Viktor and Viveka lept off the couch when they saw Frankie and Jake come in.
"There you guys are! We were worried about you." Viktor said.
"How was school?" Viveka asked.
"Fine. I went to the nurse and told her about my bladder problem." Jake said.
"What'd she say?" Viktor asked.
"She recommends I see a pediatrician. I asked her if I could do a urine test, but the school doesn't allow those apparently." Jake said.
"Oh, that's too bad. I do think seeing a pediatrician is a good idea, though." Viveka said.
"I agree. But Jake wants to wait for a while." Frankie said.
"Yeah, so do I have your permission to do that, Mr. and Mrs. Stein?" Jake asked.
"Sure. I mean, if that's what you wanna do, son, then go ahead. It's fine by us." Viktor said.
Jake nodded accordingly. He sat on the couch, with Frankie doing the same.
"I'm gonna make supper now." Viktor said, and went to the kitchen.
"What are we having, honey?" Viveka asked.
"Macaroni and cheese. I wanted to cook something easy this evening." Viktor replied.
"What kind of macaroni and cheese, Daddy?" Frankie asked curiously.
"The boxed kind." Viktor said.
"My favorite!" Jake said excitedly.
Frankie looked at Jake, amused. "Really? You prefer the boxed kind over homemade?"
"Mm-hmm. The homestyle stuff tastes weird to me. I don't know why, but it just does." Jake said.
"Maybe that's because you're used to eating the boxed kind." Viveka said.
"That could be it." Jake said.
At that moment, Viktor grabbed a pan from the cupboard and filled it with water. Then he turned the stove on and put the pan on a burner, allowing the water to boil. He also grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese and set it on the counter, then joined everyone else on the couch.
"Jake, are you sure you don't wanna go to the doctor to get checked out?" Frankie asked worriedly.
Jake sighed, a little annoyed. "I do wanna get checked out, just not right now. I wanna wait and see if gets worse."
"But maybe that isn't a good idea. It's better to be safe than sorry." Viktor warned.
"You just said I could wait." Jake said.
"I know, but still, we're worried about you, sweetie." Viveka said.
"Why are you so afraid of going to the doctor? Is it because you're scared something bad's going to happen?" Frankie asked.
All of this constant worry was putting Jake under stress. He had no idea what was wrong with him, and he didn't know how to handle it properly.
"Look, I'm not trying to be rude here, but can we please talk about this some other time? I know you guys are worried about me and I appreciate that, I really do, but the thought of going to the doctor makes me nervous and I don't wanna feel that way. So please, will you give me some time to figure out what's going on with me? Please?" Jake asked.
The Steins nodded in response. They also felt guilty because they thought that Jake felt they were pressuring him, which wasn't their intention at all.
"Okay, Jake. If you really feel that way, then we won't press on." Viktor said.
"Thank you. I don't mean to be rude or anything, I apologize if I'm coming across that way. I just get stressed out easily." Jake said.
"We understand! And we're not trying to pressure you, we just wanna make sure you're okay." Viveka said.
"I'll be fine, I promise. I'm not going anywhere any time soon." Jake reassured.
"As long as you believe in yourself that you'll be okay, we'll believe you'll be okay, too." Frankie said, smiling.
Jake smiled as well, as did Viktor and Viveka. Their bond was beginning to grow stronger.
Shortly after, Viktor went back to the kitchen and poured the uncooked macaroni noodles into the boiling water pot, then stirred it for a minute before sitting back down.
Frankie grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She flipped through channels and found her favorite sitcom, The House with a 1000 Monsters.
"Oh, our favorite show's on!" Frankie said happily.
"Finally! I've been trying to find reruns of it for days. I'm glad it's back on." Viktor said.
Jake was confused. "'The House with a 1000 Monsters'? Never heard of it."
"It's hilarious, Jake. You're gonna love it." Viveka said, getting hyped up.
"What's it about?" Jake asked.
"It's about a family of monsters who keep procreating and give life to new offspring. They end up reproducing so much that there's very little room left in their house, hence the title." Frankie said.
"Interesting! But how is that supposed to be funny?" Jake asked.
"The hijinks that the family gets into makes for great comedy, plus there's a lot of slapstick humor involved." Viktor said.
Jake nodded, taking all that information in.
The four began watching the episode of The House with a 1000 Monsters together, with Viktor cooking the macaroni in between commercial breaks. They all laughed at the hilarity ensuing on the screen, not to mention the wacky sound effects.
"This is pretty funny!" Jake said happily.
"I told you!" Viveka said with a wink.
