"Mama, Mama, come on! I wanna get to Freddy's pizza place!" a young boy, around the age of six, cried excitedly. He was bouncing around in his booster car seat, unable to contain his joy.
Lynne Wilson, the boy's mother, laughed as she calmly drove through the streets. "Calm down, Joey," she said, looking at her blond-haired son through the car mirror. "We'll be there soon enough. Just sit tight for Mama, okay?"
She never ceased wondering how she, someone with dark hair, could have a child with the brightest, blondest hair she'd ever seen. It seemed to be a small miracle in itself. Even his late father had dark hair.
Well, at least Joey had her eyes.
"But I'm so happy! I wanna be there now!" Joey said, his bright blue eyes shining. He clapped his hands happily as he smiled. "I wanna see my animal friends!"
Lynne smiled. "Boy, you're really eager, aren't you?" she said. "Tell me, honey, who's your favorite again?" She cocked her head as if she was confused. "I can't seem to remember-"
"Freddy Fazbear!" Joey shouted eagerly, throwing his hands in the air. "He's the bear who sings, Mama! Don't forget!"
"Oh, of course!" his mother said, feigning shock. "How could I forget?"
The rest of the car ride consisted of the small child eagerly telling his mother about Freddy and his animal friends, who were Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken, and Foxy the Pirate Fox. Later on, he grew a little sleepy and stopped rambling. Joey then closed his eyes and started to hum a song that he had memorized long ago. It was the song My Grandfather's Clock, which his mother had sung to him nearly every night when he was very young. Whenever he was sad, his mama would scoop him up in her arms and sing softly to him, easing his sadness. Once he had grown older, he had memorized the little tune and could now sing it as often as he wanted to. He didn't get the meaning of the song, but he liked it nonetheless.
It was like his theme song.
Once they had arrived at the family pizzeria, Lynne parked the car, stopped the engine, and turned to look at her little boy. "Joey! Wake up, honey, we're here!"
"Huh?" came the soft whisper from the backseat. Joey sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What is it, Mama...?"
Then he suddenly remembered where he was. "Freddy's pizza place!" he shouted out happily, his face brightening up. He anxiously tried to unbuckle himself from the booster seat, but his little six-year-old fingers couldn't quite grasp the clasps. "Help me, Mama! I wanna see Freddy and his friends!"
Lynne smiled as she opened the side door and helped her son out of the booster seat. "Now remember, honey, stay close to Mama, okay? It gets pretty rowdy in there sometimes."
Joey nodded absentmindedly; his mother always gave the same warning right before they went inside. He was used to it by now. Besides, he didn't think it was that crowded. There were just a lot of kids, that's all.
The two then proceeded to walk (or in Joey's case, run) inside the pizzeria.
It was kid heaven. Children ran happily around the place, eating pizza and/or watching their favorite animatronics perform. Freddy, Bonnie and Chica were usually on the stage, and Foxy was almost always at the Pirate Cove, telling one of his famous pirate stories. Though no one was technically allowed to touch them, the children always got as close as they could. The parents usually stayed at the tables, watching their kids play and sipping a soda or two.
Though the animatronics usually stayed on the stage, today was different. There was a big birthday party at one of the tables, so the furry/feathery animals climbed down from the stage and went to sing for the birthday child personally, who loved every bit of it. Chica had a complimentary pizza in her hands, which she set down on the table, and Freddy and Bonnie both carried a white-topped cake that had strawberries on it. Foxy came up last and gave the birthday child a gift wrapped in a red bow, all while having a goofy grin on his face.
The birthday child was a girl, and her name was Freida Rossi, though she preferred the name Freddi. She though it might as well be fate, because Freddy Fazbear was her absolute favorite animatronic out of the four. She didn't mind Bonnie or Chica or even Foxy, but she had a special place in her heart for the large brown bear. Her large blue eyes were sparkling diamonds as the animatronics came up to her with the food and gifts. She thought she could never be happier. She was turning seven today, and here she was, at the best place on earth!
