Average Monster
3/22/07
By Organization XIII rules
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Disclaimer: This is a (crappy) fic by Organization XIII rules, me! I don't own any of the characters... well, maybe some of the monsters are OC, if so, I'll point it out in the author's note.
Summary: We were two ordinary monsters, trying to make our way out into the world. But we got one heck of a ride, didn't we? Fighting bad guys, saving a little kid, riding along the human world, and just plain having a good time. Life is full of surprises, huh?
Acceptance Rules: I accept reviews, comments, shout-outs, praises, criticism (bad and good), flames (believe it!), pointless blah, insulting, long notes, and maybe even some personal stuff.
Unaccepted Rules: What I don't accept is not leaving a comment. You'd better leave a comment, people! Hah, just kidding. I'm just putting this thing here because... I like people commenting. It's an optional rule, I guess. Anyhow, have fun!
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Chapter I
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James P. Sullivan was fast asleep in his bed at the peak of dawn; it was still dark out -- stars dotted the sky. Soon, the skies began transforming from the starry night to a deep ultraviolet color. Slowly, like applying water to your wtercolor paints, the purple softened and became dimmer, yet brighter. Soon, it was a majestic purple, until it magically began melding into a pale light blue. A golden spot over the mountains indicated where the sun was going to rise from that point, near the East to be clear. It was only twenty minutes of transformation until dawn was over and early morning was here.
Dawn usually began at 5:45 AM and finished completely at 6:05 AM -- this was the time James usually awoke. Rays from the sun beamed through the dusty glass of the stained window, shining through the shades, and casting its glory upon James' sleeping figure. The light made James' white bed, covers, and pillow look pink, and the walls casted shadows of purple. The position James was lying at made the nightstand face his left side; on the dark stand, his alarm clock was perched, which had yet to go off at 6:10, and an old-fashioned wooden lamp James got from his mother.
Impatiently, there stood a little green monster named Mike Wazowski, who was James' roommate, and after spending four years together, they became close friends. Mike was known to be the single-eyed cyclopianfigure that stood out among the rest, making him and James look perfect together, since they were the oddballs among the other monsters, who were known to have tentacles, skinny figures, many heads, and a lot of physical characteristics that James and Mike didn't own.
Mike tapped his foot as the clock ticked away. "He must've been up late last night..." Mike thought. "I know I usually have to wake him up, but it's 6:07 AM, and he clicks off his alarm clock and would probably be brushing his teeth now if this were a normal day." But it wasn't a normal day.
It didn't take long for Mike's patience to cut off short. "Time for a very rude awakening." He thought in mid-air, just mere moments before breaking his fall on James. Of course, the impact upon the monster in deep slumber made him yell out in mixed pain and surprise, immediately it made him wake up. "I'm awake, Mikey, I'm awake!" James managed, while rubbing his sore back on the spot Mike hit -- trust me, Mike's stronger than he looks.
"Sulley!" Mike said in an irritated tone -- Sulley was an affectionate nickname given to him, taken off his last name, Sullivan --, "It's 6:09 AM and you're not awake! C'mon, today's a very important day!"
James thought for a moment, and almost instantly looked depressed. With a sigh, he said, "Oh yeah, it's that day..." He closed his eyes with a small tensing shame that rose in his stomach.
"Don't be so down in the dumps." Mike said in an encouraging tone. "Today is the day we'll graduate college! We're going to have our own lives and become real adults! This is the best day of our lives -- why are you so sad if it is?"
"Long story," James sighed in a huff, "I'll tell you later." The alarm clock went off. James yelled and slammed a fist down on it, not only did he shut it off, he also broke it, and then he kicked the nightstand. Now the morning rush began, because the daily schedule had been delayed by five minutes -- five which they could never get back, but they could make up for it. This positive thought made James immediaetly drop to the carpet rug and begin his push-ups, with a few extra growls and scare poses thrown in.
James and Mike lived in the men's dorm at Monstropolis University, one of the best colleges in the world. After graduating high-school, the young monsters were now legal adult age, but not adults quite yet. They join college and become freshmen, the lowest and youngest class type without many options. Next year is sophomore, a favorite among the campus actually, as this year they finally get choices and more freedom. Junior year means performing your best and cleaning up any messes in the earlier college years. Senior year is the last year at university, and after this, the young adult monsters graduate. James and Mike were seniors, and their senior graduation was today.
Late May was the perfect time to graduate, so they could get a job for summer. The only problem would be the fact that many other colleges disperse their seniors out into the world, so job traffic is jammed at this time of year. A majority of the monsters from university are smart, because they buy their own place with the help of their parents, and prepare a family before getting a job. By the time their child is born, then they move toward getting a job. James and Mike had a different plan though, because they were, unfortunately, bachelors. Women weren't interested in them, but they were interested in women... especially Mike.
Mike was pacing across the wood floor, observing James' scare attempts -- this is a natural stage monsters go through, especially since they were designed to scare. Mike was near the giant windows, while James was working out on the rug, and as usual, Mike was encouraging the blue furry monster, though sometimes his attention was drawn to the morning news on TV. Mike was trying out new scaring techniques with James, because just recently, he saw the martial arts channel on TV, and got very interested in the ways the monsters scared others using their bodies (no, that was not a sick joke).
Here, two new scaring techniques were taught to James, and it had been two weeks since Mike thought of something new; James was glad for a challenge. Not only did scaring have to do with presence and stretching exercises, but also moving heavy objects if needed. So James ended up pushing this list of items: three bricks, a soda can, the microwave, the TV, a huge standing fan, a plushy bear, a cooler, two suitcases, a toaster, a barbie doll, and a sofa with Mike on top of it, cheering him on.
