Mable: Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Nobody wanted to work in the daycare. It was a loud, messy, and uncomfortable place to be stuck in for half of the day, and it only paid the same rate as working in the food court. Unfortunately, food court jobs were getting harder to secure as more human workers were replaced with Staff and Server Bots. They could cook, they could clean, they could take orders, and they could dispense change with their semi-automated registers.
Many of the jobs in the Superstar Daycare were still held by humans, with the check-in desk being run by two people and the Lucky Stars giftshop being managed by someone else. The daycare itself though was run by yet another bot, but in this case a human worker was required to supervise. Two, specifically, but they had been unable to fill that second chair. They had barely filled the first one.
Nobody wanted to work with the Daycare Attendant. Unlike the Glamrock Animatronics, who were much easier on the eyes and much less unpredictable, the Daycare Attendant was a bouncy and borderline annoying bot who could at any moment flip into his unfriendly naptime form. The biggest problem with him being that he was too absentminded to take orders and that he got too close and social with the staff, which had led to the implementation of various fail-safes to keep him away from the counter.
The woman currently working at the security desk in the daycare didn't mind the kids but very much did mind the Daycare Attendant- who was likely the real reason many people were driven off. He tended to get too chummy, too close, and the way it was programmed to act like a person was a little unsettling. As was its garish face. Which was fine, since her job was just to sit there all day watching him watch the kids. She didn't have to deal with him at all.
Until there was an issue, and unfortunately there was an issue sitting underneath one of the slides.
There was a boy in the daycare who stuck out like a sore thumb. Not because he was dirty or disheveled- he was dressed in so much Freddy merchandise that his parents must've paid a small fortune- but because he was too old to be in there. Most of the kids running around and playing were young kids, barely over the age of toddlers. This boy, while small, still stood taller than most of them and from how he dressed to how he acted it was clear that he was an older child.
That alone would've been weird but fine. Why someone would subject anyone older than five or six to the daycare was beyond her, but maybe that was just a decision they made while they went to work. Maybe they even worked here, or one of them did. Curiosity won out and she contacted the front check-in desk to ask about the child and double-check that he was supposed to be in here.
Now, one of the women at the front desk was very diligent. Unlike the in-daycare workers who were regularly cycled out, she had been here since the place opened and took her job relatively seriously. She kept a close eye on the kids who came in and made sure they went down the slide one at a time. It would've been hard to remember every child, but this boy stood out enough that she should've remembered him, but she didn't. After a few minutes of looking through the guest profiles on the check-in computer, she couldn't find him.
This was bizarre. This likely meant the boy somehow wandered in and went down the slide without anyone noticing.
Someone was going to have to check his guest profile manually and figure out who he was, which meant, unfortunately, Sun was going to have to get involved.
The worker waited as long as she could until Sun had skipped over to the front of one of the slides and crouched down beside the side of the opening.
"Sun!" the worker called. "Can you come here?"
"Just a second~!" Sun singsonged back. He held out his hands under the slide. "Oookay, I'm here! Come on down!"
A little girl slid down the slide and right into Sun's oversized hands, to which he eagerly swooped her up into the air. She squealed like she had just come careening down a rollercoaster.
"Oh, oh, you did it! I knew you could! That wasn't so scary, was it?" Sun chirped.
"Nope!" she replied.
"You wanna go again?"
"Uh huh!"
"Sun!" the worker impatiently called again.
"I'll be right there~! Okay, Sunflower, why don't you climb back up? Do you remember which way to go?... Yup, it's up, up, up! And I'll be back in a jiffy to help you come doooown, whoosh!"
The very little children, like this one, ate up the Daycare Attendant's "overbearing" behavior. He sat her down and she ran off to climb up again. Another little boy had wandered up obviously wanting the same treatment and Sun scooped him up, gave him a quick spin around, and then led him over to show him where to climb up.
The worker gave an impatient huff, expecting Sun to get entirely distracted with the children- it was already ridiculous that he didn't come over when she asked- but eventually he skipped to the counter with his ever-constant grin. She tried to not cringe as he popped up on the other side. The Nanny Bot must've mistakenly thought it was being called as it rolled up to the desk too.
"Mister Sunshine, reporting for duty!" Sun chirped, giving her a playful salute.
"Uh, yeah. Sun, who's that kid over there?" she asked. She pointed over towards the older boy under the slide.
The Daycare Attendant turned his entire body to look. He stared off across the daycare towards the cluster before turning back, pressing his hands flat together.
"That's Dennis!"
Dennis was over there- she recognized him by the big grape juice stain on his shirt that Sun had thrown a fit over earlier- but that clearly wasn't the kid she was pointing at.
"No, not Dennis. That older kid. The one in in the Freddy shirt. You gave him colored pencils."
"Oh, th-that sunflower! Oh, that's, umm… I'm not quite sure?" Sun squeaked. His hands pressing tighter together.
"Then can you go scan him? Apparently, he wasn't checked in," she said. "Even if he was, he's way too old to be in here."
"Nobody's too old for the daycare! Why, we have room for all kinds of kids both big and small-!"
"Sun, scan. Please."
"Oh! Right, right. Sorry."
With that, Sun skipped over to the boy in question. The boy looked up from his drawing as the Daycare Attendant leaned over in front of him, resting his hands on his knees. From the way his head was bobbing and points were swaying it was clear that he was talking to him, but not scanning. Likely Sun was just forewarning him before he did so he wouldn't have a screaming child on his hands. At least, one screaming with fear- save when naptime rolled around.
Except Sun was still not scanning. There was a moment when the boy stole a look at the counter before looking back at the Daycare Attendant. Then… he bolted. He shot to his feet, turned and ran, and dove into the play structure at the first chance.
This wasn't too much of a problem as the Daycare Attendant was usually quite quick and more than adept in moving through the playground. That was, usually. Not now as he gave a lackluster attempt to run after the boy and then instead of easily rolling into the side of the structure, he turned around and simply walked back to the desk hurriedly.
"He ran! Oh goodness, I hope I didn't scare him…" Sun said worriedly. He laid his hands on his cheeks and shook his head with concern.
"It's alright, just go in and get him. He'll be fine."
"I can't."
"What? Why?"
"Becauuuuse." Sunny straightened back up as though all those worries rolled through his head and right back out. "I have to go catch Ashley when she comes down the slide! Did you see her? Oh, she's such a brave girl! Just last week she was afraid to even climb up that high and now she's coming down the slide all by herself!"
"…Are you kidding me?" the worker asked.
