Lily Pad Thai

"I'm home!" Jacob announced in a bombastic voice, slamming the door at his entrance, the war hammer on his shoulder, "Prepare a triumphant meal, for the valiant warrior and adventurer!"

"Hey, Jacob," James looked up from the book he was reading, "Welcome back. How did your adventuring go today?"

"Pretty good. Today a friend of Loggle's asked me to bring him some colored shells for his paints, and I not only complied with his request, but also managed to charge him more, because I brought him more shells."

"And how much did he pay you for them?" Sasha asked, stopping with a touch the TV serial she was watching on her phone.

"Fifteen coppers of cold hard cash!"

"Fifteen?" Hop Pop said, walking in with a glass he was cleaning on his hands, "Not bad, my boy, not bad."

At that moment, the clock in the living room rotated again, and from behind it, out came Maddie and Marcy, both of them with tired faces, but a satisfied expression on their faces.

"Hey, girls. How did it go with your experiments downstairs?"

"Very good, Jacob!" Marcy smiled, "We're well on our way to develop the Light Globe spell, and some of Skip's notes seem to suggest a possible solution to yesterday's problem. Oh, and Pepo was well-behaved, at least for today."

"I'm still not convinced about keeping that mutant pumpkin creature with you," James said in a concerned tone, "I understand the idea of having a lab animal, but..."

"Pepo is not a simple lab animal," Maddie intervened with a chilling look, "He is a sweet and gentle creature, and a great helper for our comparative magical and scientific studies. He may look scary, but he's not evil."

"Tell that to Sprig!" Sasha raised her eyebrows, "Every time he hears his voice, he tries to attack him."

"That's because Sprig betrayed him first," Marcy intervened. "He faked compassion just to push him back into its cell."

"And saved your lives, from what you told me." Hop Pop reminded the girl "Anyway Maddie, it's time for you to go home. The sun is setting, and Ivy has already left earlier."

"You want me to accompany you home?"

"No need for that, Marcy. I know the road, and I am quite confident in my self-defense spells. Rather, remember what we discussed early for our next session, we need a better fixing ingredient to stabilize the shield spell."

"Don't worry, master. I'm already on it."

"Guys!" Anne slammed the door as well, her face full of enthusiasm, "I have the greatest news in the whole world!"

"What?" Those present looked at her, while Maddie took the chance to leave. Even Sprig, Polly and Amelia (the latter two emerging from the basement, the former from the above floor) rushed to listen.

"You discovered a way to recharge the Box's gems?"

"You found an alternate way to return to Earth?

"You learned a way to have 5G in Amphibia?"

"Huh, no," Anne chuckled embarrassed. "However, I found a regular job in town. I start tomorrow."

"Say what?"

"For real?"

"Congratulations, Anne!" Sprig jumped on her.

"Where are you supposed to work?" Sasha asked, with ill-concealed pride.

"At Stumpy's Diner. Do you know the restaurant? There was an ad for a job as a waitress."

"Stumpy hired you?" Hop Pop asked in disbelief. "That's an unexpected surprise, he didn't look like he was hiring."

"Actually, he wasn't anymore." Anne confessed. "You see, the ad was several years old, as he told me himself. Yet, I told him about my good experience in the sector, and that my parents own a restaurant and I used to work there… in the end, he decided to hire me."

"Well, I guess we must compliment you, Boonchuy!" Sasha said, giving a side-glance to Amelia and James. "Now there are four working people with jobs in this house!"

"If you're trying to call me a deadbeat, Sasha," James replied with scorn, "Remember that I'm busy just like you. I help Hop Pop with the farm in the morning, and in the afternoon, I have my public workout sessions in Wartwood."

(…)

"Come on people, bend those knees. One-two! One-two! Chest out, belly in!"

"I feel twenty years younger!" Mrs. Croaker replied, as her pet spider cheered her on, "Kiddo, do you really think this is going to help me get back into my old shape?"

"That depends on how far you want to go to consider yourself "in shape", Mrs. Croaker. In any case, daily exercise is a great way to take care of one's health. Hey Wally, how about you? Can you keep up the pace?"

"Hey, it's fun! Even if you may be a monster, this work-out thing is a good idea."

"Loggle?"

"My body is all sore, but… My mind can relax from a day's work. I find this totally...enjoyable."

"Toadstool, what are you doing? You're not here to sleep on your belly!"

"Exercise is definitely not for me," said the mayor, panting, as he lay on the ground apparently unable to move. "And I just realized that I hate gymnastics."

"But then why did you join us?"

"I won't renounce anything that's free!"

(…)

"So far, your gymnastic lessons haven't brought a single copper in the house!"

"I'm not doing it for money, Sasha! I do it because Mrs. Croaker told me she wanted to find a way to return to her old shape, and other people decided to join. My payment is the joy that I bring to others!"

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde girl sighed, before turning back to Anne, "What about you? Is your pay good?"

"I get two coppers a day, and I start tomorrow at ten."

"Wait, at ten?" Amelia gasped, as she realized the issue, "But that means-"

"-we cannot count on you for lunch tomorrow!" Jacob said in horror. "Hop Pop's surely got better thanks to your lessons, but not good enough!"

"Hey! Don't forget where your caterpillars are buttered, young lad"

"Come on, guys," Anne said in worry, "Don't tell me I'm the only one in the group who can cook. I'm sure you will manage, eventually."

The next day, early in the morning, all three of the girls left the farm to go to their respective workplaces, Marcy to the Flour's bakery, Sasha's to Felicia's tea shop and Anne to Stumpy's diner, leaving Jacob, James and Amelia as the only ones to help with the farm work for the day. Therefore, as noon approached, and with it, lunchtime, Amelia, Polly and Sprig decided to take the matter in their own hands, trying to cook something good together. Unfortunately, none of them had any valuable experience with cooking.

"Huh, guys?" Polly asked, "What kind of dish are we supposed to prepare?"

"Just a small consommé of mushrooms, ants and beans with spices." The cone-hatted girl replied, "The recipe is quite simple: put everything in a pot with hot water, mix them together with a good spice, and then serve on the table. Maybe it will not be as good as Boonchuy's cooking, but is surely something we can cook on our own."

"Amelia, we have a problem." Sprig interrupted. "There's no spice left. Maybe we should go outside and get more?"

"We can't, there's no time left." The girl replied, seeing how the beans and ants were cooking together, "Come on guys, there must be something we can use for-"

"How about some of this?" Sprig gasped, as he showed her a bag full of black stingy powder. "Do you know what this is supposed to be?"

