Chapter 8
Mike dedicated himself to his studies with more determination than ever. He listened intently as Professor Knight broke down the science of scaring. “Ready position,” the professor said as the students took their stances. “Common Crouch,” he instructed them. “I want to see matted fur and yellowed teeth! Show me some slobber! Drool is a tool! Use it!” Mike growled and slobbered for all he was worth.
The professor walked around the room, making adjustments in the students’ poses. When he got to Sulley, he stopped. “Now, here is a monster who looks like a Scarer!” he said. Mike glared at Sulley, who was grinning.
“If you want a hope of passing this class, you better eat, breathe, and sleep scaring,” the professor warned the students.
Mike took the teacher’s advice to heart. He read piles of books, memorizing different scare techniques. He practiced for hours, roaring in the mirror.
Sulley used his textbooks, too — but not quite the same way. He used them to steady a Ping-Pong table at the ROR fraternity house.
Days passed and Mike never quit. Fall football arrived on campus, but Mike paid no attention. Instead, he spent hours in his room while Randy quizzed him.
“Fear of spiders?” Randy asked.
“Arachnophobia,” Mike answered quickly.
“Fear of thunder?”
“Keraunophobia,” Mike replied.
“Fear of chopsticks?”
“Consecotaleophobia,” Mike said. He looked up impatiently. “What is this, kindergarten? Give me a hard one.”
The semester continued, and Mike’s efforts began to pay off . For a quiz, Professor Knight listed multiple-choice answers on the chalkboard. Mike’s hand shot up first. “The answer is C, ‘Fangs.’”
“Well done, Mr. Wazowski,” Professor Knight said.
“A clown running in the dark!” Mike conf idently answered the professor’s next question.
“Right again!” Professor Knight told him.
“Warts, boils, and moles, in that order,” Mike said, totally dominating the test.
“Outstanding!” Professor Knight said, impressed. Sulley looked over to Mike and gave him a nasty look. But Mike didn’t care. He knew he’d get the last laugh. It was October, and the semester was half over. The midterm exam was the next day.
After the exam, Sulley walked down the steps of the School of Scaring, holding his test results. He grinned and gave Johnny a thumbs-up. He’d passed. Johnny put an arm around him. Then Mike came dashing down the stairs, happily waving his A-plus score.
Sulley unfolded his exam to reveal a lowly C-minus. Johnny and the RORs exchanged a worried look. And for the first time, Sulley wasn’t feeling that warm, ROR brotherly love.
Mike, however, was f ired up. He couldn’t wait to take the final exam. Even when he was working at his student job, he studied. Every day, he punched in his work-study card and then steered a f loor polisher with one hand while holding a book on scare tactics with the other. He was so focused that he paid no attention to his surroundings. Other students had to jump out of his way as he tore past.
In the classroom, Mike showed his technique to Professor Knight. He expertly displayed all the important poses: Pirhana-Jaw, Ogre’s Slump, even the Zombie Snarl. “That’s some remarkable improvement, Michael,” Professor Knight said.
When it was his turn, Sulley stood, made a scary face, and let out an incredible roar. But Professor Knight shook his head and said, “One frightening face does not a Scarer make, Mr. Sullivan.” Sulley sat back down, his confidence fraying.
Afterward, Mike went back to his dorm room and ripped another page of f his calendar. The day for the final exams was circled in red. This was it. December had finally arrived!
