It has been way too long.
But we're back here again.
It seems we both need to center ourselves.
Remember to relax.
Calm your mind.
Let's return.
You're back in the small studio. The fairy lights blink at you amongst the familiar pink, yellow, and blue wallpaper. The armchairs are still right where they sat the last time you were here. Not much has changed since you were here last. The table in the center is occupied by two styrofoam cups, with blue straws sticking out of their lids.
Scribbles is there, sitting comfortably in his chair like he usually is. This time, his eyes are closed and he appears to be taking a few deep and cleansing breaths. His eyes slowly open, and a grin spreads across his face. "Hey everyone! Welcome back!"
He rises from his chair and taps his cards against his paw. "We're running a little late with this character interview, which is okay. I have needed to take care of some things that have been going on. What matters right now, is that everything is okay." He smiles, reassuringly. "Everything will be okay. And nothing will keep this cat from bringing you answers!"
You get a good view of what he is wearing today. For some reason, it looks like he had gone deep into his closet to retrieve his uniform from the last unnamed customer service job he had. He is wearing slacks, a polo advertising a specific fast food place, and a cap on his head. His feet were adorned with uncomfortable non-slip black shoes.
"Why are you dressed like this for my interview, dude? I am confused." A voice pipes up from the other chair.
Scribbles turns to the chair and pouts. "Shhhhh! You're not supposed to talk yet!" He turns back towards you. "Ignore that! I'll introduce him in just a second." He clears his throat. "Welcome back to my character interviews everyone! I am so glad to see you guys have come back for more! And it was so nice to hear how much some of you liked Maggie! It warmed my heart... and as soon as I said that to Maggie, she asked if she could taste it to make sure it was al dente. So I had her escorted from the studio..." He shivers a little and looks around, cautiously.
"Luckily! My next guest does not want to consume my flesh. I introduced him last week as a candy-loving movie buff. Please welcome, the human poster boy of what customer service workers really want to do to aggravating customers, AJ!"
AJ leans forward in his chair, grabs his cup of soda, and takes a sip of his soda. "Please tell me that line wasn't the only reason you wore your uniform..." AJ's own outfit looks super comfortable. Black sweatpants, and a red pullover hoodie. His feet are fitted snugly into a pair of pitbull slippers. That being, slippers that look like cute little pitbulls.
Scribbles sits back down in his chair, his teeth gritted into an irritated smile. "Shut up." He hisses at his guest before snatching his own cup for a sip. "So, AJ! How are you feeling about this?"
AJ leans back in his chair, still holding the cup. "I feel okay." The man looks up at the ceiling for a second. "I mean, you know what the world is like for me. I never really paid much attention to interviews. Been a bit busy."
"With the apocalypse?" Scribbles rests his paws on his lap.
"Yeah." AJ chuckles. "Thanks for that by the way."
Scribbles winks at him and clicks his tongue. "No problemo." He picks up the interview cards from the table and taps them against his knee. "Shall we begin? We have a few questions, all of them from one person." He turns to glare at a specific viewer. "I think someone needs to stop simping for my characters, Victoria!" He waves his hand a bit and starts to laugh. "I am kidding! I promise." Scribbles grins. "Tekky's the one who simps for my characters."
"Well, I am flattered by all the attention. Thank you very much!" AJ scoffs at Scribbles.
Scribbles narrows his eyes at AJ. "Mhmm... First Question." He looks down at the cards. "Victoria asks, What is your favorite sandwich?"
AJ takes another sip of his soda, then puts the cup back on the table. "Hmm... Well, I usually use whatever I have available. I have grown very fond of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. Specifically the guava jelly. It's not easy to come by, so I have to use it very sparingly. So usually my diet consists of burgers from the theater. Since we don't get many customers at the movie theater, we have a freezer stocked with six or seven boxes frozen beef patties..."
Scribbles bites his lip. "Oh no... And how long have those boxes been there?"
"That's the thing!"AJ leaned forward again, making eye contact with Scribbles, "They keep sending us these boxes from other restaurants! I can't even begin to tell you which ones. I think they are from Seattle, but I don't handle the deliveries. Just inventory. They just come on the caravans."
"Are you sure that it's actually beef?" Scribbles' eyebrows raise. He looks genuinely curious for his own sake.
"Dude. Yes. It's beef. The boxes are marked with the company logo." AJ narrows his eyes. "Why? Did you do something?"
Scribbles sits up straight. "No! I swear! I literally just learned about this myself. Go Seattle! I guess they're doing okay up there."
"You're a piece of work."
"Yeah, I know..." Scribbles picks up the cards and reads the next question. "Victoria also wants to know Where is your favorite place to go on a sunny day?"
AJ scratched the back of his head. "I mean, on a sunny day? Usually, I am indoors. None of us feel safe in the direct sunlight. We're still not sure what caused the zombie outbreak, but as long as radiation is a possibility... We tend to stay in on bright, sunny days. I usually spend my time in my designated room in the public library. I have my cot and books. Or if I am feeling lucky, I'll go visit Mags at her cover house near the graveyard and we'll play board games and eat movie theater candy."
"So, you're more of an inside person?"
"For the most part." AJ shrugs. "It's easier to stay inside when you have an excuse not to be outside."
