Uh, hi?
I forgot how long it's been since I last updated this. I've been asked many times when I would update, and I'm just blown away that people still enjoy this story even after a few years. A LOT of things have happened since my last update.
I wanted to upload this yesterday for Day of the Dead, and also the 20th anniversary since Monsters Inc premiered. But then having a real job, running a small business, and doing art got in the way. XD
Still, happy 20th to Monsters Inc!
This is a filler chapter I made because 1. I enjoy making filler chapters whether or not they get the plot moving. 2. I wanted to make sure you guys know I didn't throw this story away.
Believe me when I say LaS has a lot more than just the Scare Games. And I mean a LOT more.
Enjoy!
_
Gazing out her dorm window, Dot couldn't help feeling mesmerized by the campus. From her perspective, the scenery played like one giant 'Where's Wallee?' puzzle book. And she was trying to spot familiar faces among the majority of students.
She was able to make out clothing of the ROR frat, the vibrant gold practically popping off the campus grounds. She barely made out one of the PNK girls, those Q-tip heads towering over some of the shorter students. Dot had to blink a few times on account of the black colors she almost overlooked, whether it belonged to any HSS or just shadows.
It was too bad she still didn't remember names. She did get the ROR leader's correct that one time, but then it slipped her mind.
The Art student thought back to when she and EZ were welcomed into the ROR house. Still a little embarrassed over the events that happened, of course. But it was fun, and Johnny's boys were understanding (most of them).
She remembered the tallest ROR, the one who barely spoke save for when his table got destroyed. Yeah, he was scarier than the rest of those guys.
Of course, Dot was just a Freshman, and these were older monsters with a lot of college experience. And some of them may not share the same interests as she did.
Her parents did warn her to watch herself around the "older kids". Some could be a friend, while others could take advantage of a newbie. High school was like that too, which was why Dot had been a loner by choice (thought not entirely her choice).
Some could be absolute monstersif she wasn't careful. And she had heard a negative thing or two about Greek Row during orientation, let alone the Scaring program.
Of course, those couldn't be completely true. After all, she was part of a sorority!
When she texted her folks the news, they were 100% supportive. She made friends like they hoped.
They did, however, remind her that if things went south...to remember the plan.
Her neighborhood was a bus ride away from the university. And she had roamed Monstropolis on her own before (although never in the evening).
Moving into the university had been a huge thought process for Dot. She originally wanted to just be driven from home to MU on a daily basis. But she realized that idea had more cons than pros.
She had to wake up earlier just to board the right bus. Her parents both worked, and she really didn't want to burden them. Not to mention the bus driver of that hour was intimidating.
This was the better option. Dorm life was a lot more comfortable than she thought. And she could always head home whenever she wanted.
And just like home, Dot sat in her bed, lazing around. Colette was out for the day, so the gelatinous monster had the whole dorm to herself.
Not that she disliked Colette as a roommate, but the atmosphere was much calmer.
When the Fashion Design major was present, she would always rummage through her clothes and whine. She would whine about what to wear, what shoes go with which skirt, and if it was that day to change her nails. Dot always had her headset on whenever that happened.
She glanced over at Colette's side of the dorm. Racks of clothes. A vanity mirror with lights. And a lot of shoes littered the floor.
Well, it's not like Dot was any different. Colette had her pile of designs. Dot had her pile of plushies and graphic novels. And the orange female's clothes usually sat in her personal dresser, which were mostly shirts since she always bared her lower body.
And no shoes. She hated shoes.
As she watched a movie on her laptop, Dot lightly strummed a mini guitar in her gelatinous hands. She didn't exactly know how to play the instrument, but it was a nice device to have around just because.
Actually, she bought it because the fangirl in here had gained a new obsession...from the Monstro movie she was currently watching.
It was about a little monster wanting to be a musician, in a family who hates music. It was a Day of the Dead movie, a holiday Dot celebrated from now on.
Of course, this wasn't the first film she watched centering around that. Nor was it the first movie centering around a guitar-strumming hero.
Dot remembered when news of the movie began. Everyone on social media instantly blasted it for "copying the other film centering on Day of the Dead". Which was impossible because this movie had been in the works long before the other one.
She rolled her eyes every time someone tweeted that the movie was just taking someone else's idea for a quick buck. That was a stupid accusation.
