Chapter 4

Charlie paced back and forth before the fresh door, hands clasped behind his back. He kept glancing at the clock, but there was still no sign of Mr. Worthington.

Johnny had told Charlie that he had something important to discuss with Mr. Cobswell, but now a half hour had passed, and the small yellow monster was getting anxious; after all, he wasn't getting paid to pace.

In another part of the building, two monsters were having a slightly heated discussion behind closed doors.

"It's out of the question, Worthington," Mr. Cobswell seethed, trying to keep his temper in check. His clawed hands were splayed on his desk, barely resisting the urge to dig his nails straight through it.

He was standing before his best Scarer, tall, intimidating, steadfast against the ideas he was trying to put in his head. Johnny only leaned back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest.

"Nothing's gone wrong," he said in a much calmer tone.

"Yet," he pressed, taking a step closer. "Yet, Worthington. I don't care what sort of preposterous revolution Monsters Inc. has come up with. We are not going to deal with it by taking to drastic measures ourselves!"

"With all due respect, sir, measures like these aren't drastic anymore."

His boss scoffed and whirled away. "I know...what with all of this new information they're finding out at that company about human children. Those so-called 'facts' have yet to be legitimized. Change may be taking place all around us, Mr. Worthington, but there are some things that never change."

Johnny frowned and leaned up. "Sir -"

"We will discuss this no more. Return to your station, Mr. Worthington."

With that, Johnny left the office in (as he thought) "temporary defeat."

Charlie was still waiting on the scare floor, and his excitement upon seeing his Scarer finally approaching was stumped by the unpleasant look on Johnny's face. Charlie was afraid even to say anything.

"Get the door going, rookie," Johnny grumbled.

It had been a long day, and by the end of it, Johnny was more than ready to throw in the towel - when he remembered that he was supposed to ask his boss about time off for the family reunion. Then he thought better of it, realizing that it'd be more prudent to put the request in when his boss was in a better mood.

The next day did, indeed, find Mr. Cobswell in a remarkably high-spirited way. Johnny was inclined to wonder about this, but his boss beat him to the question.

"Good news, Worthington - we've made our quota this month with scream energy hitting the top charts, and then some."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "That's great news, sir. And I'm sure none of it can be traced back to our Problem Child?"

Cobswell's face fell, but only slightly. "Alright, Worthington. I'm sure she undoubtedly contributed a good amount to our numbers, but don't forget that you're not the only Scarer in the company."

"I'm the only Scarer who's getting a kid to scream for us."

Cobswell sighed, then looked around. He signaled Johnny into his office and closed the door. "Listen, Worthington," he began, "I see how dead-set you are on making this...bargain with the kid, work. I will acknowledge that she pulled through just as you said she would. But you need to understand what's at stake here." He want off on a tangent about the danger of getting too personal with human children, the risk it posed to the monster world, the trouble it would cause them with the CDA, and so on.

Johnny listened patiently, but his resolve was immovable. "Sir," he said when his boss had finished, "if you allow me, I will personally see to it that nothing endangers us, or the company. The second anything goes wrong, I'll have the door shredded."

"If anything goes wrong, it may be too late by then."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

Cobswell fixed his employee with an icy glare. "If you remember, Worthington, a certain child-related catastrophe that occurred at Monsters Inc. not long ago..."

"How could I forget," he drawled, putting a hand to his forehead. "But look how it turned out for them. They're doing better than they ever have before."

Cobswell heaved a great sigh for the umpteenth time, gazed at Johnny for what seemed like ages, then opened his mouth. "Alright," he said slowly. "Alright. I will allow you to continue visiting this child, in order that she may help to increase our numbers. When I said I trusted you, Worthington, I meant it. But," he held up a finger, "be aware that I am holding you personally responsible for anything untoward that may happen. Because you seem to insist so much on doing this."

Johnny thanked his boss and opened the door to make his way to the scare floor.

"Mr. Worthington," his boss called before he left. "Don't make any more contact with the child than is necessary. She may be willing to scream as loud as she can, but I beg of you not to treat this like a social rendezvous."

Johnny felt a huge load lifted from him as he made his way onto the scare floor.

