When Jake and Frankie got to school the very next morning, they stood in the hallway by themselves as Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia weren't there yet. Then, a few minutes later, Skelita Calaveras and Jinafire Long came up to the two.
"Excuse us?" Skelita asked politely.
Jake and Frankie noticed the ghouls. "Oh, hi, Skelita! Hi, Jinafire!" Frankie greeted. "Hello there!" Jake greeted.
"Hi!" Skelita and Jinafire greeted back.
"What are you ghouls up to?" Frankie asked.
"We came to introduce ourselves to your friend." Jinafire said. She then looked at Jake. "I'm Jinafire Long."
"I'm Skelita Calaveras." Skelita said.
"Nice to meet you, Jinafire and Skelita! I'm Jake Wilder." Jake said, shaking their hands.
"It's nice to finally meet you, too, Jake! Skelita and I have heard so much about you." Jinafire said with a smile.
"Sí! You have excellent taste in music, chico!" Skelita said happily.
Jake smiled, appreciative of the compliment. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Jinafire said.
"Do you two have a favorite artist or song?" Frankie asked, chiming in.
"Our favorite song is 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes' by the Platters." Skelita responded dreamily.
"That song is just the most beautiful and romantic thing we have ever heard." Jinafire said.
"The vocals, the arrangement, the melody, everything about it is so lovely." Skelita added.
"Ooh, yeah, that's an amazing song! Love the Platters." Jake said with a grin.
"Me too!" Frankie cheerfully said.
"My grandparents loved them, too. They'd play their songs all the time and that's how I got into them. I miss my grandparents." Jake said.
"What happened to them?" Jinafire asked.
"They, along with my parents, were killed in a plane crash over a month ago." Jake said sullenly.
Horrified and saddened, Skelita and Jinafire covered their mouths. "Jake, we're so sorry!" Skelita exclaimed. "That must've been absolutely heartbreaking for you!" Jinafire exclaimed.
"It was." Jake said.
"Nobody told us your family died." Skelita said.
"Well, not all my family members are gone. My aunt, uncle, and my cousins are still alive." Jake reassured.
"That's great at least!" Jinafire said optimistically.
Jake suddenly became stiff. Talking about his family made him think about another secret of his. Since the topic was brought up, he thought he might as well spill the beans.
"Yeah...listen, I'm gonna tell you guys something I've never told anyone." Jake said.
Frankie, Skelita, and Jinafire were curious at what was about to be told to them.
"What is it?" Frankie asked.
"After my parents and grandparents died, my uncle and aunt didn't wanna take care of me. That's why I got sent to foster care." Jake explained.
The ghouls' eyes widened with shock; they exchanged glances.
"So they just sent you to foster care against your will?!" Skelita asked.
"Pretty much. I tried to talk to them about it but they kept saying it was the best option, and there was nothing I could do at that point. It wasn't up to me." Jake said.
"How could they do that to you?!" Jinafire asked, incredulous.
"I don't know. I haven't talked to them since. Honestly, I'm still mad at them about it." Jake said a little angrily.
"That's completely understandable! Look, Jake, we're glad you told us but you should've told me sooner." Frankie exclaimed.
Jake sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, Frankie."
"It's okay, you don't have to apologize. I'm just mad at your uncle and your aunt for not being willing to take care of you." Frankie said.
"No one's more mad at them than I am. I just try not to think about because it makes me so furious." Jake mused.
"We don't blame you one bit." Skelita said.
"But I'm living with Frankie and her parents now, and they're awesome, so." Jake said.
Frankie smiled appreciatively.
"Oh, that is great, Jake! At least you have a forever family to love and care for you." Jinafire said, happy.
"That's right!" Jake said cheerfully as him and Frankie put their arms around each other and looked at each other.
Moments later, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia arrived and greeted their friends.
"Looks like you met Jinafire and Skelita, Jake!" Lagoona told him.
"I did! They're so nice." Jake said, grinning.
"So are you, chico!" Skelita said happily.
Jake blushed and looked down at the floor for a second.
It was at this time that Deuce, Heath, and Hoodude came walking down the hallway; Deuce was singing Honeymoon Suite's New Girl Now and he pointed to Cleo during the line, "I got a new girl now and she's a lot like you.". Both her and everyone else was amused by this.
"Well, when can I meet this new girl?" Cleo joked.
The gang all shared a good laugh.
"You know I'm only joking, Cleo." Deuce assured her, putting her arm around her.
"I know! I love that song, too! Besides, I know you'd never cheat on me, Deuce." Cleo said with a smile.
Heath chimed in. "Hey, Deuce, remember when you and Cleo broke up twice? Those were troubling times, am I right, my dude?"
"Heath!" the main 6 ghouls, Skelita, Jinafire, Deuce, and Hoodude exclaimed at him in disgust.
"Oops! I forgot I wasn't supposed to bring that up anymore. My bad!" Heath said apologetically.
Jake was confused. "Hold on a second, Cleo and Deuce were broken up before? And twice?"
"Yeah. The first time was because Cleo wanted to please her dad, and the second time I was manipulated by her sister into letting go. Those moments didn't last very long, though." Deuce said.
"Wow, I'm sorry that happened to you guys! You two are good now, right?" Jake asked.
"Yep! We're as happy as ever." Cleo said.
"That's good." Jake said with a smile.
At that moment, the bell rung and the gang headed to first period; after Jake, Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Deuce, and Heath went to Dead Languages, Jackson and Clawd came in in the midst of having their own conversation with each other.
XXXXXXX
During lunchtime, the gang sat outside and ate while conversing, with Skelita and Jinafire joining them. The two told Jake about themselves, in which he found the information very interesting. He then decided to tell his friends the big secret.
