The Adventures of Tentacle High

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Okay, so I hope this idea hasn't been done, but this is more of a pre-story to SpongeBob. It's a story about Squidward's days in high school. Some of the main characters are Squidward, Squilliam Fancyson, Squidra Suctioncup (a popular girl that Squidward has a crush on), Mr. Octopi (the homeroom teacher of Squidward, Squilliam, and Squidra), Squidward's mother, and Archie Urchin (Squidward's oddball friend that he meets with after school, obviously a sea urchin.

I'll think of episodes later, as I'm kinda strapped for time. But what do you guys think of my idea?

[70s]

Sounds great. I'll be sure to read it.

So do you read any spin-offs?

[Ron]

Great! I'll read it.

[Wumbo]

Sounds great. I'll be sure to read it.

So do you read any spin-offs?

I haven't read any yet, but I'll definitely read some soon. Thanks for the compliments guys!

Each season will have 20 episodes, consisting of 2 15-minute ones or 1 30-minute special.

Season 1

1. Fresh Squid (30 minute episode)

It is Squidward's first day at Tentacle High. Unfortunately, between tripping in the hallways and wearing a school outfit his mother chose for him, he's not exactly the most popular one there. Things get even worse as he meets Squilliam Fancyson, who seems to be just about perfect! After a lot of teasing, Squidward finally asks his mom if he can drop out of school. Squidward's mom is shocked by this, and asks him why. As Squidward then goes into detail about his school and how he has no friends, his mother mentions something that may cheer him up: A family has moved in beside them, and they have a boy about his age. Squidward goes over and meets Archie Urchin. They become fast friends, and Squidward realizes that with Archie around, his days at school will be at least bearable knowing that there's someone he can talk to when he gets home.

Special notes: Pilot Episode

Character Debuts: Squidward Tentacles, Mrs. Tentacles, Squilliam Fancyson, Hank Musclehead (though he is not referred to by name until New Squid On The Block), Mr. Octopi, Principal Sturn, Archie Urchin, Mrs. Urchin (Archie's mom)

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2a. New Squid on the Block

After Squidward decides to tough it out at this new school, a new student is introduced to his homeroom. Her name is Squidra Suctioncup, and Squidward is instantly smitten. The only problem is, so is just about every other male student there - including Squilliam! Despite Squidward's and Squilliam's attempts to win her affections, Squidra chooses to date Hank Musclehead, the quarterback of Tentacle High's football team. Both Squidward and Squilliam are disappointed, until they find out that Hank and Squidra don't get along well at all. Their relationship lasted only one day! When Squidward hears this news, he immediately goes to ask Squidra on a date. She flatly refuses, but that doesn't crush Squidward's spirits... for now.

2b. Jellyfish Juvenile

A huge essay is coming up, and Squidward is excited, because one of the topics you can choose is clarinet playing. Unfortunately, that topic was already taken by Squilliam. Actually, the only topic left for Squidward is... *shudder* jellyfishing! Squidward hates jellyfishing, he hates jellyfish, and he doesn't even eat jelly on his toast! With one week to do the essay on a topic of which he knows nothing about, Squidward tries to switch topics with anybody he can find, but to no avail. However, with the help of his good friend Archie Urchin, Squidward manages to turn in his essay on time, with a passing grade. Unfortunately, it's not quite as good as Squilliam's. Squilliam's essay about clarinet playing was so well done that he gets to read it in front of the class! Squidward decides that sometimes, you have to make do with what you have, and he is content with a B-.

Character debuts: Squidra Suctioncup

Recurring Theme debuts: Squidward and Squilliam competing for Squidra's affections

Revealed This Episode: Squidward loves clarinet playing and hates jellyfishing

Special Notes: Hank Musclehead is referred to by name for the first time

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3a. Squidward's Job

It's new! It's cool! It's the ultimate Clarinet Hero III video game, and Squidward wants it more than anything. His parents tell him that he needs to buy the game with his own money. Problem is, Squidward's flat broke. The only thing to do now is... get a job. Why not at that new fast food place, Tentacle Burger? Well, probably because the hours are long, the chores are endless, and the wage is minimum. Out of desperation, however, Squidward decides to do it. It turns out to be the longest 2 weeks of his life, between scrubbing the floors, working the grill, and massaging the boss's feet! Thankfully, Squidward finally has enough money to buy Clarinet Hero III. When he buys the game, though, it turns out to be nothing more than Clarinet Hero II, which he already has!

