Compared to the other chapters, this one is a little shorter, but I hope you all enjoy.
Hollie and Shrie were enjoying their time at the high school, specifically the torture they brought upon their fellow banshee. They despised Scarah with such a passion that not even the most fearful human of a monster could replica. It was a personal issue, because they found Scarah to be too different from who a banshee was and supposed to be. And they wanted Scarah to punish because of it. And she would; they would make sure of it.
After a successful week of setting up elaborate pranks used against Scarah, they moved onto a new tactic: schmoozing the friends. Planning out for this next step in their torturing progress had been easy for Hollie and Shrie. They were master tacticians, always planning their next move carefully so that there wouldn't be any mistakes. They never struck without going over every possibility. So, before they were to socialize with Scarah's friends, they observed them. The twins studied the ghouls that Scarah normally talked to, catalogued their characteristics, and began plotting ways to respond in ways that would put the sisters on the friend's good side. Once they were sure they had everything planned, they struck.
The twins' first target was Frankie. They figured she would be the most gullible considering how bubbly she had been when they first met. They found her easily enough, and with a nod to each other, Shrie and Hollie walked over to her. They smiled sweetly at her when she closed her locker door.
"Hi, Frankie, was it?" Shrie greeted the ghoul.
"Huh? Oh hi!" Frankie greeted happily. "Uhm...sorry, I seem to have forgotten your names."
"Shrie and Hollie," Hollie explained with a smile. "It's okay, we haven't talked to you since we got here."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Exciting first day though, huh?" Frankie asked.
"Yeah, but Scarah hasn't talked to us since," Shrie said with a sigh.
"It's really sad how she keeps avoiding us," Hollie added. "I wish we knew why she didn't like us."
"Oh no, no! She's not mad at you two. She's just under a lot of stress," Frankie explained. "I'm sure she'll be better once the stress goes away. You know how school can be."
"I hope so," Hollie sighed. "It hurts that we can't be friends with her."
"Would it be alright if we sit with you at lunch?" Shrie asked. "You're one of the friendliest faces we met when we first got here. We would have tried to sit with Billy, but he's with Scarah and I don't think they'd welcome us."
"Of course you can. Me and my ghouls would be happy to sit with you," Frankie said.
Shrie and Hollie smiled at the ghoul, and poor Frankie wasn't aware for what she was about to do. Manipulating ghouls was so easy.
Scarah stared at the lunch table that was occupied by Frankie and her friends. Frankie was guiding Hollie and Shrie to the table, which terrified Scarah greatly. Operetta was also watching, glaring in their direction in annoyance. The twins briefly caught their glance and smirked at them.
"Hey ghouls, this is Shrie and Hollie, the banshee sisters," Frankie introduced to her friends.
"Hello," her friends said.
"Shrie, Hollie, these are my friends: Lagoona, Clawdeen, Cleo, Ghoulia, Abbey, and Draculaura."
"Hello," the twins responded, sitting down.
"Okay okay, what number am I thinking of?" Draculaura asked.
"Hm...Oh, Clawdeen, that's a lovely top," Shrie replied, focusing on Clawdeen's outfit.
"What this?" Clawdeen asked, looking down at the purple jacket she usually wore.
"Yes, it looks amazing on you," Shrie stated.
"I could never wear it as well as you do," Hollie added. "It looks like it was practically made to be worn by you alone."
Clawdeen smiled at the compliment.
"And Draculaura, your shoes are just fab," Shrie complimented.
"You think so?" Draculaura asked, giggling a little and forgetting she had asked a question.
"They match your outfit so perfectly," Hollie added.
"Hmm, you girls know your fashion," Cleo remarked.
"We try," the twins responded.
"How are you girls enjoying the school?" Lagoona asked.
"It's so welcoming," Shrie replied. "But we wish to be more involved."
"Have you thought about joining some sports?" Lagoona asked.
"Like the swim team? Oh no. We couldn't possibly compete with you and your partner," Hollie answered. "You two are so amazing, there's no need for us."
"But a music club may be up our alley. Especially if it deals with folk songs, like Himalayan Yak bands," Shrie added.
"You like the Yaks?" Abbey asked in awe, happy to find other monsters who liked her taste in music.
"Of course," the twins said excitedly. "They're our favorite."
"I love the Himalayan Yak bands!" Abbey responded happily. "I have all cds."
