Saturday, October 29

Halloween is nearly here, and it's your favorite time of the year!

Halloween brings a lot of exciting Grimwood traditions to life, including the annual volleyball match against the Calloway Cadets and the annual father's night, the latter of which had recently been changed so it was not only a chance for daughters to give their fathers presents, but now was also a father-daughter dance.

Sybella could have sat there all morning listing off the amazing things she loved about the holiday, but she had to get to volleyball practice.

Quickly changing into a pair of blue shorts with a purple stripe, as well as an old Hex Girls t-shirt from their tour in Vampire Rock, Sybella made her merry way down to the volleyball court.

"Alright, so this is the weekend you've all been waiting for!" Coach Micucci began.

"The match is tomorrow, guys!" Callie replied excitedly.

"Match? Nah, I meant Halloween! It's Halloween 24/7 around this joint! But yeah, the match is pretty cool too I guess." Micucci ineptly stated.

"So, let's do a little pep talk," Micucci continued. "If anybody offers you pep pills to amp up your energy for the game, don't take 'em! Now, let's make you excited about the spirit of the game. Phantasma? You're gonna be amazing, I just know it! Everyone, be excited about her! Anyways, now it's time for the talk."

"The pep talk?" Tanis asked.

"No, I meant the sex talk! If you feel the urge to get it on during the game, by all means, hold back! You can have sex after the game." Micucci advised.

Sybella sighed.

"Now, a little review of terms. What do you call a serve done over the head?" Micucci asked.

"Uhh...vagina?" Phantasma said, trying to hold back her giggling.

"Now don't start that again!" Micucci facepalmed.

"Don't you think we're past all this pep talk and terminology? Shouldn't we actually be practicing?" Winnie challenged.

"Yeah, that's why I brought my other gym teacher friend, Mrs. Steven and her volleyball team over, so you'd have some real opponents." Micucci pointed towards Mrs. Steven, who had a horde of at least 20 small children waiting to challenge the girls.

"Shouldn't we have opponents more our age?" Elsa inquired.

"Sorry, it's the only team I could get on such short notice. But that doesn't mean you can't give it your all. These kids play rough! Let me demonstrate. Mrs. Steven, the ball please." Micucci asked.

Mrs. Steven tossed Coach Micucci the volleyball.

"Watch the Micucci Super Spike!" Micucci said, as he threw the ball up in the air and smacked it as aggressively as he could. Sure enough, the ball flew towards the Grimwood's main entrance gate, landing on a large spiky fence post and deflating the ball.

"Hahaha, you spiked it all right!" Sarah laughed.

"I'm sorry children, but that was our only ball. I'm afraid there'll be no team this year." Mrs. Steven hung her head in shame.

"Awww!" the kids all simultaneously moaned, walking away in sadness.

"Yeah, that school never had much of a budget." Micucci shook his head.

"I'll go get another ball from Miss Grimwood." Sybella offered.

Sybella felt a bit down when walking to get the ball from Miss Grimwood. She wanted the team to truly flourish, but didn't feel that was possible with Coach Micucci in charge.

"Hey Miss Grimwood, Mr. Micucci accidentally..." Sybella cringed for a moment upon saying the last word "...popped our volleyball. Do you have another one somewhere?"

"Why yes, in fact. We have the one with which we won the championship last year." Miss Grimwood smiled.

"Great!" Sybella replied.

"I know Coach Micucci can be a bit much sometimes, but he's a good man and I hope you see that he's trying." Miss Grimwood assured.

"He's trying all right, trying to wreck our chances at ever winning." Sybella blurted. Even if the comment was a bit mean and sassy, she was happy that she had a comfortable enough relationship with her headmistress to be able to say exactly what she was feeling, frustrated or not.

"You know that's not true, Sybella. He tries his hardest, even if he can be a bit...interesting sometimes. That's why I hired him, because I knew even with his flaws, you girls would become more independent and confident learners because of it. You can build off what he teaches you, and critically engage his material." Miss Grimwood suggested.

Definitely not the response she expected. But nonetheless, a very good and well-thought out response.

"Thank you, Miss Grimwood. That's a fangtastic perspective to have." Sybella said, as she took the ball from Miss Grimwood's hands.

"Good luck, Sybella!" Miss Grimwood well-wished.

Maybe Miss Grimwood wasn't so wrong after all. Maybe Micucci's shortcomings would make her a better person who matured quicker and was able to be less dependent on adults always having the right answer.

As she came back out on the volleyball field, she could hear the other girls all huddled together, complaining about Micucci. Where was Micucci then, you ask?

Eating a burrito. Or "attending to the important things in life," as he'd say.

"We don't have a ghost of a chance of winning with Micucci around!" Winnie whisper-exclaimed.

"Hey, that's my line!" Phantasma teased, riffing off of Winnie's corny ghost pun.

"I know we'll win, guys!" Sybella shouted, as she ran excitedly back onto the field. Sybella had gotten a new sense of invigoration from the brief conversation with Miss Grimwood.

"You're damn right!" Micucci shouted, albeit a bit muffled between bites of his burrito.

"You really think so, with…?" Elsa trailed off, presuming it was obvious everyone knew who she was referring to.

"I'm positive. We've just got to be independent and improvise if things aren't going our way! If we can't count on others, we'll count on ourselves!" Sybella exclaimed.

"Does anyone else feel like this should be the segway into some Broadway-esque song?" Phantasma asked, beginning to hum her own made-up tune. "Just improvise, if things don't go your way! Just improvise…"

"I think Sybella's right!" Tanis asserted. "We've whooped those Calloway Cadets' butts before, who's to say we can't do it again?"

"Yeah! Let's whoop their asses good!" Phantasma stopped humming to pump the group up.

"I was going for a cleaner word, but yeah!" Tanis interjected.

"Hell yeah! We'll shit-wreck their bitch cunt asses!" Phantasma vulgarly declared.

