The Pinkaboos: Belladonna and the Nightmare Academy

by Jake Gosselin

  Chapter 8

  Ava was hiding behind a couch, shaking in fear, her eyes shut tight. She could hear the wicked laughter of her now-familiar nightmare, Vex.

  “It’s time to be afraid again, Ava.”

  “Go away!” Ava screamed.

  “No, I think I’ll stay,” Vex said. “In fact I’ve brought some friends.”

  Ava peeked between her fingers to see what new horror Vex was unleashing on her. Slowly raising her head above the couch, she saw an ancient coffin covered in carvings of spiders, snakes, and scorpions. Unable to look away, Ava watched as Vex

  stepped out of the darkness and placed her hand on the lid of the dusty old coffin.

  “Inside this box is the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered beast ever known,” Vex said as she slid her hand along the side of the box, where it came to rest on the handle. “Shall I show you?” Vex grinned as she lifted the lid to reveal . . . a strange little creature wrapped entirely in what looked like toilet paper.

  Ava’s hand dropped from her face, and she looked directly at the creature in the box. It was actually kind of cute.

  Vex sensed the change in Ava’s attitude. She stammered, “Uh . . . terrible creature, rise and attack!”

  Wither opened her eyes, raised her arms forward as if she were leaning on the shoulders of some invisible assistant in front of her, and staggered out of the coffin. Vex grinned as Ava’s face started to show signs of being afraid again—when Wither tripped over her bandages and fell forward onto her face.

  “Ow, my nose!” exclaimed Wither.

  Ava let out a little giggle.

  Vex rolled her eyes and covered her face with the palm of her hand. “How am I supposed to work with this?”

  Grabbing her by the bandages, Vex lifted Wither up and set her back on her feet. “Look, maybe you should just watch me for a bit, OK?” Vex implored.

  Vex shook her head and turned her attention back to Ava. “The nightmare known as Wither is . . . umm . . . refueling her evil to better scare you later!” Vex then put on her scariest smile as she walked slowly toward Ava. “I, however, am fully prepared to give you a nightmare that you will never forget.”

  Ava ducked back behind the couch and hugged her knees close to her chest. She knew what this meant. She had been tormented by Vex plenty of times already.

  “But why should I have all the fun?” Vex asked, “when we have mutual friends who would love to join us.” Vex approached a dingy closet and whipped the doors open. Three howling ghosts poured out of the closet and flew into the air, circling above Ava.

  “No!” Ava screamed as the ghosts howled in glee at her fear.

  Vex laughed as Wither nervously nibbled the bandages at the ends of her fingers, when a shaft of light appeared from the door at the top of the staircase.

  “Hey, guys, I found them. They’re all in the basement just like Bell said they’d be!” Bitterly stood smiling at the top of the stairs.

  Ozzy saw Wither and, more importantly, his squeaky toy tangled in her bandages. He flew down the stairs and chased Wither, who ran around frantically yelling, “Stop it, Ozzy. Heel! Heel!”

  Tripping over her bandages, Wither crashed into Vex, causing them both to fall over.

  Ava smiled.

  Ozzy ran into Wither at full speed but somehow managed to latch on to his squeaky toy.

  Ava laughed.

  Ozzy frantically tried to fly away with his doll, but his claws had also grabbed hold of Wither’s bandages. As Ozzy flew in circles, Wither began unraveling.

  Ava laughed so hard that she had to lean against the couch and catch her breath.

  “Gah!” Vex shouted.

  Suddenly, Bitterly was bumped aside as a large streak of pink and white shot past her down the stairs and slammed into Vex. Vex sailed through the air and landed upside down in the old closet. Abyssma, her horns an angry red, stood huffing over Vex.

  “Time to go, Vex,” Abyssma said through clenched teeth. “This nightmare is over.”

  “Ahhh, Abyssma,” Vex said as she stood up and dusted herself off. “I thought I smelled something terrible.”

  Abyssma paused, sniffed under her armpit, then shrugged.

