Groar pinched the tip of his nose hard. He hated it down here. The dust always made his nose run and his thick fur was becoming inhabited with an entire colony of dust bunnies. He was officially miserable.

Some days being the monster beneath the bed was really a drag. But he tried to be philosophical about his situation. He was here to teach children about dealing with fear and self-control. That was a noble cause after all and he could suffer these mild irritations to see his duty done. He almost sighed. That was that other part he hated about this job: the dark. Its not that he was afraid of the dark mind you – it was just he was sure that a small night light of some kind would enable him to focus more.

He was shaken from his reverie by the sound of a small person shifting above him. Show time. Groar started to let out his opening line, “GRAA…”

The sneeze was staggeringly loud. He was so embarrassed.

“Bless you,” said a small voice from above.

So much for terror inducing. He shook his head in disgust.