Squidward and Patrick, wearing swimming trunks (or in Patrick's case, his usual wear) and shades, were lying and sunbathing on the beach at Goo Lagoon. The place wasn't especially packed at the moment, since it was Wednesdays and most of the regular beachgoers were at work.

The despondent octopus sighed. "So, what sort of demeaning, juvenile activity am I supposed to indulge in?"

"This is it." Patrick said in a relaxed tone and rested his head on his hands. "Just kick back and relax."

"Wait, that's it?" a surprised Squidward asked.

"Yeaaaahhhhhh…." Patrick exhaled happily.

Pondering, Squidward saw Patrick's point and rested his own head behind his hands. "Huh…this really isn't so bad? I barely had any time to sunbathe these days."

"When you have no job, you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want. No need to rush. We got all day to ourselves."

Squidward actually cracked a smile. "Yeah? No thankless, back-breaking labor to ruin our day? We're free? The world is our oyster."

He was actually starting to enjoy this. And Patrick turned out to be a rather chill guy when Spongebob wasn't around to encourage him to act like a hyper, intellectually impaired child on a sugar rush.

"Mmmmm….oyster?" Patrick thought wistfully, with some drool dripping down his mouth.

We cut to a montage accompanied by the "Hello Blues" score.

We see Squidward water-skiing while Patrick is driving the speedboat.

We see them with an ice cream vendor, with Patrick holding up two fingers while Squidward offers the fish a credit card (we zoom in to see that it's Spongebob's), and the duo are given a towering ice cream stack each.

We cut back to them sunbathing, both sporting a slightly darker complexion.

We see a groundskeeper fish finishing up raking all the leaves in a park into a single pile, only for Squidward and Patrick to jump into it and create a huge mess, much to his visible anger.

We see the duo sitting in some fast-food diner and munching on burgers. Patrick lets out a loud burp and Squidward laughs before chugging down a can of coke and making an even bigger burp, to which Patrick applauds.

We see a butt-naked Patrick and Squidward, wearing shower hats and carrying loafers, running through a car wash, forcing a mother fish to shield her child's eyes, as an angry cop pursues them, only to slip and fall down.

We cut back to them sunbathing, now with even darker complexions.

Next, we see Squidward and Patrick arrive at the front door of the Chum Bucket, snickering like children. Squidward is holding a spray bottle and sprays "Plankton is a Jerk" on the door and the duo swiftly runs away while laughing as Plankton storms out with a cane for some reason. He raises it into the air and yells, "I'll get you for this, you juvenile delinquents!"

They arrive at a soda vending machine and Squidward shows Patrick a quarter. He puts it in the slit and the machine drops a can, before Squidward pulls out his quarter, with a close-up showing that it is attached to a string.

Then we cut to a panning shot of the two sleeping and snoring loudly while resting against Patrick's rock home, surrounded by empty and crushed soda cans.

We cut back to them sunbathing at the Goo Lagoon once more, now sporting crisp tans.

We get a close-up of a smiling Squidward as he removes his sunglasses, revealing that the area around his eyes is still his regular light-teal color.

"I could get used to this."

Cue bubble transition…

At the Krusty Krab, a smiling Spongebob was happily flipping patties as usual, except that he was now wearing two Krusty Krab hats, until he heard an angry customer shout, "Hey, where's the dang service around here!"

"Oh, right!" Spongebob remembered he was the service at this restaurant and ran back towards the cash register and met a peeved Tom.

"May I help you, sir?"

"Yes, I want a diet coke and some fries." The miffed fish said.

"In a minute, my good man!" Spongebob promised and rushed back into the kitchen, where he swiftly sliced up some potatoes and put them in the boiling oil of the greasy fryers, before putting a cup under the soda machine and letting it fill up. He heard his timer at the grill ring.

"Oh, I need to flip the-"

"Hey, what's taking so long!" came the voice of another customer.