3b. Eight Hands Make Light Work

Squidward's parents have to run some errands, and they have one task for him to do: clean the yard. Oh, please! When you have the house to yourself, who in their right mind would clean the yard? That's Squidward's philosophy as he spends his time goofing off instead of working. He even invites Archie Urchin over! However, Archie has to do some chores first. Feeling bad for his friend, Squidward decides to help out. They get the job done in half the time, but there's barely time left for Squidward to clean up his yard! However, with his friend's help, Squidward manages to clean up just in time for Mom and Dad to get home.

Character Debuts: Mr. Tentacles (Squidward's Dad), Grubby Gary (owner/manager/boss of Tentacle Burger), Rodney Geekson (nerdy kid at Squidward's school, though he is not referred to by name until later)

Location Debuts: Tentacle Burger

Special Notes: First episode pairing where neither episode takes place at Tentacle High

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Squidward sees Rodney Geekson working with him at Tentacle Burger.

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4a. Touched Down a Notch

When Squidward hears that Squilliam has made it onto the school's football team, he wants to make it on there, too. Problem is, he's not athletic enough. So after school, Squidward buys a pair of weights and starts working out. After a month, Squidward is certainly more fit. But the football tryouts are long gone by then. Desperate to get onto a sports team, Squidward finally settles for interpretive dance. It may not make him any more popular, but Squidward grows to love dancing, and happily sticks with the interpretive dance club.

4b. Squid's Split

It all starts innocently in the hallway when Squidward bends down to pick up his books. All of a sudden, "Rrrrippp!" His pants split right open! Squidward immediately rushes home to get a new pair (preferably one that fits him better). Although, he's not sure he wants to go back to school after what happened. His mother then tells him a story about an embarrassing moment she had, where she went on a date, and burped right in the middle of a sentence! She was mortified, but her boyfriend reassures her that it's okay, that those types of things happen to everyone. So Squidward's mom concludes that if you have good enough friends, they won't let you down. Reluctantly, Squidward goes back to school. He is slowly approached by the same guy he met at Tentacle Burger. He introduces himself as Rodney Geekson, and says that the unpopular people have to stick together in rough times. Squidward and Rodney then become fast friends.

Character Debuts: Mr. Nails (gym teacher/football coach), Miss Graceful (interpretive dance teacher)

Recurring Theme Debuts: Squidward's dance class

Special Notes: Rodney Geekson is referred to by name for the first time, and becomes friends with Squidward

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5a. Love Stings

After another day of unsuccessfully asking Squidra out on a date, Squidward overhears her talking about her favourite hobby: jellyfishing. Without thinking at all, Squidward rushes up and asks Squidra to go jellyfishing with him tomorrow night. To his surprise, she accepts! Overjoyed, Squidward rushes home and tells his parents. Then it hits him: he HATES jellyfishing! Now, Squidward's caught between the love of his life and the hobby of his nightmares. Squidward's parents tell him to go anyway, because it would be rude to cancel on a date. The next night, Squidward and Squidra go jellyfishing. Squidward tries to have a good time for Squidra's sake, but Squidra suspects something. She asks Squidward to tell her what's wrong, and when he tries to cover it up, Squidra suspects it has something to do with her and rushes off in tears. After unsuccessfully trying to bring her back, Squidward decides to just go back home and play Clarinet Hero III for the rest of the night. Squidward's parents question why he was home so early. Squidward merely remarks it was his own fault, and vows that he shall try dating Squidra again someday.

5b. Albore Einstein

Once again, Squidward gets stuck with the worst topic, this time for a science project. He has to study microbiology. In disgust, Squidward wonders how things you can't see without a microscope can be interesting. After buying a microscope at Cheap Deals, Squidward decides to see what's on his kitchen table. What he sees fascinates him, so much so that he writes a 5-page progress report on it! Unfortunately, Squidward becomes the laughingstock of his science class when it turns out that the microscope was faulty, and what Squidward saw was not accurate at all. He gets a D- on his report, and learned a valuable lesson: never buy anything from Cheap Deals again!

