Much 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!”

“Trolls, there’s no need to threaten the non-adult entities,” Miss Sue Nami called from the bleachers. “Not yet anyway.”

Following the pep rally, students and teachers leisurely mingled on the Casketball court. And though the problems facing Monster High and the town of Salem remained, there was no denying that the pep rally had lifted everyone’s spirits.

“Good news, ghouls! I got us an invite to Deuce’s house tomorrow after school,” Robecca declared happily as she ran across the Casketball court to Rochelle and Venus.

Thrilled by her accomplishment, Robecca flicked the switch on her jet-pack boots and performed a quick backflip. It was, like all of her aerial maneuvers, very impressive.

“Robecca! You’re amazing! Honestly, I’m so impressed that you even remembered to ask him,” Rochelle declared as she kissed the copper-plated ghoul on the cheek.

“But I didn’t. It wasn’t until he asked me over that I remembered the plan. You see, I’ve been so preoccupied thinking about my father that I haven’t even thought about the list.…”

“Then how did you get an invite?” Venus wondered aloud.

“Deuce asked me if I could come over and steam the snakes on his Mohawk,” Robecca explained.

“But why would he want you to do that?” Venus continued.

“Snake skin can get super dry and scaly,” Robecca explained.

“Ah, I understand now. He wants to give them a spa treatment,” Rochelle said while nodding her head. “Which is an activity better done in the privacy of one’s own home than at school.”

“Well, I guess that just leaves Cleo, Clawdeen, Ghoulia, and Draculaura,” Venus said as she looked over at a cluster of ghouls standing on the court. “Maybe we should try Frankie too.”

“But her parents weren’t on the list,” Robecca pointed out.

“That doesn’t mean they don’t know something about it,” countered Venus.

“Okay, why don’t Robecca and I handle Clawdeen, Frankie, Ghoulia, and Draculaura, and you take Cleo?” suggested Rochelle.

“No way!” Venus scoffed.

“That actually sounds like a pretty swell idea, seeing as you’re probably going to have to use your pollens of persuasion to get Cleo to invite us over,” Rochelle added.

“Fine,” Venus agreed, and then slowly made her way toward Cleo and Toralei.

Standing with their arms linked and their backs touching, the ghouls were clearly doing their best to avoid interacting with each other.

“Hey, Cleo,” Venus said trepidatiously as she approached the always stylish, gauze-clad ghoul.

“Hello,” Cleo drawled in her usual terse manner.

“I guess now you know what it’s like to be a Siamese twin,” Venus joked while nervously fiddling with her vines.

“More like a cry-amese twin, since being so close to a werecat makes me want to cry,” Cleo muttered under her breath. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I were allergic to her.”

“I’m beginning to think getting taken by the normies a better alternative to staying with a spoiled ghoul like you! Oh, and by spoiled, I mean rotten, foul, putrid—”

“Someone’s been studying her SAT vocabulary words,” Venus interrupted Toralei in an effort to lighten the tone.

“What is it exactly that you’re doing here?” Cleo asked Venus.

“In the gym? There was a pep rally, remember?”

“I meant in front of me,” Cleo snapped.

“I wanted to ask if I could come over to your tomb tomorrow after school,” Venus uttered clumsily.

“You want to come to my tomb? I don’t think so.…”

“It’s just that you’re the most stylish ghoul on campus, perhaps even in the Boo World, and it would be such an honor to see your closet,” Venus carried on theatrically.

“Stylish? Compared to me she’s nothing more than a flea,” Toralei spouted off.

“Um, Toralei, this is a two-person conversation, so if you could quiet down I would really appreciate it,” Venus said before turning back to Cleo. “I could even help you with your garden, if you like. After all, mummies aren’t known for their green thumbs.”

“Green really suits me. But then again, all colors do,” Cleo responded confidently.

“So what do you say? Can I come by after school with Robecca and Rochelle?”

