The Learning Curves Omnibus

by Ceillie Simkiss

  * * *

  Past:

  Cora forgets about a planned Halloween party she’s supposed to attend with Elena. Will she make it in time for the festivities?

  * * *

  Present:

  Elena gets a surprise invitation to her new job’s Halloween party – and costumes are mandatory. Will they come up with appropriate costumes in time for the party?

  * * *

  Future:

  Five years after the events of Learning Curves, Elena takes her niblings trick-or-treating.

  * * *

  The Ghosts of Halloween is a continuation of the Learning Curves series, but can be read as a standalone collection featuring the lesbian and asexual characters from the original stories.

  Halloween Past

  Cora had no idea how long she had been working when her phone vibrated, disrupting her workflow. Elena’s face popped up on the screen, and she swiped to answer it quickly.

  “Good evening, light of my life!” Cora sang into the phone, compulsively saving her document. “How are you today?”

  “Hey, babe. Where are you?”

  Cora froze in her office chair. She went through her mental calendar, trying to figure out where she was supposed to be. She realized what day it was and slapped a hand to her forehead.

  “Fuck!”

  “Cora, I reminded you about the party this morning. Did you forget already?”

  She could hear the exasperation in her girlfriend’s voice, and hated that she was the reason it was there.

  “I was working on that article I’m writing and I got completely tied up. I’m so sorry. Let me save what I’m doing and I’ll be there!”

  Elena huffed at her.

  “Need me to text you the address?”

  “Yes please?”

  “Okay, let me know when you’re on your way, please?”

  “Of course. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

  “Love you, too,” Elena muttered before hanging up.

  She set the phone down on her desk, saving her file again before closing it, cursing herself both internally and externally. Cora could not believe she had forgot about this party - Elena had been talking about it for at least two weeks. Cora was fuzzy on the details about the party, but she knew it was important to Elena that she be there, and she’d completely lost track of time.

  “Goddamn hyperfocus,” she berated herself. “Why didn’t I set an alarm for myself to get ready?”

  She dove into her closet to find the pieces of her costume, glad that she had at least planned this far ahead. She could only imagine how pissed Elena would be if she hadn’t prepared a costume at all. She hadn’t done much for Halloween the last few years. Since it fell so close to her birthday, almost all of her childhood birthday parties had been costumed, and she had been a little burnt out on them after undergrad.

  However, there was very little that she wouldn’t do for Elena - and she wanted her at this party, so Cora would be there.

  “Now where are those boots…” she mumbled.

  She dropped to her hands and knees, trying to find the chunky heeled black boots she intended to wear. Digging past the sneakers and flip flops that littered the floor, she found them, all the way in the back corner. She got them out, and groaned. A thin film of dust covered the leather. She couldn’t remember when last she’d worn them, and now she realized it must have been even longer than she’d thought. She hoped they still fit.

  She threw the boots over to the bed in annoyance, and rose to her feet. She grabbed the hanger that held the rest of her costume - a orange knit sweater and Red pixie pants that would tuck into the boots perfectly. Together with the round-rimmed glasses she now needed to wear, and the curly bob that her hair had grown into, it would make the perfect Velma costume.

  Her other option had been cutting holes into an old sheet and being what Elena called a “basic ass ghost,” but that had sounded cold, so she had decided against it. There was nothing worse than being cold and uncomfortable. The Velma costume would be much more comfortable in the long run, and she wasn’t sure how long this party was going last. Comfort was key.

  She tossed the hanger onto the bed and scrambled into the bathroom to find a way to clean the boots. Casting her glance around the room, she settled on grabbing a makeup remover wipe.

  That ought to do nicely, she thought. She hurriedly wiped the boots down, and tossed the wipe into the overflowing trash can by her desk. She really needed to clean her room, she noticed suddenly.

  Cora shook her head, trying to get it to focus on the right things. Costume, makeup, driving. That's what she needed to focus on. Not cleaning her room, of all the chores.

  She took a deep breath, and that helped.

  “Right,” she told herself. “Costume, makeup, driving. Let’s go, Cora.”

  Cora found herself very confused when she knocked on the door of the apartment she was supposed to be joining Elena. She wasn’t sure whose apartment this was, but it was a nice complex.

  There was absolutely no sound coming from inside, but there was some light coming through the blinds. She pulled her phone out from under the sheet that was the majority of her costume, double checking that she was at the right place, and knocked again.

  After what felt like an eternity, the door swung open, revealing Elena’s grinning face. Elena welcomed her into the apartment with a wide arm.

  As she stepped over the threshold, the apartment burst into life. Classmates and friends popped up from behind every possible piece of furniture in the combined living room and kitchen.

  “Surprise!” The group yelled. “Happy birthday!”

  Their sudden appearance and screaming startled a small shriek from Cora, making her fumble the phone that was still in her hand. Elena laughed so hard she snorted, making the rest of the room burst into laughter as well.

  Cora walked into the apartment and realized it was absolutely packed. Elena pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and attempted to move away. Cora grabbed her hand, not letting her escape that quickly.

