"Mr. Schmidt, we have yet to receive payment for the last 2 months and as such, we are now disconnecting your internet service for the foreseeable future. Have a nice day."
Mr. Schmidt, or Mike as he prefers to go by, groggily raised his head up from the safety of his soft pillow and directed his melancholic gaze at the phone that sat atop his dresser.
I know I'm way behind on my bills and I deserve to have no internet for that, but that 'Have a nice day' part sounds like a genuine kick the dog line.
He sighed, lazily turning his entire body over so he could stare at his ceiling.
Good thing I don't usually use the internet… except for games, watching videos, getting updates for those games, not to mention researching background information of my favorite things, solitaire, making purchases if I have the money…
I'm really not helping myself.
His thoughts were soon interrupted by the familiar sound of a small, thin envelope sliding under his door. Without bothering to look, Mike simply stated, "That's probably the gas bill…"
He heard the familiar sound again. "Water…"
A third time, "Telephone…"
By the sixth bill, Mike already had his head buried under his pillow.
It wouldn't be long before he would be out in the streets with even less of a chance of getting by. He was never really one to get passionate in any of his pursuits but he knew that if he had to be determined, it had to be now.
"I need to find a job," he flatly declared.
With everything on the line, Mike slowly crawled out of bed, slipped into his best casual clothing and made his way into town.
"Alright, my first objective should be to find somewhere for job listings," Mike looked up and down and all around as he searched for something that could point him in the right direction. "Jobs… Jobs… Girl Scout cookies?"
His eyes were immediately drawn to a bright pink table with a variety of cookie boxes spread across on top. The table itself was managed by a small girl and her mother, the usual cookie selling team.
Unfortunately for him, Mike found that he stared for too long as the girl's eyes soon locked onto his.
No… A sharp chill crawled down his spine as the Girl Scout approached him.
"Would you like some cookies, mister?" she asked.
"Uhm…" Out of pure instinct, Mike quickly reached for his wallet, but just as quickly stopped himself. He had to remember that he needed to save the little money he had left.
"Each box I sell helps support my troop's goal of going to Hawaii," she continued.
"That sounds nice…"
"Which has always been a dream of mine since I was littler."
Though Mike was sure her cutesy way of pronouncing "littler" was on purpose, the intended effects still got under his skin.
"…I'll take 5," he said, trying his hardest to hide his feelings of defeat.
Moments later, Mike mindlessly carried several boxes of cookies through the city, stuffing cookie after cookie into his mouth until he finally found several newspaper clippings plastered over each other on a nearby telephone pole. It was like a physical representation of the competitive nature in the race to find employees.
As he scoured through the various jobs presented before him, Mike started to have his doubts as to wonder whether or not he could actually do what was available.
"Chef… No, I can't even cook for myself that well. Army? That would lead to a dishonorably discharge. Night guard for an Anime Convention… Huh?"
Mike's eyes immediately focused on a partially obscured clipping advertising an open position as a night guard.
"'Night guard position for Freddy Fazbear's Anime Convention now open. See manager for more information.'" he read aloud. "Night guard, huh?"
Mike closed his eyes. As he expected he couldn't even picture himself as any kind of guard. Still…
"Well, it's not like night guards have to do much anyway. Plus, it's an anime convention, so it's not a likely target for anyone to break into. I may as well give it a look."
He continued to read the ad until a single sentence nearly caused him to jump back
$700 dollars a day?! Now, I really have to check this out.
Wasting no time, Mike travelled to the address specified on the ad, eventually finding himself walking down a colorful hallway filled with posters and streamers. Kids and teenagers were constantly running from room to room, sporting nothing but happy faces.
This place must be really popular. Deciding to see what all the excitement was about, Mike let his curiosity guide him through the building. There were so many doors leading to areas unknown to him. With so many options to choose from, Mike, without thinking, chose a pair of double doors at the end of the hallway and curiously approached them. "Here goes."
The moment he stepped through the doors, his eyes were immediately drawn to three female figures performing on stage.
The first of them had brown and tan skin, short anime stylized brown hair, and dark blue eyes. She also possessed large brown bear ears and red blushing cheeks. A small black top hat sat on top of her head, and a matching ribbon circled around her neck; hovering just above two big black buttons on her chest.
