Chapter 11
Weeks passed, and soon it was January and the start of a new semester. Back in class, Mike fidgeted in his seat as Professor Brandywine lectured about scream-can designs. This was Mike’s new major. He stared out the window at the School of Scaring in the distance and wondered how it had all gone so wrong.
“Some say a career as a Scream Can Designer is boring, unchallenging, a waste of a monster’s potential ...” Professor Brandywine droned on in a toneless voice. Mike couldn’t have agreed more.
Across the classroom, Sulley sat and glared at Mike. In Sulley’s mind, things at MU had been perfect until Mike Wazowski ruined it all.
When the class finally ended, Mike dejectedly headed back to his dorm. Sulley, still glaring furiously, followed Mike across most of the campus. He was seething, and he wanted Mike to know it.
But Mike paid no attention to Sulley. He was too sad. He went straight to his dorm room and stared at his MU hat. He was heartbroken. He picked up his scream-can design textbook and sighed. Then he hurled it against the wall. As the book hit, it knocked down his calendar ... revealing the Greek Scare Games f lyer Mike had tacked to the wall on the f irst day of school.
Mike moved closer, staring at the f lyer. Slowly, a smile grew across his face. He tore the paper of f the wall and ran to the door. Opening it, he found Sulley standing there, still glaring. “Out of my way!” Mike shouted, and rushed down the hall.
Mike tore out of the building and ran toward Fraternity Row. A crowd of fraternity and sorority monsters f illed the area, facing a large outdoor stage.
Mike watched the Greek Council president stand up and address the crowd. “Welcome to this year’s Greek Scare Games kickoff!” she said. Everyone cheered, yelling support for the fraternities and sororities that were competing. Then the council president continued. “We have a special guest. The founder of the Games, Dean Hardscrabble!”
The crowd cheered once again as Dean Hardscrabble stepped to the podium. “Good afternoon,” she said in a low growl. “As a student, I created these games as a friendly competition. But be prepared: to take home the trophy, you must be the most fearsome monsters on campus!” After another round of cheers, she ended with a faint smile. “Good luck, and may the best monsters win!” The president smiled and announced, “All right, everybody! Sign-ups for the Scare Games are of f icially —”
But before she could say “closed,” Mike shouted from the crowd, “WAIT! I’m signing up!”
Dean Hardscrabble’s eyes narrowed as Mike pushed through the crowd. “You have to be in a fraternity to compete,” the council president reminded Mike.
Mike turned and desperately scanned the crowd. Finally, he pointed to the only fraternity he thought might let him join. “Behold! The next winning fraternity of the Scare Games,” he said grandly, “the brothers, my brothers, of Oozma Kappa!”
The crowd turned to see the Oozma Kappa members, who looked almost as shocked as everyone else. The oddball group stood proudly, though: a balding, middle-aged monster; a scrawny two-headed, four-armed monster; a rosy-cheeked blob with a multitude of eyes; and a shy, shaggy-haired monster. “Hi,” the blobby kid said awkwardly. The balloon he was holding suddenly def lated, and the crowd howled with laughter.
Dean Hardscrabble approached Mike. “Mr. Wazowski,” she said sternly, “what are you doing?”
“You just said the winners are the most fearsome monsters on campus,” Mike replied. “If I win, it means you kicked out the best Scarer in the whole school.”
“That won’t happen,” Dean Hardscrabble said f latly.
“Then how about a little wager?” Mike said. A murmur of shock rose from the crowd. Was a student actually challenging her to a bet? Dean Hardscrabble shot him a predatory look. For a moment, Mike felt like she was going to splash soy sauce on him and eat him like an egg roll. But he stood his ground. “If I win, you let me back in the Scaring Program.”
“And what would that prove?” she snarled.
Mike replied, “That you were wrong.”
Dean Hardscrabble thought for a moment as she reappraised the little green monster standing in front of her. “Very well,” she said finally. “If you win, I will let your entire team into the Scaring Program. But if you lose, you will pack up your things and leave Monsters University.”