Now that he was no longer sneaking behind his boss's back, he felt the confidence he had been missing flow back into his system. No more deceit, and all the permission he would ever need to keep carrying out this task. He could see the company's numbers rising dramatically as the kid would continue to give it her all for the sake of their energy. And who knows? Maybe Fear Co. would create a revolution of its own - maybe even one to rival Monsters Inc.

The possibilities were racing through his mind as he approached a very relieved-looking Charlie.

"Hey, rookie. Good news. Cobswell's agreed to my idea." He smirked.

His face went from relief to near-disbelief. "He agreed to it? But, how?"

"It wasn't easy," Johnny admitted. "It took some persuasion, but I think he's finally seeing the light."

"Well that's...that's great news, sir," he said, half-heartedly, unsure of his own feelings on the matter.

If Johnny noticed the subdued tone in his assistant's voice, he didn't show it. He was looking forward to a productive day of scaring. "Bring in the doors, buddy, we're gonna give it our all today."

Johnny wasn't scheduled to "scare" Marley that day, but he was still in a good mood by the end of it. His mood lifted even higher when he had put a request in for some time off, and found out later that his request had been granted. He planned on calling his mother as soon as he got home.

"Hey, mom," he drawled when he reached her. "I just wanted to let you know I got some time off. I'll be able to make it to the reunion."

'That's wonderful, Johnny - your father and I look forward to seeing you. And…'

"Yeah?"

'Well, your father also has something he wants to talk with you about, when you get here.'

"Sure, no problem," he said, but frowned. From his mother's tone of voice, it didn't sound like he was looking to have a light discussion. What could he possibly want now? It always seemed to be something with his father. "Well, I gotta get going, I'm working early tomorrow."

Alright, dear. I'll see you next month.

Johnny lied in bed, thinking about what his mother had told him. He didn't like the way she sounded, when she said his father wanted to have a talk with him. His mind turned the matter over and over, and still he couldn't figure out what his father might want to talk to him about.

A father-son discussion wouldn't bother most people, but Johnny and his father weren't "most people." Johnny Worthington II had immensely high expectations for his son, and spent most of Johnny's childhood making sure he would never let their family's reputation down. So far as Johnny could tell, there was no reason why his dad had to come down on him for anything.

...But, his mother's voice…

His thoughts blended into one another as he finally fell to sleep.

The weeks passed by quickly. At work, Johnny was able to make a few more visits to Marley.

As per usual, she demanded that he answer one of her many questions before she would even think about screaming. Johnny often found himself wondering what kind of parents would raise such a cheeky kid - but then, some kids were that way regardless of their parenting. After all, the same was true with a lot of monster kids. He had no children of his own, and didn't spend a whole lot of time with monster children - but his insight into the ways of younglings was keen.

Interacting with Marley was his first experience in dealing with a human kid on a psychological level. From what he had gleaned during these interactions, human kids weren't that different from monster kids at all.

"Kid," Johnny growled and stared at the 10-year-old from under bushy eyebrows, "are you gonna make a habit of this question game?"

"Well…" she hesitated, as if unsure how to answer. As seemed to be her habit whenever he entered the room, she approached him, padding across the floor with her socks loose on her feet, hair disheveled. "I just wanna know about you, and where you come from - I've never seen another monster besides you, and...well, you never wanna answer my questions!"

Johnny was slightly taken aback at how angry this seemed to make her. Glancing at her door, which was shut, he said, "I've answered enough of your questions, kid. It's against our rules to go blabbing things to a human."

"But I promise I won't tell anyone!"

He stood there a moment, contemplating. He put his hands on his hips and regarded her. "Alright. If we're gonna do this, let's get it over with. What do you wanna know that I haven't told you already?"

Marley's face beamed with joy. She was so excited, she actually ran back to her bed and pounced on it, then turned to face him. Johnny took a few more steps into her room, but was careful to be within quick reach of the closet door. He knew he couldn't afford to do this; he shouldn't be spending more than a handful of seconds in her room, or the others would get suspicious. But quenching her curiosity would (hopefully) make his work with her easier in the long-run. It'd be great to come into her room and not wrestle with her curiosity about himself and his world.

