Author's Note: Thanx to all those who reviewed! And now… for some recognition!
Lav'O'Dolphin: Hey, aren't you Scott? Anyway, thanks for reviewing! I know where I'm going to go with this, and this story will probably be very, very dark. Just a warning, some of the chappies I type will REALLY make ya'll mad.
The Crouching Tiger Shark: You're right! Where is Lenny gonna go? Ahhh… oh, wait a minute… I know where he's gonna go… but you don't… MWAHAHAHA (Chokes) Oww, my throat.
Insane Pirate Dragon: Yep, this sure is gonna be interesting… and harsh in later chapters… VERY harsh.
Special Thanks! Special thanks to The Crouching Tiger Shark who let me use his/her (I don't know) character, Rueben! Wooh!
Chapter Two: Out of A Job
Don Lino swam back to the cruise ship (A.K.A. the love boat) in shame. To his surprise, Luca was waiting outside the door for him.
"'Ey boss, what'chu want me to do?" Luca asked.
Lino stared at Luca for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh and answering, "Go tell the boys that we're out of a job."
"Oscar! Oscar!"
Oscar turned around and saw his best friend Rueben swimming after him.
"Hey Rueben. What's up?" Oscar said, smiling at his friend.
"Oh, you know; the sky, clouds, fish-eating birds… AND MY HIGH SCORE ON THE SHARK SLAYA' GAME!" Rueben answered.
Oscar sighed. "You're never gonna let me forget that are ya'?" He asked.
"Nope!" Rueben said. "Let's face it big O, when it comes to real sharks, you're da man, but when it comes to the video game, you get your tail fin whupped over, and over… and over…"
"All right, all right!" Oscar said, throwing his fins in the air. "I get it. I won't gloat about my famous life anymore."
"Thank you." Rueben said with a smile. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to get to work. Those whales aren't gonna clean themselves ya' know… they're too lazy."
Oscar chuckled at his friend's joke. "Yeah…" Then he seemed to realize something. The Whale Wash was where Angie worked… where he had lied to everybody, made Lenny mad, and where if he ever returned there, Angie would probably kill him.
'I have to apologize to Ang before she gets angrier.' He thought.
"Hey Rube?" Oscar called out. "I think I'll tag along, ya' know, to see Ang."
After he had said that, Rueben's face took on a sad look. "Oscar…"
"What?" Oscar asked. "Is she still saying that corny Whale Wash phrase? Don't worry, you'll get used to hearin' it…"
"No." Rueben struggled to say. "It's not that. You see… Ang… well, she's…"
"She's what?" Oscar asked, with panic coming into his tone. "What happened to Ang, Rueben?"
"Well, it's like this…" Rueben said, "Oscar I'm sorry, but… Angie doesn't work at the Whale Wash anymore."
"What?" Oscar nearly shouted. "Don't joke like that man!"
"I'm not joking! I may've joked about things before, like saying that Ang was sick, saying that you were gonna be fired, saying that your pet snail died…" Rueben then realized how he was making Oscar believe him less and less. "Okay, so those are really bad examples, but I swear that I'm telling the truth this time! She quit two days ago man."
"Aww, man." Oscar said to himself before dashing off in the direction of the Whale Wash.
It was a busy day at the Whale Wash. A phone rang in the phone room, (I don't know what its called.) and someone picked it up. It wasn't Angie, she quit, so Sykes had to replace her, and he wasn't very happy with the replacements.
"Sykes Whale Wash, the prices are low, and the business… it's very, very slow mon."
"Gimme that phone!" Ernie said in an annoyed tone as he snatched the phone away from his brother. (I think they're brothers, but I don't really know.) "Sykes Whale Wash, you get a wash for the whales and then you go home, after you pay us of course, 'cause we already aren't getting paid enough… hello?"
The whale on the other side of the phone had hung up on Ernie.
"Ernie! You made da guy hang up on ya'!" Bernie shouted. "Sykes is gonna have your gills if he finds out!"
"Well I don't see you doing any better!" Ernie said, scowling. "Besides, what Sykes don't know won't hurt him."
"What doesn't Sykes know?" A voice said from behind the two.
Ernie and Bernie jumped out of their seats and hid under the table.
