The knock at the door was swift and eager.
"Anyone in there?" a muffled voice called from the other side. It was an accent Beatrix couldn't name.
The puddle was seeping further into the dorm room, soaking the edges of Autumn's orange carpet.
Beatrix tried to not get her boots wet as she tiptoed over. She cracked the door open.
When Beatrix peeked out, she found two huge eyes looking at her.
The eyes belonged to a fish. Or, rather, a fish girl.
"Hello!" the fish said.
Beatrix was taken aback by the newcomer's appearance. The fish girl's body was covered in pale cyan scales, and her pink tank top and shorts allowed Beatrix to see small fins protruding from her lower arms and legs. The girl's blonde hair had natural beach waves with touches of teal within them, framing her aqua-colored face. Gills on the side of the girl's neck subtly adjusted themselves as she breathed.
So far, Beatrix was finding herself staring in awe every time she encountered a new type of monster here. It was a habit she was going to need to break if she didn't want to creep other people out.
Beatrix tried to keep the various monster species straight in her head. Ok, not a mermaid. She has legs. So some type of water monster then? But why would a water monster need legs?
The fish followed up her greeting with, "Do you happen to have any towels?"
"We do!" Autumn called.
Beatrix opened the door so the fish could see who else was in the room.
"Lagoona!" Frankie exclaimed, remaining next to Autumn atop the bed.
"Frankie!" the fish girl returned. "This isn't your room, is it? I'm so sorry about the puddles! The movers accidentally broke part of my hydration station while they were carrying it up here!"
Across the hall, two men—who appeared to Beatrix to be made out of stone—adjusted a cylinder font in the dorm across from them. To Beatrix, it resembled a high-tech fish tank. There was a noticeable crack in the font's glass.
"This room isn't mine, I'm still on the third floor like last year! This is actually my new friends' dorm," Frankie said, gesturing to Beatrix and Autumn.
Beatrix had to admit she was a bit touched by Frankie considering them friends already.
"Well, I'm sorry, Frankie's new friends! I swear I'm not always this messy!" Lagoona said.
Autumn immediately said back, "No worries at all! It's nice to meet you. I'm Autumn and this is Beatrix."
I mean, there are some worries. Water is dangerous for Autumn and Frankie. It's surprising that Frankie and Lagoona can safely be friends if Frankie short-circuits so easily, Beatrix thought.
"I don't recognize you two," Lagoona asked. "You're transfers, ain't ya?
Beatrix nodded. "Ya, that's why we're here early. And you?"
"Had to get the hydration station installed in its new spot. I had to leave the South Dormitory and move into the East one since the other building's pipes weren't working right. Nice to meet ya, neighbor." Lagoona extended a webbed hand. Beatrix pretended like the moist texture of Lagoona's skin wasn't odd to touch. However, because Beatrix was prone to dry witchy skin, she didn't mind the feeling of shaking Lagoona's hand as much as she anticipated.
Beatrix had never heard Lagoona's accent before. Lagoona had an inflection in her voice at the end of sentences that made almost everything she said sound like a question.
"Uh, guys?" Autumn was motioning to her orange rug on the floor. Half of the rug was now soaked by the ever-growing puddle seeping in. Autumn and Frankie had been keeping an eye on the water. "Bea, the towels are folded in your closet."
Beatrix tiptoed back over the puddle and pulled out every towel she owned. They were all shades of black, of course, and Beatrix and Lagoona worked together to cover every inch of the wet floor.
"I wish I could help," Frankie said, sounding almost dejected, apparently not brave enough to venture down from the bed yet.
"That's alright. I'd rather not become a fried fish today, mate," Lagoona joked.
Beatrix snorted, patting down another towel on the puddle.
"But I bet you could've carried my tank up better than those movers did," Lagoona continued. "You'd think gargoyles would be more cautious about breaking things."
Ah. Stone men. Gargoyles.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you—I've been lifting more weights this summer. Check it out, Lagoona!" Frankie rolled up their sleeve and flexed an impressive bicep muscle. "I think I'm even stronger than last year!"
