Friday, May 18, 1990

Evan Afton watched the television screen with a frustrated expression on his face. Mister Attwood, his social studies teacher, had seen fit to let the class watch a documentary about the American Revolution. However, it was so dumbed down and overly romanticized that the eleven-year-old found it outright insulting. To make matters worse, the other kids would always make fun of his English accent whenever they had a class covering this particular period of American history.

Much to Evan's annoyance, Ned and Timmy sat right behind him, and they had been trying to provoke a reaction from him from the moment Mister Attwood had dimmed the lights—nudging and poking his head, and occasionally throwing crumpled paper balls at him. This was very much a no-win situation—if he did nothing, they'd snicker; if he told them off without raising his voice, they'd also snicker; if he gave in to their provocations, he'd make a fool of himself to the whole classroom; and if he told Mister Attwood, he'd be a tattletale, and their bullying would get worse.

The eleven-year-old grit his teeth. He was most certainly not going to give Ned and Timmy the satisfaction of making him give in to their infantile provocations!

Once class was finally over, Evan wasted no time and stormed out of the classroom, all the while Ned and Timmy laughed at him. He refused to spend any more time than necessary around these people!

Upon entering his study room, Evan closed the door and let out a sigh of relief. Finally he had some much needed solitude. He felt his stomach growl in anticipation. It was lunch time, and while the other kids were somehow content with eating in the cafeteria, the eleven-year-old was happily able to eat on his own here.

The boy removed his backpack, opened it, and pulled out his lunch box as well as a book on engineering mathematics. He took a seat and opened his lunch box. Inside was his typical lunch nowadays—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as well as an apple and a juice box. He unwrapped one of the sandwiches and opened his book where he had left off. After taking a bite of his meal, Evan smirked to himself. While his feeble-minded classmates wasted their lunch period gossiping or ridiculing each other, he invested his time to stoke the fire of his burgeoning intellect.

It wasn't long after finishing his lunch that Evan's reading was interrupted when a basketball suddenly hit the window frame of his study room, making the boy jump in surprise. Furrowing his brow, the eleven-year-old set his book down and went up to the window. Being on the second floor, he was able to see most of the schoolyard from this vantage point, and sure enough, it was filled with children playing and hanging out with each other. Evan regarded them with utter disdain for a few moments before he closed the blinds and returned to his seat to continue reading his book.


Evan let out a sigh of relief once school ended for the day. As much as he enjoyed studying, he hated having to be around people. Scratch that, he hated being around humans—his father being the sole exception to that rule—and he couldn't wait to get home to be with Mangle.

He was glad that he no longer took the bus to and from school. Not only was the bus ride an absolutely hellish experience, but his house was close enough to Hurricane Middle School that it only took him eleven minutes to travel between them on a bicycle, so he could get home faster by not taking the bus. However, before returning home today, Evan took a detour to the mall to buy 'The Little Mermaid', which was being released today on VHS. It was a surprising move on Disney's part, given that the movie had only premiered in theaters a mere six months ago. Typically, Disney would wait for decades after the premiere before they started selling their movies on home media, and other big movie studios would normally wait at least two years, so this was very unusual. And given all of the ads on TV, this release was a big deal.

While Evan himself felt almost indifferent about it, Mangle was incredibly excited to see it, which was why he went to buy it today. And it was a good thing that he bought it when he did, because the store had almost completely sold out by the time he got there.

The bike ride home took only eight minutes, and once there, the eleven-year-old parked his bicycle next to the barn before going inside. He found Mangle lying in front of the TV, and her tail began to wag when she saw him come in.

"Hi, Evan!" The animatronic fox got up on her feet, then went over to the boy and hugged him. "How was school?"

Evan chuckled ruefully as he wrapped his arms around the animatronic. "Awful as usual." He let out a sigh. "I'm just glad to be back home."

Mangle let out a giggle. "And it's nice to have you back!" Eyeing his backpack, Mangle fidgeted with her fingers and asked, "So… did you get it?"

"I did." With a smile, Evan took off his backpack, opened it, and pulled out 'The Little Mermaid' for Mangle to see.

The animatronic fox let out a squeal of absolute delight, and her tail wagged so much that she was practically wiggling her butt. She grabbed the movie out of the boy's hands and exclaimed, "I've been looking forward to seeing this one so much!" She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Can we watch it now? Please?"

