Lost In Purple
Chapter 26: End Of Semester Celebration
Johnny's POV
"Oh, John, I have to find Professor King!" Melanie exclaims. She starts hysterically looking all around the front of the Scaring School and finally finds the Professor leaning against the wall that one of the large statues is placed upon. He's reading a book with one hand and has his other hand placed within his suit pocket, making him look like the fanciest man in the entire world.
"You need to talk to him again?" I question while raising one of my eyebrows.
"Yeah, he asked me to see him after I finished. Would you come with me?" Melanie asks while grabbing my hand with both of her hands.
"Of course," I respond. I then turn my head to my Frat brothers and instruct them. "Just hang out for a few, we'll be back."
They all nod their heads and begin conversing with themselves as Melanie pulls me away from them. I start running and follow her flawlessly, keeping myself from losing balance and falling over onto the pavement. I watch her hips sway side to side and her tail flow in the wind which makes my heart beat more rapidly with every second. She's so beautiful, even when she's in a state like this.
"Professor!" Melanie calls out.
Professor King raises his head from his book and turns to Melanie and I. His eyes go wide and he closes his book with one hand, refusing to make note of where he last left off. This must be very important if he's willing to do that…unless he straight up forgot, but he's not really the kind of person to forget.
Melanie and I stop right in front of him and see him take out a notecard that was placed carefully within his inside pocket. "Everything turn out alright Miss Everett?" He asks.
Melanie let's go of my hand and throws her arms around the Professor which catches him way off guard. He nervously can't decide what to do with his arms and looks down at Melanie in confusion.
"Thank you so much Professor! My life would have ended if you didn't do that for me!" Melanie cries.
The Professor puts his hands on Melanie's shoulders and gently pushes her off him. "Lets not be dramatic Miss Everett, your life wouldn't have ended," he responds calmly.
"I know it's hard to believe, but if I didn't pass that exam my family and my family would have shunned me," Melanie explains while wiping a tear off her face. I'm more than certain that's she's over exaggerating, but I understand why she thinks that would have happened. I grab her right hand and squeeze it tightly. She looks up at me and then hugs me which also catches me off guard. It seems everybody on edge today, but I guess that's because it's finals.
"Regardless, I'm glad to have saved you from ruin," Professor King mentions, "And thank you, Mr. Worthington, for watching this one closely."
I nod and smile. I don't really know what to say to him since he's one of those kinds of people that makes you feel so insignificant and nervous when you're around him.
"Anyways, I'm sorry Professor, I-I didn't mean to surprise you. What did you want to talk about?" Melanie asks while taking a couple deep breaths.
"Ah, yes, I actually have been watching you closely over the past month and have some suggestions for you in terms of what classes you should take. Your definitely a special young woman Miss Everett, not very many Scarers have the same capabilities as you," Professor King discloses.
"You've been watching me?" Melanie asks nervously.
"Yes, those last few floor practices showed how much progress you've made, and I've also peeked at your assignments here and there. Nothing creepy… probably should have worded that differently," Professor King responds seriously.
Melanie smiles. "It's alright, I get what you're saying now."
"Good. Anyways, I really just wanted to speak to you about your future here at Monsters University. I'm happy that Mr. Worthington is here with you as well considering how well he knows the curriculum," He explains.
"Me too, I don't think I could do any of this without him," Melanie adds.
Professor King laughs and looks to me. "I'm lucky to have had the pleasure to teach him. Just know that everything you learn from him will have most likely came from me. I know you'll be more than fine with him around to teach you."
"Thank you sir," I smile.
Professor King smiles back and hands over his notecard to Melanie for her to read. "This notecard I have here is a list of all the classes that I would suggest you take over the next three and half years. I know the student advisors here at MU are very strict in terms of what they want you to take, but I'm certain that you won't ever have to worry about what you take at this point. I'm giving you the opportunity to be... one of the more advanced Scaring Majors on campus and I suggest you take it," He explains while putting his hands behind his back.
"What classes do you want her to take?" I ask with genuine curiosity, because I would like nothing more than to see her become a true ROR. I try to peek over Melanie's shoulder to see what's written down on it but she does a good job unintentionally hiding it from me.
"Well Mr. Worthington, it would be classes that would technically make her ROR worthy. Not just because she's scary enough to almost completely fill a scream canister in one go, but because she's also wicked intelligent. For next semester, I want her to take Scaring 102, the second Introductory to Scaring course, along with Scaring 110, Scaring 140, and Scaring 145 which are known as Vocal Study, Sneaking, and Light Avoidance," Professor King answers.
