Monster High Diaries: Draculaura and the New Stepmomster Page 3

  When they finally got to the Scaritage Ballroom on the second floor of the Chateau, dozens of vampires were already seated at tables that filled the room. The room was buzzing with conversation and laughter, but when Draculaura and her ghoulfriends stepped through the door, a hush fell over one whole side of the room. Draculaura gazed at the faces staring up at her from the silent tables and could see that there were many vampires she didn’t know. The rest of Ramoanah’s family, she guessed.

  “Darling,” said Dracula, sweeping over to greet Draculaura. He looked at his pocket watch and frowned.

  “I’m sorry we’re a few minutes late,” Draculaura said quickly.

  “Not at all, not at all,” Dracula assured her. “Dinner will begin in just a moment. Please, take your seats quickly.”

  “Where are we sitting?” she asked, linking arms with her father. “I’m so excited we finally have some time together! I want to talk to Ramoanah about her dress and the song she picked for your first dance and the cake and—”

  “Draculaura.” Dracula cleared his throat. “I’m, ah—I’m seated with Ramoanah’s family tonight. They have set up a table for you and your friends over there.” He pointed to a table on the opposite side of the room. “We put you next to Elissabat and her Hauntlywood people! I know how much you’ve missed your childhood fiend—you must have so much to get caught up on. So Ramoanah, uh…we thought you might like to sit near her at dinner.”

  Draculaura tried to hide her disappointment. It seemed like she was never going to get to spend any time with her dad! She couldn’t help but feel as if her father and Ramoanah were trying to keep her away from the rest of the wedding party. Is this what it was going to be like for the rest of her unlife? Would Ramoanah always push her to the side?

  She tried to swallow, but a lump caught in her throat. Draculaura forced a smile and said, “Do you think Ramoanah has a moment before dinner begins? I would love to greet her, since she’s the host of the gala.” She searched the faces in the room, looking for her new stepmomster. “Or maybe I should greet her parents first? I guess they’re the official hosts of tonight’s dinner?”

  “Well, yes,” said Dracula. “They are the hosts. But there’s really no need to greet them right now.”

  Draculaura couldn’t believe her ears! “I remember my manners, Dad. You taught me well! You always told me it’s important to greet the host immediately upon arrival.”

  Dracula smiled slightly. “Perhaps you can do that later. Why don’t we see how the evening goes first, yes?” He turned to wave hello to another guest, adding, “I’ll find you after dinner, darling. It’s best that you find your seats now so the dinner service can begin. We want to have plenty of time for dancing later.”

  As they made their way through the tables full of wedding guests, Draculaura stopped to say hello to everyone she knew. The ballroom was filled with vampire friends and relatives she hadn’t seen in centuries. She introduced Cleo, Ghoulia, Frankie, and Clawdeen to her aunt Scabitha, her uncle Bury, and their son, Dragos.

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Dragos said smoothly, standing up and bowing to Draculaura’s ghoulfriends.

  Frankie giggled when Dragos took her hand in his and kissed it. “A delight to meet you,” Dragos murmured.

  “Same here,” said Frankie. Dragos dropped her hand quickly when a bolt of electricity shocked him. Frankie put her hand over her mouth and said, “Oops, sorry about that.”

  Frankie leaned toward Draculaura and whispered, “He’s so electrifying!”

  They paused to greet another table full of old fiends Draculaura had played with when she and her dad had lived in the vampire court. She was so excited to introduce her ghoulfriends to everyone!

  When they finally got to their table in the farthest corner of the room, Draculaura happily greeted one of her oldest ghoulfriends—and the vampire queen—Elissabat, and waved hello to the Hauntlywood crew. The vampire queen required an extralarge table in order to fit her whole camera crew and all the various Hauntlywood assistants who helped keep her makeup, hair, and ward-robe just right. Clawdeen immediately began chatting with Viperine Gorgon, Elissabat’s personal makeup artist. The two had met during the ghouls’ first trip to Hauntlywood, and they couldn’t wait to get caught up on everything that had happened since!

