(I don't own Monsters University, Pixar does. However, Lindsey, I do own, as well as the plot.)

Chapter 1

The First Day

Where was I? I couldn't make anything out; darkness surrounded me. What was going on? Why was I here? Suddenly, moonlight fell over me. I could now see that I was lying in a bed, and I was in a bedroom of some sort. Toys littered the floor...human toys. How did they get here? No...it wasn't important. I needed to figure out what was going on. I tried to pull the bed sheets off me, but they wouldn't budge, as if they weighed tons. I squirmed, able to bring myself to a sitting position in the bed. I saw that the sheets were a light pink, and the bedroom resembled one of a child's.

Oh, no.

I was trapped in a human child's bedroom!

"No, no, no," I whispered as I struggled from the bedsheets. "Not this, anything but this!"

I was terrified. If a human were to walk in...I cringed at the thought of dying by their deadly touch. I tugged at the bedsheets harder, but still, they wouldn't budge. Suddenly, there was the sound of hoof-steps. I froze, listening. The bedroom door opened, and I saw a figure. It had hooved feet, a tall, bulky figure, short arms with sharp-fingered hands, bat-like wings, and a head with a crown of horns. I was puzzled. The monster looked familiar...was it my mother? My father? The monster stepped further into the bedroom, and into the light. My eyes widened in horror. I was staring at...myself. Except my doppelganger looked downright evil, sporting glowing red eyes, unlike my normal hazel ones, and she was frothing at the mouth.

"Wh-Who are you?" I squeaked fearfully.

My doppelganger let out a sinister chuckle, and started stalking towards me.

"Best..." she hissed. "Best..."

"Best?" I repeated.

"You have to always be the best. Failure will destroy you. You will be the best at Scaring."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Scaring's not for me. I can't."

"You are a Scarer," my doppelganger snapped, suddenly grasping my shoulders. "You will be a Scarer, and you will be the best."

My doppelganger's voice suddenly morphed into the voice of my father. The memories returned to me...every plea to have my own dreams crushed by my father's cruel words. The doppelganger shook me from my thoughts by gripping me tighter, shaking my body.

"Best!" she began to yell. "Best! Best! Best! Best!"

"Stop!" I cried, startled. "Leave me alone!"

Just then, the doppelganger's form changed into a human child that towered over me, her toxic touch burning my skin.

"Stop..." I mumbled in my sleep. "Let me go...Please..."

"Lindsey," a voice called to me. "Lindsey, wake up!"

Feeling tentacles shaking my body, I managed to escape from the nightmare and wake up. Sitting up, I put my claw to my chest, and I breathed heavily.

"A nightmare..." I whispered.

"You alright, Lindsey?" I heard a voice say. I turned to see my roommate, Diana, beside me, rubbing her tentacles together nervously. I gave her a smile.

"Y-Yeah," I said. "I'm fine, Diana. I just had a nightmare, that's all."

"Ah," Diana replied. "You're nervous about your first day of classes, huh?"

"You could say that," I mumbled as I got out of bed. "We'd better get ready."

Diana nodded, edging to her side of the room as fast as her slug-like body could carry her. I watched her quietly, before forcing myself out of bed. We prepared for Scaring Class. All the while, I was silent, while Diana expressed every hope and wish she had for her Freshman year. While I was amused at her excitement, I couldn't shake away my own misery. We were ready to leave our dorm room after a while. Diana and I left together, entering the crowded hall.

"Let's stop by the cafeteria first," suggested Diana. "I'm hungry."

"Mmm," I replied, nodding.

Off we went, existing the dorm building and into the main building of Monsters University. We went into the crowded cafeteria, and got in line. I ate only a muffin; I wasn't very hungry. Diana, on the other hand, piled her plate with pancakes, bacon, and toast. We sat at a table to eat.

"I hear Dean Hardscrabble's pretty intense," my slug-like companion said in between bites of food. "She kicks students out of the Scaring Program for failing the final exam at the end of the semester. And she's a master at scaring, too. She's going to be hard to impress."

I swallowed. As pleasing as it sounded to get kicked out of the Scaring Program, I knew it would just come back to haunt me. My family wouldn't accept it if I wasn't majoring in Scaring; they'd simply put me into another university or something.

"I hope I'll survive," I said miserably.

Diana paused, looking at me.

"Lindsey, something's wrong," she said, a stern tone in her voice. "What is it? Is this about that nightmare?"

I swallowed, rubbing the back of my neck. Then I sighed.

"I'm just...I'm just really nervous about this new life at MU."

Diana's eyes scanned my face, before she flashed me a smile of reassurance.

"Just relax," she told me. "Take one day at a time, and have some fun. After all, this is our freshman year, right."

"I suppose..." I replied. "Thanks for that, Diana. I can always use some cheering up."

"Of course. You're my roommate, and my new friend."

I felt a smile tug at my lips.

Diana wasn't lying when she said that Dean Hardscrabble was intense. I could still feel my heart racing after the she-monster in question had returned to the shadows from which she had come from. Diana was also right in the fact that failing the final exam resulted in getting kicked out of the Scaring Program. And that was something I didn't want.

The class first assignment was textbook work. How fun... I opened my textbook, pulled out some paper, and silently began to work.

