Making Our Mark

Chapter 8: Gossip

"You went out on a date with Javier?"

I quickly hushed Brynn whose eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates. Quickly glancing at our surroundings - shelves of raw meat at a supermarket near campus - I exhaled with relief that there were not any monsters passing nearby who could have heard her obnoxiously-loud outburst.

Brynn laughed and said at a lower volume, "That would explain the word on the street then."

"Come again?" I said, pushing her to elaborate on the campus's latest gossip.

"Apparently, a few monsters spotted Javier walking arm-in-arm with some girl last night," Brynn explained, giving me a sly look. "Now that I know that girl was you, I can't say I'm surprised."

I scoffed and said, "I don't see what the fuss is about."

"Honestly, anything involving the RΩRs is worth gossiping about, especially if one of them is single and is seen out with a girl," Brynn pointed out. "Everyone is wondering who Javier's mystery girl is."

I gulped nervously; hanging around Javier was like parading around campus with a giant sign that screamed my name in neon lights. I wanted to be known for what I could achieve through hard work, not for my name and certainly not for being the rumoured arm candy of a RΩR. "Goblin, Brynn, you didn't tell anyone it was me, did you?"

Brynn smiled gently. "Honey, I love a juicy piece of gossip as much as the next monster, but you're my best friend and I know how you feel about being in the limelight for the wrong reasons. I would never do that to you."

"Well, thank you," I said gratefully, breathing a sigh of relief. "I appreciate that you respect my wishes."

"But you must give me the details about the date anyway," Brynn insisted keenly. "Did you guys kiss?"

"Okay, first of all," I began, "he said it was a date and then left before I could correct him. Second of all, we just went to see Love and Monster Remains on campus."

"A horror show?" Brynn murmured in contemplation. "That doesn't sound so romantic. Well, unless you grip onto him at the scary bits."

Rolling my eyes, I explained, "It's actually more comedy and drama. The actual horror was realizing that I was able to sit next to him for nearly two and a half hours without slapping him."

"So you two actually sat together, for nearly two and a half hours, watching a play," said Brynn, pausing now and then to ensure that she listed every detail of the previous night's events correctly.

I groaned, reaching for a large pre-packaged selection of ground beef on a shelf. "Look, I needed to write a critique of a theatre performance for a class assignment and he wanted to see the show after finding out I was going. No biggie."

"Huge biggie!" Brynn corrected me excitedly. "Do you know how many freshmen, let alone monsters in general, would kill to be on a date with a RΩR?"

"I don't know, but I won't be surprised if the number is in the hundreds or thousands," I told her honestly.

"Damn, a date with a RΩR," Brynn sighed predictably. "You lucky gal."

"He said it was a date," I reminded her, tossing the meat into the basket dangling from my wrist, "not me."

"Okay, let me ask you something else," Brynn began. "Did he pay?"

"He did," I answered as we proceeded down an aisle that contained shelves with boxes and bags of dried grains like rice and pasta, "but I don't see what that has to do with – "

"It was a date then," Brynn interrupted, smiling triumphantly.

"Just because he paid doesn't make it a date," I explained, inspecting the shelves for the dried spaghetti that I wanted. "This is not the nineteenth century, Brynn. A guy and a girl can hang out with one of them covering the bill and having it not be a date."

Appearing to have ignored my explanation, Brynn asked, "Did you have fun?"

I simply shrugged. "It was a good play and it put me in the mood to write this morning, so I finished my critique assignment right after I woke up."

Brynn giggled. "You know, it's okay to admit that you actually like spending time with him."

Pausing to stare at my friend, I asked, "And why would I do that?"

"Because you like him," Brynn answered as though the answer was obvious.

"He's good company," I admitted as a rebuttal.

"Oh come on, you're going to the RΩR house this afternoon," Brynn reminded me. "You obviously want to be around him more."

I sighed. "I'm going to the RΩR house because I promised my mom that I wouldn't let Johnny live off of takeout and cafeteria food. I figured I might as well treat his entire frat a home-cooked meal while I was at it."

Brynn shook her head and laughed. "Trying to impress Mister Chiseled Abs with your cooking skills, eh?"

"The dude has a name, Brynn," I stressed in a chiding tone.

"Hey, don't scold me for not calling him by his name when you can't even do it either," Brynn indicated.

"Only because I choose not to," I explained, tossing some packages of dried spaghetti noodles into the basket.

