Living Jack: Part 4
Rattling Bones' house was full of such creatures, knick-knacks and interior design as Jack Skellington had never seen. The place was much more lavishly decorated and crawling with life than the Mayor's house and the "young" skeleton could not help being taken aback a little at first by everything around him. There was just so much that Jack could hardly cope. Luckily, as they walked through the oddly sized rooms of the house, they eventually reached Rattling Bones' drawing room, which, in comparison, was much simpler, quieter and cleaner. There was something in Jack Skellington's previous mind that was telling him that having so many insects in the house was unclean, but he could not remember why or how.
Having seated himself on an armchair in front of Rattling Bones and next to the Mayor, Jack was ready to talk to his new acquaintance and his older acquaintances about what the job required.
Firstly, Rattling Bones called his sole servant, a ragdoll maid, who had been fashioned out of a mixture of china, bone, fabric and zombie hair and skin.
"You have met these three people," Rattling Bones gestured to the familiar visitors, "This is Jack Skellington. He will hopefully become my apprentice and eventually succeed me."
The maid's eyes raised in interest and nodded respectfully to Jack Skellington. He smiled and nodded in return, although his mind was more on the fact that he would probably become Rattling Bones' apprentice. Gosh. Even though they had only just met, Rattling Bones appeared to already think of the newcomer as a capable person. Jack Skellington desperately hoped he would live up to this wise figure's expectations.
The two talked slowly and precisely, starting from general ideas to very small details. General ideas included, basically, what needed to be done each Halloween. Very small details included how the Halloween costume should be sewn so as to give it a more ghost-like, or alternatively, monstrous appearance. Occasionally the Mayor and the Sticky guy were asked to comment on either Rattling Bones' or Jack Skellington's remarks, but mostly they sat in silence, watching the two skeletons in awe.
As Jack had to explain more and more about himself and his capabilities and comment on the suggestions that Rattling Bones made, he became more and more unsure and anxious, though he hid it very well, perhaps too well, for Rattling Bones continued to appear to have faith in the newcomer.
Four hours dragged along and eventually, the conversation came to a reasonable end and the Mayor, trying desperately to keep his happy face the polite way round, pushed himself out of Rattling Bones' armchair and declared that the party must be on their way.
Jack was grateful for the Mayor's decision, the skeleton was not sure he could keep up his calm outward appearance much longer.
"It has been very useful to speak with you, Jack Skellington," replied Rattling Bones in a weary manner, having exhausted himself a great deal.
"And it has been an honour to speak to you," replied Jack, giving a slight bow.
Rattling Bones smiled in an almost father-like way and replied, "We are equals in many ways, Jack Skellington, you do not need to treat me with so much servility. I will send you a letter as soon as I can, once I have collected my thoughts, to tell you whether I have accepted you for my position, once I retire."
Jack nodded, a little annoyed that he could not be told that information now. Would these four hours of talking and all those hours of thinking been for nothing?
The Mayor, the Sticky Guy - and particularly the Chauffeur – were all anxious to leave and made their civil goodbyes as they almost pushed Jack through the house to the door. On the way, Jack had to be careful not to step on a large centipede that was making its leisurely way across the corridor.
As they walked towards the car, waving goodbye, Jack felt a little sad that he was leaving Rattling Bones. He was a very pleasant skeleton, despite the fact, once every year, he was frightening and hideous even to Halloween people.
The Mayor chatted eagerly to Jack as the Chauffeur drove them away.
"Oh Jack, you did so well not to fall asleep – ahem – I mean, you did so well answering all of his questions, I think you could easily replace Rattling Bones, with at least 364 days of training, of course."
Jack could act a bit more naturally and calmly with the Mayor, but inside, a nervousness was starting to grow. How could he possibly work hard enough to do what Rattling Bones did now? And on his first Halloween... What if he made one tiny mistake, would everything be ruined?
Jack's worried thoughts continued to persist until the end of their journey, when they arrived back at the Mayor's house and had a similar supper to the one they had enjoyed the previous night. In the middle of the meal, one of the Mayor's servants announced the arrival of a messenger, here to give a message to none other than Jack Skellington.
