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“Roll call.” Marie said in a slightly louder voice than usual
An octoling, manta ray, and an inkling lined up.
“Shiver?”
“Present!” The octoling opened her fan and waved it in front of her face.
“Alright. Big Man?”
“Ay!” (“Also present!”) The manta waved his fins up and down.
“Mhm. Frye?”
“Ughhh!!! Why do you need to do this every time? You can clearly see that we’re here!” The inkling groaned, putting her hands on her waist as she got out of the line.
“It’s protocol. So as I said. Frye?” She repeated in a more stern tone.
“Hhhhhh… fine… Here.” She looked away with a hint of annoyance before getting back in line.
“Great. You’re all here. That means we can begin.” Marie closed her umbrella and put it to the side.
It’s been a few months since Deep Cut self-assigned Marie to be their boss. Although it would be a decision they would kind of regret- The former idol was a no-nonsense kind of woman. Despite her tired and uncaring face, she made sure everything was in order and done properly, and if you knew a tiny bit about the members of Deep Cut, you would know “order” and “done properly” aren't in their vocabulary- Well, except for one. The member of the Manta Clan, Big Man.
The manta ray was always the least chaotic out of his three fellow bandmates. He was the one to stop the other two from fighting or trying to be the middle ground in their tiny arguments. That’s not to say he didn’t have his moments of craziness! He was competitive, he would occasionally add himself to the other’s small argument, and of course, he participated in every heist the group would go on! Even before Marie became their boss, he was the main member to be on top of his work, but now, his work proficiency has increased dramatically! He was even offering to do tiny things for the boss and her assistant! From getting them drinks to opening doors for them. Frye has noticed but she couldn’t place a finger on why he’s working so hard now…
“Hey, Shiv?” Frye called out, stopping mid-action of picking up a box.
“Mhm? Yeah, Frye?” Shiver answered.
“Have you noticed it too?”
“Huh? Noticed what?” She tilted her head slightly, curious as to what the inkling could be talking about.
“I’m talking about Big! Haven’t you noticed he’s been putting way more effort into his work than as of late?”
Shiver didn’t understand what Frye was talking about until she turned her head and saw the manta trying to pick up more boxes than he could carry.
“Huh. You’re right. I wonder why…” The octoling asked putting a finger on her chin.
“Hmmm… You think he’s trying to suck up to the boss and her assistant so he can get a raise?!” Frye asked with widened eyes.
“You could be right… but don’t you think he would’ve told us if he was doing that? He’s not the type to leave his friends out of a potential raise.”
“That’s what he wants you to think! You don’t know what he could be scheming! We should try to one-up him before he can one-up us!” Frye pointed to the sky.
“You know what… Instead of jumping to conclusions, how about we just ask him?”
“Mmmm, fine...” The inkling signed. She put her hand down and crossed her arms.
“Good! Now help me with these boxes.”
The two continued to work while the big manta filled his fin with boxes. Time passed and most of the boxes that needed to be moved were moved. There were only a few remaining. Shiver went over to pick it up but Big Man was quicker in grabbing.
“Ay! Ay.” (“Don’t worry Shiver! I got it”) The manta bent down and picked up the box.
“Oh, you got it, huh? You really want that raise, huh?” Frye popped up from behind with her hands on hips, eyebrows furrowed.
“Ay? Ay…” (“Huh? What are you talking about…”)
“You know exactly what I’m talking about! You’re sucking up to the boss so she can give you a raise!”
“Ay…” (“Thats…”)
Shiver walked behind Frye, placing a hand on her shoulder and chuckling nervously.
“What Frye is trying to say… You’ve been working yourself pretty hard these last few days…”
“Yeah! You even went with the assistant lady to help her with shopping! What’s up with that?” Frye interrupted.
“Frye… Basically, we’re trying to figure out why. I don’t have a theory but Frye here thinks you’re trying to play lapdog so you can get a raise.”
Big Man looked at the two inkfish. Shiver looked curious while Frye looked annoyed. The manga placard the box down and sighed.
“Ay… Ay.” (“It is true… I have been working a bit harder these last weeks, but it’s not because I want a raise.”)
“Then what is it?” Shiver asked.
“Ay…” (“The truth is…”) He turned his body slightly as a blush grew on his face.
“Yesssss?” Frye stepped in close, anticipating the answer.”
“Ay!” (“I have a crush on the boss’s assistant Callie!”) He said, using his fins to cover his blushing face.
The two idols looked at each other. Then they looked back at Big Man. Then themselves again… and then the manta one last time.
“WHHHAAAAATTTT???!!!!” They both shouted simultaneously. That was the last thing they expected to hear.
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“So… You were doing all this work so you could appease both the boss Marie and assistant Callie?” Shiver asked. Sat down on a box, Big Man nodded.
“By helping assistant Callie with her task, you would get her to like you and by doing more work, you would get boss Marie’s approval. Am I following this correctly?” Shiver added and the manta nodded again.
“Hmmm… I don’t get it… I mean, I understand helping out Callie if you like her, but why give yourself more work? Why do you gotta get the boss’s approval? Frye asked.
“Ay… Ay… Ay. Ay.” (“Well… I wanted boss Marie’s approval because I was actually… thinking about confessing to her today. I thought if I worked hard, boss Marie would approve of us.”) The blush grew as he twiddled with his fins.
“Woah! For eel?” Frye’s eyes widened.
“Huh. That’s quite sudden, don’t you think?” Shiver added.
