~Sparks Before the Fire~

Frankie smiled happily, having seen Jackson and Mort talking together. "This is great, ghouls!" she exclaimed excitably. "Mort and Jackson are getting along just fine! That means we'll be able to stop those Booston Grammar students from throwing that party!"

"I sure hope so," responded Clawdeen. "But what if they throw the party, anyway?"

"Clawdeen's got a point, Frankie," agreed Lagoona. "Didn't Holt write a song already? Those Booston Grammar students might take the song and play it without Holt being there."

"They can't do that," Frankie replied. "Only Holt knows how to work the deck, and they can't force him to play the song."

"Actually, they can," Draculaura corrected after a nervous chuckle. "Have you seen the flashy thing those demons do with their eyes? Every time they do that, they get people to do exactly what they want without them even knowing it!"

"It's a typical demon trait," Cleo explained while examining her nails casually, with her other hand on her hip. "They can convince others to do things for them without totally controlling their minds. All they need to do is look at Mort and Holt and they'll get them to do whatever they want."

"Then we can't let that happen, ghouls," Frankie finalised, sounding determined.

"How are we supposed to make sure that doesn't happen?" Lagoona queried.

"Maybe I can help," came a voice. The ghouls turned around and spotted Luke – the younger sibling of Louie and Lucy.

"Luke," Frankie gasped. "Aren't they your siblings?"

"They've never liked me much," Luke clarified. "They think I'm not as good as them. It's about time I showed them that I'm still a Cifer!"

"So how can you help us?" Cleo asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't seem to believe that Luke could even be useful.

"I can make Mort and Holt immune to the control of other demons," Luke revealed. "That includes Louie and Lucy."

"Great!" Frankie smiled. "So, if those two become immune, then they can still go to the party!"

"Well, those Booston Grammar students might stop them from going…" Draculaura pointed out.

"Then maybe Holt should act like he's still on their side," Frankie suggested.

"You think he could lie like that?" Clawdeen asked. "I dunno, Frankie, he's not exactly on fire in that department."

"Mort can back him up," Frankie added. "Besides, they shouldn't suspect anything if they haven't seen anything suspicious, right?"

"We can only hope they don't suspect anything," Lagoona sighed.

"Hyde had better not mess this up," Cleo stated. "Then again, he's not very good at following plans."

"I'm sure everything will be fine, ghouls," Frankie assured. "Holt already knows not to mess up. He might even be one step ahead of us."

"I highly doubt that," Cleo grumbled in a disgusted manner.

Elsewhere, Mort and Jackson were sitting in an empty science classroom, talking about the various branches of the subject while also discussing notable scientists who had major impacts on the monster world.

"So, Victor Frankenstein discovered how to create life using non-traditional methods," Mort gasped. "And I never knew that he was a normie, too!"

"He was even a student here at Monster High when he was alive," Jackson explained. "This school has always been open for normies to attend. At the moment I just happen to be the only one…"

"But it kinda makes sense because of Holt," Mort pointed out. "Imagine being in a normie school and turning into Holt! Everyone would be afraid of you!"

"I know that," Jackson said. "Normie schools aren't as accepting as Monster High, but even some monster schools wouldn't accept Holt."

"For real?" Mort queried, tilting his head. "But he's a monster. And he's cool."

"He's not a common monster," Jackson mentioned. "There are monsters like vampires and werewolves and zombies in every monster school, but Holt… isn't even a real monster, if you think about his biology. He's more like a normie. Don't tell him I said that, though – he'll deface my biteology book again." Mort only chuckled in response.

"Can't you do anything back to him?" the zombie queried.

"I threw out one of his mixtapes once," Jackson recalled, "so he set fire to one of my science projects the day before I needed it for class."

"Ha!" Mort snorted, but then he held back his laughter. "Sorry. I shouldn't laugh."

The bell then rang, signalling that break was over.

"I should let Holt take over now," Jackson then said. "He's better at music class than I am."

"Of course," Mort chuckled as Jackson reached for the black and red headphones. Just before he put them on, Mort spoke up once again. "Oh, hey… can we fang out like this every lunchtime?"

"That'd be nice," Jackson smiled in response. "I'll always be in the library, unless this protest against normies stops soon."

"Don't worry, Holt and I will fix everything," Mort grinned. Jackson nodded his head thankfully before starting the music on his iCoffin, and in a flaming flash, Holt was once again standing in his place.

"YEEEAAAHHH!" the DJ howled, then noticing Mort standing before him. "What time is it, Morty Mort? Time to rock-out the music room?"

"You said it," Mort answered. Holt let out an excited cheer before sprinting out of the classroom. Mort tried to run after him but, being a zombie, it was difficult to garner such energy for running.

The two mansters ran by Frankie and the other ghouls, almost knocking them down. "Sorry, Frankie-fine!" Holt could be heard yelling.

"And we don't get an apology?" Cleo asked rhetorically, not sounding at all surprised but still disappointed and disgusted.

"C'mon, ghouls, we need to go to class," Frankie reminded them, leading her group of friends down the corridor.

"I'll see you guys later," Luke waved, walking away in the other direction.

As Frankie and the ghouls walked, they crossed paths with the group of sniggering Booston Grammar transfer students.

"Looking forward to the party, ghouls?" Mortricia asked with a smug smirk upon her face. Frankie frowned and held her head high as she continued to walk, and her friends did the same. This only made the rival group smile at each other mischievously as they believed that they were indeed victorious, but they did not know that one of their own boos had befriended the normie they were all united against.

Classes went by as normal, and once they were over, it was time to go home. That was the time when Frankie approached Holt herself.

"So, Holt, do you have any sparking ideas?" she asked him. "The party is tomorrow."

"Don't worry, firecracker, the Holtster knows exactly what he's doing," Holt replied with a proud grin. "I'll go on in and rock that place! But I'll be bringing the tunes nobody's expecting!"

"Great!" Frankie grinned. "You've written another song?"

"You bet!" Holt beamed. "Operetta's rehearsing tonight. That rebel ghoul will be wailing those vocals! WOO!"

"This plan will work out perfectly!" Frankie stated with confidence. "We'll be able to remind everyone that Monster High is a place where everyone can be themselves – monster or normie!" She smiled happily at the manster before her. "Thanks for your help, Holt. We really appreciate it, and I'm sure Jackson does, too."

"That dude owes me one for this," Holt responded, although his tone suggested that he was just being playful. He may have disliked normies, but it wasn't right to scare them all away from the school. Jackson didn't exactly deserve such treatment, either; he may have been a dork, but he was harmless.

The day passed, as did the night, and it was time for the party. This would be the day which decided the future of Monster High – whether it would be a school of acceptance, or a school where normies were banned.

Frankie caught sight of Holt in the school corridor, once again running up to him. "So, are you ready?" she asked with a smile.

"Now, when ain't I ready to play my beats?" the redheaded boy countered. "Let's fire up the catacombs with something LOUD!"

~End of Chapter~