M&M Sisters: 2009

Monster Mom

By: Margie Jiang

“Are you nervous, Caroline? Caroline? Answer me please. CAROLINE LOPEZ!!!” I snapped out of my daydream. “What? What were you asking me?” My father sighed. I could tell he was annoyed. “Caroline, I didn’t mean to raise my voice too loud, but you know I don’t like to repeat myself again and again. I asked you if you were nervous about meeting someone you don’t know.” “Oh, then here is my answer…” I paused for a moment. “Yes, yes I am nervous,” I finished as I looked at the dark night sky.

My mom had died and my father was planning to marry another woman he liked that I didn’t know. Today was the day I would get to see her and visit her house in my dad’s new blue convertible. My father had already been driving 6 hours to get to Mystery City, Mist Island where the woman lived. He had only stopped from driving 4 times… eating food, buying stuff, drinking, and getting me a little stuffed doggie I wanted. I loved that little plush.

“My father must be tired,” I thought as I hurried back to wondering about my new mom. I wonder what she was like. Would she like me? I began thinking of other questions when SCREECH!!! The car halted to a stop. Finally we were there. I dragged my nervous little feet out the door. Around me were colorful and cheerful little houses with the sunlight on them, making them sparkle. I glanced around, seeing more beautiful sights. My dad pointed to a beat-up old house across the street with the house number, 3248. It was on Creepy Avenue, the only spooky place on the island.

In fact, that was the only house that wasn’t so cheerful. It was gloomy and it didn’t have any sunlight which made it look frightening. “That’s the one,” he said. I gulped. That house was scary enough to make me puke! The windows were shattered and the door had a vampire face on it. The doorknob was shaped like a tooth and it was red, like blood! “Are you sure that’s the one?” I asked my dad. There had to be a mistake, but I was wrong.

“Yes, honey. The house looks torn and scary, but I called a carpenter and asked him to come fix the house. He will be here in no time!” my father said cheerfully. I couldn’t understand what was so nice and happy. Feeling the goosebumps on my arms, I followed my dad to the house. My dad knocked on the vampire face. I screamed as a black cat came out of the door. Black cats were supposed to bring you bad luck!!! What else could happen?

I got my answer as a young lady opened the door. She smiled and held out her hand to shake. I smiled back. My father was actually right!!! She was very polite and nice... so far, at least. I leaned a little closer to shake her hand when I noticed a big red mark on her teeth. Could it be blood? I shivered. The lady grinned and said in a spooky tone, “Nice to meet you, Louanne. Your handsome father told me all about you. I’m Ms. Vampie, your future mother.” I backed up a little. Her name sounded like Ms. Vampire. Maybe she was a vampire!!! “Could it be?” I asked myself. I became even more suspicious when she revaled a black velvet cape around her.

What about the blood? How about the dark house and the shattered windows? I had heard that vampires love to live in the dark. The house was all black and dark with only one faded little light. Ms. Vampie led us into her home. I gulped. This was my worst nightmare. It had to be a dream. “Wake up, Louanne! Wake up!” I said to myself.

“Um, may I ask, why are you slapping yourself?” A voice asked. I opened my eyes again and expected to see my bright and cheerful room, but instead, I saw a face right in front of me, blinking. It was Ms. Vampie! “Ah!!!” I cried. “I want to go home!!!” “Now, now, you haven’t seen the rest of my house yet,” Ms. Vampie said, backing up from my face.

Then she help up a red lantern and began walking again. My father followed her and beamed. "Isn't she gorgeous?" he asked. "Uh... yeah, sure. Very gorgeous," I replied. My dad smiled and said, "I knew you would like her. She is beautiful!!!" I groaned. He was love sick!!! I thought I saw hearts in his eyes. Gross! I stopped and tried to tiptoe quietly out the back door so I could escape. I saw the black cat near the door, guarding it. I could tell it was fierce. The black cat stared at me. I whispered," Hey cat, promise you won't tell Ms. Vampie that I escaped. Promise?"

The cat meowed and curled her tail around itself. "I'll take that as a promise. Good cat, "I praised as I pet it. "Now I have to hurry out of here!” I mumbled. As sly as a ninja, I crawled on the floor, carefully so Ms. Vampie and my dad wouldn't see me trying to escape. Just as I began reaching for the door, the cat leaped at me and scratched my arm. “Ow!!!” I cried.

I quickly shushed myself and hoped I had not yelled too loud. Then I looked at my arm injury. The scratch really stung!!! It started to bleed. If only I have been smart enough to bring my first aid kit!!! Oh my. What a horrible day, and it just got worst… the cat meowed (or should I say screamed) very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, LOUDLY.

