Young Writers Society

“Ahhhhhh,’ the janitor yawned, mouth wide open. He checked his watch. 8:07 PM.

“Already?” He muttered to himself, “I still have half the school to finish.” He yawned again and rolled his cart and mop to the main hallway between the sixth and eighth grade lockers. Turning on his iPod and humming to the music, he continued to sweep the floor. “A tedious job,” he thought, “but---.” Suddenly, he froze.

“Did I just hear something?” He asked himself. He pushed the “Pause” button on his iPod, Straightening up and not moving a muscle, he slowly turned his head to where the faint sound was coming from. Somehow, he heard music other than his own. His ears twitched. There, he heard it again: the jazzy tune was emanating from inside the choir room!

Creeping towards the choir room door, he peered inside. All was dark except for a thin shaft of light jutting from a half-closed door on the far side of the room. He tiptoed to it and glanced in. At the very first sight, his eyes widened in shock, and his jaw dropped to the ground.

Apparently, the room echoing with the music was the costume room. Strangely, instead of hanging from the rack as they should have been, the clothes were milling about, as if they had bodies and minds of their own. In fact, it looked as though they were partying!

One of them, a Cinderella-like flowing sky-blue dress, gently twirled in the center of the room with her sleeves tucked under a sleek black tuxedo’s. Indistinct mumbling floated out of a nearby elf’s mouth as he placed a wreath of flowers on Blue Dress’ collar. The Crowning of the Best Couple! A loud rattling arose in the room, as the audience cheered and applauded. On a table in the corner sat a radio and an old metronome which Mrs. Good used to steady the tempo of the students’ singing. The DJ, a…a giant tootsie pop? Yes, yes. The purple head of the lollipop bobbed up and down to the beat of the song, while the white stick tap-danced discreetly on the floor.

A booming voice rose above the chatter. The janitor inched closer to the door, craning his neck to see what happened. A fat cow appeared in a corner. She was conversing with a leotard covered in jangling sparkles. Straining to catch each word, the janitor heard, “You know, Leotard, all my years spent here in this school have not been exciting enough. Not many people wear me and it just brings tears to my pitiful eyes. You’re lucky to have such scintillating flashes on you, catching kids’ eyes.”

Leotard responded with a toss of her head, “I know! Ain’t I a pretty one?”

“Oh! You little haughty brat!” A black and white prom dress butted in. “As eye-catching as you are, I’ve certainly been more popular than you! I remember one time, when a beautiful brunette girl wore me. She was the leading voice of the school choir. Oh! She sang like a nightingale. I burst with pride for having her wear me. Can you think of any time that someone special wore you?”

At her side stood a green elf, who hopped from foot to foot. A string of words fell out of his mouth, making him difficult to understand, “I have been worn several times, too! Yessiree! Yessiree! There were these twins, a boy and a girl, who wore me and my brother over there by the Best Couple. They danced wonderfully! I do need to ask Mrs. Good where she gets her choreographing.”

Cow turned away, abashed by how few times she was worn.

Johann Strauss’ Blue Danube waltz drifted out of the radio speakers. All the costumes scrambled to find a partner. A wedding dress spun around with Tuxedo #1. Blue Dress pranced by, in the arms of Tuxedo #2, while Leotard watched at the sidelines, waiting to be escorted by Tuxedo #3.

The janitor stayed at the door, gawked at the spectacle. The clock ticked, and hours passed by. When the clock struck six o’clock in the morning, all sounds halted. As if in a trance, the clothes flitted back to their positions on the racks. In less than five minutes, the costume room looked as it had before, like nothing had happened the past ten hours.

The lights of the school building flicked on. The janitor rushed to the front doors. Already, students were filing in. He grabbed the sleeves of a few of them and whispered urgently, “The clothes .. in the choir room! They came alive! They danced, they talked, and they … “ The children laughed and dismissed him with a wave of their hands. “I saw with my two eyes…” Stepping aside, he rambled on.

Back at the choir room though, a few kids tentatively entered the costume room. Cautiously, they pulled at the Blue Dress’ sleeves. The clothes, however, remained still.