"Why do you do that?" Brynn inquired.

I shrugged in response. "He started it. He calls me 'chica', but never my actual name."

"Yet, you call him by his last name," Brynn murmured with a smirk. "It's a start, I suppose."

"To what?" I questioned in confusion.

"To the start of a fabulous friendship," Brynn answered optimistically, "and maybe more down the line."

"I can see us being friends," I affirmed easily, "but I don't see that leading to anything more."

"Well, don't rule that out just yet," Brynn encouraged me gently. "After all, you went from disliking Javier to tolerating his presence all in the span of a month. Who knows how you will view him come the end of October?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said as we headed over to the next aisle where the condiments were shelved.

Brynn exhaled and said, "Look, it's obvious that Javier is into you and considering how much effort he's putting into spending time with you, it's clear that he wants to get you know you better, to see the beautiful personality that matches your outer beauty. He must not be doing that bad of a job if you're warming up to him."

I paused to reflect on the past month, particularly on all of the moments that involved interactions with Javier – from the campus tour to our Latin Night conversation – and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself smiling more than frowning. "I suppose there isn't any harm in learning even more about him."

"There you go," said Brynn with a kind smile. "All I'm suggesting is to keep your mind open. Don't close the door on what could be until you're absolutely certain of how you really feel about him."

I simply nodded silently and quickly changed the subject to our study plans for upcoming midterms, a topic that I felt warranted more discussion than whatever was going on between Javier and me.

After accompanying Brynn back to Frat Row, we went our separate ways; Brynn skipped off cheerfully towards the Slugma Slugma Kappa sorority house with the air of one having completed a successful mission while I made a beeline for the Roar Omega Roar fraternity house with two full paper bags. Miraculously, I was able to make it onto the porch without breaking an ankle, walking into a pole, or spilling the groceries.

A roar of objection, no pun intended, rang out from inside the house and I wondered if, like the morning before, I had chosen a poor time to show up. I hesitated for a moment before jutting out my bent elbow and using it to knock a few times. The sound of footsteps approaching the door was heard before it opened.

"Well, this is a surprise," Johnny remarked when he saw my face peeking out from behind the bags. We had not spoken since our spirited argument by the troll bridge a few weeks back. The grin on his face seemed to indicate that the time apart turned out to be a successful cooling period. Whether he reluctantly accepted my friendship with the Oozma Kappa fraternity members or decided not to openly voice his disdain towards it remained to be seen.

"Shouldn't be since I go here now too," I shot back, "and as a result, Mom made me promise to drop by now and then to make sure you get a home-cooked meal."

"Well, who am I to say no?" said Johnny, stepping aside willingly so I could enter the house.

Stepping into the living room, I noticed that most of the RΩRs occupied it. Chet was sitting in front of the couch, controller in claw, yelling loudly at the video game on the television screen. Sitting on the couch was his opponent, the gurgling green triclops with a torn RΩR shirt, swerving violently to the side with his own controller. Leaning over the back of the couch, watching the game with immense excitement and donning a new RΩR jacket, was Sulley who I remembered from the night of the JΘX party during Rush Week. Lounging on the armchair, immersed in a textbook, was the maroon-coloured monster with two grey horns on either side of his head and one where his nose would normally be.

"You already know Chet and Sulley, right?" said Johnny, appearing by my side after shutting the door. "Bruiser's the one playing with Chet and Chip is the one reading."

Bruiser, Chet, and Sulley were too focused on the game to realize that their names had been mentioned, but Chip looked up when he heard his and simply waved at me.

"Kitchen's over there," Johnny continued, jabbing a claw in the direction of a mahogany archway before studying me carefully. "I don't suppose you need a hand, do you?"

I simply smiled. "I love you, Johnny, but if you want your precious frat house to stay standing, I suggest you leave the cooking to me."

"Don't say I didn't offer," said Johnny with a hearty chuckle. "I'll be in my room."

I nodded as Johnny made his way up the stairs.

"Incoming spiky shell!" Sulley yelled, completely unaware of everything going around him but the game.

Shaking my head, I walked into the kitchen and was immediately taken aback by how immaculate it was for a frat house; all of the counters and the massive island were topped with polished granite, all of the appliances from the little microwave to the giant refrigerator were stainless steel, and all of the cabinets were constructed out of mahogany just like most of the other wooden fixtures around the house. Dangling from the ceiling was a large rack of hanging pots and pans.

