Alright now fellow readers, here is the third chapter to this story, as I promised you.

Now I don't have much to say for this author note, aside from the fact that this chapter will show the irony in the traded lives; in which Spongebob will be good at something Squidward is an amateur at most with, and Squidward is going to be at something that Spongebob sucks at doing. This, in turn, will result in some jealousy that gets triggered in both of them (more so with Squidward than with Spongebob), and it'll spark a déjà vu in Spongebob too.

If you all want to know how this is going to go, you'll have to find out for yourself. For now, just sit back and enjoy the chapter!

AT THE RECREATION CENTER – IN BIKINI BOTTOM:

Sometime later, at the recreation center, the clarinet recitals were already getting underway. A lot of the fish folks were attending the show tonight to witness the creativity that Neptune has bestowed upon them. It was then Squidward and Spongebob had arrived at the location, ready to get the recitals done and over with. The former wanted to watch the latter bomb the performance, while the latter graciously got prepared for his clarinet performance.

"Well, here it is," Squidward said. "The Recreation Center; where the clarinet recitals are taking place."

"I'll say," Spongebob replied. "And it looks like the recitals are well into the sessions."

"No doubt," Squidward snickered to himself. "Those barnacle heads don't stand a chance. Heh, heh, heh…"

Spongebob did not pay attention to Squidward's reaction. He was looking forward to getting his turn on the stage, and showcase his performance. All that he needed was the clarinet himself. Since Squidward still had the clarinet and Spongebob didn't, it was quite clear what he had to do now.

"Well Squidward, since I'm going to be performing in your place, I'm going to need your clarinet," he extracted his hand out. "Would you mind handing it over to me? I promise I'll give it back when I'm done."

"Right, of course," he grumbled before fishing out his clarinet. He was hesitant with it at first, but eventually, he handed it over. "Here you go."

"Thank you Squiddy," he took it with pride and confidence. "I'll give it back when this is over."

"Oh Spongebob, are you sure you can do that performance," the cephalopod asked. "You might not do well with your act."

"It's no problem-o," Spongebob brushed off. "Besides, I've already made it this far and there's no turning back now."

"If you say so," the octopus shrugged indifferently. "Just be sure to break a leg out there for me."

"You can count on it Squidward," he beamed, ignoring the obvious sarcasm leaking in the voice.

"Uh-huh, sure I can. I'll be out here watching your performance," said Squidward.

"Great! Well, here I go," the sponge stormed into the building with excitement, hoping that this'll go smoothly.

Squidward stood to the side, already getting the feeling as to how this performance will go.

This is going to be good. That sponge fool is going to tank this performance for sure. I can see it already. Squidward mused. This I gotta see, especially after the type of day I've had so far. I could use some laughter right about now.

It was then Squidward to laugh smugly, already anticipating the result that'll come from all of this, as he waited for Spongebob's turn to go up…

Inside of the Recreation Center, Spongebob was standing on the sideline, waiting for his turn to play. In the meantime, he was just watching the current clarinet player perform. The player was revealed to be a snazzy fish. The song that was being played was Tchaikovsky's Symphony 4, and to the young sponge, it sounded beautiful to the holes on his head.

Wow. That guy is good. Spongebob smiled modestly. I don't think I'll be able to top that performance.

Spongebob had some doubts about his clarinet performance, but at least he'll be able to have fun while doing it. Plus, this was for Squidward since he was playing out his life.

After several minutes, the fish had finally concluded his performance. Needless to say, the audience was clapping out of applause. Meanwhile, the judge was mildly impressed with the act. The judge was described to be a very fancy and shabby looking fish; an anchovy to be precise. He was dressed entirely like the typical rich class folk, and he even had the accent to go with it.

The judge was shown clapping his hands at the performance and expressed himself.

"I say, that has to be one of the most heartfelt performances I've seen all day," he applauded, speaking in a strong British accent. "That was a marvelous act you put on for us tonight, Mr. Charles."