The episode ended just in time for the macaroni to be done. Viktor went over and put the cheese mix in the pot and stirred it real good, then served some on four plates, putting them on the dining table. Frankie, Jake, and Viveka sat down at the table accordingly.
"I haven't had mac and cheese in a quite a while." Frankie said.
"Same here." Jake said.
"I feel like I haven't made it in forever, but I'm bad at remembering things, so." Viktor said, laughing.
"It's definitely been a minute since we've had it. I usually make it homemade, but, um, I've never cooked the boxed kind." Viveka said.
Jake looked at Frankie playfully. "Is there a difference between your dad's mac and cheese and your mom's mac and cheese?"
"Uh, I don't know, I guess. Why?" Frankie asked, very confused.
"I'm just kidding!" Jake said with a giggle.
"Oh!" Frankie said. She giggled as well.
"Well, Jake, to answer your question, uh, Viveka usually makes the homestyle mac and cheese and that tastes different than the boxed stuff." Viktor said.
"Mm-hmm. Full disclosure, I've never actually tried the boxed kind before, so this'll be my first time eating it!" Viveka said excitedly.
"It's amazing, Mrs. Stein." Jake said.
"Let's see if you like it better than your homemade stuff, Mom." Frankie said.
"I'm sure it'll be just as good." Viveka said.
Viktor leaned back in his seat and smiled. "How 'bout we let Viveka have the first bite? Go ahead and try it, Viv."
Viveka grinned. "Here goes nothing!" She took a bite. Frankie, Jake, and Viktor were looking at her in anticipation.
"What do you think?" Jake asked.
"It's really good! I really like it." Viveka said, smiling.
"Yes!" Jake exclaimed, satisfied. He held out in his hand for Viveka to high-five it, in which she did.
Frankie and Viktor chuckled endearingly.
"I'm glad you like it, Mom." Frankie said.
"Me too." Viktor agreed.
Frankie, Jake, Viktor, and Viveka continued to eat their mac and cheese while having conversations about this and that for the remainder of dinner. After they were done, they put their plates, utensils, and cups in the sink, then went back to the couch.
XXXXXXX
At nighttime, Viktor and Viveka said good night to the kids and went to bed. Frankie and Jake decided to do the same since they had school in the morning. They walked down the hallway and stood by their rooms.
"I hope I won't have to get up to pee in the middle of the night, 'cause I do not wanna deal with that again." Jake said.
"We'll see." Frankie said apprehensively.
"Are you anxious to see what grade you got on the Clawculus test tomorrow?" Jake asked.
"Oh yeah! You?" Frankie asked.
"Yeah! I'm still not over the fact that we had a test so early, but oh well. Anyway, good night, Frankie!" Jake said.
"Good night, Jake! See you in the morning!" Frankie said.
Frankie and Jake went in their rooms and closed the doors. Before going to bed, Jake brushed his teeth and flossed, then hit the hay.
(The next day)
In the morning, Jake's phone alarm went off. But unlike yesterday, he opened his eyes and turned it off, happy with himself. He got up, opened the door, and walked to the table.
"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Stein!" Jake said cheerfully as he sat down.
"Good morning, Jake! You're in a happy mood this morning!" Viktor noticed.
Why was Jake in such a good mood, you ask? Well, much to his relief, he didn't wake up to use the bathroom at all last night, not once. He was so glad it didn't happen for a second time.
"I didn't get up to use the bathroom last night, not a single time." Jake said.
"That's great, sweetie! I bet you're relieved." Viveka said.
"Oh, I am! Very much relieved." Jake said, nodding. He started eating breakfast.
Frankie came out of her room a few moments later and sat down at the table, greeting everyone.
"Jake, how'd last night go for you? Did you wake up to use the bathroom at all?" Frankie asked him.
"Nope, not once!" Jake said happily.
"Awesome! Hopefully it'll stay that way." Frankie said, her face lit up with a smile.
"I'm hopin' it does." Jake said with his finger crossed.
When Frankie and Jake finished breakfast, they did their usual morning routine, said bye to Viktor and Viveka, and headed out. They got in Jake's car and drove off.
XXXXXXX
Frankie and Jake arrived at school and went inside, standing the hallway. Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia came in shortly after.
"Hey, ghouls!" Frankie and Jake both greeted.
"Hey!" the ghouls greeted.
Draculaura looked at Jake. "So, Jake, um, how did you sleep last night?"
"I slept great, Draculaura! I didn't get up at all last night." Jake responded.
"That's fantastic, mate! Do you feel a lot better this morning?" Lagoona asked.
"Much better. It's honestly a miracle it didn't happen two nights in a row." Jake said.
