Cleo stretched out her arms and spun around— and narrowly missed knocking another bottle of Boogey Sand off the shelf!
“Watch it!” Frankie warned. “Come on, Cleo, help me search. We’ve got to find werewolf Boogey Sand and sea monster Boogey Sand before we can get out of here.”
“You got it, ghoul,” Cleo replied.
Cleo and Frankie searched the lower shelves while Clawdeen once more scanned the higher ones. Lagoona, still trailing sand whenever she moved, tried to stay out of the way.
“Look!” Cleo cried as she grabbed a bottle filled with dark purple Boogey Sand. “The label says Werewolf!”
“At last!” Clawdeen cheered as she tried to flutter safely back down to the ground. A quick sprinkle of the werewolf Boogey Sand was all it took for Clawdeen to return to her usual monster self. She was so happy she howled, even though there wasn’t a full moon in sight.
“Mates!” Lagoona called. “Would you take a look at that bottle over there? The blue-green one?”
“Sure,” Frankie replied. She picked up the bottle of Boogey Sand and exclaimed, “Lagoona! It’s the sea monster one! How did you know?”
A grin of relief spread across Lagoona’s face. “It’s my favorite color,” she said. “So I took a wild guess!”
Frankie hurried across the room to sprinkle some sea monster Boogey Sand on Lagoona. In an instant, she was back to her usual self too!
Suddenly, an unusual bottle of Boogey Sand caught Frankie’s eye. The Boogey Sand inside looked like it was made of crystals, but the most unusual part was the bright red cap that sealed it closed. Was it a warning?
Frankie had to get a closer look.
“Uh, Frankie?” Clawdeen said. “Shouldn’t we, you know, get out of here before things get worse?”
“We will,” Frankie promised her. “But it’s going to drive my screws loose if I don’t find out what kind of Boogey Sand that is. I’ll be extra-careful, don’t worry!”
She cautiously lifted the bottle of Boogey Sand, making sure to keep one hand over the stopper so it wouldn’t open, and peeked at the tag on the bottom. It read GLUE MONSTER.
“Have you ghouls ever heard of a glue monster?” Frankie asked the others.
“A glue monster?” repeated Cleo. “No, never!”
“I’m glad none of us turned into some glue monster,” Clawdeen joked. “Talk about a sticky situation!”
“I wonder…” Frankie said thoughtfully.
Then she started to unscrew the cap!
“Uh, Frankie?” Lagoona said. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
Frankie reached into her pocket and pulled out Draculaura’s broken iCoffin. “Probably not,” she replied. “But remember earlier, when I said that we needed to strengthen the connections in Draculaura’s iCoffin?”
“Sure,” Cleo replied. “But I don’t know what that has to do with glue monster Sand.”
“This might not work,” Frankie warned her ghoulfriends. “But if my theory is correct, the glue monster Boogey Sand will coat all the connectors and help them stick together. No more loose connections!”
The other ghouls watched warily as Frankie sprinkled a few grains of glue monster Boogey Sand into the back of Draculaura’s iCoffin. The bolts in Frankie’s neck were flashing wildly as she sent a few perfectly timed currents of electricity into the malfunctioning phone.
Then everyone waited, hardly daring to breathe.
Suddenly—szzzzzz!
The electrodes in the back of Draculaura’s phone lit up, sending sizzling pulses of information from one circuit to the next.
“Is that good?” Cleo whispered to Clawdeen.
Frankie finally looked up, beaming with a thousand-watt smile. “It works!” she exclaimed. “It works!”
CHAPTER 9
Draculaura’s iCoffin picked up right where it left off: playing Twyla’s video message.
“Hellooo. It’s me, Twyla. I just saw Draculaura’s video about Monster High and I am intrigued.”
“Whoa! Pause!” Frankie said as she frantically tapped the screen of Draculaura’s phone. “We can’t listen to the rest of it without Draculaura. It’s her iCoffin, after all, and her video message.”
Just then, the door banged open. “Twyla! I finally found you!”
It was Draculaura!