"I guess it must be pepper. Don't worry, we can use it!" The girl smiled, grabbing a generous chunk of it and dropping on the pot…only for the pot to explode all of a sudden, scattering beans, mushrooms and ants all over the kitchen.

"Kids!" Hop Pop rushed back inside as soon as he heard the explosion, Jacob and James abandoning their work as well. When they reached the kitchen, the trio found a spectacle worthy of a horror movie.

The kitchen was completely covered in a strange green-brown liquid, with abundant beans and mushrooms mixed together (and traumatized ants desperately fleeing), the wooden table had come loose and stuck in the wall, the oven was gutted, as if someone had detonated a bomb inside it. Sprig was pinned to the wall, Polly had landed on a ceiling beam, Amelia lay on the floor with a small pot (not the one they had used for cooking, now broken into several pieces) on her head.

"What the frog happened in here?" James was the first to speak, in disbelief at the scene before him.

"Huh, we wanted to surprise you," Amelia said, starting to speak without even removing the pot from her head, "So today, we tried to cook ourselves."

"W- what were you cooking?" Jacob asked in dismay, "A calorie bomb?"

"No," Sprig said, breaking away and trying to clean himself, "It was plain beans, mushrooms and ants with pepper. I had taken it from that shelf..."

"But that wasn't pepper! That was my stockpile of experimental black powder!"

"Black powder?" Hop Pop irked back at him, "Jacob, I told you I don't want that stuff in the house!"

"No, you only said to not keep it in Bessie's barn or in the basement. You never mentioned the kitchen. And I need a dry place to properly season it."

"Wait, that wasn't pepper? That was gunpowder?"

"But-but that, that means..."

"Yes, Amelia," James said chuckling, helping her to her feet, while Jacob helped Polly "Apparently, you three just invented horror cuisine. After horror literature and horror movies, I guess it was a mandatory step now."

"You also completely wrecked the kitchen!" Hop Pop scoffed, "Dang it, we'll need a whole day to repair it."

"I guess that means we have to skip lunch for today," Jacob groaned. After all the hard work of the morning, the idea of skipping lunch was not pleasant at all.

"What? No!" The old frog responded. "True, today's lunch meal is a bust, so how about eating out?"

"Wait," Polly asked, "Can we afford it?"

"Actually, yes." Hop Pop smirked, "Even with six more mouths to feed on a semi-regular basis, the earning we are doing with the tomatoes, plus everything else Marcy added to the farm and…other contributions," he looked at James and Jacob, "I can say our monetary situation is more stable and healthy than before. Plus, I don't think a simple meal would be enough to bankrupt us."

"If we are eating out, what do you think about checking out Anne's new workplace?" James suggested, "This way, we can see with our own eyes how her first day is going, and even give her some support."

"That's a good idea!" Sprig jumped in approval.

(…)

"Ivy, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it, Sasha?"

"Why is your mother in a bad mood today? You did remember to fix those tablecloths properly, right?"

"Trust me, this time it is your fault," the young yellow frog smirked, "She's in a bad mood from what you told her yesterday, about what happened after you found those secret chambers under the farm."

"But what did I say to make her angry?" Sasha asked rhetorically, mentally checking her memories in search of an explanation, "I simply told her that we completed the Family Shrub of the Plantar family-"

"That's the point!" Ivy said, as Sasha danced around the issue without seeing it. "You told mom that Hop Pop adopted you and all the others in their Family Shrub."

"Oh," Sasha grimaced, as her senses came into order, "I guess your mom doesn't like Hop Pop too? I know, he can be a little stingy, but-"

Sasha, mom is upset because she wanted to adopt you into our family first, but Hop Pop beat her to it, Ivy grumbled.

"-at least she's treating you better now. Changing tablecloths and folding napkins does feel less heavy and boring when you know you're actually training yourself as you do it, doesn't it?"

"Absolutely, Sash. Plus, now we have a proper training place to refine our skills and learn how to fight. I still cannot believe Sprig's family had a secret armory hidden under their house."

"A secret armory and a huge arsenal," Sasha smiled as she remembered Ivy's reaction when she saw her pink sword for the first time. "I guess your mom wasn't the only one to keep a secret."

"I still cannot believe mom used to be a top adventurer. Do you know there was a whole chapter in one of my books dedicated to Felis the Red? It says she was as beautiful as she was lethal, and that many adventurers tried to win her heart with no success."

"Are you doubting your mom's beauty?" Sasha chuckled, "I'm a human, so I cannot say, but I'm sure she had many suitors when she was younger."

"Sashaaa!" Ivy blushed, trying to remove such images from her brain. "I'm serious. What if one of those adventurers…turns out to be my father? I mean, I never met him, but-"

"You never met your father?" Sasha took a step back, flabbergasted.

"It has only been me, mom and grandma since I ever remember, but since grandma moved away a couple of years ago, it has been just the two of us. And mom…she never talked about her past."

As Ivy spoke, Sasha had a strange, repulsing and yet familiar feeling. Something on her told her that Ivy's father was not dead, at least not that Felicia knew, and the reason why Ivy never got a chance to meet him was due to something different. Divorces were not a thing in Amphibia, but…what about abandonment?

Did Ivy's father abandon her and Felicia when she was young, maybe before she was even born?

I feel like I need to punch someone in the face, right now, Sasha thought, as she tried to focus back on her work.

(…)

As the Plantars walked inside, it was clear to everyone that Anne's new workplace was very different from the classic imagery of a restaurant: The floor was all greasy and partially covered with greenish stagnant water; a strange green fungus was growing haphazardly on the furniture, tables, plates and food itself, accompanied by abundant cobwebs. Bodies of dead insects, judging by the smell in a partial state of decomposition and dryness, were scattered here and there around the place without any care, and created a strong rotten smell that permeated the air powerfully.

The venue itself seemed the epitome of decay and filth.

"Welcome to Stumpy's." Said Anne as she approached at that moment, wearing a large gray apron with a bib, and holding her hair closed in a hairnet. "How can I- Hop Pop? Guys?"

"Hi Anne," James said. "Table for six?"

"What are you guys doing here?" The girl asked with surprise, "I didn't expect you-"

"We had a little...problem with lunch," Sprig said with embarrassment, "Thus, Hop Pop suggested we eat out. Since you were here, we wanted to see how you were doing on your first day of work."

"Oh, I'm managing quite well." Anne smiled, "The place is a bit rustic, but you'll learn to love it immediately. Plus, it enjoys a loyal patronage."

Jacob glanced aside, to the others so-called patrons of the local: a frog whose soup was being stolen by a large rat (only for the rat to vomit it, indicating it wasn't good even for it); a skeleton with a spoon (how the frog did it even happen?) and Wally (sitting at the counter and snoring, an unidentified drink with a large slice of lemon on his hands.

