Chapter 9: More About Jack?

After a quick shower and toothbrush session, Sally stood facing her closet, indecisive. For the first time since meeting him, she actually wanted to impress Jack with a really cute outfit. She owned several dresses and skirts, yet most of them were a little too tight and short due to her not buying (or making) any new ones. With a uniform, she really didn't think too much on her wardrobe outside of school.

Smart.

Time was limited, as well. Jack had been gone at least thirty minutes, and he did mention not wanting to be absent for too long. If she didn't hurry, he might climb up the window while she was changing.

Loving him or not, she still found that idea very unappealing.

"I really should get new stuff," she mumbled to herself as her hands found a nice, pale-yellow, sundress that reached just above her knees, a spider web pattern running along the edges. For being with a particularly hormonal boy alone, spaghetti straps and a lot of neckline showing might not be a good idea. Oh well.

Sighing tiredly, Sally drew the curtains shut and began to change.

"Alright, old man, I'm leaving!"

"Old? I'm barely thirty-five. Do you know how young that is in the Underworld?" The older skeleton watched his son tiredly as he poured the two of them coffee. He motioned for the youth to join him.

"Why are you so young then?" Jack questioned, unmoving from his place near the door.

"You were born when I barely finished high school! Normally, Pumpkin Kings have sons at around a thousand years of age..."

"Got a girl pregnant, Dad?"

"I married her a year before, boy." He rolled his eye-sockets and proceeded to heat up molded bread, frowning when their old toaster refused to work.

"You married Mother in high school?" Jack, though eager to meet with a certain rag-doll, couldn't help but question his father; after all, the mention of his mom had been unofficially banned from the household after he had first begun to voice his wonder about her. If the older Skellington was willing to share a few details about her, he'd gladly listen.

"Of course. That explains why you're here a few centuries early. Has nobody told you?"

"No. Everyone tells me to keep quiet about this...matter."

"Well, at least I know some people do respect me," sighed the king longingly. He rubbed the back of his skull as he recounted the events leading to his only son's birth. "I'm guessing you want to know now?"

"Please, Dad."

"Alright. Well, might as well sit down. I have a lot to say.

"I guess we could start with how your mother and I met. It wasn't a spectacular meeting, just so you know. I didn't save her from some evil force from a tower, risking my life or things of that sort. And arranged marriages were very outdated and not to mention illegal, so we definitely had a choice. No, if anything, son, our 'first encounter' was as boring as you see me now—we met at school."

At this Jack only smiled. He and only laid his eye-sockets on his future wife (cough, Sally, cough) at that same place. Needless to say, he could relate.

"Anyway, I happened to be a year her senior. We never had any classes together, so naturally, we only got to know each other at the beginning of my last school year. From what I can recall, it was a particularly hot day at the Academy, and I was outside for Tactical Scaring. My teacher was just about to let me inside (the heat was too much that it became a health hazard) but word that a girl fell unconscious soon got to my class and, well, I was told to report on it. I walked over to her group, and...the teacher literally handed her to me. I carried her to the Nurse's station, and we talked the whole time (she woke up by then). I knew at once she was someone I wanted to know better. Afterwards, I visited her in the clinic with flowers and asked her to dinner when she felt better."

"And she did?"

"Hey, I wasn't a lame 'dad' back then. Girls found me interesting."

"Times change. You wouldn't get a girlfriend if you tried now."

"I don't need one. Your mother is the only woman I'll ever love."

"Didn't think you were sensitive like that, Daddy," Jack replied with mock seriousness.

"Oh, hush."

"So she married you that year, too? You said you guys got married a year before you had me."

"So you do listen," Jack's father remarked amusedly, stirring the contents of his mug. "Yes, I proposed to her on Halloween evening before I left for the Mortal World—there was no set legal age—and obviously, she agreed."

"Then...?" Jack knew he was pushing his luck, but he couldn't help himself; this was the only way he could ever find out how his mother had died.

The old skeleton stared at his son with an unreadable expression. He wasn't upset, though. No, what he felt was more in the lines of shame and pity—he had kept his own child's mother a secret from him for seventeen years, and only now would he know.

