Garfield crossed his arms.

"That's Raven's seat," he pouted.

"She's kinda not here, man," said Victor. "It's fine."

"Don't mind him too much," Robin assured the newcomer. "He doesn't deal well with change."

Garth chuckled, "Mood. It's fine, though. Is it okay if I just borrow this seat today?"

Garfield grumbled but nodded, and Garth sat down. He immediately started chatting with the other two boys about… something. They may as well have been birds. Actually, birds might have been easier to understand than whatever a pneumatic actuator was. He turned to the only other person at the table: the redhead busy stirring mustard into their applesauce.

"Uuuuuh, what are you doing?"

"It is delicious," Kori replied, smiling. "Try some!"

"I'm gonna pass, thanks."

They shrugged and popped the spoon into their mouth. Garfield chuckled and picked at his falafel.

"So, Garth," Kori said, "you are, what's the word? Real American?"

Garth chuckled again. "I'm sorry?"

"They're asking if you're native," Victor explained.

"O-oh. Yeah. Iroquois, specifically."

"What is that like?"

Garth's mouth hung open a bit, and his eye twitched like he short-circuited. Then he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. That's… really personal," he said.

"Apologies-."

"No, it's just- It's my family. We don't like to talk about it."

"Why not?" Garfield asked.

Garth scowled, saying, "We don't like to talk about it."

"Hey," Robin said, patting Garth's shoulder, "calm down. Trust me, he's not trying to be a jerk. He just sucks at talking to people."

"Boundaries, Gar," added Victor.

Garfield nodded and muttered a soft apology.

Victor turned back to Garth and said, "Sorry, we should have warned you. Gotta be blunt with him. He doesn't take hints well."

"I can take a hint!"

"You couldn't take a hint if it smacked you upside the head," Robin chuckled.

"Can so. Just ask Raven."

"Man, Raven's hints are a smack upside the head," laughed Victor.

Garfield shrugged. "Yeah, but I get it."

"Raven is the goth with dyed hair, right?" Garth asked. "What happened there? She's absent a lot."

Victor laughed nervously. "Well-."

"Raven is recovering from an incident last month," Kori said quietly. "She will be fine, but a lot has changed. She just needs time."

"Incident? What-?"

"Boundaries," Garfield growled.

"She was in a bad place, but she's safe now," said Robin. "If you want to know more, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"Okay, okay, fair enough. How about you?" Garth asked, turning to Kori. "How did you end up here?"

"Mm-! Uh, well, I am a- a refugee," they stammered. "My uncle brought me here to keep me safe."

"Oh, where from?"

Kori bit their lip. "I- I would rather not say."

"Well, is it safe to assume it's somewhere in the Saudi Arabian area?" asked Garth. "For cultural reasons?"

Kori paused, then nodded. "Yes, that is nearby."

"Cool. Well, welcome to America. And you," he pointed to Garfield with a smirk. "Frog guy, right?"

Garfield blushed. "Uh, yeah, that- that was me."

"How did you not get expelled for that?" Garth laughed. "Seriously? That was amazing!"

"Well, security here isn't exactly tight. I mean, Yellowjackets were able to plant smoke bombs in the bathrooms just a few weeks ago, remember? And Rob was able to booby trap my locker, no problem."

"What's going on?" asked Robin.

Victor chuckled again. "Last year, someone broke into the school lab and stole the frogs they were planning to dissect."

"I'm actually jealous," Garth said. "I'd been writing essays for over a year trying to move them to virtual anatomy programs. Then you jump in, pull one heist, and they decide to go through with it! You actually started the VAP courses by making it too expensive to keep ordering frogs. It was perfect!"

"Uh, thank you."

"Where did you take them?"

Garfield smirked. "Somewhere safe. They're definitely not in a makeshift swamp in my basement, that's for sure."

"What?"

"What?"

"Wha-?"

"Guys, my house doesn't have a basement," Garfield said, laughing. "It's a joke. I just set 'em free near the lake."

"Is that safe?" Robin asked. "The environment-."

"Dude, they were standard North American bullfrogs. They already live here. Totally safe!"

"Actually, it might be great for the ecosystem," Garth added. "The rodents in the area-."

Kori pushed their tray away. "I am no longer hungry."

"I wouldn't be either, if I was eating mustard applesauce," Victor chuckled.

"He's right, though. The bigger frogs will eat rats," said Garfield.

Victor's face paled, and he, too, dropped his spoon and stopped eating.

"You guys are insane," he said.

"Do you listen to Xanadox?" Garth asked.

"Yes! He's my favorite."

"I love his shark week specials! He got me into marine biology," Garth said excitedly.

"Yeah, shark week is the best. Those guys come up with some crazy stunts. And that 20-foot white!"

"Aw, Deep Blue! I wanna see her so bad!"

"Could you imagine getting a shark that big in tonic?"

"Good luck with that!"

Robin sighed. "We're gonna need another chair, aren't we?"

"Don't sweat it," Garth assured him. "I usually eat with Roy and Wallace and the other jocks. I don't exactly stick out, but I don't really fit in, either."

"Fitting in is for posers," said Garfield.

"I mean, you're not wrong," Victor said slowly, "but you're not right, either. When I- After the accident? I was a mess. I needed a friend, and you were there for me."

"Agreed," said Kori. "I would be a lonely girl still without friends. You have helped me learn so much about this country. And about me."

Robin nodded to them with a soft smile. He glanced at the clock.

"Bell's about to-."

Garfield sighed. "How does it do that every time?"