A/N: So out of all possible fandoms I could write for, many of you are probably thinking that this is the furthest one you'd possibly expect. And you'd be right.
But when I was younger, I was inside a lot, and I found myself watching things that you'd never expect a young boy to get into. Next thing I know, I'm watching Monster High and My Little Pony alongside Transformers Prime, SpongeBob, Fairly Odd Parents, and reruns of Danny Phantom and El Tigre on Nicktoons.
But unlike one of the prior shows that will stay in the past, Monster High has actually stuck with me for one reason: Despite it being aimed towards young and teenage girls, the premise behind it is actually kind of interesting. Especially when you take into account that the main theme behind the movies is racism.
Well, recently, I found myself falling back down this rabbit hole after I saw the trailer for what looks to be a dreadful live action adaptation, and I found myself revisiting old fanfics I'd read in the past (We are Monsters by Creaturemaster, anyone?) and falling back down the rabbit hole of my childhood.
Now, you can judge me all you want, but I don't really care. In spite of the target audience, and admittedly somewhat subpar animation quality, in my opinion anyway, the concept is interesting to me, and I am unashamed to admit that I'm a fan of it.
Now, for those of you who don't have sticks up your asses, if you want to read it, I encourage you to read and review.
"So, Monster High, huh?" Wendell questioned as he glanced towards the flier his father had handed him. "You really think it'll be just as good as Blue Creek, Dad?"
Walter Wendigo chuckled as he looked at his son. "I don't see why not. It looks like they accept all types of monsters." He observed as he took a drink of his coffee, leaning against the counter top as Wendell ate on the kitchen table behind him.
Wendell tilted his head. "I don't know, Dad. Monsters are one thng, but Blue Creek accepted everybody."
Walter looked at his son for a moment, before he sighed. "Son, I know you're a little weary, but you know you have to go to school, and this Monster High place seemed like the best bet."
"In New Salem, maybe." Wendell retorted with a sigh of his own as he sat the flier down. "It seems like this whole town is so divided between monsters and humans." He remarked as he moved to eat his cereal. "This school apparently accepts humans too, but it's clearly geared towards monsters."
"Oh come on, Wenny." The voice of Wanda Wendigo perked up as she walked into the kitchen. "That Bloodgood woman didn't seem all bad, and she's the one who established the school." She said as she rested her hands on her son's shoulders. "Like you said, New Salem is not like Blue Creek, so divided… perhaps there's no human who would send their child to that school."
"I guess that's true." Wendell conceded. "I guess I'm still just so… thrown off, by the move." He admitted as his mom moved to make herself some breakfast. "You guys sprung it on my out of nowhere."
"We know, Wendell." Walter said with a sigh as his wife gave him the evil eye. "We didn't mean too… but I thought I'd be able to pay off the bills."
"I know, Dad." Wendell said with a sigh as he finished his breakfast, standing up to put his bowl in the sink. "I know." Both Walter and Wanda watched as their son dumped his bowl and spoon into the sink, before moving to grab his back pack. "Bye, Mom. Bye Dad."
Both Walter and Wendy watched their son go.
"We have to do something, Walt. He had absolutely no way to prepare for this." Wanda said as she turned to look at her husband. "We ripped him from his home."
"I know." Walter said with a sad nod. "I know."
Wendell whistled a tune to himself as he walked the streets of New Salem, taking in the surroundings of his new home as he went to his new school.
Admittedly, he felt completely out of his element.
He was used to the sunshine and blue skies of Blue Creek. He was used to the dirt roads and forests, the nearest house being a five minute walk down the road. The dull cloudy sky of New Salem was rather dreary, and the houses being next to each other back to back felt so cramped.
But this is his new life. This is what he had to get used to.
His dad had failed to pay the property tax. And he'd tried till the last minute, before he finally let Wendell know that they were losing the farm. Their home.
The only place he'd ever known.
And now, they were living in the big city.
The constant noise at all times. Vehicles going by in the odd hours of the night. The occasional person walking by the sidewalk… screaming their head off at times, doing stupid things.
He hated New Salem. Hated it with a passion.
But he was gonna give it a shot. Just because he didn't like the town, didn't mean he'd judge the people.
His mom was right. In spite of any misgivings he had… Bloodgood had none nothing to warrant any mistrust. Quite the opposite, she'd been quite welcoming, and had told him that she'd make sure he felt more than welcome at the school.
If Wendell had to guess, he just wasn't as trusting outside of his home. Then again, Blue Creek was very close nit. Everyone within fifty miles knew each other, and there were rarely any outsiders. Not that outsiders weren't welcome, quite the opposite.
But when you were the outsider… things changed. It felt like no one liked you, no one trusted you. You were the one learning new ways, while everyone else looked at you like you were a lost puppy.
Wendell hated the feeing. He missed being the one who was helping people. He missed being the one who would always get up to some wacky mischief with the other teens.
Sure, working on a farm, he was hardworking, honest. But that didn't mean he was always the perfect child, minding what he was told, never getting into trouble.
He had snuck out plenty of times with the others to go hang out in the old fire station. It had been abandoned years ago, and it had been turned into a hangout spot by the teens and children around the community.
But… all of that was gone now.
