Lost In Purple

Chapter 81: Inhibitions

Hey friends. School has sucked for the past month and apparently this site has been eating dirt for about a month, so I'm sorry there hasn't been an update. I will let you know that I do have quite a bit written for the next chapter so it shouldn't be very long until you get more. Hope you're all doing well.

Melanie's POV

"What do you mean you're bored?"

What do you mean what do you mean? I've been doing objectively nothing for months at this point, Johnny! There's only so many artistic ideas I have at once and there's only so many things to do in the literal ghetto! There's nothing to do!

"I don't know, I'm just tired of sitting in my room all day," I text back.

The three dots show up on the bottom left of my messages. "Well if that's the case, why don't I drive over for a surprise very early morning visit?"

I wait another five seconds before a second message is sent to me from Johnny across the city. "Oh wait…Are your parents home?"

The fury within my claws translates into typing. So much so that a series of intense clicks and clacks drown my room in noise. "Stop that's not funnyyyyyy!"

"Hm? What's supposed to funny? All I want is some alone time with you?" Johnny teases.

"Nothing is funny! I just hate how that's the first thing you always think about when talking to meeee!" I respond.

My frustrations wait for a response as I wrap my blankets around my body to the point where I look like a stuffed burrito. My snout also sits atop two fluffy pillows as my arms reach out beyond it so I can read my phone in a comfortable manner.

"I'm sorry, Mel, but I don't quite understand what you're talking about. I just asked about your parents because I didn't want them thinking I'm a murderer trying to break in the house," Johnny replies.

Oh…

Now I'm embarrassed. There was never a time in my life where my mind went to these…um…questionable lengths. Hmm, maybe Johnny has been a horrible influence on me and now my innocence has swan dived out the window and onto a cement floor.

"But now you've got me all bothered. Have you been fantasizing about something? Has that something been about me perhaps? All you have to do is ask you know," He adds.

The squirming I do within my bed is inexplicable. It's something that I wouldn't want anybody in the world to see. Like I feel my ears boil and my cheeks explode. I wouldn't even be surprised if my scales, instead of turning blue, turned a flamingo pink! I nearly even groan out of embarrassment but refrain from doing so out of concern of waking up my parents.

"How do you always change the subject like this?" I send with a few exhausted emojis.

"Hey you're the one who brought this up in the first place, but why would I refuse satisfying your needs?" Johnny replies.

With my hands over my eyes and my body turned towards the ceiling, I rise up like a zombie from its crypt or vampire from its coffin. It's alright, Melanie. You'll be okay, Melanie. You just can't think about his charming personality, unlimited amount of bravery and determination, and that HUGE, MUSCULAR BODY OF HIS. Stop stop stop stop stop stop, get out of my head, get out of my head, get out get out get out!

I look back over to my silenced phone and see that Johnny has sent yet another message. I can't do this anymore, I'm about to drown this phone in the sink in hopes of being able to once again think straight.

I lay back down and pick up my phone to read it. "How about you send me some pics so that we can be on the same page?"

Yeah that was a mistake. I've never been so close to literally rolling out of bed due to pure shock.

"NO!" I type in all caps to emphasize my discomfort about this whole conversation that's come out of nowhere.

"Oh ok, sorry," He sends back with an emoji that looks like it's on the verge of crying.

Those three dots on the bottom left of the screen pop up again. Usually they don't sit there for that long, but it's been at least 400 years since they first popped up and now I'm in unbearable suspense.

"I didn't think you would turn me down that fast, but I guess you are one of those kinds of monsters that needs to be sweet-talked beforehand. Don't worry, I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve for you," Johnny sends.

I try my best to tell him that I'm not interested in hearing what he has stored within that dumb brain of his, but he's way too fast for me. He's so fast that I don't even have half of my sentence typed out by the time he sends me some of the weirdest things he ever said to me.

"Are you telekinetic? Cause you just made a part of me move without even touching it."

"Kiss me if I'm wrong but is your name Shaniqua?"

"Excuse me, I don't want you to think I'm insane or anything, but my phone is about to die and I need to insert my plug into your socket so that I can generate some electricity."

"Hey there, want to commit a sin for your next confessional?"