"Thank you, sir," the fish known as Charles took a bow out of respect. "I was honored to perform for you tonight, Judge Phil."

"Splendid," the judge known as Phil ceased his clapping. "Anyhow, you are dismissed."

"Alright," with that, Charles got off the stage and made his way out of the building. In turn, the audience stopped applauding and went silent. They were waiting for the next person to go up, as the judge looked at his note board with the list of people to go on.

"Alright folks, it seems we only have one person left," he told them. "And the last person to go on for the day is…" Judge Phil saw the name and then deadpanned. "Mr. Squidward Tentacles."

This caused the crowd to start jeering and complaining, knowing that this is going to be a rotten and irritating performance. Truth be told, the people of Bikini Bottom never liked Squidward's clarinet playing, since he was always performing off-key. Because of this, the crowd always knew to bring ear protection for when the grumpy octopus goes up to perform. To prove it, some of them took out earplugs to block out the hideous noise. But before they could do so, Spongebob stepped up and got the judge's performance.

"Hold up people! I'm here," Spongebob waved his clarinet to show he's performing. "And I have the clarinet all ready to perform tonight!"

This got the crowd confused since this sponge looked nothing like Squidward. The judge, meanwhile, was perplexed by this as he raised an eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon," he quizzed. "If I recall, Mr. Squidward was taller, and he was blue. Not shaped like a sponge."

"Dahahaha. That's a good one, Mr. Phil, sir," the sponge then introduced himself. "You see, my real name is Spongebob, or in this situation, I'm Spongeward. And I'll be taking Squidward's place in the clarinet performance tonight."

It was then the audience gasped out of surprise. They didn't expect a substitute to take Squidward's place, so what was going on? The judge looked equally curious about this.

"I see," he tapped his chin with his pen. "Dear boy, please tell us the reason for this substitution, if you please?"

"Sure thing," Spongebob started. "To make it simple, me and Squidward traded lives yesterday as a result of a deal that we made upon a conversation that we had after work. We also traded clothes and houses. And because I'm taking over Squidward's life, I have to do all of the things that he does, while Squiddy does my stuff. That includes the clarinet recital. So I'll be performing in his place this time since I'm filling in for his position in his life."

As soon as he finished the explanation, the crowd was in a state of complete and catatonic shock. None of it makes sense. Why would an eccentric and optimistic sea sponge such as Spongebob have such an interest in taking over the life of a grouchy and apathetic octopus such as Squidward anyway? To them, it just didn't add up. Both of their personalities would most certainly clash with each other and cause friction and strain between the two. Yet Spongebob doesn't seem to be the least upset by it in the slightest. Even after he gave his explanation, they were still baffled.

Meanwhile, Judge Phil was also a little bewildered by this change of events. He felt that someone such as the young sea sponge in front of him to take over Squidward's clarinet recital to be a little bizarre. Nonetheless, he felt that there was nothing to object to that. Being the proper gentleman he is, the judge decided not to argue with the young lad. After all, as the old saying goes; the show must go on.

After several moments of silence, Phil finally found his voice.

"Why this is a surprise to all of us, isn't it," he expressed himself. "Fortunately, with Mr. Squidward Tentacles in dispose of, this young lad, master…uh, Spongeward will make a suitable replacement for tonight. Congratulations boy, you will be performing for all of us instead."

"Neat," Spongebob beamed. "I swear that you won't be disappointed sir!"

"For our sakes, I hope not," Phil muttered as Spongebob raced for the stage, where he climbed up and took the center stage.

The crowd, who wasn't expecting this change in the slightest, decided to give the sea sponge the benefit of the doubt. As such, they put away their earplugs, by putting them to the side so they can see how this performance will go. And then there's Squidward, who was looking pretty hyped about this performance that could bring down his neighbor's confidence and boost his ego. This was going to be worth it.

As Spongebob placed the clarinet in front of him, the judge had a look of curiosity in his gaze.

"And what might young master Spongeward be performing for us tonight," he asked him.

