The Coffin Bean

[Ronan Aalto]

Ronan nodded. "yeah, sounds like a good idea." He looked to meme. "Hope you feel better soon." With that, he bid the ghouls goodnight and returned to his dorm, it had been a long and exhausting day which he only realised when he got back and found himself yawning.  

[Marceline LaGhede]

Rorrim Rory Bludworth

Marceline gasped as Rory vanished in a blink. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, disappointed; but just as quickly a swell of excitement rushed over her. Tomorrow, after SKRM practice... She smiled gently, sighing dreamily as she hoisted her Mad Science tome from the cafe table.

She had turned and started for the door when she felt a prickling at the back of her neck, as if someone was glaring at her. Glancing over her shoulder, she remembered Dashner was still at the table, as he had been the whole night. A pang of guilt stung in her stomach; it wasn't intentional, but she'd pretty much ignored him all night in favor of Rory. She took a beat to regroup, then turned on the ball of her foot to face Dash.

"T'night was great, beastie! I can't wait to fang out tomorrow!" She smiled.  

[Dashner Hawke]

Dashner almost shivered at the word 'beastie.' Had she even been treating him like one? Nevertheless, he managed a fake smile.

"Totally! Good luck tomorrow."

He got out of his seat and walked out the door. He took off and started flying back toward his doomitory.  

[Marceline LaGhede]

Marceline was an hour over her shift and bounced back and forth between the register and the hexpresso machine. Char-lene went to claw-lege, and often ran late from her commute; meanwhile, Clawdeen was unavailable due to something to do with her sister and a genie... Marceline wasn't really sure of the details. But that left her alone to cover the study group rush, and on a day like today it was heavier than usual.

"Veinti Moancha latte!" She dropped the cup on the counter and staggered back to the register, scribbling another order on another cup and dashed back to the queue at the hexpresso machine. She felt her iCoffin buzz away in her apron, most likely Dashner following up on their study date tonight, which she'd undoubtedly be hours late getting to... She barely even had the time to respond!

"Groande two shot coffinccino, hextra foam!" Another cup passed into the claws of another monster, and the cycle began over again. Marceline felt her fangxiety rising with every chiming of the bells on the door. She was just about to break when Char-lene sauntered in, an hour and a half late.

"Don't worry, Char. I got this all under control!" Marceline smirked at her coworker.

"I believe you!" Char-lene tied her apron around her waist and swiped her card through the punch clock. "In fact, it doesn't look like you need me at all! I'll just go home!"

"Seriously, it's completely undead in here!" Marceline forced a laugh as she buckled herself to the register, allowing Char-lene to blaze through the coffee orders that had backed up. In no time, the line had been pared down as the rush ended, and both ghouls heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

"I can take it from here, Marce." Char-lene said, wiping down the hexpresso machine.

"Thanks, ghoul." Marceline fished out the tips from the jar on the counter, condensing the coins into bills and handing Char-lene a small portion to cover her help in the rush hour. "I am SO late for my study sesh with Dashner! He's gonna kill me..." She groaned as she took off her apron and clocked out.  

[Dashner Hawke]

Dashner strolled into the Coffin Bean breathing in the sweet smell. When we went to the clerk, she raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be at school? You look school aged."

A pain of guilt rose in his stomach. "Uh... I'm feeling under the weather, and I was excused from school."

The clerk nodded. He orderd his drink and sat down at a table in the far corner. He was alone for awhile, until an official-looking came through the door and eyed him.  

[Hagetha Mistie]

"Ah HA!"

She was wearing a business suit covering her ample frame and thick horn rimmed glasses over her eyes. It was the dreaded Monster High TRUANT OFFICER!

"Skipping school!" She waddled toward him, shaking her finger at Dashner. "It's the Iron Maiden for you, young man!"  

[Dashner Hawke]

Dashner scooted back in his chair. "No no, please, no! I'm sick, and I came here to get a drink to make my throat feel better..." He coughed pitifully.

"Please don't report me to Bloodgood!" He begged her.  

[Hagetha Mistie]

"Sick, and yet you came here thereby risking getting all of these..." Hagetha glanced around and noticed only perhaps one or two other patrons along with the furrista in the Bean, each with their eye(s) on what was happening. "Er, getting these few sick as well. Shame on you."

She stepped close to the booth and wrinkled her nose at the smell of Dasner's coffee.

