It was Halloween, so I dressed up as an alien.
I bought the costume at the Halloween shop. They call it an 'extraterrestrial jumpsuit' but it's really just a black body suit with a big zipper up the front and green glowing stuff on the arms and shoulders. My uncle calls it a pleathersuit. I looked in the mirror that night – the alien-me looked back. I felt the way I imagine the real aliens did before the first humans landed on their planet and started the whole 'Earthlings come in peace' malarkey.
It had been my idea to dress up as an alien for Halloween. We went to the shop to buy the costume and then decided to go just for a coffee before watching movies. When we got there, I saw some really cool guys, who I later found out were aliens themselves. 'Hi, aliens!' I waved my hand in a silly Alien sort of way, which made them all jump.
I wondered what would happen if I said that out loud to the real aliens. The girl who sold us our coffee did!
'Excuse me, you two. I'm sorry.'
'Huh?' I said, surprised.
'Oh,' I said out loud. 'I thought I heard you talking about me. Excuse me, I'm sorry.'
'No, no,' she said, in a slightly weird voice. 'I'm sorry.'
She looked like she was about to cry, so I said 'It's ok,' but she just kept looking at us weirdly.
I decided to pretend I didn't hear her, but I kept watching her curiously all the way to the movies.
She was weird.
At the movies, the guys with the real aliens came to sit next to us. 'Hi aliens! Come tonight, at ten!' They said.
We ran out of the cinema and I said, 'Pleathersuit, where's the pleathersuit?'
'Halloween shop, north end.' The alien girl said. 'It's on a hanger. Come back.'
'Let's go, Pleathersuit.' Another alien called. I ran with him to the shop and then ran back with the Pleathersuit.
I put the costume on, and then looked in the mirror, and I realised what I'd done. I was stuck! I couldn't remove any of the costume.
I looked in the mirror and I looked in shock at my round green head. I jumped at my reflection, and I jumped again. I wasn't wearing any shoes, but my feet were green too! I felt the sleeves and the zipper. They were definitely attached. And then I noticed the arm. It felt a bit yucky. I yanked the arm, but I couldn't get it off. I was starting to feel claustrophobic. I gasped for breath and thought aliens couldn't breathe air. But I was breathing air. I must have had carbon dioxide from the bag, just like the aliens in the movies.
I opened the zipper to try and get my head out, but it wouldn't budge. It was impossible!
'Umm, someone help.' I shockingly said, but no one came. It was just me, stuck.
'Umm, Pleathersuit, can you hear me?' I asked frantically.
'Uh, yes.'
I tried to move my head, but the zipper was still stuck. 'Why won't this zipper open?' I said on a stuck sigh.
'It won't move. I tried.' Pleathersuit said uncertainly.
'I need to go to the hospital. Help!' I gasped desperately.
'What's out of control?'
'My head is stuck inside this suit! Can't move!'
I began to panic; I started jumping around. I felt around the Pleathersuit and then looked in the mirror. I stood on tippy-toes to see around the zipper. I gasped. I tried to stop gasping, but it was a gasp-fest! It was sooo hard!
I started laughing hysterically.
The zipper was stuck stuck stuck!
In that moment, the round alien's laughter filled the room and the girl who had flinched was in the next room again, staring at us again. She came back in with a racoon mask. We both stopped laughing.
'What are you two doing.' She said, in a cautious sort of voice.
'We were checking out the alien costumes,' the alien-me said. 'Why? Do you want to check them out?'
'It was just slipped out,' she said. 'You two were just making alien noises. I still can't believe it.'
'My head is falling out!' I said in panic. 'Help!'
'I'll call an ambulance.' She said.
'How did you know about this?' I asked her. I tried to remember if we'd told our friend anything. 'Did your dad tell you?'
'Well, I'm going to try and call them. You two should put the alien costumes on.' She said, as she went out.
I put my alien costume on, but I was too scared to go out. I kept on giving little gasps and throwing stuff around. I could feel the zipper move and at one point, I surprised myself by speaking out loud.
'Oh, my costume is going to come off. Save it.' I said, excitedly.
I leaped at my reflection again. It was a good thing I hadn't already removed the mask, because I was staring straight at a dead alien – my dead alien costume.
I looked at the mask. I looked at my face, but it was an alien face. I frantically looked around, but the room was so small, no one heard me. I leaped at the mirror again.
'ALIEN HEAD!' I screamed.
I looked at my alien face, but I was still me.
I looked at Pleathersuit, but she was still standing behind me. I looked for alien heads, but there were none. I felt trapped, trapped in there and trapped on the outside, and trapped in here, trapped in this alien costume on the outside, and trapped in here, trapped in this alien costume on the outside. I had run out of places to look. I was only trapped in here.
