The Unexpected Slumber Party

SpongeBob was so excited he could barely stand still. "Gary! Patrick is coming over for a slumber party tonight! We're going to stay up late, tell stories, and eat cookies!"

Gary meowed happily.

That evening, Patrick arrived with his sleeping bag and a pillow shaped like an ice cream cone.

"This is going to be the best slumber party ever!" Patrick said.

They were just starting to build a blanket fort when they heard a loud knock on the door.

SpongeBob opened it to find a very wet and grumpy Squidward holding a suitcase.

"SpongeBob," Squidward said miserably, "my roof is leaking. Water is dripping everywhere. I need somewhere to sleep tonight."

"You can stay here!" SpongeBob said cheerfully. "We're having a slumber party!"

"A slumber party?" Squidward groaned. "That's the last thing I need. But I suppose I have no choice."

Squidward came inside and set up his sleeping bag in the corner, as far from SpongeBob and Patrick as possible.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep now," Squidward announced. "Please be quiet."

"But Squidward, it's only 8 o'clock!" SpongeBob said. "We're going to play games first!"

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Patrick yelled, bonking SpongeBob with his ice cream pillow.

"YAY!" SpongeBob grabbed his own pillow and they started running around, laughing and hitting each other.

WHACK! THUMP! BONK!

"Would you two keep it down?!" Squidward shouted, covering his head with his pillow.

After the pillow fight, SpongeBob and Patrick decided to tell scary stories with flashlights.

"And then the ghost said... BOO!" Patrick shouted.

Both of them screamed with laughter.

"THAT'S IT!" Squidward sat up. "You two are the LOUDEST slumber party guests in the entire ocean! Some of us are trying to SLEEP!"

SpongeBob and Patrick looked at each other, then at Squidward's tired, grumpy face.

"We're sorry, Squidward," SpongeBob said softly. "We didn't mean to keep you awake."

"Yeah," Patrick added. "We were just having fun."

Squidward sighed. "Look, I know you're excited about your slumber party. But I've had a very long day dealing with my leaky roof, and I really need some rest."

"How about this," SpongeBob suggested. "What if we do something quiet? We could read a bedtime story!"

"A bedtime story?" Squidward raised an eyebrow. "That's... actually not a terrible idea."

SpongeBob pulled out a book and the three of them sat in the blanket fort. SpongeBob read in a soft, calm voice about a little fish who went on a peaceful adventure through a coral reef.

Patrick's eyes started getting heavy. Then Squidward began to yawn. Even SpongeBob was feeling sleepy.

"And they all lived happily ever after," SpongeBob finished, closing the book. "The end."

He looked over and saw that Patrick was already fast asleep, snoring gently. Squidward was also sleeping, looking more peaceful than he had all evening.

"Good night, friends," SpongeBob whispered, snuggling into his own sleeping bag.

And all three of them slept soundly through the night.

In the morning, Squidward woke up first. He looked at SpongeBob and Patrick still sleeping peacefully and allowed himself a small smile.

"Maybe slumber parties aren't completely terrible," he whispered to himself.

The End.