At first I wanted to text him back saying something along the lines of going to bed, but the further he went, the more I started to blush and smile. I think I even laughed a little while reading that last one. It's amazing that he was able to think of these right off the top of his head. Nothing has changed though. This wasn't what I wanted to talk about after being away from each other for months on end.

"Sooooo…how about it?" He asks.

"No. Those were pretty funny though," I send back.

After setting my phone down flat on my mattress, my mind wanders while waiting for a response. I hope I didn't unintentionally get his hopes up or anything… I'm certain that he was the one who started talking about all this though. He tricked me with the double meaning behind 'are you parents home,' and I will not let him win this argument for as long as I live.

"That's a small win for me then," He sends, "I am sorry if I bothered you though. I could tell you were nervous about talking with me again, both now and a few days ago. I hoped to make it feel like it always did."

"Oh, that's probably my fault," I admit, "I always make things awkward because I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing or making it seem like I'm not what you remember or something."

"That made no sense, Mel," Johnny replies.

"Well then I'm weird I guess!" I text back with power. Like…seriously…the tips of my fingers throb in pain after I hit send. A headache nearly forms in my cranium after forcing my head into my pillows too.

Why I am like this? How do I always mess up social interaction with people I know? I have to be the most helpless monster in the world considering that people have this figured out by the age of nine and I'm here struggling at age 20. OH MY GOD, DID JOHNNY EVEN KNOW THAT MY BIRTHDAY WAS THE WEEKEND AFTER HIS LAST SCARING FINAL?! HE'S GOING TO BE SO MAD AT ME FOR NOT SAYING SOMETHING! I'M SUCH A FAILURE!

My phone starts vibrating and the name 'Johnny' shows up on the screen.

No…

Why…?

I push the green button and bring my phone up to my ear.

"What did I do now?" I quietly sigh in disappointment of myself.

"You're putting yourself down again. Stop that," He demands with a deep growl. He's saying that with a smile behind the phone though, it's so obvious.

Hearing his voice again shocks me and makes me realize that I didn't have any time to think about what I was going to say. Texting is easier because I can actually formulate sentences but now I can't do that. "O-oh…"

"Mel," He laughs, "Why are you worrying about what I think of you? You already know that I love you, there's nothing you can say that will make me dislike you."

I stammer a little bit before stopping myself. The only thing I can muster enough strength for is a sigh. "I know."

"Oh, so then I don't have to explain to you how hot you are?" He asks.

"Stop stop stop, we're not going through all of that again!" I groan as I curl up into a ball underneath my blankets.

I hear his charming laugh and I can't help but smile as a result. It is nice to know someone who's essentially immune to my self deprecation.

"I'm guessing things have been rough since I last saw you?" Johnny questions.

"Y-yeah…," I utter, "I'm nervous about my first day tomorrow."

"Wait what?! Your first day is tomorrow?! I thought it wouldn't be for another week or so! This is great!" Johnny quietly exclaims.

"It is?" I ask.

"Yep! I can finally enjoy working there now!" Johnny beams.

"You haven't been enjoying working there? Why? I thought you always wanted to do this?" I further interrogate.

"I have. I'm just treated the same as I was in college. Everyone always stays away from me and looks at me like I'm going to hurt them," He answers.

Oh…yeah, Professor King did say that he's been a little difficult to work with. Again, that might be because I exist.

"Well, I was told that you've been refusing to cooperate with others and you are…scary to talk to at first. Would that be why?" I assume.

That deep growl of his travels through the speaker and into my eardrum. I must have hit the nail on the head. He knows he's being a nuisance but doesn't want to admit it.

"Seems like I'm going to have to do some damage control. Why is it that you've gone and made my job so much harder before I've even started working there?" I tease.

"…Damn," He chuckles, "I never thought a cute little princess like you would wield such a sharp tongue."

"But we're talking about you here. You deserve it for being such an insufferable, rich boy all the time," I jab.

"Come on now, that's not fair. You don't know the absolute torture I went through watching those assistants take centuries to pull up a door for me. It's like they don't want me to be a Scarer," Johnny pouts.

