The dance! Oh man oh boy the dance! It makes me feel pretty stupid to admit how excited I was bout the thing, but man, the dance. It was all set up on the school's back lawn and was perfect. Just bout every monster in school showed up; even that weird normie kid Sparky or whatever had managed to find a date. Still not totally sure what he was doing at Monster High, but whatever… back to the dance.
It was a full moon out and the wolves were wild. The whole lawn had been lit with floating jack-o-lanterns and will-o-whisps. The school band played music I'm near positive would be too boring for monsters nowdays and they had food from near every monster culture. It was damn amazing and we was proud as could be to be Monster High kids. Here we was strutting our stuff out above ground and we came from all walks; from the rich vampire kids to the street rats like me. We could so anything, we were invincible. It was… it was something completely else and right bout then, if you'd asked me, I'd have told you that Monster High was the greatest place in the world flipping world.
"What's that dang peach-skinned normie kid doin here?"
I nearly spat out my drink when I heard those words comin out of Tom's mouth.
"Dang what now?" I'd asked him, thinking that for sure I'd misheard the guy. Our dates were inside; powdering their noses or some girl shit like that.
"You see him, Sparky, what the hex does he think he's doing? Hanging out here like he's one of us." Werecat's aren't known for being especially kindhearted sorts but this… this really brushed me the wrong way. Up to that point I'd just sort of figured they treated the resident normie the same as well, as everybody else. I mean, yea, I didn't totally get why the guy was there but I figured his being there meant that he was an outcast like the rest of us. That and well, I was a normie once. It maybe was getting harder and harder to remember but… I was. Once.
"What makes him any different from me?" I'd asked gruffly, hands deep in the pockets of my one good suit.
"What you talking about Johnny? The guys a normie. You's a ghost. You're a monster and he- he's not. Plain and simple." Tom had said laughing, then, before I could saying something more, "Ah look, the ghouls are back."
It was hard to enjoy the party after that. I mean, yea, Charotte was pretty as the moon and the whole school was glowing but I couldn't help feel like someone was tryin to both crush my heart in my chest and set it on fire. Was I really that different from Sparky? I mean, here all along I had figured that the only difference was that I died and he hadn't. I mean sure the guy was a freaking weirdo and even in life I probably wouldn't have been his friend or nothin but just cause he's a normie couldn't mean he was like tainted meat could it? Just cause the guy had a heartbeat and skin that wasn't some shade of green didn't mean he was night and day from me, did it?
Another break in the party. Ghouls only dance. I was frozen, stuck leaning by a tree; not on it cause then I'd probably fall through it what with the mess I was in. What was the difference?
"Hey, Johnny, you ok?" Slowly I'd turned my head and registered after a moment that it was Max who had spoken.
"I'm cool." I'd lied.
The purple kid laughed, "Yea right. And I'm a giant green dinosaur,"
I didn't smile at the joke.
"All right man, what gives? Did something happen with Charotte? No? Ah man was it Tom?"
He got me.
"Yea." I'd replied, not making eye contact or nothing.
"Mind explaining?"
"No." I retorted, before giving in and explaining bout Sparky and all that crap.
Max was quiet for a long time. Thinking I guess. I couldn't blame him.
"That's… rough." He finally said, running a hand through his course hair, "That's really rough."
"Any idea if Tom's got a reason to hate normies in particular- like was his family or-"
Max cut me off before I could finish: "Nah. First normie Tom's ever seen is Sparky there. He's got no personal reasons to pick with them. For him it's more just cause well, everyone picks at them ya know? And we both know Van HellScream…"
"Yea." I'd replied, my turn to be quiet for a bit. "I just thought that…"
"Maybe things were different now or something? Johnny, no offense or anything but your pretty new to all this. I know plenty of monsters who've lost family members or been chased from their homes by normies. Change ain't gonna happen over night."
"Well why can't it? Bloodgood-"
"Is doing a really great job considering what she's been given but whats she's making are just ripples, change like you want either takes time or needs something big like a wave."
"Sure. Whatev-" I was interrupted again, but this time it wasn't by Max. This time it was by a sound.
BANG.
Someone else had thrown a rock in and made a ripple.
"The hell was that?" I'd shouted looking out towards the woods where the bang had come from.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
Three more bangs, followed by the sound of loud angry bells ringing; like on a cart. A ghoul screamed and in horror I realized just what exactly I was hearing. Gun shots. Van HellScream's men and their Monster hunting cart. I remember trying to turn to run but I suddenly couldn't remember how to move; I wanted to use my legs but I didn't have none. In my panic I'd forgotten how to float. How to fly and get the hell outta there.
"Everyone make for the catacombs!" I'd heard Bloodgood shout over the chaos as monster kids ran in every which way; the floating pumpkins crashed to the ground and the will-o-whisps went out. Suddenly the full moon wasn't a beautiful creature of the night but a spotlight that highlighted every last one of us.
BANG.
Another bang and finally I got my body in motion, drifting desperately to get to the catacombs. Only I couldn't remember which was they was.
BANG.
Out the corner of my eye I saw a wolf girl go down.
BANG.
I could see them now; Van HellScream and his men. And they didn't look human to me. But they weren't monsters either. They were just masses of flesh with angry eyes holding big long metal sticks, did they think they was acting normal? Did they think they looked normal? The freaks probably did the freaking normies- the freaking… it was then I saw the truth. Normie wasn't just a slang term; it was a slur. It was a slur and it was freaking true. I hated them. God, I'd been one of them once? Really? Impossible. I knew then that I had to find my kind; monster kind, where were Max and Tom?
BANG. Drifting upwards I could see Tom making it down the tombstone-hole into the catacombs. The tomcat was all right. But where was Max? Where was-
BANG.
It was then I saw a purple body hit the floor.
"Max!" I'd screamed hurling myself at the normies. I was ready to tear them to bits. Only I didn't. I couldn't, I passed right through them. I tried again. And again. And again. But I kept flying right through them. Intangible. Useless. Powerless!
I was powerless. I was freaking powerless. I was powerless. I couldn't do anything. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. Max was dead and I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless. I was powerless.
And everything was red.