It was pathetic, if anything. The king—afraid of retelling his wife's tragic tale?

Poor Jack. The boy had been curious after all.

"She died giving birth to you."

"Father...what do you know about Jack Skellington?"

When she heard a loud crash followed by swear words exclusively for her father to know, Sally knew almost instinctively that she had made a poor choice in timing.

"What?"

"Uhm," she looked timidly at the beaker in her hand before glancing at the bald man dripping with chemicals in front of her. "Jack Skellington...?"

"What about that wretched boy?" Finklestein snapped, snatching the dishrag Igor handed him. "Is he causing trouble for you?"

"No! No, it's not that..." She looked away now, sheepish. "Please forget what I said."

"It's natural to be curious, child. I pride myself in making you thirstier for the pursuit of knowledge than any being ever to set foot in the Halloween Kingdom. What bothers you?"

"I was just wondering who exactly will be taking over the thrown," replied Sally slowly, immediately taking advantage of the excuse her father basically handed to her. "I mean, I don't really know who Jack Skellington is, per se."

"Have you been up-to-date with your studies? You should know."

"But, Father, sir, books and newspaper articles are only reliable to an extent; who's to say the author did not overlook an important detail, or perhaps misunderstood the data given? You said so yourself that using only printed information could prove to be inconsistent if questioned with a much clearer source. But if you told me, I can assume everything I hear is correct since you personally know who it is I am asking about." Sally took a deep breath and prepared herself for a scolding; even she knew that her argument was weak in points and supporting ideas.

Oddly enough, Finkelstein didn't seem to mind. In fact, he nodded approvingly. "I see..."

"You do?"

"Why? Were you joking?"

"Oh! No, I meant it all."

"Very well. What do you wish to know exactly?"

"Whatever you can comfortably tell me."

"I can't say that name without feeling the least bit annoyed, but alas.

"Hmm. Jack Skellington. Probably my least favorite student. You are aware what I warned you before about him, correct? That he is only interested in teasing girls and corrupting their education by proving to be a distraction in class?"

"Yes," squeaked Sally, suddenly fearful of what she was about to hear.

"I doubt that he's going to change in time for his coronation, so I can only hope Darkshade keeps the throne."

"Darskshade? The Pumpkin King?"

"Yes. Who else? Oh, don't give me that look! He and I have been friends far too long for me to start calling him 'His Majesty' or 'King Skellington.'" The old man chuckled at his daughter's surprised facial expression. "What? You don't think I can be friends with the town's most famous ruler? I even know he despises his name...(his mother was…an eccentric one)."

"You don't exactly act like you're friends with him, sir."

"You simply aren't there when we see each other," Finklestein said dismissively, "but I've known him since my years at the Academy."

"Ah."

"Moving on—Darkshade's only son is nothing like him. First off, that boy has no shame whatsoever. Day after day I see him flaunting about school grounds, acting like everything is his. Not to mention all the girls that trail after him and his friends. Oogie Boogie is another boy you better avoid, child. Those two will turn your life into a living hell if you let them.

Again, it makes me wonder how his father just allows him to act like he does. Shade (he vastly prefers that nickname) was the top student before—perfect grades, polite attitude, and all the makings of a true prince." Suddenly, Sally's father scowled and turned back to his experiments. However, he continued to talk over his shoulder. "If Jack was half the student his father was, I doubt I would disapprove of him as much as I do know."

"But...isn't that a little harsh? To loath your friend's son?"

"He knows I dislike the boy. It doesn't bother him, really."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Why...oh, never mind." The young rag-doll looked at the grandfather clock beyond the open doorway and gave a small squeal; had that much time past already? Jack could be there any minute! "I apologize for disturbing you, Father. I will be going now." Bowing her head slightly, Sally exited the room and hurried off to hers.

Well, that went smoothly.

She hoped the rest of the day would turn out for the best.

A/N: An update? Oops...

Heheheh, I finally decided that I wanted to give Jack's father a name that was...weird. It'll help in the plot, soon, though.

I'm hoping next chapter I can add some fluff while learning about Sally's mother. If all goes according to plan, that is.

Anyway, thanks for reading so far! I hope to make this more interesting!