>The first day of school begins.
>Enter Gloriosa Daisy, the newest teacher of Crystal Prep High.
>No one knows how she passed the application process.
>"Hello everyone!" She says to her new group of students, smiling a lot. "My name is Miss Daisy!"
>Sugarcoat looks up from her book and stares.
>She stares long and hard at the new teacher.
>Dressed in one of the student uniforms when she herself is a teacher.
>Indigo Zap wakes up Sour Sweet who was snoozing on her school desk.
>"I... wha... 42!" Sour Sweet answers what she expects to be a surprise math question.
>"No! Look!" Indigo points over to Gloriosa when she's not looking.
>Sour Sweet rubs her eyes.
>Sugarcoat and Sunny Flare look over too.
>Lemon Zest sits in her desk listening to music not paying attention or caring.
>"New teacher?" Asks Sour Sweet.
>Indigo Zap grins wickedly and nods.
>Sugarcoat can already tell what's going to happen in the times after this moment.
>She returns to her book without another word.
>"As long as she doesn't give us homework every single night." She mumbles to herself.
>The bell rings.
>Time for some class to begin.
>"Good morning, students!" Gloriosa smiles over at her class... again.
>They all groan back with their minds thinking outside the droll school day.
>"How's everyone doing today?" Gloriosa continues.
>The class had already answered, now they sit silently before chanting in unison. "Great, Miss Daisy."
>They're just waiting for the first homework assignment of the school year to be assigned.
>As well as the first quiz date.
>They just know it's coming.
>It's only a matter of lecture slides, which Gloriosa must be pulling up on the computer now.
>The Shadowbolt Five are the only ones besides Gloriosa who are cheery today and not feeling any hints of fatigue.
>The projector turns on with a whir.
>The square lights up before the students like it always does when the lecture is about to begin.
>On the projector, the image of a cat comes up.
>The image of a cat comes up.
>Now all of the students are perked up in their seats, never having seen such a sight before.
>Sugarcoat briefly stares at the cat before looking back down at her book.
>Sour Sweet gives Indigo a confused look.
>"What the..." She mutters. "I thought..."
>"Today, we're gonna talk about... you guessed it! Feelings!"
>Is this really introductory humanities?
>"Feelings... as you all know them. Are one of the fundamental foundations of the human nature. It's what makes us who we are, even if it's just a teeny bit!" Gloriosa continues in a laid back tone.
>The students stare at her with their notebooks open on their desks.
>The notebooks close one by one when she starts to talk about "the meaning of life".
>The notebooks close two by two when Gloriosa rambles on about why authoritarian politics is bad.
>Again...
>No one knows how she passed the application process.
>For this prestigious prep school.
>"Our assignment for today is to get to know eachother! So if everyone can stand up and move the desks out of the way, we can get started."
>"Wh-what for?" One boy asks.
>"So we can sit in a circle, of course!"
>What is this, Kindergarten?
>Sugarcoat already has her full bodyweight pushing against the desk towards the back wall and sits down. "Eh, works for me." Her eyes go back to being glued to her book.
>Most of the other students just stare in absolute disbelief.
>She can't be serious. This lady didn't really get to become a teacher of this school, right?
>The realization that no one will have to work hard in this class spreads through the class like the Bubonic Plague.
>Everyone except Lemon Zest is cooperating and sitting in their designated classroom circle.
>All eyes soon stare up at Lemon Zest at her desk.
>Gloriosa waits patiently as the other students converse rather quietly.
>Indigo and Sour Sweet start silently laughing hard as they realize that this is ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
>"Can... someone tap her on the shoulder please?" Gloriosa asks politely. "We should get started soon."
>We should get started soon.
>SOON.
>No rush, just SOON please. Somewhere within this 50 minute class period that's already almost a fourth of the way over.
>One of the other students taps Zest on the shoulder.
>She looks over at them as Indy and Sour Sweet fall on their sides holding back roaring laughter.
>She then looks over to Gloriosa. "Who the hell are you?"
>The whole class laughs, Indigo and Sour's laughter cackling loudly above all.
>"Hi! I'm the new teacher!" Gloriosa doesn't seem bothered at all.
>Zest eventually realizes that it's circle time.
>"Aw hell yeah." She reacts, slipping her headphones back on and jamming to rock music as she sits on the floor.
>The first week gets crazier and crazier.
>Tuesday.
>Yesterday was quick a dose of culture shock in a way.
>The students never had anything like "circle time" before.
>It's so weird to think about. And even weirder to do, but at least it's easier than the usual non-stop work.
>It's not until Tuesday when Gloriosa announces that there won't be any homework... expecting them to be happy and willing to work harder in the class.
>She'll never forget their reaction.
>"Just so you know, all work is done in class, because the work is about the class." She says. "I know you are used to homework, but Glori don't get down like that!"
>She looks so confident, that cantaloupe smile across her face.
>The students sigh in relief and almost pull out their phones.
>"We're doing an activity today!"
>They don't groan
>The activity today can't be that bad.
>"Let's all get into groups of three or four! And I'll deliver some instructions in a jiffy!"
>The class does as they're told.
>Gloriosa watches them from the front of the room. Writes a bunch of things down on the board.
>"Okay. So everyone here is going to be running their own nation!" Gloriosa announces.
>Sugarcoat puts down her book and tries not to glare at the new teacher... fails.
>She's teamed up with a couple of random guys.
>Indigo and Sweet have teamed up with some guy.
>Sunny Flare has teamed up with two girls, and so has Lemon Zest.
>"In this exercise, you get to run your own government however you want."
>The hell is this?
>Gloriosa points to a list of things she wrote on the board.
>Some things about economy, food, energy, military, bunch of social studies shit.
>She goes onto explain a super summarized version of how each of them kind of work.
>"Ready? Go!"
>Students take out pieces of paper and get creative.
>Whatever Gloriosa is planning to have happen next, she keeps smiling.
>...
>Wednesday.
>"Let's see what we've ended up with!" Gloriosa greets the class at the end of the second class period they've had to work on this.
>Each group goes to the front of the classroom and presents what they've found.
>Indigo Zap and Sour Sweet present first.
>It's pretty much an average video game tier monarchy.
>Sunny Flare didn't even finish her project with her group yet, and the others basically did the work for her.
>When Lemon Zest and her group presents, they bring a CD player with speakers to the front of the room.
>The class listens intently for the music to begin, as they expect it to with Lemon Zest being involved.
>Some weird psychedelic rock song mixed with thrash metal starts playing.
>Zest shows the class an infrastructure and food supply that is basically supposed to run on people dancing to music.
>Goes into detail about how they will use motion sensors or something just as far fetched to run the place.
>Goes through her whole Spotify playlist in one minute switching from one song to the next.
>"Um, okay okay... but how are you governing things?" Asks Gloriosa. "What laws are you passing? Do your citizens have free speech?"
>"They have Free Bird!" Lemon Zest sifts through her playlist and switches to the infamous Lynyrd Skynyrd song.
>The class collectively giggles as the presentation time runs out.
>Gloriosa laughs nervously.
>"O-okay... so anyway... who's the next group to go?" She looks around and finds that Sugarcoat's group is the last one.
>Sugarcoat calmly stands up, twintails bouncing with each step towards the front of the room.
>Turns off the CD player and disconnects the mobile phone from it. "Here." She hands the phone to Zest.
>Lemon Zest plugs her own headphones back into the phone and goes back to her usual listening of her own playlists.
>The class stares up at Sugarcoat.
>Gloriosa seems the most impressed with Sugarcoat's presentation of the government she designed for the Humanities class activity.
>It seems all fair and done to Gloriosa until Sugarcoat begins talking about including a draft for all male citizens, and a few other things Gloriosa doesn't seem to be comfortable with.
>But the new teacher just sits there and nods her head.
>With a prepared expression on her face.
>The class obviously liked the presentation Lemon Zest and her group gave most of all.
>Gloriosa, a bit close to the end of the class time, pulls up a few pre-prepared slides on the board.
>"I'm sure we can all agree that running a -ahem- realistic government is harder done through than said." She begins.
>Some students nod. The rest aren't paying attention.
>"And what was the common factor that kept everything from being perfect?"
>This continues for several minutes.
>Gloriosa and the class, mostly Gloriosa, concludes that the "happiness of the people" was the most important thing about running a government.
>Whether that's the best way to describe it as, but that's what she calls it.
>The students are pretty much all back to being bored.
>But Lemon Zest seems to be increasingly interested in this assignment she just completed.
>This is where something huge begins for her.
>She actually pauses her playlist and listens to Gloriosa for the remainder of the period, until the bell sends those headphones back over Zest's ears.
>But she exits the classroom skipping and mentally building up on her idea more and more until she feels like it's all that can be thought of.
>...
>Thursday.
>Finally, it's starting to feel like the school year is getting into the swing of things.
>Though, it already has for every class except Humanities.
>But now there are actually notes.
>Notes on the projector slides that Gloriosa gives to her class.
>And with all of the weirdness they saw in the last two days, they actually welcome this.
>It's more similar to the other classes they're in, they'll prefer this now.
>Maybe this was a way for Gloriosa to get her students to be more enthusiastic about learning.
>At least that's what it seems like until she hands out a questionnaire for the students to take around the entire school.
>"Your second assignment is to get as many students as you can to fill out this survey." Gloriosa tells the class. "Now that you have a good idea of what it might feel like to try and create a government, lets see what you can gather from some other students."
>The class is entirely confused except for Zest, who's still lost in her world of music.
>"This is an easy assignment, as per school assignments should be, mostly."
>Sugarcoat flips through the pages.
>More than three fourths of the questions are about the current government that's in place in real life.
>She takes another look at Gloriosa Daisy and then back at the papers.
>It doesn't take much to figure it out.
>Sugarcoat raises her hand.
>"Yes?" Gloriosa points to her.
>"You do realize that giving this to a bunch of bored school students isn't going to help you push your political agenda. Right?"
>Gloriosa blinks.
>"I... I'm sorry, what?"
>"This is a political survey that we're supposed to show to the whole school and have fill out, correct?"
>"Well, no, it's..." Gloriosa looks at the door for a brief moment. "It's your second assignment."
>Another minute that goes by is another layer of tension that is added into the air.
>Sugarcoat continuously goes through the questionnaire page by page and points out the biases that the questions have.
>Loaded questions, questions mostly irrelevant to humanities itself, especially a couple about the presi-
>"Well, I guess it's not surprising you'd catch some static with this. Seeing how you handled the first assignment, Miss Sugarcoat." Gloriosa's eyelid twitches. "But I assure you that this survey is completely composed of free thought."
>"It's obviously not. There's even a short section about gender pronouns."
>Gloriosa bites her lip and inhales sharply at Sugarcoat's remarks.
>This argument lasts all the way until the end of the class period.
>You better believe all of the other students were already packed up and ready to disappear into the hallway.
>"What do those reforms that some European country made hundreds of years ago have to do with now? I'm curious!" Gloriosa's tone changed quite a bit.
>Sugarcoat immediately starts to answer. "Because they're the foundation of-"
>[School bell ringing]
>The sound of every student standing up at once was never louder than the bell itself until just now.
>Sugarcoat stays seated and stares at a flustered Gloriosa with a sober expression.
>The room clears out.
>But Gloriosa happens to notice one other student still in the corner of the room.
>It's Lemon Zest, hitting air drums rapidly with her empty hands.
>"I have said all I can say." Sugarcoat quietly but confidently stands up. "See you tomorrow, Mrs. Daisy."
>"Oh, no. You'll see me this afternoon." Gloriosa pulls out a detention slip.
>...
>The first week of school went well.
>Sugarcoat got her first detention with not a damn to give about it, and Lemon Zest started collecting maps and books about economics.
>Indigo Zap started skipping humanities class, and Sour Sweet follows suit by the end of the second week.
>They hang out behind the building and glue their noses to their phones for the 50 minute time frame.
>Talking to eachother.
>"How'd she get in, though?" Asks Indy. "I don't get it. Why would Cinch let a LITERAL social justice warrior start teaching her kids about why the government sucks and peace on earth and ending world hunger."
>"I think it's hilarious." Sweet replies. "She's so out of touch with the real world that it's adorable."
>"I think it's annoying."
>Sour Sweet scrolls through her Instagram timeline deciding what posts she's liked to now unlike. "Yeah, I get that. But at least we can be absent and not lose attendance points."
>"We can't just go wherever we want, though."
>"Pfft, who cares if we could get caught! What's ol' Cinchy going to do anyway? She can't boss us around anymore after the thing with the Friendship Games."
>"I just don't wanna get kicked off the soccer team." Indigo replies. "Which sucks because I could go for a bagel from the cafeteria or something right now."
>Sour Sweet sighs. "Is lunch period just not enough? You just can't wait to have one freaking piece of food?"
>"It's my appetite, you know that."
>"Yeah, well if it really were as strong as you always say it is, you'll risk getting a detention for food."
>"I didn't say detention! I said getting k-"
>"Yeah yeah, same difference." Sour Sweet interrupts. "Your pretty little self doesn't want to get into trouble. Boohoo..."
>"I've already gotten in enough trouble." Indigo reminds the other girl. "Not to mention Mr. Sombra."
>Sour Sweet snorts with laughter.
>"Well it's true. I didn't wanna get him fired."
>"You went on for HOURS about me not being allowed to bring that up, and then you bring it up yourself?"
>"It doesn't count when I do it. I'm the one it's all about anyway."
>Sour Sweet smirks at Indigo. "Yeah, whatever. At least I'm not a hypocrite either."
>"Gee, thanks Sugarcoat." Mocks Indigo. "Can't wait for Mrs. Daisy to give you the fifth detention in a row."
>"And fiiiiinaly! We get back on topic!" Criticizes Sour Sweet.
>"You started it!"
>"You're the one who brought up something you made me promise not to bring up!"
>"It's not my fault Mr. Sombra was so fucking sexy. Okay? Damn."
>"Well since you brought it up, let's go off track again and talk about him." Sour Sweet puts her hands on her hips. "How'd it feel to get him fired, huh?"
>"Hey!"
>"You brought it up! Dumbass." Sour Sweet points her finger.
>"Yeah... but not like... that." Indigo pouts and crosses her arms.
>Sour Sweet smiles. "Hey now, at least he didn't go to jail or anything."
>"He would have if I wasn't 18."
>"Heh, true." Agrees Sour sweet. "Cinch would have dropped the hammer on him hard if that happened. Damn, that probably would have ended up on the news."
>The two girls go back to casual conversation before they have to go back to class.
>They walk past Sugarcoat leaving Gloriosa's classroom with yet another detention slip in hand.
>Sour Sweet snickers. "Oh my god, really?" She automatically tries to read the slip. "What did you say this time?"
>"Might as well have been 'there's no lizard people!'." Sugarcoat wriggles her fingers wit her hands raised. "Mrs. Daisy is the most dense teacher I've ever met."
>"Why don't you just... you know... refrain from... any..." Indigo dances around words.
>"You want me to just not talk?"
>Indigo shrugs at Sugarcoat.
>"Uh, yeah. That's it."
>"Yeah, no. I'm not going to do that. She's not going to censor me. Her opinion is wrong and I'm going to tell her so if she tells me something stupid."
>The other two girls shrug it off and walk away.
>Lemon Zest leaves the room right before Sugarcoat can walk away too.
>She nods to the music she's listening to and waves her own detention slip around like a flag.