Next up, James began brushing his teeth in a hurry, while Mike was perched on top of his shoulder, still shouting words of encouragement. It only took two minutes to finish the job, next moving on to upside-down tucks, meaning James would hang from the ceiling, and practice more of his scaring techniques. Loyally, Mike was counting each tuck James did. "And our twenty-minute morning routine is finished. It's a wrap!" Mike said at James' forty-third tuck; James let his grip loose and plopped down on the floor, "You did great today."
James was panting, "Phew! How hard did you wanna work me today, Mikey?"
"You need to look good on your big day, Sull." Mike said, looking over at the TV, and then back at his friend, "And since you wasted away five precious minutes of exercises, your ten-minute break that starts now will be shortened to five."
"Aw, Mike!" James said, looking frankly exhausted so early in the day. "Gimme a break!"
"I can't, it's a big day, and I'm too excited!" Mike clapped, "It's exactly 6:30 -- you were supposed to take a break at 6:25 and get ready to leave at 6:35. I was thinking today of ending your break at 6:30, but since you woke up a little late, I should to give you the five minute break you deserve, and it'll end at normal time."
"Thanks Mike..." James wheezed, propping himself on his scaly pinkish-purple easy chair, and resting his tired muscles. Mike went over to the kitchenette and began preparing their breakfast, at usual, it'd take only twenty minutes to be out the door and on their way elsewhere.
Searching through the refrigerator and freezer, along with the cabinets and pantry, finally Mike found something nutritious and edible: scrambled eggs, bred from the finest female monster birds. Mike poured elbow oil into the frying pan, and cracked three eggs, pouring the gooey contents into the mixture. After letting them fry for six seconds, he began whipping them up. His gaze turned from the food to the TV occasionally, since the dorms were tight spaced, everything had to be crammed into three tiny rooms, and this was first class. Imagine if they'd stay in the worst possible room.
Mike shuddered at the thought, and flipped the eggs over, as he began to stir them up more and let them cook thoroughly. The fresh aroma danced its way over in James' general direction. He inhaled the scent and said, "Mike, watcha cookin'?"
"Scrambled eggs," Mike replied, "They're delicious and nutritious."
"Hmm..." James said, shrugging with a 'can't complain' look. "Can you also throw in a granola bar or two?" Mike looked over at the pantry, seeing an open box of oatmeal bars. "Oh, and maybe some toast on the side?" Mike dashed over to the bread basket, taking a slice, putting it in the toaster, and went back to his frying pan. "You think you can do that?" James asked.
"Sulley." Mike said in a serious tone, "I'm your best friend and I'm the cook in the house. I can do anything you ask me to -- there's no need to doubt in that. By the way, don't you remember my junior Christmas party when you helped me cook a tray of cookies, a Christmas banquet, a beautifully-decorated cake, and a gingerbread monster house?"
James chuckled at the memories flashing back at him, "Oh yeah..." He looked down at his razor-sharp claws embedded into his muscular hands, and smiled softly to himself, "That was also the time we had a hot chocolate drinking contest."
"Mm-hmm!" Mike said, running over to the pantry to grab a raisin oatmeal bar and a s'mores oatmeal bar; he was still gripping onto the pan and stirring the eggs gently a few times. "Good times..." He managed to say after putting the granola bars on the countertop, and dumping the eggs onto a plate. Just a few seconds later, he dashed to the toaster with a plate to catch the flying piece of cooked bread. With a knife, he spread the margarine and goo all over the toast surface -- just as James loved. Proudly, he shut the silverware door with his leg, and made his own introduction into the living room/bedroom area, "Breakfast's ready!"
They ate silently; James was strange today -- he didn't have a good appetite like he normally did, and ate very slowly. Mike was rushing, trying to make sure he could eat before the exact time they had to leave. As you may have noticed, Mike is a time freak when it comes to major events... such as a college graduation. "Ok, we gotta make sure you've got this memorized so you don't screw up." Mike said.
"Oh Mike, would you give it a rest?" James asked, sighing and staring blankly at the TV.
"Y'know I can't!" Mike said, looking over at the door and pointing at it, "What happens at 6:55? Hint: something to do with the door!"
James sighed as if they'd rehearsed this all of last night, "We rush out the door with our college records in hand, and go to the campus conference room."
"What happens at the conference room?"
"We give our college records to our certain professors on freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior."
"And how many years of college work are we turning in?"
"Well, five for you, Mike... and six for me."
"And that's what you get for being lazy, Sull."
"Cut it out. Just keep rolling the questions."
"Right. What happens after handing them out?"
"While the scores are being graded for low, medium, or high class... we listen to the Senior's Speech."
"Correct-o. Who's giving the Senior's Speech?"
"That doesn't matter and it's 6:55 right now, Mr. I'm-Always-On-Time."
"Aw crap. YOU'RE RIGHT!" Mike leapt up off the couch and dove under his bed, pulling numerous objects out from underneath, such as musical scores, a violin, horseback saddle (it looked like it fit a horse with three necks), famous novels, 4th grade science homework, a Disneyland mug, a mint and piece of chewing gum, a video game, an iPod, a Tinkerbell plushy doll, a waterproof disposable camera, and a rubber duckie. Finally, he grabbed in and reached the college records. Triumphantly, he said, "Monstropolis University Records, fifth year degree, completed by genius Mike Wazowski." He did a fancy bow in honor. "Yes! I found it!"
James shrugged and pulled out his college records from the bathroom countertop, holding it up to Mike's view. Mike dropped his papers and his jaw dropped, "I found it easy because I searched for two weeks, and when I found it, I put it here." He said with a grin. "I've come more prepared than you." He approached Mike and nudged him softly, "Hah, and you hid yours under your bed. What've you got to hide?"