The expression on her face changed from excitement to disappointment to relief to confusion. “Ghoulfriends!” she exclaimed. “I thought I heard Twyla’s voice, but instead I found you! I am so relieved. The Boogey Mansion is like a never-ending maze. I got so mixed-up and turned around!”
“You’re not the only one,” Frankie replied. “We’ve been searching and searching for you! I was starting to get really worried.”
“We couldn’t even find our way out,” said Clawdeen. “But now that you’re here, we can use the Monster Mapalogue to get home.”
“Of course,” Draculaura replied. “I guess you ghouls didn’t have any luck finding Twyla, did you? I’ve been upstairs and downstairs and back upstairs, but there’s still no sign of her anywhere!”
Then Draculaura turned to Cleo and Lagoona. “When did you two get here?” she asked. “I thought you were staying back at Monster High. Did I miss something?”
Cleo and Lagoona exchanged a glance—and a laugh. “It’s a long, globby story,” Lagoona began, “but we’ll fill you in as much as we can.”
Draculaura’s eyes grew wider and wider as Cleo, Lagoona, Frankie, and Clawdeen took turns telling her about everything that had happened. She shook her head in disbelief when they got to the part about the Boogey Sand. “So you’re telling me that I could turn into any kind of monster in the world with just a sprinkle of that stuff?” she asked.
“You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” Cleo said. “I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from the stickiness of being a gooey monster!” Cleo let out a shiver.
“Kind of cool, though, don’t you think?” Draculaura said thoughtfully. “The chance to be a totally different monster, even if only for a day…”
“Maybe,” Clawdeen replied. “But honestly? I’d wait until you meet Twyla and her dad before messing with their Boogey Sand, just to be on the safe side.”
Draculaura glanced around the room again. “Speaking of Twyla, I could’ve sworn I heard her voice,” she said. “My ears must’ve been playing tricks on me, just like this creepy house.”
“Actually, you did hear Twyla,” Frankie said. She held up Draculaura’s iCoffin with a flourish. “Ta-da!”
“My phone!” Draculaura shrieked in excitement. She practically catapulted over Lagoona to reach it. “You fixed it! Thank you, Frankie!”
“Don’t thank me—thank Mr. Boogey,” Frankie said with a laugh. “It was the glue monster Boogey Sand that saved the day.”
“At last, we can finally watch the rest of Twyla’s message!” Draculaura said eagerly.
The ghouls crowded around as Draculaura pressed PLAY. Twyla’s image, with her long purple-and-mint-green-streaked hair, flashed onto the screen. There was no static this time and no wavy lines of interference: just a perfect picture and crystal-clear audio.
“Hellooo,” she said. “It’s me, Twyla. I just saw Draculaura’s video about Monster High and I am intrigued. A school for monsters? That’s pretty spooktacular. It’s almost impossible to imagine a place where monsters can just be themselves… even a Boogey-ghoul like me. I’ve been thinking a lot, and while I am so, so glad that Monster High exists… I’m just not quite sure it would be right for me. I love my alone time—like, I love it—and to be totally honest, I’m not sure how I’d feel about going to a big school with other monsters. The truth is, I get kind of anxious when I think about going to new places, trying new things, meeting new monsters—just like Dad. So for now, I think I’ll stay put. It’s probably better that way. Out.”
As the screen went black, a terrible realization settled over Draculaura. “Ghouls,” she said. “We’ve made a terrible mistake.”
&nbs
p; “What was that, anyway?” Cleo asked indignantly. “What was the point?”
“I don’t understand,” Clawdeen added. “Why would Twyla send you that video when she didn’t even want to come to Monster High?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t think it matters,” Draculaura replied. She buried her face in her hands. “I feel so bad right now. I can’t believe we came here—”
“Hey,” Frankie said as she wrapped her arm around Draculaura’s shoulders. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It really did seem like Twyla wanted to come to Monster High and like they were inviting us in to the Boogey Mansion. We didn’t know any better.”
“I was just so eager to find Twyla and bring her to Monster High… it never even occurred to me that maybe she wasn’t ready to join us,” Draculaura replied. “Ugh! No wonder she never appeared when we called her name! She’s probably been hiding from us since we first barged in to her home! This is so bad!”
