dead stuck in this town
always lost when i'm found
in and out of space
in and out of phase
feeling deep in the heart
it feels like tearing apart
think i'll slowly fade away

Foresight
The Room Is Filled With People That Love You

•••••

  I managed to make it home despite driving the whole half-hour commute with watery vision.

  I thanked my past self for refusing to tell anybody about the interview, because taking calls from curious people asking me how it went was the absolute last thing I wanted. I don't think I could've disguised the sob-fest I had on the side of the road that left me sounding like I'd shoved a cheese grater down my throat. 

  Visiting the pizzaplex was a terrible idea. I knew this and I still went, so I suppose I could just call this emotional agony karma. It sucked. 

  When I got home and saw my asshole of a cat, Mike, I burst into another round of crying because why the fuck would I name my asshole cat after Michael?

  And because every Michael is a dick to me, my cat simply glared at me with his asshole eyes before leaving the room, deciding that my harrowing sorrow was too loud for him.

  With the rest of the 'sick day' mine for the taking, I made a pitiful microwave lunch and hooked up my phone's netflix to the TV. While cringing through questionable TV-dinner chicken, I kicked myself for not grabbing something from the Pizzaplex's food court before leaving.

  I could've ordered a burrito through tears. It would've turned some heads, but I could've.

  "Jesus Christ," I muttered to myself as I blankly stared at the screen. I expected for some long, forcefully forgotten memories to re-emerge and cause turmoil, but I hadn't expected to get hit with them like a fucking train.

  I deserved it, though. This was what I got for pushing boundaries that I knew I hadn't recovered from yet. This was what I got for having little to no self-control. My therapist would be so disappointed in me. God, Matt would be so disappointed in me. I couldn't believe I lied to him.

  That night, I didn't sleep a wink.

  I resumed my usual routine upon hitting the alarm. Coffee, breakfast, pet Mike if he'd let me. I took to my car and arrived at work at the exact time I'd been arriving at work for the past five years.

  Accounts, accounts, accounts. My day dragged, bogged down by financial requests here, advanced leave approvals there. It felt like I was running in circles and completing a maze at the same time.

  "Hello?" I huffed my short greeting as I answered my ringing phone without checking the caller ID. A male's voice replied as I held the phone with my shoulder and flicked through some reports.

  "Y/n, hello!" he began. I frowned as I tried to place whose voice it belonged to. "It's Dennis Bailey, the general manager of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."

  I almost dropped my phone from standing up so fast. Oh, god. What do I do? Hang up?

  "No, not at all!" I replied as I rushed to shut the door to my office and tried not to have a panic attack in the middle of my workday. 

  "Wonderful!" Dennis' reply was bright and chipper and felt like the opposite side of the coin from my dread. "Look, we just loved you at the pizzaplex-"

  I felt ice drip down my spine. No.

  "-and your qualifications are all up to standard for the position we're looking for."

  Please, for the love of god, no.

  "I wanted to know if you were free any time next week to pop back in for a retrospective meeting? Maybe introduce you to the stars themselves?"

  I dutifully, timidly perched on the edge of my desk chair as I held briefly silent. No, no, no. I couldn't do it. It wasn't healthy for me. Don't give me this chance.

  "Yeah," I breathed, and mentally screamed at myself for being unable to say no. "That sounds great."

  Sounds like a million sleepless nights to me. At this rate, I was going to coerce myself into the job.

  "Splendid!" Dennis chimed. "How's Monday morning for you? The place will be shut for maintenance so we don't have to worry about maneuvering around guests."

  "That's perfect," I agreed through a mouth that felt strangely dry.

  "Amazing," Dennis gushed, and at this point, I was certain that he was just listing off synonyms from a thesaurus. Maybe working at a kid-centric center did that to people. "I'll let the gang know that you'll be coming in. Oh, they'll be so excited!" I opened my mouth to ask exactly who would be excited, but he beat me to it. "And the handlers will be ecstatic, too!"