"Hmmm…" Spongebob thought for a moment as to what he should perform. Then he got the perfect composition that he was familiar with. "I got one! Tonight, I'm going be performing Symphony No. 5, and it's by Beethoven."

"Beethoven's fifth symphony, huh? Fair enough. A fabulous choice indeed," Phil was pleased with Spongebob's composition of choice. "Well now that it's been decided, you may start the performance now, if you wouldn't mind."

"Roger that," Spongebob nodded as he got ready to play. He positioned it like so, and was prepared to perform.

As he took a deep breath to blow into the clarinet, the others were all filled with different emotions. Squidward had a hyped look on his face that essentially said 'this is it'. Then there's the crowd, who was worried about how this performance will go, and whether or not Spongebob will bomb his act or not. They had a feeling that it was going to be terrible. Even the judge had a look of worry about how this'll go; a sign that he might regret the choice he made with the substitute that went up.

As soon as he blew right into the clarinet and started playing, everyone was expecting a horrid performance.

However, to their complete surprise, it was the exact opposite. The moment he started playing led to the last reaction that they were expecting. It turns out Spongebob was playing the song on the clarinet with such brilliance, and it was so extraordinaire that everyone was speechless at how incredible he was on the instrument. Some of the audience members were in complete awe at the sight before them, while others were impressed by the sound that reached their ears. Heck, some of them were even moved to the brink of tears with the sheer beauty of it all.

The judge himself looked like he stumbled upon a masterpiece for the ages. He felt tears forming in his eyes at what he was listening to. To him, it sounded like the most beautiful song to have ever hit the seven seas and was bestowed upon them by King Neptune himself.

Even Squidward had to admit that it was beautiful, as he felt strung to the heartstring resulting from Spongebob ingenious playing.

I…I don't believe it… Squidward felt some jealousy beginning to form. It's impossible. Spongebob can't be a better clarinet player than I am! He just can't be!

True, Squidward has played the clarinet fairly well on a couple of occasions. But those normally happen on his better days, which occurred only 20% of the time. So of course, seeing this performance would cause the octopus to feel envious with his ego deflating by the last thing he was hoping to see tonight.

The performance lasted for a good few more minutes before it came to a close. Once he pulled the clarinet away, everyone continued to gaze in an awestruck manner. This lasted for a moment or so before the judge got off of his seat and rushed over onto the stage. Now the sponge was wondering about one simple thing.

"Well judge, what do you think," he queried. "Was that performance terrible?"

"Terrible?" Phil gave him a bewildered reaction. "Dear boy, that performance was phenomenal! You were an astonishingly magnificent performer, young lad. That was the most beautiful composition that I ever hear."

"Wow. Do you mean that?" Spongebob felt like asking.

"By clamshells, of course, I mean it Spongeward," Phil praised him. "As we speak, we are all amid a musical clarinet genius in our beloved presence!"

This, as a result, caused the crowd to erupt into cheering, feeling honorable with being in Spongebob's presence. By contrast, Squidward started fuming at what was going on. It wasn't fair. That should be him getting that recognition. Not that square-headed kelp for brains.

Spongebob, on the other hand, was flattered to hear the compliments that the judge gave him.

"Gosh. I never thought that I would be so great at playing the clarinet," he said casually.

"I must say, you are one lucky clam to have such an incredulous talent," the judge informed him. "We were all fortunate enough to have you show off your potential talent with the lot of us tonight."

Once again, the crowd cheered as they all along with Judge Phil and Spongebob went out the front door, passing by a rather resentful Squidward who had a vein pop right on top of his head. It was then Judge Phil gave Spongebob a rather perplexing proposition.

"I must tell ya chap, you are an interesting fine lad, so I am making a request," he started. "Tomorrow, I would love to interview with you. The whole city of Bikini Bottom deserves to know about your magnificent talent!"

"Why, I would be honored if you do something like that…I think," Spongebob said proudly with uncertainty.

