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mister-lucky-bunny · 5 years

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Scooby Doo: Monster Menagerie Chpt. 6

Description: The ghouls start their first day of classes while Mystery Inc. observes and gets to know everyone.

Scooby Doo: Monster Menagerie

Chapter 6: The Swing of Things

The rooms that the investigators slept in were decorated as well as the rest of the school. Cobwebs took up most of the space in each corner, from the ceiling down to the floorboards. The furniture, while minimal, still appeared antique and worn down. Both rooms consisted of three beds, an old wooden dresser, a matching wardrobe, a large mirror, and thankfully, a bathroom off to the side with a working toilet and shower. Whether or not the shower could run hot water was something they would have to figure out on their own in the morning.

As for the beds themselves, they didn't look too filthy, even if the sheets looked somewhat tattered and worn. Scooby, Shaggy, and Freddie took one of the rooms while Daphne, Velma, and Googie went in the other. On the same floor as their rooms were also three other bedrooms. In each of these, Sibella, Winnie, and Phantasma would reside. Since they had lived in the school for quite awhile, they had their own types of decorations and design choices. As for Elsa and Tanis, their rooms were downstairs. Elsa was allowed to sleep in the school lab, since that's where she spends the most time anyways. Tanis's room was in a basement of sorts, filled with sand and various small treasures, the walls covered in stone hieroglyphics. She still slept in the same giant gold sarcophagus, naturally.

The guys were looking around their room a bit, Freddie looking somewhat confused. Shaggy and Scooby didn't seem too bothered by it, as Shaggy began to change into pajamas, moving his stuff off the bed and acting as if they were right at home. "So, like, what do you think of this place so far?" Shaggy asked his friend, Scooby already nestling himself into a bed.

With a single finger, Freddie wiped a bit of dust from the nearby wardrobe, rubbing it against his thumb some. "Well... I've stayed in worse motel rooms, that's for sure," He joked, turning around. "To be honest though, I'm surprised you and Scoob stayed long enough in this place. I figured you would've run out the moment you found out who you were going to teach!"

Shaggy gave a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Like, we almost did. If it weren't for the fact that we were under contract, like, we would've gone back with you guys almost immediately."

Freddie gave a small chuckle too, starting to change into his pajamas as well. "Well lucky for Miss Grimwood then, huh?"

"Like, I suppose," Shaggy replied. "To be honest though, I always wondered if I even did that great a job. Like, I know we won the volleyball game and we helped stop that witch, but... I dunno, like, I feel like I probably could've done a bit more as a coach, y'know?"

"I think it's normal to think you could do more than you did," Freddie responded, sitting on his own bed, facing his lanky friend. "But from what it sounds like, the girls really look up to you. They wouldn't do that unless they had a good reason to." Shaggy looked a bit thoughtful, looking to his lap a bit. When it was apparent he wasn't going to say anything, Freddie continued on. "I think you left a much bigger impact on them than you imagine. Despite the fact that it felt like nothing to you, it meant everything to them. After all, if you could never forget, how could they?"

Shaggy glanced up, smiling a little. He didn't directly answer his question, but the look on his face let the blond know everything he needed. "Hey, Freddie, like thanks..."

His friend gave a wide grin and a smile. "You'll do a great job this year, Shag, I know it." At this point, he began to lay down, stretching his arms a bit. "Now you got a class to teach tomorrow. Let's get some shut-eye."

Shaggy responded by nodding and yawning loudly, making himself cozy in his own bed. "Like, you got a point. G'night, Freddie, night Scoob."

"Rood right..." Scooby yawned, already having tucked himself into bed.

"Night guys," Freddie ended, closing his eyes. Tomorrow he'd get to see his friend as a coach. It was weird to think about, but also very exciting in a sense.

__________________________

"...do you think anyone died sleeping in these beds?" Asked a nervous Googie, looking around at the old looking beds and somewhat dusty furniture. Daphne flashed a look at her as she was setting her stuff down from the bed.

"Don't say stuff like that, I'll get nightmares!" She replied, looking under the sheets with Velma. The brown haired girl had one eye shut, face close to the mattress as she felt around on it.

"Hm... doesn't look like there's anything particularly wrong with the beds themselves. No odd stains, no bugs, nothing out of the ordinary." She took a quick look around the room, standing straight up. "...well, relatively, that is."

Googie shuddered, sitting herself on a nearby bed. "That's good, at least. I don't know how well I'll be able to sleep anyways. An old creaky house filled with monsters isn't exactly a vacation home, y'know?"

"They don't seem like the type to attack anyone for no reason," Daphne began, also sitting on her bed. "Besides, if they're willing to be this friendly to Shaggy, I don't doubt that they'll be equally as nice to us."

The blonde girl rubbed her arm a little, feeling somewhat guilty on judging these girls a bit too quickly. Still, though, it was something she would have to get used to. She had her experience with monsters before, and it wasn't too pleasant, if her and Shaggy's story was anything to go by. Daphne did have a good point, though. None of the girls seem malicious. Maybe a bit mischievous, but nothing that would seem like they would attack anyone at random.