"Anyway, a table for six? We do have one, please follow me. You're lucky guys: usually it's not this quiet."

If you are trying to lie in the hope of lightening the mood, James almost snorted, try to come up with something more believable. This is your first day here, after all.

"Here, make yourself comfortable." Anne brought them to a large table on the side. Jacob, James and Amelia sat on one side, opposite to the Plantars, "I'm sorry, these are the menu, but the text they're written on is way too small. I apologize for the rookie mistake."

"There's no need for you to apologize, Anne." Jacob smiled at her "So far, we all have good eyesight. Hey, what's the specialty of the day?"

"I don't know, but I can go ask the cook if you want. I'll be right back!" The girl smiled, hurrying away.

"Huh, Jacob?" Amelia looked at his cousin "Why did you ask her if-"

"I simply meant to give her a chance to make a good impression with her employer," The boy replied, leaning backward trying to get comfortable in his chair "Frog, I hope there is something edible for us."

"Hey, at least we are used to eating bugs, aren't we?" James said, before looking at Amelia. "Not everyone of course."

"Hey, I'm used to it as well!"

"You are?" Jacob asked in puzzlement, as Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly focused on trying to read their menus. "I remember that of us six, you and Sasha are the ones facing the most difficulties eating bugs."

"I'm not denying that I used to have problems, but now, I've trained my stomach and mouth to get used to consuming bugs."

(…)

Amelia was sitting in the kitchen alone, taking advantage of a momentary moment of loneliness. In front of her was a wooden bowl full of cooked insect pieces, leftovers from previous meals, and her cell phone.

"Slimy, yet satisfying." The young lion cub said, on the animated movie in front of her.

"Ok, I can do this," The girl put the movie on hold, looking at the bowl in front of her. Her hands moved to one piece of a bug, bringing to her mouth, as she ingested it.

"Slimy, satisfying…but still gross!" Amelia jerked to the side, fighting her instinct to puke. "Ok, I need to try again. Ugh, how could Marcy do it from the very first day?"

(…)

"I'm still trying to get used to it, but now…I no longer have problems with most of the bugs. In particular, I am used to ants now: they're crunchy!"

"So, you're turning into an anteater, aren't you?" Jacob joked.

"Jacob, you shouldn't make fun of your sister," Hop Pop reprimanded him. "What she's doing is proof of great interest and determination in her desire to fit in."

"I'm back," Anne returned with a worried smirk, carrying six bowls filled with unidentified green slimy liquid. "Today's specialty. Actually, everyday's specialty. More like the only dish of the place. I hope it's to your liking."

"Thanks, Anne!" Amelia confidently took a taste of it, only to stop all of a sudden, her expression filling with dread. She was used to Hop Pop's bad cooking by now, but this was even worse.

"The path of a warrior is filled with many unpleasant challenges to strengthen thy body and mind."

"You… don't like it?" Anne asked.

"Oh no, it's good!" James lied, trying to keep a straight face, "My compliments to the chef."

"Thanks, guys," Anne shrugged. "Stumpy may look a bit gruff, but he has a big heart under-"

"Excuse me, hello? Yoo-hoo! Is there anyone even listening in this dump?" A voice called from the restaurant's entrance. Anne's smile fell a bit, and turned into a grimace as she recognized Albus Duckweed, loudly trying to get attention in an obvious attempt at power play.

"Can you excuse me for a minute?" The girl channeled her inner strength, walking up to Duckweed. "Welcome, sir. Is there somewhere were-"

"A monster, here?" Duckweed commented in a disgusted voice, "Why am I not surprised?"

Don't punch him, don't punch him. Remember this is your first day of work, you can't lose this job already, no matter how much it would be worth it…

"Is there anything I can do?" Anne continued, as her mind conjured many vivid scenarios of strangling Duckweed, punching him in face, or hitting him with her tennis racket, "If you prefer, I can call the owner-"

"That's better!" Duckweed replied immediately, without giving Anne time to finish her sentence. "You'd better hurry. My time is valuable."

Anne grimaced, striving to keep her smile, as she walked back to the kitchen. From where they were sitting, Jacob could see that Stumpy was a sizable frog of light green-azure skin, with yellow eyes and wearing a greased white shirt with several stains all over it. He missed a leg (replaced by a basic piece of wood) and both of his hands, one with a large kitchen knife, and the other with a spatula. Plus, he had a crab's leg in his mouth and wore a greasy chef's hat over his head.

And the look from his eyes…it was clear that he hasn't seen any joy in his work for a long, long time.

Maybe this is why his restaurant looks so much like a dump? Like chef like diner, I guess

"Is there a problem, sir?" Stumpy asked as he faced Duckweed, Anne some step backs.

"Um, yes!" Duckweed replied with a voice full of smugness. "I know this place is a dump, and yet, I'm baffled how low you can sink! I mean, how hard is it to run a restaurant, anyway? You just have to put food on the tables. A tadpole can do it!"

"Ugh," Jacob irked. "Who's that jackass?"

"And why can't he shut up and let us eat in peace?" James nodded.

"Ugh, I know him," Amelia turned around to see. "That's Albus Duckweed, he was at the Firefly Formal, when Anne and Sasha tried to…ship Sprig and Ivy together."

Sprig looked aside. He and Ivy haven't talked about that incident since that day, but…how was he supposed to tell her he had fallen in love with her for real now?

"Blimey, it's true!" James realized, as Duckweed kept on giving harsh words to Stumpy and Anne (the latter simply tuning him out with an exasperated look). "He was the announcer at the event: what is he doing here?"

"He's a food critic." Hop Pop immediately answered, "He writes reviews on the various restaurants and businesses all over the Valley, and he's got quite a following."

"Sasha told me about him once." Amelia shrugged. "He's an arrogant buffoon, who loves to exploit his reputation for personal gains, and he's quite spiteful. He's a regular at Felicia's tea shop too."

"Huh, he thinks he is better than everyone else, just because he talks good!" Polly grimaced.

Jacob looked over at the scene, Stumpy silently listening to Duckweed's verbal assault with a lifeless expression, Anne struggling to keep herself from doing something… disrespectful. Even if that lizard guy was rude, she was an employee of this place now, and she couldn't assault a customer on her first day.

Luckily for her, Jacob was not an employee.

"Jacob," Hop Pop noticed the boy getting on his feet, a determination-filled expression on his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to give that guy a piece of my mind."

"Jacob, wait-"

"Young lad, sit back right now and focus on enjoying your slug gruel…"

Nevertheless, Jacob was no longer listening, and he walked in the direction of Duckweed, who was still talking without pause.