Like Christmas, there were going to be more movies focusing on holidays. And there would be more protagonists with music in their hearts and guitars at their sides. She already thought of ten different main characters with that description.
It just so happened that Day of the Dead was finally getting some attention. Because Christmas movies were becoming overrated cringe; about time there were films on other holidays.
Also, one Day of the Dead film focused on a grown man needing to save his town when he ends up in the Land of the Living. The other film focused on a young boy, who soon gets a dog, winding up in the afterlife and discovering more to his family's history. Two completely different plots.
Dot grinned, knowing all the haters must now feel like idiots for ever thinking it was all copy-cattish.
She recalled attending the premiere. A lot of people had complained that the 22-minute short before the movie was simply milking a franchise. Others thought it was a way for the film to actually get audiences. So many on social media blasted that the short should have just aired on the network channel.
She had been angry all all those people for thinking such.
First off, almost every Monstro film started with a short, and audiences always ate those up. Second of all, how sure would they have been able to see the short on TV, or know when it would air?
In Dot's opinion, the 22-minute short was a massive treat. And it was holiday related, which was what the main film was about. She believed the Monstro network had been very generous. An hour-and-a-half film with almost a half-hour special, all for the price of a single movie ticket.
Movie ticket well spent.
She found a small tune on her even smaller guitar as she watched a particular scene on her laptop. In it, the young boy with the dream was actually strumming his own guitar, watching a film featuring his hero.
His hero leaned in to kiss the woman he was speaking to.
And just like the kid, Dot gagged at the scene too. No way was she ever going to end up in a gross situation like that.
Putting down her guitar, she reached for her phone. Dot scrolled through her social media, gazing at the latest posts. As an Art major, seeing other people's work was always inspiring. Motivating even.
Of course, her preferences were not as 'classy' as one would expect of an Art major. Drawing a bowl of fruit and studying still life were boring. She wondered when they would get straight to drawing cartoons.
That was what she enjoyed drawing the most. Cartoons.
But that was practically foreign to her professors. It was always about art history and how some old guy 'revolutionized the way we see art'. She doubt those held any real significance to drawing cartoons.
She just wanted to improve in her character design. Her comic making. And possibly animate.
But there were requisites, according to her counselor. And those were more important for a Freshman like her.
Dot doodled during those classes, waiting for the hour to end. As her teachers droned about why still life required a particular kind of pencil, the imaginative teen improved her shading.
Line art was getting better. She was experiencing so much with the markers she bought at the supply shop. And she was this close to finding her own cartoon style.
Honestly, she was learning a lot more just by self-teaching. Of course, she would never say that aloud. She wasn't as 'profound' as Colette or even Katy.
Some of the people she followed online had admitted to being self-taught. Others dropped out of college in favor of a social influence career as well. (Of course, Dot wouldn't do that!)
Dot's eyes loomed over a couple of her sketchbooks. So many pages were from her high school days. It was starting to fill up during college life.
On top of it was a metallic cookie box of colored pencils, crayons, and even her new markers. It was like a chest full of her most prized treasures.
Speaking of treasure…
Dot took one glance around the dorm. Then shifted toward the door. She heard no one coming.
The student turned to the window. She locked it.
With her long, gelatinous arms, Dot stretched toward the cookie tin. Ever so delicately, as if she were performing surgery, she pulled the lid off.
She rummaged through small trinkets she saved over the years. One of the most recent was the ticket from the Monstro movie premiere with the Day of the Dead theme (the one with the boy and his dog). She reached the bottom of the box and smiled.
Slowly, she pulled out a small device.
Memories began flooding back as she held it in both her fingerless hands.
12-year-old Dot gazed in awe as she ventured the streets of the foreign environment. Ever since they landed in Hexico, she wasted no time admiring everything it had to offer.
Her family had extra mileage points on their travel cards, and decided to spend it traveling here. They also brought Dot's older cousin (and BFF) Elena to the trip. These girls were inseparable, it was impossible to not bring her along!
With their travel group nearby, Dot hobbled down the busy section. So many people walked past her, all with their own unique tasks in mind.
