Chapter 02
The next day was a Sunday which meant they were able to start in the morning as there were no hungry costumers to serve.
Squidward was already waiting in front of the theatre, when Squilliam got dropped off by his chauffeur at half past seven. The morning was cool and refreshing, pale blue light seemingly illuminating the other octopus. When he came nearer he could smell that he had bathed and powdered himself, which actually was the reason the light was reflecting off him like this. "Someone is eager to start I see!"
He greeted him, one tentacle held up.
"I want to make that jump... well and everything else I can't do yet... but can we focus on that today?"
Squilliam agreed.
"Of course, this was my plan anyway. I'll be honest with you. When you get this jump, you'll officially be better than me!"
Squidward frowned at that.
"You said you wouldn't make fun of me anymore!"
Squilliam walked past him to open the back door of the theatre.
"I don't. I mean it."
Once they were inside they went through their usual routine. His dancer started with his stretches, while he was setting up the music and his notepad. Today was a bit different though. The atmosphere was relaxed, yet focused. Unlike before when Squidward had been scatty and nervous. Despite this, he had given him an incredible performance so Squilliam was looking forward how a confident Squidward would dance now.
He finally sat down and the other had taken his space in the middle of the stage.
"From the top please. Breathe and do it as always."
Squidward pressed his lips together, but nodded and locked their gazes. This felt so much better than before and when he hit play it got even more obvious. It was like he was watching another octopus dance. He was no longer too slow and stiff at the hard parts so instead he was basically gliding over the stage, almost flying, making every jump perfectly, and after the song ended, he landed exactly where he started, a huge smile on his face and his eyes glimmering with excitement.
"Did... did you see that?"
He asked, his voice shrill. He did and a wave a pride for the other overcame him. He stood up and clapped.
"Bravo Squiddy! Bravo! Bravissimo!"
He collected himself shortly again but didn't stop his praise.
"Dance like this at the actual performance and I may hire you as my full time lead dancer!"
He regretted his words instantly when he saw Squidward's pose. With a self complacent look on his face he grinned at him, obviously getting cocky. That was the last thing he wanted. He knew what happened when Squidward got like this. He had seen in in band class. He became sloppy and unfocused. It was a mystery to him, how he was able to switch between self-deprecation and arrogance so quickly. He guessed he was just too sensitive, as most artists were.
He decided to bring him back to reality.
"How about we try the second act now?"
He said, and pressed play again without a warning. His dancer was caught off guard, having to scramble to get into position. He started his dance sequence again to build up the momentum but right before he made the big jump, he came to a halt and instead crouched down. He seemed like he was in pain so Squilliam stopped the music immediately and rushed towards him.
"Is everything okay? Are you hurt?"
His concern obvious in his voice. He was sitting down next to him, putting a careful tentacle on his back. Squidward looked up, trying to keep a straight face.
"Aaah... I just... I practised splits at home... and now..."
Squilliam groaned at this. He was fundamentally impatient, especially when it came to avoidable scenarios like this.
"You strained your muscles too much."
He just said disapprovingly. The other octopus didn't reply and instead avoided his gaze out of shame.
"What did I tell you about practice at home?"
"Only easy things."
The other mumbled.
"Correct. And is a split easy?"
"No...", came the answer.
"Then why did you do it?"
He knew there was no point in fighting, but he genuinely wanted to know why Squidward would go ahead and hurt himself like that.
"Do you want us to fail?"
Squidward looked at him again, tears forming in his eyes.
"NO!" he yelled. "I don't want to. I ..."
He stopped talking out of upset.
"Squiddy..." he started, awkwardly putting a hand on his back.
"You have to listen to me. I know what I'm doing. And when I tell you not to train at home, then use your time to regenerate okay? We're already working you to your limits while we're here. Which would be my limits, too."
He now went ahead and grabbed Squidward's face. He wanted him to look at him. Tears were still streaming down his face, but he was listening between his sobs.
"I'm training you harder than anyone else, so please rest when you're home, you hear?"
"Alright..." the other said. "Sorry..."
He patted his back once more before he got up.
"Wait here; I'll fetch something for you."
He announced before he went back stage. The little office he had rented was just above the main hall, for when he wanted to stay after practice and get some work done and also to have a safe place to keep some of his things. And one of these things was a gift of an old Chinese business friend of his. He opened the drawer, got it out and returned to the main stage, where Squidward was still sitting at the same position, trying to massage his thighs.
"Take this!"
He said, and when Squidward looked up, he threw the little pot towards him. He was able to catch it and took a curious look. Before he could ask, Squilliam answered his question:
"it's a balm, you don't need much of it but it relieves muscle pain. Massage it in and wait a bit and you should be fine."
Squidward said nothing, just opened up the pot.
"Oh wow! This smells like something illegal and something gross made a baby and the baby threw up over the compost!"
If he hadn't been so frustrated right now he probably would've laughed but instead he just shook his head.
"Just do it, I'll do some phone calls until you're done!"
With that he produced his flip phone out of his suede jacket and started to call his assistant. He didn't leave Squidward alone though. Instead he sat at his usual place, phone in hand and talking, head slightly tilted to the side but he could still watch his dancer out if the corner of his eye. He felt like a peeping tom, but it seemed only fair to him, that Squidward would give him a little show for all the wasted time. It was very appealing to watch him rub the balm on his thighs, massaging the aching muscles, his face switching between pain and relieve. He wished he would've offered to do this, but this wasn't the right timing so he had to be happy with what he got. He finally finished his call and Squidward seemed to have stopped as well.
"So... how are we feeling now?"
He said, his usual condescending tone back.
"I think it helped..."
"Of course it did. Now get up and let's do the second act jump again, until you can do it!"
His balm had helped, and Squidward was able to move properly again. It was still amazing to him how he had been able to go through the first act despite the pain.
