chapter 4

Vampirina was excited as she had her bag packed and was waiting for Bridget and Poppy to come over. The Hauntleys had decided to take a vacation and go to Hotel Transylvania and Oxana had asked Poppy's mother and Bridget's mother if the girls would like to come. Bridget's mother had agreed as she had been wondering who she could trust to watch over her daughter while she was on an important business trip. Bridget was unsure, but Oxana assured her that it would be fun and she'd get to travel with them. Seeing as she'd be with people she trusted, the bespectacled girl agreed.

Poppy was ecstatic and begged her mother to go. Edna had been a little reluctant, but then agreed. Edgar had come down with the flu and Edna was taking care of him, so she agreed that Poppy could go.

The doorbell shrieked and Chef Remy answered it after seeing it was two of his favorite humans. "Ah, there you are," he said pleasantly.

"Chef Remy!" They exclaimed, hugging the skeleton, who scooped them up and hugged them.

"Are you girls ready for vacation?" He asked.

"Yeah," said Poppy.

Bridget grew a little nervous. "Is it true that Hotel Transylvania also has monsters?" She asked, sounding a little scared.

"Oui, it is now a hotel for both humans and monsters," the skeleton said gently. "Don't be frightened, chere, the monsters there are very nice."

"Like you guys?" Poppy asked.

"Oui," Remy said. "Some even work closely with humans to help ease any tensions."

Boris came up to them. "Not only that, there will be monster children there around your age," he said. "You just might make a few friends."

Though Bridget was still unsure, she did want to go see the famous hotel and she'd be with her friends, who she knew would help her stay safe.

A few hours later...

The Hauntley's hearse landed outside of a magnificent hotel that was as big as a castle. "Whoa," Poppy said in amazement. "It's huge!"

"Yes, so that many monsters and humans can stay here without having to worry about waiting for a room," Boris said with a smile. "I booked a full suite and an adjoining suite for us. From the pictures, it's quite magnificent."

A pumpkin-headed bellboy came out and gathered their luggage. Bridget gave a surprised squeak when she saw him, her eyes wide with fear, but to her surprise, the monster simply gave her a gentle pat on the head and an understanding smile before pushing the cart with the bags up the steps. Poppy looked at Vampirina, who giggled.

"I think he understood that he startled Bridget and wanted to show her that he didn't hold it against her," the small vampire said gently.

"Monsters don't blame children for being a bit startled," said a familiar voice and they turned to see Count Dracula had been the one to speak. "Oxana and Boris Hauntley and young ones, welcome to Hotel Transylvania."

"Thank you, Dracula," Oxana said politely.

"It's amazing!" Poppy said with a smile.

"I can't wait to see what the inside is like!" Vampirina said, transforming into a bat in her excitement.

Dracula laughed warmly. "It's larger on the inside," he said before noticing Bridget looked a bit nervous but was trying not to show it. He placed a hand gently on the young girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, young one. All the monsters here are friendly."

She swallowed hard, but nodded, holding back a whimper as she followed her friends inside.

When they reached their room, the girls were excited to have a suite to themselves while Boris and Oxana were in the adjoining suite next to them. "And the two are connected so that if you girls need anything, we'll be right here," Boris said.

"Why don't you girls go exploring for a bit?" Oxana suggested. "You could meet some of the children here and have fun."

"Just don't go outside the hotel grounds," Boris cautioned them.

"Okay, Papa, we'll be careful," Vampirina promised.

"We'll stick together," Poppy said, gently taking Bridget's hand. The bespectacled girl gave her friend a grateful look.

But little did they know that they would have quite the adventure before evening fully set in.

Everything had gone well at first as the girls explored the castle, being careful not to disturb any of the guests, though the shrunken heads did startle them at first before the girls giggled, but took the advice of the shrunken heads to keep quiet as some guests were sound asleep at the moment.

One of the doors suddenly creaked open, making Bridget yelp as she clung to Poppy and Vampirina. "What was that?" She asked with a whimper.

Poppy noticed a skeletal hand coming out of the door that had opened and she swallowed hard. "Um, I think we might have accidentally awoken someone," she said and was prepared to go up to the person and apologize when the person suddenly came into view and made the three girls freeze in their tracks.

The person wore a purple cloak with a hood that hid their face and they had a strange necklace around their neck, but what clued the three on the person's identity were the skeletal hands that held a sharp scythe.

Bridget let out a scream, as did Poppy, and the two humans turned and ran as fast as they could. Vampirina stood there and she looked very nervous as she knew all-too-well who stood before her. "M-Mr. Death?" She asked in a fearful voice before she suddenly transformed into a bat and flew as fast as her wings could carry her.

