𝓒𝓪𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓶𝓮?...𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓶 𝓐𝓯𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓧 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝓍

          "Oh, William, so good to see you today, we weren't expecting you in." Henry said while giving a slightly confused look. William was looking right at me for longer than I was comfortable with. His eyes looked tired and his hair was down which looked like he just ran a brush through it and left his house. He was wearing a light purple button up, which the first three buttons were undone. He had it tucked into a pair of nice black dress pants with his shiny black shoes to match. He had a purple patterned tie that was loosely fitted around his neck. I looked back at him with slight worry.
          "Um...yea, I wasn't supposed to be in today," William said like he was almost unsure of himself. He placed a hand on his forehead and looked directly at Henry, who gave him a smile. "I wasn't quite feeling like myself, so forgive me, but I suppose something was drawing me back to work."
          "I get that feeling all the time! Though I'm a little biased since this is one of my favorite places to be, but it needs me." Henry said while looking around the restaurant and giving a satisfied nod. I turned around to check back in the arcade and I couldn't see the boys. A slight panic washed over me, as I was responsible for those boys, or anything that they break. I sighed and turned back to the conversation to let them know I had to go, but William was looking straight at me with an almost sour glance. I lowered my brows a bit and took a step back, feeling like I was unwanted. Henry placed a hand on Williams shoulder which blocked our eyes from seeing each other. I took this opportunity to back away and make entry into the arcade room. From the outside of the room it looked smaller than when you were inside. There were rows and rows of machines going from Street Fighter, to Pac Man, to Donkey Kong. Some of the games looked like they've been there for years and others looked brand new. I walked up and down the isles, keeping an eye out for little blonde and brown haired boys. But after I reached the last isle I realized they weren't in here anymore. Crap crap crap crap crap. I walked quickly out of the room, half expecting William and Henry to still be standing there, but they weren't. I was met with busy kids, running from the main stage and into the arcade room with happy faces and their parents quarters for the pinball games. I looked left and right, scanning everyone's faces quickly. I decided to make my way over to the front stage since there was a small crowd of children over there, and anyone of them could've been Mathew or Trent. Once I reached the stage I almost regretted it. The music was loud and the lights were flashing as if we were in a rave. Kids bounced up and down to the animatronics songs as they swayed and their jaws dropped to an audio recording.
          "H-H-Hey kids! How's the pizza??" The yellow bird yelled as many kids yelled back at her with positive answers. It's really not that good. I started scanning faces, looking to see if any of them were familiar but I wasn't met with any luck. I slowly ran my hand through my hair and I sighed. Where are you.
          "Hey Freddy?"
          "Yes Bonnie?"
          "Should we strike up the band?" Bonnie yelled as he strummed his guitar which was met with a bunch of yelling kids, some even started running over from various places of the restaurant. I decided to wait and see if Mathew or Trent would come running but after about five minutes of listening to Freddy and his band sing, neither of them showed. I started to panic even more. I walked away from the stage as I made my way by the party rooms scanning into each one to see if I could find them. I stopped at the last one and I recognized someone in there. William. He was looking around for something, probably checking the room since it wasn't booked out yet. I knocked on the door softly and I let myself in as he looked up at me. I shut the door gently by pushing my back on it. He gave me a strange look and rested his thigh on one of the tables. He then folded his arms.
          "Hey, William." I said as I nervously bound my fingers together. He rose his eyebrows a little and gave me a charming smile, showing off his perfectly white teeth. I noticed he took off his tie and he seemed a bit more livelier than our earlier encounter.
         "What can I do for you darling." He said as he waited for my response as I shifted from one foot to another.