Wow, she's skipping a whole bunch of classes that monsters would usually take. I would know since I skipped all the way up to those classes as well. "You don't want her taking Scaring 105 or Scaring 109?" I question.
"Nope, she won't need to take those after getting perfect marks on her written exam score. There's quite literally no reason since those are both Scaring Theory and History classes that are inherently useless in terms of her knowledge," Professor King remarks.
"Won't my advisor keep me from taking those without the prerequisites?" Melanie asks.
Professor King nods. "Yes normally they would, but I've already notified and recommended to the Scaring Board that you do not need to take those. You've also taken high school classes on those subjects before that should have given you credit anyways, but your schools testing fees kept you from obtaining those credits. We've generously given you those credits that you blatantly should have gotten all those years ago."
Melanie smile grows so big that it makes my heart flutter. I wish I could see her like that all the time.
"Any objections Mr. Worthington?" Professor King asks.
"No, that's perfect for Melanie," I respond while shaking my head happily.
"Alright then, for next years first semester, I'd like you to then go into Scaring 203, Scaring 206, and Scaring 207. That would be Scare Appearance, Silent Tactics Lab I, and Disappearing & Hiding. These would be the most useful classes to take in order to help refine your ghost-like scaring style. Aside from that, I would finish up your remaining core classes during that semester," Professor King continues.
"You'll really enjoy Silent Tactics Mel, that's almost everyone's favorite lab class," I interject.
"Really?" Melanie asks.
"Yeah, it's a class all about the theory of what 'quiet' is, and you're put into realistic scaring environments to practice it," I explain.
"A realistic scaring environment? Isn't it an introductory class?" Melanie questions.
Professor King speaks before I can. "You don't actually perform a scare, but you are put into an actual Human Childs room while they sleep and get a feel for what it takes to be quiet. There's even assignments that require you to wake up a child so that you learn how to not scare in a real environment."
Melanie's tail starts wagging out of excitement. An entire world just opened up to her and she clearly wasn't expecting it. "It's also one of those classes that you need permission to take. Not many monsters have taken it, so this would be a good thing to put on your resumé," I add.
Melanie happily looks back down to the notecard and Professor King continues explaining her new school plan. "The next semester is where things will get a little interesting. I know your father has lots of experience in Door Tech, and that's something that's priceless on Scare Floors. Being a Scarer that can repair and configure doors will turn some heads your way, so I want you to take Scream 111, Scream 130, and Scream 245 along with Scaring 209 and Scaring 240. This is Basic Scream Energy, Basics of Scream Technology, Scream Capture & Containment Lab, Smells & Other Senses, and Sneaking."
"She doesn't need any prerequisites for those either?" I ask.
"The only one that needs a prerequisite is the Scream Containment Lab, but it's co-requisite with Scream Technology, so they have to be taken at the same time," Professor King answers.
I nod and listen as Professor King continues. "After that, I'm giving you free range of what to take. In terms of your strengths, and continuing with Door Tech, I would recommend Scaring 301, Scaring 306, Scaring 401 & 402, Scaring 431, Door Tech 395, and Door Tech 489. So that's Intro to Door Tech, Silent Tactics Lab II, Ambience I & II, Advanced Scare Types, Portal Connectivity, and Advanced Door Wiring. Everything will fall perfectly into place after that. I've of course written all that down on that notecard for reference as well."
Melanie jumps and down while laughing. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She howls.
"Just ignore everything that Hardscrabble said to you over these past few weeks. You really do have potential that rivals even the best Scarers in the business. I don't mean that lightly, you'll be even more intimidating than Mr. Worthington's father, so don't let yourself be discouraged by those who don't know you. I'll also be there to make sure you get through everything in an efficient manner," Professor King reassures.
I put my arm around Melanie's waist and pull her close. She smiles at me and puts her head underneath my jaw which makes me incredibly happy. "Thanks so much Professor," I beam, incredibly happy for Melanie's future.
He starts taking a couple of steps back up to the Scaring School and turns his body towards us as he ascends. "No problem. That's all I had for you Miss Everett, so please have an amazing winter break. If you have any questions just email me, same for you Mr. Worthington. I do hope to see you in Human Field Studies next semester."