Character Debuts: Mr. Quandary (Squidward's science teacher), Gill (cashier at Cheap Deals)

Location Debuts: Cheap Deals, a department store with faulty merchandise galore.

Revealed This Episode: Unlike Squidward, Squidra loves jellyfishing

Special Notes: First time Squidward has dated Squidra

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6a. Fresh off the Oven

Strapped for cash (again), Squidward decides to get a job as a pizza delivery man for Porous Pizza. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of effort to walk to every. Single. House. So Squidward decides to get a drive from his parents to deliver the pizzas. One of the deliveries is Squilliam's house, and Squidward doesn't want him to see his parents driving him, so he tells his parents to stop a little before the house, so he doesn't get seen with them. Evidently, that was the wrong choice of words, as Squidward's parents drive off in a huff, telling him he can walk if he's so embarrassed by them. Feeling ashamed, Squidward reluctantly completes the rest of his route walking, then comes back home. He apologizes to his parents, they forgive him, and Squidward decides to use his new money to buy a bicycle (seeing as he's too young to drive).

6b. Popular Party Pooper

Squilliam is having a birthday party, and he's inviting everyone in school - except Squidward! Feeling left out, Squidward decides to team up with Archie Urchin to crash Squilliam's party. Unfortunately, they don't know where this party is - or where Squilliam's house is, for that matter! As Squidward and Archie roam around town looking for Squilliam's party, they discover a lot of cool places in this town that they've never seen before. After an hour or so of roaming around, Squidward realizes that they're probably having more fun than Squilliam is just going around town. The next day, however, Squilliam decides to rub his party in Squidward's face, telling him there was a yacht, a private arcade, and an Olympic-size pool! Disheartened, Squidward finally concludes that while they may have not had as much fun as Squilliam, he and Archie still had a good time.

Location Debuts: Porous Pizza, Tentacletown Museum, Suction Arcade, Seashell Skating Rink

Revealed This Episode: The name of this town is Tentacletown

So, what does everyone think so far?

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7. Split Decision (30-minute episode)

While hanging out with Archie one weekend, Squidward inquires why he never sees Archie's father. Hearing this, Archie nearly bursts into tears. Bewildered, Squidward asks what's wrong. Archie replies that his parents got divorced when he was 6 years old. His father was so angry that he left Tentacletown and never came back. Archie hasn't seen him, or even kept in touch with him, since. After his story is finished, Archie does burst into tears. Having never heard of anyone with divorced parents before, Squidward asks Archie how it happens. Archie replies that it happened like lightning: one minute you're one big happy family, the next it's all fighting and divorce papers. Squidward is shocked. He gives a few sympathetic words to Archie, says goodbye, and goes home. After recovering, Squidward decides that it would never happen to his parents - after all, they love each other, right? Later that night, Squidward is reassured and drifts off to sleep.

The next morning, Squidward's dad is in a rush to get to work because his alarm clock didn't go off. He wants a quick breakfast, but Mrs. Tentacles can only make breakfast so fast. They soon end up quarreling, and in the midst of it all, Squidward is shocked. He goes off to school with a heavy heart, thinking that his parents will get a divorce. Then, he gets an idea. He plans out a romantic evening at home for his parents. In all the romance, maybe his parents will fall in love again. Squidward decides on a romantic dinner. When he gets home from school, neither of his parents are, and they won't be until 6 o'clock. That gives Squidward plenty of time. He dresses up the kitchen, puts scented candles everywhere, and plays one of Mom's favourite Barry Romantilow records. Then, he cooks a meal for two, turns off all the lights, and waits.

When Squidward's parents get home, they are bewildered. They don't really know what to think, and each is getting more and more annoyed as the mystery continues. When Squidward hears this, he turns on the lights and proclaims to his parents that he doesn't want them to get divorced. Both Mom and Dad are shocked. They don't know where Squidward got the idea of them getting a divorce, but they certainly aren't getting one. They explain to Squidward that they love each other very much, but you fight with even the ones you love sometimes. Squidward is overjoyed that his parents aren't getting a divorce, and he, Mr. Tentacles, and Mrs. Tentacles exchange hugs. After that, they all sit down to share the dinner Squidward prepared. That night, Squidward goes to sleep even more reassured than the night before.

