6: Another Year, Problems In A Different Form

The year of 1993 has finally arrived and Amara, now 22, was at home and getting ready for work. She looked at the calendar and took it in her hands as she looked at it with a solemn expression.

'Two years from now before the Hour of Joy happens...' She thought sadly as she set the calendar back down as she tied her hair up in a ponytail before leaving her house.

She made sure to lock the door to her house before heading to her car.

It only took her an hour or so to arrive at the factory as she parked her car in the parking lot. She got out of the car and locked the doors before heading towards the entrance of Playtime Co where she was greeted by the laughter and squeals of the children which made her smile. She can see parents getting dragged around by their excited kids, each child holding a toy in their hands or arms. She smiled softly at the sight before heading to her office, greeting her co-workers while some just ignored her, too focused on their work.

After getting ready fully for the day, she was about to check on all the toys since she was their caretaker only to bump into someone on the way.

"Sorry. I didn't see you there-" She apologized only to tense up to hear a voice that she despised even in her previous life.

"Hey, gorgeous." A familiar voice greeted her in a flirtatious tone which made her frown in annoyance.

"Alex." Amara greeted back with a deadpan tone which just made him smirk in amusement as if finding her deadpanned tone amusing.

"Oh come on, babe. Not even gonna say good morning?" He asked with a grin.

That just made Amara roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Not since you started calling me ridiculous nicknames. So quit it." She warned him, her expression clearly telling him to knock it off.

Honestly, Dogday and Catnap at least call her something unique in their own way. Angel and Starlight are her two favorite nicknames to be called by them. But Alex just laughs her off, grinning at her more.

"But it's true. You're pretty. Are all Mexicans this beautiful?" He asked her which made her feel offended.

"First of all, I'm a half Mexican descent. Second of all, watch your words, Alex, or you'll be getting a kick where the sun doesn't shine for that." She growled, crossing her arms as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright. I'll stop but how about this? How about we go out tonight? Just the two of us?" He offered her, leaning forward which made her back up with her eyes narrowing.

"Excuse you, idiota, I'm never going on a date with you even if you're the last human being on earth." Amara rejected him immediately which made him lose his grin as he frowned at her.

"Oh come on. Just one date, that's all I'm asking for." Alex whined which made her roll her eyes at him.

"No means no. Why don't you go and flirt with your girlfriend, Jessica? I'm sure she'll be oh-so thrilled at you for trying to flirt with me, meaning you're cheating on her." Amara said in annoyance while Alex snorted as if he didn't care.

"Who cares what she thinks. Let's just keep this our little secret. Just one date, okay?" He said with a grin which made her glare at him harder.

"I'm never, ever going on a date with you, Alex. Get it through your thick skull." She said which made him frown in annoyance at being rejected once more but before he could even open his mouth, he froze completely as he stared at something behind her with a very terrified expression.

Amara raised an eyebrow at him before hearing a very angry growl from behind her and she looked up to see that it was Huggy Wuggy who witnessed the entire thing and was not very happy as he was glaring at Alex.

"Oh, morning, Huggy." She greeted the big huggable toy casually as Alex started to back away. He was feeling extremely frightened when Huggy Wuggy started to open his mouth as he saw razor sharp teeth as Huggy Wuggy continued to growl at him to back off.

"You were saying?" Amara taunted him, crossing her arms while smirking. That made Alex glare at her but stopped when Huggy Wuggy let out a threatening growl at him.

"Tsk. Whatever." He scoffed before he turned away and left which made Amara to sigh in relief.

She then looked up at Huggy Wuggy who closed his mouth and was back into his iconic friendly look as he looked down at her.

"Thanks, Huggy. If you weren't here, I would have ended up kicking him in the nuts." She thanked him as Huggy Wuggy chirped as if it was his pleasure before he purred when Amara scratched him under the chin.

"Let's get you back to your station. I'm sure the kids are wondering where you are." She said as she led Huggy Wuggy back to the lobby.

~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry, but he did WHAT?!"

'And this is where I stay quiet...' Amara thought nervously as she watched Mommy Long Legs paced around while letting out threatening lectures out of anger as they were both at a secluded spot in the Game Station while the children were playing the three games.

"Are you alright, dear? That... Alex didn't hurt you or anything?" Mommy Long Legs asked her worriedly, her tone showing that she's like a mother who was just worried for their child. Amara gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm alright, Mommy Long Legs. Huggy came in time to stop him before he could continue." She said which made Mommy Long Legs sigh in relief.

"That's reassuring to hear. Though if he ever tries to do unforgivable things to you..." Mommy Long Legs started as she gave the same sadistic smile that Amara knows and it made her back up a bit, slightly terrified.

"I'm going to rip him apart, limb by limb, if he does anything to you." She threatened and made Amara laugh nervously. As much as she wants to see Alex shit his pants, she'd rather not get Mommy Long Legs get into trouble.

"How about we don't do that?" She asked as Mommy Long Legs returned her expression back to normal, letting out a soft hum before she looked at Amara.

"I suppose you're right but I'm not too sure how your... two admirers will handle and will not be too happy when they hear about what happened." Mommy Long Legs said, smiling knowingly.

Amara gave her a confused expression which made Mommy Long Legs giggle.

"Wait, two admirers? Who are they?" She asked as Mommy Long Legs chuckled, waving her hand at her dismissively.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, dear." Mommy Long Legs reassured her, smiling as Amara continued to look at her in confusion before one of the kids called for her. She turned to the kids before heading to them right after waving to Mommy Long Legs.

