Lost In Purple

Chapter 9: An Afternoon With The RORs

I wake up to my phone alarm blaring, resonating off the walls and echoing into my bathroom. I try to open my eyes but find that only one opens all the way and the other can only open half-way before closing involuntarily. I guess I had a really deep sleep and my body doesn't want to wake up yet so I close my eyes for a couple more minutes before opening them again. Luckily I didn't fall back asleep and sleep in for a couple more hours because I, yes I, actually had plans today.

I grab my phone and unlock it. It's 9:00 AM on this peaceful Friday morning with no classes and I spend it by looking at social media. That's usually how us millennials spend it, so it's nothing too odd or demented. After about 10 minutes I slide out of my bed and fall face first into the ground because I'm still tired. My limbs feel weak and I can't think very fast. My blanket slowly falls off my bed and covers me while I curl up into a ball. My long hair covers my eyes and I start to feel sleepy again, but I push myself up and stretch out my back. I see the sun's rays impale my blinds which makes me curious if it's actually sunny or not since October tends to be a fairly bipolar month. I finally push myself up to my feet and twist the plastic mechanism to discover the campus cloaked in light, the fountain reflecting the sun's energy every few seconds as the water shoots out from the top, and the blue sky holding no clouds. I guess it's safe to assume today's a day to be outside.

I hobble over to the bathroom and look in the mirror. My hair is an absolute mess as certain bits from the back of my head are wrapped around my ear, and strands from the left side of my head are resting on the right side of my head. I take a quick shower to make myself feel fresh for the day ahead and spend some time drying off while quickly polishing my horns. I look in the mirror once more and take my brush and comb through it. I take a few minutes to also curl it at the ends which ends up making me look better. I take some eye liner and do my usual eyeliner wing along with a quick application of mascara. There we go, now I look good.

I search through my closet to look for my outfit today and decide on wearing some normal black converse high tops, black skinny jeans, and a plain white t-shirt. I then pick out my dark purple flannel that has a hood attached to it and now I feel good to go. I make sure to keep the flannel unbuttoned though because I feel better with it blowing in the wind. I check my phone once again to see it read 10 AM. Wow that was fast. It used to take me around 2 and a half hours earlier this semester, so I give myself a pat on the back for being efficient. I grab a minimalistic black handbag that wraps around my neck and shoulder, and take my phone, my drawing book, a couple of pens, and other personal items. I finally exit the dormitory in style.

Today, I'm checking up on the RORs. It's been a couple of days since I saved Javier and Chip from being sent to the hospital, or worse... PRISON. I made sure to listen to what Javier said which was to lay low for the time being because I really don't know if Percy or Baboso know I played a part in their fiasco of a confrontation. Like seriously, that was one of the most childish fights I've ever seen. They're literally picking fights with each other because they want to be better than each other. Or well, the JOX are doing that. It seems like the RORs have been able to stay mature for the most part and swipe these interactions off their shoulders, but Chip finally got fed up with them.

Speaking of Chip, I hope he's alright. From what I know, he went to the hospital with Johnny once he got out of class, but even then I don't know how severe his head injury was or how he's currently doing. So, that's why I'm heading over. Aside from that, I thought about going back home for the weekend and visiting my parents as a surprise. I haven't spoken to them very much recently because I've been really focused on my scaring, so I figured that would be a good idea. We'll see how I feel after my visit though

I walk through the amphitheater and head down the road towards Frat Row and look at the beautiful pathway that's laid out before me. The road is symmetrically decorated with tall trees, all of which are different shades of orange. They've been losing their leaves and creating a light blanket of satisfying crunchiness. The branches of the trees alluringly stick out into the road and create a complex pattern of shade on the walkways, which is... quite literally something straight out of a fairytale. I pull over to the right side of the road and take a seat. I pull out my drawing book and begin copying the landscape. Every single leaf, and every single branch is included. There's even a cute little squirrel standing watch on one of the lower branches, chilling out and eating a little berry it found from somewhere on campus. I thank the heavens that nobody is around the bother me or cause me to mess up too, because I wouldn't lost my mind if someone spoke a word to me while under such tranquil factors.