All seven girls proceeded to do a team high five, whooping and hollering once their hands parted.

"Let us at that other team! Where are they anyway?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, they had to catch their bus back." Micucci explained.

"So soon?" Callie inquired.

"Well, the collections agency was repossessin' it from the school as they tried to board, so Mrs. Steven had to step on the gas to get away before they did. Did ya think I was joking when I said the school's budget was bad?" Micucci replied.

Sunday, October 30

Dad's coming today! And he'll be here just in time for the big game!

It will be so great to see all of my friends' parents again, and to hopefully meet Callie and Sarah's parents. You're not exactly sure what the sleeping arrangements will be, but surely Miss Grimwood will share it with everyone today.

The big game is in just a few hours, which feels a little ominous, but you're more than ready to take on the Calloway Cadets, and the world!

Sybella was in a great mood this morning. It was such a productive day of practice yesterday after she came back out from Miss Grimwood's office with the fighting spirit. Despite the busyness of the day today, Sybella was looking forward to it. Before the big game would be a bit more practice with Coach Micucci, and before that would be a big breakfast that Miss Grimwood had made for them all.

Sybella put on her volleyball clothes, this time a pair of black gym shorts and a blue "Bad Omens" t-shirt, before going down to the big breakfast.

Miss Grimwood cooked up a bountiful feast to prepare the girls for their big day. Omelettes, biscuits, pancakes and waffles were all prepared, with an option between Sybella's favorite blood syrup and traditional blueberry.

"Mmm, this is an excellent breakfast Miss Grimwood!" Elsa praised.

"Thank you, Elsa. You'll need it, it will be a busy day for you all today. After this, you are to report out to the volleyball court for your last practice, then the big game against Calloway will be at 2pm sharp! Afterwards, you'll have dinner with your fathers followed by an open house in which your parents will get to meet your teachers!" Miss Grimwood listed. "Does that sound good?"

"Sounds like a full-day, but I'm ready! We're gonna clobber those Cadets!" Elsa responded.

"I hope I get another trophy for my mummy case!" Tanis wished.

"That would be exciting, Tanis!" Winnie interjected.

The past few years had been a lucky streak for the Grimwood girls. In the previous 6 years, Grimwood had won 4 times, including the time in which they had Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy-Doo as coaches. After that year, the girls won 2 years in a row, lost one year, and won the previous year. The Calloway Cadets, of course, claimed that it was some sort of ghoulish magic was the cause of the girls winning, or that they'd somehow rigged the game, but of course that wasn't the case. They won fair and square, and that was all there was to it.

Sybella also had to quickly get her gift ready for her father for tomorrow. She had gotten him a waterproof cape, since she knew how much he loved those, but still needed to wrap it. She couldn't believe she had forgotten, but she supposed between all the commotion that it had just slipped her mind.

After finishing her big breakfast, Sybella spoke up. "Can I be excused, Miss G? I forgot to wrap my present for my daddy."

"Sure, Sybella! Just be down to volleyball practice in 10 minutes!" Miss Grimwood instructed.

"Absolutely, Miss Grimwood! I'll be down in a flash!" Sybella replied, quickly excusing herself and going up to her room.

"Okay everyone, this is your last chance before the game!" Mr. Micucci announced.

"I can't believe this day has finally come!" Callie commented. "It's our last chance to practice for the big game."

"Nah, I meant your last chance to use the promo code "COMFY" to get 15% off on any women's Converse shoes before the game!" Mr. Micucci advertised. "I'm also the official announcer for the game, so I gotta make sure I remember all the sponsors."

"Now, let's get down to playing." Micucci finally began...or so it seemed, until he pulled out a Nintendo GameBoy from his back pocket. "So, how do you beat the basilisk in this Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets video game? I've never been able to, damn it!"

"Uh, coach, shouldn't we be focusing on practicing?" Winnie impatiently mentioned, her eyebrow raised in frustration.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and start, Winkie. I'll be able to help in just a minute." Micucci promised, eyes still glued to the game. "Damn it! I pressed B, not A! Now I've turned to stone! Arghhh, now it's tryin' to get me to donate $20 to the Susan J. Komen walk against cancer. And this thing doesn't even have the Internet!"

Sybella rolled her eyes, but tried to keep in mind what Miss Grimwood said.

They would win, with or without Micucci. Just because they couldn't have faith in him, doesn't mean they couldn't have faith in themselves.

With a renewed sense of grit and determination, Sybella looked up at her fellow players and said "C'mon guys. Let's do this thing!"

The big day had finally come. There was not really much of a crowd, with the exception of the girls' fathers. It appeared her dad was getting chummy with Callie's father in the stands, and even the mummy was talking with Frankenteen Sr. and Sarah's father. It seemed like the afternoon was going amazing, and she couldn't wait to get to actually talk with the parents later. But for now, it was game time.

"You got the trophy last year, but you won't be that lucky again!" Cadet Roper teased.

"We'll see about that!" Tanis taunted, which admittedly surprised Sybella a little bit.

"Yeah, you damn thot bastards!" Phantasma added in for good measure.

"Legs! Will you do the honors of weaving us a new net?" Miss Grimwood called.

Legs the spider came out from crawling behind a tree, and hopped on the volleyball net. The eight-legged helper tore apart the old net, which was old and frayed, and re-weaved it in a matter of seconds.

"Remember folks, whenever you need a new net, your castle re-cobwebbed, or to trap unwanted guests, call the Spider Monster! That's 1-800-8-SPIDER!" Micucci advertised.

"Why do we let those Grimwood girls be in charge of getting the volleyball net?" Cadet Grunt sighed.

"Maybe, if we win later, we can convince the girls to give us some off-court action, if you know what I mean. I call Sybella!" Cadet Roper smirked.

Sybella raised an eyebrow at the two cadets with their horrible misogynistic view of life, but didn't say anything. She'd get back at them soon enough when she whooped their ass back to the Dark Ages.