"Oh ho ho! I wouldn't kid you, Ma'am. You're the boss!" Sun said. Maybe it was her imagination, but his voice sounded a little tight or hollow. It sounded ingenuous, though Sun was hardly a believable caricature. "Just leave it to me! As soon as I'm done with Ashley, I'll squeeze in and find him in a jiffy!"
With that, Sun skipped away to tend to the children and the worker was left staring almost baffled. She briefly wondered if she was going to get stuck crawling in there, but quickly decided that she didn't get paid enough to do that.
She noticed someone watching her and looked over to see the Nanny Bot staring. It quickly turned itself away and wheeled off across the playground to return to watching the children, preparing to flag Sun if it noticed any issues.
Apparently, this random unknown child didn't classify as an issue.
With a sigh, the worker decided that she was fed up and going to stop trying. It wasn't like she was getting anywhere. So, she just reported it in and expected that would be the end of it.
But it wasn't. It was the end of her side of the event, but the moment the report of the boy reached some of the other staff- staff who had seen him before as well- it got passed around that this was the recurrent child wandering unattended who at least some of them had seen seemingly swiping food off tables and who had no known guest pass.
During an event of a similar caliber a few days ago, a report on the child had been sent to a manager who had decided that it would be in Fazbear Entertainment's best interest to get the authorities involved. Not the police of course, but an outside party who could take the boy out of their hands so they could wipe them clean and no longer have to deal with it. That would be sparing them of the liability of a wandering child getting hurt.
Said outside party had seemingly found merit in the inquiry and by time this second appearance was reported, they were prepared to send a social worker. Which they did, and with the hour there was a car pulling up outside of the Pizzaplex while the boy in question was still holed up in the play structure of the daycare.
On the near other side of the Pizzaplex, the two daytime security guards- Abe and Tommy- were holed up in the surveillance office watching cameras like they usually did. It had been a remarkably quiet day, even for a place as loud as the Pizzaplex. No reports of shoplifting, no rowdy customers, and the animatronics seemed to be behaving themselves today. All was well in the Mega Pizzaplex.
Abe had gotten back from his rounds a little while ago and was eating a bag of nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips while staring at the screens. Tommy was stationed nearby, slid down in his office chair with his legs crossed in front of him and his arms crossed, also watching the cameras with a glazed look. Occasionally he would spot something interesting, or amusing, nudge Abe, and then point it out while making a crack. Sometimes Abe would do so, though with Tommy still providing the crack.
This was interrupted by the office phone beginning to ring. Tommy turned the chair in its direction and walked himself back to it without getting up. He answered the phone with a brief, "Security. What's up?" Aware that it was from somewhere else in the building.
Abe's shoulders sagged tiredly, and he hastily shoved a few more chips into his mouth before rolling up the bag.
"Uh huh. Where's that?"
Abe sat it on the desk. The bag tried to unravel. He sat a stapler on it to keep it pinned closed with a sigh. Then he looked up at the screens and tried to spot the issue.
"Gotcha. We'll head up there."
Abe took notice of that 'we'll' and looked back in confusion. Tommy was in the process of hanging up the phone and stood up before gliding his chair under a desk.
"Okay, let's move. We've got a social worker we've got to take to the daycare."
"Both of us?" Abe asked.
"We've got a social worker we're taking to the daycare. Yeah, I'd say there's a chance they'll need us," Tommy said with a grin. The grin he usually got when watching a disaster unfold on a security screen.
Abe was a little less enthusiastic at the possibility of breaking up a traumatizing scene in front of a bunch of little kids, but maybe their presence would help things move smoothly.
Tommy led the way through Rockstar Row, the Atrium, and into the elevator. They survived a particularly crowded elevator ride before exiting out into the lobby where they headed towards the fountain.
"That's gotta be her," Tommy remarked.
Abe lifted his eyes from the stairs they were heading down and caught sight of a nicely dressed woman standing alongside the fountain waiting. She wore a thin apricot-orange half-jacket with white capris with a matching white undershirt. Her hair was styled in a brunette bob which framed a slightly pointed but also sweet looking face.
Abe knew better than to trust first appearances, but she looked so gentle that his heart nearly skipped a beat. This had to be the social worker, but she reminded him instead of a teacher he had in first grade. One who had been exceptionally nice to him, who had helped tutor him when he needed help. If looks could be believed he would've been convinced that she was just as compassionate.
He was so lost in that moment that he was nearly left behind by Tommy who strode up to the woman and stuck out his hand.
"You must be Mrs. Jeanie. Tommy Franks, security."
"It's nice to meet you. It's Ms. Jeans, but call me Sasha," she said in a friendly tone.
Tommy grinned in amusement, eyes crinkling. "Ms. Jeans?"
She gave a good-natured smile in return. Apparently, she was used to people remarking on it.
"Well, it's nice to meetcha, Ms. Jeans. This here's Abe and we'll be escorting you over to the daycare," Tommy finished introducing.
Abe stepped forward and offered his hand. Her small hand fit right inside of his and he felt almost tingly at the mere touch. That being said, she had a firm grip.
"Abe Thayer. I work here," he introduced.
"No kidding?! Small world!" Tommy chimed in and clapped him on the back.
Abe stumbled forward slightly and for a moment he found himself almost standing over the small woman. He looked down in surprise. She looked up, surprised momentarily, but then gave him yet another friendly smile. His heart could've skipped a beat.
If not for Tommy smoothly grabbing him by the shoulder and yanking him back. "Alright, enough chitchat. We gotta get down there, in and out before naptime," he said.
Suddenly realizing that he had a very good point, Abe hustled along with him. Sasha kept up to, maybe even keeping up better than Abe himself did.
Tommy led them up the stairs and straight down the daycare hallway. By some miracle it was on the quieter side in the hall. Though it made sense. Most of the traffic for the daycare surrounded when it opened and shortly before it closed. Elsewise, there wasn't much enticement to hang out in a hallway where the only attraction was to stare at the fountain. It was a nice place to sit, but it didn't exactly compete with the attractions or food court.
Since it was quiet, Abe decided to get up the nerve to talk to the pretty woman walking alongside him.
"So, have you been here before?" he asked, trying to break the ice.
"Only once right around when it opened. The go-kart track wasn't even finished," Sasha explained. "But I did go to one of the original Freddy's a long time ago. All I can remember is playing whack-a-mole, so I'm assuming I had a good time. Or was letting off some repressed anger. Who knows," she lightly joked.
