At the exact same time, Arthur, Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, Brain, and Fern are gathered in the Read family living room. The walls are decorated with cobwebs, plastic bats, and paper skeletons. "Wait, guys," Binky says to the group. "Don't you think something like that might...make her angry?"
"What's so bad about that?" asks Brain.
"Well...she might, like, do something to us."
"Like what, put a curse on us?" jokes Fern. All the kids laugh except for Binky, who turns around and fastens his zipper.
"So here's what I'm thinking," says Francine. "How much do we really know about Prunella?
"Not much," says Arthur, "except she's a fourth-grader."
"And she was in my class last year," Binky adds.
"Now wait a minute," says Francine. "How do we know she's a fourth-grader?"
"Uh...because she was a third-grader last year?" Buster points out.
"That doesn't prove anything," says Muffy. "Just look at Binky."
"Don't look at me," Binky retorts.
"Think about it," Francine muses. "Have we ever met anyone else from her fourth-grade class?"
"Come to think of it, no," Brain realizes.
"Me neither," adds Arthur.
"Exactly," says Francine in a spooky voice. "Maybe she doesn't have a fourth-grade class. Maybe she's not even a student. Maybe...she's something else entirely."
"An alien!" suggests Buster.
"Saw that one coming," says Fern.
"A spy?" Brain proposes.
"Who would she spy for?" Muffy wonders. "Mighty Mountain?"
"A robot!" Binky chimes in.
Fern extends her arms. "I...am...Mechaprunella..."
"A superhero?" Arthur wonders.
Francine waves her hands. "Okay, okay. She's none of the above. She's a demon from the legions of the undead. She's a bloodsucking creature of the night!"
"The word you're looking for is vampire, Francine," says Brain.
"Duh, Brain."
"Prunella's a vampire?" Buster marvels. "Cool! Can I be one too?"
"I vant to suck your ice cream!" says Muffy mockingly.
"No, Buster," says Francine, "she's not really a vampire. It's part of our joke. Now here's what we do..."
The next morning, the children are arriving at Lakewood Elementary. Prunella opens her locker and finds a note lying inside. She picks it up and unfolds it. The crude handwriting says, WE KNOW YOUR A VAMPIRE.
She glances around, wondering who might have left the poorly spelled note...
TBC
