CHAPTER 22: A NEW DAY IS DAWNING
At this point, Ace and Deuce had gotten into the habit of stopping by Ramshackle dorm on their way to the main building. Once Jill and Grim came outside, the four students would walk into their homeroom class together. It was originally a way to help the newcomers find their way around, as both Jill and Grim lacked a good sense of direction in the enormous castle. But now, the Heartslabyuls were excited to see the results of Jill's pitch.
"I wonder if the headmage approved," Deuce mused. "If not, I hope Jill won't be too down in the dumps…"
"Eh, I'm sure Headmage Crowley would let Jill try again with a new patron." Ace snorted. "Jill and Grim, represented by the Pumpkin King? Talk about unfitting! Those two are about as scary as an old pair of socks!"
"I still think they should've gone with Alice," Deuce said. "But whatever the result is, we'll support them, right?"
"Yeah, but if Jill cries, you'll be the one wiping her face this time," Ace warned.
As soon as they stopped at the old haunted mansion, the front door flew open and Jill ran out, followed closely by Grim. The goth girl took the steps three at a time, nearly falling in her haste to descend. "WE DID IT!" she shouted happily. "WE DID IT, WE DID IT!"
She pulled Ace and Deuce in for a tight hug, then spun around in a circle. "We did it, boys! Hallowgrim is ours!" she squeed. "We're gonna have a logo, and colors, and uniforms, and—"
"Wait, what? He said yes?!" Ace cried. "He even approved that dumb logo of the Grim pumpkin?"
"Ya better believe it, Heart-Face!" Grim said. "There's a new dorm on campus, and it's called Hallowgrim! House of the Pumpkin King! And who better to symbolize that than me, the Halloween expert?"
"I was the one who told you about Halloween, Grim," Jill reminded him.
"Well, anyway, congratulations!" Deuce said with a warm smile. "We're proud of you!"
"I guess that means you'll be wearing some decent duds?" Ace asked, gesturing to Jill's old outfit. The tear in the shoulder was stitched up, as Ezekiel was handy with a needle and thread, but the rest was still shabby by Night Raven standards.
"I think so," Jill said. "Mr. Crowley said that my outfits would be designed by an expert. I don't know who that is, though…"
"It'll be fine, Jill!" Grim said. "And I'll hafta get somethin' good too, right? Like ceremonial robes!"
"Do direbeasts wear clothes?" Jill mused, but Grim was already strutting forward ahead of the group like he was leading them. She snorted and smiled, then followed the boys as they talked about uniforms.
Today was Saturday. Back home, this was a day to watch cartoons in bed while wearing pajamas all morning. But in this world, it was just another day of school. Jill wanted to gripe at the additional workload, but her thoughts were consumed by Hallowgrim and all that it entailed.
Uniforms were just the start. The old mansion needed some serious upgrades, and not just fixing the water pressure or mending holes in the roof. It needed to look more presentable while still being spooky. That dead lawn out front, she needed to do something with it. Maybe a garden… no, a pumpkin patch! That would be perfect! A new coat of paint for the mansion would also do nicely—perhaps a reddish-orange with dark highlights, but she would work with that. Jill had so many ideas, it was hard for her to sit still in her classes!
But there was something tangible that she and Grim needed to work on: getting decent furniture.
Ramshackle's furniture was mostly-functional, but a lot of it was aged and lifeless. Jill knew that getting new furniture would be expensive, even with her part-time job, so she originally put it on the backburner of things to do. One of the more pressing issues was to clean up these old rooms.
And while doing just that earlier this week, Grim had discovered a peculiar hammer. According to the ghosts, it was a Magitool—a magical crafting hammer that could transform raw materials into whatever the crafter wished. And what was more, the ghosts gave their blessing to make new furniture with it! (Well, Gregg and Philip did, Ezekiel insisted that the old stuff was perfectly fine.) Jill was ecstatic at the possibilities, but she urged Grim to hold off on crafting until they had their new dorm approved. Once the patron was selected, everything in the dorm should revolve around that theme.
So after the Saturday classes, which she still wasn't very happy about, Jill stopped by the Mystery Shop. She purchased some pumpkin seeds, along with planks of wood and some cans of paint. Sam even allowed Jill to dig through the recycling bin and take some recyclables home for free. He seemed to already know the good news, and congratulated Jill and Grim on their accomplishment. Ace and Deuce, on the other hand, found themselves carrying bags for Jill as they approached the new dorm. The Ramshackle—no, Hallowgrim—door opened for the group, and they all entered the barren foyer.
"Tell me again, how'd you talk us into carrying your stuff?" Ace complained.
"Because I promised you guys a turn with the magic hammer!" Jill said. "…And Ace, don't drop that bag on the floor, that one has glass!"
"So you're making new furniture inspired by the Pumpkin King," Deuce summed up. "So what, are you making Halloween decorations?"
"Something like that," Jill said. "But we want to make new furniture too! Like skeleton closets and tombstone chairs and a crystal ball with a lady's head inside!"
"…Crystal ball with a lady's head…?" Deuce asked himself confusedly.