"Wow! I'm sure Cleo will be pleased to hear that," Lagoona said. The fish girl looked over at Beatrix. Beatrix's expression must have made it clear that she was having a hard time following the conversation. "Cleo is the fear squad captain. Frankie is Cleo's base in their fearleading routines. She always wants the strongest members supporting her."
Beatrix didn't know what a base was in the fearleading world, but she didn't think it was relevant for her to know. Her and Autumn would likely have nothing to do with the fear squad. Beatrix had already planned on deterring Autumn from any organized sport or physical extracurricular activity for her own safety. Additionally, Autumn had never expressed any interest in athletic endeavors before.
"I think Beatrix and Cleo will get along!" Frankie said.
Lagoona raised a skeptical aqua eyebrow. "Oh really? Why do you think so, mate?"
"I don't know," Frankie smiled. "I can just… sense it. What's it called…"
"Intuition?" Autumn suggested.
"Yes! It's my intuition, rather than any conscious reasoning. I have an instinctive feeling that Beatrix and Cleo will be friends," Frankie said.
"Hm," was all Lagoona said, her fish eyes glancing at Beatrix. Beatrix felt the air shift after Frankie's comment, as if Lagoona was deciding what to make of her.
Frustratingly, Beatrix couldn't get a read on Lagoona at all.
If I get along with Cleo, is that a good or bad thing? Beatrix wondered.
"I just read a book on intuition," Autumn said cautiously, gauging if Frankie was interested in hearing more.
"You did? Tell me!" Frankie gave Autumn their undivided attention.
"The book said that supposedly intuition starts with your mind combing experiences stored in your long-term memory for similar situations, and then you end up applying those judgments in the present. Pattern-matching, I think it's called."
Frankie leaned closer to Autumn excitedly. "Interesting! I do know that the driver of our instincts is the brainstem. You know, the region at the base of your brain, just above the spinal cord."
Beatrix wondered if Autumn would confess to Frankie that she didn't have a brain at all. Autumn only had straw between her ears. Hence, her childhood nickname, "strawhead."
This fact didn't seem to deter Autumn from further discussion about brain chemistry.
"Do those instincts include fear reactions? Because I have this terrible fear of birds," Autumn said.
"I do know that fear starts in the amygdala…"
Beatrix zoned out as the conversation shifted to the science of it all. This was the type of bookish topic Autumn thrived in.
Autumn and Frankie are birds of a feather…
The puddle had mostly dried up now. Beatrix gathered the damp towels and looked around the room for a place to hang them.
"We can take these down to the washroom," Lagoona said, already heading for the door.
Autumn and Frankie were so enraptured by their conversation, Beatrix didn't want to interrupt. She left them in the dorm and prayed that no fires started while she was gone.
Beatrix followed Lagoona down the hall to the spiral staircase.
Beatrix quickly realized she was feeling awkward being alone with the fish girl. While Lagoona seemed down to earth, Beatrix could sense that she was a keen observer to things around her. Beatrix couldn't tell if she was being overly sensitive, or if Lagoona was a bit unapproachable.
As excited as Beatrix had been to come to Monster High, her Aunt Cordelia's voice echoed constantly in her mind: Don't forget what you are. That final message had unconsciously made Beatrix paranoid about meeting others since she'd arrived on campus.
She needed to shake the paranoia off. It wasn't like her to get bogged down by nerves; that was Autumn's thing.
"So, you said you lived in the South Dormitory last year. How does it compare to the East one?" Beatrix asked to break the ice. It was the only question she could think of that wouldn't lead to a discussion of her witch identity.
"The South and East dorms are pretty similar," Lagoona said. "The main difference is that most of the vampire girls live in the South dorms. There's a nice basement in that building. The one here smells a little funky."
Vampire students living in windowless basement dorms. Beatrix tried to imagine it.
"How do the vampires attend classes if they burn in sunlight?" Beatrix asked.
"They have their methods," Lagoona said. "Mostly, they take evening classes. The school takes different species' lifestyles into account."
"How do you manage to go to classes all day? Don't you need, um, water?"