Ghoulia smiled and spoke zombie.
"That's right, Ghoulia. Miracles do happen." Jake agreed. "Hey, have any of you seen Heath?"
"He's over there." Frankie said, pointing in the opposite direction.
"Thanks, I'll be right back." Jake said, and walked off.
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia watched Jake walk away.
"I wonder why Jake wants to talk to Heath." Cleo said.
"Maybe he's gonna tell him he finally wants to join the basketball team." Clawdeen guessed.
Jake found Heath standing by his locker and playing a game on his iCoffin; he approached him.
"Hey, Heath." Jake said.
"Hey, Jake!" Heath greeted happily. He and Jake did a high-five/fist-bump combo. "What's up?"
"I'm sorry for exploding on you yesterday in Dead Languages class. I was just nervous with everything going on. I wasn't trying to take it out on you." Jake said apologetically.
"It's okay, man. We all get nervous and say things we don't mean. We're cool." Heath said with an understanding smile.
Jake smiled as well. "Great! See you in first period!"
"You too!" Heath said.
Jake went back to the ghouls and gave a happy sigh.
"What happened?" Frankie asked.
"I just wanted to apologize to Heath for flipping out on him yesterday." Jake said.
"Oh! Well, glad you two were able to make up." Draculaura said, grinning.
"Mm-hmm." Jake agreed with a nod.
At that moment, the bell rang and the students all headed to first period.
(3 hours later)
Two class periods later, it was time for Clawculus. Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Jackson, and Jake sat at their desks, anxiously waiting to find out their grades on the test. The teacher, Mr. Mummy, was gathering the papers together at his desk.
"I'm so nervous!" Frankie mused.
"Me too! My parents are gonna kill me if I fail this test!" Clawdeen exclaimed.
Operetta, a phantom ghoul with a thick Southern accent, chimed in. "You ghouls are worryin' your pretty little heads off over nothin'. Grades really don't matter in the long run anyway."
"Maybe you're right. Oh! Jake, this is Operetta. She's a phantom." Cleo said.
Jake turned his head and looked at Operetta. "Hi!"
"How you doin'?" Operetta greeted with a friendly smile.
"I'm Jake Wilder." Jake said.
"Operetta. It's a pleasure to meet ya. When Spectra said there was gonna be another normie goin' here, I almost didn't believe her." Operetta said.
"How come?" Jake asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion.
"Because normies never come to this school, besides Jackson of course." Operetta said.
Jackson smirked. "Hey, I'm a monster, too, you know!"
"I know!" Operetta said, smirking back.
"Heh, I love Monster High, though. Everyone's just been so nice to me, well, almost everyone. There's one exception and I'm sure you know who I'm talking about." Jake said.
"Torelai?" Operetta asked.
"Yup." Jake said.
"I thought so." Operetta said. She giggled.
When Mr. Mummy was done gathering the graded tests, he held them out.
"Alright, before I give your tests back to you, I'm very pleased to announce that most of you aced them!" Mr. Mummy said happily.
The class cheered upon hearing this news.
"There were only a few of you who failed the test, and you know who you are if you did." Mr. Mummy said.
The 'few' being Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody. Their faces showed looks of blantant embarrassment.
Mr. Mummy began passing out the tests one-by-one. Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, Operetta, and Jake looked at theirs with anticipation.
"I got an 'A'!" Frankie said cheerfully.
"Me too!" Draculaura said.
"Same here!" Clawdeen said.
"So did I!" Lagoona said.
"Ditto!" Cleo said.
Ghoulia spoke zombie with a big grin on her face as she got an A plus.
"I got an 'A', too!" Jackson said.
"Me too! Come on, Jake, let's see yours." Operetta said.
Jake took a deep breath and reluctantly turned over his paper. His face lit up when he saw an A right smack dab in the middle of it.
"I got an 'A'!"
Jake's friends all cheered for him. Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody on the other hand, weren't happy.
"Yeah, yeah, keep on bragging about your 'As' and 'A plusses'. It's making me wanna claw my ears out." Toralei mused.
"What'd you get, Toralei?" Cleo asked.
"Take a guess. You can probably figure it out judging by the way Mr. Mummy was glaring at me earlier." Toralei said.
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, Operetta, and Jake tried not to snicker, but it was pretty hard not to given Toralei's nature.
"Well, Toralei, that's, um, too bad. I take it your cat friends failed as well." Clawdeen said.
Angered by that comment, Purrsephone and Meowlody protuded their claws and snarled, making aggressive meowing noises as well.
Jake intervened. "Alright, guys, I think that's enough. I don't wanna start any fights here."
