Lost In Purple

Chapter 55: Énouement

Melanie's POV

The more I work on my Scaring 102 essay on Carina Kennedy, the more I wish we didn't have to finish it by tomorrow. I've been walking in and out of the campus library at least three times a day for the past few days trying to find as much information as I can on Carina Kennedy. I've luckily been able to find many sources that quite literally haven't been checked out since the 1800's so that seems like they're all good and somewhat reliable sources. Usually we have to find articles that are pretty recent but I have a justifiable feeling that the further back the source is in regards to Carina, the more trustworthy it is. I mean they have literally been in this library for two hundred years and were written by past professors and Scaring historians, so I think I'm in the clear.

I gather all my information in my room and throw them on my desk, in front of my laptop, and take a seat whilementally preparing myself for the torture I'm about to put myself through. Today's going to be another 'hide in my room and talk to nobody' day, so I'm prepared to stare at my computer screen for the next eight hours, struggling to write a few simply paragraphs. Having successfully been able to hide from everyone means that there shouldn't be a reason that anybody needs me. This also includes Johnny, but that's because he's been spending a majority of his days at Monsters Inc. He was able to sign up for a two-week course on professional Scaring that's taught by a few Scarers like Bob Gunderson, and Carla Benitez along with some of his professors. I guess that's for the better since I'm still pretty angry at him for treating less fortunate Scarers like they're beneath him. I just hate that I haven't gotten the opportunity to talk to him about it due to his preoccupations.

Anyways, I've procrastinated enough. It's time to research…slowly…and neurodivergently. I guess I should start with Carina Kennedy's life before she started scaring, which seems outrageous since all of that happened a little more than 700 years ago. Then I'll go into her Scaring career, along with what her techniques were and what her record was since that's not really known by many people. After that, ending it off with what she did after her career might be cool. I don't know anything about her after she retired, so hopefully I'll be able to gather a good bit of information.

Carina Kennedy, a wolven monster born on December 26th, 1294, was a founding Scarer that astonished the monster world with her masterful utilization of natural illusions in order to trick human children before harvesting their scream energy. She grew up with a loving family in Monstropolis, enjoying the winter days in front of the fire and playing games with her parents, and the summer nights outside catching fireflies or sitting beside a campfire while eating s'mores and other kinds of sweets. It is beside the fires where Carina Kennedy's obsession with horror initially began, by listening to horror fables told by her father and sister, and becoming infatuated with the ways of how certain monsters could cause uncontrollable intimidation to whomever they wished.

The monster world has become a much better place over the past few centuries, creating a large sense of unification amongst the territories, countries, and other various regions of the world. However, it was before the year 650 where being scary meant more than striking primitive fear within human children, and monsters in fact had to learn how to protect themselves from not only the harsh wilds of the world, but also from each other. It was before 650 where thievery was common, violence amongst peers was normal, and murders ran rampant through our cities. Every monster was taught how to protect themselves, and Carina Kennedy was one of the billions of monsters who learned how to do so from inherited knowledge. Her creative and artistic nature, mixed with a love for all things horror and gothic, let her learn how to look like and act like a true atrocity. She studied spiders, bats, and lizards within the city, while observing lions, tigers, sharks, and other various animals from the human world at wildlife sanctuaries. With this knowledge, she understood what made certain monsters tick, causing some of her acquaintances to consider her to be 'odd,' or 'sadistic' when they made her upset and sought retribution. She was a manipulator, a deceiver, a monster of many personalities.

