Mechanical Heart

Chapter 1: Past, Present, and Future

        I was so excited after I got my driver’s license and new car that I just had to find myself a job to make some money! My parents wanted me to be more independent since I was going off to college in less than two years and driving myself places. I figured I might as well start with paying back my dad for the car, but in order to do that I would at least need a job that pays minimum wage. I searched in the newspaper day after day looking for any possible jobs that would suit me. It was difficult not knowing what I would be good at anyway. My dad read the newspaper every morning when we were getting ready for school and work. One morning my dad saw an ad that caught his attention for what he thought would be a good job for me. It was a waitress position for Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. I was not expecting a job to open up for a place that was so openly famous but run-down. My family and I used to go there all time when I was little. I can hardly remember all the fun we used to have there, but I do remember the reason why we stopped visiting Freddy’s. Apparently there had been a murder somewhere nearby the property where Freddy’s was and so everyone had stopped taking their families, let alone their little kids, to that cursed outlet. It was an important part of my childhood to go there with my family, especially on holidays, just to see the funny animatronics singing and dancing. But the more important reason of why Freddy’s is forever in my heart is because it’s where I first met my boyfriend, Hunter. We of course didn’t know each other at the time because we were so young, but when we got to middle school and first met each other officially, we realized we really did meet when we were little. We basically bonded completely after that instance when we realized that we played the same arcade games next to each other.

        The animatronics were also a famous part of our back-story. We loved to just sit and watch them introduce themselves and play their catchy songs. He told me, while we were having one of our late night phone conversations, about the story behind of one of the animatronics named Foxy who had apparently been deactivated. He said that, before I started going to Freddy’s, Foxy had been a part of the group when Freddy and his team had a pirate theme going for them. Foxy at one point appeared to be malfunctioning because he made these horrible screeching sounds that frightened the children. This only occurred rarely so the employees ignored the issue. Then, when the time came that the pirate themed amusement had gotten old, Foxy was sent into decommission and put behind giant curtain for no one to discover him. This really upset Hunter because he was obsessed with pirates when he was little and picked Foxy as his favorite character. This was part of the reason in which I gave him the nickname Foxy. Hunter also had red hair that stuck up in certain places which I thought looked like fox ears. This was only the beginning for all the little funny, cute things we’ve made up for ourselves.

         We officially met in middle school when were assigned to be partners in our reading class. Our friends knew one another so it wasn’t so hard to link our two friend-groups together. By the time my freshman year in high school rolled around everyone had been spreading rumors that he apparently had a crush on me and was going to ask me out even though I considered him a friend this whole time. It took me awhile to realize how adorable and funny he was and that I really did like him the same way. It didn’t strike me as a surprise when he asked me to go to Semi with him because everyone was obviously still cycling rumors around. I, of course, said yes mostly to the fact that I did want to see if he would ask me, but also to the fact that all my friends were going too. By the time three slow songs had passed that night I was afraid he was never going to ask. I was getting worn out with all the spinning and bouncing that my friends were taking part in when the more upbeat songs came on. He found me sitting in the corner of the gymnasium near one of the tables and knew I was getting tired and bored. While we were talking I couldn’t help but notice the fact that instead of calling me the name that everyone called me, which was Kim, he began calling me Kat which I thought to be pretty pathetic of a nickname, but eventually found that it stuck with him. Hunter is also involved in track at our school and I would sometimes attend the practices just to watch him speed past everyone. I considered the possibility that I attending his practices might also play a part in his little crush on me. A while later he took me aside away from the whole crowd of people and into the hallway. My hands slowly became enveloped within his and he looked deeply into my eyes when he finally uttered the question. I was completely frozen and shocked in that moment for some reason even though I expected it coming. It took me a minute to process the question which included repeated ‘Ummm’s and looking away from him. I obviously said yes to his question not just because of the fact that I secretly did like him and his crazy red hair, but also because I knew if I didn’t all my friends would be pissed at me. Looking back now I can see that our story is very drab and generic, but I also consider it very romantic in a sense. Since that day we have been very happy together for the past two years and I never considered once how my life would be without him. We’ve stuck to many things that we’ve had since the beginning. He’s always called me Kat because I was his little kitty and I always called him Foxy because he was my little fox. All he needed was me and all I needed was him.