Evan couldn't help but to laugh at her enthusiasm. "Sure we can, Mangle. As luck would have it, Father's working late today, so he won't give me my lessons until after dinner."

"Yes!" With a giggle, Mangle rushed over to the TV.

"Hold on! Let me just get something to drink first before you start the movie," Evan said as he set his backpack aside.

"You better hurry! I'm not sure how much longer I can wait," Mangle said with a playful giggle as she glanced at the boy with her eyelids raised in a smile.

"Sure thing," Evan replied with an amused smile before he left the barn.

The eleven-year-old wasted no time and went to the kitchen inside the house to grab a can of Coke from the fridge. Once he returned to the barn, he found Mangle lying in front of the TV with her tail wagging. She looked at him excitedly, and Evan smiled at her before he lay down next to her.

"Ready?" Mangle asked as she reached for the VCR remote. From the looks of it, she had already loaded the VHS cassette into the machine.

"Ready," Evan replied.

With that, she started the movie.

And it was absolutely incredible!

The visuals and the animation were stunning! It was beyond anything Disney or anyone else had ever made before! Not only that, but the music! Oh, the music! While Disney had made other animated musicals, the songs and the choreography was so much more modern! And the characters were all so well-written and memorable! Disney had really given it their all with this movie, and it showed!

The only thing Evan didn't like was the actual plot of the movie.

Ariel, the main character, was a young mermaid who was overly fascinated by the human world, even though humans regularly killed and ate the marine animals that were her friends. Her father, King Triton, tried to make her see reason, but he just ended up hurting her and driving her away from him. Ariel then did something profoundly stupid and sold her soul just to be a lowly human and to get a chance to be with a man she didn't even know.

Evan kept hoping that Ariel would learn what a huge mistake she was making, but of course she didn't! In the end, she got everything she wanted and it somehow worked out for her, even though, realistically speaking, it shouldn't have.

The eleven-year-old rolled his eyes, but reminded himself that the story was just hogwash intended for naive and impressionable children.

Mangle, on the other hand, was absolutely spellbound and incredibly moved by the movie. Once it ended, she turned to Evan and said, "That was so good!"

The boy smiled at her. "Yeah, it really was quite a treat. It's just too bad that the story wasn't any good."

The animatronic fox looked confused. "Huh? The story was the best part!"

Evan huffed a laugh. "Don't tell me you bought into that childish crap."

Mangle lowered her ears. "What 'childish crap'?"

"Like, do you really believe that there would be a happy ending to that story? That Ariel would ever fit in among humans? That they would accept her?" The boy asked with a mocking tone. "She can never tell them the truth about her origins, and even if she did, they wouldn't believe her. She'll have to live a lie for the rest of her life. Not only that, but that guy only really liked her because of her body and her voice," Evan asserted bluntly. "That's why it's childish crap. Because realistically, instead of a happily ever after, cold hard reality would set in since she's stuck with humans now. And all humans do is use and hurt others, especially those who are different."

Mangle looked very taken aback by what the boy had said. She struggled to come up with a response. "J-just because you've had some bad experiences with them doesn't mean they're all bad."

"How the hell do you know?! You never go outside!" Evan shouted angrily at her.

The jaw of the animatronic fox trembled. She didn't respond. She just looked away with a whimper.

Seeing this just made Evan feel all the more angry. Why was this so hard for her to understand? Huffing in frustration, he got up and stormed out of the barn, slamming the door shut.

Walking over to the house, the boy felt his eyes sting, and before long tears began to trickle down his cheeks. As regret finally caught up with him, he sat down on the porch where he sniffled and rubbed his eyes.

He couldn't believe how he had acted towards Mangle. All he wanted was to make her see things his way, but instead he had hurt his one and only friend in the whole world.

The boy sobbed and clutched his head.

How could he have taken out his anger on her? What the hell was wrong with him? He was no better than the humans that had always mistreated him!

The eleven-year-old hugged his knees to his chest as he continued to cry.

He wasn't sure what to do now. He wanted to go back into the barn and tell Mangle that he was sorry, but he had no idea what to say. Would she even forgive him? What if she didn't want to be friends anymore?

