SCOOBY DOO:
LIKE AN ISLAND
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
(Based off an idea by Jblazer of Deviantart)
Velma Daisy Dinkley sighed heavily as she brought the mystery machine to a halt outside of the creaky, worn out manor perched atop a small hill just south of the college dorm.
Velma stepped out of the van and steadily approached the door of the manor, fidgeting with the key anxiously. The wind seemed to howl at her.
She unlocked the door and stepped in, the wind so fierce it blew the door shut behind her, leaving her in the cold and dank hallway.
Velma could only be repulsed by the state of the house. This was not what they had promised her on the raffle flyer.
She knew it was too good to be true; these raffles never are, unless they're putting vintage wine up for a prize.
The remainder of the gang had all found different things to do today. Fred was consumed with trap preparation, and Daphne and Shaggy were spending the night trying to clean out Scooby's kennel while the dog helped himself to a Netflix marathon inside Shaggy's dorm room.
She was on her own, and she was finding the very effort of getting excited for the exploration of the building trying from the outset, there was very little detail to the manor. Perhaps the designer had a distinct lack of imagination; perhaps the previous occupants did not want their abode to be the same as the others, and to stand more as a monument than a homestead.
Whatever they had decided, it was now Velma's choice to change.
Trouble is, she wasn't so sure she had the imagination either, and she didn't think she'd be wild enough to give the place some zest and flavour. All she was interested in was making as many rooms into studies, where her eyes could be fixated on books rather than decoration.
All Velma desired from this place was a little solitude, a place to escape the commotions caused by frat parties.
Little did she suspect she was being observed by altogether different eyes, and by someone who had just had her solitude disturbed.
"So, my home has been raffled off to some bookworm freshman" snapped Lacy Macintosh, the lively if incredibly spoiled and salty spirit of a deceased sixteen year old, who had perished in a car accident along with her parents somewhere nearby a few weeks ago.
While her parent's spirits had accepted their fate and ascended to another phase of existence, Lacy had chosen to remain close to her home, unwilling to part with her earthly possessions even if she could no longer physically enjoy them.
A thought occurred to Lacy as she watched Velma walk the halls of the manor.
"It's been a while since I gave a fellow female a do-over, and her appearance repulses me so much I might as well make an effort with her, but first, I'll project a little fear into her"
Velma stepped into the kitchen, and headed towards the sink. She was quite parched; she hoped the taps were still running so she could take some water.
She opened the cupboard doors to find a glass she could pour into, as she moved to reach the glass, it flew away from her, Velma tried to grab it, but it kept slipping out of her grip, it suddenly dashed towards her, Velma ducked, and the glass smashed against the wall, shattering into sharp edged pieces that Velma had to be careful in gathering up to deposit in the trash can nearby, as the edges could cut her.
Velma approached the trash can, only to see it hover above her, before pouring its contents all over her.
Velma dusted herself off, taking her glasses off to wipe away some of the grubby waste that had gotten into her eyes, when a sudden noise started her, she could hear a large rush of water as the taps turned themselves on and the sink plugged itself. The water levels rose, pouring out of the sink and began flooding the kitchen.
Velma backed slowly out of the kitchen as the water continued to rise, headed up the spiral staircase and headed upstairs.
Velma tried to process what was going on as she walked across the halls, she had been in many similar situations when she and the Mystery Inc team chased after phony ghosts, and they had conjured up similar parlour tricks in a vain attempt to chase them away.
Was this a fraternity prank? Velma's raffle win had been very public, and a few girls at campus had already mocked her for it. Perhaps they had caught wind she was heading up here sometime in the day and had made special preparations to 'surprise' and scare her away.
This constant hassling and mockery were one of the many reasons she pulled herself out of the same school she attended with the rest of the gang, and why she had to go to a different one altogether to eventually graduate. She vowed she would stand her ground this time.
She peered into each room that lined the corridor, finding nothing but empty bedrooms and supply cupboards. Finally, she reached the final two doors, and heard what appeared to be a few drips coming from one to the left.
She opened the door and found a modest looking bathroom, the trickling water coming from the shower head.
Velma began sensing an overpowering musky odour coming from somewhere, it didn't take her long to realise the smell was coming from her. The contents of the trash can being the culprit.
She was hesitant to clean herself, fearing there may be yet another unexpected surprise awaiting her. She figured she ought to turn back, head to the dorms, and take a shower there instead.
A stubborn side to her, however, refused to invite this more logical approach in, if this were the handiwork of a couple of salty bullies, then she was not going to be phased by it. After all, in prior encounters with fake ghosts, she had given one who messed with her a straight kick to the knee when all he had done was knock her glasses to the floor. She was capable of handling any compromise.
