CHAPTER SIX
Meanwhile, Randall was not having the kind of fun in the human world that Sulley and Mike were. And let me tell you, nine months as Gill Bates' pet (and being named Stinky) was not exactly a party. But Gill had a daughter, and she made things more bearable.
It started two months after Gill had purchased Randall, thinking he was an exotic-looking alligator. Randall had been lugged around in Gill's car almost endlessly, and he began to wonder if the human cars worked the same way as cars in Monstropolis. He snuck into the garage late one night to find out.
Gill's car, a very well kept, magenta '56 Thunderbird, was an entertaining machine to explore. Randall had a degree in mechanical engineering; that was why Mr. Waternoose had picked him to build the scream extractor. He found the process of a human car burning gasoline for fuel fascinating. He was examining a spark plug when Gill's daughter, Trish, meandered into the pristine garage that housed the well-kept machine .
Trish, an attractive 20 year-old redhead in college, stared at Randall, dumbstruck for a moment, not unlike how Iris Woodward had stared at Sulley and Mike. Randall felt as though he was being watched and turned around. He saw Trish standing in the doorway that connected the garage to the house, put the spark plug back, and shut the car's hood. He looked at her, unsure as to what she was going to do. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Trish found her voice.
"What are you doing?" she queried, not accusingly, but curiously.
"Uh, just seeing how your dad's car worked," Randall said quietly. Blushing in the presence of this stunning young woman. When Randall blushed, he turned a hot pink.
"Oh," Trish murmured softly, and sat down. "I didn't expect an answer."
"I didn't mean to startle you. I guess I thought that since you saw me with my head in a car you would assume I could talk."
Trish looked at him. She had not considered what she had taken to be a mutant alligator to be intelligent. "Do you have a name besides the one Dad gave you?" She asked.
"Yeah. Name's Randall Boggs," he replied, extending his uppermost right hand to the frightened young woman. "I'm not an alligator, by the way."
"I figured that out," Trish commented, shaking hands with the bizarre creature. "But what are you?"
"A monster."
"Don't degrade yourself like that. It must be bad enough to be Dad's pet."
"No, really! When you were a kid, did you ever believe that you had a monster in your closet?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Randall explained the entire thing, from the fact that he was from a parallel universe to the incident that had led to his banishment.
"So you see what I meant when I said I was a monster?"
Trish merely nodded. This exchange between monster and woman led to a strong friendship.
At the same time when Sulley and Mike were discovered in the Woodward home, a bustle of cleaning and cooking was going down at the Bates' mansion.
"My wife's sister is on her way today. I want everything spick and span for when she and my nieces arrive," Gill said by way of instruction. "I'm leaving for the office in ten minutes to finish some work before the weekend. I'll be back at 3:00. I want everything done by then. Also, I want special attention paid to the guesthouse, where they'll be staying." Gill grabbed a choke collar and leash from a hook on the wall. Trish and Randall both knew what it was for.
"Dad, don't take Stinky today," she said, referring to Randall by the name Gill had given him. "Hardly anyone is going to be there today. Just leave him here; I'll keep him from being underfoot."
"Alright, pumpkin. Make him be good," Gill said, giving his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "You're all dismissed," he stated, then grasping his bag, headed out the door.
"Well, come on, Lizard Boy," Trish commanded tenderly. "Let's do some web surfing before my relatives arrive."
As Trish headed off, Randall slunk, bewildered, at her heels.
Meanwhile, Randall was not having the kind of fun in the human world that Sulley and Mike were. And let me tell you, nine months as Gill Bates' pet (and being named Stinky) was not exactly a party. But Gill had a daughter, and she made things more bearable.
It started two months after Gill had purchased Randall, thinking he was an exotic-looking alligator. Randall had been lugged around in Gill's car almost endlessly, and he began to wonder if the human cars worked the same way as cars in Monstropolis. He snuck into the garage late one night to find out.
Gill's car, a very well kept, magenta '56 Thunderbird, was an entertaining machine to explore. Randall had a degree in mechanical engineering; that was why Mr. Waternoose had picked him to build the scream extractor. He found the process of a human car burning gasoline for fuel fascinating. He was examining a spark plug when Gill's daughter, Trish, meandered into the pristine garage that housed the well-kept machine .
Trish, an attractive 20 year-old redhead in college, stared at Randall, dumbstruck for a moment, not unlike how Iris Woodward had stared at Sulley and Mike. Randall felt as though he was being watched and turned around. He saw Trish standing in the doorway that connected the garage to the house, put the spark plug back, and shut the car's hood. He looked at her, unsure as to what she was going to do. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Trish found her voice.
"What are you doing?" she queried, not accusingly, but curiously.
"Uh, just seeing how your dad's car worked," Randall said quietly. Blushing in the presence of this stunning young woman. When Randall blushed, he turned a hot pink.
"Oh," Trish murmured softly, and sat down. "I didn't expect an answer."
"I didn't mean to startle you. I guess I thought that since you saw me with my head in a car you would assume I could talk."
Trish looked at him. She had not considered what she had taken to be a mutant alligator to be intelligent. "Do you have a name besides the one Dad gave you?" She asked.
"Yeah. Name's Randall Boggs," he replied, extending his uppermost right hand to the frightened young woman. "I'm not an alligator, by the way."
"I figured that out," Trish commented, shaking hands with the bizarre creature. "But what are you?"
"A monster."
"Don't degrade yourself like that. It must be bad enough to be Dad's pet."
"No, really! When you were a kid, did you ever believe that you had a monster in your closet?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Randall explained the entire thing, from the fact that he was from a parallel universe to the incident that had led to his banishment.
"So you see what I meant when I said I was a monster?"
Trish merely nodded. This exchange between monster and woman led to a strong friendship.
At the same time when Sulley and Mike were discovered in the Woodward home, a bustle of cleaning and cooking was going down at the Bates' mansion.
"My wife's sister is on her way today. I want everything spick and span for when she and my nieces arrive," Gill said by way of instruction. "I'm leaving for the office in ten minutes to finish some work before the weekend. I'll be back at 3:00. I want everything done by then. Also, I want special attention paid to the guesthouse, where they'll be staying." Gill grabbed a choke collar and leash from a hook on the wall. Trish and Randall both knew what it was for.
"Dad, don't take Stinky today," she said, referring to Randall by the name Gill had given him. "Hardly anyone is going to be there today. Just leave him here; I'll keep him from being underfoot."
"Alright, pumpkin. Make him be good," Gill said, giving his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "You're all dismissed," he stated, then grasping his bag, headed out the door.
"Well, come on, Lizard Boy," Trish commanded tenderly. "Let's do some web surfing before my relatives arrive."
As Trish headed off, Randall slunk, bewildered, at her heels.