  “Oh, no, you don’t! Come back here, you evil mastermind.”

  Elena laughed and acquiesced. She was dressed in a 1950’s outfit - a pink pencil skirt with a black poodle embroidered on it and a black crop top. She’d even curled her long hair into pin curls.

  “You beautiful mastermind,” she added, fluttering her eyelashes. “Did you plan all of this, Elena? It’s wonderful!”

  It really was.Cora was elated.

  There were hopefully-fake spiderwebs all over the ceilings and lamps, pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns on every possible surface, and within a minute of entering the house, there was some sort of dance music with a great beat playing.

  Elena didn’t get a chance to answer. Cora set down her bag and found herself immediately enveloped in a crushing hug that smelled like too much musky yet woodsy cologne - Luís’s favorite.

  “Help!” she choked playfully. “Dying! Can’t breathe!”

  She felt his chest shake in a low chuckle. Her nose had gone directly into his armpit, one of the perks of their height difference of more than a foot.

  “Seriously, Luís! Let me go, would you?”

  The man opened his arms wide, allowing her to escape his embrace. She did so, then punched him lightly in the shoulder.

  “Holy cologne, Batman! It’s good to see you, but give a girl some warning.”

  “Sorry!” He rubbed his hand over his short cropped hair. “Welcome to Casa de Luís, birthday girl!”

  “This is your place? It looks great!”

  “Elena and Ebony did most of the decorating, but I did most of the food.”

  He waved a large hand at the kitchen which was overflowing with orange and black serving dishes.

  “And it’s not even poisoned,” Elena bragged on her older brother.

  Cora turned back to see her beaming with pride. She wagged a finger at her girlfriend playfully.

  “You are sneaky, madame.”

  E
lena poked her chest gently.

  “And you almost ruined it by forgetting! You would have been literally ghosting your own party, instead of being a ghost hunter at it.”

  Cora felt herself blush in embarrassment and grimaced.

  “I really am sorry about that, Elena. I wasn’t trying to ghost the party. I honestly lost track of the time.”

  Elena waved off the apology with one hand, grabbing Cora’s with the other.

  “I know. You aren’t the ghosting type. Now come and eat and say hello to everyone!”

  Spooky sounds and laughter filled the apartment, punctuated by the bass line of their music. After Cora’s arrival, they had flung the door to Luis’s apartment wide open and invited the neighbors to join them. It had turned into the apartment version of a block party, with music and furniture spilling out into the open-ended hallway.

  “Happy birthday! A stranger called to her, tipping their cup in her direction.

  “Thanks!” she called back.

  The late night air was crisp, and Cora was glad that she hadn’t worn the ghost costume. Unsurprisingly, Elena had managed to find somewhere to get away from the noise of the party. Cora wanted to check in on her and make sure that her anxiety wasn’t bothering her too much.

  The sound and press of bodies a little overwhelming, even for her.

  Cora checked each of the rooms in Luis’s apartment, searching for Elena. She was amused to find her roommate making out with a guy that Cora didn’t recognize in Luis’s spare room. She looked up when Cora entered the room and gave her a thumbs up before turning her attention back to her partner.

  Assured she was having a good time, Cora left the room the same way she found it, continuing her search. Elena wasn’t in the restroom or anywhere in the kitchen. It figured that she would’ve found her way outside, even on a night as cool as this one.

  Peeking her head around the corner of the staircase, she spotted a familiar 50s silhouette watching over the apartment complex. Elena was always beautiful, but damn, Cora loved her in this outfit. With a grin, she leaned on the railing next to her girlfriend. She even had the perfect pick up line for the occasion.

  “Hey, you got a quarter?”

  “What?”

  Cora asked the question again, looking up at Elena’s perfect, confused face in the warm light of the single streetlight on this side of the building.

  “Do you have a quarter?”

  Elena’s coral lips were pursed, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion when she responded.

  “Uh, maybe in my purse? Why do you need a quarter?”

  She looked past Cora, as if someone else was actually asking for a quarter. Cora hit her with her cheesiest grin when their eyes, and finished the pick up line.

  “‘Cause I want to call my mother and tell her I met the woman of my dreams.”

  Elena burst into laughter, scaring a few people that were coming up the stairs.

  “You are absolutely ridiculous, you know that?”

  Cora batted her eyelashes at her.

  “Being ridiculous is one of my best qualities, as you well know. You doing okay out here?”

  “Oh yeah, I just needed some space. There’s a lot of people in the apartment, and it’s a nice night.”

  “It’s maybe 45 degrees out here,” Cora pointed out. “Only you would define this as a nice night.”

  She shrugged her broad shoulders, turning her face back to the view of the Greensboro skyline. Cora could see her smile was still on her face.

  “I’m really sorry I was late tonight, Elena. I’ll be better about setting alarms for myself. This party turned out really great, despite me.”

  “Lucky for you that tonight, you were the guest of honor. Otherwise we would’ve partied without you,” Elena teased. “But it’s also not over yet! We haven’t done cake or presents!”