Lagoona paused mid-step on the staircase. "One word." She balanced the towels she was carrying and dug into her pocket. "Monsturizer." Lagoona showed Beatrix a small bottle with a piranha design on the face of it. "I carry lotion everywhere I go."
"You must use a ton of lotion," Beatrix said.
"That's an understatement," Lagoona smiled.
"Well, you better share some with me, my hands are like a desert." Beatrix wiggled one of her dry cracked hands.
Lagoona tossed the small bottle over. "If you don't mind faintly smelling like seaweed for the next twenty-four hours, knock yourself out."
Beatrix was starting to feel more at ease with Lagoona. She applied the lotion, tossed the bottle back, and thanked her. However, she instantly regretted borrowing any.
Beatrix wrinkled her nose when Lagoona's back was turned. Geez, seaweed? Smells more like a two-day old fish market.
Beatrix added, "Do you ever go down to the beach by the human towns? Since it's just down the mountain."
"Every weekend. And I go to the Black Lagoon almost every afternoon," Lagoona called over her shoulder, reaching the first floor.
By the time they walked to the laundry room and threw all the towels into a dryer, Beatrix had learned that the Black Lagoon was located in the northeast corner of campus and was the gathering place of every aquatic monster between classes. She'd also learned that Lagoona's social life was split into two groups: The first group was made up of Lagoona's fellow teammates on the swim team. The second group included the ghouls Lagoona had met her freshman year—who all happened to be on the same fearleading squad as Frankie. Beatrix got the feeling that those two groups didn't easily mix.
"It's nice you and your friend get to room together," Lagoona said. "You seem to know each other well."
"Ya, we go way back," Beatrix said.
"That's nice. So your friend is a scarecrow and you're a…" Lagoona waited for Beatrix to finish the sentence.
Beatrix ignored Lagoona. "This lotion is doing wonders for my skin!" Beatrix showed off her hands. This was true. Despite the fishy smell, Beatrix's hands were as smooth as a baby sea monster.
"... you're a monster who looks no different than a normie," Lagoona finished. "Are you a shapeshifter? Phantom? Newly changed werewolf? Crikey, you're not a demon, are you?"
"Whoah, no, no, no, and no. Not any of those," Beatrix said. She sighed. I would've had to come clean eventually.
"I'm a witch," Beatrix admitted.
Lagoona didn't flinch. Again, Beatrix wished she had the power to read minds. As big as Lagoona's eyes were, the fish girl didn't wear her emotions on her sleeve.
Beatrix showed Lagoona the laminated pass hanging around her neck. She'd previously tucked it beneath her blouse to not call attention to it. Headless Headmistress Bloodgood had provided the pass after their meeting earlier. The title listed on the pass explained Beatrix's position at the school better than she could.
"To be more specific, I am Autumn's 'emotional support witch,'" Beatrix snickered at how bizarre that sounded.
"So you're here to help Autumn?" Lagoona finally spoke.
"Yup."
"And you're allowed to be on campus even though you practice witchcraft?"
"Yup. But rest assured, I really don't know how to practice witchcraft at all," Beatrix said.
Lagoona didn't say anything further.
In the awkward silence that ensued, Beatrix felt the need to be direct. "Look, Lagoona. This whole anti-witchcraft thing doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me, but I respect the rules. After all, it's apparently too easy for an ordinary human to become a witch. My 'powers' are too accessible, or so I've heard. If they let any ol' witch in here, it's as good as letting the school overflow with 'normies.'"
Beatrix used Lagoona's own "normie" phrase to show that she understood Lagoona's point of view.
Lagoona didn't respond, so Beatrix resumed, "I swear I won't inconvenience you or hex you or whatever you're worried I'll do this year. I can even stay out of your way completely if you want, I don't mind."
Beatrix was offering this to be courteous, not because she was groveling. If there was one thing that made Beatrix angry was the need to grovel. I can't help that my aunts sold my soul when I was a child. I have every right to be here, and this laminated pass proves it.
Beatrix had a feeling that Lagoona just needed some time to get used to the idea.
"Are you two hungry yet?"
Beatrix turned at the sound of Autumn. Her scarecrow friend was standing in the laundry room doorway with Frankie, holding bowls and cutlery she brought from home.