>"Maybe you shouldn't have started singing Bohemian Rhapsody out loud." Sugarcoat knows Zest can't hear her anyway.
>She doesn't care, this was so absurd that it needed to be said.
>...
>This is where the story begins.
>Only but a couple of weeks later, and Lemon Zest is playing EU4 nearly every day with that music blasting into her ears.
>She has probably spent more time in the computer lab than her classes. Taking over the world in over 300 different ways with just her bare hands.
>The other students in the hallway can hear her having fun.
>Especially when the door is open and and the sound of Low of Solipsism through the headphones can still be heard in the hallway as Zest simulates a repetition of Napoleon’s invasions of Europe.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-xpMRCnJRE
>The girl has gotten into classical music a lot more lately. That is all the other students know, looking at her like she is some total mystery.
>Even though it’s predictable that she’s going to be in the computer lab listening to music.
>Whether it be classical or rock or even a genre differing from those two.
>It soon reaches the point where Zest is listening to music non-stop, not even just in the middle of her classes.
>Her headphones never even leave contact with her ears.
>And every time she sings something out loud in class, or plays an air guitar and knocks someone’s lunch tray out of their hand… it gets on more nerves than the number of days that have gone by.
>Gloriosa finds it hard to control her class (in a PC way) when Zest is being extremely disruptive to the lesson.
>So much noise.
>So many people to hear it… including those in the other room over.
>What’s funny is that Sugarcoat has been testing Gloriosa even more lately. In a fair and proper manner, of course.
>But not aligning with an agenda of a certain side of the political spectrum, so Gloriosa feels a little bit rustled by this.
>A lotta bit when Sugarcoat challenges her to handle the situation with Lemon Zest. It’s about a month and a half into the school year when this occurs.
>And oh boy does it turn out to be a pivotal moment.
>”Well go ahead.” Sugarcoat eggs her on, only smiling on the inside. “If you hate discipline and punishment so much, then surely you won’t do anything about Lemon over there.”
>Sugarcoat sits back and waits.
>And waits some more as Gloriosa’s cheeks glow a deeper pink and her eyes wildly dart back and forth with urgency.
>She warned that she would take the headphones away if this whole thing persisted after Zest received a detention for disrupting the class.
>But Gloriosa never thought she’d have to actually do anything.
>Taking someone else’s property away from them? That’s something authoritarians do! It cannot be approached in this way for this class, though it cannot be helped.
>Lemon Zest is loud, and doesn’t show any remorse for it.
>All of the other teachers must have already made her refrain from doing this, but Gloriosa wants to be THAT TEACHER.
>The cool one that lets her students be happy while teaching them about being happy. But how is she supposed to show all of the other teachers how it’s done when Lemon Zest isn’t cooperating?
>She represses a connection between this and her first lecture about keeping citizens happy that Sugarcoat rather rudely pointed out.
>That same Sugarcoat that sits in her desk with her arms crossed, expecting another detention slip already for just staring and judging.
>Gloriosa runs through everything in her head… her purpose for teaching this class, her options regarding Zest, everything.
>She thinks to herself that she’s got this.
>Thinks it over and over again, and maybe there’s a magic number of times to think it to get herself to believe it.
>Surely, there’s nothing wrong with Lemon Zest standing on top of her chair and desk grunting the lyrics to AC DC’s For Those About To Rock.
>She can jam to her songs as long as there’s not note-taking to be had.
>Zest usually slips her headphones off to listen to the humanities lectures anyway.
>Well, not so much after Gloriosa shifted from a historical, background building perspective to a modern day what-we-should-do-about-the-government-right-now-guys standpoint.
>”Um… excuse me?” Gloriosa walks over to Zest and taps her on the shoulder.
>She’ll just give this girl another detention slip, right? Then she’ll stop this time.
>Or the next time… or never as expected given Zest’s track record of never listening.
>”Either take the headphones or take the L.” Sugarcoat challenges once again.
>Gloriosa begins to shake, her hand balls up into a stressed fist before loosening again.
>She does whatever she imagines when there is something threatening her perfect non-authoritarian ways.
>Takes matters into her own hands, or in this case, Zest’s headphones.
>Pulls, but fails when Zest jumps away. “Hey! These are mine!”
>”You’re being disruptive!” Gloriosa’s words fall upon deafened ears.
>The class watches anxiously.
>Sunny Flare rapidly texts Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap about what’s going on.
>Her fingers clumsily make all kinds of spelling errors, but it’s legible enough to send the two class ditchers through the door in a hurry within the minute.
>”What’s going…” Zap begins as she comes across Gloriosa chasing Lemon Zest around the room trying to snatch her headphones away like everything turned into a cartoon.
>”Oh my god!” Exclaims Sour Sweet.
>At least four other students have pulled their phones out already, and Sour Sweet steps in front of their view with her own phone getting a front row center seat to the mayhem.
>”Give it!” Gloriosa starts to run out of breath.
>Zest can’t hear her, but still read her lips. “Nuh-uh!” She hasn’t really even been this disobedient until recently.
>What if those computer games are getting to her?
>Millennials these days…
>Listenin’ to them rebel musics and playin them gosh darn videogames!
>Back in my day, grinding was something you did with spices in a stone bowl! Where hath thou gone, culture?!
>Gloriosa, an older millennial, growls furiously in front of all of her students.
>She glares at Sugarcoat, glares harder than she ever has in her entire life.
>Not knowing there is a phone to the principal’s office, Gloriosa marches right up to Cinch’s office as the students lose their sides in the classroom in her absence.
>They clap and cheer for Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest. Somehow working together to meme on the new SJW teacher so hard that she actually fled.
>What happens next is like something right out of the history books:
>Gloriosa storms into the principal’s office like a Tumblr Typhoon.
>Cinch spins around in her chair round and round and round as she and Gloriosa Daisy engage in a heated argument about how the school is run.
>It soon becomes obvious that Gloriosa was looking to use her perfect teaching methods to get Cinch to stop being such a “dictator” to the students.
>Says the students are out of control.
>Cinch takes this as a slanderous insult, and defends immediately to reinforce Crystal Prep reputation.
>She needs to after being put in question after the Friendship Games. But Gloriosa is not backing down, being the REVOLUTIONARY she is.
>Now she says she doesn’t want to put up with Zest anymore, and insists that Cinch deal with it.
>Cinch still believes that the unruliness in the humanities class is nothing more than a slanderous lie, and she marches herself on down to there to prove that she is the one with the power around here.
>Hears the class spilling into the hallway before she sees the horror of her authority actually being in question.
>She wasn’t prepared, and doesn’t find herself able to think straight.
>"This can't be happening! I'm in charge, here!" She shouts, not at all feeling in charge.
>The students in the other classes hear the ruckus and wonder what on earth could possibly be going on. Crystal Prep is always way quieter than this.
>Something huge must have just happened.
>Even the teachers are compelled to look out the doors into what is surely a once in a lifetime event for Crystal Prep.
>There, running through the hallways after a certain Lemon Zest, is the Principal Cinch herself.
>Reaching her hands forth like monster claws as she stumbles to maintain her balance on her high heels.
>Many students are filming this. Many.
>Indigo Zap jumps into frame and shouts “World Star!”
>Zest’s headphones remain on her head, but it’s Cinch’s head and temper that are lost.
>She’s extremely afraid, especially after a failed command to all students to return to the classrooms as she handles this.
>They keep chattering and laughing, proving to Cinch that she has lost control of the situation. Leaving her desperate to cling back onto the power that was already slipping away from her.
>Cinch has never had to deal with this before. Now Gloriosa is the one who watches intently from the sideline as Cinch is the one who tears herself down more by the minute.
>Sugarcoat stayed in the classroom and returns to her book, not giving even the tiniest fuck.
>Gloriosa didn’t expect to start an actual revolution… at least not this soon.
>The students, finally seeing an opportunity to escape from their past repression under Cinch’s rule, all walk around in the hallway in protest.
>There’s cheering, and Lemon Zest hears the perfect song come on in her playlist as she runs around.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oo8QzDHimQ
>Books and papers are thrown around. The teachers retreat into the classrooms, afraid as their natural habitat is compromised.
>Zest plays her trusty air guitar, also not giving the tiniest of fucks and skipping around in absolute energetic glee.
>Cinch fails over and over again to regain her voice over the crowd.
>Gloriosa sees Dean Cadence approach the action and then slowly back away. But she backs away smiling.
>The reason why becomes clear after Cinch is filmed having a breakdown in front of all the students. Threatening to expel all of them and take every teacher involved to the school board so she can ceremonially fire them.
>Ol’ Cinchy is virtually foaming at the mouth at this point. A hothead out of her comfort zone.
>This certainly wasn’t an easy task for Gloriosa, and it’s even harder for Cinch. She’s the one with the dying reputation that’s under siege.
>…
>The siege has ceased. The battle is won. Won by the students.
>It’s all over. Their overlady has been overthrown practically overnight. And they’re overjoyed.
>Cinch packs her boxes and bags as viral videos of her circulate throughout the internet, and Principal Cadence sits down in a brand new chair.
>Gloriosa was lucky enough not to get fired; she gets to stay behind as she watches Cinch walk out the door.
>But she IS reassigned from being a Humanities teacher for reasons that should be obvious.
>There’s a new botany program that Crystal Prep and Canterlot High are sharing to celebrate their new blooming friendship as the past rivalry wilts and dies away.
>Gloriosa is more than happy to enter this, seeing that this school is seeing new leadership anyway. She pretty much carries the notion that she won and accepts the position in the botany program.
>Happily welcomed into it by Wallflower Blush.
>Meanwhile, Crystal Prep needs a new Dean.
>A new Dean to be here as the adventures and fast times continue with these students that can be quite a handful. They’ll need a good Dean.
>But who shall it be?
~
>You have been looking for a job.
>Searched around to find close to nothing. The things you did find didn’t hire you.
>The job hunt continues until you find an open position at a High School near the city. They need a new Dean.
>You check your work history and past achievements to discover that you actually qualify.
>…
>Days later, you land the new job as the Dean of Crystal Prep High School.
>You sure can’t wait to meet the teachers and students and get to know them.
~
>The morning of your first day on the job.
>It's about an hour and a half before the beginning of the school day.
>You pull up to the building in your car, finding your new designated parking lot.
>Park your car and head inside with what little you brought.
>You've never been a huge fan of carrying a lot of boxes.
>You're more of a dynamic worker.
>Looking at this building from the outside, you find that it almost feels like it stands taller then the 30-40+ story buildings in the city.
>Symbolically, of course.
>It's just that this building itself is so well kept and domineering.
>Not the mention the luster it has on its sides.
>Chuckle to yourself.
>They don't call this place Crystal Prep for no reason.
>"Oh hey!" Principal Cadence greets you as you walk through the front doors of the school.
"Hello!"
>Your voice echoes throughout the interior of the massive front corridor of the school.
>This place is almost like a marble castle.
>"You must be the new dean!"
"That is correct."
>"Mr.... Mouse, is it?"
"Yup."
>"Excellent, excellent. Glad to have you here. I'm Principal Cadence."
"Nice to meet you!" You shake her hand.
>Woah, she's pretty damn good looking for being the principal of a school.
>"Is that all your things?" Cadence points to the box you're carrying.
"Yes, it is."
>"Oh, okay. Great. Follow me and I'll show you your office."
>She unlocks a couple of doors next to her own office, and in you go.
"This is a big office." You comment as the lights are turned on.
>"I know, right? There's so much space in this whole place. You're gonna love it here."
"Heheh, I already do."
>Set your things down and talk to the Principal for about ten to twenty minutes about the basic preliminaries about being the dean of the school.
>Just really standard things.
>The more you talk to her, the more you wonder how in the world such a young and attractive lady like her managed to become the principal of an upper level school.
>Like, she's /really/ pretty.
>And this is a very distinguished school as well.
>The kind that is usually run by some no-nonsense corporate level man or woman at least in their 50's with well over a decade or two of experience under their belt.
>Principal Cadence doesn't look a day over 30.
>And what ever happened to the school's previous dean anyway?
>"Alright, so now that we've gotten that taken care of, how'd you like to see the rest fo the school?"
"Oh, I'd love to."
>Cadence smiles at you. "Alrighty! Follow me."
>You're taken down a series of long hallways lined with lockers and doors.
>Everything is covered in marble or maybe even crystals to some degree if you didn't know better.
>It must have costed a fortune to build and maintain this place.
>"Over there is the cafeteria. And past that is the gymnasium." Cadence tells you.
"Nice, very nice."
>There are already a couple of students sitting down at the tables.
>Either eating some quick breakfast foods or studying.
>"As you can see, the students here really like to work hard."
"That's a really good quality." You say. "I'm looking forward to meeting all kinds of students here."
>"Oh, you'll love them. In fact, there's this one girl from here who was academically the top student in the whole state for three years in a row."
"Really? That's incredible."
>"Mhm. Her name's Twilight Sparkle. Very studious and hard working."
"She still attend here?"
>Cadence pauses.
>"...No, unfortunately. She graduated just earlier this year."
"Aw darn, just missed her."
>"Yeah. But she wasn't the only one who loves to hit the books and get incredible grades. We have plenty others still attending here as well."
>You turn a corner and head down another hallway.
>"And right this way is the library." Cadence beckons you to follow her.
>You enter the library and are immediately surprised by how high up the ceiling is.
>This whole building has been this way ever since you walked in; looks even bigger on the inside than outside.
>"We've got a couple hundred thousand books, if I remember correctly." Cadence points out. "But that might be way off and there's even more. So don't take my word for it." She lets out a chuckle.
>You nod, looking around the massive space as you continue to follow the principal.
>As you reach the opposite end of the library, you start to hear the sound of fingers tapping away at a keyboard and a mouse frantically clicking.
>"And over here is the media commons, including a couple of computer labs."
"Neat. What are the labs for?"
>"Mostly for students to do group projects and digital presentations." Cadence answers.
>Wait... is that music?
>It sounds like it, but music that's coming from headphones but being played really loudly.
>It's coming from the direction of the computer labs Cadence just pointed out to you.
>Principal Cadence notices it as well, and seems to suddenly want to exit the library.
>"Oh! And we have this nifty courtyard too! Come on, I'll show you."
>And now you're already out of the library.
>She shows you a rather large courtyard in supposedly the middle of the school building through a window.
>The ground is barren, not just yet ready to grow flowers that Cadence tells you have been planted there.
>Cadence guides you throughout more and more of the school. It takes a good twenty minutes of this before you're almost done taking a tour of the place.
>"And lastly, we have the senior classrooms." Cadence says to you as you walk by more lockers and doors. "You can consider them something like the STEM students of the school."
"Oh really?"
>"Yup, they're the ones with the most experience and capability because they've been here the longest."
>One of the classroom doors is open.
>You get a brief look inside as you and Cadence walk past.
>There's a blue girl with glasses swirly twintails reading a book at her desk.
>There's something about her that makes you imagine her as sharp and articulate.
>You don't know what it is that makes you think this.
>Maybe it was just the way she was sitting there with good posture and turned her head towards you as she heard the footsteps go by.
>You and the Principal finally make it back to the front offices.
>She wishes you good luck as you rest down into your chair as she leaves.
>And now you sit, setting up your computer and all that stuff.
>Looking forward to meet the students of Crystal Prep.
