For the first time in a long time, things were looking up. Even though the school was above ground and shit the normies didn't give us no trouble. My figuring is that they was too scared. They didn't know how many of us there was and that was our saving grace. They sure knew exactly where we was; when Bloodgood made the school she made sure to follow all the proper normie channels. She said that if we play by their rules then they'd have a hard time pulling crap with us. I guess when she was first setting things up she'd posed as a normie to get the paperwork through, or rather never said that she wasn't one. Bloodgood may be some rich paper pusher, but she's probably the smartest lady I ever met.
She built the school big. There was enough space there for maybe probably two thousand monsters, never mind the 34 of us. The first class, the unlucky 34 we called ourselves. Bloodgood built us out from a crazy mishmash of kids from the street like me and kids from crazy families like herself. I don't know how many of them are immortal returners to monster high or whose families are still in the school, but those were good times. The best times. Yea.
The biggest thing though was that for the first time since well, since I, well, since I died I had people. Just like the old days, I had my boys. I had friends. Ah man, there was Max Malice and Tom Purrkins And even though we was from all different walks of unlife, we were cool. Of the three of us, I was the only ex-normie, I was the ghost. Heck, I was the only ghost of the 34. Tom was obviously a werecat; he was a 'stray' kid like I'd been. And Max was one of them generic kinda monsters; he had purple skin and funny ears but other than that he wasn't anything too special, he was just Max. Gosh… Anyways we'd fang out and do all the normal things monsters do; we'd go down into the catacomb city after classes for a bite or just to hang cool ya know? Sure folks'd stare and whisper something horrible bout how we were 'Monster High' boys and would probably be killed in our schoolroom and all that sorta shit. But we didn't care. I didn't care. I was having fun for the first time, I was happy and, I'm not gonna lie, I was learning things and I liked it.
I remember when we had the first school dance. There was a lotta drama bout it cause of us 34 there was a lot more guys than gals if you would believe it what with all the ghouls running round now a days. But so that meant that some of us would be brining dates and naturally the below-ground folk as we unlucky 34 started calling them didn't like that. See the dance was gonna be above ground in the school. They was all like, sure, we don't care if you idiots get yourselves killed but don't go dragging our kids into it. I remember laughing bout it with Max as we walked down through the zombie district to her house. See, I'd had my eyes on this one ghoul by the name of Charlotte DeGhoul and funny as it may sound comin from me, I was scared to even talk to her. See, I knew what I thought of her but well, I didn't really know what she thought of me. And most people was scared of me. I got a mean face and a mean bark so they say. Max'd say it's all in my eyebrows.
I remember looking in the mirror before heading over wondering if it was in the eyebrows and if she'd be scared of me. She went to a fancy zombie private school too which meant that she probably didn't think too highly of Monster High either and really I'd only talked to her a few times when we'd go for food and stuff. She liked to wear the color blue and the sound of my violin, she said she liked Handel and asked me if I knew any. I told her no but I could learn and she'd smiled sorta sad. Most monsters don't play him, she'd said, all they like to play is Boothoven. And I knew what the subtext of that was: cause Handels a normie. I'd gone right to Bloodgood then and asked her if she could order a music book for me, violin, I'd said firmly, Handel. I didn't know nothing about who this Handel guy was or if he even sounded any good, but I knew I wanted that blue ghoul to smile. Silly right? Anyways Bloodgood was able to get it for me. And I learnt it. And now I was going to ask Charotte to the dance with Max as my wingman.
God that night… this is a hard one. So Max and I, we arrived at her doorstep and rung the bell and waited. Nothin. We rang again.
"Maybe they're just being real slow?" Max had suggested, "They are zombies after all,"
"Maybe." I'd grunted, violin case in one hand, cheap rose in the other. If my heart still worked it'd be hammering like no tomorrow. Something bout all this didn't feel right.
"Max," I'd said, glancing round me.
"Hang on, I'm just trying to get a look," Max had said trying to peer through the little barred window in the door. "I don't see nothing…"
"Course you don't, they ain't there. Or if they are they aren't coming." I'd said gruffly, moving to put that cheap rose back in my breast pocket.
"What you giving up that easy? Johnny I thought you were tougher than that," Max had said grinning.
"It's no good Max," I'd said all defeated like, "Even if I do get to talk to her it's not like her folks'd like her go. Above grounds dangerous. Specially for zombies cause they're slow."
"Johnny, Johnny. If guys gave up that easy bout girls all the time then there'd be no people left on Earth!" Max had said, I didn't comment on the unlikelihood of his statement. "Listen come on- I got it. Play your violin."
"What?!" I'd exclaimed, quickly dropping my voice down to an irritated hiss. "Max your crazy I can't do that- not out here, not in public and shit."
"Why not? Girls like broad gestures of affection. I know that fer a fact." Max had said all matter-o-factly.
"You read that in one of them dumb magazines!" I'd hissed at him, still trying not to raise my voice. My eyebrows probably looked real mean.
"So what if I did? It's true. Sides, why else did you spend all that time learning that normie song?"
"I- I…hggh." He had me there. "Fine." I hissed. Still glaring at him I opened my violin case, checked the bow string and taking a ghost's deep breath began to play.
The Handel sonata was definitely no monster song. It was too delicate and sweet: not anywhere near edgy enough to be the sorta thing monsters would come up with. It was frilly and fluffy and the music drifted down the streets and through the catacombs; probably everyone in the whole district could hear it. I'd never been so embarrassed before. But I kept playing anyways. Monsters stopped and watched and I slammed my eyes shit so I wouldn't see them. See normally when I play… normally when I played it was all by myself in that theater rehearsal space by that big old organ. No one watched me or nothing. I don't think anyone had ever really heard me play before then.
Truthfully the piece I was playing was supposed to be a duet, played alongside an organ or a harpsichord or something like that. Only I didn't know no one who played those and I wouldn't have the guts to ask them to play with me if I did. As I played I wondered if maybe, if maybe Charotte played and if that was why she'd asked if I knew Handel to begin with. Where was she? Had Max been right- did she come out? I didn't dare look. Instead I just kept focusing on the music; staying in time and playin a good tune. It was only when I'd finished that I opened my eyes.
Applause. Cheers. And mostly importantly, her. She was there. Charotte had come out of her house to watch. She came. And she was smiling ear to ear. My imaginary heart swelled up to something like 50 times it's size then as I looked around. People liked it. People thought I sounded good, she thought I sounded good!
"The dance Johnny, the dance!" I heard Max whisper in my ear. Oh right! The dance! That was the whole point of this thing. Holding my bow and violin in one hand, I reached into my breast pocket and pulled out the cheap rose with the other.
"Charotte- I was wondering if… if you'd…" Ah gosh what a sorry coward I was. Out the corner of my eye I could make out Max gesturing for me to continue. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Monster High spring formal with me." I blathered out in a single breath.
Her response seemed like forever to come, and all the world seemed like it had stopped while I waited.
"Yes." She said smiling, wearing that blue dress of hers, "Yes I'll go with you."
And that was the happiest moment of my entire unlife up to that point. Figures it couldn't last.