Underneath all of that, she was still the same Carina that her friends and family loved. Not that many people saw that side of her, and she hated that. She was empathetic, trustworthy, passionate, and smart. She was also extremely nervous and introverted, but refused to admit that to people since they saw her in a different light, believing they would treat her more differently than before. All of these traits make one of the many combinations that create a perfect Scarer. However, 'perfect' only means so much when working during the era of 'The Ghost.' Our worlds most misunderstood Scarer was forced to compete with our worlds most famous Scarer, being unfairly compared to him and drowned in negativity in regards to her unorthodox scaring methods. Instead of following the methods set in stone by 'The Ghost,' she impressed the first Scaring Scouts by first showing off her amazing skills as a seamstress and makeup artist, and then using those skills to infiltrate the human world with the intention of obtaining the precious scream energy we all know and love today. The only well documented scare that she performed was during her first week of scaring, which was unfortunately swept under the rug during the 1500's and was essentially forgotten since. Carina wore a bright white dress made of floral patterned lace that had various tears in it, and a thick and heavy veil that acted like a hood, completely hiding her entire head. She also took fake packets of blood with her, smearing them all over a child's walls before gently awaking her human child into what felt like a slaughterhouse. After one gigantic scream, Carina was able to generate enough scream energy that could fill two scare canisters within one go.

Many of Carina Kennedy's scares paved the way for a majority techniques, but were sadly overshadowed by the overwhelming strength and power behind the scaring of 'The Ghost.' Every scare she did was considered to be not worth mentioning, and forced her to continue sacrificing her safety until sometime in 1315 where she suddenly passed away from an unknown cause. Ever since her passing, her memory faded away until almost nothing was known about her but the knowledge about her existence remained even throughout many negative rumors and statements about her that are not able to be accurately fact checked.

As of the 21st century, she is one of the only Scarers to have left such a controversial impact upon society, and therefore the only Scarer to have been left behind by society.

I look at the clock on my laptop and see that it's almost five in the afternoon. I don't know why but I've always had issues writing essays because I always end up hitting this writers block after each sentence and have to spend another ten minutes thinking about what should come after that. That's always been one of my academic weaknesses, but I've somehow been able to pull through after all these years of school. I ended up going back to the beginning and tweaking it up a bit, while also hitting the seven page minimum by explaining how I would use her legacy to empower my very own career. Enough about school though, I want to go do something else…but what else is there for me to do? Johnny isn't around, and I doubt that Javier or Chip, or anyone else for that matter, really wants to talk to me after what I knowingly said at the last Scare Games event. I can't believe I'm at the point where I'm giving myself an ultimatum now, and it's one that's either allows me to leave my room and be terrified to run into one of the RORs, or not leave my room and feel trapped. I really want to leave, but the absolute terror I'm feeling is keeping me from standing up and reaching for my rooms doorknob. I then remember that one night a few months ago that Johnny took me out the window and up to the roof. I could jump out the window and find some way to pass the time…yeah, I think I'm going to choose to do that. I jump up into my feet and grasp onto the window, sliding it all the way open before stopping myself. Should I really be doing this? Is it a good idea to leave the house without telling anyone where I'm going? There's been lots of times in the Monster World where this exact thing happens and people are never seen again.

Now that I think about it, I know it's not a good idea to stay out late nor would I even dream of talking to someone that I don't know, so I think I'll be more than alright out on my own. My legs are thrown over the window and I'm on my way out into the wilderness as if I was locked away for years upon years, breathing in the warm air that I haven't felt since September. Taking in the afternoon weather was actually fairly cathartic this time, making me consider just sitting there instead of jumping out a window, yet here we are. There's a gutter pipe right next to my window, so I grasp onto it firmly in hopes that I don't end up like one of those cartoon characters that flail as they fall a thousand feet into the ground and breaking every bone in their bodies. I always thought the bending of their limbs was funny, but now I see why they made them look like that: to make it look as comically painful as possible. Luckily for me, I'm only 15 feet in the air and I just have to slide down as casually as I can, but before I do, I make sure that my window is kept unlocked so that I can return through it later, and make it seem like I never left in the first place. Just like that, my feet plant firmly on the ground and continue on with with my day as smoothly as I can. There was no verbal conflict nor was there any physical harm, so it's worth giving myself a big thumbs up and a pat on the back.

