She tried to walk faster than Persimmon. She always did, of course, but especially today. After they turned the corner up ahead, they'd turn the next corner, and then the chaos would begin- not only would she have to put up with more than the usual gaggle of people, but she'd have to make herself heard above the inevitable chatter to try and make sense of the plans for the afternoon. Having plans disrupted in general was upsetting to her, let alone something she'd been looking forward to as much as this. It was like a field trip. A field trip to somewhere wonderful with a bunch of kindergarteners. She hated it. Today was supposed to be a special day. She was going to go to Inkopolis, with Mari and Umi, and they'd buy things, and try things, and get ice cream and go to the top of Inkopolis tower and finally spend a first day of summer together and maybe even see some fireworks if there were any and now it was all ruined because her parents didn't trust her and it just wasn't fair. Her facial expression must have showed her disappointment, because Persi started walking faster, bouncing along next to her older sister like a jellyfish. Whenever Finley was in a bad mood, it seemed like her sister's go-to solution was talking. Lots and lots of talking.

"Hey Fin, hey Fin, do ya' think we'll get to see Inkopolis toooower?" She said in a cheery way, smiling brightly.

"I'm sure we'll get to see it. You can see it from almost anywhere in the city." Probably. It was tall, but so were the other buildings, and they weren't the tallest squids around…

"Do ya' think we'll get to see the Squid Sisters?" Ah, yes, the Squid Sisters- possibly the most popular musical act to grace the face of the internet since the internet was invented. The two siblings couldn't get enough of them(, even though they did have their occasional squabbles over who was the superior idol). They had the best merchandise collection on the block and the best poster collection in the neighborhood, (a gathering of items only second to Fin's own Squid Squad stash and the result of one of Mari's brothers' obsession with some show neither of them watched) and even though they hadn't actually released that many songs yet, Finley still listened to them as much as her other favorites. (No, no, more.) Not to mention their television presence, charity work, fashion lines... there had even been rumors that they'd both got awards for military service! At this point, Fin reckoned, they should be regarded as goddesses, not everyday Inklings.

"Of course we will. They do the news every morning and every afternoon." This was just a basic fact, you didn't have to be as prepared as Finley was to know about their famous news show. The news normally wasn't very interesting- either sports, local nonsense, or too grim for Fin's taste- but with those two charming personalities at the helm, it was near impossible for ratings to ever drop.

"No, no, no, I mean like in person. Wouldn't that be awesome? Maybe they'd sign my notebook." The little girl grinned.

"Are you nuts? Of course we won't. They're both probably very busy girls, I'm sure, they don't have time to do meet and greets or whatever every single day." She sighed. "As cool as that would be."

"Oh…" Her face fell. "Well- Well, whaddabout the Squid Squad?"

"They don't do live shows, Persi. They don't like crowds." They'd never really said that outright, but it wasn't hard to tell that was the reason- every time they actually played a show, the lead singer looked like he'd faint at the sight of all the people watching him. (Poor Ichiya.)

"But- but- but what if they do?"

"They won't." She was getting progressively more annoyed by the irate questions as they turned the corner- hopefully soon at least someone would be here to distract Persimmon. "We are not going to meet anyone famous. It's just one visit to a bigger city full of- of tourist traps and gross northern food."

"But- eep!" She was cut off by a sudden hug from behind by a slightly taller, much paler girl who was about the same age, who was dark blue and wearing glasses and a simple dress.

"Hello, Ash." Finley flatly greeted the newcomer as Persimmon got over the surprise.

"Don't scare me like that..." The pink girl sighed (with a smile on her face) as she broke free of the hug.

"Sorry." Ash laughed. "Can't help it..." She fiddled with her hair with one hand, pushing up her glasses with the other. Finley kept walking, and they both had to hurry for a bit to catch up to her. "S-Slow down, Finley..."

"I don't wanna be late." With all the people who were going to show up, they were almost guaranteed to be late… (True, everyone she knew seemed to follow that old proverb that said 'late is on time, on time is early, early is locked out', but Finley cared about being punctual. Especially for this.)

"We're never late, though..." Ash looked around. "Did we all wake up later than we were supposed to?"

"Fin's just worried that when we all gotta get together and talk 'bout what we're gonna do, it's gonna slow us down." Persimmon explained. "But she's jus' bein' silly."

"Oh, yeah, the extra people! ...which extra people, specifically? My mom just said to do whatever Persi did..." Yeah, that was reassuring.

