Fredrica's ch4 p5

The shock of the kiss slowly wears off after a few minutes. Thankfully, your new partner in crime seems nice enough that she didn’t tease you over the entire incident. Instead the cupcake had her back to you, switching through all your camera feeds and making sure she was online with all of them. You could already see how having her would be an asset.

She finally breaks the silence, her small voice sounding off and snapping you out of your thoughts. “Installation is complete, all cameras in system accounted for!” Carla takes a seat on a stack of magazines and looks you over. “It’s been a long time since they trusted a newbie with me,” she says, “Mama must find you very special, Mike.”

You shake your head “I don’t know why. I mean… I’m not really all that incredible you know? I’m just-”

“Average?” She finishes for you, gears whirring as she tilts her proportionally large head.

“Yeah, average.”

She frowns, “You say it like it’s a bad thing. From what I’ve seen of humans, the ones who think they’re special are never any good. They have to convince themselves that they’re better than everyone else to get through the day, and that makes them step all over people! The average people have nothing to prove. They’re usually good folks, even if everyone else doesn’t find them average at all. Even if people think of them as extraordinary! It’s all about perspective I guess. The Owner, he’s like that.”

Your curiosity is piqued. Bonnie did say Carla knows a lot about things around here. Her creator was probably a topic she was very privy to. “You mean… ‘Daddy’? Right?”

“Yes! He’s very interesting. He usually comes in on Friday nights, sooo, you’re bound to have a chance to run into him later in the week.” Her eyes look you over again quickly, “If what Bonnie’s told me is true, you’ll probably get along really well.” She giggles, more than likely over something she was thinking but not saying.

You could continue grilling the pastry about the mysterious man that runs the place, but the bait she laid out was far too irresistible to you. “What did Bonnie tell you…?”

Her big sweet eyes look off into the other direction and a fanged smile crosses her lips. A very cheeky expression indeed. “I don’t know Miiiike~” Her elvish little gaze darts back to yours, “I didn’t think from your looks that you were the sort to gossip~.”

You back-pedal. “Well, you know, if she said to keep it private I don’t-”

She waggles a little finger, “Ah ah ah~, I’ll tell you, but not everything. Some things have to be kept between animatronics you know. Buttttt, there’s a price~...”

Alright, you’ll bite, “What kind of price?”

The short robot springs ups and walks across your desk, her cord trailing behind her like a long tail. She stops at the edge and pulls open a drawer with all her strength. You look inside. Sugar packets. The drawer is full of sugar packets. You shrug and pull one out and offer it to her. She suddenly snatches it out of your fingers and rips it open. You watch as she devours the granules, making cute sounds as she does. After her snack is finished, she gently sets the wrapper down.

“Well… She likes you a whole lot,” Carla says, licking her lips, “And she thinks you’re a really swell guy. Cute, funny, nice, really she didn’t have a bad thing to say, except maybe working on your sewing skills.”

“Anything else?” You press.

She shakes her head, “Yeah, but that’s private. Robot’s honors.”

You figure it would be rude to push your luck. You had to work with her now after all. “So, you have a sister? I mean, it’s exciting to know there’s other animatronics here I hadn’t met yet.”

She smiles, “Yeah, my sister’s always been really close with Mama. She probably reminds her of Goldilocks. She’s-”

“Who?” You ask.

“Wh- oh, oh… ah…” Carla freezes up. “It’s no one.” You give her a skeptical look, and she responds with a nervous one. Finally she sighs, knowing she screwed up. “...Goldilocks, Fredrica’s older sister… I guess to humans like you she’d be more like a prototype, but… well, things happened. Goldie, she… Well, she’s not around here anymore.”

“What happened?”

“We’re not supposed to talk about it. Mama doesn’t like it. Brings up bad blood. I’d just forget I said anything. Please…?” Her expression is very convincing, and you know, somewhere, Mama was watching, even if she was pre-occupied with those suit guys still. You’ll drop it for now.

Much to the microbot’s relief you change the topic. You’ll try to get more mysteries out of her when she’s less jumpy about them. The two of you instead talk about new technology, as well as desserts. She really enjoys talking about baked goods, but you should have expected as much. Bonnie was right, she was really good to talk to, and a very good listener as well.

5:30am rolls around. You’re in the middle of talking about hockey with Carla when you realize you haven’t seen Mama on stage since those men went to meet with her. Nor had you seen Gary back at his post. It had been 4 and half hours! When it hits you, a knot wads up in the pit of your gut. You were supposed to be security after all. You tell Carla you’ll be right back and pick up your trusty flashlight. Your stomach lurches a little as you stand and head out the door. The cupcake bids you good luck, and you start to head down the dark hall, toward the back, gripping your maglight tight in your grasp.