Lost In Purple

by Lupinelectro

After being invited to the Rush Week parties at Frat Row by an old friend, Melanie learns how to overcome her antisocial nature from the best fraternity on campus. Soon, she'll find herself stuck in between the stresses of schoolwork, fraternity conflicts, and within the confusing processes of falling in love with someone she doesn't belong with.

2. A Better Introduction

Lost In Purple

Chapter 2 - A Better Introduction

I wake up the next morning with a slight headache, along with slight confusion. It's not a bad kind of confusion where I don't know who I am or anything, but I'm confused nonetheless. I'm bewildered as to how I somehow ended up meeting the one monster I was specifically told not to talk to. The chances of that happening were quite literally close to impossible and the one person I ended up running into was Johnny. I could not have ever guessed that I was that unlucky.

I could barely get myself out of bed. I barely kept myself balanced when I walked to my bathroom. I swayed left to right several time before I was ready for a quick brush of the teeth and quality shower. Fortunately I woke up early enough because I would have ended up missing my classes today. I forage through my dorm for my handbag and backpack, filling them up with a few notebooks and pens, and exiting with some pep in my step. The halls of the dorm were empty which made me feel content and comfortable once I made it to the front desk and quietly swung open the entrance doors.

It's an entrancing morning. There's birds chirping, a slight summer breeze, and a faint orange glow that vividly glazes the many tall trees following the walkways of the campus. The perfect ratio between green, red, and blue leaves definitely leaves an impression on you when admiring the campus. That's one of the few reasons I decided to enroll here at Monsters University anyways which hopefully isn't considered a weird reason.

My very inconsistent thinking is then interrupted when I unintentionally bump into a small yet round green monster and yelp. He turns his whole body to look at me which clearly shows his three eyes sticking out of his head like antennas. His sclera's yellow, and irises red.

"I'm so sorry, I've been really clumsy lately. I didn't hurt you did I?" I ask in a small panic.

He shakes is head implying that there was no damage done, grins ferally, and maniacally chuckles. That seems to be a normal thing around these parts.

"I think we both are in the same situation. I was looking at the cool statues and wasn't watching where I going," he says pointing his shaky claw to the right of the scaring school. I take a second to look over the statues details before realizing I had actually walked past the fountain in front of the Victorian building. Wow, I'm faster than I think I am.

"Oh wow, you're right," I snicker, "That statue is pretty cool. Have you not seen it already though, we've already gotten through the first week of the semester?"

He shakes his head, "I was too nervous to notice it."

I narrow my eyes while turning my head towards the sky, "Makes sense."

"I'm Reggie, but my friends call me Bruiser if you'd rather," he declares while twitching slightly. I also notice the Roar Omega Roar jersey he's wearing. I think back to last night when Faust told me to stay away from them and here I am again somehow associating with them. However, just to be polite I reach out for handshake.

"Melody, but you can call me Melanie."

He hyperactively takes my hand and shakes it. I was expecting him to break my arm or send me flying 50 feet behind him but it was more like super quick wrist flicks instead. Totally not awkward or anything, but I laugh it off.

"Are you in Professor Knights as well?" I question Bruiser.

"Yes Miss Melanie. I never noticed you in there though," He replies panting heavily.

Jesus, I really just found a psychopath. I mean he's nice but I wouldn't be surprised if he's thinking about ripping my limbs off.

I laugh while putting my right hand on my scalp, "We must have both been to nervous to even look around and see who's in our class."

Bruiser happily runs in place for a second before walking forward, looking back at me, and swinging his arm in the direction of the school, "Let's go sit. We can talk more."

I smile and follow him into the school. It's obvious to me that he had a rough time in school making friends because of his overwhelmingly creepy ticks and hyperactivity. Seeing him constantly look back to me while searching for Knight's Scaring 101 amphitheater tells me he's excited to finally get along with someone. He opens one of the dark, duel wooden doors for me and like a gentleman let's me enter with no struggle and directs me to sit down towards one of the center middle rows. I take out one of my scaring notebooks along with black and pink pens.

"Did you go to the party last night?" Bruiser asks.

I nod, "Yes, but I didn't go to your frats. I was invited by one of the JOX members who I've known since middle school. Parties also aren't really my... thing."

