Can you hear my heart echoing?
Chapter 4: Welcome to Spudsy’s Magic Moment
Content Warnings: none
Word Count: <3800
- 1st person POV
- slow burn
- a kind of magic
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This song is too wonky. Let’s skip to the next… Oh, this song sounds even more cacophonic.
I asked for an MP3 player and a journal, as I explained to Caine, I need something to kill more of my free time in my room. Falling to sleep turned out to be a little trick in itself, which I still had to learn.
In here you'd never grow “tired”. Exhausted, yes, but you never felt the need to sleep. The same rule applied to eating. I would've never grown hungry, but instead, I could’ve experienced occasional appetite and cravings, which is why we all ate at least once a day for routine.
And this was also why I sat here, on my bed, fully awake.
With a sigh I took off the headphones, at first accidentally grabbing the side of my head and not where my ears actually were. My eyes darted around the room, avoiding the look in the mirror. I stood up and went over to my bookshelf. Picking one of the bee encyclopaedias from the shelf, I sat down crisscross on the floor and started to read.
“Bees are mostly attracted to purple and blue flowers…” Another animal fun fact that’ll live rent-free in my head. Unfortunately, reading the book wasn’t that boring to make me feel as sleepy as I thought it would, yet it also wasn’t entertaining enough to distract me.
Distraction was something I sought after. Something that doesn’t remind me of being far away from home. From reality.
The first three days were simply strange. A sensory overload, with too many impressions, trying to bond with the others, and avoiding any of the bunny’s pranks. But from that moment on, I’ve come to get used to most things here, I had to deal with the realization that I’d neither breathe real air nor feel real sunshine or rain hitting the skin of my face ever again.
And I will never see my friends and family again.
They must be wondering where I’ve been all this time. If I’m lucky, time doesn't move in here.
My friend, with whom I explored the abandoned building, would have looked for me. I'm 100% convinced that if I had been knocked out by the electricity running through the computer and headset, they would have called an ambulance.
Can something like that even happen? I can’t be dead already, and this is the afterlife or something, right? No, that’s nonsense. But I’m a cartoon character…
Or maybe it was all just a dream. A very long dream.
I just want to go home, please.
After a few more creepy adventures, Pomni clearly had had enough as Caine was about to announce his next adventure was going to be a gory one. The jester didn’t like horror that much, so it’s understandable she was already terrified by the sheer thought of having to deal with a violent psychopath butcher. Also, Zooble, whom I've never seen participating in the adventures, started to complain.
For whatever reason, the AI was really keen on using horror elements now and then, ranging from eldritch abominations to jump scares and chase sequences. Sure, I might’ve liked my first adventure, but I have to admit all the monsters were a bit traumatizing. I know the adventures are meant to distract us from our personal issues within the circus, but soon, I’d need a distraction from the distractions.
However, the ringmaster didn’t seem to figure out why the two of them were so displeased with his new idea. “Well, if you’re all gonna be such CRITICS, why don’t you suggest a better one?” He crossed his arms and shut his teeth defiantly.
“We do!” Zooble replied. “Have you not checked the suggestion box once?”
Curiously, Caine levitated over to the black pole in the main hall, a red box filled with notes nailed to it. “Gonna be real, I forgot we had that.”
“I knew it”, the mismatched toy sighed.
Pomni’s voice lost a bit of her fear. “We have a suggestion box?”
“Basically no”, Zooble rolled their eyes.
We all turned to Caine, going through a few suggestions. If only I had known about this box, I would’ve definitely put my own suggestion inside. Though I wouldn’t know if anyone would actually like what I would come up with.
As I was thinking about my own personal adventure, the AI had already decided on one specific suggestion. “That means today’s adventure is ‘An Honest Hard Day’s Work AT SPUDSY’S RESTAURANT CHAIN’!”
Apparently, our next adventure is about the bunch of us working in fast food with Gangle being our shift manager, which wasn’t very surprising. Since she put that new colourful mask on, she acted quite confident and secure, way more than when she’d only worn her comedy mask. She was also the one who came up with the idea and made this our today’s adventure.
But then it darned me, I’d have to work in fast food.
Well, it’s only for a day. It can’t be that bad, right?
“Are you sure you don’t need any medical help or anything?” I asked concerned.
Ragatha’s hair stood on end, her woolly skin was totally soaked in oil, and the button eye was just about to melt off her face. “It’s okay. Caine will fix it in a few seconds”, she smiled weakly.
We got a bit closer during the time I’ve already been inside the circus. I was really grateful for her encouraging words, she always had ready whenever I felt doubt. Helping her now was the least I could do.