"...yeah, I guess you're right," Googie finally responded, laying out on the bed, merely relaxing for the time being. "It's still pretty strange though. Maybe I'll get adjusted to it quickly like you guys have."

"Hopefully," Velma added in optimistically. "When you're on the road as often as we are, looking into spooky stuff like this, it almost becomes second nature to get used to it fairly quickly. Especially when you have a feeling that whatever you're chasing after isn't really an evil undead clown from beyond the grave." After a little bit of a laugh from the others, Velma continued, thinking a bit more. "Still, it's very fascinating that these kinds of monsters are real. What's even more strange is that it seems like not a lot of people know about it."

Googie thought for a little. It did seem odd she had never heard of this place despite living so close to it. No one else in her town seemed to talk about it, either. It wasn't until then that a thought hit her. "Maybe they do."

The other two girls looked to her, confused, yet intrigued with what she had said. She began to sit up, continuing her train of thought. "I mean, it's really strange that I haven't heard anyone in my town even mention a second school out in this area," She mused.

Daphne and Velma looked to each other, also beginning to ponder about this. "Hm... remember at the police station?" Velma asked suddenly. "The deputy wasn't too keen on letting anyone know about this place. If he seemed to know about this place, chances are, some other townsfolk do too, and they're willing to keep this place secret too."

"Maybe because they're scared?" Daphne theorized. "I mean, like you said, Googie, you didn't know about this place either, and we certainly haven't heard of it before. I don't imagine that too many people are comfortable with a monster school in the outskirts of their town."

"They probably are scared. I mean... you know how uncomfortable I am..." Googie added, feeling more and more guilty about her fear.

Daphne gave a gentle, comforting smile to her new friend. "Hey, it's normal to be afraid. We'll all get used to this. None of the girls have tried to kill us yet, and Miss Grimwood is a very nice woman."

"What I want to know," Velma began, still deep in thought. "Is why no one else seems keen on getting close to see how bad this place is for themselves."

Daphne shrugged and merely replied, "Probably just southern racism and paranoia."

"The townsfolk were awfully quick to say the attack was monster related," Googie added in.

There was a small bit of silence as the girls thought to themselves for a little. It's not like there was much else to bring up, anyways. Their theories were quite sound, although they would have to do some old fashioned snooping (or meddling as people often called it) to get their answers. For now, though, they began to get ready for bed. It was too late to be staying up brainstorming ideas as to why people weren't comfortable with a monster school.

______________________________________

Eventually, the loud crowing of some unnatural sounding bird would come screeching across the entire school. Whatever it was, it was most certainly not a rooster. Still, it would certainly be an indicator of the fact that morning has arrived. Even if, outside, the sky was still quite dark with heavy clouds overcasting the entire sky above. The threat of rain was imminent, but nonetheless, the gang began to get up, starting to get ready. It would take a little while, mostly due to the fact that in each bedroom, there would only be one shower, so everyone would have to wait their turn. Despite the fact the guys took less time with their showering process, there was still one issue that needed to be addressed...

"C'mon, Scoob, up and at 'em! Today's our first day back as coaches!" Shaggy said to the sleeping Dane, who was curled up on his blankets, not budging from his spot. After Scooby let out a small snort, unaffected by Shaggy's shaking, Freddie decided to give it a try.

"Scooby, wake up! The girls are expecting us." Nothing. The dog merely let out a low grumble and turned around, not wanting to be disturbed. The two men looked to each other and shrugged, both having the same idea. That idea was to grip the blankets under the sleeping Scooby and try to pull it out from under him. The dog was quite heavy, however, neither one of them able to yank him out.

"Jeez, how much does he weigh?" Freddie grunted.

"Like, I dunno..! At least a metric ton of Scooby Snacks..!" Shaggy replied. Upon the mention of 'Scooby Snacks', the dog quickly lifted his head up.

"Rooby Racks?!" In an instant, the dog had pushed off the bed, jumping onto the floor and started sniffing around for dog treats. Of course, due to the fact that Shaggy and Freddie were now pulling on practically nothing, the both of them fell backwards, landing with a yelp on their backsides as the blanket they gripped fluttered over their faces. The large dog made his way over to the two guys, pulling the blanket off of them, revealing their unamused faces. Naturally, Scooby reacted by letting out a bit of a snicker, tossing the blanket off of them.

"Thanks," Freddie replied sardonically, getting up to his feet with Shaggy.

"Okay, like, enough clowning around, guys. It's time for breakfast," The lanky foodie said, heading to the door with the other two.

"Roh boy, reakfast!" The hungry dog replied, licking at his chops as they stepped out into the hall. Daphne, Velma, and Googie were all waiting for them, turning as they stepped out from their room. They all gave a wave to each other.

"Morning, guys. What was all that thumping about?" Daphne asked, tilting her head. Apparently, the noise they were making was audible from the opposite room.

"Like, sorry about that. Scoob didn't feel like getting up this morning," Shaggy replied, getting a quick gaze at his yawning friend.

