When I stepped into Halloween City, I carried with me the excitement and hopefulness of a child. I soon had that ripped away from me, and was thrown headfirst into the Twilight Zone.
My friend and I were thrilled when we found the perfect Poison Ivy costume I had been searching for. We checked the price--not too much. Tried it on--perfect!
We went up to the register and suddenly things spiraled out of control. I couldn't believe how good of a deal I was getting, until the tally started to climb up past the seventies. "That doesn't seem right," I thought to myself.
I checked the price tags again. What was happening? The price that had previously read $14.99 now said $26.99. And so on. What? This doesn't make sense! In a state of pure catatonia, I handed over my debit card, unable to dispute.
As I left the store, exiting the Twilight Zone, my friend snapped me out of my stupor to find out what happened. I explained to her what happened, and she agreed that she had also checked the price of my costume pieces several times, not believing how reasonable the price was. We left feeling violated and confused.
As I sank into the passenger seat, too traumatized to drive due to the emotional and financial rape I had just endured, I pulled out my receipt. Scanning it frantically, my eyes fell to the bottom, along with my heart: "ALL SALES ARE FINAL."
My only attempt to explain what happened to me is that a store employee, or some sort of lowly criminal, hired to do the dirtiest of their work, followed us, learning our habits and innermost desires, searching for a way to crush our spirits in the most savage of ways. After lifting our hopes and spirits to the sky, he brought them to a crashing halt as he drugged us and switched the price tags on the items that we had been daydreaming about for months.
The sad reality of this incident makes me feel as though I've succumbed to a dark, empty, existence in which I will never experience the joys of festive tricks and treats again.
Also, my friend tried to buy a leotard marked $9.99, and the nigga tried to charge her $30. read more