>The sounds of the hallway filling up with more passerby's can be heard as the last of the hour goes on.
>You expect to hear the first school bell in several minutes when you hear a knock on your door instead.
"Come in!"
>A student enters in what you can tell is the standard deep burgundy uniform of the school.
>"O-oh..." The purple-haired girl stops in her tracks. "Are... are you the new dean?"
"Yup. Have a seat, how can I help today?"
>She lets the door close behind her and sits down.
"Alright, so what's your name?"
>"Suri Polymare."
"Congrats, Suri. You're the first student I've seen here."
>"Oh neat."
>You and Suri go on to talk about how she wants permission to bring in a shipment of yarns and fabrics for one of her classes.
>It's apparently a lot, and in a quantity where Suri would need to get consent from the dean regarding whether or not she can store so much of something in the classroom.
>And you approve of this, waving her goodbye after she thanks you.
>The first bell of the day rings two minutes or so later.
>If this is pretty much all you need to do besides fill out paperwork and watch over students, you already know you're going to love this job.
>The pay's pretty decent too.
>...
>Days later.
>Yeah, you've pretty much gotten the swing of things around here.
>Seen dozens and dozens of students by now, all of whom seemed to be very obedient and having good etiquette just lake Cadence described them.
>Though, you are still waiting for a student to get in trouble or something.
>You just have a feeling it's going to happen sooner or later.
>More likely later with this school being such a prestigious school and all.
>And to your surprise, that moment actually ends up coming sooner.
>There's a knock on the door.
"Come on in."
>A dark blue haired girl enters and sits down.
>This one looks like an athlete.
>"Hey, uh, I'd like to ask about something." She says to you.
"Sure thing, if you could go ahead and give me your name, we'll get right started."
>"My name's Indigo Zap. And I'd like to file an appeal for something."
"Okay." You lock your fingers on your desk, totally ready for this. "What would you like to file for?"
>"Coach Snow just told me that I'm off the soccer team. And I'd like to appeal to get back on it."
"Hmm... okay, just uh, let me look through some things here." You open up the file cabinet Cadence showed you a bit ago.
>Sift through the staff names until you reach the S section.
>Find the athletics coach and gym teacher April Snow.
"Okay, so I'm gonna have to ask you for the reason why Mrs. Snow made this decision."
>"Oh, it was for no reason." Indigo answers. "Like, absolutely no reason at all."
>You stare at her, confused.
>"Well, it was for a really pointless reason."
"Okay, and what was that?"
>"Said I skipped practice too many times even though I was totally there."
"Were you marked absent?"
>"Nope, that's the thing! She even marked me present every day but then said it doesn't count because I 'never do anything'." Indigo Zap mimics quotation marks with her fingers.
"Huh, alright, well I'm going to need you to fill this out and return it back to me..." You sift through the office's file cabinet once more. "Just one sec..."
>There it is.
>The student appeal form.
>Hand it over to Indigo Zap, and tell her once again that she needs to fill it out and return it to you.
>You're going to have to call coach Snow in for further questioning.
>You're not sure about what to think about the look Indigo Zap gives you as she walks out the door.
>It's some sort of a sly smirk.
>Like she's up to something.
>But maybe it was nothing.
>You find the phone and send a call over to Coach Snow's office.
>Briefly explain to her what's wrong.
>"Alright, I'll report in with more details as soon as I'm available." She says on the other line.
>Damn, she sounds like a tough one.
"Sounds good. I'll see you when you drop by."
>Hang up and start thinking about this situation.
>Maybe you should wait before siding with the teacher/coach in this.
>It's very possible that it was just a misunderstanding between the two.
>That's what you're imagining, anyway.
>The next hour or so is spend doing some necessary paperwork that you need to get done.
>You figure you'll knock this out now instead of later so you don't have to worry about it.
>Wow, this is getting kind of boring.
>Aside from leaving your office to go watch over students when they're in the cafeteria or somewhere else where there are lots of them in one place, you're just sitting around.
>It's not a very hard job, but it's not a blast either.
>Not much you have to do, but not much you get to do.
>Just not much to do at all in general.
>Maybe it's because of it still being the beginning of the school year.
>And things simply haven’t picked up yet.
>Welp, now the day's over.
>For the students, at least.
>You have to stay for a little while longer and continue your work.
>So you sit and work, and work and work.
>Keep going until there is a surprising knock on your office door.
>The students left hours ago, who is this?
"Come in."
>"Good afternoon, Mr. Mous." Principal Cadence enters. "So how was your first week?"
>Oh shit, today's Friday.
>You completely forgot.
"Went well." You respond.
>"That's good to hear! I'm glad things are going smoothly so far."
"Yeah, I like this job already." You lightly chuckle.
>"Got any troublemakers yet?" Cadence asks.
"Oh, you mean like..."
>"I mean, obviously nothing serious. I'd have already known if that were the case." She's the one to chuckle this time.
"Well there was this one girl that came in just today. Athlete."
>Cadence's eyes widen.
"Wanted me to give her an appeal form to fill out."
>"Her name didn't happen to be Indigo Zap, did it?"
"Woah, actually, yes. That's exactly who it was."
>"Ohhhhh boy." Cadence rolls her eyes. "Oh wow, here we go again. Is she arguing with her coach again?"
"This has happened before?"
>"Only twice." Cadence reveals. "But it didn't really get... resolved."
"Oh..."
>"Heh, but don't worry. It's still nothing serious. Was a breeze a few months ago when I handled it as dean."
>You pause.
"Wait, you were the dean?"
>She gasps.
>"Oh! I forgot to tell you! I used to be the dean here!" Cadence tells you.
"Oh wow, really?"
>"Uh huh! Yeah!" She smiles warmly and nods. "I got bumped up to Principal status after the last one left."
>Well damn.
>This explains a thing or two.
>You're not even sure if this type of thing is even allowed.
"So I guess I kinda replaced you, then. Huh?" You joke.
>She laughs along. "I think so! Yeah!"
>After a minute or so, you gather the courage to ask a certain something.
"So why'd the other principal leave?"
>"Oh... uh..." Principal Cadence hesitates in her answer. "Well, it's a long story. But the short version is... she was actually fired."
"Fired? What did she get fired for?"
>You're not sure if you should just starting having this conversation here and now.
>"Is it okay if I only give you a quick rundown?"
"Sure thing." You lean back in your chair.
>"So, I may or may not have told you about this before, but there is this one student who always listens to loud music on her headphones."
"Always? Like, always how?"
>Cadence smiles at the floor. "You probably won't believe this, but she actually literally never takes them off."
"Literally never?"
>"Nope. All school day long, she has them on. I have no idea how she talks to her friends because she can't hear them."
"She must really like music."
>"Mhm. She has a couple of interests."
"Oh?"
>"She's a history buff too. At least recently. And I actually meant to explain this to you when she was in the library area with us the day you got here."
"I- huh?"
>"Heh, yeah. I never really got around to telling you this, but she was in the computer lab near where I was giving you a tour of the school."
>You think back a bit.
>That music you heard in the distance definitely must have been this girl.
"I think I heard her when we were in there."
>"Yup. That's what I figured. I spared you the details then because we didn't really have the time to go through it all. Because that would probably open up the whole can of worms about the previous principal leaving and all that."
"I see."
>You're not sure why Principal Cadence couldn't just say that there's a student that usually listens to loud music all the time without bringing up further details as to the reason behind it.
>Maybe she's going to explain it to you right now.
>"Anyway, here's all the stuff I didn't bring up before. The last Principal had a little bit of a bout with this student over her wearing her headphones all the time."
"Well was it distracting the other students?"
>"Not really. They've gotten used to it since." Cadence explains. "Especially so after the last principal left."
"Ah, okay."
>"Anyway, this thing about her headphones did used to be a small thing before tension built up. Then it boiled over and the old principal overreacted trying to overcorrect the situation."
"Oh my."
>"Yes. She basically addressed the student directly and went on a tirade about how she was causing problems."
"And that's what got her fired?"
>"Pretty much, yeah." Cadence isn't done yet. "And about the girl with the headphones, I've met with her after I became Principal and we had a discussion regarding everything that happened. It was-" She's cut off by a knock on the door.
"Oh, uh... come in!" You're not sure if you're supposed to say it this time or the principal.
>In enters a pale woman with tangerine hair.
>Dressed like a soccer coach.
>It takes no genius to figure out who this is.
>"Oh hello, Coach snow." Cadence greets and changed the subject back on track. "We were just discussing the situation with Indigo Zap."
>"Oh, you were. That's good. I was just coming in to say my piece." The woman answers before turning to you. "Oh hey. So you're the new dean, huh?"
"Yes. We spoke on the phone." You bring out your professional side and reach your hand out. "Mr. Mous."
>"April Snow." The coach firmly shakes your hand. "So Indy here... she already picked up the appeal form, correct?"
"Yes. Yes, she did."
>"Eh, figures. She'd suddenly get proactive and take initiative on something once she gets in trouble and has to pull herself out of a muck."
>"So how long did you put her on probation for this time?" Asks Cadence.
>April blinks. "Oh, no probation this time. I just went ahead and dropped her from the team."
>Cadence is taken aback by this.
>"Well, then." She takes a quick deep breath. "Didn't expect that."
>"Allow me to explain." April pulls up a third chair from the side of the room and sits down.
>Everyone is seated as she begins.
>"She never stays for the full duration of practice. Only comes for roll call, chats with some friends on the field, texts on her phone and then leaves before the first hour mark is even reached." April describes.
>This seems like it's news to Cadence just as much as it is to you.
>"And what of her attendance records?" Asks the Principal. "How many times was she marked absent?"
>"I never marked her absent. Because she always showed up for roll call." April can see you widening your eyes at your locked fingers in your lap at this news. "And I knew I couldn't just mark her absent because of this just to have a high enough number of absences for her to be automatically dropped."
>"Honestly, she probably knew about that." Comments Cadence.
>"Oh, I'm sure she did. I'm sure she did."
>You get to know more about April Snow through her descriptions of the sins of Indigo Zap.
>You knew there was something off about the way the student grinned at you when she left.
>"And not only that, but she's always been overly-competitive towards her own teammates. To the point where it got divisive." April continues before she's distracted by something in the front corridor of the school.
>You recognize this sound.
>It's those headphones.
>You're suddenly startled by the sound of a girl loudly singing to herself along with the music.
>And you have a good view out the door to see who's walking by.
>The first thing you notice is the bright lime green hair, messy and flinging around as this student headbangs hard enough to make you wonder how she has headphones on.
>"WHOOOOOOOA WE'RE HALFWAY THERE! WHOOOOHOA! LIVIN' ON A PRAAAAYER!"
>This girl does realize she's in public, right?
>She leaves through the front door, having successfully interrupted the conversation in the Dean's office.
>"Heheh... that's her..." Cadence meekly says to you. "Oh, uh, not Indigo. The other student. The one with the headphones."
>Aaaaand the conversation's off topic again.
>"She's one of Indy's friends, though." April points out.
>"Oh yeah, that's right. Those two are close friends too." Cadence recalls.
>The conversation now bounces back and forth between Indigo Zap and the other student, whom you momentarily learn is named Lemon Zest.
>Zap... Zest...
>Interestingly hip names they've got there.
>You wonder if all of the friends in their group have last names that start with a Z, despite how improbable that is.
>Like they're some kind of gang of the troublemakers of the school.
>That's a dumb way to think about it.
>The conversation about Indigo Zap turns out inconclusive for the moment until you get to have a look at what she fills out on the form, for the sake of it being fair and official.
>Lemon Zest must have stayed extra late doing whatever she was doing in the computer lab.
>Anyway, everyone else, including yourself, leaves for the day.
>Ah yes, the first week did have an interesting conclusion.
>You can't wait until next Monday when all of this reaches a state of absolution.
>You think about what could possibly happen all weekend long.
>Damn, the weekends are boring.
>Now you’re sitting here with no action going on.
>Being the dean of Crystal Prep was almost like watching an intense TV show.
>Or rather, acting one out.
>And you've been so hellbent on looking forward to the next episode.
>Waiting for the results of the whole deal with Indigo.
>You kept a copy of the form she needed to fill out.
>Took it home with you.
>And now you sit here.
>Looking it over.
>Wondering what she is going to put down on this line here.
>And that line there.
>Other than that, you just sit down and watch TV.
>The day ends with you going to bed early after finishing up some other paperwork you had to do.
~
>Now is the time to get excited.
>This is the first time in a while you've been excited for Monday.
>That's how you know you have a job you love.
>Decide to arrive to the school early and take in the feeling of the morning.
>Or whatever it is that beckons you.
>Good thing you have your own set of keys to the school.
>Go up to the doors to unlock them but pause.
>Turn to look behind yourself.
>You could have sworn you heard something.
>Like there's someone there.
>But there doesn't seem to be anyone around, not that it would surprise you if there was someone around.
>It's not that late into the morning.
>Someone could be walking their dog on the school grounds or something.
>Once your inside, you hear footsteps outside.
>What the...
>Turn around again and see a familiar Indigo Zap entering the school doors.
"Oh hello." You say, surprised.
>She doesn't say anything until she's all the way inside.
>and she has that form in her hands.
>Each line and section marked up.
>"I'm here to turn this in."
>Her face is blank of expression as she reaches her hand out with the paper in it.
"Oh, uh, well thank you."
>You're reading it before it even makes contact with your hand.
>A lot of sentences span longer than the lines.
"Well you're here early."
>"Yeah."
>She walks right past you and into the school.
>Well it's not like she isn't allowed to be here once the doors are unlocked by administration.
>Head on over to your office.
>Sigh loudly as your ass hits the cool surface of the chair.
>Oh look, that other document you left here on Friday is still there.
>Move it to the side and stare at the ceiling for however long it takes for more students to start coming to the school.
>You begin to hear them outside.
>Ah yes, another week has begun.
>You're looking forward to anything else that might happen.
>Maybe Lemon Zest is going to come over here for some reason.
>Whether it be a good reason or a bad one.
>But she's the one you're sure is quite the character.
>After some more time, you hear a knock on your door.
"Come in."
>It's her again.
>Indigo Zap comes through the door now with a less blank facial expression.
>You assume she must have just eaten breakfast or something.
>Did she come to school with a packed bag?
>"So what's the verdict, judge?"
>...
>What?
>"You looked over the paper, right?"
>Shit, you have it in your desk drawer.
>Didn't even bother looking at it any further after seeing her little rant about how "Coach Snow is too strict, she treats the team like a literal army platoon."
>You were hoping the coach would be in here before Indigo would have a chance to come back.
>So she herself can see the... emotion and admittedly high amount of adjectives from what you saw on the form.
>Indigo doesn't seem to be very keen at making her case.
>At least from a standpoint of getting people to level with her.
>And this is why you were hoping you can just give the "no" to Coach Snow for her to hand on down to Indigo instead.
>But here the athlete stands.
>Arms crossed with a confident grin.
>Great, now what do you do?
"Well, uh..." You barely looked at half of the form.
>"I'm still on the team, right?"
>You try and hold back your change of plans.
>But coincidence's change of plans is too strong.
"I looked over the form and..." You're careful not to say 'but'. "I can see where you're coming from. And the part about attendance seems to check out too."
>Indigo gives you a surprised look.
>As thought she didn't have that much faith in the attendance portion of the form that was towards the end of the things she needed to fill out.
>"Oh, uh... well then."
