Chapter 2: Nid, Yolks & Marls

 

 

“I am out of control and at times hard to handle.”
― Marilyn Monroe.

 

It was so commonplace that it could practically be considered part of the natural order of things: during their break and meal times, students at Nevermore Girls' Academy tended to gravitate toward the central courtyard.

And it made perfect sense. Why shouldn't they? A central, green, gardened square, outdoors but sheltered from the worst inclement weather in the months of fall and winter, pleasant during spring and summer, equipped with a central fountain and multiple tables for use by the student body. When there were no classes it was always a hive of activity. Friendship groups, study groups, club meetings, laughs, chats, games, gossip... there was always something going on.

Enid Saint-Clair was not a fan.

It's not that the brunette had anything against the place specifically. Not that she hated the concept of socializing either - she was a people person! Usually... well, sometimes. Mostly when violence was involved. No, it was more the number of people that could congregate in such a relatively small environment. Lots of noise, lots of smells. For someone with senses as finely tuned as hers, it was a nuisance at best, or the prelude to a headache at worst.

Sitting, her blue eyes watched all the other girls in the school with the sort of disinterested interest that might be found in any big cat lying in the sun.

Because you see, Enid was one of the students belonging to the small contingent of outcasts at the school, and one of the most notorious. Not that she was airing her supernatural status 24/7, but even before she arrived at Nevermore she had already carved out a slightly problematic reputation (which that nest of gossip had soon inflated to epic levels). As a result, much of the student body kept their distance from Enid, even the other outcasts. The only two exceptions were the two girls sitting next to her at one of the tables in the courtyard next to the central fountain. The only two people in the entire school who had never had a problem accepting Enid and whom she tolerated.

In reality she adored them as good friends, but would never admit it publicly or even under torture.

Directly across from Enid sat a young woman with long, straight black hair and eyes that would have been a dark brown if they were visible under her glasses. Her name was Yoko Tanaka. Also known as Yukari Ogawa, Yoko Matsuda, Maria Haruna and half a dozen other names. It was impossible to determine her true age, although in vampire terms she was still a teenager. She was the only vampire student at Nevermore and had been for the past two decades. Partly from taking it easy and partly from her family being major contributors to the school's finances. Fortunately, unlike other students from prominent families who helped keep Nevermore afloat, Yoko did not flaunt her privilege or use it to tower over others. On the contrary, the vampire preferred discretion and was a sort of public spokesperson and guide for the academy's outcast students.

To Yoko's right was one of the most peculiar people Enid had ever met. She was a golden-haired, blue-eyed, angelic-looking young woman... you'd think there was nothing out of the ordinary about her at a cursory glance, but in a way Marilyn Munster was an outcast among outcasts. After all, how do you categorize what was basically a mundane human being born of vampire parents? You'd have to invent a new category for her.

Marilyn had a good relationship with her family, although tensions occasionally arose, especially with the older members. It was not that she was disowned and she knew for sure that most of her relatives genuinely loved her, but they saw her "humanity" almost as a disability. And on the other hand, she found it difficult to relate to normal human students. She may have had no problem in matters of appearance ("You look like a Barbie doll, but for the best," Enid had once told her), but Marilyn's interests were far from what was considered socially acceptable for most fifteen-year-old girls. None of her former classmates shared her penchant for collecting shrunken heads, for example.

Yoko and Marilyn had been the first, and for the moment the only ones, to give Enid a chance when she arrived at Nevermore. Yoko, because of her aforementioned position of leadership, but also because she was someone exceptionally open to people and willing to give the benefit of the doubt to most. And Marilyn, because quirks aside, she was an absolute sweetheart of a person without a mean bone in her body.  

She was also a gossip, finding out about things before anyone else (although to her credit, she didn't get swept up in unsubstantiated rumors). It made sense that she would be the first to know about the arrival of a new student.

"I haven't been able to confirm it yet, but it looks like the new student is an Addams!" she proclaimed, whispering it as if it were a priceless secret. Yoko raised an eyebrow, interested.

"What is that, is it edible?" asked Enid.

Marilyn covered her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh, "No, Nid. The Addams are a...well, somewhat notorious family. No one knows for sure if they count as outcasts or not, although they do have several witches in the family."

"A couple of years before I enrolled here one of them was a student at the Usher Institute and apparently he was sneaking into the academy every night to see his girlfriend, one of the Frump sisters," Yoko said, "My father met one of them years ago, on a trip to the Bermuda Triangle. From the way he described him, the guy looked like some kind of zombie who lit light bulbs with his mouth."

"So what exactly is the new girl?" asked Enid, now somewhat more curious, "A witch? Psychic? Monster of some sort?"

"Impossible to tell, with that family you never know what to expect," said Yoko, "But if you're asking in hopes that you might find another living punching bag, forget it."

"Aaaw, come on, Yolks, I need a challenge..."

"Bitch, I already spar with you every weekend at our fight club."

"Of which only you two are members," Marilyn pointed out, laughing.

