I Stood up for Him
By: S. G. Taylor
"What were you thinking?! We lost because of you!" The monster jock snapped.
"It-it wasn't my fault!" Randy cried. "It-it was-"
"Can it. If you don't have what it takes to bring us to the top, you're out of ROR."
The little lizard boy was struck speechless. This couldn't be happening! All his dreams of having friends and being popular were crumbling away.
But… cool kids didn't do this to their friends… did they?
"I'd like our jacket back, now."
Turning away in shame, he handed over his fraternity jacket. He quickly walked away. Burying his face in his hands, he hoped no one would see his tears.
I was there, though. I saw what had happened.
I marched right up to Johnny (bold move, I know) and gave him a piece of my mind.
"You know what, Johnny?" I asserted. "You may look all snazzy and hip, but you'll never truly be a good team leader, you know why?"
He raised an eyebrow, looking half drunk and paying more attention to my wild blonde hair than to me.
"Because you are a jerk!"
The team mumbled among itself, glad I had spoken their hidden feelings about him.
"So? If you can't be the best, what are you? A loser, that's what!"
Oooh. That was it.
"Those are big words coming from someone who lost 365 straight games of chess in a row to a girl!" I'd known Johnny when he was younger. He was a little brat.
"Oooooooooo…" His team went.
Johnny looked taken aback. "S-so?! Everyone's lost at least once in their lives… Leave me alone!"
"Why don't you start… by leaving your team alone. They're very bright. They've got what it takes." I smiled up at them. "They just need a little more kindness."
He looked them over. They were a great team. Did he really care more about them or about winning? Winning, clearly.
"Huh. Maybe you're right…"
His whole team seemed to relax at that statement.
"So, uh… does this mean you'll go out with me?"
He didn't care at all! Jerk!
"No!" I slapped him in the face and slithered off.
"Wow…" one of his teammates said, now more courageous. "She really got you good."
He gave the teammate a dirty look, but too humiliated to think of a clever comeback, he just stood there speechless.
"...Now you know how we feel every day." Another admitted.
...
I slithered back to my PNK, my sorority. On the way, though, I saw the rejected ROR member sitting at the bottom of the empty bleachers, just staring up at the stars.
"Hey," I spoke, my voice startling him, triggering his invisibility reflex. "You okay?"
He sighed, choosing not to turn visible again. "No…"
I felt for him. Poor thing had only wanted to fit in. And now…
"Hey. If it makes you feel any better, I got Johnny back real good." I could swear that his eyes and mouth had turned visible again. "He won't be bothering anyone for a long time."
He smirked. "What did you do?"
"Oh, not much… Just showed him up in front of the rest of his team, as well as various spectators."
"You didn't have to do that." But I could tell by his grin he was pleased.
"Well, someone had to stand up to him."
By now, he had rematerialized, his big green eyes happy for a change.
Mine lit up too. I'd always kind of liked him ever since we met first semester. Ever since he walked up to me with those cupcakes, he stole my heart. If reptilian creatures could blush, I would have.
We moved closer to each other, until his hand rested on mine. The light of the full moon shone on our purple scales, and our tails intertwined. The warmth of mine surprised him, but he didn't let go. Since mine was light orange and fur-tipped, like a lion's, it felt good on his cold reptilian scales.
Before we could do anything else, somebody interrupted us.
"Hey, Randy." One of his former teammates ran up to him. "We had a vote, and it looks like you're back on the team after all."
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
Randy and I rejoiced, jumping up.
The monster presented the old ROR jacket to him and he proudly slipped it back on.
"Oh, and it turns out that our team did win after all." The monster continued. "One of the Oozma Kappa members cheated."
We gasped, and Randy's face darkened. He already knew who it was.
"So anyways, we were holding a victory party at our place if you want to join…?" He was studying Randy's darkened face, slightly creeped out. "You can bring those cupcakes you like to make if you want. We won't judge…"
Suddenly, a creepy chill went through the air. Then Randy used a tone of voice I'd never heard him use before. It started out slow, a barely audible hiss, then he just exploded.