"Starving," Beatrix said.
"Good, we're heading to the dorm kitchen right now," Autumn said.
"Autumn is gonna make us a homemade meal with the veggies and other stuff she brought from her farm back home! It's gonna be so much better than the mush I make!" Frankie boomed, their voice thundering off the laundry machines.
How much stuff did Autumn freaking pack? Beatrix thought. Beatrix's fingers touched her newly smooth hands.
"Sounds good, we'll meet you guys there," Beatrix said.
Autumn and Frankie disappeared from the doorway and Beatrix was left alone with Lagoona again.
Beatrix turned back to her. "We good?" she asked.
"I'm good if you're good," Lagoona offered. Beatrix didn't understand how to interpret that, but she'd take it for now.
The two girls exchanged a smile.
However, Lagoona's smile quickly fell. "But I think Frankie's intuition was wrong about you and Cleo being friends."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Despite it only being five-fifteen in the morning, the campus was alive. Pale light seeped onto Beatrix's pillow. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and squinted out the dorm window to the yard below. She saw every type of monster carrying textbooks, lunch bags, and backpacks. Some of them had scales, some had wings, some had horns; some were red, some were green, some were even translucent. They were cutting across the grass lawn, heading to the school buildings.
Beyond the dorm room door, Beatrix could hear the shuffling of feet and hooves and claws getting ready for the first day of classes.
Beatrix looked over at Autumn's side of the room. Autumn's bed was already pristinely made.
Then Beatrix's heart skipped when she realized Autumn was standing at the foot of her bed, looking down at her.
"Holy hells, Autumn," Beatrix breathed.
"Finally! I've been waiting for you to get up," Autumn said. She was tugging frantically at the seams on her wrists.
"How long have you been awake?" Beatrix said, her voice groggy and her hair a frizzy mess.
"I've been up for an hour," Autumn said.
"An hour?"
"Yes, an hour."
Autumn was already dressed and ready to go. Her backpack and pencil bag were packed and her straw hair was neatly divided into her signature twin braids.
Autumn was wearing her best floral Sunday dress and little cream heels.
She looked like she was going to church on the farm back home.
"Uh, strawhead?" Beatrix said.
"What?"
"You're dressed a little formal."
"Oh no! Am I?" Autumn moved to take the dress off.
"Wait, wait, here," Beatrix climbed out of bed and went to the closet. She pulled out one of Autumn's knitted cardigans and replaced the cream heels with a pair of Beatrix's sneakers. Beatrix and Autumn had the same shoe size, which made sharing things easy.
Beatrix looked Autumn over, "There, that works."
"You gotta hurry and get ready! I want to get a good seat in my first class and I still need to make breakfast and pack lunch for later. What if it's crowded in the dorm kitchen? I may not have time to…"
Beatrix let Autumn ramble as she washed her face, brushed her teeth, got dressed, braided her hair, and applied some makeup. Once she was done, Autumn was running out of steam.
"Feeling better now?" Beatrix asked, tightening the seams Autumn had been tugging on.
"Ya, a bit better."
"Perfect. Let's go," Beatrix said. She grabbed her satchel and her laminated student aid pass and stepped out into the hallway.
Lagoona's dorm door was open across from them. She was putting on a set of the prettiest pearl earrings Beatrix had ever seen.
"Ready?" Beatrix asked.
Lagoona looked back at them in the reflection of her mirror. "Ya! Let's get going," she smiled.
The three of them descended the spiral staircase to meet Frankie on the third floor. Thankfully, Autumn was now looking more excited and less terrified for her first day of Monster High.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Author's questions for you:
Feel free to answer all, only one, or none of the following questions:
(1) Do you prefer the beach or visiting a lake/river?
(2) Anyone else struggle with dry skin? My skin is always so dry it drives me crazy!
(3) Do you prefer Generation 1 Lagoona? Or Generation 3 Lagoona? I ended up including my own take on Gen 1 Lagoona in my fanfic, but I like elements of Gen 3 Lagoona too!
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Thanks for reading! I post new chapters on Tuesdays and Thursdays.