Your mind was spinning after your chat with Jingles.
She had to be lying. She had to.
She knew about Zoey's plans, so perhaps this was her way of crushing your hopes of escape. A peaceful way to make you give up and conform.
Or maybe she was just wrong. Sure, a lot of her explanations for the strangeness of the park made a lot of sense, but it was a theme park full of sentient mascots, it inherently DIDN'T make sense.
Maybe you were just grasping at straws. This was all too much for a little doll like yourself, you didn't know what to think.
You decided to cool off for a bit and take a walk through the park. There were probably tons of kids who would be thrilled to meet you at the main plaza, and you couldn't wait to meet them. The guests had yet to fill up the park this early in the morning, but you were still occasionally stopped for photos and hugs. It still filled you with a warm, tingly feeling each time.
When you arrived at the plaza it looked like the big Opening Time show had just concluded, and a crowd of mascots was dispersing as people clapped and took pictures. Darn it, if you were just a bit quicker this morning you could have joined them and put on a great performance for the guests. That would have been such a magical start to the day.
You decided to be a greeter today, at least for the morning shift. Taking position at the right of the gate, you waited for new groups of guests to arrive and then made your move, posing and smiling and wishing them a magical day. You had to admit, you were a natural at this. Not bad at all for your true first day on the job.
You almost forgot that you had to meet with Zoey to discuss your plans at some point, but greeting new guests was just so satisfying. The genuine excitement on the kids' faces was enough to melt your heart. Maybe just one more family, then escape plans.
Okay, two more families. That one didn't count.
Finally you managed to tear yourself away from the entrance plaza. You took a bunch of balloons from the concession stand, and under the guise of gifting them to guests throughout the park, you made your way towards the circus themed area.
Eventually, the big top came into view and you were down to your last balloon. Handing it to a bashful little toddler girl in a stroller and practically melting when she attempted to thank you, you dusted off your hands and entered the big top tent.