Author's Note: I'm back with another chappie… And it should be cooler than ever! Just to say something, thanx to all the people who answered my e-mail about a school myth. (Those who got the e-mail know what I'm talkin' about) Okay, so in the last chappie, Carlotta stirred up some trouble and Rueben asked Angie out on a date. What's next? But, before we begin the story, it's time for my daily shout-outs!

Insane Pirate Dragon- Glad ya thought it was funny. Yup, Carlotta's startin' some trouble… maybe it does involve Jamel and Andre, maybe it doesn't. But don't worry, even if they aren't in this chappie, you'll see them again… eventually…

MononokeShojo- Outtakes and interviews are great! Don't worry; the end of the story isn't coming anytime soon. In your next life you'll be a sharkess… OOOkayyyy… yeah, it's kind of annoying to have 'word bug you about how sharkess isn't a real word. And as for the song… you'll see what it is…

Lav'O'Dolphin- Evidence? What evidence? (Motions for Lenny to hide the evidence) And you shall see your series of unfortunate events… you mean person… voting for the series of bad things… (Sobs) But then again, after what I'm putting in here, I really shouldn't be calling anybody mean.

In the reviewer's choice there was a tie… that means that I'll go with both. So, prepare to see songs and little girls cry. Lenny's job is based off an idea I got from an episode of 'Lost.'

On wit da story!

Chapter Eighteen: Jobs and Dates

It was Saturday night; the day Rueben and Angie would go out on their date. Oscar paced in his living room, wondering why Angie was going out with Rueben. He had found out about the date as soon as he had found out that Angie was back on the job. (Which was very soon because news came by fast at the Whale Wash.) Yes, after Angie came back Oscar started to go back down to the Whale Wash, but he never talked to Angie or Rueben, and treated him like he was invisible. He knew that he deserved it after everything he had done he deserved it, but it still hurt. The rest of the Whale Wash crew had noticed this, but they didn't pay it much attention. Angie was mad at Oscar sometimes, and for all they knew, it could've been because he didn't help her out when her house had burned down. They were surprised when they saw Rueben ignore him, but they didn't pay that any attention either, because for all they knew, Rueben and Oscar were still the best of friends and they'd get back to being buddies again. If only they knew…

When Oscar had found out about Angie's date with Rueben, he was shocked as well as heartbroken. Shocked because it was kind of hard to know that your best friend was going out with the girl you like and heartbroken because after the whole Wale Wash incident (the incident that Oscar called 'The Day That Started It All') he had realized his true feelings for Angie. Now that she was going out with Rueben, Oscar knew that there was a chance that he'd never get to tell her how he felt, and even if he did, she wouldn't like him anymore. If he had told him how he felt in the first place and not have lied, Angie probably would still like him, but unfortunately for Oscar, he didn't know what he had until it was too late. Funny how you don't know what you have until you lose it, huh?

'I wonder if I can stop the date…' Oscar thought.

That's right; Oscar had half the mind to stop the date somehow. In one plan, he was thinking of telling Angie that Rueben was cheating on him. Then he remembered that it was only their first date and there weren't any official sparks. In another plan, he thought of following them on their date and making sure that nothing too romantic happened. Then he realized that if he was caught, he would sink to an all time new low, and Rueben and Angie would probably either cuss him out or kick his butt. But the one thing that made him not do anything to stop the date was this: Angie would lose even more respect in him, which he didn't want to happen, and Rueben would hate him even more, which he didn't want to happen either. He knew both of them for way too long, and he really didn't have any other friends.

'I guess I'll go for a swim around the old neighborhood to get my mind of things…'

Oscar had swum out his penthouse, heading for his old neighborhood. He was nearly halfway there when he decided to look back at his present home; the top of the reef. When he looked up at it during the time when he lived in a broke-down apartment, it seemed like the best place to be. Now, it didn't fascinate him anymore. He was used to the good life, and since he used to be a bottom-feeder he didn't take his new, glamorous life for granted; but there were times when he wished he lived in that apartment again just as long as things were back to normal; a thought that shocked Oscar when he had first thought of it.

A few minutes later, Oscar was in front of his old apartment. He was glad to see his old home again, and even more happy to see that nobody had moved in there. While looking at his apartment, Oscar must've looked sad, because Crazy Joe had popped out of the dumpster next to him and said,

"Hey Oscar! You feelin' okay?"

"Huh!" Oscar said, startled by Crazy Joe's sudden question. "Oh, it's just you. Yeah, I'm okay."

"You sure?" Crazy Joe asked. "You look like you've just lost your best friend."

'I've lost two best friends.' "Naw, I'm fine." Oscar said. "Just… remembering."

"Oh, well… if you ever feel sad, just talk to me." Crazy Joe said. "I'm your financial advisor after all."

'Why does he think that he's my financial advisor?' "What does being a financial advisor have to do with my problems?" Oscar asked.

"… Wanna see my puppets?" Crazy Joe said after a while.

"Uh… maybe later." Oscar said, backing away from the dumpster.

"All right. It's your loss." Crazy Joe said with a shrug. He disappeared under the trash and shouted, "Hey! I found a cookie!"

Oscar decided to get away from Crazy Joe before things got weirder. Just as he was about to go back home, three voices rang out from behind him.

"Stop! We've got you surrounded!"

Oscar turned around and saw the Shorties floating behind him. "Ha, ya'll can't surround me." Oscar said with a small smile.

"Yes we can!" the yellow and white Shortie said. "We know tai-fin-do!"

The three Shorties began to mimic kung-fu noises and punch invisible objects.

"Yeah right." Oscar said with a smile. He then noticed something. "Hey Shorties, where's your spray paint cans?"

