This party may have been Marissa’s best work yet.

Temperatures on Pearl Street were predicted to be an all-time low for this time of year. It was cloudy and grey and just gross. This party had been somewhat planned, of course, but she wanted to wait for the perfect time. Right now was perfect. No one would want to be outside on Pearl Street when the weather was like this. As soon as she realized, she ran up to her room in Aquila, jumped onto Rose’s bed, and very seriously announced, “It’s time.”

She then explained that they needed to put together That Party right away, blah blah blah, and she made her way to the Passageways to collect their secret weapon.

Shifty somehow knew she was coming, because he’d arranged the things he’d been collecting throughout the term like a throne and had his hands folded, looking down his nose at the Aquila. Marissa rolled her eyes.

“Little Marissa Kendrick,” he greeted her with some kind of very Godfather-like accent (did poltergeists have access to movies? Was he making a reference? Was it on purpose? No one would ever know), “What is it you have come for?”

“All that stuff you’re sitting on,” Marissa waved her hand in his general direction, “It’s time.”

Shifty sat right up with the biggest smile, losing his serious act almost immediately. “It’s time?! Are you tricking me?”

“No, you’re the trickster. Come on, help me get that stuff to the Rec Center.”

She sent a quick message to her friends so they could come help if they wanted, but the work was mostly completed by Rose, Marissa, and the Manic Panic. The two Aquila had decided to pull him in, just in case there were spells they weren’t able to do. It was a huge undertaking, but by the end of their work, it was beautiful:

They’d turned the Rec Center into a beach for the day.

Shifty had been collecting different things that would work for a Beach Party theme throughout the year and hoarding them in the passageways. There were plenty of beach towels, decorative chairs, various pineapple shaped things, and more. Marissa didn’t ask where he got these things; she got the feeling she didn’t want to know. Between Rose and Shifty, the floor had turned to sand around the pool, and the pool looked more like an ocean that also had a waterfall for some reason. Whatever, it worked, and she was so proud of the end result.

Music started blasting, and Marissa sent out fliers all over the school. Before they knew it, people started to trickle into the Rec Center. The fliers explained exactly what the party was – a Day at the Beach – and it looked like other students were matching theme really well! Marissa changed into a bikini top with rainbow pineapples and a bit of cleavage and a high-waisted swim short once all the work was done. Her hair was pulled back into a very bushy ponytail, as if that was going to make a difference once she got in the water.

The Aquila knew there was a lot going on at this point in the year, and she truly hoped that everyone got the break they deserved that day. Shifty had coerced some of the house elves to bring food by, and it was a weekend, so staff members couldn’t even be mad. It’s not like anyone was skipping class to be here. It was the perfect scenario.

Marissa sat at the end of the water, where the artificial waves brushed her feet, and smiled up at the person approaching her. “Can we work some magic or what? I don’t think I’m gonna be able to top this.”