"Apparently our parents decided that it would be safer if you little twerps, me and my friends, and all of Mari's brothers- plus god knows who else at this point- went to Inkopolis together in one big old group." Finley said bitterly, the tone of which was totally lost on the two younger squids.

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful! It's going to be so much fun!" Her eyes practically shone as she clasped her hands together. "I can't wait to meet everyone..."

"What'ch'all talkin'bout?" A voice from the other side of the street practically shouted, as a lime green dark-skinned girl with short hair raced across the road (with no concern for her own safety, the moron, she could have been run over). Finley tried not to let Jaz slow the group down, but it was inevitable.

"We're just talking about the trip!" Persimmon filled Jaz in, as Ash asked a hundred more questions, which Finley bluntly ignored. If the short walk to school felt this long, how long would an entire school day feel?

She took a deep breath to keep herself from getting mad. Just a few more moments and- there she was. Right on time. Umi emerged from a nearby front door and walked down to the sidewalk, waving at the small group. She was yellow today- blonde always had been her best color, conveniently enough- and her sense of style was on par with Finley's. (That was a huge compliment, considering it was coming from Fin herself.)

"I see your sister's friends are here already." She remarked as she fell into step with her orange companion. "Speaking of which, that makes you late. Odd, for you. Don't you normally race ahead?" (The full routine, actually, involved racing ahead, then hammering on Umi's front door with her fists, then dragging her to Mari's house and inevitably waiting forever on her front yard for the third musketeer to get ready.)

"Yeah, but mom wouldn't let me leave the house without her." Fin rolled her eyes. "It's only been, like, five minutes, and I'm already fed up with them!" She complained. "A half-hour train ride is gonna suck..."

"Hey, look on the bright side. Jyugo's probably gonna be in charge, and you know Mari can talk him into anything. We'll be able to get away from them, no sweat."

"I hadn't thought of that- you think it'll work?"

"It's worth a shot, ain't it?" Umi shrugged.

"True... Can't wait until we get to her- watch it!" She paused to shout at a passing Emmile- pink, she seemed to always be pink- who somehow avoided being tripped over as she joined her friends. (Thank goodness- now Ash finally had someone else to direct her questions at.)

"Try not to be too mean with them." Umi sighed, putting a hand on Finley's shoulder.

"I can't help it... Dunno how Mari puts up with all them boys. I'd be on edge twenty-four-seven."

"They treat her like a princess, she doesn't have to 'put up' with anything. If anything, they're putting up with her." They shared a laugh. "Speaking of which, her house is right there... Think she went on ahead?"

"Nah, they probably haven't left yet, they wouldn't leave without us. Mari wouldn't, at least. Let's wait 'till they get out." They stopped- causing the four (five? When did Nicia get here? She always did have a knack for appearing out of nowhere...) small girls behind them to bump into their legs. "Oi, slow down. We're waiting for Mari and the boys."

"Why do we hafta wait?" Persimmon pouted, folding her arms.

"Because Mari's oldest brother is in charge of you twerps this afternoon, and he wants to tell y'all to behave." Finley said.

"Isn't he in charge of you, too?" Thanks for that blow to her pride, Ash. She really needed that today.

"Is that them?" Nicia pointed to the house in question, where a small crowd was pouring out the door and being shouted at by a worried-looking dad.

Ah, yes, that family. The youngest brothers- green twins, Kurt and Ray, who dressed identically and were always colored identically to match their faces. Deejay, the yellow middle brother- pretty unremarkable, really, besides his penchant for music. (Was Deejay even his real name, or was that a nickname?) Kayden- older than Mari, and always considered the fun one. Jyugo- the oldest, and the one normally in charge. (And the one who was most mocked for his fashion sense. Always in good spirit, but… too much black.)

And Mari- darling Mari. Dark blue tentacles in a bob that flipped up at the end, adorable face, always dressed like the princess her brothers treated her like she was. Probably the best-dressed girl in their school, the best-looking girl in their school, and the sweetest girl in their school. (At least, in Fin's opinion. She was a little biased.) She walked across the street, her siblings in tow, and approached the group of girls waiting on the sidewalk.

"Good morning!" She cheerily waved. "I see you all were waiting for us."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Umi asked. "You're, like, essential. The strawberry in our Neapolitan ice cream."

"Yeah!" Finley grinned. "You know what they say- two's company, three's a party."

"What about six?" Mari giggled.

"That's a school, I guess." Umi shrugged, looking around. "Bit more than six of us, though..."

"Don't remind me." Finley groaned, watching the twins chase her sister around for a bit before her conscience got the better of her and she had to intervene. "Okay, that's enough, brats."