Gary sighed, but he didn't hold anything against the three girls. "Well, let's see, who do I go after first?" He asked himself.

He spotted the bespectacled girl peeking out from one of the rooms and quickly ducking back in when she spotted him. "Alright, then, you're first, little one," Gary said to himself and headed off after her.

Bridget ran down one of the halls looking for a place to hide and turned to look and see if the scary skeleton was following her. Her eyes bulged in fear when she saw him just a few feet behind her. Shrieking in fear, she turned and ran into an open door, finding an empty room and she quickly dove under the bed, shutting her eyes tightly.

Gary entered the room and quietly closed the door, locking it and putting his scythe aside as he glanced around for the young girl. "Hello?" He cooed, keeping his voice at a gentle tone. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, little one."

The bespectacled girl didn't move an inch and waited until she heard the door open again and close. After a moment more, she slipped out from under the bed and stood up, but before she could take a step, two arms grabbed her, making her scream in fear and struggle, but her captor's grip was too strong and she whimpered when she noticed the arms were clad in purple with skeletal hands at the end. "Hey, relax, kid," she heard him say, but she whimpered again, too frightened to calm down.

Gary gently set her on the bed, noting the young girl's wide eyes and he sighed, resting a hand lightly on her head. "Hey, it's alright. Shh," he said soothingly. "Yeah, I'm who you think I am, but I'm not going to hurt you."

Bridget didn't look reassured and the cloaked skeleton looked thoughtful before he perked up. "Hey, how about a friendly bet?" He asked.

The bespectacled girl gave him a confused look and he chuckled. "If you giggle, I win. If not, you win," he said, his fingers gently poking and tickling her sides. "But I don't give up and I'm not going to until you're giggling yourself silly."

Bridget tried not to laugh as she squirmed to get away, but that was hard with the skeleton tickling her and a few giggles escaped her, making her captor gasp in happiness. "I hear giggling," he said teasingly as she tried not to laugh, but it was getting harder.

Gary then reached over and gently lifted up the young girl's shirt just enough to expose her belly button and he blew a big raspberry into her stomach, which broke Bridget's resolve and she squealed with laughter as Gary chuckled. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo! What a ticklish little one!" He cooed teasingly.

The young girl couldn't stop laughing as she was tickled to pieces by the skeleton who didn't seem as scary now as he tickled her belly button with one finger, blowing another raspberry into her neck, which again made her squeal with giggles.

Finally, Gary stopped, seeing the little one was trying to catch her breath as she lay on the bed. Her glasses had gotten knocked askew in her struggling and the skeleton chuckled, kindly and gently straightening out the girl's glasses. "You doing okay?" He asked, gently pinching her left cheek.

Bridget looked at him, her confusion evident on her face. "Um, who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Gary," he said. "Also known as the Grim Reaper."

She looked at him and he chuckled. "Hey, don't worry. You've got a long way to go, kiddo," he reassured her. "I didn't mean to scare you and your friends earlier."

The bespectacled girl looked a little embarrassed. "Well, we didn't mean to disturb you," she said honestly.

"Disturb me?" He repeated before he realized what she meant. "Oh, no. You girls didn't wake me up. I was already awake and heard your voices and grew curious."

"Oh," she said, surprised before giggling as he playfully tickled her neck.

"Well, now that you're feeling better, I'm going to go find your friends," he said, picking her up. "But first, do you like music?"

She nodded and he brought her down to the three Mariachi skeletons, who smiled gently at her. She shied against Gary, looking at the three unsurely, but the trumpet player came forward, gently accepting the young girl from Gary, nodding. "These guys play the best music," the cloaked skeleton said before he took off to find Poppy and Vee.

Bridget looked at the trumpet player, who smiled and let out a Mariachi trill that his comrades echoed before they sat down and began playing. The young girl sat in the tall skeleton's lap and watched as he expertly played the trumpet and tapped his foot to the beat. The catchy tune made the girl smile and she began clapping along to the beat, happy giggles spilling from her that made the three musicians smile.

Poppy was hiding in another room and now came out, looking around slowly before breathing a sigh of relief and was about to look for Vampirina when two hands suddenly tickled her sides, making her laugh in surprise as she turned to find the very skeleton she had been hiding from behind her, but before she could get a chance to escape, he scooped her up, playfully holding her upside-down as he continued tickling her stomach.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HEY! NOHOHOHOHO!" She pleaded.

"Oh, yes," he said teasingly. "I've got a very ticklish little prisoner, don't I?"

Poppy giggled and squirmed, but couldn't escape as the skeleton continued tickling her for a bit before he stopped, gently lifting her up so that she was right-side-up and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. The young girl took time to catch her breath before she looked up at him and cocked her head in confusion. "How come...?" She started to ask.