  “I didn’t realize there was cake!”

  “Cora! Who throws a birthday party without cake? I even made your favorite.”

  Cora gasped in delight.

  “You made me hummingbird cake?”

  “Sure did! I also made some lemon pound cake just in case people couldn’t eat pecans, but the hummingbird cake is specifically for you.”

  Cora couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around Elena’s thick waist and squeezing her against her body.

  “You are literally my favorite person in the entire world!” she squealed.

  Elena hugged her back, and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  “And you’re mine. Happy early birthday, Cora.”

  They made their way back into the crowded apartment, still arm in arm. Elena only let Cora go to reach the cake from its safe safe on top of the refrigerator.

  Cora inhaled the smell of the cream cheese frosting and the crumbled pecans on the top and smiled. This pineapple spice cake always made her feel like it was still the middle of summer, which was why she loved it for her birthday.

  “Cake time, everybody! Get in here!” Luis boomed, making the people around him jump. It didn’t take much to bring the rest of the college students into the apartment. Elena used his lighter to light the large, glittery number candles on the cake.

  Once it seemed like everyone was more or less in the room, Elena’s brother led them in singing the birthday song.

  The group’s rendition was horribly off key and lacked any real sort of harmony. Cora loved every second of it.

  “And many mooooooore,” the group finished. The room whooped and cheered.

  “Make a wish!” Elena whispered excitedly.

  Cora closed her eyes and thought hard.

  I wish for many more birthdays like this one, surrounded by my favorite people.

  She had a feeling that this wish would be coming true, and she couldn’t wait. She looked up at Elena, grabbed her face gently and pulled her into a deep kiss. The crowd hooted.

  “Now, who wants some cake?” Cora asked, to more cheers.

  * * *

  THE END

  Halloween Present

  “Holy shit, what the hell happened in here?”

  Cora’s stunned voice broke Elena out of her frenzy.

  Elena blinked. The room around her was absolute chaos, with pieces of clothing strewn everywhere, falling from the floor to the bed and creating

  Elena’s chest was tight, and her stomach churned. She turned to look at Cora, whose face would have fit in well in a cartoon. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was slack with shock.

  “Elena, are you okay? What is going on?”

  She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate, and tried to blurt out why before she lost the ability to speak.

  “I just found out we’re having an office Halloween party, and I have absolutely nothing to wear and everyone is going to hate me and think I’m a stick in the mud--”

  She knew in the back of her head that it was ridiculous to go into a full-blown anxiety attack over Halloween costume, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it on her own. She could feel Cora assessing her and realizing what was happening.

  “Whoa, okay, slow down. Come here.”

  Cora offered Elena her hands, and Elena placed her shaky ones in them. With a squeeze, Cora started rubbing circles into the backs of her hands.

  “I’m here,” she said in an even, soothing voice. “I’ve got you. Do you feel my hands on yours?”

  Elena took a shaky breath and nodded.

  “Okay, I want you to breathe in every time I start a circle. Can you do that?”

  Elena nodded again, and her girlfriend started counting as she watched Elena carefully to make sure she breathed properly. Each circle lasted for a count of three, and helped to loosen the muscles in her chest enough to make the next breath easier.

  Slowly but surely, Elena could feel herself calming down. When her breathing was more reasonable, she pulled her hands from Cora’s. She sat on the floor amidst the clothing she’d flung everywhere. The smaller woman followed her to the floor, crossing her legs underneath her
.

  She was still watching Elena carefully, but her face was less etched with concern now that Elena was breathing.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked carefully.

  Elena nodded, but took a few more deep breaths before answering.

  “Right. I found out we’re having a Halloween party at work next week.”

  Cora grimaced sympathetically.

  “I’m so sorry they sprung that on you! That sucks, Elena.”

  “It gets worse. Costumes are mandatory, and they’re book themed, and I have nothing to wear.”

  “Okay, so next question. Do you have to go?”

  Elena shook her head. She could feel her lips quivering and hated it.

  “Do you want to go? Do you think it would be fun?”

  She thought about it, swallowing hard before she answered.

  “I think I do,” she whispered. “It’d be fun to hang out with my coworkers outside of work.”

  “I think that sounds fun, too,” Cora said with a smile. “So do you have any ideas?”

  Elena shook her head again, feeling her heart start to race again.

  “That’s okay. It’s book themed. We can work with that. There are a lot of books to choose from.”

  She hated the swell of panic that came with that many choices.

  “But I don’t have anything to wear, and I don’t know any book characters that I could dress as.”

  “I’m sure we can come up with something together. You have a great wardrobe, and I’m sure there’s something in here that we can make work.”

  “You don’t think it’s a lost cause?”

  Cora leaned forward to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Elena’s ear for her, grazing her cheek with the backs of her fingers. Elena felt her face curl into a smile.

  “Not at all. We’re here together, and we have a week. We will make it work.”

  Elena leaned into Cora, allowing herself to relax for the first time since she’d come home.