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Chapter 5
The next day, Mike woke up bright and early. It was the first day of school! As campus bells rang out the hour, the students scurried to their classes. Mike and Randy eagerly approached the School of Scaring, went up the steps, and entered a large round classroom.
Portraits of famous scare professors hung on the walls. In front of each one was a scream can on a pedestal. Mike and Randy took their seats. Much bigger monsters sat on either side of them. One of them looked down on Mike and said, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“I’m so nervous,” Randy whispered to Mike.
“Relax, it’ll be fine,” Mike replied as their teacher, a thick-necked, no-nonsense monster, came into the room.
“Good morning, students,” he said gruffly. “Welcome to Scaring 101. My name is Professor Knight. Now, I’m sure all of you were the scariest monster in your town. Well, bad news, kids! You’re in my town now, and I do not scare easily.” He gazed around the room.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the professor. The students gasped as he looked up to a window, where a large dark shape was perched. It flew down and landed with a whoosh. The class watched the monster, a tall dragon woman, flex her batlike wings and look over them with a stern frown. “Oh, Dean Hardscrabble,” Professor Knight said.
Mike was thrilled as he watched Dean Hardscrabble cross the room, her centipede-like legs tapping the floor. “She’s a legend,” he whispered to Randy. He motioned to a container on one of the pedestals. “She broke the all-time scare record with the scream in that very can.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Dean Hardscrabble said. “I just thought I’d drop by to see the ‘terrifying’ faces joining my program.”
“Well,” the professor replied, “I’m sure my students would love to hear a few words of inspiration.”
“Inspiration? Very well,” she said, turning to the class. “Scariness is the true measure of a monster. If you’re not scary, what kind of monster are you? It’s my job to make great students greater, not mediocre students less mediocre.”
Dean Hardscrabble gave a chilly smile. “That is why at the end of the semester, there will be a final exam. Fail that exam, and you are out of the Scaring Program.” A number of students shifted nervously. “I hope you are all properly inspired,” she concluded, spreading her wings and flying out through the top of the building.
Professor Knight stepped forward and quieted the murmuring class. “All right,” he said, returning to the lesson. “Who can tell me the principles of an effective roar?”
A green arm shot into the air. “Yes,” Professor Knight said.
Mike stood up. “There are actually five basic principles. Those include the roar’s resonance, the duration of the roar, and —”
A huge, genuine ROARRRRRR! suddenly filled the room.
Everyone in the class turned to see where it had come from. A swaggering, eight-foot monster with blue fur and a sleepy smile stumbled into the class ... late. “Whoops, sorry,” he said. “I heard someone say ‘roar,’ so I just kinda went for it.”
Professor Knight calmly raised an eyebrow. “Very impressive. Mr ...?”
“Sullivan. Jimmy Sullivan.”
The professor thought for a moment. “Hmm, Sullivan? Like Bill Sullivan?” he asked.
“Yeah, he’s my dad,” the new kid replied. “You can call me Sulley.”
“Hmm, I should have known you were a Sullivan. I expect big things from you,” the professor said, giving Sulley a nod.
“Well, you won’t be disappointed,” Sulley said confidently as he took his seat.
Mike stood up again. “I’m sorry, Professor Knight, should I keep going?”
Professor Knight smiled. “No, no,” he said. “Mr. Sullivan covered it.” Mike sat down, disappointed. He glanced back at Sulley, who wore a smug grin.
Sulley leaned over to the student next to him. “Hey, bub. Could I borrow a pencil? I forgot all my stuff.”
The student handed Sulley a pencil, which he promptly used to pick his teeth. “Yeah. There we go. That’ll get it,” Sulley said, dislodging a piece of something from his mouth.
Mike frowned. That Sullivan guy was so annoying!