"-and the fact you could even consider taking such a monster as a worker further highlight the poor quality of this place-"

"Hey, dude!" Jacob spoke up, interrupting Duckweed, "Seriously, what's your problem?"

"Ugh, another beast?" Duckweed grimaced.

"Jacob?" Anne asked in puzzlement.

"Seriously, how hard is it? Let me tell you something lizard: running a restaurant is no joke. You don't have to simply "put food on the tables"! You have to cook them properly, coordinate the serving of every customer so they don't have to wait too long, keep your kitchen gear clean, keep the place clean and tidy, and many other things that may not be visible, but they are all equally important. Plus, until now Mr. Stumpy here was all alone! He was managing a whole restaurant all by himself, burying himself with work. Hiring help is a considerable choice!"

"Huh, what are you doing?" Stumpy looked at Jacob with a worried expression.

"Well, what do creatures like you know about running a restaurant?"

"Believe me, we do have an expert right here!" Jacob nodded at Anne "Her family ran a restaurant where we came from, and it's the most popular place on the block. And they deal with petty, big-egos critics like you ALL THE TIME!"

"Jacob!" Anne looked at him with a horrified expression, as two other figures joined them.

"Don't try to frame this as serious feedback!" Amelia walked to her cousin and adoptive brother's side. "We know you're doing this out of pettiness. This place was packed every day, and you reduced it to this after you gave it a bad review!"

"Hey!" Duckweed took a step back, feeling hurt by the girl's words, "My personal opinion doesn't affect my reviews! True, I might hate this place, but I never would make up lies. I always tell the truth when I review a place, and I'm proud of it!"

"So, you're not even bothering to deny it?" James spoke for last. "You admit that you are seriously attempting to have this place closed down, and for what? A pathetic attempt at power play?"

"I'm simply doing my work!" Duckweed struggled to resist the verbal assault, "Plus, you cannot talk to me like that. I'm a customer! I'm always right!"

"Joke's on you, we are customers as well!"

"That means you cannot take on the restaurant for something we say on a personal account!"

"And if the customer is always right, then you just conceded!"

Duckweed bit his lips, these strange monstrous creatures in front of him were clearly curb-stomping him in the verbal battle. He decided to cut his losses and walk away…but not before leaving a last, definitive menace.

"Do you think this place deserves a more professional review? Fine, I'll be back in a couple of days!" He walked back to the door, "And if this place will not be better by then, I'll write my last review and shut this place down forever!"

"Whatever you say, lizard guy!"

"I'm a newt!" Duckweed scoffed, walking out.

"Guys, what did you- what did you do?" Anne gasped, trying to understand the situation.

"Huh, we just gave that jerk a piece of our minds?"

"Really, Amelia? Because from what I've seen, you have unnecessarily antagonized him. Still, that felt good."

"Kids, what have you done?" Stumpy replied in shock, "That was the most popular critic in town. One bad review from him, and we're finished!"

"Well, he did admit he is trying to force you to close for a long time," Anne interjected, "Even if they hadn't confronted him, he could have come up with another excuse to do that."

"Plus, he did give you a chance. You just have to elevate the standard of your business, and your newest employee is the perfect person for this job."

"Wh- for real?" Stumpy asked, looking at Anne.

"Well, yes?" The girl responded defensively. "I did tell you when I was hired that I have experience in my family restaurant. That guy said we have to make this place better, and I have a couple of ideas how. It may be hard, but we can do this. I will help you as much as I can, boss. What do you say?"

For a moment, Stumpy looked at the girl (his first employee, his mind quickly reminded him). A part of him wanted to simply give up, and accept that his business was doomed. It was bound to happen, eventually. Yet, there was…something, in her eyes, that looked like hope. How much time had passed, since he last felt such emotion? Life had not been easy on him, but that did not bind him to crush her dreams as well.

Plus, he had nothing left to lose, by now. Even if he accepted her help, how could this get any worse?

"Meet me after closing time," Stumpy sighed, unbelieving his own mouth and words. "Let's see if your ideas are as good as you claim."

He walked back in the kitchen, as the Plantars reached them.

"Anne, did you just promise to save this restaurant?"

"In two days?"

"Alone?"

"Yep. That's, uh, that's pretty much what just happened. I know it may sound difficult, but I think I can pull it off. Plus, I'm not alone." Her gazes focused on Jacob, James and Amelia, making them shiver.

"Huh, Boonchuy? Why are you looking at us like this?"

"You made your bed, now you lie on it. Consider you three press-ganged until further notice."

(Stumpy's Diner kitchen, after closing time)

"Dang mushroom needs replacing, not that it matters anymore." Stumpy said as he walked into the kitchen, before noticing Anne, Jacob, James and Amelia inside. "Oh, you're here. I am surprised."

"Why?" Jacob asked, "Were you expecting us to realize the task was too abysmal for us to succeed that we'd leave?"

"Actually, yes."

"I even took the chance to ask around for info about Duckweed," Amelia added, with a worried expression. "That guy is a jerk, but apparently he never lies on his reviews."

"That only means we have to impress him!" Anne spoke up, "Anyway, Boss, are you ready to beat that critic?"

"You still think we can do it?" Stumpy said, almost amused, "Look, kid, you and your friends have carte blanche. Do whatever you want. It looks like you have your ideas set already."

"Thank you for your trust, boss," Anne said, turning to the others. "Ok, I guess the first point of order is a general clean-up of the whole place…"

(…)

To the other's relative surprise, Anne had good skills in knowing how to keep a restaurant clean and tidy, as well as directing work in the most precise, fast and efficient way. She even had a playlist on her phone that she used to listen to during a hard day's work cleaning and helping out at her parents' restaurant, fittingly named "Hard Work Montage" playlist. Amelia scoffed when she found out, but James thought it was cute.

The four humans quickly distributed the workload among themselves: Amelia took care of cleaning the floor in the restaurant's lounge (accidentally waking up Wally, who hurried to ask what day it was); Jacob took care of the garbage that had accumulated for a very long time (and fought some kind of square lizard, which feeds on garbage); James took care of the rotten bodies of insects placed all over the place and Anne helped Stumpy with cleaning a lot of leftover dishes. It was hard work, and all the teens were quite tired in the end, but surely, the result could be seen everywhere they looked.

"Wow, just by cleaning it, this place now looks much better than before," Amelia said with pride, holding her broom like a sword. The restaurant now looked brand new, like it had just opened.

"I got to hand it to you, kids." Stumpy walked out of the kitchen with a happy, hopeful expression he hadn't worn in years, "This place looks great now!"

