CHAPTER 2: THIS IS HALLOWGRIM

There on campus loomed an enormous mansion with a lengthy and unhappy history. Long ago, it was a dorm collectively known as "Ramshackle", a leftover dorm for Night Raven students who didn't meet the criteria of the main seven dorms based on famous figures. It had no patron character to represent them, it had no logo or dorm colors, and every student within that dorm was treated with contempt.

When Jill had fallen into the role of housewarden (literally) by virtue of being the first living student in a long while, she wanted to fix that bad reputation. She was already struggling with being thrown into a new world, and being the only female student in a school designated for boys. She simply couldn't stand living as the underdog. So with her and Grim's designs, and Headmage Crowley's permission, they transformed "Ramshackle" into "Hallowgrim"—a dorm based on the innovation and creativity of the Pumpkin King. A place for Jill and Grim to belong.

Jill opened the metal gate and ascended the stairs to the porch, passing by the many pumpkins that she and Grim grew in their collective garden. Ravens squawked at them from atop a nearby scarecrow, a chilling wind blew through Jill's hair, and shadows were beginning to shift from behind the windows. It was perfect—it felt like home for the first time in a while.

The door opened before the trio by a ghostly disembodied hand, letting them into the dorm. It was spacious and stale, with most of the dust cleaned up long ago, and the wood was polished until it shone dimly. It was redecorated with gothic furniture, making it look like a haunted house attraction or a set on The Addams Family. Grim grinned as he took in the familiar décor. "It's like I never left," the direbeast mused.

Three ghosts appeared—one slim, one chubby, and the third of medium build. In order, these were Ezekiel, Gregg, and Philip, spirits of three Ramshackle students who haunted their old abode. They all wore top hats and bowties in varying colors: Ezekiel had dull green, Gregg had crimson, and Philip had sapphire-blue.

"Grimmy!" they cried together, and Philip grabbed Grim to pull him into a hug. Gregg took Grim and cradled him like a baby, while Ezekiel watched with a reluctant fondness.

"Aw, Grimmy! We were all so worried about you!" Gregg cried. "We thought we'd never see you again!"

"Of course I'd come back!" Grim cried, trying to squirm out of Gregg's ghostly arms. "Jill can't do a thing without me!"

"It's true. She was falling to pieces in your absence," Ezekiel noted.

"No, I wasn't," Jill lied.

"Regardless… we're all back home," Philip announced. "Our little haunt is all together again."

"We should celebrate!" Gregg said, and he finally let Grim jump onto the floor.

"Yeah! Celebratin'! I like that idea!" Grim agreed.

"Let me guess, you'd like some premium tuna?" Jill guessed. "I still have some in the fridge, and it's not expired yet…"

"Tuna is nice… but nah. I was thinkin' something bigger," Grim mused. He stood on his hind legs, paws on hips. "I was thinkin'… we've been through so much together, we oughta throw a party!"

"A… party?" Jill's mouth hung open. "Now?"

"Yeah, like Scarabia's parades or Heartslabyul's unbirthday parties!" Grim said. "Except it'll be from our dorm! We can go full Halloween and make it a spooky party, just like the Pumpkin King used to have! And we'll invite all the other dorms to see how cool we are!"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Philip said thoughtfully. "We've had little parties in Ramshackle, but never the whole kit and kaboodle."

"Other dorms wanted nothing to do with us in the past," Ezekiel added. "But now that we're seen as a proper dorm, perhaps we could invite some whippersnappers over to celebrate with us."

"Ooh, a party! That could be fun!" Gregg agreed, practically bouncing instead of floating. "When should it be?"

"Sorry, guys, but… that might not be a great idea," Jill said quietly. She looked down at the floorboards.

"HUH?!" Grim and the ghosts cried.

"But Jill, ya love parties!" Grim said. "Why're ya bein' such a pill?"

"Do you know how much money and time goes into planning a party?" Jill asked. "We'd have to make a lot of food, get this place spruced up for guests, make activities, write invitations…"

"We can do all that," Philip said. "You have plenty of money stored away. Why not splurge a little?"

"That money is for emergencies… or when I'm on a trip and I have to buy souvenirs," Jill hedged. "I don't know if I can use that to pay for a party…"

"Oh, please?" Gregg asked. "None of us ever got to have a big dorm party before! We'll all help you out, and you'll have a great time too!"

"Yeah! As your boss, I command ya to throw us a party!" Grim snapped.

Jill chewed the inside of her cheek. It was true, she normally loved parties… but she just wasn't in the mood. So many things had happened in a short span of time, she almost lost Grim forever, and there were still a lot of mysteries that she hadn't solved. To go from that to a party would be too much.