          "I can't find Mathew or Trent, have you seen them anywhere? They're both about yay high." I rose my arm up to a little under my shoulder and he gave me a mimicking chuckle, making fun of my height. "They're just, tall boys. Anyways, one has blonde hair the other has brown. Mathew's wearing a bright red shirt with a checkered black pattern down the sleeves and Trent has a black shirt with white stripes, they're not hard to miss-"
          "You mean those boys right there?" William asked as he pointed his finger towards the window beside me. I turned to look and there they were, just as William said. I closed my eyes and breathed in a long breath. I then let it out as I gave William a 'wait here finger' and he gave a small smirk as I walked out of the room towards the boys. Trent's face went pale as he watched me stomp over. He turned Mathew towards me, which made me stop right in front of him. I looked slightly down at them and they both looked at me with a 'crap' expression.
          "I-I can explain!" Mathew said as he was panicking a little. Trent nodded quickly.
          "I had to use the restroom and we figured we should go together instead of alone, but we forgot to tell you, I'm sorry." He said as he bowed his little head. I looked over at Mathew and he nodded quickly.
          "We won't do it again we promise, can we please go play again." I looked up at the big clock they had hanging above the front entrance which read 4:45 p.m. I squinted a little as I looked back at the boys.
          "Alright, since you guys were slightly responsible I'll let this slide." They both whispered yes and looked at each other happily, "ONLY if you two promise me that when that clock says 6:15 you'll be back right here if I'm not already with you. Do you understand?" They both nodded their heads quickly and ran off back into the arcade room. I sighed and started to kick the ground awkwardly as I didn't know what to do with myself at that point. I could watch the band. Oh yea reaaal funny. Or I could play some games...I looked back at the party room where I found William. I could partially see him through the half open door, he was still leaning against the table, watching me. I looked around a little as I made my way back to the party room while trying not to make eye contact with him. Once I entered the room he let out a small laugh.
          "Are those boys too much for you?" He asked while gently sliding his hands into his pockets. I shook my head and crossed my arms.
          "Apparently they just went to the bathroom, which I don't see how they slipped by us so easily without me noticing them but, here we are."
          "We should talk about something." William said as he shut the door behind me by leaning over me and letting his hand hold his weight while the other was still in his pocket. I gulped at the closeness, he was leaning over me almost too close for comfort. He smelled like vanilla and bourbon, with a hint of metal. I looked up at him not sure what to do in a situation like this, alone in a room with a strange man, not so much a stranger, but the way he was acting was, strange. He seemed to be watching me, watching my face as i looked up at him, my eyes trying to search for an explanation. Something seemed to flicker in his eyes. He backed up letting his arm fall slowly off the door.
          "What were you talking about with Henry?" He asked leaning back on the table again. I furrowed my brows a little, confused as to why he cared so much about our conversation to make a move like that.
          "I was looking for you, and he was telling me about how you weren't there, about how you called in." I said grabbing one of my arms with my hand. He looked at my hand then back to my face and realized I must have been uncomfortable. It was like something switched in him. He stood up straighter and smiled his always charming smile and made a gesture to open the door as I moved out of the way. He then walked out, waiting for me to exit and when I did he shut the wooden door slowly. He then turned to me.
"Oh, that was nice, I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you right away, I was feeling a bit unlike myself today and I wasn't sure if I'd come in."
"Then why did you come in?" I asked, watching his eyes. They seemed to glow brighter than earlier. For a second his face fell, but just for a split moment, you could see him almost look confused as to why he did. He laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Like you heard earlier, something drew me back to work. You're such a mesmerizing little person huh." He said while smiling at me like I was something to eat. My face glew a little hot as I stepped back a bit.
"William you're acting strange." I said as I held myself slightly. He noticed this and a slight look of panic washed over his face.
"I'm terribly sorry. I don't know what has come over me today. Please allow me to make it up to you." He said smiling. I looked at him, trying to read his eyes. I nodded slowly and he smiled brighter.