“Sorry, but my aunty Neferia is visiting from the Old World and she doesn’t hold plant monsters, steam creations, or gargoyles in high regard. She’s super strict about only socializing with scaraohs, vampires, and aristocratic ghosts,” Cleo explained before narrowing her eyes at Venus. “Plus, I suspect you have an ulterior motive.”

“An ulterior motive? Me? Never!” Venus fibbed unconvincingly.

“I think you want to come over so you can look for things to recycle,” Cleo said suspiciously.

“I wish someone would recycle this whole conversation,” Toralei interjected with a huff.

“Recycling is nothing to joke about. Unless, of course, you find destroying the planet funny,” Venus blustered, her face now visibly red.

“This weed is crazy obsessed with garbage,” Toralei remarked rudely.

“On that we can agree,” Cleo responded as Venus continued to smart over their callous attitude toward the environment.

“You think I’m crazy? You want to know what’s crazy? Tossing chemicals into the ocean! Stuffing trash into mountains! That’s crazy!” Venus roared as a powerful rush of pollens pumped through her vines.

“ACHOO!” Venus sounded, releasing a pollen-filled sneeze.

However, just as the pollen made its way toward Cleo, Toralei tugged at her arm, inadvertently pulling her out of the line of fire. Small orange particles then splashed upon a blue-haired, floppy-bodied, button-eyed boy standing close by.

“Hoodude!” Venus screamed as the life-size voodoo doll experienced a light smattering of pollen.

“Yes, my wonderful Venus?” Hoodude responded adoringly.

“Oh no,” Venus groaned before releasing a long, labored sigh.

“What’s the matter, my most precious friend?” Hoodude asked, placing his soft fabric-covered hand on Venus’s shoulder.

“I’m not your most precious friend. Remember Frankie Stein? You know the ghoul that you’re in love with? The one who created you?” Venus replied.

“The only ghoul I ever wish to lay my button eyes upon again is you, the wondrous Venus McFlytrap. The sole plant in the garden of my heart.” Hoodude waxed poetic.

“Eww, the doll likes the plant,” Toralei muttered meanly.

“Can it, cat lady,” Venus shot back aggressively as she looked over at Robecca and Rochelle successfully chatting away with Clawdeen, Frankie, Ghoulia, and Draculaura.

Venus sighed. The pollen approach was a bust.

Securing invitations to Clawdeen’s, Ghoulia’s, Frankie’s, and Draculaura’s houses proved surprisingly simple. Robecca and Rochelle merely told the ghouls that they wanted to see the inside of an average Salem home. With the supposed normie invasion looming on the horizon, Monster High’s students were more grateful than usual for their everyday lives. Specifically, for their bedrooms, uniquely decorated to reflect their taste; for the shops at the Maul; for the Die-ner; for the Coffin Bean; and most important, for the ability to move across borders without normie permission. And so when Robecca and Rochelle asked to visit Draculaura’s, Ghoulia’s, Clawdeen’s, and Frankie’s homes, the ghouls happily acquiesced.

After securing invitations, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus decided to try their luck in the attic again. For if by any chance Wydowna were out, they would be able to peruse the other papers and possibly garner additional information. And so after waiting for night to come and the bats to rumble, the trio threw back their covers, grabbed their robes, and tiptoed out of the Chamber of Gore and Lore.

“Personally, I have always held true that when engaging in secret missions one ought to wear appropriate clothing. And I hardly think pajamas and dressing gowns are appropriate. After all, running in a robe is no easy task,” Rochelle whispered as the trio started up the stairs to the attic.

“Until things go totally haywire, there will be absolutely no running in tonight’s mission,” Venus replied as her slippered feet continued up the stone steps.

“Ouch!” Robecca blurted out loudly.

“What is it?” Venus asked with concern.

“Chewy just bit my finger!” Robecca whined.

“This is exactly why I said we should leave the pets in our room. They are nothing but a distraction,” Rochelle declared firmly.

“How can you even say that? Haven’t you noticed how depressed they’ve been?” Robecca said while shaking her head dramatically.