"Nothing!" Mike said defensively, making a pouty face and petting the paperwork. Suddenly... James saw it. A doodle. James grabbed for it, held it up in plain sight, and saw it was a drawing of... his mom. James bursted out into laughter, "I know what you're gonna say!" Mike exclaimed, "I'm not a nerd. I was bored in physiology class!"
"You, bored? In physiology class?" James snickered, "That's a first. Usually you pass out whenever they brought cadavers in anatomy class."
"Dead bodies disgust me, Sulley." Mike shivered, and rubbed his arms, "I didn't think they actually stored away dead guys."
"For scientific purposes, Mikey." James reminded him.
"Let's go, let's go! You're stalling us." Mike said, jumping pretty high, to touch James' shoulders and give a little push; James wobbled forward with the records in hand, and swung the door open, with Mike following behind, also holding his college records.
At the conference room, it looked like approximately two hundred monsters were graduating this year. James gulped, as he was the first one to enter this gigantic domed room. Mike had followed behind, and stopped dead in his tracks to see how many people were actually watching them enter and giggling. James looked over at the professors, hoping they wouldn't say anything embarrassing. "Are we late?" James whispered.
"No. It's 6:58." Mike replied, looking at the clock hanging above on the wall closest to them.
"Then how come people are glaring at us?" James asked.
Mike attempted to say something, but it ended in confused gibberish noises. Thankfully, the professors didn't say anything, and the boys went toward the East side to the middle. They discovered it was only embarrassing if you arrived after 7:20 like some monsters actually did -- especially since five hundred stared at them by this time. James and Mike kicked back and relaxed while waiting for people to arrive, and the records were handed in, taking an extra ten minutes. It was 7:19 when the speaker talked, "Welcome graduates. Good morning!"
The entire group, now about five hundred monsters, echoed back in louder volume, "Good morning!!"
The speaker chuckled and said, "Today is the day you'll all be starting your new lives, huh?" The monsters nodded. "So I guess you need a moving speech from our best professor. She was voted among all the others in the university, and to tell you the truth, there are thirty-eight professors here. It was a rare opportunity for her of all people to be chosen. Please welcome Miss Hoggeldorf!"
"How do you spell that?" Mike asked while some people murmured, "Hawgehldwarf?"
"I think it's H-O-G-E-L-D-O-R-F." James said, unaware that he missed an 'G', not like he cared.
A beautiful monster walked in, wearing glasses; she was red-skinned with purple stripes, resembling a seahorse with actual limbs to walk. She came up to the speech booth and said into it, "Hello Senior graduates." She waited for their responding 'hello'. "I see you've been excited to leave this place and finally start your new lives. Mm-hmm... been there, done that. I know I was ready! But it was kind of hard... especially with all the memories."
James and Mike were too much in deep thought to really pay attention to the entire one-hour presentation, but the overall message they got, and were moved by, was one simple line that Miss Hoggeldorf said. They recited it in their minds silently, "Once you get out of school, and ready to scare, you find someplace where you can make some cash and prepare yourself to raise a family."
"I had a feeling every senior was reciting it in their minds at the time." Mike said, gulping down a soda, and giving a sigh of relief. "Gosh, I was so nervous in there... the way she explained reality."
"Yeah, agreed." James said, shivering at the same time Mike did. They both were drinking a soda in the cafeteria. The speech ended at 8:00, but a name roll-call took an extra hour to round everybody up to their different professors to get an empty diploma that would be signed later on that night. So it was now 9:30, including the extra thirty minutes to buy something to eat and drink. James finished his tentacle, and Mike was still eating his; both were still drinking their acid soda.
"So what's after this snack?" Mike asked.
James groaned, "Miiiiiiike..."
"If you have it so memorized, tell me!" Mike said.
James sighed in annoyance, "10:00, we say good-bye to our professors while they give us the passing grades from each of our classes throughout the entire college time."
"Hey, you're getting good at this." Mike said, realizing he hadn't gotten a single one wrong, or mixed up events that would happen later on in the day.
After the half-hour of waiting around and walking to their classes, they first visited the English department over at the North wing. There, they met the shrimp-like monster, Jared Flanks, their English professor. He was very critical at grammar and usage, ranging from punctuation to forms of speech to writing processes to literature to speeches to just about anything your mind can imagine. He's just about read every famous novel, and lent some of his best collections to Mike, who was returning the books today.
"Hey, Jared!" Mike said as they entered the room.
"Oh, Wazowski and Sullivan!" Jared said, shaking their hands with his creepy tentacles. And yes, he had twelve arms. "I'm going to miss you boys so much! Mike Wazowski, you're one of the best English students in my class."
"Thank you!" Mike said, slightly blushing, "I've returned the books you lent me." He said.
"Say, Mike, you've never told me which ones you borrowed..." James realized.
"Oh, all the classics of course." Jared said, "Such as To Kill a MockingMonster by Horrid Leak, Monster Farm by George Orkfell, Great Expectations by Snarls Dickens, Rabido and Drooling Wet by William Snakespeare (get it? Romeo and Juliet? ha-ha...), and Of Mice and Monsters by Steinbark."
James smiled, "Hey, I've read lots of those in high-school... Let's see. I've read... To Kill a MockingMonster, Monster Farm, Rabido and Drooling Wet, Of Mice and Monsters, and a few you haven't mentioned... like 20,000 Leagues Under the Flea and The "Odd"ysey... hmm, and I've read the Diary of Anne Fright."
"Oh yes, oh yes..." Jared chuckled, putting the books on his countertop, "Those good days..."
"So anyway, Jerry, I'd like to know which classes we've passed." Mike said, pointing over to James and himself.
"Well, Sullivan," He said, taking out some approval papers from his desk, "It seems you've understood and qualified to pass World Literature, Journalism, Creative Writing, and Children's Literature." He said with an impressed tone. "Passing grade... B."