"Excellent choice, chap," Phil said with enthusiasm. "All that I require is your home address, and then I'll handle the rest of the arrangements."

"Well, I live on Conch St," Spongebob revealed. "My pineapple home is at 124 Conch St, but the house I'm staying at is 122 Conch St. It's the house right next door. It's dark blue and it's a tiki-stone house. It's not hard to miss. That's where I'm staying for now."

"Terrific! That's all I wanted to know old bean," the judge shook his hand. "I'll be seeing you first thing tomorrow."

Once more, the crowd started cheering. Afterwards, they diverted from the young sponge and went back inside. Spongebob felt the audacity to give his farewells to them.

"Alright, I'll see you first thing in the morning," he called out to them.

As far as Squidward is concerned, the grouchy octopus was having trouble keeping his anger in, but he had enough resistance to maintain his cool. Still, he was shaking while twitching his left eye. Spongebob was completely oblivious to this as he walked back over.

"Wow Squidward, didn't you see how amazing I was up there? It was remarkable," he gleamed in amazement.

"Yes," Squidward swallowed up all of his irritation for the moment as he had a forced smile on his face. "I saw the whole thing."

"That's great," Spongebob beamed. "And guess what? The judge wants to have me interviewed first thing tomorrow because he wants the whole city of Bikini Bottom to know about my performance."

"I know," he grimaced with that fake smiled on his face, bitter sarcasm leaking in. "That's terrific news."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Spongebob gave the clarinet back to Squidward. "Here's your clarinet back."

"Right," the cephalopod took the clarinet back and pocketed it.

It was then Spongebob remembered something. He was too focused on what happened as a result of the clarinet recital that there was something else that they have to do.

"Oh my fish paste," he cried out. "With all the excitement that's been going on, I completely forgot about how we still have to get that boating exam taken care of."

Believe it or not, Squidward remembered it too. He put his jealousy of Spongebob onto the back burner for now just to take this boating exam for him. The reason for this was simple; having envy take over while taking a boating exam would be a fatal disaster waiting to occur. So he swallowed down the lump on his throat and regained his usual expression.

"No worries square for brains," Squidward said coolly. "I will be taking your boating exam for you."

"You sure about that, Squidward," Spongebob asked with worry. "I mean you can still back out of the boating school exam if you are feeling stressed about it. I don't have a problem with it."

"No, no. I insist," Squidward refused to turn it down. "You took over the clarinet recital for me, so I think it's fair that I do the same for you with your boating exam. So what do I have to lose? It's only fair."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," the sponge admitted, rubbing his chin.

"And besides, I am not stressed out in the slightest," he shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be perfectly fine."

"Well if you say so Squiddy," the young sponge sighed before expressing glee. "We should get over to Mrs. Puff's Boating School since the boating exam will start at any minute."

"Whatever," Squidward gave his unenthusiastic responses as he walked down the road with Spongebob by his side.

As they were walking down the street, Spongebob couldn't help but wonder about Squidward taking the boating exam and the result that could come with it.

Gee, I just hope Squidward doesn't get worked up over all of this. It's just a boating exam. Spongebob thought. It's nothing to get so worried about. Heck, this is probably the only time he's going to do this for me.

With that in mind, the two of them continued to head to the boating school so they can get the exam done and over with…

AT MRS. PUFF'S BOATING SCHOOL:

It didn't take them that long, but they eventually made it to the boating school in question. And it appears that they made it just in time too. Currently, one of the students was taking the boating exam as Spongebob and Squidward approached the school grounds.

"Whew. Squidward, it looks like we made it just in time," the eccentric sponge panted in exhaustion. "We made it just before the exam has to be taken."

"So it would seem," the apathetic octopus retorted. "After all, it wasn't the first time I went to this boating school."

"I know," he decided to ask one last time. "Anyway, are you sure about this? You have one last chance to back out of all of this."

"I don't want to hear it Spongebob. I'm taking that exam," Squidward brushed off with confidence. "I can handle this. It's in the bag."

