Monster High Diaries: Draculaura and the New Stepmomster Page 4

  Does Ramoanah have some secret she’s keeping from me? Is it possible she’s also keeping secrets from my dad? Dad is all about honesty and openness…if Ramoanah is hiding anything, shouldn’t he know about it before he commits to her for eternity?

  What am I supposed to do?????

  Smooches (and yawns),

  Draculaura

  The next morning, the ghouls all slept in to recover from their late night of dancing. Fangsly delivered a small room-service breakfast order shortly after they woke. When he opened the door, he apologized for how few non-vampire food options the hotel had on hand—just a small pitcher of tomato juice and some cereal he had managed to scare up. The ghouls had already discovered that the hotel’s evening menu wasn’t much better—they had found it nearly impossible to find anything on the room-service menu the night before. They were all starving!

  Fangsly promised that the manager was working on improving the menu. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to greatly improve the food selections before breakfast.” Fangsly bowed, long and low. “We didn’t realize that we would have so many distinguished guests at the Chateau this weekend with unusual food needs.”

  “It’s not your fault, Fangsly,” Draculaura said, taking the tray from him with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. We’re not going to starve.”

  “Oh, but I must worry,” Fangsly said seriously as he stepped back into the hall. “The hotel has been given an order. We must do everything in our power to make your kind feel welcome for the rest of this weekend.”

  “An order?” Clawdeen asked. “An order from who?”

  Fangsly shook his head. “I am not at liberty to say who. This person says the only thing that matters is the comfort of our guests, especially those staying in this suite.”

  “O-kay,” Frankie said, shutting the door.

  “Well, at least it’s nice to know someone’s looking out for us,” Cleo sniffed. “Probably Elissabat. I’m sure her boo-vie crew is as hungry as we are!”

  While they ate, they chatted about Ramoanah. Everyone wondered what kind of secret she was hiding and worried over what Ramoanah and her mother had been arguing about. “They probably think I’m rude for not eating the food they served at their welcome gala!” Draculaura groaned. “Her family was nice enough to invite me to this nice dinner, and I fainted!”

  “Don’t be silly,” said Cleo. “If it were really a welcome gala, they should have made everyone feel welcome by giving us food we could eat.” She relaxed back on the chaise longue. “You know what’s going to get your mind to stop worrying about your stepmomster? A spa day!”

  “Ooh,” Frankie cheered. “The spa in the Chateau looked totally creeperific. What do you think, Draculaura? Can we take you down there for some primping? Maybe a prewedding manicure will help you feel better.”

  Draculaura took the last sip of her tomato juice and nodded. “You’re right. I have to stop worrying about everything, or I’m going to make myself crazy. A spa day would be totes amazing!”

  As the ghouls got ready to head down to the Chateau’s fancy spa, Draculaura had an idea. “Call me batty, but what do you think about my inviting Ramoanah to join us at the spa? Maybe a ghouls’ day is just what we need.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Frankie said. “You can suggest it to her and see how it goes.”

  Draculaura rang for Fangsly, who was back at their door in a flash. “Fangsly, do you happen to know where my dad and Ramoanah are this morning?”

  “Yes, miss,” he said.

  “I’d like to invite Ramoanah to join us at the spa,” she said.

  “Of course,” Fangsly said with a bow. “Would you like me to extend the invitation on your behalf?”

  Draculaura giggled. “Don’t be silly, Fangsly! I want to invite her myself. Can you show me where she is? I’d look for her myself, but this place is huge, and I’m sure I’d be lost in no time.”

  Fangsly bowed again. “Certainly. Please, follow me.”

  Draculaura’s spirits soared as she pictured the look on Ramoanah’s face when she invited her for some stepmomster-daughter bonding. She was still sure that if she and Ramoanah spent a day together, talking and relaxing, they would become fast fiends. As she left the suite, she called back, “Ghouls, you can go ahead. I’ll find Ramoanah, and hopefully we’ll both meet you at the spa in a few!”

  “Are you sure you want to do this alone?” Frankie asked. “I’m happy to come with you for moral support.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Draculaura smiled widely. “This is my new stepmomster we’re talking about. Go ahead. Pick a scary-cute color for my toes, okay?”