  Belladonna and Bitterly ran quickly down the stairs to stand beside their friend. “Grab your ghosts and go,” Belladonna said. “There’s no more fear for you here.”

  “Oh, it’s not that easy, my little Pinkaboo,” Vex mocked.

  She flew over to Ava and landed right in front of her. She looked down and gave a big, fanged smile.

  Ava covered her eyes and dove back behind the couch.

  “Don’t be afraid!” Bitterly yelled to Ava. “Vex is nothing but a bully.”

  “Not even a good one,” added Abyssma.

  Vex turned to Bitterly. “So my old friend Bitterly wants to play,” she said with a smirk. “Perfect. You always did charge me up.”

  Vex turned to Bitterly while chanting, “Faaz, kurrant, fizzal!”

  Lightning leaped from Vex’s fingertips toward Bitterly.

  Bitterly dove behind an old chest of drawers. The lightning struck the chest and it exploded into a troop of purple monkeys.

  The monkeys climbed the stairs and bolted out the door, leaving Bitterly lying on the ground with her hands over her head. “Are you crazy, Vex? You can’t use magic in a dream! It’s unpredictable and dangerous. You could hurt everyone!”

  “Oh, no!” Vex mocked. “I wouldn’t want anyone to get a boo-boo.”

  Belladonna ran over to Ava and dove behind the couch next to her.

  “Who are you?” Ava asked.

  “You can call me Bell,” Belladonna said. “I help scare bad guys away.”

  “Great. She’s bad,” Ava said glancing up at Vex, who was starting to cast another spell. “Can you get rid of her?”

  “Definitely,” Belladonna said. “I’m just going to need a little help from you first.”

  “Me?” Ava exclaimed. “What can I do?”

  “Think of a place you love,” Belladonna said. “A place where you’re comfortable and safe. Now, imagine yourself there.”

  “Why?” Ava asked.

  “Because you’re in a dream and you can control it,” Belladonna said while glancing nervously up at Vex, who had turned her attention back to Ava and was in the middle of casting a spell. “Do it! Do it now!”

  Chapter 9

  Belladonna, Abyssma, and Bitterly found themselves standing on a basketball court. Ava peeked out at them from behind the bleachers.

  “Who are you guys, anyway?” Ava asked. “And where’s the mean girl with the torn-up wings?”

  “Vex? I don’t know,” Belladonna said, looking around.

  Ava slowly walked out from behind the bleachers, clutching her basketball. Belladonna took a couple of steps toward her.

  “We’re frights,” she began. “We’re from the Land of the Frights and we’re here to help you stand up to your fears,” Belladonna said.

  “What’s the Land of the Frights?” Ava asked.

  “It’s a really cool place that’s spooky but fun!” Abyssma said excitedly, her horns changing to pink polka dots.

  “We all go to Fright School, where we learn how to scare away the bad dreams of little girls,” Bitterly said. “Our teacher, Miss Viper, assigned Belladonna to you!”

  “Whoa,” Ava cooed. “This is just really awesome—”

  Suddenly, the room went dark.

  “Oh, no . . . it’s happening again,” Ava said with a quiver in her voice.

  The three frights huddled around Ava as the door of the basketball court suddenly burst open.

  Vex walked boldly through the doors as Wither scurried behind her. Wither had tied Ozzy to the end of her bandages, and he flew above her like a kite, happily chewing on his sque
aky toy.

  “Ahhh, the basketball court again,” Vex laughed.

  Ava stepped forward from the frights toward Vex.

  “I’m good at basketball,” Ava said bravely. “I like it here.”

  “You know who else likes it here?” Vex asked. “My GHOSTS!”

  Vex flipped open her spellbook and conjured a spell, twisting her hands together in the air.

  “Blarghenshfla-ghostinfunnyhat!” The door flew open. Ghosts of every shape and size poured in, whooshing and whirling, spinning and diving.

  Ava ducked and covered her eyes. But Bitterly, Belladonna, Abyssma, and even Wither started to laugh.