After a while, I look at my progress and see a perfectly crafted piece of artwork. Maybe I should consider making a small career out of this because it's basically a flawless copy of the campus road. All I need to do is color it, make some copies of it one day, perhaps send it to an art museum, and boom, instant profit. I put my supplies back into my backpack and take out my phone to check the time. 11:40 AM. Wow, I almost spent 2 hours just drawing in the most obscure corner of the campus. It's almost eerily silent since people are out doing things on this autumn weekend. The only thing left to do is continue onwards to Frat Row.

The silence follows me all the way to the ROR house. I begin to worry about whether or not the RORs are even on campus since it seems like a ghost town over here. There's no lights on, nobody's out in their front lawns (and there's no sound coming from their backyards), there are no cars on the street, no parties, no alcohol, no nothing. I find myself before the grand staircase of the ROR house and climb them. I look at the beautiful green, yellow, and orange bushes that line the front yard and wish my parents' house had foliage as stunning as them. It's fairly barren over in the Cormeadow area, so the yards tend to dry out and die easily over there. While I guess you could say dead grass would make their house scarier, it would simply just makes the house look dreadfully disgusting. There's also the fact that my parents would get in trouble with their Home Owner's Association if it wasn't taken care of, but we'll just sweep that under the rug for now.

Once I pass under the marble archway, I ring the doorbell and wait patiently for someone to answer. There isn't any indication that anybody is home until I hear a couple big stomps move up to the front door. The door opens and reveals a face I've come to know very well.

"Well if it isn't my favorite freshman," Johnny beamed with a large smile across his face. His collar is popped and his posture is regal.

I reciprocate the smile, put my hands behind my back, and respond, "Well, if it isn't my favorite senior."

His smile grows wider and more radiant once he processes what I just said. He laughs a little and says, "I knew I was irresistible and all, but I wasn't expecting to see you here at my front door. Tell me, what I can I do for you princess?"

I laugh back at him. "In your dreams senior. I'm actually here to check up on Chip. I want to know how he's doing since he could barely formulate sentences the last time I saw him."

His smile disappeared as I said that. I can tell he's disappointed. However, his signature cocky smile returns as he says "Oh, I see how it is."

I roll my eyes. I keep forgetting how annoying he his every time I see him after a short while. It does feel nice to see him again though because he is a generally fun person to be around.

"Come on in freshman. Javier, Chip, and Bruiser will be happy to see you. I'll also introduce you to Chet since you haven't met him yet," Johnny says opening the door fully and directing me to enter.

I walk in to see the mansion in almost the exact same shape as I left it. The only difference is that there are actually people in it who sound like they're having fun. Johnny closes the door and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"So Javier told me what happened. I appreciate you being there for us when we needed it. I just hope that you'll refrain from doing something like that again because I don't want you getting hurt on our accord," Johnny utters.

I scoff. "When are you going to understand that I can handle myself?" I ask with a hint of annoyance.

"Ooo, touchy," Johnny growls playfully while leaning closer to me, "Excuse me for being worried about your physical state. But trust me, I know how hard those JOX children hit."

I shake my head and just decide to ignore his subtle advances. "Alright... I'll take your word for it."

"Good," Johnny responds.

We enter the mess hall and I see the four other ROR members sitting on the red velvet couches up near the fireplace. It looks like Chip, and who I can assume to be Chet, playing a round of chess. Javier is reading one the millions of books the RORs own, and Sullivan is laid out lazily on the class on his cell phone. Then there's Bruiser who carefully watching the chess game like he's never seen it before. I do wonder when he'll be welcomed into the fraternity considering the fact that he spends almost everyday with them.

"You weren't too mad with Chip were you?" I ask almost like a mother would.