Here in New Salem, he had to start a new life. Humans and Monsters weren't as close nit, he knew nobody, living in a little neighborhood instead of the country side farm…
It was gonna be hard. It was gonna be different.
But Wendell didn't have much of a choice. He'd have to learn. He'd have to adapt.
"Welcome to Monster High." Wendell grumbled. "Freaky flaws and all."
The castle that made up Monster High was quite the eerie site. It confused Wendell admittedly. For a school that was supposed to be welcoming, it was creepy to look at. It would most likely turn anyone from Blue Creek away.
But this wasn't Blue Creek. This was New Salem.
And this was probably normal. Probably welcoming for the monsters of this city.
Wendell supposed that with time, he'd come to accept the place as his new home. His new school.
Besides, it was his first day. He'd have to make some friends eventually.
Walking through the wrought iron gate that connected the perimeter fence, Wendell basically ignored everyone around him. His destination was Bloodgood's office, where he was hoping to get his new schedule for the school.
There was an abundance of monsters around the school yard. A minotaur of similar size to his own, a few werewolves, a gorgan… his eye caught a group of ghouls sitting on the steps of the school's entrance, talking up a storm as Wendell approached.
Wendell ignored them.
Or, he tried to anyway.
"Excuse me?"
A female voice entered his ears, and on instinct, Wendell turned to the direction he'd heard it come from. The group of ghouls were all looking at him in surprise, and it was at this moment that the wendigo took the time to examine the group.
A mummy, a werewolf, a vampire, a simulacrum, a zombie, and a saltwater fish girl all sat on the front steps iof the group, and every single one of them were looking at him.
"Are you new here?" The cadaver asked, brows furrowed in curiosity as she looked at the Wendell, along with her friends.
Wendell turned to look at the group, nodding his head. "Yeah. Me and my parents had a meet & greet with Bloodgood yesterday." He informed them. "Today's my first day. Hoping she has my schedule all typed up."
The group of ghouls all nodded as they listened to his explanation.
"Well, I'm Cleo De Nile." The mummy introduced herself. "I'm the most popular ghoul in school, without question." She declared with a confident smirk as she looked at Wendell.
Wendell shrugged. "Neat. Don't really care about popularity myself, but whatever floats your boat."
Most of the ghouls all snickered at the complete look of shock on the mummy's face at Wendell's words.
"I'm Clawdeen." The werewolf introduced with a smile, offering her hand.
"Wendell." The wendigo returned the introduction with a small smile as he shook Clawdeen's hand.
"I'm Frankie!" The cadaver introduced, practically bouncing in excitement as she offered her own hand for Wendell to shake as well, which the wendigo promptly did.
"Nice to meet you." Wendell said, smile never wavering.
"Aaaaaaaeeeeeegh." The zombie groaned out her introduction, to which Wendell nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Ghoulia." Wendell nodded as he shook her hand as well.
"And I'm Draculaura!" The pink skinned vampire introduced with a smile as Wendell shook her hand in greeting."
"Nice to meet you all." Wendell said, a smile on his face as he nodded, giving a wave with the hand that was currently gripping the backpack strap on his shoulder. "Hate to sound rude, but I'm gonna go ahead and take off. Wanna see if Bloodgood has my schedule typed up."
"Oh, it's fine!" Frankie said with a wave of her hand, a smile never leaving her face. "I hope you enjoy your first day!"
"Piece of advice?" Clawdeen spoke up, looking up at the wendigo. "Keep your head down and you'll be fine."
Wendell stared at Clawdeen for a moment, before letting out a sigh at the rather foreboding sounding warning. "Thanks for the heads up." He said as he turned away from the group of ghouls and continued his way up to the steps, entering the building that was Monster High.
Behind him, he could make out the group of ghouls continuing their conversation, while he made his way to Bloodgood's office.
The architecture of Monster High was rather gothic in appearance. Gargoyles hung above the lockers, and the bells looked like they were old, rickety. The walls were a dark, corroded purple, and the lockers had the shapes of coffins.
Wendell was still completely unsure of what to think about that
He ignored most of the other students in the halls, and he paid no mind to the curious gazes many of them turned towards them. He didn't care what others wanted to think.
Wendell finally came up to the big purple door that was the entrance to Headmistress Bloodgood's office. With a sigh, he opened the door, calling out for the woman he hoped was inside.
"Bloodgood?" He called out, his voice echoing through the small office.
"Come in, Wendell!" A familiar, controlled and polite voice called back, and Wendell gladly walked in, crouching down some so that his antlers didn't catch the door frame. It didn't matter how hard antlers were, catching them on anything hurt like hell.
Walking into the room, he spotted the very woman he was looking for behind her desk.
Headmistress Bloodgood was a tall woman, even without her head. She stood composed, regal, her entire presence demanding respect.
Her expression, however, was a smile. And expression of calm assurance, promising that everything would be fine, and that there was no reason to feel discomfort.
How the woman's head could give a completely different vibe compared to her entire body, Wendell didn't know.
Nor did he really care.
"It's good to see you again, young man." Bloodgood said in a kind voice, smile never leaving her face as she literally screwed her head back onto her shoulders. "You're early, you know?"
"Yeah, I was hoping to pick up my class schedule so that I could study it before running around like a bat out of hell." Wendell said, a small smile of his own on his face as he looked at the woman.