"Oh, we've got a lot of that here," Tommy said, sending her back a playfully devious grin. "I've been trying to quit this place for two weeks. Abe's been fighting tooth and nail to keep me here."
"Someone has to watch the cameras while I'm out looking for shoplifters," Abe said. Covering up the slight anxiousness at Tommy's flippant admission with a smile and a semi-joking tone.
"I can't even begin to imagine," Sasha sympathized.
They headed into the daycare and walked through the gate and down the long walkway towards the stairs leading to the first floor.
"This is incredible," Sasha remarked, waving a hand out towards the playground area.
"It's somethin', alright," Tommy said. He stepped back to walk alongside Sasha, which caused Abe to step back and trail behind them. "You got any kids?"
"Just a couple dozen," Sasha playfully returned. "I'm kidding. I don't have any kids of my own, but I work with a lot of kids. They might not be mine, but they're mine. If you get what I mean."
"Gotcha, gotcha."
"As a matter of fact, I work with a little girl who goes to this daycare."
Tommy stared at her for a long moment before giving a blunt, "She comes here?"
"Once a week. She's homeschooled by her grandmother so it's a good way for her to socialize with other children her age. She has a wonderful time here. She is a little scared of the moon character, but that could be because he's the naptime character and she's afraid of the dark. Though it's not uncommon for children to get nervous once the many distractions of music and playing are interrupted for downtime," Sasha explained.
Abe was silently begging that Tommy didn't say what they both knew he was thinking. The man even gave him that look over his shoulder. That mix between something mischievous and the borderline nervousness that might precede a "Who's going to tell her?".
"I can understand that," Abe interjected, cutting Tommy off before he could be anymore tempted. He even all but stepped up between them. "A place like this makes it easy to forget everything else. There's so much going on you can't even hear yourself think."
"Sometimes that's a good thing. You can't ignore your problems forever, but it's good to have an escape every now and then," Sasha agreed. She looked up to him with a newfound interest.
"It is in my case. Helps me keep my mind off work," he joked. He even threw in a wink, and she gave a little snicker. He wasn't usually this bold, but he soaked up her attention like a sponge.
Tommy noticed too. In fact, he noticed that once again he had become pushed aside as the third wheel. He decided to cut his losses and walk ahead rather than fall back or get trampled by a couple of folks walking by.
They made it down to the front of the daycare where after a few knocks on the wooden door, the assigned worker inside opened it and stepped out to speak with Sasha. She brought her up to speed on the situation. Apparently, the boy they had called in for was hiding away in the play structure and the Daycare Attendant wasn't able to find him. Though from how she put it, it was largely because he was getting sidetracked with anything and everything else.
"Sun!" she called inside.
After a few moments, the tall sun faced animatronic skipped to the wooden doors, followed closely behind by his Nanny Bot assistant.
"Yessss- oh! Oh, h-hello! New guests- visitors!" Sun sounded nervous once he spotted the two men wearing security caps. Not to mention the nicely dressed woman accompanying them, who he sniffed out right away wasn't a normal patron.
"Sun, this is Mrs. Jeanie. She's a social worker and she's here for that boy who snuck in here. So, please go get the kid. He's in the top of that one, right in those tubes. Please go get him," the worker pleaded with exasperation.
Sasha didn't correct the naming mistake. She was already picking up vibes from the two's body posture alone. Even though it was a robot, she noticed right away how anxious the Sun seemed to be. As weird as it was, she felt the need to try to smooth the situation.
"It's nice to meet you," she greeted. She held out a hand towards him to shake.
"Hi," he returned, giving a polite little wave. He then began to wring his hands as he looked back to the worker. "But do we really have to do that?! He's just having fun! He shouldn't be in trouble…"
"He's not in trouble," Sasha assured him. "I'm just going to talk to him and we're going to see if we can get him back to his parents."
"…YOU'RE TAKING HIM?!" Sun all but shrieked. The Nanny Bot hurried turned around and wheeled off to comfort some children upset by their caretaker's outburst. "But he didn't do anything wrong!"
"He's not supposed to be in here. We don't even know who he is since you didn't scan him," the worker pointed out. "He needs to go with Mrs. Jeanie where he can be taken care of. He can't stay here."
"No, no, why?! He's fiiiine! It's almost naptime- it's almost snacktime too- it's not anywhere close to pick-up time! Whhyyy would we do something like that?!" Sun rambled out.
He sounded panicked. He stepped a little closer and the worker stepped back and pointed down. "Sun, line. Three feet."
"Oh! Sorry!" He stepped back and returned to his panic. "He's safe here! The daycare is a happy and safe place a-and he should stay here where I can take care of him until his daddy shows up. We shouldn't- it's- it is against the rules to remove him from the daycare without a parent present whose been lifted on his guest profile AND an appropriate pick-up pass. Nope, we don't have neither."
"Sun, get the kid," the worker repeated.
"No! I- I can't! It's against my programming," Sun denied. He crossed his arms defiantly and turned his head away.
The worker's jaw nearly dropped in exasperation at this point. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before sending a pleading look at the two security guards, who proceeded to look at each other. Abe raised his brows, Tommy dropped his shoulders.
"You climb in, and I watch the bottom?" Tommy asked.
"You're shorter than me," Abe reminded.
"You're skinnier," Tommy pointed out.
"You've been in there before," Abe doubled down.
"…Ah, crap. Just make sure the kid don't squeeze out while I'm in there."
"Wait, guys. Let's not do that. I think forcing him out would be too much for him. He's not in trouble, but if we chase him down and drag him out, he's going to think he is," Sasha explained. "I have nowhere to be. Let's just sit down and get comfortable, he'll come out when he's ready. We'll just leave it to Mr. Sun."
Sun gave a startled jolt at the suggestion and looked to her in surprise. Then his points whirled with delight.
"Thank you, Ma'am! I won't let you down!" he chirped. He then skipped back through the doors without another word.
The worker gave a weary look after him and dismissed herself to head back inside, almost running into the Nanny Bot who suddenly skirted through the doorway and came out to seemingly patrol the outer daycare before parking itself nearby unnoticed.
Abe pointed to one of the tables and offered, "Let's sit down."
Tommy was all on-board with this idea. Any excuse to get him away from the desk but not required to do anything more than sit around and chat. He could live with that, especially when it was with a pretty dame.
This came back to bite him very quickly. Because there was a chat going on, but he wasn't part of it. He was sitting at the same dinky little table, but Abe and Sasha were way more invested in each other than to pay even the slightest attention to his occasionally chime ins. Too busy talking about work and Freddy's, and their favorite attractions and classic arcades, and randomly branching into other topics when he couldn't even get a work in edgewise.
