“Hi, Robecca. Hi, Rochelle.” Cy awkwardly crossed his arms and looked down at the floor.
“We found Miss Sue Nami,” Robecca said assuredly. “She said she’s going to handle everything.”
“Everything? I don’t think she knows what she’s up against. None of us do. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think Miss Flapper is going to leave easily. She’s got the whole school behind her now. Even Henry,” Cy explained with a hint of sorrow.
“How did she get to Henry?” Rochelle asked. “The Monster Advancement League League?”
“I told Henry about what I saw in the dungeon. He went to check it out for himself, but when he returned, he wasn’t the same.”
“He will be again soon,” Robecca said reassuringly as Cy leaned against the wall.
“Ouch!” Cy squealed before looking down to see what had bitten him.
“Sorry! I really need to put up a sign or something,” Venus apologized. “ ‘Beware—Hungry Plant on Duty.’ ”
Venus convinced the others that hiding out in the bell tower was far safer than staying in the room, on the off chance any trolls came looking for them. And so Venus, Rochelle, Robecca, and Cy slipped quietly into the chamber atop the tower and waited. In between stolen glances out the open windows, they played cards, napped intermittently, and speculated endlessly on what was happening outside. Occasionally the sound of trolls marching in the halls echoed up through the stone tower, but mostly there was a shroud of silence.
“I really wish we knew what was happening out there. Do you think it’s possible that the power struggle is over and we’re waiting up here for no reason?” Robecca inquired hopefully.
“I doubt it. Miss Sue Nami would send a signal, something to alert us,” Venus hypothesized.
Small puffs of steam exited Robecca’s ears. “This experience has taught me that I would not do well in jail. I’m just not wired for staying in one place. It feels unnatural.”
“Unless talking about cat’s pajamas or mouse’s houses suddenly becomes illegal, I cannot imagine what you will ever go to jail for. Venus, on the other hand, I can imagine in jail for a wide variety of well-meaning but reckless reasons,” Rochelle stated matter-of-factly.
“And what about you?” Venus shot back.
“Gargoyles are too good at following rules to wind up in jail,” Cy added.
“Well put, Cyclops,” Rochelle said with a smile.
Suddenly, the faint semblance of calm evaporated as a shrill and deafening ring cut through campus. The quartet exchanged tense expressions and furrowed brows as if to say Now what?
Voices carried up from the hall. “Emergency meeting! Emergency meeting!” “Vampitheater now! Vampitheater now!”
“What do you think?” Cy asked the group.
“It could be Miss Sue Nami holding a meeting to announce the end of Miss Flapper’s reign,” Venus guessed.
“Or it could be Miss Flapper herself!” Rochelle exclaimed.
“I have faith that it’s Miss Sue Nami,” Robecca said in an optimistic tone.
“Unfortunately, there’s only one way to find out,” Venus stated with palpable anxiety.
The tower stairwell was dark, damp, and desperately in need of a renovation. Splintered cracks lined the walls, and the sound of dripping water echoed ominously. It was a creepy space, one that they were more than happy to escape—at least until they saw the rampant chaos in the hall. Students were in a literal stampede toward the Vampitheater. And while it was hard to believe that Miss Sue Nami would allow such disorder, the foursome continued to hope against reason that she was still in charge.
The purple-and-gold assembly hall was packed to the gills, just as it had been at the start-of-the-term assembly. This time, however, the room was filled with mounting anxiety and tension instead of excitement and anticipation. Robecca, Cy, Venus, and Rochelle slipped into the last row and quickly slouched down in their seats, all the while keeping an eye out for trolls.
“Hello, students. I’m so happy that you all heard the bell and were able to come,” Headmistress Bloodgood stated calmly.
“She seems pretty normal, so that’s a good sign,” Venus muttered encouragingly to Robecca.
“As many of you know, I have waited years to ring the emergency bell!” the headmistress continued. “It’s been one of my lifelong dreams to have an emergency so big that it actually warranted the bell. And I am proud to say that today I do. Now if I could only remember what it was…. Bat flu? Mutant insect invasion? Pumpkin-head mold virus? Or perhaps I just wanted to say hello. Oh yes, that must have been it. Hello, monsters! Thank you all for coming!”