I just pulled the poor doll out of the deep fryer, where Jax had thrown her in earlier. Later on, it would turn out he was the least interested in doing his job during the adventure. Heck, even Zooble was doing their assigned task.
Well, Caine didn’t really give them a choice whether they’d like to participate or not.
“Battyyyy~” Gangle sing-sang my name. The manager's costume suited her, though I got the feeling the executive position was already getting to her head. “Don’t you stand there and mindlessly look around like an NPC and get to work. We’ve got customers to serve!” She handed me a tray with a breakfast meal and a coffee strong enough to chew.
“O-of course.” It was only the beginning of a long, never-ending shift.
What was interesting to me was that everything, not just looked, but also smelled and sounded quite familiar to the real world. There was the feeling of the employee uniform, which right now still smelled brand-new but would reek of the restaurant by the end of the shift. Then there were lights, the humming and beeping of the various machines…
The beeping will definitely be stuck in my head for hours after all this is over.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have checked the clock each and every single time I picked up an order. As I cleaned a table of spilled drinks, I glanced past Ragatha, building a pyramid of burgers, and to the clock in the kitchen. Time was almost standing still, the clock hands were barely moving.
“Order 57 is ready to serve!”
I hurried to the counter, picking up the order to carry it to the customer, as I stumbled over someone’s foot, causing me to fall. The filled tray flew across the kitchen, almost hitting Zooble.
“Hey, watch out!” They turned to me angrily, but their gaze was already softening once they recognized the lean creature standing next to me.
“Yeah, Batty, you’d better watch where you walk”, Jax grinned.
Gangle suddenly appeared behind us. “Jax, this is the second co-worker you harassed this shift”, she reminded him.
The bunny shrugged. “So?”
“We can’t have that now, can we? You're also behind with cleaning the bathrooms. Don’t you want to be a model employee?”
“Believe me, he couldn’t care less.” I was collecting the parts of the ordered food lying across the dirty kitchen floor and put it back on the tray. None of the NPCs will notice anything. Can I get fired because of this? This is unpaid labour, so are there any consequences then?
“I like you better when you’re sad.” I heard the rabbit saying to Gangle.
Well, that hit her like a truck. Something was breaking in the background, though, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. I’d hate to agree with Jax, however, Gangle’s new mask was already giving her an unhealthy amount of positivity and motivation, more than her usual happy mask. “Well, maybe you just need some more… training!”
I just got up on my feet again, as a pair of giant gloved hands violently grabbed Jax and pulled him into a dark hallway. Now she's really going overboard. “Gangle, where did he-“
“And YOU!” Gangle raised her voice again, and I shrank to half my size. “You should go back to work! Or do you also want to be part of the employee re-evaluation?”
During the stressful hours, I began humming whatever came to my mind, which was basically a jam of three songs at once, one changing from time to time. I was helping Ragatha to sample the burgers, since she was feeling a bit off and had problems concentrating. If this were a diner or a café, the immersion would’ve been great for a specific musical I can’t stop thinking about since we got here.
“What the hell is that melody?” Zooble asked, helping to pack the order.
I immediately stopped. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. Some music wouldn’t be so bad anyway.”
Ragatha began to sing the chorus of “All By Myself” as she finished the last one of a total of 300 burgers.
“Oof, not that kind of music... Pomni, the order is finally ready!” the abstracted toy shouted across the kitchen.
The doll proceeded to sing, her lips trembling. “Don’t wanna be…”
“Hey, it’s okay. Whatever you’re going through, it’ll pass...” I comforted Ragatha, who was almost about to cry. “W-Would you like to tell me more about your horses you mentioned earlier?” Maybe this would lead her thoughts to drift in another direction.
Her head shot up. “My horses? Ooooh, I can’t remember their names, unfortunately. Well, one of them was the most majestic tinker you can possibly think of.” She closed her eyes, talking about better times outside the digital realm.
I listened to her while I was doing the dishes. There have been three horses and a few other animals on her farm, Ragatha loved from the bottom of her heart. It was sad to think about the fact, she might never see them again, yet her genuine happiness right now was a good thing. She didn’t need to make light of anything or force herself to say something optimistic-
“Has anyone ever been interested in you?”
“What?” When did she steer the conversation in that direction?
“Romantically. Like… like a love interest.” The ragdoll could barely stand on her own feet. I was wondering how she was able to keep her balance.
“Err…” Tapping the edge of the sink, I tried to think of the right words. I tended to overshare, especially when talking about the past. “Well… Yes, I once was in a romantic relationship”, I spoke quietly.
