Glogi shuffled nervously at the castle’s entrance, his enormous, clawed feet scraping the cobblestones. He pulled his tattered backpack tighter and glanced at the other monsters, who all seemed eager to begin their first day at Scare School. Despite his massive size and sharp fangs, he looked much more frightened than frightening.
The teacher, a towering ogre in a tweed jacket, called roll as students practiced their best roars and snarls. Glogi slouched in his seat, sweating green drops onto his notebook. Every time the teacher mentioned “children,” his eyes grew wide, and his claws clattered nervously.
"Excuse me, sir, do we really have to… meet real children?"
Glogi picked at his “worm spaghetti,” his stomach churning. He listened as his classmates boasted about sneaking under beds and hiding in closets, but just the thought made him shiver. Nearby, a goblin noticed his distress.
"You look like you’ve seen a kid! Don’t worry, they’re more scared of us than we are of them," the goblin chuckled, but Glogi only gulped.
The teacher instructed each monster to practice their scaring techniques. When it was Glogi’s turn, he crept toward the bed, but froze at the sight of the painted children. His knees knocked together, and he whimpered instead of roaring.
"What if the children scream? Or… or laugh at me?" he stammered, drawing giggles from the other monsters.
Glogi sat hunched in an overstuffed chair, reading “How to Be Brave (Even When Kids Are Around).” He realized that, just like him, children could be scared or even kind. He practiced making silly faces in a mirror, trying to imagine laughter instead of screams.
"Maybe… maybe I don’t have to be scary. Maybe I can just be me," he whispered, a hopeful smile creeping across his face.
When Glogi was called to the stage, he took a deep breath and grinned at his classmates. He knew he might never be the scariest monster, but he had learned to face his fears—even if those fears had pigtails and missing teeth. As the crowd applauded, he waved shyly, proud to have graduated from Scare School in his own unique way.