"Suit yourself," Spongebob shrugged. "Just don't get yourself worked up over all of this."

"Relax. I probably won't because to me, this will be child's play," said Squidward.

"Okay. But I'll be watching you from the side, alright," Spongebob called out to him as Squidward walked through the main gate entrance.

"You go and do that," Squidward brushed off indifferently as he went on through.

Spongebob was still uncertain about this, as his thoughts showed likewise.

I hope he knows what he's doing. He thought. Because this isn't the first time he went to this boating school.

Nonetheless, he just stood to the side and peaked over the fence to see the exam get underway while hoping for the best with his neighbor.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Puff had just gotten done with another student who had completed the boating exam. The boat that they were riding in came to a stop as they both got out. The student was a simple fish folk with olive-green skin, and wearing casual clothes. He wanted to know how he did on his exam.

"Okay Mrs. Puff, we've finished," he then questioned. "So how did I do?"

"How did you do? Well, congratulations Frank," Mrs. Puff addressed the student as Frank. "You have passed the boating exam!"

"I did? So that means I've…" Frank trailed off.

"Yes. You have earned your license," Mrs. Puff told him as she handed it to him. "Here you go."

"Neat-o! This is what I've been waiting for," he acted like a child who got his favorite toy for Christmas. "I can't wait to get myself a brand new boat-mobile! This is got to be great!"

"Right," Mrs. Puff sighed as the student left. "Okay, let's see who's left on the list."

She took out her note board and looked at the list of people who had to take their boating exam. She saw that all of the students have been crossed off…well, all but one, who was the last person on the list. It was the moment that Mrs. Puff was dreading for since the name of the last person was 'SPONGEBOB'.

"Oh goodie, the last person on the list is Spongebob," a hint of sarcasm came from the driving instructor's mouth. "I wasn't ready for this."

Truth be told, she had grown a lot of disdain towards Spongebob taking the driving portion of the exam. Sure, he was a fine student and a bright pupil for the most part. But Mrs. Puff's problem is that he always gets anxious when behind the wheel, and is vaguely responsible for a lot of the boat crashes and property damages that occurred in Bikini Bottom. It also led to her getting arrested several times for taking responsibility for the sponge, which caused her to feel indifferent about him. Nonetheless, because she was the teacher, it was her job to make sure all of her students took the driving portion of the exam, even Spongebob. So she had no choice but to suck it up and deal with it.

"Well, let's get this done and over with," she sighed dreadfully. "I just pray to Neptune that it isn't as bad as it was the last time he took the exam."

She then turned around to see someone coming. She had assumed that it was Spongebob.

To her complete surprise, however, it was not Spongebob at all. It was Squidward, and he was wearing Spongebob's clothes. This got the pufferfish all too confused by what she saw.

"Hey," Squidward greeted dully while approaching her.

This got Mrs. Puff to shake her head and get back on track.

"Why, this is a pleasant surprise. I was expecting Spongebob," Mrs. Puff confessed. "But you, you're not Spongebob."

"Do I look square and yellow to you," he asked rhetorically.

"Well…"

"Don't answer that question."

"Oh uh, anyway, who would you be, fine sir," the driving instructor questioned.

"I'm Squidward," he told her. "But I suppose that for this instance, I'm Squidbob."

"I see," Mrs. Puff then wanted answers. "Well in any case, what's going on? Where is Spongebob? And why are you wearing Spongebob's clothes?"

"It's a long story, and I won't bore you with all of the details," the cephalopod started. "That square rascal and I decided to swap lives with each other after a talk we had about whose life is harder. We also traded clothes and houses. And in addition to that, we traded jobs and tasks with each other. That sponge head already took part in my clarinet recital, so now I have to take part in his boating exam. So yeah, that's why I'm wearing his clothes and why I'm here in his place."