"Heck yeah, we're gonna whip their butts!" Tanis naively harassed.

"I think that's something different, honey, but good heckling!" Phantasma complimented.

"Let's get ready for some volleyball! 3, 2, 1!" Micucci counted down as he waved the white flag in his hand to signal the game had started.

It was Grimwood's serve.

"Phantasma, do your thing!" Sarah cheered.

Phantasma threw the ball up in the air, and immediately spiked it over the net, without enough time for the Cadets to react. The ball hit the ground, and it was Grimwood's point!

"Grimwood 1-0! And it will be moderate to severe psoriasis, 1-0, in your favor when you ask your doctor to prescribe you Psorkatin, the only drug guaranteed to get rid of your pesky psoriasis!" Micucci announced.

The next serve was Grimwood's again.

Elsa was next to serve.

"I call this the Electric Slide!" Elsa said.

"I think that's copyrighted, Elsa." Sarah pointed out.

"Whatever, you know what I mean." Elsa replied as she slid to the left and hit the ball over the net. This time, Calloway hit the ball back over the net, with Tanis jumping for the ball last minute, hitting it just barely over the net again. Cadet Baxter ran towards the edge of the net, trying to get the ball, but it was no use.

"Grimwood, 2-0! Speaking of twos, are you feeling fed up with knives that are too dull? Buy the Giertz electric knife, and you'll never have to sharpen a knife again! Call 1-800-STABBIN to order your electric knife for the low price of just $9.99, with free shipping and handling! Can you think of a better deal than that? Well, can ya?" Micucci barked.

"C'mon guys. We won't let some shitty robot make a fool out of us." Miguel snarked, referring to Elsa and her homemade body.

"Shitty robot? We'll show them!" Winnie snapped, slapping the ball over the net. The Cadets were just as aggressive, however, and hit it right back.

"I can't reach it!" Tanis impatiently whined, jumping frantically for the ball.

"Stay calm, Tanis!' Elsa reminded, but it was already too late. Tanis's frantic jumping caused her to not be ready when the ball was coming at her, and the volleyball dropped to the ground.

"Calloway's point! 2-1! It's the 2 in 1 Jackson remote control truck! It's a remote controlled toy truck, that you can also use as a storage container for all your snacks when you're not using it!" Micucci commentated. "Jackson 2 in 1 Truck! If you don't have it, then what the hell have you been doin'?"

"Stupid! I'm a moron!" Tanis whimpered.

"Don't beat yourself up Tanis!" Callie reassured.

"Yeah, we're still one ahead of them." Sybella added.

"Alright Cadets!" Sybella heard the colonel saying on the other side of the court. "We're only one point down. Now get out there, and win us that trophy!"

It had been a very back-and-forth game thus far, and Sybella didn't know who was going to win this thing. After a number of mishaps from Grimwood, The Cadets now led with 10 points, but Grimwood still was close behind with 9.

"Hey Sybella! Wanna go out tonight and get a little kinky?" the ever-taunting Tug Roper baited.

"The only kink I'd like to see from you, Tug, is you tugging at yourself. So yep, I'm saying go fuck yourself." Sybella hissed.

For people in training to be in the military, they sure did have big egos. Or at least Tug did.

"We'll see how hot you think you are after we smoke you in this volleyball game." Cadet Roper laughed.

In an instant, Sybella grabbed the ball and quickly hit it over the net, not giving Tug a chance to react. Yes, it was a dirty trick, but not exactly against the rules. The ball soared over the net, and hit Tug right on the head.

"Ow!" Tug yelled

"Serves you right!" Sarah shouted back. "I got you, girl."

Though she didn't say it, Sybella figured Sarah must have overheard the filth Tug was saying to her. She was happy about that. At least she didn't have to be alone in realizing what a horrible excuse for a human Tug was.

"Tug's mistake has things all tied up! 10-10, Grimwood! Are you always tied up in the car, tuggin' at every nook and cranny looking for where you put your phone? Well, not anymore! Now, with the Car Phone Holder, you can put your phone right in a designated pocket between the seat and your armrest! You'll never have to dig in between the seats for your phone again!" Micucci announced.

"You got this Sarah!" Sybella cheered, to which everyone else began adding in their own little inspiring blurb for Sarah in chorus.

Sarah smacked the ball with her fist, and it went way over the net.

"Hell yeah!" Coach Micucci shouted, to which Sybella at first assumed he was cheering Sarah on. "I just beat the basilisk and Dumbledore gave me 100 points for Gryffindor!"

The ball looked like it might be going out of bounds.

"Oh no! Stay in, stay in!" Callie begged.

Sure enough, it looked like the ball's hesitance to stay in bounds tricked the Cadets just as it had the girls, enough for them to let their guard down as the ball landed just barely in bounds!

"11-10! Just barely another point for Grimwood's!" Micucci cheered. "Are you just barely able to make it to the bathroom, due to trouble holding your bladder? Try new bladder control drug Rebrexoo! If you feel that urgency when you go to the loo, try Rebrexoo! Do it, or urine for some big trouble, man!"

"We're over halfway there! Just ten more points and we win this thing!" Sybella said, as she noticed their handy hand butler changing the scoreboard, taking off the "10" for Grimwood and replacing it with an "11."

"18-15! The Calloway Cadets are way behind!" announced the coach. "Are you way behind on the vacuuming? Well, then, have I got the vacuum for you! Roomba vacuums your whole house with just the press of a button! And if you're really a lazy bastard, just say 'Alexa, start Roomba for me!' Because that's a thing now! Ain't life great?"

"Listen guys, we can't let those stupid Grimwood girls win again. I say, we sabotage 'em." Tug whispered in a huddle, but not quiet enough.

"WE CAN HEAR YOU!" Phantasma shouted over, to intentionally embarrass them.

It was Callie's serve.

"You got this, Callie!" the team cheered, with slight variations from each Grimwood girl.