“If only we’d known,” Lagoona said, “we never would’ve disturbed their privacy like this. I wish there was a way we could tell Twyla and her dad how sorry we are.”
A bright flush of embarrassment crept into Draculaura’s face. “We owe them the biggest apology,” she said. Then she fished around in her pocket for the Skullette. “But the best thing we can do right now is get out of here—the quicker, the better!”
Without another word, the other ghouls placed their fingers on the Skullette. “Monster High… Exsto… monstrum,” Draculaura said in a rush.
Whoosh!
CHAPTER 10
Draculaura and her ghoulfriends were instantly transported back to Monster High. They landed in the middle of the Creepeteria, where Dracula was enjoying a midafternoon Mummy Mocha. He was so surprised to see them that he spilled his drink on the table!
One look at the ghouls’ faces told Dracula that their latest rescue mission had not been a success. He crossed the room and gave Draculaura a big hug.
“Oh, Dad.” Draculaura’s voice was muffled. “What a disaster!”
“I want to hear everything,” he replied. “But first, everyone take a seat. I’m going to get some snacks and some Mummy Mochas. You ghouls look like you need it!”
A few minutes later, Dracula returned with two trays: one filled with creepcakes and the other with five piping hot Mummy Mochas. Draculaura took a sip of her favorite drink and managed a smile. “Thanks, Dad,” she said. “This was just what I needed.”
“Are you ready to tell me what happened at the Boogey Mansion?” Dracula asked.
“Which horrible part do you want to hear first?” Draculaura asked with a heavy sigh. “The part where we got totally mixed up and lost and stumbled into one boogey prank after another? The part where Boogey Sand transformed my ghoulfriends into totally different monsters? Or the part where we were basically trespassing because Twyla never even wanted to come to Monster High?”
Dracula winced. “But I thought she sent you a video—” he began.
“That’s the worst part!” Draculaura interrupted him. “We only saw the first half before my iCoffin died. But when we were in the Boogey Mansion, Frankie figured out how to fix it and we watched the rest of Twyla’s video. While Twyla was recording, she decided that she didn’t want to come to Monster High after all! We never should’ve gone to the Boogey Mansion, Dad! We were trying to rescue a monster who didn’t even want to be rescued.”
“I’m so sorry, ghouls,” Dracula told them. “This must be tremendously disappointing.” After a long pause, Dracula continued. “The truth is, I’m not terribly surprised to hear this.”
The ghouls put down their drinks and stared at him.
“Try to put yourself in Twyla’s shoes,” Dracula said. “She and her dad have always been very private monsters. Even before the great monster Fright Flight, the Boogey Man kept to himself. Why would we expect them to change now?”
“That’s a good point,” Frankie said thoughtfully. “But Twyla at least sounded like she was really intrigued by Monster High.”
“Yeah,” added Lagoona hopefully. “She just said she wasn’t sure about attending right now. Maybe she’ll change her mind in the future.”
“Maybe she will,” Dracula replied. “I always used to wonder if the Boogey Man would enjoy attending one of my parties, if only he’d give it a chance.”
“When I think about Twyla’s video, it was almost like she talked herself out of Monster High,” Draculaura said thoughtfully. “At first, she was super into it. That’s why we rushed off to the Boogey Mansion like we did.”
“But by the end of the video, she was getting all nervous,” Cleo said, nodding in agreement. “It was as though the more she thought about Monster High, the more her imagination ran away with her.”
“Well, in that case, why don’t we show Twyla what Monster High is really like?” Frankie suggested.
“How can we do that if she won’t even come out to say hello when we visit her?” Cleo asked.
Frankie smiled as she tapped Draculaura’s phone. “I have an idea,” she said. “A video tour!”
Draculaura’s mouth dropped open. “Frankie!” she exclaimed. “You are a genius! I was already going to send her a video apology for barging in to the Boogey Mansion. Now we can add a virtual tour of Monster High so Twyla can get a better idea of what it’s really like here.”
“I’m proud of you, ghouls,” Dracula announced. “You’ve never met a problem you couldn’t solve together.”
