The alarm went off, startling SpongeBob awake, and he slapped the off button, his ears ringing. Then he remembered what day it was. He got out of bed and walked slowly to the shower to begin his routine. After bathing, he got dressed in his work clothes and fed Gary. Mr. Krabs had asked if he would be okay to work a half day that day, but he wanted him to come in early to discuss something with him. Squidward had been given the same instructions, and SpongeBob wondered what it was about. Maybe a new menu item? Those were always exciting.
SpongeBob went downstairs to see Patrick was there already, making breakfast. Stepping into the kitchen, he inhaled the delicious scent of hot food. He was actually hungry, which was a good thing because he loved Patrick's cooking.
"Morning," Patrick said when he noticed him. "It'll be ready soon."
"Have you fed Gary?"SpongeBob asked.
"Not yet."
"I'll get him."
SpongeBob opened the pantry to get snail food and was startled to see that it was full.
"Where did all this come from?" he asked.
"Huh?" Patrick glanced over. "Oh, Mr. Krabs bought you some groceries. I think I picked out the stuff you like."
SpongeBob bit his bottom lip. "Ah… okay then."
As he fed Gary, SpongeBob wondered how much he owed Mr. Krabs. It was a lot of food. Maybe he'd just take it from his check? But then he wouldn't have money for groceries in the future. Worry wriggled in his gut all during breakfast. His bills hadn't come in, and he knew he was behind, and now that he owed Mr. Krabs, he was pretty sure he'd have to ask his grandmother for a bit of assistance. He hated to do that, but she never refused him.
There was a knock on the door, and Patrick went to answer it. Squidward stood there, wearing his work hat and name tag.
"Ready to head in?" Squidward asked.
"Yep! Just let me grab my hat," SpongeBob said. "Thanks for breakfast, Patrick. See you after work."
"I'm going to come in once the Krusty Krab is open. I want a Krabby Patty," Patrick said.
"Then I'll make you a really good one," SpongeBob proclaimed, heading out the door.
SpongeBob walked slower than usual, but he was no longer depressed. Squidward plodded along beside him, grateful for the slow pace. He finally glanced over.
"Will this be a Best Day Ever?" he asked casually.
SpongeBob looked up into the sky and considered this. "Not sure. I don't think Wily's gone home yet. He wasn't going to be released for another day or two. He took the vinegar real bad."
"But it could be?" Squidward probed.
SpongeBob grinned at his neighbor. "Why Squidward! Do you actually want me to have another Best Day Ever?"
Squidward grew flustered. "No! Of course not!" He paused then looked away. "I get it now. Why you always say that."
SpongeBob flinched and looked at his feet. "I guess you did read it."
"Yeah. I did." He hesitated. "I'm sorry if it made you angry. I just thought it was another scrapbook full of jellyfishing pictures or something. But when I read part of it, I knew it wasn't. I should have put it back."
SpongeBob swallowed and rubbed his arm. "I guess I don't mind too much since it's you. You're one of my best friends. I told Patrick last night. But please don't tell anybody else what I wrote."
"I, ah, told Mr. Krabs and Sandy the basics already," Squidward muttered, suddenly embarrassed.
"Basics meaning?" SpongeBob asked tightly.
"I told them that you and Wily were friends and then he put you in the hospital several times and nobody believed you."
"And?"
"And that's why you ended up here so young."
"That's it?" SpongeBob asked.
"Yeah. It's not my story to tell. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm… I'm sorry," he muttered quietly.
SpongeBob glanced up and smiled shyly as the Krusty Krab came into view. "I don't mind that."
Squidward smiled in relief then scowled again as they got to the doors. "Only a half day but we're still here on time."
SpongeBob laughed, pulling open the door. "That's not so bad," he said.
"Yeah? Well I bet we're not getting paid for getting here," Squidward complained.
"Money isn't everything," SpongeBob said. Then he noticed their boss.
Mr. Krabs was at the cash register, and he had clearly heard what SpongeBob just said. But instead of lauding the praises of money like he normally would have, he actually grimaced and looked pained.
"We're here," Squidward said.
"Good. Clock in and come to me office," Mr. Krabs said. He finished up the cash register as Squidward stared at him.
"You… want us to clock in?"
"You're here, you're getting paid," Mr. Krabs said shortly. "Go on."
Squidward was the first to clock in, shocked by this turn of events. But still, his mother taught him to never looked a gift seahorse in the mouth. SpongeBob giggled at the crisp crunch as the old machine marked down his time, then they both headed into the office. Mr. Krabs had three folders on his desk. Squidward shut the door when Mr. Krabs waved at it, and then the two employees stood in front of him. Mr. Krabs tapped at the desk with one claw then spoke.
"It has come to me attention that I haven't been paying you fairly, boyos. So I've adjusted things. Here are your new rates."
Squidward fought back a groan as he took the folder and opened it, wondering how much he was being docked. He nearly shouted when he saw that he was getting paid more. A decent amount more. He looked up at Mr. Krabs as if he'd lost his mind. But SpongeBob spoke before he could.
"I think there's been a mistake, sir," he said politely. "You've got my pay wrong."
"Nope. That's right," Mr. Krabs said tersely. "I've adjusted for cost of living as well as your time here and your manager title."
SpongeBob laughed nervously. "You're funny, Mr. Krabs. This is a joke, right?"
Mr. Krabs actually flinched and looked at his desk, his expression almost angry. While Squidward had been about to ask the same question, he knew he'd have gotten a very different reaction.