"It took some effort, but I even managed to scrub the Wally out!" Jacob showed his thumb up.

"That's what you think!" Wally replied from the kitchen, causing a groan from the teenage boy.

"Well, at least I tried."

"That critic is going to be blown away." James nodded hopefully, only for Anne to shake her head.

"Blown away? No." She said, "Guys, I know we worked a lot already, but in the end, all we have done so far was mop the floors, throw away the garbage, and clean some dishes. This place is still a house of broken dreams."

As she looked out of the window, it was clear that the place, while considerably better than it was earlier, was still a dump. At least, on the outside.

"Harsh, but on point." Stumpy conceded.

"Guys, I know we did a lot already, and I appreciate it. But if we want to impress the critic, we have much more work to do. Cleaning the place is not enough; we need a complete and total transformation."

Jacob realized, from the girl's tone of voice, that she already knew what they needed to do, "I guess you've already planned this out. Right Anne?"

The girl smiled, before showing the four of them (Stumpy included) a blueprint with details on how to remodel the whole restaurant "Check this out. This is what we need."

"Oh." Stumpy said, as his eyes looked all over the blueprint "I'm going to need my hammer hand for this."

"I also took the liberty to write up a new menu with a complete list of all the new dishes, ingredients, and how to cook them. James, Jacob, I need you two to run a couple of errands for us…"

(…)

"Hello," Jacob said, walking into the Flour's bakery and being immediately greeted by a familiar dark-haired girl behind the counter.

"Jacob!" Marcy said happily, as she saw her friend/adoptive brother walk up to her with a smile, "Did you come to see me?"

"Yes, but not only for that," the boy chuckled. "I'm helping Anne with a project at her new job, and she sent me here to run an errand. We need the help of Flour's bakery."

"You do?" a gruff voice spoke, and an adult male frog walked from the back. "Oh, Jacob. Long time no see. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Flour. Here, I have a list of everything Anne told me to order at your bakery."

As Farine glanced over the paper, he was quickly to realize many on the items listed were dishes he had never heard before. Plus, they were in such a large quantity that they couldn't have been for a person alone, not even a family.

"What is this Rotti bread?"

"Actually, Mr. Flour, that's Roti bread. It's an exotic kind of bread; Anne wrote the recipe so you just have to follow it."

"But why do you need them in such large quantities? Is your friend planning a feast or something?" Farine looked at Marcy.

"Actually, the reason why Anne needs all these special breads is…"

As the boy explained, Farine's eyes widened, while Marcy looked at him in amazement, hearing Anne's plans to remodel and renovate the whole restaurant.

"-Anne is already taking care of the new menu, and she would like to add some related bread and sweets. Do you think you could take care of this?"

"I'll be honest with you, kiddo." Mr. Flour replied, "That's not a small order. Marcy, you think we can pull it off?"

"Absolutely!" The Taiwanese-American girl said in a smile, "If Maddie accepts to help, we can have everything ready by next morning. Plus, I cannot refuse to help Anna-Banana!"

"Thank you, Marbles, you're a lifesaver!"

"Actually, I have some ideas that we can use to help. I just need to check my spell ingredients, but it may be doable…"

(…)

"Boonchuy is already renovating the whole restaurant by herself?" Sasha asked in amazement, "And on her first day?"

"Well, she's not doing it by herself." James corrected his friend, "She press-ganged me, Jacob and Amelia to help her, since we were the ones that provoked that critic."

"Critic?" Felicia raised her head, suddenly alarmed by James' words.

"Some kind of guy called Albus Duckwweed. He was making an issue at Stumpy's, and Jacob intervened, but-"

"Duckweed?" Sasha roared with anger, her right eyes twitching. "He is the one Anne wants to defeat?"

"You know him?"

"Yup," Ivy arrived in that moment. "He is that guy who keep criticizing mom's tea and pastries, every time he comes.

Before James could ask for more, however, Sasha grabbed him by his shoulder, and pushed him to the wall, an expression full of rage on her face.

"Just the fact Boonchuy needs help is more than enough for us to lend assistance. But, Duckweed? I'll do everything in my power to show up that pompous jerk!"

"Whoa, whoa!" James pushed Sasha back, attempting to calm her. "We don't need for you to do something drastic. Anne said you just have to spread the word that Stumpy's is undergoing renovation, and that everyone should go and check on the inauguration day, tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Felicia asked, thinking aloud. "I guess we can do it. I will spread the word among my customers, and convince them to go and check. Stumpy's business and mine are not in conflict, so I have no reason to consider him a rival. Plus, I do like the idea to teach a lesson about humility to Duckweed too."

"Great! Then, I guess I'll go back to the others and-"

"Wait a minute." Felicia stopped James before he could walk outside, "Can you…do something for us in return?"

"Huh? Sure ma'am, what do you request back?"

"Can you simply book a table for me and my two… daughters?" She looked over Ivy and Sasha, who blushed a little. "After all, showing our support can be a good way to combine business with pleasure…"

The next morning, a large crowd was gathered around Stumpy's in wonder, their gathering attracting even more people who, intrigued, wanted to know what was going on.

"What are you all looking at?" Mrs. Croaker asked, approaching the crowd.

"Stumpy's changed overnight."

"Wow, look over there."

"It's so exotic."

It had been a long and laborious night of work, but the result was visible for all to see. Large lotus flowers, white or pink in color, decorated the pools of stagnant water surrounding the place; a large fountain (also decorated with a large lotus from which the water flowed) was placed just in front of the entrance, which now had an elongated triangular shape based on the concept of Thai architecture. Finally, large paper lanterns acted as both additional decoration and evening lighting. It was something no Wartwood frog had ever seen before.

As soon as the first customers entered, Anne greeted then, wearing a traditional Thai attire whose name was "Sabai" or "Pha biang": it had a long, green skirt with squared prints; a white, curvy, shawl-like robe, draped over her left shoulder; a chain of flowers on her hairs and a more elaborate flower bracelet, around her wrist.

"Swadi-ka" Anne spoke in Thai, while doing a wai salute, "And welcome to Stumpy's Lily Pad Thai! Wartwood's first frog-Thai fusion restaurant, now with napkins."

A few steps behind Anne, Amelia and James in turn made a courtesy bow. The girl was dressed in a long purple kimono, with white flowers along its length, a red sash at waist level, and a purple flower in her hair. The boy, on the other hand, wore a uniform similar in many ways to that of a valet, with a white shirt and bow tie, a brownish-colored vest, and ruby-red jacket and pants.