Bloodgood's face took on an apologetic look. "Well, I regret to inform you that it's only been a day, Wendell." She informed him, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. "I'm still working on a schedule for you. I might be able to have one finished by the end of the week."
Wendell sighed. "Well, what would you like me to do then?" He asked, maintaining his respectful tone in spite of his irritation.
Bloodgood took on a face of thought for a moment, finger coming up to her chin, before her face lit up as an idea struck her. "You went to a school that accepted both humans and monsters regularly, right?" She asked, smiling slightly.
Wendell nodded. "Yep. Why?"
Bloodgood simply smiled, before taking her head off once more and setting it down on her desk in front of a microphone. It took John no time at all to realize it was the announcements microphone.
"Jackson Jekyll, please report to my office." She instructed a student over the intercom, before looking at Wendell. "Perhaps you can help this student as much as he might be able to you."
"Okay…" Wendell muttered with a confused look as he took a seat in one of the wooden chairs opposite Bloodgood.
It took a few minutes, but the sound of Bloodgood's door opening eventually caught the attention of both Bloodgood and Wendell.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" The voice of the new arrival asked, and Wendell turned to look at the person whom had arrived.
And his eyes widened when he spotted what looked to be a regular human.
The boy had a pair of thick rimmed glasses, and a black vest atop a yellow checkered sweater.
Bloodgood nodded, smiling at the teen that had arrived. "Yes, Jackson, take a seat." She instructed, gesturing to the open seat next to Wendell.
Jackson took a seat next to Wendell, eyeing the wendigo warily, before both teens looked at Bloodgood.
"Wendell here is a new student, Jackson." Bloodgood informed the normal looking teen. "He's from a school that accepts both humans and monsters on a daily basis."
"Really?" Jackson asked in surprise, turning to look at Wendell.
"Yeah." Wendell nodded. "Hell, just as many of my friends were humans as they were monsters." He revealed, to the boy's surprise.
"Today's Wendell's first day, and I don't have a schedule made up for him yet." Bloodgood explained to Jackson. "So, I was hoping you'd show him around Monster High, and let him shadow you for the week."
Both Wendell and Jackson looked at each other, surprised by the arrangement, before Jackson looked at Bloodgood.
"I don't know, Headmistress… I don't want to be a bother." He said, rubbing his neck as he averted his gaze.
"Why would you be a bother?" Wendell questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You'd be more of a help than a bother."
"Well… not many people like normies." Jackson explained, but Wendell was only more confused.
"Normies?" He asked, turning to look at Bloodgood. "The hell's a normie?"
Bloodgood sighed. "It's what the teens of New Salem call regular humans." She explained to the wendigo.
"Sounds offensive as hell." Wendell remarked, glancing towards Jackson. "I ain't got a problem with you. To be quite frank, I'd appreciate the help."
"Really?" Jackson asked, looking at Wendell.
The wendigo smiled at the teen, nodding his head. "Definitely, if you're okay with it."
"Okay…" Jackson said quietly, before smiling, and speaking a little louder. "Sure!"
"Alright." Bloodgood said, smiling at the two as she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "I'm writing you two a pass for your first class in case you're late." She informed the teens as she handed Jackson the pink slip. "Wendell, I leave you in the very capable hands of Mr. Jekyll."
"Let's go ahead and get to class." Jackson advised as he stood up from his seat. "I just know Mr. Hack is going to be unhappy, regardless of the slip."
"Mr. Hack?" Wendell questioned incredulously. "What kind of name is that?" He asked as he stood up, following Jackson out the door.
"A nickname for Mr. Hackington." Jackson answered with a sigh. "Trust me, you'll see why."
Wendell let out a sigh of his own. "I'm loving this more and more." He said sarcastically as he followed Jackson.
Suddenly the sound of a bell rang out, accompanied by a shrill screech, and Wendell growled, bringing a hand up to his ear in pain. "What the fuck was that?!"
Jackson could only thank ghoul that they had already left Bloodgood's office at that outburst. "It was the bell for first period. Why?"
"Damn thing's loud." Wendell replied, massaging his ears. "And my hearing is a bit sensitive."
"You get used to it." Jackson assured. "Anyway, for first period, we have Biteology." He informed as he led Wendell through the halls.
"Biteology?" Wendell questioned in disbelief. "Do you mean Biology?"
"No." Jackson said with a curious shake of his head. "Is that what it was called at your old school?"
Wendell nodded. "Yeah." He said, rubbing his already aching temple. "Something tells me that today is not going to be the best day."
After a few minutes of walking through the halls of Monster High, Jackson and Wendell finally reached their destination.
"You ready?" Jackson asked his wendigo companion as they stopped outside the door to the biteology classroom.
Wendell shook his head. "Not really, won't lie." He said with a sigh. "But, I may as well get this over with."
Jackson gave a light smile. "That's the spirit!" He joked, before he opened the door and walked in, Wendell following behind.
The first thing that went through Wendell's mind when he spotted Hackington was that he looked like a third rate psycho.
A stitched mask was over the face of the short man, a beer gut that jiggled like jell-o as he snapped his gaze towards the new arrivals, and Wendell already had the feeling that he wasn't gonna like him.
