The Story of a Squid Girl

Wait a second...

I slowly walked over to the desk and surveyed it. It looked almost exactly like the old one. Good quality if I do say so myself. I could never build something like this. Heck, I'd probably cut my hand off in the process!
It was then that I noticed the small golden ticket sitting on the desk. I picked it up.
"The science fair?" I wonder aloud. What was this doing here? Maybe John accidentally left it on the table when he left. Or maybe...
What if he left it here on purpose? Maybe it was meant for me? I shrugged and stuffed it into the drawer in my bedside table, along with my crumpled parody song.
Regardless of whether or not John was going to be there, I might as well check out the Science Fair anyways. That is, if I have time. With this stupid short notice concert coming up, there's no telling what could get in the way!
I glanced over at the clock. 9:32. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I saw the time. It wasn't even that late, I mean... I don't know how, but I have a brief memory of staying up way past this time.
I sat down on my bed and took my song out of the drawer. I quickly read it over and shook my head. Even if my first show is packed full, there is no way anyone will come after hearing this failure. I need real inspiration.
I decided I would go explore the town tomorrow. I hadn't been out of the castle since I got here yesterday, but I had seen the peaceful looking village from the window of my room. I had been itching to go explore it, but with all the commotion today, I hadn't gotten a chance.
There I could look for inspiration, an also maybe work on the concert preparations. Even with the weight of sound and lighting off my back, I'll still need... Oh god, there's far too much to count!
I fingered my amulet, debating whether to take it off or not. It's a pain in the neck to sleep in, literally. I woke up with a sore neck yesterday from the string digging into my skin. Really, what are the chances that someone's going to come in and steal it? Plus, John will come back at some point, so he'll be in the same room, and if someone comes in, one of us is sure to notice...
I thought about what Darien had said, about how the amulet was so powerful. If it was so powerful, why keep it on a person? Why not lock it up where no one can get to it?
Oh well, I thought, laying down. Better safe than sorry. And with that, I fell asleep.

~~~

I woke up the next morning with the same purposeful feeling I had yesterday. Today I had lots to do.
I swung my feet out of bed and slipped on my shoes, quickly brushing my long, navy blue hair, before rushing out the door.
I arrived at the throne room not even a minute later. The king was sitting in his throne, looking over a large sheet of paper. Who knows what that could be?
He looked up when he saw me enter the room. "Good morning Kaila. What can I help you with?"
"I'd like to go down to the village today, if that's alright with you," I requested. "I'll probably need a map of course... Knowing me ill probably get lost..."
The king chuckled. "As you wish, my dear. Go ahead, an outing would be good for you."
I nodded. "Thank you."
I was surprised when he tossed a small silk bag at me, tied closed with a pretty red ribbon. I nearly dropped it when I tried to catch it; I had never had very good hand-eye coordination. I opened the bag, and found that it was filled with gold coins.
I looked uncertainly at him.
"Go spend it. Buy whatever you want. Just a small gift from me to you."
I glanced back down at the bag of coins. For me?
"Thanks!" I smiled. "I guess I'll see you later?"
The king nodded. "I hope so."
I grinned and walked into the hallway, changing to a sprint halfway down. It was only when I reached the draw bridge that I realized that I had forgotten to ask the King for a map. Oh well, ill have to do without one. The town can't be THAT big...
Not knowing where to go first, I started down the path to the left. There didn't seem to be and roads or cars here. Roads and cars... I thought. How do I know those terms? A brief memory flashed through my head.
It was a weird, other dimension, where there were... Circles. The word just came to me. I'm not sure how, but...
I finally realized that I had slowed my pace while I was daydreaming, was was now standing completely still in the middle of the pathway. I continued on, until I came to a small shop with the name "Kate's Boutique" written in fancy lettering above the door. A sign that read "Store Closing Sale! Everything must go!" sat on the window sill. Several fashions were displayed on neon colored manikins.
I pushed my way through the door.
A squid was sitting at the front counter, typing something into the cash register. She looked up when the door open.
A surprised expression crossed over her face. "You're one of those..." She stopped, seeming to have caught herself. What had she been trying to say? I was one of those... What? "Never mind... Try the back corner." She turned back to her work.
I shrugged and began to browse around the boutique. I realized why she said to try the back corner now. All of the rest of the clothes were made for squids, with uhh, tentacles. In the back corner was a small selection of stuff for my kind. Other than that, I actually quite liked the clothing here, not too fancy, but not too casual. Kind of edgy. Perfect for a rock star, if you could call me that.
Now I just had to pick out the perfect outfit for my concert... How does this even work? Aren't famous people suppose to have a personal stylist or something? Someone to do all this for them?
I sighed. I have no freakin idea how to plan a concert. I cant even play a birthday party for Notch's sake! It's time to face that fact. I need someone to plan all this for me. I need a manager.
But where do you find someone like that? I don't even know where to start! I made a metal note to ask the King about it later. Maybe he could find a person... Err, squid.
Then I had an idea. Start small. A manager can wait for now. Back to what I said before, I should get a stylist.
I made my way up to the front counter. The cashier looked back up. "What can I help you with?"
I paused for a moment, trying to decided the best way to word this. "The Store Closing sign in the window, why is it closing?"
She sighed. "Not enough business. We're not making enough money to support ourselves."
"But why? Why wouldn't people come here?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we can't compete with the big chain stores."
I smiled. "I think I might be able to save this business."
She looked up, her eyes wide. "What do you mean? How?"
"Long story. Can I speak to the manager please?"
"You're already speaking to her," she smiled and shook my hand with one if her tentacles. "I'm Kate."
"Kaila." I replied. "Kaila Squills."
Kate's eyes widened. "Kaila Squills? You were in the paper this morning!"
"I was?" I looked at her, confused.
"Yeah! Didn't you hear?" She brought a newspaper out from behind the counter. How was that even possible? How can a newspaper exist underwater...?
I took it from her and looked over the front page. "Squid Girl Rocks the Stage at Karaoke Night!" Read the headline. I gasped. There was a big picture of me singing onstage, with the caption: "tickets to Kaila Squills's upcoming concert are sure to be sold out after this amazing performance!"
"SOLD OUT?!" I exclaimed. No way! I thought it might be pretty full, but not sold out! There wasn't that many squids at karaoke night, only 30 or 40. But over 100?! What if I can't do it? What if I sing badly?! What if...
I shook my head. I can do this.
"So... As I was saying, I think I can save your business."
"I'm listening."
"This... Concert coming up. How would Kate's Boutique like to design me an outfit? You would become kinda like a sponsor, and I could advertise for you at the show. It would probably raise the popularity quite a bit!"
Kate nodded quickly. "Deal. I'll do anything to save this shop. It was my dream you know, to open my own boutique." She sighed. "It really does pain me to see it go down like this...
I smiled. "It's not going to go down. I promise."