It was a lively Wednesday evening at the coffee house, as I recall. Shane Watson and I had spent the better part of two hours catching up on events. I remember carefully examining my phone, an android device, and realizing the passage of time.
Mr. Watson took note of it too, he checking his watch. He smiled as he looked back at me. "So what do you say?"
It took me a moment to realize what he had meant. I was in process of sipping my hot chocolate cappuccino, not really thinking on the job offer Mr. Watson had proposed.
"Why not just technician?" I asked as us set my cup down. I saw Shane shrug sympathetically.
"I would, Edward, but that position doesn't exist anymore."
"Since when?" I asked. We had just talked about it.
"Since now," Shane replied. "Listen, Edward, I really would let you in as technician, but I think you'd do so much more good as Night Guard."
I thought about it for a moment. I watched Shane take a drink of his iced coffee (he seemed to gulp that stuff down) as I thought about my options. "Pay?" I asked.
Shane had enough time to swallow before replying. "Twenty dollars an hour, with company benefits and retirement options."
Holy shit!
"What's the catch?" I asked, looking at him dubiously
At this, Mr. Watson smiled. It was an odd smile, one signifying something left unsaid, or not mentioned previously. "No catch," he replied. "You can start tomorrow night if you want."
I watched him in silence. That odd smirking smile not going away. Still, twenty an hour with benefits beat my nine an hour. I nodded.
"Alright, I'm interested. But I won't start for two weeks. The grocery store deserves that much from me."
Shane extended his hand, which I took. "Fair enough," he said shaking hands. "Welcome to the team."
I remember how happy I felt back then, accepting Mr. Watson's offer. I just wish that Shane had told me everything back then. Then again, if he had, I probably wouldn't have accepted his offer. Smart man he was.
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Two weeks seemed to fly by for me. My supervisor at the grocery was none too happy with me leaving and my friends were upset but eventually they seemed to come to terms with it. I realized this on my last day. A party was thrown in my honor, and the cake was really delicious. I mingled for a while, and eventually left after being told I always had a place there.
It was one of the more memorable times in my working career, and one of the most secure. I was sure if everything didn't work out at Action World Pizza I'd have something to fall back on.
The following evening I showed up for my first shift two hours early, just in case. It was a good thing too. I met with one of the managers and they had me fill out a plethora of forms. I swore it almost felt like I was joining the army.
Page after page went by, and I read, signed, and dated each one. I eventually got to a page that was a waiver on behalf of Action World Pizza. I read through it, and it made sense. Since they used animatronics, if one malfunctioned, they didn't want to have to bare the ungodly cost.
I signed the waiver and finished up, then was sent to watch a video for my remaining hour. It went over subjects I was familiar with due to my job history, all but one. There was a long section in the video about procedures to follow in case of emergency. One of those procedures dealt with an animatronic malfunction.
I was a little unsettled by the graphic description of possible worst-case scenarios, but the video and the managers did state that none of these events had actually happened. It was simply precaution, necessary. I remember still feeling uneasy about it.
At the end of it all, I was given time to address any concerns I had. I stated I had none, and afterward I was sent home. The retiring Night Guard wasn't ready yet for me to start, so my training would begin the following night. It seemed formal introductions would have to wait.
I was fine with it though. I needed some time to assimilate what I had learned. Before I left, I was handed my outfit and badge (conviently with the words "Trainee Guard" on it), and handed a job description booklet for me to look over. I was even assured that the time spent today would be paid.
I left very happy with my new job. In my stupor, I pushed the warnings about the animatronics to the back of my mind, focusing only on what I perceived to be a bright future at Action World Pizza.
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During the night, I remember having a dream. It was quite a scary dream. I don't remember much about it, not even now, but I do remember waking up in a cold sweat. It felt like somebody - or something - had stalked me for six hours.
And their faces....
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