"Is dead shopping on the list?" I asked my friends. "We do not want to shop until we are dead, do we?"

The room erupted in groans. I have asked the question for the hundredth time, and my friends are sick of it. I was warned that if I brought it up one more time, they would stop hanging out with me. They were sick of my games and wanted me to get a life. But I could not help it. Hauntings and monsters fascinate me. They are my life. I have been interested in them since that I was just a baby.

I do not remember my first toy, but my mother does. It was around Halloween when we went shopping. By the way, Halloween is my favorite holiday. It is also when I was born. My birthday falls on Halloween. I just might be the luckiest kid alive. Not only do I receive cake, but I also receive candy. All kinds of candy. I can dress as a monster and collect candy. I try frightening children in my costumes, but it always fails. Even in the blackness, they somehow see that it is a human dressed up.

I always get disappointed when I fail to scare someone, but there is one person whom I can always count on. It is my younger brother, Nolan. He is a handful at times, but I love him. I am not saying that because I can scare him. Okay, maybe a little.

You would think that a boy would not be so terrified of monsters, but Nolan has got it down. You can read him a scary book or watch some scary movie with him. You can jump in front of him. He will scream like a girl and stay up all night. I cannot help but laugh. I should tape him and send it. We would surely win a million bucks!

One day, I got him so good that he told on me. It never occurred to me that he would inform Mom and Dad. It is not like that I was beating him. I only wanted to give him a scare - or more. Mom and Dad were not pleased and scolded me. They said what any parent would say. How they were disappointed in me. That I know better than to give my brother a heart attack. Stuff like that.

"Fine, fine," I said. "I will apologize to him. But is is no big deal."

"It becomes a huge deal when you are constantly doing it," Mom said sternly. "It is one thing to scare him once in a while. It is another to give him nightmares."

"Oh, come on. Not my fault that Nolan is a scaredy-cat. If anything, I am doing him a favor."

"How the heck is giving Nolan nightmares twenty-four hours a day doing him a favor?" my father demanded. "He has not gotten any sleep and will only sleep when your mother or I am in his room."

I huffed and crossed my arms. I was both embarrassed and mad. I did not want to be here. I only wanted to be in my room and watching horror movies. I wanted this conversation to end. I gazed over my shoulder and saw Nolan. He was poking his head out and grinning at me. He stuck out his tongue. I frowned and shook my fist.

"Carly," Mom said. "You need to promise your dad and I that you will not frighten him. You will never frighten your brother again."

"What will you do if I refuse?"

"We will ground you."

"You cannot ground me. My friends and I always hang out at the mall every weekend. I cannot skip out on the moments."

"If you want to continue going to the mall, then let him have a piece of mind. Stop terrorizing him."

"But..." I paused. "Fine."

If I had not behaved all this week, I would not be going to the mall with my best friends. We were at my house and making a list. We do not normally have a list when we go shopping, but we needed stuff. Books and shoes. Clothes and maybe some games. We would fetch some lunch as well.

The Forlot mall is our favorite hangout. There is much to see, and most people working there know us and are happy to serve us. They sometimes hand discounts just for us because they all enjoy our company. But the real reason is because Mom and Dad own the mall.

Bet that you did not see that coming.

Mom and Dad bought the mall five years ago and have been improving it since. The previous owners were an old man and woman. They were happily married, but I think that they did not have kids. They ran the mall for over fifty years and soon decided to retire. I was happy for them. I was glad that they were finally retiring. But I was also upset. So were my friends. We did not desire to lose the mall. It was a second home to us. We would lose our favorite restaurants and stores. It is more than some building.

When my parents announced that they purchased said mall, my friends and I could not have been prouder. It was a dream come true. I take it back. It was a miracle. Turns out that the elderly couple and my parents were close friends. The only people whom the elderly couple trusted were my parents. It is how they have the key to the mall. It is the only key to unlock the mall and every store and restaurant, so it is important to not lose it.

But what would happen if someone else got ahold of it, like me? That is what this story is about. I get access to whatever is in the mall. Problem was that I unlocked it in the dead of night.