With the explanation all said and done, Mrs. Puff took a few minutes to take in everything that she heard. This was an interesting twist of events. She didn't expect the grumpy neighbor to take over the driving exam for the upbeat sponge. By examining him, she noticed that he was at least a competent driver. This could end up working in her favor after all. There was no need to panic over potentially crashing the boat into something.

After several minutes, Mrs. Puff decided to speak and share her thoughts on this.

"Okay, this was the last thing that I was expecting. But I'm willing to make this work and I'll go along with this," Mrs. Puff instructed. "By the looks of it, at least you won't be able to get us into a serious boat accident, like…him."

She had a sharp tone when she said 'him' to make it clear exactly who she is talking about. Squidward was quick to pick up on this and knew who she was talking about. He decided not to comment on it, however. He wanted the exam to get underway.

"Alright, let's get this done and over with," he told the instructor.

"With pleasure," Mrs. Puff solemnly agreed with him as they entered the boat. Squidward was in the driver seat, whereas Mrs. Puff went into the passenger's seat.

"Now I suppose you already know the steps of boat-riding, do you sir," she had to double-check.

"Sure do," he spoke in such a dry tone as he buckled himself in. "First of all, we buckle ourselves in."

"That is correct," Mrs. Puff made sure she was buckled into her seat. "So what's the first thing that we do?"

"It's simple," he said. "First I have to start the boat."

"Yes. That is correct," Mrs. Puff expressed awe as he started the boat. As soon as the boat was started, she then asked him. "So what's the second thing that we do?"

"Put it in 'drive' mode," Squidward answered as he set the boat into drive.

"That's right," Mrs. Puff was starting to think that this would go better than she thought. "Now what do we do?"

"Now we get the boat moving," Squidward then pressed his foot onto the gas break and the boat was slowly moving.

"Correct," Mrs. Puff sounded overjoyed. "I can't believe that this is happening."

"Me either," Squidward deadpanned as the driving got underway.

Things were a little slow at first, but the driving exam was going by remarkably well for the most part. Spongebob, who was watching close by, had taken notice of how Squidward was doing and that he was doing a flawless job with driving. Something about this made him relieved that nothing was going wrong with this.

Well, what do you know? Things are going swell with Squidward so far. Spongebob thought to himself. This might go better than I expected.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Puff was seemingly impressed with how the exam was going so far. It was a breath of fresh air that Spongebob wasn't the one driving the boat this time around.

Whoa my. It seems that Squidward or Squidbob is doing far better than I expected. This is delightful. Mrs. Puff thought, writing all of this down in her notes. I was pretty doubtful about this for a second there, and I'm impressed that he isn't anything like Spongebob in the slightest.

By contrast, Squidward didn't give a flip as to how well he was doing on the driving portion of the exam. He wanted nothing more than to remain focus and get this exam finished with. Aside from that, nothing else mattered to him.

After a good 10 minutes or so of driving, the test has officially come to an end. As such, Squidward brought the boat to a stop in the same spot it was in before. As soon as it was put into park mode, Squidward turned to face the overtly shocked Mrs. Puff, with one thing in mind.

"Alright, that's it for the boating exam," he queried. "How did I do?"

"How did you do? Why mister, that was remarkable," she felt enthusiastic. "I never thought that I'd ever encounter such a competent driver like you, Mr. Squidward. That was one of the greatest exams I've ever bared to witness. You've passed the exam!"

"Really," Squidward raised his eyebrow in bemusement.

"Yes, really," Mrs. Puff confirmed as she looked over Squidward's driving record.

While she was doing that, one could see how proud Spongebob was that Squidward passed the boating exam. It went by better than he was expecting. Words can not describe how happy he was for his neighbor.

It was then Mrs. Puff saw something about Squidward that surprised her.

"Huh. That's funny. It says here that you already have a driver's license Mr. Squidward," Mrs. Puff proclaimed before adding. "But I suppose it was a good idea for you to get it up to date before it expires. So here; this is a fresh and updated license for you, sir."

"Wow. Thanks for this," Squidward took the updated license for himself.

"No need to thank me. You've earned it." Mrs. Puff beamed.