Callie, clearly full of hope and excitement that her first ever volleyball match with Grimwood could come out with them as winners, served the ball lightly, but just enough to get it over the net. An inch closer, and the ball would have touched the net and been considered a foul. Callie's careful cunning caused Cadet Baxter to have a very close call in his pursuit of the ball, but alas, to no end. Baxter only ended up with grass on his knees and a hurt ego.

"19-15! Grimwood is just two points away from winning! And let me give you a point, about Pointy's Fang Emporium! If you're a vampire and your chompers are fallin' out, then there's nowhere better to go than Pointy's Fang Emporium! C'mon in, we don't bite! Uh...maybe." Micucci said, his eyes shifting back and forth. "That eye movement was in the script, by the way."

"C'mon, Tanis!" everyone cheered. But could Tanis do it, or would she wreck the Grimwood's four-point streak?

With a mighty hit from a tiny mummy, determined to have a trophy she could show to her mummy and daddy in her mummy case, Tanis whacked that ball over the net as hard as she could.

Jamal was immediately on it. He smacked the ball back over the net, with great force.

"I'm on it." Sarah said, and hit the ball back towards Tug. She had been aiming the ball at Tug a lot lately. Sybella sincerely hoped it was for his hypermasculine bravado.

"That's such an easy one. I could do this with my eyes -" Tug stopped as soon as he saw the ball collide directly into the net, landing back on his side. "What? That was witchcraft! That Grimwood girl put a spell on me!"

"I didn't put a spell on you, but I can if you want. So, how small do you want your ding-a-ling to be?" Sarah snarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Witchcraft!" Tug spat.

"Calm down, Tug. The ball was fair." Colonel Calloway said with patience in his voice. Despite Colonel Calloway's frustrated bravado and heavy desire to win when he was younger, he had calmed down quite a bit in recent years and become more patient with the young men. Sybella assumed it was for his own sanity. She knew she couldn't stand the toxic emissions of hypermasculine vitriol that the adolescent young men were giving off at every moment, so presumably it was just as tough for the colonel to keep them in line. Sybella certainly respected the colonel's patience in a time of great frustration and tension that was their annual volleyball match.

"Fair, my ass!" Cadet Roper muttered back.

"Excuse me, Cadet Roper? But we don't use that kind of language around here, especially in reference to our opponents. A disciplined Cadet must always take defeat calmly and as a learning experience!" the colonel advised.

"You're damn right, you slutty whore bitch!" Phantasma shouted over, giggling.

"Matchpoint! 20-15, Grimwood's ball! Sybella gives the Cadets their last chance to earn points in the final minutes of the game! When you're in your final minutes, will you have a plan ready for your family? Call Max and Jax Minner, attorneys at law to settle your will today! They'll get you everything you need, and make sure your family is…...taken care of." Micucci informed the audience and looked around again with shifty eyes.

"You got this Bella!" Callie cheered.

The Cadets would likely expect some sort of crazy, out of the ordinary serve to trip them up in the possibly final moments of the game, so Sybella decided to switch it up by doing the exact opposite: a normal serve.

The Cadets stood at the ready as Sybella hit the ball over the net.

"OH MY GOD...why is there a tampon on the ground?" Phantasma shouted across the field.

"Ewww!" the chorus of Cadets jumped back momentarily, giving just enough time for the ball to plop back on the ground in plain sight.

"Works every time." Phantasma brushed off her hands, smirking. "Just the mere mention of a tampon sends the men running."

Sybella laughed, which quickly turned into cheering.

"Oh my gosh! We won! We won!" Callie shouted, nearly crying with happiness.

"I can't believe it!" Sarah said in awe.

Everyone picked up Sybella (they couldn't exactly pick up Coach Micucci) and began walking, holding her up in their arms as the winner of the annual Grimwood-Calloway volleyball match.

They had done it again!

To enhance the celebratory mood, the girls' fathers were all joining them for a scrumptious feast and a meet-the-teachers open house session to immediately follow.

As Miss Grimwood finished up grabbing extra chairs for the guests, Sybella sat down next to her father, who was seated next to Callie's father, Syvlester and Callie.

"I hope you all enjoy spaghetti and beetleballs, with swamp brownies!" Miss Grimwood announced. "We have a busy day for you all coming up tomorrow. Right away in the morning, we'll have breakfast after which you are welcome to join your daughter in her class and see what a day in their life is like. Following classes, we will have dinner, and then get right into the Halloween festivities: carving jack-o-lanterns, opening presents, and the father-daughter dance!"

"Thanks for this scrumptious meal, Miss Grimwood! It makes me want to howl with appreciation!" Papa Werewolf, Winnie's father thanked.

"Yes, three cheers for Miss Grimwood!" Frankenteen Senior led. Everyone did their own version of cheering, for Sybella's father, it was a loud bat chirp, for Papa Werewolf, it was a loud howl, and so on.

"It's so nice to see you again, Sybella! Especially on such a special day for my little girl!" Count Dracula briefly stroked his daughter's long purple hair.

"Thanks, daddy!" Sybella smiled. "It's great to get to show you what Grimwood's looks like with all the expansions!"

Sybella didn't feel like a "little girl" anymore, but she shrugged her father's comment off, presuming all fathers were that nostalgic and protective about their daughters. At least, she assumed they were.

"So, has that little vimp Shaggy ever shown his face around here again?" Count Dracula snarked.

"Oh, daddy!" Sybella said playfully, to mask her irritation. "You ask this every year, and every year, I tell you he quit a long time ago. He, Scooby and Scrappy aren't coming back."

"Good riddance! Ever since that scandal came out revealing that you and your friends were kidnapped by the evil vitch Revolta, I have hated that coach vith a passion. Vhat kind of a teacher can't even keep his own students safe? If I ever see that guy again, it vill be a very bat day for him!" Count Dracula rubbed his hands together evilly.