The second one possessed sky blue hair, along with blue skin with white templates. Her eyes matched the color of an emerald, her cheeks matched the same red hue of the first animatronic while also sporting a matching ribbon around her neck and she possessed a fluffy white tail, along with big blue rabbit ears.
Last but not least, the third one had short yellow hair and skin, cornflower blue eyes, and pink blushing cheeks. She also had the short tail feathers of a chicken and a bib with the words "Let's Party!" written across it.
The bunny girl strummed away on her guitar as the top hatted bear sung with the bibbed chicken singing backup.
"They seem so… lifelike," awestruck, Mike could not help but say that out loud.
"Don't they?"
Undisturbed by the out-of-nowhere response, Mike glanced to his left where he found a young woman leaning against the wall next to him. Her skin was pale and she possessed smooth medium length brown hair with eyes to match. She wore white t-shirt, blue jeans pants and an olive green long sleeve jacket giving her a pretty casual air.
"Yes. Um…"
"Charlotte. The name's Charlotte," the woman rolled her eyes, as if disgusted by what she just said. "But call me Charlie. And you?"
"I'm Mike."
Charlie remained silent as her eyes scanned him from head to toe. "So, what brings you here, Mike?"
"I'm here for the night guard position," he answered.
A bright smile appeared on Charlie's face. "Sweet. You're a real lifesaver."
"Huh?" Mike couldn't help but wonder what she meant.
"Oh right, I work here too," she explained. "I handle a lot of the day stuff, but since we don't have a night guard, I've had to pull double duty handling that too."
"Ah. Sorry, you had to do that," Mike sympathized.
He knew he would hate it if he had to deal with two shifts that pretty much took up most of the day.
Charlie's eyes slightly widened. "Thanks for the sympathy. Most people would just laugh or say they're glad it's not them. Anyway, let show you where the manager's office is."
Mike followed Charlie out of the room and down a few hallways.
"So, night guard, huh?" she suddenly asked.
"Yeah."
Charlie shrugged her shoulders and stopped in front of one of the many doors in the building. Rested on top was a plaque inscribed with the words, "Manager's Office".
"So, just go in there and the manager will be there to see you soon," Charlie said, opening the door for him. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Mike forced a small smile on his face. He appreciated her help and wishing him luck, but it was still kind of hard to give a friendly smile to someone who had just helped him.
He walked towards the entrance, but a single thought immediately stopped him from going through. Glancing down at his hand, he realized that he still had a single box of cookies in the grip of his right hand. Surely it would be unprofessional to bring one to an interview. He could just throw it away, but he knew that would be a waste.
Mike then shifted his gaze back to Charlie and presented the box of cookies to her. "Would you like to have the rest?"
"Huh?" Charlie stared at him, surprised by the sudden proposal. With a shrug and a smile, she reached for them. "Sure. Thanks."
Mike nodded his head and entered the office. He felt his nerves start to falter as he heard the door close behind him.
In front of him was a desk with two chairs on each side. As he took a seat, he looked around the surrounding walls and was surprised by all the posters depicting several fictional characters that were on them. Just at a glance, he recognized various video game mascots and beloved cartoon characters. Such things in an office of a leader confounded him.
Suddenly, he heard the door that just shut behind him open. It was at the moment he heard that first footstep when realized how unprepared he was. Each footstep filled him with desperation as his mind scrambled to find an opening line that would sound professional.
"I heard you're looking to apply for the night guard position."
Huh? Any tension Mike felt disappeared the moment he heard that voice.
To his shock, the person who entered the room was the very same person who led him there in the first place. "Charlie?"
"That's my name, don't wear it out." She casually pulled a pair of glasses out of her left jacket pocket and promptly placed them over her eyes as she sat on the other side of the desk.
"You're the manager?" Mike asked.
"Yep," Charlie answered, adjusting the glasses on her face.
"How come you didn't tell me that before?"
"You never asked."
"Uh…"
"And before you say I implied that I wasn't, all I said was that I handle the day stuff which could mean any number of things."
Touché.
"Anyway, let's get down to business." Finally done adjusting her glasses, Charlie picked up a single white sheet of paper off of her desk and asked, "Did you graduate high school?"
"Yes," Mike answered in a prompt manner.
"Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"
"No."
"Can you work by yourself, but also work well with others?"
"I'm fairly certain I can do both."
"Are you devoid of empathy, understanding and the possibility of opening your mind to new possibilities?"
"I'm fairly certain that I'm not devoid of any of those things."
