Yo! CM here! Back with a new chapter to this fine story!

Alright, first and foremost; I am really, really sorry about the long delay. School had actually started a few months ago and suddenly, I am filled with a metric fuck-ton of work to do in the form of projects and homework. And, if you have seen my profile, you would also see why.

I'll just keep it short. School's a pain in the butt and other stuff happened in my life. I won't bore you guys too much.

And secondly, a small update. Hopefully, in a few weeks time, I will be uploading a bit more due to it being my semestral break. AKA my mid-term break, for those that might have trouble deciphering. I know, school timetable is kinda fucked, but oh well!

Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter! A bit of a filler and the beginning of our first meet-and-greet session with a new character. I hope you guys know who it might be. With that, I'll se ya guys next time!

Ciao!

"Yeesh. Get a room, you two" Bonnie remarked with a chuckle. Her employee's face of distress was quite funny to see, especially since it was fueled by the burning puppy love of a young girl. Her cheeky smile had only caused Mario's face to flush even more red. The poor guy was getting embarrassed left and right and he had no real way to stop it. "Anyways, what brings you here again Mike?" Bonnie asked, easing the atmosphere just a tad.

Mike, who was now reduced to mere chuckles, wiped a small invisible tear from his right eye, sighing afterwards from the hearty laughter that had transpired. "Right..." Mike said at first as he was trying to compose himself, finally finding peace after a while. "I wanted to apply for a job here. I actually wanted to ask you earlier on, but...Well, you know" He gave a small awkward grin as he chuckled a little, turning Bonnie's cheeks crimson. Mike inwardly sighed for a moment, hoping that she had forgotten about her sudden blackout. As much as it was awkward for her, it was still pretty awkward for him.

"O-Oh! R-R-Right...Hehehe..." Bonnie nervously chuckled in reply before shaking her head and coughing slightly. She got off her chair and bent down behind the counter. It was apparent that she was finding for something as she was constantly rummaging through stacks of paper which were now flying behind her. "Aha!" She exclaimed as she stood back up and revealed the thing she was finding for. "Just fill in the details in this application form and you'll be all set!" Bonnie explained as sweet and short manner, her eyes beaming. Mike must have thought that she probably has her hands full most of the time, considering how happy she looks from the news.

Mike took the paper from Bonnie and eyed it for a moment. There was nothing too special about it. Just what one would expect from a job application form. Though, there were some things that stood out a little from the rest, such as 'Species' and 'Fur Colour'. It weirded him out to see such things on it, but seeing as how the owner of the shop and one of her employees are anthropomorphic bunnies, he really shouldn't be too surprised.

He turned his attention from the paper back to Bonnie, who was looking at him with a warm smile. He lifted a brow and asked, "Is that it? No...Interview and whatnot?". Bonnie merely shook her head and continued to smile, which made Mike feel a little bit uneasy. Normally jobs don't work that way. Normally. But since he was in a place that was populated by both bipedaled animals and humans, perhaps things work different? Mike wasn't really too sure. In fact, he wasn't so sure of a lot of things, now that he was here in Kergleville.

"Are you sure...?" Mike asked yet again, still skeptic about the entire job. Bonnie merely rolled her eyes and looked at him with a straight face, which slightly unnerved Mike.

"Look, I'm the boss here. That means, if you wanna land the job, just fill in whatever details need be" She said, crossing her arms and placing them under her bust. "It's not that hard really. In fact, we need all the help we can get around here. As you can see..." She ushered Mike to cast his gaze towards Mario, Bella and Spring. "...There are only three of us here. Well, four, in you count in the fact that Bella sometimes helps to advertise our small shop"

Mike, whose eyes were still set on the trio over at the corner, thought for a moment before looking back at the piece of paper her was given. Despite the sketchiness, Mario and Spring still applied. And Bella didn't seem too fazed about it. Although, it was probably because she was still a kid and her mindset is still completely different. Perhaps the reason why there was no need for an interview was because of the value of trust? Perhaps Bonnie was already testing him to find out whether or not he was fit for the job?

...Perhaps.

"Alright then" Mike replied after the silence between him and Bonnie. "I'll have it filled and passed to you tomorrow" He added with a smile. If what he thought were true, then perhaps an interview wasn't needed after all.

"Great!" Bonnie exclaimed, clapping her hands and jumping a little in delight. "You have no idea how long we needed more people to apply. Especially once when we were officially recognised as a good pastry shop" She chuckled a little afterwards. "You have no idea how much of a help Bella has been, despite not looking like it. The rascal works hard and fast" She admitted. The praise from the purple bunny surprised Mike a little.

"Really now?" He questioned. Having such a good word from Bonnie, Mike felt impressed towards the young girl. She must have seriously played a critical role, despite not being so.

"So, where you off to now?" Bonnie questioned, catching the attention of the lone human in the room.

Huh, Mike thought. Good question. Where is he going afterwards? Sure, he could stay here and possibly take a look at how his new job might feel like. Although, it would make him really stand out, seeing as how someone who isn't employed in the store is just lazing around. And on the other hand, he could just go back to the The Morningstar. But if he did, he would have nothing much to do. And he had to deal with a certain blue devil.

He thought for a long moment, weighing his options. He was about to choose to head back home until something popped in his mind that he wanted to do. Thus, without a moment later, he replied back with a question this time. "Say, is there any signboards around? Something that has the map of the entire local area?" He asked, sounding a little hopeful. In small towns such as Kergleville, there should be at least one in a well populated area.

