Making Our Mark

Chapter 21: Shopping

"Those are some pretty amethyst earrings," I commented, alluding to the box that Brynn slid into one of her many shopping bags. "Carla will love them."

"And I'm sure the Perry twins will love that new Maulroon 5 album and basket of assorted tea," said Brynn, nodding at the bag dangling from my wrist.

"I hope so," I said with a smile as we left the store specializing on female accessories. With final exams looming, combined with everything else on my plate, I kept putting off Clawsmas gift shopping until Brynn heard of an abundance of sales at the Monsterdale Mall and suggested that we hit it up first thing on the last Saturday of November.

"I'd like to think that we're being quite productive with our shopping trip," said Brynn, consulting a sheet of paper in her hand.

I nodded in agreement, glancing down at my shopping bags of assorted sizes that contained gifts for my parents, Johnny, Brynn, Violet, all of Oozma Kappa, and most of Roar Omega Roar. "Who do you have left?"

"Just Donna and Maria," Brynn answered, looking to me. "You?"

"Just Javier," I replied and then sighed. "He's a challenge to shop for."

Brynn nodded. "Do you have any idea as to what he might like?"

"I do," I answered, "but everything he likes, he seems to already have."

"Like you?" Brynn asked with a smirk.

I laughed. "What do you get a monster who seems to have everything?"

Brynn paused to consider the question before she said, "Well, something personal is always better than something expensive, remember that."

"I know," I said, "but nothing seems good enough."

"He's crazy about you, so he'll probably like anything you give him," Brynn pointed out. "Heck, he would probably like it if you showed up on the RΩR doorstep wrapped in only shimmery paper and topped with a red bow."

"Brynn," I chided with a laugh.

"What, he would," Brynn insisted with a wicked gleam in her eyes, "and he would probably also like unwrapping it too."

I blushed red in embarrassment at what she was implying. "Brynn!"

"Hey, it's the thought that counts," said Brynn, giggling madly.

I shook my head at the inappropriate thoughts that crossed Brynn's mind when a massive store to our right caused me to stop suddenly, nearly causing a collision of shoppers behind me. I eyed the mannequin display in the window and grinned, my mind cultivating a gift idea.

"That face," Brynn remarked, pulling me closer to the window and out of the line of traffic, "you have an idea, don't you?"

Instead of verbally responding to her question, I strolled into the store without a glance over my shoulder to see if she was following me.

High quality gear for every kind of sport imaginable flashed in my direction; bright and colourful jerseys hung from silver racks scattered across the main floor of the store, vibrant baseball caps hung from hooks embedded into wooden displays, and assorted footwear that ranged from running shoes to soccer cleats lined the shelves on the walls. I had a strong feeling that any of the ladies from Slugma Slugma Kappa would die to get their hands on gear like this and not just because I could hear Brynn gushing enthusiastically about it behind me like she was a child in a candy store.

A bubbly salesmonster – a magenta cyclops with neon blue eels for hair and crab-like legs – scuttled over to me and spoke up, "Can I help you with anything, Miss?"

Not missing the way that Brynn was ogling the jogging suits nearby, I said, "Yes, I was wondering if you guys personalized sporting gear?"

"We certainly do!" the salesmonster, whose nametag read Sandra, chirped. "Tennis rackets, baseball bats, hockey sticks, you name it."

"Sounds great," I said, my eyes falling onto a display behind her, "but I was hoping to personalize something much smaller in size."

After dropping Brynn and her bags of purchases back on campus, and my purchases back at my dorm, I hightailed it to the Golden Pearl Banquet Hall in the business district of Monstropolis to meet my mother for lunch. The lunch would also double as a taste-testing session for our family's upcoming Clawsmas charity gala. With me being in school and my mom teaching, weekends were the only times that we could get together to finalize gala logistics in person.

Looking up from her clipboard and the plates of appetizers set before us on the table, my mother asked me, "So, what did you think about the appetizers, sweetie?"

"The pumpkin callaloo soup was good," I answered, jabbing my fork at the dish closest to my mother, "but this spicy peanut soup with noodles and pork tenderloin really blew me away."