  Dennis was weird, I decided. They're just robots, and yet he spoke of them as if they were more. 

  "Me, too," I said weakly. He didn't seem to notice my hesitation over the line.

  "Ten sharp good for you?" Dennis asked and it sounded like he was typing something down. Probably slotting me into a daily schedule of some kind. "I'll have someone there to let you into the building and escort you."

  "Ten's good," I replied. I raised my hand to rub wearily at my tense forehead and felt the weight of my stress make my feet sink through the floor. One day, I was going to give myself a stress-induced heart attack, I just knew it.

  "Alrighty!" Dennis said, overjoyed. They must really have been in want of a manager for the Glamrocks if his attitude was anything to go by. I had to remind myself to be strong. If they make an offer, decline it you stupid bastard. "We'll see you then!"

  "See you then." I tried my best to match his optimistic tone but fell flat. The call ended and I sunk into my seat, cradling my forehead.

  "Why are you like this?" I groaned to my empty office.

⚡️🧸🤖🧸⚡️

  It felt like déjà vu, sitting in my car outside the Pizzaplex as I stalled.

  The neon light logo was off and the parking lot was empty aside from a handful of cars in the employee section. The desolation felt startling after the crowded commotion that was Thursday. It felt like some sort of dystopian reality.

  I stared at the de-illuminated Freddy with a frown. With the lights off, he looked less inviting and more so frightening, like I would be signing my life away if I took a step inside the entertainment center. My frown deepened. The second logo beneath him, just an ordinary paint job without any fancy neon lights, still beckoned me forth with the beaming, bright faces of the five-bot band. I hadn't noticed that logo before, too distracted by the waving, illuminated Freddy that took up twice the space.

  Okay, I'd admit. The Glamrocks' designs for the second logo was very cute. Whoever made it knew what they were doing. I hoped to god that they weren't possessed. 

  The clock ticked on the longer I sat in my car and stared contemplatively at the complex. I dreaded going in, but as much as I was berating myself for accepting the second interview, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't interested in meeting the Glamrocks up close.

  Their performance had sparked a curiosity that I hadn't let myself feel for a long, long time. Maybe that was why I said yes to Dennis on the phone.

  Inhaling deeply through my nose and slowly releasing it, I gathered my scattered wits and slowly left my car. I locked it before I could think of fleeing. First and last time I was inside the Pizzaplex, I almost burst into tears while still inside the premises. Let's hope that this time goes better.

  The clock hit ten just as I stopped outside the locked entrance. The funky neon lighting inside had been switched to normal, warehouse-stationed lights, dousing everything in an underwhelming shade of yellow. It did pay for better illumination, however, which was what I supposed they were going for. I could imagine that 'maintenance day' extended beyond just the animatronics. I bet for other areas of workers, it was also called 'deep-clean day,' or 'restock day.' 

  A freckled man with dark hair pulled back in a curly, clumsy ponytail bounded up to the doors. He swiped a card and the glass entrance slid open, letting me in. The doors locked behind me and I tried to ignore the foreboding sense of trepidation it brought. I felt trapped.

  "Hey, you must be Y/n!" the man greeted with a slight Spanish accent to his words. He sported a grin that bordered on cheeky as he enthusiastically grabbed my hand to give it a firm shake. "I'm Joey, Bonnie's handler."

  "Hi, Joey," I replied as warmly as I could while concentrating on not shivering. "It's nice to..." 

  My voice faded away to nothing as my eyes drifted over Joey's shoulder, where a large periwinkle animatronic bunny stood, shell glossy and pristine under the industrial lighting. He looked relaxed with his arms crossed and head tilted, watching me. I froze.

  "Hey, hey, newbie," Glamrock Bonnie greeted with a grin that showed off his buck-teeth and a nod of his head. I managed a small, stunned 'hi' in return. "Name's Bonnie." He lifted a finger to me with a serious look in his pink optics. "Not Bon-Bon. Never call me Bon-Bon."