"I understand how he feels," Googie replied, yawning a little herself. "I don't miss the days I had to wake up early for school."

"Well, let's not hang around here much longer. Don't want to keep Miss Grimwood and the girls waiting," Freddie replied, starting to head downstairs, the others soon following. Since they didn't hear any noises from the neighboring rooms, they assumed that the others had already gotten ready and were waiting downstairs in the dining room.

Sure enough, when the group of six went downstairs, they were greeted by Miss Grimwood, already setting out plates of... some sort of thing that was hopefully edible. Matches ate from his own plate on the ground as the ghouls sat at the table, turning to the human group. All of the girls seemed quite happy, Shaggy being the first to greet them all.

"Like, good morning, girls!"

"Good morning... coach," Sibella purred happily, giving a bit of a laugh as the other girls joined in. Of course, this didn't seem to surprise anyone as they all began to take their seats. Like last time, they sat in the same spots, but they seemed to be a bit more comfortable.

"News travels fast, I guess," Velma said happily, looking over her plate with everyone else. Well, that is except for Shaggy and Scooby, who immediately began to stuff their faces. On the plate looked like two regular cuts of raisin toast, covered in butter. On the side seemed to be fresh oranges and some grapes with milk that was fortunately not spoiled.

"I understand that human beings aren't too accustomed to monster cuisine, so I thought I'd make something a bit more akin to your tastes," Miss Grimwood began, smiling happily between everyone. "It's a good thing I planned ahead and harvested some fresh items from our garden before I let them get too ripe."

Of course, while the humans gratefuly ate their breakfast, the girls seemed more content with getting through breakfast as quick as possible. They chattered to each other excitedly, quite glad to have their old gym teacher back to train them. Tanis beamed happily as she munched on a rotten apple while Elsa did the same, asking Shaggy about what they'd be doing.

"Like, nothing too much for the first day. I'm planning on having us meet outside so we can do a bit of warm ups, laps, and general work out stuff," He said in between mouthfuls, already going through his third helping. Miss Grimwood didn't seem to mind that, however.

Phantasma hadn't bothered too much with eating, as she was too busy giggling to herself, eyeing everyone, looking a bit impatient. "C'mon, girls, hurry!" Velma took a mental note to ask Phanty about how a ghost's anatomy (or lack thereof) worked.

Winnie seemed to be quite eager to hurry as well, as she was wolfing down (heh) her food with gusto. Sibella hid her excitement for the most part, although she was smiling quite a bit as she bit into a hard looking crab apple, quickly sucking up whatever sour juices were inside.

Naturally, it wouldn't take long for everyone to be finished with their food, the ghouls quickly hurrying outside. Miss Grimwood blinked and laughed to herself. "Well, that's the most energy I've seen them have for physical education in a long time! You better, Coach. I don't imagine they want to be kept waiting."

After shoveling in his fifth and last piece of toast, he nodded to her and got up, everyone following suit. "Like, let's get this class started then!" Scooby was soon by his side, trotting along happily. He was quite eager to be back in a teaching role as well. The rest of Mystery Inc. followed him so they could see just how good of a teacher he'd be. They noticed that Shaggy had already dressed himself in fitting clothing, which would be shorts, a tank top, and running shoes. The others also seemed to be wearing shorts, mostly due to the humid weather that the south tended to have.

Once outside, the group stayed behind a bit, watching from a distance as Shaggy and Scooby made their way to the line of ghoul girls. Shaggy noticed that they all seemed to have lined up based on height. On the far right, Elsa stood, being the tallest out of all of them (even if you didn't include her standing black and white hair). Sibella was next, along with Phanty, who was standing on her two feet instead of floating in place. Then came Winnie, and finally Tanis. While the mummy girl was the shortest, it seemed she was catching up with the werewolf quite a bit, only being about half a foot shorter.

Despite the fact none of them really had any sort of gym clothing, they all looked willing and ready to go. Shaggy cleared his throat and grinned widely after looking between each of them. "Okay, like, good morning girls!" After a small chorus of 'Good morning, Coach!', Shaggy continued on. "Since this is, like, your first day back, we're gonna, like, keep things nice and simple. To start off, we're going to begin with some simple stretches so none of us strain any muscles." The rest of Mystery Inc., while not in line with the girls, watched his class go on, fascinated with what was going on. It was a rare sight to see Shaggy not be afraid of real monsters.

"First, like, stretch one arm across your chest, holding it there with your other arm for a few seconds," Shaggy said, demonstrating his stretch by pulling his arm over his chest, keeping it in place with his other arm below the elbow. The girls and Scooby soon followed along, switching arms once he told them to. It was also to be noted that Freddie had also joined in, Daphne giving an amused grin, raising her eyebrow. To reply he merely shrugged.

"Might as well, right? Could do us some good to follow along!" With a quick glance between each other, the girls soon joined in. When in Rome, and all that, right?

After stretching their arms, Shaggy held his foot up behind himself, gripping his ankle with a hand to stretch out his legs. Everyone followed suit, although a couple did seem off balance. The lanky coach soon went over to help out, keeping both Tanis and Phanty balanced by showing them the proper way to hold themselves. Soon after, they switched ankles, holding the pose again for a few seconds.