Voices echoed the streets, promising fine goods and sweet treats. Dot nearly collided with a mule someone was leading, a few canteens hanging from its strong body. She fought the urge to touch it, since she was sure she would end up kicked by its back legs just like the cartoons.
She watched as kids ran past her, playing with a soccer ball. A group of musicians vocalized in harmony as they played their instruments. She sniffed the air in awe, the amazing aroma of freshly-baked pastries making her mouth water.
Two women were running a successful booth selling fine breads and cookies. How successful? Residents as well as tourists were waiting in the very long line. Others who already bought were chowing down on the delicious Hexican treat, or photographing themselves pretending to eat it. One tourist posed, cookie inches from his lips, sharp teeth baring. Once his friend took the photo, that cookie was merely tossed back into its to-go bag.
"People like that take the joy out of enjoying it."
Dot looked over to see her cousin Elena, with a few pastries in her own gelatinous arms.
The older monster smiled, offering her a cookie. "So let's not be those people."
Dot's eyes gleamed in excitement, the aroma hitting her unnoticeable nostrils. She eagerly took it, mouth practically drooling. However, just as she was about to sink her teeth into it, she realized something.
"How'd you get in line so fast to get these?" she asked her cousin.
Elena's smile disappeared, replaced with a rather guilty, not-so-guilty expression. "Oh, well, I was fast, I'll tell you that. Fast enough that no one really noticed..."
Dot stared at her in horror. "You sto-"
Elena immediately shushed her, darting back toward the booth where she grabbed the "free samples". Thankfully, neither the sellers nor the customers heard them. She hurried her cousin away from the crowd, onto an emptier sidewalk.
"Look, I know how much you wanted to try these every since we planned this trip," Elena explained, offering a gentle, loving, somewhat apologetic smile. "You've waited this long, haven't you? Why wait in that Monstroland-sized line when your dear cousin could just swipe for you?"
"Like that time you stole from that comic store?" Dot expressed woefully.
"Hey, that jerk was charging 10 times more than the comic was actually worth!" Elena insisted. "Way more than what you had in your piggybank. Capitalism at its finest..." she scoffed.
"But those people weren't capitals of anything," Dot said innocently, glancing back at the pastry-selling booth. "They look like they work really hard to bake stuff and make people happy."
"Hey, cuz..." Elena spoke tenderly as she rubbed the top of Dot's head. "You know I got your back, right? Like when you were in 8th grade and those stupid rich kids wouldn't invite you to their pool party?"
"Oh, yeah," Dot recalled, "you made them have a crush on you to get me invited."
"And we took most of the goodie bags without anyone knowing?" Elena chuckled.
Dot giggled. "Which we donated to less fortunate monsters. I can't believe they actually put real phones in the bags!"
"See? We were just taking what was rightfully ours! So the rich can bite it!" her cousin declared.
Dot's smile faded a little before glancing back at the sweets booth. "Are they rich?"
Elena gritted her teeth, smiling nervously. "They're fine, don't worry!" she insisted. "Now eat your Hex cookie before it gets cold."
As Dot savored the taste (that completely overcame the guilt she previously felt), she walked alongside her loving cousin. The older monster made sure they didn't go too far from where their tourist group was, but also making sure Dot would drink in as much culture as their vacation would allow them.
Finishing her snack, Dot noticed another booth in their path. It seemed to be a table covered with a knitted blanket. An elderly couple seemed to be running it. There were no customers.
Curious, Dot walked over. Elena followed her, seeing the interest in her cousin's eyes. They didn't notice the elderly couple smile once the girls got closer; especially the smaller one. As soon as the duo stopped in front of the table, they stared at the contents for sale.
While Dot was in complete fascination, her cousin was less than thrilled by what the people were selling.
"Bootlegs?" Elena scoffed. "Really?"
"Absolutely!" one of them, the elderly man, exclaimed.
Dot took a good look at him. He was a tall, lanky, violet-scaled monster with circular horns that popped from beneath long, grayish-white hair that nearly touched the ground; a much longer beard to match. He had red eyes behind a pair of very thick specs that stared eagerly at the children.
"All your favorite movies now on sale!" he advertised, holding up a few DVDs in a scaly, clawed hand. "Even ones that haven't been in theaters yet!"
