Making Our Mark

Chapter 10: Carnival

A blur.

That is exactly how I would describe the first half of the last full week of September.

All I really remember was that it involved lectures, dancing, teaching, studying, and sleeping. Which happened when is beyond the scope of my memory. If anyone dared to cut me open, I would probably bleed a rich mixture of Spanish vocabulary, literary symbolism, assessment strategies, choreography, and coffee.

October was coming up the following week and that meant the start of midterm season. In my case, and in those of other freshmen on campus, it would be our first time taking midterms. Aside from the hints that my professors had been dropping about the exams regarding formats and the topics that would be covered, I was unsure of what to expect. To be on the safe side, I decided to use the same approach that I would use for any upcoming assessment: study everything.

Sipping my chocolate claw iced cappuccino, a beverage that had quickly become an essential component of my student diet, I strolled past the amphitheater en route to my dorm. After a few hours of doing intense review of my literature notes on a picnic table and enjoying the beautiful sunlight, I decided to return to my dorm to continue studying and to make use of the caffeine that was running through my veins.

"Miss Worthington!"

Startled by the formal manner in which I was addressed, I turned to see my professor for Pedagogy of the Arts walking briskly up to me: a slim dinosaur with teal-coloured scales, a set of curly horns in hot pink, and a joyful demeanor wherever she went. "Oh, good afternoon Professor Guindon."

"I'm glad that I ran into you," Professor Guindon told me with a smile. "Saves me an e-mail or waiting until the next class."

I was confused by the sense of urgency in her voice and immediately thought that, in the midst of upholding my boatload of responsibilities, I forgot to hand in something. This prompted me to start frantically running through my to-do list for that course. "Is everything okay, Professor? Did I forget to submit something?"

"Oh, no, not at all, Miss Worthington," Professor Guindon assured me. "You've been submitting everything before deadlines so far and have earned top marks on it all to boot. I'm very impressed."

I beamed in relief. "Thank you so much."

"No need to thank me," said Professor Guindon with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You did the work."

I smiled politely and asked, "So what can I do for you, Professor?"

"Well, first of all, I would like to commend you on another excellent assignment," Professor Guindon began. "Your critique on the campus's production of Love and Monster Remains was articulately written."

"Thank you," I replied, grateful for her positive feedback. "It was a very good play."

"I'm sure it is," said Professor Guindon with a warm smile. "You have definitely convinced me to go see it tonight. I have a ticket for the eight o'clock show."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said.

Professor Guindon continued, "Second of all, I would like to know if I may have your permission to share your critique with others?"

I felt my eyes widen in surprise. "Share it?"

"Yes, I truly believe that it is a beautifully-written piece worth sharing," Professor Guindon explained kindly. "Your name will on it, of course. It is your work after all."

I was extremely flattered that my professor wanted to share my work with her colleagues, so I saw no issue with the request. "Certainly, Professor Guindon, you have my permission."

"Splendid!" Professor Guindon gushed. "Thank you very much!"

"You're most welcome, Professor," I responded graciously.

Professor Guindon nodded in satisfaction and said, "Well, I have to make one more stop before the show starts and I see you have company, so I won't keep you any longer. Have a good rest of the day, Miss Worthington."

"You as well, Professor," I answered slowly as I was confused as to what company she was referring to. Having noted that she had looked over my shoulder when mentioning it, I turned around to see Javier waiting patiently for me a short distance away, leaning back on his heels.

"Bueñas tardes, chica," he greeted casually.

"Hey, Rios," I replied as I approached him. "When did you get here?"

"Near the end of your conversation with your professor," Javier answered. "Didn't want to interrupt."

"Well, thanks, I appreciate that," I said genially. "What's up?"

Eyeing the binder of notes in my arms, Javier asked, "Still studying?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've got my first midterm next week."

"Oh, for Introduction to Literary Studies right?" Javier asked to see if he remembered correctly.

I smiled again as I flipped open my binder for him. "I see you have been listening to me after all."

"I always do whenever you're speaking," said Javier with a wink as he carefully took the binder from my hands.