"No. No joke," he said quietly. "And I owe you boys an apology. Money is sensitive to me because I never had enough as a zoea. I know what it means to not have enough. I never meant to do that to you."
Squidward was puzzled by this. He'd always had enough, but then he saw Mr. Krabs look at SpongeBob, and he realized that SpongeBob must have been struggling financially. It was clearly enough for Mr. Krabs to notice and care. Squidward snapped the folder shut.
"Thank you, sir," he said.
"You two do good work here, and you should be paid accordingly. Now, Mr. Squidward, go and make sure everything is shipshape. I need to talk to SpongeBob alone."
Squidward nodded and headed out into the restaurant. SpongeBob looked very nervous.
"Thank you for the groceries, sir," he said, then he swallowed. "How much do I owe you?"
Mr. Krabs peered at him then slid over the other folder. SpongeBob's fingers shook a little as he opened the folder and saw, to his great astonishment, the bills that he'd been waiting for. There were numbers jotted onto the page, and he looked up.
"Where did you get this?"
"Your mailbox," Mr. Krabs said. "I paid everything off. You're all caught up."
SpongeBob grasped the desk as his legs went weak. "I can't pay you that much," he said. "I-I can't afford to owe you, sir." Tears filled his eyes and he looked frightened.
"Owe me? I owed you," Mr. Krabs said.
"What?"
"Consider this as back payment from your working as a manager," Mr. Krabs said. "And for all those raises you should have gotten but never asked for."
SpongeBob swallowed and swiped at his eyes. "So how much do I owe you?"
Mr. Krabs looked pained again. "A good day's work, boyo. You don't owe me anything. You should never have been put in that position. And I'm sorry."
SpongeBob was touched and overwhelmed with gratitude. He shut the folder and looked up. There was nothing he could say to express himself. "Thank you, sir. Should I go help Squidward now? I'd be happy to."
"Not quite yet. We need to set up a time for me to come and help you with a budget."
"Budget?"
Mr. Krabs nodded. "Budgetin' is important, me boy. I'll come over and work with you on it. You'll want to save some, figure out how much you have to spend on bills, and put aside some to spend on yourself."
SpongeBob thought about this. "You'll help me?" he asked.
"Yep."
The sponge grinned. "Then I'll be money savvy like you!"
"I hope you're never like me when it comes to money, lad. But I will help you sort things out. Now I have a project for us to do if you feel up to it. Then we'll open at eleven for lunch. We'll only do lunch today. Don't want me best fry cook to get too tired. I have a feelin' you're sick of hospitals and don't want to go back so soon."
SpongeBob made a face. "I'd prefer not to."
Mr. Krabs stood up from his desk. "Then let's get started. Put those files in your locker. Don't want to lose them."
SpongeBob obeyed then he and Sauidward worked with their boss to shift the tables around. When they were done, it looked more open, and that was after they'd added a few extra tables. They were pleased with the work, but there was no time for a break before opening. SpongeBob headed into the kitchen and did his prep work with his usual speed and skill. He had a smile on his face as he heard Mr. Krabs greet the first customers. Then he got to work.
The work day went by quickly, and it was pretty busy as all the regulars came in to check on SpongeBob. They closed at three, and SpongeBob was rather sad that Patrick hadn't made it. He hadn't received any of his usual orders. But he'd looked so eager to have a Krabby Patty that SpongeBob considered buying an extra one for him. Then Squidward turned around.
"Two more. Then make me and Mr. Krabs something. And whatever you want."
As soon as he read the order slips, he knew why he was working past closing time. He quickly made the five orders, handing four of them through the window before coming out to see if he was right. He was. Sandy and Patrick were lounging at a table, and Mr. Krabs was settling in beside them. Squidward grabbed his food and headed for the table, SpongeBob following. He paused before he sat down and looked fondly at his friends. Sandy noticed.
"What are ya starin' at?" she asked.
"My friends," SpongeBob replied.
Squidward rolled his eyes but the others grinned as SpongeBob sat down. He suddenly realized how tired he was and wilted a bit.
"You okay?" Patrick asked.
"I'm tired," SpongeBob admitted. "I don't think I mind only working a half day today. I need to sit down for awhile."
"We'll head to your house after lunch," Patrick said. "They're having a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy marathon this evening."
SpongeBob lit up. "Ooh, I can't wait!"
"Why do you like that stupid show?" Squidward asked.
SpongeBob hesitated. "Because Wily liked the show." Everybody stilled.
"What?" Patrick asked.
"Yeah, he introduced me to the show," SpongeBob said, popping a kelp fry in his mouth. "We used to play that we were superheroes. Wily would be Vapor, with the power to send out poison and incapacitate the bad guys. I was immune, of course, because we were best friends, and I would tie them up when they went down." He paused and sighed, swiping at a tear. "I know it's stupid, but I miss him. You know, when he was my friend, not all the bad stuff. We did everything together. I wish I knew for sure what changed. Because something did, and I think that something was really bad."
"You don't know that," Squidward said.
SpongeBob shrugged, but he didn't say anything else about Wily. They turned to lighter subjects as they finished eating, then Squidward went back to wash the dishes as SpongeBob was forcibly clocked out and sent home with Patrick. Patrick chatted with him about jellyfishing, and the walk was slow but pleasant. He looked forward to the marathon, and he was excited to get home. At least he was until he saw who was sitting outside his house.