I realize I'm talking to another monster so fluidly and energetically. What's happening to me? Seriously, what happened to being antisocial? What happened to not listening to what Faust said?

"Oh I'm not a part of the RORs yet but I've been talking to them. Anyways, you know a JOX?" Bruiser inquires with his happiness rapidly changing to perturbation.

"Yeeeeeaaaaah...," I respond with a low and slow.

His three eyes narrow in frustration, "Who?"

"Uuum... I've known Faust for years. He was one of the only friends I had throughout middle and high school. Um, I know you ROR's have issues with them and I hope that doesn't make you think less of me," I explain.

I look over to see Bruiser looking at me with a worried look. I think he realizes that he might have unintentionally struck a sensitive chord and thinks he's at risk of losing this new found 'friendship' if you could call it that.

"I'm sorry Miss Melanie. I know Faust actually, he's one of the only JOX members that we don't have problems with. The JOX just tend to label us as the worst monsters on campus without getting to know us. The president knows that better than anyone else," Bruiser says twitching near the end of that sentence.

"You mean Johnny?" I interrogate further.

A look of surprise reveals itself across Bruisers face, "Y-yeah, do you know him too?"

"Yeah, I actually ran into him when leaving the party. Well actually I fell into him instead. Some crazy guy on a bike ran into me and he caught me before I hit the ground. God, Johnny was really intimidating," I whine.

Bruiser bursts out laughing before snorting. For a monster who seems so creepy he's actually really cute. "You really are clumsy Miss Melanie."

I laugh at myself and look around the amphitheater in hopes that none of the other few monsters in here were bothered.

I continue conversing, "Yeah normally I'm not but I feel like I've forgotten how to walk entirely this past week. Anyways, you said that the JOX are...um... manipulative and Johnny's been at the mercy of that?"

Bruiser sighs and looks down at his notes, "Unfortunately, I'm not technically a part of the fraternity yet but I have been talking to him. I don't know all the details, but the whole reason the JOX and RORs have problems is because of both Mr. O'Growlihan and Mr. Worthington. I suppose Faust must have also told you that we're selfish and antagonistic as well?"

"Y-yes, but from what I've experienced with you and Johnny I'm beginning to think that's not entirely true," I reply.

Bruiser refuses to talk for a few seconds. He's clearly trying to be careful about what he going to say next. "They might be right when they say we can be egotistical or annoyingly confident, or even that we were all born with silver spoons in our mouths, but... they're wrong when they say that we think we're superior to everyone. There's more to us than meets the eye."

I smile with a motherly intent and say, "I think I believe that more."

Bruiser turns his head and looks me in the eye with appreciation. The many doors to the classroom then open and the rest of the Scaring 101 students enter. I look at the clock placed on the wall at the back of the classroom to see it read ten in the morning. Good, class is starting. Professor Knight finds his way to the front of the classroom and gracefully yet intensely welcomes everyone back to class.

Bruiser and I stay silent throughout the lecture. Bruiser seems to drift in and out every few minutes whereas I am invested in Knight's teachings today. We just now start going over our first big unit on scaring. The first few weeks were on the basic philosophical understandings of scaring which dealt with 'what scaring is and how to do it.' However, this is where scaring starts to get more complex and interesting.

Professor Knight begins by saying that this semester will be more or so focused on learning the different kinds of scares and how to use them, and that we'll actually learn how to set up a scare later in our careers. He later begins teaching us the fundamentals of 'An Ambient Scare,' which deals with the intensity and power a scare must have in order to generate an adequate amount of scream energy. There are some that can be super quick and some that can be drawn out. He states that only the best scarers, who are primarily at Fear Co., with a few dabbling at Monsters Inc., can create an long, and drawn out scare environment and that we students shouldn't feel discouraged if we never are able to do so. The professor also teaches us about certain techniques like object movement, bumps and thumps, and uncomforting auditory setups such as creating claw marks on wood.

The lecture goes on for a long while before the school bell rings and he dismisses us while reminding us about a quiz later this week on scare ambience.

"Miss Melanie, I'm going to go get some lunch. Would you like to go with me?" Bruiser says to break the long silence that lasted between us.