"Officer O'Hara took them from us." The blue Shortie said. "He said that if we were good and stopped spraying graffiti on the walls, he'd give them back."

"Like that's gonna happen." Oscar scoffed.

"Hey! It could happen!" The brown Shortie said defensively. "Maybe we've turned over a new leaf."

There was a long silence. After a while, Oscar said, "Ya'll are gonna spray again, aren't ya?"

"Yup." The three Shorties answered casually.

"Uh huh, thought so." Oscar said. "Well, I'm gonna go now. I'll see ya'll later…"

"Wait!" The blue Shortie said. "We've gotta tell you something!"

"Well what is it?" Oscar asked.

"Did you know that Rueben and Angie were going out?" The yellow and white Shortie said.

Before Oscar could say anything, the brown Shortie said, "Yeah! We saw them kissing in an alleyway!"

"It was nasty!" The three concluded.

Oscar's eyes widened. "Ya'll are joking, right?"

"Well, we were joking about the kissing part, but not the going out part." The brown Shortie said. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Hey, don't ya'll have to go make Mr. Sykes puff up?" Oscar said quickly.

"Yeah! Let's go!" One of the Shorties said, swimming off.

Oscar watched as the Shorties swam off. After shaking his head, he swam back to his penthouse.

Scene Change

Lenny swam into Lamont's office. He had gotten a call from him about his next job. With any luck, it was probably another drink delivery job, but he wasn't going to be delivering any drinks.

"Hey there rookie."

Lenny turned around and saw nobody other than Tex and Ace. Instead of answering them, Lenny ignored them.

"Aww, you ain't scared of us, are ya?" Ace asked in a taunting voice.

"Yeah! You big scaredy baby shark!" Tex said stupidly. "You're scared of some swordfish! You wear pampers and drink from bottles and call for your mama…"

"Shut up Tex." Ace said with a frown. He turned back to Lenny and said, "You know, when someone says 'hey there', you expect them to say a greeting back. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"Leave me alone." Lenny said. "I don't have time to be playing with you."

"You wanna play with us?" Tex said. "Sorry dude, but we don't play. We're on duty most of the time."

Lenny and Ace stared at Tex with weird looks on their faces.

"What?" Tex asked.

"Anyways," Ace said, "you're in trouble."

"Yeah, Lamont found out about how you broke Carlotta's heart." Tex said.

"I didn't break her heart." Lenny said.

"That's not what Lamont heard." Ace said. "Carlotta told him about how you broke her heart, and Lamont always listens to his daughter."

'Why me?' Lenny thought. 'Why does all the bad stuff happen to me?'

"You know what Lamont does to sharks that hurt his daughter?" Ace said with a taunting smile while circling Lenny.

"I'd suggest you stop circling me." Lenny growled.

"What're you gonna do? Punch us?" Tex said. He began to laugh until Lenny gave him his special death glare. Tex hid behind Ace like a sissy coward.

"Get away from me!" Ace said, swimming away from Tex. He then turned his attention back to Lenny. "Like I said, you wanna know what Lamont does to sharks that hurt his daughter? Let's just put it this way: the last shark that hurt Carlotta isn't here to tell the tale."

"Nice story." Lenny said sarcastically. "You got any others?"

"I wouldn't be saying anything smart to me. In fact, I'd be begging for forgiveness right now." Ace said. "The reason why that last shark isn't here is because Lamont made me take him out."

"Hey, I took him out too!" Tex whined.

"Shut up Tex!" Ace growled. He turned to Lenny again and smiled evilly. "And since you broke the heart of Lamont's 'bundle of joy', he'll make me take you out too. And when I have to kill you… I won't hold back on anything. So, have you got any last words?"

"Yeah, it's actually a question though." Lenny said. "Was your mother smoking or drinking when she had you? Or did you get your stupidity from your pop's side of the family?"

"I don't think his mom was drinking or anything, I think he gets it from his dad's side of the family." Tex piped up. "But of course, I could be wrong."

"Shut up Tex!" Ace shouted.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so." Lenny said with a smirk.

Ace growled. He thought of hurtful remarks to say, but nothing came into his head. Finally, he remembered what he had read in the newspaper about the guy who had killed Ronnie and the guy that had killed Markie. He and the other guys knew that Lenny was the one who had killed Markie, and they also knew the reason why. With a malevolent grin, Markie said, "That's why your girlfriend died."

Lenny's smirk was replaced with a look of pure hatred. "Shut up." He said with a dangerous growl.

Ace smirked evilly. He knew he had touched a nerve. "What's wrong, Lenny?" He said in a taunting voice. "Were you really attached to her?"

"I said shut up." Lenny said in a dangerous tone.

"Now when did she die again?" Ace said. "I think it was on her birthday. Was it on her birthday, Tex?"

"Yeah, that's what it said." Tex replied before hiding behind something to avoid Lenny's death glare.

"Yeah, it must've been her birthday, 'cause I remember Lenny holding a present when we found him." Ace said. "Now, I wonder how she died… oh yeah! Some guy killed her!"

Lenny looked like he was about to slice Ace's throat any second. Actually… if Ace kept talking, Lenny would slice his throat.

"I wonder how that guy was able to kill her… oh yeah!" Ace said. "You just sat by and watched instead of helping her!"

It was a good thing that Lamont had swum into the room, because Lenny was about to rip Ace to shreds.

"Tex, stop hiding behind that thing." Lamont said. He looked at Lenny and Ace. "I hope that nothing bad happened while I was gone."

"Oh no, me and Lenny were getting along just fine." Ace lied.

"Good." Lamont said. "Now, I've called you here on account of my daughter. I heard that you broke her heart yesterday."

"I didn't break her heart!" Lenny shouted.