I rolled my eyes playfully and said, "Anyway, I've been studying my tail off, making sure I know the vocabulary terms from the book and the play that we have read so far - how the book's events reflect its theme, the symbolism behind events – it's a lot to review."

"No kidding," said Javier with raised eyebrows as he flipped from one highlighted page to the next. "These are a lot of notes."

I laughed. "Well, my professor talks a lot. Anything that comes out of her mouth is fair game on exams."

"Claro que sí," Javier agreed. "My professor for Error Analysis in Scaring is the same."

"You think they're related in some way?" I asked, grinning amusedly.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Javier answered, shaking his head. "That's why I'm taking a break from the studying tonight."

"Doing what?" I asked curiously.

Javier, grinning mysteriously, held out a hand to me and asked, "Why don't you come with me and find out?"

I sighed. "Rios, you know I have a midterm next week."

"So do I," said Javier, "but you've been studying a lot for a while now and it seems like you got this stuff down pat."

"I feel like I do," I agreed, "but it wouldn't hurt to go over it all some more."

Javier lowered his hand and asked, "How long have you been studying today?"

I pondered the question before I started laughing sheepishly. "Since seven this morning with a break around noon for lunch."

Javier chuckled and shook his head. "Chica, you need more breaks than that or you're going to burn out, and I can't have you burning out."

I smirked at his confession. "Why, would you miss me?"

Tilting his head at me, Javier asked, "What do you think?"

I scoffed lightly. "I think that you're trying to convince me to stop studying."

"Just for now," Javier promised me. "Everyone needs a break now and then. Besides, tomorrow is Friday and we both don't have lectures to go to on Fridays."

I nodded slowly, slightly touched that he remembered a lot about me. "True, and breaks give you time for the information to sink in."

"Exactly," Javier exclaimed, "so what do you say that we go take a break together?"

"Together?" I questioned and then jokingly added, "Who said that I wanted to spend my free time with you?"

Javier laughed. "Are you not the least bit curious as to what I have planned?"

I paused to consider what he had said and sighed when I realized that he was right. Curiosity definitely had me at that point and it refused to let me go. "Maybe I am a little."

Javier grinned, shutting my binder closed and tucking it under his arm. "Then follow me."

I paused before following Javier away from the amphitheater and down the road to Frat Row. Monsters from the various Greek fraternities and sororities were out and about enjoying the warm weather. I waved at Sonia as she passed by with her sisters from Eta Hiss Hiss, her attitude cool and untroubled when she nodded at me in acknowledgement. Omar gave me a cheerful greeting as he fluttered alongside Percy, with the latter suddenly taking a keen interest in a loose thread on his jacket. No doubt me catching him doing the walk of shame from the Slugma Slugma Kappa house was still fresh in his mind.

Once we arrived at the RΩR house, Javier handed back my binder and said, "Wait here."

I nodded silently, taking my binder and watching him jog up the front path to the porch. He opened the surprisingly-unlocked front door, entered the house, and shut the door behind him.

I kept my gaze on the door, wondering what Javier's idea was for a study break. Whatever it was, we clearly were not going to do it in the house since he did not invite me inside. Was he bringing something out? Were we going somewhere on campus? Off campus? A myriad of ideas started running through my mind.

The sound and motion of the garage door rising jerked me out of my thoughts, exposing Johnny's black Ferroari parked inside. From behind the luxury ride came Javier, rolling out a shiny black and crimson Howley-Davidson motorcycle that gleamed under the beams of the garage lights. Shielding his entire head and face was a glossy full-face helmet that matched the motorcycle.

"That's yours?" I asked in amazement.

"Sí, esta linda, ¿no?" Javier answered, lifting up the visor to reveal his eyes. "Nothing compared to you though, chica."

"Of course not," I murmured with a playful smile, "so what do you have in mind?"

"Well," Javier began as he opened the travel trunk attached to the back of the motorcycle and pulled out another full-face helmet, this one in black, "why don't you put this on, put your notes in the trunk, and go from there?"

Resting a claw on my chin in mock thought, I said, "I can name a few reasons."

"Remember what I said about taking a break?" Javier asked me.

"I know," I replied with a nod, "but just know that it better leave my body fully intact, thank you."

Javier chuckled. "I'm a good driver, chica. I promise that you'll come back to MU in one piece."