Ready to focus on the culinary tasks ahead of me, I placed the bags onto the kitchen island, so I could wash my hands. Once I dried them on a dishcloth hanging over the oven door handle, I pulled open a nearby drawer and pulled out a ladle. Before I knew it, motivation kicked in and I began tackling my to-do list.

By the time Chip entered the kitchen to grab a Blort from the refrigerator, dinner preparation was in full swing. On the stove, a rondeau full of spaghetti noodles, water, a dollop of sunflower oil, and a dash of salt was boiling next to a simmering sauce pan of tomato sauce, cooked ground beef, and a selection of herbs. Baking in the oven were thirty-five balls of breaded trout and a secret mixture of spices that remained a Worthington family secret. There was also a tray of dough in the oven that was rising to become what I hoped was a long and flaky baguette.

I looked up from stirring the sauce to smile and wave at him, causing him to smile back in acknowledgement before disappearing back into the living room from which the victorious whoop of Bruiser rang out regarding the outcome of yet another round of video game racing. I also noted the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs and I figured it was Johnny coming back down to whine about his hunger and to ask when dinner would be ready.

Instead, a voice suavely asked, "What's a beautiful monster doing in my kitchen?"

Glancing up at the doorway separating the kitchen from the living room, I spotted Javier leaning against it, clearly checking me out and I smirked. "I'm the only monster in here, Rios."

"I know," said Javier, smiling cheekily as he walked into the room. "I stand behind my words, chica."

I rolled my eyes playfully and asked, "What do you mean by your kitchen?"

Javier scoffed. "You don't think Johnny is the one who does the cooking around here, do you?"

"Of course not," I answered with a laugh. "The poor puffball can't even boil water."

"Tis a shame indeed," Javier murmured, sounding as though he was commenting on the weather.

I smiled. "But to answer your first question, now that I go to MU, I promised my mom that I would stop by here to make sure that Johnny gets a taste of home every now and then."

"What a good sister you are," Javier remarked, inspecting the stovetop.

"Thanks, can you remind Johnny of that?" I asked as I went back to stirring the sauce. "He tends to forget."

Javier laughed. "Only if I can have a bite of whatever it is you're cooking right now."

"Once it's finished, you can," I promised him. "I figured I would cook for the entire frat while I was at it."

"Muchos gracias," said Javier with an air of satisfaction and gratitude before asking, "Anything I can do to help?"

Glancing up at him in surprise, I asked, "You want to help?"

"If you need it," said Javier with a smile. "I don't mind."

I paused to consider the offer of help before murmuring, "You did say that this is your kitchen, right?"

"Sí," Javier answered proudly, "so I can guarantee that the house will still be standing by the end of the night."

I laughed before saying, "I'm sure the rest of the frat would appreciate that."

"For sure," Javier agreed, "so what can I do?"

Between the two of us, it did not take long for the dinner to be prepared. Once the spaghetti noodles were softened enough, Javier strained and then divided them onto the seven large plates that I had arranged on the kitchen island. Around that time, the kitchen timer had gone off, signalling that the oven's contents had finished baking, so I slipped on some oven mitts and removed the baking trays from the oven, setting them gently on the heat-resistant table mats that I had set out on the marble island earlier.

A growl of outrage from Chet over the loss of another race caused Javier and I to exchange amused looks as we continued to work like a well-oiled machine. Using a bread knife, Javier cut the baguette into fourteen even slices and brushed a garlic and herb butter mixture that I had prepared earlier over them. Meanwhile, I used a pair of tongs to arrange five balls of fish on each plate. Occasionally, I would catch eyes with Javier, who would simply wink at me, causing me to laugh and shake my head.

After washing up, Javier took the initiative to take dining utensils, glasses, a pitcher of slimonade from the refrigerator, and a set of napkins into the dining room to set the table. I busied myself by ladling the tomato sauce over each of the plates, humming a merry tune to myself. Once finished, I began arranging two slices of garlic bread onto each of the plates.

"This really looks amazing," Javier praised, after re-entering the kitchen and casting an impressed gaze over the hot dishes sitting before him.

"Couldn't have done it without you," I told him, sprinkling grated parmesan cheese over the plates. "Seriously, thank you for the help and for not burning down the house."

"De nada," Javier replied with a genial laugh. "Want me to get the guys?"

