It was Laura's first Halloween in the United States. She had seen many portrayals of the late October holiday on television and in movies. She had to admit she was a little excited and nervous about the day. She was excited to see the costumes worn by kids ringing her doorbell; she was also worried about being scared by the costumes. She had watched too many horror movies.
Laura was renting a room in a house. Her landlady asked her if she could help with the candy. Laura happily agreed. The sun was just starting to set when the first group of kids in costumes rang the doorbell. "Trick or treat!" they said enthusiastically when Laura opened the door. The kids all had open bags. "I want a treat!" Laura said and grabbed the candy from each of the bag. The landlady came running to the door. "No, Laura. You give the kids candy, not taking from them," she explained gently. Thankfully, none of the kids were upset. They just looked confused. The landlady suggested that Laura should go out with some friends to a local community Halloween carnival. She would handle giving out the candy by herself.
Laura went to her room to put on her witch costume. She walked to the local recreation center along with Joe and some other friends. The recreation center was decorated with fake spider webs and filled with artificial fog. "We're going to egg some houses," Joe told her. She didn't know that throwing eggs was illegal. She just thought it was another Halloween tradition.
A few hours later, the landlady opened the door and found Laura accompanied by police. "Trick or treat?" Laura asked, looking embarrassed.