Monday, August 10, 1992
Evan Afton's middle school years were a time of great change, both for him and Mangle.
Having entered puberty, Evan began to experience several growth spurts at the age of twelve, and as a result he grew little over an inch taller than her—something she was not too happy about given that she had become used to being the bigger of the two. Of course, that was nothing compared to when Evan's voice dropped, which had initially freaked Mangle out and took some time for her to get used to. More than that, with puberty also came the moodiness and awkwardness of teenagehood.
Evan had also continued to make great progress with his studies. In fact, by the age of thirteen, he had advanced to the point that his father was forced to admit that he no longer had anything more to teach him. And so, instead of studying under his father, Evan began to spend time experimenting and developing the various systems that Mangle wanted for her future body—things such as a biofuel system that would allow her to digest food and gain energy from it, as well as a tactile sensor system that would give her a far better sense of touch than the extremely rudimentary system she already possessed.
Of course, the one mystery that Evan was never able to crack was the true nature of Mangle's invisible component that was responsible for her intelligence and sentience. With nothing to go on, he eventually settled on a hypothesis that it was due to some sort of quantum phenomenon that had somehow arisen from her original artificial intelligence and augmented it. Even so, he continued to monitor the changes it made to her system in the hopes of one day finding a way to reverse engineer it.
Just as Evan changed, so did Mangle. She stopped playing with toys altogether, instead opting to read books and magazines, and play computer games. She developed a particular fondness for strategy games, and became quite good at them as well. And as her mind continued to develop, she changed the design for her future body—instead of looking like a white and pink Maid Marian, Mangle wanted it to be tall and shapely, with long luscious hair, and a more expressive face. She even asked Evan to make a new voice box for it that would allow her to sound more mature.
Now on the eve of starting high school, Evan was getting ever closer to finally being able to fulfill Mangle's wish, even if just in part.
It was late in the evening and Evan had just managed to talk Mangle into watching 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day' with him after a lengthy discussion. She had very firmly refused to watch the first Terminator movie, as watching fictional robots brutally murder humans wasn't her idea of fun. However, she ended up agreeing to watch the second one, albeit reluctantly, but only because it apparently had a friendly robot in it.
Evan and Mangle lay next to each other in front of the TV as they watched the movie together. It began by showing an ordinary day in a city before it flashforwarded to the future, where the same city was nothing but rubble, its ground littered with human bones. A female narrator spoke up and described how most of humanity had perished in a nuclear apocalypse, with the survivors having to fight a war against the machines. A mechanical foot then stepped onto a mound of human skulls, and the camera panned up to reveal a very advanced and terrifying endo holding a rifle. What followed was a montage of robots eradicating a group of human soldiers who were desperately trying to fight back.
More than a little disturbed, Mangle looked over at Evan who was grinning from ear to ear.
"What are you smiling about?" She asked with some concern.
"Oh, I'm just enjoying seeing my fantasies realized on the big screen," The thirteen-year-old replied with a smirk. "I'd love to make this a reality one day."
"Don't joke about stuff like that," Mangle said with a look of disapproval.
"Who said I'm joking?" Evan replied with a mischievous grin.
She lashed her tail. "Ugh, seriously, stop."
"Alright, alright," he chuckled. "In all seriousness, I'm admiring the endos. While they're obviously nothing more than movie props, I love how intricate their design is."
"Yeah, but they're also super creepy," Mangle noted. "I hope you're not planning on making my endo look like that."
Evan huffed a laugh. "I mean, it's not like you're going to see it that often, given that your casing is on you most of the time."
"I guess…" The animatronic fox admitted reluctantly.
"Look, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't sacrifice a good endo design simply because it looks scary," the thirteen-year-old continued. "For instance, look at humans—we're wired to feel fear and discomfort when we see our endoskeletons, but that doesn't stop us from studying anatomy or taking X-rays."
Mangle nodded. "Yeah, that's a good point."
They continued to watch the movie, and much to Mangle's surprise, she found herself actually enjoying it. The dynamic between John Connor and the Terminator was just so endearing! And when they got to the end of the movie where the Terminator sacrificed himself to safeguard humanity's future, Mangle was in tears. Or she would be if she had tear ducts.
Once the credits rolled, Evan turned to her with a smile. "Such a good movie, wouldn't you agree?"
Mangle hummed in agreement with a nod. "I just wish that the Terminator didn't have to die."
