4. Ghastly Guidance

Beatrix sat on a large rock jutting out over the dark surface of the Black Lagoon on the east side of campus.

Monster High itself was hidden on a secluded mountainside near a normie city called New Salem, and this corner of the school provided a peaceful spot for Beatrix to wait for Autumn to finish her last class that afternoon.

With Beatrix’s lunch duties done for the day, she flipped through the well-worn pages of a cookbook she’d borrowed from the school library.

However, Beatrix was only half focused on the recipes for delicacies like Swamp Ooze Stew and Bat Wing Crumble. Her mind kept wandering to the stack of letters stuffed into her crossbody satchel — letters her aunts had sent over the past month, urging Beatrix to leave Monster High and return home, insisting that her “rebellious trip to Oregon” had dragged on long enough.

Despite her aunts’ nagging, Beatrix wasn’t planning on leaving Monster High anytime soon. Sure, a month ago, Clawdeen and Draculaura had warned her about weird things going down at the school after dark. But after the Gilda incident, nothing else had happened.

In fact, the entire situation surrounding Gilda was bizarre — her memorial photos had disappeared from the walls, her locker stood empty, and her cause of death was still unknown. Nobody even talked about her anymore. It was like she'd never even set foot in Monster High.

Beatrix and Autumn had hashed it out for hours, and yes, the whole thing gave them the heebie-jeebies, but they ultimately decided to stay put. Because what were Beatrix’s other options? If she returned home, she’d be forced to sign her soul away to some devil. And Autumn couldn’t stop raving about how much she loved her classes — she was finally feeling academically challenged, something she’d been craving since she was little.

That’s why staying at Monster High seemed to be the lesser of two evils, no matter how weird the Gilda situation was or how many nasty looks Beatrix got for being a witch.

Plus, working in the creepateria had given Beatrix a sense of purpose she’d never felt before. Whipping up grub had quickly become a passion for her, and she was hell-bent on making the perfect Key Slime Pie. She felt like she was finally discovering her true calling. Maybe her witchy blood ran deeper than she thought; she excelled at concocting things.

Beatrix looked up from the cookbook in her lap and out over the Black Lagoon. Its black waters lapped against the shore, just a stone’s throw from the iron fence that ran around the school's perimeter. The fence, tall and topped with sharp spikes, separated the school grounds from a dense forest of fir and pine trees.

Beyond the spiked fence, the forest was wild and foreboding. Gnarled, mossy tree branches reached out like claws in the sky. All kinds of monsters could creep around in there and nobody would even know, Beatrix thought.

Beatrix tried to picture what Gilda Goldstag’s final moments must’ve been like out in those woods. What had the doomed girl been up to? What or who did she run into past the fence? Beatrix shuddered and tore her gaze away from the treeline.

The Black Lagoon looked as sketchy as the woods, if you asked Beatrix. Its murky waters completely obscured its depths.

Suddenly, right next to the rock Beatrix was sitting on, a pair of white orbs popped up out of the dark water.

Beatrix leaned forward and squinted at the orbs, unsure of what she was looking at.

The orbs blinked.

Beatrix jolted upright. She was looking at two eyes. Two big, sea-green eyes.

The next thing she knew, a beautiful blonde fish girl sprung out of the water.

“Lagoona!” Beatrix exclaimed as the fish pulled herself up onto the rock beside her in a cascade of dripping water.

Lagoona wrung out her curly hair. “Hi, mate! Whatcha doing out here?”

“Killing time ‘til Autumn gets out of Biteology. What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be in class too?”

“I was, but I got dismissed early to set up the homecoming assembly with the rest of the student council,” Lagoona explained. “But we finished way quicker than we expected — faster than a barracuda chasing its lunch — so I reckoned I’d skip out on the rest of class and get a swim in.”

“A student council rebel. How scandalous,” Beatrix poked fun.

Beatrix had learned that Lagoona was the sophomore class rep, which meant she was in charge of organizing school events. And with homecoming fever sweeping Monster High, today's assembly was supposed to get everyone hyped to buy tickets for the upcoming game and dance.

“I’ve gotta head to the screamatorium soon too,” Beatrix said. “Autumn’s doing a cheer routine during the assembly and I have to watch for injuries.” Beatrix then confided, “Too bad hanging around the fearleaders is such a pain. If I have to listen to Cleo complain about witches one more time…”

Lagoona gave Beatrix a sympathetic shoulder pat. “Don’t take it to heart. Cleo had a complicated home life, that’s all.”