I don't really have an idea about what I'm doing this time around, but anything is better than staying inside writing an essay right now. Every step away from Frat Row is another step towards freedom, making every step feel relieving and slightly euphoric. With my hands in my cardigans pockets, I actually feel somewhat good for a change, not afraid to let the world see my smile.

"Oh Melody! Where are you going?!"

I turn a little to the right to see Britney waving at me from the front steps of the PNK house. Of course…the one time I'm able to take my mind off of all the things that have happened recently, the world ends up pulling me back to my original state. I can't get the image of the PNK's laughing at Oozma's expense, reminding me that they're not as good of monsters as I once considered them to be.

"Are you going studying? Oh, or are you meeting up with Johnny?!" Britney asks trying to start gossip.

Well, I'm not a rude person, and there isn't a good reason for me to ignore her or any of the other frats or sororities for that matter. They were mean to Oozma Kappa as well, but they weren't necessarily mean to me. So I respond with, "N-no, I just…didn't want to spend all day writing my essay."

Britney hops down to the sidewalk and puts herself right in front of my path, unintentionally keeping me from escaping towards campus. "Oh yeah, you're in Scaring 102 with Carrie as your teaching assistant right? How's that going by the way? Has Carrie been going easy on you? I don't have to yell at her do I?"

So many questions that I don't feel like answering right now, but it's better to just get through it. "Yeah, it's…fine. Carrie's been fine too. I've just been getting a little bored recently."

"Mmm yeah, Scaring 102 happens to be the dullest Scaring class. That was one of the main reasons why many monsters cheated in there, because nobody cared for it after the first two weeks. Well, as long you're doing ok," Britney smiles.

"Y-yeah. Are…are you all doing alright? I-um, didn't get to see any of you after the…the Scare Games event," I ask while feeling my conversation skills not working as well as they used to. It feels like I'm meeting her all over again because of how stuck up I am about who they actually are. Are they compassionate or malicious? Are they caring or selfish? Are they actually generous or do they pity everyone?

"Oh yeah, we're fine. While it would have been totes awesome to win the Scare Games, we still have next year and the year after that, and so on. It's not the end of the world, even if Crystal thinks it is," Britney replies while waving her hand in a dismissive manner.

"Ok…that's good," I mumble while looking down at the ground, "I was hoping you guys weren't, you know, devastated or anything."

I can see Britney's smile softens a bit as I continue avoiding eye contact with her. "Melody you seem sad. Are you sure you're doing alright?"

If only I was brave enough to tell her everything. I'm pretty certain that I would somehow make her feel targeted in my explanation though. If I could make both Chip and Javier angry with how I feel, then I most certainly will make Britney and possibly the rest of the PNKs angry too. Being quiet and taking everything at face value is really the best option now. "I'm just tired," I sigh.

There's a silence that lasts for what feels like an eternity before either one of us does anything.

"That's... usually how the last week before Spring Break goes. Hey, would you maybe want to go to dinner with us? It would be a good break before you finish up your assignments and studying," Britney questions.

I mean I did want to go do something fun, but would I really be comfortable doing that right now? It's not like they were ever really my friends or anything, and it's not like I'm going to belong with them anyways. But of course, me being me, I can't say no and risk being rude. "Um…sure. Where are you all going?"

"There's this place over in Westpine that Carrie loves going to. The HSS girls will also be joining us as well, so…don't worry about feeling like you're intruding or anything. We'll also pay for you since we know you're not the most financially sound monster on campus," Britney answers while obviously to make me feel less nervous. Of course she had to make me feel guilty for something I can't control.

"W-Westpine? Is it a restaurant that's a rustic steakhouse and has this giant tree in the center of it?" I ask feeling a small bit of deja vu.

Britney puts her finger up to her lips out of surprise. "Y-yeah, how'd you know?"

I sigh as I recall everything within that small time period I was there in September. "I've been there before…at the beginning of the school year."