Zooble raised an eyebrow, overhearing our conversation. “Anything apart from that?” they asked, not digging any deeper, which I was very grateful for.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in love with anyone. And since I never went out of my way to date, I also never really had a chance to fall for anyone again.”
“I see.” The triangle head turned back to the griddle. “You know, dating can be fun. Or horror. There is nothing in between. I once went on a date that actually started off pretty well, but when they asked me if I’d be up for doing it in a bathroom stall, I paid for the drinks and left.” Still rather polite of them.
“Uhm, it’s not like I never thought about it. I’m just scared of the ‘you’ll never know who will be behind the mask of a stranger’ thing.” With a stranger who might talk to fast- F%$&!#ck! Another song is stuck in my head. “Like you said, you don’t know their intentions.” The words just poured out of me, but I felt the urge to explain myself. “And then, there is still the fear of not knowing what to say, and then this will make a whole date just awkward, and you ignore each other in silence.”
“Sheesh, it’s not like we are dating anyone anytime soon. No need to panic.”
Ragatha sighed. “How much I wished someone would ask me out on a date… or flirt with m-” She slipped and fell to the ground.
Bending down, I made sure she didn’t accidentally hurt herself. Weirdly enough, she still had that slight smile on her face. Maybe she was literally daydreaming of the scenario she wished for.
It’s not exactly the same thing, but why not do her the favour? Perhaps it will cheer her up. “You know, this reminds me of a pick-up line someone used on me. Would you like to hear it?”
The doll was already giggling nonstop when I knelt beside her. “Even if there was no gravity on Earth, I’d still fall for you”, I purred.
In reaction, Ragatha cackled even more.
“Yay, it worked”, I celebrated my little flirt attempt and stood back up. I wondered how people didn't feel silly doing that.
“Those f%$&!#cking corny pick-up lines never work”, Zooble said.
“Really?” Now, I approached them, lowering my voice to sound even more suggestive. “Good evening, sweetheart. Do you have a map?”
They wheezed. “Let me guess”, they put a hand to their hips, but I could sense their amusement. “Is it because you just got lost in my oh-so beautiful eyes?”
“Dang it”, I mumbled defeated. “Yeah, I think everybody knows that one. Wait, I know another trick.” I glanced to the counter. Come on, why are we already out of napkins? “Hold on. I’ll be right back!“
Quickly, I rushed over to the bathroom and grabbed one of the blue paper towels from the dispenser. They were a bit thicker, but I’d make it work nonetheless. Rolling it up, cramping the sides and edges, I formed the towel into a rose step by step.
“Ta da!” I showed my co-workers the crafted flower.
Zooble was quite surprised. “Cool. How do you know how to make these?”
“Learned it in my free time when I had a part-time job as a waitress.” Not that song again… I shook my head. “I wish this had come more in handy. But there actually were one or two guests who loved it.”
Ragatha seemed to love it as well, her normal eye was shimmering. “Hey, do… do you guys think true love exists?”
At this point, she could’ve also easily asked me if there had been any days when I imagined I’d just happen to run into the love of my life while I was buying groceries. Even if that were the case, I probably wouldn't be able to get a single word out without stuttering or mumbling when asked if we could exchange numbers.
Jax might not have been entirely wrong. At least in that regard, I suppose I’ll always be a hopeless case. “Yes... Yes, I do. What about you, Zooble?”
Finished sweeping the floors all clean, I could finally clock out and drive back home in our personalized cars, our names written on the plates. As I fastened my seatbelt and started the engine, I was teleported somewhere else in the blink of an eye.
Bright lights were blinding me. The smell of grey shaggy carpet filled my nose, and it made me feel as if I had been transported back in time. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light, I found myself sitting in an almost typical office room, decorated with a few motivational posters featuring affirmations and a few colourful objects, breaking the cold, sterile ambiance.
Suddenly, a voice as loud as a siren boomed in my ears. “WELL, WELL, WELL! What a busy worker bee you are!” Caine floated in front of me, patting my shoulder. “You fulfilled all your assigned tasks, and in the end, also successfully hyped the mood of your co-workers. Even Zooble was having a blast for a short time!” His heterochromatic eye balls were bouncing out of his head and back in, accompanied by the sound of a squeaking rubber toy. “Although I’m not quite sure what you were actually doing right then and there to achieve that rare phenomenon.”
If he was referring to the light-hearted, unserious flirting with Ragatha and Zooble, I didn't want to dwell on it too much. “Oh, we were just having fun. Hyping the mood was pretty unintentional.”
The AI put a finger to his lower jaw. “As unintentional as serving contaminated food to the customers, being aware of the risks?”