"Hehe, James has become a lobster," Jacob chuckled amusedly from the half-closed kitchen door. Unlike the others, he was the only one not in uniform for the service, but was instead dressed in a chef's outfit, a black apron in the front and a sash covering his hair.

Then, he opened the kitchen's door, letting the tasteful smell of the cooked food reach the entrance as the frogs entered the restaurant, holding a dish of curry with ants and fried rice that scented the air deliciously.

"Bienvenue," the boy said, showing off what little of French he knew, "Who's hungry?"

The smell of the delicious food, together with some peculiar incense and aromas (designed by Marcy and Maddie) and the grandiose renovation of the restaurant, outside and inside, were more than enough to convince everyone. In less than a few minutes, the restaurant was full, every table occupied by frogs intent on chatting or eating dishes, while Anne, James, and Amelia were constantly moving from table to table.

"Need a refill of fly ice tea? On the house, sweetie."

"Three servings of curry with ants and fried rice, here."

"Here is your Tom Yum Goong with beetles and lemon."

"Waiter, may I have another serving of Kaeng Lueang?"

"Sure! I will notify the cooks. What about you, Mrs. Croaker? Do you need help into choosing?"

"Nah, I decided to take the maggot larb. Did I say that right? Larb?"

"Actually" Anne intervened, "It's actually pronounced "laap."

"Well, how about that? One foot in the grave and still learning new things."

James smiled awkwardly, as he walked back to the kitchen. Inside of it, Stumpy and Jacob were working tirelessly to prepare the dishes to be served. It was tiring, but rewarding in its own way.

"Table seven wants another serving of Kaeng Lueang. Tables two and five want two servings of Khao Soi, two of Gaeng Daeng and one of Moo Satay. Table six wants the maggot laap. Plus, we are finishing Roti bread in the hall."

"Here you go," Stumpy placed three baskets of Roti bread filled to the brim in front of James, "luckily Farine has restocked us profusely. And to think I didn't think we would have needed so much bread today."

"While you're at it, here are the servings of Pad Thai you asked for earlier," Jacob said, serving four filled bowls, "Be careful not to spill them, lobster."

"Jacob, will you stop calling me a lobster?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who chose to wear red. And wasn't that what Her Majesty's Redcoats were called?"

"Instead of making fun of me, concentrate on your work, colonial! It won't be my fault if the dishes arrive late."

"Okay, okay, I get it...Alfred."

"Ugh!" James groaned, as he walked outside with the bread…

(…)

"I can't believe my own eyes," Felicia said amazement, as he looked all over how Stumpy's interiors looked like now, "Your friends did something…amazing, Sash!"

"Well, we did help them by spreading the word. Even so, I have to give it to Anne and the others: they impressed me."

"And the smell is nice!" Ivy said, licking her lips. "I wonder what kind of dishes they serve…"

"Welcome to Stumpy's." Amelia said, walking in front of them. "How can I…Sasha? And the Sundew? You're here too?"

"Of course we are, young lady. I think it's the best we can do, to show our support."

"Amelia, seriously?" Sasha scoffed, "A kimono?"

"Yes, it fits me beautifully and is very comfortable. What's wrong with it, Sash?"

"In a Thai-fusion restaurant?"

"Anne said it was fine. Also, have you seen James?"

Sasha and the Sundew's followed the girl's gaze until they saw...

"Is that a valet uniform?"

"And bright red at that, Jacob's been teasing him about it all day. Anyway, would you like to take a seat? James told me you wanted to reserve a table, so please follow me."

As Sasha and the two yellow-skinned frogs followed the kimono-dressed black-haired girl, the blonde girl was the first to notice that the table they had set for them was larger, much larger than for just three persons.

"Huh, Amelia?"

"You don't like it Sash? It's the best table of the restaurant: spacious, well lit, away from the bathroom-"

"I'm not protesting, but…this doesn't look like a table for three people. This is at least a six-person table!"

Amelia silently nodded, "Believe me, Sash, you're right about that."

What does that even mean?, Sasha wondered as she sat down, alongside Felicia and Ivy. A few minutes later, a new arrival would quickly be her answer.

"Anne, this place is amazing." Sprig exclaimed, as the Plantars walked inside.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were good at this."

"Oh, yeah!" The girl said with her voice full of determination, "Score one for Anne."

"A-hem!" James interjected, as he walked by, "Don't forget who helped you with this!"

"Soo…table for three?" Hop Pop added, moving the conversation.

"Ooh, sorry guys, but all-"

"I'll take care of this, Boonchuy." Amelia arrived at that moment, "You can go back to helping James."

"Amelia, you have a table for us?" Polly asked.

"Kind off. All tables are occupied by now, however I know one you may share, if the current people on it aren't opposed."

"What does that-"

It was then that Polly realized that Amelia had led them to a large table, currently occupied only by half, by Felicia, Ivy and Sasha, who looked at them with appalled look.

"Ivy?"

"Sprig?"

"Hopediah Plantar?

"Mrs. Sundew?"

"Amelia!" Sasha jerked up, looking at her, "What does this means?"

"Uh, I simply realized I couldn't block two separate table on my own, but after James told me the Sundew planned to come at lunch on our inauguration day, I guessed you would want to come today as well and so I figured out I could reserve one of the largest table and you could…share it?"

"Well, you could have least told us beforehand, young lady," Felicia spoke up first. "Is there a reason why you didn't warn us?"

"I wasn't sure the Plantars would come right today?" Amelia said in an embarrassed smile.

Hop Pop shrugged, "It's fine, I guess. We can return another day, or-"

"No way!" Felicia rejected the notion, "If this was a surprise for us like it was for you, it doesn't make unpleasant for us. I have no issue if you'd join us."

The Plantars, even if a little hesitant, sat down alongside Sasha and the Sundew. Polly was at Sasha's right, Hop Pop to her side, while Sprig sit together with Ivy, and Amelia went to fetch Roti bread and water for everyone.

"Do you know?" Sasha said as her expression started to turn into a smirk, "If it wasn't Amelia, I'd say there was another reason for putting us together."

"W-what do you mean by that, Sasha?" Sprig asked, suddenly nervous.

"Well, you remember the time Boonchuy and I shipped you and Ivy together? I know it was silly, and yet-"

Strange, the blonde girl thought, as she looked at Sprig and Ivy in front of herself, I was just planning to tease Ivy a bit, but…why is Sprig acting as if I busted him stealing from the cookie jar?

"Thank you for you kindness, Felicia…"

"I'm just doing this out of politeness, Mr. Plantar. I'm still upset at you for what you did."

"Say what? What did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did. You adopted Sasha in your family shrub!"

"Hey, I was ok with that!" Sasha protested, "What's the issue?"