Beatrix tilted her head. What does Cleo’s home life have to do with her hating witches?

Lagoona switched gears. “So, tell me, have you met Levi yet?”

“Who?” Beatrix asked, setting her cookbook aside and dipping her bare feet into the cool water.

“Levi! My buddy who lives at the bottom of the lagoon.”

Beatrix pulled her feet back out of the water. “Huh?”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s a total sweetheart, just a little shy. Lake dwellers get a bad rap.”

While Lagoona gushed about Levi and how much she loved underwater critters, a person caught Beatrix’s eye. Someone was booking it along the other side of the Black Lagoon, headed straight for the fence that separated the Monster High campus from the forest.

“Is that Grey?” Beatrix asked, interrupting Lagoona’s chatter. “What’s he doing out here during school hours?”

Lagoona shrugged, unconcerned. “Probably ditching class. I think he likes to meditate by the woods,” she said. “It’s probably best to give him some space.”

“Wow, even you have to walk on eggshells around him,” Beatrix huffed. She couldn't stop thinking about all the messed up things Grey had said to her during their first MSS meeting. The more she thought about it, the more pissed off she got.

“Seems like you’re not exactly Grey’s biggest fan,” Lagoona said with a small smile.

“He started it! He’s had it out for me since my first day. Him and Cleo would get along great.”

Lagoona smiled again. She didn’t seem interested in getting involved in Beatrix’s drama.

Beatrix tried to keep her cool and move on, but that lasted a total of two seconds.

“That’s it. I'm over this,” Beatrix announced. She jammed her feet into her black boots, stuffed her cookbook in her satchel, and slung her bag over her shoulder.

“Not sure what you’re getting at, mate,” Lagoona said, looking a little worried.

But Beatrix was already storming off. “I’ll fill you in later. See you at the assembly!” she yelled back.

Rocks crunched under Beatrix’s boots as she reached the other side of the lagoon. She lightly stepped towards the school perimeter, away from the lagoon’s rocky shore and onto the soft grass, keeping some distance between her and Grey’s back. Grey was still a little ways ahead, getting very close to the edge of the school grounds. He walked with that laser-sharp focus he always seemed to have.

Beatrix thought about calling out to Grey, demanding to know what he was doing. He was getting precariously close to the woods, which was against school rules. However, she wanted to figure out if he really was out there to meditate.

Beatrix spotted a wooden shed nestled between two huge pine trees. She watched as Grey disappeared behind it, then quietly approached, peeking around the corner.

Grey was standing there, waiting.

“Need something?” he asked.

Beatrix’s face went hot.

Grey almost looked ready for a fight, his hand resting on that contraption he always had at his hip, the collapsible staff thing that Beatrix was pretty sure had to be a weapon.

To make things even worse, Beatrix had found out Grey got suspended last year, he was three times Beatrix’s size, and the only other monster around was Lagoona—who was now far out of earshot on the other side of the lagoon.

I’m an idiot, Beatrix thought.

The only thing she could think to do was deescalate the situation. So, Beatrix stuck out her hand and said, “Truce?”

Grey stared at Beatrix with eyes that pierced her soul, waiting for her to continue.

“I wanted to apologize for picking a fight with you in front of everyone,” she said.

Grey’s posture loosened up a bit and his icy expression thawed. “Oh yeah?”

Beatrix shoved down her pride. “I’m sorry for being disagreeable during MSS.”

Grey didn’t respond.

Beatrix felt her temper flare up again. “Hey, you owe me an apology too,” she said.

“Is that why you're stalking me? To make me own up to something?” Grey asked, letting go of his collapsed staff, looking amused.

“You don’t think you have anything to apologize for?” Beatrix snapped, then caught herself. “Okay, fine. I can’t force you to say sorry.” She turned on her heel to leave.

“You know, you’re making my life difficult,” Grey said.

Beatrix faced him again. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don't hate you," he said. "I don't even know you."

“Then why’d you tell everyone about me?” she asked. “The whole school knew I was a witch in, like, a day.”

Grey leaned against the wood wall of the shed and ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “I only told a couple of my friends. Gossip did the rest. I didn't mean for it to spread like that."

"Wow, I guess I should be thanking you then," Beatrix sarcastically said.

Grey scowled. “You shouldn't be here. There’s a reason why witchcraft isn't allowed at this school.”

