2 Gals 1 Gift

In a much more quiet area of Inkopolis, away from the loud noises and busy hustle of the Square, an Octoling by the name of Jenna was spoiling herself with video games in bed, while sitting comfortably under the blanket. Her cool cat Buddy was lying next to her, while she repeatedly petted her furry back. In the corner of the bedroom, her signature .96 Gal Deco was leaning against the wall, covered with stickers. Behind her bed, her collection of plushies and dolls ran along a wooden platform, completely covering it.

Ah yes, this is what I love about life...peace and quiet…

Jenna paused her game, as she began to recline into the bed. She felt like she could just sink into it...and become one with-

BANG BANG BANG BANG

"AAHH!"

"JENNA, JENNA OPEN UP!!!!!!!"

Whatever mindset Jenna had a few seconds ago was completely shattered by the sound of Galea pounding on her door, while she jumped in shock. Buddy also made a loud surprised noise in response, followed by falling off the bed. A part of her wanted to just ignore her friend, check to see if her cat was ok, and go back to her game, but a much larger part of her knew that she wasn't just gonna leave, for Galea was not one to give up. Giving a long and painful moan, she first checked to see if Buddy was fine, before getting herself out of bed, and opening the door, to see Galea clearly anxious about something.

"G-Galea? What's wro-"

Galea didn't give her a chance to finish, as she grabbed her cheeks and began to speak way too fast to her.

"JENNMMACOMINBACKSHCOMIBACK!!"

The Inkling rushed into her apartment, as she began to quickly pace in a circle. Although she now had much better control her anger-which was also demonstrated by her wardrobe change-she now tended to get pretty anxious at times.

"Gally, could you slow down please? I...did not catch a word of what you just said." Jenna politely asked, as she went to get herself a cup of coffee. Galea, on the other hand, took a deep breath in and out, and thought of her "peace thought", before trying again.

"Ok, so you remember Emma?" She asked. The Octoling couldn't help but chuckle at the question.

"Of course I do Galea, she's our friend." She said with a smile, beginning to think about Emma.

If Coulee was the chef of their group, Novu was the weirdo, and Melano was the hacker, then Emma was the selfless one. Although she was kinda shy like Polli, Rima and Jenna, she clearly loved her friends, and was willing to do anything for them, which was mixed in with a little bit of sarcasm.

"Ah...ok lemme rephrase." Galea said, after thinking about what she just said.

"Well, she's coming back today from her trip, aaaaaand we forgot to buy her a gift along with everyone else."

"Oh, huh." Said Jenna, beginning to process it.

"Oh...o-oh! OH! OH NO!!!!" She yelled, as she began to panic.

"W-we forgot to b-buy her a g-gift! H-how did I-"

But Jenna then remembered that she never slept with her phone in her room. She rushed over to where it was charging, and saw texts from their group chat, saying that she and Galea didn't confirm that they had gifts, and that Emma was coming home at 11 AM. And it was currently 9:30.

"OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH WHAT DO WE DO WHAT DO WE DO?!" Said Jenna, as she was clearly starting to freak out.

"Jenna you just told me to calm down-""W-WHAT'S GONNA H-HAPPEN W-WHAT'S EMMA G-GONNA-"

Galea gave Jenna a quick slap to the cheek, which silenced her rambling.

"Ow…" She murmured, as she rubbed her cheek.

"Sorry, I had to do something." Said Galea, a little embarrassed.

"So what do we do Gally? We only have an hour and a half before she arrives."Galea then put her arms on her shoulders, clearly determined."Oh I'll tell you what we're gonna do Jenna, we're gonna buy a gift for Emma and give it to her when she gets here!" She said with a smile, as her magenta eyes stared into Jenna's.

"A-are you sure? We don't have a lot of time to find a store, buy a gift and then reach the train station." Said Jenna, still doubting their odds.

"If it means it'll make Emma happy, then why can't we do it?"

Jenna thought about her question, as her doubts began to fade.

"Alright Gally, let's do it then!" She said, ready to go.

And so once Jenna got her House Tag Denim Cap and her coffee, the two set off, with time not on their side.

Approximately ten minutes later, the two were on a train, heading to Arowana Mall. If there was one place in Inkopolis that would have a gift for not just Emma, but for everyone in Inkopolis, it was Arowana, with its endless amount of stores.

"Galea?" Said Jenna.

"Hmm?"

"Do we have any idea as to what Emma would want?"

