Chapter 29: Inspirations

Marie sat at the table, petting Arisara. Arisara seemed to enjoy getting her mantle scratched. Callie was sitting across from them as she looked at the menu. Adstrum sat next to her, a pen in his hand as he scribbled on a napkin.

"This place has some weird food. Oh, found the burgers!" She bounced a bit.

"Heh, it looked like a burger place from the outside… I didn't think they would have other things too… Well, not fancy food anyways…" Arisara purred as Marie scratched the side of her mantle.

"Don't most 'sit-down restaurants' have multiple food items?" Callie asked. "I'm just...not used to these food items. Some I've never seen before."

"The salmon seems interesting though" Marie replied.

"Salmon eggs?" Callie's eyes widened. "Woah, the golden eggs are expensive. Hope they taste good if they are worth that much." She closed the menu. "I'll just stick with a burger."

Arisara crawled beside Marie and changed back into her humanoid form.

"You guys know what you are getting?" Callie looked at her cousin and Ari.

"I'll try the salmon." Marie replied.

"Uhhh, that is an interesting menu…" Arisara looked through the menu.

"You said you are getting a burger too, right Addie?" Callie looked at him.

He just nodded in response, his attention on his napkin drawing.

"Huh, I guess I'll just get a plate of fries and a cheeseburger." Arisara put down the menu.

"Heh, Marie's the only one not getting a burger." Callie giggled.

"I kinda wanna try something new. I actually never had heard of a place selling salmon or seafood."

"Oh. So that's why you didn't order a pizza slice or something?" Callie giggled. "I'm kidding. Trying something new is a good thing. But if you don't like it we'll get you something else if you want."

"Okay," Marie smiled.

"Ready you is to order?" A jellyfish in a waiter outfit asked as he stood next to the table.

"Yes, can I get the salmon?" Marie asked.

"Yes. And you would like what?" The jellyfish looked at Arisara after he wrote down Marie's order.

"Yes, a cheeseburger with large fries. Honey mustard for sauce. Thank you"

"Of course." The waiter wrote it down and looked at Callie.

"Same as her, but with ketchup instead of honey mustard."

"Okay. And for him?" He pointed to Adstrum.

"Addie." Callie nudged him.

"Huh?" He looked up from the napkin. "Oh, cheeseburger with only ketchup and pickles."

"Yes sir. Anything for drinking?" The jellyfish asked as he looked around the table.

"Uh… Water…" Arisara replied quietly.

"What? Are you worried you are spending too much money? Don't worry about it."

"Yeah. Marie and I are paying for this." Callie smiled.

"Technically Cici is paying for it…. Since she pays us…"

"Oh, true. She does. Well, she did. Until she got us a new manager." Callie sighed. "Speaking of, I wonder where she is. What's her name again?"

"Shelly. I think she lives in Eleede Valley… So maybe at home?" Arisara suggested.

"Oh, okay." Callie looked around and patted the table in boredom. "Um...anyone got any conversation topics?"

"What do you guys wanna do tomorrow?" Marie asked, "It will be our last day here…"

"I think Addie just wants to go back to that Human museum." Callie saw him nod. "Anything you guys want to do? Ari?" She looked at the octoling.

"Maybe I'll go see Cici… Provided the nurses let me..." Arisara shrugged.

"Okay. Sounds good. What about you, cousin?"

"Maybe I'll go see the Festival of the Sea, where we'll be performing."

"Oh, cool. Hey, you want to work on our new song a bit tonight before bed?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Marie seemed eager.

"Yay!" Callie clapped.

Arisara looked around the restaurant out of boredom.

Adstrum kept doodling on the napkin, being careful not to rip it.

"Whatcha drawing, Addie?" Callie looked closer. "Is that a...weapon?"

He looked up at her and nodded rapidly, a smile on his face.

Arisara looked over, "Maybe if you got a chance you could ask Chives if you can get a closer look at the weapon you were staring at before."

Adstrum's hand abruptly stopped and he looked up at Arisara, a big smile on his face.

"You just gave him an idea he likes." Callie giggled.

"Scary…." Arisara jokingly moved back.

"Chives has that much control in this town?" Adstrum asked.

"No, but that museum belongs to the Bubble family… So I'm sure he may be able to do something for you."

"Yes." Adstrum's smile widened. "Yes."