"Cool!" Scribbles moves on to the next question on the card and bites his lip. "Okay. So... Victoria also wants to know..." He glances up at AJ.
AJ sighs and looks at the floor. "Go ahead. I knew it was coming eventually."
"Do you miss the world before?"
AJ turns in his chair, making direct eye contact with you. "I want to be very clear when I say this. While the world before was better off as far as my world goes, I do not miss it one bit. Things may have been more convenient, and less deadly... But I'd rather put in the work to keep the life I have now, than to go back to the way I was living before this all started..." He gasps for air, his voice growing hoarse towards the end of his last sentence.
Scribbles sits in silence, giving AJ a few seconds to collect himself. "It's okay. Take a second. You do not have to elaborate on this topic if you do not want to..."
AJ takes a sip of his drink before clearing his throat. "I am fine. I just want to put my experiences into perspective for them..." He takes a soft breathe and sits up. "Okay... So, sometimes... When things get difficult for people, their true colors begin to show. You all know how it is." He squirmed a bit in his seat, trying to make himself comfortable. "Um... With the zombie infection spreading, my parents had died... I had to go seek shelter with my uncle in Atlanta. But when I got to Atlanta, my uncle apparently did not plan to immediately take me in. Long story short... One of my cousins, told my uncle something I didn't want to share with him... He screamed at me... He hit me... He locked me in a f***ing basement for a day... When he finally let me out of there and told me he was ready to deal with me..." AJ's breathing was audible from where you were sitting.
"Okay, hold up a second." Scribbles waves his paws. "Listen, AJ. Take a second to calm down." He stood and walked over to AJ's chair, putting a paw on the boy's shoulder. "Go get yourself a bottle of water, okay. Do you want me to tell them the rest?"
AJ stood to his feet and nodded, "S-Sure. I'll just be a few seconds." He slowly walks off the set, leaving Scribbles alone.
"AJ is gonna take a second to relax offstage for a second. I want to make it clear, there are certain parts of this story that he doesn't want to say, and I am going to respect that." He went to sit back down in the chair. "For those of you who are worried, AJ didn't stay at his uncle's house for longer than the two days he mentioned. He was able to get out the front gate of the house and made it to Florida state lines."
Scribbles crosses his legs as he settles into the chair. "In a sense -- and I believe AJ would agree -- the zombie attacks were the best thing that happened to him. After a day and a half of traveling on foot, AJ collapsed at the Florida state border... He was ready to give up... And then Maggie found him."
You can see AJ slowly making his way back to the set, holding a half-empty water bottle. "Scribbles? Mind if I pick it up here?"
"Only if you want to."
AJ gives Scribbles a small smile as he settles back into his armchair. "Well, it's my favorite part."
"By all means, then" Scribbles gestures towards you.
AJ grins. "The way I met Maggie was one of the funniest moments I had ever seen. I am laying there in Florida dirt and I feel this thing trip over me. I'm pretty weak at this point, so I am barely able to roll my head over to look at this girl."
"Maggie is just sprawled on the sand, cursing like a sailor. And I didn't even realize she was undead until she said she was. So she is able to get up and turns to me like "Watch where you're going!" and then I was like "You tripped over me!" And I just sat there for five minutes arguing with this zombie. I think she was going to try and eat me... But then she noticed the bruises and all the wear and tear my journey had given me."
Scribbles nods. "What happened when she saw it all?"
"She got really quiet. She clearly recognized the signs of abuse... She asked me what happened... And just like that, I broke down. I told her what happened. Everything. I couldn't stop myself. I just thought I was going to die and I wanted to go not having anything left unsaid... And for a second, I was just there crying and I feel her just wrap me in a hug." AJ sniffles a bit, and then laughs. "Her arm fell off mid-hug."
"And that's how you ended up in Jacksonville?"
"Yeah. After she reattached her arm, she brought me to her cover house until the bruises had healed and then brought me into the town. The leaders were very understanding and took me in immediately. Other cities I had tried to enter, wouldn't even think of letting me in straight from the outside... But there, they checked me over and made sure I was okay after letting me in."
Scribbles nods "So to tie it back to Victoria's question..."
"No. I don't miss it. I like the way it is now. I don't think I'd change anything."
"Speaking of changing, AJ... I do believe Victoria has one more question for you. And I have to say, she may have asked just the right questions for this interview. Have you ever thought about becoming a zombie yourself?"
AJ puts his hand to his chin and scratches it. "Ooooh! Yeah. I do. I do it all the time. I think the only reason I'm not currently one, is because Maggie's a big ol' softie for me."
Scribbles grins, "So you're saying Maggie wouldn't bite you even if you asked her?"
AJ shook his head. "Nope. She's my protective older sister. Really old sister." He giggles. "My dead sister."
"Well, good! Because you're right! She's not the one who turns you!" Scribbles grins and turns back towards you. "Well, that is all the time we have!"
AJ jumps in his chair. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Don't worry about it, AJ!" Scribbles chuckles. "I hope you enjoyed this character interview! If you did, please consider sending me questions for future installments! You can also follow me on any of the social media accounts mentioned on my blog's sidebar!"
"Speaking of future installments, let's meet our next guest! Have you read Heroes Collide? Have you even heard of it yet? It's this super fun series I started in 2019, and while it has been on break for a while... Which someone should probably remedy soon. Not gonna call myself out here..."
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