Roy's PoV
For the past few minutes, all Roy could do was stare at the date on the calendar, circled in bold red marker. It was today. August 26th. In a few hours, he could have a job at Starfish Drinks. He took a few breaths. He had to look profreshional today. He looked over at the varsity jacket hanging on his chair. He wouldn't be wearing it today. Roy opened his closet in search for something profreshional. He spotted a dress shirt and took it out of the closet, then putting it on.
A few minutes later, Roy looked at himself in the mirror. Disregarding his normal tan complexion and his bright red hair that was slicked to the side, he was rather satisfied with how he looked. Over the dress shirt was a black suit and a tie as red as his hair. Alongside it were black dress pants and black dress shoes. He picked up some sunglasses off of his dresser and put it on him. He smirked. Now, he really looked like a secret service agent today.
The red-haired inkling left his house and hopped into his car. He started it and drove down the streets of Inkopolis. However, he was faced with the ever-dreadful traffic. The line of cars inched along, and quickly did Roy start to become impatient. He honked the horn of his car a few times to no avail. He sighed and leaned back into the car seat. He pulled out his phone to see what was going on Squidsagram.
What was on Squidsagram was about what he expected. In addition to the everyday pictures people posted of themselves, he found himself with several likes on a picture he took of his calendar. Alongside it were comments telling him good luck on his job interview. He looked up every now and then and stepped on the gas pedal whenever traffic was inching forwards. A while later, he decided to snap a picture of himself and post it. He then slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned on the radio to occupy his time.
Even more time later, Roy had finally arrived at the Starfish Drinks near the square. He parked his car and got out of it, stretching. There, he found his friends by the entrance of the coffee shop, looking at their phones.
Yuri looked up from his phone, and gasped. "Guys! Roy's here!"
"Yo, Roy!" Perry greeted. "Good luck on that interview!"
"Yeah, good luck," Bonnie agreed. "I'm sure you'll do great."
Alexis put her phone back into her pocket and picked up a sign that was leaning against her side, holding it up. "Good luck Roy!" she quoted the sign. It was made from light brown cardboard, and the message was written in red paint. She then lowered the sign. "The hard part about making this was finding the paint," she whispered. "Apparently, red paint is hard to come by."
"Can you squids stop loitering?!" a worker yelled, peeking out of the door of Starfish Drinks. "I'm calling the police if you don't leave."
"Sorry," Inigo apologized. "It was my idea." He glanced at the Rainbow Squids, then at Roy. "Hope you liked it," the indigo-haired inkling whispered to him.
"Oh no, I didn't like it… I loved it," Roy replied, smiling. It was nice to have friends that supported him. "Too bad you guys can't stay longer," he said, turning to face the rest of his friends.
"Well, we'll congratulate you after the interview," Octavia assured. "We'll be waiting at the square."
"If you don't find us immediately, we're probably doing a match," Inigo added.
"Text us if so," Yuri finished.
"Alright," Roy said. "Thanks."
"No prob at all!" Perry exclaimed before they all headed towards the square. Now, it was only Roy standing in front of the coffee ship.
The worker that had yelled at them raised an eyebrow at the red-haired inkling's refusal to leave. "What about you? Those are your friends, right?"
"They are," Roy started, "but I'm here for an interview."
"An interview?" The employee took a piece of paper out of his pocket and scanned the list he had written on there. "There's one scheduled for 11:00 AM today. For…" He squinted. "…Roy Blacktip."
"Yep," the tanned inkling confirmed. "That's me."
"Well, then, come on in." The worker opened the door all the way and gestured for Roy to come inside. "I'll take you to the back. I'm sure Mr. Carp would take you in early."
"Thanks." The two inklings walked towards a door that read, 'Employees Only!', and the worker knocked on it. Soon, another inkling with tired orange eyes opened the door. Fittingly, his hair was also orange, but the tips of it were white.
"What do you want, Molas?" he asked. He took a sip out of a mug with the company's logo on it. "Is Stern trying to clip your ponytail off again?"
"No! Not at all!" Molas cried. "He doesn't even work today! But, this squid did come early for his interview."
The older inkling glanced over at Roy. "Are you Mr. Blacktip?"
The red-haired inkling straightened and replied, "Y-Yes." He gulped as anxiety spread throughout his body. He cursed at himself for looking so nervous. I can't be nervous now! I can't let them see me as weak!
He nodded. "Follow me." Roy stepped behind the inkling, and he then looked at his employee. "Get back to work."
"R-Right, sir!" The worker dashed off.
The older inkling slammed the door shut and started walking. "My name is Miles Carp, but please call me Mr. Carp," he introduced himself. "I am the one interviewing you today."