“Please, enlighten me,” Beatrix said. “I’ve seen monsters that could squash me under their feet without breaking a sweat, so why in the hells are witches banned?”

Grey pushed off the shed wall, taking a step towards her. “You don’t seem to understand what your kind is capable of,” Grey said, dead serious.

Beatrix crossed her arms. “You said witches are just ‘glorified humans’ during MSS. So which is it? Am I an all-powerful sorceress or just a lame normie?”

“I shouldn’t have come down so hard on you during the seminar,” Grey said, almost gently.

“Don’t dodge the—” Beatrix blinked, registering what he’d just said, caught off guard. “Oh. Um, it’s okay...”

The tension between them eased up, like a stretched rubber band going slack.

“Magic-users have always been a threat to monsters,” Grey explained. He took another step closer, afternoon sunlight glinting off a small glass pendant that hung at the end of his chain necklace. “Remember when I said monsters cheat death? Most of the time, they don’t cheat death on their own.”

“What do you mean? Do monsters avoid the afterlife with someone else's help?”

Instead of answering, Grey asked another question. “How are zombies created?”

Beatrix wasn’t prepared for a pop quiz. “By… getting bitten by other zombies?”

“The first zombies were originally created with black magic,” Grey corrected.

Before Beatrix was born, she’d heard that Aunt Cordelia once tried to raise the dead with a necromancy spell. Apparently, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Grey was right. Creating zombies was an act of witchcraft.

“Okay, but witches didn’t create every kind of monster!” Beatrix protested.

“No, but they create a lot of them,” Grey said. “The powers demons give witches are unmatched.”

There was an obvious example that proved Grey correct: Autumn.

Stolen story; please report.

Aunt Clarice had brought Autumn to life by stuffing a mannequin full of hay and sprinkling some shimmering powder on Autumn’s inanimate body.

“Witches have always been the main ones responsible for the Living Dead,” Grey went on. “People even think vampires were created by an ancient warlock.”

“Hold up. Why do you think witches are a threat to monsters, again?” Beatrix questioned. “I mean, we’re the ones who create them.”

Grey let out a harsh, joyless laugh. “Trust me, not every monster is thrilled about the whole cheating death thing.”

Beatrix hadn’t considered that possibility, that some monsters might resent their existence.

Grey continued, “Witches force this ‘life’ on most monsters. And even for the monsters that don’t mind their curses, or learn to make peace with it, witches are still a threat. Reapers like me have to follow a bunch of agreements and treaties — we can’t just go around collecting monster souls whenever we want. But witches? You only answer to your devil masters, so you can snatch supernatural life away whenever you feel like it. One witch could wipe out an entire monster species. Your kind isn’t part of monster society because you refuse to live peacefully with them.”

“I would never do something like that! My best friend is a scarecrow for corn’s sake,” Beatrix started. Yet, as the words escaped her lips, she thought of every other witch she’d come across, and how the scarecrows back home lived in constant fear of Aunt Clarice disposing of them.

“Fine, maybe you have a point,” Beatrix admitted, then joked, “I didn’t take you to be such a brave knight, protecting monsterkind from wicked witches.”

“Someone has to,” Grey said. “Your kind is unpredictable. And with everything else going on here, the last thing I want to do is keep an eye on a witch all day.”

There it was again, someone hinting that something shady was happening at the school.

Beatrix also picked up on the second part of Grey’s loaded comment.

“... You joined MSS to keep an eye on me? That’s weird,” Beatrix said. “A student just died and you’re worried about me? Your priorities are out of whack.”

Grey just frowned. For a second, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet.

“Look, thanks for telling me about all this,” Beatrix said. “But don’t worry, I’m harmless. And I’m definitely not a threat to you or any monsters here.”

Grey’s frown turned into a smirk. “Oh really?”

Beatrix wasn’t used to seeing him show playful expressions. It was a refreshing change.

“Sadly, yes,” Beatrix said, matching his teasing tone. “I’m a pathetic excuse for a witch, so you can relax. I’ll swear I won’t wreak havoc on Monster High.”

Just then, the distant clang of the bell rang out across the grounds. Classes were over for the day.

Beatrix suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was standing behind a secluded gardening shed with arguably the most intimidating manster in school.

Beatrix cleared her throat. “So… what are you doing out here anyway?” she asked him.

Grey stiffened. “None of your business,” he said brusquely, the rough edge back in his voice.

Beatrix rolled her eyes. No wonder he has a scary reputation.

“You should head back,” Grey told her, turning away.