Well, as it seemed, I didn’t know the risks after all. I took a gulp. “Am I going to be punished for this… like Jax?” Whatever he went through, I don’t want to experience it myself.
“Of course not. But it will definitely leave a dock on your final score!” He took off his hat and was about to reach for something inside it – most likely my score –but Bubble sprang out immediately as soon as he got the chance. For some inexplicable reason, he wore a pink moustache. “Not during the performance review, Bubble.” The ringmaster popped him and led his other entire arm to reach back inside the hat. This reminded me of the extension charms from Harry Potter.
“Can you, like, pull animals out of your hat, as well?” I didn’t specify which animals because I wouldn’t have wanted him to get the idea to pull out Jax by his ears. “Like a magician?”
“Bunnies, pigeons, aliens- you name it.”
Now I was curious about the aliens.
“Ah! Here is your score!” He tucked a photo of me on a pinboard behind him. It captured the moment I stumbled through the kitchen.
Graded a B+. Not too bad. I also took the time to look at the other photos. Wait, when was Kinger riding a bull, and why did he get an A+ for it? The chess piece sat that adventure out, so Zooble could come with us in the first place.
Caine looked me up and down. “Are you a fan of magic tricks in general? Like this one?” He pointed to the blue paper flower. The rosebud peeked out of my infinite apron’s pocket.
“Oh. Yes. When I was younger, I was given a magic set for kids as a gift. Optical illusions and things like that have always fascinated me. However, I don’t see how this is supposed to be a magic trick.” I took out the rose and put it down on his desk next to a doodle of a bee wearing sunglasses.
“Don't be so modest.” Carefully, he picked up the flower and gently turned it in his hand. “Look. You made a flower out of paper. It’s practically crafted art. And art is magical! Don’t you think so, my fruity custard tart?”
His enthusiastic, logical-sounding reasoning made me smile a little. “Hm… It depends.” There was a hint of a challenge in my voice.
And he took the bait. “Oh, shall I prove it? I’ll make your flower the main focus of my own magic trick.”
“Okay.” I crossed my arms. “But you have to use a magic hat and a wand. No snapping allowed.”
Caine raised a part of his upper jaw. “Mhmmmm-I can make that work! Sit back down!”
I got pushed back on my chair by my shoulders.
Once again, the showman took his top hat off. This time, it seemed to have grown to twice its size. To make sure I saw that there couldn't have been anything in the hat to begin with, he let me take a peek inside and even let me check that there was no hidden bottom. Not that he would’ve needed one anyway. He dropped the flower inside. I grinned to myself as he got his fingers ready to snap again, but then remembered that he was supposed to refrain from doing so. Instead, he used his cane like a magic wand, tapping the brim three times. “Wap-bam-boom, alakazam!“
A small puff of smoke rose, and confetti exploded.
Of course, I knew he could've let anything appear in that hat thanks to his powers. Nonetheless, I kicked my feet in anticipation like a small child. I was literally spellbound.
“Et voilà!” Caine pulled out a realistic blue rose and held it right in front of my face.
I chuckled and applauded this small, delightful performance. “That was truly amazing, Mr. Houdini.”
He took a bow. “Thank you, thank you. Now, this one’s for you, my dear.” When he handed me the flower, our fingers lightly brushed against each other.
For an artificial rose, the smell was quite authentic, so sweet and... calm, if that made sense. The thorns gently pricked my skin, and the petals felt like velvet.
I just came to realize our ringmaster gifted me a rose out of nowhere. No special occasion or whatsoever. I knew it was originally my flower, but I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks and ears suddenly start to flush with embarrassment. “T-Thanks.” My voice was thin and shaky.
Caine seemed to notice my flustered state. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing. Now he, too, slumped slightly in his posture. “Y-You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat and then led me straight to the door. “Anyway, have a nice day, Battina!”
“You too, Caine. I really enjoyed the adventure.” I gave him a timid smile, watching him fly back to the ceiling, looking all content. “Oh, and you can call me Batty if you like.”
“Batty…” I heard him repeat the nickname multiple times as I left the office.
Still, I had that one song stuck in my head. I started humming again, as a certain part of the lyrics struck my mind.
“He could be very nice, have lovely eyes. And make me laugh. Come out of hidin”-
He’s a flying set of dentures! What am I even thinking? The gift was a general act of kindness, his eyes are mismatched and I only laughed because I’m easy to impress.
Pull yourself together.
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author’s note:
Caine will be much more present from now on (yay)
The song Batty is humming is called "When He Sees Me" from the musical Waitress. By the way, I can now fold napkin roses, too.
