The rain was barreling down as Squidward made his way to work by bike. He had been living above the surface, in Seattle, for the past four months. In fact, most of the people from Bikini Bottom had come to live life above the water. Seattle was the perfect place in reality - it rained so much that you would hardly notice the change.

Being in a new place meant new laws, new people, and new jobs. So Squidward had to find a job in his new home. Since his high school diploma was not valid, above seas laws and such, the only job he was able to attain was a cashier at a McDonald's, at least until he could get his new diploma. As if by bad luck, Spongebob had found the same job, and had already pioneered a new menu item: the Krabby Patty.

Squidward pulled up into the parking lot and parked his bike. He sauntered inside, and pulled off his raincoat. He walked in behind the counter, and took his place at the register, dressed in his uniform. He looked around and saw no customers. He breathed a sigh.

"Hey Squidward!" Spongebob shouted. Squidward cringed as Spongebob grabbed him in a shoulder hug. "Tentacles! How's my best man?"

Squidward scoffed.

"So, got your diploma yet?" Spongebob asked.

"Nope, not yet." the squid briefly replied.

"Well, I'm taking night classes at the local high school, you should join me! Even Patrick's doing it!" SpongeBob offered.

Squidward shrugged. Spongebob broke out a pen and paper and wrote down an address and a time. Spongebob handed him the paper. As Squidward looked it over, he read it aloud, "Middletown High school, 6:00. What is this for?"

Spongebob broke into his signature laugh. "Just check it out tonight and see if you like it! You'll learn so much!"

Squidward looked at the paper again. He rubbed his chin, and pocketed the paper as the first customer came in.

Squidward made his way to the high school that evening, checking his watch as he ran a couple minutes late. He rushed into the high school at top speed (he was a sprinter back when he was in high school), quickly dashing through hallways until he found the class. As he entered, a tall man who was probably in his forties turned to look at the newcomer. He had round glasses and black hair, which was thinning. He wore a light blue dress shirt, and dark grey slacks, with a white dress coat.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Squarepants' friend! Please take a seat!" The man greeted.

Squidward nodded, and made his way into the back of the class. He looked around at the people there. He spotted Spongebob and Patrick, of course, and he saw a few fish people. Then he looked at the humans, a few of them seemed surprisingly young to be there, those that were about Squidward's age, twenty-five and older. He was tapped on the shoulder by a girl sitting next to him, who whispered, "Do you need books?" seeing as how Squidward had come to class, empty handed.

"I guess." Squidward replied. The girl motioned him to scoot closer, and Squidward complied.

"You can share with me," the girl offered. She was about a year younger than Squidward, with long blonde tresses that reached her shoulder. She positioned her books so that they could both see them comfortably, and with that, the lesson went on.

When class was over, Squidward turned to the girl, "Thanks for sharing your books."

"No problem!" She replied. "By the way, my name's Alaxis." She stretched out her hand.

"I'm Squidward. Nice to meet you." Squidward shook her hand. The girl smiled, and then said, "Well, I'll see you around." With that, she left.

"Mister Tentacles, a word." The teacher called. Squidward made his way to the desk at the front of the class.

"Mr. Dravo?" Squidward asked. Mr. Dravo pulled out a stack of books featuring various subjects.

"These are your textbooks." The teacher smiled. "Do you need a bag?"

"Please. I biked here." Squidward replied.

Mr. Dravo then said, "Here's a backpack. I keep spares incase one of my students forgets his books."

"Thank you sir!" Squidward said, before piling the books into the bag.

"See you tomorrow, Squidward." Mr. Dravo said. With that, Squidward took his leave.

It was the lunch rush at McDonald's. People were coming from the drive through, and through both entrances. Squidward was busy taking everyone's orders, as he was the only one working the front register.

At least humans are more patient than fish, Squidward thought. In the back, Spongebob was using eight hands to keep up with the influx of orders, not once breaking a sweat. As the line ended, the girl Squidward met the night before came up to the register. Squidward blinked before recognizing her.

"Oh. Hey! How are ya?" Squidward greeted.

"I'm great. Fancy meeting you here!" She replied.

"Well, I work here, embarrassingly." Squidward replied, silently adding that last part. "So, what'll you have?"

"I guess I'll try the 'Krabby Patty', a small fry, and a medium coke." She said. Squidward punched in the order on the POS system, before replying, "That'll be $5.12."

As she paid, Squidward sent the order to the back.

"It should only take a minute." Squidward said. The girl nodded. Squidward stood silently for a few seconds, just tapping the counter. Just make light, Squiddy, he thought.

"So um, pretty standard weather we're having, huh?" Squidward asked. He mentally face palmed.

"Yeah, pretty much." She replied.

"Don't think I've seen a sunny day in the few months I've been here." Squidward chuckled. Double facepalm.

"Well, that's Seattle." She smiled.

"You said your name was Alaxis, right?" Squidward nervously said. Please let that be right!