>She seems like she was prepared to say something different.
>But now her posture relaxes.
>She leans back in the chair and her face mixes some relief into that confidence.
>She knows she wont have to do battle with you anymore.
>Damn teenagers.
>You should have caught this.
>Now you chose your path, and you rummage back through the drawer to look for something else to call her out on.
>Now you have to actually read what she wrote.
"I'd uh... like to congratulate you on the contributions to your team you... listed here..."
>You have to look all the way down the whitespace on the side of the page that she filled in with presumably either lies or stretched truth.
>"Thanks. So I'm still on the team, right?"
>She wants an answer now.
>God damn it.
>Your hands are tied here, and that's mostly your fault.
>Unless you do a 180 on this.
>There's literally nothing else on the paper that's damning except for the attendance section.
"As far as I can tell, yup. You're still on the team."
>Indigo tilts her head.
>"So... I'm in the clear, then."
>You were hoping that Coach Snow would step in after you gave your wishy washy response and bring things back to a no.
>But you almost forgot.
>You're the dean. The guy with the final say in this.
>And you screwed up.
"Yes, yes." You surrender. "You're approved. You're in the clear."
>Her eyes light up.
>"Thank you! Thank you!" She squeals in a suddenly happy tone.
>You convince yourself on the inside that this isn't so bad.
>Maybe you can damage control and explain why Indigo's defense was... defensible.
>But your common sense already disagrees.
>Not with all those unrelated things she pointed her finger to.
>Not with all of those adjectives.
>Hell, Coach Snow might think you hate her now that you actually defended Indigo's BS.
>"I knew you were cool." Indigo tells you.
"Well, uh, miss Zap, I..." You're not liking the looks of things here.
>"Please. Call me Indy."
>She smiles and stands up.
>You would have said something else, but she leaves the room.
>Wait...
>Did she just wink at you?!
>Feel a rush of discontent before a sudden loud noise makes you jump.
>The first bell of the day.
>...
>A few other students come into your office for minor things.
>About once every hour and a half.
>But two of them right after eachother.
>They can't tell how anxious you are.
>You've gotten good at hiding it over time.
>Talk to them about their issues and minor contentions that really aren't conflicts at all.
>You're just waiting for that April Snow to come in and ruin your day.
>This should have ended already.
>But you had to be an inattentive, lazy idiot and make this new chain of events happen.
>Oh good, the day is finally over.
>You just might leave early.
>Just as eagerly as how you arrived.
>Knock knock.
>It's totally not who you think it is.
>Is it?
"Come in?"
>Fuck, you said that wrong.
>"How's it all going, Mr. Mous?" Principal Cadence enters the office and stands in the corner.
>That's another thing.
>The students always sit.
>Cadence always stands.
>Honestly, that's not surprising now that you think about it.
>"Mr. Mous?"
"Oh, uh, sorry. Could you repeat that? I was trying to remember something."
>"I said Indigo came in here today, right?"
"Yes. Yes she did."
>"With the form?"
"Yup."
>"Whad'ya say?"
>Time to ruin your reputation.
"I... approved..." You stiffly reply.
>Cadence gives you a sign and a smile.
>Almost like she expected this response.
>"Wouldn't back down, huh?"
>You just answer immediately.
"Guess not, hahaha... she really wanted to stay on that team."
>She actually giggles at this. "Welcome to the dean's position, I suppose."
>Huh?
>Cadence goes and locks the office door.
>This is about to turn into a serious conversation, is it?
>"It's okay, Mr. Mous. Don't feel bad."
"Has she... done this before?"
>Cadence silently nods.
"Oh."
>"Yeah. Always finds a way to make some new arguments for her remaining on the team. She sure is something."
>Cadence must have dealt with this a million times before.
>"I've dealt with this a million times before."
>Well how about that?
"It's not like I'm totally for this. But she did promise to attend more often." You lie.
>"Yeah, that's where she usually goes with this. So how many social events did she have to go to that were more important than practice?"
>You can tell by Cadence's tone that this is a slightly sarcastic question.
>Oh, you can only imagine the excuses Indy must have made up.
"A surprising amount of birthday parties."
>"Ha! It was usually something about rec center meeting for me." Cadence replies. "That's odd. Usually she has more... believable reasons than that."
>You figuratively start sweating.
>What would you call this?
>A lieception?
>"Maybe she's just out of things to be making up."
"I guess."
>"Alright, well look. You're not alone in this. Attendance slipping isn't that big enough of a deal to be kicking her off of the team."
"It's not?"
>"Eh, I dunno. But Coach Snow usually forgets about it after we give her the news and things go back to normal."
>So... this is one of those things.
>One of THOSE things.
"You don't think we're... enabling her by doing this. Are we?"
>"It's fine as long as the problem doesn't grow bigger than this."
>This is the principal of a prestigious school.
>In fact, you just thought of something.
>You could have told Indigo that Cadence took the form to look over!
>Why didn't that cross your mind?
>This really isn't the best situation for you to be screwing up this badly in.
>What with Cadence not doing much about this herself.
>And something in your gut tells you that it's only a matter of time before...
>Knock knock.
>Again.
>The doorknob is tried.
>Still locked.
>"Hello? Mr. Mous?" It's unmistakably Coach Snow's voice.
>Open the door.
>Stop having it be closed.
>"Oh, right." Cadence goes over and unlocks it.
>A very skeptical looking Coach Snow enters the room.
>"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to lock the door." Cadence tells her.
>Snow nods, then looks over to you.
"Hey, so... she came in today."
>"Oh, I know." Snow replies. "She told me what happens."
>It's a good thing Cadence is here.
>"Allow me to sort of... rehash what Mr. Mous here just told me."
>"Please do." Coach Snow doesn't look happy at all about this.
>Cadence retells your story to her, with a few twists here and there.
>You get to witness this first hand.
>The lie growing bigger and bigger.
>Through some abstract game of telephone.
>Now Coach Snow thinks you made some deal with Indy.
>And she's still giving you a funny look about having the door locked with cadence in here.
>But she wouldn't be the only one wondering how you got into this job in the first place.
>You're so fucking incompetent, apparently.
>Anyway, the coach is convinced that all is well eventually.
>Cadence did like 90% of the talking.
>Coach Snow leaves, and cadence soon leaves.
>Now you feel a little too awkward to just up and leave as well.
>Want to clear your head a little after that little brush you just had back there.
>Lock up your office from the outside and see around the school again.
>You continue to think about what the other girls in their social group are like.
>Indigo's apparent reputation is already questionable enough.
>You can only imagine all of the trouble Lemon Zest must have gotten into.
>With this, you decide to get it over with and meet her before she might get sent to your office.
>It will break the ice and make the encounter less... the way it was when you met Indigo Zap.
>And you know where this girl might be too.
>You pause for a brief moment.
>Contemplating whether or not you should go through with it.
>Is this weird?
>Yes, but its a smart move in this situation.
>Might as well "happen to run into her" after hours today so you'll already know her whenever she's sent in.
>So she can't pull a fast one on you like Indy did.
>You still feel a bit bent out of shape about that.
>She played you.
>In a way, though you had a slight hand in it yourself.
>Whatever, hopefully the coach won't be too ang-
>You hear something heavy hit the floor in front of you.
>Look up from your dumb thoughts and see the same girl you saw reading in a classroom on your first day reaching down to pick up a stack of books.
>"Oh. Hey." She fixes her glasses.
"Hiya."
>"You're the new dean, right?"
>You hesitate to answer at this moment in time.
"Yup."
>The girl looks you up and down.
>"Not bad."
"Huh?"
>She fiddles with her pigtails for a couple of seconds.
>"You should be careful, though. Some of the students here are more clever than you think."
>What is this?
>A video game?
>Why is she talking to you like this?
"What do you mean by that, miss, uh..."
>"Sugarcoat."
>Her face remains stoic.
>"And I heard about Indigo. But don't worry, she's not going to be much trouble for you."
"Hold on, you know about this?"
>"Word gets around. Anyway, you should talk to the coach again. I hope you're not gonna be a pushover."
>Something tells you any other dean would give her a detention for mouthing off at them.
>But it seems as though she knows everything about what happened, as if she was magically somehow there.
>But the door was locked, and Coach Snow would have seen her standing up against it in the very open and public hallway had she eavesdropped.
>It's not like you disagree with her anyway.
"I'll... I'm already handling the situation. I recommend you keep to your own business."
>You'll just go ahead and pass this off yourself as the warning you /should/ have gave.
>But hey, you kept your cool.
>"I will." Sugarcoat turns around and carries her books away.
>Well... what an ironic name she has.
>At this point, you completely forget about seeing if Lemon Zest is in the computer lab and head home with your brain bullying you.
~
>Now it's Tuesday.
>The school of Crystal Prep is getting ready to fill up with students once again.
>A slow start to the day.
>The dean Mr. Mous is once again among the first to walk up to the front doors.
>Right behind him is Principal Cadence.
>It may be hard to swallow given these past events...
>But this dean is you.
>"Oh hello!" Cadence waves to you as she locks up her car doors.
>The faculty lot is apparently small enough for you to have a casual conversation from one end to the other without having to raise your voices.
>At least this part of it.
"You're here early." You comment.
>Cadence giggles.
>"I should say the same to you. But good on ya, though."
>The two of you enter the school and go to your individual offices.
>You rest in your chair, still feeling a little bad about what happened yesterday with Indigo.
>You must not allow this to happen again.
>Under any circumstances.
>Cadence may have been the one to start enabling her enough to get away with this.
>That's probably why she was so confident to begin with.
>But this is different.
>You're going to be different.
>Think of a way to contact coach Snow once more and bring her into your office so you can talk to her.
>Maybe explain yourself.
>Regarding what happened yesterday.
>Why you came up with the stupid decision you did.
>You had been hoping you wouldn't get caught up in anything like this, but this is what you're stuck with.
>Next thing you know, you find yourself almost bored again.
>But still a little nervous that nothing's happened yet.
>Because this is a slow start to the day.
>But you know it's going to accelerate, and you pray that a certain dispute won't accelerate with it.
>...
>Elsewhere in the school, about an hour later.
>It's time for homeroom.
>All the students enter their classrooms to show up for attendance.
>Even the mere mention of this has been used as banter against Indigo by her friends.
>"Hey..." Sunny Flare addresses her right as she walks through the door.
>Indigo gives Sunny a sharp glare.
>To which the other girl only scoffs.
>"Pssssh, it's not a big deal." She says, having had this conversation before. "Just make sure to say 'here' loudly enough."
>Sour Sweet chortles to herself in the background.
>"What's funny?" Asks Indigo.
>"Just sit down already. Don't want to get missed in rollcall."
>Indigo beats the shit out of Sour Sweet in her mind.
>As she calmly sits down.
>The homeroom teacher begins taking rollcall.
>Indigo annoyedly sighs to herself.
>This is gonna be a long day.
>She still hates how rumors and gossip spread so quickly around here.
>...
>Math class.
>None of the other girls in Indigo's inner circle of friends are here except Lemon Zest.
>And Zest never gets involved in the drama anyway.
>She rarely even hears it with her headphones always blasting music into her ears.
>Thank goodness.
>Hopefully, she'll go deaf before they break and Indigo still won't have to worry about another opponent being added to the gossip pool.
>Really hard to diss someone in sign language.
>"Let's get started." The teacher begins. "First, I'd like to point out that today's lesson is gonna be quite a doozy. So I'm gonna need everyone to carefully pay attention. Cause derivatives is unlike anything you've seen up until this point."
>Every single student, including Indigo Zap and excluding Lemon Zest get their stuff out.
>Pencils in hand, notebooks out...
>This ain't humanities.
>This is something that leads to a STEM degree.
>No room for fooling around... except for the space in the back corner of the room, apparently.
>Lemon Zest's music can be heard with the volume turned up on the wireless headphones.
>The math teacher has long been used to this being the case.
>For over a year and a half.
>But this time is different.
>The lesson is much more difficult.
>And Lemon Zest must devote her full attention to the art of derivatives and putting that fucking apostrophe next to the Y and all that other shit I hated.
>"Excuse me..." The teacher pleads. "Could... could someone get her attention?"
>Indigo crumples up the blank sheet of paper she has in front of her and throws it at Lemon Zest.
>"Miss Zap!" The teacher gasps.
>"What? You said to get her attention!"
>"Not like that! That kind of barbaric behavior is unacceptable here at Crystal Prep!" The teacher huffs. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to go to the front office."
>It's like Indigo keeps on forgetting she's in a prep school.
>With uniforms and all this other uptight bullshit.
>But she's pretty much numb to this.
>Rules and regulations?
>Indy here just wants to mosey around and have fun.
>Forget about what kind of behavior is tolerated h-
>The sound of the door shutting after Indigo is out of the classroom startles her.
>Welp, time to pay the dean a visit.
>Indigo apathetically struts down the hallway in the direction of that direction.
>Back in the classroom.
>Lemon Zest slips the headphones off of her head to hear what's going on.
>Why is the math teacher suddenly wanting to get her attention?
>He's never cared about her listening to music during class up until this point.
>Odd for a school like this, but then again, this issue had a strange enough history for this to slide under these specif-
>"You need to pay attention during this lecture, okay?" The teacher cuts off Zest's train of thought. "It gets really tricky."
>Zest thinks up her answer.
>"Can't I just listen to the music and look at what you're writing on the board?"
>The teacher shakes his head.
>"You need to hear what I'm saying this time."
>"Really?"
>This is legitimately a foreign concept to Zest at this point in time.
>The other students start to groan.
>"There's too much information to just write on the board, you need to listen."
>"If it's too much to write on the board, isn't it too much to write on paper too?"
>"Miss Zest, please don't argue. We have a long lecture ahead. You can write more on paper than I can write on the board anyway." The teacher responds coldly. "Please just turn those off and you can put them back on once class is over. It's just 45 to 50 minutes, it's not that big of a deal."
>Zest lets out a groan and turns the headphones off.
>She already hated this class before. Math sucks.
>But now she can't even listen to her music after being allowed to do so for such a long time?
>This is bullshit.
>Zest is so attached to her music that she can hardly go without it without getting bored out of her mind.
>And to think th-
>"So the first step of forming this new kind of equation is..." The teacher begins.
>This is gonna suuuuuck.
>50 minutes?
>That's at least ten whole song lengths!
>Zest's chin meets the cold surface of her desk.
>The silence aside the teacher's talking, the marker hitting the whiteboard and the notebook pages turning gradually drives Zest insane.
>She doesn't even want to be a mathematician when she grows up.
>Her parents never had to use what's on the board right now.
>In fact, no adults with ordinary but steady jobs she knows have to do anything like this.
>They're surviving without it.
>How many of them even remember doing this in school?
>What's the point of doing all this crap to get a good grade if you don't even remember what to do to get it less than a year later?
>Lemon Zest is young, and she wants to have fun even more than Indigo Zap does.
>Why only start devoting your life to raw happiness after your back starts getting weak, your hair starts turning grey and your skin starts getting wrinkled?
>Especially if you're wasting the youth doing something you'll never need to remember?
>The system says yes but reality says no.
>Zest thinks about this at least a thousandfold times the amount of thought she puts into trying to understand D E R I V A T I V E S.
>It expands on this too...
>The only real thing she consistently learned in school was that she hates school.
>She hates getting up before 7 am to either drive or catch a bus.