"That dirty… CHEATER! How dare he humiliate me like that?! And you're telling me he had the nerve to CHEAT?!"
We stared in shock at this new side of him.
The other ROR member gathered himself up faster than I did. "B-but Randy, we won!"
"I don't care if we won! That still doesn't excuse Sullivan from what he did. He's always bested me at every opportunity, every chance he gets! When he wins, I'm the one everyone's laughing at. Is that fair? No! Someone ought to teach him a lesson!"
"T-to be fair, he was expelled, sir."
At this, he stayed silent. But the darkness in his face did not go away.
"Please, Randy," I whispered finally. "Let's just go to the party."
He obliged, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something in him had changed. Could my sweet Randy turn into a mean, vengeful creature?
No. I took that out of my mind. He was too kind, generous, and sweet.
He even brought more cupcakes to the party.
...
Graduation was coming up. Everyone had become really good at scaring, and soon we would receive our diplomas. However, I had a confession to make.
"Randy…" This was quite difficult. We'd gotten to know each other more and more, and ever since Sullivan had been expelled his vengeful side hadn't returned. He was always so good-hearted and nice to me. "I… I think I love you…"
He looked relieved. "Ah. Well that saves me a stressful confession. Thanks!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and I love you too!" He was under a bit of pressure to confess first, I realized. He was kind of cute when unsure of himself…
I gulped. "However-"
"However…?"
I couldn't stand his cutely hurt tone.
"My family is moving out of the country. After I graduate, I won't get to see you again for a long time… ...I do plan to return to Monstropolis. But that will take years. My family needs me right now, and I can't let them down."
He was silent for a while.
"You understand, don't you?"
"...I understand perfectly." Though something about his tone suggested that he didn't.
I reached my hand over to comfort him, but he swatted it away.
"I can't get any breaks, can I?! Life, you take from me more than you give, but why must you take away the one person who actually loves me for who I am?!" He realized he was shouting into the air. He turned towards me and sighed. "Sorry 'bout that." I understood it would be hard for him to hear that. He took my paw in his. "I really love you. I wish you didn't have to go."
"Me too." I gave him one last hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Hopefully I won't be away for too long…
...
When I returned to Monstropolis, things were very different.
First off, instead of scaring children, the monsters made them laugh. It was strange to see that, given that scaring was my major.
I thought it was an appalling idea. But when I learned that there had been an energy crisis, and laughter was ten times stronger than screams, I eventually accepted it.
Anyways, I looked up the address Randy (now Randall) had sent me. We were keeping in touch with e-mail. But I hadn't heard from him in three months.
I arrived at the door and knocked. No answer. I knocked again. Same thing. Huh, maybe he wasn't home at this time.
I applied for a job in Monsters, Inc. and became the new employee. This was the same company Randall had said he was working for and maybe we'd meet at work.
The strange thing was, he didn't seem to be anywhere. Not at home. Not at work. And he wasn't answering his e-mails. Maybe he'd moved to a new town. No, that wasn't it. He would have told me.
I began to worry. What if something happened to him?
I went over to Celia, the secretary.
"Hi there," she greeted. "How may I help you?"
"Hello. I'm from out of town, and I was wondering about someone who works here… or at least used to. Randall Boggs? Do you know what happened to him?"
At his name, she seemed to cringe. But she replied, "Yes. He was banished three months ago."
"Banished?! What ever for?"
She fished out a folder for me. "Here. You can read it on your lunch break."
I thanked her.
At lunch, I flipped through the file until I found the information I needed.
"Banished to New Orleans, Louisiana for reasons involving assistance in illegal activity."
I closed the file. I overheard a few monsters talking at the table next to mine.
"Aren't you glad we don't have to deal with that slimebag anymore?"
"Yeah. What a creep."
"The day they kicked Randall out was the day things got a little brighter."
