Jack sat me down at the end of a long table, he sat at the other. I starred at the food on my plate. Some black thing, another blacker thing and some kind of meat.
"Whats the matter?" Jack asked
"What is this stuff?" I asked
"pickled bat wings, spoiled pork, and over ripe baked potato."
I gave him a look. "Im sorry, I cant eat this."
"Why not?" he asked getting up and coming around to me. "I don't see anything wrong with it."
"Yeah, but, bat wing? Spoiled meat? I can eat that stuff Jack, It'll make me sick."
He pulled out one of the empty chairs by me. The table was full of them. "Tell me more."
"Well... for starters, I cant eat anything raw or spoiled, nothing with slime or anything else nasty... I could eat bugs if I wanted to but.. No thank you... um... nothing weaird..." I picked at a bat wing with my fork. "And over ripe, that will make me sick to..."
he looked at me, clearly interested. "Sick you say? What happens during this time."
"Well.... I puke and my stomach hurts and... I just, generally don't feel good...."
"Are you like this for a long time?" He was smiling now, finally understanding.
"Just until the food get out of my system..."
He nodded. "Lets us make you some food you can eat then!" standing up he held his arm out again. Sighing, I took it and was lead to the kitchen.
"This I s my kitchen. Make it your own." I let go of his arm and stared. It was absolutely filthy!
The pots I assumed he'd cooked in were crusted in some sort of brown stuff, the cupboards where stained with green, blue and purplish gunk.
"Jack.. This place is filthy..." I whispered, glad I hadn't tyed to eat what he cooked.
"Thank you!"
"No, no, thats not a good thing!" he looked confused. "Kitchens should be clean and neat and not have stuff all over."
"I see, you humans have very different eating habits indeed." this guy was a real piece of work....
Sighing I fished a dishrag out of the sink, the torn bit of fabric had seen better days. I set to scrubbing out the pans currently soaking in the brown water of the sink. Id have to cut my nails, there'd be so much crap under them I'd stretch from here in Halloween town to kingdom come.
Sighing I watched him watch me. "I don't know how you got so much stuff on these pans Jack." I told him picking at a piece of the stuck on brown stuff.
"Well..."
"I rely down want to hear it." I studded the now clean silver pot a little to hard and set it to dry... on the filthy cupboard....
Oh the germs....
I fished out another rag from the brown water... wait, was it changing color..?
"Ok, jack." I sighed "Use this rag and get the stuff stuck on your cupboards off. Ok? Can you handle that?"
"Yes, I think." He took the rag from me and started scrubbing.... it was coming off, just not very well. I rubbed my temple and set to another pot.
Something screamed in a loud high pitched tone, I jumped.
"Ah, the door bell." jack left the rag sitting on the cupboard. "Come away from there dear Alex, I want to show you off to who ever's here."
I looked over, I had got one pot done and he'd scrubbed part of the one cupboard. I huffed. "Its not clean."
"It will have to wait my dear."
'my dear'? How tacky....
He motioned for me to take his arm again, huffing again I took it and we strode down hall way after hall way after the door bell. Jack sat me down in a parlor room with dusty furniture.
"I'll be rate back." the door bell screamed again and he left the room.
I looked back at the couch I was sitting on. Old Victorian style. Dusty, very dusty. I slapped the stuffed fabric only to watch he dust fly off it. I starred at it.
Did he like to live this way?
"Mayor, wait until you see what I have in here."
Jack came back with another shorter man trailing after him. Of course, everyone is short compared to Jack.
"Isn't she just horrible?"
"Yes, absolutely horrendous! To live for!" the man jack called 'mayor' was most defiantly the mayor of the town, he wore a tall top hat a suite and a little button that labeled him 'mayor.'
I twitched slightly. horrendous? To live for?
"Thats kinda offending..." I said under my breath staring at the two.
"Alex, your new to this world, I've forgotten, when someone here says your horrible or says something bad about you, it's a complement."
I blinked. "Ok..."
Jack sat down next to me. He was to tall for the little couch, his knees here higher than the couch itself, he however didn't seem bothered and crossed his right leg over the left.
"So mayor, what brings you here?"
" I wanted to discuss plans for next Halloween but since she's-" Jack cut him off.
"Nonsense, she will participate also... unless..." he looked over at me.
"Unless....." I said wanting him to finish.
"You want to go home of course."
"Oh... well... they probably think I'm dead anyway... whats it point? I live here now I've got the spiders named and everything..."
"Horrific!" the mayor's face spun around changing from a strait face to a smile. "I'll work you in to this years as well!" the mayor set a scroll down on the coffee table infront of the couch. "See what you think jack." then hurried out the door.
Jack took the scroll off the table and opened it. He put his boney arm around my neck so I could see it to, not as if I needed that help, the scroll was extremely long. My eyes scanned the scroll, several diagrams for decorating the town, writing explaining it, costumes.
"Halloween is big deal around here isn't it?" I asked him
"Yes it is, a very big deal. It's the only holiday we celebrate. We spend all year preparing"
"I see...what does one where to Halloween around here?"
"We'll find you something."
I starred at the plans again. A guillotine? Pumpkins? Green water? Or was that slime?
"Ok, well, I can see pumpkins but whats all the rest of that stuff?" I asked
"To add effect." he answered simply.
Effect? Dear god....
"I'm going to finish cleaning the kitchen." I pulled his arm back around my shoulder. "If you'll excuse me." I got up and went back to the kitchen. I set back to jacks job, washing off the counters.
This was going to be a long rest of my life.