Toralei gave Purrsephone and Meowlody a gesture that told them to back off. They retracted their claws and calmed down. All 3 of them sat back down.
"Sorry, Clawdeen, I just didn't want those cats to rip you to shreds." Jake said.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm not afraid of them." Clawdeen said with a reassuring smile.
After Mr. Mummy gave all the tests back to the students, he went to the front of the class and started teaching.
(1 hour later)
When Clawculus class was over, the students headed out in unison and went to fourth period. The main 6 ghouls, Jackson, Operetta, and Jake walked to Study Howl and sat down at their favorite table.
"Hey, Jake, are we still listening to Michael Jackson this weekend?" Jackson asked him.
"Yup! I didn't forget about that, don't worry." Jake said.
Operetta was confused. "Who is this Michael Jackson fella you're talkin' about?"
"He's Jake's favorite artist. We're having a listening party for him this weekend." Frankie said.
"You're welcome to join us if you want, Operetta." Lagoona said.
"Maybe I will. Who else is gonna be at this party?" Operetta asked.
"As far we know, just Clawd, Deuce, and Heath. We don't know if Robecca or Abbey are coming or not." Draculaura said.
"I haven't asked them yet, I should ask 'em at lunch if they want to come." Jake said.
Operetta smiled. "You know that? I'll be there. I usually listen to rock and roll, but I don't mind broadenin' my musical horizons."
"I love rock and roll, too! There's Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ritchie Valens, Bill Haley, and the king, Elvis Presley!" Jake cheerfully said.
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, and Operetta were confused since they no idea who the artists Jake mentioned were.
"I thought Michael Jackson was the king." Clawdeen said.
"Michael Jackson's the king of pop. Elvis Presley is the king of rock and roll." Jake clarified.
"Oh! That makes sense. But none of us have ever heard of Elvis Presley or any of those other guys you talked about." Cleo said.
"I'll introduce you all to them soon. They're all amazing and worth a listen." Jake said, smiling.
Lagoona chimed in. "I don't know what it is, but I love discovering musicians I've never heard of for the first time."
"So do I! It's a lot of fun and opens your mind to new styles and genres." Frankie said.
"I'm with you guys. New stuff constantly pops up on my FrightTube homepage." Jackson said.
Ghoulia nodded and spoke zombie, agreeing with what everyone was saying.
"I love music because it brings us together and unites us in many different ways. We all have our own specific tastes, but still." Operetta said.
"Exactly! By the way, did you guys know that, in the normie world, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson are the top three best-selling artists of all-time?" Jake asked.
"No, we didn't! That's really cool!" Draculaura said, impressed.
"The Beatles are another one of my favorites. I'll introduce you to them soon." Jake said.
"You seem to know a lot about music, Jake." Lagoona said.
"Yeah, I'm kind of a music nerd. I started to get really into it when I was nine years old, and, um, I took music class in elementary school. Then in middle school, I took orchestra in sixth grade and band in seventh and eighth. They were a lot of fun." Jake said.
"Nice! Was your family just as into music as you were?" Frankie asked.
"Not really. I mean, they loved it, don't get me wrong, they just weren't as knowledgeable about as I was. Like, they didn't know all the names of artists and titles of songs and stuff." Jake responded.
"Ah. Now that I think about it, it isn't that hard to memorize the name of a song or the artist or band that sings it." Jackson said.
"I agree. Whenever I listen to a song for the first time, uh, I look at the artist and song name and they're immediately fresh in my brain." Clawdeen said.
The gang continued to talk about music until Jake changed the subject. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Is it too early to exchange my number with you guys?" Jake asked.
"Of course not!" Cleo said with a chuckle.
At that moment, Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, and Operetta got their iCoffins out. With the exception of Operetta, they all gave Jake their phone numbers and vice-versa.
"Jake, do you want my number, too? I know we just met today, so I don't want it to be weird." Operetta said.
"Sure, why not?" Jake said, grinning.
Operetta also grinned as she and Jake exchanged their numbers with each other.
(1 hour later)
After Study Howl was over, it was time for lunch. The gang headed over to the creepeteria, got their food, and sat down. Abbey, Robecca, Clawd, Deuce, and Heath joined them.
"Hey, uh, Abbey, Robecca, we're having a Michael Jackson listening party this weekend. Wanna come?" Jake asked.
Abbey and Robecca looked at each other with confused expressions.
"Who is Michael Jackson?" Abbey asked.
"Is he a singer? You said 'listening party'." Robecca said.