"Hey, guys, I have something to tell you all. I already told Frankie, Skelita, and Jinafire this morning, but the rest of you should know, too." Jake said.
"What is it?" Venus asked.
"You know how I lived in a foster home for a while? Well, that was because my uncle and aunt didn't wanna take care of me after the accident." Jake explained.
Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Abbey, Robecca, Operetta, Spectra, Rochelle, Venus, Iris, Howleen, Jackson, Clawd, Deuce, Gil, Heath, Manny, Slo Mo, and Hoodude were insanely shocked, while Frankie, Skelita, and Jinafire were anxious.
"Why not?!" Draculaura asked.
"Uh, they felt that raising a child on their own would be too much responsibility and a burden on themselves so they made me go to foster care. I didn't wanna go, but I didn't have a choice." Jake said.
Ghoulia spoke zombie, expressing her feelings of disapproval.
"Ghoulia's right! I can't believe they'd do that to you, Jake!" Clawd said angrily.
"You're their nephew, they should've been the best option after your parents!" Cleo said.
"I know. I was so mad I couldn't think straight. To this day, I still haven't spoken with them." Jake said.
"I am sorry, but too much responsibility is such lame excuse." Abbey said.
"And the fact that your aunt and uncle forced you to go to foster care instead of having you make the decision is totally messed up." Gil added.
"I agree. You wanna know what the worst part is? They don't call, they don't text...they make absoluetly no effort whatsoever to keep in touch with me, which really makes me mad." Jake said.
Howleen chimed in. "I bet! If I were you, Jake, I'd cut them out of your life completely. I don't mean to be harsh but what they did is unforgivable."
"I don't talk to them anymore, so there's that." Jake said.
"We're so sorry you had to go through all that, we really are." Robecca said solemnly.
"Thank you." Jake said.
"On a more positive note, at least you have Frankie and her family to take care of you." Jackson said.
Jake gave a light smile. "That is true."
After that discussion, it was time for another secret to get out.
"Hey, Skelita, Jinafire?" Jake asked carefully.
"Yes, Jake?" Skelita and Jinafire both asked.
"If you haven't already heard, Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody attacked me in the bathroom a few weeks ago." Jake said.
Skelita and Jinafire gasped in utter shock when they heard that news. They looked at each other and then looked at Jake worriedly.
"Oh my ghoul! Are you alright?! Why would they do that?!" Jinafire asked.
"We had a listening party for Michael Jackson and they got upset because we didn't invite them." Deuce said.
"That is no reason to attack somebody! We did not know about this beforehand!" Skelita said, upset.
Hoodude chimed in. "I didn't know about it either!"
"I'm alright, guys. I went to the nurse and she got me cleaned up, and my scratches healed on their own." Jake reassured.
"Forget the nurse, you should have went to the emergency room!" Jinafire exclaimed.
"Now that you mention it, I wonder why she didn't put stitches on my cuts, but whatever. This whole thing is over now." Jake said.
"Toralei apologized to Jake and they're on good terms now. We've forgiven her, too." Frankie added.
"I have to say, it takes a saint to forgive someone for doing a thing like that. I could never." Skelita said while shaking her head.
"Me neither. But at least you're okay now, Jake." Hoodude told him.
"Agreed." Jinafire said.
"Yes, that's the most important thing!" Jake said, smiling.
The gang continued talking until lunch ended; they threw their scraps away and began heading to fifth period.
As Jake stopped to tie his shoe, Twyla Boogeyman suddenly appeared in front of him. Her presence frightened him at first.
"AH!" Jake yelped.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! It's just that I've seen you around campus and wanted to introduce myself to you, but I was too shy. You're Jake, right?" Twyla asked.
"That's me." Jake said, catching his breath.
"I'm Twyla Boogeyman." Twyla said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Twyla!" Jake said welcomingly. Him and her shook hands.
"You too! I, um, I really am sorry about scaring you. I can move through shadows and sometimes I pop in out of nowhere." Twyla said with a giggle.
"It's okay, don't worry about it." Jake reassured, smiling back.
Twyla changed the subject. "What's your next class?"
"Home Ick. What's yours?" Jake asked.
"Mad Science." Twyla replied.
"Oh, I have that second period." Jake said.
"Really? That's cool! Who else is in your Home Ick class?" Twyla asked.
"Um, Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf, Lagoona Blue, Cleo de Nile, Ghoulia Yelps, Jackson Jekyll and Holt Hyde, Rochelle Goyle, and Venus McFlytrap. Those are all my friends who are in it with me anyway." Jake responded.
"Nice! I know them, I'm friends with them, too. So is my best ghoulfriend, Howleen Wolf. Do you know her?" Twyla asked.
"I do! I don't have any classes with her but I hang out with her at lunch." Jake said.
"Ah. Well, I hate to cut our conversation short, but I don't want us to be late to class. It was nice meeting you, Jake!" Twyla said, grinning.
"You too, Twyla! I'll, uh, see you tomorrow then?" Jake asked.
"Yup." Twyla said.
"Okay, bye!" Jake said.
"Bye!" Twyla said.
At that moment, Jake and Twyla waved to each other and went to Home Ick and Mad Science, respectively.
"Where were you?" Jackson asked.
"In the hallway talking to Twyla Boogeyman. We just met." Jake responded.
"Oh, Twyla! She's Howleen's bestest ghoulfriend in the whole world. She's so sweet." Clawdeen said happily.
"Yeah, she is, although she startled me at first." Jake said with a chuckle.
Rochelle chimed in. "She does that sometimes. She is a shadow ghoul after all."
"Is that why she has the ability to move through shadows?" Jake asked.
"Mm-hmm!" Draculaura said.
"Well, you learn something new every day!" Jake quipped.
Shortly after, Ms. Kindergrubber started teaching the class.