  Ava opened her eyes. All the ghosts were wearing silly hats. One was in a cowboy hat; another was wearing a bonnet with flowers on it. Yet another ghost was whirling around wearing bunny ears.

  Ava grinned. “Hey, that one’s cooking up some laughs!” she yelled, pointing to a ghost wearing a chef’s hat.

  “What is this?” Vex screeched. She frantically flipped through her spellbook and tried again.

  “Blong-ghendoral-squeakytoy!” she proclaimed.

  Suddenly, Vex’s hands transformed into razor-sharp claws. She held them up to Ava and smiled wickedly. Ava stared at them, trembling with fear, until one by one, each finger turned into a squeaky toy.

  Seeing this sent Ozzy into a frenzy. He flew down, pulling Wither along with him, and began attacking Vex’s fingers.

  Ava doubled over with laughter. “This is the funniest . . . thing I’ve . . . ever seen!” she cried.

  Wither started laughing, too.

  “Meeeep!” Ozzy replied as he grabbed one of Vex’s fingers and began shaking it back and forth.

  “Stop him!” Vex yelled at Wither. “You’re on my side, remember?”

  “I can’t!” Wither laughed. “He’s crazy!” By now, all the frights were laughing as Ozzy attacked

  Vex’s squeaky-toy fingers. Wither looked over at Belladonna and smiled.

  “I don’t think I’m very good at scaring,” she said. She looked over at Ava and added, “You know what I am good at, though? Making little girls laugh.”

  Chapter 10

  Bitterly, Belladonna, Abyssma, and Wither felt such a burst of energy after leaving Ava’s dream, they went out for slices of insect pie and grasshopper shakes to celebrate their victory over Vex.

  Ozzy sat at their feet, greedily eating from a bowl filled with bugs.

  “Miss Viper is going to be sooooo excited when she finds out Ava is free of her nightmares!” Bitterly exclaimed as she gobbled up the last bit of pie on her plate.

  “I can’t believe you changed Vex’s spellbook, Belladonna!” Wither laughed.

  “I know, I know,” Belladonna replied. “It worked like a charm!”

  Bitterly turned to Wither. “Wither, you did great!”

  Wither smiled and hugged Bitterly. “I’m sorry I tried to become a nightmare,” she whispered in Bitterly’s ear. Bitterly hugged her back. “Your strengths may not be in scaring away nightmares, but teaching little girls to laugh in the face of fear is just as important,” she said.

  The four frights finished the last of their pie. Wither smiled as she tied Ozzy to her bandages and once again flew him above her like a kite.

  “You know what?” she said, chuckling. “This crazy bat is starting to grow on me.”

  With hearts happy knowing Ava would sleep soundly that night, the frights began the walk home beneath the crescent moon.

  “I’m so excited to get my little girl!” Abyssma smiled as they ambled along the winding path, her horns changing from pink to purple polka dots. “I wonder if she has any pets, like dragons or sea monsters!”

  “Human kids have things called dogs and cats,” Belladonna said.

  “What are dogs and cats?” Abyssma asked.

  “Some of them wag these things called tails,” Belladonna said thoughtfully. “And some make a purring sound.”

  “Oh, no,” Wither murmured.

  “I know it sounds strange to us, but I don’t think it’s all that bad,” Belladonna said. “In fact, I bet they would think it’s strange that we keep werewolves as pets—”

  “No,” Wither said. “Look.”

  Abyssma, Bitterly, and Belladonna followed Wither’s worried gaze.

  Across the dark hills they saw the outline of two figures walking in the moonlight.

  One was tall, with large, torn wings—Vex. The other was a smaller figure from Fright School. It was Oblivia.

  “Follow!” Abyssma screeched. “Follow them!” The frights flitted ahead to catch up. As they drew closer, Belladonna looked behind her to warn the others, “Shhhh. Quiet now!”

  “Meeeep!” Ozzy chirped.

  Vex and Oblivia seemed to be chatting as they disappeared over the top of a steep hill.