"No need," I answered before raising my voice and hollering, "RΩRs, dinner!"

Javier stumbled backwards, eyes widened in bewilderment, as the sound of footsteps descending the staircase, as well as the sound of murmurs in the living room, followed my call.

I simply shrugged at him when I noticed the expression written all over his face. "Teacher voice."

Javier nodded, took a moment to recover, and collected four of the steaming plates in his hands while I took hold of two and balanced the last one on the crook of my right arm. We walked into the dining room where a square mahogany table with eight chairs, two on each side, were set up under a simple hanging light. Atop the table were eight place mats, each complete with a napkin, a glass of slimonade, and a set of utensils.

Johnny entered the dining room, followed by Bruiser, Chet, Chip, and Sulley just as Javier and I were placing a dish onto each mat.

"Mmm," Chet hummed, taking a few sniffs of the air, "something smells good!"

"I should hope so," I said, straightening back up, "or else we're ordering pizza tonight."

"Man, I'm starving!" Bruiser exclaimed, seating himself and eyeing his plate with piggy eyes.

"What do you call this?" Chip asked curiously from his place across the table from Chet.

"Trout balls on spaghetti with a side of garlic and herb butter on fresh baguette slices," I answered and smiled kindly when Javier pulled out a chair for me. "Thanks."

Javier simply nodded his head in acknowledgement before taking the seat in between mine and Johnny's, so that he was facing Sulley, who was seated between Chet and Bruiser.

Once everyone was present at the table, I said, "Well, no sense in letting the food get cold. Enjoy!"

The five RΩRs and one RΩR-in-the-making did not need to be told twice and immediately dug into their meals in different manners. Bruiser and Chet were like barn animals and attacked theirs quite viciously while Chip and Sulley simply shoveled some spaghetti into their mouths. Johnny and Javier were a bit classier about the whole dining experience, Goblin bless their mothers, as they chose to spin their spaghetti around their forks before eating it.

Johnny was the first to speak up after one bite. "Nicely done, sis. Tastes just like Mom's."

"It should since it is Mom's recipe," I pointed out with a smug grin.

"This is really amazing!" Bruiser exclaimed through a mouthful of spaghetti.

"So good," Chip agreed before jabbing his fork into a troutball.

I laughed. "You guys act like Rios is a terrible cook."

Javier swallowed and said, "I am now after tasting what you made."

"You guys shouldn't be giving me all of the credit," I said, smiling at Javier. "I had help."

"Nah, I just followed orders," Javier insisted, giving me a light nudge. "This chica is the reason why you guys can actually digest what you're eating."

"I gotta hand it to you, freshman," said Chet, "this is actually good."

As annoying as Chet could be at times, I appreciated his praise. I exhaled and allowed myself to relax and enjoy not only the meal, but also the company of the other RΩRs and of the RΩR-in-the-making. I obviously knew Johnny all my life and was more familiar with Javier than I was at the beginning of the month, so this was a great opportunity to get to know the other monsters of the fraternity who they both spent so much time with.

Like Javier, Chet was in his junior year and a Scaring major. It was obvious that he had a tendency to get overly excited over the littlest of things, like the minced parsley in the garlic butter, and part of me wondered if I should suggest that he be tested for drugs. At one point during dinner, he gushed about the herbs that made the trout balls so savoury, only to have Johnny smack him upside the head in order to get him to shut up and to stop showing his chewed up food to the entire table.

Chip, too, was a Scaring major, but the only sophomore in the fraternity. During dinner, he seemed very reserved, opting to eat his meal silently and just listen to everyone else's conversations about scaring and Greek life. It was not until I turned to him to inquire about his hobbies when he finally started to speak up; turns out he was a big sports fanatic and was a proud member of the Monsters University intramural basketball team.

Bruiser, whose real name was actually Reggie, was the most difficult of the fraternity brothers to comprehend whenever he spoke because his words were often muffled by his heavy and rather abhorrent slobbering. All that I could really make out from his responses to my questions was that he was also a freshman and a Scaring major with a love for video games and food.

Sulley, like Bruiser, was a freshman and a Scaring major. However, any talk that I had with him made me extremely uncomfortable because it was very one-sided; he would use any conversation with me to brag about how he came from a long line of Scarers and how he was going to ace the first round of midterms coming up without doing any studying. He also took any opportunity to wink at me and click his teeth together in a way that he thought was charming and sexy, but they did nothing more than make me shiver and infuriate Javier who was glaring at him menacingly from across the table.