Then they were told to touch their toes. It seemed natural that only Winnie would actually be able to, already being an energetic animal. On the human's end, it seemed only Daphne could do so. Karate classes really seemed to help her be quite flexible. Of course, Shaggy didn't hesitate to go over and give tips on how to help. With his hand gently on their backs, in between their shoulder blades, he'd show how to not strain themselves in touching their toes. "Of course, like, don't feel bad if you still can't get it. Just go as far as you can and don't, like, strain yourselves," He added in an encouraging tone, letting them all stand straight again.

The class would continue on with a few more stretches before Shaggy decided to start with basic exercises. "Like, we'll start off small, and we can work our way up to higher reps. The most important thing is to keep your pace up," Shaggy explained, having everyone start with jumping jacks. It wasn't too difficult, though Tanis's bandages did come a bit loose. Once they finished up, she quickly adjusted them as if nothing had happened. Next were push-ups, which Elsa and Winnie were great at. However, once they started lunges, Elsa had noticeable trouble with it. Each time she tried to bend a knee, she would let out a grunt in pain.

"Sorry, Coach, I don't think my knees bend that well," She groaned, slightly disappointed in herself. Shaggy wouldn't have any of her sadness and gently patted her on the back.

"Like, don't worry about it. We'll work on it. For now, go as far as you can before it hurts, you're doing great, Elsa." With a small smile, she nodded and continued. While she would barely bend her stiff joints, she still kept up with the others at that point on.

Their workout would go on for a little bit before Shaggy finally had all of them follow him around, going for a jog around the entire school. Naturally, Scooby ran by his side with the girls and the rest of the gang doing their best to keep up. Shaggy was quite fast, even when he wasn't going at full speed. The gang also took notes as to how the girls seemed to keep up. It wasn't much of a surprise to see the werewolf manage to keep up, even as she was running on all fours, right by Shaggy's side. Sibella wasn't too far behind, her speed not hindering her gracefulness as she took long strides in the air. Elsa would be keeping up by her side, her own strides quite powerful, if only due to her very muscular legs. Despite the fact her legs moved like a train, her arms stayed pinned to her side, almost casually. Phantasma seemed to be doing well too, if for the fact that she was floating, rather than actually running. Not surprising, since she was a phantom, after all. As for Tanis, she seemed to be doing her best to keep up. She was right behind Phanty, her legs doing their best to make sure she wasn't left behind, her bandages fluttering behind her some.

As for the humans, they seemed to hold up pretty well, especially Freddie. After all, he wasn't in too bad of a shape either. Daphne kept up with him, while Googie ran with Velma. While Googie could easily pass up the other two (she didn't become a cheerleader for no reason, after all), she decided to stick next to Velma, who didn't feel comfortable with leaving her behind.

The lap around the school would prove to be much longer than anticipated, as most of Mystery Incorporated seemed to be quite winded, resting against their knees. Shaggy, puffed a bit as well, resting his hands behind the back of his head as he turned to his class. "Alright, gang, let's rest a little bit and, like, we'll finish up!" Winnie was against her knees as well, panting a bit. From the looks of it, the run wasn't too bad, although from how she sounded, she definitely could use work on stamina. Sibella breathed heavily as well, trying to keep a somewhat noble composure. Elsa was bent over some, rubbing her calves. Tanis was doing Shaggy's move, hands behind her head, albeit she was panting quite heavily as well. As for Phanty, well... it was hard to describe. She was definitely panting like she was out of breath, even if it didn't seem like she was doing a lot. She did laugh a bit though, eyes shut tight as a hand rubbed at her forehead some.

"Haha..! That was fun, Coach! Oof... ehehe! What next?" The phantom giggled, acting as though she had a headache. Velma would take this moment, despite being quite winded, to walk over to the ghost.

"Uh, hey Phanty... phew... can I ask something real fast?" Velma began, trying to pace her breathing some.

"Sure thing, Velmy!" The ghost eagerly said, turning to face the bookworm. It was a bit odd how eager she was to give a sort of nickname, but she didn't seem to really mind.

Instead, Velma asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why does a ghost need physical education?"

"Oooh great question!" Phanty giggled loudly, clearing her throat in an overdramatic tone. "Since I'm a phantom, I move and touch by my own will! This means that I have to concentrate on my actions a lot, some more than others. Merely moving around has become second nature to me that I barely have to do anything! For some things, like moving objects and exerting my body in different manners, I have to think a bit harder on things like that!" The ghost was quite cheerful in explaining this, Velma nodding with her chin in her hand, studying the translucent blue girl.

"I see..." She decided against asking how the ghost actually... passed, thinking it may overstep boundaries a bit. Instead, she chose to ask, "What about eating?"

The girl gave a raspberry, waving her hand casually. "Oh, pbbfft, I don't actually have to eat anything. I choose to, because I looooove Miss Grimwood's cooking!" Velma merely nodded, not having much else to ask at this point. Afterwards, Shaggy had everyone finish up with a few stretches and deep breathing exercises before he ended their session.