"Even the live versions?" Hollie asked.
Abbey nodded happily. She began to sing one of her favorite songs and Hollie and Shrie joined in. The banshees couldn't sing loudly like Abbey, but they still sang. Their friends politely listened to the song, even though they wanted to tell them to shut it because it wasn't that pleasant sounding. When the three ghouls finished their song, they began talking about boys, the universal female topic.
Frankie sat on the side, grinning happily and sparking at the bolts. She was so happy to see that the two banshees were getting along. She remembered what it had been like to be the new ghoul at school, and how scary it had been to know no one. Her goal was to always help the new students in need.
None of the ghouls at the table noticed the small look of victory that was shared between the sisters. The ghouls were playing right into their hands the more they complimented them (Cleo was the easiest to manipulate due to her ego) and talked, and by the end of the day, Hollie and Shrie had become a part of the group.
Hollie and Shrie didn't stop at Frankie and the gang. The twins knew that Spectra, Iris, and Hoodude were also close friends of Scarah's. Becoming friends with them was easy. They talked to Spectra about stories that Spectra could use for her blog. For Iris, they talked about astronomy, which was Iris' passion. Hoodude was the easiest because of how trusting and caring he was. The girls just paid attention to him and he fell under their control easily. Once all was said and done at the end of the day, Hollie and Shrie had infiltrated themselves into Scarah's group of friends. They didn't bother going after Operetta, Venus, Rochelle, or Robecca.
Operetta had made it known through her body language anytime the twins saw her that she wasn't falling for their tricks. Scarah had to have gotten to her before they could. Swaying the girl would be impossible at that point. They had learned that Venus, Rochelle, and Robecca were more of Operetta's friends instead of Scarah's; they merely sat with Scarah at lunch because Operetta was now sitting there. Because of that, the twins didn't feel like wasting their time or energy.
Scarah was disturbed by how well her friends got along with Shrie and Hollie. She knew instantly what they were doing, and it disturbed her on how well and quickly they could do it. The more they socialized with her friends, the more they were going to create a divergence between her and them.
She was only thankful that they hadn't gone after Operetta and her friends, who had begun sitting with them at lunch. Her biggest fear was Billy. Billy was a monster with a big heart, and he could be manipulated without him knowing. If the Bellcry sisters got to him, then Scarah knew she'd be done for.
All went according to plan, and so they turned their attention to Billy. Billy, as they had learned, was Scarah's boyfriend. This meant that he was her greatest supporter, and they had seen him comfort her on more than one occasion, usually bringing back her smiles and making her feel good about herself. They needed to drive a wedge between the two. Once they did that, Scarah would be open for an attack.
They had been studying him for the past couple weeks, and they had a pretty good idea on how to go about it. Billy was a sensitive guy who would always do his best to cheer up any female that was upset. They were going to use that to their advantage. They waited until after he was done playing a game of casketball with his friends before striking. As she walked down the steps of the school, he noticed the two ghouls sniffling on the bottom steps. Worried, he rushed over.
"Are you two alright?" he asked in concern.
"Oh! Billy," Shrie said, wiping her eyes. "No, no we're not alright."
"What's the matter?" he asked, sitting beside them.
"It's just...the school is so nice and everything, but Scarah still won't talk to us," Hollie answered.
"We've tried being her friend, but she just runs from us and tells us to leave her alone," Shrie added. "We don't know why she hates us."
"She doesn't hate you," Billy reassured. "Scarah's just been under a lot of stress and it must have gotten to her pretty bad. But she doesn't hate you."
"Are you sure?" Hollie asked hopefully.
"We really just want to be her friend," Shrie expressed.
"I'm sure of it. I'll talk to Scarah about it tomorrow, how's that sound?" Billy asked.
"Oh thank you Billy!" Shrie and Hollie cried, wrapping Billy up into a hug. "You're the best."
Billy blushed at the compliment and hug. He gave them pats on the back before untangling himself from them. He bade them farewell when he saw they were doing better, not at all noticing the victorious smirks they wore. Just like the ghouls, Billy had fallen for their charm. Their plan was coming together more and more.
Operetta, who had been keeping a close eye on them since finding Scarah in the catacombs frowned in disgust. She hated how everyone was falling under their whims and charm, but she wasn't going to interfere. This was Scarah's issue, and the bean si needed to handle it on her own.