Chapter 3: Help Wanted?

"But I didn't know!" Beast Boy said in his defence.

"How much exactly is this pool costing us?" asked Cyborg.

"Well," started Beast Boy, "$15,000 for the pool kit, plus $2,000 for the liner, add another $500 for the chlorinator, plus $8,000 for the hot tub, and $1,000 for the chemicals, so about…$26,500." he finished nervously. Raven glared at him.

"You expect us to come up with 27 grand?" she asked, shaking with fury.

"Why do we not just return the pool?" asked Starfire.

"Because the pool is already built. What are they going to do? Undig it?" answered Cyborg, a bit meanly.

"Hey! She didn't know, ok?" said Robin, defending Starfire.

"Ok, man, I'm just a bit angry. So apparently, we all need to get jobs, or we're in some big trouble. Seriously, I don't know about ya'll, but I do not want to get on Gino's bad side." Cyborg said with a quiver.

"Agreed!" nodded Starfire.

"Correction," said Raven, "Beast Boy needs to get a job, as this was all his fault."

"Oh, come on Raven, don't be that way. 'Sides, if I'm the only one that pays for it, I'm the only one that gets to use it." Stated Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy's right. If we all get a job and pitch in, we can all pay for the pool so we can all enjoy it. That's final." Commanded Robin.

The rest of the Titans nodded.

"So, uh…Titans Go!…get a job…" Robin said awkwardly.

Starfire began to walk towards the door, but Cyborg called her back.

"Don't bother Star, we'll go job hunting tomorrow, let's just enjoy our last night jobless," Cyborg said with a sincere sadness.

So the Titans decided to watch a movie, "I, Robot" since it was Cyborg's choice that night. After the movie, the Titans headed upstairs, awaiting their fate the next day would bring.

The Titans woke up early the next morning, all grumpy and groggy. They didn't even bother to eat breakfast; they just got washed up and headed out the door, into the city.

"Well," Robin started as they arrived downtown, "I say we split up, find a job, then meet back at the Pizza Place for lunch, and well discuss what to do then." The Titans all nodded in agreement; no one felt like talking back. So the Titans all split up in different directions.

Cyborg was walking down a side street when he passed a garage that fixes cars, and it had a help wanted sign hanging in the window. "Boo-ya!" Cyborg yelled to no one in particular. He opened the door and walked up to the counter. It was a grungy little office that needed a good cleaning and smelt like motor oil. He heard drills and people taking from the garage, and the occasional engine roar.

"Can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked.

"Well yes," Cyborg answered. "I noticed you had a help wanted sign hanging in the window, and I am interested in the job."

The man just stared at him, and Cyborg began to get nervous.

"I, uh…know a…a lot about cars, and I, uh always fix my own, um car…and I could also uh…clean up the office for ya'll…" he stammered.

The man raised an eyebrow. "You're serious aren't you?" he asked. Cyborg nodded. Well, I guess the office could be cleaned up, but before I make my decision to hire you, you have to perform a task, so I can see how much you really know about cars. Cyborg raised his arms and made various drills and screwdrivers pop up. "Bring it on." Cyborg said with much confidence.

The man led him to the garage "Okay, your task is to locate the problem on this Civic. Locate, than fix it. You have half an" but he couldn't continue because Cyborg was already under the hood, changing the oil and rearranging wires.

"Well alright!" Cyborg said five minutes later with a large grin on his face.

"Wow!" the man said sincerely, "You're hired!"

"BOO-YA!" Cyborg shouted, "I'll go clean the office." And he did.

Beast Boy on the other hand was not having as much luck as Cyborg was. "Dude! I'm still trying to forget about the last time I got a job." He mumbled to himself. Beast Boy was walking the main streets, not even paying attention to his surroundings, let alone bothering to see if there were any help wanted signs hanging anywhere. He then passed a "Joe's Bakery", and low and behold there was an "Employment Availability" sign hanging in the window. A large smile spread across Beast Boy's face, as he opened the door. He walked up to the cash register, but there was no one there.

"Uh, hello!" said Beast Boy, "HELLO!" Still no answer. "Ahh!" he said as he spotted a bell and began to ring it uncontrollably.

"OK…OK! I'M HERE ALREADY!" a young lady said as she came from the back room carrying a batch of cookies. She was a very attractive girl, medium in height, with flowing golden hair, and large hazel eyes.

Beast Boy blushed when he saw her. "Oh, sorry," he said, "I guess I went a little crazy. He he."

"A little?" the girl asked. Then she gave a sweet smile. "I'm just kidding, how may I help you?

"Um, I saw the sign in the window, and I'm looking for a job, so maybe I could get one here?" Beast boy asked.

"What's your name?" the girl asked.

"Beast Boy." He answered.

The girl giggled, but not in a mean way. Beast Boy felt his face go red. "I'm Angel, but people just call me Angie." Angel said with smile.

Beast Boy just nodded, unable to find words.

"Well," Angel continued, we are lookin' for help, but you'll have to talk to my grandfather about getting the job, as he owns the place." And she went back into the back room.

Beast Boy sighed, and then Angel came back out with a much older man, who was mostly bald, but had a certain warmth to his eyes.