"Oh no, I was scorched earth," Johnny answers with no emotion only to switch back immediately, "Look who's here Chip!"

All of the RORs look over as I come closer to the fireplace. Bruiser stands up in excitement and runs around the table with his arms wide open. He pants heavily, and twitches violently when he howls, "Miss Melanie Miss Melanie!" He embraces me and squeezes tightly after lifting me about a foot in the air.

I'm floating in the air for a couple of seconds until Johnny steps in. "Ok, calm down Bruiser. Let the girl breathe."

Bruiser let's go and apologizes. "Sorry Miss Melanie. I wasn't expecting to see you today."

I laugh while putting my hands behind my back. "It's fine Bruiser. No harm done."

I turn my attention towards Javier and Chip. They both sit silently on the couch to my right with smiles on their faces. I really wasn't expecting such a warm welcome after spending such little time with all of them. "How's the head Chip?" I ask.

"Eh, it's alright. It was only a mild concussion so I get really tired easily and have small headaches here and there. Otherwise it's fine," He replies.

"And your not getting into any more fights right?" I question with a threatening tone.

"N-nope. I cross my heart. You don't have to kill me," Chip laughs nervously.

I laugh back. "Good."

"Don't tell me you're gettin' soft Chip," Sullivan smiles while turning off his phone and putting it in a pocket inside his jersey.

Chip furrows his brow and growls at Sullivan. "What are you talking about Sulley?"

"You're promising your safety to a pretty lady like Melanie, what do you mean?" Sullivan clarifies. Chip bares his teeth at Sullivan who just sits there smiling. I feel kind of appalled that he thinks so lowly of me, and that he's acting like a know it all.

"I would be careful saying that Señor Sullivan. Based off of what I've seen and heard, and also from some professors as well, this one actually has the means to hurt you," Javier mentions, turning his attention back to his book.

Sullivan looks over to me with a confident smile. He then speaks with a seductive growl, "Huh, you really are full of surprises."

I'm not gonna lie, I almost threw up in my own mouth. There's always been some gross guys trying to hit on me, but Sullivan's the one I dislike the most. Not only in the case of flirting, but also in the terms of the ROR members. Hopefully, he'll leave me alone from here on out. Johnny walks in front of me which blocks Sullivan's view of me. "You know we were going to go out to lunch once Chip and Chet finish their chess game. Would you like to come with us? I'll pay for you."

I look at Chet and see that he is very similar to a crab. However, instead of a body shaped like a disc with two long eye stocks sticking out of the anterior end of his body, his body is shaped like a drop and is oriented vertically. His one eye is also stuck into his body along with a large mouth instead of a mandible.

As for Johnny's offer, lunch with the RORs sounds interesting. While it might be a little awkward with Sullivan, I know that in the end I'm getting some free food from some expensive restaurant. I also know I was think about going home to my parents and surprise them, but I still have a couple weeks to do that. "Ok. Sounds fun," I reply.

Johnny does a double take. "Wait actually? I thought you would say no."

"Why? You guys are miles better than any of the others fraternities and sororities. You guys are also the only other monsters I can relate to…I think," I chortle. All of the RORs except Sullivan and Chet look at me in astonishment. "Oh sorry, did I say something wrong?" I ask putting my hand to my mouth, about to bite my claws anxiously.

"No not really. They just weren't expecting that," Chet answers with lisp, "Usually people try to avoid hanging out with us." Chef then let's out a high pitched, maniacal sounding giggle that gives me the creeps. He takes his queen and moves it forward a few spaces only for Chip to move his queen and checkmate him. "Aww, dang it."

"Yeah I'm starting to think Chess isn't really your game dude," Chip chimes in.

Johnny clears his throat. "Well then, I guess we're going now. How does a burger joint sound?"

Everyone nods in agreement. Bruisers mouth begins watering, Javier sets hit book down on the coffee table after putting in a bookmark, Chet runs in place like an excited little girl, and Chip stands up to stretch. "Ugh... I need to go find my keys," Johnny says patting his cashmere sweater. He walks towards the front door and turns 180 degrees to his right to climb the stairs and presumably head to his room.