Grim took the Magitool off a nearby table and ran towards a pile of wooden planks and paint cans. "HERE WE GO!" he cried, and he swung the hammer…
POOF! The small pile had transformed into a small chair made of sleek dark wood. It had a cushion with a gray-black striped pattern, and the head was shaped like a tombstone with the words R.I.P. carved into it.
"That… is actually really good!" Jill said. "It's a real tombstone chair!"
"Myahaha! I knew I was an artistic genius!" Grim bragged.
"Hey, I'm an artist too, you know!" Jill reminded him. "I used to do arts and crafts all the time! Just wait and see what I can do!"
"You like art, huh?" Deuce said. "You know, we do have an Arts and Crafts Club at this school. Maybe you should sign up."
"Huh… I didn't get the chance to look into clubs yet," Jill admitted. "But I'll think about it. Thanks, Deuce!" She took the magical hammer and aimed it at another pile of wood. "SHAZAM!" she yelled triumphantly.
In a puff of smoke, the wood pieces became a handsome coat hanger stand. It was made of a lighter wood, and the top was fitted with a little skull carving to hang one's hat onto. The other hooks had skeletal hands carved at the ends, palms up and waiting to hang the coats of guests.
"Nice!" Ace said, and Deuce let out a low whistle of approval. "C'mon, Jill, you promised us a turn, remember?" Ace grabbed the hammer and literally took a whack at it.
Soon, the four were using the Magitool to create all sorts of spooky things! A whole swarm of tombstone chairs to put around the house. A coffin-shaped sofa with red cushions. White bedsheets with black pinstripes. Black shower curtains with white spirals. And Jill even made a glass crystal ball… but without Madame Leota, much to her disappointment.
The three ghosts even gave up their oldest and most broken-down furniture to use as building materials. Jill lost count of all the times that hammer was swung, until finally… CRACK!
And just like that, the hammer's head fell off the main tool, and its magical glow faded away.
"What? Since when do Magitools break?!" Ace complained.
"I mean… to be fair, it is really old," Deuce mentioned.
"Grim, you swung too hard!" Jill scolded.
"Hey, you were swingin' this thing the hardest! Ya weakened the hammer!" Grim said. "My swings were small and light!" He was the last to hold it, and he dropped the handle onto the ground. The ghostly trio came out and had a look.
"Kids today, can't treat Magitools with respect!" Ezekiel said angrily.
"It's not their fault, that hammer is centuries old," Philip tried to say.
"No, it is our fault," Jill admitted, hanging her head. "I'm sorry, Ezekiel. I got so excited making a new dorm and furnishing it that I forgot to be careful with the Magitool. I hope you can forgive me."
Ezekiel took the two pieces of the Magitool and held them delicately. Then he looked around at all the things that the hammer had created until its demise. "…At least you made good use out of it," he acceded. "Just be more careful this time, you bossy little bonebag!"
"But Grim is the one who broke it," Ace corrected.
"But Jill is housewarden, and my hench-human," Grim said. "Therefore, she takes responsibility!"
Ace and Deuce were about to point out all the things wrong with that sentence. But then they heard a knock at the door.
"Oh, more company!" Gregg said happily. He opened the door to reveal… Professor Crewel. He was holding a suitcase underneath one arm.
"Mr. Crewel?" Jill asked in alarm. She always called her teachers 'Mister' instead of 'Professor' due to her Americanism; none of her educators seemed to mind that too much.
The fur-coated man stepped into the dorm, his nose wrinkling at the aged walls and pile of new spooky furniture. "Well, I see you've been quite busy with your new dorm, Bones. You even got a couple of Heartslabyuls to help you."
"Havin' more hench-humans around never hurts!" Grim said. Ace and Deuce made a show of rolling their eyes and shaking their heads to show their disapproval.
"Is there something you need, sir?" Jill asked politely.
"Of course. I need you to try on some uniforms that I've designed," Crewel said. He placed the large suitcase onto the coffin-shaped sofa and opened up all the little metal latches.
"The Hallowgrim uniforms are ready… already?" Grim asked excitedly.
"But how? It hasn't even been a full day yet!" Jill said.
"Please," Crewel scoffed. "I've been planning to update your uniforms since day one. I can't have you wearing such shabby hand-me-downs! Your new dorm idea was just the icing on the cake, so to speak."
Ezekiel grumbled angrily under his breath about the hand-me-downs, as apparently, Jill was wearing his old uniforms. Gregg and Philip did their best to calm his frustration. Jill was baffled how Ezekiel could admit that Ramshackle was a crummy old mansion, and yet still be so defensive about his old things.
"Try these on, one at a time," Crewel ordered. He placed four squares of bundled-up clothing into Jill's arms.
"Okay," Jill agreed. There was a small bathroom on the first floor which was recently cleaned, and it also held Jill's makeup kit and nail polish for quick touch-ups in the morning. She went into the bathroom, tried on each outfit one at a time, and stepped in and out. She wondered if this was what being a model felt like.