  Joey teasingly thwacked the back of his hand to Bonnie's pale stomach. The bunny acted as if he'd been shot, holding his large hands where he was hit with a pained groan. I knew that the playful hit would've stung Joey's hand more than it would Bonnie, which only made this spiel the bunny was pulling all the more ironic. 

  I felt my tension ease by their antics, if only a little.

   But I hadn't had time to mentally prepare myself for meeting the robots yet, or if I did then I was still woefully unprepared. God, and he was fucking tall, surely towering over seven foot. I forgot how tall they were up close. 

  "Ignore him." Joey rolled his eyes while Bonnie knelt to one knee and hunched over. "He's opinionated and dramatic."

  The bunny pinged back up to his feet with grace I hadn't expected. His pink eyes fixated Joey with an offended look - how his face could convey such emotion had me rethinking the theory of the damn universe, and I began to understand Dennis' behaviour towards the animatronics a little more. 

  "I am not."

  "Denial," Joey sang. Bonnie's pierced ears twitched downwards with a strong gasp.

  "Workplace abuse!" Bonnie cried as he clutched his large, pierced ears the way a child would hold their favourite toy for comfort. "Verbal bullying! I'll report you, Joey, I will, I will!"

  Joey sent me a dry smile and, even with my reservations, I felt myself grin back. I found it hard not to when they had such comedic chemistry. Dennis must've made Joey and Bonnie be my welcoming comittee for a reason; perhaps he had heard my hesitation over the line.

  "Let's get going," Joey said as he patted Bonnie's arm and lead the way through the lobby. The bunny's heavy steps almost seemed to shake the ground as we traversed across the polished tile and through the ticket gates, which Joey used his ID to let me in. Bonnie just stepped right on over it. Perks of being fucking massive, I supposed. 

  I watched Bonnie as he walked with the same smooth movements that he used on stage. It wasn't only the mechanical hardware that was updated, their AI had certianly come a long way, too - and they even seemed to have voice banks rather than just pre-recorded and reused lines. It was... 

  Michael would've loved to have seen this. 

  A wave of hurt knocked me out of nowhere. Bonnie spoke up before I could lose myself under the waves.

  "Watcha lookin' at, newbie?" Bonnie said slyly when he caught me staring. I blinked, returning to the real world, before flushing with embarrassment and turning my gaze away. His snicker made my shoulders rise to my ears.

  "Stop tormenting her, Bon," Joey scoffed. 

  "I wasn't tormenting her," Bonnie defended. "It was an innocent question!" 

  "I'm sorry." I couldn't help but stare up again at the towering robot as we walked through the lobby that had no-one other than a few staff meandering. Our voices echoed loudly with no background music to act as buffer. "It's just- you're so eloquent."

  Bonnie's brows raised. "I haven't heard that one before. But I'll take the compliment, champ, so thanks!"

  "And you look different," I continued. I was beginning to ramble now, fear sinking away with each step we took to the elevators. It was just so different and I found myself intrigued by the advancements. "The suspenders are a nice touch. And the stars." I gestured to my own eye, referencing the large, yellow star that was stamped over Bonnie's right optic that matched the two doting his chest. "They're cool."

  Bonnie blinked. His gaze slid to Joey, who pressed the button for the elevator while observing me. I looked away again. 

  "Gal's got good taste," he stage whispered. Ignoring him, Joey focused on my face with interest while we waited. I hesitantly met his eyes.

  "You're familiar with the old models?" he asked. I grimaced at the question I knew was coming and then thought, oh, well, fuck it, right?  I was already screwing myself over just by being at the Pizzaplex. What's another round of digging into this six-foot hole I've already made for myself?

  Besides, it's not as if I'd ever come back here.