"Our new coach is great!" Sybella lauded, even though he wasn't the best. She didn't want any more additions to her dad's mortal enemies list; it was long enough as it was. "He really cares about his students' success."

"Vonderful! I can't wait to meet this Coach Baboochee!" Count Dracula praised.

"It's Micucci, daddy!" Sybella laughed. She didn't really like having to put on this constantly pleasant and mature facade for her father, but what was a girl to do?

Just as the monsters finished up dinner, Sybella could hear her teachers setting up in the main room for the open house.

"Alright, everyone! It's about time for the open house!" Miss Grimwood announced.

"Excellent dinner, Miss Grimwood!" Phanty's father said.

Callie's father Syvlester had chatted quite a bit with them during the remainder of the dinner, and Sybella was happy to see her father get along so well with another vampire.

"I really like this guy, Sybella!" Count Dracula smirked, looking at Sylvester.

"Meeting the one and only Count Dracula is not something I expected to do in my life, but this guy is pretty cool!" Sylvester admitted.

"The open house is in the main entrance. All your daughters' teachers have individual tables set up, so you can go talk to them!" Miss Grimwood explained in further detail.

"Vhich teacher do you vant to visit vith first, Sybella?" Count Dracula inquired.

"Tanis and her mummy daddy look like they're going over to Art. Let's follow them I guess?" Sybella said, being a bit noncommittal.

"Nice to see you again, Count!" Mummy Daddy greeted.

"Vonderful to catch up vith you as well!" Count Dracula reciprocated, before turning his attention over to Mr. Welker.

"Greetings, parents!" Mr. Welker said. "You'll be happy to know that Sybella and Tanis are two of my favorite students. They truly grasp the meaning of art and genuinely seem to appreciate it."

"No surprise there!" Mummy Daddy smiled through his bandages.

"Not at all!" Count Dracula followed. "Sybella has always been a natural student."

"I trust I'll be seeing you both tomorrow for the Halloween bring-your-father day?" Mr. Welker asked.

"Vhy of course!" Count Dracula exclaimed.

"You can count on me!" Mummy Daddy affirmed.

"I'm gonna go to my other classes, Sybella." Tanis said. "Seems like Mr. Welker doesn't have a bad word to say about us!"

"That's fine, Tanis!" Sybella responded. "I think we were just headed over to Creative Writing anyway."

Sybella and her daddy walked over to the Creative Writing booth which was just two away from Mr. Welker's.

"Hello! And you must be Dracula?" Miss Lillard checked.

"Count on it!" Count Dracula smirked. Her daddy was not only the king of vampires, but also the king of dad jokes.

"Sybella has such a creative mind! Her writing has been some of the best I've seen this semester!" Miss Lillard praised.

"That's my little girl!" Count Dracula patted Sybella on the head. Though her dad's heart was warm with love, she sometimes almost felt infantilized by it. She already missed her independence a little bit.

"Vhy hello again Count!" Sylvester walked over from another table with Callie by his side.

"She's in your class too, Sybella? Fangtastic! Guess you can count on seeing me again tomorrow morning!" Count Dracula dropped another horrible pun.

"I look forward to it!" Sylvester said, as he began talking with Miss Lillard.

"Vhat other classes do you have?" Count Dracula questioned.

"Human Studies is right over there. That's with Miss Griffin." Sybella pointed to the table nearest to the window.

Sybella led her dad past several tables with teachers she didn't know. She wondered if she'd have those teachers at some point during her time at Grimwood's.

"Oh hi there Sybella!" Miss Griffin greeted.

"Human Studies? Vhat's that about? All the horrible things humans have done to us vampires and creatures of the night?" Dracula blurted.

Sybella held her palm up to her face in embarrassment. Her dad meant well, but he certainly still considered the Dark Ages as his "golden age."

"Not at all!" Miss Griffin laughed Dracula's microaggression off. "Human Studies is where we learn why humans act the way they do towards monsters, and how we can stop this systemic act of speciesism."

"Hmmm…sounds like it could be an interesting class! You have to really know your enemy before you can defeat them forever!" Count Dracula's fangs showed with devious excitement.

Miss Lillard looked a tad nervous.

"Oh daddy, it's not the Dark Ages anymore! Humans aren't all bad...like Coach Micucci for example. We still have to go see him."

"Ah yes, I'm interested to meet this new coach. Hopefully he's better than that - ugh - Shah-gee character!" Count Dracula expressed his interest.

"Before you go, Sybella is one of my brightest students! I know someday she'll have the tools to change this world where humans and monsters can co-exist!" Miss Griffin smiled, hoping to appease Count Dracula's intense hatred of humans.

"Maybe the children really are our future. You seem to approach these humans with caution, yet a bit of love. That's very bold of you Sybella!" Count Dracula complimented.

That was probably the most genuine and non-infantilizing compliment her dad had given her all day. She only wished that Human Studies landed on Mondays instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays, so her dad could sit in on the class and maybe get rid of some of his prejudice towards humans.

Coach Micucci's table was only a few tables away on the opposite side of the room, so Count Dracula and Sybella made their way over to that table just as Sarah and her father - whom she hadn't caught his name yet - arrived at Miss Griffin's.

"Woah, are you the real Dracula?" Coach Micucci said in awe.

"Vhy yes, I am indeed Count Dracula!"

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Frank Micucci! Are you by any chance a member of the Blood Brothers Gang?" Micucci randomly inquired.

"No...vhy do you ask?" Count Dracula raised his eyebrow.

"Ah, good! 'Cause I owe them some money for...somethin'." Coach Micucci's eyes became shifty.

"Hahaha!" the count burst out in laughter. "I like this guy, Sybella! How is my daughter performing in your class? Excellently, I vould assume?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Coach Micucci said, sort of apathetically. "You know, she's always...learnin' a bunch of good stuff, and...helpin' Winkie out when she's...uh...havin' her fibromyalgia flare-ups, and…"

While it was clear, as always, that Mr. Micucci was totally winging it and putting in as little effort as possible, Count Dracula actually took Micucci's ineptness satirically. The count began laughing again, and slapped Micucci on the back in comradery.

