- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 03:30 PM -

EB: rose!

TT: Yes?

EB: do you have the notes from english class today?

TT: Yes. Do you want me to take a photo and send them to you?

EB: yeah! that would be great. thanks!

TT: Here. You can just download the photos from that link.

EB: thanks rose!

TT: No problem.

EB: hey.

EB: can i ask you something?

TT: Sure. What do you need to ask, John?

EB: who's that troll girl you've been talking to?

TT: Oh, her? She's...a friend. Apparently, she lives just a few blocks away. I was never even aware of the fact that we had trolls living so close to us.

EB: oh! that's really cool. she seems nice.

TT: Yes, she is nice.

EB: are you going to dirk's sleepover tomorrow?

TT: Why wouldn't I be going?

EB: oh, i don't know. i was just wondering. it wouldn't be as fun without you there!

TT: Thanks for the sincerity.

EB: no problem!

EB: are you bringing your troll friend?

EB: what's her name?

TT: Kanaya. And yes, Dirk said she was allowed to go. It might be a bit awkward though, with her being the only troll.

EB: i'm sure it won't be a problem! dirk's not racist. besides, the more the merrier, right?

TT: Yes, I believe you're correct in that statement. And I'm not so much worried about discrimination, I'm more worried about her not feeling like she fits in.

EB: i guess i can understand that.

EB: anyways, i should get started on my homework. i can't believe my teachers decided to give me so much work! school's only been in session for like, two fucking weeks!

TT: That's high school for you.

EB: yeah, i know.

EB: nice talking to you rose! see you at dirk's tomorrow!

TT: Bye John. Nice speaking to you too.

- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 03:35 PM -

John sighed, putting his phone down on his desk. His right hand was busy writing an essay that he had to do for English, but his left hand (and all of his brain) was busy playing Pokemon. It was an incurable addiction, and he had to get his daily fix. Besides, the nice music helped him focus. The brunette was still having a tough time focusing, which was unusual for him. Probably because he was excited to see all his friends again. Sure, he saw them every day at school, but he only got to really hang out at lunch, which was only 45 minutes. Dirk's sleepover would be an opportunity for him to see everyone again outside of school. He was also pretty excited about meeting Rose's new friend. She seemed nice, and always looked pretty.

Humans and trolls went to integrated schools, which was actually a pretty recent thing. Trolls and humans had been coexisting on earth for many years, although they usually lived in separate communities due to cultural differences. Trolls still had to follow human laws, minus a few exemptions, and they usually didn't intermingle with humans. Except at school, which was kind of nice. Probably because it was easiest for their cultures to meet that way, and build tolerance for one another, which could eventually lead to trolls and humans living together. John hadn't really talked to any trolls yet though, and he had yet to be paired up with one for a project. It wasn't that he disliked them, he just hadn't met any, and he wasn't very sure how to approach them.

Besides, what if he made himself look dumb in front of them? That would be super embarrassing. But, that was all going to change tomorrow. He was going to meet a troll for the first time ever, and hopefully they could be friends. She seemed to have befriended Rose easily enough, so John figured it wouldn't be an issue.

The rest of the night and the next school day flew by in an excited hurry. John had already packed the night before, and Roxy was going to come pick him up and take him to the sleepover in an hour. It was also a Friday, so he could wait until Sunday to finish his homework, which was just some math and French vocab. The boy couldn't help but look out the window every so often, waiting for Roxy's navy blue car to pull up in his driveway. Roxy, Dirk, Jake, and Jane were the oldest, in twelfth grade. Rose, Dave, Jade, and John were all a year younger, in eleventh grade. The only one of the four who knew how to drive well yet was Rose, so all the others had to depend on being picked up or walking. Dirk's house was much too far to walk, and John liked Roxy. She was fun. Her car always smelled like fruit punch and she always played radio loud; she and John would also sometimes even sing along to the songs on the radio.

After a painfully long wait that felt much less like an hour and more like a week, John heard Roxy's loud bass outside his window. He could hear the door close as she got out of the car, and he ran downstairs, bags in arms, to get the door for her. The brunette was greeted by a familiar face with curly blonde hair and black lipstick, smiling at him through the door window. The boy put his bags down and opened the door for Rose's older sister. She was wearing a black tank top and camo shorts with black tights, and it looked really cool. "Johnny boy! How's it hangin'?" Roxy laughed, extending her clenched fist towards him for the new, cool teen greeting called a 'fist bump.' He returned the fist bump, picking up his bags. "Good. Thanks!" he smiled brightly. "No problemo!" Roxy nodded, taking one of John's bags out to her car. "Jesus, John. Did you pack your whole bedroom?" the girl laughed, helping the younger one put his bags in the trunk. "I always over pack. It's better to be too prepared than not prepared enough!" John nodded. "Where'dja learn that?" Roxy asked, opening the passenger side door for John, "boy scouts?" "No, my dad," the brunette told her, climbing into the car and putting his seat belt on.

