Monster High: Who's That Ghoulfriend? (Monster High: Ghoulfriends Forever) (6 page)

And Venus was hardly alone. The whole room
was staring at the door, utterly shocked by what stood before them.

“
Quelle surprise
,” Rochelle said slowly as Robecca turned to see what all the commotion was about.

“Watch your claws; this is a hundred percent silk gauze, in case you didn’t know,” mocha-colored mummy Cleo de Nile snapped at Toralei Stripe as the two walked into the room with their arms linked together.

“No problem. But would you mind putting on some more perfume? Decomposition is seriously stinky,” the orange-maned werecat shot back venomously while waving her free hand in front of her nose.

“For the last time, you lowly alley cat, I am not
decom
posing. Just posing. And do you know why?
Because all the world’s my stage,” Cleo said as she flipped back her long black and brown locks of hair.

“Big deal, mummy. All the world’s my catwalk,” Toralei countered.

“Toralei? Cleo?” Draculaura interrupted. “Why are you ghouls holding hands?”

“Eww! We’re not holding hands. We’re merely allowing our arms to touch for security reasons,” Toralei explained defensively.

“And for the record, I am
so
not enjoying it,” Cleo announced loudly to the room.

“Security reasons?” Frankie questioned Toralei.

“Yeah, apparently her father and my guardian think we’re less likely to be kidnapped if we’re together,” Toralei expounded, and then deftly applied lip gloss with her free hand.

“But why would the normies want to kidnap you two? Or any student, for that matter?” Frankie asked sensibly.

“Um, hello? I’m royalty,” Cleo said as though it were the most obvious answer.

“And I’m the pride of the litter,” Toralei purred proudly.

“Okaaaay, if you two say so,” Frankie responded with an awkward smile. “Why don’t you ghouls take a seat so that we can start?”

After sashaying around the room no less than three times, the two divas finally sat down. However, once seated, the two engaged in a tug-of-war with their arms. When it came to getting along, these ghouls simply hadn’t a clue what they were doing.

“Ghouls, I would like to thank you all for
coming on such short notice,” Draculaura addressed the room. “In light of last night’s news regarding Headmistress Bloodgood, we’re suspending our community service program, Project Scare and Care, until further notice.”

“And while we agree with Superintendent Petra that it’s important to continue with normal everyday life, we also think it’s important to honor Headmistress Bloodgood in her absence,” Frankie said with both her blue eye and her green eye glistening with tears.

“Clawdeen, would you please come up here?” Draculaura asked the silky-haired werewolf, who then promptly strutted to the front of the classroom.

After lowering her head and taking a deep
breath, Clawdeen looked up at the room full of ghouls.

“When I first heard about Headmistress Blood-good, I literally howled until my fangs hurt. And not just because she’s our headmistress, but because she’s our friend. She believes in us; she supports our talents. I mean, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even have applied for the Moanatella Ghostier Fashion Fellowship. Which, by the way, led to my first fashion show in Scaris! Just in case any of you missed Spectra’s blog post about it,” Clawdeen said before pursing her well-lacquered lips. “Anyway, I have decided to use some of my funds from the fellowship to create these shirts.…”

Clawdeen then held up a well-tailored T-shirt covered in studs and rhinestones with “Got
Bloodgood?” scrawled across the front.

“I should be done with the first batch of shirts later this week,” Clawdeen announced as she folded up her creation. “And even though I truly believe that Headmistress Bloodgood will be back by Picture Day, if for some reason she’s not, I say we wear these shirts so that when she does return she’ll be able to see how much we missed her.”

As soon as the meeting ended, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus darted down the hall and up the staircase to their room in the dormitory. Not only were they exhausted and in need of a nap but also wished to talk without worrying about eavesdroppers.

“The longer Headmistress Bloodgood is gone, the further Miss Flapper and Wydowna will get
with their plan—whatever it is,” Venus said to Rochelle and Robecca as she climbed onto her bed and dropped her head onto the pillow.

“Jeepers! We need to do something, and fast,” Robecca said as small puffs of steam exited her nose and washed over her face.

“I encourage ghouls to carry
un mouchoir
, or a handkerchief,” Rochelle said as she pulled one from her pocket. “Would you care to use mine?”

Robecca nodded, and then began dabbing her face, much to her friend’s delight. Seeing her own preparedness at work always left Rochelle with a feeling of satisfaction.

“In regard to uncovering Miss Flapper and Wydowna’s plan, I think it would be wise to start with the list. It must mean something. After all, why else would Wydowna hide it beneath a
floorboard?” Rochelle asked.

“When you say start with the list, what exactly do you mean?” Venus inquired as her eyes fluttered with fatigue.

“I think we should speak to the monsters on the list and find out what they know, if anything,” Rochelle explained.

“I’ve always been rather curious about our classmates’ parents,” Robecca mumbled.

“Well, you won’t be for much longer. You’re about to meet them,” Venus replied as she turned over onto her side and closed her eyes.

M
uch like a werewolf without a brush or a gorgon without sunglasses, life at Monster High just didn’t feel right. A somber yet anxious air coursed through the halls, infecting all who came into contact with it. Students’ steps were heavier and smiles far more infrequent. Classes carried on as usual, yet even the teachers appeared distracted. For as much as Superintendent Petra wanted life to continue normally, it simply wasn’t that easy. An integral part of Monster High—Headmistress
Bloodgood—was missing and at such an uncertain time. With the purported normie plan to wall off Salem, nearly every monster on campus was feeling rather unsure.