  "Too familiar," I joked weakly as I stared at the lights blinking down as the elevator neared. I scratched my arm and felt a little ill. "I used to date the guy whose dad co-founded the franchise."

  We both missed the way Bonnie's lesuirely grin dropped. The handler whistled, impressed, as he patted my back. My smile was forced.

  "We got a veteran on our hands, Bunny!" he exclaimed. "Maybe she should be showing us the ropes!"

  Bonnie was quiet. The elevator doors slid open with a ping.

  "Bunny?" Joey asked. I made myself look over at the animatronic, who seemed to be frozen in place and staring at me. I suppressed a shiver. Creepy. That was more familiar. "You okay there?"

  Bonnie blinked and looked at Joey. A bright smile suddenly returned, as if his little stumble never happened. I watched him warily.

  "Never better, JJ!" Bonnie beamed. "Monty was just complainin' to me about how he got a golf ball stuck under his shoulder pad again. You know how he gets when he wants to whine."

  "Ugh, poor guy," Joey said as we filed into the elevator. "I don't blame him. They get everywhere."

  I watched Bonnie with a frown as he entered. His pink eyes found mine again before bouncing away.

  Oh, he's sus.

  But I didn't get a chance to decipher the way his AI suddenly dipped in quality, too caught up in trying to battle back the past that was crawling forward in my head with each shortened breath. His hands had caught me, tied around my throat. My neck began to feel as though it was being strangled by memories.

  I used to date the guy whose dad co-founded the franchise.

  Used to date the guy. Michael. Used to date Michael.

  Michael. Michael.

  The elevator doors opening jolted me back to reality and I realised that my eyes were beginning to sting. I pulled a fake yawn and prayed that the others assumed that my red eyes was just because of that.

  "Oh, sorry," I said after my fake yawn ended as we stepped out. I took the opportunity to rub my eyes. "I haven't been getting good sleep lately."

  It wasn't even a lie. Well, a lie by omission, I supposed, but I wasn't one to dump my trauma on people who I'd just met. Not even if one of them was a robot bunny who kept looking at me from the corner of his eyes.  

  "Not t'worry, champ," Bonnie said. He was staring at my face a little too intently for my liking, but then again, he was a Fazbear robot. They always had this intensity about them. "Joey here always yawns on the clock."

  "You suck, you know that?"

  Bonnie's only response was a wry chuckle. Joey's walkie-talkie crackled to life from his belt.

  "Freddy's needing maintenance," a quiet woman's voice flooded. "We'll be running late."

  "Roger that, Amanda," Joey replied. Other replies of affirmation followed as he shoved the device back into his belt. He turned to Bonnie with a smirk. "What's the bet big guy's ear fell off again?"

  "Undoubtedly," Bonnie sighed. "We really need to get ears with better integrity."

  "Freddy needs ears with better integrity," Joey snorted. I was too busy looking at the green rooms and the old memorabilia that sat in Rockstar Row like exhibits to a museum to pay attention. "You just need a smarter AI that reminds you to duck."

  Bonnie pulled a pout. "You wound me, Joey."

  We left Rockstar Row through an employee only door and walked down what looked to be a dark, gloomy maintenance tunnel. I stuck close to Joey, eyeing the shadows warily. Who knows what monstrosities hid there? I wouldn't put it past the pizzaplex - it was a Fazabear Entertainment joint, after all.

  Joey stopped at another door and opened it, ushering us in. We entered a massive room that looked to be a dance studio except way more heavy duty, with a massive speaker system hooked to the outline of the ceiling and a huge industrial fan overhead. Faint outlines of separate sections of flooring must mean that it was a mimic of the main stage. In the center of the room sat three animatronics with their human handlers.

  "This is the rehearsal room," Joey elaborated while I stared at the robots who stared right back at me. "It's where we test new routines and songs before they debut to make sure there's no glitches." 