Everything's exactly the same as it was when Johnny brought me here for lunch those many moons ago. The steakhouse still looks rich, modern, and as if it was just given a fresh coat of paint. The wooden statues and the western paintings still decorate the dining room, beautifully accenting the place as the teal tree at the center of the building is illuminated by the many chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Instead of sitting near the windows with a giant, purple, and vain monster, I now get to sit with a bunch of other monsters who happen to be somewhat egotistical. How fun.

"Aww man, all of it looks so good," Britney groans as she looks at the entire menu for the fifth time.

All the others nod and agree with her. Carrie even had to go on this whole philosophical journey to figure out what they should do. She wants all of us to get something different so then we could all eat everything at once. I'm not really comfortable with that because I would like to eat everything I get, but things would of course get heated and probably out of control. All the girls tell each other what they're getting while I stay silent, knowing that I'll be getting the Cherry Balsamic Sirloin, which is what I got the first time I was here. This is where the HSS girls make themselves known, looking around the place as if it's the oddest restaurant in the city, while also looking like they don't care at the same time. The large wooden table we've been placed at fills up completely, leaving me in between all the PNKs and facing the HSS girls who are now looking over the menu as well. They give it some thought and also commit to their decisions before our waiter comes by to write everything down. It takes a while before he's able to get to me.

"And what may we get you Madame?" The server says in order to gain my attention.

"I'll just have the Cherry Balsamic Sirloin," I say while closing my menu and passing it over to the pile we've created.

Our waiter calmly takes his time double checking everything before taking our orders and ensuring that he'll be back soon. This gives all the girls the chance to begin gossiping about whatever they want, leaving me to wonder if they're being too loud and distracting at times. There ends up being two different conversations going on to my left and right, making me the dividing line and the adult supervision in this case. My mind focuses to my left where a conversation is being held mainly between Crystal, Britney, and Sonia who have very snooty tones. "Yeah no, they'll crumble during the Scare Simulator. With James and Mike having never stepped foot in a simulator before, they'll realize that they weren't ready for any of this," Crystal states while looking at her nails.

I don't even want to think about the Scare Games anymore, I'm just completely over them at this point. I would be ecstatic if they could just stop talking right here, right now, but that's obviously not going to happen in a million years. I then force my mind to focus to my right where Rosie, Nadya, and Carrie are conversing. "Ugh, don't even get me started. All of the JOX hit on me at least five times a week and its, like, beyond annoying and gross. I'm waiting for the day when they take it one step too far and I take my chance at ripping their teeth out from their mouths," Nadya growls.

Aaaaaand that's also a conversation I don't want to be a part of. Even though I've come to dislike the JOX and think that they do deserve something bad to happen to them, detrimental damage to their mouth that might very well silence them for the rest of their lives isn't something I think anyone on campus deserves. I have to return to isolating myself even amidst a group of people, knowing that I'm being awkward and uncomfortable even though I know everyone here somewhat well. Alone with my thoughts, all I want is to go home, and not campus home, I mean home. I can feel myself being drained of energy, slowly losing my ability to act…normal.

"Something bothering you, Melanie?" Rhonda asks firmly, starting a conversation just between us.

I try my best to look at her in the eyes, but my own slide off to various directions, never to land where I want them to. I can feel my cheeks flaring up and I automatically start bouncing my legs up and down. I can see her staring into my soul with her deathly, judgmental eyes, ensuring that I don't get away with avoiding the question. "U-Um…No. I'm fine," I respond.

"Yeah, don't even try that with me. Having grown up in a place where there was something wrong all the time, it's obvious that you're upset. Your body language says so, and your general attitude is different to what it normally is. So tell me, what's made you like this?" Rhonda counters.

There's no hiding it anymore, she's seen right through my lies. This might be what makes her a very good Scarer as well. She can tell when something's wrong within a nanosecond of analyzing any situation. Rhonda glares at me with her eye narrowed, ready for what I say in response. She's also probably trying to figure out if I'm in trouble or something which isn't what I ever wanted her to think. However, nothing could erase all the depressing problems out of my head. I wish it was easier to get out of this predicament but it's not, so I sit there staring at the insignificant patterns of the wooden table before spouting out, "It's nothing. I'm just stressed about my Scaring 102 final."