"Don't call them brats!" Mari exclaimed, even if it was a bit amusing to her.

"But they are brats." Deejay interjected, and held up his hand for a high five from Finley that never happened.

"Get along." Jyugo scowled. "We're going to have fun today. The less you guys bicker, the better. Got it?" The kids nodded, and Jyugo seemed happy enough with that as an answer, going back to his phone.

"Never seen him care so much about something before." Fin said, impressed, as they started walking.

"I mean, Dad is paying him handsomely." Mari admitted. "There's no way on land he'd do this for free."

"Yeah, that's the Jyugo we know." Umi laughed. "Is anyone else coming, or is this it?"

"I think Kayden might be bringing someone, but I'm not sure..." (It went unsaid who this someone was, as everyone knew and no one wanted to say the name around him for fear of having their ears talked off.) Finley did a quick headcount after Mari said that.

"Thirteen. Ugh. How are we all gonna fit on one train?" She kicked a rock, which hit a nearby lamppost. "I've only been on the train a couple of times, but those are small cars and crowded stations... even with the student-only discount, I don't think there'll be enough room for all of us to sit together."

"Student-only discount?" Umi raised an eyebrow. "What are you on about?"

"First three trains are for students only, and you get on free if you show your student ID card. It took forever, but I managed to find mine in all my old school stuff..."

"Aw, shoot. I don't know if I have mine." Umi started rummaging around in her bag, searching for the often-overlooked card.

"Jyugo reminded me to bring mine." Mari laughed, pulling it out of her pocket. "He found everyone's last night so we wouldn't leave them behind."

"Heeeere it is." Umi found hers- scratched up to all hell, but intact. "Ew, is that what I looked like back then?"

They crossed the street carefully- the school was in sight now. With some effort, Jyugo stopped them before they went inside the school gates. "Alright, listen up. We're going to meet right here after school, we're getting on the first train, and we're not leaving until everyone's here, so get your butts over here fast. Capiche?" They all nodded. "Good. Now, if you have any questions, ask Kayden, I really couldn't care less." And he walked off.

"There he goes." Finley sighed. The littler girls flocked to the second eldest, swarming him and bombarding him with questions, and since no one really wanted to help, he was promptly abandoned.

Finley made her way over to the bench where she and her friends usually spent their mornings, pulling out her phone and checking her text messages, every so often pausing to advise Umi, who had sat down next to her and got out a bunch of homework she still hadn't done. Mari, meanwhile, comprehensively checked about six different social media apps in the span of ten seconds. "Ooh! What's this I've stumbled across?" She suddenly exclaimed, nudging Fin in excitement and almost making the other girl drop her phone.

"Whaaaaat?" She rolled her eyes, looking over at her friend's phone. "What do you waaaaaaant?"

"Look look look! Someone hacked the eMuse releases database!"

"I have no idea what the hell that means, Mari. Do me a favor and decode your technobabble."

"It means new music from big names. Today." She scrolled through the lengthy wall of number-filled text someone had obviously just copy-pasted to Flick with no formatting or context whatsoever. "It's near indecipherable, but some hacker managed to pull some info out, and people are saying the Squid Squad are going to release something, like, tonight. This tonight."

"You got all that from this?" True, Squid Squad's PR had always been incredibly lackluster- back when they still did concerts, they had a whole concert that wasn't advertised at all, only listed on ticket websites- and it wasn't uncommon for artists to release something to celebrate the first day of summer , but Fin couldn't help but be a bit skeptical. Surely at least someone official would have said something before it was just released out of nowhere.

"Not just the Squid Squad. Like, a whole bunch of people. Chirpy Chips, The Deep, KrakenWave… Maybe even the Squid Sisters?"

("Someone say Chirpy Chips?" Umi perked up.)

"You can't be serious. This is just some stupid rumor- stop posting about it!" Finley muted her phone, regretting turning on Mari's post notifications on for everything. "It's gonna turn out fake, and you're gonna end up disappointed."

"But what if it's not?"

"There is literally no way it's going to happen. Squid Squad's one thing, but that many people with that much unannounced material at once? Impossible."

"Well, when you wake up tomorrow morning and everyone's been enjoying the music without you, I won't hesitate to say I told you so." She stuck her tongue out, then went back to incessantly chattering about it on Flick.

Soon they weren't alone anymore- various friends from various classes had joined them, and the one word on everyone's lips was 'Inkopolis'. Finley hadn't been alone in planning a trip, and everyone seemed to have their own plans for tonight... but they all had to make it through the last day of school first. The first bell would ring in less than five minutes, and Finley could not wait.