"How do you know that?" I questioned, amused at his confidence.

Holding my gaze, Javier said, "You'll just have to trust me."

I seriously hope trusting him with my life won't cost me it, I thought before exchanging my binder for the extra helmet and slipping it over my head. I admired how it was snug enough to protect my head and face without crushing my horns. I flipped up the visor to see Javier tuck my binder into the trunk before snapping it closed.

Javier dusted off his hands before walking back around to kick up the kickstand of the motorcycle. He grabbed hold of the handles and climbed onto the seat with ease. He then looked to me and nudged his head in a come-hither motion. "Hop on."

Silently praying that I would live and not regret this tomorrow, let alone many years from now, I exhaled and walked over to the motorcycle. I carefully swung my left leg over it and plopped myself onto it directly behind Javier, staring at my legs that dangled a foot above the paved driveway. I was thankful that my dress was long because it only rode up a little when I was seated, so I would not be flashing anybody during the ride.

"You okay back there?" Javier asked, glancing at me over his right shoulder.

"Yeah," I piped up. "Just never rode one of these before."

"Well, you won't be able to say that after tonight," Javier pointed out with a grin.

I smiled behind the helmet. "So, where are we going?"

"You'll see," Javier assured me. "Just hold on to me."

"Oh, you'd like that, won't you?" I asked teasingly.

Javier snickered. "Sí, but I also don't want you flying off during the ride."

"Oh, we certainly can't have that," I agreed in an exaggerated manner. "I can only imagine what Johnny will do to you if he finds out that you were responsible for my body ending up in pieces."

"I'd rather not find out," said Javier, "so for both of our sakes, hold on tight, okay?"

I nodded and leaned forward enough to grip the sides of his cardigan-covered torso, yet maintained somewhat of a distance between his back and my chest. Holding him in such a manner elicited a foreign feeling from within me, but I did not seem to mind it.

Slapping his visor closed again, Javier turned to face forward once more.

I jumped slightly at the sound and the feeling of the motorcycle starting up and its engine roaring to life.

"Ready, chica?" Javier called over the sound of the engine.

"Guess so," I replied before shutting my visor and taking hold of Javier again.

With a few consecutive roars of the engine, the motorcycle rolled down the driveway and picked up speed as we began wheeling down Frat Row, causing monsters on a casual stroll to quickly jump out of the way or risk being flattened.

The massive buildings of the Monsters University campus became smaller and smaller the further away Javier took us away from it. We went from enjoying a leisurely ride down the main street in the direction of downtown Monstropolis to cruising westward down a multi-lane highway. From reading the green directional signs that we passed by, we seemed to be heading for the coastline.

An unknown amount of time later (I was reluctant to release my hold on Javier to check the time on my wristwatch while the motorcycle was still in motion), we exited the highway and turned onto a well-lit boulevard from which I could see the sun setting on the horizon beyond the ocean, creating a warm blend of magenta, orange, and yellow hues in the sky above. The scenery was stunningly beautiful and brought an air of tranquility to the night. I hoped that the pleasant atmosphere was foreshadowing whatever was to come that evening.

Before I knew it, the motorcycle came to a stop and Javier spoke up, "We're here, chica."

Realizing that my arms had somehow found their way around his torso over the course of the trip, I pulled back quickly, feeling myself blush in embarrassment. I was thankful that I still had my helmet on because it hid my reddening cheeks from Javier who probably would not have let me live it down if he knew what my face looked like at that given moment.

Once freed from my hold, Javier climbed off of the motorcycle and knocked down the kickstand with his foot.

Flipping open my visor, I took in the sight of parked vehicles on asphalt around me, followed by of the cluster of towering rides, inflatables, tents, and colourful lights on the pier nearby. "A carnival?"

"Why not?" said Javier as he removed his helmet. "Have you ever been to the Monstropolis Carnival Pier?"

"Can't say that I have," I answered honestly, watching a couple of teenagers exit the pier, with one of them hugging an oversized stuffed dinosaur. "I was always busy with school, dance, or some charity fundraiser that my parents would host. Those things didn't really free up any time for much else."