"Yes, he is. He's my all-time favorite and we're gonna be listening to all of his albums together this weekend. I was wondering if you ghouls wanted to come, too." Jake said.
Abbey and Robecca's faces lit up with excitement. They loved going to any kind of parties, no matter the occasion.
"I like going to parties!" Abbey said excitedly.
"Me too! But I've never been to a listening party before, so this will be so exciting!" Robecca said happily.
"Alright!" Jake said with a smile.
Clawd chimed in. "Where are we having this party at?"
"At my house. I told my dad and my sister about it and they said they were okay with it as long as we're not too loud." Cleo said.
"I've never been to your house, Cleo. What does it look like?" Jake asked.
"Well, um, it's big, it's decked out in gold, stuff like that. You'll see when you get there." Cleo replied.
Jake nodded and took a bite of pizza.
"I asked Gil if he wanted to come, but he declined. He doesn't really like parties." Lagoona said.
"What about birthday parties?" Draculaura asked.
"He doesn't mind those, just as long as they're not too crazy." Lagoona said.
"Where is Gil right now anyway?" Frankie asked curiously.
"He's in the swim room cooling off. I guess Gym class really got to him." Deuce said.
"Yeah, basketball was rough today. We got double-teamed so many times that we thought for sure we'd lose. Thankfully we didn't." Heath added.
Jake looked at the guys. "And there's your answer on whether or not I'm joining the team!"
"You sure?" Clawd asked.
"Positive." Jake reassured.
"It's your loss, bro." Deuce said, kind of disappointed.
Jake just shrugged, as if to say 'whatever'. He wasn't going to join something that he didn't think he'd enjoy.
When the gang finished eating, they put the trays back where they were and went outside to sit in the grass. Then, Jackson looked at Operetta and Deuce in hopes of wanting to show Jake their special monster abilities.
"Operetta, Deuce, can I talk to you two in private for a minute?" Jackson asked.
"Sure, Jackson!" Operetta said welcomingly.
Jackson, Operetta, and Deuce got up and got in a little circle away from the others.
"What's up?" Deuce asked.
"It's the end of the first week of school and I just realized that we haven't shown Jake what we can do as monsters. I think he'll be blown away!" Jackson said.
Operetta and Deuce smiled, getting on board with the idea.
"That's a great idea! Let's do it!" Operetta said excitedly.
"Jake's sure gonna love this!" Deuce said, equally excited.
Jackson, Operetta, and Deuce went back to the gang, ready to show off.
"Hey, Jake, me, Deuce, and Operetta have something really cool we wanna show you." Jackson said with a grin.
Jake's curiosity was piqued. "Alright, let's see it."
At that moment, Jackson put on his headphones and played some music, causing him to turn into his alternate persona Holt Hyde.
"Let's get ready to rock this joint up in here!" Holt said to the sky as he played air guitar.
Jake was wide-eyed, totally floored. "Wha...how...holy crap!"
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Abbey, Robecca, Clawd, and Heath watched with big smiles on their faces.
"Check this out!" Operetta said. She opened her mouth and let out operatic screams with red rings forming in the air.
Jake grinned with joy as his friends cheered on. Then, Deuce took off his sunglasses and used his eyes to the water fountain into stone.
"Wow! I love Monster High even more now!" Jake said, laughing joyously.
Holt stopped the music and transformed back into Jackson; he, Operetta, and Deuce looked at Jake, wanting to know how he felt about their powers.
"So, what'd you think?" Jackson asked.
All Jake could do was clap his hands, not being able to get a word out at first.
"I...that was just incredible. I mean, Jackson, I-I know you said were part monster before, but I guess I didn't pay attention enough." Jake responded.
"Well, now you know." Jackson said playfully.
"Operetta, I didn't know you had this powerful opera singing voice. That was certainly unexpected." Jake said.
"It's in my name, sugar!" Operetta said, giving a cheeky smile.
"And Deuce, yours is just so freaking clever. Turning stuff into stone is one heck of an ability." Jake said.
"It comes in handy when I need it. It also wears off at different times. Sometimes it's an hour, sometimes it's twenty-four hours. You never know when it's gonna be." Deuce said.
"Interesting! Well, thank you guys for showing me your talents as monsters. I have been truly entertained." Jake said.
"You're welcome!" Jackson, Operetta, and Deuce all said.
The gang continued conversing with each other until lunch was over. When the ball rang, they went inside and headed to fifth period.
XXXXXXX
After school ended, the first week was finally over. Despite some bumps in the road, Jake had a great first week. He made new friends and most importantly, got a forever home.
Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, and Jake anticipated the weekend, endlessly thinking about all the fun they were going to have.