  The reality show cameramen were spread around the room, capturing every elegant moment. The whole scene felt like something out of a boo-vie. Draculaura couldn’t believe that her father’s wedding would be part of a reality television show!

  “Helloooooo,” cooed Cleo, gesturing to one of Elissabat’s cameramen. “I see the cameras are ready. Please, feel free to film me at any time this weekend. Perhaps one of the crews should be assigned to me?” She batted her eyes and smiled her most dazzling smile. “Now that the cameras are everywhere, I’ll make sure I’m ready for my close-up at a moment’s notice!”

  “Uh…” The head cameraman looked over at Elissabat, who gave him a small smile and nodded. He turned back to Cleo and said, “Okay, sure. We’ll get some B-roll footage.”

  “B-roll?” squealed Cleo, jumping to her feet. “Do you know who I am?”

  “Cleo,” Clawdeen said under her breath. “You need to sit down. Everyone’s looking at you. And not in a good way.”

  Cleo looked over at Ramoanah’s family. They were all glaring at her in a most unfriendly way. Cleo flounced back in her chair and waved off the cameraman. “We can do my scenes later. That’s a wrap for now, boys.”

  “Whatever you say…” the cameraman replied, rolling his eyes.

  A moment later, a team of waiters surrounded the ghouls’ table. Dinner was served! As one, they gently placed covered platters in front of each person at the table. Then, on an unspoken count of three, they whisked the gleaming silver lids off each person’s plate.

  “Oh…” moaned Draculaura, just before her eyes fluttered closed and she slumped against the back of her chair.

  “Oh no!” Frankie cried, grabbing Draculaura’s arm before she completely fainted and crumpled all the way to the floor.

  Clawdeen stared at the plates that filled the table. Balanced perfectly in the center of each one of the plates was an elegant silver bowl. Inside each bowl was a vampire delicacy—blood pudding. No wonder poor Draculaura had fainted!

  Frankie and Clawdeen set to work trying to rouse Draculaura. Elissabat stood up and came around the table to help them. “This used to happen all the time when we were younger,” she told Frankie. “Draculaura was never a big fan of the vampire diet. When we used to go to dinner parties in the vampire court, I always snuck in a bottle of tomato juice so she could fake her way through fancy events without telling any of the old-fashioned vampires about her special diet.”

  “That’s so scary-sweet,” said Frankie.

  “Ghoulfriends watch out for each other,” she said, winking. “I didn’t want her to go hungry.”

  Draculaura moaned, and her eyes fluttered open again. Elissabat pushed the bowl away before Draculaura could get another view of her blood-red dinner. “Feeling better, ghoulfriend?” she asked with a smile.

  “Bats! I am so sorry!” Draculaura said, embarrassed. She glanced around quickly, checking to see who had seen her faint at the sight of blood. Luckily, it seemed like her dad and Ramoanah were so caught up in conversation at their own table that they hadn’t noticed.

  Ghoulia and Cleo each pushed their own dinner aside and exchanged grossed-out looks. “Excuse me?” Cleo said to one of the waiters. “Do you have any other options? A fresh fruit plate, perhaps?”

  Ghoulia asked if they had any brain puffs hidden anywhere in the kitchen.

  One of the waiters shook his head. “No, miss.”

  “I suppose we’ll just go hungry, then.” Cleo sighed. “We can order room service later, ghouls.” She waved her hand at the waiters and said, “Take it away at once!”

  The waiters stepped forward in unison and replaced the covers on each of the ghoulfriends’ plates
. Then they lifted them off the table, held them high in the air, and glided back to the kitchen.

  “Is there a problem here?” a cool voice asked from behind Draculaura’s chair.

  Draculaura turned. It was Ramoanah. She did not look happy. “Oh, um…hi, Ramoanah. It’s lovely to see you again,” Draculaura said cheerfully. “Nope, everything’s just fine. It’s just…well, I’m not sure if my dad mentioned that I’m, uh…a vegetarian?”

  Ramoanah took a deep breath. “He did not,” she said.

  “Well,” Draculaura said lightly. “I am! No big deal, though.”