>Then entering this massive sparkly building only to sit through lessons about things she not only doesn't care about, but things she will NEVER care about.
>The fact that absolutely all of this is required is almost worthy of being called a crime. These students have lives too. Lives that actually build who they are and get them ready to deal with interactions in real life.
>Will the Pythagorean theorem help you pay your taxes?
>Will the Calvin cycle keep you on good terms with your boss at your job?
>Will the Lattice strategy help you raise your kids if you have them?
>Though, Zest did learn that it's better to tune out the drama her friends have all the time.
>Thank goodness for those headphones she /can't put on right now/.
>Or else she'll go to the big bad dean and be told "Mkay, slacking in class is bad, Mkay", or however that new dean would sound.
>They'd probably sound like that, but Zest never met him or her yet.
>...
"So you need to make sure that all of the plants stay within the garden boundaries, m'kay?" You tell Gloriosa the botany teacher.
>"I understand. But my question is... what if one of the flowers starts growing outside of the boundaries?"
>What?
>What even is this question?
"What do you mean? You are planting all of the flowers inside of the boundaries, are you?"
>"What if they spread their seeds outside, though? I cannot control their free will! That would be wrong."
>...
>...WHAT?
"That doesn't make any sense, Miss Daisy."
>"I know it may not make sense to you, but think of their feelings! What if they want to grow wild and free?!"
>You think for a moment.
>Obviously, this lady is a delusional hippy.
"Well the bottom line is... you can't have flowers growing on the soccer field."
>"But what should I do? I can't control where the wind blows."
"Do something to block the pollen and seeds from spreading out of bounds. Because the soccer field is dangerous for flowers." You try to convince her.
>"W-what? How?"
>There's a knock on the door.
"Come in in just a sec." You call out.
>"How is the soccer field dangerous? There's grass there."
"Yes, there is. And there's also soccer players and lawnmowers that cut the grass every weekend." You clarify.
>Gloriosa's eyes go wide.
>"Oh my god! You're right!"
"Yes."
>"Why didn't I think of that?!"
"You gotta to protect those flowers from the cleats  and metal blades."
>"What about the flowers that are already on the field?" Gloriosa asks before Indigo Zap opens the door and barges in.
>"We're talking about the soccer field? I can take care of those." She says, imagining stomping on the flowers to get rid of them. "I'll uh... help you replant them."
>Oh shit, it really is Gloriosa.
>Indigo thought she heads her voice behind the door.
>Can't she spend more time at Canterlot High where there's more hippies like her anyway?
>"And uproot them from their home in the dirt?" Gloriosa protests.
>"You can take the dirt they use with them! Just dig deeper!"
>"What about the poor grass?"
>"The grass on the soccer field is tough, believe me. It gets stomped on all the time."
>At least more often by the other players.
"Uh, okay. Miss Daisy, we can pick this up later today when there's more time, m'kay?" You intervene.
>Gloriosa gives Indigo a shocked look before standing back up.
>About a minute later, Gloriosa leaves after you promise to see her later today.
>Indy takes a seat before you.
"Alright, so..."
>"So..."
>There's a long pause.
"Why'd you get sent here... again?" You're imagining it having to do with soccer once more, having hoped against this.
>"Oh, I didn't get sent here." Indigo lies.
"You didn't?"
>"I asked if I can come here. Asked my math teacher."
>So now it's her math teacher.
>Damn, this girl's gonna be a handful.
>Why is she giving you that weird smile again?
"So why'd you ask to come here?"
>"I wanted to... thank you for letting me stay on the soccer team."
>She's leaning on the other end of the desk in a way that makes you think she's up to something.
"Uh... well what can I say?"
>She stares at you.
"Except... your welcome?"
>"I'm so glad you're dean."
>She's trying to get on your good side, isn't she?
>Why else would she CHOOSE to come to the dean's office?
>Indy's looking at you in an unsettling way.
>Doesn't say anything for some amount of full seconds before standing up to leave.
>And that was it.
>That was Indy's visit to your office.
>Nope, not weird at all.
>You feel like this is going to continue.
>And it makes your stomach churn.
>A few minutes later, the bell rings, and you hear the students walking and chatting about in the hallways once more.
>...
>Lunchtime in the cafeteria.
>Indigo Zap and Sour Sweet sit next to eachother with their lunches in front.
>Surprisingly, word of Indigo being sent to the front office hasn't reached miss banter lordess herself.
>Yet.
>But it seems like Sunny Flare just heard it.
>Given the face she gives the athlete right as she enters the room.
>Indigo won't give her the luxury of being the one to throw the first shot.
>"So Mr. Burgundy sent me to the Dean's office today."
>Sour Sweet swallows the remainder of her drink before she could spit it out.
>"Wait... the math teacher?!" She gasps.
>Indigo nods.
>"What did you do to piss HIM off?"
>Just at this moment, Lemon Zest enters the cafeteria.
>Of course she would enter just now.
>Because coincidence likes to play tricks on everyone here.
>"Long story short I-"
>"Did you not show up for class?"
>Sour Sweet looks at Indigo with a smug grin.
>Indigo damn near stands up.
>Her hands clench into fists for a brief second, but she realizes that she shouldn't take this too far.
>"Listen here, you little..." She starts.
>"Oh fucking please." Sour Sweet flicks her hand. "It's just a joooooke! Chillax."
>Indigo is already seated once again.
>"What's he look like, by the way?" Sweet asks.
>"Who, Mr. Burgundy? You have him next period!"
>"No, not him you fuckin moron! The dean! The new dean."
>"Oh, right. Shit."
>The two start to laugh as the back and forth becomes more playful.
>"So what does he look like?" Asks Sour Sweet as Lemon Zest sits down with her headphone music sounding even over the chatter of the other students. "Does he look like a bitch?"
>"No. ...What?"
>"Does he talk like a bitch? What did he say to you?"
>"He's not a bitch! He's actually pretty cool."
>"Is he cool like Cadence was?"
>Indigo thinks a second or two before answering.
>"Actually, he might be better." She replies to Sour Sweet.
>This even gets Sunny Flare's attention.
>"Better how?" She asks as she adjusts the devices on her wrists.
>Wait wait wait wait..." Sour Sweet scoots closer with a dirty look. "Is he hot?"
>Indigo blushes without answering.
>But that was all Sour Sweet needed to start "oooooooohh"ing.
>"Holy shit, really?" Sour Sweet feels a sudden urge to get in trouble on purpose.
>"How high out of 10?" Asks Sunny Flare.
>"Uh..." Indigo hesitates.
>She bites into her Twix bar and takes a moment to think this over.
>"TELL US."
>"At least a solid seven." Indigo gives her final verdict.
>"Pfffft. Seven, really?" Sunny Flare leans back in her seat.
>"Hey, seven's not that bad!" Sour Sweet defends. "Then again, depends on what KIND on seven." The thinks to herself. "And since you never saw him naked, you're making him a seven based on his face and stuff like that alone."
>Indigo raises her brow at her. "I just think he's a seven."
>"Well then I guess we'll have to see for ourselves, since Indy's opinions are shit."
>"Hey!" Indigo scowls at Sour Sweet.
>"She's kinda right." Sunny Flare mutters under her breath.
>"Coming from someone who mainly rates guys based on their dicks!" Indigo brings up.
>Sweet shrugs.
>"What can I say? I just go for the things that matter first."
>"How good looking he is matters just as much as his dick!" Refutes Indigo.
>"Ha! But you never saw his dick, did you?" Sour Sweet interrogates before questioningly repeating herself. "You uh... you actually didn't see his dick, did you?"
>Indigo laughs and scoffs at her.
>"Like it would happen that fast! I'm not a thot, you know!"
>Who the fuck even talks like this?
>"I'm just sayin'" Says Sour Sweet.
>"Saying what?" Indigo snarls almost playfully. "Seems like you're implying more than you're saying."
>"You did get back onto the soccer team aw-fully quick! And with a new dean that wouldn't trust you right away."
>"He's just a dumb soy boy from what I can tell."
>"Oh, so he's chubby, then?" Sunny asks.
>"No, he's actually pretty built." Indigo starts. "It's just th-"
>"Wait, hold on, hold on... how is he a dumb soy boy? Is he an idiot? I ask you if he was a bitch!" Sour Sweet interrupts.
>"He's not a bitch." Indigo answers before backpedaling. "Well, I kinda am making him MY bitch with getting him to let me back onto the team."
>"So he's a bitch, then." Concludes Sunny Flare.
>"Yeah, but he's a sexy bitch." Sour Sweet adds. "...Is he?"
>"I said he's built." Indigo repeats.
>"So... muscular built, or just...." Sour Sweet eggs her on.
>"He's not Sombra built, that's for damn sure." Indigo recalls.
>Sour Sweet laughs. "Well of fucking course not! No one is. Sombra was like, almost like the fucking Terminator guy or something. Except darker and had more hair."
>"If he did look like Sombra, I'd believe what Sweet is saying about you and his dick more." Sunny Flare comments.
>"Hey, cool it, Fallout Girl!" Sour Sweet switches to defending Indigo Zap. "He's a dean! You can't get a dean's dick that easily because of the repercussions. I was just yanking Indy's chain there."
>"That's a retarded nickname. These don't even look like the things from the Fallout game." Sunny looks at the devices on her wrists.
>"Yeah, whatever, Fallout Girl." Indigo echoes what Sweet said.
>Sunny flicks her off, and Indigo reciprocates.
>It's still (mostly) just them being playful, though.
>"You should be careful how far you can get with him, Zipzap." Sour Sweet starts using nicknames too.
>"Um, no, Sweetie. I've already got him under my thumb. I ain't got shit to worry about. Like I said, he's already my bitch. All I gotta do is keep in like this." Replies Indigo.
>She takes a sip of orange juice as the other girls stare quizzically at her.
>"What?"
>"Oh, come on. You're not gonna tell us anything else?" Asks Sour Sweet.
>"What else do you need me to say? He's hot and he's my bitch. It's not my fault I'm sooooo addicted to getting into trouble." Indigo sarcastically glances at Sour Sweet before biting into her KitKat bar. "Gimme a break."
>"Pfft, whatever." Sour Sweet coldly turns away from her. "You're just still jealous of me."
>"Oh really now? That old thing?"
>"You just wanna make sure I can't get him before you can. Because you know he'd be into me like ten times more than you."
>"You're REALLY still going on about this?"
>"Not my fault I'm hotter than you." Sour Sweet smirks at Indigo. "You gotta get desperate and try and rub it in my face. 'oooooh, he's my bitch! oooooh, i got him to get me back into kickball even though I'm a lazy shit and never show up to practice! ooooooooooooooohhhhhh!!!!'"
>"Blow it out your ass, Sweetie." Indigo rolls her eyes and turns back to her lunch.
>"Hey, hey, hey... I was just joking." Sour Sweet does a complete 180. "C'mon. You know that was water under the bridge since ages ago, right?"
>Indigo gives Sweet a Constanza face with a mouth full of tuna sandwich.
>"Well it was for me." Sweet crosses her arms.
>Sugarcoat stands up from the table.
>"You girls are a literal soap opera and a TMZ article rolled into one. It's embarrassing."
>She takes her finished lunch and the book she was reading with her as she leaves.
>Sour Sweet thumbs her nose at Sugarcoat as she walks out the doors.
>Then she turns around and changes her tone.
>"Alright, listen. Real talk, Indy. I'm so fuckin happy for you that you got the dean to do shit you want this early. This is great! You know that, right?"
>Indigo leans on her elbow. "What, so you're gonna try and do the same too, right?" She cuts right to the chase.
>"Of course! Why not?" Sweet honestly replies. "But hey, we're in this together! We couldn't do this with Cadence unless she was into chicks, and that didn't work."
>"True." Sunny Flare agrees. "We really should have dropped that before we went too far."
>"Well we kinda did." Says Indigo.
>"Never mind, that's not important. What is important is that we have a drone who can do whatever we want now." Sour Sweet conveys with a smile. "And the best way we can do this is together."
>"I should have known you were gonna go there..." Indigo rolls her eyes again.
>"Yup!" Sour Sweet cutely smiles and blinks rapidly. "Indy, thank you for getting a foot in the door for us. We'll probably get into trouble later on in the week to get some more pressure on him from more directions."
>"Uh... well..." Indigo honestly isn't too opposed to this idea.
>"Don't worry, girl! We'll help you out, right Sunny?" Sour Sweet turns to the other girl.
>Sour Sweet squeals happily then turns to Lemon Zest. "Right Zesty?"
>She has to tap on Zest's shoulder to get her attention.
>"Oh!" Lemon Zest gasps and slips her headphones off. "Hey, girls! When did you get here?"
>The other three burst out laughing.
>This is far from the first time this happened, and it's become sort of an inside meme for them.
>"What... everrrrrr!" Sour Sweet loudly but happily stands up. "I'm gonna go see how cute he is now, actually."
>"Wha..." Indigo notices that Sour Sweet is holding her own tray as she walks to the center of the room.
>With a bubbly giggle, Sour Sweet tosses her tray full of half eaten food and half finished drinks straight into the air in front of herself.
>It lands onto the marble floor with an ear piercing clang of the tray accented with a splat.
>The teacher currently supervising the students and the nearby janitor take a deep breath in unison.
>They walk over to Sour Sweet who is adorably skipping around and point towards the exit.
>And off to the Dean's office Sour Sweet goes, apologizing over and over again without actually meaning it.
>First she's Sour.
>Then she's Sweet.
>And now she's Gone.
>Indigo and Sunny both facepalm as Zest laughs silently before slipping her headphones back on.
~
>You sit at your office desk.
>Wondering to yourself about to what extent this is going to continue.
>Coach Snow really shouldn't be coming back into your office.
>But you have doubts about whether or not that is a good thing.
>Maybe this situation won't be so bad.
>It is currently in the process of blowing over, and you're sure you haven't started anyth-
>Knock knock.
"Come in."
>The door opens.
>In strides a completely new girl you haven't seen yet.
>Salmon colored hair in a ponytail, freckles on her face.
>She's grinning a little... wide, there.
>"Hi!"
"Hello. Go right ahead and take a seat. I'll get right to you."
>She does so as you pretend to read through a bunch of papers that aren't even filled out.
>Whatever, you might as well say you were looking through the lines and options to make sure everything was correct.
>Glance at her.
>She's watching.
>Not in a way where you feel like you should be concerned.
>Seems pretty happy to see you.
>"You're the new dean, right?" She asks.
>You look at your name tag propped up on your desk and give her a look.
>"Hahah... right." She takes it lightly. "Hi, Dean Mous! Name's Sour Sweet."
>Wow, you hope this one doesn't fulfill her name.
"So what brings you here miss Sweet?"
>Well that was slightly uncomfortable to say out loud.
>"Well uh..." her happy expression shifts to a more somber tone. "I should probably just give it to you straight. I got in trouble."
>Oh boy, it's another one, isn't it?
"Alright." you lean back in your chair. "So what happened?"
>"My friends and I were just having an argument at lunch." She mopes.
"An argument, huh? Well that's fine, it happens."
>"Yeah..."
"Why were you sent here, though?"
>"Well, uh... the thing is..." She hesitates.
"Mhm?"
>This should be good.
>"I didn't really act properly about it." She's obviously trying to look cute.
>Making enough of an adorable face for it to slightly work, but not enough to sway you out of your wit.