"Oh yeah!" James excitedly said with his claws gripping the paper, with care not to tear the document. "I got a B and I passed!!"
"How about me?" Mike asked anxiously.
"Well you've certainly done better than Mr. Sullivan, as he did six years, but somehow only passed four classes." He chuckled. "Well, you did five years with a much better score. You passed General English, Ancient Literature, World Literature, Monster Literature, Journalism, Creative Writing, Speech/Debate, Snakespeare, and Remedial English."
"Wow!" Mike said, taking the approval, "Oh yeah! A minus, baby!"
"Dude, why'd you take so many classes!?" James asked.
"I wanted the extra credit." Mike said, doing a little boogie dance. He was in his moment of glory right now.
"Take care, boys!" Jared called out in the distance.
"You too, Jerry! Thank you!" Mike and James called out, before having to walk the entire way to the East building, or Mathematics Department. Their Math professor was Adam Spiderhands... He was pretty cool, outgoing, talkative, and intelligent, although he was quite short -- almost as short as Mike Wazowski. He had long spider legs for hair, and was very skinny, resembling an amoeba. He was a quick-thinker, able to solve any problem in front of him, with the good traits of a math professor.
"Yo, Adam." James called out, and Mike with a similar, "Hey, Adam, how ya doing?"
"Oh!" Adam turned from what he was doing and said, "Hey, fellas! How's it going? You come to say good-bye to your favorite professor?" He joked around.
"Oh yeah." Mike said, "We can't leave without saying good-bye to our favorite professor!"
"So, Adam, how'd we do?" James asked. "Am I better than Mike at this subject at least?"
Adam looked over at Mike, "So it seems. He was concentrating basically on English, so you've been able to cram more math knowledge than he has."
"I take that as a compliment." Mike said, "You know... about concentrating on English."
"Sullivan, you've passed..." Adam looked at his approval sheets, "Ah." He said when he found the correct sheet, "You've passed Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Consumer Math, Business Math, Calculus, and Statistics."
"Whoo-hoo!" James said, grabbing the sheet, "And passed with an A."
Mike came to the countertop, "Tell me you're joking."
Adam laughed, "And Mr. Wazowski, you've passed Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Statistics, Analytical Math, and Calculus." He handed the sheet, "Good but not as good as Sullivan. Hey, that's not a bad thing. You did a good job!"
Mike cheered out in triumph, "A total of an A minus!"
After saying their good-byes to Adam, they headed South to the Science Department. This happened to be one of their favorite subjects, and one of their best. It also happened to include a Health Department inside, which they also loved. The professor was Jane Torbay, who was a logical thinker, as well as highly intelligent. She thought like a scientist toward every question, but did not lack common sense like some did. She looked like an antelope with four limbs that walked on two, although she lacked any horns, and just had a beautiful doe face, and claws instead of hoofs.
"Hey Sulley. Hey Mike." Jane said in a distracted tone; she was so used to hearing Mike call him "Sulley", that she referred to James as that constantly. "Oh! You're here to say good-bye and to see your papers, right?"
"Precisely!" Mike said, "And we're hurrying along, since lunch as at noon: an hour away now..."
"Ah yes..." Jane said, shuffling her papers, and she looked at Mike, "Well Wazowski, you did fairly impressive." She looked at the science approval paper with a soft smile, "For physical sciences, you've completed geology, as well as a second-hand degree in ecology. For biological sciences, you've completed biology. For integrated sciences, you've completed physics and chemistry. For advanced sciences, you've completed anatomy and physiology." She handed it to Mike, "Great job!"
"Oh yeah!" Mike said, "Straight-A's! I feel like a model student already."
"Just wait until we see your failing grade in history." James snickered.
"Oh, look who's talking!" Mike joked.
Jane giggled softly at Mike's tease, and looked at James, "Okay, Sulley, you did good, too." She handed the papers one-by-one just as she did with Mike. "For physical sciences, you completed astronomy, oceanography, and ecology -- you also passed most environmental and agricultural sciences, as well as meteorology and paleontology. For biological sciences, you completed biology and marine biology. For integrated sciences, you completed chemistry. For advanced sciences, you completed anatomy and physiology." She handed it to him, "That's impressive for a six-year guy. It takes a normal man to do it in eight years." James blushed at the compliment, "But then again, Wazowski did the work of a nine-year man in... five years." The dramatic romance music was cut off here. Mike ruined the moment. That's what made it funny!
"So how did we do in health classes?" James added.
"Oh yeah!" Jane got out the papers, "You both completed the same basic knowledge: health, advanced health, nutrition, child development, parenting, driver's education, CPR and first aid, water safety, and lifeguard." She got the papers out, "Both with an A."
It was another ten minute walk to the West History building, where James was teasing Mike the entire way. Their history professor was Ashley Hairyson. She could talk for hours about things that happened in the past, the importance of it, and why we are where we are. Everybody swore she could've talked for fifty years straight if the bell didn't stop her every day from continuing any longer. Ashley also happened to be the youngest history professor. She looked like a spider, since she had eight legs and could spin webs, but her face was really cute like a puppy.
"'Sup, Ash." Mike said in a persuasive tone, "Slap those A's on the desk and we're outta here!"
"Wazowski, you fail to turn in your history homework almost constantly." Ashley said in a low tone, "How are you ever going to get far in life if you fail to turn in your work to prove you did anything?"
"Heh-he..." Mike hiccuped nervously.
"Told ya about the history scores." James whispered. "How'd we do Ashley?"
"Mmph." She said, getting out the papers, "Wazowski, you passed Monstropolis History and Geography." She slapped down the approval paper that had an embarrassing D written on it.
