Monster High: Season of the Witch

Meeting of the Minds

"A friend of yours is asking for you," Greta said, voice slow and gravelly. "A tall young man with black eyes. Sounds like it's important."

"Oh, um, Greta, can you tell him I'm not available? I, uh, don't want to get distracted during my shift," Beatrix said.

"I see... yes, you wouldn't want... more distractions..." Greta peered at Autumn's foot poking out by the fridges.

Beatrix felt embarrassed at getting caught. "Please, Greta, don't let Grey back here," Beatrix begged.

Greta, a few inches shorter than Beatrix due to her stooped back, slowly blinked up at her. A hint of sympathy gleamed in the old lunch lady's eyes. "Alright," she said.

Greta shuffled off, leaving Beatrix, Jackson, and Autumn alone in the back of the kitchen again.

Beatrix looked over at Jackson and Autumn. Jackson was jotting down more notes, and Autumn was whispering something to him.

Autumn looked up. "Is Spectra a ghost or a poltergeist, Bea?" she asked.

"Um... honestly, I've been calling her both..."

"Actually, ghosts and poltergeists are different—" Jackson and Autumn both interjected at the same time.

"I know, I know! Geez, it's enough having one brain around," Beatrix teased. "One of Ghoulia's textbooks said a poltergeist can interact with the physical world, and a ghost can't."

"So, have you seen Spectra interacting with the physical world?" Jackson whispered.

Beatrix remembered Spectra moving a bag of haunt dogs off the counter when they were alone in the creepateria last semester.

"Ya. She's a poltergeist," Beatrix stated. "By the way, I learned that poltergeists can't use a spirit weapon to affect the living or the living dead, so that counts Spectra out as a suspect."

"You learned that from Ghoulia?" Jackson asked. "I'm jealous. Ghoulia's got good resources. I wonder if she has a study group I can join..." Jackson thought aloud.

"Oh, speaking of Ghoulia's books, there was a weird poem in one of them," Beatrix said. "Something about plague, famine, and war... seeking revenge... and monster souls burning, I think?" Beatrix struggled to remember exactly what it had said. She'd left the old scrap of paper on her bedside table.

"Plague, famine, and war?" Jackson repeated.

"Sounds creepy," Autumn said, running her fingers along the seams at her wrists.

The poem didn't seem to be ringing any bells for Jackson and Autumn, so Beatrix moved on. "Anyway, that's not why I brought you guys back here. Grey was about to head into the woods last night, like he noticed something—but Astar stopped him. I'm not sure what Grey heard or saw. Maybe if I check in that area, I'll find a clue."

"You want to hop the fence?" Autumn squeaked.

"No, hopping it is too hard. There's sharp iron spires at the top. I'm not strong enough to hoist myself over them. I was hoping you two might have some ideas on how I could get past the fence without anyone noticing."

Jackson and Autumn exchanged a concerned glance.

"Don't be scaredy cats," Beatrix urged. "I want to quickly check while everyone's in the creepateria."

Jackson looked shaken by the idea. "Is it worth the risk? What if Grey just heard a squirrel or something in the forest that night?"

"No way, he saw something important, something incriminating out there. Look, we need another lead since my whole 'spying on Grey as a ghost' plan went sideways. You two can keep watch to make sure nothing goes wrong. It'll only take a minute. Less than a minute."

Jackson tapped his pencil against his notebook. "If you can't go over the fence, what about going through it? Instead of scaling it, find a weak part and sneak through," he suggested.

Beatrix thought it over. "But even if I find a flimsy part of it, I'm not strong enough to move an iron bar, even with your help. No offense," she said, looking pointedly at Autumn and Jackson's slender frames.

"Hey! I've been working out!" Autumn piped up, flexing a little straw-filled bicep. While she did look a bit more sturdy, it wouldn't be enough.

"Hang on, make sure this doesn't bubble over," Beatrix told them, leaving the ghoulash to peek into the lunchroom.

Beatrix wanted to check if Grey was still waiting to speak with her. She didn't see him in the lunch line; Greta must've kept her word and prevented him from entering the kitchen.

Instead, Beatrix saw the reaper boy sitting at a far table, caught in a one-sided conversation with Heath Burns, a talkative fire elemental boy who looked eager to befriend him.

With fiery hair flickering, Heath chatted endlessly with a blank-faced Grey. Despite Grey's reserved expression, it appeared he was at least listening, occasionally nodding politely.

With Grey occupied, Beatrix knew his exact location. If she moved fast, she could visit the perimeter fence without him noticing.

The only question was how to slip past the fence as easily as possible.

Since that morning, Beatrix had a feeling she'd need help to accomplish this. A devil's help.