Holding his upper pair of hands out to me, Javier grinned and said, "I guess we should fix that, shouldn't we?"

Meeting his eyes, I noted the mixture of emotions swimming within them: sincerity, adoration, and a hint of mischievousness. I willingly accepted his hands, using them as support as I got off of the motorcycle. Once my feet were back on the ground, I released his hands, so I could remove my helmet and run my hands through my wavy locks that had blown in every direction during the ride from campus to the pier. I handed my helmet to Javier, who secured it to the motorcycle with his own, before we proceeded in the direction of the pier.

Screams of joy and terror rang out from the assorted rides depending if it was tame like the merry-go-round or heart-stopping like the incredibly loopy rollercoaster. The delectable scents of fried food and sweet treats, ranging from giant blooming onions to freshly-cooked s'mores, wafted in every direction. Monsters of all ages crossed paths, amusing themselves with everything that the carnival had to offer them.

The large group of monsters in attendance made it a bit challenging getting from point A to point B, causing me to wrap my arm tighter around Javier's torso as to not lose him in the crowd. Judging by the upper right arm that had snaked its way around my waist in a protective and guiding manner, it seemed that Javier had the same intention of us sticking together. After the way that I held onto him during the motorcycle ride, I was used to the feeling of being in close proximity to him.

Javier and I paused in front of a red, yellow, and blue inflatable that had two rope ladders with steel rungs stretching diagonally upwards from the front towards the back cage wall on which a bell was perched between the two ladders. Dangling from the wall was an assortment of stuffed plushies, ranging in size and colour. A petite grey cyclops, who was scaling the left ladder, squealed when the ladder spontaneously flipped over, sending him toppling off of it.

"These things are hard," I remarked, watching the cyclops scramble grudgingly off of the inflatable in defeat.

"Mind if I give it a shot?" Javier asked.

I turned to see him and smirked. "Not at all. It'll be fun watching you fall on your ass."

Javier let out a chuckle before gently pulling away from me, an aura of confidence radiating from him, and sauntering over to the slug on duty. He said a few words to the slug before fishing out a few dollar bills from his cardigan pocket and passing it over to him. Turning to the inflatable, he began studying every inch of it carefully as though he was trying to memorize every design detail.

I watched attentively as Javier finally climbed onto the inflatable and reached over to finger the rope on the ladder to the right. I watched his eyes shift from one end of the ladder to the other end near the back of the inflatable where the bell was. It seemed that he was mentally planning how to go about successfully climbing the ladder and I had to admit that I was impressed by his approach of thinking before acting. Johnny, who had a tendency of doing the inverse, could learn a lot from him.

Finally, Javier slowly mounted the ladder, appendage by appendage. His claws gripped onto the sides of the ladder rather than onto the steel rungs that rang up between them, a different technique than that used by the cyclops before him. Once he seemed balanced, he began the steady climb to the top, moving one arm or leg at a time, making sure to check his balance after every step taken.

I held my breath in anticipation as he moved further and further up the ladder and I found myself analyzing his every movement. At one point, I felt my eyes travel from the claws grasping the ladder tightly to his broad shoulders, down his cardigan-covered back, and finally to his backside - a very nice-looking backside if I do say so myself.

Wait, what?

I quickly shook my head to clear my mind of the observation that I had just made.

Is Johnny right? Have I actually lost my mind?

I cleared my throat and straightened up, trying to reassure myself that my mind was as sharp as ever.

You're just running low on sleep, Danica. Yeah, that's it. You just need some sleep later on tonight, that's all.

The bell that dinged loudly at the back of the inflatable caused me to jump slightly and return my focus to the carnival. Looking up ahead, I saw Javier climb off the other end of the ladder, an expression of pure victory written all over his face. Scanning my surroundings, I noticed that a crowd of onlookers had gathered and were cheering and applauding enthusiastically in support of his achievement.

"Congratulations, sir!" the slug exclaimed cheerfully at Javier. "You can select any prize you'd like for your lovely lady."

I felt my cheeks heat up again when the slug assumed that I was Javier's girlfriend, but I was too busy mentally scolding myself for shamelessly staring at Javier in public to bother correcting him.