"Um, I think I'm alright for now. I'm kind of an abnormal eater. I don't tend to get hungry until around two o' clock," I state nonchalantly.

"Whether you're hungry or not, a Southclaw burger from the cafeteria sounds so... hehe, heavenly. Are you sure you're sure?" Bruiser persists.

I begin to pack up my notebooks and place my pens in one of the small pockets of my handbag. "Yeah I'm good. Thanks for talking with me though, I enjoyed it."

"Hehe, ok I'll see you tomorrow then right?" Bruiser asks while twitching.

I salute and smile big to the green monster as he shimmies out of the row of seats. "Yes sir."

Bruiser waves goodbye and I watch him waddle his way out of the building. Many other monsters follow him talking about all sorts of random things. Sports, music, relationships, you name it. The group that was the most interesting to me was this small green monster going over what we just learned with a purple and blue lizard. The purple lizard looked kind of cool and little bit scary, but I can't see the green monster making it past the final exam this semester for some reason. I know that scaring isn't all about looking scary, like Dean Hardscrabble suggests, but somethings just not... there.

I then realize that I've just been sitting there for a minute doing nothing while Professor Knight looks over a couple papers at his desk. I stand up and make my escape from the scariest building on campus before I make the Professor think there's something wrong. I exit through the main doors and find myself at the top of the grand staircase to look at the east part of campus. The registration hall is sort of empty, but you know... it's only the second week of the semester. The dorms and library are crowded, and all the sidewalks are bustling with a rich diversity of monsters of all sorts of colors from all sorts of lineages.

I descend the staircase and decide that I have no reason to simply go back to my dorm room and do nothing the rest of the day. I may be a hermit and antisocial but I do like to spend some time outside every now and then. With no particular place in mind to go I continue down the main street to find myself passing the Scream Energy School, the School of Engineering, the School of Door Technology, and finally the School of Business. I continue towards the bridge and look over to see the School of Aquatics and many monsters swimming in and out of the ominous water cave they go into. I don't know about anyone else, but even if I were a water monster, I wouldn't dare go in there.

I look beyond the School of Aquatics to see many monsters laying down along the riverside, some of them having picnics, playing card games, or sunbathing. I think about how far it goes and stroll on over to the south side of the river that faces the Scaring School and finally touch some grass. I keep hiking past the School of Business until it's relatively quiet and nobody is around to bother me. Once I sit down I notice that Frat Row is across the river. I pull out a blank drawing book, a pen, and the creative side of my mind to begin drawing the landscape laid out in front of me. I start with the trees and the river and eventually move on to the Scaring School and Frat Row.

I finally get to the ROR house that so elegantly sits at the end of the cul-de-sac and someone speaks directly to my right.

"You know you're not allowed to be out this far right?"

I seize up and let out a yelp. I look up and see that to my right is Johnny looking across the river with a smirk on his face.

"Jesus, you scared me," I whimper.

Johnny looks me in the eye while placing his hand over his heart and giving me a cocky smile," I'm good at what I do."

I scoff and bring my drawing book close to my chest.

"So princess, I've heard you met Bruiser," Johnny says crossing his arms and keeping his eyes locked onto me.

"Y-yeah. That's not a bad thing right?" I question.

Johnny chuckles. "No there's nothing wrong with that. I was just surprised. People tend to avoid him because of his hyper personality. It also seemed like you weren't very happy to talk to me last night so I figured you had something against those who are RORs. Usually everyone is eager to have at least a minute long conversation with us."

I roll my eyes and mutter, "Yeah I really don't understand why they would."

"Oh and what's that supposed to mean freshman?" Johnny growls while uncrossing his arms and turning his body towards me. Oh god, now I've done it.

"S-sorry, I'm just... one of those people who can't really hold a conversation so I don't really, you know, try," I say with a worried look, "I don't get how people could be so brave to talk to someone as popular as you."

That was probably the cleanest save I've ever had. I have now peaked in terms of conversation and, as a matter of fact, I would like to refrain from socializing ever again. I get a little angry with myself because I seriously don't know where this new found confidence is coming from.

Johnny's expression softens as his left eyebrow raises. "Really? It doesn't feel like you have that much trouble. And trust me, I've come across some really awkward people."