Sullivan walks up behind me and wraps his arm around my back and down to my waist. "So why is it that everyone else gets to have some fun with you but not me?" He asks in a low whisper.

God I want to cringe so bad right now. We start walking to the front door and I can feel him bring me closer with each step. "I don't know... I guess I just haven't been lucky enough to run into you thus far," I respond trying to be as nice as possible.

"How about we change that then. I can take you somewhere for dinner, or maybe we can go somewhere together later this week," Sullivan suggests.

"W-we'll see. I, um, tend to spend all day studying so I'll try to find some time," I laugh uncomfortably while lying through my teeth.

"What if we plan ahead?" Sullivan insists. He opens the dual doors and we start descending the stairs.

"You know, I... I'm a very busy person. I'm sure you can understand that," I say trying to give him the hint that I'm not interested. "Also, where are you taking me? Nobody's car is even out here."

Sullivan just laughs and takes his arm away from my body. He then puts them on his hips. "I know. We're just waiting for them to drive out of the garage so we can get in and go with ease," Sullivan quips.

I don't know if I'm just weird, but that sounded extremely lazy of him. Wait for your friends to do all the work, so you can take it easy. You know what, that doesn't sound too abnormal for him since he usually just lays back in his chair and refuses to listen during our lectures. He basically lets everyone else work their hardest while he naturally has the gift to scare effectively. Just thinking about that makes my blood boil and I just stand there in silence.

"You alright there princess?" Sullivan asks.

"Yup. Please excuse me, I have to use the restroom before we leave," I lie while crossing my arms and stomping off back into the house.

"Sure thing. It's up the stairs and to the left, you won't miss it," Sullivan's voices echoes on the empty street.

I sigh as I walk up each step carefully, making sure the tips of my feet don't catch the lips of the cement and send me soaring face first into the pavement. A cool breeze rolls through and sends shivers down my spine. I think that was originally supposed to be my queue to get out of there because that conversation with Sullivan was truly atrocious in every regard. Everything was about him either being lazy or wanting to start a one-sided relationship with me. Thank god I didn't freeze up in embarrassment like usual and walked away.

Right as I get to the door, Javier peeks his head out and notices my annoyed face. "Pardon me, dama de la luna, but Johnny requests your presence inside," Javier forewarns.

I fake a scoff and smile widely when I take the right door and fling it all the way open. "Did he really not walk 50 extra feet to find me?"

Javier smiles back and says, "I'm fairly sure you've figured out by now that's he's a royal pain and makes things difficult amiga. Maybe you can be the one to change that."

I step into the mansion and Javier gently shuts the door. He puts his hands behind his back and walks with me into the mess hall. "Oh I don't know about that. I feel like I would somehow offend him if I asked him to change. It seems like he's happy anyways," I respond.

"We'll never know unless we try," Javier shrugs.

When we finally reach the kitchen I see Chip, Bruiser, and Chet standing along the outer counters and talking amongst themselves. Johnny leans down onto the kitchen island with his phone in his hands and his car keys set on the counter. He looks up and puts his phone away. "Where the hell did Sulley take you?"

"Ugh... he took me outside to wait for you guys to pull out of the garage. I don't know how to tell you this, but he's stupidly lazy," I explain, "Not to mention that I think he has a thing for me and used that time to try and get me to go on a date with him."

The other ROR members looked stupefied. I can also see fire in Johnny's eyes as his pupils shrink and faintly bares his teeth. "Grrrr... I'm so done with his laziness! I don't care what any of you say anymore, I'm falling back to what I said last month. If he doesn't pass that exam he's no longer a ROR." Johnny grabs his keys and walks towards the back door. However, this time he opens a door to the right that leads to the garage. "Freshman, you're with me. We'll see the rest of you there," he grunts.