"Like, great job everyone! Tomorrow, I'll see about getting us some time to, like, train for the volleyball match," He explained, leading everyone back inside the large building. Everyone was a bit exhausted, but had gotten over it somewhat as they all headed back inside.

Miss Grimwood would be waiting for everyone, leading them towards the laboratory. "Okay girls, next up is Mad Science!" Elsa seemed to give a big grin, the other students also quite excited. Much like this class, she allowed the humans to observe the class and watch what it was all about. Of course, none were so excited about it as much as Velma was. An opportunity to get a free science lesson? Who wouldn't take this offer?

As they moved into the lab, a flash of lightning would flash, a low rumbling of thunder soon following. "Looks like you finished your class just in time, Shaggy," Miss Grimwood began smiling a bit. "Sounds like a storm's starting up."

"Yeah, wouldn't wanna be struck by lightning," Googie replied in an offhand manner. Elsa peeked back, giving a sheepish grin and a shrug.

"Pity, I wouldn't mind." Googie blinked and slowed her descent into the creepy looking lab. Figures the Frankenstein-esque monster girl wouldn't mind lightning. The inside of the lab was very dark, illuminated by various gadgets, powered by lightning. Torches covered the walls, tables set up with cauldrons, beakers, and other laboratory equipment, laid out on the floor. On the left of a room, there were five desks set up in front of a simple looking blackboard.

Miss Grimwood allowed Mystery Inc. to use the desks, as the ghouls would be using the tables and the equipment first. As all the girls put on safety goggles and gloves, Velma grinned, watching with enthusiasm as she sat in the middle row. This was certainly going to be fascinating.

___________________________________________

The deputy rolled along carefully in his car. The sirens remained off, as there was not an emergency he needed to be driving to, as well as to not draw attention to himself. His eyes were wide open as they scanned the road in caution. In his mind, a conversation that was held a few minutes ago played in his head.

The deputy stood in front of a fellow officer, talking with him about their current case. With a subtle motion with his head, the officer would jerk it towards a locked office. The blinds would be closed, the name scratched out with black marker. "So, has he come up with anythin' yet?" The officer would ask simply, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against an empty desk.

"Not yet," The deputy would reply, rubbing his chin a bit. "Well I mean, nothin' that'd make too much sense to us, anyways."

The officer would response with a chuckle, shaking his head. "When does that freak ever make sense, deputy?" The deputy seemed to smirk solemnly at his joke, taking a quick glance over at him.

"All I can tell ya is he's on some sort of trail. Not sure where it's leadin', though. Only time will tell that."

"Hope ya ain't waitin' too long. A man's died and the victim's family is worried. I doubt they're gonna be willing to listen to a weirdo talk about swamp monsters and other spooks," The officer said, sighing and shaking his head.

The deputy heaved out a heavy sigh, looking at the door of the locked door. "As much as I hate to say it, his knowledge may be needed for a case like this."

The officer cocked an eyebrow, frowning a bit in response. "Ya don't think that school has somethin' to do with it, do ya?"

With a gaze back at the officer, the older deputy merely shrugged. "At this point, I'd say the only person willing to find out is him." He said, pointing a thumb towards the office. In that instance, the door slowly creaked open, making the two turn their head at it. They steeled their nerves for what the person behind the door would say.

That was how the deputy found himself driving in the forest, a passenger in the back seat remaining dead silent. Not that he minded too much. Any conversation would distract him from navigating the shoulderless trail. It wasn't any fun driving in this type of environment, the threat of a storm brewing above. When the forest seemed to open up a little bit, he slowed the car down to a halt. A feeling of dread slowly creeped up his spine into his consciousness.

"I don't trust goin' much farther than this," The deputy said, breaking the silence. "If anythin', this can wait until tomorrow, when the weather clears up." His advice was cut off by the sound of a seatbelt clicking and removing itself from the passenger, the door opening.

The deputy turned his head and watched as the man quietly left the car without a word, carrying a tote bag with him in tow. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it, merely shaking his head in indignation. He kept his eyes on his ex-passenger as he limped slowly and quietly off into the clearing, further and further away from the car.

With another shake of his head, the deputy sighed and began to turn his car back around, heading back to the station. The name of the destination the passenger requested still stuck with him. It was ever-so familiar, forced to be forgotten out of fear. Yet it came ringing in his head.

"Grimwood..." He mumbled to himself, slowly navigating through the woods once more.

_________________________________________

Hours had passed since the Mad Science class had began. Miss Grimwood taught her students about various potions, letting them use knowledge from previous classes they had taken. It was quite interesting for the humans to watch as various colors, fumes, and sparks filled the air. It would come to no one's surprise that Velma was utterly enjoying herself. Elsa, of course, was a natural, although all of them looked like they knew what they were doing. An interesting event would occur when a drop of Phantasma's potion dribbled from her cauldron and onto the ground below, quickly sporting a large bouquet of nightshade flowers, which were collected by Miss Grimwood.