What was next? I didn’t want to know. This was just too much for me! I covered my ears. The cat’s echo bounced off the wall. Ouch. My ears hurt. 5 seconds later, I heard footsteps coming towards me. "Uh, oh," I thought. It probably was Ms. Vampie!!! I covered my eyes so I wouldn't see my self die. I was too young!!! “Bye- bye world!” I exclaimed. “I’m sorry I have to leave you so early at an age like this.” I didn’t even see the statue of liberty! Oh well. Then I fainted.
"Wake up Caroline!!!" A voice said. "You know better than running off!"

“Seriously, Caroline! You need to listen more!!!” “Take whatever you want, just don’t hurt me!!!” I cried. “Caroline. It’s just me!” the voice exclaimed. I slowly opened my eyes. “I’m actually alive?” I asked. In front of me was my dad. “And… you are in big trouble,” my dad added. “I know, I know,” I replied hoarsely. Anyone could tell he was very angry, so I tried to change the situation. “How long did I faint?” I asked. My dad put his hands on his hips and bellowed, “Stop trying to change the situation!”

You’ve got to admit that could be pretty scary sometimes. Man! I hate it when dads can read your mind. It’s like they have mind- reading powers! I was thinking about that when my dad sighed and added, “Oh, Caroline. I can never stay mad at you for long, but you really need to stay out of trouble… more. So… I’m going to answer your question. If I was so mad that steam was coming from me, I wouldn’t tell you the answer.” Then he laughed. “Your question was… how long did I faint, right?” I nodded. “Well then… you fainted for about 10 minutes!” My dad laughed again, this time much louder. I was guessing that he felt much better now… at least not at angry as before. I let a sigh of relief. Then I said, "I'm really sorry daddy. I didn’t mean to get you so mad. It’s just that… never mind.”

I didn’t want him to get mad anymore!!! So, I added, “Oh, I remember. It’s just that… that…” I thought of something to say. “It’s just that… I won't wander around anymore." There. I said it. It took a lot of time, but I said it! Hooray! I cheered for myself in my head. Then I paused. What was the matter? The question came to me again about a second later, and it was a very important question. "Where's Ms. Vampie?" I asked.

My father smiled. "Now you like her, huh? Charming… right?” he asked, dreaming in space. “Uh, right. Now back to my question…” I tried to explain. “Oh, right. She’s in the kitchen, making a nice, refreshing drink for us. It might be hot cocoa, your favorite. Mmmm…” my dad teased. I began to drool. “Hurry if you want some," added my dad. "Follow me or else you won't get any drinks- or hot cocoa."

"Daddy!” I said as I laughed. Then I thought for a moment. I loved hot cocoa since I was a baby. Should I pass this time? I- I just couldn’t. It was so delicious!!! “For the first time ever…uh…I’ll…I'll pass. I don't feel very well. Maybe because... uh...I am... full, yeah, I’m full," I said hoarsely. “Yeah, that works,” I whispered to myself with a nod. Then I sighed. It all seemed so wrong!!! First of all, giving up my favorite drink was so hard!!! The worst part, I was stuck with a vampire mom!!! “Ohhhh…” I moaned. “What’s the matter?” my dad asked. “I- I- I don’t want to eat anything, yeah…” I lied. "Well, you DO look a little pale. Are you sure you want to skip dinner after all?" asked my dad kindly. I nodded my head. Up and down. Up and down.
"I guess so. Come on. I'll show you the bedrooms and then you can rest a bit while I go get something to drink. As the saying goes, it’s a small world after all."

I laughed. “That’s a song, daddy!” I said as I grinned. He was hilarious! “Yes, yes it is. Well, follow me and don’t try to sneek out this time,” my dad laughed. Then he cleared his throat. “Follow me, madam. I will give you a tour that you’ll always remember.” He said that line in his business voice. When my dad was in his business voice, he really meant business. There was no doubt. I had no choice but to go with my dad. I sighed. At least my dad could protect me from being eaten by my future mom, the vampire.

As we were walking, I remembered I was in a spooky house. I gulped. Thinking about that made me shiver. I leaned towards my father’s ear and whispered, I had no choice but to go with my dad. I sighed. At least my dad could protect me from being eaten by my future mom, the vampire. I leaned towards my father’s ear and whispered, “Can we go home now? I’m scared. We already saw most of her house. This is enough for me.” My dad looked at me. His face against the red lantern looked like he drank blood.

He whispered back, “No! It is indeed very bad to leave a person’s house without appreciating what she has in store for you! You should even be happy that she actually is showing you her wonderful house! I know it’s scary, but the carpenter will fix everything!!!” I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t appreciating anything. Soon, we were done touring her home. As I pulled my dad away before he said goodbye, I noticed that his teeth were red too!!!

