“That’s him!” Abyssma shouted. “That’s Ozzy!”
“Where could he be heading in such a hurry?” Bitterly wondered.
“Miss Viper gave him to Wither,” Abyssma said. “Maybe he’s following her.”
“Then maybe we should follow him,” Bitterly said. “Wither needs us, guys.”
“I can’t go,” Belladonna said. “I’ve got to find a way to get Vex out of my little girl’s dreams.”
“Come on, Bell,” Bitterly pleaded. “We’ll find Wither and make sure she’s OK, then we’ll all help you deal with Vex.”
“I don’t know . . .” Belladonna hesitated. Abyssma jumped in front of Belladonna, her eyes wide with excitement. “Come on, Bell, it’ll be an adventure!” she begged.
“Really?” Belladonna asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Total. Adventure. Awesomeness,” Abyssma said matter-of-factly.
Belladonna adjusted her glasses. “Fine.”
Bitterly put her hand out. “All those in favor, say ‘Pinkaboo.’”
Abyssma put a hoof on top of Belladonna’s hand. “Pinkaboo,” she smiled.
With a sigh, Belladonna put her hand on theirs. “Pinkaboo,” she muttered.
Wither sat at the top of the hill overlooking Fright School. She had been going there for so long—listening to Miss Viper’s lectures and playing with the other frights—but now it seemed like it was all for nothing. She wouldn’t have a little girl of her own to help.
She looked out over the school grounds and wiped her tears away with a handful of loose bandages. She so badly wanted to have a little girl of her own she could teach to overcome her fears. She wiped at her tears again and sniffed.
“It’s not fair,” a voice said behind her. Startled, she turned around.
It was Vex.
Last term, Vex had tormented Wither’s friends Abyssma, Belladonna, and Bitterly, calling them “Pinkaboos” and bullying them at school. Bitterly had stood up to Vex and even embraced the word “Pinkaboo,” leaving Vex no way to tease them. This year, Vex had disappeared. She no longer went to classes and seemed to have dropped out of Fright School altogether.
“I don’t want to talk to you, Vex,” Wither said bravely.
Vex sat down beside Wither. She followed Wither’s gaze and looked out over Fright School.
“Wow, you really can see the whole school from up here,” Vex said.
“What do you want, Vex?” Wither asked suspiciously.
“I heard you didn’t get a little girl assigned to you,” Vex said.
“You heard that already?” Wither gasped.
“Oh, yes. The whole school knows. Everyone’s talking about it.” Vex nodded.
“I’ve been trying so hard,” Wither said as another tear ran down her cheek.
“I know,” Vex replied. “Miss Viper won’t give you a little girl ever,” she added.
“How do you know that?” Wither asked.
“Trust me, I know Miss Viper,” Vex said.
“Why should I believe you?” Wither asked. “You were the school bully.”
“OK, fine,” Vex said, as she started to turn away. “I’ll just go and find some other fright who likes being appreciated.”
“Wait,” Wither said. “What do you mean?”
“I know a place where underappreciated frights can show the world what they are capable of,” Vex said. “Come with me, and you’ll have your own little girl by sundown.”
“Where is this place?” Wither asked.
“Oh, it’s just a place I know,” Vex answered with a smile.
Wither looked out at the school. She saw the outline of Miss Viper as she left her classroom and slithered home to her cave. Miss Viper wouldn’t betray her, she thought. She would get her own little girl eventually.
“That’s OK.” Wither shook her head. “I’d rather stay here.”
“Just come check it out. If you don’t like it, you can leave anytime you want.”
Wither looked at Vex and shook her head again. “It doesn’t feel right.”
“Fine, then. Just stay here and watch all the other frights get little girls!”
With that, Vex flexed her wings and rose into the air.
Wither watched as Miss Viper disappeared into her cave.
“Wait,” she murmured.
