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Chapter 9
On the big day, Mike and Randy were nervous but determined. They quizzed each other as they headed toward the School of Scaring.
From the ROR house across campus, Sulley saw Mike and scowled. “I am going to wipe the floor with that little know-it-all,” Sulley told his ROR brothers.
“Yes, yes, you are, Big Blue.” Then, to Sulley’s shock, Johnny removed Sulley’s ROR jacket and hung it over his own arm.
“Hey! Wait. What are you —”
Johnny smiled. “It’s just a precaution. RORs are the best Scarers on campus, Sullivan. Can’t have a member come in second to a beach ball.”
“I’m gonna destroy that guy!” Sulley protested.
Johnny held up the jacket. “Well, then you’ll get this back in no time. It’s time to start delivering on that Sullivan name.”
Sulley entered the classroom and dropped into a seat next to Mike and Randy. Professor Knight addressed the students. “Today’s final will judge your ability to assess a child’s fear and perform the appropriate scare ... in the scare simulator.” Turning, he motioned toward a modular room that looked like a human child’s bedroom. A small robotic child was tucked into the bed. The students stared at the machine nervously.
“Dean Hardscrabble is with us this morning to see who will be moving on in the Scaring Program and who will not,” Professor Knight continued. He gestured to Dean Hardscrabble, who stood to the side, unsmiling, as she casually adjusted her record-breaking scream can. “Let’s get started!”
Soon, the first student stood onstage, ready to begin. “I am a five-year-old girl afraid of spiders and Santa Claus,” Professor Knight said. “Which scare do you use?”
The student gulped as Dean Hardscrabble stretched her bat wings and f lew up to a window. “Uh, that’s a Seasonal Creep-and-Crawl,” the student said.
“Demonstrate,” Professor Knight said.
The student walked through the door of the simulator, then lunged, roaring at the robotic child in bed. The student looked at Professor Knight, hoping he’d done it correctly. But the professor simply said, “Results will be posted outside my of f ice. Next!”
As students waited their turn at the simulator, Mike took out his textbook for some last-minute cramming. Feeling resentful, Sulley stared at his rival. Then he noticed that the RORs were in the gallery, watching. Johnny gave Sulley a nod. Sulley nodded back, but he wasn’t feeling it.
Sulley stood up and walked past Mike, “accidentally” knocking his books to the floor. “Hey, do you mind?” Mike said.
Sulley shrugged. “Don’t mind at all,” he said, and began to stretch, warming up for his turn at the simulator.
Randy looked over at Sulley and said, “Come on, Mike. Let’s just move.”
Mike nodded and began to walk away. Then he changed his mind. He walked back to Sulley. “Stay out of my way,” he said. “I worked really hard for this, unlike you.”
Sulley just grinned and said, “That’s because you don’t belong here.”
Mike stood there for a moment, his anger building. Then he turned to Sulley — and let out a loud ROAR!
Sulley f linched. Then he glanced into the stands and saw his ROR fraternity brothers watching. He couldn’t let them think he was backing down. He took a deep breath and responded: “ROARRRR!” This time it was Mike’s turn to flinch. Sulley laughed. “That’s what I thought,” he said under his breath.
Sulley went back to practicing, but Mike wasn’t willing to let it go. He got in Sulley’s face and roared again. It wasn’t long before the class’s attention was turned to the two monsters facing off against each other.
“ROARR!”
“ROARRR!”
“ROOAARRRR!”
Randy looked up and saw that Dean Hardscrabble was watching, too. Sulley and Mike were moving closer to each other, roaring louder and louder. Then Sulley took a step back and accidentally bumped into the pedestal holding Dean Hardscrabble’s famous scream can.
Everyone watched in horror as the scream can wobbled and clanged to the f loor!