My version of the whole Monster High thing. AKA, not how it goes in the actual book. Enjoy. Hope it doesn't suck too badly :) (And hope it's not too short either) And of course, review por favor! Oh, just for the record: this is second Monster High story on here, yay!

Monster High and all its characters are totally NOT mine. Neither is Frankie. But Greta, the fashionable vamps, and the bad brand-name puns are all mine :) Enjoy!


Frankie squinted through the thin morning fog at the shape that was looming at the end of the road.

"Is that… where I'll go to school?"

The building was huge. Two stories high, with a very spooky-looking bell tower, and plenty of gnarled, ancient-looking trees and flowerbeds filled with strange exotic plants. And so. Many. Monsters.

"That's Monster High!" Frank Stein proclaimed. "I went there, and was the top of the class in mad science. Your own dad!"

Frankie was too nervous to reply, and waited, feeling a bit carsick for the first time in her life. Her dad pulled into the parkway, and Frankie hopped out of the old, noisy, rusty, patched-together truck. Then, taking a deep breath, she slung her backpack over one shoulder and walked towards the entrance. Sitting on the stairs, enjoying the morning fog, was a group of vampires. They looked up with red eyes as Frankie approached.

"Fresh meat," One whispered.

"I dig the stitches," said a snobbish looking girl. "The clothes, on the other hand, need to go."

"Now, now, guys," One girl, a pink flower in a sea of wilted gray ones, stood up, unfurling her pink parasol lest she catch a ray of morning sunshine. "She looks like she has some potential. The dead flesh look is doable, but word of advice, try shopping at Howlister or Aberzombie instead of Moss." The other vamps laughed.

"Um… Okay…" Except I didn't even go to the mall… I bought this at Scary-Mart…

The vampire smiled, showing her dazzling white fangs. "I'm Draculaura, but just call me Ula-D. What grade are you in?"

"Tenth."

"Sophomore? Me too! Cool… What classes are you taking?"

"Um… Oh, darn, I don't have my schedule yet."

"Well, let's go to the office and get it. Come on, anything to get away from these guys. They're so… batty." She laughed and waved at her friends, then got up and walked towards the door.

Is that a compliment? That has to be a compliment. Vampires. Batty. …Right?

Frankie followed her into the school building and stopped, mesmerized. "It's… really…"

"Really what? First impressions are important, you know."

"I… I don't know. I'm kind of scared…"

"Trust me, I'm the most powerful monster in here, and I wouldn't hurt a fly."

"It's not that… But in all those movies, the main character girl moves to a new school and everyone's totally mean to her, and-"

"And then she finds true love and gets revenge on the mean girl. All human movies are the same. Well, really, all human drama in general is the same."

"But… I'm not human… Isn't that the whole point of Monster High?"

Draculaura shook her head. "You're so naive… Come on, let's go. The office is upstairs."

Frankie followed her upstairs and down the hall to the office.

"What do you want?" The secretary looked over her glasses at Frankie. Frankie couldn't help but stare at the giant wart on her nose.

"Well, my friend here is new, and she needs her schedule. I was just showing her around."

"Your friend? What's her name?"

"Hmm? Oh, what is her name? I can't believe I forgot to ask! Hey, what's your name?"

"Frankie Stein."

"Oh, you're Frank's daughter?"

"Yes…"

"Tell him Greta says hi." She batted mascara-clumped eyelashes.

Greta? My dad knows her?

"Um, okay, I'll do that… So, my schedule?"

"Sure, sure. Here you go."

Frankie looked down at the paper the secretary handed her, shivering at the cold breath on her neck as Draculaura peeked over her shoulder.

"Ooh, you have all of the same classes as me! That's so scary-cool!"

"Okay…" A whole day… with her? Is this a good thing?

The bell rang, and the floor bounced a little under their feet. Ah! So there IS a real bell.

"Come on, ten minutes till homedoom. Let's find your locker… Mrs. Wormwood, what's Frankie's locker number?"

"126. Bring your own lock."

"Um, I'll do that. Thanks, Mrs. Blackwood."

"Hmph."

As they walked away, Draculaura whispered, "Did she really know your dad? That old hag?" She cackled. "Ah, high-school sweethearts. Now come on, let's get going, or we'll be late!"