As Headmistress Bloodgood waved to the audience, Miss Sue Nami barreled onto the stage, ramming into her boss.
“Miss Sue Nami? Are we wrestling?” Headmistress Bloodgood asked as she assumed a peculiar stance.
“Ma’am, we are most certainly not wrestling!” Miss Sue Nami barked before whispering into the headmistress’s ear.
“Oh yes,” Headmistress Bloodgood exclaimed. “What a relief it is to have my thoughts back! Thank you.”
Watching Miss Sue Nami remind Headmistress Bloodgood of what to say greatly calmed Venus’s nerves. It reminded her of her first day at Monster High, back when she thought the school seemed like a healthy place for a plant to grow. Although Venus still wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, there was no denying the presence of a highly threatening epidemic.
“My young monsters, as you know, I absolutely love my job. It is most definitely the best job in the whole world. And perhaps even the most important one. Here at Monster High, we are shaping the future generation through education and preparation,” the headmistress rambled excitedly.
“Is she talking about the SATs?” Rochelle muttered to herself.
“I have led you well—or at least I think I have. I can’t quite remember at this exact moment. But if for some reason I haven’t led you well, please keep that information to yourself. Women of my age are no longer interested in constructive criticism. What’s the point? We’re too old. And to that end, I feel that I am now too old to lead you in the manner you require. You need a leader who can help you take your rightful place in the world as the dominant species. No longer fourth on the list after normies, canines, and ferrets.”
“Who puts us after ferrets?” Venus mumbled as her stomach twisted nervously.
“And so I now pass the reins of headmistress to the Flap, effective immediately.”
Surrounded by trolls dressed in navy-and-red military uniforms, Miss Flapper strode up the steps to the stage. It was a shocking display of power and confidence. Gone was any semblance of the softness Miss Flapper had previously displayed. In its place was a hardness that bordered on arrogance. Dressed in a severe black dress with a high neckline, a flurry of buttons, and shoulder tassels, the outfit had a distinct military feel to it. Completing the meticulous look of power was a harsh coiffure, her red hair knotted in a tight bun atop her head.
A stern-faced Miss Flapper slowly approached the podium, dramatically drawing out each step. “Today we start again. Today we begin to build the new empire. And with that in mind, I hereby abolish all frivolous studies and irrelevant activities like Roller Maze and Fearleading. For as we prepare to take our rightful place in the world, we have no time for distractions or dissension. Anyone who isn’t with us is against us. There is no in-between, not anymore. We are now warriors; no longer will we be marginalized by the normies!” Miss Flapper declared before snapping her wings open for emphasis.
“What in the name of the Finnish finger did she just say?” Robecca asked Cy in a markedly panicked manner.
“I don’t want to scare you, but this isn’t good,” he replied.
“No, this isn’t even bad. This is horrible,” Venus said, her face wilting with disappointment.
Miss Flapper then waved to the crowd as a chorus of uniformed pumpkin heads joined her onstage to sing the Monster Advancement Anthem.
“If w
e put monsters first, the world will no longer be cursed….”
The four shell-shocked students ambled into the main corridor, unsure what their next move was, or even if they had one. With low-hanging heads and mist-filled eyes, they did not immediately notice the flyers posted all over the pink coffin-shaped lockers. But soon they spied the rather ungenerous drawings of their faces that adorned posters with the message WANTED FOR QUESTIONING—PLEASE REPORT ANY AND ALL SIGHTINGS TO THE NEAREST TROLL.
“Keep your heads down and follow me,” Venus instructed the others while doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone in the hall.
“Dear, oh, dear,” Robecca whimpered. “I’m steaming! I’m steaming! I’m steaming!”
“Shh,” Rochelle admonished Robecca. “Take off your sweater and wrap it around your head like a scarf. That should block at least part of it.”