Dot noticed one of the DVDs was of a movie that wouldn't premiere until around Thanksgiving. She had talked about it nonstop ever since seeing the trailer. She REALLY wanted to know how far the protagonist would go, especially to save her island.
She barely heard the word bootleg, save for toys that were ripped-off from the original merch. She remember pirating being a big no-no during a "Too Good to Be Bad" show in school.
And she was a good kid! She didn't want to get in trouble with Hexico's police! She wouldn't be able to play her video games in jail!
"Um, I don't think I'm interested..." she apologized nervously toward the old man.
His joyful expression dropped to one of disappointment that practically said 'Are you kidding me, kid?'.
"Good choice, sweetie," the elderly woman beside him spoke. "It barely shows much of the film, anyway," she added.
"Excuse me, bootlegging isn't exactly an easy job!" the elderly man snapped. "It's right up there with being a magical deity or even a teacher!"
The woman rolled her eyes. "Forgive my husband. He's like to wager the idea that every kid's a sucker."
Dot almost forgot she had been sitting next to the elderly man this entire time. The woman was as tall as her husband, with multiple horns that decorated her scaly, red head like a wreath of marigolds. She had grayish-white hair like her husband's, except hers was kept in a bun. A single rose sat on top of it. The elderly woman also had glasses, except more square-framed, that sat in front of reddish-golden eyes.
"Suckers are what you get to the center of to find what they really are deep inside," Dot couldn't help saying, smiling politely.
The couple regarded her, a bit astonished by something so trivial yet mildly deep from someone so little. Dot chuckled, slightly embarrassed. She often blurted out random, questionable things when she was uncertain. Which was another reason she was so awkward at school; and why it was hard to make friends.
"Well, at least that's what the word means to me," she continued. "I mean, it's kind of like how monsters think humans are non-toxic and dangerous, but I'd like to think maybe deep down they got something inside of them just like suckers and-"
Elena immediately placed a gelatinous hand on her shoulder. The older monster laughed nervously toward the adults.
"She's curious about humans, is all," she quickly explained. "Unlike most monsters her age, she would actually be pretty brave if she ever came up close to a human child. Or even a human grown-up." she added, giving her cousin a proud glance.
The old man stared at Dot carefully, stroking his beard. His wife merely smiled, her eyes glow with just as much fascination.
"Such a courageous little monster," the elderly woman stated. "And so wise for someone so young." She looked Dot in the eye. "Tell me, do you plan to become a Scarer when you grow up?"
Dot's expression lessened to mild displeasure. "I want to see human kids. But I don't want to scare the geebies out of them." she admitted. "And I want to just keep drawing as I grow up!"
"My cousin is a great artist," Elena explained proudly. "She loves drawing cartoons."
"Well, so do the caricature artists at Monstroland, and they're barely making a dime," the elderly man joked. He yelped when his wife smacked him on the shoulder.
"What he means to say," the woman insisted, glaring at her husband before turning to the young monster, "with a mind like yours, and an imagination that can truly hone reality, I think you'll have a great future ahead of you."
Dot blinked in confusion. "Really? No one at school really cares about my drawings. That's why I'm always doing group projects or playing volleyball by myself."
The woman smiled. "Perhaps they just don't see how special you really are. And what you could give to monster kind. Or humanity." she added sweetly.
"I tell her that all the time!" Elena chipped in. "That she can draw what she wants and be ten times more awesome than some Scarer. And humans? Well, bring it on! If she's not afraid, I won't be either!" She and her cousin shared a loving look.
The moment was interrupted by the old man, who let out a sarcastic snort.
"Little girl, listen to me" he spoke, looking at Dot, "the human world, it's a mess."
Processing those words, Dot's eyes fell to the ground, feeling rather foolish for imagining something so absurd. It wasn't like this hadn't happened before. She had often been ridiculed by her classmates for thinking such things.
Then the elderly monster slowly smiled. "But then every world is not without its flaws. Especially the monster realm."
Dot lifted her gaze, staring at him in hopeful intrigue. The old man chuckled, before standing up from his seat.
"Now then," he began, "this is obviously your first time here in Hexico. And obviously you need souvenirs to remember all this. And bootleg DVDs just won't cut it."
He handed something to Elena, who gingerly accepted it in both her hands. It was a golden-chained necklace with a few charms on it. Charms that were shaped and designed like the Hexican pastries she swiped earlier.