Revealed This Episode: Archie's parents are divorced, and he hasn't seen his dad since age 6

Squidward's mom likes Barry Romantilow's music

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8a. Finders Keepers

While walking along the beach one day, Squidward notices a discarded rocket ship toy. At first, he thinks it's just a dumb old toy. But when he presses a button, the rocket flies crazily into the air! Then he pushes another button, and it makes really realistic sound effects of a rocket taking off! Squidward decides that the reason it was discarded was that nobody wanted it, so he decides to keep it. When he gets home, his mother asks him where he found this new toy. Squidward replies unwittingly that her found it at the beach. Squidward's mom makes him go back to the beach and give it to the beach's Lost and Found. Reluctantly, Squidward goes. When he gets there, he sees a little fish crying. Then, the fish's mother notices that Squidward is holding the rocket toy. She thanks him for finding it. When Squidward realizes that the little fish is crying about losing the very toy he was holding, he finds it in his heart to give it back. The little fish hugs Squidward, and Squidward goes back home knowing that although he doesn't have that cool toy anymore, he felt better knowing it was back where it belonged.

8b. Clothing Confrontations

Squidward's mom decides it's time to go shopping for some new clothes for her son, and drags a reluctant Squidward along. While at Finners, Squidward's mom notices what she calls "the cutest pair of pants". Squidward rushes over, takes one look at the pants, and nearly vomits. They're HIDEOUS! But between the fact that he doesn't want to hurt his mom's feelings and the fact that he wants to get out of clothes shopping as soon as possible, Squidward agrees to buying the pants. Squidward's mom is overjoyed. The next day, Squidward's mom insists that he wear the "cool new pants" to school. Squidward decides to stash an extra pair of pants in his backpack, ones that aren't so nerdy, and change into them right when he gets to school. When he gets to school, however, Squilliam is right by the front door! He decides to make an alternate entrance through the back door, but he sees Squidra there! Not knowing what to do, Squidward decides to go behind a bush and change there. The problem is, he forgets all about the new pants and leaves them on the bush! When Squidward goes down to the office to retrieve them again, Squilliam notices, and starts laughing. The rest of the school joins in. At home, Squidward decides to tell his mom that he HATES his new pair of pants. Rather than angry, though, his mom is simply confused, wondering why he didn't tell her in the first place. Squidward explains that he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Squidward's mom reassures Squidward that her feelings aren't hurt, and they go back to Finners to return the pants the next day.

Character debuts: Billy Bass (the little fish, who is not referred to by name until later), Billy Bass's mom

Location Debuts: Tentacle Tide (the beach), Finners (clothing store)

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9a. Buzz Kill

Squidward forgot to do his math homework. But, when he gets to school, his teacher tells him he can hand it in tomorrow. Squidward is shocked, because Ms. Addleson is very strict about deadlines. At lunch, Hank Musclehead offers Squidward his dessert, and even asks him to sit with the popular kids! Squidward can't help but wonder why everyone is being so nice to him. Then, when he gets home and goes over to Archie's house, he realizs why: Archie told everyone in Tentacle High that his mother died! Squidward is shocked once again, this time because his mother is very much alive. He gets angry at Archie and tells him he's going to set things straight. But when he gets to school the next day and Squidra gives him a "sympathy kiss", Squidward decides that this could go on for maybe a little bit longer. However, Archie, feeling guilty, steps into Squidward's school himself and proclaims that he lied: Squidward's mother is not dead. Everybody starts to gang up on Squidward again, but Rodney Geekson and Archie tell everyone to leave him alone. Soon after, everyone forgets about the whole ordeal and Squidward is back to his original social status at Tentacle High.