"Yes sir, I will be there," I bow in respect with a smile across my face.
Melanie and I watch Professor King climb the stairs and then look at each other. "I guess it was a good choice to have you join as a part of the RORs. You continue to impress me with every passing day," I smile.
"Yeah right, there's no way I could even come close to being as amazing as you. Human Field Studies? Only you would be brave enough to take that," Melanie retorts.
"Well there are only around 5 monsters taking it next semester," I say putting my hands on my hips and puffing out my chest, "So I guess I am nothing short of amazing."
Melanie puts her arms around me and laughs innocently which makes me pick her up in my arms and swing her around a couple times. She holds me tight and pushes her head against mine. I start purring uncontrollably and refuse to let her go. "While I wish I could stay like this, we should head back to the house. Everyone wants to celebrate you and Bruiser passing your exams," I eventually mention.
Everyone on Frat Row is out partying which is something that the fraternities and sororities have done since the campus's construction. It's tradition to celebrate the end of the semester as Scarers by throwing a massive party like at the beginning of the year. Even though it's pretty cold outside and most of the leaves have fallen, which makes the street seem really dull and boring, we still try our best to end the semester off with a bang.
"John? What's going on?" Melanie asks while grasping my arm.
"End of the semester party. While it's technically a party that's thrown for new pledges, we also celebrate everyone passing their classes since everything's become so difficult this last century," I explain.
"Oh I thought it was another Rush Week…thing," Melanie responds.
I laugh and pull her close while watching a couple of monsters over by the Omega Howl house chug a couple cans of beer. "I mean you're not wrong, we are letting you and Bruiser join ROR."
"…Wait hold on. Have you already taken all of your finals?" Melanie questions.
Javier and Chip peek around my sides to look at Melanie and smile. "Sí senorita, everyone finishes their finals one day before freshman," Javier chimes in.
"What!? Why didn't anyone tell me that? I would have made you all cookies or gotten you some sort of present to congratulate you all!" Melanie exclaims.
Chip crosses his arms. "Pfft, we're just big, dumb seniors and juniors. You and Bruiser are the ones that everybody has been rooting for anyways."
"Yeah right, like everybody's worried about the nervous wreck of a freshman," Melanie grunts.
I put a finger up to Melanie's mouth, telling her to stop talking about herself that way. One day she'll gain enough confidence to be able to praise herself for her hard work. "He's not joking, the PNKs and HSSs have been asking about you ever since the Fall Formal. Even the Omega Howl guys, Slugma Slugma Kappa girls, and Argma Slugma Argma boys have been asking about you. They're all quite literally entranced by your Scaring abilities and friendly nature."
"We're lucky to have got the chance to know you beforehand. We would have had to fight for you otherwise," Chip reveals.
Our normal DJ who's pink and has two arms starts blaring some dance music up on an outdoor stage which causes an uproar of cheers. The many bodies that were once mingling and relaxing have now started moving up and down rhythmically as their ears are borderline assaulted with saw waves and sine waves. Some Omega Howl guys come stumbling over and steal Javier and Chip away from us.
"Was he saying that all the fraternities and sororities want me to join them?" Melanie asks after raising her voice.
I guide her further down the street and towards the PNK house. "Yep, but we beat them all to you."
Melanie smiles and wraps her arms around my torso. "Thank god, I would have hated turning them all down."
"Oh I'm sure you would have been fine. Professor King was right when he said you'd become more abrasive you know, you've definitely become more badass over the past two months," I add.
"Really? I'd disagree," Melanie replies.
"Well I disagree with your disagreement," I say while playfully rubbing the top of her head, "I sure as hell wouldn't want to mess with you."
Melanie scoffs. "I know I've said that I can handle myself many times before, but you and I both know I would snap as easily as a pretzel."
I laugh softly and say, "Yeah that might be true, but only I get to do that. If anyone else tries, they die."
Melanie hugs me a bit tighter. "Good to know."
Melanie and I eventually make it over to the PNK house and are greeted by Carrie and Britney. They both give us very cheerful greetings and talk our ears off for who knows how long. They ask if Melanie's interested in joining PNK after they ask about her final, which she absolutely nailed in my opinion. She bravely declines and tells them that she's already officially joined Roar Omega Roar as of today. They give both of us disappointed sighs and whine for a solid five minutes straight before finally coming to terms with her situation. I really didn't know Melanie was that important to them; I never would have guessed that she became such good friends with them in such a short time considering how polarizing they can be. They soon discuss the bright side of things such as being only two houses down from the ROR house, and being able to see each other everyday for school or attending all the same parties. I'm happy to see them get along so well.