After crying for a good while, Evan finally decided to wipe away his tears and go inside the house. Dinner would be ready soon, so he figured that it would be a good idea to take some time to calm down and figure out what to say to Mangle before he went to talk to her again.

As he entered the house, he could tell that his father was still in the middle of cooking by the sizzling sound coming from the kitchen.

Thinking that maybe he could help his father out somehow, Evan joined him in the kitchen, where the boy saw that he was cooking steak, green beans, and baked potato wedges.

William glanced at him with a smile on his face. "Hello there, sport. You're here early."

Evan hummed a reply, but it sounded more like a whimper.

Noticing this, William turned to get a better look at the boy. He regarded him with concern and asked, "Have you been crying?"

The eleven-year-old nodded. "Yeah…"

"Why?" William asked as he returned his attention to the stove.

Evan rubbed his elbow. "I… I was really mean to Mangle…"

Once more, William looked at the boy with concern. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"

The eleven-year-old shook his head. "No. But I'm pretty sure I hurt her. I was really mean to her, Father."

"How so?" William asked as he flipped over the steaks.

Evan let out a sigh. "We were watching the new Disney movie and I pointed out how stupid and childish the story was. Mangle disagreed with me, and I just got so angry… and I said something really mean to her…"

"There is nothing wrong with childish things, sport. Although they are made to be simple, they're also elegant, and there is beauty to be found in simplicity," William explained as he continued to cook. He then glanced at the boy with an empathetic frown. "And from the sounds of it, it does sound like you were in the wrong here, so you should definitely apologize."

"I know…" the boy replied, looking down at the ground and shuffling his feet. "I just don't know what to say…"

"Are you still angry at her?" William asked as he checked on the green beans.

"No, of course not!" Evan replied.

William shrugged. "Then just say whatever comes to mind."

Evan nodded in response, but he still felt uncertain of himself.

"But since dinner is just about ready, why don't you take the time to think about it while we eat?" William suggested. "And tell you what, why don't we delay today's lessons to one hour after dinner? That way, you won't have to wait that long to talk to her, and you won't be as distracted while studying."

Evan let out a sigh and nodded. "Okay."

"Now, why don't you go set the table while I finish up here?" William suggested.

"Sure thing," Evan replied. He then went and got three plates and three sets of silverware. As he carried them out of the kitchen, the boy suddenly stopped. He turned around and said, "Father?"

William turned to look at him. "Yes, sport?"

Evan smiled at him. "Thank you."

William smiled back at the boy. "Don't mention it."

The eleven-year-old continued into the dining room, where he diligently set the table. Before long, his father came out of the kitchen carrying a plate with three steaks on it.

"Michael! Dinner's ready!" William shouted before he set down the plate on the table.

Evan then followed his father back into the kitchen to help him carry out the rest of the food, as well as everyone's favorite beverage. By the time they returned to the dining room, they saw Michael coming down the stairs.

They all sat down at the table and began to serve up food for themselves.

"So, Michael, tell me about your day," William said as he began to cut into his steak.

"I, uh, got a 95 in yesterday's math test," Michael replied, suppressing a smile as he eyed his father.

William gave him an approving nod. "Not bad." He ate a piece of steak and then asked, "You know, you're going to have to start applying to colleges soon. Have you given any thought to which you'd like to enroll in?"

"Not really," Michael replied with a shrug before he took a bite out of a potato wedge.

William glanced at the seventeen-year-old as he took a few bites out of his own food. Finally, he said, "Dixie State University might be a good choice. It has some decent tech programs and is merely half an hour away."

Michael let out a rueful chuckle. "What, so you can come and check up on me?"

"Oh believe me, I wouldn't waste my time driving back and forth for that," William said. "No, I just thought that it could be more convenient for you to not have to live in a dormitory."

Michael stared slack-jawed at his father. "... Oh! So I can still live here while going to college?"

William looked mildly offended. "Of course you can! This is your home! You can stay as long as you want!"

Michael opened and closed his mouth for a moment as he struggled with how to respond. Finally, he just smiled and said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, son," William replied as he returned his attention to his dinner.

As he continued to enjoy his food, Michael shifted his attention to his little brother, who seemed lost in thought. "So how's it going for you in school? Made any friends yet?"