“Monster teamwork!” Draculaura cried, high-fiving each of her friends. “Now I think we should act fast. I want to send our video tour to Twyla as soon as we can.”
“On it,” Frankie replied as she pulled out her own phone. “Why don’t we split up? We can each film a different section of the school for Twyla, and then we will edit the videos together into one seamless tour. I’ll take the Mad Science lab.”
“Fintastic!” Lagoona cheered. “I’ll show her our awesome pool.”
“Art studio for me!” Clawdeen said.
“I’ll get some footage of the dorm rooms and make sure Twyla knows all about Monster High’s clubs and extracurricular activities,” Cleo said. “There’s going to be something fun for everyone here—even a Boogey-ghoul!”
Frankie turned to Draculaura. “What do you want to film?” she asked.
“My apology,” she said simply.
Filming the Monster High tour video was a big undertaking, but by splitting up the work between them, the ghouls were finished in no time! They met up in Monster High’s Libury, where Frankie uploaded their phone videos to one of the computers.
“There are two videos on my phone,” said Draculaura. “One for the beginning, and one for the end.”
“Voltageous,” Frankie said. “Now let’s splice these together. What do you think about this line up: Draculaura, me, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, and then Draculaura’s second video to close?”
“Sounds good to me,” Clawdeen replied as the other ghouls nodded.
“Take it away, Clawdeen,” Frankie said, scooting over to make room for her at the editing station.
Using the Libury’s video-editing software made it easy for Clawdeen to piece together the different videos. When she was done, she turned around to face the other ghouls. “This is a rough cut,” she warned them. “I added a Tash song for background music, but we could pick a different song if you want.”
“Play it! Play it!” Draculaura said, clapping her hands. “I can’t wait to watch!”
“Lights!” Clawdeen called out. As soon as Lagoona dimmed the lights, Clawdeen played the video. Draculaura’s face appeared on the screen.
“Hi, Twyla,” she said in the video. “It’s me, Draculaura. My ghoulfriends and I were so excited about your video earlier that we did something kind of batty. We rushed right off to the Boogey Mansion to meet you, even though we hadn’t watched all of your video because my iCoffin broke. Now that we’ve watched the entire video, we feel so bad for barging in to your home. I
hope that we didn’t stress you and your dad out too much. And I hope you’ll consider coming to Monster High someday,” Draculaura continued. “We would love to have you join us! And just in case you’re wondering what life at Monster High is really like…”
As Draculaura’s face faded from the screen, the words “WELCOME TO MONSTER HIGH!” appeared in big, bright letters. Creepy-cool doodles—a lightning bolt, a heart, a bat, a beaker, and a skull with a hair bow—surrounded it. Then Frankie appeared, waving as she grinned at the camera.
“Hey, ghoul! I’m Frankie Stein!” she announced. “Science is kind of my thing, so my all-time favorite place in Monster High has got to be the Mad Science lab. I’ve already logged a ton of hours down here, working on inventions and experiments. That’s actually what I love best about Monster High. No matter who you are, you’re welcome at this school—and you’ll find a place that’s just the right fit for you. Hope to see you soon!”
Next up was Clawdeen. Her tour of the art studio was just as enthusiastic as Frankie’s tour of the lab, and she even showed off some of the art projects she’d started to work on, including a clawesome fashion design. “Monster High gives everyone a chance to express themselves,” she finished. “And that’s what I love best about the art studio!”
The image on the screen dissolved to show Lagoona standing at the edge of Monster High’s swimming pool. “Hey, ghoul! I’m Lagoona!” she announced. “I’m the newest monster to come to Monster High, all the way from the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve never been away from home before, and to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s really different here, but different in a good way. Kind of like me!” Lagoona laughed. “Probably my favorite thing about Monster High is that I fit in right away. These ghouls aren’t just my friends; they’re like my family too!”
Next up was Cleo. The other ghouls had never seen her so excited as she listed all of Monster High’s extracurricular activities, from the Casketball team to fearleading.
“And last but not least, I’m going to show you your new room—just in case you decide to move into the dorms!” Cleo announced. “Follow me!”
Monster High: Monster Rescue: Track Down Twyla! Page 6
