During the Day

Later that same day, Emma was getting out of her car, which was parked in the parking lot of Circus Baby's Funtime Restaurant. She no longer wore her night guard uniform, but a casual blue tee shirt and jeans. A baseball cap shaded her eyes from the sun.

She glanced at the paper she had printed earlier, detailing the time for each performance of the animatronics. Ballora was first at 10-11 am, then Freddy from 11:30 to 12:30, then Foxy from 1 to 2, and finally, Baby from 2:30 to 3:30.

She folded the paper and put it in her back pocket, behind her iPhone. Then, she headed inside among the crowds of children and parents. It was 9:45, so Emma wandered to Ballora gallery, finding a seat in one of the front tables. Ballora herself stood still on the stage, arms above her head, fingers touching. Emma winked at her, smiling. She winked back, her eyes beautiful. The children in the room did not seem to notice.

At ten o'clock, the music started, and Ballora began to dance a beautiful ballet, singing a melody that went along with the music. She spun and twirled across the stage, the show lasting an hour. Children and parents came and went, but Emma seemed to be the only one who stayed for the whole show. Afterwards, the room emptied, and Ballora returned to her original position.

She winked again at Emma, and she winked back before saying, acting as if talking to herself, "I'm gonna go check out Freddy's show now," then quietly so only Ballora would hear, "See you tomorrow morning." Then she left. Freddy and Foxy were in the same auditorium, so she wouldn't have to leave in between.

The auditorium was set up the same way as Ballora's gallery, and so Emma sat down at a table near the front where Freddy stood still. They didn't have a raised stage, only a curtain behind them. Foxy would be behind there, waiting for her turn to perform. Freddy's ear twitched when he saw her, and Bon-Bon waved with her tiny little hand. Emma smiled at them.

Soon it was 11:30, and Freddy's show began. His was different then Ballora's, he actually walked around the audience, him and Bon-Bon telling jokes and waving. She had heard that his show included a volunteer, and sure enough, he pulled Emma towards the front. He said something about his strength and asked her if he could pick her up. She nodded, and so Freddy picked her up with his free hand and placed her on his shoulder, where she sat, laughing. The audience clapped as his show ended, and he carefully placed Emma back in her chair before waving and retreating behind the curtain.

'That was fun,' Emma thought, smiling to herself as she waited for Foxy's show to start. She waved a day shifter over and paid for some pizza, which she began to eat as she waited for 1:00.

When it came, the lights immediately turned off. Peppy soft rock music started, and Foxy leaped out from behind the curtain. Freddy must have told her that Emma was here, because she looked around quickly before her eyes fell on Emma. Winking, Foxy began her dance. Foxy's dance moves about the entire auditorium, and she began to sing as well. She popped up behind many tables, waving, singing and dancing.

Emma laughed and cheered along with the rest of the audience, clapping when her performance was over. Foxy waved at Emma before disappearing behind the curtain again. 'So it seems their personality carry on during the day,' Emma noted as she made her way to Circus Gallery. Baby stood on her stage, seemingly powered down, but Emma could just see her eyes, following Emma through the room. Emma waved.

To Emma's surprise, Baby began speaking before her scheduled performance time. "I'd like to dedicate this performance to our new night guard, Emma!" A spotlight fell in Emma, and she gasped, her hand going to her heart. "We thank her for giving up her night to keep us animatronics safe and ready to perform for you!" The audience clapped and cheered. Not for Baby, but for her. Emma smiles warmly at Baby, tears in her eyes as Baby began her song.

The performance was the same as this morning, but beautiful all the same. Emma was smiling the entire time. She was still smiling gratefully as she drove home, and happily reset her alarm so she would get up in time to go back for her job.