Read 'Em and Creep, Part 3

THE NEXT DAY...

Shaggy was kind of nervous about leaving Scooby at home by himself, so he decided to disguise him to bring him along to school. Luckily, Shaggy's parents kept most of his old clothes that he'd outgrown—which were just the right size for a Great Dane puppy!

Scooby now wore a very baggy hoodie, scarf, sunglasses, sweatpants, and so on.

"Alright...just be cool, Scooby-Doo," instructed Shaggy as he tucked Scooby's tail into his pants. "Okay? Try not to growl or bark at anyone or anything or do anything too...doglike, okay? I don't want you to get into any trouble."

"Right-o, Raggy," Scooby nodded with a salute.

"Alright..." Shaggy said as he shook out his wrists and took a deep breath. "Like, let's do this thing."

Scooby nodded as he followed Shaggy; the both of them headed out the door, and climbed onboard the school bus as it pulled up.

Numerous kids were seated on the bus; Red Herring, Fred, Velma, Daphne, and several other kids to name a few.

"OK...we should be fine, as long as nothing happens," sighed Shaggy as he found an empty seat for him and Scooby to sit in. Of course, the second he said that, he immediately regretted saying it.

"Well, well; if it isn't Norville," mocked Red as he glanced over at his seat. "And he brought a widdle friend, too."

"Like, we don't want any trouble, Red," insisted Shaggy. "Mind your own business."

"Well, pickin' on kids IS my business," Red retorted. "And you guys fit the bill real nicely."

Scooby's protective instincts began to flare up, and he started growling proactively.

"What the heck's with your friend?" Red asked, noticing Scooby growling.

Shaggy looked around a few times before responding. "He's my cousin...from...Skublatinork," he replied.

"Skublatinork?" Red asked. "That doesn't sound real!"

"Well, it IS foreign," responded Shaggy. "We're always learning new things from other countries!"

"I've never heard of it!" stated Red.

"Like, maybe it's cuz you skip class all the time?" asked Shaggy.

"Someone's lookin' for an early beating, I see!" Red hissed as he grabbed Shaggy by the shirt and hoisted him up.

Scooby snarled angrily as Fred got up. "Hey! Red, let Norville go!" he ordered.

"Or WHAT, Jones?" Red asked. "You gonna MAKE me?"

"If I have to!" Fred responded.

"Then if you think you can, give it your best shot, ascot boy!" Red retorted.

Fred glanced around a bit nervously.

"There are better ways you could spend your time, you know," spoke up Velma as she adjusted her glasses. "Just because you're built like a Neanderthal doesn't necessarily mean that you have to act like one."

"If I knew what Neanderthal meant, I'd smack those glasses off your face, Dorkly!" snapped Red.

"Then maybe you should try attending class instead of just skipping it," Velma replied.

Fred chuckled a little.

"What, you gotta have your little egghead girlfriend take shots for ya, Jones?" asked Red.

Velma blushed like a tomato as Fred sputtered. "S-she's not my...g-girlfriend...and she's not an egghead..."

"Better an egghead than a lunkhead!" Daphne spoke up, raising a wave of shocked gasps from the students on the bus. Needless to say, everyone was shocked to hear Daphne Blake of all people defending Velma.

"Yeah, I said it," Daphne responded. "Sure, Dinkley's a brainiac, but even she doesn't deserve to be teased and taunted by an idiot like Red!"

"Aren't we big and tough, little miss rich girl!" Red sneered. "Since when d'YOU care about standing up for Jones and his geeks?"

Daphne suddenly found herself without words. "Er, well, I...uh—" she tried to say.

Before she could answer, the bus jerked to a stop, jostling them all back into their seats. Everyone's heads snapped towards the front.

"We're here," said the bus driver, and the students spilled off the bus like a tidal wave.

Red flashed a snide glare at them as they left, but Scooby just turned and snarled back at him.

"Like, Scoob? Y'might wanna tone it down a notch," advised Shaggy.

"Rorry, Raggy!" Scooby replied sheepishly as they went inside.

"I'll deal with them later," Red decided as he walked off.

Daphne glanced nervously at Shaggy, Velma and Fred.

"Like...thanks for that," Shaggy said. "Y'know, you didn't hafta do that."

"I know..." Daphne replied. "But I guess I wanted to."

"That WAS pretty cool," said Fred with a thumbs-up.

Daphne smiled nervously as Velma spoke up. "Why did you defend us from Red?" she inquired. "I mean, you're Daphne Blake, one of the most popular girls in school."

