Mollie's P.O.V:

This was taking forever…

I had hiked for like four hours and I was almost there. However, the whole experience was excruciating. I paused to hydrate occasionally but I was still hungry, tired, and thirsty.

I swear if I ever see that girl again…

Eventually, Inkopolis got a lot closer and my old country road branched to what looked like the side of a highway. I traveled up the exit ramp and traveled at the side of the loud noisy road. I was sure to avoid getting too close to the road. I don't need a driver clipping me before I got to Inkopolis.

Looking just on the horizon, the highway went right over the ocean. It was a nice bridge with a dedicated side to foot traffic. There were even lamp posts and phone booths and stuff on it. It was definitely designed for foot traffic. I could even see a couple of people on it. On the other side was my goal, Inkopolis.

At last this would almost be over! Inkopolis was so close! I could even see the Great Zapfish from here! I was giddy with excitement and broke into a jog over to the bridge.

By the time I got up to the bridge, I was absolutely exhausted. My exhaustion outweighed my excitement and I downgraded my jog into a walk. It sucked. You know that feeling when you get up really early on Squidmas morning but you have to wait for hours to open your presents? I was so close to Inkopolis and the walk across the bridge felt like forever.

Eventually, I made it across and I instantly was in a new world. Buildings towered around me so high! Lights were everywhere! It was like a jungle of concrete! I was almost immediately crowded by Inklings walking around. So many people were in one spot! I was kind of glad I made the decision to hide my octarian tentacles. I would never be able to maneuver around this city without people giving me weird looks without my disguise.

There were tons of shops too! I drooled all over the windows at fresh weapons and clothes I knew I could only dream of affording. Maybe I could save up for them some day.

Well, clothes can come later. My immediate concern was food. I was absolutely starving.

I saw a food truck with some shrimp running the place. I saw a long line of inklings. I reasoned the food there must be good if someone was willing to wait in such a long line. It was titled the "Crust Bucket" on the truck.

Despite my stomach's protests, I decided to go eat there despite the line. The food would be reward enough. However, after about five minutes in line I was really beginning to regret doing this. The smells of frying food only added to my hunger.

"And then the hybrid called me a brat! The nerve!"

I swear I nearly jumped fifteen feet high. That voice was familiar. I looked over at the tables beside the food truck and I couldn't believe what I saw..

It was the inkling in the bikers helmet, sitting right there with her friends. No more than ten feet away from me. I immediately checked to make sure my hoodie was completely on and readjusted my sunglasses. I did not want to be recognized. The chances of this happening...I mean come on, Fate! You just lugged me through a good four hours of walking for cod's sake!

I listened in on the inkling's conversation.

"So then I kicked the freak's face in! You should have seen her!" laughed the inkling. The other couple of inklings she was with laughed to.

I immediately felt anger. Not only was this girl exaggerating about how her attack went but this girl was already ruining my reputation to! What makes her think she can do this? What gives her the right? More disturbingly, the inklings who I didn't recall being on the bus, seemed to applaud her actions. I was getting the sinking sensation that Inkopolis was worse than my home. I was beginning to feel more grateful that I had the sense to disguise myself. I'm probably going to have to do it for a while until this inkling stops babbling about me. Maybe even full time. I was getting the sense that Inkopolis wasn't going to like me more and more.

"Uh, excuse me squido." said a voice that snapped me out of my thoughts, "You going to order anything?"

I jumped and realized I was in front of the line. The shrimp was waiting for my order. I quickly scanned the menu and found what was called a "Seanwhich" I had no idea what it was but I didn't care. I needed food.

"Okay squido," said the shrimp guy after I told him what I wanted, "What size do you want? We have Crusty, Super, or Galactic!"

My stomach rumbled.

"Galactic!" I practically sputtered out. I could eat a Kraken.

"Okey dokey squido!" replied the shrimp, "It should be ready in a few minutes!"

I waited by the window of the food truck. I was gonna pick up my order and get the heck out of here. I did not need to be recognized. The girl with the helmet stopped talking about her trip and started talking about one of the shops she went to or something. I still was not taking any chances.

The shrimp handed me my order from the window and I handed him some cash in return. I took off, practically running. I rushed through the streets past some confused inklings until I was sure I was not going to be within the proximity of that girl.

The downside of all this was that I had gone away from the square and into one of the backroads of Inkopolis. There weren't many shops here, mostly just warehouses and whatnot. That meant it was gonna be hard finding someplace confortable to sit at.