“Roux is never depressed,” Rochelle quickly corrected her friend.

“Okay, fine, but Chewy and Penny have most definitely been depressed. So you can hardly blame me for thinking a little adventure might cheer them up.”

“Becs, is that really why you insisted on bringing them?” Venus asked skeptically.

“Well, I may have also thought that Chewy could distract Wydowna’s pet fly if need be,” Robecca explained quietly.

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t eat her. After all, Chewy does have a taste for flies… and jewelry and metal and paper.” Venus quieted down as they once again came upon the entryway to the attic adorned in elegantly woven webs.

“Someone needs to discreetly look inside and see if Wydowna’s there,” Venus said, looking directly at Rochelle.

“Boo-la-la! Pourquoi moi? Why me?”

“You have sharp claws to cut through the webbing and you don’t steam when you get nervous,” Robecca explained.

“Zut!” Rochelle said as she began to carefully slice through the webs.

Rochelle then crawled through the sheaths, only to quickly retreat back into the stairwell seconds later.

“Wydowna and her fly friend are sleeping in the hammock, but…”

“But what?” Robecca pressed Rochelle eagerly.

“There was the most beautiful jacket I have ever seen just lying on the floor. She clearly does not realize how fangtastique her creations are. The details—”

“Not to be a fashion-pessimista, but it’s after midnight, so what do you say we save the dramatic retelling of her clothes until tomorrow?” Venus said as she started back down the stairs with Chewy in hand.

A couple days later, Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus found themselves seated at the counter in the Stein family kitchen. The stainless-steel room was filled with an array of modern appliances, oddly colored vials, and a professional sewing machine. Yet even with all these contraptions the kitchen somehow still managed to feel both warm and familial.

“Frankie tells me the Creepateria food can get a little repetitive,” Mrs. Stein said as she placed a plate of BLTs—beast, lettuce, and tomato—on the counter.

“Mother, I never said repetitive. I said bland,” Frankie exclaimed, and then turned toward the trio. “It’s like they’ve never even heard of pepper! And pepper is so voltage!”

“I love pepper. Pepper really is the best. Absolutely swell. Say, Frankie, would you care to see my peppercorn collection? I just so happen to have it with me in my school bag,” Robecca babbled clumsily as she stood up.

“Wait, you have a peppercorn collection?” Frankie asked Robecca. “And you carry it around with you?”

“Yes, I do,” Robecca fibbed poorly. “So what do you say? Do you want to see my peppercorn collection or not?”

“I thought we told her to be subtle,” Venus muttered discreetly to Rochelle.

“Clearly subtle is a subjective concept,” Rochelle whispered back to Venus. “As are credible fibs… a peppercorn collection? What was she thinking?”

“You want me to come with you right now? But we’re about to eat,” Frankie explained to Robecca.

“Oh, go on, dear. It sounds like tons of fun,” Mrs. Stein said, winking at her mint-green daughter playfully.

“All right,” Frankie agreed reluctantly, and then stood and followed Robecca out of the room.

Once alone with Frankie’s mother, Rochelle promptly took out Venus’s iCoffin, pulled up the picture of the list, and showed it to Mrs. Stein.

“Pardonnez-moi, Madame Stein. Do you have any idea what this list might mean? Why Headmistress Bloodgood’s and Hexiciah Steam’s names are circled?” Rochelle questioned the woman directly.

“Talk about dying on the vine; do any of my friends know how to be subtle?” Venus moaned to herself as a startled Mrs. Stein took the iCoffin from Rochelle.

After staring at the photographed document for a few seconds, Mrs. Stein turned a pasty shade of white, or more precisely an extremely pale shade of green. Then, as Rochelle and Venus exchanged curious glances, Mrs. Stein quickly dabbed the sweat off her upper lip and tried her best to regain her composure.

“I’m sorry, ghouls, but I haven’t a clue what this list might be,” Mrs. Stein said as she pulled off her apron and placed it on the counter. “Now then, I’m so sorry to run off, but I promised to help Mr. Stein in his laboratory this afternoon, so I really must be going.”

