Hop slowed to a walk after he got a good length away from the McDonald’s. He took out his phone again and looked at the “Your response has been recorded” message. If anything, Hop could probably find a job at a random restaurant that just happened to be hiring, but the McDonald’s was the closest to his house. It would be the most convenient place to work, in Hop’s opinion.

As he came up to his house, Hop decided that he would keep his McDonald’s application a secret from his brother, Leon. If Hop got the job, he would be able to surprise Leon with the extra money. In addition, there was always a chance that Hop wouldn’t get the job, and he didn’t want to get his brother’s hopes up.

After walking inside, Hop realized he had another dilemma: Bede. There was no way that Bede wouldn’t mention the McDonald’s application the next time he saw Hop, so Hop had to think of a way to oppose Bede’s statements. Hop shuddered. There was a possibility that Bede would call him “Hot” as well.

Hop grabbed his wallet off of the counter and walked back outside. In order to think properly, he needed food. He was about to walk towards his local McDonald’s, but he came to his senses and realized that would be a very bad idea. Hop turned around and headed towards a farther McDonald’s. One that he wouldn’t run into Bede at.

As the sun was covered by clouds, Hop looked up at the gray sky and frowned, realizing that this was also a very bad idea. Rain was probably on the way, so he didn’t have much time to get to the restaurant. His bike was nowhere to be seen, though he didn’t think that anything with wheels was a good idea in the rain, anyway.

Hop sighed and started running, hoping the rain wouldn’t drench him before he reached the farther McDonald’s. He ran past small plots of tall grass and glowered as a few drops of rain started to splash onto the sidewalk. He really should’ve brought an umbrella. Why didn’t he think of that? Leon probably had one somewhere; there must’ve been plenty for Hop to choose from.

As he came up to the McDonald’s, Hop wiped rain off his brow and pulled on the door handle, only to notice that the door clearly said “push”. Apparently, the rain was getting to him.

Hop pushed open the door and walked into a giant group of goons who were speaking to each other in gruff voices and exaggerated hand movements. They had pink hair and gray outfits with pink highlights, and they were holding up spike-studded microphones while some random electric guitar played in the background.

Hop blinked. This didn’t seem like a McDonald’s. He turned his head and saw a miserable employee taking the orders of an unfriendly-looking guy who seemed like they were at a rock concert in the middle of a graffiti-covered alleyway.

Walking over to the line, Hop studied more of the goons around him. They looked familiar somehow, but he couldn’t figure out how. The guy in front of him finished ordering and moved out of the line to walk over to a group of grunts breakdancing in the middle of the restaurant. Hop shrugged and walked over to the miserable employee.

Hop raised an eyebrow at the employee in front of him. “You good?” he asked. This employee looked anything but good. Spending all this time around all these gang members probably took a toll on them.

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The employee’s eyes widened. “A regular person?!” they whispered in shock.

Hop nodded slowly. From the employee’s reaction, they probably hadn’t seen anyone other than these gang members in the restaurant. “Who are these people?” Hop whispered back.

“Team Yell Grunts,” the employee explained. “Marnie got a job here a few days ago.”

That’s when the realization hit Hop. Of course he knew these grunts; Marnie was one of Gloria’s friends, and everywhere Marnie went, the Team Yell Grunts followed. They came from her hometown, and they always cheered her on when she battled anyone, including when she battled Hop.

“I-I know Marnie!” Hop stuttered. He looked up at the employee. “Where is she?”

The employee raised an eyebrow at him, but pointed to a door behind the counter. “Don’t let the grunts see you,” they warned. “They’ve been looking for her for hours.”

Hop discreetly hopped the counter. It wasn’t that hard; every grunt was distracted by some man playing a rocking guitar solo. When he reached the door, he opened it as quietly as he could.

Sure enough, Marnie was in the room. She briskly turned around, and hop caught a glimpse of her turning off her phone and slipping it into her pocket. She was still wearing her usual pink dress and studded black jacket, but she had a McDonald’s hat that covered the top of her hairstyle.

“Uh, hey, Marnie.” Hop scratched the back of his head as a frown started to emerge on Marnie’s face. “It’s me, Hop.”

Marnie sighed and raised an eyebrow at the purple-haired boy. “What are you doing here?” she asked skeptically. “How did you get in here?”

Hop slipped his hands into his pockets, trying to act casual. “Um,” he started, “your employee let me in.” Technically, he wasn’t lying, but Hop’s nervousness made Marnie a bit skeptical of Hop’s true intentions. In reality, Hop had avoided Marnie ever since Gloria became champion, so it was natural that he would be nervous.

Marnie shook her head and narrowed her eyebrows. “I’m an employee, Hop. That was the manager. Why are you here?”

Smiling awkwardly, Hop let out a breath. “Well, uh, I was walking to this McDonald’s, and…” He trailed off. He couldn’t tell Marnie about the real reason he didn’t go to his local McDonald’s; he couldn’t let her think that he was afraid of Bede!

Sighing, Marnie rested her head against her hand. She took out her phone and seemed to type a quick text message to someone before putting it away again.

After seeing this action, Hop wondered who Marnie would care enough about to text, but he refrained from asking. Hop hadn’t talked to Marnie since Gloria became champion, and after seeing Marnie’s reaction to him, he figured that he shouldn’t ask many questions.

“Wait!” Hop rose up his hands to catch Marnie’s attention. “What if you get a job at my local McDonald’s?” Hop didn’t exactly know why he said this, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. If Bede ended up getting the job, Marnie could be there to keep Hop from being bullied. As a bonus, Hop would also be able to ask Marnie about what their old friends were up to now. Including Gloria.

However, right as the words came out of Hop’s mouth, Marnie proceeded to walk into a different room, and Hop was left standing there in a room of a McDonald’s that was full of gang members.