  "Y/n, there you are!" It was Dennis, who sat on the floor with the others in what looked like a weird version of circle time. I didn't even notice him there. "Come, join us! We're just finishing up an informal debrief from last week."

  Six pairs of eyes - three of them mechanical optics - stared as I approached the small circle. It felt like I was the new kid in class again, with everyone watching my every move. I slowly took a seat between Dennis and Bonnie. 

  "Gang, this is Y/n," Dennis introduced. "Pending all goes well, she'll be your new manager."

  Pending all goes well. I wanted to laugh. And then I wanted to cry. And then I wanted to call up my therapist to book in an extra session, because this entire thing was absolutely fucked. With a reaction on a totally different scale than I, sighs and murmurs of relief came from the handlers. Dennis nodded.

  "I know," he agreed. He then went on to introduce me to the Glamrocks and their handlers - Chica's handler was a fit African man in his mid-twenties named Drake, Roxanne's was a slightly older Chinese woman called Gabby, and Montgomery's was Arty, a gentle-looking guy with a warm smile.

  "Music Man and the Daycare Attendant's handlers are Crash and Tilly, but you won't be working too closely with them," Dennis continued to explain while I tried my best to put names to faces and remember them. Why was I trying to remember them? It wasn't like I was planning on sticking around. "Freddy's handler is Amanda, who you should be meeting shortly."

  Well, at least everyone looked kind. 

  Dennis turned to the group. "Why don't you guys do your daily checks?" At his words the Glamrocks and their handlers rose to their feet and moved away, performing what looked to be a general maintenance check.

  "They all seem really nice," I commented, because I had no idea what else to say. Dennis smiled proudly.

  "Oh, they are," he nodded. "Hand picked 'em myself before I got promoted to general manager. We look for someone that has a personality and skill set that fits with what the animatronics need. See, the thing with them constantly learning is that they develop likes and personalities beyond their base programming."

  Isn't that dangerous? What if they learnt something bad? I tried to hide my alarm.

  "Monty, here," Dennis pointed to the grumpy gator who was reluctantly opening his chest cavity so Arty could peek inside. "He's got a bit of an issue with telling us what he wants or needs or if there's something wrong with him. That can make him get a bit of a temper."

  Monty's tail swished as he replied to something Arty asked. His red eyes jumped to mine and I raised my hand in a half-mast wave. Monty turned his head away. I was ignored.

  Alright. Ouch.

  "But Arty, such a nice lad," Dennis continued, "he studied psychology and worked with kids with behavioural issues before coming here, so he can tell if there's something up with Monty before Monty even knows it himself. Before landing Arty, he used to intimidate every other handler we hired for him. It was a bit of a mess."

  "Wow..." I said, watching the pair work with a little bit more interest. "That's... pretty cool."

  "Then there's Roxy," Dennis said, nodding to the wolf who was getting her claws inspected by Gabby. "She's got a bit of an imposter complex. We have no idea how she got it, but removing it would require an entire AI restart which she isn't so keen on. Gabby's a retired robotics professor who did mental well-being classes for students on the side. She helps keep Roxy from going off the deep end."

  "Bonnie's a different case entirely," Dennis chuckled as we watched Joey say something snarky that earned a retort from the bunny while fixing his crooked ears. "He's just a witty son of a gun. Sarcastic as much as the sun is hot. He can get a bit too into his jokes and sometimes needs a reminder to dial it back - he has made handlers cry on more than one occasion from just being a little too much. He doesn't mean to, though."

  Joey patted Bonnie's cheek with a teasing grin. Bonnie rolled his eyes.

  "Joey came in one time to do a set - he's a comedian," Dennis said. "They gelled really well so we offered him the job. Joey knows how to take a joke but also when to tell Bonnie that he's taking it too far. He's got a thick skin that Bonnie needs in a handler. Honestly, they're probably the two that get along the best."

  "I did notice that," I said. "They talk like they're twins."

