Monster High: Who's That Ghoulfriend? (Monster High: Ghoulfriends Forever) (14 page)

“
Normie spies in our school! They’re turning us into fools! Normie spies in our school! They’re turning us into fools!
” the pumpkin heads sang as they bounced down the busy hall.

“How is it possible that they turned one of our own against us? That the normies convinced a monster to spy on another monster! That’s
just wrong!” Lagoona groused to Frankie and Draculaura with a furrowed brow.

“All I can say is Salem is in trouble, like high-voltage trouble,” Frankie announced seriously.

“What if the normies refuse to let me have my iron shakes? Without them… oh, I can’t even bear to think about it,” Draculaura trailed off as everyone’s iCoffins dinged.

LISTEN UP, GHOULS AND GUYS. I JUST HEARD THAT THE SPIDER CREATURE FOUND IN THE ATTIC IS NOT A NORMIE SPY AFTER ALL. THE EIGHT-ARMED GHOUL GOES BY THE NAME WYDOWNA SPIDER AND CLAIMS TO HAVE BEEN HIDING IN THE ATTIC SO SHE COULD EAVESDROP ON CLASSES TO LEARN. WHEN ASKED WHY SHE DIDN’T JUST APPLY TO THE SCHOOL LIKE OTHER MONSTERS, SHE SAID SHE HAD BEEN TOLD THAT MONSTER HIGH WAS NOT ACCEPTING ANY NEW STUDENTS.

P.S. CRACK AND SHIELD DAY IS NOW ONLY THREE DAYS AWAY, SO GET READY, GET SET, AND START STRETCHING!

While Spectra’s blog post calmed the bubbling hysteria in the hallways, there was no denying that everyone was more than a little apprehensive of Wydowna. The simple fact that she had been hiding, spying on them from the air vents, left the students feeling ill at ease and unusually unfriendly.

So much so that when the scariff returned her to Monster High, few outside of Frankie and Draculaura would even smile at the ghoul, let alone speak to her. And when it came to housing
in the dormitory, Miss Sue Nami decided it best she be given a single room. However, without roommates, the acting headmistress recognized that she might need some assistance and so she asked Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus to show Wydowna around. This suited the trio fine since they were eager to gather information on the ghoul.

“So you were just living in the attic and listening to our classes?” Venus asked Wydowna as she, Robecca, and Rochelle made their way down the main hall toward the elevator to the Catacombs.

“What can I say? I like to study,” Wydowna answered with a tight smile.

“And yet we saw no textbooks or notebooks in the attic?” Rochelle asked in an interrogatory tone.

“You’ve been to the attic?” Wydowna asked, clearly startled.

“No! Um, of course not,” Robecca jumped in. “Rochelle meant to say that we
heard
that there weren’t any books and stuff in the attic.”

“I don’t need to read or write anything down. I remember everything I hear and see. Spiders have very good memories, you know,” Wydowna explained.

“What a shame,” Robecca blurted out, prompting Venus and Rochelle to look at her quizzically. “Oh, I only meant that with six arms you’d be a great note taker. Not like me; I’m always steaming up my papers by accident.”

Venus pushed the button to summon the elevator to the Catacombs, just as Cleo and Toralei sauntered up.

“I never thought I’d say this, but what are you ghouls doing hanging out with her?” Toralei asked before motioning in Wydowna’s direction.

“
Pardonnez-moi
?”

“You ghouls are super scratchy and annoying, but she’s even worse… she’s feral,” Toralei said, scowling at Wydowna.

“She’s not feral!” Venus snapped.

“Well, she was squatting in a building; that sounds pretty feral to me,” Toralei hissed.

“Me too,” Cleo added before pulling at Toralei’s arm. “Someone needs a clawdicure. Like ASAP!”

“Whatever, gauze head,” Toralei retorted as the elevator doors opened.

“We’ll wait,” Venus said as the golden doors closed.

“Sorry about them,” Robecca muttered to
Wydowna. “They’re a bit batty… and catty… and, occasionally, even downright ratty!”

“It’s okay; every school has a few ghouls like that,” Wydowna said with a smile.

“Did your last school?” Venus inquired while doing her best to feign casualness.

“Of course.”

“And where was your last school?” Venus continued.

“Um, um,” Wydowna stuttered. “You wouldn’t know it. It’s in the Old World.”