Cy watched Robecca closely as she wrapped her polka-dot sweater over her ears and continued down the corridor after Rochelle and Venus. He couldn’t explain why he felt so protective of her, but he did. Ever since the first time he laid his eye on the metallic young lady, he had longed to be near her.
After ducking into the maze, Robecca performed an aerial sweep to find the most deserted spot in which to take refuge. Hidden amid a cluster of unkempt hedges, wayward-growing trees, and rusted old contraptions, the quartet began to absorb the severity of the situation.
“Je ne comprends pas! Why is Miss Flapper after us? What did we do?” Rochelle pondered aloud.
“Those posters are straight out of the Wild West,” Robecca said with steam pouring directly out of her ears and onto Cy’s face. “Deary me, sorry about that!”
“Actually, it feels really good. I forgot my eyedrops in the dorm.”
“I just don’t get it. Why us? Are we the only ones not under her spell? Or is it something else?” Venus questioned no one in particular.
“We’re the only four people on campus who didn’t join MALL. It’s that simple. We’re literally the last ones standing,” Rochelle said with a glum expression reminiscent of Mr. D’eath’s.
“She’s right,” Cy agreed. “Miss Flapper clearly knows who’s in and who’s out.”
“Maybe we should go into town and try to talk to the sheriff,” Robecca suggested.
“And say what? That the new headmistress is brainwashing everyone?” Venus replied. “I somehow doubt he’ll believe us. But even if he does, and he comes here, we run the risk that the sheriff will fall under her spell too. That could prove catastrophic for Salem.”
“I wish we were in Scaris! Then I would know exactly what to do. Call the gargoyle support line, report the problem, and finally wait for the committee to arrive and advise on the issue.”
“We may not have an advice committee, but we have one another,” Robecca muttered. “That’s got to count for something.”
“Cy?” Venus interrupted. “I can’t stop thinking about what you said in the room—that none of us know what we’re up against. You’re right, and unless we do, we’re never going to be able to stop her.”
“I think we should begin by reviewing what we do know about Miss Flapper,” Rochelle proposed.
“She transferred here from a monster academy in Bitealy,” Robecca said, “and she got a bunch of elderly trolls as a parting gift.”
Venus nodded. “We need to talk to people at her old school, find out why she left, find out everything they know about her.”
“Then we need to break into the main office and find Miss Flapper’s personnel file,” Cy advised.
“Cy, I never knew you were such a rebel,” Robecca cooed, clearly impressed by the boy’s willingness to break the rules.
“As you know, I do not believe in or condone breaking and entering. I do, however, see that in this case it is necessary, for the greater good,” Rochelle babbled.
“You don’t have to come with us if it makes you uncomfortable,” Venus stated. “The three of us can handle it.”
“I will be there. As Robecca said, we’re in this together, and that’s got to count for something.”
“Is that part of the Gargoyle Code?” teased Venus.
“It’s part of the Rochelle Goyle code.”
with their faces plastered all over the school, getting to the main office without detection was nearly impossible. And so it was decided that they would wait until nightfall before leaving the maze.
That night, under the sound of swooping bats, Robecca, Rochelle, Venus, and Cy crept slowly down the main corridor, their eyes peeled for trolls. Much had changed during the Flap’s short time in power. Memos with new rules were e-mailed hourly, covering everything from the complete suppression of free speech to the trolls’ revised dress code. According to the latest mandate, trolls were to wear navy-and-red suits, comb their hair into ponytails, and march in military formation whenever patrolling the halls.
“What does it say about trolls that it took all this to get them to shower?” Venus noted while the group hid in a dark doorway and waited for the last troop of trolls to retire for the night.
“It means exactly what we already knew: that they’re a species that does not hold personal hygiene in high regard. It is for this reason that the Gargoyle Traveler’s Guide warns against accepting invitations from trolls,” Rochelle responded.
With the coast clear, Venus led the others past the Creepchen and the Absolutely Deranged Scientist Laboratory and finally to the large metal door of the main office.
‘It’s locked,” Robecca whispered. “Venus, I’m guessing you know how to pick a lock with your vines.”
“What does that mean?”
“Please, move out of the way,” Rochelle instructed the others. “For once my hard little claws might be of some use.”
