“Shawn, Halloween is tonight!” Gus scolded, leaning against the doorframe to the playroom and watching as his friend rooted desperately through his costume bin. “How can you not have a costume for Trick-or-Treating?”

“I do have one!” Shawn told him, not even lifting his head out of the large toy chest as he tossed a cowboy hat and brown vest with a sheriff’s badge aside. “But it’s the same cop uniform I wore last year…I wanna be something different!”

“Then why don’t you buy a new costume?”

“My dad won’t let me,” Shawn sighed, discarding a yellow, plastic construction hat next. “He said costumes are a waste of money and if I don’t want to be a cop I’ll have to be creative and come up with my own costume that doesn’t cost him anything.”

“So you’re raiding my supply?” Gus concluded, rolling his eyes. He came into the room and picked the hat up off the floor, dusting it off lovingly. “Why don’t you just be the cowboy? Or a construction worker?”

“Gus, please.” Shawn snorted, sitting back on his heels and rolling his eyes at his friend. “Do I look like one of The Village People to you?”

“There was a cop in the Village People, too, Shawn.” Gus pointed out with a grin.

“Shut up,” Shawn muttered, going back to his search. He was at the bottom of the chest now, but still nothing was catching his eye.

Finally, his face lit up as his eyes fell on the perfect costume.

“Gus!” he gasped, pulling out the black robe. “I got it! I’ll be the ninja! It’s perfect! I’m half-ninja, anyway!”

“That’s my costume!” Gus shouted, grabbing for it. “You know I was going to be the ninja! I even bought authentic plastic ninja swords!”

He grabbed the legs of the costume and tried to yank it away from Shawn, but Shawn wasn’t letting go.

“Gus! Come on!” he grunted, pulling in the other direction. “I’m way more ninja-like than you!”

Gus dropped the costume, scoffing in offended disbelief. “You’re what?” he gawked, unable to believe those words had actually just come out of his friend’s mouth.

Shawn clutched the costume close to his chest, regarding his friend with a look of sympathetic solemnity. “I’m a better ninja than you, Gus. You couldn’t sneak up on a blind, deaf turtle!”

“I’m stealthy!” Gus shouted, stomping his foot angrily.

“Then why do I always know when you’re coming?” Shawn asked, crossing his arms skeptically.

“You don’t!” Gus shot back. “Remember when I snuck up on you at the school picnic last year? You dropped your hot dog!”

“I dropped my hot dog because there was a spider on it.” Shawn informed him, shuddering at the memory. “You just happened to be sneaking up on me in a very un-ninja-like, non-stealthy way at the time.”

“Yeah…right, Shawn.” Gus rolled his eyes. “A spider. Sure.”

“There was!” Shawn insisted, pulling the ninja mask over his face so that everything but his eyes was shrouded in black.

Gus snatched the robe again before Shawn could put it on, time managing to get it out of his grasp. “Ha!” he crowed victoriously, quickly slipping it on. “I told you I was a better ninja!”

Shawn’s eyes glinted at the challenge. He reached back into the toy chest, emerging a moment later with two authentic, plastic ninja swords. He tossed one to Gus, still grinning. “Then it’s a ninja battle to the death!” he declared happily. “Winner gets the costume! Loser gets to look on with envy!”

Before Gus could even react to the sword being thrown at him, Shawn was wielding his own fake blade over his head. He brought it down on top of Gus’ head with a thump.

“Ow!” Gus yelped. “That hurt, Shawn!”

“And you call yourself a ninja,” Shawn snorted, shaking his head disappointedly.

“I’m a ninja!” Gus shouted, swinging at Shawn with his own sword now.

Shawn deflected the blow easily, his laughter slightly muffled by the ninja mask. “That wasn’t stealthy at all!”

“You’re not supposed to be stealthy in a ninja battle!” Gus returned, swinging it again.

“Then when are you supposed to be stealthy?” Shawn demanded lightly, ducking as the plastic blade flew a few inches over the top of his head. “When you’re trying to make your friend drop a hot dog? Because you’re not stealthy then, either, Gus.”

“Shut up!” Gus shouted furiously. “I’m being the ninja, Shawn! My uncle Burton sent me a Care Bears costume! You can be Grumpy Bear!”

“I’m not being Grumpy Bear!” Shawn snorted. “That’s my dad. I’m a ninja, Gus! Face it!”

“You are not!” Gus bellowed, tackling Shawn to the floor. He pinned him and ripped the mask off his head.

“Burton!” a sharp voice from behind them snapped.

Gus jumped up, leaving Shawn lying sprawled out on the floor.

Gus’ Mom was standing in the doorway, glaring at her son.

“Uh…” he stammered, quickly hiding the mask behind his back.

“Were you fighting?” she gasped.

“No!”

“He was trying, Mrs. Guster.” Shawn laughed, standing up and dusting himself off. “But I was winning. Don’t worry!”

“You were not!” Gus muttered, elbowing his friend.

“What’s behind your back?” Mrs. Guster demanded.

“Uh…” Gus stammered again, but he didn’t have a chance to ad-lib a lie. His mom had already reached behind his back and pulled the ninja mask away from him.

“Burton!” she clucked reprovingly. “I already told you you’re not wearing that horrible costume tonight! It promotes violence! You’re going to wear that nice Care Bear costume your uncle sent you.”

“But Mooooom!” Gus protested helplessly.

“End of story!” she cut him off, tossing the mask aside.

Gus sighed in defeat.

 Shawn was already grinning evilly. “Mrs. Guster…if Gus isn’t wearing it, can I borrow it, please?”

“Absolutely not!” she sniffed, picking up the yellow construction worker hat and plopping it on his head. “Your father would never forgive me. Why don’t you wear the construction hat?”

Shawn just scowled at her, but she was smiling at him.

“There,” she beamed proudly. “You look just like one of those nice boys from The Village People.”