"Huh...hmm…" Galea said, before beginning to think.

Emma had a huge knack for coding and computers, everyone knew this. But besides that, she also had a love for video games with friends and-

"Wait, I know what we can get her!!" Said Jenna triumphantly, as she sat up from her seat.

"You do?" Asked Galea, both surprised and happy.

"I know exactly where we can go, but it's probably gonna have to be from both of us. It's...probably gonna be expensive." She said.

"Well what is it?"

"I don't know, but I also don't know what else we could do with the amount of time we have left." Jenna responded, as they both noticed that the train was at their stop: the underground floor of Arowana Mall.

For those who were unfamiliar with it, Arowana Mall was like a maze. The five floors of shops, restaurants and entertainment could overwhelm anyone who was unfamiliar with the city life. But for Galea and Jenna, they knew the layout of the mall at the back of their heads. And in this situation, the latter knew exactly where she was heading.

"So you definitely know where we should be heading?" Asked Galea, as she raced after her friend, who was quickly making her way across the mall's second floor.

"Trust me Gally, I know exactly what Emma would want!" She said, with no hint of uncertainty. She suddenly stopped, as Galea finally caught up with her.

"Here it is!"

Galea looked, and saw that Jenna was looking at store titled "Geeks' Neat Treats". From where she stood, she could see computer-related items, such as keyboards, mice, speakers, headphones, and even parts to assemble one's own pc.

"Oh...oh wow...how-how did I not think of this?! Polli and I pass it every time we go to eat at Six Squids!" Said Galea, slightly mad at herself.

"Don't worry Gally, I tend to go by this place a lot without glancing at it." Said Jenna, in the hopes of making her friend feel better.

"Alright, but...do we even know what's valuable amongst computer parts?" Galea asked.

Neither of the girls said anything, as they realized that they both knew nothing about computers.

"Um...how about we just go in and figure it out as we go along?" Said Jenna.

"Well, I don't have any other ideas so sure." Said Galea, shrugging.

58 Minutes Later

Polli, Rima, Arven, Coulee and Novu were all gathered at the train station with their gifts in hand. And although they were all eager for Emma's imminent arrival, they were also wondering where Galea and Jenna were.

"You texted them, right Coulee?" Polli asked.

"Yep, no response though." He responded with.

"You don't think they forgot, did they?" Said Rima quietly.

"They most likely did." Said Novu back, as if she knew this as a fact.

"Wait, there they are!"

Arven pointed towards the sight of the Inkling and Octoling rushing towards the rest of them, while Galea held a large white bag in her hand.

"Where have you guys been?" Said Coulee, while the two of them struggled to catch their breaths.

"B..buying a gift….for...Emma…" muttered Jenna, while Galea held the bag up triumphantly.

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of a train pulling into the stop. They turned back, as the cars came to a stop, the doors opened, and there she was, beaming at the sight of her friends.

"Emma!!" Polli ran up and gave her a big hug.

"Hehe, nice to see you Polli! Nice to see you all of you again!" She said, looking at all of her friends. Her orange eyes then stopped at the sight of Galea and Jenna, who still taking air back in.

"Whoa, you guys ok?" She asked, walking up to them, when Galea gave her the large bag.

"Your gift...we both got a gift for you…" she managed to whimper out.

"Oh, thanks guys!"

"Wait, you guys bought one gift from both of you?" Arven asked.

Neither of the girls could say anything, and only nod their hands.

Emma then looked into the bag. She pulled out what was in it, and her eyes became as large as melons. She dropped the bag in shock, as she began to hyperventilate.

"Oh..oh my..oh my go...OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!"

Emma began to jump and down excitedly, while laughing like a lunatic.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?!" Said Coulee, coming over to check out the gift, as his eyes also widened.

"IT IS IT IS IT IS!!!" Everyone else began to come over to see what the fuss was about.

"2080 ti..?" Polli read the words on the packaging out loud.

"It'll increase the speed, realism and rendering for her computer by a huge amount!" Said Coulee, in order to help them understand.

"Ooooooh." Said Polli.

"Huh." Rima added up with.

"Oh-oh my gosh guys!" Tears of joy we're starting to appear on Emma's face.

"T-thank you so much for this!!"

Galea and Jenna were still catching their breaths. Although they had spent a whole lot of money on it, there was only one thing they could do now:

Pat Emma's back, while she gave them a giddy and tight hug.