"Wonderful just, follow me." He said while starting to lead the way. I nervously followed behind him, looking from his back to his shoes and then all around the room. A couple parents wanted to stop him but he gestured over to Henry who was entertaining a few kids by the main stage. They all nodded at him and did as asked without getting crappy which was surprising. We had passed the arcade and I dipped my head inside as I saw Trent and Mathew laughing over some pinball game. I smiled slightly as they were okai and I continued to follow William to his destination. He was heading toward the stairs that lead to the offices. I looked around one last time at all the smiling happy kids and their joyful parents then I made my way up the stairs behind William. He waved at Mary who gave him a short nod as she focused her eyes on me. She gave a soft glare then looked back down at her computer. I wonder what her problem is. William gestured me into his office as I followed behind him. He shut the door softly and walked over to his wooden cabinet in the corner. I sat myself in the chair at his desk as I crossed my ankles and watched as he poured himself a drink. He sat the glass down on the desk and looked outside the windows.
          "I do sincerely apologize for how I was behaving earlier. It isn't like me." He turned and looked into my eyes, something looked sad deep inside of him. I gave him a sad smile in return.
          "You're okai William. If you're not feeling well, I'm sure Henry will let you go back home."
          "I do not wish to return home."  He said in a stern tone, while reaching for his glass and taking a drink. He sat down across from me and started to dig through one of his drawers to his left on the desk. He was shuffling through some papers and mumbling here and there about 'where the heck did I put those.' 'I haven't seen them in years.' After a little bit of rummaging he managed to pull out the papers he was looking for.
          "First off let me ask you something." He looked up at me for reassurance and I nodded at him. "Are you currently employed?" I shook my head in embarrassment, the last job I had was at an old movie theater more on the rougher side of town during high school. He smiled.
          "Good, would you like to work here?" He asked with a happy tone as he folded his hand over the papers he had found. I stared at him.
          "You're offering me a job right now?" I asked staring blankly at him. He didn't have to offer me a job just because he felt bad for earlier. Or had he been planning this before. He looked offended for a second perplexed by my response as he was looking for an immediate yes.
          "Well, yes, I am." William said taking a drink. I twiddled my thumbs. Is this really such a good idea? Do I want to work with, no, FOR William? I looked into his eyes and only found seriousness and a bit of annoyance. Screw it.
          "Okai, I'll work for you."
          "Great." He actually looked happy as he got up quickly and made his way to the door. I spun my chair to face him and he gave me a 'wait here' as he left the room. I heard faint voices outside of the door, a woman was arguing with William. I stood up and looked out of the window, down at all of the kids. It seemed like an empowerment, to be able to be on top of everything and to look down on what you've created. I watched as Trent and Mathew made their way into the main room playing with some little girl in pink, she had small blonde pigtails. The door clicked open and I didn't look over as I knew it was William. He came over and stood next to me and watched the kids run around. I could see his reflection in the glass and he was watching me, with a small smile. He then put his hands in his pockets and returned his gaze to the children, which seemed to alter his facial expression to something sad. I turned back to him.
         "What job would I be doing exactly? In the kitchen, cleaning, helping with the kids-"
         "Mary's job, well, her old job." He said without looking at me, he was still watching the kids. I looked back at who he was watching, and it was Mathew and the two other kids. Mary's job huh...
          "If she didn't like me then, she won't like me now." I said and William chuckled. He walked past me and picked up his glass of liquor. I turned to him and and sat back down at the desk.
          "How do you know I'm qualified? I don't even have a slight idea as to what I'm supposed to do." I said realizing maybe I didn't want Mary's job.
          "It's easier than you'll make it out to be in your head. You take calls and make a log of them for Henry and I. You'll also make calls for us and schedule meetings, schedule jobs for several mechanics and utility men. If neither Henry or I are assessable you'll be temporarily in charge. You're also supposed to roam the establishment and get a feel for everything and make note of small minor things you may notice or if a family needs to book an appointment or what have you." He said as he tapped his rings on the glass and swirled his drink. I blinked a couple times and shook my head softly.
          "That sounds like a lot-"
          "Like I said, you'll make it out to be worse in your head. You start on Saturday, so you have 4 days to get ready and prepare yourself for the job." He drank down the rest of his liquor and set the cup in his cabinet and locked it up, pushing the key into his pocket. I looked out of the mirror and at the clock remembering that I should check the time for the boys. 6:00, 15 more minutes.