Adderlaide's Diary

## Cover

If you're listening to this, please shut the audio file now! Thank you!

## July 14

My mom had the most freaky-fabulous idea ever last night! She said I should start my own audio diary, recording my thoughts so I can vent even my most private troubles, and then listen back to them sometime. I've always kind of wanted a diary. I mean, they sounded cool. But this is a really great idea! I'm already loving it!

Hmm... So, where do I start? Okay, I know! My biggest problems. Well... I'm just sick of stupid questions. I mean, I understand that when people first meet me, there's a lot of things they want to know, but it still gets tiring hearing the same questions over and over again. I think my favorite is still "How many claws am I holding up?" Aside from being a completely idiotic question, it just makes me mad. Last time someone asked me that one, I just grabbed his entire paw, told him, and stalked away. It was probably a pretty awkward experience for mom, since it took her a few minutes to catch up to me.

Oh... Maybe I should start at the beginning? Hello, my name is Adderlaide. I'm a Gorgon. You may be wondering why this recording is in Zombie, but that's because it was my first language, and still the one that I feel most comfortable with. When I was just a baby, I was adopted by Zombies. No, I don't know my birth parents, and no, I don't care. I'm also completely blind. I always was, so that's another answer to another common question: since I've never known anything else, it's always been normal for me. Besides, I can't turn anyone into stone, so that's a relief.

I think I'm done talking for today. This was good, though. I think I'll make another entry tomorrow!

## July 15

I love the rain so much! I had to go outside and dance in it a little. I even splashed in some puddles! I remember when I was just a little ghoul, I remember thinking that rain was the most wonderful thing in the entire world. It's just this wonderful cool water that  falls from the sky, like a shower outside! The idea of water falling from the sky used to make me so happy, I couldn't even describe it. It made me wonder what other sorts of wonderful things there are in this world. I guess that's why I love exploring and discovering new things so much. It reminds me of how the rain made me feel when I was little, and how it still makes me feel now.

## July 22

I haven't had much of anything interesting to say. I guess I won't make a recording every day. Today was kind of cool, though, for the most part. I finally got to meet up with one of my friends from telepathy camp, Scarah. We went to the Coffin Bean and practiced our telepathy. I love learning new things, and telepathy just seemed so interesting that I signed up for camp the second I got my parents' permision. Who knows? Maybe if I develop my psychic abilities enough, I may even be able to use them to see.  I know it's wishful thinking, but I can't help but feel like that would be the most exciting new thing I've ever tried.

Anyway, Scarah and I were having a telepathic conversation when she thought "We've got company."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a Dragon ghoul drinking a milkshake a few tables over, and she's staring right at us."

"Oh, no!" I knew what that meant. Probably some other curious creeper just wanting to ask me something stupid. "Is she coming over here?"

"No. She's just... staring."

I couldn't think of anything to say. It was creepy and rude, but I didn't want to get invovled. Eventually, she finished her milkshake and went away, and Scarah and I finished our telepathic conversation in peace. Is it weird that I almost wished that that ghoul would come over and ask stupid questions? It probably would have been less rude than just staring at us!

## August 3

Scarah invited me to the movies tonight! It would have been totally clawsome, but it wasn't. It wasn't just the two of us ghouls; she wanted to introduce me to her other friends and fellow Monster High students. There was her boyfriend, InvisiBilly, and her beast bluddy, Hoodude Voodoo. I was totally excited to meet them, but then it just got awkward. I guess Scarah forgot to tell them that I can understand telepathy as well, because they thought questions to her and assumed I couldn't hear them. I knew the direction the night was going in when Hoodude thought to Scarah: "Are you sure Adderlaide is going to have fun tonight? How is she going to watch the movie?" She probably knew I could hear, because she elbowed him--hard--and grinned at me awkwardly. Then, InvisiBilly kept trying to tell me what was happening in the movie. It was pretty nice of him, but I think he upset everyone else in the theater, which usually means that the other monsters get fangry with ME. I know he was just trying to help, but it still sort of got under my scales.

The movie was pretty good. I just love Veronica Van Vamp! But tonight was pretty rough. I told Scarah I had a good time, though. It wasn't really her fault or anything. I just wish other monsters wouldn't make assumptions about me. It's really, really annoying.

## August 23

Today was a clawsome day! I got to visit Monster High for the first time ever. Headmistress Bloodgood called my parents, and told them she thought it would be a good idea for me to learn the floor plan early. My parents agreed, and the four of us were walking around the halls of Monster High only a few short hours later, at a Zombie-appropriate speed, of corpse.