How much time he actually spent in there, he didn't know - but he was barraged with a ton of questions by the little imp, and grudgingly answered all that he could. There were some questions she asked that he flat-out refused to answer, much to her disappointment. Before long, the tables started turning: instead of Marley threatening not to scream for Johnny, Johnny began threatening never to visit Marley again if she didn't. He assumed, of course, that she liked seeing him, and would thus be disappointed if he never came back.

Her eyes grew wide when he said that, and she actually looked somewhat frightened. She looked down at her folded hands. "I'll scream," she said, after a while, then looked up at him. "But don't leave." Her eyes were two pleading pools of water.

Johnny couldn't find it in himself to take advantage of her defeat, but he said, "If you keep screaming, I won't. Remember, kid, we need that scream energy. It's highly important to us monsters. Understand?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off him.

"Good. Feel like giving me a scream?"

She nodded. "Right now?"

"Fire away."

She screamed as loud as she possibly could, this time much louder than before. The silence that filled the room was deafening.

Johnny grinned, showing his sharp, gleaming teeth. "You're one good customer, kid. I gotta go." He stood up.

"Promise you'll come back?" she blurted out in a voice louder than she meant.

His hand on the doorknob, he turned to look at her, and gave her a playful salute. "I promise, kid."

She smiled, and he left. When the door had shut with a click, Marley - for a reason she didn't know - got out of bed and headed for the closet door. Maybe...just maybe, she would be able to see their world this time. Maybe she could get a glimpse of it, just this once…

But upon opening it, she was met with only the dismal sight of her closet, scattered with books, boxes, and stuffed animals. She stood there for a few seconds, as if willing Johnny to show up again, but at last she gave up and closed the door.

His departures were always hard to endure.

Luckily for Johnny, Charlie made no inquiries as to why he was in the kid's bedroom for so long. He realized that it hadn't actually been that long - but for being that he was only supposed to go in there and get the girl to scream, it had been some time. Charlie was smart enough to assume, of course, that Johnny probably tended to exchange a few words with the kid, and so didn't hold it too much against him for his prolonged visits. And who knows, maybe the kid was being obstinate, distracting Worthington from his main task.

After that visit, Johnny didn't see Marley again until after his family reunion - a reunion that was quickly approaching.

When his last day came, he took all the time he could to make preparations for travel. Not that his parents lived terribly far, but they were on the other side of Monstropolis, and Monstropolis covered a huge area.

He packed his things and loaded them into his car, ready to make the drive to his parents' place, where family reunions were sometimes held (he hoped this year that it would take place at Brambles Park, as his family was rather large and parks offered more room and fresh air.)

During the drive, he tried not to think too much about the conversation he was going to have with his father. He didn't even know what it was about, so there was no sense dwelling on it.

Several CD's later, he finally came into view of his parents' manor.

'Home sweet home,' he thought humorlessly as he pulled into one of the many driveways. No sooner had he retrieved his luggage and shut the door when his mother came out to greet him.

She was a terrifying monster, very much alike in appearance to Johnny - slenderer, but no less terrifying. Two large, dark horns jutted from the top of her head; not as large as her sons (he got his horns from his father), but formidable all the same. She grinned, revealing a row of gleaming sharp teeth.

"Glad you made it, son!" she called, making the trek down to the driveway.

"Me too, mom." They hugged, and made their way toward the mansion's main entrance.

Shirley was thrilled that her son was able to make it. She asked him a string of habitual questions, about work and home life, to which he also answered habitually.

"Where's dad?"

"He's on the phone with uncle Jerry."

"What does he want to talk with me about?"

She hesitated a moment, then said, "Work stuff, mostly. He's been a bit concerned about you."

"Concerned?" he replied in an "I don't believe that" tone. "Doesn't sound like him."

She gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry about it. Let's go in the house and you can refresh yourself."

Johnny stepped inside, and immediately a wave of nostalgia flooded his senses. He remembered the smell of his home, the appearance...the memories.

The Worthington's lived luxuriously. Elegant furniture and decor lined each room, and in some hung large paintings of famous Scarers within the family ancestry. There was even a row of marble busts for some of them. Hissian carpets lined the polished floors. Rustic chandeliers donned the ceilings. Every inch of the house was adorned with austerity.