"That doesn't mean you deserve to take guff from Grape Ape's ugly cousin," Daphne replied. "Besides, maybe I felt like Red needed to be taken down a few dozen pegs."

Suddenly, Scooby caught a familiar scent. It was one he'd picked up yesterday while he and Shaggy were at Pizza Potamus...it almost smelled like Blake!

But this was confusing; for one, he didn't see hide nor hair of Blake anywhere! And yet, the scent was pretty darn close! But how could it be?

"C'mon, Scoob; we better get to class," Shaggy advised.

Scooby nodded and followed behind him, and the others went to their own homerooms.

... ... ...

This time, Fred noticed that Velma was in his homeroom, and gave her a friendly little wave and a smile as they sat down for the day.

Velma smiled with a nervous look. Inwardly, her heart was pounding like a drum and her face was beet-red...Fred's smile seemed to do that to her a lot.

Or at least, it started to as of recently. So far, from what she could suss out, Fred's willingness to help others in need was genuine and stemmed from a place of true kindness.

Whenever he was around, Velma felt all fluttery in her stomach.

"...inkley? Miss Dinkley?"

And now...Fred was gesturing for some reason? Why?

"Miss Dinkley!"

Suddenly snapping out of her distracted state, Velma shook her head and turned towards the front of the class.

"Apologies," she gulped with a shaky smile. "Could you please repeat the question?"

The teacher sighed with a roll of their eyes as Velma gave a nervous smile.

MEANWHILE...

Daphne was sitting in her language arts class at the moment. As she listened in to today's lesson, she could see from the corners of her eyes that her girl clique pals were each giving her the stink-eye.

Daphne was confused by this. Had she done something wrong? Whatever it was, she'd have to confront them on it after class. She couldn't afford getting a bad mark in Language Arts, because her parents would never let her hear the end of it otherwise.

So she just turned back towards the front of the class and continued taking notes.

Nearby, Red Herring was grumbling while glaring at Daphne. Of all the people to stand up to him, it had to be that stuck-up, pampered poodle of a girl! Frankly, it made him furious...but while he knew he couldn't take his anger out on Daphne, he also knew he COULD take it out on Jones, that wimp Norville, or his weird growling foreign cousin.

Besides, he was already making plans to corner the beatnik and his cousin after school.

7 HOURS LATER...

School let out for the day, and surprisingly, each youngster, plus one puppy, came running out.

Daphne ran outside crying...Fred and Velma ran off to go check out the old library...and Shaggy & Scooby were running for their lives from Red Herring, who'd been holding in plenty of frustration, and was in a mood to beat up somebody weaker than himself.

Fred and Velma were obviously eager to continue their investigation at the library, and Shaggy and Scooby were obviously being chased by Red Herring, but why was Daphne crying?

Well...that answer will require going back a little while ago.

... ... ...

A FEW MINUTES AGO...

School was about to let out as Daphne approached her clique, who kept glaring at her.

"Girls, what is going on?" she inquired. "What, did I wear the wrong pair of socks or something today?"

"Oh, it's nothing," said Krista icily. "...Blake."

Daphne felt a sense of worry and dread rising as her 'friends' all held up their phones, showing the pictures of Daphne at Pizza Potamus, disguised as a boy!

"Hanging out at some lame joint like Pizza Potamus is ONE thing," started Olive.

"...but hanging out at Pizza Potamus with a weirdo like Norville is ANOTHER!" Gigi finished.

Daphne tried to defend Shaggy. "Hey! H-he's a little weird, but he's a nice guy," she insisted. "He and his dog were really sweet to me!"

"Sounds like SOMEONE'S got a cru~ush!" Gigi and Olive mocked.

"Daphne, not only have you been at some dumb kiddie hang-out, but you've been associating with a known dweeb, not to mention this morning's situation on the bus!" said Stefanianna, the leader of the girl clique. "And something MUST be done."

A cloud of dread began to settle over Daphne's head. "...and what would THAT be...?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"We're going to have to set an example," Stefanianna declared. "And we're doing that by exiling you from the clique."

Daphne did a double-take. "W-what? But...I thought we were friends?" she spluttered.

"The Diamond Darlings of Crystal Cove have RULES, Daphne," said Gigi. "And you broke 2 of them. Now you've gotta pay the price."

Daphne started to tear up. "But...but..." she tried to reply. But by then, her "friends" had all walked away, leaving her standing there in shock and despair.

And for the first time since Pre-K...Daphne knew what it was like to be totally alone. So right when the bell rang, and Daphne did the only thing that came to mind. She started to cry as she ran as fast as she could.

