After a quick word to the kids to behave while the interview was going on, Kenya closed the office doors, pressing her ear against it to make absolutely sure that no trouble was going to happen for at least a few minutes. When she didn’t hear any screams of bloody murder happening, the lioness heaved a heavy sigh of relief. With the kids preoccupied, she could now finally address the metaphorical elephant in the room: the daycare’s possible future employee.

  Cedric, he said his name was. And a human at that.

  Turning to face him, Kenya looked the human over from top to bottom. The outfit he chose for the interview was a bit more on the casual side, yet formal enough to be considered passable to some employers. In his defense though, she was hardly formal herself so she was willing to let that slide for the time being.

  His hair, though? Not a pretty sight but then again Kenya’s wasn’t the most well kept either. Cedric wore his hair down, most of it covering the right side of his face. However, it looked like he had taken a comb to it once or twice and called it a day.

  Appearance wise, he was average looking for a job candidate. But Kenya couldn’t afford to be picky. After all, he was the first of several candidates.

  “Have a seat,” she said, walking past him to get to her desk.

  Admittedly, the office area wasn’t spectacular. There were file cabinets and a full length mirror close to the door on one side. On the opposite side was a large mahogany desk with basic wooden chairs for seats. It was tough being on a budget but if all went well, Kenya would be able to afford better office seats in the future.

  A couple of potted plants rested in the corners of either side of her area, so it wasn’t completely cheap looking. Considering most of her money went into paying mortgage and refurbishing the playroom months prior, this was the best she could offer for an office interior.

  Cedric didn’t seem to mind this though as he looked around the room in wonder. It was kind of an odd reaction, seeing as his expression was akin to someone walking into a luxurious spa resort for the first time.

  Whatever. It wasn’t important to her anyway. What really mattered was this interview, the Golden Judgment of Character as she aptly put it. They both seated themselves, her behind the desk and him on the other side, just staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.

  Appraising him, Kenya’s eyes scanned over the human, assessing his demeanor. He seemed nervous but maintained an air of professionalism. His posture, like before, was straight as an arrow; facial expression, relaxed yet firm. This wasn’t his first rodeo that much was for certain. She chalked up the nervousness to when they shook hands earlier.

  It wasn’t Kenya’s intention to vice grip him like that considering he had cradled his hand afterwards but she had to be sure that he wasn’t a threat. And he wasn’t, grip was pretty weak.

  Even so, Cedric was still a human. And humans were, for lack of a better term, very unpredictable.

  “So,” Someone had to break the silence. “You’re looking to work here, am I right?”

  Cedric nodded, “I am.”

  Kenya took a deep breath, propping her hands up on the desk the way most bosses on television did. Fingers laced together as she rested her chin on top of them, elbows supporting the weight. “Good. Mind if I ask a few questions?”

  They were basic run of the mill interview questions. Things like:

  What was your experience with handling customers?

  Name a moment where you went above and beyond what was expected of you.

  What was your job experience prior to this?

  … And so on and so forth.

  Based on the answers Cedric gave, he had pretty good experience in childcare and seemed like a very nice person. Always answering with a smile. Never speaking like he was above her. And most importantly, his good-natured personality was the making of a true model employee.

  Kenya smiled at that. It felt good knowing there were some decent humans out there in the world. But the interview didn’t end there.

  With all the questions she gave, the lioness was still bothered by one thing about the human. Something that just irritated her by a mere smidge.

  “Cedric,” she said, her expression going from friendly to stern in a heartbeat. “I’m going to only ask this once. If I plan to hire you, there’s one thing I need you to do.”

  The human blinked a couple times, confused. “What’s that?”

  Kenya pointed a claw at him, “Pull your hair back.” This request set Cedric off as he flinched in his seat, blue eye wide in panic. She watched as he placed one hand over his hair where his hidden eye should be. As casual as her set up was, Kenya wasn’t going to let him roam around covering up his face if she ever hired him. It just didn’t seem professional.

  What is he even covering up in the first place??

  The thought bothered her enough to point it out. Cedric’s reaction, however, wasn’t what she expected as he started fishing for excuses.

  “This is- I don’t know- I can’t-!” His mouth gaped like a dying fish, professional composure slowly diminishing with each word that sputtered out. But Kenya wasn’t letting up, arms folded across her chest with an expectant expression.

  They both stared hard at each other. Before long, the words stopped coming. Cedric looked away, embarrassed. But it wasn’t enough for him to give in to the request.

  Kenya eyed him, confused.

  “Is there a reason why you’re hiding half of your face?” There was silence for a moment, allowing the words to sink in. Cedric was still hesitant. “Whatever it is, I’m not going to judge you for it.”

  Maybe he had a scar? Or maybe he was blind in one eye?

  But what if he was hiding a rash or some type of skin disease? Kenya was not going to hire someone who could potentially make the kids sick.

  Regardless, the lioness kept her tone firm and steady. She needed to help him understand that this was important but didn’t want to accidentally scare him off either. Times like this, if it called for it, she had to be tough.

  Cedric seemed to consider her words though as his demeanor visibly relaxed. With a defeated expression followed by a sigh, he gingerly pulled back the long blonde locks away like a curtain.

  What was shown underneath was something that not even Kenya was prepared for. Her eyes went wide, hands slowly lowering in shock. She could not believe what she was seeing…

  His right eye was robotic!