He yawned as he sat up in the early morning light. The clock on the wall showed half past 7. He couldn't remember whether he'd ever had this less sleep. He held his head, a dull ache tugging behind his eyes. Standing on all four feet, he made it to the tiny ensuite bathroom, finding it slightly unusual that he'd even received this much for the measly mondollars he'd paid.
Tugging on the light switch, his eyes tried to refocus in the initial blinding brightness. Red, angry eyes blinked back at him in the smudged mirror. His acne on his snout looked worse than it usually did; he'd forgotten what stress did to it. Turning the taps, he splashed water on his face to try to reduce their appearance, to no apparent avail. Then he ran a wet hand through his fronds, cooling himself down.
Classes continued today. He didn't know whether after last night's escapade he should even try to show his face. But on the other hand, he did have scare exams to worry about. Randall debated bunking off for the first time in his life. He clasped his hands in worry, wondering what his parents would say if they found out. They were paying his university fees and they would not approve him calling in sick if he wasn't. Then he remembered the accommodation he had to sort. Looking around at the hotel room, he knew he'd much rather at least be back on campus and hide in his room than here. He sighed, making his decision.
He finished up in the bathroom, grabbed his book and stationary, then left to get some breakfast.
"Now, the relative toxicity of a childs doll to a childs bear can be calculated using a rather simple equation. This was designed by Arthur Von Monsterberg in…"
9:43 am. Randall usually enjoyed his Monday morning lectures with Professor Knight, contrarily to many. Today it was calculating and comparing toxicity levels of children's items and clothing. Whenever maths was involved, the majority of the class would usually groan in unison. That was at least no different today. Whenever Professor Knight mentioned 'simple' it was usually the opposite. However, Randall and a few other sparsely seated monsters loved the challenge maths presented. To Randall, it had been one of his favorite subjects in high school. He liked how concrete maths was, that the majority of the time, one answer explained it all. Additionally, his understanding of how many everyday monster objects and forces was greatly elaborated the more he delved into the application of maths. If he hadn't been drawn to becoming a scarer, he would most certainly have chosen a career in engineering.
He wasn't enjoying Monday today though. His senses were peaked and his heart ready to burst. Randall's eyes were consistently darting around the room, agitated at the company. Sweat coated his hands and brow. Most of the students were too busy either falling asleep on their desks or writing down what Professor Knight was saying, but Randall couldn't shake the feeling that all their eyes were on him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could sit here until he passed out or worse, blended accidentally again.
Suddenly, he caught the eye of a student who had turned round to look at him. Randall froze in shock, trying to calm his breathing. The dude elbowed his friend whose eyes were heavily starting to close. He woke and his friend, the dude, pointed at Randall. They started to snigger.
'They were there. They saw me screw up, I need to leave. I need to go NOW' Randall's feet and tail quivered and he had to use all his strength to not bolt for the door at the back of the lecture theater. 'Fuck, oh no, I can feel it happening!'.
His scales began to fade from his deep, smoky purple to a deathly pale white. Randall bit his tongue in concentration, drawing blood. Sweat now dripped down his face as he tried to force his normal colour to saturate back through. The trembles carried up his body and his upper set of arms forcibly squeezed the arm rests of the chair.
"Oh my god, look he's doing it again!" They had still been watching and were now laughing quietly, throwing back their heads. However, they'd underestimated the volume of their laughter and Professor Knight quickly caught on.
"Frier, McDowell, quiet please." He shouted in annoyance. He turned to look at Randall, who although still retained his purple colour, looked noticeably paler, even from the teacher's position at the front. He raised his eyebrow and then continued.
Randall let out a pent up breath, expressing some gratitude that the two male students had stopped. However, he had purely hated how Professor Knight had looked at him like that. Like he couldn't cope with it. He began to hate them. He began to hate them all. He looked back over at the two lads who'd finally quietened down and were looking at him with a smirk. His eyes narrowed in scorn.
Then, he looked around the room for Sullivan, an object to beam his hatred on. He wasn't there? He would have thought that him, Mike and the other Oozma Kapper brothers would immediately be returned to class? The lecture forgotten and his anxiety slightly reduced by this thought, he began to wonder what exactly was going on.
He awoke from his daydream from the sounds of scuffling feet and bags. In one swift slither, he'd grabbed his things and exited the lecture hall.