I scoff at his vanity. That kind of behavior is why I'm afraid of trying new things. Being pressured into figuring something out that you're new to within five seconds is the worst feeling in the world. It's a new kind of panic that feels like it can't ever be replicated the same way.

"If that happens again I'm dragging you off the Scare Floor by your horns and smacking you," I fume.

"Y-yes ma'am," Johnny replies in a nerdy voice while sounding like he's fake scared.

I laugh but instantly switch back to being serious. "That's not a joke, John."

"Oh I know, I don't think you'll be quick enough to catch me though. I went on those early morning runs for a reason," Johnny counters calmly.

"You can't run forever though," I state.

"Geez, Melanie. Calm down," Johnny grunts.

"No. When it's you, no," I reply while feeling exhaustion beginning to hit me.

Johnny laughs some more. "At least I know how I can get your attention now."

I throw my body to the other side of the bed due to my right side getting sore. Afterwards I growl, "Don't you dare weaponize my anger for your personal gain!"

"Mel! I'm not that bad of a person," Johnny divulges.

"Your track record for the past few years says otherwise. Be nice!" I demand while yawning.

"Ok ok, you win," Johnny says as he finally caved, "But I'm making the most of your new job with me. So, you had better get used to showing public affection with me."

I feel my eyes getting heavy and just lose all care I originally had. "I quit."

I hang up, connect it with its charger and bury myself underneath my pillows. I try my best to find a comfortable position but that's interrupted by my phones obnoxious vibrating on my nightstand. I can't say I wasn't expecting it because I was making a joke while talking to a sensitive kitty. With a groan, I push myself up from under my pillows and reach for my phone to press the green button.

"Please tell me you're joking!" Johnny panics the moment I bring my phone up to my ear.

I fall back down onto the bed and put my head back under my pillows.

"I was. There's no where else for me to go anyways. I just wish I could take you seriously when you say you'll be nice and then force me to go beyond my comfort zone," I respond with honesty.

"Oh thank god!" Johnny exhales sharply.

Aaaaand there he goes again, ignoring my suffering. Whatever…I signed up for that when entering a relationship. It does feel good to know exactly how much different his job will be if I don't show up though. I never would have thought that my presence would make his job infinitely better.

"Why must you say those things? I can only have so many heart attacks you know," Johnny states.

"Again, you're such a sensitive,little rich boy," I answer.

Johnny snorts before a rustling sound comes from his end. He must have risen from his blankets out of pure panic. "Ok well, you're going to be spending the rest of your life with this rich boy. You had better learn to love it, princess."

"B-but," I say before yawning, "I already do…"

My eyes close on their own and I instantly doze off. I can hear Johnny's voice come from my phone but my brain decides it's time to no longer function and comprehend what he's saying. I don't know how long he kept trying to talk to me but there was one point where I did hear him completely fine. From what I remember he said, "I love you, Mel. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Be a good girl for me, ok?" Dad says as he hugs me at the entrance of Fear Corporation.

"Ok," I reply while reciprocating the love, "You'll be here at lunch right?"

"Yes. Don't worry about me, I can handle myself," Dad replies.

It's not that I'm worried about him, it's that I'm scared to be here without him. There's only so many people I can trust here…now that I think about it, I can only trust two people here. Professor King and Johnny. It's like I'm starting college all over again but everyone's mature and has their life together. They all understand finances, communication, and general job skills while I'm still struggling to understand concepts that teenagers need to learn. I'm just so socially far behind that I feel like I'll end up in trouble.

"I can tell that you're still a little nervous, but I can assure you that if you do what Dr. King and Johnny tell you, then you will be fine," He mentions while scratching my head.

I nod and let him take a few steps back towards the car. Mom drove me again while Dad sat in the passenger seat. I hope I can figure out a bus route that goes from one end of the city to the other so that I don't have to have them do this everyday.

"I'll be back. Have a great first day, Moondrop," Dad says before opening the door and shutting it.

He puts on his seatbelt and looks over to my Mom. She gives me a wave and a loving smile before pulling into the street and driving off back towards the factories' front gate. Something keeps me from not watching them until they're no longer within sight, and I wish I had super speed as a supernatural power so that I could run after them, but that's clearly my childish nature overwhelming me. Now that I'm alone, I just have to enter the doors and hope that I won't freeze up entirely.

