Chapter Four A Monster and a Monkey Master

Draculaura followed Kim into the kitchen, where her mother was finishing making dinner.

"Oh, Draculaura, while I'm thinking of it, I've got some units in the refrigerator for you", she said. "You can put them in the microwave if you prefer it warm."

The vampire girl looked confused. "Units of what?"

"Whole blood."

"B-blood?" Draculaura promptly fainted.

"Mom, I forgot to tell you, she's a vegetarian," said Kim, having managed to grab her in time to prevent her head hitting the floor.

Mrs. Possible squatted down beside her and took her wrist. "No pulse. But that makes sense if she's a vampire."

She woke up a minute later, none the worse for wear.

Dinner was quiet, and they watched as Draculaura ate the mixed veggies part of dinner with gusto. Afterward had a large slice of apple pie.

They convened in the family room after for a Q and A session. The normies learned a lot about the vampire, and the vampire learned a lot about the normies.

kp/mh kp/mh kp/mh

Up in Kim's room later, the Kimmunicator beeped.

"Hi, Wade, what's the sitch?" asked Kim, to Lala's delight.

"Hey, Kim. Nothing's going on. I just wanted to check in and meet your guest," he replied.

"Hi, Wade!" came the cheerful voice as Draculaura stepped into range of the video pickup. "Nice to meet you!"

"You too! Welcome to Middleton!" he said. "Huh. You really are a vampire!" he added.

"Yes. So...?" she asked, a frown forming.

"Ah... nothing. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. But you are unique around here," he said.

"Yes, I'm unique, just like everybody else," she shot back.

Wade got a peculiar look. "Oookay... that's true. Uh... I see something I need to check. Talk to you later, Kim." He signed off.

Kim looked at her guest, the question plain on her face.

"Is EVERYONE going to comment about me being a vampire? I'm not used to that. At home, monsters accept each other for what they are," she explained.

"This is a new thing for Middleton," said Kim, "There's going to be some comments made. I'm afraid you're just going to have to put up with it for a while."

Draculaura sighed resignedly. "I guess..."

kp/mh kp/mh kp/mh

Ron came over to meet her late Sunday morning.

As usual he came in without knocking, stepping into the family room. "Hola, Doctors Possible!" he greeted them with a smile and a wave.

"Hello, Ronald," said Mr. Dr. Possible, glancing at his daughter's best friend and boyfriend before returning attention to the paper.

"Is Kim in her room?" Ron asked.

"Yes, she and Draculaura are talking, I think," said Kim's mom, not looking up from her medical journal.

"Oh, so her name's Draculaura?" he asked. "What kind of monster is she?"

"She's a vampire, Ron," was the answer.

"Really? Coolio!" he said.

"Ronald, she should be treated with respect; this is important for future relations between monsters and humans," said Mr. Possible.

"Yeah, Kim filled me in. Don't worry, it'll be fine," he said.

"Glad to hear it, Ron. You usually... react badly to unusual things," said Mrs. Possible.

"Who? Me? Nah..." he said, skeptically. As he left the room, they heard him mutter "I wonder if she likes Bueno Nacho?"

Kim's parents looked at each other and rolled their eyes. You never knew with Ron.

Upstairs, Kim's guest was being brought up to speed on the school and cheerleading programs. Barkin had given Kim a map and class schedule for the visitor, who questioned what most of them were.

"Science class? Not Mad Science?" asked Draculaura, reading the paper with a confused look. "No Dead Languages? Biteology? Home Ick? Not even Physical Deaducation?"

"Um..." Kim wasn't sure how to answer, so decided to change the subject. "Let me show you our routine book," she said pulling it out of her book bag, "We've won the Cheerleading Regionals with what's in here."

"Wait a second," said Draculaura, "Cheerleading? Don't you mean fearleading?"

Kim raised an eyebrow. "No... fearleading? Never heard that term before. Or any of those others, either."

"Must be a monsters-only thing," Lala said, shrugging. "You'll understand when you get there."

Kim opened the book and showed the vampire a routine.

After a few moment's study, she said "We have four ghouls on our fearleading squad, but that looks a lot like one we use."

"Just four?" asked Kim, looking at her.

"Yes. There were eight, but Torelei and her buds quit," was the answer. "And we do have an alternate."

"Torelei..." thought Kim, "Where have I heard that name before?"

Just then, Ron's voice came from the trap door to Kim's attic room. "Kim? You up there?"

"Yeah, Ronnie, come on up!" she called.

A blonde head with large ears and freckles appeared, followed by a skinny body in a red jersey and yellow pants. He was sporting a goofy grin.

The petite vampire squealed and ran over to him. "Ron Stoppable! I'm sooo happy to meet you! I'm Draculaura, by the way! Did you bring Rufus with you? I really want to meet him too!" She held out a hand.

"Uh..." Ron managed to say, taking the hand briefly. He hadn't expected such a greeting.

