Monster High: Who's That Ghoulfriend? (Monster High: Ghoulfriends Forever) (12 page)

F
irst that ghastly ghost and now troll trouble!” Miss Sue Nami grunted as she approached the swarm of stout beasts surrounding Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus.

“Miss Sue Nami!” Robecca yelped with steam bubbling out of her ears. “Please help us! These trolls won’t listen! And I’m worried that if they don’t back off soon they’ll ruin our special Got Bloodgood T-shirts!”

“Trolls? You work for me. So that means you
need to tell me exactly what this is about,” Miss Sue Nami ordered, her hands perched atop her hips.

“They steal from Monster High! Robbers! Bad ghouls!”

“Steal?” Miss Sue Nami repeated back incredulously.

“Yeah, Hairy saw them sneaking out of attic stairwell a couple nights ago,” one of the trolls said while waving his hand in Rochelle’s face.

“I would be more than happy to donate nail brushes and files if you lot are willing to use them,” Rochelle said, cringing at the gross state of the troll’s nails.

“Non-adult entities, is this true? Are you stealing from your own school?”

“
Non! Absolument pas
!” Rochelle stated seriously,
clearly offended by the accusation. “A gargoyle has not been accused of stealing in three centuries! This is
complètement
absurd!”

“So you were never in the attic stairwell? You’re saying that Hairy is mistaken? That perhaps his thick follicles clouded his vision? Or that he is just a plain old fibber?” Miss Sue Nami questioned the three ghouls.

“Well…” Robecca uttered nervously.

“Yes, we were in the attic stairwell, but we didn’t steal anything,” Venus explained.

“The attic stairwell is off-limits to non-adult entities. So what exactly prompted you three to break rules and risk detention in the no-fungeon?”

Venus paused and pursed her lips as she decided how much to share with Miss Sue Nami. For while the damp dame had proven herself a
skeptic of Miss Flapper, Venus didn’t think it smart to create conjecture. She decided it far more sensible to wait until they had a firm grasp on what was happening.

“We were in the stairwell because Penny, Robecca’s pet penguin, ran away,” Venus blurted out.

“What?!” Robecca screamed emotionally, reacting to Venus’s comment before realizing that it was nothing more than a tall tale to cover up their outing. “What… transpired was very stressful for me. I couldn’t find my dear beloved pet for almost… twenty minutes.”

“Which may not sound like a long time, but it certainly felt like a long time,” Rochelle added. “Especially for a ghoul without a functioning internal clock.”

“Very well, then. Trolls, you may let them pass,” Miss Sue Nami grunted. “Non-adult entities, let it be known, if I catch you in the attic stairwell again, you’ll be spending the next semester in the no-fungeon.”

“Yes, of course, Madame Sue Nami,” Rochelle answered guiltily, for if there was one thing she didn’t like it was fibbing.

“Oh, and I don’t like that photographer ghost… not one bit,” Miss Sue Nami added with a particularly grumpy expression.

“Do you think she’s
dangereuse
?” Rochelle asked as she nervously furrowed her brow.

“No, just irritating. Sort of like a beaver,” Miss Sue Nami griped under her breath.

“A what?” Rochelle inquired curiously.

“You know, those pesky little animals with
long teeth, flat tails, and a proclivity for building dams, which cause rivers to overflow,” Miss Sue Nami explained before abruptly stomping off.

CeeCee Thrue began each sitting in the same brusque manner. She eyed the monster up and down, pulled at their clothes, fussed with their hair, and occasionally even removed or applied makeup. Within seconds of seeing a ghoul or guy, she knew what their best angle was, how to light them, whether they should show fangs, and so on. However talented she was, CeeCee was also impatient, self-absorbed, and at times even rude.

“Lose the jacket, look to the left, relax your fin, raise your right eyebrow, smooth your scales, smile less, smile more, freeze,” CeeCee rattled off
before snapping a couple of pictures. “Okay, get up! Go! Next!”

“Hello, Ms. Thrue, it’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’m Frankie Stein, copresident of the Frightingale Society and—”

“Sit down, you emerald in the rough. You need to be polished. Stat. Pull back your hair. Wipe off your lip gloss.”

“But—”

“They distract from your greenness, and the only thing better than green is gold. Move two inches to the left. Half an inch to the right.”

“What?”

“Don’t talk. Close your mouth. Smile. Okay, got it. That’s it. Now go!” CeeCee instructed firmly, motioning for the next candidate.

“It sure is the cat’s pajamas to meet a
photographer of your caliber, or really of any caliber. You see, when I was disassembled, cameras hadn’t even been invented yet,” Robecca said as she took a seat on the stool.

“Put that copper thing down—”

“Copper thing? Oh, you mean Penny. But she isn’t a copper
thing
at all, she’s my
friend
and she absolutely loves having her picture taken. Not that you can tell, since she’s always frowning, but believe me, it’s true.”

“Lose the copper thing. Buff your nose. Tighten the rivet on your right knee. Put your left hand under your chin.”

“What was that? You’re talking so fast that I can barely understand you!” Robecca babbled frantically.

“Right hand on hip, left hand under chin, eyes wide. That’s it. Got it. Next!”

Though it had only been a few minutes, Robecca had already forgotten about Penny. In fact, had she not tripped over the small metal bird while stepping off the stool, she most definitely would have left her behind. And if there was one thing that made Penny’s frown deepen, it was getting left behind.

