Friendships, rivalries, love — these are just a few of the relationships formed within Lakewood High School classrooms. High school is more than grades; it’s where students form lifelong bonds.

On March 30, a couple was joined in matrimony in Ms. Frend’s physics class. The couple was a classroom addition that soared in popularity in the classroom. Throughout the year, they became an integral part of everyday life in the classroom.

“I can’t even pinpoint when it started exactly, but … it started when they made when seventh-period students, Sebastian and whoever else, made a home for Richard in the back of the room,” said physics teacher Jennifer Frend. “And there’s a whole thing going on between them, and then eventually, Richard and Dave’s relationship grew.”

This couple, however, is less traditional than the majority of us are used to. The dynamic duo consists of two individuals: Dave the Rubber Chicken Flinger and Richard, a swimming toy lobster.

Together, Dave and Richard have had multiple adventures, story arcs and major events within the classroom — feats that may not have been possible without the contributions of Lakewood High School seniors Gwendolyn Hongosh and Maya Trempe.

“Maya and I just kind of didn’t really want to do that much physics anymore,” Hongosh said. “So we took this and ran with it, and we just started doing it instead of doing physics.”

To start, the events leading up to the wedding are perhaps the most important for understanding why it is happening now and what will happen next.

Richard first arrived in the classroom sometime last year as a leftover prop from the annual physics roller coaster project. Richard was left to sit on the counter of Ms Frend’s classroom for the summer.

When the new school year started, however, Richard was quickly incorporated into the seventh-period physics class. By early October, Richard was given his own castle set (props from the rollercoaster project) and printed photos that lined his classroom area.

Within a couple of weeks, Richard was soon joined by Dave, a rubber chicken flinger gifted by senior Jameson Walker, another seventh-period student. Dave was given his own house (another castle) and lived alongside Richard.

With time, however, the project fell primarily into the hands of Trempe and Hongosh, who were far more committed to maintaining the props and creating lore for the two characters.

Hongosh describes the major character arcs of Dave and Richard as follows:

“Richard and Dave were living a life. Then Adam evicted Richard, and then Richard moved out. Richard and Dave then fell in love, and then they got married,” she said. “In between that, Richard tried to kidnap Dave, and then he was homeless for a little bit, and then he got sent to jail for kidnapping Dave, and then he was under house arrest. But now he just kind of lives his normal life, and he’s chilling.”

“I really enjoyed it when Richard went to jail,” said Frend.

Adam is another character within the plot who serves Dave as his loyal friend and landlord. He was also the best man at the wedding.

The plot, however, took a major leap with the engagement of Richard and Dave, which occurred about 10 days before the actual wedding.

In preparation for the wedding, the two students did extensive work. Cutouts and constructions were made, along with invitations and an actual wedding cake for guests to enjoy.

“Sometimes it varies where we’re both working on one prop or costume. Maybe Gwen would be cutting, and I would be taping.” Trempe said, “But sometimes we also split it up where we’re just working on completely different things.”

Invitations were distributed throughout the school, and attendance at the event exceeded even the extremely high expectations.

Beyond the 20 students who responded to the RSVP on Ms. Frend’s whiteboard, … to the event on Ms. Frend’s whiteboard, the entirety of Mr. Lewis’ fourth-period class also attended the wedding. In total, about 40 students were in attendance

The wedding itself began promptly at 10:25 a.m., with Ms. Frend serving as the wedding officiant.

Ms. Frend swore in the newlyweds with a speech that had been pre-written by Trempe and Hongosh.

When the couple was officially married, students in attendance popped makeshift confetti poppers, contributed by third-period seniors Avery Greene and Abby Kovach, in celebration of the marriage.

After the ceremony, Mr. Lewis’ fourth-period class did not stay for the wedding after-party; it’s reported that he was extremely confused about the event.

During the after-party, guests who stayed were served cake. The two-tiered dessert featured vanilla frosting and was well-received. After the cake was distributed, guests dispersed, feeling fulfilled and satisfied.

As for what’s next for everyone’s new favorite power couple:

“So at the moment, this is obviously, like, the climax. I think this wedding is bigger than [Princess] Diana’s wedding in some ways,” Trempe said, “I like to think that, given the past two months of school, once Richard and Dave are off like their honeymoon, that there’s more to come.”

The continuation of their story is a strong reminder that, even as the school year nears its end, it is far from over. The lessons Richard and Dave have imparted to the class have been among the most lasting of the year

“Ten years from now, they’re probably not going to remember a lot of what we did academically,” said Frend, “But I imagine that those students will remember all the Richard and Dave drama.”

It’s a reminder that stories are far from over, even for those who are continuing the days until that final bell rings, and their high school careers end.

So, Godspeed Richard and Dave; may their marriage be a constant reminder of the stories that we can make when we are really, really bored.

For the future of this young couple after graduation: “A girl can dream,” Hongosh said, “But I highly doubt it, like no one’s as awesome as we are. I really don’t think anyone has the potential to do the great things that we have done in that classroom.”