All Winds Blow Away Eventually

The Arrival

Without Samuel, I didn't function as well in Playcare, though I certainly didn't degrade as much as I had when I had first arrived. My main motivation to engage in class activities during the school day had gone, so I ended up having to get a DogDay plush to help me, seeing it as the 'ghost of Samuel'. I also tried to get a CatNap one, but they had mysteriously been recalled. The beds adjacent to me, with Samuel and Theodore either side were empty, contributing to a sense of isolation, now that his friends had also left with him. Surely I should have gone with them, to whoever adopted them.

Still, however, I was going to become an employee at Playtime Co, and nothing would stop me, even if I'd just lost my friends.

However, it was only a few months later that something arrived in Playcare. The actual Smiling Critters! No, not the toys. Actual, moving, walking, living and breathing Smiling Critters! All eight of them, DogDay to Picky Piggy, were in Playcare, moving around and helping kids should they need to address any problems.

I personally was a little surprised by why they were here, and it seemed like they'd come as compensation for me losing Samuel. Still, it wouldn't stop me from addressing my problem over my loss. The Smiling Critters were also overwhelmingly popular in Playcare.

So, once school in Playcare was over, that's what I did. I brought it up to Bobby Bearhug.
"I've got a little pain from my best friend leaving Playcare," I told her.
"Don't worry!" she responded, loving as her description on the Playcare statue said.
What she did next was exactly what I expected. She gave me a hug. I hugged back, but the strength she hugged me almost crushed me, so I had to free myself from her embrace.

Each of these bigger Smiling Critters fit their overall personality on the statue perfectly. DogDay was sunny, strong and determined, Bobby Bearhug showed compassion for everyone in Playcare, Kickin Chicken was cool, Hoppy Hopscotch would maintain everyone's energy levels, but would also be loud sometimes, Bubba Bubbaphant would steer us to make smart choices, Crafty Corn would help us learn everyday with her artistic mind and Picky Piggy would encourage us to eat healthy, despite gladly devouring PB&Js whenever she had them. However, CatNap only appeared when we went to sleep, helping us settle down. He hardly said anything, but at that time, none of us were awake enough to care.

Over time, one of the Critters had grown quite fond of me. One that I'd recently bought a plush of. DogDay.

Whenever I felt worried or downcast, he would happily try to cheer me up. While this seemed normal at first, he soon became very eager to help me, and started to somewhat crowd me, while helping others, such as hearing a yelp from someone else during a thunderstorm and helping them calm down. Whenever I wasn't in sight of him, he'd always know where I was. I asked Bubba about it and he said "Maybe he wants to be friends." It was a little strange, but it made sense. So I went with it, and DogDay seemed happy about that. This also attracted other kids to me, eager to capitalise on my own friendship with him. He gladly accepted them, and the counsellors and teachers-especially Miss Delight- seemed pleased that I'd made a friend with one of the Smiling Critters.

One day, however, I took him into the tunnels beneath the PlayCare school. He'd initially been unwilling to do it, asking "Are you sure you're allowed to do this?" and me replying "Yes. We leave the school through here all the time." I wanted to show him the cave that I'd found earlier. I climbed in and beckoned DogDay in. It wasn't very big, but it was pretty comfortable, with space for both of us. DogDay was unsure about going in, so I placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. I knew that we might get found out, but I didn't care too much. However, I was really worried about DogDay, because in him, I had found the new Samuel.

In fact, once I became an employee in Playtime Co as a young adult, I started to think how DogDay was so akin to Samuel. He was still my friend even now. In fact, all of them were akin to my friends who had left a few months prior to the arrival of the Critters. Sarah loved Bobby Bearhug, who had been introduced to PlayCare, and Theo's quietness was reminiscent of CatNap. Crafty Corn was shy and quiet, as was Kevin around me, and one of the smart kids, who was named Jack, had genius matching Bubba Bubbaphant. It also dawned on me that these toys were all around the factory. Mommy, Bunzo and the Mini Huggies in the Game Station,the Smiling Critters in PlayCare, and Boxy Boo, whose purpose I hadn't figured out yet.

But at the same time I wondered how Playtime Co. could produce so many. An idea then dawned on me. What if the kids who left PlayCare were used as vectors for these living toys- which I'd come to know were 'Bigger Bodies' during my orientation video once I'd been offered a place. I went to PlayCare during free time, and asked the Smiling Critters who they really were. All of them gave the same answers. They said that they were part of the Smiling Critters, and then said their names.

However, one of the now grown up kids who had become an employee alongside told me that he'd stumbled upon a worker who was with Kevin. That made my blood boil to hear that potential scientists may have been experimenting with Kevin. Whether the  Bigger Bodies Smiling Critters were right and I was just overthinking things, or they were wrong and my theory was correct, I had to find out how these so-called 'Bigger Bodies' were actually made... even if I lost my job in the process.