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Hey guys! Mucho gracias to Musically and Mr. Oogie Boogie for their reviews! Keep them coming guys! (also thanks to Sam the Shapeshifter for her review on the last chapter!) Next chapter!

Jack heard this conversation, and strode over to take the phone

"Excuse me, but what do you mean Jake is not at school?" He questioned a bit hostily.

"Ummm, well, he never showed up for class...Samantha Skellington is here, but no Jake."

"So WHERE IS JAKE???????" Jake thundered into the phone. The person on the other line jumped.

"We...we don't know...we thought he was home sick..." Jack hung up.

"So, they're sure Jake's not at school?" Sally asked quietly. Jack took a minute to calm down.

"He never showed up for class." Jack said when he was calm enough to talk in a normal voice. "We better get looking."

Jake was having a great old time.

"One more." he instructed to the ice cream shop owner.

"Ain't you a little young to be out on a school day?" the owner questioned. Jake held the gaze right back.

"I paid for ice cream, not questions." he said icily. The owner shrugged and prepared another cone of maggoty ice cream. Jake grinned.

'This is one of my best ideas...' he thought...

Jack and Sally rushed to the school. They sprinted into the office.

"Hello, we need to pull Samantha Skellington out of class." Jack said hastily.

"One minute...presses intercom button Samantha Skellington to the office...anything else?"

Jack shook his head. "No no..." Sam showed up in the office. Her eyes grew wide when she saw Sally and Jack there. She gulped.

"Mom...Dad...what are you guys doing here?" she asked innocently. They did not smile back.

"Sam...where is Jake?"

'I'm amazed more people haven't asked about my whereabouts yet...' thought Jake as he was examining the merchandise on the shelves of the joke shop in HalloweenTown.
"What...What are you talking about?" Sam ventured as the three of them got into the family hearse. She needed to find out how much they already knew.

"Sam, Jake didn't show up for school today...we got a call...so do you know where he is?" Jack said pointedly.

"Its okay if you don't know..." Sally said softly. Sam saw this rouse. It was the good cop-bad cop act. Well, she could play along.

"I don't know...he just left me as we were walking to school...I went after him, but he just disappeared.." No point in condemming herself.

"Are you sure that's the truth?" Jack prodded.

'Darn...' thought Sam, Jack always was very good at detecting when they were lying...

"Just tell the truth Sam, and we won't be mad at you." said Sally.

Sam decided to confess..to a point..."Okay, okay, well, when we were walking to school, Lock Shock and Barrel convinced Jake to skip...so he did...I tried to tell him not to..." she said melodramatically.

Jack scowled. "I swear when I get my hands on those pranksters...did Jake say where he was going?" Sam shook her head no.

They checked the candy shoppe first. But, to no avail. The owner denied seeing any skeletons around.

Their next stop was the ice cream parlor. Here, they did have some luck. Jake had been here, but the shop owner had no idea where he went next.

They searched the whole town. They almost stopped at the bookstore...

Jack, Sally, and Sam stare at bookstore.

"No...we're not that desperate yet..." said Jack.

Finally they checked a small shop in a corner of the square. It was a prank shop.

"This must be it." said Jack. "I'll go in, you two stay here." he instructed, then ducked into the small shop.

Jack spied Jake eyeing some merchandise near the back of the shop. He crouched down and crawled over. When Jack was right behind Jake, he straightened, and simply laid a hand on Jake's shoulder. Jake, startled, whirled around to see a very angry Pumpkin King.

"You. Come. Now." was all Jack said. Jake silently followed him out the door. Jake plotted ways to get out of this, or at least lighten the sentence. Jake quietly slipped into the back of the car. Jack slammed his hearse door. They drove in silence back to Skellington manor.

Jake will get yelled at next chapter. And, well, I'm leaving on a trip on Friday, so I don't think I'll get another chapter in unless I get a lot of reviews. Two reviews, at least, until another chapter guys!