CHAPTER 43: TO SET THINGS RIGHT

When Jill opened the front door, she was greeted with Deuce, Epel, Jack, Ortho, and Grim.

"Hey, guys," she said, trying too hard to sound casual. "What's up?"

"Jill, uh… well, we got work to do," Grim said apologetically.

"Oh right, my schoolwork for today," Jill said. "Did you guys copy it for me?"

"Of course, here!" Ortho said. He gave Jill some papers from today's classes, which she quickly thanked him for.

"But that's not the only work on your plate. You see," Deuce explained, "Earlier today, we were talking about how you could make up for what you've done. And Ace mentioned that you could maybe throw another party like the one you had a couple of weeks ago."

"…What? Another Hallowgrim party?!" Jill gawped. She stared at Ace's innocent face, then back at her friends. "No way."

"Didn't Ace tell you about that?" Jack asked. "He did say he would come to your dorm to talk with you."

"Oh, I must've forgotten," Ace said breezily. "We had a lot to catch up on, you know."

"At first, it was going to be a little party, just for us," Epel added. "But as we were talking, Kalim overheard and he got excited about the idea. Jamil tried to rein Kalim in, but gossip spread like wildfire… and before you know it, lots of people were talking about your party."

"Oh no…" Jill put her head in her papers. "Guys, I don't have the budget to do another party like that!"

"We can help you," Ortho said. "If we have enough people donating money, you can afford another catering service. And you still have the activities and plans from last time."

"Who would fund this?" Jill asked.

"Well, Kalim and Steve might give us some cash," Grim suggested. "They seemed the most excited when they heard about another Hallowgrim party."

"Asking for money? I don't know…" Jill sighed. "That doesn't seem right to me."

"Aw, don't be such a saint. You don't know until you ask, right?" Ace said.

Jill pouted at him. He absolutely did this on purpose—throwing out the idea of another huge Hallowgrim party, knowing that everyone around him would glom onto the idea. Then again, if it wasn't Ace spreading the idea, it would probably be Grim. And either way, Jill really couldn't find the energy to be upset with her boyfriend.

The ghostly trio appeared, descending from the upper levels.

"Or we could sell some of our old junk," Gregg offered. "We were going through some clutter recently."

"Yeah, when you were making that outfit for Jill," Ace grumbled. Gregg frowned at the reminder.

"I wouldn't mind having another party," Ezekiel mused. "It would end this crazy week on a high note."

"Of course, we'll help out however we can," Philip added. "Even if we can't sell some of our stuff, we can still help plan and move things around where they need to go. Like last time."

"Last time…" Jill stared up at the bluish sky, noting that it looked exactly the same as yesterday. It seemed like things would be repeating themselves in this coming week, too. And yet, everything felt so different.

"Okay," Jill said. "…But you know what? We can't just throw this party just like the old one. We need to do things bigger and better! We could ask for donations, throw in some new ideas to try—oh, you know what? I should talk to Riddle and Kalim! They throw parties all the time, and they could give me some good advice!"

As she spoke, she placed her school papers on a nearby table to look at later. She grinned widely at her friends, and then strode past her friends down the stairs.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" she asked. "This party is for you guys, you know! You have to help me out! We have a lot to do!" She winked at Ace, who winked back, and then she ran full-speed out into the main campus.

"What's up with her all of a sudden?" Grim wondered.

"Who knows?" Ace chuckled.

"At least she's acting like the Hallowgrim housewarden again," Deuce said with relief.

"Isn't she supposed to be acting sick?" Jack asked. "Running around like that is gonna make people think she's playing hooky."

"She could say she's recovered since then," Ortho said. "Regardless, she's right—we have a lot of things to do."

"This doesn't feel like a punishment for Jill," Epel noted. "Ah, whatever! Let's go, guys!"

As Jill's friends followed her out to Night Raven, Jill couldn't help but laugh.

Everything was going to be just fine.

END

Author's Notes: It's done! Finally, Jill's Overblot Book is complete! Thank you to everyone for your support. By all means, please review and tell me what you think-I enjoy getting honest feedback. If enough people like this, I might create more TW content starring Jill Bones. But for now, good night and thank you! - BoneyFide13