"Hey!" I said, unable to stand their hurtful words. "I knew him in University, and he was nice!"
"Maybe so. But he changed." The last monster spoke to me. "You're new here, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"The story is, after he came to Monsters, Inc., he started out fairly decent, friendly. The kind you could talk to over coffee. But he changed. Waternoose started to push employees to work harder. It was stressful. It had a drastic effect on Randall, who became more impatient with people. He wanted to live up to standards, and when he couldn't do that, he snapped at his assistant. People stopped talking to him, and that made him even more angry. The only attention he got was when he was on top- and that's where he intended to get. Unfortunately, he pushed us lesser monsters down to achieve that."
The second one continued, "After his involvement in a secret plot to try and solve the energy crisis, with an unethical machine used to collect screams, no one ever heard from him again."
"Yeah. Good riddance." The first one finished.
I frowned. That certainly sounded like something that could happen to anyone, I thought.
Poor Randall. He'd been through so much after University. And while I didn't approve of his actions, I understood the pressure he must have been under. Did these people really think he deserved what he got? Of course, I didn't hear the whole story, but still...
My heart beat fast as I thought of him. It was true, through all the time we spent together in University, I'd grown to love him. Despite the darker side of his character showing through at times. And now he's out there somewhere in New Orleans, and it's up to me to find him.
After lunch, I went over to get my key-card. I didn't have an assistant yet, so I had to get the key-cards on my own. I ordered as many doors as I could in the area he'd been banished to. The process was very slow. I could only search through one door at a time.
I filled up some energy tubes, too. But can you believe it? It takes 10 screams to fill up a canister!
"Uh, I think you're supposed to make them laugh…" a red bean-like monster said from behind me.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like that's going to happen… I'd like my dignity, thanks."
He stopped. "Hey. You know, you remind me of someone."
I smirked. It didn't take a super genius to figure out who.
He even flinched a little when I looked at him.
"So," I tried. "Are you my new assistant?"
...
The red bean's name was Fungus, and apparently he'd been Randall's old assistant. He was a little jittery at first, but after seeing that I wasn't yelling at him or anything, he calmed down.
He was eager to help me on my quest. Despite getting snapped at by the reptilian, he did say Randall saved his life.
At the end of the day, through searching miles of swampy area and collecting energy, I was exhausted. I had filled five large canisters of energy. I had looked through dozens of doors, and nothing.
...
A week passed, to no avail.
The next day, I went to work and kept looking.
"I'm sorry to say this…" my assistant mumbled. "But you could look for months and still not find him."
I resisted the urge to snap at him, biting back my harsh thoughts and instead tried to consider this possibility.
"I know." I replied. "But I'm not giving up just yet."
At the end of the day, shortly before closing time, I'd filled six canisters. Exhausted, I searched one more door. I was in a log cabin in a particularly swampy countryside. Outside, a settlement stood, albeit smaller than the larger city area. Next to a large hill with a weeping willow, I could swear I saw a creature moving swiftly through the swamp. It was dark out, and the shadow moved fast. I blinked and it was gone. Had I really seen something at all?
I looked around for quite a bit. I knew I had to get back fast, before the company closed up for the night. Crickets chirped all around me. I shivered. It was cold in this swamp, my feet covered in the mud.
Suddenly, I saw the shadow again. It seemed to stop in place, as if spotting me. I could swear I could hear its breathing, even the quickening beating of its heart. Then, it took off, as fast as before.
I didn't know what to think. I mean, I hoped. But I couldn't let my eyes deceive me.
I'd searched too long already and I knew that. I would have to head back now.
Hanging my head in regret, I looked out into the darkness. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I really tried my best. Please, Randy, if you're out there, come back to me…"
I turned back and headed towards the log cabin. From inside the house, I heard sudden gasps and a flurry of commotion.
Uh oh. Was I busted?
I slid up against the wall, listening to the humans murmuring.
"I've never seen that kind of a footprint before!" a man worried.