"You callin' my daughter a liar?" Lamont growled with a dangerous look in his eye.

'That's not all I'm calling her.' Lenny thought, but he was smart and said, "No sir."

"I thought so." Lamont said. "Now, whenever a shark hurts Carlotta, they don't get away with it. Do you know what I do to sharks that break her heart?"

"I've heard." Lenny said.

"Then you know what I usually do to them, right?" Lamont said.

"Yup." Lenny said nonchalantly.

"That's yes sir." Lamont growled. "Now let's try this again: 'Then you know what I usually do to them, right'?"

"Yes sir." Lenny said in an annoyed tone. "So, what's gonna happen to me?"

"That's better." Lamont said. "And as for what's gonna happen to you; you're about to find out."

Ace grinned as he waited for what Lamont was about to say. 'I'm finally gonna get that guy back for what he said.'

"Luckily for you, Carlotta is a sharkess of forgiveness. She told me not to kill you like I would usually do." Lamont said.

"What?" Ace shouted.

"Are you questioning me?" Lamont asked with a growl.

Ace looked down at the floor and said angrily, "No sir."

"I thought so." Lamont said. He turned back to Lenny and continued what he was saying. "Instead of killing you, she told me to give you a job. Lenny, you have to deliver a message."

'Wow, a message.' Lenny thought. 'Like I've never done that before.'

"You see, there's this guy who owes me money. He was given a deadline, and he failed to give me the money on time. I was generous and gave him a few extra days, but he took my generosity for granted. You have to tell him that he has ten minutes to give me the money, or else."

"All right." Lenny said. "So what's the guy's name?"

"His full name is Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee… Scotty Scott Scott…) but he goes by the name of Mr. Scott. Here's where he lives." Lamont handed Lenny a sheet of paper with an address on it.

"Kelp land hotel, room twenty-five." Lenny read.

"You've got the right address then." Lamont said. "You'll go over to his house at eight' o'clock, when he and his family will be eating dinner. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Lenny said, nodding his head.

"Good." Lamont said, swimming out the door. "You're dismissed; I've got other businesses to attend to."

Ace made sure that Lamont was gone before hissing to Lenny, "You're lucky that Carlotta likes you. I had something special for you."

"Yeah, well I've got something special for you too." Lenny said.

Before Ace knew it, Lenny had pulled back a fist and punched him in the face.

Scene Change

Rueben knocked on Angie's door. He was taking her out to the movies tonight. He had asked her out yesterday, and was surprised when she said yes.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Angie said from inside her apartment.

Rueben began to look around and made sure that he had everything.

"Hey there, Rueben."

Rueben turned around and saw Angie floating in her doorway.

"Oh, hi Ang!" Rueben said. "Ready for a night of fun-filled… uh… fun?"

"You make it sound like we're going dancing or something." Angie said with a smile.

"Maybe we are." Rueben said with a smile. "I never told you where we were going."

"Yes you did." Angie said. "We're going to the movies."

Rueben coughed. "Er, yeah, right. Uh… I got you somethin'." Rueben pulled a green sea flower from behind him and handed it to Angie. "For you."

"Aww, thanks Rube!" Angie said. "That was sweet of you."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Rueben said. "I'm a sweet guy."

"So, are we going to the movies?" Angie asked.

"Oh yeah!" Rueben said. "Uh… let's go!"

So, Rueben and Angie swam to the movies, unaware of the things that would happen…

Scene Change

"…and so after Lamont left, I punched him in the face!"

"Ha! You did that! Ha, ha, ha!"

Lenny was at the Tipsy Tug Tavern telling C.J. about what had happened in Lamont's office. Rhea was also listening, laughing along with C.J.

"It's about time somebody punched Ace in the face!" Rhea said. "You haven't been here that long, Lenny, but if you had been, you'd know that just because Ace is one of Lamont's personal henchmen, he thinks he can boss people around."

"I believe that." Lenny said with a small chuckle.

"But hey man, you said that you mad at Ace for sayin' stuff to you, right?" C.J. asked.

"Yeah." Lenny said.

"So, what did he say?" C.J. asked.

Lenny's expression changed the moment C.J. had asked him that question.

"So, what did he say?" C.J. asked again.

"He was making fun of me because Ronnie died." Lenny said.

"Who's Ronnie?" Rhea asked.

"She was my… my…" Lenny tried to think of a word and failed, so he stopped his sentence right there. Rhea knew what he was trying to say.

"Oh." Rhea said, nodding her head.

"Who was she?" C.J. asked.

"You can be so stupid sometimes." Rhea said.

C.J. thought about Rhea's words, and after a while, knew what Lenny was trying to say. "Ohhh… now I get it."

Rhea rolled her eyes. She noticed that Lenny was looking sad, and tried to think of something that would cheer him up. Then, she noticed an Anglerfish that was getting off the stage…

"Hey Lenny, did you know that Fridays and Saturdays are karaoke night?"

"No." Lenny said.

"Well, now that you know… you wanna go up there and sing somethin'?" Rhea asked.

"Why don't you go up there and sing something?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah right!" C.J. snorted, causing Rhea to glare at him. "Lenny, the day Rhea goes up there and sings something will be the day I see you singing 'Wait the Whisper Song'."

"What makes you think I won't sing that?" Lenny questioned.

Rhea and C.J. gave Lenny weird and surprised looks. "You're going to sing that?" They both asked.

"No!" Lenny said.

"Okay then." C.J. said. "Like I said, the day you sing 'Wait the Whisper Song'."

"Well, you're about to eat your words, 'cause I'm gonna sing a song right now!" Rhea said. She swam up to the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Twenty says she backs out." C.J. whispered to Lenny.

"Twenty-five says she doesn't." Lenny whispered back.

