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Midterms were a novelty to Ronan, nothing he'd had to endure previously. However, the other students all seemed so worked up this past week and it had gotten him equally fangtious.
While he was fairly certain he knew the curriculum inside and out, there was that nagging doubt that he'd misunderstand something or otherwise mess up in a spectacular fashion. What happened if they failed their midterms? He wasn't certain he wanted to know, but that uncertainty had driven him to spend every free moment he had that morning swatting up on revision.

First period was Dead Languages, thankfully a subject Ronan was actually good at. He was dreading mad science.

Draconia's claws cramped from writing after Mr. Where collected their Drama Class mid-term test. She was silently thankful that the mid-term was a written hexam. The final had to be acted out on stage - her deepest dread.

"Psst! How do you think you did?" Draculaura poked Draconia in the back with her pencil and whispered after the tests were whisked off their desks.

"Good...I hope." Draconia replied. "I didn't think he'd be including questions about Shakesfeare's pet's names!"

"Mr. Where loves throwing us for a loop!" Draconia agreed, twirling her pencil for emphasis. "Just like how he announced that WE'RE going to be writing the Spring Play next Screamester!"

"I know! It's uhh-nbelievable!" Traditionally, the Spring play had always been a boo-sical, like Manster of La Mancha or Were-Cats. But this time, Mr. Where was shaking things up by having Drama Class pen the whole play. It was going to be...grimteresting.

The end-of-class bell gonged, and Draconia packed up her supplies to head out. Draculaura stopped her at the doorway with a claw on Draconia's scaled arm.

"I've seen the play that you helped write for Broadgrave, Draconia. I know that you'll bring that same brilliance to our school play!"

Draconia swallowed and slightly, nervously nodded. No pressure...

"You...you don't think Mr. Rotter SERIOUSLY made the last ten questions have 'c' for an answer, did you? I had to have gotten that wrong! Oh manster, I think I just blew this quiz. Blew it into a billion shards!" Rory ranted to Marceline and Dashner as they packed up their stuff to go to the next class. "Mother is going to be so disappointing when I've flunked out of class in my very first Screamester! Perhaps she'll have to start tombschooling me again...then I'll miss the trip to New Goreleans! Then I won't get to meet your parents! Argh! Disaster!"

Dashner walked next to his two beasties and raised an eyebrow. "You two are going to New Goreleans? That's nice," he smiled and looked up at the ceiling and then down again. "I'm not really doing anything over Fangsgiving."

"Uuuuugggghhhhhh." Kai groaned and rested his head on the lunchroom table as his friends started to sit down to eat. The entire lunchroom seemed less like a place to unwind and eat and more like a mortuary today. Student bodies were trying to balance textbooks between lunch trays as they crammed for the second half of the day's tests. Conversation was in hushed tones and revolved around gauging how clawful the Mad Science test was going to be.

Kai rocked his head back and forth on the tabletop and did his best zombie impression.

"Uggrrrrgh. Ms. Moanatello basically said I have to start my project over!" Kai lamented. His review for Art Class had not gone well.

"Bro. That's not what she said." Nero argued. At least comforting Kai took his mind off of Hexvanced Trigular Calculometry. "She said you needed to reevaluate the 'slap everything on there' method and pick one direction to take the collage in."

"That BASICALLY means start over!" Kai nearly wailed. He'd chosen collage as his medium so he wouldn't HAVE to agonize over deciding what was and wasn't appropriate for it. But Ms. Moanatello saw through him as easily as he could see through her...though honestly, that was because she was a ghost. "I'm right back where I started!"

Kai started bonking his head rhythmically against the lunch table, bereft in the waves of woe. Layla, who had slithered over from the lurch line to take her seat next to Kai and Nero looked at the Sphinx, who shrugged.

"Cheer up, Kai." Layla informed him, matter-of-factly. "Msssss Moanatello was hard on everyone in classss. It's because she wantsss us to ssucceed. She made Draculaura ssstart over completely on her sssself portrait. And Robecca'sss sssculpture is sssscrapped."

"She thought your sand sculpture was just fine." Kai responded, forehead still firmly glued to the edge of the table. "And Jewels got complimented for doing so much work while being Tombcoming Queen!"

Layla rolled her eyes. There was no use talking to Kai when he was in one of THESE moods. Fortunately, as soon as something distracted him, he'd be over it. She decided to try changing the subject.

"Sssso I hear you two are going on the road for Fangsssgiving?" Layla asked as she spread her hummus on a piece of nan. "Mother and I are going to be celebrating with ssseveral dignitaries at the embasssy, as usual."

"Yeah..." Kai replied, still face-down. "My dad and Abyssa are flying down, but he gave me permission to drive Nero, Glen and Rory down in our van."