"Good to be back," he said, under his breath.

Footsteps sounded near the room, and in stepped Johnny "John-John" Worthington II. He grinned when he saw his son by the door. "Well come on in, son - you're not a visitor here!" He was a truly terrifying specimen. He was like a much larger version of his son, only scarier, if that were possible. His short fur was a much deeper shade of purple. His hands were large, and out of each finger jutted a gleaming black claw. His eyes were bright and penetrating, like something looming out of the depths of the sea on a black night.

"Great to see you too, dad," Johnny said, and before he could react, his father enveloped him in a rough embrace.

Johnny - bag still in hand - nearly choked. "Dad, let me set my bag down."

The family congregated to the kitchen, where a four-eyed, tentacled butler was preparing some hors d'oeuvres.

They sat around and talked for a while until, some time later, Johnny's father gave the signal for his mother to leave the room.

"I think I'll go see about the picnic arrangements," she said, and scuttled away.

"Well, son," his father started.

'This must be it,' thought Johnny. 'Here goes nothing.'

"I hear times are tough at work," he continued, fixing his son with an intense gaze.

Johnny rubbed the back of his head. "Right. Well, they haven't been the easiest they've ever been."

"Even for a Worthington?" he detected more than a hint of disapproval in his father's voice.

Deciding to change tactics, he replied, "Things are changing, dad. It was rocky at first, but our numbers have been soaring ever since -" he stopped short.

"Ever since what?" he pressed after a moment.

"Well…" Johnny averted his gaze. His face contorted in a troubled frown.

Before his father had a chance to question his son, Shirley entered the room in a fit. "Cousin Rachel isn't able to come!" she seethed.

The guys stared at her.

"...What?"

That, thankfully, was enough to avert their attention from the conversation for the time being. Johnny really didn't feel like telling his father the specifics of his job situation. It was hard enough coming clean to his boss, and he wasn't at all sure how his father would take it. If he knew anything about Mr. Worthington, he knew that chances were, he wouldn't take the news well at all.
His father was a firm believer in tradition, which - if Johnny were to be honest - he wasn't following at all...not by making deals with human kids.
Mr. Worthington hadn't been too keen on the news about Monsters Inc. changing their energy-obtaining tactics. Even though the evidence was sound, he believed that their Scarers should have stuck to the "old ways" and continued frightening children.

It made him glad that his son worked at Fear Co., and that that company was still holding true to traditional monster values.

Johnny settled into bed that night, thinking about the reunion that would (thankfully) take place at Brambles Park tomorrow. He was looking forward to reacquainting himself with his cousins, aunts and uncles. It had been a long time since he last saw them.

When tomorrow dawned, the Worthington's got together all of the picnic items they would be bringing, and arrived early at the park to get things set up.

While Shirley was spreading a tablecloth over a long wooden picnic table, Johnny Jr. took the opportunity to confront his son again about his performance at work.

"Listen, son," he growled, trying to keep his tone low, "I don't like this talk about the company falling on hard times. Even if it's true, there's no reason you should be one of them. You're a Worthington."

Johnny gritted his teeth. He wanted so much to tell his dad about the great success he's been having at work - but that would mean telling him about the human kid, and Johnny was not about to go that far, not with his father.

He decided to tell the truth, without giving too much detail. With any luck, his dad would accept his word for it and drop the subject.

"I was gonna tell you, dad - I've been having a lot of success at work lately, a lot more than the other Scarers. My assistant and I have decided to up our game, put a little extra growl in our grin, and work harder than ever before. So whatever rumors you've been hearing, they sure don't apply to me." It came naturally to Johnny, to lather his words in confidence and suave. It never left anyone in doubt of his word, however, this was his father he was talking to.

"They'd better not. You just keep hard at the work you're doing, and so help me, don't ever let there be a blemish on your record."

It wasn't long before family members started arriving. There were aunts and uncles, and plenty of cousins - some of them around Johnny's age, quite a few younger. There was, of course, Johnny's grandparents - Johnny Worthington Sr. being one of the more revered figures in the family. He was not only the patriarch, but well known to everyone in the family (and countless monsters outside the family, as well) for being the Top Scarer for years on end at Monsters Inc. The younger relatives gathered around to hear him tell stories about his days as a Top Scarer.
No one wanted to breach the fact that Monsters Inc. had ceased to scare children.