9b. Joyless Buzzer

There's a new fad at Tentacle High: joy buzzers. And everyone has seemed to pick up on it except for Squidward. This is a bad thing, because now Squidward has become the butt of everyone's joy buzzer hand-shaking joke. Determined to get a joy buzzer after school, he asks his mom if there are any lying about the house, but to no avail. He then decides to go over to Archie's house and see if he has any. Archie simply replies, "Nope". As a last resort, Squidward reluctantly goes to Cheap Deals to get one. He tells the cashier to make sure it's one that works. After buying a joy buzzer, he goes back to Archie's house to test it out on him. It works! Squidward can't wait to show the people at school that he has one now. But, when he gets to school the next day, the fad is now squirting flowers! Nobody cares about joy buzzers anymore! Squidward decides that this whole fad business is silly, and decides to just be himself.

Character Debuts: Ms. Addleson, Larry (fish with odd jobs, cashier at Cheap Deals, not referred to by name until later)

Special Notes: First time Squidra kisses Squidward

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10a. Hanks A Lot

Squidra has yet again began to date Hank Musclehead. Squidward is appalled, mostly because he thinks Hank is a complete jerk. So, he decides to set Hank up to do something that's really embarrassing. When he hears that Squidra and Hank are meeting at Chez Squidron tomorrow night, he decides to follow them and set up traps to make Hank look bad. Unfortunately, Hank doesn't seem to fall for any of them! Squidward concludes that Hank must be smarter than he looks. But when the bill comes and Hank realizes he forgot to bring money, it's Squidward's time to shine. Squidward steps in and offers to pay for both their meals. Impressed with Squidward and disgusted by Hank, Squidra asks Squidward to walk her home. Squidward feels like he's on top of the world... that is, until Hank follows through with his threats to Squidward the next day. Beaten and bruised, Squidward still thinks it was all worth it.

10b. Hall In A Day's Work

Squidward is really excited: He got chosen to be the hall monitor for the third floor! However, Rodney Geekson warns him it's not all fun and games. He should know, he's the second floor hall monitor. Squidward ignores him and convinces himself it will be great. Turns out he should have heeded Rodney's warning - being a hall monitor SUCKS! Lots of people make fun of you, you have to clean up the hallway, and you have to wear this STUPID blue uniform! However, Squidward sticks with it for a grueling week, until some other unlucky sap gets chosen for next week's hall monitor. Squidward breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that his duties as Hall Monitor are over.

Location Debuts: Chez Squidron (fancy restaurant)

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11. Permanent Detention (30-minute episode)

When Squidward becomes unbearably jealous of Squilliam, he decides to check Squilliam's permanent record file to see if he's ever made a mistake. Unfortunately, he does not have access to anyone's permanent record, let alone Squilliam's. That's where his buddy Archie comes in. Together, they sneak into the office at night (and are surprised when they notice the lack of security). Squidward finally reaches the permanent record drawer, and fishes through it to look for Squilliam's file. When he finds it, it turns out that Squilliam failed a history quiz. Evidently, he also failed to tell anybody about it. Squidward now has the perfect dirt on Squilliam Fancyson, and can't wait to get the upper hand... er, tentacle. Just then, the principal walks in!

It turns out that Principal Sturn was working late, and went on a coffee break. He demands to know why Squidward is rifling through the permanent drawer file. He also inquires who the slightly oddball sea urchin is. When Squidward fails to answer either question due to utter shock, he is suspended from school for a week. Archie's mom hears about this and bans Archie from ever hanging out with Squidward (or, "that bad influence" as she puts it) ever again. Squidward's parents are disappointed, too. So disappointed that Squidward's grounded for a month. As he sits in his room, Squidward wonders why he ever decided to do something so stupid in the first place. Then, he decides the only way out of this is to write a letter of apology.

When Squidward is allowed back into school, he asks his homeroom teacher if he can apologize to Squilliam before the lesson happens. Mr. Octopi reluctantly agrees. Squidward jumps up, goes to the front of the class and recites the speech he created. When he is done, everyone is impressed, even Mr. Octopi. All is forgiven at school, it seems... if only it were that way at home. While he is praised for his nobleness, he's still grounded. But, after a couple hours of deliberating with Archie's mom, Squidward is allowed to hang out with Archie again once his grounding is over. Squidward breathes a sigh of relief, and vows he'll never break into the permanent record file again.