"This is a funny guy you've got here, Sybella! I like that!" Count Dracula laughed.

"Glad you like him, daddy." Sybella giggled. Even if she hated Micucci, it didn't mean that her father couldn't enjoy the inaneness that was his teaching style.

"Attention, attention everyone!" Miss Grimwood said, just as the grandfather clock struck 9:00pm. "It's been a long day for everyone, especially for our girls, so let's get some rest! Guests, all your rooms have been prepared for you! Callie and Sarah, since you're staying over, there's unfortunately not quite enough rooms for you with the parents here as well. Are you okay with staying with one of the girls?"

Both Callie and Sarah nodded.

"Excellent, do we have any volunteers to share their room for tonight?" Miss Grimwood asked.

Sybella always wanted to have a sleepover with another girl that wasn't one of her four main friends that she constantly lived with. Surely this would be a chance to better bond with Callie.

"I'm fine with that!" Sybella volunteered.

"I'll do it!" Tanis eagerly followed.

"Excellent! Sarah, you'll sleep in Sybella's room for the night, and Callie will be in Tanis's room! Goodnight everybody! It's going to be a fun day tomorrow!" Miss Grimwood hyped.

Sarah? She'd assume Miss Grimwood would let them choose their roommates, but she figured maybe Miss Grimwood was overwhelmed. Nonetheless, she didn't seem to really gel with Sarah a whole ton, if even she enjoyed Sarah's personality in small bursts. Tonight would indeed be an interesting night.

After Sybella had said goodnight to her father and showed him to his room, she went back to her own, where Sarah was already blowing up an air mattress that she'd apparently brought along.

"Hey." Sarah said casually.

"Hi." Sybella coolly said back. "How was having your dad here? I didn't catch his name, by the way."

"It's pretty chill! It's Anthos, by the way. He's a warlock." Sarah explained.

"Oh! I'm going to head to bed right away, I'm pretty tired." Sybella said, not really knowing entirely what to do with Sarah's presence.

"Cool. I'm gonna just change and go to bed too." Sarah replied.

"You brought pajamas, right? If not, I might have an extra pair you could borrow." Sybella asked.

"Nah, it's okay, I'll just sleep in this." Sarah said, taking off her shirt and whipping it across the room, leaving only a black tank top. If that wasn't bad enough, she reached under the tank top and unhooked her bra, pulling it out from under. After she also just sort of tossed that to the side, it landed on the ground with a thud by the door. Sybella just sort of looked at her with a surprised look.

"We're both women here, right? Strong, empowered women that don't have to hide our bodies! Nothing to be ashamed of." Sarah shrugged, as she flopped down onto the blow-up mattress, luckily keeping her tank top and volleyball shorts on.

Sybella didn't really know how to respond, other than "goodnight."

"Goodnight! Bad dreams." Sarah said, as she immediately fell asleep and started snoring.

It was certainly going to be an interesting night alright.

Monday, October 31

Happy Halloween!

Today, you get to go to class with your daddy. But you find yourself feeling a bit embarrassed by his presence, and feeling a lack of independence with him around. It's weird, because you always used to love showing your dad off to people before this year. Maybe it was the school expanding, but maybe it was simply growing up.

The night with Sarah wasn't too bad. Despite her odd way of feeling empowerment, the snoring didn't keep you up and you got a good night's rest.

Even if you feel a little embarrassed about your father, this is one of your favorite days of the year, and you're going to make sure this day is awesome!

"Morning, Sybella." Sarah groggily got out of bed and brushed her hair out of her face with her hand.

"Good morning. I was just getting ready to go down to breakfast." Sybella replied. "Could you...umm...turn around? I'd like to change."

Sarah shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna change too."

So Sybella awkwardly tried to reach in her dresser drawer, and picked out the first thing that she found, which was actually perfect for Halloween. A black dress with a button-up top, with an orange lining across the bottom.

Sybella turned around to leave, only to see Sarah still only partially changed.

"Oops! I'm so sorry!" Sybella gasped, averting her gaze upon seeing Sarah still in blue shorts and a black sports bra.

Sarah just shrugged, not even bothering to cover herself or turn away. "What? I don't care if you see my bare stomach. Nothing sexual about nudity."

Sybella quickly left the room.

"See you at breakfast!" she called from in the hallway. Thank goodness Sarah was only staying just the one night.

By the time Sybella got downstairs, her father was already there, along with Anthos and Papa Werewolf.

"Hey, Anthos," Sybella greeted. "I don't think we've met yet."

"Ah yes, we have not!" Anthos shook Sybella's hand from across the table. "You must be Sybella, Dracula's daughter."

"She sure is!" Count Dracula interjected.

At that moment, Miss Grimwood brought out a huge platter of scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausages.

"Happy Halloween!" Miss Grimwood said.

"Happy Halloween to you too!" Sybella replied, taking a small helping of eggs, a sausage and a hash brown on her plate. She was never a huge breakfast person, and even this was a pretty big meal for her.

"Vhat class do you have first?" the count asked, as Tanis, Mummy Daddy, Frankenteen Senior and Phantasma all came downstairs.

"Creative Writing, then we go to Art." Sybella responded.

"Ah, excellent! It vill be exciting to see Sylvester right away again in Creative Writing!"

"You really like him, don't you, daddy?" Sybella grinned, one fang showing playfully.

"You von't have to vait that long! I'm right here!" Sylvester said, as he came down the stairs with Winnie and Elsa. Sarah and Callie were right behind them.

"Vhere do you live, again?" Count Dracula asked. "My vife and I might have to come to visit sometime!"

"I live in Fortescu Castle, right off Igor Street!" Sylvester informed.

