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To Marie, there's nothing better than waking up to the sound of
absolutely nothing.
No alarm, no mid-to-high-volume sound effects from the TV, no Callie shuffling through the kitchen or blabbing away on her phone. Just peacefully, quietly, waking up as dictated by her internal clock.
The blissful feeling quickly disappears as Marie’s stomach growls. She sits up in bed and rubs her eye. Whatever time it is, it's past time for breakfast. And it's definitely too quiet for Callie to be up and about, even though she's almost always the first one to wake up. Maybe she went out. Or got squidnapped again. No, that would be silly.
Marie rolls her eyes at her own foolishness. And then she immediately grabs her phone and speedwalks to Callie’s room. The door is open, and Callie’s bed is made. Something fishy is definitely going on. Marie peeks into the bathroom. Empty. The living area. Spotless and vacant, save for a plate of onigiri on the coffee table.
“Callie?” Marie looks for any signs of movement before tiptoeing to the coffee table. Upon closer inspection, the onigiri isn't just any onigiri. It's red salmon onigiri. “Caaaallieee?” Marie frowns at the food before her, more than a little tempted but also confused. She unlocks her phone and opens her directory of contacts. Maybe Callie did go out, and brought back food, and then went out again, and she'll pick up the phone and explain that everything is just fine and-
“HAPPY MARIE DAY!”
Callie jumps (or is it a Super Jump?) out from behind the sofa in her squid form and lands...right on Marie’s face.
“Cahlli- cmmff- brf-” Marie pries her cousin's tentacles from her face one by one until finally, Callie hops to the floor and changes into her inkling form, giggling like she'd just finished an insane splat streak.
Marie sighs. “Sheesh. Don't scare me like that.” With her vision now unobstructed, Marie spies two familiar inklings halfway poking out from behind the sofa. “You, too? What's going on here?”
Agents 3 and 4 step out into the open, grinning. Agent 4 carries a single bottle of milk tea with a number 2 written on it. “Like I said,” Callie said. “It's Marie Day!” She stands up, picks up the plate of onigiri, and offers it to Marie. “You slept in way late, so eat up!”
“Well, can't resist that offer,” Marie says rather quickly, reaching for an onigiri. “So why is it Marie Day?” She takes a bite.
“March thirteenth,” Callie explains. “Mar, thirteen. Marie. Get it?”
“It was Callie’s idea, obviously,” Agent 3 chimes in as Agent 4 brings the milk tea to Marie.
Marie swallows her bite of onigiri and points to the bottle. “This for me?” Agent 4 points to the number 2 and hands the bottle to Marie. Marie gives her trademark smirk. “Appreciated. You guys are really-”
“YO!”
An impatient knock on the door interrupts the conversation. Marie knows
that
boisterousness anywhere. “Them too?”
“Yup,” Callie says, setting the plate of onigiri down before skipping to the door. She turns the handle and welcomes the guests: Pearl, Marina, and Agent 8. “Glad you could make it.”
“Always a pleasure!” Marina replies. “I'm so happy you invited us to drop by. Pearl?”
“On it!” Pearl approaches Marie with a pink box in hand. “Fresh set of sweats, custom-made. Check ‘em later, aight?” She sets the box on the coffee table. “So, how ya been?”
“Hm…” Marie eats another bite of onigiri, and takes a quick glance at Agents 3 and 4 walking over to chat with Marina, Callie, and Agent 8. When did she end up with this many friends? “You know, I've been doing alright. Good, even.”
Pearl nods. “Nice. If you weren't doing good, then...that wouldn't do. Nope. It's a good day to have a good day, you know.”
“Yeah,” Marie says. “Still dunno why Callie would decide to do all this.”
And then Pearl laughs. At least, Marie thinks it's a laugh. Something between a snort and a chuckle? In any case, Pearl’s amusement is clear. “Dude! Since when does someone need a reason to do something nice for their best friend?”
Marie thinks in silence for a moment, then shoves the rest of the onigiri into her mouth. It tastes like love. Well, actually it tastes like that pre-packaged stuff from the minimart down the street because that's exactly what it is, but it's the best onigiri in Inkopolis, five-star restaurants be clammed.
“Well, we won't be long,” Pearl says. “A certain squid made it clear that you're not big on unexpected visits from half your contacts list.”
Marie shrugs. “Heh, true. Buuut since it's an occasion…” She sets the milk tea on the coffee table, then walks over to the TV stand and shuffles through its contents for a minute.
“No way!” Callie says, directing others’ attention to Marie. Marie retrieves a microphone.
“So, karaoke?”