"You're late, Jekyll." The teacher said in an accent that Wendell couldn't quite place. "And just who is this?"
"Name's Wendell." Wendell answered for Jackson. The poor teen looked as if he was about to crumble under the man's gaze. "It's my first day. Bloodgood has me shadowing Jackson here."
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked in a disbelieving voice. "Prove it."
"Bloodgood gave us a pass, Mr. Hackington." Jackson spoke up, albeit quietly, handing the pink slip Bloodgood had given him to the teacher.
Hackington read over the piece of paper he'd been given, before grumbling in a mix of disappointment and frustration. "Take your seats." He muttered, turning back towards the board.
Wendell immediately took note of how dreary and terrible the atmosphere of the classroom was, and he had to ask himself if this really was what a typical classroom of Monster High was like as he followed Jackson up the steps and to the top row.
Jackson crawled into the row, taking a seat at one of the desks as Wendell followed, taking a seat next to Jackson at the outermost desk before opening his bookbag and taking out some notebook paper and a heavy duty pencil.
"Now then, Wendell, would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" Hackington asked as he turned around to face the class, eyeing the wendigo with a rather sadistic smile.
Wendell let out a sigh, but complied as he stood to his feet. "Sure. I'm Wendell Wendigo, new student." He gave a rather rushed introduction as he looked at Hackington. "Is that good, sir?"
"No." Hackington said with a shake of his head. "Where you from?"
"Blue Creek." Wendell replied. "Pretty good community. Everyone treats each other like people." He remarked, eyes running over the class as all the students eyed him curiously.
"What do you mean by that, Wendell?' Hackington asked.
"Exactly what it sounded like, sir." Wendell replied with a raised eyebrow. "Can I sit down now so we can get on with this?"
Hackington glowered for a moment as Wendell sat down, before he smirked. "Well, since you're so eager to learn, Wendell…" He spoke in a rather unsavory tone, addressing the class. "I want a three page essay on the different types of monsters there are from all of you, on my desk by Friday!"
Wendell balked at Hackington's words as he moved to continue teaching whatever he was going to, while most of the class turned to glare at the wendigo.
"Dick." Wendell muttered as promptly slammed his head on his desk in frustration, while Jackson looked on in sympathy.
Jackson Jekyll could safely say that no one at Monster High was as foul-mouthed as his partner, Wendell Wendigo.
"Motherfucking cocksucking cuntloving assmunching dickbag." Wendell grumbled/ranted angrily under his breath.
Jackson wasn't sure what was more impressive, the fact that he strung that all together so coherently, or the fact that he was almost positive that Wendell had spoken it off the top of his head.
"That's impressive." Jackson help but remark as he stared wide-eyed at the wendigo.
"What?" Wendell asked, glancing towards Jackson.
"That." Jackson said, waving his hands in a gesture to Wendell. "I have never heard anyone at Monster High swear like that."
Wendell snorted. "That's a miracle and a half." He remarked with an eyeroll. "A teacher like that jackass? Students at my old school would be calling him Hack the Jack."
Jackson gave Wendell a confused glance. "Jack?"
"Jackass." Wendell clarified. "So, where we going next?" He asked, glancing towards the rather normal looking boy.
"We have Dead Languages." Jackson answered, before groaning slightly. "Mr. Rotter."
"Zombie?" Wendell questioned, but Jackson shook his head.
"Not really sure." He admitted. "I think he's something in between." He admitted as they came upon the classroom, the wendigo following the human inside.
At the front of the classroom was a rather pale skinned teacher with white hair. He was a ghastly ghoul of some type, and his complexion was clearly that of someone who'd died. Wendell was almost positive he was a zombie, but he wouldn't question it.
"Good morning, Mr. Rotter." Jackson greeted with a small wave.
Mr. Rotter barely nodded. "A good morning to you too, Mr. Jekyll." He greeted back in a low voice, albeit rather pleasantly, if the welcoming smile on his face was any indication. "And who, pray tell, are you?" The zombie asked, turning to look at Wendell.
"I'm Wendell." Wendell answered with a pleasant smile of his own. "I'm a new student. Bloodgood has me shadowing Jackson here for the week until a schedule can be made up." He explained, gesturing to the human teen next to him.
Mr. Rotter nodded, more visibly this time. "Well then… let us hope you enjoy your time here, Wendell." He said with a smile. "Now… please, take your seats."
The two teens nodded, before Wendell followed Jackson to the set of five seats in the back of the class.
Unlike Hack, Mr. Rotter's classroom resembled an actual classroom rather than an auditorium, Wendell found himself thankful for some semblance of normalcy. At least compared to his old school.
"He ain't so bad." Wendell remarked as he sat down in the desk next to Jackson as they waited for the rest of the class to show.
Jackson shook his head. "No, he's not, but he can go on forever when it comes to stories that no one likes." The teen explained, glancing to the wendigo. "Trust me, you'll see."
Wendell sighed, but nodded. "Alright."
"Hey!"
A familiar perky voice rang in Wendell's ears, and he found himself looking at the cadaver he'd met among the group of ghouls earlier. Frankie, if he recalled correctly. Frankie was making her way to the back row, smiling in his direction the whole time.