The thirteen-year-old's smile vanished as he regarded her with caring eyes. "So do I."
She let out a weary sigh. "And to be honest, I'm getting tired of seeing humans and robots fight each other in these movies. Why can't they make something where they all just get along?"
"They do get along in Star Wars," Evan pointed out with a half smile.
"Yeah, but that's because the robots are slaves," Mangle replied. She stared at the floor and lowered her ears. "Just… for once I'd like to see humans and robots exist as equals, you know?"
The thirteen-year-old frowned and regarded her in silence for a few moments, before he reached out and placed his hand on hers, offering her a sympathetic smile. "I'd love to see that as well."
Tuesday, August 11, 1992
Waking up to the sound of his alarm clock, Evan rubbed his eye as he groggily reached out and turned off the alarm. He let out a yawn as he looked over at Mangle, who was still fast asleep. The boy couldn't help but to smile to himself—feeling proud of his work, but also amazed at how Mangle's invisible component had managed to adapt his code into something that perfectly resembled human sleep.
After getting out of bed very carefully so as to not wake her, Evan snuck over to his clothes trunk where he changed out of his pajamas and underwear. However, after removing his boxer briefs, he happened to glance at it and noticed a white stain on the inside of it. He grimaced in disgust and dropped the garment on the floor. He really hated how gross his body was at times.
Once he had gotten dressed, Evan got his backpack, then left the barn and went into the house to do his daily bathroom routine and eat breakfast. With that done, he took his bike to school. On his way there, he happened to pass by Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, and he just had to stop. Although it looked very run down, Evan couldn't help but to regard it with a nostalgic smile. He thought about the time he spent there when he was younger—meeting Mangle, playing with her, and reading comics in the vents together. She had brought so much joy and inspiration to his life, to the point where he couldn't imagine living without her.
He then checked his wristwatch and cursed to himself as he resumed his journey. If he didn't pick up the pace, he'd be late!
As he approached his destination, Evan was met by a very familiar sight—the city library, which, conveniently, was right next to Hurricane High. The thirteen-year-old smiled to himself as he thought about spending his lunch breaks browsing books and studying.
However, his smile quickly vanished when he passed the library and got a good look at the school grounds—it was full of teenagers, many of which were wearing gaudy clothes, with some riding skateboards, others smoking, and one group listening to some god-awful music on a boom box. He regarded them with utter disdain, wondering how in the hell he was even the same species as them. Doing his best to ignore them, he parked his bike and headed inside of the building.
Evan grumbled to himself as he trudged over to the classroom. During homeroom, he had asked his teacher if he could test out of his math and science classes, only to be told 'no'. He had later made the same request from his math teacher, but the grumpy old bastard denied his request as well. Now the boy was heading to his Earth systems class, and he didn't exactly have high hopes that he'd be able to persuade his science teacher to let him test out.
Upon entering the classroom, Evan saw the teacher in question, and he couldn't help but to take note of how young he looked compared to the rest of the faculty.
The thirteen-year-old sat down by a desk in the front row, and after the rest of the students had been seated, the teacher spoke up.
"Alright, everybody, my name is Mister Rivera," he greeted them as he wrote his name on the chalkboard. "And in addition to being your science teacher, I'll be seeing some of you in my computer technology class."
Frowning impatiently, Evan raised his hand.
Mr. Rivera turned to look at the thirteen-year-old. "Yes?"
"May I please test out of this class?"
"Very funny," Mr. Rivera replied with a forced smile before he shifted his attention back to the class as a whole.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Evan spoke up again. "That wasn't a joke!"
Looking slightly amused, Mr. Rivera returned his attention to the boy and said, "How about you give this class a chance before trying to test out of it?"
"Why? I'm already studying all of the relevant subjects at a college level!" The thirteen-year-old shot back.
Before Mr. Rivera could respond, Timmy mockingly called out, "Nerd!"
The whole classroom erupted in laughter, with the sole exception of Evan and Mr. Rivera. The thirteen-year-old ground his teeth and clenched his fists in response to being subjected to what apparently passed as a joke to his small-minded classmates. Mr. Rivera, meanwhile, regarded him with sympathetic eyes.
"Settle down, kids! Settle down," Mr. Rivera said aloud. Once the laughter had died down, he gestured for Evan to come with him. "You. Let's talk outside."
"Fine," the thirteen-year-old replied with another frustrated sigh as he got up from his desk and trudged over to the teacher.