With Penny again tucked tightly beneath her right arm, Robecca walked over to where Rochelle and Venus were waiting. However, just before she reached her friends she saw a sign with the acronym
GHOOL
(Get Heels Off of Lawn). Instantly her pistons began pumping as an idea took hold in her mind. What if Asome wasn’t the name of the head of the mysterious society or even the
society itself, but an acronym for the society’s name?

“Ghouls! What if A-S-O-M-E is an acronym?” Robecca blurted out as she bounded up to Rochelle and Venus.

“It is, of course, possible,” said Rochelle. “But unless you have an idea what the acronym is, then we don’t really have much to go on.”

“Deary me, and here I thought I had experienced an epiphany!” Robecca said with disappointment.

“More like half an epiphany,” Venus joked. “How was having your portrait taken?”

“CeeCee Thrue might be a celebrated photographer, but she has a terrible bedside manner,” Robecca said while shaking her head. “She’s worse than a porcupine with a balloon.”

“In CeeCee’s defense, perhaps her bedside manner isn’t very good because there isn’t a bed in sight,” Rochelle pointed out.

“Rochelle, Rochelle,” Venus muttered under her breath.

“Yes, Venus, Venus,” Rochelle replied just as CeeCee waved her over.

After eyeing the hard-bodied ghoul, CeeCee picked up the stool and placed it a few feet away.

“No sitting for you. Gargoyles always break my stools. Now relax your shoulders. Polish your cheeks. Come on, ghoul, act alive,” CeeCee barked rapidly.

“I’m afraid I cannot
act
alive as I
am
alive. A fact which I thought you of all monsters would know, seeing as you’re a ghost, a non-living creature,” Rochelle replied.

“Put both of your hands over your mouth,” CeeCee instructed the loquacious ghoul.

“Like this?” Rochelle asked, her voice muffled by her thick stone hands.

“Great. Got it. Good-bye.”

“
S’il ghoul plaît,
Madame Thrue. I cannot have a class photo with my hands across my mouth,” Rochelle pleaded with the photographer.

“Next!”

“Madame Thrue—”

“Next!”

“The Gargoyle Code of Ethics states that the customer is always correct except of course when he or she is wrong, which does not apply in this scenario. So might I ask you to retake my picture?”

“Next!”

“Very well, then, you have given me no choice but to write a highly unflattering review on Deadslist!”

Later that day, as the ghouls chatted over dinner in the Creepateria, a murmur started in the far corner of the room. And though it began relatively calmly, by the time it reached Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus, it had morphed into a hysterical shriek.

“Miss Flapper found a letter under her door warning that next time she wouldn’t get away! That none of us would ever get away again, not after the wall is built!” Frankie squealed with terror to Draculaura.

“What are we going to do? Monster High, and even the whole town of Salem, isn’t strong enough to fight the normies! I don’t care what my parents say. I don’t think Scariff Fred realizes what we’re up against!” Draculaura exclaimed while pulling at her pigtails nervously.

“I am sad to say, I think you’re right,” Miss Flapper added in her usual soft-spoken manner. “We’re going to need help to battle the normies.”

“My hair! My poor hair! It will never be this shiny again! There’s no way the normies will let us have high-gloss products!”

“
Pardonnez-moi
, Madame Flapper,” Rochelle called out to the chicly dressed dragon. “But might we see the letter?”

“I’m terribly sorry, but I already gave it to Scariff
Fred,” Miss Flapper replied, turning to leave. “Oh, and I would be careful, ghouls, for as I told Scariff Fred, they’re watching us… preparing for their next move.…”

As soon as Miss Flapper had floated out of earshot, Venus motioned for Robecca and Rochelle to lean in.

“She’s raising the stakes, making sure everyone is scared,” Venus declared before releasing a long, drawn-out sigh.

“We need to find out what she’s planning. Time is running out,” Rochelle exclaimed while tapping her claws against her hard stone cheek.

“Maybe we’ll find out at tonight’s meeting,” Robecca offered. “Although, am I the only one who thinks meeting in the woods after midnight sounds like the beginning of a scary movie?”

A full moon hung low in the sky, casting silver beams of light down through the thick conifur branches. Crickets chirping, bugs digging, and bats flapping turned the wooded area behind the school into a veritable symphony of sounds. Listening from their camouflaged post beneath a mass of fallen branches were Robecca, Rochelle, Venus, and Cy.

Venus, Rochelle, and Cy carefully monitored their watches, waiting dutifully for the hand to strike midnight and then 12:01
AM
. Robecca, on the other hand, never one for time or timeliness, had fallen asleep while tucked beneath
the prickly conifur branches. But as the ghoul had copper skin, she hardly had to worry about scratches.

“Robecca’s fast asleep,” Cy whispered to Rochelle and Venus. “And it’s almost time. Should I wake her?”

“Nah. Let her sleep. We already have five eyes and six ears, what’s another two more of each going to do?” Venus explained as she heard the familiar sound of feet sinking into piles of dried leaves.

First to arrive was Ghoulia’s mother, Mrs. Yelps, who in typical zombie fashion moved at an extremely slow pace. Next to appear on the scene was the well-coiffed duo Mr. and Mrs. Wolf, whose locks glistened beautifully in the moonlight. Trailing immediately behind the couple was Mr.
Stein, whose limbs created quite a ruckus as he stomped through the forest. Seconds later, as if out of nowhere, Dracula appeared, dramatically throwing open his cape.