"Oh, barnacles!" Spongebob remembered and ran back to the cash register, before returning with a note. "Two Krabby Patties and a Sailor Surprise? In a moment-"

Hearing his patties sizzling, he rushed to the grill and flipped them all.

"Oy? Is anyone gonna take my stinkin' order!"

Panting, Spongebob ran back to the counter and was confronted by an angry Harold, with at least five more displeased customers behind him.

"Am I gonna wait all day here, ya joker!" the barracuda shook his fist.

"What will it be, sir?" Spongebob gave an awkward smile and held up a pen and a notepad.

We cut to him returning to the kitchen with about a dozen new notes. "Okay, let's see. Orders for table one, three patties and a Seafome Soda? A Double Krabby M with extra cheese for table five? Large coral bits for table six and Kelp Rings, two Coral Cokes and a Krabby Kiddie Meal for table four…." He stopped as he stepped into a puddle and noticed that the soda was spilling out of the cup and onto the floor.

"Oh, no! The coke!" But then Spongebob also smelt something burnings and saw smoke coming from both the grill and the greasy fryers. A second later, both of them were set ablaze. More underwater fire.

"Holy carp!" a frantic Spongebob grabbed the fire extinguisher and covered them both in foam, only to then realize that he had ruined the food he was preparing.

"Fishpaste…" he grumbled to himself, when several customers craned their necks through the little window and shook their fists.

"Hey, is this some kind of sick joke! I've been waiting for my order for half an hour!"

"Where's my patty, you burger flippin' clown!"

"My kids are starving over here! Speed it up, you sorry excuse for a fry cook!"

"SPONGEBOB!" an enraged Mr. Krabs came barging in. "What's wit' the holdup! Why are me customers still hungry! I don't pay ye to be goofin' off!"

"My apologies, Mr. Krabs." Spongebob said humbly as he turned off the soda machine. "I guess I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to my new position. But rest assured, I'll get the hang of it in no time, sailor's honor!"

"Ye better! Time is money, boy!" Krabs told him curtly before slamming the door shut.

"Yes, time is money, time is money!" Spongebob said to himself as he pulled out a new batch of patties from the freezer. "Don't worry, Mr. Krabs! I won't let you down!"

He stopped and wondered for a moment if he could actually do all this work on his own, but quickly dismissed it.

"Nah, just a temporary setback..."

If only he knew what was in store for him.

Cue a bubble transition….

At sunset, one week later, an exhausted Spongebob, sporting long eyebags, staggered back home and laboriously opened the door. He hadn't felt this worn-out in a long time.

"Gary, I'm home." He droned monotonously and his pet snail slithered up to him.

"Meow?"

"No, I'm fine, Gary. Really." Spongebob insisted unconvincingly before sighing. "I just never imagined that double duty would this….exhausting? But I'll get used to it. It's just beginner jitters."

He heard laughter and was approached by Squidward and Patrick, who had just returned from another fun and frivolous day, both wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying coconut drinks.

"That beach party was a blast! I haven't had this much fun in years." Squidward said with uncharacteristic mirth.

"Oh, hey Spongebob?" Patrick noticed the sponge. "How was work today? You look awful?" he pointed out with an oblivious smile.

"Oh, hey guys?" Spongebob tried to be cordial as usual, despite being pooped. "Just getting used to my new position, that's all. Did you two have a nice day?"

"You bet, we had so much fun!" Patrick laughed.

"Yeah, I feel totally rejuvenated." Squidward added. "I never realized how much I was missing out on while sitting behind that dreaded counter."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, buddy." Spongebob smiled, happy to see Squidward smiling again after all the humiliation and misery he went through trying to find a new job, before turning to the starfish. "Patrick, thanks so much for your help, he's been through such a rough time."

"What did ya expect? I'm an expert in funemployment." Patrick pointed at himself with an air of smugness. "And my parents said I was good for nothing, huh!"

"Eh…yeah? So, Squidward. Now that you're feeling better, did you, perchance, do some job-hunting during your spare-"

"Yeah, yeah, by the way. I used your credit card again to buy a few small things." Squidward said as he gave Spongebob his credit card back. "Hope you don't mind?"