Chapter 5
Miss Viper was in an uncharacteristically bad mood at Fright School the next day. Lots of extra hissing was heard, lots of bad grades were handed out, and Oblivia got detention for being careless with her fireballs. Miss Viper seemed distracted by the empty seat in the second row . . . Wither’s seat.
After class, Oblivia stayed behind to serve her detention.
“Now, Oblivia,” Miss Viper said sternly. “Throwing fireballs around here is one thing, but you must remember, never use your magic in a little girl’s dream.”
“Yes, Miss Viper,” Oblivia sulked.
Miss Viper slithered over to the large arch-shaped window and looked out at the schoolyard as frights played hopscotch, jumped rope, and practiced scaring one another. She sighed.
“The good news is, I’ve got some footage of your little girl’s nightmare.”
“Izzy?” Oblivia asked, perking up.
“Yes. Izzy saw a commercial for a grown-up zombie TV show. The fear it created in her allowed a group of zombies to enter her dreams.”
“Why do grown-ups even like shows about zombies?” Oblivia asked. “They seem kind of boring to me.”
“Grown-ups are strange humans,” Miss Viper hissed. “I have yet to understand them.”
“Do grown-ups have nightmares?” Oblivia asked.
“Yes, but their nightmares are usually about weird things like too much laundry and some odd pieces of paper they call ‘bills,’” Miss Viper said. “I have yet to be able to find a way to scare a buildup of paper or dirty socks.”
With that, she pulled a remote from the air, and a screen dropped down from the ceiling.
“I want you to watch Izzy’s bad dream, Oblivia, and think of ways you can scare her zombies away. I’ll see you tomorrow in class.” Miss Viper touched the top of her head with her wand. “And remember, no magic,” she added as she disappeared, leaving Oblivia alone in the classroom.
On the screen, Izzy ran through a forest.
“Mwwwwaaaahhh!” The zombies, with arms outstretched, were slow, but no matter how fast Izzy ran, Oblivia noticed, they were always right behind her.
Izzy hid behind a tree, panting, her brown hair tousled in the wind, when suddenly the channel changed to show Vex standing in front of a large, imposing building. Vex began to speak.
“Are you tired of Fright School? Try Nightmare Academy, a brand-new trade school that will give you all the tools you need for success. With classes like Fright Culture 101 and Psycho-ology, Nightmare Academy beats Fright School by . . . well . . . a whole bunch.”
A montage on the screen showed Vex teaching in front of a classroom as eager frights took notes.
Oblivia wasn’t sure what it all meant, but she watched intently. Vex appeared back on the screen saying, “What’s that? You want to help a little girl? Those were the old days. Scientific studies have proven that helping little girls can actually cause fright flu and that scaring little girls gives frights seventy-eight percent more energy. Plus, nine out of ten little girls say they secretly love being scared.”
The commercial cut to a pair of frights Oblivia recognized. They were Vex’s friends, twins named Glower and Pox. “I’m so glad I enrolled in Nightmare Academy,” Glower deadpanned as Vex stood behind her. Vex poked them both in the back, and Pox forced a smile. “Now we’ve got our very own little girl we can scare whenever we want. Yay,” she said with the enthusiasm of a soggy muffin.
Vex pushed Glower and
Pox aside and announced, “Now is the time to get yourself enrolled in Nightmare Academy to take advantage of this outrageous offer—all-you-can-eat bone soup in the school cafeteria—plus a free bonus class, Introduction to Nightmareology. Classes are filling up faster than you can say ‘Boo!’ so send in your application today.”
The channel switched back to Izzy running through the forest.
Oblivia stared at the screen in amazement. “Wow,” she whispered.
Chapter 6
The Pinkaboos had followed Ozzy all night through the Forest of Bones, around the Lake of Goo, and into the Haunted Hills. Just when Abyssma thought her hooves could not take another step, Ozzy circled a hill with a bony old tree growing out the side, then disappeared.
