Spongebob called ahead the next day to make sure work was actually open that morning. He certainly wasn't gonna waste his time again on his senile boss forgetting to come to the store.
"Yes laddy. So sorry about the other day...I shoulda called ya"
"Ya whatever"
The fry cook made his to work on time and was currently prepping bread dough to go in the proofer. The buns came frozen and he had to thaw them out until they were warm enough to go in the said proofer. Currently, he was rubbing oils and sesame seeds on the inflated dough. Spongebob always loved the smell of raw dough in the morning. It was comforting to him.
His mind was lost in the motions of his work before Mr. Krabs shouted something from the other room.
"Sponge boy! Come see me!"
Spongebob huffed out of his nostrils and slammed the bag of sesames to the prep table. What the hell could that fatass want now? Can't he see he's busy? The kitchen sponge made his way through the office door without knocking and sat on the armrest of the dilapidated chair. Mr. Krabs was writing something in a notebook when his employee sat down and looked up. He took off his reading glasses and neatly folded them to the left side of his desk. He smiled.
"How are ya holdin' up boy-o?"
Spongebob folded his hands on his lap and crossed his legs.
"Well uh..could be better" He looked up into his boss's eyes. "Could be worse"
Mr. Krabs chuckled while he leaned back and turned to his side.
"You know back when I was in the Navy..."
Oh jesus thought Spongebob. Another navy story.
"A matey of mine was thrown into the err luney bin there for some mental problems" He swiveled back to face the fry cook.
"I met him in in boot camp. He was a few bunks down from me. Chaim Medina was thee name. I think he was Hebrew? Anywho, he seemed ok for the first year we were together. A bit of a hothead sure...a little too friendly with the local women near base...but he was an outstanding lad. Always outperformed most of the unit"
Spongebob blinked and nodded.
"But ugh..." Mr. Krabs scratched his head. "Something changed. It was almost sudden but looking back I shoulda seen the signs early on."
He leaned in towards Spongebob. "I found him on the bathroom floor with a rope around his neck and attached to what was the bathroom vent. His weight was too much for the device. The vent gave way and he ended up just choking on the rope till I arrived"
Spongebob felt his face burn and rubbed his palms.
"Never saw him again...they took him away and that was that"
"Gee Mr. Krabs..."
"Ah I'm ok. It was a different time back then where any sign of being ill had you locked away for life. I'm just glad it ain't like that no more..."
Spongebob looked around the office. It was as aged and fragile just as his boss right now. He was uncomfortable and didn't know what to say next.
"Well...I hope Squidward is ok if that's what you're getting at"
Mr. Krabs folded his claws while nodding. "Yes. I'm trying to say that I understand what you're feeling and I hope it all works out...despite what you did to him...speaking of which..."
Mr. Krabs flipped through his notebook and used his finger to find some piece of information.
"I wanted to talk some business with you. Your shit is really flying hot off the handle with me clients! I've been meaning to go over a more robust plan of our business relationship..."
Spongebob tilted his head in question.
"What do you mean?"
"I wanted to ask if you're willing to meet me and the boys tonight. I want to introduce you to them..."
This unsettled Spongebob. Mr. Krabs was always talking about how he and his boys sling dope on the streets and beat the shit out of people. Hell, his boss had even threatened HIM with his crew in the recent past. Why would he get himself involved with yet another psychopathic clique of men? He felt kinda trapped and almost sensed a 'you better do this or else we're done' kinda vibe from his boss. Fuck.
"What for?"
"Well, I figured my crew best get to know the supplier! Which is you of course...and if you get on their good side they may trust you more and want to buy even more of your product"
Spongebob tapped his toes together and pondered for a second. What could be the harm in this? Can't hurt to build more relationships. Especially ones involving money. But the risk is so great. Spongebob laughed in his head at himself because of the irony. It's not like he isn't already involved in deep shit. He guessed there really wasn't an excuse not to go over.
"Sure what the hell" He bumped his shoulders
Mr. Krabs grinned "Alright then! Come over to me house around say nine?"
Spongebob nodded while he got up from the seat. He hates when his plans of doing nothing after work get interrupted. He was looking forward to just smoking a joint and watching some corny ass show like Big Mouth. Now he's gotta work even more.
"Sounds great Mr. K. See ya then!"
Squidward awoke from a midday nap to the bright afternoon rays reaching him through his window. He breathed in sharply as he got disorientated trying to figure out where he was.
Oh ya.
He pulled himself up and put on his grippy socks. He rubbed his eyes as the memories of a night prior rushed back to his mind. He couldn't believe he saw Sandy Cheeks here. The scientist. The part-time professor. The most logical creature he himself has ever met. Here. In a mental hospital. They both talked a little bit before it was sleep time and everyone had to go to their rooms. He briefly mentioned the so-called suicide 'attempt' which she already knew about. All Sandy was able to explain in that short time period was that she was found acting 'mad' in downtown Bikini Bottom. Squidward noticed the now fuzzier patch of fur missing on her leg and some unintelligible ink writing. He also noticed the ways here eyes evaded his gaze when she spoke. Something definitely was up and he needed to know what. He also needed to tell her the truth about Spongebob.
Squidward opened the door just as two other patients were walking down the hall gossiping about some third party. Squidward looked left and right before calling out to them.
"Hey! Both of you!"
The two fish stopped mid conversation to face Squidward in surprise.
"Have you seen the squirrel anywhere?"
One of them spoke up while pointing to the right.
"I saw something like that in the common room like fifteen minutes ago?"
Squidward turned and headed down that way yelling a "thanks" in return.