Revealed This Episode: Squilliam failed a history quiz (only a minor one, though, so nobody knows about it except his history teacher, Principal Sturn, Squidward, and Archie Urchin)

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12a. Dances With Squids

Squidward asks Squidra to go to the Tentacle High annual freshman dance with her. To his surprise, she accepts! However, there's just one thing Squidward needs to do: and that is learn how to dance! Oh, sure he's got interpretive dancing down pat. But when it comes to slow dancing... he just doesn't know the right moves. To make matters worse, for once, he can't see Archie Urchin about it (having spindly legs is not conducive to dancing). So, as a last resort, Squidward begs Squilliam to help him. But, to no avail. Squidward decides that he just needs to wing it and have a good time. When Squidra's father picks him up that night, he takes Squidward aside and warns him not to mess up. Squidward gulps and promises that he'll do his best. When they get into the dance, Squidward immediately cracks under pressure and admits to Squidra that the only dancing he knows about is interpretive dancing. Surprisingly, Squidra shows some interest and asks Squidward to show her some moves. While Squidward ends up being the laughingstock of the dance, Squidra reassures him that he did fine, and tells her father she had a great time. Squidward goes to sleep that night peacefully, satisfied that he didn't mess up, at least in Squidra's eyes.

12b. Happy Halloween

It's that time of year again: Halloween. Squidward dreads it every year. Why? Because he's usually the butt of scary practical jokes. Not wanting to suffer a similar fate in high school, Squidward tells himself to "keep it cool". Shortly after this pep talk, he walks right into a spider and screams like a girl... in front of other girls! All because of a stupid joke pulled by Hank Musclehead (it was only a plastic spider on some string. Embarrassed, Squidward decides the only way out of this is to prank Hank back. So, he designs a super-scary jack-o-lantern, guaranteed to scare the pants off anyone who dares some near it! He goes to Hank's house that night, puts it on his doorstep, rings the doorbell, and waits. Soon after, he hears a girly scream, jumps out, and laughs at... Hank's mother! Oopsie. To compensate for scaring the living daylights out of her, Squidward agrees to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, hoping that nezt Halloween will be better.

Character Debuts: Squidra's father, Hank's mother

Location Debuts: Hank Musclehead's house

Special Notes: First holiday-themed episode

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13a. Codename: Squids Next Door

When Squidward's homeroom classmates begin to pass notes in code, Squidward feels like he's the only one who can't understand it. To make matters worse, somebody passes him a note in code, and he gets in trouble for it and has to stay after school! Determined to decode the code, Squidward turns to Rodney Geekson to see if he knows what it is. Surprisingly, he does, and he lets Squidward in on the code. When the code turns out to be really simple (A=1, B=2, etc.) Squidward feels like an idiot. But, at least he's in on the code now! When he writes a message to Squidra in homeroom the next day, it turns out Squidra doesn't know the code either! Squidward doesn't want to say what he wrote in the note ("I Love You"), so he decides to make up something random. Relieved that he got out of that one, Squidward decides to make all his notes anonymous from now on.

13b. Winter Blunderland

It's the first day of winter, and Squidward is already feeling the winter blahs. He decides to invite Rodney Geekson and Archie Urchin over for a snowball fight after school. However, when all 3 get together, Rodney takes an immediate dislike to Archie, and vice versa. When the snowball fight turns into a full-fledged war between the two, Squidward puts it to a halt, and asks both Rodney and Archie what got into them. Archie replies that Rodney's too geeky, and Rodney replies that Archie's too weird. Disappointed that his two best friends can't get along, Squidward sends them both home. As he goes home himself and has some hot chocolate, he decides to write apology letters to both Archie and Rodney, signing the other one's name on it. The next day, both feel a little better when they see the letter, and Squidward invites them over after school to make amends in person. Unfortunately, when they realize that both letters have the same handwriting, they put two and two together and come up with Squidward. Squidward stammers that all he wanted was for the two of them to be friends. Rodney and Archie realize that they can't turn on their best friend, but they still don't like each other. Squidward decides that it's okay, because you don't need to like everybody, but he still wants his friends to at least tolerate each other. Rodney and Archie agree, and they all go to Squidward's house for a mug of hot chocolate.