One of the beast things about Monster High is all of the smells. It's one of the smelliest places I've ever been to, and I mean that in a good way. Headmistress Bloodgood warned me that I probably won't be able to navigate using my hearing during school hours, because all of the students are so loud, but I'm not sure that's going to be a problem. The home ick classrooms smell like cookie dough and gingerbread, the mad science labs smell like burning chemicals and formaldehyde, the creepeteria smells like mystery meat and all kinds of interesting and wonderful foods, the entrance to the catacombs smells like old cobwebs and mothballs, the library smells like old books and leather, the gymnasium smells like sweat and rubber.... the list goes on! I could probably find my way around Monster High wearing ear muffs!

Also, Headmistress Bloodgood is so creepy-cool. She's considerate without being condescending, and serious without being overbearing. She's intimidating, but she's approachable, too.

I really, really think I'm going to love Monster High!

## August 26

I just realized something. I've visited Monster High and heard about their academic programs and everything. There's only one thing left I don't know very much about, and I think it's the thing that's making me more nervous than anything. What are my fellow student bodies going to be like? I know that Monster High accepts all kinds of monsters from all over the world, and that Headmistress Bloodgood has told me that she expects only be best in kind and courteous behavior from all of her students. Hopefully, a blind Gorgon girl with Zombie parents will be just another poster child for monster diversity and tolerance, and I won't have to worry about ignorance and stupidity. Still, I'm worried. I'm not worried about being bullied; Headmistress Bloodgood assured me of that. I'm just worried that I won't actually make any friends. I already have Scarah, and that's comforting. I'm still worried, though. Hopefully, I'll make more friends once the scaremester starts.

## August 28

Guess what!? I didn't have to wait for the scaremester to start, after all! I made a new friend today!

I was at the maul with my mom, shopping for school clothes. She picked up things for me to wear, and I agreed to try them on. They felt pretty comfortable. Suddenly, I hear this voice really close to us say "Ghoulfriend, I think you'd look freaky-fabulous in this instead." Nothing happened, but I assumed she had something for me to try on, so I asked her to bring it closer. She did, and wow! It was super-soft! I begged my mom to let me try it on, and she asked the ghoul if she knew me, and she answered, "No, but I love finding new shopping bluddies!" Mom decided it was good for me to hang out with another ghoul, and went to the Coffin Bean.

She asked me if I was blind, and I told her that I was. She didn't ask me anything stupid or insensitive at all! She just told me that my mom doesn't have much of a fashion sense. The sad thing is, that I've been worried that that might be the case for a while. I don't understand such things very well, so it doesn't matter to me what I wear. Still, it would be nice to dress like other Monster High students. She offered to help me pick out some nice clothes, and we found a lot of things! We spent hours just shopping and talking. Her name is Harper Pinfeathers, and she's a Harpy. We're starting at Monster High at the same time. She really loves sports and music, and she's totaly hilarious! She even said she'd introduce me to some new music in a few days when she comes over. We're meeting up to plan out our class schedules together. I'm so excited!

## September 1

Harper came over today! We decided what classes we were taking, and it turns out that she doesn't like art all that much, either. I love dead languages so much that there was no way I wasn't taking it, and Harper decided that she'd give it a try so we could fang out together. We're also taking music, which is wonderful. I was a little worried when Harper suggested phys. dead. I really don't like phys. dead. I know that I will probably have to take it a few times during my high school career, but I hate it almost as much as I hate art. Still, she was willing to give dead languages a try for me, so the least I could do is take one of her favorite classes with her. She didn't seem to care about any other classes, as long as we didn't take clawculus, so she let me pick the rest: monster lit, biteology, and home ick. Harper also gave me a mix tape! It's a lot of very loud, very fangry-sounding music that she calls thrash metal. It's completely different from anything I've ever heard before, but it's totally clawsome! The only thing I could think to do was to introduce her to something new in return, so I let her rip a copy of the Yetish folk music album I found on my last trip to the thrift store. I'm not sure whether she liked it or not, but it's like they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, we had fun today, and that's all that really matters.

## September 2

This evening, my parents took me to a lovely Scarisian restaurant that they heard about. I was so proud of myself, I was able to order in Scarisian, and I tried escargot for the very first time! They were actually really delicious. It was a good night, and it made me even more excited for all of the wonderful new things I'm going to get to try now that I'm going to be a high school student! I'm on top of the world!

## September 6

My welcome letter from Monster High finally came in the mail today! My dad had to keep telling me to sit still while my mom read it to me, but I just can't! I've been bouncing off the walls all day. Monday can't get here soon enough. I wonder what there will be to eat in the creepetaria on the first day, and what we'll be reading first in monster lit. I don't even know what I'm most excited for, I just can't contain myself! Monster High, here I come!