The Fall of the Aftons

055: Michael Afton

Michael looked around the playground, looking for Evan. This was the fifth day in a row that neither Evan nor Miss Iaea had shown up. Had Evan been adopted? He supposed it was possible. It was a little irritating how slowly the little boy learned how to walk, run, and talk, but he was still adorable and easy to love.

Michael sighed, then went over to the bench and sat down as he waited for William. Instead of reading as he typically did, his mind wandered. He thought about his birthday two days ago; he got another book as a present, as per usual. But this year, William had said he had another present that was coming soon. What could that other present be? He had no clue.

Michael heard someone squeal and he focused on the playground. He watched as three kids from his school--Analex and TJ from his class, and TJ's sister in the grade below, Lavender--played with another kid from Michael's grade, Estella. They looked like to be playing a game of tag.

Watching them play tag reminded him of how he often played tag with Felicity, Noah, and Evan at this park. It had always been one of the highlights of his days. Even if he was tired and on edge from his nightly nightmares, playing tag with Felicity and Noah always made him smile. Even if he was pouty and felt as if he was about to cry because of the bullying he experienced at school, Felicity and Evan were there to cheer him up.

Suddenly, Estella looked in Michael's direction and stared at him, surprised. She quickly darted over to him with a wide grin on her face. "Hi!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Would you like to play tag with us?"

Michael hesitated. Since when did kids invite him to play with them? This was the second time this happened. So weird. Nobody at his school--other than Noah, of course--seemed to like him. Why would they want to play with him if they didn't like him? His grade must be a bunch of weirdos.

"Um, no, thank you," he finally answered. "I can't run. Doctor's orders."

"Why not?" she queried.

Her friends gathered around her, curious about who she was talking to. When they realized who it was, they all smiled as they greeted him.

"I, um... I injured my leg," he mumbled in response. He didn't like that the kids were practically crowding around him. Too little room to move, too little space to run away if he needed to. He could feel his chest tighten and his palms start to sweat. Couldn't the kids just leave already?

"Oh," Estella said plainly. "Well, would you like to swing with us? One of us can push you." She turned to her friends with an expectant look. "Would that be okay, guys?"

TJ, Lavender, and Analex all gave their approval in different ways. TJ nodded his head. Lavender gave a thumbs up. Analex said, "Yeah!" 

"Would you like to play with us?" Analex asked with a kind grin. She was excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet as if she wanted Michael to play with them. Odd...

"Sure," he mumbled reluctantly.

Within a few minutes, Analex pushed Michael on one of the swings as TJ, Lavender, and Estella all swung on their own swings. Michael couldn't help but smile--it had been a while since he'd swung on the swings, and it was even more fun when he had other kids with him that included him in their conversations. It was the most fun he'd had in a while.

"What's your name?" Analex asked as she shoved Michael forward so he would continue swinging at the height he was flying at. "We forgot to ask. I'm Analex, and these are TJ, Lavender, and Ella."

"I'm Michael," he answered with a small smile. "But I thought your name was Estella?" He pointed to Estella on the furthest swing from him.

"Yeah, it is. But I go by my nickname most of the time," Estella explained, laughter filling her chirpy voice. "Just like how the teachers always call you Mike."

Michael nodded his head in understanding, then looked around the playground. He glanced at the road for a quick second to see if William had arrived yet. William's car wasn't there, but Henry's car was. What was Henry doing here?

"Wait, Analex, could you stop for a minute? I have to go see something," Michael said.

She stopped pushing him and he kicked his feet down to bring the swing to a stop. He grabbed his backpack from its place next to the swingset and quickly walked over to Henry's car. He knocked on the window.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" he asked after Henry got out of the car.

Henry grinned. "William is busy at Fazbear's right now, so he called and asked me to take you home. He also said to watch over you until either he or Terrance comes home."

"Oh. Okay." He looked back at the kids who'd invited him to play with them. "Goodbye! Thank you for inviting me to play with you!" he shouted, waving his arm. Analex, TJ, Lavender, and Ella all waved back before he turned and went in Henry's car.

~ ~ ~

Michael walked into the house behind Henry, took his shoes off by the door, went upstairs, and headed into his bedroom. He sat at his desk, opened his backpack, slid out his homework folder, and got started on his homework. He finished it all within ten minutes; all he had to finish was his book report and a math worksheet, which was all easy. So he placed his completed papers back in his folder, put the folder back in his backpack, grabbed his notebook, and opened it to a random page. He started to doodle away as he did his best to ignore the nagging thought that he didn't have a weapon to protect himself against the kidnapper if he came back.

After about thirty minutes of doodling and mostly ignoring the scary thoughts in his head, somebody knocked on his bedroom door. He turned to the sound, grinning when he saw William standing in the doorway.

"Welcome home," Michael greeted as he set his pencil on his desk. "How was your day?"

A wide grin formed on his father's face. "It was great. More than great, actually. Thanks for asking," he replied. He chuckled as his smile widened. "Your birthday present is ready."