"The rest of you, just talk amongst yourselves," Mr. Rivera said before he led Evan out into the hallway and closed the door. Once they had some privacy, the teacher put his hands on his hips and regarded the boy with a look of disapproval. "Okay, what's with the attitude?"
Evan furrowed his brow. "Attitude?! Gee, excuse me for not enjoying being held back and having my time wasted, when I could've spent it actually learning something!"
Mr. Rivera held up a hand. "Look, I get it. I really do. And if what you say is true, then of course I'm going to let you test out, but that doesn't excuse this kind of behavior."
The thirteen-year-old was about to snap back at his teacher, but then stopped himself when he realized that he agreed with him. Feeling a bit guilty, he mumbled, "Sorry…"
Mr. Rivera put his hand behind his ear and asked, "What was that?"
"Okay, I apologize," Evan relented. "It's just been so incredibly frustrating, since none of the other teachers will permit me to test out."
"You know, if you're that far ahead, then you really should be in college now, not high school," Mr. Rivera noted.
The thirteen-year-old grimaced. "I'm not ahead at everything. Just math, science, and tech."
That last part seemed to catch the teacher's attention. "Really? Tech too?"
Evan nodded and smirked. "Yeah, I make and program my own custom computer components, and I make robots too."
"Really?" Mr. Rivera couldn't help but to smile. "You know, I used to work with robots—really high-tech ones—so if you ever want to show me what you're working on, I'd love to see it."
Feeling more than a little intrigued, Evan asked, "If you worked with that kind of tech, then why did you become a high school teacher? That seems to me like a significant step down."
Mr. Rivera grimaced. "Let's just say that the company I used to work for had an extremely… stressful work environment and absolutely horrible management. After working in a place like that, I felt like I needed something completely different, you know?" He said with a rueful smile. "Anyway, do you want me to talk to your math teacher for you?"
"Huh?"
"You know, so you can test out of his class too?" The teacher clarified.
"You'd… do that?" Evan asked, sounding more than a little surprised.
"Yeah. I mean, if you really are so far ahead, then it'd be a shame to hold you back," Mr. Rivera replied. He then gave the boy a knowing smile. "Besides, you seem like the kind of gifted kid who would act out if you get bored, so it's really in our best interest as well."
Evan smiled at him. He was really starting to like this teacher. "Thank you, Mister Rivera!"
"Don't mention it," the teacher replied. "Anyway, I should be able to get you that test by tomorrow. Until then, you're going to have to keep attending my class. Now, can I trust you to act nice?"
"C-certainly," Evan replied, feeling more than a little embarrassed.
"Good." Mr. Rivera smiled at the boy and gestured for him to follow him back into the classroom. However, just before opening the door, he turned to the thirteen-year-old and added, "Oh, and if any of the other kids give you trouble, let me know and I'll handle it."
"W-will do," Evan replied with an appreciative smile.
He definitely liked this teacher.
Evan let out a sigh of relief as he left the locker room. If there was one class he hated, it was physical education. He didn't mind the exercise, of course, but rather the fact that it gave his bullies way too many opportunities to torment him.
Thankfully, it was now lunchtime, and so Evan took the opportunity to go to the library. As it served as the library of Hurricane, he had been there many times before and so knew where to find the kinds of books that he was interested in.
He grabbed a book on electrochemical systems and went over to a table in one of the more secluded areas. After placing the book down on the table, Evan sat down and unpacked his lunchbox.
The thirteen-year-old spent the next fifteen minutes or so enjoying some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while studying. However, this moment was interrupted when two older students suddenly approached him.
"Hey, you're that new smart kid, right?" Asked one of them.
"I am," Even replied dryly as he turned to look at the two older teenage boys.
They looked like they were in their mid-to-late teens and were quite well-dressed. However, their hygiene left much to be desired.
"We heard that you're something of a technical genius," said the other one of the older teens. "How'd you like to join the Robotics Club?"
He regarded them with contempt. "I think I'll pass."
The older teens looked at each other.
"Why?" Asked the first.
Evan let out an exasperated sigh. "Because I'd much rather spend my time advancing my own knowledge than tinker with simple toys."
"Well, then maybe you could teach us a thing or two," the second one suggested. "After all, it's important to give back to your community."
"My community?" Evan scoffed and scowled. "All that my community has ever given me is pain! I owe it nothing!"
