A Melody | (Pearl x Marina)

Chapter 7: Splurge

Marina's POV.

I was wearing the outfit Pearl got for me yesterday, and I was obsessed with it.

"Yo, looking fresh!" Pearl called as I walked out of my room.

Laughing, I put the headphones over my one ear and let the one hidden by my tentacles free. "Thank you," I smiled. I was still wearing my gloves from my uniform, I didn't like the feeling of them being gone.

"Let's ride the bus again," Pearl offered. "It's way faster."

Despite what Pearl said, we weren't in a hurry. There was a tiny hike down to the bottom of Nantai where the bus stop was. It was a gorgeous day outside... fluffy clouds and a light breeze. Pearl stopped and turned to me. "Wait a sec, we have to get a picture together."

"Oh yeah, sure!" She pulled her phone out and stretched her arm high in the air, trying to get me in the shot. I giggled and took her phone, bending over a little bit and putting my head against hers. The phone clicked and I handed it back.

"I thought I could lend you a hand."

We began walking again and looked at the photo. Even though it was terribly candid, it somehow still looked decent.

"We could use that as our profile picture for SplaTunes, maybe?" I asked, picking up the pace again.

The bus stop was tiny, just a small sign and bench with a picture that read, 'bus stops every 10 minutes'.

Pearl kept staring at the photo. "Yeah, but we totally have to go out and get an actual photoshoot. And once we're famous, they'll be asking us for photos."

"Don't get so big-headed," I laughed. "We're a minor one-hit wonder at the moment."

She shrugged. "That's why I said once we're famous."

The bus pulled up with an ear-piercing shriek. We got on and took a seat.

"What's the account info for our SplaTunes account? I need to log in so we can get the cash and stuff."

"Let me put it in, I don't want other people hearing." She handed me the phone and I put in the info, and a billion notifications spawned. More people had bought our song! Instead of 5,000 people, it was 5,200! We had even racked up a decent following of 352 people!

I crossed my legs and giggled with glee. "More customers!" I handed her phone back.

Pearl chuckled and swiped the notifications away. "This is insane... I mean, we're making money, by ourselves. And on our first try." She looked up at me and put her phone away in her pocket. "No limitations. We're gonna buy everything."

"Inkopolis Square... stop here..." a voice from the front of the bus droned.

We both hopped up and burst through the bus door, standing in the center of the Square. Many less people were staring at me... they seemed to just be minding their own business more now.

"Let's cash out."

~

Both of our arms were stuffed with shopping bags, full of clothes, random knick-knacks, and even my own phone! We had blown through most of the money we earned, but it was well worth it.

Because of the weight of the bags, Pearl dreaded taking me around Inkopolis more. So we settled on dropping the things off and coming back out.

We spent some time hanging up the clothes we bought. The closet in my room was now bustling with all sorts of gear. I was sure that I had enough clothes to last me a month without washing. Pearl just added to her never ending wardrobe, but she put in something a little different.