That last question seemed strange, but maybe it somehow involved children who got lost after hours.
Charlie silently dropped the sheet of paper, allowing it to gently float back down on her desk. She blankly stared at him before smile suddenly formed on her lips. "Okay, congratulations, you got the job."
"Really?" Mike shot a confused look at the young manager. He was baffled by how easily the job was handed to him.
"Yep. Now let me give you the grand tour."
Charlie whistled a short tune as she strolled past Mike. His mind was still stuck on how he was suddenly handed the job after just a few questions.
"You coming, Mike?"
"Yes…"
It was strange. He was practically handed a job with a high day to day salary; no one could deny how strange the process was. But despite how confounding it was, he had to remember that he needed the job.
Mike slowly stood up and followed Charlie out of her office.
"So, you already me Freddy, Bonnie and Chica," she began.
"Hm?"
"The three animatronic girls you saw on stage earlier. "Freddy Fazbear is, naturally, the bear, Bonnie's the bunny and Chica's the chicken."
"I see…"
Charlie then stopped in front of another set of double doors. "Now behind these doors is Pirate's Cove, home of our very own: Foxy the Pirate! Proceed with caution."
Slowly and cautiously, she opened one of the doors and stuck her head inside. Following her example, Mike did the same.
As if to justify her warning, a water balloon violently exploded against the wall next to them.
Huh.
Mike glanced around the room. Like the last room, there were tables, a stage and kids enjoying themselves. On top of the stage was another animatronic. She possessed reddish-brown and tan colored skin, short red hair, yellow eyes and a metal hook over her right hand. Also, like the species she's named after, the animatronic had red fox ears and a big, red, fluffy fox tail.
An excited smirk crossed her face as she shifted her cannon across the stage.
"Here, she's tells pirate tails and sometimes gets the kids to join her on a treasure hunt," Charlie explained. "And sometimes she fires a cannon that fires water balloons."
"Sounds fun," Mike admitted. "… Did you say tail as in a furry tail?"
"Yep. That's why she's one of the most popular draws and yes, yes I did."
Motioning Mike back, Charlie closed the door just as a water balloon exploded against it. "Parents don't always hang out in there."
I can see why. Even if he would be working after the establishment has closed for the night, Mike still planned to keep some distance Pirate's Cove.
"You can't keep your distance from the cove forever," Charlie nonchalantly advised as she walked down the hallway.
…So she's that kind of boss. Mike followed her until she stopped in front of another set of double doors.
"Behind these door is Mangle's Cove, but considering she doesn't feel like performing lately, this part of the convention is closed," Charlie explained.
"Hm." He could imagine an animatronic humanoid animal twitching about as it malfunctioned; a thought that sent shivers down his spine.
"Next up…" without looking, Charlie opened a nearby door and pointed at another animatronic. Unlike the others he has seen so far, this one looked indistinguishable from a human. Her skin was a light peach hue and her hair a light brown. She wore a propeller hat, a blue and red-striped bra, and a navy blue skirt. Her baby blue eyes gave off an air of innocence and she her smile extended to her red blushing cheeks as she handed balloons to children.
"That's BB, short for Balloon Babe. Like you could guess from the first part of her name, she's in charge of handing out balloons and extra entertainment in the Games Room," Charlie explained.
"Are you sure she isn't human?" Mike asked.
"She's isn't. But it really is amazing how she can pass for one, right?"
After nodding his head in agreement, Mike followed Charlie to another room and into one she calls the "Prize Corner." The moment they entered, Mike watched with amazement as an animatronic slowly rose out of one of the many prize boxes splintered throughout the room.
She had pale white skin, matching hair tied up in a ponytail, and pink and purple makeup. Her clothing was pitch black clothing with white stripes and also wore black hairclips. Mike watched closely as she reached behind herself and pulled out a small gift box. Like a puppet, her movements were wobbly and jerky, and did not change as she presented the prize to a child.
"That's Marionette, also known as 'The Puppet'. She mans the Prize Corner and makes sure no one steals the prizes," Charlie explained. "Cause of that I also sometimes refer to her as 'Security Puppet'."
"Huh."
"No comment?"
"Not really."
"Okay then."
Charlie led Mike back into the hallway and stopped in front of a door with a large sign plastered on it.
"'Do not enter'?" he read aloud.