She kicked off her shoes, tore off her orange socks, dropped her skirt, and lifted her large orange blazer off of her shoulders. Wearing nothing but her panties and glasses, Velma approached the shower and turned the dial to a mild temperature before pulling down her underwear and stepping in as the water streamed down.
For fifteen luxurious minutes Velma enjoyed the shower, there didn't appear to be any further incidents, and she found herself immersed in that oh so predictable habit one has of singing as you washed yourself.
Velma eventually stepped out; she wrapped a towel around her waist as well as her hair, and proceeded to explore the last room in the upstairs hallway.
She entered what appeared to be a vast closet. Bright sparkling dresses, in prestige condition, were lined up to the left and right of her. Outfits that were befitting a princess or at best a career prom Queen. On a desk at the front of the large wardrobe were untouched lipstick, a tiara, hair straighteners, and a large brown wig.
Velma wondered if there was anything plain in the cupboard she could wear, she didn't care much at all for any social ladder look.
Observing Velma, Lacy smiled with supreme satisfaction. The trap would now be sprung.
A snap of her fingers brought one of the dresses to life, and it engulfed Velma, forcing itself on her body. The lipstick came to life also and smeared a perfect line across Velma's tender lips. The hair straighteners and brown wig worked in tandem; the wig nested itself atop Velma's head while the straightener ironed out any creaks in it, before tying it all up in a ponytail.
Velma was kicked out of the wardrobe and dragged over to a mirror, but Velma averted her gaze, and, through sheer willpower, fled down the corridor.
The mirror stalked Velma's every move, constantly putting itself in front of her and forcing her to come face to face with her new look. Velma averted her gaze, but to no avail, the mirror persisted. Velma found a trench coat and flat hat sitting on a coat rack and swiftly draped it over her dress and hair, and made her way back down to the central hall, still soggy and wet from the rise of the water levels from the kitchen.
The mirror suddenly shot upwards high in the air, turned sideways, and threw itself at Velma, hoping to land squarely on her head. Velma moved too quickly and it smashed and shattered on the edge of the staircase.
"I hope you know you've just earned yourself a seven year stretch of bad luck" Velma joked.
This was finally enough to draw out an angered Lacy Macintosh, who now appeared before Velma
"Ah, a genuine paranormal spirit...nice to meet up one close, Shaggy, Scrappy and Scooby always dealt with this sort when they were working freelance and doing odd job rounds, never believed them until now, I have to say, I'm impressed"
"Aren't you going to thank me?" Lacy revealed.
"Thank you? Whatever for?"
Lacy snapped her fingers and another mirror unhinged itself from the wall of another room and floated towards her, this time Lacy froze Velma to the spot using telekinetic capabilities, fixing the newly transformed nerd to the spot and forcing her to finally examine her new wardrobe and look.
"What's your name?"
"Velma Dinkley"
"You're hiding something from me" Lacy said, and peered into her mind. Velma hummed a catchy melody, something to distract her from the breach of privacy.
"Your middle name is Daisy, that's perfect. That's what I'll call you from here on in, the name you will go by as you venture out into the world to be heaped with praise and envy by all your peers. My precious Daisy...just be sure to credit me won't you?"
"Credit you with what? Attempting to scare the wit's end out of me? Forcing me to wear these gaudy high society dresses?" Velma snapped.
"If your fancier friends and frenemies could see you no..."
Lacy was proud of her handiwork and lost in her own self-congratulatory world.
"If they could see me now, they'd beg me to change back. My friends, my true friends, understand my preferences, they don't pass judgement on my fashion sense, they accept me as I come, part and parcel, they like me just the way I am. THIS? This just isn't me" said Velma, taking off her high heels and throwing them at the spirit, only for them pass through her.
Lacy laughed.
"Light and fire, oh we shall become the best of companions" she said, snapping her fingers.
"I'd rather be a bookworm than a shrewd worm like you"
This stung Lacy, and her temper soon outmatched Velma's own anger, she threw up a violent of kitchen accessories, knives, forks, pans, and hurtled them in Velma's direction, Velma scrambled for the door.
One of the pans shot past her and smashed through the window, leading back into the howling winds of what had been a fairly blustery evening.
Velma took a running leap and jumped out of the broken window, and darted back towards the mystery machine, clambered in, and drove off at top speed.
Velma dared not turn back, all she desired was to head back, get out of this dress, get into plainer clothes, and immerse herself in some light reading at the college library.
Perhaps, if we're lucky, she could uncover something about how to avoid caving into too much peer pressure.
It had been pressure from society's elite that had forced her away from the gang's school, and it was a desire to flee from society's judgements that had compelled her to enter the raffle.
She was done coping with what society deemed best for her.
She was already accepted by her friends, and that made her feel like an island.