It had been a few months since that... eventful Halloween. I had grown accustomed to Oogie Boogie's constant teasing... and Sally and I had grown closer. The rest of the town moved on fine with me in charge, except for the old mayor, who went a bit senile towards the end.
So, with the help of Sally, and, unfortunately, Oogie, we selected a few candidates. But, out of all those people, one stuck out the most.
A timid looking man with, what Dr. Finkelstein called, "split personalities", although I thought all he had was a spinning head with two faces, had stood there during our final decision, wringing his hands nervously. And although Oogie seemed to look on the not-so-great side of everybody, I thought that everyone would've made a great mayor!... despite the fact I could only choose two.
Since the only one that came to mind was the quiet man, Oogie volunteered himself. We couldn't help but to let him. The day of the election was hectic, and the smug look on Oogie's face sent chills down my spine. Something was telling me I couldn't let him win. Zero's head nudged my hand as the other candidate, who didn't seem to have a name, walked up to me, his face flipped to the worried face.
"Uhm, Jack, listen." he said, and I nodded encouragingly. "I'm going to tell you right now, I'm not very confident about the election. I mean... that Boogie kind of sets me off."
"Oh, don't worry!" I said cheerfully, hoping to soothe his worries. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You're a rather.. charismatic fellow!" His worried face spun to the happy one.
"Oh, you're right, Jack. I really shouldn't be worrying!" There was a slight doubt in his voice, but I ignored it, thinking that he was just recovering.
"Well, good luck!" I waved at him and walked off toward the podium. Facing the large crowd, who seemed utterly delighted by my presence for some odd reason, I tapped the edge of the spider-shaped lamp on top.
"Listen, everyone!" I called, and the town snapped to attention. "Today is the day we will elect our mayor!" Oogie and his competitor walked forward. "I would like to introduce your two candidates!" Oogie pushed me aside from the microphone, waving maniacally, and a slight wince rippled through the crowd.
"Hey there, Halloweentown!" he slurred in his hissing voice. "Now, I know you are eager to get to the ballots to check off my name-" the bugs were falling out of his bag, he was moving so enthusiastically, and the other candidate moved closer to me.
"Jack, hey, Jack." he whispered, looking up at me with his worried expression. "Jack, look at his seams!" He was accurate in pointing that out; his seams were splitting as we spoke.
"And as mayor of Halloweentown..." Oogie continued, and I felt a rising guilt in the pit of my stomach... or, at least, what I thought was my stomach.
"What should we do, Jack?" he asked, and, as soon as he said that, a smile crossed my face.
"What any elected official would do, Mayor," I laughed. "Steal the election." He gave me a confused look with his worried face, but it quickly whipped to his wide smile.
"Ah..." he murmured, then waddled over to the podium. "Uhm, excuse me, Mr. Oogie? Uhm, yes, I believe it's my turn."
Oogie laughed, just like I thought he would, and that last loud outburst was too much for his bugs to handle. The seams of his canvas burst, and sent the bugs flying. I laughed now, and the new Mayor took up his position behind the podium.
"So, starting tomorrow, we'll be planning for Halloween! It's only seven months until Halloween, people!"
I was confident with my decision, and waved slightly to Sally, who was standing in the back next to the paraplegic and antisocial Dr. Finkelstein. She smiled and waved back.
"Oh Jack...?" the Mayor called, and I spun around to face him. "What are the plans for next Halloween?" I had a feeling this was going to be a long seven months...