Javier notices my confusion. He gives me an evil smile and looks off to the side while uttering, "Don't worry Miss Everett, you'll be fine. We're just going to make Señor Sullivan work for his lunch." Wow, that was sinister. I knew Javier was someone not to be trifled with, but I can only imagine the amount of pain that Sullivan is going to be in.

I wave goodbye to all the RORs, grab the door, and close it as I step into the garage. I'm met with the existence of two luxurious cars next to each other, both looking like they've been recently washed and waxed. There's a silver Roar Rover that can hold at least 6 people in it and has a panoramic moonroof. Even though it looks really nice, it has nothing on the Clawvette that Johnny has unlocked and is currently in the act of opening the passenger side door. I'm assuming it's his.

"You look surprised freshman," Johnny comments with no emotion.

"Well yeah! I've never even seen a Clawvette in real life before!" I exclaim.

Johnny smiles. "You like it?"

"It's beautiful! Do you normally drive this around?" I question while walking around it. I notice the hood ornament and custom carbon fiber spoiler and come to the conclusion that Johnny spent as much money on this car as you would when buying a small island.

"No not really. If I had the choice, I would drive around my family's convertible Mercedes but they don't trust me with it. So they gave me this instead," Johnny replies while helping me into the car. He closes the door, walks around to the drivers side, and hops in with ease. It was kind of crazy to see him not have trouble getting in with those bulky horns of his.

"May I ask how expensive that car is?" I ask, turning my head in curiosity.

"Let's just say it's the only one in existence." Johnny puts his key in the cup holder next to us and holds a button down that's next to the driving wheel. The engine comes to life and drowns the garage with noise. I've never seen anything like this.

Johnny puts the car in reverse and throws his arm around the headrest of my seat. He slightly twists his body to look out the rear view window and turns the car to face the street. He switches to drive and hits the gas pedal to fly down the road.

I turn my head and see Johnny focusing on the road like it's a life or death situation. "So where exactly are we going?" I question looking out the window and seeing the eastern campus past us by.

"There's a place downtown that I feel like you'd enjoy. It's called 'The Belly Buster.' While it sounds goofy, it's actually one of the best burger joints I've ever eaten at in my life. Chip and Javier also eat there religiously, so it was kind of the only place I could choose from," Johnny chuckles.

I laugh with him. "Ok, I'm sure it'll be delicious. That is unless they only sell a majority of spoiled foods."

"Oh are you Spoiled Food Intolerant?" He asks looking over to me as we turn out of the campus.

"Yeah, and its not like a general kind of intolerance where I'll just have indigestion and stuff like that. It's the kind of intolerance where I'll likely become gravely ill and pass away," I clarify.

"Oh...wow. You must be one special person then." Johnny adds while giving me a wink.

I laugh. "Sure. I guess you could say that."

Johnny rolls down his window and puts his arm on the door. "Don't worry though, their menu is half freshly-made and half spoiled. While I can eat spoiled food myself, I choose not to because I find it gross and unnecessary so you're safe with me."

There's another 20 minutes of talking between Johnny and I, and almost all of it is centered around our passions for scaring. We both discuss our childhood heroes who were all considered some of the greatest scarers the monster world has seen. All of what we talked about could be found on their Scare Cards and Johnny said we both supposedly had impressive collections. I have about 1,500 in my parents attic that I collected throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Johnny however had a way better collection. Since his dad has worked on scare floors his entire life, and is currently the standing CEO for Fear Co. and Managing Director for Monsters Inc., he's been able to get a hold of every version of every card for every scarer. His collection has reached almost 12,000 in mint condition, all of which include scare cards that haven't been printed since the year 1695. Apparently its been a tradition for the fathers in his family to pass down their collections, and the scare cards that he has that date very far back are the scarers his great great great grandfather Walter "The Ghost" Worthington worked with. Every monster knows how much of a legend 'The Ghost' was as he was the monster every human feared all those years ago. Speaking of which, apparently schools weren't given permission to name him at the request of Johnny's family, so I nearly freaked out when Johnny told me he was related to him.

