Randall and Brandon have done the deed, now mated to each other in a night of blissful passion. Now as their love grows, the upcoming exam nears and the two monsters really begin to deepen their resolve and desire when it comes to scaring by working together.
The day of the exam's was here. Mike, Randall, and Brandon each one nervous, especially when it was known that Dean Hardscrabble herself would be giving the exam, determined to see which monsters are worthy to be in her Scaring Program, and which ones need to look elsewhere for another path. Randall gulped as Brandon held his hand, kissing him on his scaly cheek.
The support and affection was nice. Randall welcomed it as he cuddled up to his boyfriend, basking in the comforting embrace. He and Brandon had been studying hard with Mike and really practicing, with Brandon tapping into his other powers for scaring as opposed to just transforming and unleashing a fearsome and horrifying roar.
"You'll do fine, Randall. Don't be nervous." encouraged Brandon, kissing him as he cuddled even closer.
"I hope so." whispered Randall, as the Dean called his name and he nervously gulped.
Brandon gave him another hug, as Randall rose from his seat and approached the fearsome Dean Hardscrabble, intimidated by her size, cold personality, and overall those piercing eyes of hers.
"Let's begin then, Mr. Boggs." said Dean Hardscrabble, as the exam began, with Randall paling as he gulped, feeling extremely nervous about the whole thing.
However, to his surprise, the Dean gave him a question about a four year old little boy from from Utah that's afraid of the dark and what would be the best way to scare him. Rubbing his chin and pondering for a moment at the question.
"Sneak up behind them and give them a scare?" answered Randall.
No hint of emotion was detected on the Dean's face, as Randall nervously gulped in fear that he might be done for. However, to his surprise, she asked him to demonstrate.
Randall removed his glasses and disappeared from view, before reappearing with his arms raised, his teeth bared, and letting out a fearsome hiss in response to her. Dean Hardscrabble just rolled her eyes and dismissed him.
"Thank you, Mr. Boggs. Your camouflage makes for an ideal method of scaring kids and your reptilian skills as well. You will continue on with the Scaring Program. Now be seated." Dean Hardscrabble dismissed him, as Randall's gleamed with happiness.
Randall scurries on back to his seat, with Brandon giving him such a tight and warming hug, and Mike congratulating his chum on staying in the program, shaking his hand, as the flattered and happy lizard melted back into the hug and purred.
"You really showed her that you can be scary, lizard boy. Way to go!" congratulated Mike, giving him a thumbs up.
"Knew you could do it, Randy! Always had faith in you!" grinned Brandon, blasting a cupcake from his head spout as he tossed it to his boyfriend.
Randall had such a cute grin on his face, feeling so happy and accomplished about passing the exam. He took the cupcake and pulled Brandon closer, as he looked at Mike and gave him a friendly nod, those study sessions with Mike were really paying off.
"Thanks, you guys. Thank you." purred Randall, touched by his friends faith in him and their loyalty.
It didn't take long for the Dean to call up another student, which was of course, Brandon. Gulping, Brandon decided against using his transformation on this, he could easily scare using his roar, but not every method of scaring needs a fearsome roar from a large monster. He looked over to Randall and Mike and walked on up.
"Good luck, Brandon." whispered Randall, hoping for his boyfriend to pass. "Show her the kind of skill you got."
Brandon walked over to the Dean and faced her, as she looked upon him, taking notice that he didn't bring his sack of beets and B.Y. Pens with him. Smart move on his part. Now it's time to see if he's got some real merit to remain within her program without the use of a transformation.
"Mr. Beast, I am a three year little girl that's afraid of loud noises. What scare do you use?" asked the Dean, curious on how he'll answer.
"Simple. If she's spooked by loud noises, just make some noise with my sonic bazooka!" revealed Brandon, his sonic bazooka popping out from his head spout.
"Demonstrate." ordered the Dean, as she placed some earplugs in.
Other monsters in the class were given earplugs by Professor Knight, the two knew full well the destructive capability of Brandon's sonic bazooka, especially when it's blasted at full power could shatter ear drums to possibly bringing the whole class down on top of them.
Not wanting to overdo it, nor cause some serious destruction, Brandon found the right frequency to tune his sonic bazooka to, before firing as it sounded like a whole lot of plates coming crashing down in the kitchen, making for a very loud crashing noise.
"Not bad, Mr. Beast. A little unorthodox, but clever use of your powers. You pass." said the Dean, dismissing Brandon, as Mike and Randall both happily cheered, along with some of the other monsters present in class.
Brandon squealed and walked away, shooting a blast of confetti from his head spout in response. Randall scooped Brandon up in a hug, as the two of them squealed happily and shared some kisses together, with Randall nuzzling his beastly boyfriend's face, as Brandon giggled and kissed him on his snout, hugging him even tighter, as they snuggled each other.
To Mike, if the Dean's passing two lovable saps like Brandon and Randall, then he's bound to join them and really make his mark when he goes into the scaring industry. He fixed his retainer and tried to put on the most menacing yet scary face he could for when his time came.
