âI LIKE YOUR COSTUME,â never the best at conversation starters,  hmm, georgie ?  he approaches the other with only a slight air of awkwardness; yet the smile he wore on his face  made up for it.  ( georgie tried his best to be outgoing.  he often failed,  but it was the thought that counted. )  but it was HARD for him to feel bad on a HOLIDAY  he loved so much :  halloween.  ( georgie, himself,  was dressed up as a pirate. as always,  the right arm that was missing had itâs sleeve tied up by the shoulder.  if anyoneâd ask at this party, heâd just tell them  that he lost it when some rival buccaneers tried to steal his treasure and move on.  making jokes made it sting less, right? )  âare youuu ⊠hmm ⊠a stylish lawn gnome,  maybe? no?â
he didnât particularly want to be here.
though a year had past and he ( hypothetically ) should have gotten better at handling social encounters, the end of october always created a sense of uneasiness with him. as the leaves began to fall and the wind grew sharp, he felt that anxiety build in his gut, wracking his mind with thoughts that kept him awake at night. greg, on the other hand, seemed to transition fairly well despite barely escaping death. in fact the only reason wirt was here was due to greg's sudden interest in the local house party, and since wirt was too afraid of leaving greg alone, he felt obligated to follow suit.Â
he had been trying to figure out exactly what he was drinking when someone spoke up, causing him to flinch and look over. at first, he paused, but then he realized that for some reason, they were talking to him.Â
           â Oh ! Uh, thank you. âÂ
he didnât recognize this person ( though granted he didnât know most of the people at his school )Â so he shuffled slightly in his stance, looking down at his own chest. suddenly he felt ridiculous.
            â Itâs a, ah. Ex...plorer? I, I donât really know, I just. Sort of scrapped it together last year, and my little brother wanted to go here and I couldnât come up with anything else, so...I donât know. You have a lot cooler costume than me though. Like a modern Christopher Newport. âÂ