"The issue is that I was planning to it myself, if you would have given me a couple more days!"

"What." Sasha said in shock, "You-you wanted to adopt me as well?"

"Well, you are already like an older sister to Ivy," Felicia admitted, looking down as Hop Pop and the others stood silent for a few seconds, "And while you still possess a rather nasty undisciplined streak, you matured and grew so much since we have met. I'd love to accept you as part of our family."

"Hands off!" Polly interjected, jumping on the table, "Sasha is ours!"

"Don't try to steal my older sister!" Ivy rushed, forcing Sprig to play peacemaker while Felicia and Hop Pop tried to control their own niece/daughter.

Wow, Sasha thought in a strange mix of weirdness and familiar warmth, as she was too overwhelmed to react, are they really quarreling for me? I have never experienced this before…

"Welp, working as a cook is exhausting!" Jacob said, as he took the chance to relax a minute.

"I've never seen this place so packed." Stumpy admitted, his eyes glazing all over the restaurant, every table occupied. "Even before Duckweeb gave that scathing critic, I never had such a… prolific day. Wait, what is the weird feeling I'm experiencing right now? I feel like…things are not going to be that bad, in the end."

"That, is called hope. If things keep going like this, when Duckweed return tomorrow-"

"You won't have to wait until tomorrow," a voice called, as Jacob and Stumpy's eyes focused on a lone frog, sitting right next to the Plantar's and Sundew's table. However, as his hands raised to open a zipper, he was revealed to be actually wearing a costume, and inside that costume-

"I am done here."

"Duckweed?"

"He's already here?"

"Didn't he say he would return in two days?"

"Oh no…"

At once, the four human employees (plus Stumpy) moved to his table, while nearby, Sasha, the Plantars and the Sundews perked up, suddenly alarmed of the unexpected event.

"I suppose you have some questions," Duckweed said in a smug voice.

"Well, actually, yes." Amelia raised her hand, "If you said you would return in two days from now, why are you here today already?"

"And what's with the disguise?" Anne added.

"Oh, they're both part of my critic strategy."

"Critic strategy?" Jacob asked dumbfolded.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. It's to guarantee that we get a genuine experience, you know?" Duckweed followed with an explanation, "If I had showed up when I told you I was coming, and you knew it was me, you would have probably taken special care of the food and service, to make it better. This is why I use a disguise, and I always come sooner or later than when I promise: this way, you are just going to serve me like you would for anyone else."

"Hey, this is a smart strategy!" James quipped.

"Have to admit," Anne nodded, "That's actually really clever."

"Thank you!"

"I'm more puzzled about how you managed to stuff your tail inside of it without showing." Amelia looked aside, "I mean, it doesn't look very comfortable."

"It isn't," Duckweed acknowledged. "Plus, the costume stings. This is why I don't use it unless I have to."

"So," Anne dared to ask the pivotal question, "did you like the food?"

"Oh, right, the review... actually, yes I did. Your dishes have a lot of potential as well as exotic curiosity, and the whole renovation of the place intrigued me. However," he said with an evil smirk, savoring the chance to crush their hopes, "I found the whole experience had no real cohesion, just one thing clumsily grafted on top of another. Plus, since I still have a grudge against this place, once I publish my review, this restaurant will be ruined. I love my job!" He said with an evil laugh.

Frogs, does he really thinks that, or is he simply using the poor cohesion as an excuse to shut this place?, Sasha thought in horror.

"Huh, will you, huh... give us a moment?" Anne said, walking back nervously "Just stay here!"

The group rushed back into the kitchen, starting an impromptu brainstorming session. The situation was dire, and they needed a breakthrough idea to turn the table.

"That's it. It's over!" Stumpy groaned, "We're finished! The second that review goes up, this restaurant goes down."

"I guess I have to agree with you, Jacob, that guys is a snake!" James muttered under breath. "Cold-blooded, poisonous and treacherous!"

"Come on, guys! We can still do this. I guess it's time for us to bring out the big guns. My parents' squid and basil special. No critic in town could resist."

"What?" Jacob asked in shock, "But we can't serve the squid. I'm not even sure if I cooked it long enough-"

However, Jacob's protest was cut short as Anne slapped him on the cheek.

"Ow!" The boy protested, "What did I do?"

"I didn't see that coming." Amelia teased.

"Jacob, it's our now-or-never moment! The best chance we have to turn the tables and get a good review to save this restaurant, we cannot waste it! WE have to be brave, courageous, audacious! Ok?"

"Huh, ok I guess," Anne slapped him again. "Hey! I told you I agree!"

"Sorry, sorry. I am amped!"

(…)

"So, what kind of tricks are you playing now?" Duckweed looked at James in front of him, showing his best "customer service" smile.

"No trick at all!" the boy replied, summoning all his British politeness, "Simply, in order to show you a true, complete experience before letting you publish your review, we've decided to offer to you one of our special meals, on the house."

"You're still trying to convince me, huh?" Duckweed replied "Amusing. All right, I'll play your little game."

"Wow, I hope they succeed," Sprig said from the nearby table, looking worried. "The whole place is at stake!"

"We can't lose it already!" Ivy said to his side, "Where am I going to find such good food again?"

"Felicia, what if before he publishes that review, that jerk gets…in an incident?"

"Sasha, it would be extremely impolite to kill a critic just to avoid a negative review. Though I'm personally tempted to make an exception-"

Just then, Anne, Stumpy and the others came out of the kitchen, holding up a huge tray and carrying it to Duckweed's table. Immediately, the eyes of all the patrons focused on it.

"What is that?"

"If I had to guess, Ivy," the blonde girl with a mischievous grin, "Anne just pulled out her trump card."

"All right, dude." Anne said, before lifting the lid and revealing the dish, consisting of a giant whitish squid, served on a surface of chard, "Get ready to be blown away."

"Wow, I have to hand it to you." The blond girl squinted her eyes, "Squids are huge in here."

"It's not a squid, it's a kraken." Hop Pop corrected her.

"A Kraken?" Was the girls' horrified reply. She didn't know much about Amphibia's mollusks, but her aunt once told her about the Kraken from Earth's mythology, an enormous squid able to sink large galleons and devour their sailors.

The fact such creatures existed in Amphibia made her feel worried.

"Oh, my...What an exotic selection."

Anne, James and Amelia winked at each other. It looked like they could change Duckweed's mind, at last.

That is, until the kraken opened his eye, and growled. Then, it grabbed the newt by his neck, and lifted him into the air, roaring with anger.

"Ok, I definitively didn't cook it long enough," Jacob said, his voice cold in terror.