>"I guess you can say I misbehaved~"
>...
>Yeahhhhh.... no.
>You're not comfortable with where she's implicitly taking this.
>And you've only known her for... how long has it been?
>Three and a half minutes?
>Something close to that.
"What is it that got you sent here, though?"
>This is probably no longer going to be good.
>"I stood up and threw my tray of food onto the ground because I was upset." She's starting to look sad.
"Oh. I see..."
>"And they sent be here before I realized what I did. And I feel... I feel so bad about it."
>You try to think of a way to respond to this, but she continues.
>"Not even mostly because of ruining all that food, but because of the things I said to my friends."
"Well, I think the matter at hand is you giving the janitor a bit of a clean up job, there. Now-"
>"I know. I'm not normally like this. And I would have asked to come here if I wasn't already sent."
>She sniffles, and you start to question how genuine she is.
>"I've never felt this guilty about something before, and it's really tearing me apart, Dean Mous."
"Okay... well..."
>Her eyes start to glisten in a way where you're convinced that she's tearing up.
>"I don't know what else to say. I already completely regret what I did, and I guess I'm gonna have to wait for your verdick."
"My... verdict?"
>"Yeah... like if I get suspended or something. Go ahead, though. I deserve it."
>You begin to wonder if this girl is as manipulative as the other girl is.
>God damn, the way you played into Indigo's hand that time was too perfect.
>You walked right into it and had no idea where or when the tables were turning.
>Sour Sweet seems shady already, and you're feeling iffy about the way this lament is worded.
>The smart thing to do is give her a warning and send her off so she doesn't become a burden.
>You'd rather the time of this session to be halved or even thirded.
"Well it seems there's no real lesson to be learned here, since it sounds like you already learned it."
>Her face turns from somber back to cheerful and smirking.
>Not liking it, you take the direction of your answer and curve it.
"But I want you to keep in mind how you're supposed to be to your friends as a person."
>"I understand. I'm not normally like this. I'm usually nice and a hard worker."
>As she speaks, you notice her eyes wandering down and lurking.
>She looks back up and grins sweetly, you find her whole character perturbing.
>Your eye contact is still strong, but now not as strong as hers is.
>You both keep staring at each other for a minute turned almost eternal.
>Then she breaks eye contact when you blink first, and-
>Knock knock.
>Oh finally, something comes and saves you.
"Come on in!" You nearly plead, not even saying to wait a minute.
>A different student comes in, and states his issue right away.
>Sour Sweet starts to give him a bitter look as his problems get between you and her.
>"I'm... not interrupting anything, aren't I?" The student, named Jet Set, asks.
>"Kinda." Sour Sweet's voice sounds ten times as harsh as it did a couple minutes ago.
>She sits in the chair and crosses her arms.
"Well she was here first." You do have to be honest.
>You're just tired of this already.
>It's unclear how you've become so drained so fast, but you just want the day to end.
>There's something intimidating about this girl.
>She gives you strange looks and even stranger combinations of words.
>All the while putting up this confident little act she does.
>This whole things ends up short of the time it was apparently intended to be.
>You tell Sour Sweet she needs to be nicer to her friends, and if she's sent to this office again, she's getting a detention.
>She seems extremely surprised about this, which in and of itself doesn't surprise you.
>This is a prep school.
>And it's probably obvious that you'd rather avoid giving her a detention and prolonging this whole thing.
>Sour Sweet does seem extremely surprised, surprised and delighted that you let her go after she got in trouble.
>You just made another mistake, didn't you?
>So dead set on not making the mistake of taking this further and possibly having to watch over this girl, you ended up letting her off the hook and possibly enabling her to act out again.
>Those differences in her attitude along with the fact that she got sent here for lashing out at her friends in the first place is a red flag to you.
>A big red flag.
>You're starting to get curious...
>Who are her friends, anyway?
>Part of you is willing to bet that she might know Indigo and anyone else in whatever group of friends that is.
>It's a bit of a stretch as far as you're concerned, and you might just be drawing connections based on the fact that they've both stopped by your office and did things to mess with you.
>This isn't too uncommon of a thing among school students.
>Messing with their teachers and whatnot just for the fun of it.
>Though, this is still on a different level; they're getting sent to the dean's office.
>And to be honest, you'll admit that the way you're handling this is that of a pushover.
>You weren't prepared. You only expected well-behaved students.
>Not a couple of poorly-behaved students who are allegedly smart about it.
>Should have seen this coming, though.
>After both of the students you just saw are gone, you decide to put your foot down.
>You're not a pushover.
>Time to contact Coach Snow once again.
>Time to contact Principal Cadence and find out exactly who is in this group of friends that Indigo is in.
>You get busy, thinking about what that other girl in the hallway told you.
>She was right.
>Some of the students here are hell to deal with.
>And to an extent, they're worse than regular high school fuckwits because they're a little sharper than the average high schooler.
>...
>Come Wednesday.
>The events that have been going on at the school have quieted down quite a bit.
>The students coming into your office have only been there to bear minor issues.
>Mostly things they would need permission for.
>So they ask you first, and you grant them permission to do whatever it is they are looking to do.
>It's a slow day, but you still do some contacting.
>Send Coach Snow an email with details of what the situation is.
>You don't entirely tell the truth, but you try and make it clear to her that Indigo is trying to be slick with you.
>Of course, you leave out the part about you being a pushover.
>But that's fine.
>Those days are over anyway.
>This school dean is gonna get mean.
>He's gonna lay down the law and show everyone that he's not going to tolerate unruly behavior.
>And you'll have ample opportunity to do this once one of these girls inevitably comes back, seeing how frequent it seems to happen around here.
>How surprisingly frequent.
>Oh look.
>Principal Cadence replied to the email you sent her last night.
>You were half expecting her to come over to your office in person and give you the details you asked her for.
>But she's probably busy, but this works just as well.
>[Okay, so here's the group of little rascals we got here. Indigo Zap, athlete you've already met. Sour Sweet, her friend who leads their group at the Friendship games (I guess that's the best way to describe it). Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat, two more of their friends. And of course, Lemon Zest... the one with the headphones.]
>Your stomach sinks but your heart rises.
>It's all clear now, but not in a way you were expecting or are comfortable with.
>Sugarcoat met you in the hallway, and the other two seem to have a problem with coming to your office.
>You almost feel like some amount of this is being done on purpose.
>And on a wider scale that even the suspicious you expected.
>This is bad.
>But you slightly feel good that you have gained this new information.
>All you know now is that you are going to glue your eyes to the screen in anticipation of that Coach Snow email.
>Maybe it's not too late.
>Maybe you can get this under control before it's too far out of your hands.
>What a start to your new job.
~
>Thursday sees little to no events happening.
>You're not sure why things have quieted down, but whatever.
>You'll take it.
>Oh boy, will you take it.
>See a few more students throughout the day.
>Yes, Coach Snow replies to the new email you sent.
>[I understand your frustration. I'll be available to talk tomorrow if that's okay. A little swamped today with things.]
>You tell her that's fine, then go back to sitting in your chair trying to relax.
>The day stays quiet, and barely any students at all come in.
>The rollercoaster of the dichotomy between nothing happening and then there being one thing after another is going to drive you insane.
>You stand and you sit.
>Then stand and sit again.
>All the suspense and tension actually is driving you crazy.
>You just need to relax.
>You already have this under control.
>Those girls couldn't possibly be planning anything.
>...Are they?
>...
>Now it's lunchtime again.
>Sour Sweet sits down next to Indigo Zap once again.
>Sugarcoat was sure to work through her lunch quickly just in case she needs to get up and leave at a given point in time.
>"Where the hell were you yesterday?" Asks Sour Sweet.
>"Felt like shit, so I decided to get some fresh air." Indigo replies.
>"What, were you sick or something?"
>"A little. Felt a little stuffy from being inside so much, or whatever."
>Sunny Flare joins in. "Yeah, well you've been marked absent for yesterday."
>Sour Sweet hunches over in laughter.
>Indigo gives them both a scowl. "Yeah, yeah. You sure got me, girls."
>"Oh come on! That one was pretty good." Sour Sweet chuckles.
>Indigo sighs then rolls her eyes.
>"Alright well, yeah that wasn't as sucky as the others, I guess."
>The three laugh together.
>Sugarcoat raises her book higher so she can concentrate away from them.
>Muttering to herself, she gives a scowl less playful than that of Indigo.
>"So... I've been meaning to ask you about-"
>"Dean Mous? Oh my goooooood do I have a tale to tell you."
>Sour Sweet seems eager to tell this tale she has.
>She had already texted her friends about it.
>But there was not enough space in the text box for the details.
>Now she's just waiting to let the words come spilling out.
>"What happened after you were sent to him?"
>"Okay. So..." Sour Sweet begins.
>"And how do you rank him?!" Sunny anxiously asks.
>"Fucking 10! Holy shit, he's so cuuuute!" Sour Sweet gets sidetracked and then turns to Indigo. "You gotta let me have him! You GOTTA!"
>"I found him first!" Indigo defends.
>"I don't care! I'll fuckin seduce him first!"
>This turns into a battle before the next minute's up.
>"There's no rules here!" Sour Sweet continues on and on. "I'll let you have him but only if you can get him before I do!"
>"Where is this even coming from?" Indigo is starting to get annoyed and confused on Mark Wahlberg levels.
>This is slightly extra jumpy even for Sour Sweet.
>Then again, that is a bit of a debatable of a premise.
>"You don't understand, Indy!" Sour Sweet looks like she's ready to stand up. "I see something I want! And I gotta have it. I haven't wanted a guy this badly."
>"He's the DEAN!" Sugarcoat slams her book onto the table on the third word. "What is the matter with you girls? Don't you have any decency?"
>Sour Sweet scoffs at her.
>"Oh please! Decency can wait. He's a fuckin hot piece of meat and this tiger's hungry!"
>"...Ew." Sugarcoat grimaces then returns to her book, wondering why she hasn't ducked out of here yet.
>"You ain't the only tiger in school!" Indigo asserts. "Besides, I've known him longer than you. I'll definitely get 'im to cave first."
>"Well... we'll see." Sour Sweet crosses her arms. "I just might not be able to stop myself from misbehaving and getting sent to the office again. A lot..."
>Now Sugarcoat actually stands up and leaves.
>She dodges Lemon Zest's flailing arms. "Hey, watch were you're..."
>Sugarcoat can tell Zest can't hear her.
>Just ignores her and leaves the room with her book in hand.
>"AND I'M WANTED.... WWAAWWWNTED! DEAD OR ALIIIIIVE!!" Zest sings along with the music she's listening to, easily the happiest person at the lunch table.
>Or maybe not, with Sour Sweet coming in at a close second.
>"Looks we're gonna see who can get him first!" Begins Sour Sweet. "Oh, we're gonna see alright."
>Indigo tilts her head at her.
>Well this seems rather sudden.
>Then again, this isn't the first time Sour Sweet got like this.
>Indigo's just mad that this had to happen now of all times and of all situations.
>"I... I guess we'll see, then." She squints. "May the best tigress win."
>Sour Sweet only replies with a silent smug grin.
>Indigo mirrors it, planning the next time she's going to visit Mr. Mous.
>And so begins the game of competitive cat and mouse.
>Sunny Flare imagines how many days it's going to take before these two wear each other out.
>So she can step in with ease.
>Lemon Zest head bangs to some more music she's listening to.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4
~
>Luckily, there have been no new unnecessary jobs for the Janitor for the rest of Thursday.
>In fact, no one needs to go to the dean.
>But some people who didn't go know that tomorrow may be different.
>Dramatically different.
>...
>Last class period of the day.
>Eighth period.
>Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap all have history class together.
>They walk into the room joking about how their previous humanities teacher was such a hippie compared to the new humanities teacher they have now.
>They then start talking about how the new history teacher the school got this year is so much cooler than the boring one they used to have.
>There have been many changes within the faculty realm.
>A few teachers left, a few stayed.
>Ever since Cinch was overthrown as ruler.
>And Cadence stepped into power with a more benevolent hand.
>Now there's a history teacher who claimed on the first day of school to run a meme page.
>Things are finally looking up for Crystal Prep.
>The students sit down in their desks to see what lessons will be taught today in class.
>Lemon Zest happy to be in this class more than any of the others, history having become her favorite subject in recent weeks.
>Teacher's late again.
>Normally, this would be an issue by Crystal Prep standards.
>But he walks in two minutes after the bell, along with a couple of other late students.
>"I have arrived." This man makes a gaudy entrance and sets his things down.
>He looks at a couple of other late students and gestures for them to come inside.
>"Get in, losers. We're learning about Rome today."
>Everyone smiles and laughs as the door closes.
>Lemon Zest starts to sift through her playlist for epic classical music.
>Probably something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujVNKQrYSuk
>Her notebook already open, ready to have three more pages filled up with marks of graphite.
>She gazes at the board, ready for this beyond anything the other note takers can comprehend.
>"Today, a brief summary." The teacher commences the lesson. "A quick rundown! Into the next chapter of the beginnings of Western Civilization." He speaks like a narrator as the powerpoint is brought to the first slide.
>The teacher starts to go over the beginning of the town of Rome, and Lemon Zest imagines the story in her head as Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap glare at one another.
>This is going to be a fine addition to how she will play out the scenarios in EU4 in the computer lab later today.
>...
>As it is is written down on paper into her notebook, Lemon Zest finds herself running across a field in her mind.
>There is a distant wall she sees.
>The girl looks over to it as the music gets louder, distracted by all of these things that fascinate her.
>Running clumsily with her head turned, she trips and falls.
>But it does not hurt, for her ambition makes her strong.
>She gets up and spits out some dirt.
>Blowing the earth beneath her feet a kiss.
>Continues to rid the city of Rome of Tarquinius Superbus.
>She straps him to the top of s school bus with a cape on it.
>Sends it careening off of a cliff.
>The teacher vividly describes the Republic beginning.
>Every end only results in another beginning.
>Every 1453 has its 753.
>The epic music of the inevitable empire continues, wars happen, and Zest slowly realizes she was destined to rule the known world.
>Writes with her pencil clenched in her fist like a dagger.
>Her smile spanning from ear to ear like Scotland to Babylon.
>There goes the siege of Veii, there goes the rest of the Etruscans, there go the Samnites, there goes Pyrrhus of Epirus, and now we're toe to toe with Carthage.
>This lesson is going by quickly but gloriously.
>...
>Before the last class of the day ends, Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap give eachother challenging looks.
>Whispering things Zest doesn't care to hear, not like she could anyway.
>The teacher decides to have fun with making the current slides on screen to align with each new song that he hears playing from those headphones.
>The rest of the class is having fun too, as the teacher tells this story like an actual story.
>Not focusing on the numerical statistics as much as the significance and legend behind everything.
>Lemon Zest wishes she could learn like this in all of her classes, and maybe just drop math and science after she gathers all she needs from those.
>So she can slowly forget them to make way in her memory for the Punic Wars.
>Doesn't even hear the final bell ring, but is the last student in the class to stand up.
>The teacher nods at her and bids her a good weekend before she goes down to the computer lab to do her thing.
>Play some of that EU4.
>She opens the game in the internet browser and gets started with her open notebook in hand.
>Time for some accuracy.
>Meanwhile, Indigo and Sweet stay after school.
>Either soccer practice or drama club tryouts... whatever the reason may be.
>They both in actuality want to see when the dean's door closes for the last time.