"Hex yeah, bro-ad trip!" Nero held up a claw for a high five. After a few seconds, he picked up Kai's limp hand and slapped it against his own. Even a non-consensual five was better than nothing. "It's gonna be EPIC. Dare I even say, legen-wait for it......SCARY. LEGENDSCARY!"

Nero and Layla paused. Was this sinking in at all on Kai? Nero raised an eyebrow. He grinned at Layla. He knew ONE thing could completely distract Kai from his woes...

"In fact, I'd say the last time we did anything this chart-toppingly epic, it'd have to be that trip we took to Monte Scar-"

"WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT MONTE SCARLO!" Kai's head shot up, his eyes wide. "Bro! You promised! You swore an oath! A bro-ath!"

"Of course, bro, of course!" Nero took the opportunity of Kai's awareness and hand-flailing to score another non-consensual high-five. "I'm just saying, this trips epicness is gonna blow that one away! Think about it! Twice as many bros! Twice as long a distance to drive! No scary slime ghouls looking for long-term committments! That's 2b + 2d - 1s = EPIC. You see, you divide out the twos on either side of the equation, leaving you with b + d -s, since 1s is the same as s..."

Nero went on and on with his equation. Apparently, Hexvanced Trig had seeped deeper into his brain than he'd thought. It didn't matter, though. It had worked. Kai was cheered up, and he tore into his queese sandwich with renewed purpose.

"Yeah! I can't wait till we get out on the open road!"

Jewels was in a mood, and it wasn't because she'd run out of glitter most of the way through her art project and had had to substitute salt crystals.
No, it was all Felix's fault. His lack of coordination and understanding of the magnitude of a dance off challenge had lost her a crucial victory against that acursed Demona. Bah. Hissss.
Now Demoma had the upper hand, and that just would not do. How could she show her up now? She was a dancing queen!
Caverns below, was there anything that ghoul couldn't do?

Jewels had spent her morning exams in a grey haze of annoyance and distraction, reliving the outright humiliation of losing that dance off. She, the host, tomb coming queen! She had LOST! in front of everybody!

Now as she walked through the creepateria she convinced herself everyone was looking at her, shaking their heads at her lack of rhythm and her lacking moves.

She slumped into a seat in a quiet corner, and set down her tray with a BANG. Noodle soup spilled across the tray and she sighed. Even the soup had it in for her.

Motthew yawned as he headed down the hallway. Mid-term for new kids were just cruel. At least he thought so anyway. The stuff he learned at his old school didn't even match up with what Monster High taught. Needless to say, Uhh-stronomy was the only class he was confident in. Not even Dead Languages.

He rubbed his head, stretching his arms as he walked into the creepateria. Maybe he could squeeze in a little nap, a brief escape from the bright classrooms and Creatures of the school.

He sat at an empty table and leaned on his hand, yawning again.

The 'Doctor Boo' theme song suddenly burst forth from Draconia's iCoffin as she sat down next to Glen and Hellene for lunch.

"Oh dear! Pardon me!" Draconia apologized at the noisy interruption. She looked down at the phone, seeing it was her sister Wyvernia calling. "But I think I must take this."

Turning away from her jamba-cry-a, Draconia answered the call.

"Wyvvie?" She inquired. "What's going on? Is everything all right?"

"Surprise! It's your mum, dear! Your father and I are in town as of right now!"

"MUM!" Draconia nearly shouted, then shrugged her shoulders while blushing. "You're in early!"

"That we are, in fact. Wyvernia is driving us to the Looking Glass right now. Do you know, it must be almost a hundred years since I last saw the place." Draconia's mother, Mimzy, was the sister of Uncle Wocky (known to the greater world at large as the Jabberwock), the purveyor of the Looking Glass book store. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, he was currently trapped in his homeland and unable to leave. In the meantime, Draconia and her sister Wyvernia had been watching the shoppe, awaiting his return.

"Well, I hope it passes your muster. Wyvvie and I have been trying so very hard to keep it tidy and up to date."

"Oh, pssh, don't worry about that, dear!" Draconia's mum laughed into the phone. "Concentrate on your hexams! Your father and I can't wait to meet your teachers. But that's besides the point. My TRUE point was, I am going to whip up the beast dinner I can tonight. Invite your friends! Invite the neighbourhood! Invite the whole village!"

Draconia's mum was notorious for knocking herself out making a meal.

"Mum, you're on vacation! You don't need to start slaving in the kitchen!"

"Stuff and nonsense, pigs that fly, never winged, bacon pie!" Her mother shot back, lapsing into her native Wonderland Riddlish accent. Draconia sighed.

"Very well. But I'm only inviting Glen and Hellene. Do NOT cook a banquet, all right?"

"I make no promises!" Draconia's mum teased her, before hanging up. Draconia took her iCoffin away from her ear and smiled at Hellene and Glen.

"So...what are you two up to tonight?"