Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
The Return of Four Eyed Jack
Chapter 1: Prologue
It was a dark and stormy night in the town known as Hillwood.
The sun has set and it was late and raining hard, lightning struck in the sky as people were either out on the town or at home. The latter includes one preteen, his siblings and their best friends at a certain boarding house.
They are Andy Shortman and Kiara Johanssen, along with their younger siblings, who were in his father's old bedroom.
You see, both of their parents had left this weekend to go to some wedding, so they left them with Andy's grandparents and great-grandparents for the time being. The kids didn't mind since they liked staying at the boarding house and Andy's grandparents and great-grandparents were fun too.
Anyway, today they all spent the day with them. The four elders took them to the park, then the movies and then to ice cream at Slaucens. Then they went home and had pizza for dinner, after Grandma Gertie tried to make one of her strange dishes. Now, the kids were all in Andy's father's old room, where they are for the time being while Baby Henry was sleeping in Miles and Stella's room tonight.
They were all gathered together as Kiara was telling a scary story to them.
"And though some say, the guard in the suit just happens to look like a gorilla but others say that on moonless nights, they've actually seen the hairy man out of his uniform, hopping around in the gorilla cages..."She said with dramatic flair.
"The end!..."She finally said.
Andy, Megan and Kiki all politely clapped.
"Not bad, but I was expecting something with more blood..."Megan muttered under her breath.
"Megan..."Andy chided her.
For a five year old, his sister has a taste for horror. Ever since she made him let her watch one of his Evil Twin movies...without their parents knowing, of course.
"Whatever..."Kiara said as she grabbed another slice of pizza for herself.
"So, what do you wanna do now?..."Andy asked.
"Well, we all said ghost stories. We could read one of your dad's old Purdy books..."Kiara suggested.
"I already read all of those..."Andy said.
"Me too..."Megan said as they all decided to talk about what to do next.
Kiki, who tried to get another slice of pizza, noticed something under Arnold's old couch. Something shiny.
"Huh?..."She thought as it caught her attention.
Meanwhile
Downstairs
While the kids were having fun upstairs, the adults were doing their own thing.
Gertie was sleeping and Stella was in the middle of trying to rock Baby Henry to sleep, leaving Phil and Miles to tend to the kids.
"How are the cookies coming along, Miles?..."Phil asked his son.
"They're done, Dad..."Miles said as he put them on a plate for the kids.
Phil smiled as he poured some milk on a few mugs for them. Once done, he turned to his son.
"I'll take them to the kids, Son..."Phil said.
"I can do it, Dad..."Miles said but Phil wanted to.
"No, I can. Plus, I need someone to go check the Wi-Fi or Wifi or however you pronounce that gosh darn internet fad that has kids hooked on their phones...you know, before the power goes out again..."Phil said and Miles sighed.
"Dad, you really got to call animal control and get that squirrel out of the walls before it causes anymore damage to the electricity here..."Miles said, since it has been going on for almost 2 weeks now.
His aging father just looked stubborn.
"Don't question me, Miles. I'm your elder and I know what's best. Besides, I don't need to pay some fancy pants animal lover to get rid of our pest problem..."Phil said stubbornly as he took the tray of cookies and milk upstairs.
Miles sighed at that.
It's been almost two weeks and he suspected that the poor animal had made himself a permanent resident of the boarding house and just refused to leave...added to the fact that his own father was a stubborn man, it was not a good mixed.
Shaking his head, Miles had other pressing matters at hand.
"Dad, just promise me that you won't tell the kids your scary stories again. Helga was very clear on that..."Miles said as he recalled what his daughter-in-law told them before they left.
Something about how "those darn stories" always give the kids bad ideas. Phil, on the other hand, looked appalled by what he just said.
"Me?! What kind of man do you take me for? Giving my great grandchildren and their friends scary stories to pass the time?!..."Phil said, sounding offended.
"It's been known to happen..."Miles said with his arms crossed.
Phil paused a moment before answering.
"Alright, sue me, I like to tell colorful stories. It's just a great way to keep the kids entertained and have them coming back for more..."He said before he went upstairs, chuckling.
Miles shook his head in amusement before he went to go check on the walls.
He was sure that he could get the squirrel free this time before his father started yet another battle with the small animal.
Back upstairs
Kiki walked over to the couch, to the shiny thing that caught her attention.
"What's this?..."She asked as she picked them up.
She saw that it was a pair of glasses.
A very, very old pair of glasses.
-To be continued-
Next time on The Return Of Four Eyed Jack
The Legend Of Four Eyed Jack
A/N(1): I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter of my latest Hey Arnold Fic.
A/N(2): I would like to dedicate this chapter to my loved ones :)
A/N(3): Special thanks to Invader Johnny for assisting with the Phil and Miles scene and for suggesting the squirrel bit. You rock :)
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)