It takes me a long time to work up the courage to open one of the front doors, which was embarrassing because many monsters walked right by me. Their heads were in the process of looking back down to the ground or ahead of them when I looked at them directly, which means they found me a bit odd or out of place, and that scares me. They'll remember that I'm the skittish one…and we all know that that is a bad thing.

When I do manage to see the interior, there's hundreds of monsters flooding the white tiles. Some speak to each other like family, while others act all high and mighty. I notice that these egotistical ones don't even try to avoid other monsters and just straight up run into them before giving them lectures on their social standing. I remember the Professor talking about this before though. The Scaring workforce has an archaic, hierarchical issue and it's affecting tons of monsters like my dad. It's something that can't be easily fixed and will inevitably be found in every Scare company.

"Miss Everett!" A voice says from a distance.

There's a couple of monsters, both big and small, both Scarer and Scaring Assistant alike, that look over in that direction. It takes me a split second to realize that Professor King has his hand raised for me over at the reception desk with that muddy receptionist, Mrs. Slimothy. With haste, I shuffle over there with my head down. I'm not late am I? Did I take too long to work up the courage to enter?

"I didn't expect you to arrive 15 minutes early," The Professor smiles, showing the golden glow emitting from his throat.

Oh my god I'm such a nervous wreck right now that I don't even know what time it is or what day it is or where I should be or whetherornotI'mcapableofdoingthiscau-

"Everything alright? You look a little pale," The Professor adds.

GREAT AND NOW EVERYONE CAN TELL THAT I'M HAVING A MELTDOWN!

I just nod and try to meditatively hold my breath in order to lower my rising heart rate. "I-I, erm, s-sorry…I'm s-s-still getting used to b-being in…um…in crowded places."

"Awwww, It's alright dearie. Mrs. Slimothy knows how hard your first day at a Scare factory is. Nothing is as big as this, but soon enough, you'll be as tough as nails," Mrs. Slimothy says before readjusting her entire face like she did a few days ago. Geez, I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing that.

Professor King lets out a pity chuckle. "It's alright to feel that way. Like I've said plenty of times, nobody is invincible. Certain things can irrationally make us squirm, and knowing how you grew up, it's understandable. However, I want you to know that all our management has been notified about your situation and I have told them to refrain from expecting perfection from you. Especially when it comes to social interaction."

I know he's trying to ease my mental pain, but I'm one of those kinds of monsters that has to take their time before feeling confident.

"O-ok," I utter.

"Heh, alright, how about this. We still have fifteen minutes before your shifts technically starts, so let's just unwind a little," The Professor proposes.

He starts asking about my family, specifically my cousins since he's learned a lot about hem recently. I give him and Mrs. Slimothy, who's beyond intrigued, in depth descriptions about each of my cousins. I even tell them about Uncle Alden's escapades as an electrician. He's accidentally zapped himself hundreds of times, crossed house lights so that a light switch upstairs will turn on lights in the basement, and lit his uniform on fire several times. He's the most accident prone man the city has ever seen. I would even argue he was pulled straight out of a cartoon. Professor King has to ask if he wants to do that for the rest of his life, but I tell him that he wishes to open a candy shop one day. His whole life is pretty much about being a child, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Both Professor King and ask about my dad's feelings about this, so I explain how my dad would shoplift all sorts of candy for him when they were younger. My dad was a little bit of a trouble maker and my grandparents were always worried about him negatively influencing his siblings. Dad wasn't teaching them to be trouble makers, he was just trying to give them a proper childhood. At least that's what he says.

I bring the conversation back to my little cousins though, and I tell them that they would all like to work at that candy shop. Valdis and Fenix always talk about their love for lollipops and the many kinds of hard, fruity candies, so I would assume that they would be the ones to make them. Soren, Leif, and Axel are the chocolate fanatics so they would probably do something with chocolates. Taliesin's more privy to gum, toffee, and gummy candies which is probably because he's the artist of that side of the family. The only odd one out is Juno because she's like me and enjoys real fruit more than anything, but she says she wants to do what they want to do because she doesn't want to be left behind.