Frankie followed Draculaura through the halls, listening to introductions, her head already whirling from tons of names. After finding her locker and stuffing her backpack inside, the two went to their first class together.


By the time lunch time came around, Frankie was starving.

"Um, what's for lunch?"

"I don't know. Nobody knows. It's a mystery… But usually it's something weird. And fruit. And milk."

"Okay…"

"I'll wait here. I pack my own lunch."

When Frankie got her lunch, she decided maybe it would be a great idea to bring lunch too.

"Hmm, looks like tuna surprise… Oh well, big fish eats the little fish. See you guys." A girl Frankie vaguely remembered as being Lagoona walked back towards the lunch line.

"Hey, Clawdeen! Have you met the new ghoul yet?"

"Nope." The tall brunette walked over, moving with predatory grace.

"H-hi, I'm Frankie."

"Oh, I know your name. What you need, girl, is a shopping spree. Did you buy that at the half-off sale at Scary-Mart?"

Frankie looked down at the tuna surprise. It blinked back sympathetically at her. "Yes."

"That's it. You, girl, are coming with me to the maul."

"Hey, no fair, I asked first! Right, Frankie, you're going with me this weekend?"

"Well, actually-"

"The maul? You think that creature deserves to go to the maul? She wouldn't even fit in in a cardboard box, which is where she lives!" A haughty voice broke in, followed by a chorus of "ooh"s and laughter.

"I don't! I live in-"

"Ssh, Frankie, let me handle this." Draculaura turned to the gold-streaked brunette and gave a predatory grin. "She can totally shop at the maul, because she can actually develop a fashion sense, unlike you, with eyeshadow up to your eyebrows. It's the twenty-first century, so get on with it!"

"Excuse me, you're the one with the thousand-year-old fashion sense. And at least I don't have dark circles."

"Thousand-year-old? Well this is still in fashion. And you know what's even more in fashion? Sticking up for your friend." And Draculaura stuck her tongue out, sat down, and put one arm around Frankie's shoulders.

"That's Cleo. She still thinks she's Queen of Egypt," she whispered conspirationally as Cleo and her followers walked off.

"That's like… Old."

"She's an old lady, and twice as cranky, too. We get into arguments a lot."

"I noticed."

Draculaura just grinned. Frankie decided to eat, before the tuna surprise crawled off her plate or something.

"So, Frankie, are you going to the maul this weekend?"

"I don't know… I think I'll ask my dad to take me, but maybe he'll be too busy…"

"What, you can't drive yet? You look old enough…"

"I'm only eleven days old."

"Really? That means…" Draculaura counted on her fingers. "You're sixteen days old on the day I turn my sweet 1,600! We can totally have a party together!"

"R-really?"

Draculaura nodded. "It'll be scary-fun. The best party of your life!"

Frankie laughed. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Now come on, with only ten days to shop, you can't have a lot of stuff in your closet. We're totally going shopping this weekend!"

"And me? I know exactly what outfit will look perfect on Frankie."

"No, trust me Clawdeen, I have the scariest outfit in mind. I don't think your tastes suit Frankies slender figure."

"Oh, now you're calling me fat?"

"No, no, you're just more athletic. Frankie's more of a Gothic type."

"You're only saying that cause you like Gothic stuff. She looks preppy to me."

"No-no-no, look." Draculaura whipped out a composition notebook and Clawdeen bent over it.

"Ah, I see what you've done… But will those shoes really… Maybe if you added…"

"Hmm, that would work, but I think maybe…"

As the two scribbled in the notebook, Frankie went to throw her half-eaten food in the trash. When she came back, Lagoona was also peering at the much-scribbled page. Frankie wanted to peek, but was afraid of what she would see.

I'm scared… What kind of strange things are they planning?


On Saturday, after her dad dropped her off in front of the maul, Frankie found out.

"Alright, Frankie, you're going to look fangtabulous!" Draculaura said, dragging Frankie towards the first store on her carefully written schedule. Well, it was hers, Clawdeen's, and Lagoona's. Frankie really didn't have any say in it.