"You don't really have to worry about this room right now." Though he found it strange, Mike decided not to question the intense focus in her eyes as she stared at the door. "Anyway, that's 95% of tour."
"Why 95%?"
"I'd figure I'd show you your office later when you actually use it."
"Oh. I believe that makes sense."
"So, I'll see you here again at closing time."
"Alright then."
With a wave goodbye, Charlie disappeared into a crowd of customers. In just a couple of hours, Mike would be returning here as a night guard.
Night guard. It was a job he'd never thought he would ever apply for, let alone actually get. But he needed the job. It shouldn't be that difficult, right?
That singular questioned remained in his mind as he left and returned later that night.
"Hey, Mike," Charlie greeted him with wave.
"Evening, Boss," Mike replied.
"You don't have to call me 'Boss'. Charlie's good. That's not going to be awkward for you, is it?"
"No. I can live with calling my boss Charlie."
"Great, let me show you to your office then."
Charlie led Mike to his office. It was…
"Here, you can monitor the entire convention through the security cameras," Charlie motioned Mike to a singular desk that had a laptop on top. On screen were several rooms that he had seen earlier. "All you have to do is watch these for several hours. Think you can handle that?"
"I'm certain I can handle the task," he assured her.
"Okay. Oh, and before I forget, you can daze off and play some games if you want. After all, who would want to break into an anime convention, right?"
Slack off? Mike couldn't help but feel confused over his boss essentially giving him permission to not do his job.
"Anyway, I'll leave you to it. Good luck," With a smile and a salute, Charlie took her leave, leaving Mike alone to consider the position he was in.
He found a job with an abnormal day by day pay rate, given the job without much of an interview and barely received instruction of his job. He wasn't even given a uniform and name tag. Everything that happened after getting out of bed was strange. But he had to remember; he needed the job.
Reminding himself of that, Mike sat down and got to work watching the establishment.
…
One hour later, Mike's head jolted up from the desk, horrified at what he had just finished.
Falling asleep on the first day? I must be trying to ruin my life.
Rubbing his eyes, Mike glanced at the monitor. He had taught himself how to switch between the different rooms and left it on the stage where Freddy, Bonnie and Chica were supposed to be.
"No…"
Rubbing his eyes once again, Mike desperately hoped that he was not seeing correctly or that he was still asleep. But it was not to be. He was fully awake and his sight was fine. It was his first night and he had already failed at his only task. "Where could they have gone?"
"Where could who have gone?"
"Freddy, Bonnie and Chica," Mike answered the out-of- nowhere feminine voice. "Maybe whoever took them is still here."
But even if they were, what could he do? He had no tools or job training. He was just hired off the stre-
"Huh?"
A cold shiver crept up his spine as he slowly, cautiously looked up from his monitor and glance to his left. He thought that the intruder decided to make their presence known, but what he saw was more horrifying than that.
Standing right next to him, talking to him, was Bonnie.
"Hey, Night Guard," a bright smile stretched across her face as she cheerfully waved at him.
"H-Hey… BoNNIE?!" the sheer shock of the situation somehow caused Mike to fall out of his seat.
"Ah! Are you okay?" Her happy expression was immediately replaced with one of concern, as she reached towards him.
Mike immediately jumped back on his feet and slowly backed away from her, "No! Yes! I mean… How?!"
How is this possible? That single question was all he could think about.
"I know this has got to be strange for you… But, just so you know, there's no need to freak out," Her voice was soft and assuring, but that did nothing to assuage her confusion and fear.
She took one step forward, prompting Mike to turn around and run… straight into the office wall.
"Night Guard!"
Those were the lasts words Mike heard before everything went black.
"You can really be clumsy at times, Mike."
Who?
Who was talking to him and why did they sound familiar?
The darkness around him soon dissipated and was replaced by something yellow.
Groggy and confused, he suddenly felt someone's soft, slender fingers course through his hair. "Who?"
His question was soon answered as Chica's face entered his field of vision. A smile crossed her face as she looked down past her breasts. "Are you okay, Night Guard?"
Mike could do nothing but stare at the animatronic girl in front of him, once again stunned by the revelation that they were seemingly alive.
His attention was then drawn away from her worried face the moment he begun to hear a familiar melody. Though his head was throbbing, he forced himself to follow the source of the music and found Bonnie strumming away on her guitar.
"C.A.M.P.F.I.R.E.S.O.N.G. Song," she sung.
"SpongeBob?" he asked.