"Five clams more for something I know you'll lose?" C.J. said in an excited voice. "You've got yourself a deal!" He said with a smile as he and Lenny shook fins.

Meanwhile, up on stage, the music began to play, and Rhea grabbed the microphone. The tempo began out nice and slow…

Y'know, every now and then
I think you might like to here something from us
Nice and easy
But there's just one thing
You see, we never do nothing
Nice and easy
We always do it nice and rough
So we're gonna take the beginning of this song
And do it easy
Then we're gonna do the finish rough
This is the way we do proud Mary

C.J., Lenny, and the other hit guys listened as Rhea talked out the first part. Then they listened in fascination as she began to sing.

And we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river
Listen to the story

C.J. and the other hit guys were wondering what Rhea was trying to sing, but Lenny knew exactly what song she was doing.

I left a good job in the city
Working for the man every night and day
And I never lost one minute of sleeping
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been
Big wheel keep on turning
Proud Mary keep on burning
And we're rolling, rolling, rolling on the river

Suddenly, the tempo began to pick up the pace and Rhea's singing became better.

Left a good job in the city
Workin' for the man every night and day
And I never lost one minute of sleepin'
Worryin' 'bout the way things might've been
Big wheel keep on turnin' (turning)
Proud Mary keep on burnin'

Everybody's mouth dropped open. Nobody knew that Rhea could hit high notes… heck! Nobody knew that she could sing at all!

And we're rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river
Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

Lenny watched C.J. as C.J. watched Rhea sing on the stage. 'Maybe this karaoke thing isn't so bad after all…' Lenny thought with a smirk.

Now if you come down to the river
I bet you gonna find some people who live
You don't have to worry if you got no money
People on the river are happy to give
Big wheel keep on turnin' (turning)
Proud Mary keep on burnin'
And we're rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river
Rollin', rollin', rollin', on the river

(Proud Mary by Tina Turner)

The music died down and the tavern erupted in cheers. Ronnie smiled and took a dramatic bow.

"Thank you, thank you, you're too kind." Rhea said as she swam back over to Lenny and C.J. "No autographs, please."

"Wow, Rhea… you were great!" C.J. said. "I never knew that you could sing!"

"Thanks for the compliment." Rhea said. "I told you that you would eat your words."

"He sure did." Lenny said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go up there…" Lenny began to swam to the stage, but before he got up there, he looked at C.J. and said, "Oh yeah, and you owe me twenty-five clams."

Rhea glared at C.J. "You made a bet on me?"

"Uh…" C.J. said while trying to think of something to say.

Meanwhile, Lenny was up on stage and was beginning to sing as the sound of guitars started to play…

One, two, three take my hand and come with me
Because you look so fine

And I really wanna make you mine
I say you look so fine
That I really wanna make you mine

Everybody listened to Lenny's singing. He was actually good.

Oh, four, five, six c'mon and get your kicks
Now you don't need no money
When ya look like that, do ya honey?

Big black boots
Long brown hair
She's so sweet with her
Get back stare

Even though C.J. didn't really like rock'n'roll, he liked the choice of song Lenny had picked. He was singing about a girl without the song being a mushy romance song.

Well I could see
You home with me
But you were with another man, yeah!
I know we ain't got
Much to say
Before I let you get away, yeah!
I said are you gonna be my girl?

"The rookie has nice taste in rock'n'roll." A killer whale whispered to his friend.

Well, so one, two, three take my hand and come with me
Because you look so fine
And I really wanna make you mine
I say you look so fine
And I really wanna make you mine
Oh, four, five, six c'mon and get your kicks
Now you don't need that money
With a face like that, do ya?

Lenny paused as the song did with a smile on his face. He was enjoying this.

Big black boots
Long brown hair
She's so sweet with that
Jet back stare
Well I could see
You home with me
But you were with another man, yeah!
I know we ain't got
Much to say
Before I let you get away, yeah!
I said are you gonna be my girl?

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. C'mon!
I could see
You home with me
But you were with another man, yeah!
I know we ain't got
Much to say
Before I let you get away, yeah!
Uh, be my girl
Be my girl
Are you gonna be my girl? Yeah!

(Are you gonna be my girl by Jet)

The crowd applauded as Lenny swam off the stage. "I'm good, aren't I? C'mon, tell the truth." Lenny said when he got to where Rhea and C.J. were sitting.

"Nice choice of song." Rhea said. "Didn't know you were a rock'n'roll fan."

"You were all right." C.J. said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you do any better." Lenny said while crossing his fins.

"Really? Well guess what? I'm gonna sing somethin' too!" C.J. said as he swam up to the stage. Everybody listened (well, everybody except for this drunken dude) as C.J. began to sing…

Hey Timbo (Yeah?)
Don't you hate it when a dude starts actin' up
Like this fella over here with his hands on the scuff
Be muggin' and carryin' on
Hey JT (Yeah?)
Why these dudes keep starin' at us?
I dunnow but I'm about to find out wassup
Hey easy, don't take it too rough
Talk to 'em

Rhea and Lenny rolled their eyes. How did they know that C.J. would sing a song like this? Actually, they didn't expect him to sing this… they thought that he was going to sing 'Get Back…'

I'm not being cocky
I just noticed that she was looking at me
Chill homeboy, be cool
Cause there ain't no reason
For all that fussin' at me
It's just getting' started
And there's a lot of fish around here
Just shakin' they jelly
I ain't tryin' to be rude dude
But we tryin' to tear up the place, come on

Lenny blinked. He felt like he should know this song somehow.

