A few hours later, Jack was still trying to get rid of the Mayor. He'd settled himself into the electric chair and was rambling on about the designs and plans he'd thought up for next Halloween.
"Oh! And as for Lock, Shock and Barrell…"
"Mayor! Please," Jack interrupted. "Please. Stop there."
The Mayor's head spun round and his sad face peered out at Jack from behind one of his scrolls.
"What's wrong?" he asked timidly as Jack rose from where he was sitting. "Don't you agree with my plans? We can change them if you want. You always have great ideas! Lets use yours." With that, the Mayor rolled up the scrolls, ran past Jack up the stairs and tossed them into the fire.
Reaching into the flames, Jack pulled them out and patted out the flames that were creeping along the edges. "Mayor, it's not that I don't like your ideas. I do. I think they'd work."
The Mayor's head spun back round to his smiley face when he heard this. "Then what's wrong Jack? I know you're blaming yourself for Santy Claws…."
"It's not Santy Claws!" Jack screamed. He paused, panting slightly, his hands gripping the scrolls. Sighing, he handed them back to them Mayor. "Call a town meeting."
Standing in the back room of the town hall, Jack could hear the town's residents filing in. he knew what he had to tell them would shock, maybe horrify, them. Once he would have found that delightful, but not any longer. Glancing out of the window, Jack saw the last of the residents go through the main doors and took a deep breath. It was time.
Just as the main doors to the town hall were about to slam shut, three dark shapes darted through and ducked behind the back pew.
"Everyone. Please, quieten down!" Jack stood behind his podium on the town hall stage and held his hands up. The Mayor sat on his stool on the other side of the stage, pen ready to take the minutes. Thanks to some bats being blinded by the brightness of the lights and flying in
the wrong direction, the spotlight was not working, so the residents were having to sit in the gloom of the hall and squint in Jack's general direction.
Scanning the crowd before him, Jack spied a witch's hat and a pair of devil horns poking over the back pew. "Oogie's boys." He muttered. Frowning, he turned back to the now quiet residents.
"Thank you. Now, if the Mayor's ready, we'll begin."
"Ready Jack!"
"Ok. Dear Residents of Pumpkin Town, as you are all aware, Halloween is only nine months from now, and because of our late start, for which I deeply apologise, we are behind in planning how we are going to celebrate."
Here Jack paused, not wanting to break the news. Running a hand over his skull, he lowered his sockets to the podium. "And I fear we will be delayed further."
A murmur of disapproval rippled through the crowd and the tallest Vampyre stood up to speak.
"Ve have to make a start! If not, Halloveen could be a disaster!"
The witches flew to Jack from the back of the hall, where they had been hovering over The Hanging Tree.
"What could delay us further?"
"There is no reason for it!"
With each remark being made, more and more residents began joining in. the noise became unbearable as each resident struggled to get their opinion heard. On his stool, the Mayor was frantically trying to write everything people were saying, spilling the ink and leaving handprints.
"Everyone! Please! EVERYONE!" Jack's bellow echoed in the rafters and the residents fell silent.
"Thank you. Now, I know you're eager to get started with your individual plans, but please, listen to me. The reason I have for further delay is one of great importance, and once you hear it I'm sure you will think so to.
"As you know, I have lead you in celebrating Halloween as Pumpkin King for many, many decades. But now, I regretfully inform you, that I hereby quit my post as your Pumpkin King and will not be joining you for Halloween next year."