After the fun class of Mad Science, Miss Grimwood politely requested that Mystery Inc. move to the other side, as the next class would be math. The girls took their seats and allowed their lessons to continue. Unfortunately, monster math was just as dull as any other. The ghouls, for the most part, paid attention. The sole exception was Winnie, who slumped forward in her seat, eyes glossed over, as it appeared she had trouble staying awake. While the other girls weren't too enthusiastic about math, Sibella sat up straight, deeply invested. It should have come as no surprise, since vampires were known for being exceptional at counting, and by extension, arithmetic. Velma became noticeably, less interested (if for the fact that there was nothing she didn't already know), but still watched. As for everyone else, it wasn't long before they began to doze off.

After class concluded, Miss Grimwood took notice of the sleeping observers, Shaggy and Scooby snoring some. With a mischievous grin, she took a single finger and scraped her fingernail across the blackboard. The cacophonous screeching noise quickly woke everyone up, pushing their palms against their ears to try and hide from the noise. Winnie made sure to do the same beforehand, since her hearing was more sensitive.

Thankfully, by that time, it was lunch. As they all filed into the dining area, thunder continued to rumble lightly, small flashes of lightning flashing in the clouds. Miss Grimwood prepared everyone finger sandwiches, which were actually quite delicious. It wouldn't take long before Freddie was looking through his portion, hoping to not find any actual fingers inside.

"Oh don't worry, I made sure to prepare your portions differently," Miss Grimwood reassured, waving a hand as she saw the slightly worried look on Daphne's face. Of course, a quick glance through the sandwich would only reveal tomato, lettuce, and a bit of cucumber. Naturally, Shaggy seemed to eat at least a dozen or so. While the food was indeed good, one thought couldn't help but poke it's way into Googie's head.

'Does that mean she used real fingers for the ghouls?'

She quickly shook her head and ate her sandwich, knowing better than to dwell on that. Throughout lunch, everyone seemed much more comfortable with each other, Velma and Elsa excitedly talking about the science class with each other, while everyone else shared different topics of conversation.

Soon after lunch, Miss Grimwood allowed the girls a free period/study session, letting them go off and study or train whatever they felt like needed to be done.

"Ooh! I'm gonna go practice my song writing!" The bubbly ghost laughed, quickly shooting up through the ceiling. A couple of seconds later, keys of an organ began to play throughout the building. While it would've sounded quite somber and very beautiful, it kept getting cut off here and there, Phanty's manic giggling filling in for the organ.

"I'll be off doing arithmetic problems," Sibella stated simply, heading up the stairs in a graceful manner. The door to her room was soon heard opening and shutting.

"I'm going to go tinker around a little," Elsa said, moving from her seat and heading to the lab. It wouldn't take long before Velma went to her side.

"Oh, okay if I watch? I'd like to see what kind of work you do," The glasses wearing girl said, beaming up. Naturally, the patchwork golem gave a wide grin and nodded.

"Feel free. I could always use some assistance." With that, the two headed off, letting the door to the laboratory close shut.

"I think I'll go brush up on some curses!" Tanis added cheerfully. It was quite a strange thing to hear a young teenage mummy say in such a happy tone, but no one stopped her as she made her way to her room.

"I'm gonna practice my volleyball skills!" Winnie added in, not wanting to waste any time in letting her abilities deteriorate. She looked up at coach, a wide smile showing off her rows of sharp teeth. "Coach, can you come observe my techniques to see if they're up to snuff?"

Shaggy gave a laugh and a nod. "Like, sure thing- woah!" In the moment he said yes, she quickly grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the school. Scooby tilted his head, quickly following his friend.

"Don't be too rough, okay?" Miss Grimwood called to her, shaking her head with an amused smile. "Rambunctious, that one."

Despite slight concerns arising from letting Shaggy be alone with Winnie or letting Velma be alone with Elsa, the rest of the group headed to a simple living room. Freddie and Daphne decided to pass the time by telling Googie a few more stories about past cases they solved. Even though they were all predictable to conclude, that didn't stop the blonde cheerleader to enjoy listening to them. She found their stories interesting to listen to.

The hour and a half was soon up, Miss Grimwood going upstairs to get Sibella and Phanty. She looked to the other three and smiled. "Would you three gather everyone else up in the lab? There's one more class for them to do."

They all agreed and split up in different directions. Freddie decided to gather up Elsa and Velma, knocking on the door. "Hey girls! Miss Grimwood's gathering everyone here for the next lesson!" Of course, for curiosity's sake, he opened the door and poked his body in some. Inside, he could see Elsa messing with some wiring on a table, Velma studying her as she did. After a bit of fidgeting, the wires sparked and a little line of light bulbs lit up. Elsa and Velma grinned widely and nod at each other.

"Awesome," The glasses wearing girl said. Elsa nodded and moved her goggles off of her face.

"Hopefully this will help add a more reliable light source for everyone here. I just have to work on expanding this out throughout the building," The sewn girl replied, turning her head to the door. "Oh hey, Freddie! We were just finishing up."