Anyways, Johnny's heroes were his dad, and Bob Gunderson. Both of them received legendary status during their fifth year of scaring by achieving a 'scare average' of over 100 along with a scarer named Clive Carver. They were the first scarers to reach that milestone ever since scream energy was introduced to the monster world. So in other words, they were considered the best scarers of the modern era. While other monsters were trying to beat the all time scare record which deals with scare totals, they were in the rearguard generating a reliable supply of energy for the world to use. Johnny was even able to meet Bob Gunderson in person when he was little because his father was basically best friends with him.

My heroes were the Kowalski Sisters and a scarer named Carina Kennedy. The Kowalski sisters were known to roar in three different octaves which generated ear-piercingly high pitched screams. Scientists couldn't even figure out how such a frequency could be generated with only those three monsters. My other hero, Carina Kennedy, was one of the first scarers back in the year 1313. Johnny was a little confused as to why I consider her to be one of my heroes. It's because she was so much of an unorthodox scarer that she was technically shunned from the profession. I told him about how she was the only wolven monster to be considered 'not scary on first look,' meaning she couldn't generate scream energy by just walking up to a sleeping child and roaring. Instead, she would use seamstress's and the art of theatrics to act like she wasn't going to hurt them, only to then terrify children so badly that they would pass out.

"I still think she's weird and cruel," Johnny maintains.

"Well then, I guess I'm weird and cruel because I'll most likely be in the same boat as her," I say crossing my arms and snootily turning my head away from him. I say that because I know I'm not the scariest monster in the world. I'll most likely have to use mental tactics against human children to even scare them in general. However, I can't really know for sure since I haven't done a Scare Simulation Test.

"W-wait, that's not what I'm saying," he says as he puts the car in park. The parking lot sits in front of a large building with restaurants lying along the bottom floor. The Belly Buster sits right in the middle of all the various restaurants which is easy to find because of it's flashing neon sign.

"Hmph. I don't believe you," I pout.

"I'm sorry, I swear I don't think that about you. I actually think you have a lot more to offer people than you think. But to be fair, Carina wasn't technically scaring, she was acting," Johnny explains as turns the car off, hops out of the drivers seat, and walks around to the passenger side.

He opens the door for me and takes my hand to help me out like a gentleman. "Fair enough, I guess you've saved yourself for now," I smirk.

"Oh, save myself from what exactly?" Johnny asks leaning closer to me with a cocky smile.

"My fists, what else would it be?" I taunt.

"Pffft, yeah right. Like you would hurt your favorite senior," Johnny responds with a tight hug. He picks me up and begins spinning me around while growling playfully. I try my best to break free with some screams and punches, but they seem to do no damage to the stone golem that has ensnared me. Am I really that weak?

Once Johnny sets me down in a sitting position on his Clawvettes hood, I see the silver Roar Rover pull up next to us in the downtown parking lot with all the RORs and a tired looking Sullivan. The city looks stunning as the afternoon sun beams down onto the giant skyscrapers that stab through the atmosphere. There are many trees and bushes lined along the sidewalks and happy conversations coming from every direction.

Javier, Chip, Chet, and Bruiser hop out of the vehicle, excited to munch on Monstropolis's finest selection of sandwiches. As for Sullivan, he almost falls out of the Roar Rover and breathes somewhat inconsistently. "So what did we learn big blue?" Johnny asks giving Sullivan an inquisitive look.

"That I can't rely on others to take me to where I want to go," Sullivan guesses.

"Ok, whether or not you truly understand that is on you... and what else?" Johnny questions some more.

Sullivan leans back with his hands on his back which makes a loud pop. He then shrugs, looking like he's in pain. Javier really wasn't joking about making him work for his lunch.

"To not force other scarers into your bad habits," Johnny answers his own question while pointing to me with his thumb.

