"Zzzzzzzzzz..."
The duo were both conked out, Susie curling herself up on the bottom of the boat-shaped workstation. Light slowly began to rise behind the mountains of coral surrounding the area, the day quickly approaching.
Noelle raised her head up from the grill. "M-morning already...?" She jumped out through the window and grabbed Susie by the hand. "Susie! Susie! Wake up, our shift is over!"
"H-huh..."
At that moment, Spongebob and Squidward walked through the front doors, Spongebob skipping in the building with a smile on his face, and Squidward sluggishly limping behind.
"I was not looking forward to coming back to this..." he groaned as he checked in.
"Hwuh?" Susie finally rose from her nest. "Aw, you guys woke me up in middle of a nice dream!"
Squidward opened the door to the boat-shaped workstation, stepping one tentacle in. "Hey, get out of the way so I can get to work." He smirked. "Or actually, don't."
Susie yawned. "Oh man, are we done already?" She jumped out the side of the boat-shaped workstation, flipping back through her paycheck. "Five dollars to sit around doing nothing all night... yaknow what, Noelle, working here may not be so bad after all."
Squidward crossed his arms. "Hrnn."
"C'mon," Susie gestured to Noelle, "let's get outta here."
"WAAAAIIIIIIIIIT!" Spongebob dashed out to the front. "Let me show you around town so you get a feel for Bikini Bottom!"
"So here's where me, Squidward, and my friend Patrick live!" Spongebob said as they passed by the street they lived on.
"Squidward lives in a tiki face? Weird." Noelle remarked.
"A giant pineapple under the sea? What will they think of next?!" said Susie.
"And over here on the other side is Mrs. Puff's Boating School! She's a hard teacher, but it just makes us better students in the end!"
Noelle smiled. "Neaaat."
"And that's Sandy's house over there! She lives in a dome because she's a land creature like you."
Spongebob checked his watch. "Uh-oh. I have to head back to work, seeya both later!" Not a second later, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Susie coughed, waving the dust from her face. "Thank God that guy is gone. All that walking made my left ass hurt."
Noelle turned the valve on the front door, entering the hall bridging the outdoor sea to Sandy's dome. "Let's see if she will let us stay with her for a while," she said as she knocked on the door to the dome.
Just a few seconds later a bipedal squirrel opened the door. "Howdy y'all! My name's Sandy Cheeks!" She put her hand on her chin. "Say, you two don't look like sea critters."
"Oh, we fell from a hole in the sky, or something like that." Noelle stated, pointing to her pickle jar. "See? Pickle jar."
"Hmm, y'all are gonna need something more durable than that to survive down here long term." She guided them towards the tree in the center, pulling two glass helmets out of a box. "Here ya kids go!" she said, plopping the helmet on Noelle's head.
She turned to Susie but developed a quizzical expression. "Wait a minute, how come you are doing all fine?" Susie opened to mouth to respond but Sandy cut her off. "Oh, I get it, you're an alligator, you don't oxygen to breathe."
"No, actually I'm a weird horse." Susie smiled, flashing her yellow teeth. "I can just hold my breath for a really long time."
"Well, it's getting pretty late, Sandy, I think we should head back off." Noelle said, standing up and dusting her dress off.
Susie raised her head up from a log she was laying on. "Oh thank God, you guys are finally done..."
"Aw, no problem, squirt!" she yelled. "Come back whenever you wanna!"
"Sure thing, pal!" Noelle waved back, her and Susie leaving in haste.
Susie closed the door behind them. "So, uh... where do we head back off to...?"
knock knock knock!
Spongebob opened the door, holding a candle in his left arm. "Yes?"
"Hey," Susie poked her head through, "can we bunk?"
"Hmm," Spongebob scratched the side of his head, "I'd love to, but I'm afraid I don't have any space. How about staying with Patrick?"
Patrick opened his rock. "C'mon in, the water's warm!"
Susie glared at Patrick and then turned back to Spongebob. "No."
"Well, how about Squidward? He has lots of space in his house, and I imagine if he just had a few friends he wouldn't be so grumpy all the time!"
Noelle poked her head under Susie's. "That sounds good!"
"Yeah, seeya!" Susie said, closing the door.
The two tip-toed off to Squidward's house, Noelle gently opening the front door.
"Hmm... no one's in here..." Noelle stated, peeking around.
Susie observed the surroundings, fixating on the wall decorations. "Wow, what's with all these weird paintings he has around here?"
Noelle stepped into the hallway, opening a crusty, rusted door. "Hey, Susie!" Noelle called, dust billowing into her face. "I found a - hackk! - spare room!"
In a flash Susie ran through the doorway, almost knocking Noelle over, jumping onto the bed. "Finally! Aight, goodnight, Noelle!"
Noelle gently slid under the covers next to her. "You wont mind me sleeping next to you, right?"
Susie half-turned to her. "Huh? Well, I guess not... just don't kick me or snore too loudly, capiche?"
Noelle giggled. "Don't worry, I'm a quiet sleeper."
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a tiny organism shot his eye open from sleep. "Something odd is afoot, something evil..." The creature sat up, gleefully rubbing his hands together and laughing in wicked joy. "And I like the way that sounds!"