Suddenly the security office wasn't looking quite so bad.
"I love Freddy's, but the prices are just… unreasonable. Many of the kids I work with come from situations with a tight budget, so Freddy's isn't realistic in their situation," Sasha was explaining. "So, any group outing would have to be funded by us. We've only reached half of our goal, but the kids are really looking forward to it. Just a nice day to have fun and not have to worry about anything. It's trying to pull it together that's a big job."
"And a big bill," Tommy chimed in.
"Maybe you could talk with Fazbear Entertainment? They're always looking for good PR. If you send a call out to their office, they might work out a deal," Abe suggested.
"You think they would?"
"Sure!"
"Well, money's not the only thing. We would also need some chaperones. Someone who's attentive and good with kids," Sasha explained. She flashed him a smile. "What do you think, would you be up to it?"
"Me?... Sure! It would have to be a day I'm off, but I'd love to."
"Good, because I want to see these racing skills of yours."
Tommy scoffed a little under his breath. He went entirely unnoticed again. This time not even Abe looked over. If Tommy wasn't so secure of a person, he might've been a little offended by this.
"So, what's the deal with this kid?" he asked loudly, purposefully to make it impossible to be ignored and to cut short the grade school level flirtation. "What's the skinny, 'cause we didn't get it."
"Well… It's complicated," Sasha answered vaguely.
"I'm real well-learned," Tommy said with just a tinge of dryness.
"I've seen him do a word search," Abe tacked on. To which Tommy promptly sent him a look so tight that he nearly slouched down into the uncomfortable little seat to avoid it.
"Okay. I can't say much for privacy reasons, but… the boy matches the description of a child we've had issues with in the past," Sasha cautiously explained.
"A real problem child?" Tommy asked.
"No, not that. He's been in and out of the foster care system for most of his life and is a frequent runaway. We usually find him quickly but a few months ago he disappeared, and we couldn't find him. I'm hoping this is him, because if it's not… We need to bring him home."
"I hope it's him then," Abe said. He sobered up quickly, catching onto the seriousness of the situation.
"Me too."
"But if… You know, never mind," Tommy waved off. He was going to ask how a runaway child could get to the Pizzaplex when it sat on a highway, the closest town being St. George, but he then decided this wasn't the time to ask that question.
There were a few quiet moments where they took in the constant noise of the daycare. Sasha heard some thumping and excited voices and looked up at the upper walkway to see a familiar face walking down the way, carefully stepping around and politely greeting the children that had caught up with him from one of the party rooms.
"Is that Freddy?" she asked. Abe looked back and smiled.
"The one the only! In case you didn't notice coming in, those rooms up there are party room where they have birthday parties. You can get your favorite animatronic to deliver the cake and spend a little time with the kids- Uh oh. Tom, he's coming down here."
Tommy's eyes popped open, and he twisted his head to look back over his chair. Sure enough, there was Freddy Fazbear walking up to and beginning to come down the stairs.
"Oh, no dice," he muttered. He shot up from his chair and sprinted over, meeting Freddy at the bottom by just blocking his way. "Freddy, we ain't doin' this again. You just turn around and head right back to your room or wherever."
"Oh! Officer, I was just- I was not planning on disrupting anything," Freddy said. He seemed surprised to be stopped the way his eyes darted around. "I was… simply coming for a visit!"
Tommy gave him an incredulous look. He then sighed and leaned in.
"I know, Freddy, but…" He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I can't have you flirting with the Sun in front of the parents. It weirds them out."
The look on Freddy's face shifted to shock before falling into one downright sad. Tommy wasn't sure how much these robots were able to feel and how much was simulated, but he actually felt a little bad at how hurt he looked.
"Hey, it's not up to me. If it was up to me, I'd let you guys do whatever the heck you want. But I don't want the higher ups cracking down on you and pushing their weight around. Wait til closing, Big Guy," Tommy encouraged.
"I suppose I have no choice," Freddy lamented. His gaze lifted above Tommy towards the daycare, widened momentarily, and shot back down. Then up one more time before returning to Tommy. "I- I should be leaving now."
Getting a hunch, Tommy looked back but didn't see anything. Shrugging it off, he turned back to the bear. "Thanks. Good luck on stage later."
"Thank you. You too… Not on stage, of course, but in doing your assigned position. Have a good afternoon."
Freddy turned and, remarkably, headed off without any arguments. Of course, what did he expect? Freddy was the most docile of the animatronics, the most willing to follow orders without any arguments. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the others.
Tommy returned to the table and sat down. "So, where were we?"
"What happened?" Sasha asked.
"Freddy's been getting a little too chummy with the Sunman and the higher ups have been telling us to knock it off."
"…Wait, what?" Sasha looked utterly aghast. She looked between him and Abe. "So… all of the animatronics are like Sun. They act like real people, not robots."
"Right. They've got some sort of special AI in them. I don't have all the details," Tommy answered. "All's I know is that it's very expensive and it don't matter how many times they try to fix them, the kinks are still there."
"That's… horrifying," Sasha said. Her eyes widening in realization. "So, they act and feel like people, but they're being treated like robots. That's awful. Imagine having someone tell you who you can't see or what you can't do. No wonder Sun was acting so guarded."
"Eh, don't overthink it. At the end of the day, they're just smart robots. Smarter than mosta the guys running the place at least," Tommy said with a shrug.
"See, I don't know about that. When we were talking with Sun, I noticed that he wasn't behaving like you'd expect an animatronic to act. His posture, his mannerisms; he acts like a real person," Sasha explained. "He became nervous, he became defensive- that's not something that can be replicated. The technology doesn't exist."
Tommy tried to stay unphased but a quick glance over to Abe showed a pensive look on his face. Then he really started thinking and it dawned on him that maybe the animatronics did act a little too human.
Then again, it wasn't like he knew what Talbert was putting in these things. With how the higher ups raved about him and everyone kept him hush-hush, he was probably using something dangerously experimental. It would explain the many hiccups.
Sasha was prepared to continue when there was a call from inside the daycare.
"Hey! The kid's up at the front desk!" the worker called over the wall.
Tommy and Abe shot up from their chairs with a "Let's go" and "Be right back" respectively before hustling off to the stairs. They hurried as fast as they could do get to the front desk, but by time they got there they saw only some people and kids sitting in the waiting room and the two workers who were manning the check-in. One of the women pointed towards the entrance.
"He just ran out. Freddy ran after him," she said.