  The others headed toward the spa as Fangsly led Draculaura through the lobby and into the Chateau’s elegant dining room. “Oh,” Draculaura said quietly, looking around. “I’m not interrupting her breakfast, am I?”

  “Not at all,” Fangsly promised. “They have just finished.”

  “They?” Draculaura wondered aloud. She wasn’t in the mood to see Ramoanah’s family again, but she steeled herself for the possibility. It was very unlikely Ramoanah would be eating breakfast in the restaurant alone.

  Fangsly led Draculaura all the way through the restaurant. At the back of the dining room, he pushed aside a large velvet curtain and opened a rich mahogany door that led to a private dining room.

  When they stepped through the door, Draculaura stopped. Inside, Dracula, Ramoanah, Ramoanah’s family, and many of Draculaura’s oldest family fiends were enjoying breakfast together at a long table in the center of the room. “Oh,” Draculaura said, waving meekly. “Hi, everybody.” She swallowed and said quietly, “I didn’t know we were all meeting for breakfast!”

  At first, no one said anything. After a long, awkward silence (during which Elissabat shot Draculaura an apologetic half smile), Ramoanah said, “We thought you would rather not join us for breakfast.” She focused her gaze on Draculaura. “After last night’s…ah, mix-up at dinner, we didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position again. The menu at the hotel restaurant is not vegetarian friendly.”

  “Do vegetarians even eat breakfast?” Ramoanah’s mother muttered under her breath.

  “Of course we eat breakfast!” Draculaura said, trying to keep her voice light. She was working hard to keep the hurt out of her voice but was finding it difficult. They had all met for a family breakfast…and no one had invited her! It was almost impossible to not feel left out. She felt tears prick at her eyes, and her throat felt tight.

  “I didn’t want to interrupt your morning with your friends,” Dracula said suddenly, standing up. “I assumed you would be spending the day with them.”

  “I—” Draculaura began.

  But before anything more could be said, Ramoanah stood up. “Let’s forget breakfast for now, shall we? Draculaura, I’m glad you’ve come by, actually.”

  Really? Draculaura wondered, brightening.

  Ramoanah continued. “I wanted to introduce you to my dear nephew, Alexander.”

  A tall, handsome, and extremely unfriendly-looking vampire dabbed the edges of his mouth with his napkin and stood up. “Ah,” Alexander said, sizing up Draculaura. “So I finally meet Dracula’s famous daughter. Charmed, I’m sure.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, stepping forward to shake hands.

  “Aunt Ramoanah has told me that apparently…” Alexander cleared his throat and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I have been given the chore of escorting you down the aisle at the wedding ceremony tomorrow. I will be your wedding date, so to speak.” He said the word date like it was something rotten.

  “Oh?” Draculaura said. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Was it her imagination, or was Alexander being frightfully rude? She didn’t want to turn down his invitation, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t very excited about the prospect of being her date. “Um…I’m not sure what you mean. I have my ghoulfriends here. We will all be going to the wedding together.…”

  Drac
ula smiled and said, “I’m sorry we haven’t told you yet, dear. But Ramoanah would like you to be her maid of horror.” He looked from his wife-to-be to his daughter.

  Ramoanah gave her mother a quick look, then nodded.

  “For real?” Draculaura squealed. “I would love that! Thank you! What do you need me to do? Would you like me to help you get ready before the wedding tomorrow? I can help you get dressed! Or help with flowers or…” Ramoanah managed a small smile, and Draculaura felt her heart swell with joy. Maybe she was finally breaking through Ramoanah’s shell! “Anything. Just name it, and I’m your ghoul!”

  “There is not much left to be done,” Ramoanah said, glancing again at her mom. Ramoanah’s mom cleared her throat loudly and scowled, and Draculaura was instantly transported back to the whispered conversation from the night before. The joy she had felt just moments earlier drifted away as she saw the look that passed between Ramoanah and her mother. She wondered—once again—what Ramoanah and her mother had been arguing about. Was Ramoanah being forced to ask Draculaura to be her maid of horror because it was a tradition? Did Ramoanah not really want her to be her maid of horror after all?