"Nice to meet you," Roy muttered.
Mr. Carp stopped and turned around. He held out his free hand. "Nice to meet you too." They shook hands and then continued walking. Soon enough, the older inkling stopped at a door and opened it. He went inside, and Roy followed. "Sit here," Mr. Carp instructed, pointing to the chair closest to the door.
"Okay." The red-haired inkling sat down, fidgeting with his thumbs under the table. The other inkling sat down at the opposite end of the table. He set down his mug next to a pile of papers, and then he straightened the stack of papers.
Mr. Carp put on a pair of reading glasses and started, "So, Mr. Blacktip, it says here on your resume that you are a student at West Inkopolis High School."
"Yes…"
"And that you are a member of its baskfishball team." Roy nodded. "Can you tell me about your grades?" he asked, lifting his head up to stare at the tan-skinned inkling.
"I have a C in math and an A in P.E. and history. I have a B in everything else."
"Alright, then. Back to baskfishball—what skills are required to be a good player?"
"Well… You have to have good hand-eye coordination." A determined look hardened into the teenage inkling's eyes. "Without it, you'll miss your target. And, you must also be a team player. Cooperation is crucial, and everything will fall apart without it. It's also recommended to have a lot of stamina, and that can be improved by exercising. Strong arms and legs are also a good idea."
"Good, good. Now, how good are your skills?
"Well, I'm tall, which helps with scoring goals. I also participate in turf wars a lot, and I practice regularly. Though…" His gaze faltered, and he looked away from Mr. Carp for a few moments. "I might not be the best at helping out the team." The two locked gazes again. "When I get the ball, I tend to go off in my own direction. Sometimes we lose because of it."
The older inkling closed his eyes, and then he let out a sigh. He opened his eyes again and asked, "Have you worked on improving your teamwork?"
"Well, I work best with my best friends," Roy started. "When we're in a ranked battle, and even in turf wars, together, we try anything we can to win. Don't get me wrong, my teammates are also my friends, but…" He bit his lip. How could he explain? He has gone through so much with the Rainbow Squids. They've been friends since they were small squids, and now, they were inseparable. "…We've known each other for so, so, long."
"Are your teammates interested in turf wars?"
"Not all of them are inklings, so a lot of them kinda… can't. I have played a turf war or two with the squids on my team, though. We usually get together to practice baskfishball."
"How often do you get together?"
"Twice a week, usually. Sometimes it's once a week, other times it's every day, sometimes we don't practice together at all that week."
"I see. Now, how do you think these skills will transfer over to the workplace?"
Anxiety bubbled in the red-haired inkling's chest again. Here comes the hard part. "W-Well, I can get stuff from hard-to-reach places because I'm tall and all. And, if I get along with my co-workers well, we can be efficient in getting drinks out to the customers, therefore making everything go faster."
Mr. Carp nodded and then asked, "Now, what are your weaknesses?"
"My weaknesses?" Roy gulped. "Well, I'm impatient, and I get mad easily. I can't hide it sometimes."
"I see. What would you bring to the workplace?"
"I would make Starfish Drinks lines go faster, so people can get their coffee or whatever faster. How would I do that? Well, I would try to make my drinks as fast as possible. Maybe if they see me do it, everyone else would speed up, too."
"Interesting…" Mr. Carp scanned the paper he was holding before looking back up at the red-eyed inkling. "Last question. Why should I hire you?"
"Why? Well, I'm efficient, fast, and overall, I'd make the place better for everyone, for both the customers and the employees," Roy immediately blurted out. Afterwards, he made a small sound. Should he have really said that?
"Alright." The interviewer lined up the papers on the desk again and stood up, picking up the mug as well. "That will be all. I'll send these notes to the manager of this establishment for review. If you get an email or call from us within one week of today, you got the job, squid. If you don't, well… then you didn't get it."
"Okay." The tanned inkling also lifted himself off the chair. "Have a nice day," he said before leaving the room, waving to Mr. Carp.
"You too." He held the door open for the older inkling to leave, and then shut the door once they were out. Roy walked towards the end of the hallway and opened the door there, entering the main area of Starfish Drinks.
"Hey, Blacktip!" a familiar voice called. The red-haired inkling whipped his head around to see Molas at the counter. He had paused writing a name on the coffee cup to look up at him. "How did it go?"
The other inkling shrugged. "It was okay."
"Think they'll hire ya?"
"They take just about anyone, don't they?"
"Well, they do, but people have been rejected before. Like my friend Ryan. Apparently, they rejected him because he had terrible grades."
Roy started to get a little nervous. "Does he work here now…?"
