A windowed van pulled up at the front of a local high school in Mason City, New Orleans. Inside the van was Michael and Gregory. It was Gregory's first day of high school. And to be honest, he was quite nervous.
"First day of high school. Always nerve-racking the first day" Michael sighed, remembering his first day. He looked at Gregory, seeing the nervous look on his face.
"You ok?" Michael asked.
"Yeah it's just…..what if no one likes me? What if no one wants to be friends with me?" Gregory asked.
"Hey! I'm sure lots of kids will want to be friends with you. You're a really good kid and super fun to be around. That's going to get you quite a lot of friends" Michael smiled, putting his hand on Gregory's shoulder. Gregory looked at him and smiled.
"Will Freddy be coming with you to pick me up after?" Gregory asked.
"I certainly will" Freddy said from the back of the van in a happy tone. Gregory looked at him and smiled.
"Ok, time to head inside. You don't want to be late on your first day" Michael smiled, rustling Gregory's hair a bit. He laughed a little at that. He then hugged Michael, grabbed his bag and jumped out of the van.
"Bye Mike! Bye Freddy!" Gregory smiled.
"Bye kiddo!" Michael smiled back.
"Goodbye Gregory!" Freddy called out. Gregory then shut the door and walked off. Michael sighed a little, watching as Gregory walked up to the main doors of the school and walked inside. He then popped the clutch and drove off.
Gregory entered the school, still feeling nervous about it all. After all, this was the first school he had been to since he chose not to go to elementary school because he felt that he wasn't ready yet. And Michael respected that. So instead, he was homeschooled for his primary education.
Then a bunch of guys bumped into Gregory, making him stumble a little.
"Watch it freak!" One of the guys said, laughing. The guy's friends laughed with him. Gregory shot a short three second glare at them before continuing down the hall until he reached the principals office.
Once he finally reached the office, he opened the door and walked in.
"Ah…Gregory. So good to see you" The principal smiled, walking over to his desk and sitting down while gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. On the desk was a little desk sign with a name on it. "Principal Garrett Griffin"
"Hello sir" Gregory smiled, sitting down on the chair. Principal Garrett held out his hand for a shake and Gregory shook it.
"How's your morning been?" Principal Garrett asked.
"It's been ok. I've been a bit nervous though about coming to school" Gregory said, sighing a little.
"Yeah well, I've looked through your files. And it says here that you were homeschooled from the time you would've been in first grade to sixth grade. Which obviously isn't a problem but does show that there is a lot you will need to catch up on" Principal Garrett said. Gregory nodded.
"The files also contain documents from the trauma that you went through around five years ago. At the old Pizzaplex. Before it was re-branded" Principal Garrett told him. Gregory showed a slight smile, which quickly disappeared. The memories of that place were horrible for Gregory to think about.
"And from what your father told me, it's something that's difficult to talk about" Principal Garrett said. Especially after seeing the expression on Gregory's face.
"Yeah it's….I don't like talking about it. Unless I have to that is" Gregory said.
"Well, whenever you need to talk to someone, we have a lovely guidance councillor here that is willing to listen to anything you have to say" Principal Garrett smiled.
"Thank you sir" Gregory smiled.
"You're very welcome" Principal Garrett smiled.
"Now, because it's your first day, you'll be spending the day in study hall. And using your laptop that you've brought with you, you'll need to access the school's learning page. There you'll find your classes. Once you've found them, look through each of them and make notes in one of your school books about the different subjects you'll be learning in those classes" Principal Garrett continued as he grabbed out a piece of paper from his desk drawer, which had the school learning website and Gregory's username and password login. Gregory gently grabbed it and put it into his bag.
"Is that all sir?" Gregory asked.
"I think so" Principal Garrett said, standing up. Gregory stood up as well.
"Oh! Actually before I forget…Your father has made me aware of your last name. And because of the history of that last name, there's a possibility that it might attract some attention. I need you to be careful out there. Because some people will not take it well" Principal Garrett said to Gregory. Gregory nodded.
"I've survived killer animatronics and a creepy dancing rabbit lady, I think I can handle a few bullies" Gregory smiled confidently.
"I admire your confidence Gregory. I think you'll end up fitting in here at this school quite nicely" Principal Garrett smiled. Gregory continued to smile.
Principal Garrett then grabbed something else from his desk and handed it to Gregory. It was a map of the school with all the rooms labelled. Including study hall. Gregory thanked him, grabbed his bag and left the office.
As Gregory entered the hall leading to the study hall room, which was on the second level of the school, the same group of boys from before were waiting by some lockers.
"Look who it is. The little freak from earlier" One of the boys smiled as they all turned to look at Gregory. Gregory immediately stopped and looked at them.
"Look guys, I don't want any trouble ok! I just want to get to study hall" Gregory told them.
"Aw that's too bad. We were hoping to talk with you" One of the boys said, stepping forwards. He looked like he was the leader of the group.
"About what? Because I don't have time for this!" Gregory told him, starting to get annoyed.