  Draculaura kicked the thought out of her mind. She had to stay positive! “Okay, well, just let me know! And it’s great to meet you, Alexander. We’ll have a blast at the wedding tomorrow.”

  Alexander looked down his nose at Draculaura. “I think not.”

  Draculaura pretended she hadn’t heard him. But as the waiters swept into the room to clear the breakfast plates, she figured now was as good a time as any to suggest Ramoanah join her and her friends at the spa. “Ramoanah, I know you must have so much to do to get ready for the wedding, but…if you can spare an hour, my ghoulfriends and I wanted to invite you to join us at the Chateau’s spa. Maybe we could get matching nails for the wedding tomorrow?”

  For a brief moment, Draculaura thought Ramoanah was going to accept her invitation, but then the moment was gone and Ramoanah shook her head. “I’m afraid I must say no. I have other commitments.”

  “Okay,” squeaked Draculaura. She suddenly felt foolish for even having asked. “No problem.”

  “We have so many last-minute details, and Ramoanah wants to spend as much time with her family as she can before she moves with us to the Boo World,” added Dracula with a tight smile. “You understand, don’t you, dear?”

  “Yes,” Draculaura said quietly, stepping backward. “Of course.” She blinked back tears. Her dad and her stepmomster had so many last-minute things to get ready for the wedding but no need for her help. She got it. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.” With a final wave at the others, she turned and ran out of the Chateau’s dining room.

  Draculaura hustled to the spa, quietly fuming. Even the lavender scent wafting out of the spa wasn’t enough to calm her. She had moved from thrilled to hurt to fangry in a matter of moments.

  Her friends were all bundled in soft plush robes, sipping mineral water, and relaxing in the spa’s comfortable lounge. “What happened?” Frankie said, jumping up as soon as she saw the look on Draculaura’s face.

  “She said no,” Draculaura said, her mouth set in a grim line. “To my spa invitation, to my offer of help getting ready for the wedding, to everything. But she did ask me to be her maid of horror.”

  “She did?” Frankie cheered. “That’s great!”

  “Not great, actually.” Draculaura moaned. “I think she felt like she had to. It’s tradition. A vampire bride is always supposed to ask the closest female family member to be her maid of horror. It would have been really strange if she hadn’t. If my dad or Ramoanah had a sister, she could have avoided asking me, but since they don’t…I’m the only other possibility. Obviously, Ramoanah’s family is all about tradition. I’m sure her mom must have told her she had to ask me.” Her eyes were bright with tears. “I would be excited if I thought she had wanted me to stand beside her at the wedding. But I really don’t think that’s how it is.”

  Frankie and Clawdeen held up a soft robe, urging Draculaura to slip into it. Meanwhile, Ghoulia pushed Draculaura’s feet into a pair of comfortable slippers. When the Hauntlywood crew came into the spa, their cameras at the ready, Cleo waved them away. She knew that the last thing Draculaura wanted was for Hauntlywood to capture her family drama on film!

  Draculaura slumped down in a chair and hung her head in her hands. “Ramoanah and her family obviously have a problem with who I am.”

  As her friends listened, Draculaura explained how horrible she had felt when she realized she hadn’t been invited to the family breakfast. And then all her feelings of frustration bubbled up to the surface. “I’m going to feel like a stranger at my own dad’s wedding!” she exclaimed sadly. “It’s obvious Ramoanah hates that I’m a vegetarian, she’s been mean to all of you, and she and her mom are keeping some kind of secret—probably about me.” She looked up and finally shared her deepest, darkest fear. “They’re probably trying to figure out how to keep me away from my dad forever. What if she’s trying to get Dad to move back to Transylvania with her? What am I going to do?”

  The ghouls weren’t sure what to tell Draculaura (the situation did seem every bit as gloomy as Draculaura feared it was), so they did the one thing they could do—be supportive of her.

  “Her family is just a bunch of stuffy old grumps,” Clawdeen announced.

  “She doesn’t deserve you as a stepdaughter, Draculaura,” Cleo added.