“You came all the way over here from the Old World?” Rochelle asked incredulously.

“What can I say? Monster High has a very good reputation,” Wydowna mumbled quietly.

“And you weren’t afraid to come here on your own?” Robecca asked.

“No, not at all. I’m actually pretty used to being alone, since it’s always been just me and my mom.…”

“What about your dad?” Robecca asked as thoughts of her own father passed through her mind.

“My mom, Arachne, was a normie until Athena turned her into a black widow.… And black widows don’t really like to keep guys around, so I never had a chance to get to know my father.”

“But I imagine you and your
maman
are very close since it’s just the two of you,” Rochelle added.

“Yeah, but she’s super busy. I don’t get to see her that much. It’s okay, because I have Shoo and she’s great company. Well, except that she can’t talk.”

“And thank heavens for that,” Venus muttered,
remembering that Shoo watched her tiptoe out of the attic.

“Excuse me?” Wydowna replied.

“Oh, I just meant that talking pets would be such a headache, more annoying than a case of root rot, if you know what I mean,” Venus blathered nervously as the group stepped onto the elevator to the Catacombs.

Later that evening in the Creepateria, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus whispered quietly to each other over dinner. Wydowna, exhausted after her first full day of actually attending classes, had decided to go straight to bed.

“Wydowna seems so nice. It’s hard to believe she’s caught up with Miss Flapper and all this other stuff,” Robecca said as she pushed her casketdilla around on her plate.

“I know what you mean. But the facts are the facts. She’s working with Miss Flapper and this secret group. They took Headmistress Bloodgood and they’re blaming it on the normies. So no matter how nice she may seem, there’s obviously more to her,” Venus declared before taking a bite of her casketdilla.

“I think we must be as kind as possible with Wydowna in order to earn her trust,” Rochelle suggested.

“Agreed,” Venus replied.

“Now then, do you think it inappropriate if I ask her to weave something for me?”
Rochelle asked seriously.

“Rochelle,” Venus droned as she shook her head.

“I take it that’s a no,” Rochelle said as she bowed her head, slightly ashamed. “She’s just so talented!”

For once, it was not the shrieks of Robecca thinking she was late that stirred Venus and Rochelle in the middle of the night. Instead it was the sound of a muffled voice coming through the wall. And though it was nearly impossible to decipher the words, it was clear that it was Miss Flapper and that she was angry. One by one, the trio tiptoed across the room and pressed their copper, stone,
and green ears to the wall. And though they tried with all their might to hear what Miss Flapper was saying, it was too garbled to make out more than the occasional word.

“I think it’s safe to assume that she’s talking to Wydowna,” Rochelle whispered.

“And why do you suppose she’s so angry at Wydowna?” Robecca asked with Penny cradled in her metallic arms.

“I suspect that being caught in CeeCee’s pictures was not part of their plan,” Rochelle said as they heard the soft sound of a door opening.

Moving faster than fire on a dried-out fern, Venus darted to the door and cracked it open a sliver. The green ghoul then positioned her head so she could see Wydowna standing in the
hall. However, try as she did to catch a glimpse of Miss Flapper, Venus could only hear her.

“Never forget that you are but a servant executing a plan, Wydowna. Your loyalty is to your master. You are not to question what they have asked us to do,” Miss Flapper whispered softly, and then closed the door on Wydowna.

Standing alone in the hallway with hunched shoulders, Wydowna had such sad eyes that even Venus felt pangs of sorrow and empathy. For in that moment she appeared very much like a little girl lost, far away from home, with neither friends nor family. Overwhelmed with compassion for the ghoul, Venus momentarily contemplated saying something. But then she remembered Headmistress Bloodgood, and her empathy instantly disappeared.

“I don’t like the sound of servant or master,” Robecca mumbled after Venus closed the door.

“Madame Flapper seems concerned about Wydowna’s allegiance. Why else would she remind her about staying loyal to her master? And not questioning the plan?” Rochelle assessed as she tapped her sharp claws against Roux’s back.

“Even the smallest break in Wydowna’s loyalty gives us an opening, a chance to gain her confidence and sway her allegiance. Then we can ask her about Asome and the plan,” Venus suggested as Robecca flung her right index finger in the air.

“And where Headmistress Bloodgood is; Monster High needs her back!”