"Hey." Wendell said with a wave and a smile of his own. "Frankie, right?"
"Yep!" The simulacrum said with an eager nod, glancing towards Jackson. "Hi, Jackson!"
"Hi, Frankie." Jackson answered with a small wave as Frankie took a seat opposite of the teen, on the other side of Wendell. "So, how are you enjoying the day so far?"
"To sum it up?" Wendell spoke with a raised eyebrow. "I already hate Hack the Jack." He answered, grumbling slightly.
Frankie looked rather disappointed at his answer. "What happened?"
"Jackass gave the whole class a three page essay that's due by Friday and blamed it on me." Wendell answered with a sigh. "Not even here a day and already one teacher has it out for me."
Frankie gave Wendell a sympathetic glance. "Oh, it won't be that bad," She assured the wendigo. "You'll probably make plenty of friends today vs enemies!" She declared, a bright smile plastered on her face.
Wendell couldn't help but find her smile infectious, chuckling in spite of himself. "If you say so."
"So, did you get your schedule?" Frankie asked as she propped her head on her hand. "We didn't get to talk much before you took off to get it."
Wendell scoffed. "Nah. Bloodgood said she wouldn't have it made up till about Friday." He answered with a disappointed sigh. "She's got me following Jackson here till then."
"Well, that's not all bad!" Frankie said, bouncing up and down with joy. "Jackson's the brightest student at Monster High!" She declared proudly, gesturing to the now blushing human teen.
"Oh, I don't know about that…" Jackson said, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.
Frankie beams. "I do! You get straight A's in every class except Physical Deaducation, and it never slows you down!"
Jackson smiled at the praise. "Thanks, Frankie."
"No problem." Frankie replied, the sugar filled smile still on her face.
"Now, class." Mr. Rotter spoke as the class finally finished filling itself. "Before we begin, we have a new student in our class today." He announced, turning to look at Wendell. "Would you please come and get your textbook? It shall be yours for the rest of the year."
Wendell nodded, standing up out of his seat and moving to collect his textbook. "Thank you," He said as he took the textbook, eliciting a nod from the walking corpse.
"Now," Mr. Rotter began. "If you all would turn to page 245, we can get started on our next piece of literature for the month." He instructed as he sat down, opening the teacher's version of the handbook.
Wendell retook his seat his followed the instructions, only for his eyes to widen when he spotted the story.
The Most Dangerous Game
He remembered the story quite well. What surprised him is that it was human literature, and considering how Monster High seemed geared towards… well, monsters, it came as a bit of a shock to Wendell.
"You will now partner up with the person next to you and discuss your thoughts before we begin." Mr. Rotter instructed. "This will be your partner for the next month as we go over this piece of literature." He turned his gaze towards Jackson. "Since there are an odd number of students in the class now, you will join Jackson and Frankie for the assignment, Wendell."
Wendell nodded. "Yes sir."
"Alright, gather up, and begin discussing!" Mr. Rotter instructed his class, before taking a seat at his desk to monitor their progress.
"The Most Dangerous Game, huh?" Frankie spoke aloud the title. "What do you think it's about?"
"I can already tell you." Wendell revealed to his partners. "I read it at my old school last year."
"What's it about?" Jackson asked curiously, looking at the Wendigo.
"There's this guy, Zarroff. He owns this little island." Wendell began, looking between his two partners as he explained. "He's a big game hunter, and he's good at it, but he'd bored of hunting big game."
"Bored of hunting big game?" Frankie asked in confusion.
Jackson looked at Frankie. "It means hunting dangerous animals." He clarified. "A lot of normies find that fun… somehow."
"Anyway," Wendell spoke back up, catching their attention again. "This guy, Rainsford, washes up on the island, and Zarroff takes him. Basically, Anyone who washes up on the island, Zarroff hunts them for sport, and will only release them if they survive three days. The story is about how Rainsford does exactly that."
"Wow." Frankie remarked, surprised. "Sounds violent."
"Not the most violent story out there, trust me." Wendell remarked. "You want a twisted story, read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Or, even worse, read the The Boys comic books by Garth Ennis." He spoke with a chuckle. "Those are some twisted stories."
Frankie and Jackson both shuddered at his words. "I think we'll pass, thanks." Franke replied with a shake of her head.
Wendell chuckled. "Good idea." He looked between the two. "So, what are your thoughts on the story from what I've told you?"
"I feel like Zarroff is not someone I'd ever want to meet." Jackson remarked with a shake of his head.
"Same." Frankie agreed with a nod.
Wendell gave a nod as well. "Anybody who hunts people, monster or human, is not someone who's friendly."
"You three!" Mr. Rotter's voice caused them to perk up, and they all turned to find the zombie teacher looking at them with a less than pleased face. "You sound as if you are off topic." He noted.
"Sorry, Mr. Rotter." Wendell apologized. "It's just, I've read this story before." He revealed, to the class's surprise, as well as Mr. Rotter's. "I can't exactly discuss what I think will happen when I know exactly what's going to happen."
Mr. Rotter nodded with a sigh. "Yes, I suppose that's a fair point." He admitted as he stood to his feet. "I had planned on going over this book as a class, but perhaps, we can find another one for you three." He proposed as he began looking through his teacher's edition textbook.
