#fromvenus

It's stemsational! I can smell EVERYTHING! I never realized how many nuances there are to scent. When I was hanging out with Chewlian today, I could smell the exact type and age of the insect he had at the die-ner yesterday. Corpsipede, 3 days old. He said it was delish, but I have my doubts. And then there's Ghoulia! Who knew zombies smelled so sweet?! Totally surprising! But the most amazing thing is I can smell myself! I smell like wet leg hair and steak tartare with an overlaying floral bouquet and just a hint of sunshine. The wet part is my fault, though. Clawdeen tried to tell me she doesn't get thirsty enough to plant herself on the lawn and wait for the sprinklers to come on. - VF

Meditating with Clawdeen was enlightening! She certainly has a strong personality and easily took over our mind wonderings. I admire how passionate she is about how to build a fashion empire when she will have a fashion empire and fabulous it will be to be the head of a fashion empire. I'm really relieved becuase I was worried I would be sharing a mind with someone who would imagine trampling innocent plants in the woods under the full moon. But really, she just wanted to use meditation like a full-length mirror. Once I realized that, I figured out how to reflect myself onto her, and then we were able to meditate more in sync. It was pleasant being fused with her, and melding our minds like that helped me tap into some of her confidence. I've never been a shrinking violet, but I'm starting to feel fierce! - VF

I'm feeling like I've been potted in the wrong fertilizer. The more I try to take root, the more tangled and confused I feel. It wasn't so bad at first, I was kind of getting a sprout out of using my new senses, but now the bloom is off the rose. I try to take deep breaths to calm myself, but that just seems to make Clawdeen more upset - she starts making these wheezy breezy noises that sound more like a werepuppy than a werewolf. The new monsters in school are Hybrids - they are the kids of different kinds of monsters, so they kind of get what we're going through. They're going to help us make the most of this situation, so we can work together in harmony. I guess I have to start looking at this as a growing experience. It's not like me to simply wilt from a challenge. I've got to stop being such a sap. This may be my chance to really branch out! - VF

BFF’s: Lagoona Blue and Gillington “Gil” Webber

I truly felt like I've grown a lot today. On the other leaf, I'm kind of feeling like curling up into a bulb and not opening again until next spring. I've lost my clawsome sense of smell, but now I feel like I can go back to enjoying when I stop to smell the flowers - instead of grimacing at the manure they are standing in. Some things are better left buried. I also have a newfound respect for the things my ghoulfriends go through that I don't. And I'm happy I have control over my pollen of persuasion again. Without that control, it's more pervasive than persuasive. I'm especially happy to have stopped being an annoying weed to Clawdeen. We're much better ghoulfriends now! And she's going to volunteer with me at the environmental rally this weekend! It's so nice to know that being fused with me was such a positive influence on her. I'm sure she's going to become a deeply rooted activist now. She's already talking about a line of fashions with biodegradable fabric and maybe a leaf or two. - VF

Ah, well, let us adjourn us from this classroom then and find a conveyance to the maul. I believe it is a destination where that will bring a measure of clarity to this dilemma.

When I got called into Headmistress Bloodgood’s office last week, I was thinking it was because she found out about my appointment with Mr. D’eath, but it turned out to be an “opportunity for growth” that would involve me rooting myself in a face painting booth at the middle school carnival. So today, I sat in a booth with Draculaura turning werewolves into zombies, vampires into skeletons, zombies into Dead Fast … okay, that was just Ghoulia … and cute little ghouls into “scary” normies. Draculaura was happy to do all the kittens, bats with pink bows, and the occasional full-on mini-makeovers, although it was mostly the moms who requested those. It also gave me a perfect audience to talk about the importance of keeping the world around us clean. Then we got to watch Robecca, who is a wonder of sustainability, do an amazing stunt. Whoa. It was really scary cool. I think every monster from that time on wanted me to turn them into a robot. Lagoona and Gil even came by, and Gil let me paint his helmet to make it look all steam punkish. Not sure I did any growing, but I got to spend time in the sun with my beasties, use my art skills and maybe plant some seeds about taking better care of the world around us.

I got some new art pencils today, so I did some sketches of Chewlian, who wasn't being very cooperative. I think he was mad that I closed my window when I went to school. He likes me to leave it open in hopes that lunch will come creeping, crawling, or flying into my room. I don't like bugs nearly as much as he does, though, and sometimes I forget and close it. I finally had to tell him that I'd let him spend the day out by the compost heap if he'd be still. He was pretty good after that, and I was happy with the results.