"You'll make time for this you little twerp!" The boy growled, grabbing the front part of Gregory's collar, pulling him towards him and looking at him angrily. Gregory just stared back at him angrily. He then let go of Gregory's collar.
"Now…..one of my friends, Patrick, did some research considering it was pointed out to me that one of us recognised you" The boy said, pointing to Patrick. Who was the tallest out of the entire group. Gregory looked at him and back at the boy.
"Turns out, you're the same Gregory from the newspaper from a few years ago" The boy told him. Gregory stood there, surprised and stunned over that.
"And!? How's it any of your business?" Gregory asked, crossing his arms and getting more annoyed.
"How did you get in there in the first place?" The boy asked.
"That's none of your damn business!" Gregory snapped, now clearly angry over the mention of the pizzeria. The boy then whacked him in the face, sending him to the ground. Gregory groaned a little before sitting up and holding his face in slight pain.
"You'll show us some respect around here, asshat! Or you'll get more than just my fist!" The boy sneered.
"He just asked you a question you little twerp!" Patrick told him, laughing a little.
The boy then kneeled down in front of Gregory.
"We're going to find out more about you. The next time you meet up with us, you better show us some respect" The boy said as he began walking past Gregory. His friends followed after him. However, one of the boys friends kicked Gregory in the ribs.
"Ugh!" Gregory groaned in pain, holding his ribs. Eventually, a pair of footsteps approached Gregory from the right.
"What are you doing on the floor?" A kind sounding girl asked. Gregory looked up and saw a blonde-haired girl looking down at him with her hand out to help him up. Gregory grabbed it and with her help, stood up. As he did, his ribs hurt a little. Causing him to wince.
"You ok?" The girl asked.
"Yeah. Yeah I'm ok" Gregory replied, grabbing his bag off the ground and fixing up the stuff that had fallen out of his bag.
"Don't listen to Sean and his pack of idiots" The girl then said, referring to the bullies.
"You know those guys?" Gregory asked.
"I used to be really good friends with Sean. At least until he became friends with those boys. Then…he changed. He went from a nice guy to a complete asshole" The girl said. Gregory smiled at that. Causing the girl to smile as well.
"So, what's your name?" The girl then asked in a curious tone.
"Gregory" Gregory told her.
"Got a last name?" She asked, still curious. He sighed a little.
"Afton" He told her quietly. She looked at him in surprise.
"You…you're related to him?" She asked.
"Yeah" Gregory sighed. Seeing the look on Gregory's face, the girl knew that she couldn't judge him. She wasn't that kind of person.
"I won't judge you for it. After all, you're nothing like him" The girl told him. Gregory had a feeling of relief from that.
"What about your name?" Gregory asked.
"Grace. Grace Griffin" She smiled. Gregory smiled back.
"That's a nice name" Gregory said. She laughed a little at that. Feeling slightly embarrassed by that but not too much.
"So, where you headed?" Grace asked.
"To study hall" Gregory said, pointing behind him.
"How about we go somewhere else. Sean and his friends are currently in study hall so, it's best to avoid them for the moment" Grace told him.
"Where do you suggest we go?" Gregory asked.
"Come with me" Grace told him, grabbing his hand and leading him in the opposite direction.
AFTER SCHOOL
Michael pulled up into an empty parking spot in the parking lot of the school.
"Freddy, you going to be ok until I get back?" Michael asked, looking back at Freddy, who was happily looking around the van, looking at all the band posters and pictures.
"I'll be ok, Michael" Freddy replied, continuing to look at the posters. Michael smiled slightly before turning off the van and climbing out of the car. He then locked the van and walked towards the front entrance and waited by one of the school park benches for Gregory.
Then kids began walking out the front door of the school and heading in different directions. Slowly, Michael began seeing Gregory. And he had a hoodie on. Which made Michael curious.
"Hey Gregory" Michael smiled as Gregory approached him.
"Hey" Gregory said, not bothering to look at him.
"Everything ok? You're acting differently than this morning" Michael asked.
"Everything's fine. Can we just go?" Gregory asked, beginning to walk away.
"Sure" Michael said in a shocked tone as he watched Gregory walk past him. He then caught up with Gregory and brought him to the van.
As Michael drove the van home, Gregory rested his elbow against the frame of the door and rested his head on his palm. He sighed a little.
"What happened today?" Michael asked, slowly feeling a little frustrated that Gregory lied to him earlier about why he was acting different.
"Why do you ask?" Gregory asked.
"Well, you're acting like someone's upset you. And don't lie to me alright? Because I've been in your situation before" Michael told him. Gregory sighed.
"Some guys were just messing around with me" Gregory told him. Michael's expression changed from frustrated to shocked.
"What did they do?" Michael asked.
"Nothing. They just called me names. That's all" Gregory answered, knowing that was partially true. But not wanting to reveal the other things they did.
"Why didn't you go to the principal?" Michael asked, looking at him before looking back at the road.
"Because I didn't need to" Gregory told him. Starting to feel annoyed over Michael pestering him about it.