Spongebob's eyes bulged in horror, accompanied by the sound of things breaking, as he saw the credit bar on the card dropping to zero before his very eyes, but tried to hide it.

"Eh….no, problem. I'm always ready to pinch in for a friend in need." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Thank you very much." Squidward smiled before turning around and shouting. "Bring it in, boys!"

Several deliveryfish passed by them, each one wheeling in several huge crates stacked on top of each other on box carriers. The unnerved Spongebob watched them. Big crates did not house cheap things.

"Just some minor trinkets I had my eye on." Squidward insisted nonchalantly.

"Sure, Squidward, just some bare essentials?" Spongebob tried to remain positive. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

He pulled out some newspapers out of thin air and showed them to Squidward. They all had a ton of job ads.

"Since you didn't have much luck on your own, I thought this might help?"

Squidward took them "Aw, Spongebob, you're so thoughtful." He said halfheartedly. "What would I do without you?"

"Hey, that's what friends are for." Spongebob insisted before yawning. "Now, if you fellas don't mind, I really need to take a nap."

As he walked away, Squidward quickly crumpled all the newspapers into a big ball.

"Hey, Patrick! Think fast!" he exclaimed as he was about to throw the newspaper ball.

"I got it! I'm open!" an excited Patrick played along, while Gary sat in the corner and groaned in annoyance as the two jobless deadbeats played ball and wrecked the living room in the process.

As sounds of chaos and destruction continued to be heard downstairs, Gary slithered up the stairs, into his owner's bedroom and found Spongebob lying on his bed, groaning and on the verge of dozing off.

"Meow?"

"Sorry, Gary, but I'm too pooped to play…" Spongebob droned. "I'll need all my energy to help Squidward get back on his feet."

"Meow. Meow. Meow."

Spongebob gasped with a start and sat up before scowling at his pet snail.

"Garold J. Snail! Bite your tongue!" he scolded him and wagged his finger. "How dare you say such awful things about Squidward! He's not a shameless moocher and he would never exploit my hospitality."

"Meow. Meow. Meow." Gary replied dryly.

Spongebob raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean we had this conversation already?"

"Meow. Meow. Meow." Gary elaborated. "Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow."

"Oh, that? That was ten years ago, Gary." Spongebob waved his hand dismissively. "I'm sure he has learned since then. He's just in a rut, that's all, he'll be back on his feet in no time. We shouldn't pressure him while he's still in such a vulnerable state."

"Meow. Meow." Gary deadpanned, much to Spongebob's chagrin.

"I will NOT regret this, Gary!" he stood up and pointed at the snail. "I'm telling you, Squidward will be back to being a responsible, functioning member of society before you can even say-"

Three Months Later…

"Oh, my achin' bones…" Spongebob muttered as he literally dragged himself back from another exhausting day at work.

He got up on wobbly legs, his eyes bloodshot and sporting a five o'clock shadow. His new position at the Krusty Krab has been pure murder. Not even his rampant energy could help him to keep up with his new responsibilities.

"I never thought I'd see the day where I would dread the word "overtime"…" he grumbled to himself as he slowly opened the door to his pineapple home, only to be bombarded with deafening noise and be utterly dumbfounded at the sight in front of him.

His living room was the center of a wild, chaotic, noisy, neon-light party with at least a hundred party guests chatting among themselves, dancing, fooling around and having a good time.

Scooter ran past him with several other surfer fish, all whooping. "C'mon, dudes! Pool party on the upper floor!"

As he said that, water dripped on Spongebob's head and he looked up to find the ceiling leaking in several places.

"What in Neptune's name is going on here! Squidward! Where are you!" Spongebob shouted but his voice got tuned out by the loud music. Confused, he walked in and tried to find his bearings.

"I'm telling you, honey. I'm still on my business trip in Ukulele Bottom." He bumped into a lavender-colored fish wearing a fedora and buttoned-up brown vest (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker). Said fish looked oddly familiar to Spongebob.