Rochelle sanded down the lock’s mechanism until the door simply popped open. Once inside the crowded and messy office, the quartet split up, desperate to locate Miss Flapper’s personnel file and return to the maze.
Seated on an office chair scanning papers, a thoroughly focused Rochelle didn’t notice the creaking sound coming from beneath her. The chair was, in fact, calling for help, desperately pleading for someone to save it. It was a rather common occurrence for furniture to literally beg for its life while beneath the slender yet weighty creature. But alas, she was far too preoccupied searching for information on Miss Flapper to notice the chair’s distress. Why, it was only upon crashing to the floor, atop a mass of broken wood, that Rochelle realized there was a problem.
“Rochelle?” a familiar voice called out from the doorway.
“Deuce? Is that you?”
“Are you okay? That looked like quite a fall,” the boy said as he approached her, wearing his trademark sunglasses.
“Yes, I’m fine. Sadly, breaking chairs is not new for me,” Rochelle explained, wondering whether Deuce might have miraculously escaped Miss Flapper’s spell.
“Well, I’m glad you’re all right,” he said emotionlessly. The boy then noticeably tensed up, as if he had just remembered that he was talking to one of the school’s most wanted monsters. “Rochelle, what exactly are you doing in the office?”
“I was recently appointed midnight office clerk by the Flap,” Rochelle fibbed uncomfortably while covertly motioning for the others to stay hidden.
“Rochelle, that’s a lie,” Deuce replied firmly.
“Please, don’t say anything. We’re just trying to get the school back to normal.”
“The Flap will want to speak with you. I have no choice but to take you to her right now.”
“Please, Deuce, just let me go,” Rochelle said, signaling the others to start for the door.
“I can’t do that….” Deuce replied slowly.
“Sure you can. It’s just me, Rochelle, the one ghoul who’s looked into those kind eyes of yours.”
“You’re betraying your own kind, and that is not right,” Deuce stated resolutely. “I’m getting the trolls.”
“Are you sure you
want to do that?” Venus questioned the boy before releasing a potent pollen sneeze all over him.
“That was disgusting,” Deuce responded angrily, wiping chunks of orange pollen from his face.
“Uh-oh, my pollens can’t penetrate the spell.”
“Troll!” Deuce hollered loudly.
“C’est une catastrophe!” Rochelle screamed as she and the others dashed out of the office and into the hall.
A slow runner, Rochelle had no hope of shaking Deuce. Except that at the exact moment he chased the gargoyle into the hall, a sea of bats flew down from the ceiling, clamoring around the boy’s Mohawk of snakes. It was a well-known fact that bats and snakes had a long and bitter rivalry over the title “normies’ least favorite pet.” And by the time the bats had tired of taunting the snakes, Rochelle and the others had long vanished into the night.
After safely returning to the maze, Cy revealed that he had located the name and number of Miss Flapper’s former school mere seconds before Deuce’s arrival in the office. In a testament to Headmistress Bloodgood’s poor organizational skills, he had discovered the file beneath a potted plant.
“It’s the Accademia de Mostro in northern Bitaly,” Cy explained. “I’m going to need to sneak into a classroom. I need a phone with international dialing.”
“Shouldn’t we all go with you?” Robecca offered sweetly.
“The larger the group, the more likely we are to be noticed.”
“I agree,” Venus added. “But do you speak Bitealian?”
“Only what I’ve learned from Three-Headed Freddie. I’m hoping someone at the school speaks English.”
“I would try the Libury first. It’s pretty close, plus I’ve seen Dr. Clamdestine use the phone in there many times,” Rochelle said as she pressed a thin gold hatpin into his hand and whispered, “Bon chance.”
It was nearly half past four in the morning when Cy slipped out of the maze and passed the dungeon and graveyard before coming upon the Libury door. He pulled out Rochelle’s sharp and stylish hatpin and began fiddling with the lock. And although he never would have admitted it to anyone, he was quite enjoying his new life as a criminal. While unintended, the recent bout of recklessness had given him a greatly needed confidence boost.