"Hm?" Bonnie glanced up from her guitar and smile. "Yeah. I'd figure a song from everyone's favorite yellow sponge would help calm you down when you woke up."
"I personally thought the F.U.N. Song would have done it," Chica happily interjected. "What do you think, Night Guard?"
"Uhm… I guess either would have done fine?" Mike answered. He was trying his best not to upset the two animatronics.
"Yeah, that's probably true."
"Uh…" Mike cautiously slid off of Chica's lap and staggered onto his feet. The moment he stood up was also the very moment he was knocked back down on the floor. It was like a car ran straight into him. Looking up, Mike found himself rendered speechless again the second he discovered Foxy sitting on top of him.
"Aye, Charlie found a cute one she did," she approved.
"S-Strong…" he fearfully mumbled under his breath.
"Ah, and he has an accent of an Englishman too." Her body shifted and her face moved closer to his; her sly grin doing nothing but unnerve Mike. "Are you here to be my First Mate too?"
"Oi, Foxy…" Bonnie weakly called.
Foxy promptly sat back up and shot a confused look at Bonnie, "What is it, BonBon?"
"We're still trying to get him used to us and I think you literally diving on top of him isn't helping…?"
"Aw, you're worrying too much Bon-Bon."
"Our track record says otherwise… And we don't want him running off like the others."
"I don't think we have to worry about that," Chica interjected.
"Why's that?" Bonnie asked.
Without saying a word, Chica pointed down. Following her direction, Bonnie and Foxy discovered that Mike was no longer on the ground.
"Oh… A sly one," Foxy giggled.
Bonnie looked around the room, but Mike was nowhere to be found. Her bunny ears dropped forward as she sorrowfully wondered. "Did he already leave…?"
"There's only one way to find out!" Foxy announced, springing up on her feet. "It's time to hunt down the new night guard!"
"That's going to freak him out even more," Chica calmly pointed out.
"Onward, mateys!" Foxy enthusiastically declared, charging out of the room.
Bonnie could just imagine what could happen if Foxy found Mike while she's in such an energetic mood. If he hadn't already left, then that could be the final push to convince him too. And if "she" was to encounter him…
Bonnie's eyes lit up with determination. She absolutely had to find him first.
"Chica, we need to find him before its too late!"
"Mm-hmm," Chica nodded her head in agreement.
Not too far away, Mike scoured through the halls of the establishment, desperate to find a quiet place to occupy. As if his mind subconsciously guided him, he soon found himself in front of Mangle's Cove. The closed down attraction Charlie had told him about… With no time to think, Mike quietly entered the room and just as quietly closed the door behind him. He then stumbled his way to the stage and sat down.
Now granted his respite, Mike could finally try to make sense of how the night turned out. "Okay, Mike, you're in an anime convention where the attractions are alive. They shouldn't be alive, but they are. The obvious question now is how…?"
Another spark of fear surged through Mike as he heard very faint footsteps behind him. He immediately turned around to see what it was, but saw nothing but the stage's starry green curtains.
He then turned his attention to the exit only to hear the same faint footsteps again. Mike once again glanced back at the curtains, this time catching them slowly shift back into place.
He understood what was happening now. His head slightly turned back towards the door only for it to snap back to the curtains, this time catching an animatronic girl peeking from behind them. She quickly dove back behind the curtains, only to peek back out moments later.
She possessed white and pink skin, white hair, red blushing cheeks, yellow eyes and a pink ribbon behind her neck. Large white fox ears protrude from the top of her head and Mike noticed a big, white, fluffy fox tail with a pink tip swinging behind her legs.
Given that he had seen a similar appearance from some of the posters and the location they were in, it was safe to assume that he had encountered Mangle.
Mike could only stare at the animatronic in front of him, bemused by her strange behavior.
"Uhm… Are you okay?" Mike instinctively asked.
"No… I mean, yes, I'm fine," Mangle averted her gaze as she quietly answered him. After a moment of silence, she nervously looked back at Mike before sinking back even further behind her curtains. "I'm just waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to leave."
"You want me to leave?"
"No… I'm not saying I want you to leave… It's just..." Mangle once again nervously averted her gaze. "Night guards don't usually stay the entire night…"
"Oh… I guess this place has had a lot of night guards?"
