Mike dedicated¹ himself to his studies with more determination than ever. He listened intently as Professor Knight² 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 growled³ 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, 'Fangs⁴.'"

"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.

"Warts⁵, boils, and moles⁶, 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 steered⁷ 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 Slump⁸, even the Zombie Snarl⁹. "That's some remarkable¹⁰ 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 fraying¹¹.

Afterward¹², 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!

 

从那天起，麦克更加下定决心，全力投入到了学习中去。上课时，奈特教授把惊吓要义分解成一步步的动作来教授，麦克听得聚精会神。“准备姿势，”奈特教授说道，学生们便立刻摆好姿势。“基本蹲姿，”教授指导道，“亮出你们的乱毛和黄板牙！给我看看你们的口水！口水也是一种武器！要好好利用！”麦克使出浑身解数按要求做，一边咆哮一边流口水。

教授在房间里走来走去，不停地纠正学生们的动作。走到毛怪身边时，他停住了，赞赏道：“这位同学还有点惊吓专员的样子！”麦克抬头怒视着毛怪，而毛怪却笑嘻嘻的。

教授警告学生们说：“你们如果想及格，最好随时随地练习惊吓，无论是吃饭、呼吸，还是睡觉的时候。”

麦克用心记下了老师的每一条建议。他读了一摞又一摞的书，记住了各种惊吓技巧，每天花好几个小时对着镜子练习咆哮。

毛怪的书也有用处，但使用的方式和麦克不一样：他拿这些书来垫精吓会会所里乒乓球桌的桌脚。

时间一天天过去了，麦克从不懈怠。校园秋季橄榄球赛开始了，但麦克一点也不关心。相反，他经常让蓝道来提问考查自己。

“害怕蜘蛛？”蓝道问他。

“蜘蛛恐惧症。”麦克迅速回答。

“害怕闪电？”

“闪电恐惧症。”麦克回答。

“害怕筷子？”

“筷子恐惧症，”麦克不耐烦地抬起头说道，“这也太小儿科了。来点有难度的。”

学期仍在继续，麦克付出的努力终于有了回报。一次测验中，奈特教授在黑板上写了一道选择题，麦克第一个举起手喊道：“答案是C，‘獠牙’。”

“正确，华斯基先生。”奈特教授说道。

“在黑暗中奔跑的小丑！”麦克自信地答出了教授的下一个问题。

“又答对了！”教授朝他喊道。

“按照顺序分别是疣，疖子和痣。”麦克回答道，他几乎掌控了整个测验。

“太棒了！”奈特教授感到非常惊讶。毛怪很不高兴地瞪了麦克一眼，但麦克一点也不在乎，他知道自己一定会笑到最后。十月份了，整个学期已经过去了一半，第二天就要期中考试了。

考试过后，毛怪拿着他的成绩单从惊吓学院的阶梯上走下来，笑着对强哥竖起了大拇指——考试及格了。强哥伸出手臂勾住毛怪的肩。这时麦克从阶梯上冲下来，兴奋地挥舞着他那张得了A+的成绩单。

毛怪打开自己的成绩单，上面的成绩是C-。强哥和其他精吓会的成员们忧心忡忡地交换了一下眼神。这是毛怪第一次没有感受到精吓会成员间兄弟般温暖的关怀。

然而麦克的激情却被点燃了。他已经等不及要参加期末考试了。半工半读时，他仍然在学习。每天开工前，他都先刷一下出勤卡，然后便一只手操纵着地板磨光机，另一只手拿着一本惊吓战术书看。他看书时精力非常集中，毫不关心周围的情况。同学们不得不在他经过的时候从磨光机旁跳开。

教室里，麦克向奈特教授展示着自己的惊吓技巧。他熟练地摆出了所有的重要姿势：食人鱼吼、食人魔吼，甚至还有僵尸咆哮。奈特教授非常满意地说：“麦克，你的进步真是令人刮目相看啊。”

轮到毛怪了，他站起身，露出狰狞可怕的表情，发出了一声惊人的吼叫。但奈特教授却摇摇头说道：“苏利文先生，想成为一名合格的惊吓专员，单靠一张吓人的面孔是远远不够的。”毛怪坐下来，他的自信心受到了打击。

之后，麦克回到宿舍，又从日历上撕下一页，现在日历上用红笔圈出来的期末考试的日子赫然在目。十二月终于到了！

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