"Oh, no. He started a food truck a few months ago, almost immediately after we graduated. He's doing pretty fine, last time I checked," Molas replied. "But, you should be fine." He nodded. "I'll be looking forward to working with ya."
"But that's if I get the job," he added. The two chuckled, and then the inkling with his hair swept to the side said, "Alright, see you later."
"K, bye."
Roy left the coffee shop, and it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had nothing to worry about now. He'll go to the square and see his friends, and they'll congratulate him. That was their plan. He looked over at the silver car he drove here in. It can wait. Still in his suit and tie, he started walking down the sidewalk in the direction of Inkopolis Square. He pulled out his phone and texted his friends that he was going there now.
"Hey, inkling!" someone suddenly called, and suddenly, the red-haired inkling felt something light hit his side. He turned around to see a group of young sea urchins, snickering. Next to Roy was a piece of crumbled-up paper, so he picked it up. He then unfolded it to see what was written inside, which was a poorly drawn portrait of himself with a goofy face. 'Stupid' labeled it.
"What?!" he growled, ripping the drawing into pieces. One of the urchins through another piece of paper at him, though he didn't bother to pick it up this time.
"You going to a party?" the same urchin sneered. "Cause Inkopolis Square isn't the place for fancy parties."
"That suit doesn't look too awfully fresh either!" another urchin heckled. "You need better fashion taste if you wanna get into the square."
"I was at an interview!" Roy snapped, taking a step closer to the group of sea urchins. "I don't normally look like this!"
"I don't like your hair," a third urchin commented.
At least this isn't two years in the past, the red-haired inkling thought. I should have worn a ponytail instead of keeping my hair down back then. "I put time and effort into this!" he said instead, clenching his fists. "No one else cares, so why do you?!"
"Because I do," that urchin replied bluntly.
"That hair isn't all that fresh either!" the second urchin jeered.
"Yeah, it really emphasizes the fancy look," added the first urchin. "We don't go for fancy here."
"Alright, if you guys don't stop, you all are gonna receive the beating of your lifetime," Roy threatened, pounding a fist into his hand. "I bet I can beat you in three seconds splat." All of the sea urchins looked at each other aghast, and then all of them fled the area. He smirked. He didn't like doing them, but threats always seemed to work. With them gone, he continued walking down the sidewalk, taking in deep breaths to calm himself down. He would hate to arrive in a bad mood.
Soon enough, he arrived at the square, and looked around. Quickly, he noticed the Rainbow Squids, all chatting with the signs they had earlier. It seemed that they noticed him too, as he saw Yuri talking excitedly. He walked up to them, everyone already turned to look at him.
"Hey, Roy," Inigo greeted. "How did it go?"
"I think it went fine," the red-haired inkling lied. In his opinion, it did not go so great.
"Great!" Yuri cheered. "You'll get the job for sure!"
"Wait, what did he apply for again?" Alexis asked suddenly.
"Barista," Roy answered.
"Oh, okay. Sounds like a neat job," the young inkling said.
"Either way, congratulations," Octavia spoke up.
"Yeah, congratulations!" Bonnie echoed.
"Congrats," Perry then added.
The red-haired inkling smiled. "Thanks, guys."
"'ny time, pal," the purple-haired inkling said, winking. "How about a turf war?"
"A turf war?" Via pondered. "Sounds like a solid plan to me." She looked at her friend. "You might wanna change your clothes, though."
"I know, I know," the tan-skinned inkling muttered. "There was really bad traffic when I was driving to Starfish Drinks, though. It'd be a while before we can actually do a turf war."
"Why not buy new clothes?" Inigo suggested. "You can change in the fitting rooms of one of the shops, put your suit in your car, and then we can be on our merry way."
"That's… not a bad idea," Roy noted. "Let's go!" Looking over at Shella Fresh, he started to dash over to it.
"Wait for me!" Via called. "I'll be your fashion adviser!"
"Don't forget me!" the indigo-haired inkling shouted.
"And me!" Alexis exclaimed.
"I'm comin' too," Perry blurted out.
"Well, guess I'm going in, too," Yuri said.
"If everyone else is going in, then so am I," Bonnie finished.
All of the Rainbow Squids arrived at the entrance way of the shoe shop, and Roy's smile only got even bigger when he saw his friends surrounding him. He shrugged, and everyone went inside without any question. No matter what happened, it was clear that they would always stick together.
A/N: Happy Mother's Day! Here's a chapter just for you! ...Though, I kind of doubt any mothers read this. But, here's a fun fact: Mr. Molas actually first appeared in Chapter 5! He's the employee who got slapped by grumpy old Simon. I don't think I'll ever mention it otherwise, so it's better to say it now. :P Branchwing, out!