Turning to the prizes on display, Javier inspected every plush creature of colour and size hanging on it. Eventually, he unlooked one and slid back down the inflatable. After getting back to his feet, he walked back over to me and handed over his chosen prize.

"For me?" I asked slowly.

Javier nodded in response as he slipped the plush creature into my hands.

"Excellent choice, sir!" the slug chimed in.

Giving the purple plush creature a closer look, I realized that it looked a lot like Javier: it had four pink eyes, four long arms, two long antennae, and a torso with familiar armour plating. The only think it lacked was a RΩR cardigan. Despite that, the resemblance between the plush bug and Javier was uncanny.

"Enjoy the rest of the carnival, folks!" the slug said in a lively manner before turning to greet another customer who wanted to give the ladders a shot.

Looking up at Javier, I said, "Thank you."

"De nada, chica," Javier replied with a warm smile.

"Now I have something to use for target practise whenever you piss me off," I said with a toothy grin.

Javier chuckled as we began to walk away from the inflatable. "You would never do that to it."

"How would you know?" I questioned with a laugh.

"You wouldn't mess up a face as handsome as his," said Javier arrogantly, "especially since he's modelled after me."

"Don't tempt me," I retorted, my eyes shifting from Javier to a red and yellow tent nearby, complete with a series of pyramids made up of empty slimonade bottles. With the urge to prove that I had good aim strengthening with each passing second, I strolled with conviction up to the tent without waiting for Javier to follow me.

The monster in charge, a cheerful serpent with aquamarine scales and red spots, greeted me with a smile as I approached him; however, rather than address me directly, he turned to Javier who had joined us from behind me. "Hey there, bro. Here to win your pretty lady another prize?"

"The pretty lady can win another prize for herself," I told him before Javier could reply, making it abundantly clear that I was present and had both working ears and a mouth.

The monster sneered, clearly doubting my abilities for some reason, "Good luck with that, sweetheart."

"Don't need it," I responded confidently, roughly thrusting a few dollar bills at him, "but thank you anyway."

The serpent looked taken aback by my boldness, but gave me one of the orange-sized red balls from a nearby bucket in exchange for the cash.

"You sure about this, chica?" Javier whispered from behind me. "That pyramid of bottles looks easier to knock down than it really is. Trust me, I've tried."

Smiling confidently at Javier over my shoulder, I said, "I got this, Rios."

Unlike the serpent, Javier appeared to believe me and stepped back to give me space and to watch me in action. The serpent did the same; however, the snicker that he attempted to disguise with a cough was audible.

Positioning myself directly in front of the middle pyramid of bottles, I noted that the base consisted of a row of three bottles. A row of two bottles was stacked atop it, followed by one lone bottle at the very top, just dying to be knocked over. Being the detail-oriented monster that I was, I carefully assessed the entire triangular structure as I contemplated my plan of action. Most monsters would probably chuck the ball at the top bottle and hope for the best.

Of course, I was not like most monsters.

After giving the ball a quick polish against my leather jacket, I pulled it over my shoulder and flung it towards the base of the pyramid, knocking out the entire bottom row and causing the three bottles standing on top of it to topple over as well. All six bottles clinked against each other as they collided on the way down and shattered by the serpent's quartet of feet.

Javier wolf-whistled at me from behind. "Impressive, chica."

"Gracias," I replied smugly as I accepted a piece of cardstock that the stunned serpent passed me. I nodded my thanks before strutting off without a glance back at Javier as I was fully expecting him to follow me.

"How did you know to do that?" Javier asked as he popped up next to me.

"Simple," I answered. "If you hit the pyramid at the top, it doesn't do much to what's below it. If the bottom of the pyramid caves in, so does the rest of the structure. It's like a weed; cut off the top, yet it still grows back. Pluck it by its roots and it's toast."

Javier smiled admiringly. "Well, you sure showed that snake."

"Showed him what?" I asked with a laugh. "I just knocked down his precious pyramid."

"I mean, you showed him that you're more than just a pretty face," Javier explained, gazing down at me rather fondly.

I smirked proudly in a manner that would probably please my brother. "Damn right I am."

Javier laughed. "You really are Johnny's sister."

