Office Party

Maureen was surprised when it was announced at work that they would have an office Halloween party. They always had a yearly Christmas bash, which she never attended. Although she was sure she was a subject of talk at that party.
They were a gossipy bunch and Maureen, at one point, was no exception. She used to talk about others and was sure they also talked about her behind her back.
But the more she thought about it the more it seemed wrong to be that way, so she stopped.
She tried to live by the mantra she had heard on and off all her life: Treat others as you would treat yourself, or some variation of that.
But she often saw too many examples of people doing the opposite, so she used it as justification for not doing that herself. Still, she felt yucky shrugging off the higher road and it got the best of her.
So she began to do the seemingly impossible: she decided not to say anything bad about anyone, which turned out to be the hardest thing she ever did and this included no negative self-talk which was quite difficult as well.
As a result, she didn't have many friends left at work, since she no longer participated in the popular leisure activity of fueling the rumor mill.
The Halloween party however, was an invitation she couldn't refuse as she loved Halloween. Also, she felt more optimistic about the future since she had a good amount of money saved and her side hustle as an artist was booming. She had sold many works of art and she was in a place where she felt comfortable about leaving her job. She wanted to grow her art into a real business.
The Halloween party was going to be her last hurrah. And she decided to do something super cool: she was going in full costume. She finally decided to be a witch but after getting frustrated doing her makeup she bought an epic witch's mask instead and headed off to the party.
To make it extra fun, she decided to not tell anyone who she was. And to make it even more fun, she decided to give herself a witch's name, Hagatha, instead of identifying herself with her real name. With her full costume no one knew who she was, because she was also talking in a weird witchy voice.
There was dancing at the party, so she did a lot of that. The food and music were good and she really liked the lime green punch with the foggy effect above it. They had also gone all out with the decorations.
Everything was really festive and fun until she overhead some of the office girls talking about her, saying how lame she had become and insulting her in other various ways.
Using this moment to make a statement, Maureen took off her mask and said, "There's a little witch In all of us."
Everyone gasped as Maureen announced she was leaving her job and gave her boss two weeks notice, but she would leave earlier if she could.
With that, she wished all of them the best and left.
And went on to become a famous artist.
She kept the witch's mask always as a reminder it's good to be bold and stand up for yourself. Plus it also reminded her of her favorite holiday, Halloween.