“Hey, where’d he go?” Belladonna asked. Bitterly ran up the hill and looked over the other side. “There’s a cave over here. I think Ozzy flew in.”
The frights approached the cave. Abyssma stood at the entrance and sniffed the air. “I don’t like this. The cave smells . . . angry.”
“How can something smell angry?” Belladonna asked as she peeked around the corner of the cave entrance and stared into the darkness.
“I don’t know,” Abyssma said. “How does anything smell like anything? All I know is that it smells angry.”
The frights slowly edged toward the cave’s entrance. Ozzy flew to the top of the ceiling of the cave and began dive-bombing the frights from the inside.
“Duck!” Bitterly yelled.
“Why is he doing this?” Abyssma cried, curling up into a ball on the ground.
Ozzy swooped down and hung upside down from Bitterly’s belt. He turned his head, looked up at her, and belted out, “Meeeep!”
“Well, that’s something,” Belladonna smiled.
“OK, we have to be quiet,” Bitterly whispered to Ozzy. “I’m pretty sure this is Vex’s cave, and if we are going in there, I’d rather not announce it to her,” Bitterly said. “Bell, do you know any spells that might help us see down there?”
Raising her hands up, Belladonna whispered, “Solmuttamutta,” and pinched off a tiny piece of the sun with her fingers and set it to rest on her shoulder.
Abyssma kicked at some rocks. “Show-off,” she mumbled.
Bitterly grinned at her friend’s skill. “OK you two, let’s go,” she said as she turned and led the way inside.
Bitterly navigated carefully through the rocky cave. As the two frights trekked behind her, the passage narrowed into a downward-sloping tunnel.
Belladonna started to think about how close the walls were. She couldn’t help herself. She cleared her throat. Belladonna hated being in small spaces.
She’d been secretly worried about going into the cave since they’d followed Ozzy to it. Hiding her fear from the other Pinkaboos had been easy when they were still close to the entrance, but now that they were so far inside, she was having a very hard time being brave.
“Are you OK, Bell?” Abyssma asked. “You don’t look so good.”
Belladonna wondered if there was enough air down there to breathe. The thought of this upset her, which led to her breathing faster. Breathing faster made her worry that she was using up the little bit of air that was down there, which made her worry even more whether there was enough air, which made her breathe even faster, which made her worry more . . . Belladonna sat down, breathing so hard she couldn’t explain what she was doing. She just knew that she had to sit down or she was going to pass out.
“Bitterly! Something’s wrong with Bell!” Abyssma shouted.
Bitterly rushed to her friend and grabbed Belladonna’s hand. “Bell, are you OK?”
“Stop. Talking. You’re. Using. Up. The. Air,” Belladonna panted .
Ozzy started flapping his wings frantically.
“Stop. Flapping. Up. All. The. Air,” Belladonna continued to gasp.
“Using up the air?” Bitterly said with a confused glance at Abyssma. “What are you talking about? There’s lots of air.”
“Oh, I think she’s afraid of closed-in spaces!” Abyssma shouted. “I saw her freak out in the school’s dungeon once.”
Bitterly nodded and looked Belladonna in the eyes. “Listen, Bell, you need to close your eyes and imagine you’re someplace you love. Someplace like . . . the park.”
“I. Hate. The. Park,” Belladonna managed.
“OK, OK, OK, what about . . . the library? Picture yourself in the school library. With its big, high roof and wide-open spaces—and books. Shelves and shelves of books,” Bitterly said. The Pinkaboos waited and watched as Belladonna’s breathing slowed down. They could see her start to relax.
“You’re in the library, Bell. Surrounded by the musty smell of old books,” Bitterly suggested. “Now all you have to do is stand up and walk down one of the aisles. You can keep your eyes closed and just follow me. Here, put your hand on my back.”
Belladonna stood up with her eyes closed and followed Bitterly as instructed. She started breathing heavily and stumbled a few times on some loose rocks, but she caught herself and kept going.