"Um, U-Ula, don't pull so hard, you'll-" Frankie's arm popped off. "Ow…" It didn't really hurt, but it was annoying to have to reattach limbs every now and then.

Draculaura managed to hold on as the arm tried to make a run for it. "And you need at least six essential things in your purse. Cell phone, lip gloss, make-up, money, a pen, and a needle and thread."

"Um, that's seven," Frankie said, digging the last two from her pocket.

"Make-up and lip gloss are in the same category," Clawdeen pointed out.

"Not really. Make-up is totally different from just lip gloss."

Frankie watched as the two debated.

"Um, guys, aren't we shopping?"

Draculaura and Clawdeen turned to look at her, and Frankie wasn't sure if she really saw that predatory gleam in their eyes.

"Let's do it!"


Three hours later, the three ghouls left the maul and collapsed on a bench outside while Frankie texted her dad. Then she rubbed the red marks on her hands from carrying all those shopping bags.

"This is all my allowance for like… till I'm old! Are you sure I need all this stuff?"

"Oh no, that's just this season. Next season there'll be even more~! My closet is huge, but it's totally worth it. And fashions repeat, you know."

Clawdeen rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I doubt Victorian-era dresses will ever be in fashion again."

"You never know! Plus you can never have too many pairs of nice jeans."

"No, you can never have too many shoes. And I've never even seen you wear jeans!"

Draculaura crossed her arms. "It's a matter of preference. But jeans are all-purpose and always fashionable. Shoes change."

"Not Clawverse! They were in when my mom was a puppy!"

"Frankie, you don't need to listen to those two," Lagoona confided. "All you need is a nice pair of floppies, and-"

"No, Lagoona!" Clawdeen and Draculaura shouted at the same time.

She shrugged. "Just saying."

A few minutes later, Frankie's dad pulled up in his monster truck. The girls helped Frankie load up all her clothes.

"Bye guys! Thanks!"

"No problem! Call us if you need any advice!"

"Text me!"

"See you at school!"

They roared off down the street, towards home. Frankie found herself dozing off.

Who knew shopping trips were so exhausting?


That Monday, Frankie walked up the walkway, looking straight ahead but still hoping the creepy vamps would give their whispered compliments.

"The earrings are nice."

"Black reeally complementsss herrr."

"You think black complements everyone, Marcos."

"But it doesss."

Frankie rolled her eyes as she walked in. Honestly, did those vampires have anything better to do?


Her final test came during lunch.

"Alright, Frankie. You ready?" Draculaura said.

"I think so…"

"Don't just think, believe!"

"…Do you read a lot of those inspirational books?"

"Not really. It's just common sense."

"Sure…"

"Now walk straight forward. Don't listen to them! Just toss your tray, and circle around the table. Then come right back to me."

"O-okay…"

"Don't worry. If she does anything stupid, I'll bail you out. But you can do this, Frankie."

"I can do this…"

Actually, this is kind of stupid, she thought, looking at the other monsters out of the corner of her eye. Why am I doing this? Just to show the Queen of Meanies that I have new clothes? Just to prove to her servants that I don't shop at Scary-Mart? I don't even need to do this. I mean, I value Ula and Clawdeen's advice, but I don't need to be cool, she decided as she threw the tray into the trash. I just need to be myself, and hope my arms don't fall off. Or my fingers. Or my legs. Or my feet. Maybe a toe's okay, cause I'm wearing shoes… My ears wouldn't fall off? Or my eyes? Omygod that would be sooo mortalfying… But that probably wouldn't happen… Could it? Maybe Dad'll know…

Still musing, Frankie sat back down. It took just a few seconds for her to realize that she had walked all the way around Cleo's table and back. She looked up at her friends.

"Nice job," Clawdeen said. "You really got that distant-looking model look down."

"Your steps were out of sync though. No biggie." Draculaura smiled. "You have some potential, at least."

"T-thanks… I think."

As the whole table laughed, Frankie looked down, blushing, but still smiling.

I barely got here, but I have friends, new clothes, and a new life! What more could I need?

When the bell rang, while everyone walked, ran, slithered or shuffled to class, Lagoona stayed back with Frankie. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a pair of teal flip-flops.

"Next time you need fashion advice, come to me, kay?"

"…I'll do that."