The Bond

Ch 12

"Bold."/"Bold." : animatronic is talking/animatronic is talking in mind

"Normal."/"Normal." : human is talking/human is talking in mind

=o^o=

"I don't like her."

"You don't like everyone."

Michael thanked the customer he had just served and smiled kindly. Working as a cashier in a small shop wasn't bad, it was just him, the girl named Alice, and another employee whom he always forgot their name.

Although Ennard keeps saying that Alice is suspicious, Michael just thinks the animatronic is just trying to get his attention since he's been talking to Alice more often lately (at the shop where he works, of course).

"That girl is suspicious. Bad sign."

"Stop thinking negative, Alice is the reason I can work now. If you want me to pay attention to you, just say so." Michael nodded his head to another customer who had just handed him a basket filled with monthly shopping.

He could hear Ennard's gasp and tried to focus more on scanning the barcode label. "I? Want your attention? Disgusting!"

"Stop nagging then," Michael mumbled very quietly, almost gritting his teeth—everything Ennard said was giving him a headache. Michael cast a warm smile on the man in front of him as he looked at him strangely. "Thank you and please come back, sir~" Michael said cheerfully, handing him a paper bag with the contents of the person's groceries.

"I don't want to."

"Then stop complaining!"

"Are you all right, Mike?"

Michael flinched in surprise when he was tapped on the shoulder, then quickly looked back and found Alice staring at him with an eyebrow raised. "Sure, sure I'm fine, don't worry!" Michael replied swiftly.

Alice smiled and nodded slightly. "In that case, okay." Alice pulled the rubber band from her wrist and tied her loose hair. "By the way," Alice said in the midst of her activities.

"Hmm?" Michael replied, glancing slightly at Alice before looking back ahead—there could be another customer who would pay.

"Where do you live?"

"Suspicious."

Michael ignored Ennard's hiss. "Oh, I guess I couldn't answer that just yet," he replied guiltily.

"Not a big problem," laughed Alice as she waved her hand.

"Look, he's suspicious!"

"She's not!"

"I need to go to the bathroom first," Michael said to Alice suddenly. He immediately left after getting Alice's approval considering Alice was the daughter of the shop owner where he worked now, and Michael closed the bathroom door tightly. "Could you not—think negatively of Alice?!" said Michael annoyed at his reflection in the mirror.

Then slowly Michael's purple eyes turned blue, his forehead furrowed deep. "You are blind, Afton. That girl has a purpose," Ennard said, controlling Michael's body—Michael taking over again.

"Impossible. She is very kind."

"You're naive and insensitive, of course you can't see her intentions."

Michael groaned at the pain in his head. "Stop taking over my body, damn it! Don't mess around, you're just a parasite that lives inside my body!" Michael growled. "And, whether or not I need the money to continue that endoskeleton so I can replace you with that thing," Michael hissed angrily.

"That's ... harsh. Should I be offended?"

"Yes," Michael replied, pinching the bridge of his nose gently. "That's what I'm working for after all. You just give me enough trouble, you know? Your existence sickens me."

There was no reply from Ennard, Michael still staring intently at himself in the mirror reflection. The mind that started to speak he looked very pitiful. Michael furrowed his brows, gripping the sides of the sink tightly and he let out a heavy breath.

Alright, Michael said to himself. He was quite calm now, Ennard didn't say anything anymore and Michael also chose not to care.

Patting his cheeks lightly, Michael tried to make a friendly smile that didn't give the impression that he was angry. Not bad, Michael thought in his mind, and he could hear Ennard's scornful snorts. Michael ignored that, finally stepping toward the bathroom door.

Opening the door, Michael once again flinched in surprise to find Alice standing in front of the bathroom door, the girl also looked surprised.

"Oh—Alice," Michael greeted awkwardly.

Alice smiled. "I was just about to check on you," Alice said, a hint of worry in her voice.

Michael was a little embarrassed. "I was only gone for five minutes, it's okay," he replied, waving his hand furiously, wanting to leave immediately to continue his work until it was time to go home. He suddenly couldn't wait to continue the small pieces of endoskeleton that were now in his house. "I want to—"

"Hey," Alice cut him off first, then silenced Michael. "Actually I overheard you talking to someone earlier ..."

Alice's words made Michael feel very nervous.

"... are you calling?"

Michael suddenly let out a small breath. "Kind of," Michael replied, his shoulders shrugging.

Alice's eyebrows shot up, looking interested. "Who? Your family? Do you live with someone? Your father maybe?"

He disappeared, Michael said ironically in his heart. The Afton rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's a personal thing, sorry."

"Oh," Alice replied curtly. "Oh, right. OK."

A lopsided smile etched on Michael's face, he stroked his arm gently and lowered his head. "Yes," he mumbled in reply.

It was like that for a minute, full of awkwardness. Until Alice seemed to take something from the pocket of the skirt she was wearing, Michael's attention was shifted from the floor to the girl. Michael's brow furrowed at the sight of Alice giving him some money—wasn't this too soon to take the daily paycheck?

"Faster is fine." Alice smiled at him, gesturing for Michael to accept the amount immediately—which Michael took it from Alice's hand hesitantly.

"Thank you ...?"

Alice chuckled and nodded. "Maybe one day you can open up a lot more to me," she said cheerfully, winking at Michael.

Michael just frowned, but decided not to respond. And once again he could hear Ennard's grunts.