The two bolted out of the daycare to catch up. There were a few more people in the hallway, but no sign of either the boy or Freddy. Abe looked between the possible exits while Tommy's face fell into unenthusiasm.
"You take lobby, I'll take atrium?" Abe asked.
"No point. We lost him," Tommy said. Abe looked to him in disbelief, giving him a questioning shrug. "We'll have to check the cams," he clarified.
Abe couldn't argue with that. "Maybe one of us should start patrolling and the other should head back to the security office and radio in when they see him. Give us a bird's eye view."
"Now that's a faz-tastic idea, Ace! You head back and radio when you spot him," Tommy agreed.
He wasn't expecting that level of enthusiasm, nor for him to leap onto that specific role. Tommy never wanted to do patrols, and in this specific instance Abe didn't want to get cooped back up behind the screens.
"Great, but I was, umm… Thinking maybe you'd want to watch the cams and I could look around."
"I don't think so." Tommy sent him a slow, sly side-eye. "You'll get distracted."
He was onto him. Abe clammed up instantly. Noticing that sudden meekness, and the look on his face, Tommy gave him a faux-sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
"But first, let's go see Miss Pants. Bring her up to speed."
Abe nodded and the two headed back into the daycare. By time they returned, everyone was staring at them. Tommy returned them a weary look as he approached the check-in and addressed the worker who had directed them a few minutes beforehand.
"So, what happened? Did he come up the slide?" he asked, leaning on his elbow on the counter.
"He did. I almost didn't see him. Freddy was greeting some kids right by the gate when he climbed out and then he made a run for it."
Tommy blew through his lips before shooting her a lazy grin. "If he comes back, just call it in. The sooner we find this kid-."
All of a sudden, the lights grew dim. The music was quieted with owl hooting and cricket chirping effects. The cloud decals were retracted and the neon lights on the wall began to glow. Naptime had begun.
"…The sooner I can get far, far away from this daycare," Tommy finished. His smile dropping.
He dragged himself off the check-in counter and started making his way to the gate. He was almost there when Abe grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back. He almost questioned it, but at the same time he noticed nearby jingling and looked over to see the dreaded sight of red eyes peering out of the daycare slide. Moon rolled out of the slide and up onto his feet.
"Naptime hasss begun," he hissed lowly. His faceplate twitching and his grin especially wicked. "I sssuggessst you two go."
"We're on our way out, Moon. Just have to drop in and tell the little lady that the kid took off," Tommy tried to casually brush off. He hooked an arm around Abe's shoulders, yanking him down in the process, and all but dragged him through the gate.
"You should forget about chasing that boy. I will find him myself as soon as the daycare is closed," Moon promised. His ticking and clicking rumbling in his chest. "Naughty children will. Be. Found."
"We would, Moon, but Sun already had a little trouble getting ahold of him."
"Forget Sun. I will get him myself."
With that, Moon spun on his heel- his head staying trained on them as he did- and he hopped down the slide feet first. The red glare of his optics trained on them until he disappeared down the slide.
"…We supposed to forget that the second he walks outta here he's back to Sun?" Tommy asked. Clearly unamused by the display, but not about to provoke Moon any further. He beckoned Abe to follow. "Let's go. In and out."
At they walked down to the stairs, Abe looked out towards the playground below them. Sun must've moved quickly because the naptime knapsacks were already laid out in neat rows. All out in the open where they could be easily watched by their caretaker. Some of the children had willingly got into them already- likely not out of obedience or tiredness, but because they were too afraid to invoke Moon's wraith. Both kids and adults were terrified of Moon.
Well, except one little boy who had been waving and yelling, "Hi Moon! Hi!" since the moment he came down the slide. Moon made his way over to the boy and picked him up, proceeding to then stalk around and get things together with the child on his hip.
They found Sasha close to the table where they had been sitting at, but instead of still sitting there she was standing at the wall peering in at the daycare. Watching as Moon did his little rounds and put the children to bed. She turned to Abe and Tommy as they walked up.
"We lost sight of him. We're going to have to head back up to the security office. Or, one of us is, and the other's going to keep looking," Abe explained. Barely making an effort to hide his disappointment, Tommy thought.
Sasha disappointment stemmed more from losing sight of the boy. "That's a good plan. I guess I'm going to be sticking around here for a while if you find him. And if you do find him, try to be patient with him."
"Don't worry about it! We've seen much worse than this kid, lemme tell you that," Tommy remarked. "I'll swing by and drop him off when we find him."
"Thank you," Sasha said with a smile. She then turned to Abe, "I hope this isn't too presumptuous of me-."
"No," Abe prematurely cut her off. She looked amused and his face heated in embarrassment. "I mean, go ahead."
"Since we just met and you might be a chaperone, we should get to know each other better. Just to make sure you're up to it. Would you like to have dinner sometime?" Sasha offered.
Abe's heart leapt into his throat. "Yes! I'd love to. Could I have your…?" He cut off as she began to dig into her purse and soon presented him with a business card. He accepted it gratefully. "Maybe we could get together this weekend…?"
"I'd love to," Sasha agreed.
All the while Tommy witnessed this scene with a tight line of a mouth and a glazed look that resembled the one he had while sitting there watching the two flirt at the table. It was a look he kept even as they were walking out of the daycare. He remained silent until they were far enough away that he doubted anyone in that daycare would be around to hear, and then he spoke up.
"You're really into that broad, huh?" Tommy asked.
Abe noticed the weird doubtful tone in his voice. "What do you mean?"
"I mean how chummy you two were getting."
"We just met?"
"I know. That's why it's weird you two were crawling all over each other." He aimed a slightly smug smile towards his partner.
Abe couldn't help but notice how odd Tommy was being about the whole thing. Specifically, him bringing it up this long after they walked away. Before he had been too distracted with her, and her with him, to even notice if Tommy was acting off at all. Though now he wasn't, and he was. He had a quick revelation.
"Are you… jealous?"
All of the color drained out of Tommy's face, and he snapped his head fully towards him. "What're you saying?" he asked defensively.
"…Not that! I meant jealous of me! Asking her out!"
"First of all, she asked you out. Second of all, if I wanted a girl that bad, I could pick one up on my own. And I'd look for one who wasn't such a big Freddy's fan. I already spend too much time down here," Tommy quickly corrected, clearly offended.
"Right, sorry," Abe said, flustered.
"Try to not get a big head 'cause you asked a girl out," Tommy continued, shoving his hands into his pockets. Apparently, Abe had hit a raw nerve in his rather innocent question.