"It's a nice dream, but have they all jumped on your Uncle's dream because they don't know what else they can do?" Professor King asks.

"Y-yeah…they've all watched my family do everything right and get…um, nothing in return. I understand if that sounds like they're complaining or that they're lazy or something, but nobody in my family believes that they'll ever live a comfortable life. Taliesin loves being an artist and Valdis loves being a musician, but they've accepted that they can't afford college and that's, like, a requirement to become well-known in those industries these days. Soren loves sports, but he's come to understand that it's a one in a trillion chance to become a professional athlete in Monstropolis. Fenix is a fashionista but hates how manipulative and predatory the industry is, so she's turned that more into a hobby and doesn't know what she wants to do. Axel, Leif and Juno are in the same boat as well. I think they, um, feel lost and want to stay with the family."

Professor King then asks about Cormeadow and what it was like for me to grow up there. I can't say a whole lot other than it's a place where you keep your head down and stick to a strict curfew unless you want to start looking for trouble. That's what it's like in the commercial areas at least. The only thing bad that I experienced was…that one incident earlier this year where I ended up in the hospital…but other than that, my dad says people tend to disappear at night.

"Mmm…Not the ideal macrosystem, that's for sure," The Professor mumbles, "But regardless, it seems like you have a family that's priceless."

"Yeah…I just hope they don't have to suffer for much longer," I reply while leaning on the reception desk.

The Professor quickly glances at the nearest clock on the wall above the front entrance. "Well, I would say this is the point where their stress will begin declining. It's time for your first day after all. You ready to go?"

I stand up straight and make sure that I look presentable. I'm going to be walking onto a Scare Floor with a bunch of the most influential monsters that Monstropolis has to offer, so making a poor first impression would be detrimental to my reputation. After rumbling through my purse, I take out a small notepad and pen for myself and give the Professor a nod.

"Oh wow look at you, so ambitious," He chuckles while looking over at Mrs. Slimothy and giving her a bow, "You shouldn't need it though, I won't be leaving you by yourself until your ready to do so. This isn't like college where you need to remember things after one explanation."

"Oh, hehe…," I laugh with embarassment, "Ok."

I put the notepad and pen back in my purse and begin following Professor King. He heads towards the three hallways draped in white tiles and green, solarpunk foliage that are behind the reception desk. Obviously we end up going down the one on the right since that's where Scare Floor 10 is. He then stops right in the center of the hallway and turns around to face me with his arms behind his back.

"Alright, so I guess we'll start out with the building in general. You already know about the entrance and reception desk. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask Mrs. Slimothy so she can point you in the right direction," Professor King explains.

Even though is pretty weird, she's not mean or anything. In fact, she's really sweet, and I would like to see her more often since she's probably one of the few monsters here that wouldn't make me freeze up in fear.

Professor King then points to a little directory up against the wall to my left. "Now, I'm sure you noticed we went down one of many different hallways. From the entrance there are five of them. When facing the reception desk, there is one hallway to the left, one to the right and three straight ahead. We took the rightmost hallway ahead of the reception desk."

I make sure to remember that this is here, because who knows if I'll end up completely forgetting about the layout of this factory one day.

"The hallway to the left is filled with offices. These aren't really important to you because you'll never need to go into them, but it's helpful to know about them. In reality the only offices you should ever have to go into are either mine or Johnny's father's, but I doubt that will happen considering your amazing work ethic and reliability. Anyways, the hallway to the right leads to the cafeteria. If you don't bring lunch or dinner for yourself, you can head there for anything your heart desires. This is Fear Corporation after all, so you can expect to find dishes containing steak, chicken, pork, fruit, vegetables, wheat, and anything else you can think of. All of it is gourmet and it's no cost to you," He continues.

I remember eating some things at Monsters Inc with Johnny a couple months ago and it was all pretty good. If they serve gourmet food, then I can only imagine how much better the food is here. My mouth is tingling at thought of it…oh wait…have I ever technically had real gourmet food before?