After talking for what felt like forever, Carrie and Britney excuse themselves to go and party like there's no tomorrow. We both try to find our ways back to the rest of the RORs but run into Rhonda, Sonia, and Nadya from HSS. I myself can barely find the motivation to talk to them, but Melanie seems to get along with them surprisingly well. I'm also terrified of them right now because I don't want them talking about my attempts at dating Rosie a couple years ago and making Melanie jealous or angry. I look at her speak to them with no problem and tell her that she basically did something impossible. She just laughs at me with that beautiful smile of hers and runs her claws across my back which sends shivers down my spine. Nadya asks her if she's willing to join HSS but Melanie tells her exactly what she told Carrie and Britney. They all give Melanie their dark and judgmental sighs but understand why she chose to join ROR instead which wasn't something I was expecting to hear.
They all move on carelessly and we return to trying to find the rest of the RORs which still proves to be a challenge. The number of monsters in Frat Row has increased two-fold at this point and it's becoming harder to distinguish any defining features of the monsters we wish to find. It's at a point like this where being in a world full of such diversity can become tricky. Melanie and I somehow forget about our objective and start 'people watching.' We point out a lot of hilarious things that many students do, and laugh when we find a couple of students already passed on drunk in uncomfortably amusing positions like those who are sprawled out on many of the streets bushes.
One of the Omega Howl guys grabs our attention and introduces himself to Melanie. This Omega Howl is a monster who resembles a bipedal purple rhino with a hippy kind of look. He has red hair that has clearly grown to be too long, and he uses sweatbands to hold it all together, but it doesn't help a whole lot since it still covers his eyes. His name is Kyle, which happens to be stereotypically comical because he definitely looks like a Kyle, and he proceeds to tell Melanie about his willingness to provide any help for her now that she's joined the neighborhood. The Omega Howl boys have always been amazing friends because they're the closest thing to brothers you could have. I make sure to ask how everyone else in his fraternity is doing since I haven't heard from them in quite a while and they're supposedly doing fine.
Kyle eventually leaves us alone and joins the mosh pit occurring in the center of the cul-de-sac, jumping up and down violently as the beat booms down the street. Melanie finds Javier and the rest of the RORs hanging out on the HSSs front lawn while mingling with a couple monsters from various fraternities. She grabs my hand and pulls me along with her and she runs towards them.
"Slow down, there's no hurry Mel," I chuckle.
"If we don't go now, we'll be pulled into another hour long conversation," Melanie counters.
"Ok ok. Just save your energy, this party will go on until the early morning," I advise.
Melanie nods her head as we find ourselves beside my frat brothers. Chip and Chet greet us by giving us fist bumps and passing a drink to Melanie. It looks like fruit punch but I steal it from her and give it a quick sniff to check and see if the JOX have spiked it for the sake of Melanie. That's one of the things that I heavily disagree with in terms of what they consider to be 'fun,' which is drug up women and then sleep with them. It's gross just thinking about it.
"Does it smell funny or something?" Melanie asks while trying to suppress her laughter.
"No, just making sure it's not spiked. I know you're not much of a drinker so I wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to you," I reply while handing it back to her.
Melanie gives her cup a quick sniff which makes her nose expand adorably with each inhale. "I think I'll be fine," She smiles.
"You'd better be. I'll decimate every house on this block if I find you in a ditch somewhere," I growl.
Melanie takes a swig of the fruit punch and then passes me a red solo cup full of a brown tinted liquid. That's definitely alcohol. "Where'd you get this?" I ask.
"I saw Chet pour it and then he accidentally passed it to me while you were sniffing my fruit punch. Figured you would have more fun with it than I would," She answers.
I stare at her for a few seconds and then pull her towards me to give her a quick kiss on the lips. Once I pull away I say, "I'm going to have to smack him across the back of his head for that."
Melanie laughs and we continue our partying for the rest of the day. Many monsters come by and celebrate with us as the music fluctuates from energetic to calming every few minutes. There's plenty of monsters aggressively dancing every few feet, couples making out in the darkest corners of the street, monsters falling off balconies and roofs, and many beer cans and bottles being chucked across the street that cause mayhem wherever they land. This is one of the more…messier parties we've had in a couple of years. Don't know if it solely due to this years freshmen, but it doesn't matter regardless because everyone having fun no matter where you look.