>They walk the hallways together at first, but then split up.
>Sometimes running into eachother and locking eye contact as rivals.
>The music goes on, and Lemon Zest slowly takes over a miniature version of the Western Mediterranean.
>...
>Meanwhile, you're very relieved that today was quiet.
>You know Coach Snow has to look overt he soccer team until that's over.
>You joke to yourself that Indigo is not going to be there.
>And that it somehow means that you won't have to worry about her being in school today.
>Maybe her not showing up will be enough merit for you to say she's back off of the team.
>It would be a bit awkward, but it's somewhat justified as well.
>And it'll establish you as something more than a pushover.
>You anticipate Coach Snow's arrival.
>Oblivious to the two certain students occasionally walking by your door.
>One of them neglecting to go to soccer practice like you hoped.
>In the library computer lab, Lemon Zest gets a much better hang of the game.
>She controls legion upon legion of virtual Romans.
>Her gaze sets itself upon northern Africa.
>She stares Carthage in the eyes.
>...
>In the hallway, Indigo Zap and Sour Sweet stare eachother in the eyes.
>It isn't long before soccer practice ends.
>Indigo Zap knows she must duck out.
>She turns a corner as she hears the rest of the soccer team coming from the gym.
>Part of her hopes that her being absent AGAIN doesn't cause any riffs in what she just accomplished to get back in.
>But considering that...
>She could plausibly just use that to visit Mr. Mous more often.
>If anything, it's a efficient little thing to do.
>They feed off of eachother.
>Indigo stays after school to check when Mr. Mous leaves, while missing soccer practice so Coach Snow blows of more steam and tries to get her kicked off the team.
>Then she can go butter the dean up some more and get him to bend just like before.
>And she can build that already established connection with him along the way, seeing this dean more frequently than her Rival Sour Sweet.
>She already knows how this back and forth with either of the deans plays out whenever Coach Snow gets tired of her shit.
>She feels her fear shrinking.
>and her fortitude coming into play as she steps in front of the other player anyway.
>Waving to them, actually hoping that Coach Snow comes around the corner and notices her.
>Give that coach another reason to go the dean's office with a complaint.
>But the coach is not with the soccer team.
>Not sure if this is a good thing or not.
>...
>You're sitting in your office.
>Knock knock.
"Come on in!"
>There she is, confidently entering the room as one of her players waits near the part of the school that overlooks the faculty parking lot.
>You can't wait to go there and sit in the driver's seat with confidence of your own.
"What can I help you with today?"
>"She was absent again. Didn't even show up for roll call this time." Coach Snow tells you.
"Just today?"
>"Yup."
"Huh."
>"Yeah."
"Well then."
>You start to look through your desk drawer and sift through some papers.
>Looking for a certain form that a certain someone filled out.
"Where could it be?"
>You know that Coach Snow is sharing the same levels of smug as you are.
>It's a shame that you can't just straight up settle this today.
>But hell, that would be too easy.
>Might as well drag this out, contrary to what you've said before.
>Maybe next Wednesday will be the day it all ends.
>And Indigo Zap gets the news not to come to practice.
>Oh, you feel crushingly victorious already.
"Well, I see that this student isn't cooperating with anything she's been told." You bring up.
>"You still have that form, right?"
"Was just looking for it. Hold on oooooone sec."
>You eventually find it.
>The piece of paper on top stands out with all of the extra words written in pencil on it.
>This is the student of a prep school.
>A student who filled out one of these forms in PENCIL.
>God, you don't know if that's more hilarious or pathetic.
>Hand the form over to the coach.
>She laughs in response.
>"This is so ridiculous." She reads over all of the things Indigo Zap wrote.
>She reads all of the things Indigo Zap said about her and scoffs.
>"Oh my god, the ego on this girl." She says under her breath.
"It's impressive, isn't it?"
>"I'll say..."
"So what would your proposed course of action be?" You already know what she's going to say.
>And you already know you're going to accept.
>...
>Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap standoff in the empty hallways.
>Looking out the windows occasionally to see if your car is gone from the faculty lot yet.
>Checking their phones for the time even though the hallways have clocks of their own in places.
>Shortly after, Indigo watches Coach Snow get into one of the cars and drive away.
>She never even knew what the coach's car looked like.
>Can't wait to see what Mr. Mous's car looks like.
>It soon comes to the point where Indigo Zap and Sour sweet are waiting next to eachother.
>Patiently waiting for the dean to come out and- there he is!
>They both gaze down upon him from the window.
>Down upon you.
>You walk up to your car after a very satisfying day.
>Happen to look back up at the school to get a good look at it.
>Oh look who it is.
>Up there, in one of the windows.
>It's Indigo Zap.
>And holy shit, is that Sour Sweet standing next to her?
>Wooooooow, you never saw this coming.
>Feeling a bit cheeky, you wink at them without giving the action a second though.
>You don't really remember which one of them winked at you before.
>So you just winked at both of them as you keep in mind the news about how no-nonsense the new dean is going to be that they're soon going to hear.
>Laugh silently as you happily drive away, ready to enjoy your weekend.
>Back at the school, the two girls start arguing over which one of them the dean winked at.
>They raise their voices, and can be heard throughout the hallways by all ears except two.
>Two ears covered by headphones of a girl who just wrapped up her EU4 game for the day and looks forward to continuing the journey tomorrow on her own computer.
>It.
>Begins.
~
>...
>Phones out.
>It's been about another week or so, and things seem to be slowing down more than expected.
>Indigo is less worried about her place on the team than ever.
>Dean Mous is already in the palm of her hand.
>Sour Sweet lies in bed with her phone screen glued to her eyes.
>She goes through the people on Twitter she follows.
>Undergoes some late night unfollowing of accounts she stoped caring about a couple of hours ago.
>Follows (and re-follows) account that sparked her interests today.
>Just the usual stuff she does.
>Calmly goes about her usual activities when she gets a text from Indigo.
>[So you see him recently?]
>Sour Sweet almost lets her phone slip onto her face as she clumsily answers with a yawn. [who? the dean?]
>[the fuck ypu think?]
>[I was busy all week doing shit. Did you see him?]
>[I haven't either.] Indigo partially lies.
>She went into that office for a brief moment.
>Didn't even come up with a reason to be there.
>Got a confused look before going back to Language Arts she literally just left in the middle of.
>[I'm gonna see him first!] Sour Sweet teases.
>Indigo rolls her eyes, knowing that this already isn't true.
>[Yeah, okay sweetie]
>[So what's up?]
>Indigo thinks to herself. [Well I guess I'm just bored. How's it hanging?]
>[Facebook and Twitter] Sour Sweet replies.
>[You unfollowing people again?]
>[I guess.]
>Indigo chuckles silently.
>Then she gets an idea.
>[Hey, can I ask you a favor?]
>[Whats that] responds Sour Sweet.
>[Can you try and find Dean Mous's facebook account?]
>Sour Sweet's eyes widen.
>Why hasn't she thought of this before?
>This kind of slacking is what could lose the race for her!
>[i gues i cuold try] Sour Sweet frantically types in response, trying to simultaneously open the Facebook app on her phone.
>Indigo can tell through the message that her rival is suddenly rushing.
>Nearly facepalms with her phone in hand.
>Wait...
>Now she's going to find it!
>What the hell came across her mind that she could get Sour Sweet to do it for her and then share the info with her?
>She shouldn't talk to the enemy this late at night when she's this exhausted from doing little to nothing all day.
>But it's too late.
>Indigo opens the facebook app as well and starts searching.
>Friends lists are scanned, the school's facebook page is searched up and down.
>Top to bottom.
>Only a couple of pages can be found.
>Including that of Gloriosa.
>The first thing they see is a massive banner picture of a standard cat image.
>But with tall grass and flowers around it.
>Sour Sweet laughs when she comes across it.
>Indigo pays no mind to it, still in search for that dean.
>After about 45 minutes or so, the search turns up inconclusive for both girls.
>Indigo ends the search empty handed.
>Sour Sweet ends the search with two less friends than she started with.
>Saw a couple of posts on her feed that she didn't like and smashed that unfriend button with the posters.
>Two-faced bitch.
>[You find anything?] Indigo is almost convinced that Sour Sweet would answer "no" regardless of the results.
>[Nothing. You?]
>[obviously not lmao]
>They chit chat back and forth for some more minutes until whenever it is they normally pass out.
>Every night with these phones.
>Logging off of facebook from the computer only to open it back up on the mobile phone.
>It's almost disgraceful.
>"This is what technology is doing to millennials!" Said the Baby Boomer in their blog.
>Both girls are sound asleep for some time.
>Indigo is woken up by her phone vibrating.
>[Indyyyyyyyyy] Sour Sweet's text reads.
>Indigo can barely make out the letters of the text.
>Vision's so blurry.
>Can hardly make out the 3:46 on the digital nightstand clock as well.
>[tf u want]
>[I'm booooooorrredddddddd]
>God fucking dammit.
>[tryna sleep] Indigo responds with her eyelids halfway open.
>[But Indyyyyy I have a questionnnn]
>The athlete girl would have growled if she had the energy for it.
>[wt?]
>[How many inches do you think he is?]
>[3.47! Like the time rn! lemme sleep]
>[indyyyyyy]
>Seen at 3:48 AM.
>...
>Next morning is lethargic.
>They all are.
>Indigo goes ahead and showers and gets dressed.
>Formulating her next plan for seeing Mr. Mous in his office.
>Maybe she can go up to the office without having gotten into any sticky situations.
>Whatever excuse she uses, she remembers to forget to slip her panties on.
>Time to play hardball with this dude.
>Seeing as there's competition now.
>Next thing she knows, a fatigued Indigo Zap enters the school halls.
>Half-wittedly keeping in mind that she REALLY shouldn't let any breeze or something blow her skirt up.
>Never worried about that happening before, and never had it happen.
>But hell, the risk makes it that much more possible in her mind.
>It's the one thing in her tired brain she keeps at the surface as the morning goes on.
>"Indyyyyyyy!" She hears a verbal version of the text she ignored last night.
>Heard at 8:14 AM.
>"INDY!" Sour Sweet repeats.
>Not even five hours later and she has to put up with this shit again.
>And in person.
>"What? What is it?" Indigo mentally bounces back and forth between her plan and thoughts about putting her knuckles into the side of Sour Sweet's face.
>"We should work together!" Says Sour Sweet.
>Indigo looks around in case anyone is listening in.
>She didn't even realize that no one else is around with her head down.
>Looks like she can uncross her legs now.
>"You mean the thing with... you know..."
>"Yes, dammit! That!" Sour Sweet replies.
>Indigo looks down.
>Hiding the fact that she's already planning to sneak ahead in this twisted game.
>Why did she decide to do this so suddenly?
>She looks at Sour Sweet's grinning face.
>Welp, might as well imitate the enemy if you wanna defeat them.
>"We should work together!" Repeats Sour Sweet. "Like I said last night!"
>...
>It turns out that it wasn't just one text that Indigo missed.
>Sour Sweet apparently kept going.
>Indigo looks at her phone to find 12 unread texts.
>"So at what point during all of that did you pass out?" Asks Sour Sweet with a chuckle.
>"At what point did you realize I was already sleeping before you texted me?" Asks Indigo.
>"Right before I texted you." Sour Sweet cutely answers. "Anyway, whatever. That's not important."
>"I'm fucking tiiiiired!" Groans Indigo, brain functioning only partially.
>"I'm sorry! I guess I got carried away."
>"Alright, well..." Indigo tried to muster up a coherent sentence. "God, why does school have to start so early?"
>"Why does school have to start at all?" Asks Sour Sweet. "Heh, that's the question you should be asking."
>The then looks around herself to make sure no one is looking or listening.
>"Anyway, we should at least try to do this together so we get to the cream of this faster. He already saw us next to eachother, so I figured... you know."
>"Yeah, true." Agrees Indigo.
>"So here's what I thought of. We can both go up to the office together. More than one time, until we finally get him to get really soft. Then we'll see who he wants more." Sour Sweet describes her proposed course of action.
>Indigo nods.
>"So we're gonna do this?"
>"Y-yeah... I guess." Indigo now tries to think of a way to enter the office again after Sour Sweet had left but before Mr. Mous leaves.
>She needs to figure out how to do this.
>Sour Sweet deviantly reveals more and more of her plan as she makes it up.
>Acting and thinking on impulse.
>Indigo Zap partial-heartedly agrees.
>She barely listens to anything Sour Sweet is saying until lunchtime when her brain is finally waking up more.
>What's funny is that Sour Sweet is the reason why she's extra tired today.
>"So what's poppin?" Asks Sunny Flare, hoping the other girls still care about her.
>"We're planning out assault." Sour Sweet announces.
>"I wouldn't call it an assault." Indigo corrects her friend. "That's kind of a strong way to put it. We're not gonna fuckin throw ourselves at him or anything. That's stupid."
>"I kinda want to, to be honest family." Sighs Sour Sweet. "If only it were that simple."
>Once again, Sugarcoat stands up and leaves.
>She doesn't say anything this time.
>Just walks out the door as Lemon Zest enters with a few other students as the lunch period begins.
>Lemon Zest dances and prances around with the music guiding her direction before locating the table where her friends sit.
>Making the devil horns with her fingers.
>The chatter in the cafeteria is too loud for the other students to hear what she's listening to.
>Chatter that's surely just as dramatic as what Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap are deliberating.
>"Sunny, girl, you wanna help us?" Sour Sweet asks. "The more of us chip in, the faster we can chip away at him."
>Sunny considers this.
>She goes over what possible consequences could come from everything going wrong.
>Maybe it'll all blow up in her face, maybe it won't.
>"I guess I can kinda... be a third party in this." She responds.
>Sour Sweet squeals happily as she realizes that her little army is growing.
>"This is too perfect!" She looks in the direction of the office even though there's walls and shit in the way.
>Meanwhile, one of the school faculty members comes into the room.
>Holding a piece of paper and looking directly at Indigo.
>"Miss Zap?"
>Indigo looks over.
>She waves as the faculty member walks over.
>"You're wanted in the Dean's office."
>Sour Sweet's jaw hits the floor. "The fuck?"
>It's a good thing she didn't say that loudly enough for the faculty lady to hear.
>"Oooooh!" Sunny Flare looks at Indigo as she stands up.
>Not really wanting to question this, Indigo smugly struts out of the room but still not fast enough for the wind to brush past her clothes too much.
>This is literally falling into her lap.
>Sour Sweet clenches her fists underneath the table.
>She thinks about doing the tray thing again.
>She'd probably just get sent home after that.
>Plus, Mr. Mous would definitely not buy into a story of doing that a second time.
>She sits at the table with her face pouting.
>Lemon Zest's face smiling as she jams to the music she's listening to.
>...
>Here you sit in your office.
>Chest proudly huffed out.
>That form Indy filled out in front of you.
>And another form a certain soccer coach filled out next to it.
>Knock knock.
"Come iiiiiiiiiin!"
>She enters.
>Looking so confident.
>Looking so fucking pleased with herself.
>Looking so...
>Is she swaying her hips as she walks?
>Alright, this needs to end now.
>You can handle the smirking, you can handle the lying, you can handle all of that other crap.
>But now you're starting to get the vibe tat she may be trying to seduce you.
>That's a BAD road to go down.
>"You wanted to... see me?" Indigo asks.
>Yeah.... no.