There ain't nothin' to it
If you wanna get down then we can do it-do it
There ain't nothin' to it
Get out that seat (Why?)
You ain't glued to it
Be easy and watch that- tone
Keep steppin' with your new suede shoes- on
Boys and girls lets all sing along
Now everybody just get on the good foot
(Oh, Oh) Get on the good foot…
(Good Foot by Justin Timberlake. It's in the Shark Tale Soundtrack)

Everybody cheered. They didn't cheer as much as they did with Rhea and Lenny, but at least they cheered. Unfortunately, C.J. noticed this.

"Hey," C.J. whined, "How come they ain't cheering like they did with you two?"

"Maybe they don't like you." Lenny suggested.

"Or maybe they didn't like the song." Rhea added.

"It must've been the song." C.J. said. "Aww… I knew I should've sung 'Roll out…'"

"Roll out?" Lenny asked.

"I like that song." C.J. said, shrugging and taking a sip from his drink.

"You have to pay for that drink you know." Rhea said casually.

"What?" C.J. said. "Why? You never made me pay for it before!"

"That was before you made a bet on me." Rhea replied.

"But… but… Lenny made the bet too!" C.J. said, looking at Lenny.

"Yeah, but he didn't buy a drink." Rhea pointed out.

"Ha, ha." Lenny said.

"Don't you have a message to deliver right now?" C.J. asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nope." Lenny said with a smirk. "I don't have to be over there until another hour."

"Grrrr…" C.J. growled.

Scene Change

Angie was sitting down at in her seat, waiting for Rueben to come back. Just as she and Rueben sat down, he realized that he had forgotten the popcorn.

'That's Rueben…' Angie thought.

"I'm back with the popcorn!" Rueben said, swimming over and sitting in his seat. "Thanks for saving my seat, Ang."

"No prob." Angie said. "Now, c'mon! The movie's starting!"

The lights went out and the sounds of shushing filled the movie, along with the regular voice-over telling the fish to turn off their cell phones. (Doesn't it just tick you off when somebody leaves their phones on at a movie? Put it on vibrate you idiots! I can't believe… author goes off on rant) The movie that was playing today was 'Death Creek'. Just as soon as the beginning credits were rolling, Rueben remembered something.

"Ang!" Rueben whispered. "I've gotta ask you something! Do you…?"

"Shhh!" Angie shushed, grabbing a finful of popcorn. "The movie's starting!"

Rueben's ears went down in disappointment, but came up again when he remembered that he could always ask her later. Plus, he had the chance of finding out Angie's response to his question without him asking it; they were at a scary movie after all. The movie came to the part where the little girl was pulled underwater by the monster, and the mother was looking for her child. The mom called out for her daughter, but she didn't answer. Finally, it dawned on the mom that the girl went into the creek. She thought she was safe when she put her foot in the water… but the monster had pulled her underwater! Angie and the other fish jumped at the sound of the mother's screams. Rueben saw this as his chance, so he put his fin around Angie. (That's right guys… no yawning and pretending to stretch, just putting his fin around her.)

'What the… is that Rueben's fin around me?' Angie thought. She was about to tell Rueben to take his fin off her, but something held her back; the fact that she liked it!

'She's not doing anything…' Rueben thought disappointedly. With a mental sigh, he took his fin from around her.

Now, the movie was coming to the part when some certain detective rookie found out about the strange things that were happening. He and the other detective went down to the creek to investigate… when all of a sudden the monster jumped out of the creek and ripped the detective rookie to shreds!

Angie and Rueben had both reached for the popcorn, and their fins touched. (Saw this coming?) They both looked at each other and blushed, but did not look away. Their faces got closer and closer until…

Everybody freeze!

A large fish carrying a gun busted into the movie theater. He began to shoot everyone and everything in sight. Panicking fish fled for their life, and the police came into the theater to try and get the gun-fish under control.

"Angie, c'mon! The cops are here!" Rueben said. He and Angie were hiding under the seats. Angie nodded her head and mouthed, 'Let's go!"

Rueben and Angie quickly headed for the door, almost making it out okay, but one gunshot changed all that.

Bang!

The gun-fish fired his gun, hitting Rueben in the side.

"Arrgh!" Rueben cried out in pain.

"Rueben! No!" Angie said, rushing over to his side.

At this moment, the police had gotten the gun-fish under control. They had handcuffed him and some of the police were taking him in the police car, while some of them were rushing over to Rueben.

"Somebody get a medic!" A police dolphin said.

"Ang… it hurts…" Rueben groaned.

"Don't worry; the cops are getting a medic." Angie said. "You think you'll be okay until then?"

"Aww c'mon." Rueben said with a small smile. "It takes more than a bullet to keep me down." He tried to get up, but felt a pain in his side and fell back down.

"I'd stay down if I were you." Angie said sympathetically. "You've gotta keep your strength."

"All right." Rueben said. He was going to say more, but a wave of dizziness overcame him. 'Is it me, or is the room spinning…?' Rueben blacked out shortly after that.

Scene Change

Lenny swam into the apartment he and C.J. shared. He had to get the address to the apartment of Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee…) and he had forgotten his bandanna. When he opened the door to his and C.J.'s room, he was surprised to see…

"Carlotta!"

"Did you miss me?" Carlotta asked.

"But… how'd…" Lenny began, but Carlotta cut him off.

"I thought I already told you. My father's the leader of the hit sharks; I can get into any apartment."

"Oh yeah." Lenny said. "So what're you doing here?" He added briskly.

"Hey, I saved your life! You could've been killed by Ace and Tex." Carlotta said. "So… do I get a thank you?"

"Not really." Lenny said, crossing his fins.

"Give me a thank you." Carlotta said angrily.

"No." Lenny said.

Carlotta began to scowl, but her frown turned into a smile when she said, "No matter. I guess I'll just tell me daddy about how a certain mean old shark broke my heart again…"

"What?" Lenny shouted. "That's not fair!"

