This is where the ghoul kids rule

𓋹𓂀

ℤ𝔼ℝ𝔸ℙℍ𝕀ℕ𝔼 sat in class, the faint glow of Mr. Rotter's classroom candles casting flickering shadows across the stone walls. She sat just behind Cleon, her notebook open but untouched as her pen idly twirled between her fingers. The dry, rasping voice of Mr. Rotter filled the room as he scratched words onto the chalkboard.

"Now, with most Dead Languages, in order to conjugate the verb, we first must..." he droned on, his skeletal hand scribbling faint chalk lines that occasionally fell to dust.

Zeraphine leaned forward slightly, her chin propped on her hand, pretending to listen. However, the monotonous lecture quickly blurred into background noise. As she absentmindedly traced patterns on her paper, the shrill sound of her coffin phone vibrating broke the quiet hum of the room.

The noise drew curious glances from her classmates, and Zeraphine quickly snatched the phone from her desk, her crimson-painted nails glinting as she flipped it open. Her sharp intake of breath was audible. Her violet eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the screen.

"Clawdeen, look at this!" Zeraphine whispered urgently, leaning toward her friend seated beside her. She tilted the phone so Clawdeen could see the glowing screen.

"Oh no!" Clawdeen gasped, her amber eyes scanning the screen.

Before either of them could react further, Mr. Rotter turned from the board, his bony hand gesturing toward them. "Very good, Clawdeen," he said "But it's pronounced, Ahhno. It is the rare Ghost of Christmas Past tense." His gaze returning to the board.

The brief reprimand did little to quiet the growing commotion as, one by one, the eerie chime of coffin phones echoed through the room. Students exchanged startled looks before unlocking their screens. Zeraphine's heart sank as she realized everyone had seen the same notification of Spectra's blog.

"They broke up!" Cleon's voice cut through the rising chatter, his tone filled with disbelief. He turned to glance at Zeraphine, his normally confident demeanour faltering.

"Vampy puts Doggy outside for good," Spectra's disembodied voice echoed from the blog post, her hauntingly cheerful tone only amplifying the sting of the words.

Cleon locked eyes with Zeraphine, his blue gaze searching hers for answers. Zeraphine mouthed silently, "I don't know," her expression a mix of confusion and unease.

"Now it was official. Clawd was howling in pain."

Clawd gripped the basketball tightly, his claws pressing into the textured surface as frustration and anger coursed through him. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat a painful reminder of the sting he couldn't shake. With a growl, he hurled the ball with all his might. It shot through the air, slamming into the net so hard it tore through, then ricocheted off a nearby tree before colliding with a stone gargoyle perched on the edge of the roof of the school.

The gargoyle trembled slightly from the impact, but the ball rolled back toward Clawd as if taunting him. He bent down, snatching it up with a low growl as Manny shouted from across the court, "Hey, over here! I'm open!"

Clawd ignored him, his anger boiling over. He dribbled the ball forcefully, the sound echoing off the stone walls surrounding the court. Each bounce was a release of his pent-up emotions, but it wasn't enough.

With a determined snarl, Clawd charged forward, the ball slamming against the ground with every step. He leaped into the air, his muscles coiling as he dunked the ball through the net. The sheer force of his movement sent the ball hurtling downward, striking Manny on the head. Manny grunted as he stumbled backward, collapsing onto the court floor with a heavy thud.

Clawd landed hard, the ball rolling away before he stomped on it, crushing it beneath his foot with a sickening pop. He froze, his shoulders heaving as he stood there, staring down at the deflated remains.

A soft whimper escaped him, breaking through the thick silence that followed. His anger dissolved as the pain he'd tried so hard to suppress surged to the surface. The image of Draculaura, her face filled with regret as she ended things, flashed through his mind.

"We had to talk to Draculaura. But we couldn't find her anywhere, which was way weird."

Zeraphine leaned against the lockers, her expression a mix of concern and frustration as she stood beside Cleon and Clawdeen. Her phone pressed tightly to her ear, she tapped her foot impatiently while listening to the persistent ring of Draculaura's line.

"She's still not picking up," Zeraphine muttered, glancing at Cleon, and lowering her phone with a sigh.

Cleon crossed his arms, his blue eyes fixed on his own phone. "She won't answer," he said, clearly irritated. "I've texted her, like, twenty times already, and Zeraphine's been trying to call her for the past five minutes." His lips curled into a smug grin as he added, "Good thing my dad pays the bills."

Clawdeen, who had been pacing nervously, stopped and spun toward them, her claws flexing as she huffed. "Oh, I am so mad at her! How could she do this to Clawd?" Her voice was sharp, her amber eyes glinting with anger and confusion.

Zeraphine stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on Clawdeen's shoulder. "You and me both," she said softly, her tone steady and supportive.

Before Clawdeen could respond, a familiar voice broke through their tense moment.

"Any luck, mate?" Lagoona asked, approaching the trio with Frankie, Ghoulian, and Abby in tow. Her friendly smile was tinged with worry as her gaze flicked between them.

"No," Cleon replied, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "She's ignoring everything—calls, texts, you name it. She's ghosting us. Literally."

Ghoulian let out a low, despondent groan, adjusting his glasses and glancing at Cleon with an unimpressed look. "Love makes monsters do silly things," Abby chimed in, her frosty demeanour calm but knowing. Zeraphine nodded in agreement before Frankie, always the optimist, spoke up. "Good call, Ghoulian! Maybe she's taking her driver's test right now!"