Mommy Long Legs watched them with a smile before chuckling softly.

"Oh, Amara, you have no idea how much those two love you since you started to work here."

~~~~~~~

"Kevin, what did I say about pushing Ivory?"

"Hey, I see you, Kevin! Don't even think about pulling Lexy's hair!"

"Hey, stop slapping Marianne's cheek, Eric! Oh, Dios mío, ustedes niños son tan caóticos y traviesos, lo juro." She muttered in Spanish at the last part as she was stopping some naughty kids from hurting the others.

Once the cable car stopped, once arriving at PlayCare, the doors opened and all of the children hopped out and immediately started running around excitedly.

"Hey, no running! You might trip and scrape your knee!" Amara yelled after them, holding the youngest of the children, Hugo by the hand.

She walked down the stairs while helping Hugo as she watched the Smiling Critters gather up the children. She counted the Smiling Critters and became confused as there were only six and two were missing. It was strange not to see both Catnap or Dogday there since they always greet the children even the new ones but she didn't notice two figures stalking towards her quietly however Hugo noticed them after looking behind him and Amara before hiding by her leg, giggling. That made Amara look down at him in confusion.

"What's funny, Hugo?" She asked only for someone to startle her.

"HI, ANGEL!" Amara screamed as she jumped back and would have kicked whoever it was behind her if it weren't for a purple tail that wrapped around her leg, preventing her from hitting anyone.

Amara blinked and saw that it was just Dogday who smiled at her though he had his arms raised to shield himself from the kick while Catnap stood beside him, while giving an innocent smile as if he had nothing to do with what just happened as he unwrapped his tail from her leg.

"What... the heck was that for, Dogday?!" She exclaimed as Dogday laughed while lowering his arms with a smile.

"Couldn't help myself, Amara. Sorry." He apologized though his tail wouldn't stop wagging.

"You're very lucky that I wasn't carrying Hugo." She said with a soft huff as Hugo was giggling behind her leg while both Smiling Critters noticed him.

"Who's this little fella?" Dogday asked as he lightly poke Hugo on the side which made the 4 year old squeak.

"This is Hugo. One of the new orphans and the youngest of them all." She introduced Hugo to them as he looked at them with dark red yet innocent eyes.

"Hello there, Hugo. I'm Dogday. One of the Smiling Critters and next to me is my best friend, Catnap." Dogday introduced himself and Catnap gently.

Hugo looked up at him and Catnap curiously before hiding his face behind Amara's leg which made her laugh softly.

"Looks like someone is very shy." Amara said softly in amusement as Dogday chuckled softly.

Catnap bent down, nudging Hugo with his snout which made the little boy peek around Amara's leg to look at him before hiding behind her leg again with a giggle which made Catnap smile while his tail and ears twitched. Amara just smiled before looking towards the children who were all playing with the other Smiling Critters.

"How about you join the others to play, Hugo?" Amara told him gently as she tried to move her leg but Hugo refused, clinging to her leg with his arms and legs like a koala cub which made Amara blinked in confusion and amusement while Dogday and Catnap were watching in amusement.

"I don't think... the little one wants to let you go, Starlight." Catnap said softly as Amara looked at him then down at Hugo.

"Hugo, you need to interact with other kids your age." Amara said gently as Hugo who just looked up at her then to the other kids with a hesitant and scared expression.

"Hey, it'll be alright. You'll be just fine, I promise you. Plus we'll be watching and making sure that you're comfortable and having fun, okay?" Dogday encouraged him gently with a gentle expression.

Hugo looks at him before a purple tail wrapped around his waist which made him squeak before giggling as Catnap set her down on the ground.

"Go on and play." Catnap encouraged him, nudging him gently with his paw.

Hugo looks at the other children nervously who were still playing before looking back up at Amara for reassurance. Amara gave Hugo a reassuring smile, nodding for him to go and play.

"Go and have fun, Hugo." She said encouragingly which made Hugo nod, putting on a rather adorable and brave expression and rushed to join the other kids who let him join.

Amara watched them with a soft and gentle expression which Dogday pointed out.

"You act like a mother to him." He said, which made her look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.

"Well, the way you look at her with a gentle expression on your face. You look like a mother who's watching their child." Dogday pointed with a soft smile.

That made Amara blink before feeling a bit flustered by what he meant.

"Wha- Me? A mother? No way! I'm more like an aunt or an older sibling but not a mother." She said nervously, looking away.

"He does have a point. You act like a mother to the children." Catnap agreed with Dogday as Amara sighed softly.

"Not you too, Catnap..." She muttered while Catnap grinned at her before turning back to the children.

"So what's the next bedtime story you'll be telling them later?" Dogday asked Amara, changing the topic.

Amara hummed softly as she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Well, I might tell them about the story of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." She explained with a shrug.

"I can't wait to hear it." Dogday said excitedly with Catnap nodding in agreement.

She couldn't help but smile at them before looking towards the kids, waving to Hugo who looked back to the three of them, waving back to Amara before continuing to play with his new friends. Unaware to Amara, both Dogday and Catnap admired her from behind, both having an expression of being in love as they stared at her. Amara really didn't know how much they had fallen for her so badly.

~~~~~~TranslationIdiota - IdiotDios mío, ustedes niños son tan caóticos y traviesos, lo juro - Oh my god, you kids are so chaotic and naughty, I swear