Each year, the Beauneville Latin Senior Class stages the Halloween Masquerade at the Ballroom of the Beaune estate. The party always follows a three-part program, starting with the Silent Masquerade, followed by The Unmasking, and ending with a Celebration.
For dress, the emphasis is on the disguise and not the costume. The most important thing is to disguise your true identity and not to emulate someone else. This is why the first part of the party is silent: attendees point, gesticulate, mime and otherwise use body language to get their points across.
Generally, a dark and evil theme is desirable.
Members of the Senior Class dress completely in black, but do not disguise themselves. They serve as waiters, ushers, bouncers, musicians, and so forth, and two serve as King and Queen of the event, as we shall see.
The Silent Masquerade is brief, and soon the Unmasking begins. Members of the senior class mingle among the attendees and try to guess the identity of each. If the guess is correct, the party-goer removes his or her mask and moves to the side of the room. As the party progresses, the crowd in the center gets progressively smaller. The last remaining young man and young woman to be unmasked will be King and Queen of the party next year.
Finally, there is a general celebration.
The silent nature of the first part of the program complicates Mary's effort to profit from the engagement. Attending in her "schoolgirl" outfit with a mask, her identity is obvious, which is a feature not a bug, since word has spread about the benefits of friendship with Mary. Unfortunately, the need for sign language means misunderstandings are inevitable. Mary enters the party believing she has a partner committed to paying three hundred dollars in exchange for sex. Her partner believes that after the party there will be three types of sex.
The youth of Beauneville crowd the Ballroom. Mozart plays. One young woman -- her gender is obvious -- is completely naked except for her mask; her hair is pulled up and hidden. There are a number of ghouls, draped loosely in flowing capes from head to toe, of uncertain identity and gender. Someone in black has a box over his or her head. Near the punch, a large painted cardboard box has legs and arms.
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy strides to the dance floor. His sister, Fanny waddles behind.
Jane Austen, or a buxom version thereof, observes.
A prostitute stands toward the side, taking notes.
Marie Antoinette and her entourage, all decked out as ladies in waiting at Versailles, arrive with great pomp and splendor.
The unmasking begins. Mary Bloom is the first to be revealed, followed closely by the nude girl, who is revealed as Bibi; her private parts have distinguishing features that are well known to members of the senior class, thanks mostly to Dickie's telephoto lens and website.
The box with arms and legs is Dickie. The box is a giveaway, as it previously held a web server. Katie is also revealed quickly, for similar reasons: she found her box in the trash at Zeppelin Drugs; previously, it held a shipment of condoms.
Jane Austen, unsurprisingly, is unmasked as Megan.
Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn hold out for some time, primarily because most Latins are unfamiliar with the unusual tastes of the KulturPunks.
Betsy Flapper is given away by her entourage.
Mary's partner turns out to be Donny Clapper. Now that speaking is permitted, Mary attempts to close the transaction and discovers the misunderstanding. Donny Clapper is also disappointed, and appears menacing for a moment, until Miss Agassiz -- dressed as Mistress Renee -- collars him and sends him on his way.
Miss Agassiz tugs Mary into an office. "Explain yourself, Miss Bloom", she demands, fondling her whipping stick.
Mary improvises. "I'll be very bad for three hundred dollars."
Meanwhile, in the ballroom, there are just four remaining masked revelers, all of them ghouls. Extremely difficult to identify, they flit and flitter around the center of the room, flapping their capes. By process of elimination, the possibilities are limited, but this is nevertheless the most suspenseful moment of the evening: who will be King and Queen next year?