When Jack heard the servant's announcement, he nervously stood up, his skeletal legs rattling a little, but he cleared his throat to hide the noise.
"Ahem – may the messenger come in please – with the Mayor's permission, of course."
The Mayor's expression switched places, now his anxiety for Jack was clearly shown. "Yes... Of course, Mister! Send him in at once!"
Presently, the messenger, who was a ghost, quickly came into the dining room, somehow holding a scroll. He floated swiftly to Jack, who, even having been in the Halloween world for a few days, stepped back a little in surprise as the ghost came up to him, holding out the scroll. Bony hands shaking, Jack took it, nodding to thank the ghost as an act of courtesy before straightening it out to read the message. This was what Jack read:
Dear Jack Skellington,
Our talk today has been most useful, despite the fact that we felt exhausted at the end of it. I admire your skill, your manner – and your politeness, above all. I know for a fact that our droning and my persistent questioning would have worn you down and put you in much of a state, but I only did that to see how well you could compose yourself under stress. Stress comes to all of us, especially on Halloween and you handled my brusque manner extremely well. I can tell you, with much happiness and content, that you will become my successor in just over a month's time, provided nothing goes wrong before you begin training, of course. I trust you, young skeleton, even if you seem to have little trust in yourself. BELIEVE in yourself and all else, with hard work and perserverance, will come right.
With my best wishes,
Rattling Bones
Jack read the words to himself first, after which he looked up, to see the very worried, expectant faces of the Mayor, the Sticky Guy – and the Chauffeur. Apologizing, Jack read out the letter to them, still not entirely believing what was written on the scroll in his skeletal hands.
As the message came to a close, the Mayor's expression changed, the sticky guy shouted with excitement and congratulations and the Chauffeur just gave an innocent, happy smile for his acquaintance. The Mayor then shouted for the "special dessert" to arrive, which, Jack was later to discover, had been prepared for consumption only if Jack had actually been accepted for the job. Even though they had not even finished their main course, all plates were quickly cleared, all cutlery was replaced and bowls were given, then, the special meal arrived. Jack was excited to discover that it was a very large custard trifle – but not just any custard trifle. This one had dead rats, coated in sugar, on the top, all lined symmetrically, noses pointing to the centre. Jack was not sure what sugared rat would taste like, but he very much appreciated the meal, as he realized it would have cost the Mayor much money. He thanked his host profusely, always receiving the reply, "Oh, it was nothing, it's all for your victory, my wonderful SCARY friend!"
As he ate his portion – enjoying his sugared rat – Jack was, for the first time, truly happy and relaxed in his new life. These people were like his new family, they were his new family, in a certain sense, and he enjoyed having a delicious custard trifle in such a gleeful environment.
After the meal, once bowls and cutlery had been cleared, the Chauffeur offered to sing and play a guitar for the group. Everyone agreed to this and the Chauffeur introduced Jack Skellington to a song called "This is Halloween," which, obviously, was supposed to be performed on Halloween, but everyone enjoyed it nonetheless. The Chauffeur sang it so well that he was asked for several repeat performances, so many, in fact, that Jack soon learnt the words and sang along as if he had known the song since childhood.
I am like a child here, actually, he thought as he listened to a part of the song he had not yet learnt. I wonder whether that's why I'm picking up information so quickly, as children absorb everything so well, better than adults, really.
He did not ponder this for much longer, because soon the Chauffeur declined from singing the song yet another time and the company chatted over some ghost-grape wine well into the night.
For over a month, Jack continued to stay in the Mayor's mansion, which Jack seemed a little awkward about at times, seeing as the Mayor did so much for him, but the owner of the mansion did not seem to mind in the least. During the day, the Mayor had to go into the city for work, letting Jack wonder about the streets on his own, discovering new places and meeting new people – or creatures. Jack was fascinated by the technology and magic that he found, making everything wonderfully dark and terrifying. He was also pleased, however, to find that most of the characters he met were very friendly and polite, it seemed that everyone was so happy in the Land of Halloween that few had cause to be bitter or unpleasant to others.
