In Plain Sight

5. What is this feeling?

"Surely this can't be the place." Layla-Aisha, princess of the realm of Andros, peered through the iron gates at the creepy house that dared call itself a school for ghouls. "It doesn't look like any finishing school I've ever seen."

"The directions I uploaded don't lie." Tecna of Zenith pointed out. "This is indeed the school."

"Everything looks so dead." Flora of Linphea shuddered as the gates swung open of their own accord and the drawbridge over the moat lowered itself to allow them passage. "Not at all like that nice military school we passed a while ago."

"This is a school for things other than fairies, you know." Tecna stated, punching in a few commands on her realmberry. "In fact, most students here are non-magical. Just monsters."

"And there is a fairy here why, again?" Layla rolled her eyes.

"Because this is currently the only functioning campus for magical beings on the entire planet." A prim and proper voice greeted them. All three fairies looked ahead and saw a short, black-haired woman in a pink dress walking toward them. "We are fortunate that Mr. Rogers brought Miss Blake to us when he did. Any longer, and the Wizards might have tried to seal her away."

"You must be Headmistress Grimwood." Flora replied, taking in the older woman's appearance. Her magical aura felt much older and stronger than the petite woman appeared to be.

"I am indeed." Grimwood smiled. "Flora, Tecna, and Layla-Aisha, I presume?"

"Just call me Layla. It keeps things simpler." Layla stated.

"As you wish, Miss Layla." The witch nodded. "Well, ladies don't just stand there! Come inside. We have much to discuss."

The three fairies glanced warily at the house, and then each other, before following the small witch indoors.

The students of Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls all knew something was going on. Three new girls were standing around the headmistress at the breakfast table, and while the young women appeared normal, the unmistakable feel of magic filled the room.

"They're strong." Sibella whispered to Daphne, who was sitting on her left side. "Very strong. Do you feel it?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes, I do." She whispered, trying to stare unobtrusively at the three other women. "Fairies or witches?"

Sibella pursed her lips a moment. "Fairies. Definitely fairies." The vampiress answered. "Their magic feels like glitter in the air, the same way yours does. Witch magic is more like a fog." She added as an afterthought.

That had Daphne's attention. Three fairies? Here? Whatever for…?

"Girls!" Miss Grimwood said loudly enough to be heard, but not loud enough to be considered yelling. All murmuring died instantly. "I would like to introduce to you three very special new student-teachers sent over from the realm of Magix. Flora, Tecna, and Layla-Aisha are guardian fairies of their native worlds, but have graciously volunteered to come here for a while to learn more about Earth and what magic still resides here. I expect all of you to be on your best behavior for them."

A chorus of "Yes, Miss Grimwood." Sounded in response.

Shaggy, meanwhile, was waiting patiently to be introduced. Last night, Grimwood informed him that one of the new student teachers would be helping him with PE, but he wasn't sure exactly which one had been chosen.

Not that he didn't have his suspicions, mind you. The purple-haired one reminded him of Velma in a way, and since Velma was more of a bookworm and tech-geek, he doubted this girl would have volunteered to teach physical education. The tanned woman with light brown hair seemed to have a motherly quality about her and smelled like flowers. Great for something like home economics, maybe even etiquette, but the kids would run all over her in his class. That left the mocha-skinned woman with curly brown hair as his new assistant.

"Mr. Rogers?" Ms. Grimwood asked, getting his attention. "This is Princess Layla-Aisha of Andros. Layla, this is Shaggy Rogers. He's going to be one of the Physical Education teachers while he and Daphne are here."

"Nice to meet you, Layla." Shaggy nodded. "Can't wait to start working with you."

"Reah! Reah!" Scooby nodded emphatically, causing the aqua-eyed fairy to smile.

"And Scooby's looking forward to it, too." He added.

"As am I." the brunette woman nodded politely, taking the seat next to him. "So, you're the one who found Daphne and brought her here?" He nodded an affirmative. "How did you know she was a fairy? I thought Earthlings couldn't sense magic."

"Most can't, but I'm not most people." He pointed out. "I had an encounter with it a year or so back, and since then I've been really sensitive to it. I didn't know what was going on with Daphne when I brought her here, but I knew I sensed magic from her and it wasn't the dark, creepy kind of magic. Actually, her magic kinda feels and smells like yours now that I think about it…" he trailed off, earning a curious stare.