"Why!? Those guys were jerks to you!" Michael told him.
"Because I didn't want to make things worse for myself!' Gregory snapped, looking at him. Michael looked at him with a shocked expression because of the fact that Gregory snapped at him but his expression soon changed when he saw Gregory's black eye.
"Who the hell hit you!?" Michael asked in shock.
"Some jerk" Gregory told him, resting his chin back on the palm of his hand. Michael sighed a little, feeling awful for Gregory and not knowing what to do. He wanted to talk to the principal about it but he knew it would just make things worse. And he knew that because he had a similar experience. After the death of Elizabeth, he got badly bullied at school and got beat up. His mother tried intervening by talking to the principal but it only made things worse for Michael. And in the end, he ended up dropping out.
"When we get home, just put some ice on it ok? It looks quite bad" Michael told him. Gregory nodded. Then suddenly, someone pulled out in front of them, causing Michael to be forced to pull on the breaks. Which made the van harshly come to a halt. Gregory winced in pain and held his ribs. They were still painful from earlier. And of course, Michael, noticed that.
"Wha-what's wrong?" Michael asked.
"It's…it's nothing" Gregory said back, shaking his head.
"Don't bullshit me! It's not nothing! That sudden stop because of that asshole that doesn't know how to drive has obviously hurt something. Now what is it?" Michael asked, sighing a little as he began moving the van again after the driver drove off.
"I got kicked" Gregory told him. Now this made Michael really upset. It was Gregory's first day of school and already, kids were picking on him.
"Alright, when we get home, I want you to go and lie down while I try and figure something out. This kid is not getting away with this" Michael said angrily. Gregory looked at Michael. He had never seen Michael this angry and he had never heard him get this angry before.
Once they arrived home, Michael instructed Freddy to take Gregory inside and straight to his room. And to also get some ice for Gregory for his bruises. While that happened, Michael locked the van, walked inside and straight to his office. And with his brilliant hacking skills and past experience as a security guard and security system technician, he managed to get into the schools surveillance system.
After several minutes, Freddy came in and wondered what Michael was doing and why he was doing it. Just as Freddy finished asking the question, Michael found the footage of Gregory being harassed by the bullies.
"Freddy, can you scan the kid in this footage?" Michael asked Freddy.
"Why?" Freddy asked.
"Because this is the punk ass kid that hit Gregory" Michael huffed. Freddy looked at him and then back at the footage. He then scanned the footage with his eyes.
"The boy's name is Sean Davies" Freddy told him. Michael just sat there, remembering that last name from somewhere.
"That's….Susie Davies nephew" Michael said.
"Who is…Susie Davies?" Freddy asked. Michael sighed slowly, taking a deep breath.
"She was one of my fathers first victims when he and Henry opened Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria together" Michael said, looking at Freddy and then back at the paused security footage.
"What will you do?" Freddy asked.
"I'm going to pay his parents a visit. After Susie's death, they never moved. So, I'm thinking that Susie's sister and husband are living at that house with their son" Michael said, grabbing his jacket and walking out of the room. Before leaving the house, he went to Gregory's room and entered it to find Gregory lying down.
"Gregory?" Michael spoke. Gregory lifted his head up and looked at Michael.
"I'm just heading out for a bit. Freddy's going to keep an eye on you, alright?" Michael told him. Gregory nodded. He then laid his head back down on his pillow. Michael smiled slightly before closing the door and leaving.
LATER
Michael arrived at the Davies family home and walked to the front door. He then knocked on the door and waited for it to be answered. Then sure enough, it opened a few minutes later. A man stood there at the door. And according to Michael, he looked like a jerk.
"What do you want?" The man asked.
"Are you Mr Davies?" Michael asked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah. But why is it any of your business?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Your son hit my kid" Michael told him, sighing. The man just looked at him.
"Now what kind of lie is that!? Why come here and make some stupid lie up about my son!?" The man asked.
"Because he gave my kid a black eye. And kicked him in the ribs" Michael told him, starting to feel intimidated by the mans behaviour towards him.
"Maybe the little shit deserved it. After all, he is the son of a freak" The man said, smirking at that. That deeply angered Michael a lot. So much so that out of spite, he punched the man in the face.
"Just because my family has a shitty past, does not mean that it needs to pushed onto my kid! My father has done terrible, horrible, horrific things! But I am nothing like him! And neither is my boy!" Michael growled.
"Oh really? Then what do you call what happened in 83?" The man asked, referring to what happened to Michael's brother. That made Michael punch the man in the face again. Causing him to fall down onto the grass.
"Don't mention him! Don't you fucking dare mention him!" Michael yelled. The man just looked at Michael.
"You tell your kid not to mess with mine ever again! If you don't….then I will come back here and show you something worse than my fist!" Michael demanded as he then marched back to his van, climbed in, started it up and drove off.
As Michael arrived back home half an hour later, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed some ice from the freezer for his knuckles, which were now bruised and a tiny bit bloodied. He then sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV to watch it.