"Because the rest of them are all wimps. And nothing against you Yolks, but I just need new blood," Enid said, "And you Marls, why don't you ever join? It's not because of fear, that's for sure. You've changed the diapers of a transformed baby werewolf."

"Leave my baby cousin out of it. I just don't like to fight... I don't understand why you need it so badly."

"I am an impulsive creature ruled by primal instincts of dominance for whom exacerbated violence by mutual consent is an act of affection," Enid retorted, "Or so my last therapist said."

"Hasn't the director found you a new one yet?" asked Yoko. Enid's previous psychiatrist had resigned citing stress and work overload. The reality was that in one session she had made a series of remarks concerning Enid that were extremely personal and had led Enid to threaten to eat the doctor alive.

The nature of those remarks Enid had only confessed to Yoko and the vampire understood her friend's reaction perfectly.

"Nope. But seriously Yolks, at least let me ask the new one. Pleaseeeeyy."

"If half the stories I've heard about the Addams's are true there's a good chance she'll accept," Marilyn added.

Enid raised her eyebrows, hopeful.

"Sigh. Look, you can ask her if you want, but if you scare her off and she says no, just leave her alone, okay?"

"Of course, what kind of ill-mannered animal do you think I am?"

"A mountain cat with attitude problems," the vampire replied, with a sardonic grin that let one of her fangs shine. Enid responded by letting out a hissing noise that drifted into a low, hoarse growling-like meow forming in her throat. Marilyn merely sighed, shaking her head at her friends' silliness.

The brief moment of silence among the three was suddenly broken by a new voice.

"TANAKA!"

Yoko looked up and couldn't help but let out an "Ah, shit" when she saw who was approaching.

Florence Carver was one of the academy's most notorious bullies. And basically a walking cliché of the more physical and brutal variant of her brethren. With her ginger hair and a face with surprisingly delicate features, Florence wasn't ugly per se, but there were people whose bodies were built to resemble brick walls in shape, height and density, and Florence was one of those people. This was coupled with an irascible, shallow, dim-witted character who survived academically by stealing the work of classmates and out of her parents' pockets.

"You and I have a problem, Tanaka!"

Yoko stood up from the table, but made no move to advance toward the other student. The vampire remained calm and composed throughout, "And what problem is that, Florence?" she asked.

Florence planted herself in front of Yoko, her face flushed with anger, "I was supposed to have an date with Richie Thompkins this afternoon! But I was told he cancelled it because he was told I smell bad and I'm told you're the one who told him!"

"What the...," Enid mumbled, trying to digest that nonsense.

"Florence," replied Yoko, "I've never crossed half a word with Thompkins. Hell, I've never crossed half a word with any of the Usher boys nor have I ever talked to them about anything, least of all about you. Who told you all that?"

"Laurel told me! She's the one Richie told about canceling our date!"

Ah, of course, Yoko thought, frowning.

Laurel Gates, the queen bee of Nevermore. Beautiful, intelligent, academic prodigy, renowned athlete. And also cruel, narcissistic, manipulative, racist scum who had made it her personal goal to make the lives of all the outcast students at the academy in general, and Yoko in particular, miserable.

Yoko immediately saw what her game was. To provoke a confrontation that Yoko could not win.

Because as a vampire, Yoko Tanaka was at least ten times stronger than a normie like Florence Carver, but to use her strength in such a way would shatter a lot of goodwill, justify the more retrograde views of many classmates and some bigoted teachers and parents, and might even be used as an excuse for her expulsion. It was one of the sad realities of many of the outcasts at Nevermore: if they stood up to their bullies, they would be the ones to pay the consequences.

So all that was left for Yoko to do was to try to reason with Florence, something that obviously wasn't going to work. Her only alternative would be to endure Carver's punches without hitting back. And that was not something she was happy about, and not just for her own self-respect. Florence may have been a normie but she was an absurdly strong one. She would not cause serious damage to Yoko, but the vampire would feel the pain of the blows all the same, and until her next intake of regulated blood her wounds would not heal. She didn't fancy putting up with bruises for a few hours, but it didn't look like she had any other options.

"Look, Florence. I haven't talked to Richie. Have you talked to him? Are you sure he's cancelled your date and that Laurel isn't playing you?" said Yoko. She couldn't help but notice that the rest of the students were gathering around them to watch the show.

"Laurel is my friend!" snapped Carver, in a booming voice.

"Laurel is not your friend," Enid retorted in a tone of voice that made every hair on Yoko's body stand up.

Shit, Nid. Don't even think about it..., she thought.

"Laurel is a manipulative bitch, and you're her personal bulldozer. Her hunting hound. You repeat everything she says like a ventriloquist dummy. It's like she's got her hand up your ass and everything you spit out of your mouth is what she tells you and you believe it because the half a neuron in your brain can't do shit, the poor thing."

A deathly silence fell over the courtyard. There were many exchanges of nervous glances between the onlookers.

Carver's face had reddened to disturbing levels, turning almost purple. A vein throbbed in her forehead and her eyes had become bloodshot with pure rage.

"What… did… you… say?" she asked, motioning toward Enid.