Special Notes: First time Archie has met another student from Tentacle High

First time snow is shown

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14a. Don't Task Squidward

Squidward's parents are going out to do some errands again, and they want Squidward to do the laundry while they're away. Remembering what almost happened last time his parents left him with a chore, Squidward decides that he'd better get this one done. Unfortunately, Squidward puts in too much detergent, and the basement overflows with soap bubbles! When Squidward's parents get home to a mess of bubbles in the basement, they tell Squidward to clean up the mess. But just when he gets the mop and bucket, Squidward's parents decide to do it themselves. Squidward feels like his parents don't trust him with the simplest of tasks anymore. The next day, Squidward's parents have to go out to do MORE errands, and they tell Squidward to just leave everything alone. Frustrated that his parents don't trust him, Squidward decides to do all the chores to win them back. It's easier said than done, but Squidward manages to complete everything that needs to be done, just in time for Mom and Dad to get home! Squidward's parents are very impressed with what he did, and Squidward feels happy that he won his parents' trust back.

14b. Paper Squid

When Squidward hears about a job opening for a new paperboy, he applies for it. Unfortunately, Squilliam has decided to apply for it too! Now, Squidward and Squilliam are fighting to get this job. Both write excellent resumes, and both show up on time for the job interview. Unfortunately, they're to busy insulting each other to tell the boss why they should have the job. The boss soon becomes disgusted with both of their behaviours, and kicks them out of his office. Both Squidward and Squilliam are disappointed, but then, a paperboy comes by. He looks beat up and run ragged. Squidward asks what happened. The paperboy replies that there were some bullies down the block that beat him up for being a paperboy, which they consider "uncool". Outraged, Squidward rushes over to have a few choice words with the bullies. In a matter of minutes, he comes back beaten up too! The paperboy is grateful to Squidward for at least trying to stop the bullies, and offers Squidward his route. Squidward declines, but suggests that Squilliam take the job. Squilliam, thinking he can handle any bullies in his way, is only too happy to accept the offer. Squidward and the papaerboy walk off laughing, knowing that Squilliam won't be able to handle them.

Character Debuts: The paperboy, Mr. Inkling (the boss of the Daily Squid newspaper company)

Location Debuts: the Daily Squid office

Special Notes: First time a flashback is made to a previous episode (Eight Hands Make Light Work)

[Wumbo]

15a. Gum, Sail Away

Squidward and his mom go shopping again, and this time Squidward gets to pick the pants. He picks a really cool pair that he knows the kids at school will like. When he gets home, he decides to leave them on for the rest of the day. He soon realizes that this was a bad idea, when he unknowingly sits on a wad of chewed gum! Now, Squidward's working frantically to get the gum out. He tries washing the pants, scraping the gum off, pulling the gum off. Nothing works. Squidward is sad because he was looking forward to wearing these new pants. Then his mom comes, and asks himn what's wrong. Squidward replies that he got gum all over his new pants. Squidward's mom decides to take them to the dry cleaners... but Squidward has to pay for it out of his own money! Squidward decides it's worth it, so he can wear the cool new pants at shool tomorrow. When he gets to school the next day, however, he realizes that the pants he's wearing are "so last week" and that the nerdy ones his mom bought him before are "in"! Squidward decides to just give up on being cool, concluding that it's too much work.

15b. Balking At Walking

Squidward's parents decide to start having "family walk nights" once a week in order to spend more "family togetherness". Personally, Squidward hates the idea. So, he tries every excuse in the book to get out of it each week. 3 weeks in, Squidward's parents start to catch on to what he's doing, and they cancel "family walk nights". Feeling guilty, Squidward decides to set things straight with his parents. He tells them that while he would love to spend more time together, he doesn't want to just walk, because that's boring in his opinion. Squidward's parents decide to have a "family game night" instead. Squidward is thrilled at the idea... until he realizes that his parents expect him to play "baby games" like Dandyland. Squidward decides that it will take a while before his parents get the idea of games he wants to play, but until then, he's fine with playing Dandyland once a week.

