Y/N Pov
To think that the critters are even somehow saddened by the truth I told them was a mistake. Kickin jumps around on the couch like a madman while the others run around asking me every question that could possibly come up. I still stand at the table and watch them, now that they are no longer in Playcare, their behavior will probably change a lot and I have to notice everything.
"Hey, what's this... pizza?"
"Yes, yes, what do you have in your hand?"
"Is that something to eat?"
As far as I know, they were only ever given the cheapest chemical food in Playcare. I think the caretakers will have just given it to them to eat and they ate it without any thought. If not, the behavior was noted and they were given nothing. Every three months I was given a pile of DNA in the lab and asked to analyze each individual Smilling Critter based on their saliva. In most cases it looked quite ok, their organs slowly adapted to the fabric shell, otherwise they would have had to be cut out and declared dead... or given to the mini critters to eat.
But now I have to think about the current situation and slowly explain everything to them. I put my phone back in my pocket for the first time. I walk slowly past the window and along the chairs that are pushed up against the table. I still have my chair in front of the TV and walk towards it, now with my back turned to the TV, I sit down and look the critters straight in the eye.
"I want to lay down a few rules... Because you're going to be spending some time here now" I'm not saying 'living', that just sounds wrong. I don't know exactly how much time you'll be spending here yet, one thing or another might happen.
"Yes, rules and rules... What is this pizza?" Kickin really can't keep his mouth shut, no wonder most of the Playcare staff found him so difficult.
"So first of all... pizza is food okay? So to the rules-
"ugghhh, just rules everywhere, are we allowed to do what we want at some point?" So now he's really overdoing it, everyone else is quiet, only he's complaining. I think I need to show The Boss again.
"Now shut the fuck up" I hear Crafty and Bobby gasp, there was also a rule about swear words in Playcare. But I finally have to show that everything here is serious.
"So, none of you...really none of you enter my bedroom without asking...get it?" Kickin still looks slightly startled, as does Hoppy. The rest slowly start to listen and I think we can finally move on.
"I will answer your questions...ALL of them! But don't talk all over the place and don't ask all kinds of crap...understand?" Everyone stares at me stupidly at first, they all scoot a little closer to each other on the couch. DogDay and CatNap can't really get any closer because DogDay has CatNap on his lap like he's a toy. Bobby has been staring at me the whole time since I came back from the kitchen.
"Have you been crying?" This must be a fucking joke, quickly answer normally.
"No" I answer far too fast, damn.
"Ah... you just looked so sad" You have no idea...
"Oh Bobby, he always looks so emotionless"
"So do you want to know something about the outside world here now?" I may have overdone it with that. After all, Kickin and Hoppy get up and start jumping around on the couch. Crafty looks more and more nervous, and the rest of them slowly take a closer look at the room, probably thinking about the best questions to ask.
"What is pizza?" They're like little kids now, you have to explain everything to them...It's going to be work.
"Bread with tomato sauce and melted cheese on top" That I always have to make the explanations a bit simpler is really annoying.
"So it's something for us to eat?" Bobby doesn't seem to be the smartest either, after all, she's more the emotional one.
"What's that out here?" Does Bubba mean the outside world as a whole, or what?
"Can we eat this at all? In Playcare we only ever have-
"Yes... Your stomach is still quite normal, however...
"Like what?"
"Well, in Playcare you only ever got the tasteless cheap food... This will probably be a bit strange for you to eat something normal." In the corner of my eye, I see Bubba slowly get up from the couch, stop for a moment and then move in the direction of the table. 'He's seen the trophies'
"What are they all here for?" It was obvious that this was coming. He stands at the table and turns a few of the cups to read the writing at the bottom. Should I show off now or stay down to earth?
"Competitions"
"What kind of competitions?"
"All kinds of knowledge competitions, math, biology or chemistry"
"Wow! That's at least fifteen... You are a genius!" Hoppy and Kickin look at Bubba and have a funny look on their faces, as if he's betraying them.
"Bubba Come on-
"National soccer team?"
Silence. That's all there is right now, or I just don't hear it. I no longer look at the critters but at the ground, and remember back. Rin and I on the soccer field, while none of the other teams had a chance against us...Nostalgia. Back then there was still this promise... But I don't want to remember that.
"YOU? YOU WERE PLAYING FOOTBALL HAHAHAHAH" The loud laughter pulls me out of my thoughts again, Kickin and Hoppy are almost laughing themselves to death. With Tears already coming out of Kickin's eyes from all the laughing and they almost fall on top of each other on the couch. A few minutes ago, Hoppy had the file in her hand and almost collapsed on the floor. But at least they're still children
"Ehm... So are we safe here now Y/N?" Yes finally a good question, thanks DogDay.
"Yes, I have always given Elliot Ludwig a false address for years... To be on the safe side."
"Why?" Bobby asks almost more than Bubba.
"You know what happens to employees who do something they shouldn't have done..." This earns me a few frightened looks, as far as I know there was a case at Crafty last year. Her caretaker brought pens from home, according to the rules that's exactly what's forbidden, as there could be something else inside. After a few reprimands she attracted even more attention, even managers complained because she treated Crafty far too much like a normal human child.
The warnings ended with a half-dead twenty-year-old on my operating table.
"This is the path I have chosen...For all of us-