New Roommate - Chapter 1

"Here's my place," The green Inkling said as she opened the door to a large room with various furniture and items strewn about the place. The first things that caught my eyes and nose were the number of dirty clothes and the stench from them. I always thought females were more decent than males. At least that's what I've seen from the Female generals, always tidy and neat while the males were still clean, but a bit of an organized chaos. "Sorry about the mess Agent 8, I've usually lived alone so I never bothered to clean," she said, she never bothered to clean? Inklings were very laid-back compared to Octarians, but after what has happened in the metro, maybe it was a good thing. "Not bother," I said, I was still learning Inkish, only learned a little from Off the Hook rapper Pearl, Combat Engineer Marina, and the Captain of the New Squidbreak Splatoon. Perhaps Agent 3 of the new Squidbreak Splatoon could teach me more, it would be very helpful. She went around the living quarters and picked up her clothing and tossed them into a little room, I guessed it was her private room, or bedroom as I've heard. There was also a cooking area about half the size of the living quarters to the right of the place, complete with a dining table as well. "Anyways, it's late, want anything to eat?" she asked, throwing her Ink-Tank and weapon on the couch, it made me feel more relaxed she didn't have her weapons on her, I took off my equipment as well and leaned them against the couch. "Sure," I replied, I was interested in what Inklings ate, but at the same time, I didn't know what to suggest, for I doubted that she would have foods that I've had before. She went over to her fridge and pulled out a metal container that looked close to a canned special, however, she opened it to reveal some breaded sticks. "Mozzarella sticks?" she asked, they considered cheese wrapped in bread as a main course? How did Inklings keep up their strength? But I digress, I accepted her food and put it inside a microwave, another thing that confused me. They just nuked their food in the microwave? That was only used for emergencies, and even then, live prey was better for survival. Hey, at least I'm regaining my training memories, that's a good thing. I sat down at the dining table and saw the nice-looking flowers she had in a crystal clear glass vase, thorny roses, but very bright in their red color.

A minute later, the microwave dinged and Agent 3 took out the cans of food and placed them in front of us, one for me, and one for her. We ate silently, although I didn't find it bad in any way, it let me think about moving forward after the subway, the Octarian army, and now "joining" the new Squidbreak Splatoon. The Captain said he and Agent 3 would train me, knowing how to use specials wisely and how to work as a team, the things I wasn't trained in the army. We had a couple of exercises on teamwork, but on the battlefield, it was usually guarding multiple Mini Zapfish or something that would require us to split up and protect one by ourselves. At least now I will be able to put more trust in my teammates to help me, Agent 3 especially, she was trained well, and I hoped to be trained in the same way. "So," Agent 3 said, playing with her food with her fork, I stared at her to continue, "What's your name?" she asked, my name? "Uh...name, #348," I said, that was what I was always referred to in the army, ever since I was young, Agent 8 was the only time I got something close to a proper name. "A number? What about Phil? Or Roger?" Agent 3 asked, I shook my head, my name was numbers, and that was all. "Oh...so Agent 8 is the closest thing to a name?" she asked, I nodded, and I liked the name, it just felt...nice. "Well, maybe I can give you a name? Besides Agent 8, like when we're off duty," she suggested, what did she have in mind? I listen with open ears as I waited for her secondary name for me, "How about...Octavian?" Agent 3 suggested, "Octavio?" I asked, she wanted me to be called the same name as the Octarian king? "No, OctaviAN, not OctaviO," Agent 3 corrected, I understood now, Octavian, it did show what species I belonged to, but I liked it. I nodded in agreement, she smiled for a moment, it almost seemed like she glowed, like she opened a canned special. We ate our food and she took care of the empty cans, I still sat at the table, talking with my thoughts. "Hey, how's your Inkish?" she asked, "What you do mean?" I asked, I was confused by what she meant, "I mean, how well are you speaking Inkish," she said, "I think I'm doing well," I said, "You're pretty good saying words, but your grammar could use a little work," she said. My grammar? I guess I never thought about grammar, we never thought about grammar in the army, we always knew what we were all saying in Octarian. "Don't worry, I bet Marina and Pearl could help you, the Captain said he would be in touch with them so they could keep in contact with you," she said, I was happy that they still thought of me, being city-wide popstars, it was very nice they would give up some of their time to check up on me, even if it was over a device. "Oh! That reminds me," she said, turning to me and resting her hands on the table, "We got to pick up your phone tomorrow to they can call you, that CQ-80 device doesn't have a good connection outside of the subway," she said, "Besides, it doesn't have app capabilities," she added, "And I know Pearl, Callie, and Marie are going to want you to get Squidstigram,". I chuckled a bit, I didn't know what that was, but judging by Agent 3's annoyed tone of voice, they must talk about it a lot.

"But we'll worry about that tomorrow before we go to the Outpost," she said, walking into the living quarters and flopping onto the couch, stretching herself across the entire thing. "Want to watch a movie?" she asked, "Movie?" I asked, I've never heard of a "movie". "You've never seen a movie?" she asked, looking over the head of the couch and to me leaving the dining area, I shook my head. "It's like a...hmm, how do I explain," she asked herself, "Here, I'll show you," she said, she stomped her feet at the other end of the couch, I walked over to the other side and moved her feet behind me so I had room, I wouldn't want to sit on her feet and hurt her. She turned on her T.V. and a screen came on, it was like watching someone's day, or like seeing many pictures moving. "Movie", now I get it, moving pictures, used for entertainment, and this one was about some kind of sad romance, although I was trying to wrap my head around the movie, I didn't quite get the story of the movie. "That was interesting," I said, "Did you like it?" she asked, I nodded, "I didn't get the story, I was trying to understand 'movie'," I said, I was expecting her to be saddened or angry, but she just laughed, it made me smile. One thing I've seen from Agent 3 was she had two personalities, a serious on-duty attitude, and a laid-back funny and cheery attitude. If I was being honest, I didn't mind her serious tone, but her cheery tone made me happy alone with her, something I haven't felt since someone like her in the Army…