"THAT'S IT!?" Mike said in utter alarm, "Five years... AND THAT'S IT?"
"That's it." Ashley grunted as Mike waltzed out for his dear life. "Anyway, Sullivan..." She reached out for his papers. "You did a better score. You managed to complete World History, Cultures, and Geography, as well as Monster History, Government, and Economics. Good job." She gave him the answers, "You didn't do so well on the quizzes, but I admire you for your devoted attention and studying skills."
James looked at the score: C plus. "Thank you, Miss Hairyson!"
She nodded with a smile, "Anytime."
"I can't believe that complete disaster at the History department." Mike scoffed, while walking back to the cafeteria for lunch. "It was an embarrassment! Five years, and 'Oh, I got Monstropolis History and Geography correct'! A fifth-grader could do that!" He groaned.
"Shows to say how terrible you are at it." James chuckled. "Ah, don't worry about it, buddy. It's not like you need a history degree on your diploma to get an easy job."
"You're right, Sull." Mike said, "That's totally okay. You can only worry about English and Mathematics mostly of all, and which we did marvelous at!" He high-fived his friend. "C'mon let's go, I'm starved." He said; James pushed the cafeteria doors open for Mike, and saw something dash around the corner. He turned around quickly with his blue fur slowly blowing in the chill of late May winds. He saw a creepy shadow on the wall slightly bobbing up and down... this shadow had three antenna-like structures drooping on its head, and its face was long, with a serpent-like neck. It looked all too familiar. "Huh?" James said.
"Sulley, hurry up!" Mike called from inside.
"Coming...!" James said, and slowly trailed off. His heart stopped when the shadow turned to face him, and he dashed into the cafeteria. He held onto his chest, nearly as if his heart was going to explode out of his chest. "Mike!" He whispered in a secretive tone.
"I'll have the keister salad." Mike said to the cafeteria dude, "And maybe your snail tongue soup."
"Mikey!" James hissed under his breath again.
"Order's up, Sulley!" Mike turned the spotlight to him.
James sighed in agitation, and quickly said, "Caterpillar sandwich, snake fries, and a large coke." The cafeteria dude nodded and wrote down the order... then James turned to face Mike and call his name out again.
Mike got both of their trays, "Ugh, I hear you Sulley, wait up." He said, setting the table up, and arranging the silverware and everything neatly. "Okay, what is it?" He said after the job was done.
James gulped, "I saw somebody familiar here that scares the creeps out of me."
"Wow, and there's only one guy I remember who could do that..." Mike said, thinking about this in awe, "Huh... Wait, you saw him?"
"No, just his shadow." James remembered, "Freaky, huh?"
"Yeah, really." Mike said. "Eat up. We've got to book taxis and pack up the remains of our stuff at the dorms at 1:00."
"What about the creepy guy, Mike?" James asked.
"We'll do something about it later. Try... 3:00 when we have nothing to do." Mike said.
"Okay." James said.
James was very patient at the dorms after lunch for Mike to call the cab to arrange to pick them up tomorrow morning at precisely 8:00 AM. He also waited around while Mike packed his last things; actually, he was just standing at the dorm balcony, letting the wind blow through his fur and refresh his soul. He sighed, looking at the beautiful grassy areas with spruce trees, where the walkways led to a pond. It was a beautiful sight... Until that creepy shadow came again.
"Mike, there he is!" James whispered.
Mike loyally came outside to spy on whoever this was. "Looks like he isn't a student here..."
"Then what's he doing here?" James asked.
Mike shrugged, "Dunno. Maybe he has family here."
"I have a feeling that this guy has told me before... that he has no family." James said.
"Agh, forget about it Sulley." Mike said, "You have a lot of packing to do."
James stared blankly at the shadow that creeped around. He closed his eyes, and sighed...
At 3:30, the graduation took place, and everybody had graduated by 5:00 that afternoon. At the ceremony, the monsters threw their hats off in celebration. Then, they went back to the conference room to be congratulated by Miss Hoggeldorf and the other thirty-seven professors. Usually, the ballroom is restricted to students, but on Senior grad nights, it's open and free to be used as a dancing area to party.
Ballroom party was at 6:00 PM. Mike and James entered the room in tuxedos, where they heard two monsters exclaim this:
"Alright, finally I'm graduating!"
"Yeah, we're free from this prison!"
Mike scoffed, "Prison? Hmph, spoiled brats." Mike walked forward, "I dunno about you, big guy, but I'm going to get a drink and a hot date. See ya!"
James looked at a lonely corner to let all his raging depression seep out; he crawled into the small corner in the darker area of the ballroom, and closed his eyes. He was unaware that the "creepy guy" had entered the room.
It was a purple reptilian monster that had darker purple stripes and a sky-blue tail. His expression was sarcastic and upset, his eyes were shifty, his walk was slumped and quick, he had eight limbs, and his tail twitched dangerously. He also happened to appear in a tux, whether it was a disguise or not. A crab-like monster seemed to recognize him and gasp, "R.B.?"
James' eyes shot open, but the two men were gone. He huffed under his breath, and thought he was just imagining things. He closed his eyes, but somehow with his head leaning against the wall, he could hear their conversation!
"It's been a while! How long has it been?"
"I dunno. I've lost count..." This creepy guy sounded like he didn't even care.
"Maybe... two years? Last I saw you... I believe you were in high-school."
"Maybe."
"What brings you to the Grad Night here at Monstropolis University?"
"Eh... just wanted to say hello to the father of my boss. Just wanted to know how you're doing."
"Is that the real reason? Seriously, wake up. It's me."
James' eyes widened, almost as if he woke up for real to listen in. "What?"
"Alright. You got me..."
"I always do."
"Well, Mr. Waternoose the Second... Something suspicious has been traced up to this university."