“But…” Venus started to say as Mrs. Stein darted out of the room.

Nearly identical scenes unfolded at Ghoulia’s, Draculaura’s, and Clawdeen’s houses with their parents denying any knowledge of the list. Yet so markedly similar were the reactions that Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus knew they had to be onto something.

“Now remember, Becs, let Rochelle do the talking. I think we can all agree that acting is not your strong suit,” Venus lectured as they mounted the steps to Deuce’s house.

“It’s funny how much I used to swoon at the mere mention of Deuce. And now I consider him no more than a friend. It’s quite surprising. For, when one is in the throes of a crush, it seems utterly impossible that the emotions might change or wane,” Rochelle finished as she rang the doorbell.

Deuce’s mother, Mrs. Gorgon, answered the door in a long green caftan and oversize Croako Chanel sunglasses. Not that anyone noticed, since they were all rather taken aback by her wild head of orange, yellow, and red snakes. Much like a sunset, the snakes’ skins seemed to bleed into one another as they slithered animatedly around her head.

“Hello, young ghouls, may I help you?” Mrs. Gorgon asked in a kind yet formal manner.

“Boo-jour, Mrs. Gorgon, we’re Deuce’s friends Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus.”

“Ah yes, of course, I’ve heard much about you three. Unfortunately, Deuce isn’t home yet, but you’re welcome to come in and wait,” she said with a smile, stepping back and motioning for the trio to enter. “And please call me Medusa.”

Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus were led into a Goreroccan-style living room with arched windows and sumptuous couches covered in red snakeskin.

“Please have a seat,” Medusa said warmly to the ghouls. “May I offer you some English Dreadfast tea?”

“Oh, that would be swell! I can even boil the water if you’d like,” Robecca offered sweetly.

“That’s very kind of you, but you needn’t trouble yourself,” Medusa said as a snake flapped about on her neck. “Snakes can be so unruly,” she said as she swatted at it. “They’re a bit like trolls; they never listen to anyone.”

And with that Mrs. Gorgon sashayed out of the living room.

“She’s trés sophisticated, n’est-ce pas?” Rochelle said to Venus and Robecca.

“Totally,” Venus said as she pulled up the photograph of the list on her iCoffin.

“Heavens to Batsy!” Robecca said with a gulp. “Do you think she made that statue herself?”

Standing next to the fireplace was an intricate and lifelike stone statue of a bat.

“It looks seriously realistic,” Venus commented as she stood to get a closer look.

“Ah, I see you’ve spotted last week’s little mishap,” Medusa said as she entered carrying a tray of tea.

“It’s very becoming to the fireplace.” Rochelle inelegantly attempted to cover up their interest in the statue.

“Sometimes I forget to put my sunglasses on and then things like this happen. But not to worry, he’ll be back to normal in a week or two,” Medusa said as she began to pour Robecca’s tea. “Ghouls, I’m sorry to say that Deuce just texted, and he’s been delayed by Cleo. You know mummies, they’re easy to get wrapped up in.”

“Oh, we understand,” Venus said. “But since we’re here, could we ask you a question?”

“Of course,” she replied as she attempted to calm her snakes with another pat of the hand.

Venus then walked over and placed the iCoffin on the table in front of Mrs. Gorgon, who shortly thereafter inspected the picture.

“Hmmm. How strange that Ramses’s name is missing,” Deuce’s mom muttered almost inaudibly to herself.

“Pardonnez-moi? What was that you said?” Rochelle asked inquisitively, tapping her nails atop the metal coffee table.

“Nothing. I said nothing. Now, ghouls, if you’ll excuse me, I have much work to attend to,” Medusa said as she rose from her seat and handed Venus back her iCoffin.

“But if we could—”

“I’m sorry, but I simply don’t have time for any more questions,” Medusa interrupted Venus harshly.

And with that she rushed Robecca, Rochelle, and Venus back through the house and out the door with a firm push.