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Chapter 1
One sunny morning, a bright yellow school bus rolled out of an elementary school parking lot. The fall leaves were turning brilliant colors against the blue sky, and children shouted noisily from the bus. They were excited because they were going on a field trip!
The children’s laughter and singing sounded typically happy, but the words to their song were a little odd: “The neck bone’s connected to the head bone. The head bone’s connected to the horn bone. The horn bone’s right above the wing bone ...”
Perhaps the song wasn’t odd for these kids. While they talked and acted like human kids, they were actually monster kids — and some of them did have head bones connected to their horn bones ... as well as wing bones, extra legs, multiple eyes, tentacles, and other monster characteristics. They attended Frighton Elementary School. And today, they were visiting the famous scream factory, Monsters, Incorporated, in Monstropolis!
As the bus came to a stop in the parking lot of Monsters, Inc., Mrs. Graves, a large, kindly pink teacher with horns and glasses, stood up and faced the excited youngsters. “Okay,” she said, “please remember our field trip rules: no pushing, no biting, and no fire-breathing.”
The bus door flew open and little blue-horned, purple-polka-dotted, and yellow-furred monsters poured out onto the curb, laughing and shouting. One immediately breathed fire on his friend’s neck.
Mrs. Graves leaned over and asked sternly, “What did I just say?” Then she tried to count the students who had come off the bus. “Eighteen, nineteen ...?” She glanced around at the group. “Okay, we’re missing one. Who are we missing?”
She looked over at the bus, noting the closed door. A little green hand was up in the air, waving through the door window.
“Oooh, Michael!” she said, concerned.
The bus door opened, and there stood six-year-old Mike Wazowski, a round, bright green, one-eyed monster about the size of a melon. As usual, Mike was smiling.
“Thanks, Joe!” Mike called to the bus driver. “Good luck finishing your crossword puzzle!”
“Sorry, Michael,” the driver replied. “I didn’t see you.” It wasn’t the first time the small green monster had accidentally been locked inside a bus. But Mike didn’t mind. Being overlooked was something that happened to him all the time. He’d learned to make the best of it.
“That’s okay,” Mike answered. “When I was on the bus I found a nickel!” He jumped down from the steps and walked toward Mrs. Graves, holding up the coin and murmuring, “I wish I had pockets ...”
Once Mike was on the ground, Mrs. Graves couldn’t help noticing just how small he was for his age. The other kids were taller and thicker, and they had lots of tentacles, eyes, and fur. Mike only had his one big eye.
Mike joined the group and Mrs. Graves did her best to corral the excited students. “Okay,” she said, “everybody partner up! Get your field trip buddy!”
As the kids scrambled, Mike bounced between them, trying to find a partner. “Jeremy? You and me?” Mike anxiously asked another young monster. But Jeremy turned away. “Okay, no biggie,” Mike said. He turned to another classmate. “Haley?” he asked hopefully. The other monster frowned. “No?” Mike said, watching as she headed toward another child. “Pairing up with Claire,” he said, nodding. “Great choice. She’s a good egg.”
Then he spotted Russell, the tallest kid in the class. “Russell!” he shouted happily. Seeing no recognition in Russell’s eyes, Mike tried to jog the kid’s memory. “Mike Wazowski? We carpool. We’re cousins.”
But Russell looked right over Mike’s head, high-fived another kid, and walked off. “Okay, good catching up,” Mike called after him. He looked around and saw that everyone had found a field trip buddy but him. For a second, Mike’s brave smile began to falter.
Mrs. Graves walked up to him. “Well, Michael,” she said, taking his hand, “it looks like it’s you and me again.”
Mike’s smile returned, and he tugged on her hand. “Come on, Karen!” he said, eager to catch up with his classmates. “We’re falling behind!”
“Please don’t call me Karen,” the teacher said as Mike pulled her along. Mike looked up and his eye grew wide as he and Mrs. Graves finally passed through the enormous factory doors and under the words MONSTERS, INC.