And that's how it happened.

Meanwhile, back with Shaggy and Scooby...

"Come back here, Rogers!" Red shouted. "I got something for you and your buddy!"

"Like, let's NOT and say we DID!" Shaggy insisted as he and Scooby ran as fast as they could.

Fred and Velma were making their way to the library at the exact same time.

"Maybe this time we'll find some more clues on that librarian ghost," Fred hoped. "I really HOPE we do...I think we're making a lot of progress so far!"

Velma nodded. "Agreed. I believe we're close to a breakthrough," she responded.

As they did, Shaggy and Scooby ran into the library and hid behind a shelf.

Red came racing in a few minutes later. "Where the hell are they?" he asked as he looked around for a few minutes.

Those few minutes were enough for Red to get the creeps from being in this library. And that was around the time he decided to take his leave.

"Forget it...if the ghost deals with 'em, that's one less problem for me to deal with!" he muttered as he took off.

Shaggy and Scooby peeked out of their hiding place with scared looks.

Meanwhile, Fred and Velma had arrived at another entrance to the place. As they began their investigation, they heard what sounded like...crying?

"I can't be the only one hearing that, can I?" Fred asked.

"I hear it too..." replied Velma. "It's coming from behind that shelf..."

Carefully, Fred and Velma edged towards the shelf at the crying got a bit louder. Making their way around the shelf, they found Daphne sitting in a pile of downed books, crying to herself. To say that they were shocked to see her there like that would be nothing short of an understatement.

"Daphne?" asked Velma. "Are...are you okay?"

The redheaded girl sat up and sniffed. "Who...me? Sure I'm fine...why wouldn't I be?" she asked. "I mean...it's not like I just LOST ALL MY FRIENDS OR SOMETHING!"

Fred and Velma backed up from how loud Daphne was just now.

"Just...leave me alone..." Daphne mumbled as she receded into the book pile.

Fred and Velma glanced at one another in worry. But then they overheard two more voices.

"Like, man, am I glad we lost ol' Rotten Red, eh, Scoob?"

"Reah! Re too!"

Scooby and Shaggy entered through the door across from Velma, Fred and Daphne.

"Wait a second...I know those voices!" Fred exclaimed. "Well, I know ONE of the voices."

"What are Norville and that dog doing here?" inquired Velma.

"Probably hiding from Red, if what they just said holds up to scrutiny," Fred responded.

Daphne peeked out from her hiding spot to see Shaggy and Scooby entering the room.

"I really wish I'd brought something to eat here," groaned Shaggy as he rubbed his stomach.

"Raggy! Rhe rookies!" Scooby reminded him.

"Rookies?" Shaggy wondered, before it hit him. "Ohhhh! You mean the cookies!"

Shaggy pulled out a baggy of some small diamond-shaped cookies. "I really oughta come up with a name for these things," he commented. "And to think I made 'em in cooking class today..."

Daphne clutched her own stomach as it grumbled. She hadn't eaten herself that day, due to being so focused on trying to figure out why her clique was so mad at her.

Everyone managed to hear the grumbling echoing through the library, as Shaggy and Scooby saw the others.

"Like, what're you all doing here?" inquired Shaggy.

"We're here investigating the Ghost of Miss Shusham," explained Fred.

At that, Shaggy noticeably paled and his hair stood on end. "D-did you say g-g-ghost?!" he wheezed.

Scooby whimpered and hid behind Shaggy.

Some more growling rang out, as Shaggy looked on in fright. "ZOINKS! Was that the ghost?!" he asked.

"No...my stomach...I've barely eaten all day..." Daphne groaned as she rubbed her empty stomach.

"Oh!" Shaggy responded. "Well...would you want a few of these cookies I made?"

"What's in them?" inquired Daphne.

"They're basically peanut butter cookies," explained Shaggy as he reached into the bag, and handed Daphne some cookies.

Curious, Daphne popped one into her mouth and started chewing.

As soon as she did, her eyes widened in astonishment and a jolt shot through her entire body. These cookies tasted PHENOMENAL!

"Oh...oh, my GOD~" Daphne gushed as her legs quivered. "That...is...AMAZING~!"

Fred and Velma glanced at her.

"Sorry," Daphne responded with a sheepish smile. "My bad...they're really good cookies, Shaggy."

"Like, thanks Daphne..." Shaggy said, before he caught on. "—wait, you know my nickname?"

Fred and Velma asked, "Your nickname is 'Shaggy'?"

"...yeah," replied Shaggy with a nod. "It's a lot better-sounding than Norville, at least."