  "Don't they just?" Dennis grinned. "Finding Joey was like striking diamond. Bonnie was in a real rut after losing two handlers in three months, then he came along one night and bam! Here we are."

  "Chica here," Dennis directed my attention to the robot chicken who, like Bonnie and Freddy, went through a huge design change. Her classic yellow shell was traded for white. She was talking animatedly to her handler and didn't look like she was stopping any time soon. "She's just very high energy. Drake's a personal instructor, which helps out with Chica's mazercise classes. Other than a small glitch that makes her crave food, she's pretty much as good as gold. And Freddy-"

  "Sorry, can we roll it back to the Chica craving food part?" I asked in shock. Dennis grinned shamefully and rubbed the back of his neck, guilty for being caught before he could move on.

  "Ah, yeah," he chuckled. "Her attraction is about eating and exercise, so the people who made her AI gave her a love for food, which grew a little... obsessive. We're still working on that."

  I slowly nodded. The perturbed expression in response to such information I was making didn't slip away. Dennis slowly moved on.

  "And then there's Freddy," he said finally. I didn't miss the fond smile that spilled over his face. "Nothing's off about Freddy, he's our easiest bot to handle, definitely the nicest. Amanda - Mandy - his handler, she's a bit on the young 'n shy side, but Freddy's real good with those types, very patient."

  Despite still reeling from the fact that the bots had personalites that perfectly replicated that of a human, I had to admit, I was quite impressed with Dennis' attention to detail with the bots. It would be so easy to dismiss their quirks and patch them in an update, or restart their AI and ignore the bot's wants, but he didn't. He assessed each of their needs and hired accordingly. 

  It was kinda cool. It was also the bare minimum to do if you were a decent person, but that was still hard to come by in any kind of business, so I gave him appreciation where it was due. I was starting to see why everyone made such a fuss about the Pizzaplex and the new animatronics.

  And then the door slid open.

 Dennis turned with a bright smile. "Mandy, Freddy, there you are!"

  A girl with blonde hair tied into a haphazard bun hurried through the door with an embarrassed smile. Freddy Fazbear, in all his orange glory, entered after her with a pleasant expression and the usual floor-shaking gait that all the animatronics had. He scanned the room with a gentle 'good morning, my friends,' and yeah, okay, Dennis was right, he was the nicest. He reminded me a lot of Henry Emily in that dad kind of way. 

  "Wait, Fredster-" Bonnie piped up as he quickly turned to face the bear. He didn't get a chance to say whatever he wanted to warn him about, because Freddy's blue eyes then landed on me.

  A sudden a massive crash had the ground moving as if we were struck by an earthquake. My heart leapt to my throat as I winced in fear, alarmed by such a loud noise. Freddy's knee must've malfunctioned because when I peeked through my fingers (I hadn't even realised that I'd hidden behind my hands), he was sprawled face-first on the ground.

  There was dead silence.

  And then Monty began to howl with laughter, much to Arty's dismay. Bonnie was clutching his downturned ears again, but this time in genuine stress, and the remaining two animatronics just stared in surprise.

  Mandy rushed to Freddy's aid with a pitched 'oh, my god, Freddy!' who had yet to pick himself up. Bonnie helped too, because no matter how strong a human was, nobody organic would've been able to get an animatronic that big back to his feet. Dennis hurried over and I could do nothing but watch the chaos in shock.

  "Whoa, big guy," Dennis said, hands fretting over Freddy's shell as he was stabilised with Bonnie's steady grasp. "You alright? What happened there?"

  "He's been okay all morning," Mandy insisted in worry as her trembling hands brushed some dust from the blue lightning bolt on his front. Freddy was holding his muzzle, which had been dented a bit by the fall, and was staring at the floor with wide eyes. "You didn't have any issues that you didn't tell me, did you?"

  Monty was still laughing. He wiped at his eyes, as if he'd actually started to cry. Arty was fruitlessly telling him off.