"How come I'm tickling you instead of scaring you?" He gently finished for her. She nodded and he chuckled. "Hey, just because I'm the Grim Reaper doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun. Plus, I wanted to make it up to you for scaring you back there."

He gently set her down. "Beside, you and your friends have a long ways to go," he said, ruffling Poppy's hair gently, making her giggle again. "Now, where do you suppose your vampire friend went?"

Poppy glanced up and found the tapestry on the wall beside her moving and she gently pulled it away to reveal Vampirina in her bat form, but she apparently had a bad case of the batties because she kept turning back from her bat form to her regular form. Gary gently caught her. "Hey, easy there, little one," he said gently, holding her in a hug. "Take a deep breath."

His gentle voice got through to the panicking vampire girl and she took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but that was hard for her to do. Noticing this, Gary chuckled. "One thing about vampires, whether in regular form or bat form, they're very ticklish," he said.

"Really?" Poppy asked in surprise.

To prove this, Gary began tickling Vampirina's stomach, to which the vampire giggled and laughed as the skeleton tickled her stomach in both her bat form and her regular form, but Poppy noticed that as Gary tickled her friend, Vampirina wasn't changing as rapidly now, as if the tickle torture was calming down the batties. She giggled as she watched.

Vampirina giggled until she caught Gary's hand in her own, making him chuckle. "Looks like your case of the batties went away," he said, gently tugging one of her bat tails, making her giggle again. She then looked at him sheepishly.

"Um, sorry we got scared," she said.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Gary said gently. "Besides, I got to convince you and your friends that you didn't have to worry."

They heard giggling and saw Bridget riding on a tall skeleton's shoulders as he played the trumpet while two other skeletons played a guitar and what looked to be a bass. Oxana and Boris were behind them. "Oh, there you are!" Boris said in relief. "We were worried when we couldn't find you."

"Sorry, Papa, we ran into a guest," Vampirina said, gesturing to Gary.

Oxana gasped when she saw him. "Gary, is that you?" She asked.

He gasped as well. "Well, shake my hourglass! Oxana! Boris!" He said.

Boris was surprised. "Why, Gary!" He said, shaking the skeleton's hand. "It's been a long time since graduation, old friend."

"Sure has," Gary said and a grin was in his voice. "And you finally got the guts to court Oxana, huh?"

The teasing tone of the skeleton's voice made the girls giggle and Boris looked a bit sheepish, but nodded. "Yes, I did," he said and smiled. "And I see you met our daughter and her human friends from Pennsylvania."

"Sure did," the skeleton said, a smile in his voice.

They all headed for the living area where the Mariachi skeletons continued playing as the others visited. Poppy and Bridget sat on either side of Gary while Vampirina sat on a stool by the skeleton's feet, enjoying everyone's company and the girls were happy to be friends with a soft-hearted skeleton.

Vampirina, or Vee for short, was with her best friends Poppy and Bridget. They were having lunch time at school.

"Mmm! These creepy croissants Chef Remy Bones made are fangtastic!" Vampirina said.

"Yeah, Chef Remy maybe scary sometimes, but he's a great chef!" Bridget mentioned. "And funny too! One time, he did a song and dance act where he took off his own-"

Poppy quickly put a hand over Bridget's mouth. "Shhh! Edgar alert!" she whispered.

Feeling a presence behind her, Vampirina turned around and saw Poppy's brother Edgar holding his phone towards her.

"Oh! Hey, guys!" Edgar hid the phone behind his back. "What's up?!" he chuckled nervously.

Poppy stood up. "Edgar! I saw that! Are you spying on us?!"

"No! Why would I do that?!" Edgar tried to play dumb, but he wasn't very good at it. Poppy marched over and yanked Edgar's phone out of his hand. When she looked at the phone screen, Poppy was furious.

"A voice recorder app?! Edgar! You've gone too far this time! Spying is wrong and you know it!"

"Come on, Poppy! Help your brother out here! I just know there's something spooky going on and Vampirina's at the center of it!" Edgar pleaded. "All I want is to find proof of the supernatural and magic and weird stuff like that for my web show! Think of the fame! The fortune! The popularity! Do you know how cool I'd be?!"

Poppy put her hands on her hips. "Edgar, how many times to I have to tell you?! There's no such thing as weird stuff like magic, monsters, and supernatural mumbo jumbo! And Vampirina is a normal kid just like us!"

"And fame isn't everything, Edgar." Vampirina added gently.

"Yeah, Edgar." a snooty voice said.