"I agree with you there," said my mother with a nod. "That Scotch bonnet really added some spice to that savory nutty goodness."

"I think we should offer the spicy peanut soup as the appetizer, but also have the pumpkin callaloo soup available for guests," I proposed. "It's a nice alternative for those who don't like spicy food, have an allergy to peanuts, or are on a vegetarian diet."

My mother smiled widely. "See, this is why I love having you around when planning events. You always plan with our guests in mind."

"Just glad to lend a hand, Mom," I said before shoving another piece of pork into my mouth.

Scribbling something onto her clipboard, my mother said, "Speaking of guests, Javier's mother called earlier this week."

"Yeah?" I mumbled with interest.

"Yes, she called to purchase gala tickets for herself, her husband, and Javier," my mother explained.

I smiled at that and swallowed. "Will they be sitting with us?"

My mother nodded. "I know that Javier is your plus one, so I've seated his family with our family and Dmitry's family."

"Each table seats up to ten guests," I recalled, "so that works perfectly."

"It sure does," my mother agreed. "Like I said before, I'm sure Johnny will appreciate having a friendly face at the table with us. Dmitry is a sweetheart, but I know he makes Johnny uncomfortable at times."

"Oh, the look on Johnny's face when he learned that Dmitry and I both liked guys was priceless," I said with a laugh. "I never thought I would see the day when Johnny would curse himself for being good-looking."

"At least Dmitry has good taste in guys," my mother pointed out with an amused smile.

I grimaced at that comment. "Not going to go there, Mom."

My mother laughed heartily. "Do you happen to know if Johnny plans on bringing a date?"

I shrugged as I popped another piece of pork into my mouth, knowing full well that Johnny had trouble committing himself to a lady almost as much as he had trouble executing a random act of kindness. The monster had more flings than I did dance shoes. "I have no idea."

"Well, even if he doesn't, I'm sure we'll all have a grand old time together," said my mother optimistically. "I know Javier's mother is really looking forward to getting to know you better."

I choked in the middle of swallowing and spluttered, "I've met her before."

"As my daughter, yes, and only briefly I might add," said my mother with another laugh, "but not as Javier's girlfriend."

"What's the difference?" I asked, accepting the napkin that she passed to me.

"To her, you're no longer just the daughter of a prominent family," my mother explained. "You're now the new lady in her only son's life and the only one he's ever taken seriously."

I blinked at that eye-opening revelation. "Really?"

"According to his mom, he has had his share of flings, but he has never even brought a girl home before," said my mother, smiling warmly at me, "so the fact that he's okay with her and her husband formally meeting you at the gala, no pun intended, is a big deal."

"Great, no pressure then," I sighed.

Resting a hand gently over my shoulder, my mother told me, "They'll love you."

I snorted at her questionable ability to see into the future. "How do you know that, Mom?"

"What's not to love about you?" my mother asked, smiling admiringly at me. "You're beautiful, well-educated, talented beyond measure, and have a heart of gold."

I cracked a small smile at her praise. "Mom, you're extremely biased."

My mother shrugged nonchalantly. "I could be, but I could also be speaking the truth. Javier sees you for those same qualities, you know."

"Hopefully it's enough," I heaved, spinning some more noodles around my fork.

"Hm, you're usually pretty confident about yourself," my mother remarked, tilting her head at me in curiosity.

"I know," I said, "so I don't understand why I'm feeling so self-conscious all of a sudden."

"Because you care about Javier and really want his parents to like you," my mother explained.

As usual, my mother was right. "I really do."

A brief moment of silence followed my admission before my mother spoke up again, "You know, I was a complete wreck before your father first introduced me to his parents."

"You were?" I asked, even though I should not have sounded as surprised as I did. Given that my mother was a young woman once in her life, she had probably dealt with her share of challenges concerning her love life. If anyone was qualified on giving me advice on how to navigate my blossoming relationship with Javier, it was her.

My mother nodded. "Oh yes. Your father and I had been seeing each other for a year when his cousin got married and your father asked me to go with him to the wedding. At this point in our relationship, I had yet to meet his parents and I wanted them to like me so bad."