"I think so. There should be one just outside of the mall if I recall. In any case, the information counter downstairs should have some for tourists or new folks" She replied. Bonnie then folded her arms and gave a questioning look. "What for? You heading somewhere?" She pushed the matter forward.

Mike, who felt a little uncomfortable, rubbed the back of his head. "Err...I actually wanted to take a look around town. More specifically, I wanted to check out the nearby school" He replied honestly, which caused Bonnie to be taken aback a little. Her eyes widened and her ears had actually pointed upwards, in a cute fashion.

"Huh? The school?" She asked, repeating what he had said. Mike nodded, which signified as a yes towards her. "Why though? You plan on teaching?"

"If I do manage to land a job as a teacher there, yea" Mike replied with another nod.

Bonnie gave him a good hard look for a moment, as if trying to decipher whether or not he was lying. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, it seemed that he wasn't and thus she sighed. "Man. You're weird. I haven't heard of someone taking up more than one job in a while. The last time I heard that was a few years ago" Bonnie looked distant for a while, her eyes seemingly lost in thought. "I think". She then shook her head and faced Mike once more, "Well in any case, good luck Mike. God knows you'll need it if you'd want to talk to the principal"

And there it was again. Something about the principal of the school that seemed to place him or her in a negative light. Mike tried to pry the matter a little, "What about the principal?" His voice sounding very curious.

"Well..." Bonnie started, looking away for a while, "...I guess you can say that he can be a bit of an oddball. Used to live at The Morningstar until he got married to one of Fred's cousins. Small world, you know?". She chuckled after that, finding the thought to be amusing. "Anywho, just don't let his appearance fool you. He may look old, and he probably is, but hell, is he active"

Mike stood there, trying to process all this much information in the span of a few minutes.

...

...

...Alright. At least he got most of the key stuff out of the way. He used to live at the motel, can be a bit of a crazy guy, looks old and is surprisingly married to one of Freddy's cousins. Strange, the last part at least. Now Mike was even more curious as to who this person might be.

"...Umm, ok then. Thanks for the info Bonnie" Mike replied graciously with a smile, catching Bonnie off-guard. She blushed for a moment and looked away before starting to play with her fur, mumbling a little. Mike scratched the back of his head and nervously grinned before making his way out of the store. "Thanks for the time guys! I'll see you all tomorrow!" Mike sounded off as he opened the door.

He was then hit with a barrage of goodbye's from those inside, with a hearty laugh from Spring and an overenthusiastic wave of goodbye from Bella. He smiled before stepping out of the store and closing the door behind him, slowly walking towards the escalator going down. Along the way, he started to give some thoughts to the words that both Bonnie and Mangle gave him about the principal. Assuming what they say were true, which in most likely would be, he had to be a little careful and keep his wits about him.

"I guess I'll know when I finally meet him I suppose" He whispered to himself as he was continuing his walk. Making his way out, he stopped by the same information counter and asked for a map, which the guard gave him in quick response. And with the map in hand, he headed his way out towards the nearby school.

"...Alright. So a turn here at Cawthon Street..." Mike mumbled as he looked at the map he had been given a while ago, making sure to look up once in a while to make sure he didn't bump into things. The walk had been fairly pleasant to sum it up. The sun wasn't too hot nor intense and there was the occasional breeze that would greet him again and again. People and other Anthro alike were bustling along the pavement that he was walking. Some on their phones, others on their music devices and others just walking like he is.

Eventually, he had reached the corner that he needed to take and continued on walking. It wasn't necessarily late at the moment, so perhaps along the way he would hear the cries of children's laughter as an indication. It was a middle school after all and he knew for a fact that kids were loud as hell. It nearly brought him into reminiscence mode of his own childhood days. But those were mostly filled a computer monitor and friends alike him.

Thankfully, he didn't have to walk too far until he heard the first few instances of children screaming and shouting. It was about a couple more blocks away, but Mike could faintly see a fairly big building on the distance with a few flagpoles. It might have been that one. So he hurried his pace and pressed on forth, eventually reaching the building where the sounds of children were pretty evident. This was definitely the right place.

"Huh...Woodgroove Middle School. Quaint" Mike commented on the name that was displayed on a plaque just outside, alongside the pavement going towards the building. He scanned the place for a moment, finding the placement of the school odd at first, but found an even more odd sight. A high school situated literally next door. It might have been a common thing for some states, but to him it was alien to him. He stared at the taller building next to the middle school for a while before shrugging it off. He was wasting a bit of time. And anyways, if his application in the middle school failed, he could always apply next door.

Entering the building was like sending him back in time. The atmosphere and the interior design was almost like his own way back then. And that was when he just entered. As he continued walking inside, his footsteps were being overpowered by the sounds of children laughing and the occasional scream. There were many doors, all painted a dark green against the wall, which was white at the top half and chestnut brown at the other.

Then there was the occasional kid that would whiz past him like a car, giving Mike an odd look before disappearing around the corners. He smile a little. The joy of being a kid. Having nothing much to worry about in life.

As he was walking around, he stopped by a large, closed window that displayed a playground. Assuming the location of the place, Mike was probably at the back end of the facility and had been probably walking for a while without him noticing. Still, it didn't stop him from admiring the sight. That was, until he felt something sharp poke the left side of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Take one more step an yer done fer, scoundrel" An old, heavy pirate accent called towards him from the back. The first thought that crossed his mind was, 'Why was there a pirate here?', before he remembered about the sharpness on his neck. "Tell me, laddie..." The old, croaking voice droned out for a moment before Mike heard a snarl.

"...What business do ya have around 'ere?"