Edgar saw two girls that made Vampirina feel nervous in her stomach. It was Kimberly and her flunkie Carla. They both held Vampirina in disregard for being different.

"Just look at you," Kimberly said, flicking Edgar's shoulder with a finger. "You're just a fame-hungry wannabe who keeps chasing his tail looking for imaginary monsters."

"Yeah, Edgar. You're just embarrassing yourself. It's pretty sad." Carla quipped.

Vampirina and her friends watched in shock as the heartless girls swaggered away. They could see Edgar was trembling with anger.

Before they could comfort Edgar with words of kindness, Edgar stomped his foot and pointed a finger at the older girls. "You just wait! I'm gonna get proof that the supernatural is real and you'll be sorry! This die-hard reporter is gonna be famous! I'm out!" And Edgar stomped away.

Later that day after school, Vee, Poppy, and Bridget were playing in the backyard of Vee's house, the Scare B&B.

"I really feel bad for Edgar." said Bridget. "I wish there was a way we could help him."

"Well, we can't help him without exposing Vee's secret." Poppy reminded her friend.

"She's right, Bridget. It's not worth the trouble. We can't tell Edgar or anyone else the truth." Vee said. "If people like Kimberly and Carla are out there in the world, who knows how they'll react to monsters living in plain sight?!"

Bridget adjusted her glasses. "Yeah, you guys are right. Sorry."

"It's okay. Let's just talk about something else." Vee said. "Like...um..."

Demi appeared out of thin air. "Hey, guys!"

"AAAAAH!" Bridget screamed. "Oh. Hi, Demi."

"Hey, Bridget!" Demi happily greeted. "Big news! We've got extra special company coming to the Scare B&B!"

"Who? The Scream Girls? Crawly and the tap dancing spiders?" Vee guessed.

"AAAAH! Spiders?! I don't like spiders! Even if they do tap dance!" Bridget squealed in terror. She was terrified of spiders.

"No! It's even better than tap dancing spiders! It's none other than...!" Demi paused for dramatic effect. "SCARY GODMOTHER!"

"NO WAY!" Vee screamed. She became a bat and flew around in excited circles. "Scary Godmother is coming to our home!"

"Scary Godmother?" Poppy said. "Don't you mean Fairy Godmother?"

"No! She said S-S-Scary Godmother! It must be the opposite of a fairy godmother!" Bridget said nervously.

Vee laughed. "Fairy Godmother? What are you guys talking about? I said Scary Godmother!"

"Well, what's a Scary Godmother?" asked Poppy.

"Scary Godmother is the ambassador of spookiness! The greatest witch to ever exist!"

Bridget squeaked. "A witch?! See?! I told you it would be the opposite of a fairy godmother! I don't want to see a witch!"

Vee shook her head. "You don't have to be scared, Bridget. Scary Godmother is an inspiration to monsters everywhere! We gotta make sure the house is extra spooky for her!" Vampirina rushed inside.

"Let's go help, Bridget!" Grabbing her friend's hand, Poppy hurried inside with a timid Bridget.

"B-But I don't work well with spooky!" Bridget complained.

And so, Vee, Poppy and her family were making things more spooky and eerie for the infamous Scary Godmother.

Welcome to the Scare B&B, Scary Godmother!" Vee's mother Oxana greeted. "It's an honor to have you here!"

Vee stared at Scary Godmother in awe. Poppy was fascinated seeing this Scary Godmother.

Scary Godmother had long, frizzy orange hair and pale green skin. She wore a black top with a black tutu and purple and green leggings. Normally, witches uses brooms to fly, but she was floating with the two little bat wings on her back!

"And it's an honor to be here, Oxana!" Scary Godmother. "The Fright Side has been buzzing about your Scare B&B!"

"Did you hear that, Bridget?! We're popular on the Fright Side!" Vee said with joy. "Huh? Where's Bridget?"

"She said something about checking things in the broom closet to make sure it's extra spooky." Poppy said. "But I think she's just hiding from meeting Scary Godmother."

Vee sighed. "I wish Bridget wasn't scared all the time."

Scary Godmother tapped Vee on the shoulder. "Did you say a friend of yours is scared to meet me?"

"Yeah, her name's Bridget." Vee said. "She's hiding in the broom closet."

But Scary Godmother giggled. "Well then, she chose a bad place to to hide!"

Vee and Poppy shared confused glances.

Inside the closet, Bridget was crouched down and quiet. She didn't want the witch to hear her.

Bridget wished she was brave enough to meet this Scary Godmother. But scary things didn't agree with her so well.

The dust from the closet tickled Bridget's nose. She sneezed so hard, her glasses fell off her face.