"Well, if you insist," Squidward shrugged his shoulders as Spongebob looked ecstatic.

"My, my, I'm so overjoyed, I can hardly contain myself," Mrs. Puff couldn't hear it any longer, so she announced loud enough for everyone to hear. "HEY EVERYONE, MY LATEST DRIVING STUDENT SQUIDWARD HERE HAS GOTTEN HIMSELF A PERFECT SCORE!"

"HE DID!?" This got all of the Bikini Bottom fish folk's attention, as they all looked astonished.

Before he knew it, Squidward found himself being surrounded by the fish folks, where nothing but praise was being passed around. Special mentions go out to a cameraman who was a part of the media, and the news crew who was doing a report on Squidward making the perfect score on his boating exam.

Unfortunately, the site caused Spongebob's smile to fade entirely into a frown. This isn't what he expected. This was all vividly familiar to him.

Back with Squidward, he was getting nothing but praise by the residents. The jealousy that he had over Spongebob's clarinet recital had faded entirely for now, as his ego was started to grow again at the attention he was receiving.

"Squidward, I can't believe it," one of the female fish folks gushed. "You are an amazing boat driver!"

"Well it's like I say; it takes one to know one," he gloated.

"Squidward my man, I must request a photo from you," the cameraman told him. "I want to capture this for the news media to see!"

"Well, I uh…"

"Oh no need to be so modest Mr. Squidward, or should I say Squidbob," Mrs. Puff passed him a wink of encouragement. "You will be recognized for your accomplishment."

"Well when you put it that way," Squidward uttered. "I guess one photo wouldn't hurt."

"Good choice mate," the cameraman got a snapshot of Squidward with Mrs. Puff beside him, and it came out great. "This is a keeper. This was certainly a righteous photo, mate. This photo is going on the cover of every newspaper tomorrow morning!"

"Uh, I'm flattered really," the cephalopod gloated.

Spongebob was growing less happy by the passing second by this, for some strange reason. But it wasn't until the newsman Perch Perkins made the next announcement.

"Perch Perkins coming to you live at Mrs. Puff's Boating School, where I'm standing with a young Mr. Squidward, the Student of Honor who got a perfect score on his test," the newsman announced. "The student is in for a big surprise because he just won himself…" He paused as one of the crewmen pulled off a red blanket off of what appears to be a new boat mobile. "…A BRAND NEW BOAT MOBILE!"

"A BRAND NEW BOAT MOBILE?!" Squidward and Spongebob found themselves crying out; the former out of excitement and surprise, and the latter with shock and forming envy.

"WITH A HELMET TO GO WITH IT," Perch Perkins yelled out, showing the helmet that goes with the boat mobile.

"My, this is a pleasant surprise," Squidward boasted.

"You bet your bivalve it is, mister," Mrs. Puff got him to put on the helmet. "And now that boat mobile is rightfully yours."

"That's what I wanted to know," Squidward smirked arrogantly as he walked over to the boat mobile with all of the citizens accompanying him. The news crew provided him with a key to go with it.

Spongebob, on the other hand, was overcome by something he thought he'd never be struck by again after the whole 'employee of the month' fiasco: jealousy. To him, this reminded him of the time Patrick got his driver's license. From passing the exam, down to getting a new boat mobile. Not only that, but Patrick kept rubbing his license in his face; figuratively and eventually literally. That memory stood like a sore spot to the yellow sponge, and he can't bear to witness it happening all over again.

He couldn't believe it. He was originally happy for Squidward when he got his driver's license. But after what had just came up with the attention of the people and news media, and the new boat mobile, he was starting to have second thoughts about letting Squidward take the boating exam. Because the instance brought back painful memories, he was starting to regret his choice.

I don't believe it. Squidward managed to update his license and get a new boat, and yet I've never been able to pass my boating exam. Spongebob thought. I can't watch this.

As far as Squidward was concerned, he loved every moment of this. It got even better for him when one of the people informed him of something that was of sheer importance.