"Then there are the three central hallways. These are the hallways that lead to all of the factories Scare Floors and locker rooms. As I said we're within the rightmost one, and this hallway contains Scare Floors 1 through 35. The middle one contains Scare Floors 36 through 70, and the leftmost one contains 71 through 105. A Scarers placement within these Scare Floors pertains to their level of mastery in Scaring as well as their experience. 1 through 35 contain beginner Scarers, 36 through 70 contain intermediate level Scarers, and 71 through 100 contain expert Scarers. Scare Floors 101 through 105 are part of a special group called The Black Division, but I won't get into detail about that now since you aren't anywhere close to that level," Professor King continues.

Wow. I didn't think Fear Co would be that organized and in depth with their Scaring operations. I guess I just thought that every scream factory would be like Monsters Inc where they kind of mixed everyone up and expected the best. Now I'm curious about that.

"Professor? Why is it like that? Why wouldn't everyone of all levels of Scaring be put together like at Monsters Inc?" I ask.

"That's actually something that Monsters Inc decided for themselves, and it actually made themselves seem like the best Scaring company out there. With their giant size and giant reputation, there ended up being not enough room for Scarers. There weren't enough stations in certain Scare Floors and they had to throw the extras into lower level Scare Floors. This ultimately caused the lower level Scarers to become extremely complacent to point where they would sit back and watch the higher level Scarers do their job," The Professor answers.

"That sounds…really bad actually," I utter.

"Oh yeah. That's why they had to implement a fairly degrading point system there. If you don't reach a certain quota within each quarter, you're fired. That's essentially how the Scream Energy crisis started too. There wasn't enough energy being generated by the lower level Scarers and when the higher level Scarers retired, the lower level Scarers didn't have the knowledge or experience to scare the human children adequately. After that, the requirements for Scarers skyrocketed to a point where many monsters couldn't make the cut anymore," Professor King elucidates.

It's not an existentially horrible feeling that finds its way into my stomach, but it is a very uncomfortable feeling; Deciding if it's disgust or concern is difficult. I hate knowing that everything went sour because certain monsters refused to put in the work they originally signed up for.

"I do hope that Mr. Rios is alright over at Monsters Incorporated. That system, along with their CEO…I just can't help but feel like it toxic and…demanding," Professor King adds.

"Javier is at Monsters Inc.?" I ask in sorrowful surprise.

"Yeah, before we could even send out recruitment letters, Monsters Incorporated had already snagged him. They must have wanted him before he started his senior year," The Professor answers while shaking his head in disappointment.

Oh so then it's valid to assume that Chip is here at Fear Co too. That's good! I do agree with Professor King though. I hope Javier doesn't end up hating his life over there. He's basically being judged based on how much money he makes Monsters Inc instead of how well he can scare. Well…I guess the same would be said for here too. There's nowhere you can go to that genuinely only cares about the quality of your work rather than the quantity.

"We're getting off track though. Here at Fear Corporation, it is very easy to climb the ranks. Usually within a year beginners can expect to jump about 25 to 40 floors. As for our quotas, we count the number of filled scream canisters every fiscal quarter. Just to put it in perspective, Scarers on floor 1 have an easy time meeting the requirement and if anyone from higher floors somehow don't meet the quota, they just get demoted to a lower floor. If they hit floor 1 and still don't meet their quota, they won't get fired because every Scarer counts after all. That is unless their performance is absolutely unsatisfactory," Professor King explains.

He then asks if I have anymore questions and I luckily don't. I'm honestly just happy that I ended up here instead of Monsters Inc. I won't ever say that enough times, because the Professor just drilled it into my skull that Monsters Inc doesn't in fact scare because they care. They just want society to think they're number one in hopes of turning astronomical profits.

I'll leave that discussion for another day though. I'm lead to the locker rooms by the Professor. They're a lot more fun than I thought they would be. The floors are still white tiles, but the locker rooms are red while the walls are black. There's also planters filled with roses and camellias that line the walls and drown them in a beautiful smell. The ivy and vines that cover the entire interior of the building have also worked their way onto the ceiling, which makes it feel like you're in some sort of mystical forest. I don't know, it just felt magical to me.