"Gesundheit." A hand picked up Bridget's glasses and returned them to her.

Bridget smiled and took back her glasses. "Thanks." But Bridget's smile fell when she realized she wasn't alone. She slowly turned around and saw a skeleton grinning at her.

"Hi!" The skeleton waved his bony hand at Bridget. "And, BOOOOOOOOO!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Everyone went stiff as Bridget's scream rung through the whole house.

"Bridget!" Vee rushed to the broom closet and when she opened it, Bridget came barreling out of the closet with a skeleton in a top hat chasing her.

"SPOOKY SKELETON!" Bridget screamed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere!" said the ghoulish skeleton as he playfully chased Bridget all over the house.

Vee and everyone else could watch helplessly as the terrified Bridget was being chased.

"Who is that skeleton?!" Poppy asked.

"That's my boyfriend, Skully Pettibone." Scary Godmother answered. "I asked him to scare your friend out of hiding. But it looks like he's scaring her too well!"

"We've gotta make them stop before they wreck something!" Gregoria said. Bridget and Skully whizzed by just an inch from Gregoria. "See?! They almost wrecked me!"

"This calls for a spell!" Scary Godmother began gathering a handful of magic, but Bridget ran right into her and her magic escaped her hands and started bouncing off the walls.

"AAH! DUCK AND COVER, PEOPLE!" Skully helped Bridget take cover. Everyone got down on the ground until the magic made contact with the suit of armor.

Bridget squeaked and scrambled away from Skully, bumping right into the enchanted armor. Bridget spun around and watched the armor glow, then grab it's sword!

Poor Bridget was so scared, she couldn't even move! The armor raised its sword, but Skully used his arm as a sword and blocked the knight's attack.

"Don't worry, Bridget! I'll protect you or die trying!" Skully said, his arm at the ready.

"R-Really?!" Bridget was amazed that this skeleton would defend her from the living armor.

"Well..." Skully turned to her. "Easy for me to say since I am dead!" He laughed, making Bridget whimper.

The knight attacked! But Skully defended himself with his arm as a weapon! He and the living armor dueled down the hallway and into the living room!

"Whoa! This is incredible!" Demi said.

"Yeah! I've never seen a skeleton fight a knight in a sword and arm battle!" said Gregoria.

Skully and the knight battled to the death! Well, neither of them were living creatures to begin with. Even Bridget was amazed! This skeleton was like the brave warrior she's seen in movies!

"Touché!" Skully whipped his arm and knocked the helmet off of the knight's body! He swiped again and took out his arms, then his legs and torso! Scary Godmother used her magic and reversed the spell on the armor

"Rest in pieces!" Skully declared. He put his arm back on his shoulder.

Scary Godmother threw her arms around her boyfriend. "Skully! You're our hero!" She kissed him on the cheek bone.

"That was amazing!" Poppy said, running up to the skeleton. "You saved Bridget from that armor!"

Bridget smiled up at the skeleton. "Yeah! Thanks for saving me, Mr. um, Skully."

Skully ruffled Bridget's hair. "Don't mention it, Sweetie. It's the least I could do after scaring you so badly."

"Yeah, but it's fine. I scare easily anyway." Bridget shyly adjusted her glasses. "I'm just amazed how you used your arm as a sword!"

"Oh! It's easy!" Skully took off his arm and gave it to Bridget. "I've met many brave, ghostly knights over the centuries who taught me how to do that!"

Bridget giggled as she held the skeleton's arm. She swung it around and held it up. "'Tis I, Bridget the Brave!"

But Skully's hand lowered down and tickled Bridget's underarm. She laughed as the skeleton's hand kept tickling her.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" Skully teased. He reattached his arm and kept tickling Bridget.

"Heeheeheehahahahahahahahaha!" Bridget laughed. "Quit it!"

Skully stopped. "Guess Bridget the Brave can't handle a little tickling!"

Everyone laughed, even Bridget. Guess she had nothing to be afraid of after all, especially when it came to meeting new people.

At the Scare B&B, Vampirina was looking forward for her bat-tastic babysitter Miranda to come over.

To Vee, Miranda was the best babysitter ever. She was more like a best friend than a babysitter. She never treats Vee like a baby.

The doorbell shrieked and the door opened to let Miranda in. But when Vee saw Miranda, her smile fell.

Miranda had the saddest expression on her face. There was no warm glow in her green eyes, just emptiness.

"Hey, Vee." Miranda mumbled. She sulked inside. Vee's parents, Boris and Oxana noticed the teen's depressed look.

"What's wrong, Miranda?" Oxana asked in concern.

Miranda looked at the floor in silence.

"What is wrong, Miranda?!" Boris asked. "You're not yourself today!"