"Did you think they wouldn't?" I asked, noting the similarities between my current feelings and the ones that my mom had experienced in a similar situation.

"A part of me feared that," my mother admitted. "Even though I was educated and thought of myself as a decent person, I came from a middle-class family, not a wealthy one like your father had, and I was concerned that they would think that I wasn't good enough for him."

I nodded silently, finding myself relating to her story the more it progressed.

"The evening of the rehearsal dinner was when your father first introduced me to his parents," my mother continued with her story, "but not just his parents. With wedding festivities in full swing, word had gotten around to the rest of the family that your father was bringing his special someone to the wedding and they all just had to meet her then too."

"Oh, wow," I breathed.

"My mind was racing with a million thoughts – be cool, don't trip, don't throw up, don't forget names – I had never been more nervous in my life," my mother confessed. "I hoped and prayed that everything would go okay."

"And did it?" I asked, encouraging her to continue.

"Absolutely," my mother answered with a warm smile. "His mother embraced me as though I was her own daughter, his father joked that I could do much better than his average son, and the rest of the family was all very welcoming."

"That's amazing," I sighed happily.

"However, that's not the say that his parents were never worried about meeting me," my mother added. "As your father and I were retiring for the night, he mentioned to me that his parents were nervous about being introduced to me."

"Why?" I asked inquisitively.

"Well, even after a year of your father and I dating, they knew nothing about me," my mother pointed out. "They knew that your father was serious about me since he was bringing me to the wedding as his date, but they didn't know if I was just as serious about him or if I was simply with him because of his future earning potential and his incredibly large trust fund."

I nodded slowly. "I guess I can see why they would have their concerns."

"But since meeting me, all has been well," my mother assured me. "I think that when parents see that their children love each other, it settles any concerns that they may have."

"As reassuring as that sounds, Javier and I have only being seeing each other since the beginning of October, not as long as you and Dad had been seeing each other when you first met his parents," I explained. "Plus, we have yet to use that word."

My mother cocked an eyebrow at me. "Love?"

I blushed, "Well, he calls me that as a Spanish term of endearment, but other than that –"

"While that may be, I've seen the way he treats you and it seems that he's serious about you," said my mother, "and the fact that you have admitted that you want his parents to approve of his choice in companion shows that you're serious about him too."

I gave her a look that wordlessly questioned the point that she was trying to make.

My mother, being the observant teacher that she was, seemed to have interpreted my facial expression because she continued, "If I can see that, his parents will too. If they have any concerns now, and I can't blame them if they do since they don't know you too well yet, they won't after getting to know you better."

A selection of delicious entrees delivered by a few servers shifted my focus back to the task at hand.

One of the many qualities that I admired about the Monsters University campus was that it wasn't a big piece of flat land; paved roads and paths curved their way up and around beautiful domed hills of green. Some of the schools were even built atop some of these hills and it was underneath a shady tree on the hill that supported the School of Business where I parked myself the following Sunday, so I could continue studying for my final exams while simultaneously enjoying the warm weather. The first round of it kicked off tomorrow morning, including my Introduction to Literary Studies one, and I was determined to ace it.

Over the course of the day, I studied and occasionally watched campus life unfold before me. It seemed that many students, like me, were in full-on study mode. Under a similar tree across the river, a purple lizard was shuffling through flash cards as he quizzed the same round green monster that got into a heated argument with Sulley on Frat Row during Rush Week. Some of my Philosophy of Education classmates sat by the river, surrounded by books, papers, and a few boxes of what looked like Crynese takeout. Even some of the Gamma Roar Roar brothers were pouring over their notes at a wooden table near my classmates.

Javier plopping onto the ground to my left took me by surprise. "Happy studying?"

"I'll be happy when exams are over," I said, my voice laced with exhaustion.

"Care to take a break for dinner?" Javier asked, holding out a pizza box and a paper bag.

"Sure," I agreed, shutting my binder of notes and placing it atop my bag to the right of me. "What do you have?"

Flipping open the box, Javier said, "One large meat lovers pizza with a few cans of Blort."