Cleon raised an eyebrow at Frankie's hopeful suggestion, but Zeraphine exchanged a glance with Clawdeen and shrugged. "It's worth checking out," Zeraphine said.

Without wasting another moment, the group headed to the parking lot. The crisp afternoon air greeted them as they stepped outside, their footsteps echoing against the pavement.

When they reached the lot, their eyes scanned the area. Standing near one of the parked vehicles was Mr. Hackington, clipboard in hand and a slightly impatient expression on his face.

But Draculaura was nowhere to be seen.

Zeraphine folded her arms, exchanging a puzzled look with Cleon. "Well," she said, her tone uneasy, "this just got a lot more complicated."

"But she wasn't there either."

"We finally ran into her and Valentine as they were leaving Study Howl. And that's when we realized something was way wrong."

"Draculaura, we need to talk. Like, now. Where have you been?" Clawdeen demanded, her amber eyes blazing with frustration as she stormed up to Draculaura, who stood cozily beside Valentine.

Draculaura tilted her head, her fanged smile dreamy as she clung to Valentine's arm. "With Val," she answered, her tone unapologetic. "I had all my classes changed. That way, he and I will never be apart!" She batted her lashes at Valentine, who grinned smugly, clearly enjoying the attention. Clawdeen's claws flexed in irritation. "What about my brother?" she pressed, her voice sharp with a mix of anger and disbelief. Draculaura turned to her with an innocent blink, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Which one? You have, like, ten."

Zeraphine stepped up, her expression a mix of annoyance and disbelief. "You better not be acting all weird like this at your party," she said, crossing her arms.

Draculaura offered a bright, toothy smile. "Oh, I can't make it," she said with a casual shrug.

"What?!" Clawdeen and Zeraphine exclaimed in unison, shock and disbelief written across their faces.

"Valentine says he has something extra special planned for my birthday!" Draculaura gushed, practically glowing with excitement as she gazed adoringly at him. Valentine smirked and glanced at Draculaura. "It'll be heart-stopping," he added, his tone dripping with confidence. As if on cue, the three floating clouds that often accompanied Valentine appeared, snickering mischievously before Valentine waved a hand to shush them. With a flick of his wrist, the clouds vanished.

Draculaura and Valentine turned to leave, walking off arm in arm. "Lates!" Draculaura called over her shoulder, giving a cheerful wave to her stunned friends before disappearing down the hallway.

Before anyone could recover, mocking laughter. The group turned to see Toralei, flanked by her two friends, jumping in front of them. "Oh no, is the party off? Boo-hoo-hoo," Toralei sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she dramatically pretended to wipe a tear. Her friends snickered as Toralei darted past them, her tail flicking mischievously.

Zeraphine's jaw tightened, and her eyes glinted dangerously as she stepped forward. "That's it," she growled. "I'm turning her into stone." Before Zeraphine could take off after the trio, Frankie grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Zeraphine, no!" Frankie said firmly, her wide eyes pleading.

"She's asking for it!" Zeraphine snapped, her voice rising with her temper.

"Yeah, but it's not worth it," Frankie said, shaking her head. "You'd just get detention—again."

Zeraphine exhaled sharply, her muscles tensing as she watched Toralei and her friends disappear around the corner, still laughing. Clawdeen let out a low snarl, her claws flexing at her sides.

𓆙

Deep within the dimly lit catacombs, Clawdeen tore down the intricate decorations they had painstakingly put up for Draculaura's Sweet 1600 party. Her claws shredded through the delicate streamers and glittery banners as her frustration bubbled over.

"I can't believe we spent so much time on this just for her to blow us off!" she snarled, yanking down another banner. With an angry huff, she tossed it onto the stone steps, the decorations fluttering like fallen leaves. "If she wasn't immortal..." Her voice trailed off, leaving her ominous thought hanging in the air. Lagoona sat a few steps below her, her chin resting in her palm. She let out a weary sigh, drawing the attention of the others. "I don't know, gills," she murmured, her voice heavy with concern. "Something's amiss. This doesn't feel right."

Frankie nodded in agreement, her stitches glinting faintly in the low light. "Yeah," she said, her tone thoughtful. "She's not behaving like herself at all. Her Sweet 1600 party meant everything to her."

Abby, who leaned casually against the cool stone wall, crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. "All of sudden, she not care," she said, her icy accent cutting through the tension. "Very odd." Zeraphine, sitting beside Lagoona on the steps, tapped her fingers thoughtfully against her knee. Her expression was a mixture of concern and suspicion. "Well, whatever it is," she said, her voice calm but firm, "I have a feeling Valentine has something to do with this." A low moan echoed through the catacombs, and all eyes turned to Ghoulian, who had been quietly observing from the shadows. He gestured dramatically toward Cleon, his groan full of agreement.

Cleon stood up straight, his eyes narrowing with determination. "You're right," he said, turning to Zeraphine with a confident nod. "There's one ghoul who can get to the bottom of this."

Reaching into his pocket, Cleon pulled out his coffin phone. The faint glow of the screen illuminated his smug grin as he scrolled through his contacts. With a wink at Zeraphine, he tapped a name and brought the phone to his ear.

"Spectra?" he said, his tone smooth and self-assured. "We need a favour."

𓋹𓂀

By: SilverMist707