Miranda walked into the living room and sat on the couch. She didn't even acknowledge Penelope snapping her huge jaw in Miranda's direction.

Vee rushed in front of Miranda. "Miranda! Please tell us what's wrong! You're scaring us! In a bad way!"

Miranda took a deep, shaky breath. "My grandpa past away."

The Hauntleys gasped. They were well aware of the fact that humans didn't live as long as vampires. And when one of them of no longer among the living, it's a very depressing moment.

"I'm so sorry, Miranda." Oxana said. She sat beside Miranda and gave her a hug.

"We all are." Boris hugged Miranda too.

Vampirina didn't no know what to say. She just joined in on the hug.

A few tears fell from Miranda's cheek. "I have to give a speech at the funeral, my mom's idea..." Her breath hitched. "I don't think I can do it."

"But you have to do it, Miranda!" Vee said at last.

Miranda shook her head. "How can I when I don't even know what to say?!" She buried her face in her hands. "I never even thought this would happen! It just happened so suddenly! My grandpa is such a strong man! It wasn't long ago that I saw him for Christmas and now this happens! He gets a heart attack and the doctors couldn't do anything to help him! After taking care of him for a whole week!"

The Hauntleys saw her body trembling. Miranda was really hurting inside.

Oxana rubbed Miranda's back. "Don't be so sad, Miranda. Death is also a part of life. But he suffered from a heart attack and was hurting. But now that his time has come, he is no longer suffering. He's relieved of all his pain and is completely happy wherever he is now."

Miranda looked at Oxana with a little twinkle in her eye. "My mom said the exact same thing." She wiped her eyes. "You're right. I got to do this speech."

"When you make your speech, just let the words come to you." Boris advised.

Miranda began to smile. "You're right. Your absolutely right."

"So, what was your grandpa like?" asked Vee.

"Well, grandpa always loved taking me and my family out on his boat. It was a lot of fun! I would always scream 'Faster! Faster!' and he would rip that engine and we would shred on that water!"

When Miranda told stories about her grandpa, she started to cheer up because some of the stories she laughed at, telling her friends what a character her grandpa was.

As Miranda talked, it made Vee think about her grandma Nanpire the Great. Vee's nan was a very colorful person. Always making grand entrances, makes the old vampire traditions tons of fun, and always loving and supporting Vee no matter what.

And that gave Vee an idea.

A couple of days later, all of Miranda's friends and family attended the funeral. Miranda looked around for a certain party to arrive, when she saw her relatives wearing confused looks aimed at the doorway, Miranda smiled because she knew the Hauntleys have arrived.

"Hi, Miranda!" Vee hugged Miranda.

"Hey, Vee!" Miranda smiled warmly. "I love your dress! You all look great!"

Vee twirled around. It was a long black dress with a bat wing shaped collar.

Boris was wearing a black suit with a high collard cape. Oxana wore a black dresses with a spider web lace shawl. They looked like classic vampires, and Miranda thought it was awesome.

"Thank you, Miranda!" Oxana said. "And we brought a certain someone to meet you!" She took Miranda's hand and lead her outside behind the funeral home.

"I don't get it. Why are we-"

Suddenly, a cloud of red smoke swirled around Miranda and floated in front of her.

POOF!

An elderly woman appeared from the red mist. Miranda saw her pale blue skin and saw that this was another vampire.

"Ghostly Greetings, Miranda!" the elderly vampire said.

"Miranda, this is my nan. Nanpire the Great!" Vee introduced.

"Wow! It's nice to meet you Mrs...um, Nan." Miranda extended her hand for Nanpire to shake, but the kind grandmother gave Miranda a big haunted hug.

"It's so nice to meet you too, Miranda! Thank you for watching my little spider, Vee!"

"You're very welcome, Ma'am." Miranda felt so happy meeting Vee's grandmother. She whispered a thank you to Vee before heading back inside.

And so, once everyone was settled in and acquainted, it was time for Miranda's eulogy.

With the microphone in her hand, Miranda cleared her throat and began. "Hello, I'm Miranda, the granddaughter of the deceased." She shuffled her feet. "Well, to be honest, I really didn't know what to say to all of this. But after a serious talk with my good friends, the Hauntleys, I now know exactly what to say and how to say it."

Miranda saw her parents smile and nod approvingly.

"Well, you see, Grandpa and I didn't have anything in common. He would always go fishing and build stuff like lamps and decoy ducks for hunting. His garage would always have this weird smell of wood, oil, and who knows what else. But I was always happy to see grandpa because I knew he was a great man who did great things, like raise a wonderful family and became an awesome grandpa. Grandpa was a strong trooper despite his age, he was always lifting heavy stuff and fishing out in the bitter cold when the soft grandpas stayed indoors. He's the kind of guy who could build the Iron Man suit if he wanted to."