“Ay. Ay!” (“You’re right. But I feel like if I don’t tell her now, I don’t know if I’ll even be able to again!”) Big Man stood up.
“Hm. I can’t say for sure how she’ll react. This will basically be like dating your employee… Regardless, I wish you luck Big!” Shiver gave a bright, reassuring smile.
“Yeah Big! You can do it!” Frye raised a fist in the air and gave the same reassuring smile. Big Man smiled in response.
“Ay. Ay! “Thank you, guys. The next time I see assistant Callie, I’ll tell her!” Big Man was confident! That was until…
“Tell me what?” Callie appeared.
“AY!” (“AY!”) The manta turned around and saw the inkling standing behind him with hands behind her back. He was sweating bullets while she was just standing there curious and a bit confused. He couldn’t move…
Fortunately, one of the other Deep Cut members came to his aid!
“Hello, Assistant Callie! Might I ask what you’re doing here?” Shiver clasped her hands together and stepped in front of the manta.
“Oh! Well, Marie asked me to check in with you guys! Though, it looks like you guys are already done, but… is Big Man alright? He’s sweating a lot…” Callie looked over and up at the manga ray who was frozen in place.
“Big? Oh, he’s fine! Don’t worry about him, he just needs to-“
“Hey, assistant lady! Big has something he wants to tell yooouuuu~” Frye jumped in, interrupting Shiver with a chuckle. The octoling turned around and glared at the inkling.
“I did hear you say you were gonna tell me something when I walked in…” Callie said, placing a finger on her cheek.
“Ayyyyy…” (“Uhhhhh…”) His face was red and his eyes darted across the room. He didn’t know what to say… No, he did know, but he couldn’t!
“Big? Are you okay?” Callie walked around the octoling and tried to place a hand on him but suddenly, the manta covered his face with his fins and ran out into the snowy outside.
“AYAYAY!” (“I’MSORRYBUTIHAVETOGO!”) He shouted as he ran off into the distance.
Callie stood there with a handout and blinked a few times. She was completely confused- Why did he… The inkling turned to the other two members.
“What… What was that about…? Callie asked, sounding confused and slightly concerned.
“I think that’s a question best saved for Big Man himself. I will say that there is something he wants to tell you. It seems like he froze because someone put him on the spot!” Shiver glared at Frye as she pinched her cheek and pulled her along.
“Hey! I was just trying to help!” Frye yelled as the octoling dragged her outside.
Left to herself, Callie just stood in the area crowded with boxes.
“Big wants to tell me something… I guess I better go find out.” She said to herself before walking out and looking for the manta ray.
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After a few minutes of searching around the snowy island, Callie found Big Man sitting down on the edge of the island. She did want to startle him so she made her presence known before getting too close.
“Heyyyyy Biiiggg…?” She said slowly as she approached. The manta was still a bit startled as she could see him slightly jump.
“Ay… Ay…” (“Oh… Hello Callie…”) He responded as he looked onto the abandoned oasis sea.
“I didn’t mean to scare you back there.” She slightly chuckled as she sat down next to him. “You okay?”
“Ay…” (“Yeah…”) His tone said otherwise.
“Big? Is there something you want to tell me?”
Big Man sat there in silence.
“If you don’t want to tell me right now, that’s fine! It just seems like whatever it is, it’s bothering you…” She nudged her head into her shoulder.
“Ay… Ay.” (“No, it’s fine… There is something I need to tell and I think it’s best I do it now.”) Big Man took a deep sigh as Callie waited in anticipation. He looked into her golden star-shaped irises. His face grew a few shades of red as he swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Ay…” (“The thing I want to tell you is…”) Come on Big! You can do it!
“ Ay… Ay! Ay!” (“The thing is… I think you’re really cute and pretty! And maybe one day, you’d like to go out somewhere with me!”) The manta covered his burning face with his fins. There was silence between them. Big Man peeked through his fins and saw Callie just sitting there with mouth open and eyes widened. Suddenly, a blush grew on her face and her ears started to wiggle.
“Oh, Big… I didn’t expect that…” She covered her mouth with her hand as she turned away.
“Ay! Ay-“ (“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable-“)
“Yes.”
“Ay?” (“Huh?”)
“Yes, I will go on a date with you.” Her smile widened.
“Ay… Ay?” (“But… why?”)
“You’re a wonderful person Big! You’re kind, caring, hardworking, and always there for others! I think going on a date with you would be a wonderful experience! Besides, I think you’re pretty cute too!” Both of their blushes grew intensely.
“Ay… Ay!” (“Oh… Um, thank you!”) She giggled and he chuckled. They both laughed for a bit.
“So, is next week fine for you?” Callie spoke.
“Ay!” (“Yeah, that’s fine with me!”)
Callie nodded as she stood up and brushed off her dress.
“Well, guess we’ll see each other next week! I’m looking forward to it, Big Man!” The inkling began to walk off, when suddenly…
“Ay!” (“Mantaro!”) the manta shouted as he stood up.
“Huh?”
“Ay. Ay…” (“My name is Mantaro. I just thought I should let you know now…”) He chuckled, face still burning red.
“Mantaro, huh? You even have a cute name! Well, in that case… I have something to tell you too! Come here!” The manta ray got closer. She gestured for him to lean in. Just as he did, Callie placed a kiss right on his cheek.
“See you next week, Mantaro!” She mischievously giggled before waving and running off.
Big Man stood there with a face red as a beet. He touched the cheek the kiss was placed on with his fin before chuckling. Looks like he’ll be looking forward to next week!