“What? You’re not gonna escort me to the homecoming assembly? Don't you need to keep an eye on the evil witch?” Beatrix teased.

Grey didn’t look back as he walked away along the perimeter fence. “Good thing you’re ‘harmless,’” he said. “Try not to wreak any havoc. I’ll be the first to know.”

Beatrix watched Grey go, still curious about what had brought him out to this remote part of campus to wander the outskirts alone. But the growing clamor of voices and slamming lockers coming from the main school buildings reminded Beatrix she had more important matters to take care of. She had to meet Autumn in the screamatorium before the homecoming assembly kicked off.

"Bye, 'Lord of Death!'" Beatrix shouted at Grey.

“Bye, witch girl.”

Beatrix hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder and hurried to go meet Autumn.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

“Who's ready to get their school spirit on?” Cleo’s amplified voice blasted through a megaphone.

A deafening roar shook the screamatorium in response.

“Let’s go, ghouls!” Cleo ordered, and the fearleading squad took their positions on stage.

Beatrix spotted Autumn near the center of the formation, standing between Clawdeen and Frankie. Autumn wore a pink and black uniform, pom poms at the ready.

Music exploded from the speakers flanking the stage, so loud Beatrix could feel the bass thumping in her bones. Strobing lights pulsed in time with the heavy beats, painting the screamatorium in dizzying bursts of color. On stage, the fearleaders moved as one, each motion perfectly synchronized to the rhythm.

Watching the spectacle from her place backstage, Beatrix shook her head in disbelief, shocked that all this was needed to promote Monster High’s homecoming events. "Holy hells," she guffawed. "What is this, a rave?"

A purple-skinned girl with a mask covering the right half of her face swiveled to face Beatrix. “Pardon?”

Beatrix noticed a name tag pinned to the girl's shirt. It read: Operetta. Stagehand.

“I said, this is insane!” Beatrix yelled to be heard over the ear-splitting music.

“Darn right it is! Cleo doesn’t mess around. She knows how to get a crowd going!” Operetta yelled back in a Southern drawl.

Peering out from behind the heavy velvet curtains, Beatrix watched the crowd of Monster High students packing the audience. They jumped and howled along with Cleo's chants, a writhing mass of fangs and horns and scales. One hulking figure in particular caught Beatrix’s attention — a minotaur who was getting extra rowdy, his beefy arms flailing wildly as he bellowed and roughhoused with his buddies in the cheering crowd. He recklessly swung his massive head, and the curved points of his horns glinted dangerously.

“Gosh darn it, Manny,” Operetta sighed. She then asked Beatrix, "Be a dear and cover your ears for a sec, would you?"

Beatrix did as she was told, pressing her palms over her ears.

Once she'd done so, Operetta leaned forward ever so slightly and Beatrix saw her lips move, like she was singing some sort of melody under her breath.

Beatrix looked out at the audience, at the minotaur again. Just as Manny was about to knock into someone, he went slack-jawed. His eyes glazed over, arms falling limply to his sides. As if in a trance, he sank heavily into his seat, suddenly docile as a lamb.

Beatrix felt a tap on her shoulder. Operetta was motioning for Beatrix to take her hands off her ears.

“Did you do that?” Beatrix asked.

“What? Calm that silly ol’ minotaur down? Yep, I sure did,” Operetta gloated, looking pleased with herself.

Beatrix gaped at her. “That’s amazing! How’d you do it?”

Cleo’s voice boomed on stage. “I wanna hear you scream, Monster High!”

Beatrix strained to hear Operetta’s reply over the chaos.

“What’d you say?” Beatrix asked.

“I said, sang to him!” Operetta repeated, a wild grin spreading across her face.

“Is it, like, mind control?” Beatrix asked.

“Sorta,” Operetta said with a shrug. “I was born with the gift—it’s from my daddy’s side of the family. He was one heck of a hypnotist back in the day.”

“What a cool gift,” Beatrix complimented.

Since coming to Monster High, Beatrix had seen students soar above the clouds, control all kinds of plant-life with a flick of their fingers, and slip in and out of rooms as smoothly as shadows. Needless to say, Beatrix was amazed by the monster abilities around her.

But Beatrix still couldn’t wrap her head around how singing could do anything, much less make a minotaur do Operetta’s bidding. It seemed too powerful to be real.

“Bea! Did you see me?” Autumn squealed. She and the other fearleaders were jogging off the stage, catching their breath.

