(A/N: Okay, so this is my first fanfic you guys, and I hope it's really good. Please review!)
Spongebob Squarepants was riding on his unicycle home from the Krusty Krab one day. He had become awfully sick of his unicycle because it made his legs really tired whenever he used it. He still didn't have a boater's license, even though he had been trying to get it for years now. He was set up for taking another test the next day, but he was starting to get discouraged. He had been trying to get a license for so long, and all the failures were starting to catch up with his emotions. He had been so optimistic, but now he was letting himself get himself down, which was strange. Spongebob was usually an optimistic guy, and discouragement didn't suit him.
Just before he got to his pineapple, Spongebob decided to go visit his best friend and neighbor, Patrick Star. On the rare occasions when Spongebob got down, being with Patrick always managed to pick him up in the past. (A/N: Not like that. This is NOT slash.) So Spongebob decided to turn into the driveway to Patrick's rock and ask if he wanted to go to the goo lagoon or goofy goober's.
But when Spongebob got up to Patrick's rock he noticed that not only Patrick wasn't there but there was also a strange fish in a trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses carrying a briefcase outside the rock. He was talking on a headset under his breath, but stopped when Spongebob got near. "Excuse me, sir, but do you know a Mr. Patrick Star?" asked the strange fish. "I heard he lived in this rock, but he doesn't seem to be home. Do you know where he might be?"
"No, I was also looking for him as well" replied Spongebob. He was confused by the strange fish and his questions. Patrick had never mentioned a fish who looked anything like this, so Spongebob was confused and a bit worried. Could this man be some sort of government agent looking for Patrick?
"Thanks anyways, kid," the fish grunted. "Let me know if you see him," he muttered, and handed Spongebob a business card. It was plain white except for what looked like diamonds in the upper-left corner in the shape of a seagull.
"Excuse me, sir, but there isn't any way to contact you written on this card."
"If you can't see it, you're not meant to see it," the strange fish said dismissively as he walked away. Spongebob looked at the card, confused. Maybe there was something written in invisible ink? Or maybe the card needed to be in a certain light for the text to appear. When he got home, Spongebob experimented with putting the cards in various positions to see if he could find out how to see what was written on the card.
After a few hours, Spongebob looked at his clock. "Ten'o'clock already? I've got to study for my boater's exam!" he exclaimed out loud. He started looking around for his boater's handbook, but it was nowhere to be found. "Gary!" he shouted "have you seen my boater's handbook?" Gary didn't meow back though, so Spongebob ran upstairs to see him.
"Gary?" he tentatively inquired as he looked around the corner into his room. Gary was in there alright but he seemed different. Instead of crawling around meowing like he usually was, Gary was curled up inside of his shell, trembling. "What's the matter Gary?" Spongebob demanded. Gary didn't respond.
Spongebob kept looking for his boater's handbook, and eventually found it in his refridgerator. He sat down at his desk and started studying, but he fell asleep almost instantly because the work was so boring. That night he had a bad dream. He dreamed that he was taking his boater's exam, but was doing poorly. The boat was zipping through traffic, and he and Mrs. Puff were trying to get away from something that was chasing them. Mrs. Puff was screaming. The sound sounded very real, but also far away.
Spongebob woke up in a cold sweat with the sun just peeking through his blinds. "Barnacles!" he exclaimed when he noticed the time. "I'm going to be late for my boater's exam if I don't hurry!" Spongebob hopped onto his unicycle and pedaled very hard to get there on time.
"Sorry I'm late!" he shouted as he opened the door. "I overslept! I'm really sorry Mrs. Puff, just give me a cha-" But Mrs. Puff wasn't there. There was only a pale green fish in a beige suit sitting at her desk, going through her things.
"Oh, you must be one of Mrs. Puff's students," he said surprised. "I just took down the sign saying that classes were canceled today because I thought everyone had arrived, but I guess not." He chuckled. "Sorry, you won't be having your boater's exam today."
Spongebob's mouth went dry as he remembered his dream from the night before. "Why not?" First Patrick was missing, then there was that strange fish and Gary's odd behavior, and now Mrs. Puff wasn't in class? What was going on?
The green fish went deathly serious. "I'm sorry, I thought you'd heard." Spongebob's eyes went wide as the fish spoke his next words. Spongebob's life was about to be changed forever.
"Mrs. Puff was killed last night in an incident on Conch Street."