“D-d-daddy, why are your teeth all red?” I asked nervously. “Oh, about that… I was going to tell you about it in the car, but I guess you already noticed. Well, Ms. Vampie gave me some fruit punch. It was satisfying- and delicious for the first time ever!!! I also ate a chicken wing and some sour worms. Those weren't as good as the fruit punch though." I winced. My dad was so different. He usually hated fruit punch! Even if he tried to drink it he would still throw up.

He also hated anything that was sour. So, why now? It just wasn’t like him to eat anything like that! Another type of food he had always hated was animals. My dad believed one day animals would be gone, and food will become scarce so he always gave up all the animal meats I prepare for him at dinner. He says it’s a waste of food. “Well, in that case…” I thought. Chicken wings belonged to animals. He should be complaining about the chicken right now!!! Something was wrong, and I needed to find out, or else I could be in great danger!!!

What was next? My dad, eating flies? Or-or-or, him ea…ea…eating m-m-me?! I planned to find out what was wrong… in the morning. MY SMART PLAN (Sorry. I didn't mean to brag when I said SMART):Vampires sleep in the morning, so I would sneak out my house, ask my best friend’s dad to drive me to Creepy Avenue, go into Ms. Vampie’s house, and find out what Ms. Vampie (or should I call her Ms. Vampire) had done to my father. Since I wouldn't want to wake Ms. Vampie up, I would go into her house and spy by walking through her back door. (She never, ever, EVER, keeps her back door locked... I'm not saying she should lock it, but a robber might crawl in at night. Wait. That's good, right? Maybe. At least for me.)

This would be worth 100% of my allowance for sneaking by myself out at night, but I just loved my dad too much. I already lost my mom. Losing my dad too would be worse, and being stuck with a vampire is so not going to happen! I wouldn’t want to die just like every other member in the family. I’d rather eat the foods I absolutely hated- Zucchini, oysters, and spinach. Yuck. Very gross, but really, I’d rather do that. I had to be careful when I’m sneaking in Ms. Vampie’s house- or else… or else…I could become her next dinner!!!

HONK!!! HONK!!! 6:00 a.m. I GROANED. What was that loud noise? I moaned and covered my ears with my pillow. Wait. I hurried to the window. Hey, it was my best friend Ashley. What was she doing here? Ooops. I had forgotten all about the plan to find out what Ms. Vampie was up to. I scurried to my dresser and pulled out a sneaky black outfit- for camouflage.

Before I ran into Ashley’s car, I wrote a will, in case I did not survive. Here was what I wrote:

The will of Caroline Ann Lopez:

All my saved money that is NOT in my bank account will go to my dad, which is $296.98, plus the money in my bank account, which is $7,893. All the furniture and jewelry I own will go to my best friend Ashley, including my treasure box which containes a jade that's worth about... let's say 54 dollars. Sorry. I like random numbers. My Pomeranian, Cuddles, will go to Uncle Johnson, who is single. I think he might be lonely and Cuddles would definetly put a smile on my uncle, since he hasn't smiled or laughed in excactly 32 years. Another random number. My clothes that are still big will go to my cousin, Katie Reyes. All my small clothes that I wore when I was little will to my Aunt Letterly’s baby daughter, Rosie Jacob. My electronics will, of course, go to my other cousin, Jerry James (he loves video games, especially Guitar Hero). Just a reminder: I shall be stored in a coffin, not buried and definetly NOT burned. If I make it alive, I’ll be happy to claim my stuff back again. Thank you. (P.S. If I return alive, I will be holding a welcome- back- arrival party. Everyone I know except for Ms. Vampie will be able to celebrate and enjoy.)
(P.P.S. I am not inviting Ms. Vampie because: 1. She is too scary. Everybody will run away from her until the room is deserted except for her, of course. 2. She will most likely not come to the party anyway, since she might as well prefer dark, cold, and creepy places, unlike my cheerful, cozy, and bright house. 3. My dad wouldn't invite her, even if he wanted to, because after I prove she is up to no good, she would go to jail and rot there for 12 years. Then the officers would take her to another jail, and she will rot there for 12 more years. 4. Mental note to self: Why only write down 1 more when you can write down lots???)

