Chapter Text
The Parkers’ red car rumbled down the road, whizzing passing Hurricane’s various buildings and lights as they went. To seven-year-old Jason Parker, these buildings were grey blobs of boredom, where grown-ups went to do boring, grown-up stuff. All of them paled in comparison to the giant parking lot and, beyond that, the even grander building that lay before them: Freddy Fazbear’s MegaPizzaPlex. Four neon animals, a chicken, a wolf, a bear, and an alligator, were illuminated on the Plex’s glass windows, all of them giving their visitors welcoming grins.
Jason leaned against his window and yelled joyfully. “We’re here!” He hopped up and down in his car seat, not noticing that he was straining his four-seat belt straps and making them dig into his shoulders. Luckily, his dark-blue jean jacket protected him from most of the pain. He hurriedly pressed his fingers down on the large red buckle in the middle of the straps and yanked on them to get them off. But, as always, his tiny hands were no match for the pressure required to push the button. That never stopped him from trying, though.
Jason’s Mom, a blond woman in a pink dress named Samantha, jumped slightly when he yelled. She took her hands off the steering wheel and rubbed her eyes. She put on a smile, sat up, and turned around to face Jason. “Hold on, Jason. Let me help.”
Jason scowled, still struggling with the buckle. “No, me! I got it!” After a few more attempts, he groaned in frustration and gave up.
His Dad, a tall, blonde-haired man in a blue shirt and tacky jeans named Drew, turned around from his position in the passenger seat and said, “Hey, Jay. Listen to your mother, okay?” He grinned playfully. “You better not pout, or else Freddy won’t bring out your birthday cake! He doesn’t like frowny faces.”
Jason’s eyes widened at this sudden and shocking revelation. “Nooo!” He yelled, putting down the buckle in surrender. “Okay, I’ll be good.” He then gave his Dad a toothy grin. “See? I’m smiling.” He looked to his Mom for reassurance. “Freddy won’t ignore me, will he?”
Mom paused. She pursed her lips before smiling and saying, “No, sweetie. Of course not.” She scowled at Dad. “Don’t scare him like that.” She then exited the car, walked to Jason’s side and opened the door, and easily unbuckled his straps. She then lifted him out of the car and gently placed him on the ground. After this, she went around back and opened the trunk to grab a small black bag that she put on her back.
Jason reached into the car to grab his best friend and next-door neighbor Rylie Baker’s birthday present— a Lego robot set inside of a large, rectangular-shaped red box tied up with a shiny blue ribbon. Part of him hoped Rylie would like the gift, but a bigger part of him kept wondering if it was good enough.
Jason wondered what Rylie had gotten him. Today was their shared birthday party, so whatever gifts they’d gotten each other had to be good.
Jason held the present with one hand while his Mom held onto his other hand. His Mom’s grip was so tight it was starting to hurt, so Jason yanked his hand away and yelped, “Ow!”
Mom gave him an apologetic look. “Oh, sorry, honey.” She shook her head and turned to Dad, who was just getting out of the car, and asked, “What time is it?”
Dad rummaged through his front pant pocket until he found his red phone and checked the time: “11:40. We’ve got 20 minutes until the party. Plenty of time.” He placed his phone back into his pocket and looked at Jason.
“Well, that was a long car ride, but,” He put his arms up in the air and did some funny Jazz hands. “We’re here! Who’s ready to have some fun?”
Jason jumped up and down. “I am!” he yelled, pulling on his Dad’s arm. “Let’s go, let’s go!”
Dad took his open hand and started walking towards the Pizza Plex. He motioned for Mom to follow them, but she stayed put.
Jason looked back at her with concern. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Mom didn’t answer. She just continued to stare stone-faced at Chica. Jason hated when she looked like that because it meant she wasn’t paying attention to him.
If he had to guess what his Mom was thinking about, it probably had something to do with his late aunt Susie.
Jason first heard about Susie when she was mentioned in a frantic conversation his parents had had two nights ago. When he asked his parents what they were talking about, his Mom only said that Susie was her sister, a funny and creative girl who died very young (exactly how young, Jason wasn’t sure but, based on the old pictures his Mom had shown him in her scrapbook, he guessed that Susie looked about his age) and who would have loved him very much.
Dad placed a hand on Mom’s shoulder and asked, “Is everything alright?”
Mom blinked. “This place, it’s…” She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.” She started walking but stopped again when Dad squeezed her hand.
He leaned in close and whispered something else that Jason couldn’t hear.
Mom’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? What about—” She glanced at Jason then leaned in to whisper something in his Dad’s ear.
Dad nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
Mom gave him an appreciative look. “Thanks,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.
“No problem. You ready?”
After a few seconds, Samantha nodded confidently.
Jason stared up at the adults in confusion. “What are you talking about?” He asked.
Samantha looked down and gave him a reassuring smile. “Oh, nothing. I just had some pre-party jitters, but I’m okay now. Let’s go!”
Jason wanted to ask more, but his excitement about seeing Rylie and the Pizza Plex overrode his curiosity about his parents’ conversation. The family held their heads high and headed towards the giant mall, ready to face any storm that came their way.
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