But when she looked into Grim's pleading eyes, and then at the three expectant ghosts, her defiance melted away. She was their housewarden. They all looked up to her to make them happy.

"Alright, we'll throw a party," Jill sighed.

"WOO-HOO!" Grim cheered with the ghosts. "This is gonna be awesome!"

Jill smiled. But deep in her bones, she couldn't shake the feeling that something awful was going to happen.

For the next week or so, Jill was planning the Hallowgrim party. Oh, she had plenty of distractions—like classes, her part-time job at the Mystery Shop, her Arts and Crafts club meetings, and homework. Aside from eating and sleeping, this left Jill with virtually no free time. It only drove her further to get this party over with so she could have some space again.

Meanwhile, Grim was reintegrating himself into the Night Raven routine. News had passed that he was back to his old self, so he could return to classes. Ace, Deuce, and everyone else in their friend group weren't pleased that Grim had attacked Jill and left her stranded, but they were at least relieved to have him okay. Soon, the only memories of that event were a couple of snarks here and there, as well as Jill's fading wounds. By the end of the week, she had fully healed.

The ghostly trio was a blur of energy; they helped reclean and redecorate the dorm, threw party ideas at Jill until she finally put them into action, and even created the invitations. Jill and Grim were impressed at the invitations' design—they were on gray paper with fancy cursive written in ink as to the date and destination. At the bottom, they were signed, "We're dying to see you!"

"Who should we invite?" Grim asked. "Probably everyone, right?"

"I don't know if we can fit everyone in the school," Jill noted. "Maybe we should give invitations to our friends, and then put this on a public board? That way anyone else who is interested can come along, but we'll know who to expect."

"Good idea," Philip said. "We'll be the deliverers, then!"

Jill gave the ghosts a list of all her friends from the various dorms, as well as appropriate places to put the open invitations. She didn't fully realize how lonely the ghosts had been until now… how lonely Ramshackle had been until now.

But there was more life in the mansion. Even Grim was being helpful, assisting the ghosts with decorating and moving things around. All his energy was back and then some. Jill wondered if this was all Grim's way of trying to make up for his berserk state before. Maybe once this was done, everyone could move on.

That was it… just something to move on from. Jill felt no joy that she'd usually receive when she attended someone else's party. Planning and preparing this event on top of her usual duties felt like fighting a Hydra—once she knocked one task down, a dozen more would appear. It caused her to feel so frazzled that she just gave up and surrendered most of her emergency money to the Mostro Lounge's catering service just so she wouldn't have to worry about cooking. One task down… but she'd have to tighten her belt for awhile until her piggy bank was full again. Still no rest.

At last, the day of the party arrived. It was a day off from classes, giving Jill all the more time to prepare things. She was in her room, but even from up here, she could hear people talking from the ground floor. Likely the Octavinelle caterers placing the food plates on the tables, or the ghosts preparing the activities… it was all a cacophony.

Jill gazed at herself in the mirror. She was bathed and brushed, wearing a light grayish eyeshadow and mascara to look a little more polished. She wore her Hallowgrim housewarden outfit, or as she lovingly called it, the "Tim Burton princess dress" that was created by Divus Crewel when Hallowgrim was approved. It was a pumpkin-orange dress with white lace at the hem and matching elbow-length gloves. She had black boots laced with white, and balloon sleeves that resembled cartoonish skulls. She had a black rumpled bowtie, a black-and-white striped ribbon around her waist, and a white headband holding her hair back. Wearing this made her feel like she had some authority… like she mattered.

Jill Bones never considered herself pretty. She stood at 5'7, so she was around the height of a model, but her features were just too plain for the job. She was thin and pale, with grayish eyes and dark hair down to her waist, and her wardrobe back home was full of baggy clothes to hide her scrawny figure. At her old school, she didn't stick out much, so suddenly being the center of attention at Night Raven's orientation was quite the shock. It was all she could do to make her dorm like the others, to shine like the housewardens, to feel like she belonged.

But Jill had chosen the Pumpkin King to represent her dorm. And Jack Skellington certainly wouldn't be acting so dour just before a party. Jill needed to be charismatic and cheerful, just like him.

Jill grinned at her reflection, then slowly worked her lips down into a natural smile. Her reflection looked so chipper, it almost fooled herself.

"There, see? That wasn't so bad, Jill," she admitted to herself. "Come on, let's go and party."

And with that, she finally had the courage to leave her room and go downstairs.