"I'd have to agree, no offense man." chimed in Fred.

"None taken," replied Shaggy before he turned to face Daphne. "But like, how did you know my nickname, Daphne?"

"Well..." Daphne responded. "Remember yesterday at Pizza Potamus?"

Scooby then recognized the familiar smell and said, "Blake?"

Daphne pulled out the cap from the other day and popped it onto her head. "...yep. Surprise," she said. "I'm sorry for lying to you guys."

"But like, why?" inquired Shaggy. "If you'd just asked, me and Scoob would've let you hang out with us."

"I was scared," Daphne replied. "Because I thought my clique would find out...and they DID."

"The other popular girls kicked you out of their like friend group?" asked Velma.

"...basically," replied Daphne.

"Like, I'm sorry," apologized Shaggy. "...this must be my fault."

"Hey...no," Daphne said. "I mean...they were kinda jerks. Even if they were the only friends I ever knew."

"Those don't sound like very good friends," stated Fred.

"...well, when you're well-off financially, being popular seems like the most important thing in the world," Daphne replied sheepishly. "...and then the popularity gets yanked out from under ya."

"For what it's worth...I've never been popular," explained Shaggy. "...heck, I've never really had friends either."

"Well..." Daphne said, her cheeks pink. "...if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to be friends."

"Like, really?" asked Shaggy.

Daphne nodded as she slowly stood up.

"Well, okay then!" Shaggy smiled as he and Daphne shook hands, making the redhead blush in response.

"Okay, plenty of hands to help," said Fred. "Speaking of which...hope you guys don't mind helping us out here."

"Like, sure man," nodded Shaggy. "What do you need help with?"

ONE EXPLANATION LATER...

"Like...I dunno," replied Shaggy. "This ghost-catching stuff is way outta my skillset!"

"No better time to start learning than the present!" Fred beamed.

"But like, what if it comes after us?" asked Shaggy.

"Then you can lead it into the trap Velma and I have been working on!" Fred exclaimed.

Scooby asked, "so we're bait?"

"Well, yeah," said Fred. "You guys were eating in a library, and there's a rule against that. We all know how much of a stickler Miss Shusham is about rules."

"For-get it!" Shaggy replied. "There is NO WAY we're gonna put ourselves in potential danger to catch this ghost!"

Scooby shook his head as well. "Reah, no way!" he chimed in.

"How about a pizza after this?" said Daphne. "My treat, and just the way you two like it?"

"...well..." Shaggy and Scooby got into a huddle, and whispered for a few minutes before they turned back towards the others.

"Ri guess that's fair," Scooby replied.

Velma nodded. "Alright then. Let's set up the trap," she stated.

"RIGHT!" Fred beamed, as he, Velma and the others headed off to get started.

Shaggy and Scooby gulped in fear.

"Remember, guys," instructed Fred over the walkie-talkie. "Go to the table in the middle of the library and use what I left there to get Miss Shusham's attention."

"Like, whaddya mean?" asked Shaggy. "How do you know what we need?"

"A Crystal Cove Shard Scout is ALWAYS prepared!" Fred replied. "Now you guys better get a move on."

Scooby and Shaggy made their way over to the table with nervous looks.

But surprisingly, when they got there they found a pair of Ziplock bags full of cheese puffs and juice boxes.

"...now THIS is what I call prepared!" Shaggy beamed.

"Reah!" Scooby grinned with a chuckle.

The two goofballs started to dig in. They were so engrossed in their snack break that they didn't notice that the spectral librarian materialized behind them, until her shadow materialized over them.

Scooby and Shaggy both turned around...slowly. Staring them right in their faces was the vicious visage of Miss Shusham.

"NO...EATING...IN THE LIBRARY!" she rasped. "YOU'RE MAKING A MESS!"

Scooby and Shaggy held onto each other as the tops of their heads unscrewed and their brains clung to each other, screaming in high-pitched voices.

The brains quickly hopped back into their heads as they both screamed and took off like bats outta Hell!

Shaggy and Scooby both ran for their lives, with Miss Shusham right on their heels!

"ZOINKS!" exclaimed Shaggy. "This lady means business!"

"Reah!" Scooby yelped as they raced up and down the library stairs, between and around the bookshelves...all over the place! But Miss Shusham wouldn't let up the chase.

Shaggy grabbed the walkie-talkie as they weaved around upstairs.

"Is that trap ready yet?" he asked. "Like, PLEASE tell us it's ready!"

"Almost," responded Fred. "Keep running."