"You really are gonna be one incredible Scarer, Brandon." whispered Randall, nuzzling Brandon's face, as the beastly boy squealed and snuggled him close.
Brandon let out a laugh and squealed, as he snuggled even closer, and tightened the hug around Randall, as they sat down in a seat together, with Brandon all warmly snuggled and tangled up in the arms of his super affectionate and cuddly lizard love. He sighed contently and snuggled even closer to Randall, reaching down to rub his belly.
"Oh yeah... That's the spot..." purred Randall, trying to be quiet so he doesn't cause attention towards himself and his boyfriend.
Last thing they needed was for the likes of Dean Hardscrabble and Professor Knight seeing them get this crazy affectionate together. Yeah, they've shown they can be scary, but considering how the Dean seems like a tyrant around the campus, they didn't want to catch her on the wrong side of the fence.
They kept their affection to a minimum, though holding hands in secret. Mike chuckled at the affectionate acts going on between both monsters, they seriously need to get a room if they're like this, even during class.
"You two might need to get a room." laughed Mike, rolling his single eye as he goes to study up on some notes.
"After a little bit of food in my belly, then it'll be back to the fun and action!" squealed Brandon, his tongue out as he shot confetti.
It was at that moment that it was Mike's turn. Feeling his ego rising and brimming with confidence in himself and his abilities, Mike got up from his seat and headed over to where the Dean was.
"Sit back and watch how I do it." remarked Mike, taking a deep breath as he faces the Dean.
Randall and Brandon sat back and watched, as some of the other monsters around muttered stuff like 'get lost, beach ball' and 'scaring's not for the likes of you', as Mike ignored all the monsters negative comments.
"Mr. Wazowski, I'm a five year old on a farm in Kansas afraid of lightning. Which scare do you use?" asked the Dean.
"Should I go up on the...?" Mike was confused, as the Dean impatiently cut him off mid-sentence.
"Which scare do I use?" came Dean Hardscrabble again, growing more impatient.
"That is a shadow approach with a crackle holler." answered Mike.
"Demonstrate." ordered Dean Hardscrabble.
Nodding, Mike inhales and gets ready, only for the Dean to stop him right in his tracks before he can even attempt it.
"Stop. Thank you." was all the Dean said, no emotion present in her voice.
"I didn't get to sh..." Mike started to say, only to be interrupted.
"I've seen enough." said the Dean, shooting him a look that froze him in his place. "Mr. Wazowski, what you lack is something that cannot be taught. You're not scary. You will not be continuing in the Scare Program."
Mike's whole world was shattered as he felt like a ton of bricks came crashing down on top of him when Dean Hardscrabble said he wasn't scary. His retainer fell from his mouth and hit the ground with a thud, as he fell down onto his knees and looked down at the floor.
Brandon and Randall were shocked by what they heard. Randall frowned when he saw his best friend look so destroyed, on his knees and looking like he's about to cry at what happened. How could the Dean do this to him? He's got the brains to become a great Scarer, he passes all his assignments and spent months practicing for this exam, all the while being determined and hopeful, regardless of what others thought of him.
"Please, give me a chance to surprise you! Let me use the Simulator!" begged Mike, nearly in tears at the thought of being kicked from the program. "I can surprise you."
"Surprise me? I doubt that very much." coldly replied Dean Hardscrabble, dismissing the smaller green monster.
It wasn't fair. Randall wanted to protest this decision, but he's not confident enough in himself to even attempt that. He doubts anyone is that confident, even Professor Knight cowers in her imposing presence.
Mike looked like he was gonna cry, he grabbed his books and whatever papers he's got, before leaving the classroom without saying a word.
Poor Mike. Back when they met, his friend was brimming with confidence and enthusiasm about entering the Scaring Program, even had a checklist of goals to become the 'best Scarer ever'. Now, the Dean's crushed his dreams and kicked him from the program. He'd probably end up in Scream Can Design, which he's heard is the most boring class on campus.
"Mike didn't deserve this. He's one of the most hard working and determined monsters I've met and she just failed him without even giving him a chance to prove himself." frowned Randall, not happy with what happened to his best friend. "So confident, so smart."
"We were lucky she didn't fail us. She's very cutthroat." remarked Brandon, shaking his furry head.
As cutthroat and tyrannical as Dean Hardscrabble is, it stunk to see his best friend and roommate get his whole dreams of having a career in scaring crushed like that. He clenches his hands into fists and narrows his eyes through his glasses, rising from his seat.
"I need to go talk to Mike." said Randall, grabbing his books and skittering off in the direction his best friend went.
Brandon gave an understanding nod. Mike and Randall had a brother-like relationship, and right now, they needed each other now more than ever. Even if the Dean's word was final and she ruled this campus with an iron claw, Randall was gonna do what he can to cheer his chum up. The smaller green monster needed a friend to comfort him, he needed Randall.
Randall scurried straight to his dorm room, as he opens the door, finding Mike laying down on the bed, crying into the pillow. It broke his heart seeing his best friend go from confident and ready to just defeated and broken, he entered the dorm and walked over to his roommate's bed, sitting beside him.