"Vhy, that's not 30 minutes away from my castle! Ve shall come and visit soon!" Count Dracula exclaimed.

It was good to see her daddy so jovial over meeting someone new.

As Sybella and Count Dracula walked down the hallway to Creative Writing, Sybella could see Miss Lillard carrying in two chairs, one in each hand.

"Need help, Miss Lillard?" Sybella offered.

"Oh, no thank you, Sybella. These are the last two!" Miss Lillard answered.

The classroom looked absolutely packed. Each desk and chair had another desk right next to it, so all the fathers could join. It appeared many of the students had already begun to arrive.

"So son, did you ever write that great idea you told me about this summer, with the vampire and a werewolf falling in love with the same human woman?" one werewolf father asked his son.

"Arghhhh! No! Someone stole my idea, man!" the student, Jacob, frustratedly declared.

"Don't worry son, you'll come up with another idea soon." the father assured.

"Yeah, don't worry! I've got this awesome idea where these two male wizards and one female wizard go to a wizarding school, but here's the twist: the evil wizard that killed the one male wizard's parents is actually back from the grave, out for vengeance on the world! That's so original, no one could copy that!" Jacob exclaimed, to which the werewolf father tugged uncomfortably at his collar.

"Good morning, class and fathers!" Miss Lillard smiled. "Happy Halloween to you all! Since it's so great to have you all here today, I've had your sons and daughters write each of you poems that they will present to the class. Who would like to begin presenting?"

"I'll start!" one student named Joey said. "It's called Dad. Dad, Dad, you're pretty rad. If I ever lost you, that'd be bad. I promise you're not just a fad, you're the best dad I've ever had. I'm so lucky to be your lad! You could never make me mad! If you give me advice, I get out a pencil and pad. When you die, I'll be sad. I love you more than just a tad. Dad, Dad, Dad. Dad."

"Umm...good poem, Joey." Miss Lillard cautiously said.

"Wait! I wasn't done yet!" Joey snapped. "Dad. Okay, now I'm done."

"Jack?" Miss Lillard called.

Jack cleared his throat, and began singing. "My ding-a-ling! My ding-a-ling! I want you to play - oh wait, this was supposed to be about dads, wasn't it?"

The class and fathers all laughed in tandem, to which Miss Lillard simply facepalmed.

"Callie?"

"This poem is called A Father's Love." Callie began reading. "Provides me all the love I could ever need. I think of him, and he's there for me. Cares for me, but sets me free. Because a father's love is all you need."

The rest of the class began clapping vigorously, especially Sylvester.

"Sybella, would you like to share next?"

"Absolutely! My poem is called, 'Count On Him.'" Sybella began. Count Dracula looked intrigued by the use of his trademark cheesy pun.

"A guiding hand with my best / Interests at heart / Dracula, I count on you"

"Beautiful haiku Sybella!" Miss Lillard said, as everyone was clapping. Sybella looked over at her dad after she had finished reading the poem, and it appeared he was almost tearing up with joy of how beautiful his daughter's poetry, and love for him, truly was.

"Sybella, that vas a truly beautiful poem you wrote for me." Count Dracula reiterated as the two of them walked into Sybella's art class.

"I know dad, you've told me five times already." Sybella laughed.

"I just didn't realize my little girl had grown up so much!" Count Dracula exclaimed. "Clearly you're in very good hands here at Grimwood's!"

Tanis and her mummy daddy entered the room, just as Mr. Welker was about to begin. The room was once again packed with monster dads of all kinds, werewolf, vampire, mummy, phantom, warlock, and much, much more.

"Greetings class and parents! Happy Halloween to you all, and it's such a joy to see you all here together today!" Mr. Welker started. "Today, we are going to have you make something for your parents to take home tonight. Each of you will work with your fathers to make a piece of art that is truly meaningful to both of you!"

Sybella sincerely hoped her daddy didn't want a homemade cape, since she already had that covered.

"What period of art is your favorite, daddy?" Sybella asked. "Let me guess…"

"The Dark Ages!" they both exclaimed at once, followed by laughter.

"You know me too vell, Sybella!" Count Dracula replied.

"Well, let's get started. What do you want to draw or paint?" Sybella inquired.

"Shall ve paint our castle?" Dracula suggested.

Sybella just shrugged and giggled. "If that's what would mean the most to you, daddy."

And with that, they started painting away, their strokes a bit sloppy since they only had a few hours to do so.

"What are you painting, Tanis?" Sybella asked after a while.

"What else? My mummy trophy case, so mummy and daddy can see it even when they're at home!" Tanis shared.

"It will bring me great pleasure to look at your achievements every day!" Mummy Daddy added.

There was so much bonding and joy in Mr. Welker's art room right now. This was quite possibly Sybella's favorite art class ever.

After a fun day of classes, a scrumptious Halloween dinner, and some pumpkin carving, it was nearly dark.

"It's been an exciting day, and the excitement continues!" Miss Grimwood jovially instructed. "Fathers, it's time to open your presents that your daughters bought for you. Who wants to go first?"

"We can!" Count Dracula blurted out, before anyone else had a chance to chime in.

All the presents had been stacked by their respective carved jack-o-lanterns, so each parent knew exactly which present was theirs. Count Dracula went over towards the pumpkin that had fangs (a lovely touch, if Sybella did say so herself) and ripped open the wrapping paper.

"It's a new cape, daddy!" Sybella smiled.

"Vow! Vonderful!" Count Dracula exclaimed. "My current one is starting to get old and tattered. This is perfect! Thank you!"

Count Dracula wrapped his arms around his purple-haired daughter.

"We can go next!" Tanis exclaimed.

Tanis and her mummy daddy picked up their present from the more traditional looking pumpkin.

"New waterproof wrap?" Mummy Daddy said in surprise. "Just what I've been wanting, so I can swim a nile every day without wrecking my wrapping. Thank you, Tanis!