Evan didn't respond at first. His mind was still preoccupied with Mangle and how awfully he had treated her. Finally, the eleven-year-old let out a saddened sigh and said, "No…"

Michael gave him a look of sympathy. "You know… me and my friends are having a night out tomorrow. We're going to eat pizza and go to the bowling alley—it's going to be a lot of fun," Michael explained with a warm smile. "You can come with us if you want. It'd be my treat."

For a moment, Evan's thoughts about Mangle were replaced by memories of everything Michael and his friends had done to him—all of the ways they had tormented him and hurt him.

Evan glared daggers at his older brother. "Why would I ever want to do anything with you?"

Michael looked very taken aback by the eleven-year-old's reaction. "What's your problem? I was just trying to be nice."

Evan scoffed at that and then turned to his father. "May I be excused?"

William nodded. "You may."

The eleven-year-old wasted no time getting out of his seat and then making a hasty exit through the front door.

Michael turned to his father. "What's up with him?"

"He had an argument with Mangle that left both of them upset," William replied as he got back to eating.

The seventeen-year-old frowned. "You know, you really shouldn't be enabling him like this. Spending all of his time hanging around that robot is going to mess him up. He needs to get some actual human friends!"

"Michael, I appreciate your concern, but you have to understand that your brother isn't like other people, and no matter how hard you try, you're not going to change his mind," William explained. "Just leave him be."

Michael furrowed his brow and let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. Whatever."


As Evan approached the barn, he could vaguely hear Mangle singing and sobbing to herself, and he immediately recognized the song.

It was 'Part of Your World' from 'The Little Mermaid'.

Finally, Evan realized how much of an idiot he had been. She hadn't enjoyed the story because she likes childish things, but rather because she could see so much of herself in Ariel—because like her, Mangle yearned to be part of the human world.

Evan let out a groan and ran his fingers through his hair. As guilty as he had felt before, he felt even worse now. He had acted just like King Triton—he had tried to convince her that humanity was awful, and when she refused to see things his way, he had hurt her.

Once more, tears began to trickle down the eleven-year-old's cheeks and he had to take a moment to cry it out.

When his tears finally began to subside, Evan wiped as much as he could away and then entered the barn. By now, Mangle had stopped singing, and was instead laying in bed, facing away from the door and sobbing to herself.

"Mangle?" Evan said as gently as possible as he closed the door behind him.

The animatronic fox didn't respond, but he noticed that she tensed up upon hearing the sound of his voice.

The eleven-year-old began to slowly approach her. "Mangle, I am so incredibly sorry for what I said to you, and for… for yelling at you. I didn't… I didn't mean what I said."

Mangle didn't respond at first, she just sobbed to herself and refused to face him. Finally, she said, "Yes you did…"

Evan opened and closed his mouth as he tried to figure out what to say. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he relented and said, "Yeah… I guess I did…"

"And you were right," Mangle continued. "I know that people won't welcome me with open arms, and that me being what I am makes me a target for a bunch of things, but… I can't stop thinking about what it would be like to be part of the outside world… to eat food, to wear clothes, to go to school, to go to a theater, to go to a carnival, to go to the beach, to swim… it all just seems so… wonderful…"

"I guess I just take all of that for granted and forget that so much of it is outside of your reach." Evan sat down next to Mangle. "And now that I've had some time to think, I believe most of what I said was an overexaggeration. Don't get me wrong, bad things can still happen if you go out there, especially if we're not careful, but that doesn't mean that it will for sure. But I'm…" Evan sniffled as he felt his eyes well up with tears once again. "I'm terrified of the things that might happen, and I don't know what I'd do if those fears come true."

Mangle let out a mournful sigh. "I think about that too…"

Evan wiped away his tears and took a deep breath. "But I've been thinking… Once I finally make you your new body, it will be impossible to identify you as belonging to Fazbear Entertainment without examining your circuit boards, which means that you can go outside without any risk of being taken away legally. And you should very much be able to defend yourself or run away if something else happens," he explained. "So when that day comes and you still want to see the outside world… I'll go see it with you. I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

Mangle finally turned to look at the boy. "Really?"

"Really." Evan replied and smiled at her. He then thought for a moment and added, "Well… within reason. I still need to go to school and stuff."

Mangle giggled, then sat up and wrapped her arms around him. "I would love to see the outside world with you!"

Evan smiled and leaned into the hug. "And I would only care to see it with you."