Frankie, Jackson, and Wendell all looked at each other in surprise.
"Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Jackson remarked quietly.
In the end, Mr. Rotter had chosen the original Hunchback of Notre Dame for the three.
"Alright, what's next?" Wendell asked as he followed Jackson to their fourth period.
They'd ended up returning to Mr. Hack's class for Biteology, and the wackjob still had it out for Wendell, apparently.
Not only did Mr. Hack assign another homework assignment 'in Wendell's honor' but he chose Wendell and Jackson for a science experiment… which resulted in charred and scorched faces.
Considering such an experiment was done in Biteology instead of Mad Science was a pretty big red flag.
Wendell was more than happy to be out of their as he followed Jackson to their next class.
"It's Physical Deaducation." Jackson answered, a little mopey. "After that, it's lunch."
"PD instead of PE." Wendell replied with a chuckle. "You okay? You don't seem too happy about next class." He asked in concern.
Jackson nodded his head. "I'm fine… I'm just not very athletic." He admitted.
"What, do you think I am?" Wendell asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Aren't you?"
Wendell couldn't help it. He laughed.
Jackson turned to look at the wendigo in surprise. "What's so funny?"
"Jackson," Wendell began, trying to speak between his chuckles. "I'm a farm boy. I'm strong. I'm definitely fast for my size, but that's cause I'm a wendigo." He explained to the half-human boy. "I can tell you right now, for a wendigo, my athleticism is not that good."
"Oh." Jackson spoke, somewhat surprised by the words. "Sorry. You just kind of look-"
"Like a fucking freight train with antlers?" Wendell finished with a chuckle. "One of my friends back home, a human named Carrie, that's what she used to call me."
Jackson nodded, smiling slightly. "I suppose it fits." He admitted. "You are a big person, even for a monster. I think the only person in school as big as you is Manny."
Wendell furrowed his brow in confusion. "Manny?"
"Manny Taur." Jackson clarified. "He's the biggest guy in school. Or… he was." The teen glanced at the wendigo as he spoke those last word.
Wendell laughed. "Now he's got some competition, doesn't he?" The wendigo asked with a smile.
Jackson nodded. "Definitely… what are you, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm a wendigo." Wendell answered with a shrug. "Type 2."
"Type 2?" Jackson asked in confusion. "What's that mean?" He continued, looking towards the wendigo with a furrowed brow.
"There are two types of wendigos." Wendell explained. "I'm a Type 2. We're the kind that actually have a working brain, and are regular monsters."
"And a Type 1?" Jackson asked curiously. He was surprised when Wendell actuall shuddered.
"Type 1 wendigos only inhabit mountain ranges to my knowledge… and they're very ancient, and very rare." The wendigo explained to the half-human. "And though we're both wendigos, we are nothing alike."
Jackson raised an eyebrow. "You aren't?"
"Type 1 wendigos are… different in that they aren't born." Wendell revealed. "They're made. A type 1 wendigo happens when wendigo spirits possess someone who's resorted to cannibalism. As a result, they mutate into tall, emaciated looking creatures with absolutely no hair and a hunger for flesh."
Jackson could not see why Wendell was unsettled, as a shudder of fear rocked the human's own body. "That's horrifying."
Wendell nodded. "Yep. They don't have antlers like type 2's do, and they don't ever gain weight, but they don't need it." He explained, glancing down at his friend. "All wendigos are extremely fast, strong, and durable compared to humans. Type 1's will crawl around all over the place, and they have absolutely no qualms about attacking anything. If it's got meat on it's bones, whether it's a vampire, a werewolf, a human, or another wendigo, it will go after it."
Jackson shook his head, unable to believe what he'd just been told. "That is horrifying."
Wendell nodded. "Like I said, though, type 1's are extremely rare, and the odds of encountering one outside of… I'd say Washington Mountain, is damn near impossible."
Jackson couldn't help the sigh of relief that flooded through him. "Good… I do not want to ever run the risk of encountering one of those things."
"Neither do I." Wendell admitted. "Type 1's are terrifying, and they tend to be stronger than type 2's despite their emaciated frame."
"Jeez…" Jackson said with a shake of his head. "That sounds terrifying."
"You have no idea."
The two silenced their conversation as they walked into the gymnasium, finally arriving for their class.
Jackson turned to look at Wendell. "Go talk to Coach Igor." He instructed. "Then, you'll probably be handed a set of clothes to change into during gym class."
Wendell nodded as he turned to look at the teacher, a hunchback who was standing by the stage, looking at a piece of paper he had laying on the stage floor.
As Jackson moved towards the boy's locker room, Wendell let out a sigh as he approached the teacher.
"Coach Igor?" Wendell called out to the coach, catching the hunchback's attention.
"Who are you?" Coach Igor asked with a raised eyebrow as he turned to look at the wendigo.
"I'm Wendell Wendigo." Wendell introduced. "I'm a new student. Bloodgood has me shadowing Jackson Jekyll till Friday."
The coach let out a sigh of annoyance at the late addition, but he nodded nonetheless. "Alright then." He said as he turned to fully face the student. "We don't often have students as big as you, so we custom order gym clothes for you as we get you." He informed. "I'd suggest taking off that jacket of yours, cause your gonna have to participate in those clothes."