"You think I care?" Carlotta said in a bratty voice. "My dad will never listen to you, he only cares about his 'little angel's' problems! And as long as he's your boss and I'm his daughter, you either do as I say or I'll make you get in trouble. Now say thanks… or should I go tell daddy about how you 'tore my poor heart in half'?"

Lenny growled. He wanted to slap Carlotta so badly… but he wouldn't because of one thing he had always learned: 'Never hit girls.' "Thank you." He forced out.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Carlotta said with a grin. She was going to leave when she saw something on Lenny's nightstand. "Ooh, what's this?"

Lenny watched as Carlotta swam over to his nightstand and picked up
Ronnie's birthday present.

"Did you get this for me?" Carlotta asked, shaking the present.

"Like I'd ever get anything for you." Lenny scoffed.

"I'd watch my tone." Carlotta said. She shook the present again. "Hmm, can't hear anything. I guess I'll just have to open it…" She reached a fin off to peel back the wrapping when…

"Don't do that!" Lenny shouted as he smacked Carlotta's fin off the present and placed it back on the nightstand.

"What? Why, I never!" Carlotta huffed angrily.

"Yeah, and you never will! Now get out!" Lenny shot back.

"Are you telling me to leave?" Carlotta said with narrowed eyes.

Lenny opened the door. "Here's the door." He said with a grin.

Carlotta swam over to the door and stopped in the doorway. "You're gonna regret this, Lenny! Trust me, you're gonna wish you never did this!"

Lenny said, "Whatever." And closed the door in her face. He felt good, but also knew that Carlotta would live up to her word.

Scene Change

Lenny swam through the hotel, looking for the room he was supposed to stop at. He had been surprised when he saw the inside of the hotel; golden walls and red carpet floors. How the hotel looked didn't surprise him; he had seen plenty of hotels like these, maybe even better. It was the neighborhood it was in that surprised him. The hotel was placed right in the middle of a ghetto neighborhood, all of it filled with drug dealers, crack addicts, and worst of all, hit sharks. The only place that wasn't a broke down apartment was the hotel… well, the hotel and some restaurants around it.

Lenny came to a stop in front of a door and glanced down at the paper he held in his fin. 'Room twenty-seven… well, here I am.' He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

'I wonder who this Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) character is.' Lenny thought.

"Hello?"

Lenny turned around and looked for Scotty Scott Scott, (tee hee) but all he saw was a little barracuda girl with a red ribbon.

"Um… hi there, little girl." Lenny said. "I'm looking for a guy by the name of Scotty… er, Mr. Scott."

"Oh, that's my dad!" The barracuda girl said in an innocent voice. She could only be about four or five years old.

"That's nice." Lenny said with a smile. "So… is he home?"

"Why do you want to know?" The barracuda girl questioned.

"Because I'm supposed to talk to him… its part of my job." Lenny said.

"My dad said that he doesn't want any door-to-door sales fish coming to his door." The barracuda girl said.

"I'm not a door-to-doo sales fish." Lenny laughed.

"You promise?" Asked the barracuda girl.

"I promise," Lenny said with a smile, holding up a fin, "scout's honor."

"Okay then!" The barracuda girl said with a smile. She motioned for Lenny to follow her. "Come on in!"

Lenny followed the barracuda girl into the living room. Her family had a nice place; much nicer than any other hotel room he had ever seen. There was a living room, a kitchen and dining room, two bedrooms, and a pull-out sofa for guests. There was also a terrace, just in case you wanted to get some fresh… uh, water.

"So, what's your name?" The barracuda girl asked curiously.

"My name's Lenny." Lenny answered.

"Oh." The barracuda girl said. After a while she said, "My name's Ashley."

"That's a nice name." Lenny said.

"Thanks." Ashley said. She paused a minute before asking, "Are you a robber?"

"No." Lenny laughed.

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked.

"Yes." Lenny replied.

"Okay." Ashley said.

"So… where's your mom and pops?" Lenny asked, looking around the building.

"My mom's in the kitchen, lemme get her." Ashley said. "Mom!" She shouted. "Lenny is here to see dad!"

"Lenny?" A sharkess's voice came the kitchen. "Is he your new imaginary friend?"

"Nope!" Ashley shouted with a smile. "He's right here in the living room!"

The sharkess swam into the living room and saw Lenny. She sighed and shook her head. "Ashley, what have I told you about talking to strangers? Now, you're bringing them into this room!"

"He's not a stranger, mom." Ashley said. "He's here to see daddy! He said that it's for his job."

"What job…?" Ashley's mom began, but stopped when she saw the bandanna around Lenny's neck. Her eyes widened and she swam over to Lenny. "Please, I know that my husband has been behind on his payments, but please, give him more time." She begged.

Lenny gave Ashley's mom a weird look. Why was she begging him like this?

"Honey, who was at the door?" A voice came from the kitchen.

"It's one of Lamont's boys." Ashley's mom said, her eyes not leaving Lenny.

Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) swam into the living room. His reaction was the same as his wife's. His eyes became wide and a look of fear flashed across his face.

"I'm here with a message for Mr. Scott." Lenny said.

Mr. Scott swam up to Lenny. "Yes?" He said in a shaky voice. He knew all too well what Lamont's messages were like.

"Uh… Lamont said that he wanted his money, and that he better get it in ten minutes, or else." Lenny said.

Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) gulped. "Or else what?" He asked, bracing himself as if something bad was going to happen.

"I don't know. That's all he said." Lenny said with a shrug.

"You mean… that's it?" Scotty Scott Scott (tee hee) asked in a relieved tone.

"Yup." Lenny said.

"Oh, thank you Mr.…. what did you say your name was?" Mr. Scott asked.

