Written by my best friend.
"C'mon, you guys," Alex called. "Let's go to the vending machine."
William pulled out the Foxy the Pirate action figure from his pocket and rubbed his finger over its eye patch like he did whenever he was nervous.
He had been thrilled when Alex Lee had invited him to his ninth birthday party at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, but there had been a catch: Other kids. There were three other kids there: Bobby Gino, Diana Parker, and Allison Bell. William's mom had been friends with Allison's mom since they were in high school, so naturally William and Allison were expected to get along, which they did. Even though Allison was only six, two years younger than William, he liked to go to her house across the street to play with her Legos. When it was nice outside, they would race each other to the park on their bikes, where they would play in the sandbox for hours trying to make the tallest sandcastle. They competed a lot, but it was all fun.
Now, William followed behind Allison as they got in line for the vending machine, each with a quarter in hand. He was last in line, which was fine by him. He had always been the one at a party to hang back and watch everyone else laugh and play. William Anderson, the quiet kid that always stayed indoors. He was okay around Allison, but incredibly shy around other people, even his parents.
Pictures of the animatronics at the pizzeria filled the posters on the walls. Bonnie the Bunny had always scared William, even with her rosy cheeks and bright blue paint job. Then there was Chica the Chicken, who always held a pink cupcake, and Freddy Fazbear, the mascot of the pizzeria. All of the animatronics scared him, but not as much as The Marionette. The Marionette was a puppet that stayed inside the music box. Everyday, a kid would get to wind up the music box, and the Marionette would pop out and hand them a gift. He may be friendly, but he gave William the shudders. He had an all white face, with two black slits for eyes, a blank, dark hole for his mouth, and a very skinny, black body that looked exactly like a floppy stick figure. What looked the creepiest, though, were the two vertical purple lines that went down under his eyes, as if he were crying. William guessed that he was supposed to look like a clown, but whoever had THAT idea hadn't done a good job of making him look like one.
"Hey!" Diana's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "What is that?"
The other kids looked up from their snacks to where Bobby was pointing. It was what looked like a man in one of those mascot suits, the kind that had always terrified William. The suit looked like it had once been a golden bear, but a layer of dust caked the surface, turning it a murky yellow color. A tiny black top hat rested between two round ears on his head, and his mouth hung open, revealing a gaping black space.
He seemed to be calling them.
"It's just a dumb guy in a suit," Bobby said.
"I think he's calling us over there," Alex said. "Let's go check it out."
"Maybe he'll have candy for us!" Allison exclaimed in her squeaky little voice. Her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders looked golden in the sunlight.
The other kids were getting up from the table and parading through the door in the dining area.
"Wait!" William cried. Everyone turned around to stare at him. Immediately his throat went dry. "Uh... My... My mom said to stay where she could see me."
"Aw, who cares?" Bobby demanded. He had always struck William as intimidating, with his broad frame, fierce brown eyes, and red curls.
Diana stared at William in that way that always made him uneasy. Her dark eyes surveyed him disapprovingly, and her bright clothes clashed with her chocolate brown skin in a way that made her seem fashionable and popular, which she was. People like that made William want to run home and hide under his bed with his Foxy the Pirate action figure.
"You don't have to be such a baby, William," Alex said. He was the kind of kid who always got good grades, but still managed to be in the popular crowd. He had green glasses, brown eyes, and dark, wavy hair framing his face.
"William?" Allison looked up at him with those bright blue eyes. "You are coming with us, right?"
William turned to look nervously at each of them: Bobby, then Alex, then Diana, and then Allison.
"Um..." he stuttered "Well... Maybe for a little while..."
"Yaay!" Allison's face broke into a huge grin. "Let's go."
The five children walked down the black and red tiled floors, past the cheesy posters on the walls with things like "CELEBRATE!" and "LET'S PARTY!" jumping out at them in tacky yellow colors. William caught eye of his reflection in one of the closed glass doors. A pale, skinny boy stared back at him through apprehensive brown eyes barely visible under tousled brown hair. He rubbed his Foxy action figure again.
"Hey, where did he go?" Diana asked.
"There!" Alex pointed. A sliver of yellow was barely visible at the corner of Pirate Cove. They ran toward it.
They were running along the left wall now. The bear was just up in front. He opened a door and went inside.
Alex, who was in the front, stopped. "It says EMPLOYEES ONLY." he said, peering at the sign on the door.
"Are you an employee?" Allison asked, looking up at William.
"Uh... No?" he replied.
"Why would he lead us somewhere we're not allowed?" Alex
asked.
"Who cares?" Bobby said. It seemed to be his phrase of the day. "If he has candy, then that's good enough for me. I'm going in."
Bobby turned the door handle and opened the door half way, and the five of them peeked in.
William couldn't see anything from where he was standing. It was dark, but from the light flooding in through the door he could make out a small room with some costumes that looked like the animatronics from the show that took place at the pizzeria everyday. A wooden table was pushed to the back wall, littered with magazines, Freddy Fazbear posters, and a half-eaten croissant. A bulletin board took up one of the walls, with newspaper clippings tacked up here and there. A wardrobe stood on the wall next to the door, with one door hanging open and clothes and costumes spilling out. No sign of the yellow bear.
"Look!" Diana whispered. She pointed toward the back wall, where a vent was set about three feet above the ground. It was big and square, and so wide that William could fit inside if he crouched really low. But what was so strange about it was that it was open- The cover was propped up against the wall next to it- And a pile of candy was sitting in the entrance, a mountain of Mars bars, Snickers, Twix, and who knew what else.
Allison gasped. "Candy!" she shrieked.
"Let's go get it!" said Bobby.
"No!" William yelled. "It... It looks dangerous! Allison-" he grabbed Allison by the shoulder, squeezing a bit too hard.
"Ow!" she cried, pulling away. "Stop it, William! You're being really bossy. You're no fun!" She turned around and followed the other three into the vent.
William sighed. He never should have followed them. He could have stayed behind, but he didn't. Now even Allison, his only real friend, hated him for being a baby.
William's eyes stung, and he stifled a sob. No, he would not cry. It was too dark to see, but he couldn't risk being called a baby again. He had no choice but to follow.
It was dark, but from the little light streaming in through the door, William managed to stumble toward the vent- but not before stubbing his toe on the table.
He winced, sudden tears blurring his vision. Quickly, he wiped them away, looking to make sure no one saw, but the others were nowhere to be found.
"Um... Guys?" He called out. "Allison?"
The sound of giggling floated out of the vent. They had crawled all the way inside. William took a deep breath. He really didn't want to go in, but what other choice did he have? Staying here in the dark, off-limits room was out of the question. If he went back down the hall to the Party Room, the adults would ask him where Allison was, and he would have to tell them everything. Being a baby was bad enough, but a tattletale was a whole other level that William didn't want to go on.
William pulled out the Foxy figure and rubbed its eye patch. The smooth, warm plastic felt familiar in his fingers and made him feel a bit braver.