"Well hello there young man. I hear you're looking for a job? We'll do'ya know how to bake anything?" he asked.

"Yes," Beast Boy answered, "I could bake many different kinds of cookies, and I'm also a fast learner, and I am really good at following directions," he lied.

"Yes, well normally we would have a formal interview, but as we're very desperate to find workers, you're hired!" the old man said with glee.

"YES!" shouted Beast Boy, "When can I start?"

"Right now!" the man said, "Angel here can show you the basics. And I'm Joe, by the way." And he walked into the back room, where he began to bake another batch of cookies.

"Come on," Angel said, "I'll show you how to make a loaf of bread." and she took out a large bowl and lots of different ingredients.

"But I know how to make a loaf of bread…" Beast Boy said.

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Really." she replied with a smirk.

"No, but can you show me?" Beast Boy asked.

"Of course," said Angel, "But only cause I like you."

"I'm gonna like it here." Beast Boy thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Raven already knew where she was going to get her job. One of her favourite places, Broken Dreams Café, had been looking for help for a while now, so she was going to apply there. She walked down a back road, than turned into an ally, where she saw the familiar sign hanging over a door that indicated she had reached her destination.

She opened the door, and her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Her nose was automatically filled with the smell of scented candles and tealeaves. The walls were painted deep purple, dark blue and dark red. The ceiling was painted black, with dim lamps hanging over every little table. Every table was covered with a dark tablecloth, and had candles or little plants on them. There was also a little stage with a microphone where people could read poetry on.

Raven waited for service, and soon a girl she had never seen before walked up to her.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a monotone.

"Um, yes," said Raven, "I know you guys were looking for help, so I thought I would apply."

"You're too late," the girl said, "This other guy and myself were hired just two days ago, sorry." But she didn't sound sorry at all, in fact, she didn't sound anything at all, she talked in just one tone…

"Oh, well thanks anyway," said Raven and she walked out the door, almost blinded by the sunlight.

Starfire had her eye on a job at Holt Renfrew for a while now, but she never needed a job, so she never applied. Starfire had been walking around for almost half an hour, but she couldn't find the building anywhere. She then decided to stop and ask for directions.

She walked into a building called "A-List Model and Talent". She had never seen this place before, but she walked in anyway. Starfire was very surprised when she walked in, but in a good way. She was in the main office, and the walls were painted bright pinks, greens and blues. The desk was a light purple, and there was rainbow coloured chairs around a glass coffee table. On the walls hung giant pictures of very pretty girls, and handsome men.

Starfire sat down on an orange chair, because the lady behind the counter was on the phone. She picked up a pamphlet that was on the table, and began to read it.

"A-List Model and Talent…where young talent thrives!

We are currently expanded our roaster, so come see if you have what it takes to be on top!"

Then there were pictures of some of their models, and Starfire continued to read:

"Our models appear in:

-Television

-Feature Films

-Commercials

-Fashion Shows

-Cover Pages

-Print Advertisements

So come make an appointment, and if you get a call back, than you can be signed with us!"

Starfire's mind was automatically filled with images of herself on the runway and in magazines. A large smile spread across her face. She was going to read on, but the lady on the phone hung up.

"Can I help you sweetheart?" she asked

Starfire was going to ask for directions to Holt Renfrew, but then she got a better idea. "Can I make an appointment please?" she asked with a smile.

"Well of course you can honey, what's your name? The lady asked. Starfire then gave her all of the required information.

"Ok, and that's spelled T-A-M-A-R-A-N?" Asked the lady.

Starfire nodded, and the lady handed her a business card.

"So we'll see you on Friday! Bye love!" said the lady.

"Bye, and thank you very much!" Starfire replied as he left the office.

Robin was beginning to get frustrated. He had been walking for what seemed liked hours, and still no luck. He decided to head over to the Pizza Place a bit early, because the rest of the team would be there soon. He passed the sub place, and the Ben and Jerry's Ice-cream parlour. Then he remembered the karate place across the street.

"It's worth a try," Robin said out loud, as he j-walked across the street. He opened the door and looked around. It changed a lot since the last time he was there, they now had two separate rooms, and they redid the paint job from an ugly brown to a nice orange that reminded him of Starfire. Robin sighed. Where was she right now? For some reason, he pictured her in a pet store. Robin noticed that he was day dreaming of her, so he shook his head and walked up the person behind the counter, Lee, the owner of the karate place.

"Robin! Long time no see!" Lee said with his usual toothy smile.

"Ya, I know," Robin said, scratching the back of his head, "I've been training with some other people lately." He said as he remembered his encounter with the True Master.

"Well you know you are always welcome here!" Lee answered.

"I know," said Robin, "So I came here to get a job."

"Well you're in luck, because I was just about to find a replacement for our junior instructor." Lee replied.

"Yuni left?" asked Robin.

"Ya," Lee said, "She found a better job I guess."

"So, can I join?"

"Of course!" Lee said, "The junior classes are on Thursday nights, so I'll expect you in to instruct the class."

"Awesome," Robin said, as he shook Lee's hand.