"What?"
"Have you seen anything?"
"No, nothing suspicious. Of course not!"
"Word is that a serial murderer lurks among this campus."
"What? No... No!"
"Are you sure you haven't seen someone named..."
"Hey, Sulley!" Mike called out.
"Gah!" James said, "Mike, can you keep it down?"
"I wanted to tell you something exciting, Sull!" Mike said.
"Mike, not now!" James said. "Come back in five minutes."
"Okay..." Mike said, "I'll be right back!"
James listened again, but sadly missed a big chunk, as the conversation now drifted off to...
"How could this happen?"
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Waternoose."
"Oh no..."
"Well, I'm off anyway."
"But I have so many questions! You, of all people, since you've vanished two years ago... you reappear back here on Grad Night, out of all nights... and you look like one of the students! Why are you here? Why now? What's the purpose?"
"I thought I already told you all that."
"What you've given me is not good enough of a reason!"
"Hmph. Well... if that's not good enough for you. I'm here because of the shortage. I'm here now to find someone important. Do you know where she is?"
"No."
A sigh came... "Thanks."
"So you're just going to leave!?"
"Yeah."
"Just like that!?"
"Just like that."
"Wait!!"
A door slam. James either had drifted off to sleep on some part of it and imagined some segments, or something... 'serial murderer' seemed to catch his interest most of all. More gaps in-between... he was drowsy. Did he imagine the entire conversation?
"Welcome to Grad Night, people." The mystery grew when James looked up to see... MIKE!? What was he doing up on stage!? "I wanna thank everybody here so far for the great night and memorable graduation, especially my best friend and soon-to-be colleague, James Sullivan. We're gonna have a great graduation, huh? Cheers to the Seniors!"
James, actually, wasn't too happy -- at least not in the way Mike envisioned his 'happiness'. Among the celebrations and parties, with the nice little decorations and luxuries in-between... he wasn't happy. Imagine if you were a senior, you're in your college graduation today, and that means you'd be leaving to set out into the real world as a fully-grown, adult monster at age twenty-four. So far, James never expressed these feelings and pretended to be excited, putting that fake smile on his face for show -- he never even told Mike, but sooner or later this all would come out. Of all the disappointments, he was playing events in his life over again mentally... remembering all the parties, study sessions in the dorms, educations and classes, hanging out with his friends, being with his lovable roommate, and even having his first kiss. To leave a place full of memories... it would mean all the great times were now gone.
Although, the advantage was that the Senior Grad Night was set in the conference room, which was usually forbidden to everybody except professors, with this remarkable exception of senior party nights that came around every late May. It was a ball-styled event, with couples dancing and fireworks outside by the lake.To speak the truth, it was James' third time in here tonight, and Mike's second. At this point, sophomores and juniors were congratulating their family members, friends, or other people they knew. Freshmen were too excited, and couldn't wait for the big year of graduating, so they could also appear superior and impress younger people.
Most monsters were nicely dressed in tux or gown, performing the waltz on the dancefloor. Imagine, if you were a bachelor who had five years of chance for true love, but no chick was interested in you. Yup, you guessed it, Michael Wazowski -- that's right! He tried to look fancy tonight with his roommate, coming in with neat black tux and white shirt, a tie, a rose in the breastpocket, but yet all these approaches didn't impress or charm any of the ladies. Back when the juniors made "Embarrassment Day", an event in which monsters would make clean fun of each other, he won the award of "University's Smallest Monster", the big USM.
In aggrivation of a rude senior lady, Mike trotted off to a dark corner, where he found the big blue and purple-dotted furball, James, was. In hopelessness to find his best friend still here, Mike was almost about to make a scene or drama here, trying to tell the guy to toughen up and a big speech about seniors and how much they worked to get here. Suddenly, Mike realized that would make him insensitive -- maybe something happened? James appeared to be asleep, but in a sly voice in attempt to make the guy laugh, Mike said, "Well, you look hot in a suit!"
James responded with snapping his eyes open, looking over at Mike, and slightly grinning, with his gaze looking away immediately after, and tending back to his misery. Mike sighed, "Sulley, why are you still here all alone in the dark corner? You and I have looked forward to this big graduation for years!"
"To tell you the truth, Mikey... I wanted to stay here as long as I could." James stated, almost inaudible by the soft tone he used. "I don't want to leave all this behind. That's why I'm still here, otherwise, I would've graduated two years ago."
Mike gasped in sudden realization and pointed out that it was blantly obvious the reason why James was always so reluctant and hesitant about leaving the university -- just mentioning it would make him change the subject or kindly excuse himself to go elsewhere. He smiled softly in sympathy and nodded in understanding, but with encouragement lingering in his eye, "Well, I wanted to stay here forever too, but..." A four-fingered, clawed hand reached out to grab the muscular, furry, blue arm, and James began to - nearly - get dragged by Mike's "remarkable" strength... sadly, he didn't budge, or even move one millimeter from his gloomy spot. "You gotta move on, pal!" Mike said, still skippering and using huge effort.
With a tiny smile of appreciation, but "no thanks" expression, James curled back in his little corner; Mike made a noise of frustration in reply to this attitude. A sigh escaped from James, melting Mike to feel pity rather than frustration, "Sulley..." There was silence, "What, you want to repeat another college year? You've head two extra chances now, because you freaked on senior graduation. You've been a senior for three years!" Mike held up three of his fingers. This suddenly awoke James from the "La-La Land" he was dreaming in... this is serious. He could've moved on so long ago, but he wanted to stay to enjoy his youth. He wasn't young anymore, and he had to face that sooner or later. Now's the time, as Mike was saying, since he alrady knew all he needed to know, and was just sticking around because he was making like Peter Pan and refusing to grow up and face the facts: he was an adult and not a kid anymore.