"Heh, calm down, Addie." Callie hugged him.

"That or I can ask Cici if the nurses let me talk to her…" Arisara shrugged, "But knowing Cici she'll just give you the keys to everything…"

"I doubt she'll reply." Adstrum sighed. "But if yesterday didn't happen she'd most likely do that."

"Ready for eating?" The jellyfish asked as he came back, another jellyfish joining him with a tray of food sitting on its head.

"Oh, let me just get that off your head" Arisara took the tray and set it on the table.

"Oh, thanking you."

"Yay!" Callie grabbed her plate and put it in front of her. "Here, Addie. Time to eat." She grabbed his plate and put it in front of him.

"Huh, this is interesting…" Marie poked her slices of orange with white stripes squishy rectangles on rice.

"How's it taste?" Callie asked with her mouth full of burger.

"I'm kinda scared… It's cold…" she picked one up.

"Well, again, if you don't like it we'll get you something else." Callie smiled.

Marie looked at it and put it into her mouth, "It's weird, but strangely not bad."

"Really?" Callie raised an eyebrow.

Adstrum didn't look up from his drawing as he grabbed some fries and threw them in his mouth.

Arisara ate her burger before she even touched her fries.

"Hey, Ari. I'm curious." Callie took another bite of her burger. "What was it like when you first came to the surface?"

"Well… pretty hard. I didn't have any money. So most stores had nothing to do with me. I actually still live down there, in a storage closet, in the station… Since I am broke…"

"Oh no, really?" Callie swallowed and sighed. "That's not right. Hey, if you want you can stay with us."

"Um… Nah my superiors are working on that… Even though I told them I'll be fine."

"Superiors?"

"They were kinda like how you guys helped Jack. They also helped me out in saving Aria and Chomp."

"Who are your superiors?"

"Pearl and Marina."

"Oh." Callie looked at Marie. "Them?"

"What?! Really?"

"Yeah… I don't really understand how it happened myself…"

"Okay. Well, we really don't mind if you wished to stay with us or Marie until you got your own place." Callie replied.

"My closet is fine… It's got a bed… and uh…" She tried to think about what else.

"Please let us help you." Callie fidgeted in her seat a bit.

"I don't think you living in a closet is acceptable, Ari…" Marie crossed her arms.

"That's what Marina said too…" Arisara sighed drawing circles with her fry.

"So let us help you. We have a couch you can crash on." Adstrum joined in. "And Marie is currently living alone next door to us. You could be a roommate or something." He smiled.

"Heh, you guys are too much" Arisara smiled sheepishly.

"We just really want to help our friends. And you are a great friend." Callie smiled.

"Alright."

"Yay!" Callie jumped around a bit in joy.


After a while it got dark and everyone headed back to Bubble Manor. Arisara knocked out in her room. Marie got ready for bed and waited for Callie.

"You ready to work, Marie?" Callie asked as she walked into Marie's room with her pajamas on.

"You know it!" Marie smiled as she took out the notebook from before.

"Alright!" Callie placed her own notebook down and sat on the bed with her cousin. "Now, where were we?"

"You know I kinda think about Cici and Jack. Like if they just started over and started on a blank page. It gives me more of a melancholy feel."

"Start over? Like if they met all over again?" Callie asked.

"Kinda, but not really. Like if those terrible things never happened and she met Jack."

"Oh. Hm, interesting. But...how would Jack feel?"

"I… I dunno… maybe they would be friends. Maybe nothing at all."

"Well, who knows." Callie shrugged.

"Sorry let's get to work then" Marie smiled as she and Callie got back to work writing their next song.

Author's Note: Sorry I'm late guys. Forgot to put this chapter up yesterday. Well, here it is. But now school has started back up...so the update schedule might be random sometimes. But I'll try to update every Monday or Tuesday.

Thank you GajeSteel, The Bowser Monster, Pink Hedgie 74, Agent Cherry, and Noodle Doodle for leaving reviews. Thank you so much for reviewing.

Adstrum is a big fan of humans, Hedgie. He's based two weapons off of what they used and is planning to make another.

Glad you liked the chapter, Agent Cherry. Don't worry, the stress will be going down more as time goes on.

Haven't seen you in a while, Noodle Doodle. And the flashlight scene was a reference to Ed, Edd, n Eddy.

Thank you all and I will see you next week!