Kiki has instructed everyone to bring to this meeting a prized possession - everything has value and a price. Tonight, her story warns against offering more than you bargained for. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, she calls this story "The Tale of the Vacant Lot."
Having come fourth place in a Long Jump audition, Catherine walks home. A sudden breeze snatches away Catherine's hat. She follows it onto a field at the edge of the park. She kneels to get her hat, looks up, and sees, rather surprisingly, a plinth, upon which twin pillars support a white-curtained marble roof.
Inside, Catherine peers at a display of ornaments and jewellery, and is greeted by Marie, whose entire body, except for the upper face, is hidden by a black cloak, hood and veil. She holds up a handsome pair of running shoes. With Catherine short of cash, Marie offers a trade - perhaps Catherine's ring? Gifted it by her grandfather, Catherine is unable to part with it.
Marie offers to trade for something of no value. She proffers the shoes, but takes nothing visible. As Catherine takes the shoes, a strange wind blows at the curtains Catherine stumbles out of the marquee. The curtained stall is nowhere to be seen.
Some time later, at a racing audition, Catherine sprints ahead of the other contestants. The coach welcomes her to the team. Sue, who previously bested Catherine in the Long Jump, congratulates her performance, and asks how she mustered such speed. Catherine is suddenly tempted by a chance to dent her rival’s pride, and caustically cites her natural superiority.
At home, Catherine removes her hat, looks in a mirror, and gives a small scream: her left cheek is blemished by a small growth. Younger sister Joyce hurries over - but can see no blemish. In the mirror, Catherine finds it to have gone.
In the school corridor, Eric bumps into Catherine's locker door. With a winning smile, he congratulates her speed. Catherine starts to venture extracurricular fraternisation, but is interrupted by the arrival of Eric’s would-be girlfriend.
After school, Catherine returns to the mysterious stall, and peers at a row of clothes. Marie once again offers to take something of no value. Entranced, Catherine nods. Another strange wind blows, and Marie laughs. Once more, Catherine finds herself back outside, this time in a short, dark green dress, grey stockings and black ankle boots.
In her bedroom, she hears Marie’s distant, echoing laugh. Catherine catches her reflection in the mirror: and sees much of her face to be covered with growths.
At the end of school the next day, Catherine meekly approaches Sue and Heather, who have managed to secure tickets for the Blaster concert - but Sue’s friend can only get two tickets. Catherine starts to apologise for her earlier spiteful remark.
In the girls' bathroom, Marie appears behind her, and offers anything Catherine could want. Marie lowers her veil, to reveal the lower half of her face to be scarred with livid pustules. She shrewdly holds up two concert tickets. Catherine stares in dawning horror, and refuses the offer.
She flees into the corridor, and once more runs into Eric. As he leaves with a smile, Catherine finds, in her hand, Marie’s latest offer. She calls back Eric, and offers him a spare Blasters ticket. With a delighted grin, he offers to pick her up around nine.
That evening, Catherine searches her wardrobe. Joyce arrives. Catherine irritably scorns her offer of help, and storms off into the night. Joyce follows.
At the stall, Marie invites Catherine to take anything. Catherine takes a handful of clothes, and runs.
Back home, Catherine is sullenly confronted by a newly outfitted Joyce. Alone, Catherine looks in the wardrobe mirror, and sees a reflection of Marie. The reflected image morphs into Catherine’s own reflection - whose face is now covered with pustules. She looks at her hands, and sees the growths to be solid.
Her mother calls up the stairs to announce Eric. Catherine stalls for time, and runs into Joyce’s bedroom, and finds her sister similarly scarred.
Catherine takes all the items back to the stall. Marie, with her hood lowered, and face clear of growths, announces it to be too late. Herself having been seduced by the offers of this stall, Marie unwittingly traded her life; a cycle which Catherine must now repeat. Catherine implores her to leave Joyce alone, and offers her sentimentally prized ring.
With a smirk, Marie slips the ring onto her own finger - the hand of which shrivels leprously, quickly followed by her face. As Marie wails in despair, a pale mist descends, and a strange wind blows. Catherine finds herself back outside, her skin once more clear. The stall is gone.
Joyce runs up to her, similarly restored to health. On the ground, Catherine finds her ring, and hugs Joyce in relief.
Back home, Catherine confesses to Eric to have lost the tickets. He takes it amicably, and suggests they take a nice walk instead.
As the others disperse, Tucker asks why Stig didn’t bring anything. Stig admits to having felt overshadowed by the others’ exotic items. He produces a photo of Moby, his goldfish. In delight, Tucker runs to tell the others.
This episode provides examples of:
- Big Sister Instinct: Although disfigured with magical pustules, Catherine’s self-regard is superseded by concern for Joyce.
- Body Horror: Acquisition of the stall’s magically beneficial items gives Catherine, at first visible only in the mirror, facial growths.
- Death by Materialism: While not quite fatally, Marie, In exchange for the stall’s subtly magical items, gradually takes Catherine’s life force. Conversely when Catherine trades Marie her prized ring for Joyce's life force, this act of selflessness causes Catherine to reclaim not only Joyce's lifeforce, but her own as well. While Marie's act of Greed forces her back into her disfigured state.
- Exact Words: When Catherine realizes the stall's items came at the price of her life, she recalls that Marie was supposed to only take things that didn't mean anything to her. Marie points out that technically, she offered to take something that "had no value to [Catherine]".
- I Just Want to Be Special: Catherine yearns to excel athletically.
- In the Hood: To conceal her disfigurement, Marie wears a hood and veil.
- Ironic Echo: "I've been where you are." First time hearing it from Marie, it comes across as a confirmation of empathy of how unhappy Catherine is. Later, Marie explains that in reality, it's meant to imply that she was once an ordinary kid like Catherine who kept greedily taking from the stall until it was too late.
- Near-Villain Victory: Marie had taken the combined lifeforces of Catherine and Joyce, and was well on her way to living out her life while Catherine took her place as the lot's owner. Had it not been for either Catherine's selfless sacrifice for Joyce nor Marie's own greed, there's a good chance Marie would've gotten away with swindling the two sisters of their lives.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Catherine keeps questioning how Marie can figure out exactly what she wants whenever she visits the stall, Marie can only explain "I've been where you are". This takes on a whole new meaning when a rejuvenated Marie explains she had really been in Catherine's shoes once upon a time, when she was but a selfish young girl unhappy with who she was. And also like Catherine, she too kept (unknowingly) trading more and more of her life for the stall's contents.
- Light Is Not Good: The soft white curtains of Marie’s stall hint a none-too-reassuring mysticism.
- The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: On a vacant lot instantaneously appears a mysterious stall.
- The Power of Love: In exchange for Joyce’s safety, Catherine trades her cherished ring, which transfers her and Joyce’s disfigurement onto Marie.
- Shout-Out: Facial corruption which shows only in Catherine’s reflection somewhat recalls The Picture of Dorian Gray.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Acquisition of the stall’s items stirs in Catherine a self-regard which emerges in spiteful remarks.
