The next day, I put on the new uniform, a purple hat, tunic, vest, and golden badge. As I walked through the front door, I was greeted with a smile from Freddy Fazbear himself, "hey there friend, how are you doin', huhuh."
"I'm doing great, Freddy, how are you," I smiled back.
"I'm doing great, thanks for asking," he replied.
"Yeah, well, I better start my shift, see ya later," I replied.
"Ok, bubye," and with that, Freddy left.
"Life isn't so bad," I thought, as I smiled to myself. Then it hit me, I could be better at protecting my kids as a guard, than as a manager, I thought long and hard about giving a piece of my mind to Foggy, but thought better of it. Mainly because I realized what mercy I was being shown, he wasn't hurting me, he was putting me in a position to better help my kids. Suddenly, the 6:00 AM, doorbell rang and all the kids rushed in.
"Welcome to Fredbear's, a magical place for kids and grownups alike where fantasy and fun come to life, Fredbear's is always ready to serve you clean whole family friendly fun," the PA box stated. I smiled when I saw Shaun and Max, but was shocked when I saw that Shaun had a scar running down his face, and that Max had a black eye. I went to go talk to them but was met only by Shaun's defeated look.
"Is everything Ok?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure dad, it's not like after you humiliated Alex, he didn't call in his friends to jump us as we went home, and where were you by the way?" he asked, "all I saw was you going back to the break room, and did I just hear crying?"
"Well you see," I explained, "Foggy..."
"Dad, why am I not surprised, you value this place of business more than you value us, one of these days you are going to regret it, and I know it must have been hard after mom died, but we're still here, we're your family too, and you need to get it through your thick head, now come on, help me get inside of the Fredbear suit."
I was shocked, shocked that he dared go that far, "Now you listen here, my wife, your mother, was one of the sweetest people I have ever known, and you think that it's Ok, to bring up her name, when you were only toddlers when she died?" I asked, "are you sick?"
Shaun looked down in shame, realizing how much he had hurt me, "Dad, look I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he pleaded.
"No, no, you're right, I have been somewhat selfish as of late, but I swear to you both, that I will always be there for you, from now 'till the end of time, now come on, we've got a show to put on," I smiled.
As I walked inside the old parts and services room, I could smell the musty air, the synthetic fur of Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, I smelled the aura of fun, and decided that the time was right. "Come on in, Shaun," I said.
"Ok, dad, do you have the crank ready?" he asked.
"Yes, I sure do," I replied, "now, you said Spring Bonnie or was it Fredbear?"
"It's Fredbear, dad," he replied.
"Ok, well climb into the suit, I've already prepped it," I asked.
"Sure thing, dad," he replied, smiling.
"Alright, let's just fasten these Springlocks," which I did as I turned the crank, locking away the animatronic parts around the edge of the suit. "And finally we put on the head, wow look at you," I said smiling, "your mother would be proud, now go out there and show Max what a great amazing brother you are." Then I heard sobbing, "Shaun go see what that's all about," I insisted. Shaun ran out the door with me closely behind, as we saw Max crying and curled up into a ball on the floor. "Max," I asked, "Max, what's wrong." But Max wouldn't speak, he kept muttering about how much he hated it here, I tried to reassure him. "Max, what's wrong?" I asked.
"I hate it here," he replied.
"Really, why?" I asked.
"The mascots, they scare me," he replied.
"But don't you like watching Fredbear and Friends on TV, plus don't you have all those plushies in your room, so how do you hate it here?" I asked.
"It's just that Alex likes to scare me, sometimes he jumps out from my closet to scare me, other times, it's behind the TV, and one time, he locked me in my room," he cried.
"Oh, Max, Max, Max, hushhhh... that's it, it's going to be Ok, I promise," I said, as I caressed him, "hey, I didn't tell you about how I got this new job, you see this badge," I asked.
"Yeah," he said through the tears.
"Yeah, well, I got this from defending you yesterday, and when I saw that no good, pathetic excuse of a person, I kicked him right in the shin," I said.
At this point, Max giggled, "really, dad?" he asked.
"Really, and I tell you what, if I see that you're happy after today, I will give you $100, that you can use for anything you want, do we have an agreement?"
Max looked me up and down, then rushed over to hug me, "Ok dad."
"Alright, good, now are you ready for Shaun to give you a show that you'll never forget?" I asked.
Shaun straightened his bow tie, straightened his hat, grabbed the mike, and started singing, "hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping, and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains within the sound of silence. In restless dreams, I walked alone narrow streets of cobblestone. 'Neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp. When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night, and touched the sound of silence. And in the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening. People writing songs, that voices never share, and no one dare disturb the sound of silence, "Fools, " said I, "you do not know silence like a cancer grows. Hear my…" and him singing the sound of silence calmed Max down, and when he was done, I asked if Max wanted to leave and he said yes, so I told him that if he felt like it, that he was going to have to walk there by himself, because me and Shaun had work to do. Max mustered up the courage, and decided to go. If only I had stopped him...
Meanwhile, Shaun and Scott, one of the other employees, decided to put on a talent show for the kids, first up was a Hispanic boy named Carlos, who hummed Eye of the Tiger while standing on his head. Next, there was an African American kid named Elijah, who was able to break 3 wooden boards with a karate chop, and finally we had a fair skinned child named Billy, who did a magic trick and pulled a pencil out of his ear, that one was kind of gross. In the back of my mind, I felt like Max should have stayed, but at the same time, he didn't want to stay. In the end, when it was time for my lunch break, I came back home just to check on him, and saw him getting picked on by Alex, who was mocking him and calling him stupid. I decided that enough is enough, "Alex!" I yelled, "come here." Alex slowly shuffled to where I was and I told him in no uncertain terms that if he was going to keep abusing Max, that he was going to have to find a new house to live in. "How old are you?" I asked.
"17, sir," he replied.
"Right, 17, now did you know that I could call the police and that they could take you to prison for what you're doing?" I asked, "you're a man, so start acting like one."
Alex just looked me in the eyes and shrugged, "Ok, then, I'll just leave," and then he walked out the door.
I was shocked, stunned in fact, that Alex just left, I struggled to comprehend what had just happened, "Max, do you want to come back to Fredbear's?" I asked, "or do you want to stay home, if you stay home, just know that I'm leaving the house keys here," as I put them down on the counter top, "Ok?"
"No dad, I want to come with you," he responded.
"Ok, son, let's go," I answered. "First let's pack some yummy sandwiches Ok, now do you PB&J or a turkey sandwich?" I asked.
"I wanna turkey sandwich, daddy," he replied, his eyes gleaming.
"alright, now do you want an orange, banana or apple as a snack?" I asked.
"I'll have a banana," he replied.
"Ok, and finally, do you want some water, milk, or lemonade?" I asked.
"Lemonade, daddy," he said.
"Ok, son, let's go have some fun," as we drove back to the Pizzeria, it just occurred to me that I forgot to pack my lunch, but I at least had my wallet, I'd just buy a pizza or something, I figure. Once we got to Fredbear's, my lunch break was over, but at least Max was able to eat. "Ok Max, now daddy has to go check on the rest of the restaurant, Ok?" If you want, you can come with me," I offered.
"I think, I'll be Ok, dad," he said.
"Ok, see you later," I replied. I walked outside and breathed in some fresh air, smiling at the beautiful sunshine.