Before I knew it, everyone's plates were wiped clean and I found myself seated on a stool by the kitchen island, watching Javier rinse the dinnerware in the sink and load them into the dishwasher. Despite my willingness to help with the cleanup, he insisted that he do it since I was not only the major driving force behind the meal, but also the guest.

Johnny leaned against the doorway separating the kitchen from the living room and said to me, "You do realize that you're going to have to come over more than once a week to cook, right?"

"Don't push it, Johnny," I warned him, eyeing him carefully. "I'm doing this out of the goodness of my own heart and because Mom asked. Tick me off and I'll see to it that you starve."

"If you say so," says Johnny, the doubt evident in his voice, "but if you need any ideas for, say next weekend, I'm craving something Greek."

"Greek sounds good!" Chet piped up from his spot in front of the open refrigerator.

"Chet," Javier chided, looking up from the sink, "our lovely guest cooked dinner and I cleared the table. The least you can do is take out that pile of garbage over there."

I gasped in outrage. "Rios, how dare you call my brother garbage?"

Johnny growled, "I think he meant the trash can, sis."

"I know," I said with a laugh. "I just couldn't help myself."

"Ha, ha," Johnny mumbled sarcastically, glaring at a snickering Javier.

Chet grumbled as he scuttled towards the back door with the unwanted cargo in his claws, pushing the refrigerator door closed on the way out.

"Don't say that I never defended you though," I said to Johnny with an innocent smile.

Johnny grumbled incoherently and sauntered out of the kitchen, presumably to join Reggie, Chip, and Sulley in the living room.

"What a sweet guy," I remarked with feigned admiration.

Javier chuckled, turning back to the sink. "You enjoy pushing his buttons, don't you?"

"It's one of my favourite hobbies," I quipped.

"Go easy on him though, okay?" Javier pleaded lightly. "I actually have to live with him for the rest of the school year."

I turned to shake my head at him. "Begging doesn't suit you, Rios."

"Not begging, merely requesting," Javier corrected, "as in, I'm requesting that you stay for dessert tonight."

"But I didn't make any," I pointed out in confusion.

"Doesn't mean we don't have any," said Javier as he shut off the faucet and shot a sly grin towards me.

I eyed him curiously as I watched him close the dishwasher door and walk over to the refrigerator. He opened the door and reached inside the refrigerator to pull out a round and very delicious-looking cheesecake, complete with a flaky crust and topped with glistening red clawberries.

"I hope you have a sweet tooth under all that wittiness," said Javier, pushing the door closed with one of his free hands.

I certainly did if my salivating mouth was any indication of that. "You made that?"

"I wish," Javier answered with a laugh. "It was actually a gift from some monster named Randy."

"A gift?" I repeated in slight amazement.

Javier shrugged nonchalantly, carefully placing the dessert onto the marble counter. "We get a lot of gifts from monsters, some weirder than others."

"Define 'weirder'," I requested in interest.

Javier paused, looking a tad uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Let's just say some monsters go to extreme lengths to get our attention. One time, Johnny woke up to a statue of himself made out of macaroni and glue sitting on our porch."

"Wow," I murmured in awe.

Javier nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Reggie's stomach appreciated it though."

I smiled and nodded my head at the cake. "I take it that is one of the normal gifts?"

"Yeah, we can't seem to stay away from sweet and enticing things," Javier explaining, winking at me.

I smiled at him knowingly. "Is that why you're always around me?"

Javier's smirk did not go unnoticed by me. "I think you already know the answer to that, chica."

I studied Javier's face, thinking back to earlier that day when Brynn suggested that I keep my mind open regarding my relationship with him. Sure, he was still the cheeky and suave bug-like monster that I knew from day one, but I would be lying if I said that I did not find my interactions with him enjoyable. If anything, said interactions revealed more qualities about him that I found quite intriguing: his honesty, his chivalry, and his determination were just several of them on a surprisingly-growing list.

"So, what do you say?" Javier asked. "Care to stay longer?"

A quick glance back at the tantalizing dessert just waiting to be devoured made me realize that dessert would serve as another opportunity to learn more about the monster behind the RΩR cardigan and armour plating. What kind of aspiring teacher would down any opportunity for learning? Certainly not this one.

"Sure."