Monster High: Season of the Witch

Field Trippin

Clawdeen had been right: Autumn was the perfect flyer for the fearleading team. During the homecoming game halftime show, the scarecrow had nailed every flip and twist, and when she'd weightlessly fell back into her teammate's waiting arms, the crowd went wild. To top it off, Autumn had pulled off all her routines without a scratch.

Later that night, when the excitement from the game had died down, Autumn came up with a surprising idea: she and Beatrix should skip the homecoming dance. Beatrix wasn't sure if Autumn was just tired from all the fearleading, wasn't in the mood for another big event, or just wanted some quality time together. Either way, Beatrix happily agreed to a night in, and they retreated back to their dorm room to relax and knit like they used to on the farm. Beatrix had to admit she was grateful for the one-on-one time with her friend — something she'd been missing since they'd started living on campus.

As the days passed and Halloween drew closer, Monster High transformed. The once green forest surrounding the school had turned to rich shades of orange, red, and gold. Oregon was getting colder and colder, and the vivid leaves of the trees stood in stark contrast to the overcast sky above, which hung heavy with the promise of rain.

On this particular day, Beatrix found herself seated in the back of a shuttle, which was making its way down the winding mountainside road leading away from Monster High. In the driver's seat of the shuttle, Mr. Gore hunched over the steering wheel. Beside him, Johannah "The Thing" Carpenter scrolled through her iCoffin, seemingly unfazed by the bumpy ride.

The reason why Beatrix was in a shuttle today was because the MSS group was heading to New Salem, the closest human city, for a field trip. Beatrix, Orion, Guillermo, and Jackson had to go practice blending into normie society as part of an assignment for the seminar, and by the end of the day, they needed to turn in a worksheet comparing monster social groups to human ones.

As the shuttle navigated down the mountain, Beatrix clutched her sides, her stomach churning with each lurch of the vehicle.

"Hey, you're looking kinda green," Jackson Jekyll said next to Beatrix, sounding concerned. "Oh, uh, I guess some witches have green skin, right? I didn't mean to insult your natural hue."

Beatrix managed a weak smile despite her queasy stomach. "Actually, witches having green skin is just a myth," she clarified.

"Oh. Sorry," Jackson said, his cheeks flushing.

This boy overthought everything, but it was one of the things Beatrix found endearing about him. The more she got to know him, the more he reminded her of Autumn: they both took their studies very seriously and were on the timid side, which made Beatrix feel naturally drawn to Jackson over the past month.

Jackson fiddled with a notebook in his lap. Beatrix noticed "Frankie Stein" written inside a heart on one of the pages. She quickly looked away, not wanting to embarrass him.

Given Jackson's anxious nature, Beatrix still didn't understand why he'd been forced to repeat another year of MSS. She guessed it was because he was clearly human, making it hard for him to assimilate into Monster High. He'd mentioned during their first seminar that he was half-human, half-creature—whatever that meant—but if Jackson really did have a monster side to him, he never showed it.

Another thing Beatrix didn't understand was why Headmistress Bloodgood had let the MSS group leave campus for this field trip.

Earlier that day, when the MSS group was heading out, dozens of gargoyle security guards had blocked the south exit, determined not to let the shuttle pass. However, Mr. Gore had only needed to show a permission slip signed by Bloodgood to leave, and now they were on their way, hurtling towards the human city of New Salem.