"Lenny." Lenny replied. "No mister, just Lenny."

"Well, thank you Lenny." Mr. Scott said with a smile. "Would you like to sit down with us to dinner?"

"No thanks, I've gotta get back." Lenny said with a smile. "Well, see ya later!"

"Bye Lenny!" Ashley said, waving her tiny fins. (Aww.)

"Bye." Lenny said with a smile, swimming out the door. He swam out the hotel and headed for Lamont's office, thinking that he had done his job, but had no idea that something was about to happen…

Scene Change

Beep… beep… beep…

"Ugh… where am I?"

"Ah, Mr. Rueben, I see that you have woken up."

Rueben looked around and was surprised to see himself in a hospital room, lying in a clean bed with white sheets. Right beside him, was Dr. Finn.

"Wha…?" Rueben said in a confused tone.

"Let me straiten a few things up for you." Dr. Finn said. "You were shot by a gun fish."

'I remember that part.' Rueben thought, clutching at his bandaged side.

"So, after that, you blacked out and the cops rushed you to the medical room. Here, we patched up your side." Dr. Finn said.

"Wow." Rueben said. "So, how long have I been out?"

"Not too long, only thirty-five minutes." Dr. Finn said. "You had a very concerned lady waiting for you the whole time."

"You mean Angie?" Rueben said, sitting up in her bed. "She's here? Ooh, can I see her?"

"Not tonight." Dr. Finn said. "You can't see her until tomorrow… you need your rest. Now, you go to sleep, and don't try and sneak out of bed, you hear me?"

"Yes." Rueben said with a frown, lying back down on his bed.

"Great. Now good night." Dr. Finn said, turning off Rueben's light and closing the door. He swam into the room where Angie was waiting.

"So doctor, is he gonna be okay?" Angie asked in a concerned tone.

"No." Dr. Finn said. "Unfortunately, when he was shot, he lost a lot of blood. If he doesn't get a blood transplant (is this the right word?) from somebody with his blood type, he'll die."

Angie's eyes widened in horror. "But… how can he get a transfusion? We don't know anyone with his same blood type!"

"That's the problem; neither do we. And not many fish here know their blood type either." Dr. Finn said. "Even worse, the person with the same blood type had better show up in three days. If nobody comes up in three days… Rueben will die."

"Did you tell Rueben this?" Angie asked in a small voice.

"No. I didn't want him to be depressed." Dr. Finn said, shaking his head.

"Oh. Thank you doctor." Angie said softly, swimming out the emergency room.

Tears rolled down Angie's face. She couldn't believe that her friend could die and only had three days to live. She tried to push the thought out of her head, but it kept coming back. Finally, she decided that she would try to be optimistic, at least for Rueben's sake. Especially since Rueben would find out about this tomorrow; she had heard Dr. Finn talking to other doctors about telling him on her way out. It seemed like nothing was going right, and nothing ever would go right.

Scene Change

Lenny swam into Lamont's office. He ignored the harsh glare of Ace as he sat down in the chair in front of Lamont's desk.

"So…" Lamont said, turning around in his chair and putting his cigar in his ash tray. "You gave him the message?"

"Yes sir." Lenny said, nodding his head. "I did everything you told me to do."

"Oh really? Then how come I don't have the money?" Lamont said.

"Huh?" Lenny said in a confused voice.

"How did you deliver the message?" Lamont asked.

"Well, I politely told him that you wanted the money, and he said that he'd get the money." Lenny said.

"What?" Lamont growled. "You don't 'politely' tell anyone anything! You demand that they give you what you want in my messages, and if they don't listen, you either beat them up or take the thing they love the most!"

"But I can't do that!" Lenny said.

"You can if you want to make it through this job!" Lamont shouted. "I'm sending you back to Scotty's house, and I'm making C.J. come with you! Tex!"

Tex scrambled up to Lamont's attention. "Y-yes sir?"

"Go get C.J. Tell him that he's wanted in my office." Lamont growled. Tex nodded his head and dashed out the door in search of C.J. "And you." Lamont continued, looking at Lenny. "This time, no screw-ups. You got that?"

Lenny nodded his head and looked down at the floor. This time, he had to deliver the REAL message.

Scene Change

Lenny and C.J. swam up to Mr. Scott's door.

"Is this the place?" C.J. asked.

Lenny nodded his head sadly and looked down. C.J. sighed; he knew why Lenny was sad.

"Look, Lenny." C.J. said seriously. "You're a hit shark. In this job, you only have to rough the guy up. In other jobs, you have to kill people, no matter who they are or how old they are."

"I know." Lenny said with a sigh.

"Listen; don't listen to your conscience. Only focus on what you have to do." C.J. said.

"All right." Lenny said as he knocked on the door.

This time, instead of Ashley, Mr. Scott answered the door.

"Hey," Mr. Scott said with a smile, "It's our friend from last time… Arrgh!"

Lenny had punched Mr. Scott in the face, sending him crashing into the couch. Ashley and her mom had heard Mr. Scott yell, and came to see what happened. They only watched as Mr. Scott lay on the couch motionless. Lenny had punched his eye pretty hard. C.J. watched all of this from the doorway. When Lenny had looked at him, C.J. nodded his head, telling Lenny to go on.

Lenny swam over to Mr. Scott and got into his face. "Lamont said that he wants his money, and he wants the money now." Lenny said in a much firmer tone. He reached back to punch his face when…

"Lenny?"

Lenny turned around and saw that he had an audience. Ashley was watching him beat up her dad with tears in her eyes and a scared look on her face. Lenny put his fin down and backed away from the couch.

"Lenny! What're you doing?" C.J. whispered from the doorway. "Finish the job!"

