Jake woke up in the morning after a peaceful sleep. He got up and walked out of his room, followed by Frankie doing the same thing. The two greeted each other accordingly.
"Good morning, Frankie!" Jake said.
"Good morning, Jake! Did you sleep good last night?" Frankie asked.
"Yeah, I did. My bed was super comfy." Jake responded.
"That's good." Frankie said with a smile.
"Mm-hmm. I like your pajamas, they look cute." Jake said.
"Thank you! Your shirt looks really cool, too." Frankie said.
"Heh, thanks." Jake said, giggling.
"Anytime." Frankie said, also giggling.
Frankie and Jake went to the living room where Viktor and Viveka were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. They then noticed the kids.
"Good morning! We have breakfast here on the table waiting for ya." Viktor said.
"Eat it while it's hot!" Viveka said.
Frankie and Jake sat down at the table and started eating.
"How'd you sleep last night, Jake?" Viktor asked.
"Oh, I slept great, Mr. Stein. My bed was so comfortable that I didn't even toss and turn that much." Jake said.
"Good." Viveka said with a smile.
When everyone finished their breakfast, they put their plates in the sink. Frankie and Jake brushed their teeth, got dressed, and said bye to Viktor and Viveka before leaving for school.
Jake pressed a button on his car key to unlock his car. Then he and Frankie got in; Jake started it up and drove off.
XXXXXXX
After the two arrived at school, Frankie and Jake got out and walked in the grass. Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia haven't showed up yet.
"We're early!" Jake exclaimed.
"We must be! I'm sure the ghouls will show up soon." Frankie said.
Frankie and Jake sat on the steps of the building. Shortly after, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia arrived; the friends all greeted one another accordingly.
"What kind of music are you ghouls into?" Jake asked.
"We're huge fans of Justin Biter, as well as the Jaundice Brothers." Draculaura said.
"We saw them in concert many times, too." Clawdeen said.
Jake was amused at the names of those two acts since they were clearly parodies of Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers, respectively.
"Justin Biter and the Jaundice Brothers? In the normie world, we have Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers." Jake said.
"Oh wow, how similar!" Lagoona said cheerfully.
"What kind of music do you like, Jake?" Cleo asked.
Jake's face lit up in excitement. "I'm glad you asked, Cleo! Let me introduce you all to the greatest singer to ever to walk the planet, Michael Jackson."
Frankie grinned while Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia were confused.
Ghoulia spoke zombie, making a gesture with her hands.
"Who's Michael Jackson?" Draculaura asked.
"You'll see. His best-selling album is called Thriller. Do you wanna listen to it?" Jake asked.
"Sure! I mean, if you're calling him the greatest singer in the world, he must be spectacular." Clawdeen said.
"Jake already played me one of Michael's songs yesterday, so I can't wait to hear the entire album!" Frankie said excitedly.
"You guys are gonna love it. It's only nine songs long, so we'll have plenty of time to listen to it before school starts." Jake said.
"I hope it's good." Lagoona said.
Jake opened the Musi app on his phone and selected Thriller, then pressed play. The first track was Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. Once the song started, the ghouls began moving to the beat.
"I like the beat so far." Cleo commented.
The lyrics came in starting with the chorus as well as Michael's fast delivery.
"I love his voice!" Frankie said.
"Me too!" Draculaura agreed.
The gang danced to the song until it was over. Jake paused the album.
"What'd you think of the first track?" Jake asked.
"It was really good! It was groovy and had me movin' the whole time." Clawdeen said.
"And the outro was super catchy. It's already stuck in my head!" Lagoona said.
"That was a very strong album opener. I can't wait to hear the rest." Cleo said.
With that being said, Jake played the rest of Thriller for the ghouls. The album ended just in time before the bell rang. The gang went inside and walked down to the hallway.
"So, um, what did you guys think of the album? Did you like it? Did you not like it?" Jake asked.
"Dude, we loved it!" Frankie said happily.
"Yeah, it was fangtastic! It was one of the best albums I've ever heard." Draculaura said.
"It was amazing from front to back. There wasn't a single bad song on it." Clawdeen said.
"Seriously, every song hit. Now I just wanna listen to it over and over again." Lagoona said.