第 8 章
從那天起,麥克更加下定決心,全力投入到了學(xué)習(xí)中去。上課時,奈特教授把驚嚇要義分解成一步步的動作來教授,麥克聽得聚精會神。“準備姿勢,”奈特教授說道,學(xué)生們便立刻擺好姿勢。“基本蹲姿,”教授指導(dǎo)道,“亮出你們的亂毛和黃板牙!給我看看你們的口水!口水也是一種武器!要好好利用!”麥克使出渾身解數(shù)按要求做,一邊咆哮一邊流口水。
教授在房間里走來走去,不停地糾正學(xué)生們的動作。走到毛怪身邊時,他停住了,贊賞道:“這位同學(xué)還有點驚嚇專員的樣子!”麥克抬頭怒視著毛怪,而毛怪卻笑嘻嘻的。
教授警告學(xué)生們說:“你們?nèi)绻爰案瘢詈秒S時隨地練習(xí)驚嚇,無論是吃飯、呼吸,還是睡覺的時候。”
麥克用心記下了老師的每一條建議。他讀了一摞又一摞的書,記住了各種驚嚇技巧,每天花好幾個小時對著鏡子練習(xí)咆哮。
毛怪的書也有用處,但使用的方式和麥克不一樣:他拿這些書來墊精嚇會會所里乒乓球桌的桌腳。
時間一天天過去了,麥克從不懈怠。校園秋季橄欖球賽開始了,但麥克一點也不關(guān)心。相反,他經(jīng)常讓藍道來提問考查自己。
“害怕蜘蛛?”藍道問他。
“蜘蛛恐懼癥。”麥克迅速回答。
“害怕閃電?”
“閃電恐懼癥。”麥克回答。
“害怕筷子?”
“筷子恐懼癥,”麥克不耐煩地抬起頭說道,“這也太小兒科了。來點有難度的。”
學(xué)期仍在繼續(xù),麥克付出的努力終于有了回報。一次測驗中,奈特教授在黑板上寫了一道選擇題,麥克第一個舉起手喊道:“答案是C,‘獠牙’。”
“正確,華斯基先生。”奈特教授說道。
“在黑暗中奔跑的小丑!”麥克自信地答出了教授的下一個問題。
“又答對了!”教授朝他喊道。
“按照順序分別是疣,癤子和痣。”麥克回答道,他幾乎掌控了整個測驗。
“太棒了!”奈特教授感到非常驚訝。毛怪很不高興地瞪了麥克一眼,但麥克一點也不在乎,他知道自己一定會笑到最后。十月份了,整個學(xué)期已經(jīng)過去了一半,第二天就要期中考試了。
考試過后,毛怪拿著他的成績單從驚嚇學(xué)院的階梯上走下來,笑著對強哥豎起了大拇指——考試及格了。強哥伸出手臂勾住毛怪的肩。這時麥克從階梯上沖下來,興奮地揮舞著他那張得了A+的成績單。
毛怪打開自己的成績單,上面的成績是C-。強哥和其他精嚇會的成員們憂心忡忡地交換了一下眼神。這是毛怪第一次沒有感受到精嚇會成員間兄弟般溫暖的關(guān)懷。
然而麥克的激情卻被點燃了。他已經(jīng)等不及要參加期末考試了。半工半讀時,他仍然在學(xué)習(xí)。每天開工前,他都先刷一下出勤卡,然后便一只手操縱著地板磨光機,另一只手拿著一本驚嚇戰(zhàn)術(shù)書看。他看書時精力非常集中,毫不關(guān)心周圍的情況。同學(xué)們不得不在他經(jīng)過的時候從磨光機旁跳開。
教室里,麥克向奈特教授展示著自己的驚嚇技巧。他熟練地擺出了所有的重要姿勢:食人魚吼、食人魔吼,甚至還有僵尸咆哮。奈特教授非常滿意地說:“麥克,你的進步真是令人刮目相看啊。”
輪到毛怪了,他站起身,露出猙獰可怕的表情,發(fā)出了一聲驚人的吼叫。但奈特教授卻搖搖頭說道:“蘇利文先生,想成為一名合格的驚嚇專員,單靠一張嚇人的面孔是遠遠不夠的。”毛怪坐下來,他的自信心受到了打擊。
之后,麥克回到宿舍,又從日歷上撕下一頁,現(xiàn)在日歷上用紅筆圈出來的期末考試的日子赫然在目。十二月終于到了!