He hung up and rolled his eyes before turning to Spongebob with a knowing smirk. "Yeesh...women? Am I right?"

"Hey, don't I know you?" Spongebob pointed at him. "Didn't you rip me off several times?"

"Eh, no, I did not." The fish said nonchalantly. "I've never seen you before, Spongebob. You must have me confused with someone else."

Spongebob's accusing look faltered. "But I'm pretty sure-"

"Connor! My man, you having a great time?"

Squidward arrived, still wearing his Hawaiian shirt, along with sunglasses and sporting perma-stubbles. Spongebob smelled a pungent odor upon his arrival. When was the last time the octopus had showered?

"Oh, I'm having a blast." Connor slapped his fin around Squidward's back. "You sure know how to throw an awesome party, Squidnator!"

"Um, Squidward?" Spongebob started weakly. "I don't think you've mentioned anything about another party to me?"

"Oh, there you are, Spongebob." Squidward slapped his back. "It's just a little get-together I threw together for our closest friends. Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud, man."

"But…what about finding a new job-"

Squidward laughed and turned to Connor. "Look at this guy, he's something! Always working, always busy, he never takes a break to unwind and have a little fun."

"Ah, classic workaholic." Connor joked. "I've been there. Before I became self-employed." He unbuttoned his vest, revealing that it was filled with various knick-knacks and contraband.

"But I don't think this-"

"Loosen up, Spongebob, and try to have some fun for once!" Squidward told the exhausted sponge. "Sheesh, some people are such killjoys."

Two pretty lady fish, who looked like they could be classmates of Pearl, walked past them, causing Connor to smirk.

"Speaking of having fun? Pardon me, gentlemen." He excused himself and purred lecherously. "Hello, ladies."

"You go get them, player!" Squidward gave him a thumbs up.

"Eh, Squidward?" Spongebob started, a little more firmly this time. "How's the whole "looking for a job" thing going?"

"What?" Squidward didn't seem to be listening before slapping his forehead. "Oh, right, right. Finding a job?"

He sighed despondently. "Sadly, still no luck. Finding employment is just so difficult these days."

"And you checked out all the jobs ads in the newspaper I brought this week?" Spongebob asked.

"Sure did." Squidward nodded.

We cut to some other fish throwing said newspapers into a confetti machine and shooting it all across the room.

Squidward immediately perked up and shrugged. "Oh, well? No point in crying over spoiled milk, PARTY TIME!" he cheered before giving Spongebob a list.

"Oh, by the way, I need you to cook up two hundred more Krabby Patties, and a few more snacks."

"Krabby Patties!" Spongebob freaked out as he saw the list. The last thing he wanted to see right now was a Krabby Patty. If he saw one more patty, he was sure he would start hallucinating everyone morphing into giant killer patties again!

"Yeah, partying like there's no tomorrow works up quite the appetite and we can't be bad hosts." Squidward reasoned. "And Pat over there is a bottomless pit."

Spongebob looked over and saw a bunch of fish chanting "Chug! Chug! Chug!" as Patrick was gulping down a plate of patties in one go, with one of the fish having another plate on standby.

"Um…sure? I can cook up some patties." Spongebob resultantly agreed. He couldn't let his buddy down, not while he was still trying to get back on his feet.

"I can always count on you, Sponge." Squidward patted his back before walking off. "Now, get busy. Oh, and don't forget to have fun!"

Spongebob gave him a weak thumbs up as Squidward disappeared into the crowd of partygoers. Looking despondent, Spongebob walked in the opposite direction, trying to find his way to the kitchen, when the doorbell rang.

He opened the door and was met with a giant tub of lard with glasses. Oh, wait? It was actually…

"Bubble Bass?" Spongebob blurted.

"Oh, hello, Spongebob." The morbidly obese bass said in his usual snotty and nasally tone (provided by Dee Bradley Baker) as he walked past him, making the ground tremble with each step.