"And Johnny's sister is starving," I told him, speaking in third person for the second time that evening. Showing him the piece of cardstock in my hand, a voucher for a free dinner for two, I asked, "Would you like to share my prize with me?"

After downing two juicy eel dogs, a basket of fries, and a pair of Blorts later, Javier and I opted to try our luck at more carnival games. Although we were not able to keep a winning streak going, we still enjoyed relishing in the fun and forgetting about midterms for just one night. Tonight we were not Danica the teacher-to-be nor Javier the Scarer-in-training; we were simply Danica and Javier.

Pulling away from a water gun shooting game, Javier said to me, "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were pissed off at someone."

"Just because I took that bulls-eye out?" I asked with a laugh. "You should know by now that I have good aim."

"Believe me, I'm aware of that," said Javier, running a hand over his forehead. "Goblin help the monsters who get on your bad side."

I laughed as I glanced down at my wristwatch and said, "Wow, almost ten o'clock already? Thank goodness Fridays are our course-free days or else I'd be worried about sleeping in late and missing a morning lecture."

"Almost ten, huh?" Javier murmured before asking me, "What do you say we go on one ride before we head back to campus?"

"As long as it doesn't cause our dinner to make a reappearance, I'm game," I told him.

Javier grinned at me amusedly and led me over to a moving line forming underneath a giant wheel sporting a multitude of colours, glittering lights, and twelve motley cabins.

"A Ferris wheel?" I questioned in confusion. "Why a Ferris wheel?"

"You'll see," Javier simply told me.

"I really hope you're not considering pushing me off of it," I joked, "and here I thought we were having a good time."

"Oh, we are," Javier told me, "and it's about to get even better."

Fortunately, the line in front of the Ferris wheel was short and Javier and I soon found ourselves seated in one of its glowing cars, ascending towards the top at a gradual rate. The cabins were designed in such a manner that they somewhat resembled enlarged car seats that sat two monsters. The top half of the cars were exposed rather than topped with metal cages. While it gave us an unobstructed view of the dark sky above, it also gave me a minor case of acrophobia.

Fiddling with my claws resting over the safety bar that was clicked securely against us, I took a deep breath and exhaled in hopes of releasing the nerves that I felt bubbling in my stomach along with my digested dinner.

"Something wrong, chica?" Javier asked, clearly aware of how fidgety I was.

"I'm okay," I answered, turning to face him. "I'm just a little weary of the open car."

Before Javier could respond to that, the rotating wheel jerked to a sudden halt, causing me to fly forward forcefully into the safety bar. The law regarding the equal and opposite reaction had me collapsing back against the seat soon after.

"Whoa!" I gasped when I finally got air. I rested a hand over my chest, feeling my heart beat erratically against my ribcage.

"Easy there," said Javier gently, wrapping his upper right arm around my shoulders. "I've got you."

I leaned back against his arm, taking deep breaths to calm myself down. Closing my eyes, like I did whenever I cultivated mindfulness through meditation, I tried to focus more on my breathing and what I could detect with my other four senses. One thing that I felt was Javier rubbing the claws of his hands up and down my bicep in a way that I found very comforting.

I jolted upwards at the sound of repeated popping. I noticed the flashes of something bright behind my closed eyelids that accompanied the sounds.

"Open your eyes, chica," Javier encouraged. "You're missing out."

Flicking my eyes open, I realized that my and Javier's cabin was suspended at the very top of the Ferris wheel, the perfect viewing spot for the fireworks that had begun to illuminate the night sky. Many of the explosions of colour resembled dandelions, but a select variety formed intricate designs such as stars, pinwheels, and wreaths.

Any anxiety that had been plaguing my thoughts and bones, whether it stemmed from upcoming midterms or from the little episode of acrophobia moments earlier, slowly faded away. Taking the time to relish in the present – watching the beautiful display of bursting hues, away from the responsibilities of school and work – was immensely refreshing and badly-needed. The company, I was willing to admit, was an added bonus.

"You okay?" Javier spoke up, patting my arm lightly.

I smiled, keeping my gaze on the jaw-dropping show above. Hugging the plush bug closer to my chest, I whispered loudly enough for Javier to hear, "I've never been better."