I sighed and hurried out the door, hoping I wasn't late and hoping Ms. Vampie did not wake up yet. "I don't care if I don't make it alive," I thought. "I'm willing to do it for my father." Wow. Now THAT'S some words of wisdom. I quickly hopped into Ashley's polka-dotted limousine and scrambled into place. You see, Ashley was very rich, and so was her father. She was 10, like me, and she had $9,385,527.26, including her money in her bank account, which was $5,896,372. I was so lucky Ashley was my friend. Ashley was the smartest, fastest, kindest, and the most popular in the same school as me, Mountain Ridge Elementary. She was also a diva-like person. Ashley only wanted friends who were nice and confident.

When I moved to Mountain Ridge, I accidentaly spilled yellow paint all over my green shirt, which made everyone laugh, stare, and point. I had felt ashamed, but I realized my shirt was pretty cool, so I had said, "You might think this is funny and weird, but I think this makes me look cool. See, the yellow paint looks like a flower, and the green background is perfect for the scene." Ashley was impressed and realized I HAD to be her best friend. She talked to me and I said yes. The next day, everybody, and I meant EVERYBODY, was wearing a green shirt with yellow paint on it. I had said, "Wow. I'm shocked. I really didn't know I was a role model!" So from that day on, Ashley and I were the best of friends.

IN ASHLEY'S LIMO... "Hi Ash," I said. "I am ready for the ride to Ms. Vampie's house." "Ms. Vampie's house?!?!" Ashley exclaimed. I really didn't think a brave girl like her would be scared. "You didn't tell me you were going there!!! Oh dear, dear, Caroline, you don't really mean THAT house, do you?" I wish I could have said, no, but I nodded my head. "Caroline, you are crazy!!! No one goes to that house! It's spooky, it makes you want to vomit, and it just gives you the heebie-jeebies!" Ashley cried and shivered at the thought of becoming Ms. Vampie's dinner. "But alas, you are very daring and brave, as usual." I puffed out my chest to make it look like I was proud, but I actually wasn't. I was scared to death! This wouldn't be my-type-of day.

"Ashley, I will miss you if I don't make it out alive, but could you do me one last favor before I drop to my... lonesome death?" I asked, shuddering at the word death. Ashley nodded and whispered, "You can trust me." "I trust you," I said, hoping she had thought I didn't trust her. "I need you to pass this document out to everyone on my street, including you." I handed her a folder that contained excactly 250 peices of paper. Guess what the papers were about. You have one paragraph to think/guess... I'll give you some clues to help you. I'm really not a bad girl. I forgot to tell you that you have 1 minute. Use your brain. This is kind of like a mini test. It's really not that important, though. It's just for fun.

>CLUE 1: I wrote the document (Of course. Duhhh)
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>CLUE 2: It's about me, and ONLY me.
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>CLUE 3: (THIS ONE'S A RIP-OFF) I just, just, wrote it. See, isn't the answer simple? If
you STILL don't know the answer, then you're bogus!!!

AND... 57, 58, 59... TIME!!! 1 MINUTE'S UP!!! I NOW
COMMAND YOU TO DROP THE COMPUTER MOUSE!!!
IF THAT DOESN'T WORK OR IF YOU DON'T HAVE A COMPUTER MOUSE, THEN DROP YOUR COMPUTER!!!

AFTER YOU DROP YOUR COMPUTER OR COMPUTER MOUSE, THEN SCROLL DOWN!!!

KEEP SCROLLING... UNLESS YOU WANT TO CRY SO HARD BECAUSE YOU HAD TO DROP YOUR COMPUTER

JUST KIDDING... DON'T REALLY DROP YOUR COMPUTER OR COMPUTER MOUSE... UNLESS YOU REALLY DID THAT ALREADY AND AVOIDED THE "JUST KIDDING" PART. OK, THE ANSWER IS JUST BELOW... ENJOY THE ANSWER MOVIE!!!

LA, LA, LA, I'M SINGING IN THE BATHTUB... HO, HO, HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! IS IT REALLY... CHRISTMAS??? *movie/song clicks off*

...OOOOOOOPS... THAT WAS DISTURBING. SORRY!!!WRONG MOVIE. NOW HERE'S THE REAL ANSWER MOVIE:

EVE'S THEATER PRESENTS:

ANSWER, ANSWER, ANSWER, ANSWER!!!

"...My will?" Ashley asked, confused. "You aren't even dead yet!" "I know, I know," I explained.

"It's just in case something happens to me, or otherwise, an emergency." "Oh, I get it," Ashley said, nodding her head. Vroom!!! The car pulled into Ms. Vampie's driveway. I got out of the car, closing the door carefully behind me. "Bye Ashley," I whispered. "See you at school on Monday- if I make it alive." Ashley whimpered and whispered back, "You make it sound so unsure. It scares me." I grinned and waved goodbye.