When everyone had arrived, the fun really began.

The Worthington's family always hosted scare competitions whenever they got together. There were games for the youngest kids and for the older participants. Johnny had a great time with his family members, and even began to forget his father's relentless words of pressure.

Everyone was having such a good time, they didn't notice the sun going down behind the hills. Monsters, as a rule, were not afraid of the dark - but many of the family had jobs they needed to scuttle back to the next day. Slowly, the group began to disperse, tables were cleaned, trash thrown away, games wrapped up. The family reunion had come to an end.

Johnny and his parents were the last ones there.

"What a wonderful day this was," Shirley said as they made their way to the car.

Brambles Park was still filled with a few lingering locals finishing a nightly game of soccer. It was a pleasant atmosphere; the air was still slightly warm, and the last rays of the sun began to merge with the dark of the night.

"Do you really have to leave tomorrow?" Shirley asked as they drove home.

"I have to, work's been more hectic than ever before. I can't afford to miss another day."

"It's better he goes back, Shirley," Johnny Jr. said. "He's gotta keep at it if he wants to break that record."

"He's already broken the record, John," she said.

"His own record, then. No one in our family will stand for anything less."

"You won't receive anything less," Johnny insisted.

Early next day, Johnny said goodbye to his parents and drove back home.

His shift started later that day, so he would have enough time to rest a little and get ready for work.

By the time his shift started, he was feeling refreshed and at full strength. He was greeted by dozens of monsters as he entered the main doors of Fear Co. But no one was happier to see him than Charlie.

"Welcome back, sir!" he said.

"Thanks, buddy. Ready to bring in the big numbers?"

"Ready as ever, sir."

It was during the later part of the night, on a break, that Johnny received a request from Cobswell to report to his office.

'Now what?' Johnny thought, as he set down his drink and left the lounge.

He walked briskly down the hallway until he found his boss's office. He knocked, and Cobswell let him in.

"Mr. Worthington - welcome back, first of all. Have a nice reunion?"

"Same as ever, sir."

"I'll come straight to the point. I received a call from your father several minutes ago."

Johnny sat straight up in his chair. "My father?"

"He seemed to want to confirm with me the status report you gave him yesterday."

Johnny didn't know whether to feel confused, angry, or embarrassed. "My father never calls to check up on me. Why would he…?"

"Listen, Worthington," Cobswell began sympathetically, "I know you have a lot to live up to, what with your family history. Your grandfather was Monsters Inc.'s Top Scarer. Your father the same after him. And...I understand that you are the first in your family to work for this company. Is that correct?"

"It is, sir," he said, grabbing tight to the chair handles. How could his dad humiliate him like this?

"...If you don't mind me asking," he began slowly, "did you bother to tell your father about your little project?"

He huffed. "I didn't tell him about that - it'd be better to save it for later, when he's ready to hear it."

"Do you think it's a good idea to withhold something so vital from your father?"

"I wouldn't withhold anything unless I thought it was necessary, sir."

Cobswell nodded. "Well, let's leave it at that, then. I'm sorry for all the fuss, Mr. Worthington."

He stood up. "Don't worry about it, just forget it. Can I go back to my station now? Break's just about over."

Cobswell nodded, and Johnny was dismissed.

He tried not to feel too angry as he made his way back to his station - but he just couldn't believe that his dad would dare to call and check up on him like that. As if Johnny needed that, at his age. It was odd, too, as his dad had never been the compassionate type. Most of his life, he was only concerned about pushing Johnny to his limits, and training his son in the ways of a Scarer. Johnny was an only child, and so it had always been up to him to carry on the respected name of Worthington. His father would never have settled for anything less than having his son be the Top Scarer - whether it was at Fear Co. or Monsters Inc.

Still, it was odd…

Charlie already had a door waiting for him when he got back.

"Everything alright, sir?"

"Everything's fine," he snapped. "Let's do this, rookie. We're in for a long night."