“Give me a minute to look around,” Simon smiled at Mister E’s frozen featureless face.
“But of course. I’ll be greeting the new arrivals if you need me,” he tipped his head and headed back into the next room.
Alright. What was Simon going to wear? He was still a little unsure about this whole masquerade thing. What if he did hit it off with someone? They’d just be playing a character. He’s have to ask for their number and go out for coffee later to meet the real person behind the mask. Ugh, tonight was getting complicated.
But first he had to find a mask. He quickly found a stereotypical masquerade mask and tried it on. Thankfully their host had set up a small mirror in the room. It looked… fine? He’d picked one with minimal flair. He could deal with it for the night, but something about it just wasn’t clicking.
Simon was hoping to make some real connections tonight. He didn’t want to hide his face. He wanted people to see the real him. Or something approximating it at least. The eyes are the window to the soul, and he wanted something nice and small like the-
Oh man, he wasn’t really considering…
Simon slowly crept back to the first table. Before he could over-think things, he quickly picked up the pig snout and placed it over his own nose.
It fit alright! He looped the elastic band over his head and ticked it behind his ears. Everything seemed to be holding well enough… Simon let go of his hand and watched cross eyed as the snout stayed in place.
“Alright, let’s see how bad this is…” Simon grabbed the ears and headed over towards the mirror.
The look was about as embarrassing as he imagined. The pig nose was by no means flattering. Still, in for a penny… He slid the headband over his head, watching as his own ears disappeared behind two pink flaps.
“This is ridiculous,” he chuckled softly to himself. He wiggled his head back and forth, watching the fake ears flap around.
He found his reflection smiling back at him. This look… wasn’t half bad. A little goofy maybe. Mister E might have left these masks out to tease folks who showed up late, but Simon kind of liked the idea of showing up to a party like this. It showed a certain amount of confidence to let people see you in such a ridiculous outfit. He’d just have to keep that mindset going for the night.
Simon stepped back out into the entryway, “I uh- Excuse me, Mr. E? I think I’m ready.”
“That’s Mister E-“ The masked figure’s head perked up as he spun around, “Oh! So you are! What a fine selection.”
“I mostly just wanted something I wouldn’t need a straw to drink with,” Simon chuckled, reaching up and poking the nose.
“I assure you that wouldn’t be a problem,” Mister E leaned in a little closer, “So… Who are you?”
Simon blinked. He looked down at himself, then back up at the masked man, “I’m… a pig?”
“Uh huh…?” The figure nodded, “Does this pig have a name?”
Simon’s eyes lit up? “Oh! You mean a character!”
“My, this is your first time,” the host laughed politely.
“Sorry, umm… Pig… Piggy… Peter? Uh- Peter Pigsty?” Simon rambled off a passably porcine name.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Peter,” Mister E held out his hand to shake, “I hope you thoroughly enjoy my masquerade.”
“I’m sure I will,” ‘Peter’ reached out and shook his hand.
“Have fun,” the masked host gently shooed him into the rest of the house.
Now that he was out of the entryway, Si- Peter. He had to stay in character. Peter could pick up on the music that was being pumped through the downstairs rooms. This place must have had quite the speaker system. It helped create a lively party environment, but everyone was still able to carry a comfortable conversation.
Speaking of which, this place was packed! There were masked figures everywhere Peter looked. He was feeling a little better about his understated appearance. Some people went all out with head to toe Halloween costumes, but most of the partiers just had small masks obscuring part of their face. Some were as ornate as Chesh or Mister E, but a lot of people clearly just had a store bought Halloween mask.
Speaking of Chesh, where had Clark gotten off to…? Peter scanned the room for his purple suited friend. He had to be around here somewhere.