“Deal,” Mike said.
“Now all you need to do is find enough members to compete,” Dean Hardscrabble said.
Mike looked at his little group and didn’t see that he had a problem. He turned to the Greek Council president and asked, “What? We need six guys, right?”
“We count bodies, not heads,” the president said, pointing to the two-headed monster. “That dude counts as one.”
Dean Hardscrabble smiled as she watched Mike’s panicked reaction. “Anyone else want to join our team?” Mike asked the crowd. “Anyone at all?”
Suddenly, Mike spotted his roommate in the crowd. “Randy! Randy, thank goodness, I need you on my team!”
“Oh, sorry, Mike,” Randy said. “I’m already on a team.” Randy walked over to Johnny, and Mike saw that he was wearing a ROR jacket.
“Boggs!” Johnny turned to Randy with a chuckle. “Do the trick!” With a pained smile, Randy made himself disappear. The RORs burst out laughing.
Mike was desperate. He jumped on top of a nearby parked car and shouted, “Please, anybody! I need one more monster. Just one more!”
But no one answered.
第 11 章
幾周過后,一月份很快就到了,新學(xué)期開始了。再次回到學(xué)校的麥克坐進了布蘭迪維因教授的課堂。課堂上,老師正在教授尖叫收集罐的設(shè)計,這是麥克的新專業(yè),可他卻如坐針氈。麥克望向窗外,盯著遠(yuǎn)處的驚嚇學(xué)院,不明白一切為什么會變得這么糟。
布蘭迪維因教授拖著有氣無力的聲音說道:“有人說設(shè)計尖叫收集罐是個極其無聊又沒有挑戰(zhàn)性的職業(yè),是在浪費怪獸的潛能……”聽到這,麥克簡直同意極了。
毛怪坐在教室的另一側(cè),怒視著麥克。在他看來,他在怪大的一切原本是那么完美,但麥克·華斯基把它們?nèi)珰Я恕?br />
終于下課了,麥克垂頭喪氣地朝宿舍走去。而毛怪依然憤怒地盯著麥克,一直跟在麥克后面穿過了幾乎整個校園。他怒火中燒,而且他要讓麥克知道這一點。
但麥克太難過了,根本就沒有注意毛怪。他徑直走回宿舍,盯著自己那頂“怪大”的帽子,感覺心都要碎了。他拿起尖叫收集罐設(shè)計課的課本,嘆了口氣。然后,他將課本朝墻上狠狠地砸去。飛過去的課本砸掉了掛在墻上的日歷,露出了那張“驚嚇杯”的宣傳單,那是麥克進校第一天拿回來貼上的。
麥克走上前,看著這張宣傳單,臉上漸漸露出了微笑。他一把從墻上撕下宣傳單沖到宿舍門前,打開門,看到毛怪還站在那兒瞪著自己。“別擋著我!”麥克大叫著沿宿舍走廊沖了出去。
沖出宿舍樓的麥克朝“兄弟會街”一路狂奔而去。那里聚集了許多兄弟會、姐妹會的成員,他們?nèi)济鎸χ粋€露天大舞臺。
麥克看到希臘議會的會長起身走上舞臺,對人群喊道:“歡迎來到本年度‘希臘驚嚇杯’的開幕式!”在場的怪獸都為參賽的兄弟會和姐妹會隊伍歡呼著,吶喊著。會長繼續(xù)說道:“我們邀請到一位特殊的嘉賓,那就是這個賽事的創(chuàng)始人,郝刻薄院長!”