"Wow, did you make that on your own?" Freddie replied, leaning against the frame, his smile big and wide as he admired the work done.

Elsa seemed bashful, but smiled nonetheless. "Yup. Took a little while to get all the right components and everything, but I managed to do so."

"That's awesome! I'm somewhat of an engineer myself," He said pridefully. Of course, Velma grinned, rolling her eyes.

"Just be careful when you say the word 'trap' around him," She joked.

"Hey, I don't ramble that much about them!" Freddie replied indignantly, being met with a small laugh from Elsa and another eye roll from Velma.

___________________________

Daphne headed outside to get Shaggy, Scooby, and Winnie. She remembered her saying something about training for volleyball, so she knew she didn't have to look for too long. Thankfully, she saw three figures rushing around out near the graveyard. With the dark clouds circling over head, it wouldn't surprise the redhead when she felt a drop of rain hit against her face. She hurried out to where the three were practicing, calling to them. "Hey, Shaggy! Scooby! Winnie! Miss Grimwood says it's time for your next class!"

They stopped and turned to Daphne, the taller one giving an eager wave before racing over, the orange haired werewolf and large brown dog soon running after. Because of the rain coming in, they decided to go inside the school before talking.

"Phew..! Like, what a workout!" Shaggy panted, wiping his head. Up close, she saw that he looked a bit dusty and dirty, his hair an even bigger mess than usual. Winnie looked just about the same, her already wild curls looking even more so as she grinned up at her. Scooby also looked quite dirty, shaking his body to get any loose dust off.

"I'll say. Thanks a ton, Coach!" The girl barked happily, panting some as she walked towards the lab. Daphne turned to Shaggy, a smile evident on her face, an eyebrow raised.

"You look rough," She stated, dusting his shirt off some as he laughed awkwardly, fixing his hair a little.

"Yeah. Like, she's just a big ball of energy! I helped her out with saves and dives. You would not believe how quickly she learns," He beamed eagerly.

"Rinnie's a ratural!" Scooby proclaimed eagerly, his own tail waggling behind him.

Daphne nodded, giving a somewhat concerned look over him. A few scrapes on his arms seemed to make her wonder about something. "Are you worried that she may... well... be a bit too energetic?"

Scooby and Shaggy tilted their head, confused. "Like, how so? I know she's a bit overenthusiastic, but she only tackled me like, three times." To Daphne, that number seemed a bit too high.

"Miss Grimwood did say she was rambunctious. Are you worried she might injure you?" Daphne continued, walking with the two to the lab.

Shaggy waved his head casually, laughing a bit. "Nah! Like, she'd never think about doing such a thing. Not on purpose anyways."

Daphne shrugged and looked ahead once more. "Whatever you say."

______________________________________

Googie slowly poked her head into the basement, peering around the dark room. "Tanis? It's time for your next class," She called down, slightly nervous. When she heard no response, she sighed, knowing she was going to have to go down. Thankfully, there were stairs, but unfortunately, there wasn't a handrail. Instead, the blond had to push her hand against the wall, slowly descending downwards and letting it guide her.

Quickly, she began to realize the stone tiles soon felt a bit... grainer and older. Googie turned her head and gasped, seeing that the walls were now covered in ancient hierogylphics. She observed them for a little before continuing down. "Tanis? You there?" She called again, slowly losing her nerve. It didn't feel cool, however. Surprisingly, it felt quite warm, as if to match the deserts of Egypt. The sound of sand shifting under her feet let her know she had reached the bottom.

As Googie peered around, she saw small piles of golden treasures scattered about here and there, twinkling slightly from the torches that covered the wall. A large sarcophagus rested against the farthest wall, next to a little display case. In the center of the room, the mummy stood with her back to the cheerleader. Googie remained silent, wondering what she was doing.

For a minute or two, she stood still, as if focusing her mind on something. Suddenly, without warning, her hands would open, the sand stirring and spinning around her feet. The blond could hear her chanting something in a different language, barely audible due to how quiet it was. Googie held her breath, seeing Tanis raise her arms up above her head. All around her, six small pillars of sand raised up with her, quickly contorting and morphing into cobras.

Almost immediately, the all turned to Googie and hissed loudly. This caused her to let out a loud yelp. This must've broke Tanis's concentration, as she quickly turned her head, eyes open and lowering her hands. In doing so, the sand cobras dissolved back into the ground.

"Oh! Sorry for scaring you, Ms Googie!" The little mummy girl apologized, quickly heading over and looking up. "I didn't know you were there," She continued, looking quite shy and guilty.

Googie regained her composure, smiling gently at her and rubbing her head some. "H-hey, don't worry about it. That was some impressive magic, regardless," She said. This perked up the girl, beaming up with her blue eyes.

"Oh thank you! I've been working on that one for awhile now."

The two walked up the stairs, Googie feeling quite comfortable around the adorable mummy girl. "How many types of spells like that do you know?"

"Quite a lot! I still have a ways to go, I think."

"Looks like you're doing an amazing job so far!" Tanis giggled bashfully, blushing through her bandages some. "Anyways, it's time for your class."