“You did great!” Beatrix said. She didn’t want Autumn to know she’d been distracted by Operetta for part of the performance.

Beatrix noticed a seam coming loose at Autumn’s shoulder. Bits of straw poked out, so Beatrix began to tighten the stitching for her.

As soon as Beatrix finished, Frankie rushed over and clobbered the scarecrow in a hug, lifting Autumn off her feet. “You were amazing!” she exclaimed.

Clawdeen and Draculaura joined in and gushed about how well Autumn had kept up with the rest of the team, and Draculaura had to stand on her tiptoes to throw her arms around Autumn's neck because she was so short. Even Cleo gave the scarecrow an approving nod before turning to address her squad.

Beatrix stepped to the side and watched Autumn excitedly chat with the girls from the sidelines. Beatrix thought back to their fearleading routine. Each of their monster abilities had been shown off in such a flashy way: Draculaura had been so light on her feet she looked like she was floating across the stage. Frankie was so strong she could lift two of her teammates over her head at once. Clawdeen was so agile she’d been able to scale the pyramid of fearleaders in a single leap.

Beatrix was even amazed by Toralei, the orange werecat who didn’t seem to like Autumn much. The werecat was far more flexible than any normie gymnast.

As Beatrix had watched the ghouls embracing their unique abilities openly, using them to their advantage, a sharp pang of jealousy rose up within her. She felt like she paled in comparison to them.

Autumn softly squeezed Beatrix’s hand. “Everyone’s going to the Coffin Bean after this. You coming?”

Beatrix suppressed the ugly feelings that had just reared their ugly head, put on a happy face, and agreed to go.

Autumn smiled, too caught up in her post-performance high to notice anything wrong. “Great! I’m gonna go get changed real quick. Be right back.” She jogged off with the other fearleaders and left the backstage area.

Beatrix heard the next assembly performance begin and the crowd chanting, “Heath! Heath! Heath!” On stage, a boy with flaming hair juggled dozens of fireballs. Beatrix felt very small and out of place amid all the noise.

Operetta had disappeared, so Beatrix could only wait for Autumn. She twiddled her thumbs and watched the other stagehands rushing back and forth.

I might always be the odd witch out at this school, Beatrix thought, bitterness bubbling up in her again. She hoped Autumn would come back soon. She didn’t want to be left alone with her thoughts for too long. But the minutes dragged on with no sign of the scarecrow.

Then, Beatrix heard a whisper in her head from a voice that wasn’t hers.

Something bothering you? it said.

Not at all, Beatrix instinctually denied.

Why the long face, then? Jealous? the voice echoed.

“I’m not jealous!” Beatrix blurted out.

A merman in a wheelchair stopped as he passed by Beatrix, confused if she was talking to him or not.

Beatrix sheepishly smiled and pretended like she hadn't just shouted out of nowhere.

The merman arched an eyebrow but wheeled on.

“Hells, that was embarrassing,” Beatrix said to herself. She shook her head, wanting to free herself from the prying voice, when suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

Beatrix glanced up just in time to see a spirit pass through the wall in front of her: a skinny teenage girl with long violet hair that almost reached her ankles as she hovered a foot off the ground. She had an iron ball and chain shackled to her ankle, but it didn’t seem to weigh her down at all as she drifted through the air.

The spirit’s voice rang in her head again. It’s okay to be jealous, you know. Who could blame you? You’re the only witch at a school full of monsters, forbidden from embracing your true potential. It can’t be fun watching monsters flaunt their supernatural gifts all day.

The spirit was spot on. Feeling so powerless sucked. Still, Beatrix didn’t like how easily this spirit could worm itself inside her mind.

“Hey, can you get out of my head, please?” Beatrix asked.

The spirit floated to her side and said aloud, “Sorry. You just seemed so troubled. I thought perhaps you could use a friend. And some advice.”

“Advice?”

The spirit nodded, violet hair rippling around her. “To help you fit in here,” she said. “I know how it feels. To be on the outside looking in. I've spent countless years drifting through these school halls alone, never at rest.”

Beatrix felt a little bad for her. “I guess it is kinda hard sometimes,” Beatrix admitted. “I can tell other students look down on me.”

“I understand completely,” the spirit said in a hushed tone. “But what if I told you there was a way to even the playing field? A way for you to get a taste of the power your monster peers wield so easily?”

Beatrix frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Would you like to learn how to replicate monster powers through the dark arts?”