She gulped, then gave the couple a grateful (and incredibly nervous) smile. "T-thanks..."
"Do I get the same thing?" Dot asked eagerly.
"Of course not," the old man stated simply.
Before Dot could hold in any possible tears or Elena about to yell at him, the elderly monster reached under the table and pulled something out. It was a wooden box with gold platings around the side. Hexican schools patterned around the lower exterior. It creaked as he opened it.
"For such an...interesting child...she deserves something much, much different," he explained.
His wife nodded before turning to the girls. "This is a rare thing for us to do." She looked directly at Dot, her eyes glowing much more vibrant. "But you're as just as much a rare monster to meet."
Dot blushed, shyly shifting side to side.
"Ah, here we go," the husband proclaimed as he pulled something out of the box.
The little girl stared at it. The item was not gold nor fancy like the jewelry her cousin received. It was a small device with a screen on it. She almost assumed it was an eye-pod, but it looked...not like what the monster manufacturers sell.
"This, my dear," the elderly man explained, holding it out to her, "is something that only you yourself can hold possession of."
Dot carefully took it. While deep down she was disappointed it was not as cute as her cousin's souvenir, the item still intrigued her. And only she could have it? Meaning no one else could? This almost sounded like an adventure cartoon, something she often imagined doing or drawing about.
"What is it?" Elena asked, giving him a suspicious look. "Because if you gave my cousin a dud, I will not refrain from doing-"
"It's from the human world," he cut in, as if expecting such.
Both girls stared at him in disbelief. Dot looked down at her device. The large, circular button sat under the screen. Just like a regular eye-pod, it had the arrows to go forward or back, and the pause button.
"Really?" Dot asked, looking up the couple with a hopeful expression.
"Well, it's what we were told," the old man quickly said.
"So it really is a dud," Elena snapped. "Come on, my cousin could get custom-made "human trash" on the internet that's better than this. Besides, if that's from the human world, then how did you decontaminate it and made sure the CDA didn't find out? Obviously, you guys were never Scarers in your prime. It's no wonder you spend your lives sitting out here selling random, useless stuff to kids."
The old man gave her an annoyed look. Before he could have a word, his wife cut in.
"You better hurry before your travel group forgets you," she said, not at all with hostility.
"But we didn't pay," Dot said.
"It's fine," the woman told her sweetly. "Enjoy your time here in Hexico, girls."
While Elena brushed off the woman's kindness and walked away, Dot stayed behind. She looked at the couple before looking at the device in her hands. Then she smiled before approaching closer to the table.
"I know it's not money, but..."
She placed in front of them the pastries she hadn't eaten. Both husband and wife looked at her, mildly surprised.
Dot continued smiling. "I don't know what this is, but I do know how important it's gotta be." She held the device up. "I'll take good care of it!"
"I know you will, sweetie," the elderly woman spoke in a motherly tone. "Just remember that everything your heart says about humans, can be seen through that little screen."
Dot's eyes widened before looking back at her souvenir. "So did you really…?"
"That's a story for another time," the elderly man responded. "Now run along, kid."
Dot hurried off. She stopped a few feet away, looking back toward the couple. Heart beating, she quickly ran after Elena.
The couple watched as she held her cousin's hand, the older girl promising to get her something better later. Husband and wife looked at each other, smiling.
Dot continued staring at the device, the memory fresh in her head even after all these years. She still wished she could have asked for the couple's names. While she and Elena hadn't been to Hexico since that year, Dot sometimes pictured one day they would reunite with the couple again.
After their encounter, neither told her parents about the mysterious device. It had remained a secret since then. She never stopped believing one day she would encounter humans. Never stopped imagining there could be something deep within the "suckers" of society.
Of course, she never shared this with her fellow sorority or anyone else in college. She finally had friends, she didn't want to risk it. And with the recent incident involving the CDA, she definitely did not want to get in any real trouble. Which was why she often had to agree with Colette and the others when they expressed their woes toward the human world. Even though deep down Dot begged to differ.
Maybe one day it'll all change?
Taking advantage of her private time, Dot pressed the button on the device. She smiled as the screen began to play. Even after all these years, she never got tired of watching. And hoping.