THE PUNAHOU CARNIVAL HAUNTED HOUSE
It was still a month before the Punahou Carnival but the school's wheels had been in motion for months. Alumni were stockpiling donations for the White Elephant tent and harvest safaris were being organized so volunteers could visit farms on the Big Island to pick avocados, tangerines, citrons, papayas, pa'ani flowers, and macadamias for the Fruit, Flower & Nut Booth. The junior class was responsible for the overall running of the carnival so committees were being formed. Flyers were posted all over campus advertising the various booths and events that needed help. If you were a junior like me, the school considered it your duty to give 100 percent.
"We must not fail to surpass the one million-dollar mark," President Thurston said during our school assembly in the gym. He reminded me of a riverboat gambler with his moustache and shifty eyes. He claimed the money was earmarked for scholarships but there was a rumor he wanted to demolish McNeil Auditorium and erect a plaza in his name.
"What are you going to do during carnival?" I asked Ben when he drove us home from school in his Lotus.
"Eat meat sticks," he answered.
"Aren't you going to work at the carnival?"
“Will they pay me?”
“No. It’s volunteer work.”
"Do I look like a sucker?" he asked.
I signed up for the Haunted House Committee and met with ten other committee members after school to discuss what role everyone would play. Our meeting place was the location of the Haunted House—the backstage area of McNeil Auditorium. Other haunted houses had come and gone and all had staked out their spooky territories on the thousand square feet behind the stage. I walked in through a rear door and ten students were mingling on the linoleum floor under a single floodlight. I recognized two students from my basketball team during sophomore year—Hugh O'Malley and George Fujioka.
"Poi Dogs!" I said.
George nodded. "Number one," he said.
"Woof, woof," said Hugh.
Other members of the committee included Lucy, the Twinkies, and Wesley Easton. After sharing a few stories about the carnival and experiences with haunted houses, we elected Lucy as president because she seemed the most gung ho and promised if she couldn't find our costumes she'd design them herself. I was appointed vice president after saying I had experience putting on vampire plays. Monica Apianni, Ben's old flame, was voted in as Secretary.
"What kind of haunt will it be?" I asked.
"What do you mean, what kind?" asked Lucy.
"Well, will it be a vampire haunt, a werewolf haunt, a Frankenstein haunt, or maybe a haunt full of bug-eyed outer space aliens?"