Wendell let out a sigh of frustration, but he nodded all the same. "Alright. I appreciate the warning in advance."
"Not a problem." Coach Igor replied. "Get your jacket off, set it on the bleachers, and then go stand by the wall with the others."
Wendell nodded as he turned away from the coach, shuffling his jacket off his shoulders as he moved to toss it on the bleachers, before moving to the wall.
On the wall, there were already a decent amount of Monsters lined up. There was a ghost, a yeti, a plant girl of some sort, and a gorgon. But there was one person Wendell recognized.
It was the pink vampire from earlier this morning. The one who was hanging out with her friends at the steps of the school. She had a gym outfit on, but her skin tone and hair style was rather easy to notice.
"Hey!" He called out in a greeting. "You're Draculaura, right?" He asked as he came to stand next to the vampire, who nodded eagerly.
"Yep!" She nodded. "You're Wendell, right?" She asked, smiling up at the wendigo. "You're the new guy me and the ghouls talked to this morning."
Wendell nodded. "Yep. Bloodgood's got me tailing Jackson for the week till she can get a schedule made." He revealed with a sigh. "Not exactly what I'd hoped, but it's better than nothing."
Draculaura looked shocked at the revelation, looking wide-eyed at the teen in front of her. "Jackson? Jackson Jekyll?" She asked curiously. "I'm surprised Bloodgood had him help, considering what he goes through."
Wendell shook his head. "Yeah, he mentioned that. People don't like humans around here?" He asked, looking at Draculaura with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds idiotic."
"I'm not sure why." Draculaura admitted with a sigh. "But it's true. Manny Taur is almost always giving him trouble, among others." She revealed sadly.
Wendell furrowed his brow. "Jackson mentioned him. He's supposed to be the biggest guy in school."
Draculaura eyed Wendell at those words. "Uh, yeah, I think he's got some competition on that front." She remarked with a raised eyebrow.
Wendell chuckled. "So I'm told." He replied as he glanced towards the vampire.
"So, how are you enjoying Monster High so far?" Draculaura asked, glancing up at Wendell with a smile.
Wendell shrugged. "Rotter's not too bad, and I don't know enough about Coach Igor to make an opinion," He informed the vampire. "But I do not like Hack at all. I think he has it out for me."
Draculaura gave Wendell a sympathetic glance. "He's like that with all new students, don't worry." She admitted. "He'll leave you alone eventually."
"I hope so." Wendell said with a sigh.
The two's conversation faded into silence Coach Igor's whistle sounded out through the gymnasium, catching the attention of everyone present in the classroom.
On instinct, Wendell straightened up as Coach Igor let his whistle hang around his neck. He hadn't thought to listen since the last two teachers hadn't done so, but it looked as if Coach Igor was about to take attendance.
Wendell figured he could use this to at least learn the names of his classmates.
Coach Igor cleared his throat, and true to Wendell's predictions, began calling attendance.
In a short time, Wendell was able to learn the names of most of his classmates. Abby Bominable was the yeti, while the ghost was named Spectra. The plant girl was called Venus, and the gorgon was named Deuce.
There was also a fire elemental by the name of Heath Burns, and a robot by the name of Robecca Steam. There was also freshwater fish guy by the name of Gill, and a dragon looking girl by the name of Jinafire.
The last person Wendell found himself looking at was what looked to be a spider type monster by the name of Wyatt.
Plus Draculaura, Jackson, and Wendell himself, and the class had twelve students.
"Now," Coach Igor spoke after finishing attendance. "We have a new student with us today by the name of Wendell." He informed the class, gesturing towards the hulking wendigo standing amongst the classmates.
Most of the class turned to look at Wendell, eyeing the teen with varying looks of surprise and disbelief, with the exception of Draculaura and Jackson.
"How about we make this an enjoyable gym session for him, huh?" The coach proposed, grinning as he ran his gaze across the class. "Today, we'll skip the exercises and go straight to an activity. We'll choose between dodgeskull and casketball. Show of hands for dodgeskull?"
Wendell watched as most of the class raised their hands, with the exception of Jackson and Draculaura, most of the class excited to play such a game. It was obvious that the dodgeskull would be the game they would play the moment all the hands went in the air.
It was clear to Coach Igor too, who decided not to call for hands on casketball. "Dodgeskull it is! Deuce Gorgon, Gill, you two are the team captains!"
Deuce and Gill both nodded, moving to the mid line of the gym before turning to face their fellow students.
Deuce ended up choosing Abby, Spectra, Heath, Jinafire, and Robecca.
Gill ended up choosing Draculaura, Jackson, Wendell, Wyatt, and Venus.
"Alright, go to your sides of the gym, teams!" Coach Igor instructed as he sat up the balls for the game in along the mid-line. "Remember, no passing the mid-line, and if you catch an opponents ball, all of your team members are back in the game while the thrower is out."
Sounds of acknowledgement sounded out amongst the students as they moved to their sides of the gym.
Wendell let out a sigh, popping his neck out of habit as he prepared, eyeing Coach Igor as he prepared to blow the whistle.
"Stay out of the way, newbie." The voice of the spider monster, Wyatt, spoke up next to Wendell. "I got this."