"Hmmmm?" He stopped and examined the house scrutinizingly. "Not too shabby? The décor is a bit tacky and it reeks of snaily litter, but I'm not terribly picky."

Spongebob wasn't following. "Um….you came to Squidward's party too?"

"Oh, no." Bubble Bass said nonchalantly. "I came to live here."

"Live here?!" Spongebob was beside himself.

"Yes, Squidward and I bonded at the unemployment line." Bubble Bass reminisced fondly. "We are both rebels who take a stand against our capitalist overlords who are asphyxiating the common fish with their tight grip on society."

His mood soured. "Unfortunately, mother doesn't see it the same way and kicked me out of her basement, so I needed a place to crash."

Spongebob said nothing and tried to force a lopsided smile. It went against his good nature to kick out someone who was homeless, plus, if Squidward saw it fit for Bubble Bass to take residence here for a while, surely he could trust Squid's good judgment?

"Eh…sure? Make yourself at home?" Spongebob said uneasily.

"Great. I have a hankering for a Monster Patty, so make it snappy. And don't forget the pickles." Bubble Bass said idly as he walked off and mingled with the partygoers.

Spongebob just stood at the door, frozen and wearing a dumbfounded expression, while two partygoers ran past him, carrying off his fishing lure wall ornament.

Cue bubble transition…..

One week later, at the Krusty Krab, a huge line of angry customers was in front of the counter. Work was slow today, because the Krusty Krab's cashier/fry cook was sound asleep, his face plastered on the cash register.

Hearing all the customers shouting and complaining, Mr. Krabs barged out of his office and gasped at what he saw.

"Shiver me timbers!" he exclaimed angrily and walked up to the sleeping sponge. "WAKE UP!"

"Wha-wha-what?!" Spongebob jolted awake before giving his employer a groggy look. "I'm sorry, Squidward, I haven't ironed out all your underwear yet…"

"What's wit' this tomfoolery, lad!" Krabs barked. "How dare ye sleep on the job! I'd expect that from lowlives like Squidward but not from a model employee like you, boyo!"

By the time he finished that sentence, Spongebob had fallen asleep again.

Seething, Krabs grabbed his legs with one pincher and dragged him to his office like a sack of potatoes.

"That's it! Staff meeting!"

"But what about our orders!" Fred lamented.

"Yeah, we're hungry!"

Krabs ignored them and slammed the door shut before dropping Spongebob into a chair in front of his desk.

"Wha? Where am I?" Spongebob stirred awake.

"Spongebob! We 'ave a problem!" Krabs informed him and showed him a chart with a big, red and falling arrow.

"Profits 'ave been goin' down these last three months! Service be too slow! Customers are hungry and comlainin' more and more! Bad word of mouth's spreadin' across town! Fewer and fewer customers are comin' t' the Krusty Krab!"

"In other words…" he narrowed his eyes and pointed at the disheveled sponge. "….yer not offerin' stellar customer service! What be the problem, laddie! Cuz at this rate, me restaurant will be facin' bankruptcy by the end of the year!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Krabs, I've been doing all I can." Spongebob replied, barely able to stay awake.

"Clearly ye haven't!" Krabs countered and pointed at the chart. "The chart doesn't lie! Why aren't ye not workin' HARDER, Spongebob!"

Krabs fumed with anger when Spongebob dozed off in the middle of his speech. He leaned forward and snapped his pinchers in front of Spongebob's face, snapping him awake.

"I'm sorry, Squidward!" Spongebob jolted. "Your breakfast in bed will be ready ASAP! And I didn't forget my uniform-"

"Focus, Spongebob!" Krabs barked. "I think I'm seein' the problem here."

Spongebob came to. "You do? I'm sorry, sir. I really did try. But working as both the cashier and the fry cook is just so exhausting, on top of having to take care of Gary, Squidward, Patrick and Bubble Bass. Playing host is a full-time job-"

"Precisely! Which is why ye should be focusin' all yer attention on THIS full-time job!" Krabs said. "Yer a Krusty Krab employee, not the nanny fer a bunch of worthless freeloaders!"