Over a week had passed since Headmistress Bloodgood disappeared, and sensing the need for an influx of joy, Miss Sue Nami arranged for a pep rally. And so as the last bell of the day rang, waking many a slumbering bat in the hall, students made their way toward the gym. Fresh from Physical Deaducation with Coach Igor, Rochelle and Venus looked around the bustling corridor for sight or sound of Robecca.

“I know it’s silly, but I worry about Robecca arriving places on time. Without a functioning internal clock, it feels like a shot in the dark that she’ll actually make it in time to see the Fear
Squad perform,” Rochelle explained to Venus as Cleo and Toralei approached.

“Move it, royalty coming through,” Cleo announced as she and Toralei, whose arms were linked together, knocked against zombies, were-wolves, and such.

“Celebutante here, move aside,” Toralei added.

“Ugh! I still cannot believe I have to hang out with you. This is like the Queen of Fangland hanging out with a Goredashian,” Cleo moaned before releasing a long and labored sigh.

“I don’t know how Deuce puts up with you—you’re such a gauze head!”

“I will never get used to seeing those two together,” Venus commented, and then turned to Rochelle. “Don’t worry about Robecca. It’s not the end of the world if she misses the Fear
Squad performance. To be honest, the only reason I’m going is because we need to get invited to Ghoulia’s, Clawdeen’s, Draculaura’s, Cleo’s, and Deuce’s houses, and they’re all going to be there.”

“I have never been very good at getting myself invited to friends’ houses. I think it has something to do with the safety inspection I ask to perform upon arriving,” Rochelle muttered as she spotted Miss Flapper talking to Jinafire Long and Skelita Calaveras in the hall. “
Boo-la-la
, I see she is still wielding her influence or whatever it is over those two.…”

“I think they’re just impressed by her beauty and couture clothes. If it was another Whisper spell, it would have spread to others by now,” Venus speculated as she eyed the European
dragon up and down. “I may not like her, but she sure does dress well. Just look at that delicate shrug.”

“Yes, I was just noticing that. It looks awfully similar to the lacelike fabric we saw in the attic. I suspect the spider ghoul is not just her partner in crime but her couturier,” Rochelle said as she narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

“You know what’s funny? You sound more annoyed about the couturier part than the crime part!” Venus joked as she raised her green eye-brows at her friend.

“
Mais non
,” Rochelle protested as the two entered the gym.

The shiny wooden Casketball court was surrounded by green bleachers and purple windows covered in spindly bars.

As nearly the entire school was present, Rochelle and Venus had to weather quite a crowd of creatures just to find a couple of free seats. Squeezed between a zombie and a werewolf, the ghouls felt pangs of sadness upon noting the many gloomy expressions on the faces in the crowd.

“
Quelle surprise
!” Rochelle gushed as she pointed across the court to the other set of bleachers.

“Is that Becs sitting next to Deuce?” Venus said as she narrowed her eyes to get a better look.

“Yes, it most definitely is.…”

“Maybe Becs is learning to keep track of time,” Venus suggested, prompting Rochelle to shake her head incredulously. “Or… Deuce ran into her in the hall and walked her over here.”

Just then the Fear Squad—Frankie, Draculaura,
Clawdeen, and Cleo—walked onto the court. However, as Cleo was currently “attached” to Toralei, the werecat had no choice but to join the squad for the pep rally. It was a rather tense addition as Toralei had previously grumbled at the fearleaders for “jumping around and annoying” her.

“I think convincing Cleo to have us over to her house is going to prove
très
difficult,” Rochelle whispered to Venus as the Fear Squad lined up to start their performance.

“More difficult than cheering while holding another ghoul’s arm?” Venus remarked as she watched Cleo and Toralei awkwardly attempt to start the routine.

“Listen up, ghouls and boys, we’re here to get you smiling!” Frankie called into her bullhorn as
the other fearleaders started clapping. Or more precisely, all but Cleo and Toralei started clapping. The tempestuous twosome was incapable of getting in sync.

“
Give me an S, an M, an I, an L, an E! SMILE! It’s time to turn up the dial and make all you monsters smile
!” the fearleaders cheered as they started kicking their legs in the air.

“Ouch!” Cleo grunted. “Stop kicking me!”

“You stop! Werecat fur should never be touched by shoes! Especially ugly shoes!”

“How dare you call my shoes ugly?! I’ll have you know that Alexander McScream designed these especially for me!” Cleo responded while shaking her head at the werecat.

Cleo and Toralei stood in the middle of the court arguing passionately with each other, seemingly
not bothered by the fact that the squad was in the middle of a routine. Annoyed and wishing to contain the distraction, Frankie motioned for the rest of the team to surround the duo and continue cheering.

“
We can’t waste another day, just because the headmistress is away! We must make her proud, by living out loud
!” the fearleaders chanted while flailing their arms and legs about in perfect unison.

It was at this point that a pod of pumpkin heads bounced onto the court. The group of eight large-headed creatures then started singing a cappella.

“
The fearleaders are here, to fill you with cheer! So turn your frown upside down, and Bloodgood will soon be back ’round
!”

At this point all the fearleaders, except Cleo and Toralei, began chanting “Smile!”

Nearby, a couple of trolls began scanning the crowd for somber faces. Upon seeing one, the grimy little monsters bellowed, “Smile now! It’s the rules! The fearleaders say ‘Smile!’ Ignore fearleaders, make trolls mad, then you be sorry!”