I eventually found a railing I could sit out and comfortably eat my lunch. The galactic seanwhich I had ordered was massive. It was some sort of double hot dog with fried shrimp as the buns. I absolutely demolished it. By the time I was done, I was stuffed and satisfied.

All right. What next?

I took the time on the railing to just take everything in. This backstreet was peaceful enough, not a lot of people here. So many opportunities Lots of stuff to do. This was going to be great...assuming everything went according to plan.

My only worry was how I was going to handle my appearance. I had serious reservations about wearing anything but a hoodie and sunglasses, especially after all the stuff that jerk of a girl was saying about me. I was going to fly under the radar for now, something I'm pretty good at doing.

As I was looking around planning what I should do next I saw a figure walking up the street.

It was a girl and she looked really confused, like she was trying to figure out something. She was an inkling with orange tentacles and a beanie. She wandered about aimlessly and carried a really oversized backpack. Like seriously, it looked like she was going camping or something with how much stuff she was carrying. I reasoned she must be new like me.

She noticed me, the only person visible in the street, and approached me. I panicked for a second and thought maybe I was recognized but the girl's face didn't reflect any hostility. In fact, she just seemed kind of shy to me.

"Uh excuse me," she asked nervously, "Do you know where I can register for turf war?"

Oh, so she was new after all. I needed to register for turf too. May be as good of a time as any. Perhaps, I could help her...

"That's a stupid idea!" screamed my brain, "What happened to staying under the radar?"

My brain was probably right. (I mean it usually is) This would end badly. Don't need to unnecessarily interact with people. That's an invitation to be recognized. Best to distance myself and let her figure it out.

But part of me felt a strange feeling of longing. Like I said before, I never really had any friends. I mean, who would want to interact with a hybrid? As nice as keeping to yourself can be, I can get lonely sometimes. I kind of want to get to know people. Perhaps if I was just careful…

It took me a few moments to realize the girl in the beanie was giving me an odd look. I realized I had been silent for at least fifteen seconds while I was thinking intently on how to answer what was to to the girl, a simple question. The girl just seemed even more nervous than before. I really couldn't blame her.

Okay, now I couldn't leave this girl behind. She was a nervous wreck. This must be scary for a girl like her. Someone had to show her the ropes. Besides, as long as I was careful, I would be fine. I was just showing her where the turf lobby was for cod's sake.

More importantly, I needed to make connections with people. I have to socialize at least somewhat. I needed to get on a good turf team and I it would pay later to be on somebody's good list.

"Oh, you're looking for the turf lobby?" I finally asked while trying to be friendly.

"Y-Yes!" responded the inkling.

"It's up at the square." I asked before adding, "You're new aren't you?"

The girl gave a subdued sigh and frowned, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Well," I joked, "I don't think many people carry such a large backpack with them when they're just casually walking down the street."

The girl stifled a small giggle. Good she was opening up a bit.

"Hey, don't worry," I said, "I just got here to."

The girl's jaw dropped. "You're new?" she gasped in disbelief.

"Yup." I responded with a shrug.

The girl's eyes reflected a tinge of disappointment at my response. Poor girl. It was so obvious she was trying to not seem like some wide eyed newbie. My relaxed attitude probably made me seem like a pro to her. She was just trying to blend in. You know what? I can relate to that.

"Hey," I said, "Us newbies gotta stick together, right? What's your name?"

The girl faced seemed to lighten up almost immediately. Maybe she wasn't expecting to see such a friendly face in Inkopolis? Maybe she was glad that she just wasn't the only newbie? I dunno.

"Penny," she smiled enthusiastically extending her hand in greeting, "It's nice to meet you."

"Mollie," I replied as I shook her hand, "Now, how about I show you the turf lobby…"

I lead Penny down the road. It felt nice to help a fellow newbie out. However, I still got the sinking sensation that I was already getting to close…

Oh well brain, you warned me…

Okay, a bit off topic, Mollie gave Crusty Sean money instead of a ticket. I decided to just ignore the whole gameplay mechanic of tickets for the sake of story. Sean's got to make money and doing work for random slips of paper you find probably isn't good for business.

Now I've decided to host an OC (original character) contest! Please send me an inkling (yeah no octolings because I already have ideas for that) character with their name, gender, and tentacle color. Just give me a few defining personality traits/characteristics and I may just add them into the story! Spots are limited though and I may make slight changes but please send me your OC ideas!

Anyways, Mollie looks like she decided to help out Penny...but was it the right decision?

Read, review, and stay fresh!

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