Final answer:
Monty is likely afraid to attend the school picnic because it is a new social situation, which can be intimidating or induce anxiety. This is reflected in the passage where McTeague feels unease and fear about a social interaction.
Step-by-step explanation:
Monty is afraid to go to the school picnic at first because it represents a new social situation that he is not familiar with or comfortable in. The passages presented provide multiple contexts where characters are hesitant or uneasy about social situations. For example, in one narrative excerpt, McTeague expresses fear at the idea of calling Trina because he is unprepared and lacks confidence in social situations. This reflects a similarity in Monty's fear of the school picnic, potentially due to social anxiety or fear of the unknown. As the school picnic is a social event, and based on the information given, Monty's fear can be related to the general notion of fear or discomfort in new social settings or activities that characters experience within these passages.