The first lecture over with, he hurried to the dorms to begin the process of sorting his accommodation. He need to get that over with as quickly as possible. Hopefully by that afternoon, he could move back in the dorms.
The process was the same as he'd done before back at home before moving to university. Reviewing countless documents of health and safety, code of conduct, et cetera et cetera, before animating himself to sign certain documents. It turned out that he could have his room the first thing next morning, disappointed that it couldn't be tonight, although he was grateful he'd paid for two nights at the hotel already.
With that sorted, it had already hit 1pm in the afternoon. Being starved and tired did not mix well. He contemplated sticking to some vending machines, but realized that this would not fill his hunger. He needed a full meal, but this would mean facing a cafeteria packed full of other hungry students. The thought of everyone turning to look at him as he walked in was terrifying. But the growl in his stomach overtook his senses; hunger was something not easily tolerated by monsters alike.
When he got there, it seemed like everyone was too busy eating and chatting in their groups to notice him, the loner, collecting his lunch. Along with his hearty dinner of roasted spleen of ox, mouldy bread and slimy fries, he collected a large cup of black coffee, to heighten his senses and fight his tiredness. At first, the taste was an assault on his tongue, but gradually as he took sip after sip, he started to think he was beginning to like it. He drank the occasionally average cup of joe, but never previously something as strong as this.
He sat in the corner, inconspicuous, blending into the crowd just enjoying their meals. Although his heart was racing slightly from if someone was to point him out, but so far the gossip that he'd managed to overhear primarily focused on Sullivan and the Oozma Kappas. Although this left a bad taste in his mouth, he realized this worked advantageously to him as a distraction. Something else came up in the conversation, but Randall didn't hear and he thought it was best that he minded his own business, kept his head down and ate. As Randall chewed vigorously, he couldn't help but cast his mind to the moment in the dark, on the wall above the simulator child. His stomach started to churn and as he looked down at his food, he suddenly didn't feel as hungry as he thought he was.
He remembered. He'd fallen. He'd NEVER do such a thing to jeopardize the Roars on purpose! Heck he'd jeopardized his own reputation! It was Sullivan. What other explanation was there? That gigantic rumble couldn't have been anything else!
'Perhaps he'd done it on purpose' he thought venomously. 'You know he despised you.' Randall's upper set of hands flew to his head, willing him to stop thinking so loudly. Forgetting where he was, he lowered them down slowly. But to him it had been a good point. Sullivan must have loved every second of it! Watching him yelp like a child and lose his composure. He growled a guttural sound, a monster sitting a few feet away turning and widening his eyes at him. Luckily, the female monster didn't recognize him.
A thought that suddenly came to him made him stop and widen his eyes. Maybe Johnny had thought he'd done it on purpose! That he'd been the quiet one, secretly willing to ruin the Roars on purpose!
'Now why'd they think that?' he asked himself. 'Mike?' His nervous hand twiddling returned like usual. 'Did they think I had some sort of debt to him; that I needed to somehow show them up to help his willing chances and get out of the brotherhood vow?' Randall's realization shocked him and he grasped the table with all four hands. That was why Johnny had been so cold! It had to be!
He jumped to his feet, his food abandoned. He had to find them. He had to explain! His feet slapped the cafeteria floor in impatience as his heart beat like a drum in his chest. Suddenly he felt his panic rising, as many monsters had turned to watch. They remembered it, he saw it in their eyes. One particular male student laughed heartily at him in his group of friends.
"Aww, have a heart Boggs!" Everyone threw their heads back in laughter. Randall wanted to die there and then. This time he couldn't help it. He involuntarily disappeared. "Come back cutie!" They all giggled even louder. He felt sick as his heart dropped to the floor, all his determination seeping out of him through his pores. For a moment, he thought he might even wet himself in fright. He ran out the doors, his throat constricting, feeling bile rising from within. Other students collided into him, confused at meeting an invisible wall.
He made it to the men monsters bathroom before throwing up into the bowl what little he had eaten. It burnt his mouth like acid. The retching continued until he was just dry heaving, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. Sobbing quietly. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this; emotions dragging him towards a complete breakdown. After several more minutes, he stood and wiped his eyes pitifully. Legs trembling, he exited the stall. The bathroom was empty. Some luck.
He was done for today, he couldn't take another class. Blending before exiting the bathroom, he opened and closed the door and joined the quickly amassing crowd dragging themselves to their next classes.