“Uh… I’m not allowed to do any witchcraft here,” Beatrix said, defenses up. Is this girl trying to get me in trouble?

“Pity,” the spirit said, floating away. “I didn’t mean to bother you, I was simply curious. I’ve heard whispers… rumors that a sorceress can recreate monster abilities very easily.”

“Ha, I wish. Witchcraft is usually a hassle,” Beatrix said. “Monsters are in a class of their own. I mean, I just met a girl who can literally hypnotize people with her singing. I’ve never heard of a spell that could pull off anything like that!”

“I see. So traditional witchcraft really is as limited as people say." The spirit began to drift into the shadows that cloaked the far reaches of the backstage area, her translucent form growing fainter as she traveled further from the stage lights.

Beatrix followed. “Hey! Wait up! What do you mean ‘traditional’ witchcraft?” she asked. “There’s only one way to practice magic.”

“Says who?” the spirit asked with a sly smile.

“Says…” Beatrix hesitated. Honestly, almost everything she knew about witchcraft came from what her aunts taught her. And her aunts defined witchcraft in a super rigid way.

Beatrix flipped the conversation. “Wait, why are you talking to me about this? Why do you care?”

“I have an inquisitive mind. I've always been fascinated by witches and their craft,” the spirit said. “And I see myself in you. The way you’ve been treated by the monsters here isn’t right. Especially when you have so much potential.”

Beatrix felt an odd mix of emotions. It was creepy how perceptive this girl was, as if she'd been watching Beatrix for a while now, but it also felt really validating.

Beatrix then realized that the spirit had led her to the farthest, darkest corner backstage. The heavy curtains around them blocked out all traces of the stage lights.

Beatrix thought about turning back. Autumn had to be done changing by now, probably wondering where she went...

Suddenly, the spirit started speaking in Beatrix’s head again:

If you seek to replicate a monster’s power, you must first look to its source. The singing phantom girl, for example. She puts people into a trance. But how?

“By singing,” Beatrix said. “Operetta sings and people do what she wants.”

Ah, but there’s more to it, the spirit said, sounding almost excited. Operetta doesn’t merely sing. She sings perfectly. Every note, every inflection, flawlessly executed to ensnare the mind. That is the true secret to her monster power.

Beatrix didn’t buy it. “You’re saying that I could do what Operetta does just by singing the perfect pitch? That seems like a stretch.”

I agree. It won’t be that simple for a normal person. However, it’s a place to start.

Beatrix played along. “Even if I somehow figured out how Operetta sings so perfectly, I still wouldn’t be able to hypnotize anyone. I’m not a phantom. I don’t have supernatural vocal cords.”

The spirit's purple eyes twinkled in the darkness. You’re right. That’s why you’ll need to pair the singing with some sort of spell to make it effective, the spirit’s voice echoed. Tracking down the right incantations will be tricky, though. Monster High's library is lacking when it comes to books on magic. But all is not lost, I have another idea. Tell me, what do you know about mermaids?

“Bea!” Autumn’s muffled voice called on the other side of the curtains.

“I gotta go,” Beatrix told the spirit.

The spirit melted back into the shadows. See you around.

Beatrix hurried back the way she'd come. Once she stepped back into the stage lights, she heard Autumn exclaim, “There you are!”

Beatrix turned to see Autumn hurrying over, already changed out of her fearleading uniform into a cozy flannel and jean shorts. “Everyone else already left for the Coffin Bean. Let’s go!”

Beatrix fell into step beside her friend and they made their way out of the screamatorium. Beatrix's mind kept circling back to what the spirit had said.

Why did that girl care so much about me using magic? Beatrix questioned. All that talk of monster abilities and how to replicate them left Beatrix feeling perplexed.

Besides, Beatrix had sworn to Headmistress Bloodgood that she wouldn’t dabble in any kind of witchcraft. She didn’t want to betray the Headmistress’s trust.

If Beatrix got caught trying to learn any spells, she’d be sent home. Beatrix didn’t want to give her aunts the satisfaction. And, more importantly, she didn’t want to disappoint Autumn.

Grey also popped into her mind.

Beatrix didn’t think Grey would care if she was kicked off campus. If anything, he’d probably be relieved.

So why do I care about disappointing him too? Beatrix asked herself, hoping the purple spirit wasn’t still listening to her thoughts.

Beatrix glanced at her friend, who was happily skipping along. She was itching to tell Autumn everything that had just gone down backstage.

But, for some reason, Beatrix felt the need to hold her tongue.