Elsa and Frankenteen Senior were next!

Over by the pumpkin that had bolts coming out of its head, Frankenteen Senior unwrapped an alarm clock.

"Try it out, dada!" Elsa urged.

Frankenteen Senior set the alarm for a minute later. In a matter of moments, Frankenteen felt a shock surging through his bones. He was being electrocuted!

"Amazing, Elsa! This is sure to get me out of bed on those hard Monday mornings! Thank you." Frankenteen Senior said, as he gave his daughter a big hug.

Sarah and Anthos walked over to the pumpkin with a wizard hat and wand. Very cutesy for Sarah, but it looked nice.

Anthos ripped open the blue wrapping paper on his gift, to reveal a new warlock staff. The staff had a red demon-ish looking head on it, eyes glowing bright yellow.

"Thank you Sarah! This will be excellent for casting my spells!" Anthos put his arm around his daughter.

"Winnie, I believe you are up next." Miss Grimwood chimed in.

Papa Werewolf and Winnie went over to their pumpkin, which had the semblance of scraggly werewolf fur and had a wolf-like face.

"It's a shaver!" Winnie said, after her father took off the wrapping paper.

"This will be wonderful when my whiskers get too long!" Papa Werewolf patted Winnie on the head.

"Callie, shall ve go next?" Sylvester turned to his daughter.

"Sure, here's your present!" Callie said, grabbing it from the pumpkin with a crooked nose and misshapen eyes.

"A bat-robe! Vhat a vonderful gift!" Sylvester explained.

"I still have mine, Sybella!" Count Dracula informed, reminding her of when she gave it to him all those years ago back when Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy were teaching here.

"And last but not least, Phantasma." Miss Grimwood ushered her and her phantom father over to her pumpkin, which was in the shape of a stereotypical ghost.

"A new piano key? What a practical gift! Mine just fell off the other day!" Phanty's father revealed.

"I figured, daddy." Phantasma giggled. "Just because you're a ghost, doesn't mean you shouldn't be gentle on your piano keys!"

And with that, the room erupted in conversation, with each father and daughter pair trying out (or on) their new gift. Many a hug was exchanged, and it was a truly special Halloween night for all.

It had been a long night of present-opening, jack-o-lantern carving, and most importantly, daddy-daughter dancing, but Halloween was finally at an end.

"The moon's going down, Winnie. I really must get home!" Papa Werewolf exclaimed, looking out a nearby window in the main entrance hall of Grimwood's.

"Papa, you know ever since Neutrogena created that super powerful sunblock for monsters, you don't need to worry about the sun anymore!" Winnie reminded.

"What can I say, it's still fun to hide under the cover of darkness!" Papa Werewolf shrugged.

"I better get going too, Sybella. Besides, you have classes in the morning!" Count Dracula reminded, giving his daughter one last hug.

"I know, daddy." Sybella laughed. "This has been one of the best Halloweens ever."

"And especially because my daughter is now a volleyball star!" Count Dracula teased.

"Oh daddy!" Sybella smiled, as Dracula gave her a small peck on her left cheek.

As the monsters disappeared into the shining moonlight with Callie and Sarah, Sybella sleepily waved goodbye along with the other Grimwood girls from the stairs, knowing this would truly be one of the most special Halloweens that she had ever had.

Author's note:

For once, this author's note doesn't have to start with me apologizing for months in between posting the last chapter haha. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm admittedly not a big sports fan, so I hope the volleyball scenes came across decently. I thought it would be amusing to have Micucci commentate like it were an infomercial, and had quite a bit of fun writing all those.

But without further ado, let's get to reference time!

In the fashion of all the other teachers in this fanfic, Mrs. Steven was named after Carl Steven, Fred's voice actor from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.

"I'm sorry children, but that was our only ball. I'm afraid there'll be no team this year." is a direct quote taken from Lisa's volleyball coach The Simpsons episode "Lisa on Ice", when the ball lands on Lisa's head and deflates. That was always one of my favorite jokes from the show, so I'm glad I could find a way to repurpose it here!

Sybella's Bad Omens t-shirt, as well as the Hex Girls' Vampire Rock Concert shirt, were both from Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire.

Micucci's advertisement for the Spider Monster was a reference to the Spider Monster whom the Hunch Bunch order spiderwebs from in Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.

The Giertz electric knife advertisement followed by Miguel calling Elsa a "shitty robot" is a reference to Simone Giertz, who is a YouTuber who intentionally makes wacky robot inventions and is the self-proclaimed "Queen of Shitty Robots." It's worthy noting that Simone actually did make an electric knife, along with a fake infomercial for it.

Max and Jax Minner, the funeral lawyers, are a reference to the two brothers from Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode "Battle of the Humungonauts."

Callie's father Sylvester is a reference to the vampire from The Richie Rich / Scooby-Doo Hour of the same name, in the episode "A Fit Night Out for Bats."

Sarah's father Anthos is a reference to Anthos the Warlock, from "The Warlock of Wimbledon" of The Scooby-Doo Show.

Dracula calling Shaggy "Shah-gee" is a reference to Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.

Sylvester living in Fortescu Castle is a reference to the castle of the same name in "The Vampire Strikes Back," from the second season of What's New, Scooby-Doo?

Jacob's "new" story is a reference to the Harry Potter franchise.

Anthos' staff that Sarah gifted him is a description of the staff that Anthos from "The Warlock of Wimbledon" had.

Regarding the sunblock scene, that was my attempt to explain a scene in the original Ghoul School film that doesn't really make sense. Somehow, the girls are able to go out into the daylight just fine, but the monster parents claim they have to leave before the sun comes up. Hopefully my explanation of it making them feel spooky to hide under the cover of darkness was decent! :)

That's all for this chapter folks! Favorites, follows and reviews are incredibly appreciated if you enjoyed reading!

I've also just realized that this was unintentionally posted on Father's Day, so happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!