郝刻薄院長走上講臺,人群再一次沸騰了。“下午好,”院長的聲音低沉有力,“在學(xué)生時代,我發(fā)起了這項比賽,宗旨是友好競爭。但請注意:要想贏得獎杯,你們必須是這個校園中最嚇人的怪獸!”歡呼聲再一次響起,院長微微一笑,結(jié)束了她的講話:“祝大家好運,愿最可怕的怪獸贏得冠軍!”會長接過話筒笑著宣布道:“好了同學(xué)們!報名時間截……”
她的“止”字還沒說出口,麥克就在人群中大喊道:“等等!我要報名!”
他推開人群朝前面走去,郝刻薄院長的眼睛瞇成了一條縫。“你得加入一個社團才能報名。”希臘議會的會長提醒他說。
麥克轉(zhuǎn)過身,拼命地掃視著人群。終于,他指向了唯一可能允許他加入的兄弟會社團。“瞧!我加入了奪冠熱門社團,”麥克一本正經(jīng)地宣布,“有請我的隊友,OK會的成員們!”
人群轉(zhuǎn)而看向OK會的成員們,他們看起來和在場的其他人一樣感到驚訝萬分。但這支古怪的隊伍仍然驕傲地站在那里:他們中有一位中年禿頂;有一位長著兩只頭、四只胳膊,卻骨瘦如柴;有一位長了好幾只眼睛,面色紅潤,體形呈團狀;還有一位毛發(fā)蓬亂,表情羞澀。那個胖乎乎的怪獸尷尬地向大家打了聲招呼:“嗨。”剛說完,他手里拿的氣球突然泄了氣,人群爆發(fā)出一陣陣嘲笑聲。
郝刻薄院長向麥克走來,厲聲問道:“麥克·華斯基!你在干什么?”
麥克答道:“你剛才說獲勝的就是全校最可怕的怪獸。如果我贏了,那就意味著你把學(xué)校里最優(yōu)秀的驚嚇專員開除了。”
“你不可能贏。”院長斬釘截鐵地告訴他。
“那打個賭怎么樣?”麥克說道。頓時,人群竊竊私語起來。一個學(xué)生,真的敢挑戰(zhàn)郝刻薄院長的權(quán)威,來打這個賭嗎?院長狠狠地瞪了他一眼,那一瞬間,麥克真覺得院長恨不得烏眼雞似的生吞了自己。但他還是定了定神說道:“如果我贏了,你就讓我回驚嚇學(xué)院。”
“那又能證明什么?”院長咆哮道。
麥克答道:“證明之前你錯了。”
郝刻薄院長沉思了片刻,重新審視了一下這個站在自己面前的小綠怪。終于她松口了:“好啊,如果你贏了,我就讓你們整個團隊全都進入驚嚇學(xué)院。但如果你輸了,你就卷鋪蓋離開怪獸大學(xué)。”
“成交。”麥克說道。
“現(xiàn)在你要做的就是得湊夠參賽的人數(shù)了。”院長說道。
麥克看了看他的團隊,覺得這并不成問題。他轉(zhuǎn)向希臘議會會長問道:“六個就夠了,對吧?”
“我們數(shù)身體,不數(shù)頭,”會長指了指那只長著兩個頭的怪獸說道,“兩顆頭的那個伙計只能算一位。”
麥克有點慌了。郝刻薄院長看著他,露出了微笑。“有沒有人想加入我們的團隊?”麥克朝人群喊著,“有愿意的嗎?”
突然間,麥克看到了他的室友,喊道:“藍(lán)道!藍(lán)道!謝天謝地,你一定要加入我們!”
可藍(lán)道卻回答:“抱歉,麥克,我已經(jīng)參加別的隊了。”說著就朝強哥他們走過去。麥克這才看到他穿著一件精嚇會的會服。
強哥朝藍(lán)道笑著喊道:“寶基!來,給他們露一手!”藍(lán)道為難地笑了一下,就隱身了。精嚇會的兄弟們便大笑起來。
麥克絕望了。他跳上身邊一輛車的車頂大聲喊道:“拜托!各位!我只需要一個怪獸!一個就夠!”
但一個回應(yīng)也沒有。