"Oh, be quiet, Wyatt." The plant girl, Venus, spoke up glaring at the spider. "You're just like Heath, so full of yourself."
Wyatt balked at Venus' words, and Wendell had to hold back a chuckle of amusement at the spider's face. "Hey, I can back up my words!"
"So can a lot of people." Wendell said with a chuckle. "Doesn't really change the fact that they got an ego the size of Texas."
Wyatt glared at the snickering wendigo, ignoring the laughter of Venus. "What, you think you have anything on me?" He scowled. "Outside of Manny, I'm the best at dodgeskull."
"If you say so." Draculaura muttered with an eyeroll.
"Come on, Wyatt." Gill admonished the spider, his voice a little gargled from the dome of water over his head. "Leave him alone." The fish man turned to Gill, and offered his hand. "I'm Gill."
Wendell nodded at the introduction, shaking the fish man's hand. "I'm Wendell."
"You have got to be just as big as Manny." Venus remarked, glancing up at Wendell.
"I know, right?" Draculaura laughed as she glanced at the plant girl. "I wonder how Manny will react to not being the biggest guy at Monster High anymore."
"Probably get competetive over it." Gill guessed with a laugh.
At that moment, Coach Igor's whistle sounded out, as did his voice soon after. "Begin!"
All conversation was forgotten as the game began, and both teams sprinted towards the mid-line in an attempt to gain an advantage over the other team.
At this moment, Wendell was thankful that he was a wendigo. His natural speed was for higher than his size would suggest, and he was much faster on his feet than anyone could've guesses, practically clearing half the gym in a split second, his movements accompanied by the sound of whistling wind.
Everyone in the gym had wide eyes at the site, before the opposing team nervously and quickly put as much distance between themselves and mid-line as possible.
Everyone on Wendell's team quickly snatched a ball as the wendigo smacked five of the six balls to his side of the gym, before picking up the last ball as his own.
"Scary cool, dude!" Gill complimented as Wendell backpedaled to join his team, grinning at the nervous looks on Deuce's team.
"Please, I could've done that." Wyatt muttered, trying to play off the wendigo's display.
Venus scoffed. "No you couldn't have." She retorted as she scooped up a ball of her own.
"Less talking, more throwing!" Wendel shouted as he immediately threw his dodgeball, tagging Heath's shoulder easily.
"You're out, Burns!" Coach Igor called out, to the fire elemental's chagrin.
"Aw, man!" Heath groaned as he moved to take his seat at the bleachers, narrowly avoiding dodgeballs
"Got you, Deuce!" Gill called out as he hit the gorgon in his leg.
"Dang!" Deuce muttered, though he still had a lighthearted smile on his face. "Good throw, dude."
Gill smiled. "Thanks!"
His distraction was all Abby needed to nail his chest with the very ball that he'd hit Deuce with. "Should pay more attention, then you won't get hit." She advised as the fishman slumped towards his side of the bleachers.
The yeti grunted in surprise as Venus hit her ankle with a ball. "Take your own advice, Abby." The plant girl snickered.
Robecca snagged one of the balls that were now on their side, aiming to hopefully take out Wendell as she aimed at the wendigo.
Wendell just barely managed to dodge out of the way, his hips jerking to the side as the ball whistled past him. "Good try!"
"Ah, bolts!" Robecca huffed in annoyance, before yelping as she just dodged out of the way of Draculaura's ball, with inches to spare.
It was just Jinafire, Spectra, and Robecca vs Wendell, Venus, Wyatt, Draculaura, and Jackson.
Spectra managed to snag a loose ball that had been rolling on her side of the gym, and managed to tag Wyatt, despite his extra hands and sets of eyes.
"You're out, Wyatt!" Coach Igor shouted, to the spider's disbelief.
"What?! No way!" He objected, before glaring at the ghost. "I'll get you back, Spectra!" He swore as he made his way to the bleachers, grumbling the whole time.
"He's not very nice, is he?" Wendell remarked as he dodged a ball thrown by Jinafire.
"No, not really." Draculaura admitted with a nod. "He's cocky, thinks he's the best at everything."
Wendell snorted. "Sounds like a dick." He remarked, before his eyes widened as he spotted another dodgeball throw by Robecca coming square for his face. "Woah!" With only centimeters to spare, he managed to catch the ball in front of his face.
Robecca's eyes went wide as Gill and Wyatt jumped off the bleachers, running back into the game. "Dang it!" She shouted in frustration as her second attempt to tag the wendigo backfired.
Only Spectra and Jinafire remained, against the entire opposing team.
"Uh oh…" Spectra muttered as she stared wide-eyed at her opponents.
"This isn't good…" Jinafire remarked as she shared Spectra's nervousness.
A second later, a ball nailed Spectra square in the face.
"Sorry, Spectra!" Jackson called out apologetically as the ghost tried to regain her senses from the hit, seeing stars a little as she slowly made her way towards the bleachers.
Jinafire gulped as Wendell, Venus, Gill, and Draculaura all had balls in their hands.
And then she instinctually covered her face as they all came flying towards her.
"That's game!" Coach Igor declared, pointing towards Gill's team. "Team 1 wins!"
As the other team all took their spots and prepared for the next game, Wendell couldn't help his excitement.
Maybe this school wouldn't be so bad.