Two nights before Halloween, as Jack was observing busied preparations for the big day, he observed, out of the corner of his eye, a new inhabitant of Halloween City. The most noticeable thing about this new inhabitant was that he was in a wheelchair. Slightly offended and surprised people, including werewolves and ghosts, were whooshed or knocked out of the way by the large-headed figure, who was careering down the street to Jack's right. The skeleton's eyes widened as the man, who wore glasses and was - rather shockingly - completely naked, came closer and closer towards him. The man in the wheelchair, realising that Jack was not going to be moving out of the way any time soon, gave a startled gasp as he came to a juddering halt. The newcomer grumbled, staring at Jack, who could not help thinking that he recognised this man… He looked surprisingly familiar, but Jack, for the Halloween life of him, could not put his bony finger on the man's identity…
"What are you doing just standing there, you big pile of bones?" the man shouted crossly, interrupting Jack rather abruptly from his thoughts. The skeleton blinked a couple of times and, in a friendly manner, bent down to converse. "Please pardon me, it is just unusual to see a new member of Halloween City. I hear newcomers don't arrive that often, especially newcomers… Like… Well… You."
There was a slight pause, before the man snapped, "Hmm, sure". "You probably don't get many people in wheelchairs like me." Despite his rather aggressive undertone, Jack detected a rather deliberate choice of words in the man's speech, as if, despite his manner, he thought carefully about life, and the decisions that he made. "I'm not entirely sure why I'm so crabby.. Or exactly what I'm looking for…"
There was an awkward pause, Jack scratched his forehead and looked away, as if to find inspiration for a new topic of conversation. He suddenly noticed the man staring at him with a new expression, as if he were shocked.
"Wait…" the man whispered. "Are you -. No wait, never mind, I think I'm growing old already," the man changed his tone of voice back to a cross, crabby one. Then, to Jack's surprise, he suddenly behaved a great deal more civilly, "My name is Doctor Finkelstein, what is your name?"
"I am Jack Skellington," the skeleton replied with great relish, shaking Doctor Finkelstein's hand, remaining calm and jovial, despite the fact that, for some bizarre reason, the man's name was sending off warning bells in his head. "I am quite new to Halloween City myself, so I can understand what it is like to be in a new place, not knowing anyone. If I can be of any assistance, I am currently staying at the Mayor's Moat Palace, please feel free to call on us. I'm sure the Mayor will be more than happy to help you."
Jack walked away, feeling that he had said enough. He hoped he had not been too boastful or presumptuous, telling this newcomer that he lived in the Mayor's Palace (ooh look at that, how privileged) and inviting the stranger over to the Mayor's place without the home-owner's permission. Oh well, Doctor Finkelstein did not seem like an overly gregarious sort, so perhaps he would not bother the Mayor too much. For the moment, Jack could be proud that he was developing his performing skills, for his upcoming role…
As Doctor Finkelstein left his mind, Jack thought about Rattling Bones instead, and grew excited about the elaborate and extravagant performances the skeleton would give on Halloween night. As Rattling Bones' future apprentice, Jack might be allowed to accompany the notorious figure for one of his expeditions to earth, to see how exciting it was to thrill and terrify people. Jack slowly wandered back to Moat Palace for dinner, continuing to watch the excitement and expectations of the various characters on the streets around him. This was going to be exciting, this was going to be a beautiful nightmare and he couldn't wait to celebrate.
That is part 4 of the fanfic! For those of you who have been following the story so far, I apologise for the humongous delay to this chapter. For a lengthy period of time I was caught up in other things, so I temporarily abandoned Fanfiction writing. However, I have been indirectly motivated to take it up again, at least for some of my Fanfics. I hope you have enjoyed this entry, and the story so far (apologies for the awful writing in the previous chapters, I was younger and less mature when I started writing this!). Please review and give constructive criticism if you so wish. :-)