"Yeah, but you can call me Lax. Your name's Squidward, correct?" Alaxis responded.

"The one and only!" Squidward proudly said. Just then Spongebob arrived with her order.

"Krabby Patty, small fry?" He called out.

"Right here!" Alaxis raised her hand.

"Enjoy Ma'am!" Spongebob handed her the bag. Alaxis grabbed it and went to leave before saying, "Oh wait, my cup!"

"Oops!" Squidward said, grabbing a medium sized cup. "My bad."

"So I'll see you later?" Alaxis asked.

"Sure will. Have a nice day." Squidward said.

"You too!" She grabbed her drink and left.

When she was gone, Squidward spun around sat on the floor, back to the register. Spongebob looked as Alaxis left with an amused face.

"Who was she?" He asked simply.

"I met her in class last night. She shared her books with me." Squidward replied.

"I see." Spongebob replied. "Get back to work now, Tentacles," he ordered, a hint of amusement evident in his voice.

Squidward ran a hand over his face, and got up. What was that, Squiddy? He asked himself mentally. He shook it off, and was ready to continue his day.

After work he decided to bike through the park, to clear his mind. He stopped at a lonely bench in the middle of the park, in front of a big tree that stood near a water fountain. He sat on the bench and grabbed his backpack. He pulled out a sketchpad and a pencil, and just sat there for a while, looking at the tree that stood before him.

He flipped open his pad, and began to meticulously sketch out his surroundings. Every line, every detail, was carefully arranged in pencil. After about an hour, he had completely replicated the scene in front of him, and Squidward was proud.

His put away his pad and pencil, and got back on his bike. He then peddled away to his apartment. When he got off of his bike, he was greeted by one of his human neighbors and friends, Luke.

"Hey Squidward! What've you been up to?" Luke greeted.

"Hey Luke." Squidward replied. "I was just riding through the park. What about you? Have you done anything interesting lately?"

"My band's performing at the Rec Center tomorrow. Will you be there?"

"I'll try to make it. See ya later, Luke." Squidward said, going inside the building.

"See ya."

Squidward entered his apartment and sighed. His pad was medium sized, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a decent sized living room, a kitchen, and a dining room. The walls and carpet were a light grey color, which was nicely highlighted when the sky outside was grey. Squidward's apartment was also placed to the front of the building, allowing him to have a patio. He set down his backpack and pulled out his sketchpad and pencil, afterwards going to sit down at the dining room table.

For a while he sketched random things, like the tables at McDonald's, Spongebob in his uniform, and anything that popped into his head. As a part time gig, Squidward made copies and sold his sketches at the Rec Center sometimes. A lot of people enjoyed his work; he wondered why no one in Bikini Bottom ever appreciated his work.

As he thought about this, he mindlessly sketched the girl he had met last night. By the time his mind was back on track, he was finished, and looked surprised at his new sketch. His clock chimed, and he realized that he had to get to class soon. He closed the sketchpad and went to change out of his McDonald's uniform.

He barreled into Middletown High, hurrying to get to class. He reached just as the lesson was beginning, and sighed with relief. He took an empty seat next to Spongebob, and got out his books. Spongebob nodded at his arrival, and Squidward returned it. After about fifteen minutes of learning about the Indo Valley civilization, Patrick strolled in.

"Mister Star, you are late," Mr. Dravo said, slightly agitated.

"Sorry teach, I lost track of time," Patrick said as he strolled to the back of the classroom.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again." Mr. Dravo stated.

"It won't." Patrick confirmed.

Squidward took a glance at Patrick. The starfish wore a black baseball cap that was on backwards, with an open black leather jacket. He had on a dark grey sweater, and he wore blue jeans. Squidward wondered why Patrick would dress like the stereotypical "Bad boy", but decided to focus on history instead.

At the end of class, as Squidward walked out, Alaxis caught his attention.

"Oh hi Alaxis!" Squidward greeted with a smile.

"Hey! So, what've you been up to?" She asked.

"Well, I've been doing sketches, recently." Squidward said, a little unsure on how this conversation would turn out.

"Oh, you're an artist?" Alaxis asked, perking up with interest.

"Kind of. I sell my sketches at the Rec Center sometimes, in fact, I'll be there tomorrow." Squidward continued.

"Cool. I guess I'll see you there!" Alaxis said walking off.

"What? Why?" Squidward asked, confused.

"Cause, I want to see what you can do! See ya later!" She said as she left.

"Bye." Squidward replied. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Spongebob.

"She seems nice. It would be nice for you to have more human friends." He said. "I'll see ya at the Rec Center tomorrow."

As soon as Spongebob left, Squidward felt a heavy hand pat his back. Patrick.

"Squiddy my man, you know how to get 'em! Can I ask for tips?" Patrick asked. Squidward raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Patrick, go home." Squidward said as he left.

Squidward lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Spongebob was right, he could use more friends. He thought about it. Maybe this is a good thing, he thought to himself. He reached over, and turned off the lamp.