  Once they were out of sight, Belladonna waved her arm to her friends, “C’mon!”

  The frights climbed the hill and crouched down low just before they reached the top.

  Belladonna slowly raised her head to peer over the top of the hill. She gasped.

  “What?” Abyssma squeaked. “What is it?”

  “See for yourself,” Belladonna whispered. Bitterly, Wither, and Abyssma peeked over the hill. Down in a valley below was an enormous dark castle. A looming sign hung above the iron gate: “Nightmare Academy.”

  Oblivia and Vex were walking toward it arm in arm and were met by Glower and Pox.

  Draped in front of the entrance was a wide black ribbon. Glower and Pox scurried over to it with an oversized pair of scissors.

  Vex stood before Oblivia, Glower, and Pox and cleared her throat. “This school is dedicated to all frights who feel their talents have been overlooked at Fright School,” she announced. “At my school, you don’t have to wait for Miss Viper to decide when you will get your own little girl. At my school there will be no more long hours of studying. No more pop quizzes. No more detention,” she added, casting a smile to Oblivia. “And more important, we

  can experiment with our magical powers as much as we like. So without further ado, I am thrilled to announce that Nightmare Academy is officially open!”

  Oblivia, Pox, and Glower clapped with delight as Vex cut the ribbon with the oversized scissors.

  “Fright School will become a thing of the past!” Vex yelled, her wings flapping with pride. She flew up off the ground and hovered triumphantly. “I’m your new teacher now!” she bellowed. “Now go ahead, start playing with your magic! Go on. Don’t be shy.”

  With that, Oblivia began throwing large, dangerous-looking fireballs. From her fingertips, Vex shot a long string of green goo that sizzled on the ground. Pox and Glower writhed and twisted their hands in unison and created a shape that slowly grew into a large pink dragon.

  Vex laughed with delight, “Yes—create—be free! You are no longer frights; you are my nightmares!”

  The dragon screeched as flames shot out of its mouth and steam rose from its large nostrils.

  “Behold!” Vex cried. “Our new school mascot!”

  Abyssma’s horns turned red, and she swung her head toward Bitterly and Belladonna, who were watching with their mouths hanging open.

  “Pinkaboos,” she whispered. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Bitterly

  Despite her extreme apprehension about her own abilities, Bitterly is one of the most promising students in Fright School. Bitterly was the first of her class to be assigned a little girl to protect. Naturally gifted, Bitterly has the potential to do great things, but she’ll need to overcome her own fears first.

  Belladonna

  The only thing Belladonna loves more than a good book is her friends. Driven to learn as much as she can, Belladonna spends most of her free time studying. She can recite
any spell in a pinch and is very eager to help her first little girl overcome nightmares.

  Abyssma

  Abyssma is strong, independent, and fiercely loyal to her fellow Pinkaboos. She has a fabulous set of horns that change color when she’s mad. They’re pretty cool. Because she’s the biggest Pinkaboo, bullies tend to keep their distance when she’s around.

  Vex

  Bullies are usually mean because they’re not happy . . . and Vex is the school bully. To make herself feel better, Vex makes the younger frights feel bad about themselves by calling them names. She targets Bitterly and her friends, and Bitterly quickly learns that standing up to her isn’t easy!

  Miss Viper

  Miss Viper is the one and only teacher at Fright School. Since becoming a teacher in the year 1892 (which was a very long time ago), Miss Viper has taught young frights at Fright School how to enter the dreams of little girls to battle their nightmares.

  Make Your Own

  Spooky Ghosts!

  Ava successfully got over her fear of ghosts thanks to the Pinkaboos! Would you like to make your own ghosts? Here’s a cool craft project that you can do.

  You will need:

  White balloons

  Black or clear string

  Cheesecloth

  Black duct tape (or a black sharpie)

  Steps:

  Blow up the balloon and attach it to a string.

  Set the balloon aside while you cut out pieces of cheesecloth in various sizes. You’ll need at least two layers each that are short, medium, and long.