Since the opening, there'd been no sign of his so-called father. That was good, even if it was temporary.
Mike had gotten used to the regulars—who came when, how busy it got, which kids caused trouble and which ones just wanted to stand near the stage. The rest of the staff stayed busy too. Some cleaned. Some kept the kids from climbing on things they shouldn't. Foxy had been getting more unstable lately, needing more repairs than the others. It was unfortunate, considering he was Mike's favorite. Ralph liked him for the same reason, and they'd found things to talk about. Shared interests made easy conversation. Ralph naturally did most of the talking. Mike didn't mind.
Lolbit had started showing up on his phone, texting him whenever things got quiet or boring. At least there was someone to keep him company between parents complaining about pizza temperature and kids screaming because they couldn't play in staff-only areas.
*I should seriously ask Lolbit for a therapist referral. She'd probably send me a link to a chatbot and call it a day.*
At home, Bonnet drew pictures or played games. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Yenndo adjusted things even if it was pointless, still playing butler after all these years.
One Friday in late September, the air finally carrying the first real chill of autumn, Mike was busy moving boxes of food ingredients, along with plates, cups, spoons, and other essentials for restocking the place.
Later, Nancy passed him in the hallway. "Boxes all moved?"
"Yeah."
"There's going to be another birthday party tomorrow, so everyone needs to make sure everything is prepared."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"I want you, along with them, to open up those boxes and set up the decorations in the main area."
Nodding, Mike headed over to the boxes and opened them up to find a lot of the decorations themed around horses.
He looked up. "Any reason for the horse theme instead of the usual Freddy's stuff?"
"They asked for horses specifically. Paid a lot. Better not to question anything."
Some of the staff available at the time worked together to set everything up. Mike started with the tables, draping the pink cloths over each one and smoothing out the wrinkles. A few others worked on the wall decorations. A guy from the kitchen was hanging streamers from the light fixtures, twisting them into spirals and hoping it looked cool enough. Tom and a few others brought in more supplies.
Ralph showed up at some point, coffee in hand, watching everyone work. "It seems everyone here is busy."
"Well, if you don't mind, why don't you do some real work and help out here by putting up the decorations?" a guy named Bill suggested.
"Alright, grumpy," Ralph said.
And like that, Ralph went on to help. He climbed up the ladder to hang some streamers and ended up falling backward into the decorations, getting tangled up in pink crepe paper and horse cutouts. He lay there for a moment, flat on his back, a paper horse stuck to his shirt.
"You good?" Mike asked.
"I don't think I want to get involved with ladders ever again."
Mike helped him up.
Dominic showed up in the doorway, clipboard in hand. "Hey, Mike and Samantha, could you guys throw away the extra boxes and take the garbage out?"
"Sure," Mike said.
Mike and Samantha threw away as many boxes as they could, tossing them into the dumpster. The dumpster was already half-full from the week's trash.
"You ever wonder why we're the ones usually doing this?" Samantha asked, tossing her boxes into the dumpster.
"Someone has to do it eventually."
"Yeah, but shouldn't the janitors be taking out the trash?"
"Not when they are busy cleaning up the customers' mess. Besides, I've seen the other guys take out the trash. Personally, it's the best thing you could be doing, as long as you can handle the smell. After all, you get some alone time away from all the more difficult tasks."
"Fair point." Samantha tossed the last bag.
Ralph stepped out, coffee still in hand, jacket pulled tight around his shoulders.
"What are you doing out here?" Mike asked.
"Taking a break. It's quieter out here, although a little cold around this time compared to being inside." Ralph looked at the dumpster. "You guys finish with the trash?"
"Just finished up," Samantha said. "I'm going back in before I freeze."
She headed inside. Ralph took a sip of coffee. "Good," he said. "That means Nancy won't ask me to do it."
"You're welcome."
"I think I'm going to head back in and wrap things up."
"See you tomorrow, then."
"You too."
Mike headed back inside, making his way to the supply closet just off the back hallway because he'd noticed earlier that some of the arcade machines were getting dirty because of the kids. A narrow room lined with shelves of cleaning products, spare rags, and industrial-sized bottles of disinfectant that all smelled vaguely of bleach. He grabbed a rag, checked that it was clean enough to use, and made his way to the arcade.
There were arcade machines such as racing and fighting; they seemed more popular with the kids. Mike began cleaning the entire machine, making sure every button was clean, along with the hard-to-reach cracks in between. He went on to the next and repeated until he was at least mentally exhausted. He finished up with the last machine and put the rag away in the supply closet. Once he was finished with that, he clocked out, got in his car, and left. There were still a few other people finishing things up in the building, but it wasn't any of his business. He pulled out of the lot and onto the main road.
The gas light flicked on just as he was driving. Mike glanced at the dashboard, then at the road ahead. There was a station near the main road, not too far from here. He found the place and drove in.
There were some cars naturally going in and out for gas, but that didn't stop him from finding an empty spot, parking the car, and getting out. He took the gas pump and started filling the gas. With that done, he put it back and headed inside to pay. Mike approached the dude behind the counter, who seemed very exhausted. Mike gave the money and left, walking back out to drive home. There were a lot of things he couldn't get his mind off the remnant not working as it should, the situation with the dead kids in the previous location, and most importantly, William's whereabouts. Making it home, he parked the car and walked inside.
"Welcome back, Mike," Yenndo said. "You seem to be getting busier and busier by the day. Did anything interesting happen?"
Mike hung his jacket on the hook by the door. "Not really. Just another party tomorrow."
"Mike, can you tell us some good jokes? Lolbit is really bad at it," Bonnet asked, popping up suddenly from somewhere.
"I am not bad at jokes," Lolbit said, her voice crackling from the monitor on the desk. "I have a great sense of humor; it's just you guys don't like to laugh."
"Then why don't you explain your last joke?" Bonnet replied. She'd heard Lolbit's jokes countless times; they never get any better.
Lolbit's voice took on the tone of a lecturer addressing a particularly slow class. "So when I asked you why the animatronic crossed the road, you asked why, and I said because it's programmed to, and the reason that joke is very funny is that most jokes have a punchline that subverts expectations in some unexpected way, but this joke's punchline is that there is no subversion; it's literally in its program to do so."
Silence.
"That's the worst explanation of a joke I've ever heard," Bonnet said finally.
"It's not meant to be heard. It's meant to be appreciated intellectually."
"I'm not appreciating it."
"You're not intellectual enough."
"Are you seriously calling me stupid?"
"Yes, I am."
"Oh yeah? Well, you're too stupid to understand that a joke is supposed to be creative and funny," Bonnet said. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard you say, 'Why did something cross the road?' You always use the same overheard jokes, including knock-knock jokes, and the more annoying ones like yo mama jokes to the point where it doesn't become funny anymore. Mike, show her how a real professional tells a joke."
"Alright then. A bear, a rabbit, a chicken and a fox are inside a pizzeria. They see a completely unguarded, unlocked exit door leading outside. They ignore it and wait until 6 A.M. to disappear. Do you know why?"