"Well, yes… They usually leave before the night's over since we tend to scare them. Sometimes they say really hurtful things before leaving too…" Mangle's nervous expression was soon replaced with one resembling sorrow, something that surprised Mike. "One even called me an 'animatronic abomination.'"
"Ouch. That's a pretty harsh use of alliteration…" Mike sympathized. Sympathized? Not too long ago, he was afraid the animatronic girls and now he was sympathizing with one of them. Living machines was strange and scary and yet… "…That must have really hurt your feelings, huh?"
"Mm-hmm…" Mangle confirmed with a single nod. After another moment of silence, she looked back at Mike. "You're not going to say the same thing, are you?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Because… Aren't you scared too?"
"Hm… Well… I guess… I guess I am a little scared," Mike admitted.
He couldn't lie how unerved he was over the idea of sentient animatronics, but at the same time, when he thought about the short encounters he's had with a few of them so far with a more clear head none of them explicitly threatened him. In fact, they were nothing but nice to him.
"But, even if I am a little scared, I don't think you and the others are 'animatronic abominations' if that's what you're asking. I guess… Finding out that 'something' is actually a 'someone' is a bit to take in… And is a little paranoia inducing."
Suddenly, a loud ringing sound from his pocket interrupted his train of thought. Mike swiftly pulled out his phone and checked the time.
My shift's over? I must have been out for a long time. Jumping off the stage, Mike proceeded to the exit and opened the doors. Before leaving, he turned back to Mangle. As he proceeded towards the exit. "I'm… I'm sorry about the other night guards making you feel bad."
"Huh?!" Mangle could nothing but silently watch as Mike left her cove, shocked by what she just heard.
Meanwhile, Charlie whistled a short tune as she walked through the front entrance, surprised to find Bonnie frantically running about while Chica did the same in a more calm and casual manner.
"What're you two looking for?" she asked.
"Eh?!" Bonnie's mind went white as she struggled to come up with an answer to that question. The best she could muster was a nervous chuckle. "Eh… Well…"
"Another night guard, huh?"
"Well, we don't really know that… He could still be around."
"Who could still be around?"
"The new Night Guar-" Turning around, the sudden appearance of Mike was nearly enough to cause Bonnie fall back in surprise. "NIGHT GUARD?!"
"You actually stayed the entire night?" Charlie marveled.
"Only because I was unconscious for most of it…" Mike scratched the back of his head and glanced at Chica. "I probably shouldn't have said that."
Chica silently giggled to herself as Mike approached Charlie, "By the way… Did you know that the girls were 'alive'?"
"Of course."
"How come you didn't tell me?"
"You never asked."
"Uh…"
"And before you say that I never implied that they weren't alive, I never explained their roles as if they were just machines that needed to be watched."
"I don't think that needs to be implied. It's just a natural assumption that animatronic girls aren't usually alive in real life."
"Touché," Charlie shrugged. It was amazing how she could be so casual on a topic that would typically be considered groundbreaking. "Anyway, now that you know the truth, are you still interested in being the night guard here?"
Mike crossed his arms as he pondered the proposal.
Well, this entire situation is strange and I'm still honestly a little freaked out over the girls having life but so far the one's I've officially met haven't meant me any harm. Plus, I really do need the money. Hmm… I guess it wouldn't hurt to work at least a few more nights here."
"Well?" Charlie queried. She didn't sound like she was impatient. She just sounded curious.
"Right. I'll continue working here if you'll let me."
"Great," she dug into her jacket pocket and presented a check to him. "I didn't think I'd be handing these out again but here's your pay."
Mike accepted the check and solemnly stared at it. If he could make it through the next few nights, he'll be able to start getting his life back together. Or at least, make a life to put back together later.
He then felt someone tugging on his right sleeve. Turning that way, Mike found himself face to face with Bonnie. "You're… You're really coming back here tonight?"
Her eyes were innocent and curious. In response to such a gaze, Mike silently nodded his head, causing a smile to land on the blue bunny's face.
"You should probably go home and get some rest, Mike," Charlie advised.
"And probably get some ice for that bump," Chica added.
"Right," Mike replied, gently rubbing his head. "See you all tonight."
Mike walked out of the convention, taking another glance at his payment for his work. Even if he was unconscious for most of it, he still felt satisfaction for getting through it. I just need to get through a couple more nights.
Focused on that single thought, Mike started his journey home, unaware that someone's gaze was following him.
"How fascinating… That you of all people would be here…"