"Nice to know that we have the same taste in pizza," I told him, pulling out a cheesy slice.

Javier watched me tear into my pizza ravenously and laughed, causing me to glare at him.

"What?" I mumbled through a mouthful of dough, cheese, sauce, and meat. "I'm hungry."

"You're lucky you're cute even when you're stuffing your face," said Javier, giving me a nudge.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "It has been a busy weekend – studying, Clawsmas gift shopping, gala planning – my mom says hi by the way."

Javier chuckled, selecting his own slice of pizza. "I think she likes me."

"She might like you more than I do," I admitted with a laugh.

"Amor!" Javier exclaimed in surprise.

"I said might," I repeated, giving him a light shove. "She always sees the good in monsters. It's hard for her to hate someone with a passion."

"Sounds like someone else I know," said Javier, winking at me.

"Oh, speaking of her," I added, fishing out a trio of laminated cardstock out of my bag. "She told me to give you your family's gala tickets."

"Gracias," said Javier, accepting the tickets from me. "Are we sitting with you?"

"Of course," I answered and then teased, "that is, unless you no longer want to go with me."

"There is nowhere else I'd rather be that night than on your arm, amor," said Javier tenderly.

I smiled back before the traffic before us caused my gaze to shift. I spotted Sulley strolling up to the table Gamma Roar Roar fraternity brothers and throwing an arm amicably around the shoulders of two of the table's occupants who looked happy to see him. "That guy is really something."

"He seems pretty chill for someone who's on the verge of failing out of his program," Javier remarked. "Hope he doesn't take it too hard when he gets kicked out of RΩR as well for his laziness."

"Don't get your hopes up because he doesn't take rejection well," I explained without thinking and then froze when I realized what I had just said.

"How do you know that?" Javier questioned, his curious gaze now on me.

I quietly berated myself for letting it slip that Sulley handled rejection almost as well as Johnny cooked. I didn't want it to lead to me having to explain to Javier that Sulley tried to steal me away from him. Javier would probably kill Sulley and Johnny, once he gets word of what happened, would probably help him hide the body. Bailing my brother and my boyfriend out of jail was not exactly how I pictured spending my hard-earned savings and my trust fund.

"Danica," Javier pressed, addressing me by my first name, which I knew by now he only did when the situation was serious.

"Look, I dealt with it, okay?" I promised, turning to meet his eyes, which had hardened. "Can we just drop it?"

Javier hissed lowly in anger, his pizza slice now forgotten on the box lid. "Did he make a move on you knowing full well that you're with me?"

So much for dropping it, I thought disappointedly.

Not bothering to wait for an answer from me, Javier followed up with, "When?"

"Dumpling night," I answered sheepishly. "After you left us alone in the kitchen."

Javier paused, possibly to reflect on the moment that I had brought up, and then calmly asked, "Were you ever going to tell me this?"

I frowned slightly. "What would I say? 'Jav, I know Sulley comes from a long line of Scarers and would be a great addition to ROR if he improves his grades, but he keeps hitting on me, so I'd rather not have him around. Can you pass the soy sauce?'"

Javier sighed. "So are you telling me you were never going to tell me this?"

"How could I?" I questioned with an air of hopelessness. "Say Sulley has the grades and the skills to stay in RΩR. Would you really revoke his membership only because he made a RΩR's girlfriend, who also happens to be the sister of RΩR's president, uncomfortable?"

"Uh, sí," Javier answered without a moment of hesitation. "Look, it's no secret to me that he's into you, I mean, who wouldn't be into you? You're the whole package."

"Johnny, the Perry twins, my gay ballroom dance partner," I listed with a smile. "Shall I go on?"

Shaking his head, Javier continued, "Anyway, as long as Sulley didn't try anything funny with you, his tail was safe. After what you told me, Johnny may not have to wait for Sulley's final exams to be over with before deciding what to do with him."

"You're serious about this," I said. It was more of a stunned statement than a question.

"Dead serious," said Javier. "If Johnny motions to kick that pendejo out of RΩR. I would second it. He would be out on the street before he could even step a toe back into our house."