"We're sorry mon!" Bernie shouted, covering his head and wringing in his fins. "Don't fire us! If you're gonna fire someone, fire Ernie! He's the one who made the whale guy hang up!"
"Hey mon!" Ernie protested. "That's uncalled for!"
Bernie just shrugged and said, "It's not uncalled for I want to keep my job."
Just as Ernie was about to say something back, the two heard a chuckle coming from behind them.
"Get from under the table guys."
Ernie and Bernie peeked from under the table. They looked up and saw two cleaner fish staring at them with amused faces and eyebrows raised.
"Oh, it's you Osca'!" Ernie said in relief. "We thought it was Sykes."
"But instead it's just you and Rueben over there." Bernie added.
"Well you know what guys?" Rueben said. "Don't worry… about a thing. 'Cause every little thing's… gonna be all right… OWWW!"
Rueben's singing resulted in two hard sting slaps from Ernie and Bernie.
"Why does everyone gotta sing that song mon?" Ernie asked aloud. "What is it with us and people singing that song? Leave Bob Marley and his song alone!"
"But you should try out for Reef City Idol mon." Bernie said.
"Really?" Rueben asked with brightened eyes.
"No." Bernie said. "Not unless you want that Simon guy to humiliate you in front of millions of sea creatures."
Rueben frowned. "You know, that comment made me feel sad and discouraged."
Oscar sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, Ernie, Bernie?"
"Yeah?" The two bros said in perfect unison.
"I need a favor." Oscar said.
"Well what is it mon?" Ernie said. "The suspense is killin' me!"
"I need you to tell me where Angie is."
"Oh." Was all that Ernie and Bernie could say.
"What d'you mean 'oh?'" Oscar asked.
"Well mon, it's like this…" Bernie said, seeming to be uneasy around the subject, "Angie is moving out the city."
"What?" Oscar shouted so loud that the other workers paused to look at him. He then glanced at Rueben. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Uh…" Rueben answered with a nervous smile and a shrug, "I forgot?"
Oscar sighed and turned back to Ernie and Bernie. "When is she moving out?"
"It takes two months to get on the waiting list because she's moving so far away." Bernie answered. "And it takes another four months to move to where she's going."
"So that's six months!" Rueben said a bit too enthusiastically.
"Yeah, that's because two plus four is six." Oscar said sarcastically. "You're so smart, now can you tell me what two plus two is?"
"Don't you know Oscar?" Rueben asked in confusion, oblivious to the fact that Oscar was being sarcastic. "It's four."
That earned some weird looks from Oscar, Ernie, and Bernie, and Rueben just stared at them and said, "What?"
Oscar stared at Rueben for a few more seconds before continuing. "Anyway… I've gotta go see if I can talk Ang out of moving out!" He then dashed off in the direction of Angie's apartment.
"That's right big O!" Rueben shouted after him. "Go get your girl!"
"I betcha that Angie won't listen to him." Ernie said to Rueben.
"Why?" Rueben asked.
"Because mon, from what I've heard, it's Oscar's fault that she's moving out." Ernie said with a smirk.
"I don't believe you man." Rueben said. "How much you wanna bet?"
"Five dollars." Ernie said. "I'm kind of low on cash right now."
"That's all right." Rueben said. "I'll be looking forward to getting your five dollars, but for now, I've gotta do my job. There's a graffiti covered whale with my name on it!" Rueben then swam off to do his job.
It was twilight. The sun was going down, creating a beautiful sunset, but Lenny didn't notice. He was too busy trying to find a place to stay.
'Where the heck am I supposed to live?' Lenny thought. 'I can't go back home, and there's nobody here that I know. Maybe I should ask for help…' He paused as he saw a nearby reef in front of him. He knew that the city was all carnivorous, so he wouldn't have to worry about terrified fish.
'Maybe I could ask for help there.' Lenny thought, getting excited. 'Then I might be able to get a job and find a home!'
So, with encouraging thoughts in his mind, Lenny went into the city, not knowing that there was trouble waiting for him…
TBC…
So, how was it? Did you like it? Suggestions and flames are welcome; I need the flames to light the grill, though I'm not allowed to use it. So that's the end of the chapter. R&R pretty please!