  “You’ve done everything you can do to try to get to know her,” Frankie said soothingly. “You tried your beast.”

  “So what am I supposed to do?” Draculaura asked again. “It’s not like she and I can avoid each other for the rest of our lives—even though that’s probably what she wishes would happen.” She sighed heavily. “I guess once I’m back at Monster High, she can just pretend I don’t even exist. Soon, my dad will forget all about me—”

  Ghoulia cut her off, shaking her head and muttering, “You are his only daughter. That will not happen.”*

  “I know that he won’t really forget about me, Ghoulia,” Draculaura said, flopping back into the comfortable spa chair. “But it’s pretty obvious that unlife as I knew it is totally going to change. Gone is the open-minded Dracula who embraces all kinds of monsters and welcomes different ways of thinking. From here on out, it’s going to be all old-ghoul vampire everything. What if she does make us move back to Transylvania?!”

  As the ghouls soaked their toes in tubs filled with hot, fizzy water brought in from the Transylvanian foothills, they tried to figure things out together.

  “Is anyone else dying to know what Ramoanah doesn’t want Draculaura to find out about?” Clawdeen said quietly. “What is it she’s hiding?”

  Ghoulia looked thoughtful. “If you really want to know, you will have to ask Ramoanah herself or express your suspicions to your father.”*

  “Those are my only two options?” Draculaura said. “Confront Ramoanah directly or talk to Dad about it?”

  “Ghoulia’s got a point,” Frankie said. “I think it’s time for you to talk to your dad. After all, if she is hiding something from your dad, he needs to know that there’s a secret. And he needs to know how bad you feel about the way Ramoanah’s been treating you.”

  “So you think I should talk to him?” Draculaura asked. “Do I tell him I think she’s keeping some sort of secret? Won’t it seem like I’m tattling?”

  “I don’t think you have much of a choice,” Cleo said. The other ghouls nodded in agreement.

  Before she could lose her nerve, Draculaura set off to find her dad. If his new wife was keeping something from him, he deserved to know.

  Part of me hopes that Father will tell me I’m wrong about everything. But even I know that’s batty.

  What if Ramoanah convinces my dad that our way of unlife is wrong? What if spending time with all these traditional vampires makes Dad think that the old way of unlife is better than our new way?

 
What if—gulp—he makes me leave Monster High?!

  I wish Clawd were here—but then again, I guess I don’t. Because if Ramoanah doesn’t like my ghoulfriends, what would she think about Clawd?! She’d probably make me break up with him, and that would just break my heart.

  The ghouls and I are trying to make the most of Ramoanah’s traditional vampire wedding celebrations. We even danced the waltz! Why can’t she see that some parts of the Boo World can be fun too? If only there were some way to combine Ramoanah’s family’s stuffy traditions and some of the Boo World traditions, this wedding would be killer. A traditional vampire wedding with a Boo World twist…that would make Elissabat’s Hauntlywood people scream with excitement!

  It would be SO FANGTASTIC.

  Oh well. I’m not a part of planning this wedding, so I guess there’s no point in thinking about it. Time to talk to Father.

  Smooches (and wish me luck!),

  Draculaura

  Draculaura left her ghoulfriends at the spa and hunted Fangsly down at his usual perch in the lobby of the Chateau. “Hello, Fangsly,” she said. “Have you seen my father? I need to speak with him.”

  “Yes,” Fangsly said, turning on his heel. “He is in the study. Please, follow me.”

  Draculaura did as she was told, following him past a wine cellar and a centuries-old library and through an enormous cave filled with sleeping bats. “This is our employee break room,” Fangsly explained. “Some of us like to squeeze in a little bat nap between shifts.”

  Past the cave, he pushed open a door and led Draculaura into a room that looked almost exactly like the study Dracula had in their castle back home.

  “You look comfy,” Draculaura said to her father as she sank into one of the leather chairs facing the desk. “Settling in here in Transylvania?”

  “Yes,” Dracula said, putting down his pen. “This hotel goes to great pains to ensure its guests feel at home while they’re staying at the Chateau.”