"Assassinating your critics, I love it." Polly commented, before it moved to attack, grabbing the Plantars, The Sundews and Amelia as well.

"Help!"

"The meal is trying to eat us!"

"This is NOT a Japanese cartoon I like!" The girl in kimono cried out.

Behind the counter, Anne regrouped with Stumpy, Jacob, James and Sasha.

"Okay, this is officially a disaster!"

"Why did we have to irk that critic?"

"Why, why did I left my sword at the farm?" Sasha groaned, "I have a cool, pink blade that could cut through this monster, and I leave it at home?"

"Kids, calm down!" Stumpy hurried to calm them, "I guess we can't save the restaurant, but we surely can save all those people's lives. What do you say?"

"I say...let's crush this calamari."

"I've got an idea!" James said in realization, "Jacob, your war hammer! I remember you brought it to the kitchen earlier."

"Wait! Jacob, you brought your adventurer weapon to the restaurant?"

"Never going anywhere without it."

"I wish I had the same idea," Sasha scoffed.

"Ok, here's the plan: Stumpy and I will distract that thing. James, you and Sasha help with the evacuation. Jacob, we will cover for you to get into the kitchen and grab your hammer, then come and help us."

"And how do you count on distracting that thing long enough?" Sasha asked in worry. "Do you plan to spit in its eye?"

Anne glanced above, and saw the large slice of lemon from Wally's residual drink, "Actually, that isn't such a bad idea."

"Ready kids?"

"Ready boss!"

The group rushed out of their hiding. Anne grabbed the lemon slice while Stumpy got his tenderizing hammer hand and hit the kraken in its face, knocking him back before countering with its black ink, covering Stumpy and pinning him on the ground.

"Mm... Oh, that's good."

"Now, Jacob! Go!"

The boy nodded, running to get to the kitchen and grab his hammer, but the Kraken noticed him and moved a large tentacle toward him, missing him barely but also catapulting through the door, his landing ending in a crash.

"What the- MY SKATE!" The boy cried, as he realized where he had landed.

Yes, it was the skateboard Loggle made for him, and whose project made him start his work as an adventurer. And now it was broken in several pieces, a couple of wheels were missing, with no realistic chance to fix it.

Jacob raised silently on his feet, his right hand moving to the hammer on its own. Then, he looked back out of the kitchen, at the rampaging kraken.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your life, you oversized Cthulhu's reject!" Jacob hissed, as his eyes glowed yellow for a few seconds.

Then, he rushed out with a war cry, hitting the upcoming tentacles with powerful blows, knocking back its attacks. The kraken, realizing it, focused on him, and thus, gave an opening for Anne and the others.

"Pad See Ew, you later!" Anne said, squeezing the lemon and sending its liquid juice into the Kraken's lone eye, making it screech in agony as the lemon juice stung horribly, freezing Duckweed and all its prisoners by reaction.

It was the moment Jacob was waiting for, as the boy rushed on top of the creature and hit its already-damaged eye with the hammer, before knocking it out with a powerful strike on the head. The once-mighty cephalopod left out one last shriek before falling to the ground with a resounding thud.

For a minute, no one dared to say anything, or leave their hiding places, fearing it was just knocked to the ground, and would attack again. Then, Amelia walked to its side, and poked it.

"Ok, I think it's' down." The kimono-dressed girl said in the end. "Permanently down."

Everyone still in the restaurant left a collective sigh, realizing they were safe once again.

"So, Duckweed." Anne turned to the critic, with a resigned tone of voice, "I guess you got a bad review to write, huh?

"Bad? Bad? That was incredible!" The critic exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"Huh?" Sasha and Amelia almost said at the same time.

"A food that tries to eat you? The irony, the ecstasy! I have to tell everyone. To the message board!"

"No way!" James gasped in amazement. "We did it? We actually did it?"

Almost to dissipate his last doubts, all the frogs presents started to clap and cheer for their victory.

"You go, kids!"

"It was epic!"

"They're my adoptive kids!" Hop Pop said with voice full of pride and commotion, "They live in my basement!"

"Sasha, that was incredible."

"Hey, I didn't do anything, Felicia" The blonde girl said, a little embarrassed at her own uselessness. "I just helped James while Jacob and Anne went for the victory."

"And yet, you did much more than you were expected to do. Even if you simply had hid and waited for the fight to be over-"

"You were expecting I would abandon my step-mom and little cute step-sister?"

"Sashy!" Ivy went for a hug, with Felicia joining a second later. As the teashop owner looked behind Sasha's shoulders, she gave a smug smile to Hop Pop, who grumbled in irritation.

"Well, I guess we better clean this place up. Again." Anne realized, before turning to her boss, "Stumpy, I'm sorry about all this. Thus, I'll understand if you want to fire me-"

"No way, Anne!" Stumpy rejected the notion. "I admit it, when you first came to me, I hired only because I wanted to stop you from asking, and you looked like a nice kid after all. Yet, you and your friends did things that I didn't believe you would be able to achieve. You saved my restaurant, you brought back its success, and you even convinced this old grump to actually care. Frogs, you brought me back the hope and joy of my work! Don't underplay it, this whole thing was a big success If your parents could see this, I'm sure they'd be proud."

"Aww, thanks Stumpy." The girl smiled, "So, I am not fired?"

"Nope. Actually, I would like to hire you on a more…permanent basis, and I would like to listen to some more ideas of yours. What do you say?

"Put her there." The girl shook hands with his spatula-shaped hand "Oh, this feels nice. What is this? Oak? Mahogany?"

"It's carved from the bones of my missing hand."

"Oh, come on!"

(…)

"So, job is secure and Stumpy's won't go out of business, Boonchuy?"

"Yup, he even offered to hire Jacob, Amelia and James on a semi-regular basis." She turned to the couch, and the three teens relaxing over it, "The offer still stands, by the way!"

"Thank you for the considerations, Anne, but I have my adventurer job already!" Jacob was the first to reply, still grumbling for his lost skate, "Beside, you know me: I prefer to eat the food rather than cook it."

"Same," his cousin nodded. "Nevertheless, the kimono was cute, and the pay was good. So, if I need some cash and you have a booked day at the restaurant, you know where to find me."

"I have my own things," James spoke for last, "but if you accept a part-timer, I'm in."

"I can't believe I missed it all!" Marcy sighed, looking down at her journal. "Anna-Banana, you fought a kraken?"

"After she tried to serve it as cuisine," Sasha noted. "We all did something. Besides, I am sure you and Maddie had an adventure on your own, didn't you?"

"Well, we may have had a small run-down with an experimental beetle-monster which Maddie, Pepo and I had to defeat…"