November 7, 1993
"Well, Mr. Schmidt, I'm going to be honest with you," the manager said. "You're definitely a little too young for the kind of position we're hiring for. However, not to sound mean, but you are the only one who has applied for this job in weeks. We're going to have to take what we can get."
Mike held his tongue about feeling like a last-minute pick, like leftovers out of the fridge. "I understand, sir. So, does that mean I get the job?"
The man laughed. "Yes, yes it does. And please, stop with this 'sir' nonsense. I manage a kid's pizza place, for crying out loud. Jimmy will do."
Mike wanted to roll his eyes. Jimmy clearly was the type who was trying to be the "cool" boss, despite the fact that he looked to be almost in his forties. He still had a somewhat young face, though his hair was speckled with bits of grey and a receding hairline. His smile was also a little nauseating, Mike thought. But then again, working at a place like this, you probably had to plaster a fake-looking smile on your face constantly to keep customers happy. His voice was a little annoying too, almost like he had not quite gotten through puberty. It cracked every other sentence.
"Um sure," Mike said. "But wasn't there something about training I needed?"
Jimmy started to stand. "Most of your training will be on the job. Our former security hand will have a plan for you. Now, come along. I should give you the grand tour." He grinned again with those horribly crooked teeth. It made Mike shiver. This guy really did have "sketchy manager" written all over him.
The two of them walked through the restaurant. It was actually kind of deserted, save for the one small birthday going on. A few of the kids were running back and forth among the arcade games. This made Mike wonder how long this place might stay in business. Then again, it was a Sunday. Still, this restaurant had clearly seen better days. He was pretty sure the pizza grease on the arcade games had been there for years. The party decorations looked like they had been pulled out of the closet from the 80's. And overall, the restaurant just felt old and unkempt.
"This is the main dining area, or party room. Most of the time, this should be what you keep an eye on. The games and the animatronics are what's worth the most here."
"Aren't those a little heavy to just walk away with?"
Jimmy chuckled. "True, but you never know what people are willing to try. Actually, our biggest concern is vandalism. Just make sure no hoodlums get in and wreck the place. You'll report to the security office when you get in. Everything you need will be in there, including the screen for the camera feeds. Now, over this way is the kitchens…"
Mike looked around, taking it all in. This definitely was about what he was expecting: dirty place on its last legs, small, old. If it was not for how bad he wanted a job, he would have left this kind of place immediately. Who in their right mind would want to be here?
"So, meet the gang," Jimmy said with a sad smile as they approached the stage.
Up on the stage, the animatronic mascots stood in darkness, lifeless-looking. It was kind of unsettling, Mike thought. Something about looking at things that were supposed to move not moving felt weird. Jimmy looked at his watch. "They come on every hour on the hour. You've caught 'em between shows. So, here's Freddy."
He pointed to the brown bear in the top hat holding the microphone. His big dopey grin with gaps in the teeth almost looked as bad as Jimmy's smile. "We also have Bonnie and Chica." He pointed to the purple rabbit with the guitar and the yellow chicken, as Jimmy had called it, even though it looked more like a duck to Mike. He only nodded, not really interested. Still, he could not help but feel some sense of fascination with them. But why? After all, any kid would be terrified of these horrific things that looked more like rotting roadkill.
"They look pretty beat up," he said, his nose crinkling, "and they smell like something crawled up in them and died."
Jimmy only hummed nervously. "Yes, well...these guys have seen a lot of wear and tear over the years, and they don't make these particular models anymore. So, whatever is in our spare parts room is all we have. We try to use it sparingly. You know, these were some of the original ones used back with the restaurant first opened in the 70's. They were some of the earliest models to come out of Afton Robotics."
"God, they look like they haven't left the 70's. What's behind here?"
Mike was poking around near a smaller side-stage. The curtain had been closed with an "out of order" sign placed in front of it. Mike started to draw back the curtain before Jimmy abruptly shut it."
"That used to be a part of the show: Foxy the Pirate. Unfortunately, he's taken the most wear and tear over the years. Poor guy had his mouth break a few weeks ago. We just don't have the parts to fix him back up."
"So, you're just going to leave it there to rot?"
"Well, we're not sure yet. Thinking of scraping him and just making space for new video games. We'll see. Come on, we need to also get you a uniform that fits."
Mike had noticed the ugly, purple uniforms all the employees wore during their tour. He had thought that since he was working overnight, when no customers would be in, that he would not have to wear it. Apparently, he was not avoiding that one. Well, if it got him the job…
That night, after he got home, he called Joanne.
"I don't know," she said after he told her everything. "They just let you have the job?"
"Hard as that is to believe," Mike said with a hint of snark, "yes, they said I was pretty much the only candidate."
"It's not that I thought you couldn't. It's just I don't think they can legally allow someone your age to work night shift."
"Okay, yeah, this place does seem sketchy as hell, but if it pays…"
"I just don't want you to get in trouble for it. What did Mark and Jenny say?"
"Mark says so long as I don't fall behind in school, it's fine."
"Okay… Well, I guess, good luck tomorrow on your first day."
"Yeah, we'll see. Oh, did I tell you what the place looks like? I can't believe anyone goes there. Like, the animatronics are almost twenty years old, smell like it too."
"Sounds creepy. You know, I never liked those things. My dad never could get me on amusement park rides because those things always scared me."
"Too lifelike?"
"Yeah."
Mike laughed. "Trust me, these aren't very lifelike at all. They look like cartoon rejects that are falling apart at the seams. They're just ugly."
"Whatever, I'll see you at school."
Mike hung up and looked at the ugly, purple uniform hanging on his door. Was all this really worth a few extra bucks? It had better be, he thought.