"I'm not." Seeing that Tommy very much was offended, Abe decided that maybe a little honesty might help smooth over the situation. "The truth is, it's my first time."
"…It's what?"
"Asking someone out. Or them asking me out. This is my first time."
Tommy was utterly floored. As gawky as Abe was, he wasn't a teenager. Though he acted like a rookie, they were virtually the same age, and this wasn't either's first job. To hear that this serendipitous meeting and slapdash flirtation was a first-time thing was baffling.
"Never?"
"I just never had time."
"Never?"
"Or the nerve…"
It took a few more seconds before that look of shock was replaced with a sly grin. Abe's face burned with embarrassment even before an arm was thrown around his shoulders.
"Okay, that almost makes up for the fact that you two were snubbing me this whole time," Tommy said cheekily. "Tell ya what, let's go get some tacos."
"Weren't we supposed to be doing something?" Abe asked rhetorically.
"The kid's not going anywhere fast. Come on, I'll buy you lunch."
That offer was quick to shut Abe up.
Soon enough, Abe found him seated at another table though now in the atrium. Since they were skimping on their job it seemed fair to at least try to watch the atrium while they were doing so. Just in case the kid wandered back through. He had to eventually.
But Abe was more than a little distracted. Now that he was alone and listening to the drone of music and voices, he found his thoughts starting to wander. To the lovely lady actually willing to give him a chance, to this possible date. He had been squirreling away money, so he had enough money for a good date. A good date.
But what if she wanted to do more than dinner? What if she wanted to swing by the Pizzaplex and try out some of the amenities? His employee discount wouldn't get far in this place. Though even that was short-term thinking. If it went really well and they started going steady she would eventually notice something odd. She might even ask to go to his apartment. Be honest and risk losing a her already or hide it and lose her later; lose-lose.
Abe pulled out of his thoughts as Tommy dropped a heavy bag of tacos onto the table and took a seat. He fished out a taco and began to unpeel the wrapping off it, with Abe following suit and dipping into the bag.
"Okay, so the first thing you've gotta know about women-."
"Why did you get so many tacos?" Abe asked.
"'Cause I'm hungry and you're scrawny. Plus, employee discount. Half off if I eat day old stuff."
As unappealing as likely left out day-old tacos were, beggars couldn't be choosers. A bite into one showed it tasted about the same is normal.
"First thing's first, there's no one trick to women. Every chick's different and you've gotta keep an eye out for what they're into or you're gonna blow it before you know if you two'd make a good match. Ya pretty much get one mess up during your first date. One mistake that you can make up for. Any more than that and ya done for. At least, that's the way I see it. And remember this: 'You look great'," Tommy emphasized.
"Thanks."
"No, not you. Her. Ya tell her she looks great and you see how she takes it. She's not into it? Cut the compliments. She is into it? Throw a few in later on. Not all together, then it'll sound phony."
"Do you date a lot?" Abe ventured to ask. Not doubtfully, just curiously, as Tommy sounded like he had experience.
"I make my way around. Hear things, see things, get a good vibe going."
As confident as he sounded, Abe noticed that the wording sounded like a no.
"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about," Tommy waved off. "So, got any ideas where you're taking her?"
Abe had been thinking about it when he got sidetracked by price. "What do you think… if I brought her here? To play games and get dinner."
Tommy got an amused smile. "I think that's a mistake waiting to happen."
"Oh…"
"This ain't exactly a date site- Oh, hello." Tommy had stolen a look around to emphasize his point only to lock his eyes onto something and not let up. His grin shifted. "Look at that fox. Over there, standing outside Gator Golf."
Abe turned back to look and saw the woman in question once a family passed by. Normally it would've been easy to lose anyone in the constant churning crowd, but she stood out. From her red hair pulled back into a neat ponytail to her little yellow dress, dotted in an especially soft yellow print and with a matching pair of strappy yellow pumps. She looked too dressed up to be hanging around in an indoor amusement park.
"The one in the yellow dress?"
"That's her," Tommy confirmed.
Seeing and hearing his interest, Abe very nearly suggested he go talk to her. Only to catch himself at the last second when he noticed- "It looks like she's waiting for someone."
"Maybe a date," Tommy offered. He mulled over what he was going to do for a few seconds before getting up. "I'm gonna see if she wants some company."
Abe gave him a thumbs up and bit into a slightly soft hard taco. It tasted like he wasn't going to have hunger pangs this afternoon but could possibly have cramps tonight.
Tommy strode up to the woman with a welcoming smile. She had been looking in the doorway at the entrance to Monty Golf, so she didn't notice him until he was all but standing alongside her.
"Excuse me, Ma'am. I just happened to notice you standing over here and was wonderin' if you needed some assistance," he began politely.
She looked to him in surprise before returning the friendly smile with one of her own, framed in glossy pink lip balm.
"Oh, I'm not lost if that's what you're thinking! I'm just waiting for somebody," she replied in a peppy tone.
"Boyfriend?" he asked.
"No, no. Just a friend," she quickly denied with a wave of her hands. It was cute, and that amount of denial seemed to suggest that there wasn't a boyfriend in the picture.
"Gotcha! Didn't mean to snoop," Tommy replied. "But since I've gotten this far, first time here?"
"No, but it's all still new to me. I'm surprised that I'm not getting lost in here. There's just so much stuff going on," she said. She took note of his uniform and then asked, "So, you're the daytime security guard! Do you know Vanessa?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Me too! She's pretty much my best friend," she said.
Now that was a lucky break. That could very well mean guaranteed future visits. This was perfect. He hoped Abe was watching.
"Really? Small world! Sweet gal. Too good for this place," he joked with a wink. He stuck out a hand. "Name's Tommy."
"I'm Louise. Nice to meet you!" Louise eagerly shook his hand without any hesitation. "It must be incredible to work in a place like this."
It wasn't, but he wasn't about to say something that negative when trying to land a good first impression. So, he chatted about Fazer Blast, since that was the one attraction he could really say a lot of positive things about without really forcing it. Apparently, she was familiar with the attractions, having swung by with Vanessa at some point. Why Vanessa would willingly come back to hang out was beyond his comprehension. Maybe seeing it with the lights off tempted her to hang out with the lights on.
But that aside, the two were having a downright quaint conversation. He inched ever closer to the eventual suggestion of them hanging out. He was even going to use Abe's idea and offer to show her around and hang out here. An easy way to secure a first date.