  Ramoanah pressed her lips together. “It is a big deal,” she said in a tight voice. She turned to the other ghouls and asked, “And I suppose none of you are happy with tonight’s meal either?”

  None of them said anything. After a long silence, Clawdeen finally muttered, “We weren’t very hungry. There was a lot of great food on the train. So no biggie.”

  “No…biggie,” repeated Ramoanah slowly, arching her eyebrow. “I would have to disagree. This is unacceptable!” With that, Ramoanah turned and walked swiftly back to her own table.

  Did she just call my ghouls and me unacceptable? Draculaura wondered in disbelief. She looked around the table at the faces of her ghoulfriends and could tell they were wondering the same thing.

  Draculaura bit her lip. The day that had started out so well was rotting fast. It looked like all her greatest fears about having a new stepmomster were going to come true.

  This dinner is the worst. I snuck back up to the room for a tiny sec, since I need a few minutes to think. I just do not understand why Ramoanah and her family are being so mean to my beast ghoulfriends—and to me!

  Even though Ramoanah’s family gala is a monstrous fail, I’m not ready to give up just yet. I’m not going to change who I am to make her like me, of course. I can only hope that Ramoanah will come to love my freaky flaws eventually! And anyway, I know we must have something in common, but what that thing is…hmmm. Well, we both like my dad. That’s something, at least, right?

  Oh! And here’s one of the things that makes me think she must be fangulous on some level—her outfit! You should see her fangtastic dress! When I first saw her at the gala tonight, it looked like she was just wearing a simple black gown. But when she moved, I could see that it was lined with sparkly pink fur. I think it’s a sign—I always trust a ghoul who loves pink! At least we have fashion in common. Of course, it would be nice if we actually liked each other too…you can’t build a relationship on clothes alone.

  Okay, well, I guess I’d better get back to the Scaritage Ballroom. Dancing is supposed to start soon, and I don’t want to miss that!

  Smooches,

  Draculaura

  After the appetizer plates were cleared, the rest of the dinner service felt like it moved as quickly as a zombie track race. Course after course was brought out—and not one of the platters included foods the ghouls were interested in eating.

  Draculaura’s head was spinning as she tried to figure out what was going on with Ramoanah and her family. They couldn’t hate her before they had even gotten to know her, could they? She distracted herself from her worries by laughing with Elissabat. She was laughing nonstop as Elissabat told the other ghouls stories from their childhood.

  As the dessert plates were cleared, guests began to stand up and mingle. A string quartet played quiet music in the corner, and the Hauntlywood camera crew continued to wander around the ballroom capturing footage of the evening. Cleo trailed after them, stepping into the center of each shot—ensuring she would be one of the stars of the show. Eventually, she returned to the table when it was clear they weren’t very interested in her.

  “This is going to be one seriously boring show Elissabat’s crew is putting together,” Clawdeen whispered to Cleo, yawning. “Are all vampire galas so much fun?”

  “When they told us we had been invited to a party, I expected a party,” Cleo said, perching on the edge of her chair. “I hope the dancing starts soon. This is a total snoozefest. I’m even growing tired of the cameras.”

  As if on cue, a curtain at the far end of the room flew open, revealing an enormous live orchestra. The conductor lifted her arms, and the strings began to play a slow-moving, formal waltz.

  Frankie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as she stared at the instruments and listened to the old-fashioned music. “What is this?”

  “Oh my ghoul. They don’t expect us to waltz or something, do they?” Clawdeen asked. Her mouth hung open as she watched Ramoanah’s large family sweep onto the dance floor in pairs. The dancing couples all glided easily around the dance floor, swaying and spinning in harmony.

  “What’s next? The Gargoyle Polka?” joked Cleo.

  “Come on, ghouls. This is totes fangtastic!” Draculaura said, jumping to her feet. “So maybe a waltz isn’t exactly what we had in mind when they said there would be dancing tonight. But let’s make the most of it. Remember, I grew up in the vampire court. I can teach you all how to waltz like total pros!”

  Clawdeen shrugged. “I guess dancing is dancing. Let’s do it.” She smiled and pulled Draculaura toward the dance floor.