Jake smiled. "I'm glad you guys loved it. What's your favorite song off the album?"
"Mine's 'Human Nature' for sure." Cleo said.
Ghoulia spoke zombie.
"'Thriller's a classic!" Jake said.
"I'd have to go with 'Beat It', but that's only because it was the first song I heard." Frankie said.
"Mine is probably 'Billie Jean'." Draculaura said.
"I think I loved 'P.Y.T.' the most." Clawdeen said.
"And mine would be 'Baby Be Mine'. There's just something about that one that puts you in a good mood." Lagoona said.
"Awesome! I love all the songs off of Thriller, to be honest. I don't know if I have an absolute favorite." Jake said.
The gang made their way to Dead Languages and sat down. Jackson, Clawd, Deuce, and Heath walked in a moment later; everyone said their greetings.
"Frankie, you said you watched the 'Beat It' video on FrightTube, right?" Jake asked her.
"Yes, I did." Frankie replied.
"I didn't know FrightTube would have normie videos. I thought they only showed monster ones." Jake said.
"I was surprised by that, too. Maybe they started adding normie videos recently." Frankie guessed.
"Maybe." Jake said.
The guys chimed into the conversation. "What are you guys talking about?" Jackson asked.
"Michael Jackson." Frankie said.
"Never heard of him. Who is that?" Clawd asked.
"He's a singer! You should check him out sometime." Draculaura said.
Deuce got intrigued. "Hmm, I always like discovering artists for the first time. I'll put him on my list."
"Hey, how 'bout we listen to MJ's entire discography this weekend? I think that'll be really fun." Jake said, making a suggestion.
"That sounds rad, Jake!" Heath exclaimed as his head lit on fire.
"Yeah!" the ghouls and mansters all cheered.
"Alright! I'm looking forward to this weekend. I think we're all gonna have a great time." Jake said with a smile.
Soon enough, the bell rang and Mr. Rotter started teaching.
(1 hour later)
As the class headed out of Dead Languages after the block ended, Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia began walking down the hallway while Jake stood behind.
"You coming, Jake?" Frankie asked.
"Yeah, I'll catch up with you in a minute, I, uh, need to stop by locker real quick to get a drink of water. I'm really thirsty." Jake responded.
"Okay." Frankie said with a nod, and continued walking with the others.
Jake approached his locker and opened it, grabbing his water bottle and taking a few big sips. After that, he put the bottle back in the locker and closed it. He then started heading to Mad Science, only to accidentally bump into Toralei on his way there.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, dude!" Toralei said, overly annoyed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you. I didn't mean to bump into you." Jake said, trying to be apologetic about it.
Toralei rolled her eyes in disgust. "Whatever, normie. Just get out of my way."
Jake had a look of confusion on his face as Toralei walked off in a huff.
"What's her problem?" Jake asked himself. He went to Mad Science and sat down, sighing. He then looked at Clawdeen. "Clawdeen."
"Hm?" Clawdeen asked as she turned her head.
"You know how you told me to watch out for Toralei Stripe?" Jake asked.
"Yeah. Why? Was she harassing you?" Clawdeen asked, concerned.
"I accidentally bumped into her on the way here and she got mad at me. I even apologized but she wasn't having it." Jake mused.
Frankie, Draculaura, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Robecca butted into the conversation wearily.
"She's just like that. Like I said, you're just gonna have to ignore her." Cleo said.
"But why is she so mean?" Jake asked.
"You know, Jake, I honestly have no idea. My best guess is that Toralei's very insecure about herself and projects that onto others." Lagoona said.
"Take it from us, we've dealt with her before and it's not easy." Frankie said.
"Don't let her get to you, Jake. And if she hurts you in any way, please tell us so we can make sure it doesn't happen again." Robecca said.
Jake took that advice to heart. At the same time, he wondered if personally talking to Toralei himself would remedy things. He never tried it with his past bullies, but this time he thought maybe it would be different.
At that moment, the bell rang and Mr. Hack began his lesson.
XXXXXXX
When it was a lunchtime, the students were gathered in the creepeteria getting food. The main 6 ghouls and Jake, along with Abbey, sat in their usual spot chowing down.
Toralei and her friends, Purrsephone and Meowlody, were sitting 2 tables across from the gang having their own little conversation. Jake looked at them in hopes of getting a word with them. He then made his move.