Both of the older teens looked a little taken aback. The second one then shook his head and said, "Fine, suit yourself."
"Gladly," Evan replied as he got back to reading.
The older teens were about to leave, when the first one glanced back at the thirteen-year-old and said, "You know, you're never going to get into any of the good schools without doing any extracurriculars. Especially not with that attitude."
Evan just pretended to ignore him until he left as well.
Having returned home, Evan entered the barn and found Mangle sitting at the computer, playing what he could only assume to be Civilization. Once he closed the door, Mangle whipped her head around in his direction and let out a gasp.
"Evan, you're home!" She exclaimed. Her tail wagged as she got out of her seat, ran up to the boy, and wrapped her arms around him with a playful giggle.
The thirteen-year-old chuckled and hugged her back.
"How was school?" Mangle asked.
Evan grimaced slightly. "It was bearable, I suppose. How was your day?" He eyed the computer at the far side of the barn. "Don't tell me you've spent all day playing Civilization again."
Mangle broke the hug and turned away. "No…" She then looked at him with what could almost pass for a sheepish grin. "I also read a magazine."
"Mangle," the thirteen-year-old said disapprovingly as he crossed his arms. "You shouldn't spend all of your time on such frivolities. After all, every day is an opportunity to learn something new."
Mangle let out a sigh and looked away, crossing her arms as well. "That's easy for you to say. You don't know what it's like to be here all alone, to never get to go outside."
Evan frowned and gave her an apologetic look. "You're right, I don't know what it's like. But I'm just trying to look out for you, Mangle. You know how much I care about you."
Mangle's tail began to wag again. "Well… maybe you do have a point. It's just that there aren't a whole lot of options for me. I've already read all of the books you have that I'm interested in."
"I could always borrow some books for you," Evan replied. "The city library is right next to my school, so it would be a simple matter for me to get you whatever kind of books you'd like." He glanced at the computer. "Perhaps something on world history?"
"I… I think I'd like that," Mangle said as she looked at the boy with her eyelids raised in a smile.
"Glad to hear it." Evan smiled at her and set his backpack aside. "Anyway, I should get some work done before Disney Afternoon."
The animatronic fox fidgeted with her hands. "Do you need to use the computer? I'm so close to conquering the world right now."
The thirteen-year-old huffed a laugh. "Last night you were so adamant about robots and humans getting along, and here you are conquering the world."
"Oh, shut up," Mangle replied with a playful giggle.
Evan chuckled. "But no, I have no need of the computer right now, so feel free to continue playing civilization if you want."
"Yes!" Mangle exclaimed and then hugged the boy before she rushed back to the computer.
Smiling, Evan regarded her with great fondness as he walked over to the workshop area. There, on one of the tables, sat his unfinished prototype of a mechanical stomach. The thirteen-year-old brought out his tools and set to work on it.
Sitting at the dinner table and deep in thought, Evan absentmindedly ate a piece of beef stroganoff.
"You seem distracted, sport," William noted after taking a bite of his own food. "Is there something on your mind?"
"No, it's just…" the thirteen-year-old trailed off and let out a sigh. "I was told by a student that I have to partake in extracurricular activities if I am to get into a good college."
William frowned. "That doesn't seem right. Then again, my knowledge of the American education system is quite limited."
"No, it's true," Michael chimed in. "All of the top colleges are very selective about who they admit, so you have to show them that you're a good pick on top of having amazing GPA and ACT scores, and you do that through extracurriculars."
William pointed his fork at Michael. "And what exactly qualifies as an extracurricular activity?"
Michael shrugged. "Joining a club, getting an internship, or doing pretty much anything outside of the normal curriculum that would look good on a college application."
Evan let out a frustrated sigh. "Just perfect, now I'm forced to waste my time when I could've spent it on developing Mangle's new body."
William thought for a moment and then said, "You know… I believe there's a way for you to kill two birds with one stone."
This definitely got the thirteen-year-old's attention. "Oh?"
"I believe that high school students are eligible to enter an international science fair that's held yearly," William explained. "You'll have to look up the rules, of course, but you should be able to enter that competition with Mangle's new body as your science project. If you can manage to win first prize and impress everyone there, then I doubt that any college would be stupid enough to reject your application."
Evan smiled at him. "That's a brilliant idea, Father! Thank you."
William smirked. "You're quite welcome, sport."
Michael, meanwhile, stared at his plate with a frown and shook his head in disapproval.