"How could an animal have gotten in here?!" a woman wondered.
I should have been more careful! Though I could have sworn my feet were clean when I came in here.
Quietly, I slipped into the house through a window. I slid through the door back into my world.
Everyone was still at their stations. There was a buzz of gasps and worried whispers.
"What happened?" I asked my assistant. "Why is everyone acting so strange?"
"Y-you should have seen it…" Fungus replied. "Randall came back through your door."
At hearing this, my heart sped up.
"But he collapsed. He looked badly hurt, so I called an ambulance."
He was back… So that meant the shadow was-! Snapping out of my thoughts, I said, "Good work, Fungus. Where's the hospital?"
...
We arrived at the lizard-monster's room. Fungus was nervous about speaking to his ex-boss just yet, so he stayed outside.
I came into the room quietly. There he was, sleeping on the bed. He looked pretty peaceful now, despite the many bandages. He had a large one on his forehead, and many others covering his body. Despite this, many cuts and bruises were still visible. He had an arm in a splint, and many others wrapped in a cloth to stop the bleeding. The mere sight of him broke my heart.
"Oh, my poor baby…" I whispered. "How could anyone do this to you?"
How could anyone treat anyone in this way?
He must have heard me, since he opened his eyes just then. Recognition spilled over his face.
"Y-you…?" He reached for his glasses, similar to the ones he wore when he was younger. As he put them on, his eyes opened to their full size, and now I knew he could see me. "You came back for me…?"
"I did," I admitted, and ran over to his side. I kissed him on the cheek and held him in my arms, making sure I was careful of his injuries.
I let go, and he looked me over. I was slightly older now, but I was still that same old friend he knew from before. He was joyful at seeing me. But then his expression turned to one of sadness.
"I've been a terrible person."
I looked at him solemnly. "And are you still?"
"I don't want to be." Seeing me and all his past mistakes was difficult to bear. I could tell he was trying hard to fight back tears.
"It's okay." I looked at him reassuringly. "You don't have to be."
He told me the story on how he changed after graduating. Even though I'd already heard it, I didn't say anything.
His voice cracked when he remembered treating a friend especially harshly. "I can't believe I said that. Who had I turned into?!" He turned away as a few tears trickled onto his sheets. "I'm sorry. I really am."
I nodded, understanding.
"It was like I was an entirely different person. I let my fear take over and that lead to some really stupid decisions… I swear, if I ever catch myself doing something like that again, I'll slap myself."
I looked at him. Did this really mean he was going to make an effort to be nice again?
His face burned at the memory of his actions. Suddenly, he de-materialized. I blinked. Should I tell him?
"Seriously, I'm sick of it! No more will people be able to control me. From now on, I make my own decisions in life!"
I looked away and coughed. He looked down at his hands.
"Oh, for the love of…" Starting from his glasses, he re-materialized again. "I'm serious, of course. I'll never make such a horrible mistake again."
I believed him.
"I know what's right. And this time, I'll fight for it!"
I smiled as I saw this new development. "I'm glad."
Inside his heart, I knew, was still the same sweetness I'd seen when we were young. He'd changed, some of the darkness in his heart was brought to the surface when he met Sullivan again. But I knew that with some effort - and he was prepared to give lots - Randall could be the person he'd always wanted to be. Not just nice, but assertive and confident.
I would help him accomplish this, of course.
He'd changed since we'd met, it was true. And he would probably make a lot more changes in his life. I had changed too, though not nearly as drastically. We were different now. But that didn't mean we would stop loving each other. I loved him then, and I'll love him now.
As I looked into those lovely sad eyes, I saw some of the sorrow melt away, replaced
with a new hope.
A thought occurred to me. And I thought it would be nice to lighten the mood.
"You know what? I spend all those years out of the country, dreaming that one day I'll come here to scare, and guess what? They turn the company into a laugh business!"
He blinked, not quite sure how to take that. Then he burst into laughter.
"Hah! Good one!"
...Boy, was he in for a surprise.