But then, right when he was about to go in for the kill, he heard the footsteps. He thought it was Freddy coming through at first, maybe to interrupt what he was doing to update him on the kid. Except no, they were coming from the entrance to Monty Golf, and a quick glance over revealed a familiar gator strutting out into the golf lobby. Tommy shrugged it off and turned his attention back to Louise, who had also noticed Monty's appearance and gave a friendly wave.
Tommy only had a second to process that it was going to draw him over before Monty walked right up and stood over them.
He didn't have any issue with Monty. He knew he had a temper, but he hadn't seen it for himself. So, he wasn't usually intimidated by him. Usually. Though right now Monty was acting rather unusually. Maybe Tommy was imagining it, but Monty seemed to be staring him down through his sunglasses.
"What's up?" he asked gruffly.
"Yeesh, I could ask the same thing!" Tommy thought. Though before he could answer, Louise spoke up.
"Oh, wow! You're Monty Gator! You won't believe this, but…" She brandished a pass with the gator's face on it. Tommy hadn't even seen her get it out. "I've got a meet and greet with you," she said with a wink.
"Ain't that somethin'. I've got some time free, let's get to it," Monty said. Something that got Tommy to double-take as he knew for a fact Monty wasn't usually that cooperative.
"I'm all yours!" Louise agreed eagerly. She looked back to Tommy and gave him another pretty smile. "It was really nice to meet you, Tommy."
"Yeah, you too…" Tommy said in disbelief. He watched as she started to head off with the animatronic. "See you around?" he called after them.
"Sure. Look all ya want," Monty chuffed back. He clasped his hands above his head and posed like a bodybuilder flexing his muscles. That is, the muscles alluded to by the curves of his casing.
This got a goofy little giggle out of Louise, and she waved back to Tommy. "See you later! I'll tell Vanessa you said hi!"
With that, Tommy had lost her. Not to a friend or possible boyfriend, but to one of the animatronics. Not just any of the animatronics either, but the one who he couldn't reasonably follow after because he was eyeing him since the second he walked up.
"Just beautiful," Tommy mumbled. Worse still, a look back at the table showed that Abe had seen the whole thing, regardless of how he snapped his head away. How embarrassing. He sighed and started to meander over.
So, what about this friend of hers? Monty couldn't have been that friend, it sounded like they only just met. From the nice clothes to the meet and greet- and photo- pass, Tommy realized that she must've dressed up nice to come get a picture with Monty Gator. She just said she was meeting someone because she was embarrassed to say she came to get a picture with an animatronic, more than likely.
That raised his chances and for a second he perked back up, only to deflate quickly afterwards. He hadn't gotten her information at all. Sure, he could made approach Vanessa about it- surely her number was on record- but that might come off a little too strong. So, unless they just happened to show up in the same general area again, he just lost his one chance to make a move. Maybe Vanessa would put in a good word for him, even though she barely knew him. Maybe.
He made his way back to the table and plopped down in his chair.
"Where were we?" he muttered.
"You were giving me advice on how to pick up women," Abe said.
Tommy leered at him for a long moment before sighing and pulling down his security cap.
"…Just take her to the movies."
…
It was weird to see the Pizzaplex so quiet after how loud and active it had been earlier. Though then again, that was partially because she was hiding out in a bathroom, listening to the automated messages playing overhead. First warning that the Pizzaplex would close soon, then telling all guests to leave and wishing them a good night, then reminding them to leave, then reminding them again, and for a while since then it had been quiet.
Louise turned on her cell phone to check the time and saw that it was a little after eleven o'clock. Time for her to leave the bathroom. She placed it back in her purse, quickly fluffed her hair in the mirror and smoothed down her dress, and then quietly snuck out of the bathroom. She pushed the door open a crack and peeked around outside to see that nobody was around. She took a deep breath and stepped out.
There was plenty of time for her to still walk out the door before it sealed up. Even if she didn't and she was stuck in here, Natalie would help her out. She would just have to pretend she didn't know her. Admittedly, if Natalie ended up catching her in here afterhours she would know exactly why she was here, and in that case Louise wished she didn't know her.
She came down the hallway and stepped out into Monty Golf. Even though closed, the lights and music were all on, so there wasn't the eerie feeling she was suspecting. She was still losing her nerve even as she stood there, yet she made her way through the golf course.
"Over here, Little Lady," a familiar voice called across the golf course. Boomed more like, even though the words weren't forceful. Both a mix of trepidation and excitement flittered in her stomach as she hurried over to find Monty waiting by the stairs. "The coast's clear."
"Good, I would hate having to explain why I spent thirty minutes camped out in the bathroom," Louise said. That roused a laugh out of him. She could nearly feel the rumble through her own chest, along with a swell of giddiness. Though she kept a clear head. "But the doors don't actually lock until midnight," she half-clarified and half-questioned.
"Nah, we've got plenty of time. Even if we didn't, there's more than one way out of here," Monty assured her. He offered his arm. "Come on. I've got something to show ya."
She took his arm and the two began to make their way through the Pizzaplex. It was like a whole different experience walking around in the dimly lit building without the constant drone of crowds. Instead, the ambience music playing overhead was now clearly audible.
Monty's casing was warm. She had noticed already, but she especially noticed it now. The warmth felt more akin to what she would expect from a human. It was more assuring in a way she couldn't put her finger on.
It wasn't long before she was led up to the loading platform for a coaster. The alligator shaped carts gave away exactly which track it was.
"Oh, this is where the coaster is! I always wondered where it was," Louise remarked. "Why isn't it in the golf course? Because of the risk of getting hit with a stray ball?"
"Never stopped 'em before. Nah, it's all about building structure… What there is of one." He muttered the last part with an adjust of his sunglasses. "Wanna live dangerously?"
"And go for a ride on a gator? Sure! But aren't you going to get bored sitting around waiting for me?" Louise asked.
She was answered with a low chuckle.
Her brows raised and her interest piqued. "Apparently not. Got a plan?"
"Y'know, they're always tellin' me to get more up close an' personal with the guests," Monty said coyly. He drew back his arm with a cocky glint to his grin- or that's what she read the expression as- and began to stride over to the nearest cart docked at the station.
"Wait a minute," Louise tried to interject. She knew what he was about to do. "Whoa, hold up! I don't know if that's-!"
Monty stepped a foot into the gator cart.
"You're a pretty big guy!"
He started to lean in. The cart groaned a little and swayed almost ominously.
"Weight limit!"