""Problem One"..." I read to myself. ""A 5-year-old boy has a fear of the dark and spiders. Why would "Midnight Crawler" be an effective scare on him?"" I sighed. "I don't know and I don't care."

"I don't think that's the right answer, Lindsey," Diana whispered to me, a chuckle in her voice.

"I know, I know," I replied.

I flipped through my textbook, finding the scare in question. I read about it a bit, before returning to my work and answering the question.

""Midnight Crawler" would be an effective scare due to the fact that a monster must assume the position of a spider, while at the same time using the darkness of a child's bedroom to their advantage," I wrote.

"One down...49 to go..." I said.

The minutes seemed to drag on and on and on. I felt as if I'd go crazy, and Scaring Class wasn't even half-way over. I dropped my pencil and rubbed my aching claw. I had finished most of the questions, but I was so uninterested that I just couldn't go on. I looked up at the roof, where the windows were. I gazed through them, my mind blank. I wasn't sure how long I was out, but I was shaken from my stupor by Diana some time later.

"Lindsey," she whispered. "The professor's calling you."

I blinked, staring ahead to see Professor Knight staring at me.

"Ms. Sadler, is it?" Professor Knight. "May I see what you've done so far?"

"Oh," I began, my cheeks warming up. I looked down at my paper; only 35 questions were complete. "Y-Yes, sir..."

I grabbed my paper, got up from my seat, made my way down the steps and to Professor Knight. I gave it to him, and watched nervously as he examined my work. After a few minutes, he glanced up at me.

"You're not finished, but your work is correct," he said calmly.

I wasn't sure what to do but nod.

"Demonstrate to me the scare, "Rattler Lunge"," the professor suddenly demanded.

"O-Oh...uh...yes, sir..." I stuttered.

Taking a breath, I stepped back to give myself room. I felt myself being watched by my peers, and I grew even hotter under my fur. I swallowed, closed my eyes, and did the scare. I crouched low, before slowly springing up, and lunging forward, making a noise at the same time that was similar to a rattlesnake's rattle.

"Hmm, very good, Ms. Sadler," Professor Knight said to me. "You're smart, and I know you'll do excellent in my class. But please stay focused."

I nodded, taking my paper.

"Thank you, professor," I said, retreating to my seat. "Back to work, I guess..."

I was still hot, even after class had ended. It was lunchtime for Diana and I now. We sat together, and, once again, she ate much, while I ate little.

"You did pretty good with that scare in Scaring Class, Lindsey," Diana told me.

"Thanks," I said, looking away. It felt weird, getting praised for doing good at something I didn't like. "I'm sure others can do better. I'm just a freshman; the senior know more than me. Besides, there are fraternities and sororities that are better. What am I?"

Diana touched my hand with her tentacle.

"You're Lindsey Sandler, silly," she joked.

I smiled.

"I know...But still-"

"No "buts", Lindsey," said my friend with a stern tone. "Now listen. Tonight, there's going to be a huge fraternity and sorority party on the campus. We're going, ok?"

"I don't know," I said awkwardly. "Parties aren't my thing. Too loud."

"Lindsey," Diana began, narrowing her eyes. "If you don't come with me to this party, I'm make you run through campus wearing only a bikini."

I laughed.

"Alright, alright," I said between giggles. "I'll go. But please don't make me do that."

"My first college party," gasped Diana as we approached the Greek Life buildings. "This is gonna be so awesome!"

I chuckled at my friend's enthusiasm. I only wished that I could be as excited as she was. But, I'd have to deal with it; I didn't want to embarress myself in front of the entire university. So, I put on a smile, and forced myself to be happy.

"EEEEEEKKKKKK!"

I jumped when Diana suddenly let out a squeal.

"Lindsey, look! Roar Omega Roar! The best Scarers on campus."

I looked in the direction Diana looked, and I saw the fraternity members. I recognized them from the pamphlet I got before I came to MU. There was Johnny Worthington, the leader, and members Chet, Javier, Reggie, and Chip. At the moment, they were talking to other monsters. I gazed down at Diana. She was watching them with a blush on her cheeks and a look of longing in her eyes. I chuckled slightly at that.

"I'm gonna go talk to them," Diana said in a dreamy voice. "Lindsey, you go have fun. And don't leave; I'll know."

Diana slowly wiggled away, towards the Roar Omega Roar members. Now, I was alone, surrounded by monsters that were more sociable than I was. I fidgeted awkwardly. Finally, I sighed, and joined Diana. Now that I was in earshot, I could hear Johnny discussing Scaring techniques to the other monsters. Nothing I was interested in, though. As I quietly sat and listened to the conversation. But as I did, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, someone watching the fraternity members from afar. I turned my head to see another monster, a lizard-like one. He stood in the shadows, his squinted eyes watching the ROR members. But he noticed me looking at him, and disappeared. I blinked, rubbing my eyes. Odd...Who was that monster, and where did he go? Who knows...

I'd probably have that nightmare again tonight. I lied in bed, staring at the ceiling. Diana was asleep in her bed. She had been out for a while; she fainted at the party when Johnny winked at her. Luckily, it was a good excuse to leave the party. I closed my eyes; I was so tired. But the nightmares would come again, I knew it. My father's voice would continue to haunt me, and there was nothing I could do about it. A tear ran down my cheek. What a miserable day this was...