“Zut! These trolls are too slow,” Rochelle complained as they ducked behind Jackson Jekyll and Three-Headed Freddie.
“Good golly, Three-Headed Freddie’s never been quite so helpful,” Robecca said with a giggle.
After carefully hopping from one cluster of students to another, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus managed to successfully follow Miss Flapper all the way to the Libury unseen.
The dark and dusty space was absolutely brimming with studious young monsters desperately trying to finish their work while threats of unknown entities loomed on the horizon.
In an effort to fit in and deflect any attention, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus each picked up a book.
“Don’t get too close,” Robecca instructed as Venus stayed on Miss Flapper’s tail, weaving in and out of the book-filled stacks.
“I want to see what book she took,” Venus replied. “It could be important.”
“Regardez! She’s talking to Jinafire and Skelita,” Rochelle whispered.
“Talking? Or meeting up?” Venus asked pointedly.
“I must say, they seem closer than a bee to its honey, and that is not a good thing,” Robecca added.
“Robecca? Robecca? Hey, Robecca?” a voice cut through the quiet room.
“And our cover is blown,” Venus droned with frustration as everyone in earshot—including Miss Flapper, Jinafire, and Skelita—turned to see who was calling Robecca’s name.
“Oh hello, Cy,” Robecca quietly greeted the boy, realizing that their covert mission had just failed most unceremoniously.
“What are you doing with a book called Trollogy: Astrology for Trolls?” he asked, looking down at the tome in Robecca’s hands.
“She picked it up in an attempt to blend in while following Miss Flapper through the Libury, which was working quite successfully until you called her name so loudly,” Venus explained, all the while following Miss Flapper with her eyes.
“I’m really sorry, ghouls. I had no idea. I just wanted to say hi to Robecca,” Cy said sheepishly. “So, um, hi.”
“Hi,” Robecca replied with a rueful smile.
“I can’t take it! Dis is third one dis week!” Abbey Bominable groaned as she pulled a doll of doom from her backpack while seated at a nearby table. “And now I’m already starting to feel hot. Fevers are very dangerous for yetis! When is dis all going to stop?”
“Probably when ‘they’ arrive,” Draculaura replied nervously to Abbey. “This whole thing has left me so jittery, I can’t even drink my shakes. Instead, I actually have the shakes!”
“Everyone’s pretty stressed out, huh?” Cy commented to Robecca.
“Understandably. All this anticipation is making me want to squeak louder than a rusted joint,” Robecca replied as steam slowly exited her ears.
“Robecca, you must calm down or your hair’s going to be absolutely bananas, and like you always say…” Rochelle warned her friend in a maternal tone.
“Bananas might be good for cereal, but they’re not good for a monster’s hair,” Robecca finished.
“Actually,” Rochelle started, “you can mash them up and—”
“Red Robin or the Winged Wonder or Curiously Couture… Oh forget it! Miss Flapper is on the move,” Venus interrupted, watching the graceful dragon make her way to the Libury door.
“Leave the books. We don’t have time to properly check them out,” Rochelle instructed the others seriously. “On second thought, Cy, might I ask you to reshelve them? It feels like a violation of Libury policy to simply leave them here.”
“Of course,” Cy replied quietly while nodding his head.
“That’s so nice of you, Cy,” Robecca gushed, before looking over at the checkout counter. “Especially since the liburian seems absolutely buried in work,” she remarked while being pulled away by Rochelle and Venus.
Once back in the hall, the trio continued moving between clusters of students, doing their absolute best to stay off Miss Flapper’s radar. However, upon turning the corner and coming face-to-face with the school’s two fiercest ghouls, they paused.
“Ugh, the smell of your gauze makes me want to gag,” Toralei said, making a most unflattering sound, like that of dislodging a hair ball.
“Oh really? Well, I’ve been waiting all day to tell you that your outfit is a serious catastrophe,” Cleo shot back ferociously as Miss Flapper sauntered by the warring monsters without so much as a word.