I turn my head to Javier who took his position next to me and the Clawvette. "What did you do to him exactly," I whisper.

"Oh we had him chase us down on foot until we left campus. If I had to guess, it was about a mile of running," Javier whispers back while putting his hand up to hide his mouth movements.

I can only think about how badly his muscles were stinging. "I would laugh, but I know I wouldn't be able to do that either," I jest.

"I disagree Miss Everett. You ran like hell when you helped us get away from Percy and Baboso the other day, don't talk about yourself like that," Javier remarks.

Johnny puts his hand on the back of his shoulder and helps me down from the hood of the car. "Alright, let's go in." All the RORs cheer and follow behind Johnny and I.

"I apologize on Sullivan's behalf. I'll try my best to watch him a little more closely for you," Johnny sighs.

It was odd to see Johnny act so mature. It was almost like all the mischief and selfishness vanished into thin air, and was replaced by responsibility and charm. I kind of liked that. "It's not that serious Johnny, calm down," I laugh.

Johnny just shakes his head and lets out a small chuckle. "If you say so."

We walk up to The Belly Buster and hang out at the entrance. The place is bustling with monsters, so we have to wait a little bit for a table. Johnny has to end up explaining to Sullivan and Chet that they, in fact, didn't have a reservation and needed to wait. He also gave them a firm lecture on being patient. He says understanding situations like this are important life lessons and are needed if they ever expect to get anywhere in life. His aggressive words seem to get through to Chet, but Sullivan clings onto his arrogant ways so I can't say if he really dissected what Johnny said. I can kind of see why Johnny's thinking of letting Sullivan go from the RORs because he's the living embodiment of what people say the RORs are like. Insensitive, careless, and arrogant. It's just sad knowing that all the other RORs are completely different.

We get our table after about 10 minutes and begin perusing through their textbook of a menu. I notice many monsters oogling at all of us and ask Johnny about it. The RORs supposedly have such a good reputation that their talents are nationally recognized and cause people to treat them like heroes. Johnny tells me to ignore them and shows me the 4 pages worth of food that's fresh along with telling me where to stop since those sections afterwards would be spoiled food. There's classic cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, turkey burgers, and fish burgers. There's Hawaii burgers, veggie burgers, bacon burgers, and even burgers made with glazed donuts. I'm also astounded to see that they serve pizza burgers, fruit burgers, and ramen burgers. That last one sounds so goofy that I read what it is and it's apparently a sandwich that uses fried ramen noodles as the bun instead of bread.

"You see anything you like? Again, it's on me," Johnny inquires.

"I don't know it all sounds so fun!" I squeak while bouncing a little in my chair.

"I'd suggest 'The Red Dahlia' mi amiga. It's a meal full of beef, bacon, serrano peppers, bell peppers and cheese. It's by far one of the greatest things here," Javier spouts.

"Whaaaaat? There's no way she'd like that, get 'The Mummy Burger.' It's a turkey burger wrapped in cheese and various spices that's then fried," Chet counters with a goofy giggle.

"Jesus Chet, are you trying to make her develop diabetes? Try 'The French Fright.' It's a normal cheeseburger doused in liquid cheddar cheese, ketchup, and French fries. It's basically a whole meal in one burger," Chip remarks.

"No, no no no. Get 'The Carnivore Burger' Miss Melanie. Every kind of meat is shoved into one sandwich," Bruiser drools.

All the RORs and I expect Sullivan to chime in with his recommendation, but he's slouching in his chair while on his phone. Everyone just turns there attention back tow each other and start arguing with each other about which one is the best as if they were writing a 20 page essay. They were providing each other with 40 reasons why a certain one was better and a certain one was worse. Johnny and Sullivan just ignore them all. While I understand that Johnny is taking charge and making sure they don't get too rowdy, Sullivan is just the odd one out. At a table with monsters who seem so fun, he sure is boring and borderline embarrassing to be around when he's like this.

