Why had she left this to the absolute last day? Oh there were plenty of excuses that she could have come up with to present her case to anyone else but there was only one true response that Raquelle knew to be the truthful one: she had put off deciding if she wanted to attend a costumed event at all. She was not one for dressing up in fabulous costumes given her inclination to blend in at times but in the end there had been some discussion with her mother and she had decided that she would attend. Costumes were mandatory and the price of arriving in a costume was free admission. All in all, not a bad trade off.

But that discussion had been two weeks ago and Raquelle still had not found the perfect costume. Now, with only about four hours to spare until the event started, and with school blissfully out for the weekend she was running around hither and thither trying to locate places where a costume that would suit how she was feeling could be found. Most of the Halloween shop venues had been picked clean over and what was left behind had the teen scowling in dismay. Really, Wicked had been a good film, but seriously ... not everyone sought to be Elphaba or Glinda.

Turning down a quieter street did Raquelle stumble across yet another possible clothing store. The quiet tinkle of a bell signalled a customer leaving and Raquelle paused to stare up at the mannequin on display before she began to chuckle softly.

Oh, the costume was perfect. The ensemble was real simple. There were gloves that drew up to a person's elbows and they were of a soft felted material in a tawny brown color. The boots that had been chosen to accompany the main look were supple brown leather and Raquelle pressed her nose closer to the window to examine the accessories laid off to the side. A headband with large ears that stood straight up was also brown with white tufts of hair at the top and there was even a tail one could add to the costume as well. The tail's coloration matched the rest of the material that had been chosen to make the main portion of the costume and now Raquelle let her eyes rove over what remained. A low cut shirt that was the same brown color (or close enough) to all the accessories tapered down to a skirt with brown pants underneath finished everything off. There was even a small piece of fabric that looked like it could be pinned on that would represent a pouch. It was simple but yet unmistakable to one that loved animals as much as she did. Someone had clearly tried to piece together clothing from their store to mimic a kangaroo.

Raquelle glanced at the display once more before making up her mind. She was going to take the outfit. Even if she only wore everything for one night - the outfit and the memories would last a lifetime. She would be a kangaroo for this one evening. Walking into the store she quickly ascertained that yes, the outfit was complete, and more importantly it was in her price range.

Dilemma solved. If she needed to introduce herself tonight she would call herself Kanga, after the character from Winnie-the-Pooh.