  Cleo saw that the Hauntlywood cameras were now set up along the edge of the dance floor, capturing footage of the dancing couples. So she made her way toward the dance floor and grinned at them. “I suppose a little old-fashioned dancing could be fun.”

  Ghoulia and Frankie trailed after them. Soon all five of the Monster High ghouls were having a blast on the dance floor. Elissabat and Viperine and the rest of the Hauntlywood crew joined them. Ramoanah’s family danced stiffly around the edges of the dance floor, while Draculaura and her ghoulfriends rocked right in the center.

  As they twirled and waltzed, Draculaura realized she was having a great time—despite the horrible dinner and less-than-perfect introduction to her new stepmomster. “So maybe this isn’t the kind of dancing we’re used to,” she said to Clawdeen and Ghoulia with a smile. “But you all came along to really experience Transylvania, right? This is totally old-school Transylvania! Let’s make the most of it!”

  The rest of the night was a fangulous blur of dancing and laughing. Elissabat and Draculaura could remember almost everything they had learned about the waltz hundreds of years ago. They both turned out to be incredible teachers. Hours later, everyone was danced out and exhausted—and officially starving.

  Most of the partygoers had already retired to their rooms to get some sleep. After scanning the ballroom to see if Ramoanah or her father were still there (they weren’t), Draculaura suggested they head back to their suite too. “I’ll have to thank them in the morning,” she said with a yawn. “This was so much fun, but I have got to order some room service before I hit the coffin!”

  Clawdeen nodded in agreement. “I’m so hungry I would almost be willing to eat that—wait a minute, no, still gross.”

  They made their way through the lobby, then up the dimly lit back stairs that led to their suite. As they were coming around a corner, Clawdeen stopped suddenly and put her finger to her lips. “Shhh.”

  “I am hungry enough to eat the Monster High Creepateria special,”* muttered Ghoulia.

  “I know, I’m hungry too,” Clawdeen replied in a hushed tone. “But I just heard someone whispering Draculaura’s name.”

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to eavesdrop,” Frankie said, looking to Draculaura to see if she agreed.

  “If someone’s talking about our friend, we have a right to know what he or she is saying,” Clawdeen insisted. “Just listen.” The ghouls all stopped. Clawdeen’s ears pricked up, trying to catch a snippet of the whispered conversation around the corner.

  “I don’t want her to find out about…” said a voice. “…know you disagree…”

  “That sounds like Ramoanah!” Frankie whispered urgently, her eyes wide.

  Another voice piped up. “It’s absolutely ridiculous!” Whoever it was sounded angry. “How can Dra
culaura…?”

  “And that’s her mom!” noted Cleo. “What are they talking about?”

  “Shh,” Clawdeen growled. “Quiet, so I can hear.”

  Ramoanah mumbled something more, then said more loudly, “Enough! I won’t stand for it!”

  “You must, Ramoanah,” hissed the other voice. “We are vampires. It’s tradition.”

  Ramoanah muttered something more, but even Clawdeen’s extrasensitive ears couldn’t pick out any specific words.

  “What’s she saying?” Cleo asked.

  “Shhhh,” urged Draculaura. She couldn’t imagine how awful it would be if they were caught eavesdropping on Ramoanah! It was revolting enough that they were talking about her.

  There was the sound of a door opening, then Ramoanah said, “…will just have to deal with it!” A door slammed, and the conversation was over, just like that.

  Draculaura and her ghoulfriends were left alone in the hall again. “What was that all about?” Draculaura wondered aloud. “Find out about what? Deal with what?”

  No one had any answers. But it sure didn’t sound good.

  I can’t stop thinking about the conversation we overheard on our way back to the suite last night. It sure sounded like Ramoanah and her mother were fighting about me! I don’t know what I did to make her dislike me so much, but it’s pretty clear we’re not going to be instant beasties. Boo.

  Also, one of the things Ramoanah said last night is really bugging me. I can’t stop thinking about how she said she didn’t want me to find out about something. What?! What was she talking about?