The first outfit was her school uniform. It was clean and new, with a crisp black jacket and matching skirt. Underneath the jacket was an orange vest and white shirt with a black bowtie. She had striped socks that went up to her knees and dark Mary-Jane shoes. The Hallowgrim logo was on her lapel, and her left sleeve had an orange-and-black striped ribbon around it. Jill's nails had always been black, but she gave them a quick repolish, letting them shine against her pale slender fingers. Jill tied her long hair into an orange ribbon and let it drape over one shoulder, then dusted her lids with a pale gray eyeshadow before stepping out.
"Huh, you actually look decent now!" Grim said.
"Not bad!" Ace complimented.
"The stripes and bowtie look familiar," Deuce noted.
"Yes, the Pumpkin King inspiration was the final touch," Crewel said. "Well, Bones, onto the next one!"
The second outfit was the P.E. uniform, and it wasn't much better than the original. A black tracksuit with the Hallowgrim logo, plus an orange shirt underneath, white socks, and black running shoes. Jill decided to let her ponytail fall down her back; it would make it easier to exercise.
"How nice!" Gregg said. "It suits you more!"
"Orange and black are your colors," Philip agreed.
"…I suppose my hand-me-downs weren't that fitting," Ezekiel acknowledged.
Jill ducked back into the bathroom and emerged in her third outfit—the labwear. Aside from being newer and having orange goggles as well as the Hallowgrim logo on her lapel, it wasn't much different from her Ramshackle labwear.
"Now that's more like it!" Crewel said. "Next one, my final piece!"
The fourth outfit. It was a pumpkin-orange dress with a wide skirt, trimmed with old-fashioned lace at the hem. It had white balloon sleeves that had large black dots on them; Jill realized after a minute that they were supposed to be cartoonish skulls. She had black knee-high boots with white laces going all the way up, and white gloves that ended at her elbows. A black-and-white striped sash went around her waist, and she had another black bowtie, but this one was more rumpled and ragged. Finally, she let her hair down, put on the white headband, and traded her gray eyeshadow for a light orange.
"What is that?" Grim asked. "She looks like… a princess or somethin'!"
"That's a dorm outfit!" Ace recognized. "All dorms have a fancy outfit that students wear inside their dorm and during important meetings!"
"Ramshackle had gray suits as their dorm outfits," Philip said. "But… this was made just for Jill."
"Just for me…" Jill echoed, tracing the soft fabric of her dress. She grinned and spun around. "Thank you so much, Mr. Crewel! I love it—I feel just like royalty!"
"Um… what about the other Hallowgrim members? Hint, hint?" Grim prodded.
"Ah, of course. I have a little something for you ghosts," Crewel said to the undead trio. "You've been such good sports, letting your house be redesigned, so… here!" He offered three top hats and three bowties: one in red, one in green, and the third in blue.
"Thank you, Professor!" Philip said.
"Aw, you shouldn't have!" Gregg seconded happily.
Ezekiel took one of the top hats and compared it with his own. He finally smiled and put the new hat on. "Thank you," he said softly. "It's not easy to change, but… sometimes you should, right?"
"Hello!" Grim snapped. "What about me?!"
"Sheesh, impatient much?" Ace said. "Of course the professor didn't forget about you—with how loud you are, how could anyone forget you?"
Grim scowled at the heart-faced student while Crewel took out a few more things from his suitcase. "I did bring some things for you," Crewel admitted. "I know they'll fit, so try them on when you can." He offered Grim a black sweatshirt, a small labwear outfit, a black-and-orange striped ribbon, and a miniature backpack.
"For me? Aw, sweet!" Grim cheered. "Thanks!"
"And with that, I must depart. This was a fun challenge," Crewel admitted. "You have no excuse to underachieve now. I look forward to your next Potionology class." Then he locked up his suitcase, excused himself, and strutted out the door.
"Look at that, you're all set!" Deuce said. "How do you feel?"
"I… feel complete," Jill said quietly. There were so many emotions going through her, she didn't know the right words to use. But at least she no longer felt alone.
"I'm glad I got some stuff," Grim confessed. "But I wish I got some ceremonial robes, too."
"Oh, stop complaining," Ace sighed.
"Grim… I actually can make clothes," Jill told him. "I'm not a master seamstress or anything, but I can stitch fabrics together. If I had a sewing machine and the right cloth, I could maybe make you some ceremonial robes."
"Really?!" Grim cried excitedly. "Alright then, I'll hold ya to that!" He hugged Jill's legs.
"You spoil Grim too much," Ace told Jill. "You're like an indulgent big sister or something."
"I was thinking that Jill acts like Grim's mom," Deuce said.
"Big sister? Mom?" Jill chuckled.
"No, Jill is my hench-human!" Grim pouted. Everyone had a good laugh at that.
So many things have been accomplished today. Now there was just one hurdle that Jill needed to clear to prove her dorm's worth.
No, make that seven hurdles: the housewardens.
Author's Note: While Jill doesn't make Grim's robes in this fic, she does so in her Ceremonial Robes vignette (hosted on DA and titled "Mr. Fire Extinguisher"). The thumbnail for this fic is the Grooovy picture I made for the vignette.