yearly bout of masochism tradition at Ye Olde Academy to let the students come "trick or treating" at the English department office. It can be quite a chore; last year I had virtually the entire 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade classes show up during lunchbreak on Halloween Day (if there is such a thing). They had the corridor plugged up solid, and the fact that some kids were coming back to see if they could weasel me out of a second or third helping didn't make things any easier. This year things were a bit different. For one thing, the 9th graders had already left for the first-ever school trip to Okinawa (wouldn't you know it...the one year that I'm not assigned to grade 9...), making it a lot quieter. For another, Chuck decided to give in and start letting kids come begging "trick or treating" early. That meant three days of dealing with the sugar-starved feeding frenzy, but it did help keep the numbers down at any given time. Actually, Halloween itself wound up being quieter than usual.

On the other hand, we did have a bit more fun. Chuck and I were hoping to get some of the faculty involved and organize a costume dress-up for Halloween. The suggestion that we adopt a Hogwarts theme was pondered, discussed, planned, and forgotten. We also had our schedules wiped out by a whole slew (as opposed to a slough) of make-up tests and other unexpected headaches. The result was far less ambitious than originally planned, but at least Chuck and I were able to spice things up a bit. He went all out for decorating the English department office and came to school on the 31st all dressed in orange and black with a Jack o' lantern cap. As for me, I finally put on the BLUE samurai costume that someone gave me for my birthday as a gag gift several years ago. (My wife borrowed that costume for her students to use at her school last year, resulting in the tragic disappearance of the wig, but at least the main part was okay.) I also borrowed one of my son's toy swords, and I dabbed some fake blood on it just for effect.

I wore the costume during lunchbreak while handing out candy to the "trick or treating" hordes. Then I peeled it off so I could drive to the bus terminal and pick up a visiting clinician. (I didn't think she'd be thrilled to be met by a BLUE samurai driving a BLUE RAV4...) I still had a free period, so I hauled my still-uncarved third pumpkin over to the home ec room, borrowed some utensils, and produced another work of art...the first time since coming to Japan that I've ever made three Jack o' lanterns for one Halloween. Then I put the costume back on and had some fun parading around the school.

It really was fun, too. I got lots of attention, and lots of compliments, though most students just stopped in their tracks and stared at me with shouts of "Eh...?" In fact, I went up to the auditorium, where the 7th graders were practicing for the upcoming Chorus Contest (same fanfare as before, though slightly louder and better in tune), the entire class erupted into one, big "EH...??"

Things spiced up a bit when I went over to the 8th grade floor, where the students were killing time after having finished their own choral practice. One of the more smart-assed daring boys slipped up behind me and made a grab for my sword. I caught the sword, but next thing I knew the boy was taking off at a full sprint with my sheath in hand. I roared off in pursuit, chased him down, caught him, tackled him, retrieved the sheath, and, with an air of bushido dignity, restored the blood-encrusted, soft-plastic blade. Two minutes later, thanks to a clever diversion, the same boy was running down the hall again with my sheath in his hand. This time he ducked into a classroom and wove around the desks to throw me off his trail, but I surprised everyone (especially myself) by looping around, cutting him off, and taking him down with a flying tackle. The only casualty was one poor girl's pencase, which was sent flying with its contents spewing, but the boy and I gathered it all up for her, and she didn't seem to mind. (Actually, she mostly just stood staring at me with her mouth open. I guess not many teachers my age would chase down and tackle a student...twice...let alone dress like a samurai!) He never gave me any more trouble after that, but now several boys were determined to grab my sword. I made sure they didn't succeed, made my escape, and returned to the auditorium...the back entrance this time...and watched the rest of the 7th grade rehearsal.

After that I was told by some 7th graders that a samurai always wipes the blood off the blade of his sword immediately after using it. Otherwise, the ghost of the victim might come back and curse him. I figured that, since it was Halloween, that would be par for the course. Besides, since it was only fake blood on my sword, did that mean I could expect a fake curse?

A few more trick or treaters showed up at the office after that, but the seasonal rush was pretty much over. Wiped out, I left the school early, picked up the kids, and rendezvoused with my wife for a low-key dinner date. It was a nice, relaxing end to a festive occasion that usually drains me dry. Now I just hope those three Jack o' lanterns don't start rotting too early.



Happy Halloween, all!