The Professor proceeded to explain that the locker rooms are obviously split between men and women. They have their own ginormous showers and huge bathroom stalls that provide everyone with everything that monsters need. Men have all sorts of colognes, breath mints that humans consider disgusting, and deodorants. Women have perfumes, hairsprays, makeup, and even things like tampons which was great to hear.

After that, we head further down the hallway containing Scare Floors 1-35. I didn't get a great look at the entire building the first time and now I'm noticing just how beautiful this place is. Aside from the vines and hanging planters, there are long white marble benches in the center of the hallway that act like a median on a highway. Within the center of those, there is a little stream of water atop a fake rock formation that travels up and down while dropping off into a small drain at the ends of the benches. The entire hallway is like a civilized version of a forest and I can't help but intricately observe everything little thing we pass by. I'm pretty sure that the Professor is beginning to think I'm a curious child who has to run up to everything new and stare at it with bulging eyes.

We eventually arrive at Scare Floor 10 and I'm shown the little office space containing all sorts of filing cabinets within. One of the few things that I'm going to learn to do is loads of paperwork that relates to Johnny's scaring shifts. The paperwork has to do with the number of doors he's entered, which specific doors he entered, whether or not they were returned damaged, the amount of scream energy produced from each door, and a couple of other things. The Professor also explains to me that he's changed the way Fear Co deals with child encounters. Paperwork will have to be done every time a Scarer comes into unpredictable contact with a human child.

"We also have to constantly make sure our Scarers are caught up with their vaccinations. We can't have a monster become infected with a disease native to the human world, bring it to the monster world, and spread it. Additionally, we have Scarers do a mouth swab and blood work test to double check that they haven't contracted anything. If we have found something, we can easily track the door of which the disease originated from and put it under quarantine for a few weeks. I know you know the whole process since I've explained this wish of mine in class before, but it's necessary to tell you this for a second time," Professor King explains.

"Um, I know this sounds bad, but is the paperwork really time consuming?" I ask with a wince.

"You're fine, that's a solid concern considering that you will technically have two jobs here. It honestly depends on the factory. Monsters Inc has notoriously complex paperwork, but we have a system that does half the paperwork for you. Times and identifiers are all automatically done for you, so all you have to write down is all the stuff I mentioned before. You'll write it all down as Johnny does his scaring and be done with each paper before he even leaves the child's room. Let's just say you'll get used to it very quickly," The Professor answers.

With relief, I find my way onto the empty Scare Floor and place my belongings onto Johnny's station. I've seen some photos of the Scare Floors at Monsters Inc and can't say they're too different here. There's some skylights above the door attachment mechanisms, and desks available for each station. What's strikingly different is that there's a couple of small planted trees behind the door attachment mechanisms and instead of there just being a door panel next to the attachment mechanisms, there's another console behind the desks that connects to the door portals.

"Quick question for you, Melanie," Professor King chimes in, "Is your purse the only thing you brought today?"

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry, I can go put it in the locker room if I have to," I squeak.

"No worries. You don't have to for today, but from here on out it'll have to be put away. I don't know why I didn't even think about it when we were there earlier. If there is something in your purse that you do think you'll need such as first aid, I suggest buying some more specifically for this station…I don't think Johnny has is own first aid actually," Professor King says while scratching his head.

I nod and proceed to give all my concentration to this training. I'm expertly shown how the door portals work. Having Professor King explain all of this is great too because he specifically taught classes in door mechanics and door control. My dad has also taught me a lot over the years because I've been interested in what he did for twelve or more hours everyday. It all just came naturally, especially the part where you take a door card and scan it with the panel. With just a flick of the wrist, doors can come flying in from the rail system above.

By the time I've gone through the whole process 5 times, all the Scaring Assistants begin to show up and set everything up. I meet a few of them, but they're a little nervous around me which might be because I'm also going to be a Scarer.

I make sure to think very little of it though. The Professor made it known that we should see everyone as equals in the Scaring Company rather than seeing ourselves as almighty gods who can't possibly be compared to anybody. I would imagine that this is one of the reasons why Scarers end up with awful psychological states at times, because they don't make enough friends to mitigate the damage.

It looks like I'll be doing the real thing here soon, so I guess I should continue paying attention.