“What kind of teacher ignores ghouls fighting?” Venus asked the others.
“Considering who’s fighting, I would say a smart one,” Robecca replied as Miss Flapper opened the door to the east wing.
“So much for following her; she’s headed back to the dorms,” Venus moaned disappointedly.
“Speaking of which, we ought to get back there as well. Homework must still be done, even in the face of great uncertainty,” Rochelle stated stoically.
“Jeepers, Rochelle, you make it sound like we’re going to war,” Robecca babbled as they made their way toward the dormitory.
“I still can’t believe that woman was picking flowers,” Venus said, with a notable air of judgment.
“Venus, it seems like flower picking is a pretty sensitive subject for you. Is there something you’d like to share?” Robecca asked sincerely.
“Since you asked, I think the senseless murder of flowers for decoration is plain wrong! Why kill them when they can live in a nice potted plant like Chewy?” Venus proclaimed passionately as she stomped up the rickety pink staircase, now a mere ten feet behind Miss Flapper.
“I see your point about flowers. It does seem rather senseless and illogical, especially since potted flowers would last a great deal longer,” Rochelle acquiesced.
“Oh!” Miss Flapper cried out in shock before turning toward Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus. “Oh, ghouls, it’s terrible! You’ve been hit!”
“By an asteroid?” Robecca blurted out nonsensically.
“Rochelle, have you gone mad? Complètement folle? Why are you talking about asteroids?”
“Gee whiz, I don’t know. Sometimes when I’m on edge, I just blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind,” the copper-plated girl blathered as small wisps of steam escaped her ears.
“I’m terribly sorry to have confused you. I simply meant they left a message on your door,” Miss Flapper explained softly.
Venus read the writing on the door to the Chamber of Gore and Lore aloud. “ ‘It’s time for you to know who they are.’ ”
good morning, ghouls and boys! It’s going to be another wet and stormy day here at Monster High. And I’m not just talking about the weather. Last night the dormitory chamber of Robecca Steam, Venus McFlytrap, and Rochelle Goyle was vandalized with the following message: IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE. Could it be that the trio involved in ending last semester’s monster whisper knows “who they are”? Do they know more than they are letting on? Inquiring monsters want to know. Oh, and don’t forget your galoshes—the rain continues!
“Spectra’s a nice ghoul. Why doesn’t she realize that she’s planting seeds of doubt about us in our classmates’ minds?” Venus huffed, before tossing the iCoffin onto her unmade bed.
“Spectra sees herself as a journalist whose job it is to report what she finds,” Rochelle explained. “It’s not personal.”
“Well, it sure feels personal,” Venus blustered.
“In the name of the bird’s beak! I do believe your nose is twitching and your eyes are watering,” Robecca noted as she stepped back. “Are you going to sneeze? Because orange really doesn’t suit me; copper is a very difficult color to coordinate with.”
“Venus, s’il ghoul plaît, you must calm down. It’s a couple silly lines. And it’s not such a big deal to imply that we might know more than we are letting on. It’s not as if she accused us of being them,” Rochelle remarked in her usual logical way.
“Ah, I guess that’s true,” Venus acquiesced as an earsplitting thunderclap ripped through the sky.
“I feel like it’s been raining forever. It’s starting to make me crazy.”
“Excessive periods of rain have been known to cause hatred for weather reporters, slipping, and mold due to dampness—so crazy is not totally out of the realm of possibility,” Rochelle pronounced as though she were a medical professional. “Now then, I think it’s time we get to the Creepateria for breakfast.”
As Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus walked down the main corridor, they sensed that something was amiss, even more so than usual.
“Ghouls, have you ever dreamed you went to school and everyone was staring at you, but you didn’t know why? And then you passed a mirror and realized you were wearing nothing but leaves?” Venus babbled.
“Venus, was that your roundabout way of saying that you feel like everyone is staring at us?” Rochelle inquired.
“Yes, it was, and I didn’t think it was that roundabout. I thought it was pretty obvious. Did you really need to double-check what I meant?” Venus pushed back.
