Transcript:
Gene says, "Well, I head back to school tomorrow! One more semester!" Janis says, "That's all you lack? One more semester?" Gene says, "And a few odd hours." Janis says, "Two semesters, in other words." Gene says, "Mom! Cut me some slack!"
2023.
At the time this strip was published, many colleges were beginning to increase the number of online courses they were offering, and the college I was attending had switched to a third-party online portal for us to take our tests through on our own time so that those classroom hours could be spent in instruction.
If Gene had a reliable internet connection, he could have been doing course work at the restaurant.