Scooby Doo: Monster Menagerie

Chapter 5: Unexpected News

The fire crackled slowly into nothingness as time went on. It illuminated the entire room, making everything look warm. Upon the walls of this room were various pictures, mostly painted, and a few hunting trophies. Above the mantle would be a glass case, holding various medals and other types of military honors. Sitting in a large, cozy looking chair opposite of the fireplace would be a middle aged man, staring intently into the fire, lost in his own thoughts. His fingers intertwined together and rested near his chin as he began to speculate. This man, while retired from the military, still went by the title of Colonel. This man, Colonel Calloway, was in charge of Calloway's Military School for Boys.

His school started out quite small, student wise. While he only had a total of five students, he made sure to work them quickly into perfect shape. He had recently retired from the Army when he opened the school, and unfortunately, despite his numerous honors, he was still quite short on funds to open the school. Reality isn't fun, it seems. Still, Colonel Calloway managed to find cheap estate out in the swamps of Louisiana. In all honesty, it wasn't at all the place he wanted to run his prestigious school, but it would have to do. Besides, his optimistic side told him that living out in a harsh environment would be good to help with survival instincts in his students.

Despite his best efforts, even he couldn't blame parents who didn't trust a school out in the middle of practically nowhere. It certainly didn't help that the building close by was considered haunted by many! He had a school to run, and nothing would stop him. Not even a strange, if charming, woman, who just so happened to live in that building. There was certainly something off putting about her, but Calloway could never figure out what it was. Not that he had time to explore for himself, for he had students to teach.

His five original students (which he now called the Five Stars of Calloway's), would consist of five boys named Tug, Grunt, Jamal, Miguel, and Baxter. He felt that they were a bit... scatterbrained at times, but were eager to please their Colonel, and they always managed to give 110 percent. He grew quite close to these boys, even if they tended to get into trouble... a lot. Even if they went against his orders more often than he cared for, they definitely had lots of potential, and no event showed this off more than the annual volleyball game with the competitors: Grimwood's.

Calloway was quite confident in their ability, as they won every game that they played. There were often rumors of cheating, but he never seemed to take enough care to notice, or do anything about it. After all, victory was victory, and his team showed the skills necessary to secure the win. There was only one year he could think of where his team actually lost, and it was after their competitors managed to get themselves an actual coach.

If it were up to him, that man would not have gotten the position. He felt too laid back for his taste. He barely even had the body shape of someone who looked like they worked out! There was no denying results, of course. He lead Grimwood's to victory, leading to Calloway's first actual loss. This was a bit hit on his ego, for sure. Despite this, however, he knew that it meant he would have to push his students harder and harder. Shaping diamonds from coal, and all that.

Strangely enough, he had not seen the weird man ever since that game. When he asked Grimwood why, she merely said that he had other business to attend to. Even stranger, though, was the fact that she gave him the offer to coach her students. Unlike his students, who seemed to be in denial over the girls, he knew for a fact that they were abnormal. Clearly, ghouls would be the perfect term for them, as they were, quite literally, monsters. They were quite nice, of course, as was Grimwood. He got along with her very well, despite how strange he found her. Upon given the opportunity to coach her students, he took it up. He did not mind having to teach two different kinds of students, after all. This would give the girls an opportunity to see what a real coach could do, and not some laid back hippie.