Reference to Previous Episode: Clothing Confrontations (8b)

[Wumbo]

16a. The In Crowd

Two new students transfer into Tentacle High: twins named Bill and Jill. They get assigned to Squidward's homeroom, and appear to be real idiots. When Squidward notices that less students are bullying him and more students are bullying these new kids, he puts two and two together and joins in. Pretty soon, Squidward is accepted as "one of the gang", which consists of Squilliam, Hank, etc. However, fame comes with a price: Rodney Geekson is furious with him for not sticking up for the bullied. Squidward is now torn between being happy because he's popular, and feeling guilty and sad for losing his (at one time only) friend at Tentacle High. He decides to seek advice from Archie Urchin. Archie's logic is twisted (literally, he compares high school to a pretzel for some reason) but Squidward gets the message and knows exactly what to do tomorrow. He stands up against the popular crowd and becomes friends with Bill and Jill. He soon learns that while they're not the sharpest tools in the shed, they have street smarts from living as a poor family. He also wins back the friendship of Rodney, and learns a valuable lesson: stay true to yourself.

16b. Ignorance Is Bliss?

When Bill and Jill do poorly on the first test they were assigned, Squidward and Rodney decide to team up to try and teach them. They work out a lesson plan that should get them better ready for high school. When Bill and Jill come over for their first lesson, it's clear that they don't know very much past the third or fourth grade. So, Squidward and Rodney try to remember what they learned from the fourth grade and beyond. They then come up with a new lesson plan that they think is sure to work. However, when the twins come over for their second lesson, they complain about learning too much at once. Squidward, frustrated, yells at them rather harshly. Then Rodney Geekson tries to calm Squidward down and tells him that they should just teach one thing per day. Squidward agrees, and apologizes to Bill and Jill for yelling. After a week, it turns out that this teaching business is harder than it looks. So, Squidward and Rodney decide to end Bill and Jill's private lessons and focus on catching up on their own schoolwork!

Character Debuts: Bill and Jill

[Wumbo]

17a. Archie Urgin'

One afternoon, Archie tells Squidward that he is going to skip school tomorrow, and he wants Squidward to do it too so they can play together. Squidward at first refuses, then he begins to think about how much fun he and Archie will have if they skip school. He finally agrees, and Archie and Squidward make a plan so their parents don't suspect. The next day. Squidward "goes to school" with his backpack (as part of the plan). When he is far enough from his house, he runs in another direction. He eventually catches up with Archie, who did a similar trick. Squidward opens his backpack, and it turns out they were carrying snacks for the "freedom day", as Archie calls it. Around noon, Squidward starts to feel a little anxious, wondering if this was the right thing to do in the first place. Archie tells him to relax, because they won't get caught. As they walk out of the ice cream shop, however, they run right into a truant officer (he looks pretty nasty, too)! He questions why Squidward and Archie aren't at school, but all they can do is stammer non-decipherable words. The truant officer takes them home to their parents, and each are grounded for two weeks. They also get extra homework from their teachers the next day. Squidward and Archie both vow never to skip school again (unless it's necessary, of course).

17b. Super Zeroes

Squidward and Rodney share a favourite superhero: Laser Squid! Unfortunately, no one else seems to share their interests at school. "It all comes with being a nerd", Rodney proclaims. The next day. Rodney shows off to Squidward his new Laser Squid thermos. Squidward is jealous, wishing he could find something like that. Then, the NEXT day, Squidward shows off his Laser Squid LUNCHBOX. Now, Rodney's the jealous one. Over the next few weeks, Squidward and Rodney try to out-do each other with Laser Squid pencils, Laser Squid personalized pens, Laser Squid stickers, you name it. Eventually, both get tired of this, and Rodney says that they can be fans of Laser Squid without any of this stuff. "Besides", he adds, "it's not like we're becoming any more popular because of this." Squidward has to agree, and decides to give all his stuff to Rodney. As he walks off, Rodney casts an evil laugh, saying Operation Truce worked out perfectly! He then runs off, cherishing his new Laser Squid items.

Character Debuts: Archie's homeroom teacher (unknown name), truant officer (unknown name), Laser Squid

Location Debuts: The Icy Squid, an ice cream parlour

Pincushion High, Archie's school

Revealed This Episode: Archie does in fact go to school

Squidward and Rodney's favourite superhero is Laser Squid