Hearing his name, Rufus popped up out of Ron's pocket and looked at the girl. "Hi!" he said, waving.

"Rufus! Wow! This is wonderful!" Draculaura's squeal took an even higher pitch. The naked mole rat put his paws over his ears; that had hurt! Then he sniffed in the visitor's direction. Something wasn't right about her, and it bothered him. He quietly went back in the pocket.

The vampire turned her attention back to Ron.

"I think it's great, getting to meet and stay with my heroes!" she continued, "I'm really excited to go to your school and meet everyone!"

Amused, Kim watched her flustered boyfriend as the vampire assaulted him with nonstop talk for a few minutes. Finally she decided it was time to step in, before his brain shut down completely.

"Lala, let him answer you once in a while," she said, smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I tend to babble when I meet someone famous!" she said.

Her wide smile with fangs visible caught his attention, and it was his turn to get excited.

"Woah! You really ARE a vampire! Cool!" he said. "What kind of powers do you have?"

"I don't-"

"Do you sparkle?"

"Do I what?"

"You really go to school with other monsters?"

"Yes, I-"

"Do you know any zombies?"

"Yes, one of-"

"Coolio! I'm a zombie master!"

Kim's eyes got wide. Uh-oh.

"What do you mean, zombie master?" asked Draculaura, tilting her head slightly.

"I've found all the best ways to kill them!" he bragged.

The shocked vampire took in a breath and put a hand over her mouth.

"Ron..." said Kim, warningly. Unfortunately, he didn't pay attention.

"The other night, Felix and I went into the cemetery, and we must have killed nearly a hun-"

"RON!" shouted Kim, finally getting his attention. She shook her head and nodded at Draculaura.

"You... you kill zombies for fun?" the girl asked in a low voice, stepping away from him. "What other monsters do you kill?"

Kim stood up, and the vampire's attention turned quickly to her. "Is this a trap? Are you going to kill me too?" Tears sprang up in her gray eyes. "What did I ever do to you?" She backed away from the humans.

"No, Lala! We don't do that!" Kim said, trying to calm the other girl.

Draculaura took another step away from them and stumbled into the bed, causing her to gasp and sit down.

Finally the light dawned for Ron. "OH! No, no, no, it's a video game! Zombie Mayhem Eye Vee!"

"A video game... for killing zombies?" she looked at Kim. "Is that what you normies do for fun? One of my best friends is a zombie! She's smart and sweet, and would never hurt anyone!"

"Wait, wait, wait- are you saying zombies are REAL?" Ron asked, eyes growing wide.

"Of course they are! We have lots at Mon-" suddenly realizing what she was about to reveal, Draculaura clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Ron's never hurt a zombie!" protested Kim.

"Yeah, I've never even met one!" he added. "I didn't even know they were real!"

"Uh uh! No zombies hurt!" said Rufus. He had popped out of the pocket with the odd turn in the conversation to see what was going on.

This seemed to calm the petite vampire down... a bit. "Well..."

"I'm sorry!" said Ron, "I didn't think about what I was saying!" He turned red.

"You rarely do, Ron," said Kim, glaring at him.

"I guess... as long as you're not hurting real monsters, it's okay," said Draculaura.

Both Kim and Ron let out sighs of relief.

The visitor turned red. "Come to think of it, my boyfriend Clawd plays a "hunt-the-humans" video game. But he's never hurt one."

Kim smiled. "Somehow I'm not surprised."

Draculaura got up and ran over to Kim, hugging her. "I'm sorry! I just assumed the worst! Please forgive me!"

"I understand," she replied, hugging back. "And please forgive Ron, too."

Lala turned to him and smiled. "I do."

"Thanks. I'll try not to mention it again," he said.

"Yeah, thanks!" added Rufus.

"So, who's Clawd? Another vampire?" asked Kim.

"Oh, no, he's a werewolf," was the answer, "He's my best friend Clawdeen's older brother."

"A vampire whose best friend is a werewolf?" Ron looked confused, "And dates another one? How does that happen? I thought you were enemies."

Draculaura looked at the blond boy. "Because it's Monster High. All kinds of monsters go to school together, and get along great! Besides vampires and werewolves and zombies, we've got ghosts, werecats, homebuilt monsters, mummies... all kinds! And even a few that can't be classified."

"And you're going there next week?" Ron asked his girlfriend.

Kim grinned. "Yep. Sounds... exciting."

"You're going to love it there, Kim," said Lala.

"Changing the subject," said Kim, "Want to go shopping?"

"Always! I love going to the Maul!" was the answer. She bounced a bit in excitement.

"Great! I'll introduce you to Monique. We work at Club Banana." said Kim.

"Oh, right! I remember reading that on your website. Let me get my purse and umbrella, and we can go!" she rushed down the stairs.

"Ron..." said Kim, turning to him.

He looked ashamed. "I know, Kim. Sorry. I'll try to watch what I say."

She gave him a hug and kiss. "And there's a reminder."