"If I may freshman," Johnny says while flipping through the pages of his menu, "I've brought my mother here a few times, and she normally gets 'The Primocane,'" Johnny says pointing to it on the menu.

I flip to the page he's showing me and find that it's a fruit burger. It has a beef patty that's topped with a small amount of liquid cheddar cheese, two strips of bacon, pepper, lettuce, blackberry chunks and raspberry jam.

I gasp. It sounds perfect. "Why is it called that though?" I ask while turning my head and lowering one of my ears.

Johnny chuckles when he sees my ear flop to the side. He takes away his menu to look at it himself once more and explains thoroughly. "Certain berries, like blackberries and raspberries, grow on what's considered a 'cane.' Those canes only last for about two years which makes them perennial plants. When a cane produces berries within the first year, it's considered a primocane. In the next year, the cane will have more fully grown berries on them which is considered a floricane. The berries within this burger only use primocane berries that only become fully grown during the fall or winter. That means the berries are crazy fresh. So yeah, that's why it's called 'The Primocane.'"

"I've never wanted food so badly before. How'd you know that?" I ask.

"My mom has always loved drinking raspberry wine. I asked her in high school why she always drank it and she ended up explaining that to me somewhere in her explanation. I don't know why, but I've never forgotten that," Johnny replies after setting down his menu and stacking mine on top.

Our waitress eventually stops by our table and takes our orders. While we wait, I bring up the topic of scaring once again. Javier tells us that he wanted to become a scarer because of Johnny's dad and a monster named Betty Stevenson. Johnny's dad influenced Javier the same way as Johnny and was a driving force as to why Javier applied to the same college as him. As for Betty Stevenson, he said he resonates with her message. Javier wants to 'roar for those who can't roar themselves,' which makes sense considering that I know his origin story. Chip and Bruisers is Hank Knapp because of the fact that he set the record for the world's fastest scare. They both wish to scare in swift manners and eventually break records themselves. As for Chet, he said said he didn't really have a scaring hero. He just wanted to have fun scaring since he was little I think is very cute.

We finally were about to get to Sullivan but all our food comes out from the kitchen. We inhale it within 15 minutes flat and I was astonished to see my plate be emptied that fast. The sweetness of those berries mixed with the savory flavor of the meat, Chefs kiss.

"Oh hey, Johnny! Do you think Melanie could come to the game with us tonight?" Chip interrupts our after meal conversation.

Johnny shrugs with a large smile across his face. "Why not?"

"What's this about a game?" I ask putting a finger to my lip.

"Oh the homecoming football game. It's to welcome everyone back to school, and promote the Fall Formal that's at the end of this month," Johnny answers leaning back in his chair.

"Huh... I've never been to a football game before," I mention.

Chet and Bruiser both put their hands on the table and bellow in sync, "Whaaaaaaaat!"

"Sorrrrrryyyy! I never had a reason to go to any. I pretty much hated everyone at my high school, and never had anybody to go with," I wail.

"Well now you're going Miss Melanie! We'll have fun together I promise you!" Bruiser babbles.

"It's 2 o'clock now, and there's still a couple hours before it starts, so we should rest up until around five and head out to the stadium," Johnny says checking his phone and standing up, indicating that he's ready to leave.

Everyone takes his advice and darts out of the restaurant. "I know it sounds nerve-wracking freshman, but I'll be there to protect you if things go south," Johnny says giving me a wink.

I roll my eyes for what seems like the twentieth time today. "I told you, I can handle myself."

Johnny wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulls me close to him and says, "I know you can." This time, instead of just awkwardly walking with him, I just give him a hug. I appreciated him taking me out to eat today, and giving me the chance to spend time with people who like me for who I am, so I figured that this is the best way to show him that. I see out of the corner of my eye that I caught him off guard for a split second because he looks down to me in surprise. However, he returns to his cocky smile once we exit the restaurant ourselves, and return to his car. I guess I have even more to look forward to than I thought.

To Be Continued...