Rhonda exhales before rolling her eyes and slowly shifting her attention to the others. "Aren't we all?"

The rest of the time we spend waiting is beyond boring and awkward. I barely even budge, sitting as still as a statue, and waiting for when I can go back and finish my essay. I'm a ghost, listening to the sweet sound of loneliness as it creeps closer to me, wrapping its chords around my neck and eternally plaguing me. The food eventually arrives and everyone's digs into their plates, trying each others portions, laughing, joking…having fun by being who they are. When I take a fork and knife, and cut a piece for me to eat, I raise it to my mouth to bite down on it. When the meat hits my taste buds, I wistfully recall when Johnny and I were having fun here last semester, only to then have fun running back to campus, having fun while 'partying,' and having fun taking adventures downtown. Nothing's fun anymore. Everything's become a race where everyone's gunning for the prize of being the best and gaining endless amounts of attention. Everything's become some sort of enigma that's tests to see whether or not I'm able to call myself worthy enough to not only be a Scarer, but an active participant of society.

All it took was one bite of that sirloin to make me crave 'the good times,' when everything felt normal, and when it felt like I wasn't walking on an endless platform of nails. My appetite dissipates, and I no longer wish to eat anymore. In the end, it was a mistake to come here.

"Is it undercooked Melody?" Carrie asks me while placing her hand on my shoulder.

If only it was something that simple. In actuality it's because it caused me to have a complete mental and psychological collapse.

"No…I'm not hungry anymore. I think I'll just, you know, go home," I reply.

The whole table falls silent when I say that. I tell them that I'll pay them back at some point and head towards the exit. I can hear the legs of a chair scrape against the floor when I open the door and come face to face with the great outdoors.

"Wait, Melody hold on!" Carrie shouts behind me as I turn left and walk in the direction of Monsters University. I stop on the sidewalk and turn my body towards her to at least let her know that I'm not trying to ignore her, hearing her say, "Did one of us do something wrong or say something wrong? Was it maybe too hasty for us to take you out?"

"No. I'm just…going through something right now, and I just want to be alone. I didn't want to say no because I thought that would be rude," I respond sorrowfully.

Carrie looks apologetic and understanding. "Oh…I'm so sorry. I won't force you to talk about it, but I can at least drive you back to campus."

It definitely would have been disrespectful if I didn't accept Carrie's offer. I don't think I would have liked her worrying about me either, so it felt like the best option for me to take. I don't really speak within the few minutes it takes for us to turn into campus, noticing that Carrie looks over to me every few seconds to check on me. It's embarrassing to know that she has been peeking at me, which makes me try to suppress any feelings I have so that I don't embarrass myself even more. However, I keep my mind off of her for the most part by observing the environment out the passenger side window. All the colors and shapes that shoot by are nothing short of hypnotizing and I sadly snap out of my entrancement when I stare into the nature of MU. The sidewalks are fairly empty on the road to Frat Row, probably because the sun has almost set and everyone's ready to get their last day of school over with.

With a quick turn onto Frat Row, all the houses glow a yellow orange out from their windows, but that's not what Carrie seems to notice.

"Melody, we're going to have to step in here," She groans while speeding up slightly towards the end of the cul-de-sac. I feel dread shoot through my body when I finally see Chip and Bruiser throwing their fists at the JOX in their lawn. Carrie pulls up to the sidewalk, causing the tires to screech a little bit before the car stops entirely. She hops out of the car, leaving her door wide open, and trying her best to pull Bruiser off of that George Sanderson guy. I didn't think they would have beef with each other but I guess I've been proven wrong. I open my door and see all the rest of the RORs brawling except for Randy who has chosen not to engage in this conflict along with Omar. I also don't see Faust or Red which is staggering. I know I intervened the first time, but that was when there was only two people to deal with, not four. It also doesn't help seeing Chip, Javier, Bruiser, and Chet all swinging their fists with murderous intent and vice versa. Every punch sends ripples through their bodies, and creates a nauseating thud when their bones collide. This isn't just a simple rivalry anymore, it's a full blown battlefield where they all seem to legitimately want each other dead. Percy, Baboso, Javier, and Chip all have blood streaming out of their mouths and noses, while George, Dirk, Bruiser, and Chet have scratches that left open wounds and bruises all over their bodies. I don't have any bravery left in me and I can't take any steps closer to break this up this time.

