The restaurant was beaming with life in the span of only a week. Aquatic decorations were everywhere and the floor was lit up to replicate an ocean. To go along with the ocean theme, the new animatronics were made into sea creatures. Currently onstage, a green turtle, a white squid, and a magenta octopus filled the place with music and dancing. Over in a small corner, a pink jellyfish stood by a coloring table and watched as a few kids quietly colored.

The smell of fried fish and hush puppies permeated the air, setting off the ocean vibe even more. After all, the restaurant, recently named 'Travis Turtle's', proclaimed it was 'where the ocean isn't underwater'.

A large group of kids cried and cheered, encouraging the band to play just one more song. The animatronics loved playing for their audience more than anything, but even they had to take breaks.

"Whew, all that singing wore me out! We're taking a break, but don't worry! We'll be out soon and ready to play!" the turtle exclaimed.

"Aww, Travis, but we were having so much fun!" the squid whined.

"We won't stop having fun! We're going to play with all our friends, remember, Shannon?" the octopus replied.

"Olly's right, Shannon! We'll be back soon, everyone!" Travis said.

The curtain closed and the animatronics began to settle down. While they waited for the curtain to reopen, they evaluated the crowds they saw earlier. Just another safety measure they were instructed to take.

"I saw fifteen kids around the stage and three farther away from it. There were twenty adults, ten of them were parents and the rest were staff," Travis said.

"I saw four children over by Jennifer's Coloring Corner and a group of three near the arcades. Hopefully Jennifer counted the same," Shannon stated.

"I saw an extra twenty kids at the dining tables and thirteen parents. That makes forty-five children and thirty-three adults in total," Olly calculated.

Relieved that everything was running smoothly, the group took a moment to rest until the staff arrived with their casual clothes. The staff gave each character a simple t-shirt and shorts and meticulously dressed them, waiting until each velcromagnetic made a click before they walked away.

The curtains opened again and the animatronics eagerly walked out, ecstatic to play with all the children. They engaged in games such as tag and catch, and even introduced games of their own. Occasionally, they would check on Jennifer to see who had migrated over to her table. Kids would go and color to get away from all the wildness, but they would go back and forth. It was hard to keep track of everyone at times, but Jennifer's watchful eye made sure each child was where they needed to be. Every child was accounted for under the watch of the Screwpins.


Mr. Derren took in the lively atmosphere from his tiny office. Watching his creations from afar allowed him to get swept up in the magic of it all as if he were one of the children. He imagined himself out there, singing and playing joyfully in the majestic aquarium. He tapped his toes on the desk to the saccharine music and swayed his body to the beat. Mr. Derren was a ship being carried softly through the ocean. The waves lifted and lowered him playfully. The winds blew around him harmoniously, filling the air with whimsical melodies. He rocked back in forth in a soothing manner as the music gracefully surrounded him.

The fantasy came to an end when there was a knock at the door. Mr. Derren beckoned the person in and they came in, closing the door slowly to avoid slamming it.

"Sir, business has been going great, and it's wonderful, but we're becoming understaffed! We need to hire more people, especially in the kitchen! We could stand to hire someone after hours, too. The place is starting to get pretty messy," they said.

"That's great! And don't worry, Ms. Hennins, I have that covered! I'm printing a few flyers right now, actually!" Mr. Derren replied.

"Okay, that's good, cause I was starting to get worried!" she said, winking to let him know she meant that jokingly. Mr. Derren returned her gesture and turned towards his desk.

"Hmm, she has a point. We'll need to hire someone after hours to take care of things. This place could use a janitor, I bet! I'm not sure how I feel about people being here after dark, though..." Mr. Derren said to himself. He hunched over and tried to process how all this would work. He could definitely hire a few bakers, as that type of job could be offered to anyone. The night shift, however, would require more insight.

"If it's that worrisome to hire a janitor, I could always run a background check. Maybe they could sign something too," he said.

Mr. Derren began printing out the job applications and made a few changes for the janitor position. He grabbed the stack of papers once they were printed and headed outside. As he was walked,
he wondered why he was so paranoid about a janitor. The more he thought about it, it wasn't the position itself, it was what could go wrong at night. People were capable of anything in the dark.

Maybe I'm just paranoid. Mr. Derren thought. Too focused on all those Freddy's stories.

Once he was near the exit, he put the flyers up and made sure they were visible. When he finished, he sauntered back to his office, hoping he would get a few phone calls.