Everyone was captivated by Miranda's words as she went on.

"Grandpa would always hunt for ducks and give them to us to eat. I was always happy when he gave us duck because my dad deep fries them and makes duck nuggets. I know it sounds gross but I love them, especially when you dip them in ranch. Sometimes when I'm eating the duck he gave us, I find a pellet in my mouth after chewing on it. At first I was shocked about finding grandpa's ammunition in my food, but then I just laughed it off. After all, I never swallowed them or broke a tooth on them. This all may sound eccentric to you, but these are special memories grandpa left to remember him better when his time came. I know for sure that I'll never look at a duck or a fishing pole or a funny smelling garage and not remember grandpa and how much he jokes around and makes me laugh and bickers with grandma...in a good way."

Vee actually started to cry, as did many others.

"We all know families are weird in their own way, but that's a good thing. Because when that family member is gone, all you have left are the memories. And you see those good memories in a whole new light. And when I look back on those memories and how happy they make me, I know grandpa is just as happy as he watches us from heaven. And so, I'm proud to come up here today and talk about grandpa. He'll always be alive in our memories and will never leave us. Thank you."

Miranda's eulogy received a standing ovation. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience.

Miranda and Vee's family showered her with hugs on a speech well done.

"Way to go, Miranda!" Vee said.

"I couldn't have done it without you guys." Miranda thanked.

"After the funeral, why don't you join us for some of my homemade ghoulash?" asked Nanpire.

"I'd love to, Mrs. Nan!" Miranda said with a hug.

Miranda was proud of her speech, but she was also proud of knowing the Hauntleys. They were feeling more and more like family to her.

And the Hauntleys felt the same way about Miranda.

At Vampirina's school, she and her best friends Poppy and Bridget were ready to learn about their next class project.

"Okay, class! Our next assignment will be something everyone should be familiar with because we all have one!" said Mr. Gore. The students muttered to each other, confused and curious.

Bridget tilted her head. "We do? What is it?"

"May I present..." Mr. Gore pulled down a screen revealing something that looked spooky to most of the class. "The human skeleton!"

It was. A detailed picture of a skeleton was shown on the screen.

"Skeletons?! Cool!" said Poppy's twin brother Edgar. He loved anything that was creepy or abnormal.

Bridget on the other hand, gulped im fear. Being easily scared, Bridget didn't like scary things as much as Edgar, even though Vampirina, her best friend was a vampire who lived in a haunted house next door.

"Your assignment is to write a short paper about the human skeleton." said Mr. Gore. "Be sure to list detailed and interesting facts you've never known before. It'll be due this Friday."

"Homework about skeletons?! Count me in!" said Vampirina in an excited voice. "I know a lot about skeletons! Especially ones from Transylvania."

Poppy got close to the vampire so no one could overhear. "Just remember, Vee, this is an assignment about regular skeletons that don't walk or talk like Chef Remy."

Vampirina blinked. "Oh, right."

Bridget had a thought. What if Chef Remy knew any normal, non-monstrous skeleton facts?

"Speaking of skeletons, Chef Remy told me he's perfected some human meals and wanted you guys to try them out!" Vampirina mentioned. "How about we all have a sleepover at my house and work on our assignments?"

"A study party? Great idea, Vee!" Poppy said. She noticed however that Bridget was awfully quiet. "Bridget? You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah. I'm fine." Bridget forced a smile. "Study party! Yay!" She held two thumbs up.

Later that night, Poppy and Bridget came over with their sleepover and school supplies. Vampirina happily greeted her friends and welcomed them inside. "You're just in time for dinner!"

They entered the kitchen and there was Chef Remy Bones putting the finishing touches on tonight's meal. "Bonjour, little ones!" Remy greeted.

"Bonjour, Chef!" Poppy greeted back. Bridget meekly looked up at Remy for a moment before looking away when the skeleton turned in her direction.

Remy was perplexed by Bridget's behavior. "Bridget? Why are you looking at the wall?"

"Huh?!" Bridget yelped, startled. "Oh! Um, I was just..." Her eyes darted around the room. "I thought I saw a spider!"

But the skeleton could sense there was more than that. "If you say so." He cleared his throat. "Anywho, I have made spaghetti and meatballs! And for dessert, blueberry cheesecake!" He showed the girls to their seats where the delicious looking food was sitting on the table.

"Yum!" Poppy said in excitement.

Even Bridget's face lit up. "Wow!"