"Mike?" called out Randall, his voice full of concern.
"Just leave me alone, Randall. I want to stay here and sob into my pillow for the day." came Mike, as he sniffled, as Randall reached out and put a comforting hand on his smaller green friend's back.
Mike sniffled and cried hard into his pillow, all of his plans on the checklist had gone down the drain. All the hard work, studying till all hours in the night, skipping out on parties and most other forms of fun just to study up and prove himself to the larger monsters that he's scary.
"How can she be so cruel? She didn't even let me try to surprise her!" sniffled Mike, wiping his face as more tears fell from his eyes.
He had the brains to be one of the best monsters on campus, he knew just about everything on how to scare kids and fear in general. He could run circles around the likes of Sullivan, yet why did she just casually throw him from the program he's worked years to be apart of?
What did she mean by him lacking something and that it couldn't be taught? He didn't lack anything, he was a monster, for fear's sake! Frank had faith him in, he gave him his hat. This place was gonna be where he really showed his talent off and become a proud Scarer at Monsters Inc. like his hero.
"It's unfair, you didn't deserve to be thrown out! You're a great monster, Mike!" said Randall, rubbing Mike's back as he continues to comfort him. "You're one of the smartest monsters on campus, you never fail at any of your assignments!"
"I just failed the exam because she said so." remarked Mike, as he rose from the pillow, just as Randall brought him some tissues.
"She doesn't know what she's talking about. You could've passed that if she didn't stop you." came Randall as he tries to raise his friend's spirits up. "You're one of the most hardworking monsters here, you deserve to be in that program."
Now Randall wasn't about to confront Dean Hardscrabble on her word, he wasn't confident nor brave enough for that. But he is somewhat irritated with her over this. Just because he's not big and not got razor sharp claws and teeth doesn't mean he's not scary.
Taking a deep breath, Randall grabbed Mike and wrapped his arms around the smaller monster in a hug. He tightened the hug around Mike and pulled him in, as Mike gasped, but relaxed, slowly bringing his arms around the slippery and scaly lizard's body to return the embrace.
"But what am I to do?" asked Mike, not looking forward to changing majors.
"Prove her wrong, surprise her like you said you would!" stated Randall, wiping a tear from Mike's cheek as he smiled at him. "You can show her you're scary! I believe in you!"
Mike gave a sad smile to his roommate, relaxing into the hug and tightening it around Randall. The lizard was right, he worked so hard for this and he couldn't let it go down the drain like that. He's a monster! A monster that's had dreams of working among the Scarers of Monsters Inc. since he was a kid, he couldn't let his dreams die here!
Then, he thought back to what Brock and Claire were promoting at the start of the semester. The Scare Games, that was it. He just needed to show the Dean that he's got what it takes to be scary by competing in and winning the Scare Games, which ought to be a breeze since Johnny and his fraternity are barred from participating this year. It would be dangerous, but he was determined to not give up.
"You're right, lizard boy. I'll enter the Scare Games and win and then I'll prove her wrong, and she'll have to let me back in the Scaring Program!" beamed Mike, a look of determination on his face, as he looked at Randall with a smile on his face.
"Glad to see you got your confidence back, Mike." smiled Randall, giving Mike a big and tight hug.
Mike and Randall really didn't hug too often, but this was a welcome change for them. They're the best of friends, like brothers, Randall wasn't gonna stand back and watch as his brother-like figure be hurt like this, even if the idea of competing in the Scare Games sounded very dangerous.
"Thanks for sticking with me and you know, for the talk, Randall." came Mike, happy that Randall's with him as he chuckled. "And the hug too."
"You're very welcome. And it's what friends do." grinned Randall, nuzzling Mike's head and tightening the hug some more.
Here it was, a wave of comfort enveloped Mike as he stayed embraced with his best friend. Mike and Randall hugged it out, their arms tangled around each other, neither one of them wanting to break the hug.
As Mike stayed embraced, he thought about how he'd enter the Scare Games, he needed to either join a fraternity or a sorority and become part of a team, then just survive the challenges and defeat any rival groups that come in his way.
"I'm gonna need to join a fraternity if I'm gonna compete in the Scare Games." said Mike, as Randall looked down at him, an idea in his mind.
Randall, despite having passed his scaring exam, looked at Mike and smiled at him. If his chum's gonna join a fraternity, then he'll join alongside him. Friends do stick together, besides, it might be fun and he can perhaps make a couple more friends.
"Then I'll be joining you, Mike." smiled Randall, as Mike grabbed Randall's hand, the two monsters smiling and nodding to each other.
"Thank you!" beamed Mike, perking up as he playfully poked the bridge of Randall's glasses.
"What are friends for?" remarked Randall, laughing.
Smiling at each other, Mike and Randall remained in their tight hug and stayed close, closing their eyes as they leaned on each other. The final exam was a bust, but with renewed hope and the strong friendship, Mike Wazowski was gonna prove Dean Hardscrabble wrong and with Randall by his side, these two chums are gonna win!
