The second day was just about as interesting as the first. Everyone got their textbooks, and in first period they had to sit through an explanation on school policies like the zero tolerance for bullying rule and dress code. Eridan sighed, leaning on his hand as he tried to pay attention to the most boring lecture he had ever heard. He heard Dave sigh in agreement, the two men for once agreeing on their mutual disinterest in the presentation. Eridan thought a moment. Perhaps Dave wasn't has hostile as he seemed, and instead that was his natural way of acting. Of course, he did see that Dave was much more hospitable at lunch towards his friends than he was right now.

Eridan didn't dwell on it long, because by the time he had, he was being called out for dozing. Eridan straightened up and nodded with a quick apology, making his teacher smirk. His gaze darted to his three table-mates. Dave had a smirk. Karkat had the same grumpy frown that he always wore. Sollux seemed a little irritated. Once again, Eridan was called out on for lacking the ability to pay attention. He turned and leaned back in his chair, glaring at the presentation and its presenter.

Lunch swung around before he could realize it. He sat down at his normal table, where Feferi was already waiting and chatting happily with Equius, who seemed overly bored with whatever topic they were discussing.

Equius's head looked up when he saw Eridan, and he said, "Oh, hey Eridan."

"Hey," Eridan said with a smile, sitting down next to Feferi. "W-What's goin' on?"

"Equius and I are partners on that silly English project we got today," Feferi said with a smile. "You know, the one where you have to find things you have in common with each other."

"Oh, right," Eridan said. "I got paired up with a guy named Gamzee."

"Stoner," Nepeta coughed as she joined the table. "If he offers you any item whatsoever, say no. He offered me a strawberry smoothie once. It wasn't made of strawberries."

"Do I w-want to know?" Eridan asked. Nepeta shook her head. "W-Well, I didn't have much in common w-with the fellow-w in the first place. He kept ramblin' on and on about miracles, of all the things in the w-world to ramble about. I'm not excited for the second part of this assignment."

Feferi's eyes widened with realization. "Oh right, the actual literature part of this. Oh, gross. Equius, you're going to do that, okay?"

"Okay," he said, pulling off his glasses and wiping them on his black tank top. "I don't care either way."

"I don't get that puuurrrrrr-pose of this assignment," Nepeta said. "We find a topic we enjoy and write about it?"

"Pretty much," Feferi said. "It's really boring, and I think it's stupid."

The conversation kept rambling on, topics changing quickly before Eridan felt a buzzing in his pocket. Checking, he got a text from Sollux telling him to look over at the cool kid table because John was about to do something amazing. Turning his head, Eridan saw the group chatting as normal. Nothing extraordinary happened for a moment, and when he went to turn his head again, Sollux texted him to be patient and to wait for it. Eridan continued watching out of the corner of his eye, and right when Feferi turned to ask what he was staring at, there was a huge boom.

Confetti was everywhere, and while everyone was laughing and smiling, congratulating John on another prank well pulled, though Aradia didn't seem pleased. Eridan watched the girl storm off, Vriska following her and yelling at her to calm down, only she had various other choice words following that statement. Sollux only sighed and strolled over to Eridan's table on the way to find Aradia and Vriska.

"That wath thuppothed to be a lot funnier than it wath," Sollux said, his shoulders slumped.

"Why did John confetti-blast her?" Feferi asked, getting up with Nepeta.

"It'th her birthday," Sollux said. "Or, well, it wath a few dayth ago. We never got to celebrate ath a group, tho we were going to today. Gueth John didn't do well."

"No duh," Nepeta said.

"I better go talk to her," Sollux said.

Feferi shook her head. "No. You'll do something else stupid, Lispy. Sit down and talk with Eridan and Equius, or go hang out with your cool friends. We'll go take care of Aradia, because I doubt Vriska can do much to help."

The two girls hurried away, and Sollux just sat down in Feferi's spot.

"You're not going to go sit with your friends, Sollux?" Equius asked.

"No, becauthe then I'd have to help clean up the meth," Sollux said. "And that thoundth lame."

Eridan and Equius exchanged a quick glance before both men shrugged. Eridan asked, "Hey, Sol, w-who did you get paired up w-with for the English project?"

"Your thupid thithter."

"V-Vris?" Eridan laughed. "Sucks for you, chap."

"Yeah. We have nothing in common other than we both like bugth, except her favorite ith thpiders and I like beeth," Sollux said, slumping over and resting his elbows on the table.

"At least you aren't paired with the stoner," said Equius, nodding his head in Eridan's direction. Eridan chuckled a bit, agreeing, "Yeah. I got stuck with that Gamzee Makara fellow."

"Oh, I know Gamzee," Sollux said. "He and Karkat are like brotherth. Hith older brother, Kurloth, liketh my twin."

"I didn't know-w you had a tw-win," Eridan said.

Sollux's smile dropped. "I don't."

"You just said you did," Equius said.

"I didn't. You're hearing thingth," Sollux said. "I just remembered, uh, I've got to go athk Dave thomething. I'll text you later, Eridan. Thee you around, Equiuth." The popular boy got up before either could respond, and he was already talking to Dave and helping pick up the confetti.

"You heard about the tw-win as w-well, right?" Eridan asked Equius. The other gave a nod in response before getting up and heading to the gym. Eridan figured he might as well head to class as well.