"Blargh. Needs a hint of cinnamoan. Anyway, where was I? ... Oh yes! Now, if you were truly excused from school, why be so fretful of our blessed Headmistress Bloodgood finding out you're not in school? Hmmmm?"

She leaned in and gave Dashner a knowing wink.

"Please come with me. You can bring your swill, er, drink."  

[Dashner Hawke]

"Y-Yes mam." Dashner got up to follow her, but his curiosity was getting the best of him.

"So, where are we going? He let out another small cough.  

[Hagetha Mistie]

"Back to school, where you rightfully belong."

The 'truant officer' stalked through the door and to the outside of the Coffin Bean where her 'truancy' truck was parked along the curb. The decal of the Monster High school emblem crafted on the sides of the rear trailer and a flashing red light, much like a booliceman's car, on the top of the cab up front.

She walked around to the back of the trailer and popped the door open. Inside was a very comfortable chair and Hexbox. It looked more like a paradise doom room than a vehicle designed for transporting truant students.

"Hop in. I'd let you ride up from with me but... the front seat shrank." She coyly glanced down at her hefty girth and cleared her throat. "Yeah. That's it. The front seat shrank."  

[Dashner Hawke]

Dashner's eyes widened. "Why not take the long way to Monster High?!"

He happily jumped into the back of the truck and turned on the hexbox. He'd been saving up for one of those forever! He was happy to finally play one.  

[Hagetha Mistie]

And no sooner did Dashner hop in, than the sides of the trailer shifted down beneath itself, revealing Dashner to be sitting in a giant bird cage. The cab of the vehicle slowly shifted into a broom that was attached to the cage by a chain and levitating three feet off of the ground.

The 'truant officer' lumbered over and sat side saddle (she is a lady after all) on the broom and she cackled to Dashner.

"Welcome to Air Hagetha, dearie. Sit back and enjoy the ride!"

And suddenly the broom, as well as the cage and its occupant, rocketed off into the air!  

[Dashner Hawke]

"Hage-- WOAHHH!!"

Dashner screamed at first, but then turned into laughs. But soon the realization came to him, he was trapped in a cage! He had no idea where they were going, either.

He shrugged, and guessed he'd find out soon enough.  

[Marceline LaGhede]

With her school day over, Marceline got changed and went in for her shift at The Coffin Bean. Still very much reeling over her fight with Dashner, and forced to spend her Saturday making up class with Mr. Hack, she wasn't in the best of moods; regardless, she had to put on a smile and get through the day.

"Hey, Marce." Char-lene greeted her as she crossed behind the counter and headed to the time clock. "The driver from the screamery called, said he was running late with today's order..." The squeal of the milk steamer drowned out any response Marceline could have had to that, so she just went into the back, put her apron on, and clocked in.

"Do you mind taking over the register and letting me run the hexpresso machine today?" Marceline sighed. "I just had a bad day at school and I don't want to deal with monsters today..."

"Yea, sure. Whatever." Char-lene mumbled as she signed into the register.

Two hours into her shift, Marceline barely spoke except to call out finished drink orders. Char-lene, who wasn't exactly beasties with Marceline, was starting to grow concerned for her colleague.

"So, uh..." Char-lene began, during a lull. "Your werechicken friend came in here earlier today... caused a bit of a scene, too..."

"Oh..." Marceline feigned disinterest, but she was a bit stunned that Dashner would skip school to come to The Coffin Bean, of all places.

"Yeah, the truant officer came in and took him back to school... didn't look like the usual one that stalks around here, though... must've hired someone new... some fat old haggy-looking one..."

Marceline didn't think much of it, until a pack of vampires from school came in and set up camp at a nearby table, gossiping.

"So did you hear the latest from the Ghostly Gossip?" One said, swiping through her iCoffin with a smirk. "That chicken boo Dashner Hawke left school today to join the circus after his ghoulfriend broke up with him!"

"How pathetic!" Another sneered.

"Yeah... oh wait, that's the ghoul behind the counter..." They brought their conversation down to a hush, erupting in loud fits of giggles every so often. Marceline's stomach dropped... Dash had joined the circus because of their fight? That can't be true... She darted into the back and grabbed her iCoffin, and shot him a quick text message.

Dash, you didn't join that circus, did you??  

[Rorrim Rory Bludworth]

"Psst!" Upside down, in the mirror surface above the hexpresso machine, Rory's face looked down at Marceline. "Sorry! I can see you're busy! But do you think we could talk for a minute? Something's up with Dashner....he was acting REALLY weird earlier today."