I slowly tiptoed towards the vampire's house, then swung around. Was it just me, or was there a sudden noise that said, "Get outta my house!" I stood still. There was no noise. I felt like I was in a cementery! Ugh... a cementery... filled with dead people... bones and skeletons all around... stepping on skulls... lots of coffins around... yikes! That would be my worst nightmare, but since my experience right now was much more scarier than that, this would be my worst nightmare!!! While gasping out of control and shaking with extreme fear, I crawled over the rather large fence and tiptoed toward Ms. Vampie's back door...

The wind howled and brushed across my face, seeming to say, "You will regret this, Caroline. You WILL!!!" I shivered from the freezing cold and looked up at the dark night sky. "Mom, please be with me during this dangerous experience. Thank you," I pleased as I wiped away a tear. The back door creaked when I opened it, and my face was as cold as freezing, ice covered, snow. I wasn't sure if it was snowing outside, but if it was, I wouldn't be suprised. "HALT!!!" a voice suddenly shouted. I backed away in alarm, and the back door shut closed immediately, causing the room to be filled with complete darkness. The pitch- black room caused me to bump into a (Torn and old, I think.) chair. "W- w- woah!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I cried. All of a sudden, a dim light started to brighten up and there stood Ms. Vampie- center stage.

"Ah, . It's you. I thought a robber got into my house. Now, may I ask, what are you doing here?" The- scariest- woman- ever asked. "Uh, uh, I..." I began. "Silence, sweetie," Ms. Vampie hushed. Then she giggled. "I know what you're up to." I backed away from her, afraid that she would bite my neck and blood oozing out of my tender body. Still on the floor, I cried," I'm sorry!!! I'm so sorry I went in here!!! Uh, it was an accident! I'm sorry!!!" I started to wail. "Aw, Caroline. You know all of this isn't true. You're just thinking it in a different way." I got up from the floor (Maybe it was covered with blood?) and studied Ms. Vampie closely. "Come here, sweetheart," she said.

Her voice was so sweet. I could tell she really wanted me to. Just as I was about to go to her, a voice whispered in my head, whispering," No, Coraline!!! It's probably just another trick!!! This time she will get you for real!!!" I backed away in alarm. "You don't understand," pleaded Ms. Vampie. "I'm not going to hurt you. Now if you would just-" I really didn't mean to do what waa next. I screamed loudly. Ms. Vampie covered her ears. "Caroline! Stop it this instant!!!" I stopped immediately. A voice called from a distance. "Caroline! Caroline!!!"

I was as frightened as ever!!! "Caroline. It's me, your father. Don't worry. I'm here." soothed the voice. My father appeared out of nowhere and I relaxed. "Caroline. It's time Ms. Vampie and I tell you the honest truth." he began. "Caroline- Ms. Vampie's not a vampire. Don't you remember? Yesterday was Halloween. We wanted to scare you. I guess we overdid it. Caroline, I- I have to admit it. It was pretty fun scaring you and watching your frightened face. Apparently, Ms. Vampie thought it was time we stopped. She tried to comfort you and tell you the truth. When your friend, Ashley, a rather nice girl if I may say so, told me you were going to bravely go see Ms. Vampie, she urged me to go help you. I told her everything was in control, but she whined and whined and I finally was forced to go. She really wanted me to go, I could see. Ashley stood in front of the front door until I was gone, and now, here we are."

I was relieved to hear my father's true story. Ms. Vampie smiled at me and threw off her black velvet cape. I gasped. She really was a normal person!!! In fact, a pretty one too. Ms. Vampie was wearing a Mist Island t-shirt with a pair of nice, blue jeans. "From now on, please feel welcome to call me Ms. or, um, after your father and I are married, Mrs. Lolly, not Ms. Vampie. That was just a name made up," concluded Ms. Vam- I mean, Ms. Lolly. My father smiled and you- know- what to Ms. Lolly. I had to cover my eyes so I wouldn't see THE PART.

So, that was "THE END", I guess. I did get a happy life after all! My mother was awesome and sporty. She cooked chow mein and other yummy stuff for me every day, instead of yucky blood. My father was signed up for a workout (Yay!!! Finally!!!), and I lived happily ever after. Wait. That was too gushy. Let me try again. I had a very happy life, I guaranteed (There. That was better.)!!! :)

The Monster Series, M&M Sisters Books Com., Union City, CA 2008 MORE MONSTER FUN IN 2009!!! (Maybe if you're lucky.)

MONSTER OTHER BOOKS IN THE MONSTER SERIES: MONSTER TEACHER, MONSTER PRINCIPAL, MONSTER BABYSITTER, MONSTER COACH, MONSTER STAR …STAY TUNED FOR MORE MONSTER FUN!!!