I then hear the revving of a car behind me screech to halt just like Carrie. Red comes dashing out the car and sprinting towards Carrie, and tries his hardest to keep Percy and Chip away from each other. Red grabs Carrie and pulls her away, trading places with her before yelling, "Stand back!"

Red is able to forcefully give both the monsters a solid push, sending Javier a sizeable distance back on his feet whereas Percy falls onto his back, sliding on the grass. Red stomps over to Percy and grabs him by the collar, growling something at him that I unfortunately can't hear very well. At this point it looks like there's been some sort of gang meetup that's spiraled out of control. Another revving car comes flying down the street, and it's obviously Johnny since it's the Clawvette.

He acts quick by sprinting towards Javier, and without any effort, throws him towards the ROR house. He does the exact same thing with Bruiser and Chet before stomping towards them, and screaming like I've never seen him scream before. "GET INSIDE NOW!"

It seems like Red is doing the same, telling them that now is not the time for this. I'm sure he shares the same amount of primal hate for the RORs though.

"No! We're tired of being ridiculed by these thick-skulled dumbasses! They've finally crossed the line and deserve every broken bone we can give them!" Chip opposes.

"I DON'T CARE! GET INSIDE BEFORE I END UP BREAKING ALL OF YOUR BONES! SAME FOR THE REST OF YOU!" Johnny roars while pointing to each of them.

Chip wipes his nose of all the blood that's spewing out, and turns to me with absolute rage. "So you're really just going to sit there like a scared little girl and let everyone get away with this?"

I see Johnny nearly take a swing at Chip before catching himself and pushing Chip towards the house with at least 100 pounds of force. "IF YOU BRING MELANIE INTO THIS, YOU DIE CHIP! WE SPEND ALL DAY WORKING OUR ASSES OFF WHILE THE FOUR OF YOU CAUSE MAYHEM BEHIND BOTH OF OUR BACKS! ALL WE WANT IS TO GRADUATE AND LIVE OUR LIVES, NOT HAVE TARGETS ON OUR BACKS!"

"What do you mean?! Do you even know what she thinks about us all?! How she thinks about Oozma Kappa?! If anything we're the ones who are trying to maintain our status and uphold the ROR name while she sits in her room all day!" Chip screams back.

Johnny grabs Chip and drags him to the front door. He kicks it open, sending bits of wood into the house and creating an ear-piercing pop that echoes down the street. There's a small bit of metal pieces that also clang when they hit the floor. Johnny tosses him into the house and turns towards the rest of the RORs. "INSIDE...NOW!"

They all listen and saunter into the house, avoiding eye contact with him. I want to refrain from looking into his eyes as well since they're glowing a bright purple and could very well be on fire at this point. Unfortunately for me, his eyes land on me as he angrily stands on the front steps with his back bent and his claws all the way out. "Mel, come here."

My limbs start shaking and I have to draw every bit of strength I have to get close to him. When I do reach him, he gently pushes me inside. "Go upstairs, and close your door. Since you're the only one who has any intellect in this house, and doesn't make enemies with people, you don't have to listen to what I have to say."

I almost interrupt him, wanting to tell him to go easy on them and that there's probably a fairly solid reason that they did what they did, but it's obvious that I'll only cause more trouble. At this point, I wish I could go back in time and tell my past self to just stay away from everyone. Things would have been a whole lot easier if I never met these boys in the first place.