Chapter Text
“Come on, Mar!” Callie said, trying to yank her younger cousin out of bed. “We’re supposed to meet the new newscasters today! No sleeping ‘til 10 for you!”
Marie made a groaning noise from the bed somewhere between “two more hours” and “go away”. She didn’t really care.
Why can’t we just meet them in the afternoon? Marie thought as Callie grabbed her feet. The older girl pulled Marie off of the bed and tossed her a stage outfit.
“At least let me get into comfy clothes,” Marie moaned.
“I would, but our agent said we have to be in our official outfits,” Callie replied. “I’ll make you coffee, but you’d better be dressed by the time I come back…”
A mischievous grin appeared on Callie’s face. “Or I’ll drag you over there in your pj’s.”
Marie briefly glanced down at her fuzzy squid-patterned shirt and decided she’d rather be dressed. She groggily pushed herself up and grabbed her sparkling dress, then she walked over to the bathroom to change.
Callie left to go make her coffee, which Marie was far more grateful for than she let on. A slight frown made its way onto her face as she left the bathroom, now fully dressed. It’d been three months since the Final Fest, and she still hadn’t spent very much time with Callie. A twinge of guilt plagued her every time she thought about it.
Winning the fest and having stuff dumped on me because of that isn’t an excuse. What if we’re growing apart? What if I’m forcing her out of the spotlight? What if—
“Coffee, coming in hot!” Callie exclaimed as she swung open the door. She stopped at the door and her grin got even bigger. “You actually got up!”
Marie made sure that whatever was going on in her head wasn’t showing on her face. Callie seemed extremely excited, and she didn’t want to be what ruined that.
Marie took the coffee from her cousin and drank deeply, the sweetness of the sheer amount of creamer in the coffee delighting her taste buds as the drink poured down her throat. In a few moments, the caffeine started to work its magic as Callie brought Marie a bagel with cream cheese.
Breakfast accomplished, to two cousins set out from their apartment, walking down the hallway toward the elevator they both knew would take forever. But neither of them cared. It was home, and neither of them had ever thought of moving. All of their memories were there. Every song, every photo, every banter-filled newscast.
Guess that’s why Gramps formed the NSS, Marie thought. To make sure the Octarians don’t come and try to kill us, to ruin those memories.
***
Marie wasn’t very familiar with the layout of the new news studio in Inkopolis Square. Having worked at the Plaza for so long, she hadn’t expected the filming room to be on the bottom floor. Right next to the sidewalk. With a giant window for all those judging eyes to stare at her through…
Calm down. Most of them probably just want a selfie or an autograph.
Her worry must’ve shown on her face, because Callie gave her a reassuring shoulder bump. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” she reassured. “I hear Off the Hook are major fans of us.”
It always surprised Marie that her cousin could calm her fears that hadn’t even appeared yet. “Thanks, Cal.”
By that time, they’d reached the waiting room. Callie opened the door and cheerily ran over to the receptionist as Marie immediately found a seat.
“Hi!” Callie exclaimed. “I’m Callie, that’s Marie, and we have an appointment with Off the Hook!”
The receptionist tapped a few buttons on her phone and smiled warmly. “Great! I’ve told them you’re here. They’re really excited to meet you.”
Callie bounced back to her cousin and plopped down on the chair next to her. “See? Told ya there was nothing to worry about!”
Immediately, the receptionist called, “They can see you now. Third door on the right.”
Marie breathed a sigh of relief. Her nerves were still on edge. She reviewed the members of Off the Hook in her mind.
She’d never seen any pictures of Marina Ida, who was apparently from the countryside, but she knew very well who Pearl Houzuki was. Her father was the richest man in the country, and he was more influential than some of the actual politicians. Because of this, Pearl had always gotten what she wanted. Marie had always been afraid of people like that.
The two cousins reached the door, and Marie swung it open, still holding the knob.
“Hey!” Pearl greeted, standing up. She was shorter than the cousins had expected, but still tall enough to shake their hands.
“Come on in!” Pearl said, beckoning them to join her and Marina in the room.
Marie started to move, but she froze at the door, clutching the knob so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She hadn’t seen Marina up to that point, but one look at her hair, with its outer suction cups, set off every alarm in her head there ever was.
She’s an Octoling.
***
Callie was shaken, too, but she managed to pull her cousin off the door before Marina and Pearl noticed anything wrong. Just play it cool. You deal with scheming producers and jealous artists all the time. Potential enemy spies shouldn’t be any different.
“Siddown,” Pearl said. “Y’all look kinda edgy.”
SHOOT, Callie thought as she sat down in the proffered chair. How was she going to explain that?
Luckily, Pearl had already explained it in her own mind. “Relax, ladies. We’re very responsible newscasters. We’ll take good care of the city.”
Marie regained her composure. “Right. Remember, banter’s fine—we did it all the time—but don’t let it take away the seriousness of important announcements, like rain warnings. As news anchors, your job is to alert people of threats, and—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Callie said. “Mar, it’s not that serious. Being a newscaster was super fun! It should be for them, too!”
Marina smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ve been watching you two for years, and we’ve studied how you do it. We’ll do our best to do it just as well as you did.”
“Or even better!” Pearl exclaimed. “No offense, ‘Rina, but that was a lot of homework for just talking to the public about stuff that already happened.”
“Well,” Callie said, “we’ll let you guys get back to it. Wanna have lunch later?”
“Totally!” Marina said excitedly. “Do you know any good places?”
“There’s Crusty Sean,” Marie suggested. “He just started a good truck business. We grew up with him, and his food is the best.”
“Cool,” Pearl said. “See ya there!”
The moment they were out of the room, both girls let out breaths they hadn’t known they’d been holding and started hyperventilating.
“You saw that, right?” Marie asked Callie.
“Uh-huh,” Callie gasped. “Why is there an Octoling here?”
“We gotta tell Gramps and Emma,” Marie panted. “He’ll figure out what to do.”
***
“I think that went pretty well, Pearl said. “They were pretty nice.”
Marina shifted uncomfortably when Pearl looked away. She knew what Callie and Marie were so edgy over. Me. Not surprising. There hasn’t been an Octoling on the surface for a hundred years.
She thought about the upcoming lunch. What would they do then? They were members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, after all.
She just had to play it cool and try not to get uncovered. People would flip if they knew she was an Octoling…