He made his way into a few crowds hanging inside and around the common room. The walls were made of glass and he peered in before entering. Aha. He spotted Sandy sitting at a table reading something. This prompted Squidward to make his way through the door, bumping into some people in the process, and rushed over to the seat across from her. The tv in the room was set to a throwback MTV special showing music videos from the 20th century. A bunch of patients surrounded it and moved their body parts to the rythmic vibrations. Currently they were doing a showing of Zombies by the 90s Irish band 'The Cranberries'. Sandy looked up as Squidward placed his tentacle on the wooden seat.
"Hey Squiddy, what's up?" She trilled
Squidward panted heavily as the chair scraped along the carpet floor and plopped himself in.
"Hey..."
Sandy put the book down spreading out.
"Did you just run here? You look more tired than a-"
"Sandy...please...I'm too tired to listen to another long southern metaphor. I really need to talk with you"
The squirrel widened her eyes but snickered at the squids grumpy mood. She was oddly happy to see him in his natural state again.
"You wanna pick up where we left off last night?"
"Ya uh...you said you were 'found' or something..."
Sandy nodded while she looked down and tapped the top of the book. "Right I was found acting weird downtown yesterday at around noonish. Half naked and fucked up beyond my mind. God I wish I could remember more..."
"Did the doctors say anything else?"
Sandy paused and looked up for a moment.
"I mean they just said I looked obviously intoxicated and I was very emotional. Apparently emotional enough to where they decided to send me on a little 'vaycay'" She looked down at her frumpy gown and then back to Squidward.
"I can't remember much else"
Squidward folded his hands and leaned forward.
"Were you like partying or-?"
The squirrel shrugged "Ya something like that. The girls I met from work and I go to these crazy clubs to party often. I lose track of time a lot with all the shit I be doing to myself" She glanced to her tattoo.
"I don't even remember getting this on my leg"
Squidward felt a little shaken and sympathetic to her pain. He's never seen Sandy in such a rough place ever in the decades he has known her.
"Does Spongebob know where you are?"
Sandy shook her head.
"I highly doubt he knows I'm here. Last time I saw him was a few days ago at y'alls work. Ugh I was still off that pill when I saw him...man was I partying hard last week" She dumped her head between her folded arms.
"It was so embarrassing..."
Wait what. Squidward couldn't believe what he heard. Did he hear that right?
"Sandy"
She lifted her head.
"What?"
"What kind of pills are you talking about."
She stared blankly for a moment.
"I don't know...my friends boyfriend gave some to me a while back. I think it was just a perc or an oxy or something. Kinda been on a bender of those lately...'" She noticed the squids concerning facial expression.
"Why? What's wrong?"
Squidward was cracking his hands before rubbing his face.
"Sandy uh...I need to tell you the full story as to why I'm here. It involves Spongebob"
Sandy squinted her eyes in confusion and with intensity. What could he say about him that she hadn't already known? She already knew about the assault, the robbery, and the drug abuse. Her body shuttered at what possibly more could have happened while she was gone.
"Well it started a few days after the assault. He came over my place for us to talk..."
In totality, Squidward spent the next ten minutes going over what has happened in the past 20-some chapters when Sandy wasn't around. He went into detail about the feeling the drugs did for him, why he took them in the first place, going out clubbing, seeing her pole-dance on stage, going to AA, personal revelations, the acid trip, the downfall, the drinking, the suicide attempt, and finally the hospital visits which confirmed any suspicions. You'd think an auctioneer was nearby by the speed at which he was storytelling to the now emotionally paralyzed squirrel. Sandy would zone in and out of this conversation. Sometimes, she just couldn't keep up. Other times, however, something he said would resonate with her and send her into the abyss of her own mind. Could this be the same Spongebob? How come she has never heard of her own boyfriend mentioning any of this the few times they spoke? Is he doing this just because of her? Is he really that conniving?
"...and ya that's pretty much all there is to it. Now I'm here, weaning off that shit with some Suboxone or whatever and possibly have to be enrolled in a ,at minimum, outpatient rehab after I get out."
Sandy stared blankly at the red book in front of her. Not focusing on any part in particular but she made it appear as if she was. She only just acknowledged that he stopped taking.
"So what you're saying is that...I mean wow I-"
She looked up into the empathic glare of the squid across from her.
"I have no words. Th-this doesn't even sound remotely like him like..."
"But it's true Sandy"
She shook her head.
"No...no...he would've told me-"
Squidward reached over and grabbed her right paw and squeezed. Sandy jolted her eyes up at stared into his soul. He must be making this stuff up. He must be having some ulterior motive. He must.
"Sandy, you have got to believe me"
As much as she didn't want to believe it, she had no choice. She glanced down at her gown again and back at Squidward's. Her gut was telling her that its the truth. She couldn't help but gasp and tear up, pulling away from the tentacle grip.
"W-why would he do such a thing?! What kinda sick fuck just-" she wiped tears from her eyes.
"What kinda sick fuck just intentionally drugs his freinds and then lies to his girlfriend about what he's doing, Squidward? Who the hell just carelessly pushes pills on vulnerable people like that?" She smacked her fist on the table.
thun.
"He should know of all the overdoses happening lately! What if some of those pills were his?!"
By this time, Sandy was softly crying into her hands and Squidward sat by silently. He reached over and rubbed her arm. People turned and looked at the mental breakdown of the day but didn't dare approach them. They sat like that for about half an hour more, just talking and comforting one another. It was almost dinner time and they would have to leave to go eat at the cafeteria. Dreams by the Cranberries was blaring from the tv set, drowning out the voices inside the patients minds.
"...and oh my dreams,
it's never quite as it seems,
'cause you're a dream to me..."