"Oh goodie! I love history of monsters!" Tanis exclaimed, picking up the pace a little as she kept moving up the stairs. Googie also hurried, not wanting to be left behind in a dark basement.

__________________________________________

Soon, everyone met back up in the laboratory, the ghouls sitting back in their desks. Elsa had put her lights up in a safe spot, so that she could come back to it at a later time. This lesson was quite interesting, as Miss Grimwood began to talk about the history of how curses actually came to be. Monster history was fascinating, especially to the young Tanis. She seemed to know the answer to just about every question that her teacher had for them. Naturally, Velma was quite fascinated with it as well, although the others seemed to like listening to these lessons as well. Knowing more about a different culture first hand is always an experience, after all.

The class would end eventually, Miss Grimwood letting everyone have a bit more free time while she prepared dinner. This time, because of the fact it was raining heavily outside, everyone decided to remain close together, already sitting themselves at the table, even if dinner wasn't ready.

Elsa, Freddie, and Velma happily shared ideas about various gadgets, Velma absorbing the workings of her previous inventions, as well as how the golem's body worked. Elsa didn't seem too disturbed in answering, even if it did squick Freddie out somewhat.

Googie was also fitting in surprisingly well, sitting between Phantasma and Tanis, talking about the various curses and magical monsters that impressed them the most. She also acted as a referee of sorts when they got into a debate over whether or not a nightmare curse should kill someone within the first night or not. While the topic at hand made her uncomfortable to a degree, the two girls were really friendly and nice, and most definitely not the types to just give someone a heart attack. She hoped not, at the very least.

Winnie seemed to be retelling the events of her free period with Shaggy to Daphne and Sibella, going into detail about how she saved every pass with her wolf like agility, adding in her own little sound effects from time to time. She even told about how each time she'd try to spike the ball, she'd overshoot the net and land on the lanky coach. Sibella giggled a bit while Daphne merely smiled a little.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were doing that on purpose," Sibella teased. A small flush of pink covered the werewolf's cheeks, her ears folding back in an annoyed manner.

"Quiet, batsy!" She barked, slightly embarrassed. Shaggy also looked away, smiling awkwardly as Daphne raised an eyebrow. To help break tension, she cleared her throat and sat back down, regaining composure the best she could. "Besides, with techniques like mine, we'll be able to beat those crappy cadets!"

Conversations kept on merrily in the dining area as the smell of something roasted wafted through the air. Miss Grimwood was in the kitchen, keeping an eye on the meat roasting over the fire while Matches made sure to keep a cauldron full of carrots and potatoes at a constant boil.

Everything seemed to be going well enough until a familiar white hand suddenly flew into the kitchen, tapping Miss Grimwood on the shoulder politely. She looked at the hand, raising an eyebrow curiously. As if to answer, the finger pointed fervently to another room. The headmistress stepped away from the meat. "Hm... Matches keep an eye on the alligator, and don't eat it!"

As the stout woman passed through the dining hall, a couple of people turned to her. "Hey, Miss G! Is dinner ready?" Phanty greeted eagerly.

Miss Grimwood shook her head, smiling gently to the ghost. "Not yet, Phantasma. There's someone at the door I have to see."

This seemed to confuse a few, but conversations continued. Daphne turned back to Winnie, but she noticed she hadn't looked back. The werewolf kept her attention to the room Miss Grimwood was headed, eyes narrowed as she focused on... something.

"Hey, Winnie, are you okay?" She asked suddenly, waving her hand near her face. Sibella and Shaggy looked confused at this as well, the others not taking notice at this. Her fur seemed to stand on end a little as she growled gently.

"Something smells off," She rumbled lowly.

"It could be the Colonel again, Winnie," Sibella offered, slightly surprised by how she was acting. Winnie merely shook her head, sniffing a couple more times.

"No... not the Colonel..." She said, keeping her eyes peeled in the next room. Her ears twitched a bit as they picked up minor bits of a conversation being held a few rooms over. She could just barely make out Miss Grimwood's voice, a low mumble of... someone else being barely audible to her.

Shaggy, Daphne, and Sibella shared a concerned look to each other before the woman came back into the room, clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. They all quieted up, looking at her expectantly. Only the group of four in the middle seemed put-off by this, unsure of what was going to happen.

"I hate to interrupt you all, but it seems as if we have another guest," She explained, her voice seeming just slightly unnerved, but not stopping her from acting like a grateful host.

No one knew what she really meant until a new figure stepped in, standing beside Miss Grimwood and dripping a bit onto the hardwood floor. Tension filled the air as Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, Freddie, and Scooby looked quite frightened. The rest were nervous as well, though not as much. Winnie's fur was still stiff as she scanned the body over with her yellow eyes. The figure wore sneakers, jeans, and a dark purple hoodie that was absolutely drenched in rain. His hood was up, shadowing his eyes.

The only part of his face that was visible was his wide, unnatural, grin.

#scooby doo fanfiction #scooby doo monster menagerie #scooby doo #fanfiction #dylan writes #iunno

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