Lenny looked at C.J. and glanced back at Ashley. With a determined look on his face, he swam over to the kitchen and grabbed the ketchup. He squirted some of it on his fins and swam over to Mr. Scott. He rubbed the ketchup over Mr. Scott's nose, making it look like he had a bloody nose.

"Huh?" Mr. Scott said in a confused tone.

Lenny swam over to Ashley and her mom. "Listen to me." He said in a clear voice. "You can't stay here for long. As soon as you can, tonight would be the best time, find another place to live. You can find a place to live in a city not too far away from here. There's a ship that should be for sale. If the ship isn't for sale, look for a place in Southside Reef City. Lamont and his boys should never find you there."

Ashley's mom nodded her head. "We'll pack now. Thank you Mr. Lenny. You're a saint."

Ashley hugged Lenny and said, "Thanks for not hurting daddy."

"No prob." Lenny said with a smile. "Now remember what I said!" He added as he swam towards the door.

"All right!" Ashley's mom said. "We will!"

"Hey, Lenny!"

Lenny turned around and saw Mr. Scott swimming towards him. "Thanks." Mr. Scott said. "You know, for not taking me out. You're a lifesaver."

"Aww, I'm not a lifesaver. I'm just a good person." Lenny said, swimming out the door.

C.J. closed the door and caught up to Lenny, who was floating halfway down the hall.

"You know that Lamont's gonna have your gills when he finds out about this, right?" C.J. said.

"Yeah." Lenny said. "But you won't tell, will you?"

C.J. looked at Lenny for a while before saying, "No, I won't. Now let's get back before Lamont will hate you even more."

So, Lenny and C.J. swam back to Lamont's ship, not knowing that a certain sharkess had followed them and was going to tell what Lenny did…

Scene Change

Lenny and C.J. swam into Lamont's ship. The first thing Lenny noticed was the furious look on Lamont's face, backed up by the smug grin on Ace's.

"C.J., I want you to wait outside. Make sure that nobody comes in here." Lamont said.

C.J. nodded his head and swam out the door. By the angry look on Lamont's face, C.J. knew that Lamont must've found out about what Lenny did… he just didn't know how.

Inside of the office, Lenny was confronting a very angry Lamont.

"I told you to do the job right! You're supposed to listen to what I say!" Lamont yelled angrily. "You didn't follow directions, so guess what happens now? Boys!"

Ace and Tex pinned Lenny up against a cabinet and began to attack him. Tex didn't really do anything bad, but Ace was getting all the hits he could get. He punched Lenny in the nose the hardest, almost breaking it. When he punched Lenny in the eye, it didn't turn black; it turned a purplish-red. Ace made sure that both of Lenny's eyes had purplish-red rings around them, and made sure that he stabbed Lenny a few times with his sharp nose as well as punch his mouth. After five minutes of this abuse, Lenny was relieved to hear Lamont say,

"Boys, that's enough."

Ace and Tex backed off Lenny, making him slump nearly lifeless against the cabinet.

"Now you know, I could've let them kill you." Lamont growled. "But I didn't because of one thing; Carlotta saved your life again."

'So that's how Lamont found out about what I did so quickly!' Lenny thought angrily, but he was too tired to say anything.

"This time, to make up for what you've done, you are to take her on a date to the fancy restaurant on Sandy Avenue. If I hear from Carlotta that one thing went wrong, I'll go and kill you. You got that?" Lamont threatened.

Lenny was too tired to say anything and his mouth hurt if he tried to open it, so he just nodded his head.

"I don't know why she keeps saving you." Lamont snarled. "Now get out of my sight."

Lenny limped out the door, holding his shoulder and closing the door behind him. C.J. saw him coming out and said,

"Whoa! What the heck happened to you?" C.J. almost shouted.

"Tex and Ace." Was all Lenny could get out.

"Lamont got Tex and Ace on you?" C.J. said. "Dang, that was harsh. But… how'd he find out about what you did so fast?"

"Carlotta." Lenny was able to gasp out.

"You mean that girl followed us and ratted you out!" C.J. said angrily. "You know, sometimes I just wanna…" C.J. punched a fin into his other fin. "Like that."

Lenny smiled, but his mouth hurt when he did.

"Ooh home boy, we've gotta get you home." C.J. said. He put his fin around Lenny to help him swim straight. "Now c'mon."

Ten minutes later, (it had taken longer than usual because Lenny was hurt) Lenny and C.J. were home.

"You know," C.J. said once he and Lenny were sitting on the couch, "usually, Lamont kills the guys who put a fin wrong. How come he didn't take you out? In my eyes, it seems like you got off easy."

"Easy?" Lenny said in a tired voice. "Yeah right! I've gotta take Lamont's little 'bundle of joy' out on a date!"

"Ooh." C.J. said, wincing. "That's worse than the death penalty!"

"I know." Lenny said. "And worst of all, if Carlotta says that I put a fin wrong, she can call up her dad! And we all know what's gonna happen after that."

"Dang. I'd hate to be in your place." C.J. commented.

"I bet you would." Lenny said. "I'm going to bed now… night."

"Night." C.J. said, still watching T.V.

Lenny swam down into his room and floated onto his bed. He wasn't killed, but to him, anything was better than going out with Carlotta. Little did he know, however, that he would run into an old friend… as well as a huge problem…

TBC…

Lenny has to go on a date with Carlotta? Rueben might die? Oscar is feeling some jealousy? What's gonna happen next? Will Rueben get his blood? Will Carlotta think of more evil tricks? And who's the friend that Lenny will find in the next chappie? Only one way to find out, and that's to stay tuned for the next chappie!

Wow, this chappie was LONG… it's twenty-one pages on 'Word. The longest chappie I've ever written…

R&R pleez!