"But why?" I asked, puzzled by what I was hearing. Roar Omega Roar valued Scaring and family pride over everything else. Didn't that include personal relationships?

"There are just some lines that you don't cross, amor," Javier told me, his eyes narrowing at Sulley who appeared to be joking with a Gamma Roar Roar frat brother. "For one thing, most monsters know better than to hit on a RΩR's girl."

I smirked at that. "Is that so?"

Javier nodded. "No one dares to do anything to piss us off, especially Johnny, or else hell will break loose."

I grinned at the image forming in my mind. "I'm questioning whether or not I would pay to see that."

"You might not need to," said Javier, glaring at Sulley's spotted and furry back. "He clearly can't get it through that thick skull of his that you're mine, amor. His days are numbered. Hell, they've been numbered since we learned how terrible he's been doing in his classes."

"Oh, since when do you own me, Jav?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him in amusement.

Javier turned to grin at me. "You know what I mean."

"I know," I assured him, resting my head against his shoulder. I knew that he was possessive in a protective way, not in a controlling manner. "Just teasing you, mi cielo."

Javier kissed my hair, which I took as a sign that he approved of my term of endearment for him. While the term meant 'my sweetheart' or 'my darling' in Spanish, it also directly translated to 'sky'. To me, Javier was like the sky: full of strength and was always there.

"He doesn't really bother me, you know," I confessed, referring to Sulley's actions towards me. I decided to take my mother's advice given during our deli dinner a while back and open up more to Javier regarding my feelings. "If you guys do decide to keep him in RΩR because he ends up doing okay in his finals, I can handle him."

"I know," said Javier, "but trying to steal you away from me isn't cool, not with me and it won't be cool with Johnny once he finds out. He flipped out when he found out that a RΩR, one that he trusts, was dating his sister. Can you imagine what he's going to do when he finds out that Sulley, someone he's already starting to regret inviting to join RΩR, is trying to do the same?"

"You mean Johnny doesn't know?" I asked, lifting my head up to look at him. "You know."

"I never mentioned it and I don't know if he's noticed," Javier explained, "but I'm not going to hide it. Good grades or not, he's out once Johnny finds out what he's been doing."

"You seem to have your mind made up about it, so I'll support it," I told him, lacing my claws through those on his lower right hand, "but don't do it until after exams."

"Why not?" Javier questioned, astonished that I would suggest such a thing.

"I may not like what he's been doing to me, but I'm not out to ruin his life," I explained. "If you revoke his membership before exams, it might affect his performance. Let him get through them first and then break the news to him."

"His laziness has been affecting his performance all semester," Javier reminded me with a scoff. "I doubt kicking him out of RΩR will make it worse."

"If his revoked membership affects his exam performance, I'll feel responsible for it," I told him, already starting to feel slightly ill in my core at the very thought of it. "In good conscience, I would rather go the compassionate route."

Javier sighed and gave me an exasperated smile. "Fine, I'll wait, but only because I don't want to make you mad. The minute Sulley finishes his last final, I'm telling Johnny."

Squeezing his hand affectionately, I said, "Gracias, mi cielo."

"Anything for you, amor," Javier murmured, "but I draw the line at going shopping with you."

"Darn," I replied, feigning disappointment. "Guess it's a good thing I already have everyone's Clawsmas gifts."

Javier's eyes lit up at that. "What did you get me?"

I gave him a look of bewilderment. "You already have me. Why would you need anything else?"

Javier laughed. "Fair point, amor. I have you. I think I asked for more than enough this year."

I smiled and patted our linked hands. "I did get you something though."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Javier asked, his lips now near my ear.

"Nope," I answered in a teasing manner and an emphasis on the last syllable.

"You sure about that?" Javier whispered, nibbling on my earlobe teasingly.

"Don't bother, Jav," I told him, using every ounce of my self-restraint to pull back and not give in to his suave ways of extracting information from me. "You patiently pursued me earlier in the semester, so you can patiently wait to open your Clawsmas gift."

Javier shrugged and straightened up with a grin. "Can't blame a monster for trying."

"A for effort," I told him before returning to my pizza.