Spongebob didn't fall asleep till 4am that night. The interaction with Sandy the night before replayed in his mind over and over like a carousel. He was so afraid of getting that one last 'we need to talk' message. It hung over him at every waking moment. He finally woke up a quarter before 11, the piercing sunrays filled up his room and tapped on his eyelids.

"Ugrrrrghhhhh"

"Mao"

"No Gary no. Just let me die"

Gary jumped up to his owner's bed

"Mao"

"Sigh ok"

He picked his pet snail up and put him under his arm as he walked downstairs. After feeding his snail some cereal, he looked at the time again and said it was almost 11.

"Oh shit, the meeting"

He got dressed hurriedly and brushed his teeth before coming out of his house and to his driveway. He looked at Squidward's house and saw him sitting in his car already on his phone.

He approached the car and opened the passenger door which prompted Squidward to look up.

"Hey, how you feelin' today?"

The fry cook groaned "Very sick"

Squidward let out a chuckle and turned on the engine "Ya it was a pretty eventful night…I'm glad you're coming though"

They started heading out of the driveway and down towards the temple. The ride was short and not much talk was exchanged. Finally, they arrived at a crowded parking lot where typical temple goers were making their way out. They found a space and the engine was shut off.

"Squidward?"

"Ya?"

"This isn't one of those shrink led things where you have to trauma dump all the time is it?"

This gave the squid a hearty laugh and placed his tentacle on Spongebob's shoulder

"No no no, it's very chill. Some people share personal shit some others don't. No one's forced to do anything"

Spongebob nodded and they headed inside. People were giving them looks as they walked past in the main corridor. It made both of them feel weird, but they kept their eyes ahead to the last door on the right. Walking into the conference room, it was obvious there was a change in the frequency there. It was sulky, yes, but inviting too. Food and coffee were set up on a table to the left where some of the members were gathering. In the center was a circle of chairs where a variety of people were lounging around. A guy with a clipboard sat in one of the chairs. Spongebob went to go sit down followed by Squidward after getting some coffee for both of them.

"Alright everyone let's start"

People from the table came to sit in the circle and the few talking quieted down. The man with a clipboard was a slim green fish donning a red turtleneck, glasses, and gray toupee.

"It's great to see everyone here again…I notice some new faces too." He glanced at Spongebob but continued on

"For those that don't know me my name is Taki. I'm a recovering alcoholic of six years. I went back to school to help others like myself, earning a bachelor's in social work and now have been leading groups for almost two years now"

He scanned the room with his eyes landing on Spongebob.

"You. Care to stand up and introduce yourself?"

All faces turned to the sponge which made him nervous. He sipped his black coffee and stood up looking past Taki's face.

"uh…Hi…my name is Spongebob and…god I don't know how these work"

Taki spoke up "It's ok, Spongebob just say what you're here for"

"Well…I'm an addict of…probably anything I can get my hands on to be honest...I just like not being sober"

Taki nodded and smiled "Welcome Spongebob, I hope you find what you're looking for here"

The sponge sat down and crossed his arms as he slumped. That was awkward.

"Now then…why don't we go around and see who has any updates with us. Thoughts? Feelings? News?" He turned towards one woman who was blue and had strawberry blonde hair tied with a pink bow.
"Juney, I heard from your sponsor Shalissa over there that you were having some trouble this weekend…are you comfortable sharing?" Taki glanced at another woman across the room and then back at Juney. Juney looked around and began to spoke.

"Uhm well a few nights ago I was watching tv in my house and was watching the Titanic…you know the one with the two people on a boat that sank?" She smiled while talking as she remembered

"So, I was watching up until that sex scene in the car carriage…I-I don't know why but…" She held her head down and grabbed her wrists.

"I just got so upset…so mad…I threw my remote at the tv screen, cracking it, and I was pulling out my hair…" She started pulling out her hair and opening her mouth for a silent screaming face.

"I then sprinted to my fridge desperately trying to find something to numb me down…like wine. Wine was my go-to. Dry white…"

"But I did the breathing exercises we went over a few weeks back, called Shalissa, and we talked for like an hour and a half" She giggled.

Juney looked at Shalissa, who nodded, then back at Taki.

"Thank you so much for sharing with us, Juney." She mouthed back an 'of course'.

"Anyone else wanna share?"

Squidward raised his hand and Taki acknowledged allowing Squidward to clear his throat.

"I have had a rough couple of weeks. I'm not gonna lie. I was battered, robbed, insulted, and violated all within a few days at some point…followed by some hard soul searching and an uncertain future…" He flicked his eyes at his neighbor and looked back at the room. "I'm not gonna lie, there were times where I habitually reached for a bottle under my bed and one time driving off to the liquor store before turning around..."

Everyone stared intently and you could hear a pinball drop it was so quiet.

"...But recently I had reconnected with a few people I have skipped out on in the past and…I have finally felt happiness, maybe even hope, for the first time in years…"

Squidward shifted in his seat as a couple fish clapped.

Taki gleamed "I'm very glad to hear that, Squidward"

A few more people talked about what's new. This was kinda depressing for Spongebob. What's the point of people just giving updates on their lives to each other? Sharing their emotions with strangers? It's so fucking odd. But it somehow is working for Squidward and everyone else here. What exactly is he not getting out of this?

The meeting concluded and a couple people came up to Squidward to talk.

"That was very moving, if you ever…"

Spongebob went over to the snack table to nibble on a few crackers. Juney walked up and tapped his shoulder, startling him.

"Hm?"

"Ha sorry…Spongebob right? Just wanted to introduce myself."

Spongebob shook her hand and swallowed

"Nice to meet ya"

"Likewise…say…we don't see a lot of people like you coming along. A drug fiend I mean"

Spongebob must've had a weird look on his face cause Juney backtracked

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. It's just there's mostly alcoholics here but not others…what's got you coming?"

The sponge peaked a look at Squidward and then back to Juney's innocent stare.

"Well, Squidward brought me along…I guess I've just got a wakeup call to get my life straight."

Juney smiled which unexpectedly gave Spongebob that feeling from jail again. He started to feel like Jesse Pinkman.

"You know what else has helped me beat cravings?"

"No, what?"

Spongebob looked around and inched closer. "I've been prescribed something that helps keep me calm. Totally legal and safe but just impossible to get from a doctor. It's called…Valerian Perc extracts."

"Oh, like from the land root?"

"Exactly…I wouldn't mind giving you some…for a small fee of course since the co-pays and rarity…"

"Oh yes of course…but if it's so rare how did you get it?"

Spongebob froze for a minute but smiled a little. "Well, let's just say my dad is in the medical field and knows some people. I was able to qualify for a trial run."

"Whoa! S-so it really works? You really stay calm through the cravings?"

"You betcha"

Juney stared at him a bit longer before nodding

"Can I get your number?"