So this... was why James awoke this morning with guilt and a depressed face: he didn't want to leave college. The glory days were too much fun, and reality was too much for him to handle. "Together we can get through this," Mike said, holding out his hand, "You've just gotta have courage, Sull." Mike assured his friend with a smile. "I'm being courageous by asking this gorgeous monstress out to a dance." He pointed randomly at a monster, which happened to be male. He shuddered and said, "Uh, I mean that one." Whoo, she was butt-ugly.
Caught up in the happy moment being ruined by an ugly monstress, James laughed. He laughed! Mike had been trying to get him to laugh for a week. James was stressing out too much about graduation, when it's really a no-brainer. When it's really an opportunity to move on and spread your wings to the glorious future. Mike was thinking deeply about this when James said, "Yeah, you've gotta be courageous to ask her out for a dance."
"Hoo, boy." Mike said with a nervous smile. James tilted his head to the side, and came out of his dark corner. "Hey, that's what I'm talking about!" Mike said, tugging his friend's arm. "You're not gonna repeat something you already know... get outta school, kiddo!" He noogied Jame's blue furry head, and clicked his tongue twice, "It's gonna be okay."
"Yeah, you're right." James sighed, "I was too scared in leaving all this behind... but now I know. I'm not leaving it behind. I'm keeping it in my memories, and it'll be here always. Now I've just gotta move on and stop being such a whimp!"
"Thatta monster, Sulley!" Mike said with a friendly punch to the arm, which felt like a feather against the giant James.
James was a changed monster. If it hadn't been for Mike, he probably would've never left college. Freshman year, he already had troubles leaving high-school, but knew it was going to be more challenging and exciting in college, although knowing this is the last stop before he was going solo after this... it was heartbreaking. He vowed to stay in college as long as possible. It was on junior year he met sophomore Mike. On senior year, Mike was a junior, and they often met, soon becoming good friends. James repeated senior year when Mike came along. When Mike failed senior year, they both repeated it... giving Mike a good five years in college and James six years. If Mike wasn't here, James would've probably repeated senior year again, even though he memorized and knew the classes all by heart.
The rest of the evening was a ball, and when night approached... James felt a little discouraged, but knew he had to stand strong. After all, college wouldn't be fun without Mike.
11:24 PM: James was back in the dorms with Mike. The first thing they did after the party, after taking care of mandatory needs, was lounge around, focusing back on all the good memories they had in this place, and entire university. Mike was sitting on an expensive, comfy chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling, reflecting on fond memories and events that happened in the past five years. James was at his cluttered desk, remembering the hard study sessions and late nights he did right here, acheiving his greatest works, and accomplishing more than he ever thought. He was disappointed as he thought back on all the things he'd be leaving behind: the parties, study sessions in the dorms, hanging out with friends... His black claws tightly gripped a picture of his parents that was perched neatly on the desk; it was the only decent or clean thing standing out from the rest, which were pens, paper, and textbooks.
"I'll make you proud... Mom and Dad." James looked at the neatly-carven frame that must've taken hours of woodwork, where they carved his name into the masterpiece. On the top rim it said "James", and the bottom rim, "Sullivan". In his mother's arms, there was the infant James Sullivan... He always thought he looked more like his mother than his father. His mother was a fleecy white monster, almost identical to his appearance, with purple polka dots. His father was also furry, but dark, tall, and mean-looking. He was too muscular, too tall, too tough, and probably too judgmental. The dark and white monsters had created a blue monster with purple polka dots: James Sullivan.
Doot. A piece of crumpled paper was thrown against James' head. He turned the chair around to face... Mike. The little green monster looked irritated, crossing his arms, and leaning back. In a serious tone, he said, "You're not getting second thoughts, are you?"
"No, Mike, I wasn't." He swore, however, lied. "I was just... taking a look at my parents. Remember the first time I showed you this picture?"
Mike snickered, "Oh yeah." They both had a short laugh, and Mike said, "Good times."
James coughed slightly, and winked, "You thought I was a blue little furball back then, eh?" In monster-land, that's a compliment.
"Yeah!" Mike said, nodding, although still crossing his arms. "Just like I'm the green tennis ball with an eye!"
"Well, you did look funny in your baby pictures..." James said, remembering how many playful "awww, you looked so cute here!" quotes he inserted for the enjoyment and satisfaction of watching Mike blush in embarrassment, being able to point out which pictures his mom took. Once, he screamed "Mom!" in embarrassment, and covered up a naked baby picture. Good times, good times...
Mike smiled and nodded in agreement, "Yeah..." He chuckled lightly to himself. While James began getting out his suitcase and packing his belongings, while leaving some kind thank-you notes and gifts to the nice people in the university, and the younger freinds he was leaving behind... Mike was trying to bring up a good subject. "Ironic that we got the same diploma, huh, Sulley?"
James nodded, "Yeah, I know!" He was packing slowly, probably because it hurt to take out his memories and place them in this bag to take it somewhere else. Mike knew the feeling... although, for him, high-school graduation was a lot tougher than college graduation.
"We both got low-class! How pathetic, huh!?" Mike said, as the replays came on how many approvals they got from their professors earlier that day.
"I think I know why..." James said.
"What, is this about the stupid history classes?" Mike asked.
James shrugged, "I don't think so, maybe even though we were good at our classes, our social skills weren't the best."
"Or maybe they want us to provide for others instead of ourselves." Mike sighed in exasperation. "This is exactly what happened to Uncle Mark. You remember Uncle Mark?" James nodded. "Yeah, he ended up being the electrician. And remember Aunt Isabelle? She became a plumber!"
James sighed, "Well, I guess the world needs low-class monsters like us to keep spinning."