"But I can't ditch them, sir." Spongebob said groggily. "They all depend on me, especially Squidward. He's such a handful-"

"He won't be a handful if ye just kick his sorry behind out of yer house!" Krabs advised, or rather, tried to order him.

"Mr. Krabs? Maybe...maybe there is a better solution to this problem?" Spongebob meekly suggested.

"Such as?"

"Maybe if you…oh…I dunno…" Spongebob shrugged, trying to act casual "….if you rehired Squidward and split the duties between us, I'm sure that would both get him out of his funk and it would increase productivity at the Krusty Krab?"

"Balderdash!" Krabs roared and leaned forward, making Spongebob shrink. "I would never rehire that shiftless, good-for-nuthin' cash register assailant, even if he was the last bottom-feeder left in the seven seas!"

"No, no, no!" Krabs continued. "The best solution would be for ye, Spongebob, t' get rid of the thing that is distractin' ye from what really matters! Makin' me money! End of discussion!"

Spongebob gasped. "Mr. Krabs? Forgive my insubordination, sir, but I could NEVER do that to Squidward. I may have an obligation to the Krusty Krab, but I also have an obligation to my friend."

Krabs was seriously ticked off now and shook his fist. "Yer so-called friend is goin' to cost me me business…..and yer asleep again, aren't ye?"

The cankerous crustacean glanced down and found Spongebob lying on the floor and catching Zs.

Krabs could do nothing but boil with anger in his seat.

Later that night, Spongebob was lying in his bed. He was so unbelievably exhausted, sleep couldn't come sooner. But there was one big problem.

Squidward's most recent house party was still going on, even though it was 3 a.m. by now.

Below him, the living room was packed with people, who were all watching and cheering Squidward, who was the center of attention while breakdancing.

"Go Squidward! Go Squidward! Go Squidward!" they cheered as the octopus was spinning on his head before jumping back onto his feet and bowing while wearing a lampshade on his head.

"God of Dancing, thei name be Squidward!" he exclaimed in a slurred tone while soaking in the cheers of his adoring crowd, who then placed him on a chair and hoisted him into the air.

The house itself was dancing while the music from "Jellyfish Jam" was playing.

Upstairs, Spongebob clenched his teeth in frustration and covered his earholes before pulling his blanket over his head, but to no avail.

"Ah! Nineteen hours!" he finally screamed in frustration.

"Meow. Meow." Gary told him from his snail bed while wearing giant earmuffs.

"Alright, Mr. Smarty Snail, you don't have to rub it in!" Spongebob snapped at him only to lose balance and hit the floor face-first.

Picking himself up, Spongebob shook his aching head.

"This has spiraled out of control, Gary! We have to do something about it!" Spongebob cried and clutched his head in despair.

"Meow. Meow." Gary said candidly as he slithered up to him.

"No! I can't kick Squidward out!" Spongebob retorted. "What kind of a friend would I be?"

"Meow." Gary replied while suddenly holding a very dusty Clary in his mouth.

It made Spongebob realize how Squidward hadn't touched any of his instruments or made a single work of "art" in months. He really had fallen from grace?

"That's it!" He slammed his fist into his palm and grew a determined look. "I need to get him out of this dang funk!"

How's that for a surprise to celebrate hitting twenty chapters on my other fic, "A Dash of Logic"? I wanted to do a follow-up on "Spongebob, You're Fired" ever since I posted the first chapter on it, but I kept delaying it and getting sidetracked with other episodes, but at long last, the long-awaited part two of this not-so-thrilling tale has arrived.

All I can say is, poor Spongebob, everyone in his life is exploiting him. Squidward clearly has not learned a single thing since "Can You Spare a Dime?" and has now turned into a colossal slacker, while Krabs is too stubborn to see that his choice to fire Squidward and put Spongebob on double duty was essentially financial suicide.

Clearly, the only way for things to get better, especially for our poor, abused protagonist, is if everything got hit with a healthy dose of "Status Quo is God".