I immediately pick up on his attitude change. For some reason he decided to forget that insulting remark.

"I'm just having a rough time getting used to college life," I say shrugging my shoulders and looking down at the river.

Johnny stays still for a couple seconds. I hear him exhale and then sit down next to me. He faces the Scaring School like me but has one knee arched up in order to rest his right arm on it and the other resting on the ground and pointing at me.

"You should give yourself more credit princess. You've been able to get more words out of me than a majority of the school has," Johnny says comforting me.

There's a somewhat long pause between us and I was expecting him to simply get bored and walk away but he never did.

"Um," I say with hesitation which causes Johnny to look at me, "If I'm not allowed over here, what are you doing over here?"

He smirks. I must've impressed him by my sudden deduction. "Well, I guess my reason is the same as yours."

I tilt my head in confusion. "Hmm?"

He laughs. "To get away from everyone; To not be bothered."

"Oh," I respond while trying to cover my embarrassment.

"Don't worry princess, I'll take the blame if we get caught," Johnny reassures.

I smile and rest my head on my knees. "Thank you."

I look down to the ground while Johnny shifts his head back towards the other side of the river, taking in the beautiful sights and sounds. Birds harmonize within the nearby trees, the water trickles and ripples, and the wind blows gently against the both of us.

"Bruiser didn't, uh, didn't bother you or anything did he?" Johnny questions.

"No. He was actually really cute," I reply.

"Cute?" Johnny says as he looks back at me and raises his eyebrow once again.

I giggle. "Yeah, I could tell he was excited to talk to me. It's obvious he doesn't have an easy time talking to people and making friends. I feel like people think he'll hurt them if they try to talk to him."

"Yeah he's misunderstood, like all of us," Johnny mentions.

"You think you're misunderstood?" I say in hopes he'll entertain my curiosity. Are the RORs not what people say they are?

"Maybe you'll learn one day. Just depends on whether or not we'll continue talking each other like this," Johnny bantered.

"Fair enough," I respond.

Johnny then asks about what I think about Professor Knight and his class. He seems genuinely interested about it so I answer. I tell him that I actually really admire Professor Knight as a teacher. He's tough yet engaging. I also sense fatherly tones when he answers our questions, and is just overall a well-rounded, perfect teacher to start college with.

"Good. Even if things get rough in that class, or your opinion changes, I want you to know that he's the single best teacher the scaring school has along with one other. Figured I'd ask since Bruiser doesn't have a solid opinion of him," Johnny explains.

"There's another teacher like him?" I ask.

Johnny nods. "Mr. King. You'll most likely take his classes next year. Aside from Professor Knight he's probably the greatest person I've ever met."

I tell myself to remember that name. If the best scaring student on campus admires a teacher that much, then I should try to keep my eyes and ears out for him.

"Anyways, I just want you to try enjoy yourself in that class even if you feel uncomfortable. I would kill to be back in one of his classes," Johnny adds after looking up to the sky.

Johnny and I say nothing for quite a long time. We just relax and take in our surroundings for what I'm guessing to be an hour. We hear occasional cheers from the main roads, and laughter from the School of Business and School of Aquatics.

"Alright, I got to go princess. I'll be sure to catch you again. After last night I wasn't really sure about you, but now I think I could tolerate being around you," Johnny declares while standing up.

"Oh, o-ok." I respond not really knowing what to say. I get angry at myself again because I don't understand why my nervousness just reappears out of thin air.

"Be careful walking back. Wouldn't want security catching you," Johnny teases.

I watch him take his strides back towards the campus. I sigh and grab my drawing notebook to look at the progress I made. I don't think I'll be able to look at this picture and not remember having a conversation with a supposed psychopath. I really start to wonder why Faust and... well everyone thinks the RORs are crazy. I've already befriended two of them and they don't seem like bad people. I also think about how Johnny said that they're all misunderstood. What could that mean?

I shake my head before putting my notebook and pen away. I stand up steadily and make my way back towards campus just like Johnny did. I pray that I won't get caught. I also feel exhausted all of a sudden and wish to go take a nap. At the same time though, I wish I could've continued sitting there with Johnny.