The ride to Dirk's house was fun. Roxy played some loud music as usual, and she gave John a soda that she had in her glove compartment. It was a bit of a long ride, since Dirk lived in an apartment close to the inner city. When they finally arrived outside the Strider's apartment complex, Roxy parked her car and the two collected their bags. The blonde girl led the way, taking the stairs to the fourteenth floor. John, being a little scared of heights, silently asked himself why his best friend had to live on the very top floor of the apartment building.

"Dirk!" Roxy chimed as she knocked on the door to apartment 1407. After a few seconds of silence and some shuffling inside the room, Dirk opened the door. "Hey Roxy, hey John. Come on in," he smiled, opening the door fully for them. He helped carry the bags into the apartment, which was no problem because he had very strong muscles that were emphasized by the sleeveless shirts he always wore. John liked the apartment, because there were real actual swords mounted on the wall, Dave's music decks in the corner, Dirk's collection of robots, manga, and anime DVDs stacked on a small shelf next to Dave's collection of preserved dead things, and a shelf that had old vinyl records from obscure bands no one besides Dave listened to, and Dirk's collection of cool mini cars.

"Where's Dave?" John asked, disappointed to see that no one else was here besides Roxy, him, and Dirk. "He's in his bedroom finishing up the latest installment of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. I'm sure he'll be done soon," the older Strider shrugged. Just as he finished, the door to Dave's bedroom opened, and the albino blonde poked his head out. "Yo! John, my dude!" Dave smiled, exiting his room and not bothering to close the door, "how's it going?" "Good! Thanks. Where's everyone else?" John asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dunno. They'll probably be here soon. We don't really have a scheduled time," the blonde said calmly. "Hope you brought a sleeping bag, because we are going to be hella sleeping tonight. And also having a good time. Dirk bought like 500 goddamn pizzas. Shit was stacked so fucking high in the fridge, I knew tonight was gonna be totally wild." John simply laughed at his friend's comment, turning around as he heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it!" Roxy announced loudly, dashing towards the door before any of the guys could get a word in edgewise.

Jade entered the room, smiling nervously and holding a green bag with some flowers on it. Soon after, Jane arrived with Jake, only leaving Rose and Kanaya absent. "Where the hell is Rose?" Roxy muttered. They were kind of waiting on her and Kanaya to start the party. They were going to play some games, if she and her friend ever showed up. Eventually, there was one curt knock on the door, and Roxy once more got up to answer it. "Rosey! Hiiiiii!" she chirped, hugging her younger sister. "Hey Kanaya! Nice of you to come!" the older Lalonde smiled, giving her a thumbs up. "Who's that again?" Kanaya asked Rose softly as Roxy went back inside. "That's Roxy, my sister," Rose told her. The troll girl simply nodded in response. Human genetics were still very much confusing to her. "Ah, hey" Dirk glanced up at the two girls from his phone. "Cool, everyone's here," he said to himself. It didn't take very long for the nine of them to decide what to play; they settled on Truth or Dare, since not everyone knew how to play Cards Against Humanity. Rose explained the game to Kanaya, who seemed a little confused, but went along regardless.

"Alright! Since I'm the one who's hosting, I'll go first," Dirk spoke up. "Okay..." he paused to think for a second, glancing at his friends sitting in front of him. Who should he pick? Maybe Jake, but he was his best friend (and unrequited crush, but Jake didn't know that), so he already knew a lot about him. "Rose. Truth or dare?" the older Strider questioned, adjusting his shades. "Truth," the blonde nodded, her calm expression unfaltering. "Have you ever un-ironically enjoyed something made for children?" Dirk asked. "Yes. Squiddles is technically for children, although I know many teenagers who still enjoy watching it. I personally enjoy it," the blonde nodded, unashamed of liking the' children's show.'

"Alright. Kanaya, why don't you have a turn? Truth or Dare?" Rose asked, turning to face the troll. "Truth," the Jadeblood said, still looking a bit dumbfounded. The blonde nodded, "what do you think about humans?" "I think humans are a bit eccentric, if not usually very caring," the Virgo's eyes grazed over the humans sitting in front of her. "I think it's bizarre how humans all have the same blood; a color which is considered a mutation in our society. Regardless, I think humans are very accepting." That was a good answer. John liked this girl already. It was good to see that she didn't hate humans, although he didn't really understand what she was talking about when she said that humans 'all had the same blood.'

This went on for a while, and John was having fun, until everyone started asking everyone about crushes. The boy felt a little awkward, because he didn't have one, and he wasn't even sure he knew what a crush felt like. John was sure that he would get one in due time, though. Most people just said it was a secret, or talked about fictional characters or celebrities that they had crushes on. "What about you, John? You haven't shared yet! Only if you want to, of course!" Jade looked over at him, smiling. "I have a crush on Nicholas Cage," the brunette joked. It was obvious by his tone that he was kidding, and everyone laughed. Boy, that was pretty close. Still, he got the chance to make a joke, and everyone thought it was funny, so he didn't feel bad.

That was, until Dave asked who his crush really was.