Next to Freddi, her best friend Cynthia Reid sat next to her, clapping her hands in delight. She also loved coming here to this pizza place. The food was great, and there was always something to do. Plus, her favorite animatronic was Chica the Chicken, who loved to eat pizza. Call it fate, Cynthia's favorite food was pizza, too! She always tried to get close to Chica, despite her parent's protests. And now, when Chica was serving Freddi the pizza, Cynthia couldn't help but drool at the food and marvel at the feathery chicken.
On the other side of the table, a 10-year-old boy with black hair named Robert Aarons (but Bobby was his preferred name) sat quietly, watching Freddi receive her cake, pizza and gifts. He was always shy and didn't talk much, though he simply loved coming here to Freddy's. Though some at school teased him about coming to a "kiddie playland", he couldn't care less. He enjoyed every minute of being here, though he wouldn't admit it to most people. Even though Bobby was typically here for Freddi's party, he was also excited to see Bonnie the Bunny. He was Bobby's favorite animatronic, and even more so since Bonnie played the guitar. Because of that, Bobby was always trying to learn more about guitars and was even trying to learn how to play one. He was actually getting pretty good at it, and was now trying to learn how to play one of Bonnie's songs.
Near him, another boy with dark reddish hair sat by, looking a tad bored. His name was Floyd Garcia, and the only reason why he was here was because his younger sister Annie was here for some girl's party. He looked around, his long hair covering one of his eyes. Floyd really shouldn't be here. He should be out there, skating on his board, getting ready to face the pros. But his parents wanted him to come, since they couldn't make it, and Annie was really eager to be here. He was 13 though - a teenager! Teens shouldn't have to be at this place. He was too big to play and sing songs with the animatronics. But...there was still a spark that flashed though Floyd as he cast eyes on a certain pirate fox. Foxy had always been his favorite when he was little. He loved sitting by and hearing all about Foxy's amazing pirate adventures. Granted, Floyd was too old for that now...but maybe he could still listen to Ol' Captain Foxy one last time.
Lynne watched as her son played with the other kids. She was holding a small Freddy plushie that her son had won at one of the games. She thought he couldn't look any happier as he received his gift.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Taking a look at the caller, she groaned slightly. It was her boss again.
After her husband had passed away from a sickness years ago, Lynne had been struggling to keep her life upright. She had her son (who had been no older than a toddler at the time) to take care of, and having money had also become an issue. It was a miracle that she was able to keep paying the rent for her apartment and the insurance for the car. She managed to get a job at a computer business, but recently she was beginning to regret that decision. Her boss was a finicky old man, and he constantly called her, wanting her to come in and do work on computers when they broke and other things like that. It was frustrating, since that job was the only thing that kept her and her son afloat from debt; yet it was constantly pulling her away from Joey. The poor boy constantly had to be watched over by a babysitter or a nanny, or sometimes go to a daycare. Lynne really wanted to quit this job and spend more time with her son, but unless a money-making job came out of nowhere, she was stuck with this one.
With one last longing look at Joey, Lynne picked up her bag and the plushie and walked towards the entrance, where it was quieter. She proceeded to speak with her boss, who (as she guessed it) was panicking about some busted servers and wanted her to come in right away. Lynne kept calm, saying that she had this day off, so she couldn't come in. Plus, she was spending some much-needed time with her son, and was too far away from the company. She made sure not to sound angry, since the boss was kinda short-tempered and she didn't want to risk getting fired on the spot.
The boss didn't seem to care, and kept rambling on about how she was needed and how she would be paid for overtime (which, in reality, was a lie).
Around this time, Joey came running in. "Mama, Mama!" he called out. "Can I have my Freddy toy? I wanna show it to the other kids!"
"Hold on, honey. Mama's talking to her boss," Lynne said absentmindedly, trying to catch what her crazy old boss was saying. "Go play with the other kids, okay?"
"Please, Mama? I just want my Freddy toy!" Joey said again, tugging at the hem of her shirt. He tried reaching out for it, but he was too small. "Please!"
Lynne sighed, finding it hard to focus on two voices at once. "Wait, Joey. Just let Mama finish her phone call and then I'll give you what you want," she said, as she continued listening to her boss's blabber.
She kept on listening for quite some time, failing to notice that her son, disappointed, had turned and gone away from her.