And that's when things went awry.

With all the good will that always moved her, Marilyn stood up, resting her hand on Florence's arm, trying to get her attention in a futile attempt to restrain and pacify her.

"Look, Flo, it's not..."

Florence acted on pure reflex. Her arm stretched out and she swatted Marilyn off her, hitting her hard in the eye with the back of her hand and sending the blonde crashing to the ground with a groan of pain and tears in her eyes.

Yoko hissed, baring her fangs. But her first impulse was not to go after Carver but to make sure Marilyn was all right. For she knew that after that there was no longer any room for reason, but it would not be Yoko who would settle the score. Carver had barely been able to assimilate that she had struck Marilyn when a body rammed into her.

There was an outcast at Nevermore who didn't give a shit about turning the other cheek or being the better person. And that was Enid.

Enid Saint-Clair leaped across the table, pouncing on the bully. Her blue eyes had turned an almost phosphorescent green, sharp fangs protruded from her mouth and her brown hair was bristling. She slammed into Carver and the force of the impact was such that they both flew a few feet before rolling to the floor.

The fight... well, you could hardly call it that, for all the speed with which it unfolded. In the short time that Yoko had come to help Marilyn up and hold her up with a hug, Enid had already brought Florence down. The bully had caused a few scratches and delivered some solid blows, but Saint-Clair was too much for her. The pain wasn't slowing her down, and her strength was absurdly superior. A few well-aimed punches and scratches without fully extending her claws and Florence was soon on the ground with Enid on top of her twisting one of her arms and driving one of her knees into the redhead's back.

"Apologize! Apologize to them!" she shouted, though her voice almost sounded like an animal growl on the last word.

But before Florence could utter a word, Principal Weems' booming voice echoed across the courtyard.

"ENID SAINT-CLAIR! LET GO OF MISS CARVER'S ARM RIGHT NOW!"

Enid complied. There was no reason to continue, after all. And the sound of Carver's whimpering indicated that the bully would think more than twice before touching one of Enid's friends again.

Or maybe not, the likes of her didn't usually learn.

Enid had gone almost into a trance, her senses dulled as if everything around her had vanished. She let herself be led away by Principal Weems as the irate woman grabbed her arm and began leading her to her office, no doubt for yet another verbal reprimand, the classic threats, or maybe even a call to her foster parents. Yes, it was better to close herself off before she had to deal with that. How fun.

Still, her keen senses couldn't help but notice a few things. The worried looks on Yoko and Marilyn's faces, for example. The blonde had put her hands to her mouth and Enid could already see that the poor girl was probably blaming herself for what had just happened.

Fuck Marls, it wasn't your fault, dammit.

She also saw the figure of Laurel Gates among the rest of assembled students. The bitch was grinning from ear to ear. Her plan might not go the way she had conceived it, but anything that got one of the academy's outcasts in trouble was a win for her. Enid had to suppress the urge to leap at her and rip her throat open with her claws.

But any thoughts of revenge on Gates, hell, any other kind of thought were eclipsed by what Enid saw next.

Her eyes, still glowing green, rested and returned the gaze of a pair of dark eyes that were watching her with an indescribable expression.

Oh...

Enid had never believed in love at first sight. And she wasn't sure that what she felt at that moment was it. But the beast inside her and all her primal instincts began to roar with an intensity she had never felt in her entire life under that gaze. Those eyes were a bottomless pit and she surprised herself thinking that it would not be so wrong to throw herself into that abyss.

She focused her attention on that stare. A look that belonged to a face that Enid had never seen before. She realized immediately that it must be the new student, the Addams. Her beautiful face, of a cadaverous pallor, was complemented by hair as dark as a moonless night tied in a pair of braids. And her dark gaze was still fixed on Enid, as if she were cataloging her, examining her...

Enid couldn't resist. She threw a smile at her, showing off her fangs. And to her satisfaction, she could sense how the newcomer seemed to suddenly catch her breath as her cheeks gained a scant touch of color and her delicate lips tightened.

Well, well, thought Enid Saint-Clair, Ain't you a pretty thing?

 

NOTES

Don't expect the presence of Marilyn Munster to add an extra crossover. No, it's more of a private joke.

You see, when I was writing the very first version of Altogether Ooky, when the fic was initially going to be just a crack fic of only a few chapters, one of my ideas for an epilogue was that Wednesday and Enid would have to guide a new exchange student, part of a new program to integrate normies into Nevermore and outcasts into other schools. And that student was to be Marilyn Munster.

If you're not familiar with The Munsters, they were a TV sitcom about a family of classic monsters living quite normally in the suburbs (the whole thing being a bit of a metaphor for a racial minority living in a white, middle-class neighborhood). The father was a Frankenstinian creature, the mother a vampire, the son a werewolf... and Marilyn was their niece, a normal human despite being the daughter of vampires.

And within the context of outcasts and normies in the Wednesday series, Marilyn is conceptually pure gold: a normie born to a family of outcasts. Not that I'm going to do much with her in this story, but you can't deny that something interesting could be made out of such an idea.