"Relax, Cher. I've ridden on one of these before," Monty brushed off. He then all but fell into the seat, barely. The cart rocked as he readjusted, having to hang one leg off to the right and bending the left, resting his foot on the security rail just alongside the mounted ball shooter. He rested an arm across the back of the seats- bent to fit- and looked at her over crooked sunglasses. "Whaddya say, Little Lady?"
Louise's better judgement said that this was an accident waiting to happen, but somehow it was still a tempting offer. Up close and personal would be a major understatement too. After mulling it over for a short bit, she made her decision.
"…Well, I don't weigh that much…"
"Atta girl. See that panel over there? Press the stop button and then hop on in."
"Okay… Did you say the stop button?"
"Yeah."
There was definitely something off with how things were run around here. Regardless, she pressed the butter and heard a beep signaling that the ride had responded. She then hustled over and climbed into the cart. The fear of being half on the ride when it started to move outweighing the fact that she had to hastily squeeze herself in beside him. it was much, much closer than even taking photos together. She wondered if he had been planning on that.
Monty lifted his leg to pull the safety bar back into place. This made Louise feel much more secure, though Monty looked slightly more twisted up trying to take care not to put weight on said bar. Or perhaps was trying to maneuver around his tail. He had to lean more over her, arm behind her seat and over her shoulder. She didn't mind one bit, flashing him an excited but slightly nervous smile.
There was another loud beep and the cart started jolted and started to move. Slowly winding its way into the darkness of the track.
It became clear rather quickly that the coaster was actually a dark ride. It steadily moved into the darkness, alit by dozens of tiny lights like fireflies hanging in the air. It was charming. Though something about the darkness made her unusually wary- likely the midnight deadline getting to her, she knew this building wasn't safe- and she found herself slinking closer to that warm casing. Monty moved his hand onto her shoulder.
The darkness was broken up by an illuminated Monty's Gator Golf sign. After another corner dotted in the firefly lights, they rolled up on a scene of a young, scruffy, cartoon Monty standing beside a fake campfire and before a sign that read 'Monty's One Man Jug Band'.
"Aww, cute! Are these your humble beginnings?" Louise asked playfully.
"Nah, it's all made up," Monty brushed off. "Don't let 'em fool you. I've always been this cool."
"Oh? So where do you really come from, Mister Gator? I've just gotta know," she said, clasping her hands together pleadingly.
"Since ya asked so nicely, I can let ya in on a little secret. I come from a magical place down under," Monty introduced with a grandiose wave. "They call it… the basement."
She gave him an unenthused look, her lips pursed.
"Ah never said it was glamorous," he quipped.
"Sure, but what kind of magic are we talking about? Like, the miracle of birth or leprechauns?" Louise retorted. He gave her a blank look and she returned with a teasing little grin.
"More like a miracle I got outta there. The place is a dump."
"…Oh right. Vanessa told me about the weird thing with the trash in the basement," Louise said. This got a chuckle out of Monty.
Louise looked up at a cutout of the Glamrock band and her eyes widened at an unfamiliar rabbit replacing Monty in the band. He kept his eyes on her, not daring to spare even a look at the characters.
"So, what's yer story?" he asked.
"I told you, I live with my crazy mother," Louise said.
"Ya gotta bring her by. I gotta see this woman."
Louise blew him off with a 'pshh' and a dismissive little brush of her fingers.
"Naw, come on. There's gotta be somethin' more," he pressed. "Ya got a history with Freddy's?"
"To tell you the truth, I hadn't even heard of Freddy's until a couple of years ago. We moved here to get closer to family and there weren't Freddys here by time we showed up," she explained. She tapped her nails on the security bar thoughtfully. He tapped his claws rhythmically on her shoulder. She gripped the bar in resolution and asked, "What do you think about, umm… competition?"
"I think that security guy ain't got a chance, but sure, he can try," Monty replied.
"No, not that kind of competition. What kind of girl do you take me for?" Louise asked. Though her small smile gave away that she was more amused than anything. "I meant like business competition."
"Not much. Ain't my place to worry about it."
"Okay, well… I work over at Foxy's."
"Foxy's?"
"The pizza place- but before you think I'm over here spying or anything, I'm not. I just like hanging out with you."
That got another one of those contented rumbles out of him. She wasn't sure if it was coming from a speaker or what, but she could feel the vibration through his arm. If he was going to have any reaction to her working for a competitor, that quickly smoothed it over.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Darlin'. I know yer not," he affirmed. He didn't even sound surprised. "I was just tryin' to figure out…" he trailed off distantly. She waited for him to continue, but he didn't.
His eyes caught on a cutout of Montgomery Gator posed rocking out on stage and for a split second he forgot who he was. He felt like an imposter in a suit.
"Figure out…?" she coaxed.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Monty shook his head as though snapping out of a daze and adjusted his sunglasses accordingly.
"Ya know, kids love us. Adults ain't so keen on getting close. 'Specially not this close," he said. The way he worded it could've given the impression that the comment came completely out the blue, but she realized what he was asking her.
"Oh! Because I'm not- Because even though you're, uh… That didn't sound right. You know what I mean. It doesn't bother me."
"I don't get why it don't," Monty said. "Not that it bothers me none. I don't mind having a gator groupie." He lowered his shades and winked.
Louise guffawed. "I am NOT a groupie."
"I don't know. You get real giggly sometimes."
"That's just because I'm ticklish and you can't keep your hands off me," Louise flirted back.
Monty snorted a little. Subconsciously or not, he moved his hand back from her shoulder onto the seat. She reached back and put it right back on her shoulder.
"It doesn't bother me," she said more insistently. "It's a little different, but I'm not worried about that. I'm way more worried about getting caught and arrested. Or worse, Vanessa finding out. She wouldn't let me live that down."
"Ah won't tell if you won't," Monty promised. He then, rather boldly, pulled her in a little closer. Her heart stuttered at the encapsulating heat- "Ya better hold on. We're about to pick up speed 'til we get to the targets."
Louise looked ahead. They were coming out of a tunnel and into a large room that might've been over the golf course.
"I don't see a drop. Is it around the… corner?!"
Louise's question was cut off by the cart suddenly picking up speed as it chugged down the course, zooming around and making its way to the aligned targets. All the while swaying in a way it probably shouldn't have from the unexpectedly heavy weight load. She grabbed onto him for dear life and he soaked up every moment as he held the safety bar and hoped to anything listening that the cart didn't tilt enough to roll him out of it.
As far as he was concerned, it was worth the risk of breaking a couple of legs to live for a little while. For as long as she stuck around.
Such was the life of a real rockstar, he supposed.