“I’m a gargoyle. Do you really need to double-check that I need to double-check?”
“Bursting boilers! Everyone really is staring at us, and not in a good way. Maybe Rochelle was wrong? Maybe everyone’s taken Spectra’s comments to heart?” Robecca wondered aloud as a troll herded white cats past her in the hall.
“Ahh!” Clawdeen squealed as she threw a doll of doom from her locker onto the ground. “Leave me alone!”
“Clawdeen, are you okay? You seem very agitated,” Rochelle said honestly and then kicked the smashed doll of doom out of the way with her silver shoe.
“Well, clearly, they really do bring bad luck,” Clawdeen prattled nervously as she stared at the ghouls and then hurried away.
As Clawdeen scurried down the hall, the trio looked at one another, silently noting the peculiar behavior.
“Good heavens! What in the name of the prickly pear is Hoodude doing?” Robecca asked as she pointed at the rag doll who was pressing his face firmly into one of the lockers.
“Hoodude? Are you okay?” Robecca asked sweetly.
“Uh… uh,” Hoodude stuttered.
“To clarify, Robecca would like to know why you are pressing your face into the locker,” Rochelle explained to the rag doll in her usual formal tone.
“I thought if I couldn’t see you, you wouldn’t be able to see me, but obviously I was wrong,” Hoodude whined.
The soft-limbed boy then slowly pulled his head away from the locker and swallowed audibly.
“But why wouldn’t you want us to see you?” Robecca inquired curiously.
“Please don’t hurt Frankie,” Hoodude whimpered before sprinting off, mumbling to himself.
“Will someone please tell us what’s going on around here?” Robecca demanded, stomping her knee-high boot in frustration.
“Haven’t you heard?” a smooth voice purred. “Or actually, haven’t you read?”
The ghouls quickly turned around and discovered Toralei, iCoffin in hand and a smirk on her face.
“I assume you’re referring to Spectra’s blog, and to answer your question, yes, we read it,” Rochelle replied, tapping her claws against her book bag.
“Oh, let me guess. You only read the first post? Don’t worry, guys, I’d be more than happy to read the second one to you,” Toralei said smugly. “ ‘According to an anonymous source, the ‘they’ referred to in the notes are none other than Robecca Steam, Rochelle Goyle, and Venus McFlytrap. In light of this information, I can’t help but wonder if the whisper they supposedly saved us from was actually of their own doing.’ ”
“An anonymous source?” Venus repeated in shock. “Who could that be?”
“Word on the street is that the anonymous source is smart, stylish, and beautiful—the all-around purrfect ghoul,” Toralei said, twitching her ears proudly.
“I know everyone’s a bit rattled by the situation at Monster High, but remember, we’re Frightingales. We must rise above fear and show others how to be brave,” Draculaura declared poignantly to the room of jittery ghouls.
The stylish vampire was dressed in a pink-and-black plaid dress with a low-slung skull-and-crossbones belt. For as Draculaura saw it, if trouble was coming, she would face it head-on and well dressed.
“Thank you, Draculaura. And now I’d like to open the floor to suggestions on how we might help one another at Monster High as we face this unknown enemy,” Frankie declared, fidgeting nervously with her strand of fangs.
“Unknown? How are they unknown? They’re sitting right here,” Toralei muttered loudly under her breath.
Venus, Rochelle, and Robecca stared apoplectically at Toralei, waiting for the other, more rational monsters to come to their defense. But as the seconds passed, they soon realized that it was not to be. On the contrary, other monsters actually joined Toralei in voicing suspicion.
“I always thought it was weird that they were the only ones not affected by the whisper,” a young werewolf snarled loudly.
“They started the whisper, and then they took credit for stopping it? That’s like writing the test, then boasting that you got an A. Totally unbelievable!” a vampire cried incredulously while shooting the trio a menacing look.
“Your dream of arriving at school au naturel suddenly seems almost pleasant in comparison to this place,” Rochelle whispered to Venus and Robecca.