"Just so you know sir, this is going to be all over the news tomorrow," the one fish folk told him. "You have set a new record in Bikini Bottom boating school history with your perfect score!"

"Huh, well I do get it from somewhere. Heh, heh, heh," Squidward snorted before going into his typical laughing fit.

"What are we waiting for," another fish wondered. "Let's escort you out of here in your brand new boat mobile."

"Yeah," a female fish gushed. "You can be brought out of here in style in honor of your amazing driving record."

"My, this is going to be a great news report come tomorrow morning," Perch Perkins mused.

"Tell me about it," the cameraman agreed. "I'm going to get my money's worth with the photo I just snapshot."

"Okay people, let's get a move on," Squidward instructed.

"I'm coming too," Mrs. Puff insisted. "I want to see my shining pupil get the attention that he deserves!"

Everyone started cheering for them as a result. As soon as Mrs. Puff was in the boat, the boat started driving off with Squidward driving it with a good portion of the citizens and Mrs. Puff accompanying him. The remaining citizens that couldn't fit in the boat weren't far behind them, and neither was the news crew with Perch Perkins and the cameraman.

It only took a matter of minutes before everyone left the boating school, leaving Spongebob all alone to take in everything that just took place. Disregarding the interview for the clarinet performance, for now, the sponge was entirely lost in thought about what he had witnessed.

"Wow, I just find it hard to believe," Spongebob complained. "Even Squidward has shown that he has what it takes to pass the boating exam. Not only did he get a new boat mobile, but the news will be talking all about him tomorrow."

He just wanted to forget everything that had just transpired. Maybe going back to Squidward's house to dwell in a state of peace will do him some good. After all, it was Squidward who got his license, so what was the problem?

"I shouldn't let some jealousy get to me. I have nothing to be worried about," Spongebob sighed. "If anything, I should be proud of him for his accomplishment. He earned it fair and square. Besides, I need to be getting back to the house anyway. I want to think about everything that had happened today."

With the decision made, the sea sponge decided to trudge his way back to Squidward's Easter Island head to slump over today and starting to regret ever thinking that Squidward's life was easier than his. Regardless, all he could do now was just head back to the home to rest up and hope that tomorrow will be better than what today turned out to be. As he headed back, a simple thought had crossed his mind.

Have I been too judgmental of Squidward's life? I wish I didn't say that his life was easier than mine…

END OF CHAPTER 3…

Well, that's it for this chapter. It came a little early, but I still hope you enjoy it…or tried to at least.

Frankly, I've become turned off by this story and I'm not proud of it. I don't hate it, but the story has left me jaded, considering the origin doesn't appeal to me anymore. The part where their jealousy sparked was to show that there is something in the other's life that they are good at. It was supposed to show irony, but I'm not so sure if it's good.

Aside from that, I have no idea how to work out the next chapter. No seriously. There isn't much more to this story, and I have no clue how to end it. I'm all stumped out of ideas. It has nothing to do with my problems. But I just don't know how to handle the fourth chapter. I'm at a loss.

There have been moments where I'm thinking about quitting this story, and I'm considering it because this is one of the most difficult stories I've ever written. I have no thoughts on how the next chapter should go.

Nobody likes this story anyway. I'm pretty sure you guys think this is a shi-I mean a lousy story. And I don't blame you. This isn't a good story at all, and there's nothing to be proud of. So I don't blame any of you for hating this story and not reviewing it because it's terrible.

So if you have constructive criticism, I encourage you to have at it with me, because the story seriously deserves it. It's terrible. I probably won't get reviews anyway. No one likes this fanfiction.

That being said, unless you guys have suggestions on how the fourth and final chapter will go, I'm afraid this story might be stuck in this permanent limbo, or worse deleted indefinitely. I don't give a crud about this story anyway. I've lost interest in it.

So on that note, tune in again…or not. It's your call. All I have to say is goodbye readers, and I'm sorry that this story sucks. So long, and farewell.