Vampirina rubbed her belly. "Mind if I sample as well, Chef?"

"But of course!" Remy gestured the little vampire to take a seat as well. "Now, as you girls consume, be sure to rate the food based on presentation, texture, flavor-" Hearing content gnawing behind him, Chef Remy turned to see the girls devouring the food. "Children! Slow down! I need detailed feedback!"

Thanks to her super speed, Vampirina already finished the spaghetti and blueberry cheesecake! "Sorry, Chef Remy..." she said sheepishly. "But it's all delicious!"

"I'll say!" said Poppy. Crumbs of graham cracker crust were around her mouth.

Remy waved his bony finger. "Girls, it's important to take your time and enjoy the meal! Not rush through it!" He went to the counter to get some napkins, but he saw the girls backpacks on the counter. "Doing schoolwork tonight?"

Bridget nearly choked on her spaghetti. And everyone noticed.

"Bridget?! You okay?!" Poppy asked, worrisome.

The girl adjusted her glasses. "Um, yeah. I thought I saw another spider." She smiled as innocent as she could, but Remy knew something was up. He felt it in his bones.

The skeleton walked up to Bridget, looming over her. "Are you sure you are alright?"

Bridget squeaked a little, not daring to look up and not face her skeletal friend. "I'm perfectly fine." she insisted, facing the opposite direction of Chef Remy.

Remy looked at Poppy and Vampirina, who looked concerned, Remy gave them a nod, a silent way of saying; 'I will handle this.'

The girls nodded back in silent agreement.

After dinner and lots of positive feedback on his human meal, Vampirina, Poppy, and Bridget were ready to begin their homework.

Vampirina and Poppy went upstairs, but Remy blocked Bridget from going upstairs with the others. Remy saw how scared Bridget looked. "Bridget, why are you so afraid of me? Well, afraid of me more than usual?"

"No! No! I don't know what you're talking about!" Bridget insisted. She tried to avoid the skeleton, but he kept blocking her path.

Remy glared at her, making Bridget more nervous. "I do not like people who lie." His tone was so dead serious, it made Bridget run for it.

But Chef Remy was not giving up. He chased after Bridget. "Bridget! Wait! I did not mean to scare you worse!" He chased Bridget all over the house. Through the living room, the kitchen, then down to the basement.

Bridget decided to lose Remy in the secret passage behind the shelf. She reached for the switch to open the passageway, Bridget was grabbed and pinned down by the skeleton chef.

"There's only one way to make you talk, little one." Remy decided to get some answers...by tickling them out of Bridget.

"Coochy, coochy, coo, Bridget!" Remy playfully tickled Bridget smack dab in the middle of her stomach.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Bridget laughed as the skeleton tickled her.

"I won't stop until you talk!" Remy singsonged. Of course, Remy would never tickle Bridget too much. Besides, he didn't have to anyway. It only took a few seconds to make the bespectacled girl.

"HAHAHAHAHA! OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TALK!" Bridget squealed through her laughter.

Remy stopped and let Bridget rest. He soothingly rubbed her back as she regained her breath. "Now, what's wrong, little one?"

"Okay, it's like this." Bridget sighed. "Our homework assignment is about skeletons. And I felt too embarrassed to ask you about it."

"What?!" Remy gasped. "What makes you think I would be embarrassed?!"

Bridget looked down. "Because it's suppose to he about human skeletons, not..." She meekly looked up. "living skeletons like you."

"Ah, I see." Remy chuckled, much to Bridget's surprise. "Do not worry, Bridget. I know a lot of skeleton facts, even the humans facts. You can always ask me for help and I am honored to help you with your paper."

"Really?"

"Really! For instance, did you know that babies have around 270 bones in their body when they're born, but the number is reduced to 206 by adulthood as some bones fuse together."

Bridget's eyes grew behind her glasses. "Wow! I didn't know that!"

"Oui! And I will be happy to tell you more!" Remy helped Bridget stand. "Upstairs we go!"

The young human gave her monster friend a big hug with a smile. "Thanks, Remy.

A few days later, Chef Remy was preparing to make tonight's dinner when he heard the door open and close a moment later.

Bridget was the first to rush into the kitchen. "Chef Remy! We did it! We all got an A on our assignments!"

Poppy giggled as she and Vampirina walked in. "And we couldn't have done it without you, Chef!"

"Thank you so much!" Bridget hugged the skeleton chef.

Remy hugs her back and started to playfully tickle her sides.

"Hahahahahaha! Rehehehemy!" Bridget laughed, but she didn't mind thr tickles as she and the skeleton laughed together. From now on, Bridget won't hesitate to ask Remy for help. Because she knows that he's there for her always.