Mike shrugged, and growled under his breath, "It's just stupid. I don't know where we went wrong! We even took extra years to get good grades and marvelous performance... Ah, screw this place."
James laughed to say, "Maybe they just couldn't wait to get rid of us."
"What!?" Mike said, "But we're two lovable guys, aren't we? We're hard workers, good students, and responsible!"
"And top-scarers." James added, "I got an A on my human theory class. When it came to child psychology, as to why human kids are terrified of monsters, I aced it fast!"
Mike crossed his arms, and in a pouty tone, said, "I'm not scary enough for them pussies."
"Don't worry about it." James said.
Mike yawned, "Alrighty, well, I'm going to sleep..." He crawled into his comfy, dome-shaped bed. It was custom-built to fit Mike's small, round shape.
"Wait," James said, turning around to see the tiny monster hugging his covers, and trying to sleep with all the lights on, "Aren't you going to pack, Mikey?"
"Already did, genius." Mike sighed.
"You're going to sleep with the lights on?" James asked.
"I'm ok. I had a bunch of sisters who had way too many slumber parties for their own good." Mike replied.
"Okay...!" James said, wrapping up his packing for departure. "Good night."
Once the packing was complete, the lights were turned off, and James was snug in his king-sized bed, he realized something. In the dark, James looked over at Mike, who seemed sound asleep. To test his guess, James whispered, "Mike?"
"Yeah?" Mike replied loud and clear as if they were talking in daylight.
James spoke in a low tone, "Well... I saw the creepy guy again at the Grad Night..."
Mike sat bold upright, "You saw him!?"
"Well, no..." James corrected himself, "Besides the shadow and everything, I got to hear his voice..."
"Hmm..." Mike said, "How?"
"When you wanted to tell me something exciting, and I said 'not now'... remember?" James asked, "I was overhearing a conversation between this mysterious R.B. and Mr. Waternoose the Second."
"Whoa, freaky." Mike shivered, "About the R.B and W.S dudes. Oh and hey, by the way, the exciting thing was that I was going to deliver a speech." He snickered.
James slapped himself, "Oh."
"Yeah." Mike chuckled. "So, anything about this creepy guy that you found out?"
James said, "Mm... yeah. He said that 'a serial murderer lurks among this campus' or something like that... I blanked out when you came by, but Mr. Waternoose sounded pretty disappointed, and R.B left."
"A murderer?" Mike said, "Hmm... good thing we're graduating this year and not next year. It'd suck to be a Junior right now." He laughed and faced the wall, rather than the empty floor, newly cleared out by James and his packing. "Well, good night."
James sighed deeply, "Mike?"
"Mmmm?" Mike said - slightly irritated, as everyone could tell.
James turned to face the window and look out at the moon, before turning back to Mike and saying, "This is our last night... sleeping in the dorms."
"I know, tragic, isn't it?" Mike said, sounding a tad sarcastic. "Now, let's go to sleep."
"I'm gonna miss this place, Mike." James sighed, "Are you sure we can't do one more year?"
"That's what you said last year!" Mike reminded him in a whispering tone.
James yawned, "Oh yeah..." He looked at the clock... 11:52 PM. It was near midnight now, and he had to wake up at six tomorrow to say his final good-byes to campus, his professors, and everybody else around. At least he and Mike were going to move out together as single bachelors looking for a new life. These happy thoughts were enough to drift James off into a deep sleep... with memories, no regrets, and a positive mindframe in moving on toward the future and what it has in store for him and Mike.
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Author's Note:
This is my first Monsters Inc. fic! I'm very impressed with the outcome, and how much detail I was able to stuff into one chapter. Hope nobody got too bored... Anyhow, this is the past of Mike and Sully, back where Sully was called James. Later on, we're going to see Monsters Inc.'s past... and all the events that happen to Celia, Rozz, Randall, Mr. Waternoose, and a bunch of other monsters here. Boo doesn't come quite yet... sorry, Boo fans!
Currently, the story will base around the monsters... because they're cool! Now here's the deal. You read and tell me what you think. Point things out, tell me what you don't like... it improves my story-writing abilities. I don't see criticism as a bad thing unless you put it in a bad way. Hope people read this and maybe even like it!
Chapter 2 will come sooner than you think. I'm writing and I can't stop! Too many ideas.
Edit:
Yo, it's me again! Same news as above . Except, as you can tell, I added a lot more detail of the graduation day and more mysteries about this dude "R.B.", which I'm sure most of you could guess who it is. This was intended to make a longer and more complex story line. Most of the chapters will be revised and lengthened. Please enjoy this humongous first chapter as I redo and add more to chapter 2, 3, 4, and newspaper extra. Thank you for your patience!
A special thank you to FicCheck for helping me with some newspaper ideas that I have yet to add! And thanks to all those who reviewed -- you rule! Don't worry, guys... Randall makes this story even more exciting. Hang around for my Monsters Inc. sequel that's probably coming up around late April - early May-ish... I'll be writing these two fics at the same time. This is the prequel, the other's the sequel. You'll be surprised how the three stories connect and bind -- trust me. Be patient and you'll be rewarded with more of my stories. Sorry if you got bored. Complaints happen... oh, and as for the English books that Mike and Sulley read... they are not intended to be offensive, they are monstrous versions of the classics in the human world. You got a problem with it? Complain and I'll adjust the name or completely delete it if it's too much trouble. Yup, have fun here. Now I'm going to sleep... 2:10 AM, and I took a 30 minute last touch-up on this chapter especially for my readers. You're welcome.
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(c) fic to Organization XIII rules
I still don't own the characters, just the fic.
(c) Monsters Inc. to Pixar/Disney
Last Update on Chapter I: 4/13/07, Friday the Thirteenth to 4/24/07
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