After what seemed like forever, Bitterly stopped and whispered, “I think you can open your eyes now.”
Chapter 7
Belladonna opened one eye and took a peek. The tunnel had opened up into a huge room. The walls were lined with dozens—maybe hundreds—of screens looking out at the dreams of little girls from all over the world. The Pinkaboos’ mouths hung open as they stepped into the room. Lanterns along the walls cast plenty of light, so Belladonna popped the piece of sun into her pocket. Suddenly Ozzy let out a loud “Meeeep!”
Before they knew it, he had flown off Bitterly’s shoulder and was throwing himself against one of the screens.
“What is going on here?” Bitterly asked.
“Look!” Belladonna said. “It’s Wither.”
“Meeeep!” Ozzy screeched, seeing his squeaky toy still tangled up in Wither’s bandages.
The three frights gathered around the screen. It showed Wither and Vex talking in a large, dark house.
“Oh, no!” Bitterly said. “Wither is with Vex! We need to get in there.”
“Yes, but first I need to find something,” Belladonna muttered urgently.
“What?” Bitterly asked.
“Vex’s spellbook,” Belladonna answered. She smiled. “I’m going to make a few edits.”
“A few changes . . . that’s a great idea!” Bitterly laughed.
“Meeeep!” Ozzy bashed himself against another screen, on which a little girl was wandering around looking afraid. She seemed to be in a classic haunted house nightmare. Wither and Vex were sneaking up behind her. The squeaky toy was dragging behind Wither, making Ozzy go crazy.
“Belladonna! Isn’t that Ava?” Bitterly asked.
“It is!” Belladonna shouted. “We need to go help her! I know a spell that can get us into her dream.”
“B—but I’ve never been in a little girl’s dream before,” Abyssma stuttered nervously.
“That’s OK,” Belladonna said. “You’ll do great. Just follow my lead.”
“But I get motion sickness—whoa!” Abyssma was interrupted by Ozzy zooming past her and landing back on Bitterly’s belt. Belladonna began chanting a spell. The room around them started to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster until Abyssma had to close her eyes.
“I. Do. Not. Like. Thiiiiissssss,” Abyssma wailed.
Belladonna felt the tingle of being transported from the fright world into the dream world. It started at the tips of her toes and crawled up her feet, her legs, and then her whole body. There was that brief moment between worlds where she lost her sense of time and everything just felt cozy and black, like the deepest sleep where there are no dreams . . . then suddenly everything came rushing back to meet her.
They were in a big, cree
py mansion. It was covered in spiderwebs and dust, and the floors creaked. After getting her bearings, Belladonna looked around for her friends. Abyssma was lying on her side in the corner moaning and looking pretty sick; her horns were an unusual shade of green. Bitterly was already standing up, looking around the room.
“OK, this seems to be a haunted house nightmare,” Bitterly said. “That means we should stick together. Haunted house nightmares are always trying to get you separated.”
“Sounds good,” Belladonna agreed. “Let’s check the basement first. Mary Prickles’s classic textbook, Renovating Nightmares: A Fright’s Guide to Haunted Houses, says that ghosts and monsters prefer to work in the basement since that’s the scariest place for most kids.”
“I’m going to be sick,” Abyssma managed through clenched teeth.
“You’ll be fine,” Bitterly assured her, patting her on the back. “Besides, what’s a little barf between friends?”
Just as Bitterly said this, Abyssma threw up all over Bitterly’s shoes. Bitterly looked down in disgust as Abyssma stood up.
“You’re right,” Abyssma said with a smile. “I feel better already.” After wiping her face on a dusty curtain, Abyssma marched right through the brittle old door, smashing right through it.
Belladonna looked at Bitterly and shrugged before turning and following through the Abyssma-shaped hole in the wall. Bitterly stomped her feet and wiped them on the carpet to get them as clean as possible before hurrying after her friends.
The Pinkaboos: Belladonna and the Nightmare Academy Page 2