"Smells?"

"Yeah… that run-in I had with it left me able to smell it. Yours smells like ocean waves. Your friend Flora smells like wildflowers, and Tecna… I'm not sure what that is, but her magic has an electric quality to it." He shrugged. "But that's not the point. The point is that Daphne was freaking out and Ms. Grimwood's the only person I knew that could help her, so I brought her here."

"You must care a lot about her."

"Not that way, but I do care." Shaggy said, correcting the erroneous thoughts before Layla could vocalize them. "Daph and the rest of the gang are like family to me. I couldn't not help family."

A soft smile graced Layla's lips. "I understand. I'd do the same for Flora and Tecna if they were in trouble."

"Like, glad to hear it." The beatnik smiled. "Now, what did you have in mind for our lesson plan?"

Later in the day, Daphne was feeling pretty good about herself. Her session on power sources with Layla-Aisha had gone better than she expected. She could now say with absolute certainty that she had Water-based magic, and could channel small orbs of it to her fingertips. Magical History and Potionology classes with Sibella had been… well, interesting was the only word she could think of to describe it.

Magical History with Tecna made the pair realize just how far behind their planet was compared to the magical dimension. All they had covered were planet names and trade ties, and already the two felt lost. On the upside, Tecna reminded Daphne a lot of Velma, and made her miss the other two members of Mystery Incorporated slightly less.

Potionology remained one of her worst classes. Chemistry, while fun, had never exactly been her best subject, and potionology was basically chemistry on steroids. Despite sweet, patient Flora's attempts to help, Daphne still managed to completely screw up her attempt at a "basic" energy-boosting potion. Instead of a bright pretty shade of red, her flask turned a sickly green and smoke poured out the top. Elsa, who was also in the class, had moved onto more advanced potions almost immediately. She would have to ask the taller girl for tutoring help tonight, she decided. It was the only way she would be able to pass.

"So…why is Elsa not allowed near the moat?" Daphne asked Phantasma and Sibella while Elsa blushed. As part of P.E. with Layla-Aisha and Shaggy, the girls had gone swimming. Or, most of them had. None of them were allowed in the moat when it was Elsa's turn to dive.

"It's not that she's not allowed near it." Phanty explained. "She just can't be in it at the same time as everyone else."

"I noticed." The redhead stated. "But why is that?"

"I don't sleep like you do." Elsa sighed. "At night, I literally have to re-charge my system. Sometimes, when I get excited or wet, I spark."

"If half of us hadn't already been considered undead, she would have killed us." Sibella added. "This was back in primary school, mind you, and none of us really understood much about Elsa. We went swimming, and got a rather unpleasant shock."

"After that, we were only allowed to swim one at a time." Phanty said.

"Darn shame. You have an awesome cannonball." Daphne complimented the frizzy-haired monster.

"Thanks." The daughter of Frankenstein's monster smiled. "Your swan dive wasn't half-bad either."

"Diving and swimming are hobbies of mine." The wealthy girl admitted. "I've always loved the water, whether I was in it or just near it. Now I understand why."

"I'm sure your sessions with Miss Layla are helping with that." Phanty shrugged. "She seems pretty cool for a tomboy."

"Well, she is a real-life fairy princess. That adds to the cool factor." Elsa pointed out.

"Man, I wish Freddie and Velma were here." Daphne sighed. "They would be totally floored by all of this. Especially Velma; she's always had a secret interest in magic and the occult, despite her protests that it isn't real."

"Somebody's homesick." Phanty teased as Bella took a swipe at her.

"Oh, let her be. I would actually like to meet more of Coach Shaggy's friends."

"Hey, who's that?" Elsa asked, suddenly squinting toward the front gate. A blue and green van was parked at the front gate. Daphne froze.

"Oh no."

"What is it?" Elsa asked.

"They probably just got lost trying to get to Calloway." Phanty shrugged.

"No, they're not lost. Her GPS is never wrong." Daphne realized. "When I said I wanted them to see the place, I didn't mean right this minute…"

"You know that car?" Phanty blinked. The redheaded fairy nodded.

"That's the Mystery Machine. Which means Freddie and Velma are about to get the shock of their lives."