  "N- not that I was aware of," Freddy confessed in his deep voice, sounding very unsure. His blue eyes slowly raised and landed on me, which only resulted in him freezing. I burnt under his shellshocked gaze.

  "Big guy?" Dennis tried. "Buddy?" He knocked on Freddy's chest, to no avail. The general manager turned to me with a worried smile. "Sorry, Y/n, this usually doesn't happen. Bad timing, I guess. Mandy, can you book him in for emergency maintenance?"

  Amanda nodded and turned to a fancy-looking watch on her wrist, tapping feverishly. Gabby had approached and began rubbing Mandy's back, who'd began to shake. The lingering stare of Freddy was beginning to make me uncomfortable.

  Holy shit. Okay. What the fuck is happening?

  "Bonnie, can you help Mandy take Freddy down to parts and service?" Dennis asked. "I still need to run through a few things with Y/n."

  Bonnie nodded and, after giving me a long, calculating look, began to help Freddy out of the room. Joey departed after them with an overwhelmed grin and a two-fingered salute my way. 

  "Ah, well," Dennis said with a huff and an exasperated smile as he turned to me. "That was dramatic. Are you okay?" 

  "That was funny," Monty corrected before I could reply. Arty dropped his head into his hands.

  "Watch it, buddy," Dennis warned. The gator snapped his jaw in annoyance but didn't retaliate further. "Y/n?"

  "Fine- I'm fine," I said shakily. "Just taken by surprise."

  "Sorry," Dennis apologised again. "And here I was, telling you that Freddy never gave us trouble! Talk about karma." 

  Don't need to tell me about karma. I live with it. 

  "Right," Dennis said with a clap of his hands as he returned to original plan. "You've met the band - more or less. Let's have a discussion about what's expected of this role."

  Waste of time. I should've just told him that I wasn't interested in the job anymore.

  But I... kind of was interested, and the revelation had my throat running dry.

  "Lead the way," I murmured.

  Dennis then took me to the places I hadn't gotten a chance to get a proper look at during the first tour - namely the dance floor, where a giant motherfucker of a DJ animatronic called home, and a meander through Rockstar Row. The Daycare Attendant was in maintenance already, so I didn't get a chance to meet him. Dennis talked to me about the responsibilities the manager position would oversee while I had a nosey at the Glamrocks' green rooms. This was where the bots gave autographs and took photos, apparently. 

  "So," I said as I began a TLDR list of what Dennis talked me through as we stood outside Roxy's room. "Scheduling maintenance, birthdays, outfits, making sure the performances run smooth and enforcing no flash-photograph." I sent Dennis a confused look. "It just sounds like I'd be a glorified personal assistant." 

  "Kinda," Dennis admitted. "The actual manager-manager parts will be for the handlers. You'd also be covering shifts for handlers that call in sick or take leave. And, you know, make sure the bots are happy. They sometimes request extra stimuli at night like games or movies and it'd be your job to get it for them."

  "Really?" That was adorably human. I think they were beginning to grow on me. "They're basically just a group of big, metal kids."

  That made Dennis chuckle. "Yeah, in a way."

  The second tour ended outside the front of Dennis' office. We stopped at the door and he turned to me with a nervous sort of smile that instantly made me nervous.

  "Alright, we're at the point where I ask whether or not you want the job," he said. "You've had the rundown, know the hours, know the pay. We do have a couple of other people lined up for the position but in all honesty, you're our first pick."

  I held my breath as I considered my options. The interest I had for the job only swelled the more Dennis talked about what I would be doing. It sounded exciting, and that everyday would be different than the one before. It was unpredictable and fun. It sounded ten times more of a life than the one I had been stuck in for close to a decade.

  But Michael... the small voice whimpered from the back of my head.

  I pushed the voice aside. I needed to stop letting the convoluted memory of him dictate how I lived my life.

  "I'll take it," I finally said.