"I'll be right back." Jake said, getting up.
"Where are you going?" Abbey asked.
"I'm gonna try to talk to Toralei." Jake replied, and walked off.
Abbey turned back around with a worried expression on her face.
"This is not going to end well."
Jake approached the table where Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody were sitting. The trio looked up and noticed him, albeit unhappily.
"What do you want?" Toralei asked in irritation.
"I just wanna talk to you, Toralei, about what happened this morning and why you're so cold and unfriendly to me." Jake said.
Toralei glanced at her friends for a minute; they just shrugged.
"Look, Jake, let's set some things straight. First of all, I'm cold and unfriendly towards everyone, not just you. Secondly, we're not friends. So, um, if you think you're ever going to have a nice conversation with me, well, I'm sorry to say that it's never going to happen. And third, how do you my name?" Toralei asked.
"My ghoulfriends told me, and I also saw it stitched in your notebook when we bumped into each other. And how do you know mine?" Jake asked.
"Spectra showed me a picture of you the other day. I knew you were a normie as soon as she described me to you." Toralei said smugly.
Jake bit his lip and nodded. "Well, uh, good for her then. I'll get out of your hair now. But you know what, Toralei? I think you're just insecure about yourself and you like to take it out on other people."
"That's well beyond my paygrade, Jake." Toralei remarked.
Jake ignored that and went back to the ghouls, continuing eating.
"How'd it go with Toralei?" Frankie asked.
"Just like I thought it would. You guys were right, I'll just have to ignore her." Jake said.
"She's certainly a handful." Draculaura said.
"Yeah. I've had my fair share of encounters with bullies before but I've never actually took the time to talk to them and figure out why they're the way they are, you know? I just thought I'd give it shot this time. Oh well." Jake said.
Clawdeen raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "You don't like Toralei, do you?"
"Pfft! Heck no! I mean, she is kind of pretty...but personality wise, no." Jake said on the spot.
"Well, she does have the looks, I'll give you that. But her personality is well beneath her." Lagoona said.
Abbey changed the subject. "Hey, Jake, come with me. I have something I want to show you."
"Okay." Jake said, standing up.
Abbey led Jake to the table where Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody were sitting. They looked up and became annoyed at their sights.
"What now?" Toralei asked snapily.
"Check this out." Abbey told Jake, and used her ice powers to freeze Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody.
Jake's eyes widened in excitement. "Whoa! That's awesome, Abbey!"
"Heh, thanks. It definitely comes in handy when I need it." Abbey said.
"How long do people usually stay frozen for?" Jake asked.
"About an hour, give or take. Don't worry, I only freeze bad persons, like Toralei and her goons." Abbey reassured.
"Gotcha." Jake said with a nod.
Abbey and Jake went back to the gang. They eventually finished their lunch and put the trays back where they were.
"You know, Abbey, you have the exact same powers as an X-Men character called Iceman." Jake said.
"I do?" Abbey asked, kind of confused.
"Yep! The ice can actually form over his whole body when he uses it." Jake said.
"Well, it is small world after all!" Abbey said happily.
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Abbey, and Jake all laughed endearingly.
XXXXXXX
After the school day ended, the gang said bye to each other and headed off to their respective homes. Jake and Frankie got in Jake's car and drove to Frankie's house; her parents greeted them.
"Hey, kids! How was school?" Viktor asked.
"Good!" Frankie and Jake said simultaneously.
"That's good!" Viveka said, smiling.
Without saying anything else, Jake trotted to the bathroom as he had to go really bad. The Steins took note of this.
"He must've really had to go." Viktor said with a chuckle.
"I'll say. He's been drinking a lot of water at school lately. He says he's just really thirsty, but I wonder if it's something else." Frankie said with a hint of concern in her voice.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Like you said, he's probably just thirsty. It has been really hot outside the past couple days." Viveka said.
Jake came out of the bathroom and went in the living toom.
"Sorry about that. I just had to go so bad."
"Do you feel better now?" Viktor asked.
"Oh yeah, much better!" Jake said, relieved.
"That's good!" Viveka said happily.
At that moment, Frankie and Jake joined Viktor and Viveka on the couch.