“Jeepers, you can say that again….”
“Excuse me, Frankie, Draculaura? May I have the floor now?” Toralei asked as she walked to the front of the Arts and Bats room.
“Yes, but remember this is all about finding constructive ways to help one another. ‘Constructive’ being the key word, Toralei,” Frankie responded, before taking a seat.
“Yeah, sure, Frankie,” Toralei said before turning her attention to the crowd of ghouls. “As we all know, Monster High is currently facing some tough times. And when times get tough, monsters need to get tougher, smarter, and sneakier.”
“Sneakier is not good, especially from her,” Robecca mumbled to Rochelle and Venus as her ears began to release small puffs of steam.
“Sometimes monsters need to protect themselves, even from their own kind. Now obviously most of the monsters here are fine, but we can’t let a few bad eggs ruin it for the rest of us,” Toralei continued.
“The longer she talks, the worse I feel,” Rochelle muttered, and then raised her cold granite hand to her forehead.
“And with that in mind, I propose we start the House for Unmonstrous Activities Committee, or HUAC, to which students will be able to report other classmates for unmonsterly behavior. Now, this shouldn’t be an issue for anyone unless, of course, she has something to hide,” Toralei finished while looking directly at Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus.
“This just got scary—very scary,” Venus murmured, shocked by Toralei’s suggestion.
“That’s fine with me, but then again, I don’t have anything to hide, except for my secret combination of hair-care products—that’s confidential,” Clawdeen explained as she caressed her silky locks.
“What is going on? I can’t believe all you sensible ghouls are actually entertaining Toralei’s suggestion. With all due respect to our werecat here, she has a bit of a checkered past when it comes to kindness,” Frankie blurted out. “I know we’re all scared, and we have good reason to be. But we’re Frightingales; we have a moral code. We believe in honesty and community. We can’t allow our fears to destroy who we are. And trust me, that’s what will happen if we start spying on one another, reporting every little thing we hear or see. It’s not right.”
“Whatever, Frankie,” Toralei growled. “Oh, and I’ve been meaning to tell you: Green’s not your color.”
“On that note, I think I’ll bring this week’s meeting to a close,” Frankie said dejectedly, before collapsing onto her chair and placing her head in her hands.
Much like the parting of the Red Sea, the throng of monsters separated as Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus neared the door. Not wishing to touc
h the ghouls, even by accident, the crowd firmly pressed themselves against the craft-filled walls.
“Jeez Louise, we only just got settled at Monster High, and already we’re outcasts,” Robecca whispered glumly.
“Not exactly a good time, is it?” Venus replied, shaking her head, utterly incredulous at her peers’ behavior.
“I find it most distressing that everyone outside of Frankie has rushed to judgment. And absolutely no one has even bothered to research who Spectra’s anonymous source is and whether he or she is even telling the truth,” Rochelle barked as the sound of Cleo and Toralei fighting erupted behind her.
“Frankie, I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to hold my own talent show tomorrow, separate from Toralei’s, and I’m calling it Tomb Star,” Cleo announced boldly.
“You do realize that mine will be a million times better than yours, don’t you?” Toralei snapped.
“Ghouls, there can be only one show, and it’s the Hex Factor. And it’s tomorrow, so you’re just going to have to find a way to work together,” Frankie explained as patiently as possible.
Once they were a fair distance away from the others, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus looked at one another and sighed, overwhelmed by what had just happened.
“We need to find out what Miss Flapper has to do with these messages,” Venus said. “For our own sake as well as the school’s.”
“I thought it was awfully swell when they invited us to join the Frightingales, but now I sort of wish they hadn’t,” Robecca said sullenly.
“I must say, it’s highly unpleasant being regarded as the enemy. Not that this comes as a great surprise to me,” Rochelle said, before the sound of sloshing grabbed her attention.
“Ghouls! Ghouls!” Headmistress Bloodgood called out upon seeing Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus in the corridor.