We all find ourselves dancing with the crowd when the sun finally sets and the air becomes a bit more crisp once it enters our airways. Melanie and I dance together just like we did a couple months ago which makes me unexplainably content when those memories flash through my head. Javier and Chip find themselves dancing with us and make our time in front of the DJ and the loud speakers even more enjoyable. We don't stop until our limbs ache and our lungs sting, at least that's the case for Melanie and I. I take her hand and pull her out of the crowd which takes a little bit of coordination since everyone's so tightly compacted within the street. Plus I'm feeling the alcohol start to hit my head as the music echoes through my head. "Tired yet?" I ask.
"Yeah, I probably would have passed out from exhaustion if we kept going for another half an hour," She admits.
"Good, me too," I reply feeling a little tipsy from the few cups of alcohol I ingested.
I turn towards the ROR house and notice that all the house lights are turned off and that there's relatively no noise coming from it. Good, nobody has ransacked the place over the past few hours. I take out a key that I placed inside my sweater and open the front door so that Melanie and I can take refuge from the pandemonium outside. I close the door and lock it only to then throw my arms around Melanie and passionately kiss her as I lift her up and carry her up the stairs. Her legs wrap around my waist and she pulls my head towards hers which makes my heart beat at an incredibly fast rate.
I turn the corner to rapidly walk down the hallway to my room which leads me to open the door, walk in, and slam it shut before throwing Melanie onto my bed. I continue kissing her, tasting the fruit punch that blissfully dances within her mouth as she rubs the side of my head with the tips of her claws. I start purring when she moves her claws up to the foundations of my horns and sends shivers down my spine, so I push myself into Melanie with more force as I start sensually caressing Melanie's legs. Everything about her is intoxicating and nothing could ruin this moment for me.
Everything after becomes a blur, but the only thing that I can vividly remember is a continuous feeling of pure euphoria for what felt like an hour. Somewhere along the line, I fall into a deep sleep next to the greatest woman I've ever met.
Melanie's POV
The sun shines brightly on my face as I open to my eyes. I realize that I'm in Johnny's room again and all the memories of yesterday come flooding back into my head. That was a party that I will remember for the rest of my life considering that it took place for more than 10 hours. I don't think I've ever had that much fun in my life. I turn over to my right to see Johnny peacefully sleeping next to me, his breathing slow and calming. Everything feels…good…like how it should be. I push myself up off the mattress to look at the alarm clock and see that it's ten in the morning. That's obviously the latest I have slept in since before this past semester started, and it feels odd. I also remember that Johnny said he usually wakes up at around seven in the morning, so this is most likely going to shock him when he awakens from his beastly slumber.
I lay back down and reach up to his fluffy chest and begin gently scratching it which leads to low and deep purring after a few seconds of silence. I swirl my hand around slowly and feel his soft fur in between my fingers with every movement, causing a bunch of serotonin to flow through my brain. Johnny slowly opens his eyes and takes a deep breath in and exhales intensely.
"Holy shit…" he groans while putting his hand to his head, "I haven't had a headache after a party for a long time."
I myself have a headache so it definitely means he didn't drink too much. "I have one too. I think we were too close to the subwoofers last night and listened to the loud music for too long," I mumble.
"Heh, you're such a nerd," Johnny chuckles.
I laugh with him and watch as he stretches his arms and legs. "What time is it?" He asks in exhaustion.
"Ten o' clock," I respond.
"Woah. Haven't done that in forever," he emotionlessly replies. He took that surprisingly well. Then again, there isn't really anything he has to worry about at this current moment in time.
"You really should try it, it feels good to sleep more than 7 hours," I mention.
"Meh, I think I'll pass," he sighs before looking at me with his beautiful dark purple eyes. I can see a hint of sadness behind them and begin to worry a little because I hate seeing him all stressed out and frustrated. "Do you know if you're going back to your parents house for winter break?"
"Yeah, I'm supposed to head back today. Luckily I only have one large box of belongings so it should only take me like ten minutes to pack," I respond.
Johnny sighs again and looks down at the mattress. He seems…unhappy, which is weird considering we had such a great time together yesterday. "What's wrong?" I ask comfortingly.
Johnny looks back up to me. "I'm just… going to miss you."