Shaggy shut off the walkie-talkie. "'Keep running', he says! Sheesh!" he wheezed. "I think I just went down a shirt size!"

"Reah! Ri'm working off those cookies!" Scooby chimed in.

So, they kept on running for their lives until they managed to hide in the bathroom. And that's when Shaggy and Scooby got an idea!

A FEW MINUTES LATER...

As Miss Shusham passed by the upstairs table again, she spotted two people reading books. Venturing towards them, she lifted the books up and saw...two young students.

"Like, do you mind?" asked the first one, in a collared shirt and necktie. "We've got a test in the morning and we need to study!"

"Reah," chimed in the second one, wearing glasses and a wig. "Rhe nerve of some people...how rude!"

"Oh, so sorry," said Miss Shusham, before she began to float off...then she realized she'd been had!

As she whirled around, all she saw were empty clothes and a wig, along with discarded books!

Fuming furiously, Miss Shusham let out a ghoulish wail of anger before she flew off.

Little did she know, Shaggy and Scooby were hiding among several large piles of books.

"Phew!" Shaggy wiped his head in relief. "I think we gave 'er the slip, Scoob."

Scooby nodded in relief.

"So let's get outta here!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Before that loony librarian comes snoopin' around again!"

But as he tried to walk off, he tripped over a book that had been left behind.

"Man, what is the big idea...?" he grunted as he picked up the book and saw that it read THE GUIDEBOOK ON RARE BOOKS: 1979 to 2009.

"A book about books?" asked Shaggy. "What's next? A documentary about a documentary about a documentary?"

As he looked over it, he saw that there was a section bookmarked. "Like, wow...Scoob, I think this might be a clue!" Shaggy exclaimed.

He opened the book up to the bookmarked section, n the marked page was a book cover, titled "Pizza Parrot and the Boney Brigade", which was circled in red marker.

Underneath was the highlighted number: "Valued at $40,000,000.00, this book went out of print a year later and only a handful of copies still exist."

"Rhy rould a rhost want a rare book?" asked Scooby.

"Like, I dunno, Scoob," responded Shaggy. "Maybe it's NOT a real ghost after all...maybe it's someone in disguise?"

Scooby shrugged. "Raybe. Re retter keep moving," he replied.

"Like, I was afraid you'd say that," sighed Shaggy as he and Scooby continued on their way through the library.

"How much longer...?" Shaggy asked over the walkie-talkie.

"Any minute now," responded Fred.

"Crud!" Shaggy groaned as he and Scooby had to continue running.

After a bit of sneaking and running, the two of them tiptoed down a hallway.

"Scoob, I've been thinking." said Shaggy.

"What about?" Scooby inquired.

"I've been wondering if this is all worth the trouble," replied Shaggy. "I mean, we're here risking our necks to catch either a ghost or someone dressed like one that's skulking around a dingy old library! If anything, we should just leave it to the cops...we're four kids and a puppy. This is WAY out of our skillset!"

Scooby couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"But like...I dunno," said Shaggy. "Like The Clash sez...should we stay or should we go?"

Scooby and Shaggy really had to think about this. But before they could continue to ponder for any longer, the walkie-talkie began beeping again.

Shaggy picked it up. "...is it ready NOW?!" he asked.

"Yup," responded Fred. "Bring 'er on through now!"

Scooby and Shaggy looked at each other again. This was the moment they made their decision.

"Looks like we're stayin'," said Shaggy. "C'mon, Scoob. We got a job to do."

"Right, Raggy," nodded Scooby.

And so, they both went back through the library, yelling and stomping as loudly as they could to get the ghost librarian's attention.

Three minutes later, Scooby and Shaggy came barreling down the stairs, running in terror with Miss Shusham right on their tails. "BE QUUUUIEEEEEET!" she bellowed.

MEANWHILE, AMONG THE STACKS...

"Okay, guys...we just need Shag and Scoob to lead her over here!" Fred expunged as he tied another rope down.

"Let's hope this trap works on her," responded Velma.

Daphne put a hand to her ear and overheard frenzied footsteps getting closer. "I think I hear them coming!" she exclaimed.

"Places, everyone!" Fred instructed.

Velma and Daphne got into place as Fred got himself ready, his hands on the trigger.

And so, Scooby and Shaggy came screaming into the library as Miss Shusham was hot on their heels.

The boy and dog ran for their lives as they lead her into The Stacks.

"NOW!" Fred shouted, as he and Daphne pulled the ropes. The ropes pulled out the books from the stacks, and they tumbled down onto Miss Shusham like an avalanche; she screeched as she was buried in a mountain of books.