"Yup."
>No.
"Yes, yes, I did."
>"What for?"
"Coach Snow wanted me to let you know something." You begin.
>Watching that smile die away from Indigo's face like grass in the winter.
"She had a couple of... issues with your not showing up to practice yet again a few more times. Right after we talked about this whole thing."
>Now she looks perturbed.
>Straight up tilted and rustled.
>"Wh-what? What did she say? I told her I'd be there today." Indigo pulls lies out of thin air.
"Well uh, look. This wasn't my decision." You lie yourself, comfortable with it since you know she's lying harder. "But she wanted me to inform you not to show up to practice today."
>You can feel Indigo's stomach churn and her heart sink.
>She stares at you with contracted pupils.
"Because you no longer have practice to go to."
>She's silent.
>Didn't even sit down in the chair yet and you broke the news to her.
>Just couldn't wait to do it.
>Only now do you realize how quick you were to do this.
>Looks like you actually proved yourself.
>"I... I can't believe... uh, I..." The girl stammers and rambles as you wait for her to give you a complete sentence to shoot down.
>Now you're the one feeling pleased with himself.
>This isn't a situation where everyone wins.
>But the right people won.
>Indigo is so taken aback by this that she falls into the chair in front of your desk.
"Are you alright?"
>"I'm... fine." Indigo answers in a breathy voice. "I'm fine... very fine..."
>She slides forward in her seat as she says this.
>This confuses you at first.
>What is she trying to do now? Wait for you to miraculously change your mind?
>She's re-crossing her legs awfully often, like she's feeling extremely awkward and desperate or-
>Oh fuck.
>You were about to ask yourself why remnants of a grin are returning to her face.
>This is wrong, this is very wrong.
>Indy slinks forward some more, riding her skirt up her thighs until it's almost scrunched up at her hips.
>No.
>Nononononononono.
>Wrong.
>Bad.
>Cease this tomfoolery this very instant!
>Indigo lets out a strained groan of continued desperation.
>She knows you're struggling to keep your eyes up at her face.
>Your eyes tell her quite a story to her.
>And her legs prompt them to continue it.
>You look away to the side.
>"I... didn't quite catch that." Indigo says to you.
>You knew she was manipulative.
>That was established as all everloving fuck.
>But she's actually, legitimately THIS fucking manipulative?
>How are you even going to tell cadence about this?
>What do you say? How do you approach this?
>You do everything you can to unscramble your thoughts.
>Stop yourself from having a reason to cross your own legs every time Indigo un-crosses hers.
>This is wrong... so very wrong.
>You pray that she's at least eighteen.
>Though, you already know she is eighteen, but that doesn't make this any less uncomfortable.
>"Could you repeat that?" Indigo requests of you. "I don't think I caught that correctly."
>Now her thighs are on your mind.
>And what she's got between them. And why you shouldn't be thinking this or how this shouldn't be happening to begin with.
>"I'm still on the team though, right?"
>She knows she has you cornered.
>And you know it.
>Indigo boldly slinks forward even more.
>Like she's twisting your arm until you cave in.
>When in reality she's nearly twisting her legs.
>Now turning to her side and bending her knees in almost a fetal position.
>Giving you a just-as-provocative view of her.
>Her bottom being so toned reminds you that she's indeed an athlete.
>Even though she rarely shows up to practice.
>That probably means it's softer-
>Fuck off, bad thoughts.
>"Mr. Mous?"
>She's calling for you.
"I-"
>You're a sweating mess.
>She's gonna pose for you in that fucking chair for the rest of the day until you tell her what she wants to hear.
>Indigos got you by the legs... her legs. Her... other things...
>This is dragging out too long.
>Can someone else just knock on the door so you can say no and tell her to get lost or else she's suspended?
>Or whatever the HELL you're supposed to do in a situation like this?
>Cadence never described this to you.
>What are you supposed to do?
>Indigo keeps her legs uncrossed now.
>Her knees get further and further apart.
>You should be checking your upper lip for bloodstains from your nose by now.
>This is definitely supposed to be the decisive death blow.
>You're still seated, all of you except for a part of you that's standing up.
>Indigo can just sense it happening.
>You can tell by her smiling wider as this happens; she's so sure that she has this in the bag.
>...
"Indigo Zap, you're off the soccer team, and you're also suspended for a week."
>Silence.
>More silence.
>Even more silence.
"You're off the soccer team. And you are suspended for a week."
>You look her straight in the eye now.
>Pride gradually build within you with momentum.
"Do you understand?"
>Defeated, Indigo closes her legs.
>Stands up and leaves without another word.
>And just like that, you're alone in your office again.
>Sitting in your chair with a boner that will take several minutes to go away.
>But it's a victorious boner.
>Your mind still spins, but now mostly from trying to figure out what the hell you just did and how in the world you did it.
>It all ended so quickly!
>But not before you saw things you shouldn't have.
>And other things you REALLY shouldn't have.
~
>...
>Dashing through the halls.
>More than halfway through the day.
>Past her class she goes.
>Cussing all the way.
>Indigo Zap's first destination is Coach Snow's office.
>She'll get her stuff from the cafeteria after the other girls are gone.
>She makes it to her coach's office.
>Door locked.
>Understandable, have a nice day.
>Indigo has tears welling up in her enraged eyes by the time she makes it to the cafeteria entrance.
>She's pretty much just aimlessly running around at this point.
>Not thinking clearly.
>No one sees her leave the school early and walk all the way home.
>...
>After school.
>Today went smoothly.
>Aside a... whatever, don't talk about it.
>Don't even think about it.
>Today went smoothly.
>That's your story and you're sticking to it.
>You'll just tell Principal Cadence that Indigo mouthed off at you and that's why you suspended her.
>What matters is that she knows that you're a force to be contended with.
>You proved yourself, and that will never change.
>Feeling like you can do anything.
>Not surprisingly, the news of Indigo getting suspended doesn't spread anywhere.
>Because it never started.
>No one's going to officially find out exactly what happened until tomorrow.
>All they know right now is that she left early.
>For... whatever reason they formulate in their heads until they learn the truth.
>The new dean suspended her.
>You wonder if this is the first time she's ever been suspended.
>It might as well have been.
>She was cocky and confident as anything you've ever seen.
>You lock up your office and leave a little early.
>Cadence should see your email you sent soon.
>She's going to be so surprised with the decision that you carried out.
>You take a detour to the library.
>Not sure why, but you decide you could use some peace and quiet.
>There's someone in there.
>You recognize this student.
>It's that girl Sugarcoat.
>You almost feel like you should be on your toes, but you think back to what Sugarcoat told you in the hallway before.
>About having to be careful.
>Back then, you thought her little warning was harsh, but you understand now.
>These girls are far more bold than you anticipated.
>Sugarcoat's warning and the nature of it was warranted as far as you're concerned.
>You walk up to her as she has her attention directed towards yet another book she's reading.
"Uh..."
>She looks up.
"Hey."
>"Dean Mous." She says. "Hello."
"Hi, um... I wanted to stop by and say something." You plan this as it happens.
>Sugarcoat puts the book down.
>"What is it you'd like to say?"
>You take a deep breath.
"You... were right."
>Partially expect her to smile, but her face remains completely serious in appearance.
"You were right about Indigo. I should have had my guard up more."
>"Is there a reason why she left early today?"
"Hoooooh boy... you bet."
>Sugarcoat nods.
>You're a little embarrassed about how you made your voice crack a little just now.
>"What did she do?"
"You'll uh... you'll find out tomorrow."
>Part of you just wants to tell her now.
>Excited to tell the story about your most recent victory.
>And you're not the only one who's eager.
>Now Sugarcoat is actually smiling a little.
>"I'm curious. You sure you can't tell me?"
>You want to tell her about this sooooo badly!
>Can't help it.
>You sit down in the chair next to her.
>"You gonna tell me, then?" She asks immediately.
"Sure."
>Over the next several minutes, you go over detail after detail of what happened.
>Sort of dancing around the part about Indigo's... legs and stuff.
>But Sugarcoat can sense that you're leaving something out.
>She asks you to go back to a certain part of the recollection and tell it again.
>You tell it a bit differently, but still leave out the part about Indigo doing that... thing she did.
>"Ah, I see." Sugarcoat responds after you finish tell her about what happened. "Looks like it all finally caught up to her."
"I guess."
>"You're turning out to be a good dean, Mr. Mous. So far."
>You blush, smiling down at the floor below as Sugarcoat continues.
>"So what are you leaving out?"
>You pause.
"I, what?"
>"You can trust me. I'll keep it a secret if it's something really left field."
"I really don't think I should be having this conversation with you." You're getting nervous now.
>"With all due respect, you came in here on your own merit and started this conversation yourself." Sugarcoat points out.
"Well it didn't start out like this."
>"Like what? You hinted at it and now I'm interested. What is it that you felt like needed to be left out?"
>Well she's getting a bit interrogative now, isn't she?
"Well it's nothing I... well it's... a bit awkward."
>"That's fine. I know these girls more than you ever will. That's something I can guarantee you. Anything you throw at me is something I've already seen them do."
>You imagine Indigo doing the thing she did with Sugarcoat for some reason.
>Back away, bad thoughts.
>Not welcome in this brain.
>Especially not after this success.
>There's a long awkward silence that follows.
>At least it's awkward for you.
>Sugarcoat doesn't appear to be bothered at all.
>Within the duration of this silence is when you realize that there is faint music coming from a set of headphones in the other room.
>The room that happens to be the computer lab.
>Ohhh right!
>That other girl Lemon Zest likes to hang out there.
>Maybe you can meet her too and finally get to know her better before she gets to know you.
>Like you planned to do before but didn't because of... whatever reason it was that you can't remember.
>You focus more of the faint music in the background in the silence than you do Sugarcoat's stern glare.
>She sits there with her arms crossed.
"It's just weird, that's all." You say. "Weird and sort of feels wrong to talk about. In fact, I really don't think I sh-"
>"Don't worry." Sugarcoat tells you. "I promise you can trust me. You'll find that I'm pretty open-minded."
>She basically squeezes the truth out of you like sugar out of a sugar cane.
>It's not in the same way Indigo got you to answer something, however.
>Sugarcoat isn't hiding anything.
>She's being completely straightforward with you and clarifies multiple times that...
>1. You are the one who started this conversation to begin with while she was sitting here minding her own business; this isn't your office.
>2. You did somewhat tantalize her with a hint that it's big news, and about one of her friends whom she already knows well enough not to be surprised.
>3. She is the one who gave you the warning about them in the first place, which you thanked her for. She has no reason to side with them in their stupid behavior or let the secret out, and genuinely feels like she deserves an answer.
>This is basically how she convinces you to tell her.
>And she indeed isn't surprised about Indigo "forgetting" to put on a part of panties.
>As a matter in fact...
>"...Yeah, she's done that before. Most recently in gym class with the super fit male teacher we had." She says. "It's a good thing you didn't fall for that. It's almost certain you would have ended up like him."
"What happened to him?" Now you're the one who's curious.
>"He got fired. Was caught with Indigo."
"O-oh..."
>"Yeah, she'll go /that/ far. You made the smart decision."
"...Wow."
>"Thanks for not being a doormat like he was."
>The conversation slowly turns more informal and more friendly.
>The topic eventually changes to the book Sugarcoat is reading.
>It's nothing much you're interested in, something about Quantum Physics.
>"You heard about that one star student that used to attend here, right?"
"Did I? What was her name?"
>"Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."
"Oh yeah. Principal Cadence told me about her achievements."
>Sugarcoat lets out a sigh. "Of course. We've always gotta tell the whole world about our best students." She slumps in her chair. "Anyway, she's the reason why I'm diving into more advanced topics before I graduate."
"Really?"
>"Yup. I don't disrespect her, but you could easily argue that I'm jealous of her. Academically. It was mostly because of the fact that she always got higher test scores than me in every subject. Things like that."
>Well, then.
>"You can take that however you want, but that's the reason. Really no simpler way I can put it."
"I uh... I like how you tend to get straight to the point." You comment, not really able to think of anything else to say since you're still sort of unpacking this in our head.
>"I'm known for it around here. Some like me for it, some hate me for it." Sugarcoat picks the book back up. "Thanks, though."
"You're welcome." You look back over to the computer lab. "Can I ask you one last thing before I head off?"
>"Go ahead." She doesn't sound like she's getting any less interested in this.
"That girl in there, is she like your other friends?" You ask, now feeling confident that Sugarcoat is going to give an honest and straightforward answer you can make good use of.
>She looks over to where the faint music and clicking of a mouse is still coming from.
>"If you don't mind occasional rowdiness without anything personal connected to it, she shouldn't be much of a handful at all." Informs Sugarcoat. "As a person, Lemon Zest is a free spirit. If anything, she's in her own little world most of the time."
"Huh. Okay. Good to know." You say after a pause.
>"Any time." Sugarcoat returns to her Quantum Physics book... again.
>And that was it.
>Several minutes later, you drive home with confidence and satisfaction yet again.
>...
>Meanwhile, in the computer lab, Lemon Zest starts to get further into those online games.
>Starting to become enthralled by a new game in addition to EU4.
>Age of Mythology.
>Damn, this game is so kino.
>Zest found herself hooked within the first five minutes of playing.
>Starts the campaign part of the game and fuels her addiction to this game at an accelerating rate.
>She pictures herself as an ancient Greek heroin or goddess, jabbing krakens and pirate ships with her lit spear.
>Defending Atlantis for the good of the people.
>Then chasing a minotaur to a secluded island to retrieve Poseidon's trident.
>Then helping out in the siege of Troy.
>She's been here for at least four hours playing this game now.
>It's just so addicting, Lemon Zest can't stop.
>It's a good thing this is the online version so she can play it at home once the school absolutely has to close down.
>Zest is on a roll.
>One of the best feelings one could possibly feel.
>She flips to the next song in her playlist and turns the volume up to maximum level as she watches meteors bombard Troy in one of the cutscenes.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrZRpXoKoFQ
>Having so much fun right now.
>Commanding the computer lab like she commands hoplite armies.
>Like she bursts through the enemy's defenses, slaying winged snakes and rescuing centaurs in level 7.
>Razing fortresses to the ground in level 8.
>Look at the ominous glow of her green hair flow through the realm of Hades.
>Reflecting off of the helmets of fallen warriors.
>She protects one of the gates to Tartarus by destroying a massive battering ram and then fights her way out of the underworld with a group of brave heroes by her side.
>Fire lighting their path, underworldly beasts standing in it.
>Zest charging straight at them with the sound of her heart echoing off of the rock surfaces.
>She's into this game, alright.
>The song faintly leaks from her headphones into the library.
>Where Sugarcoat sits in her chair, hardly recognizing Def Leppard in the background ambiance.
>But she's not focused on that.
>Her cheeks turn a rosy red as she processes her first encounter with the dean.
>She doesn't want to admit it, but the other girls were right about one thing.
>This guy really is cute.
>Sugarcoat continues to blush profusely all the way out the door as the library is closing up.
>Lemon Zest right beside her as she has to leave too.
>The song following Sugarcoat outside.
>And follows her in her head all the way home.
>Indy's feeling mean now.
>Her strongest method just fell.
>Now the dean doesn't want jack shit to do with her.
>She checks online and find that her suspension confirmed.
>Can barely imagine what he's going to tell the Principal.
>He might describe what she did.
>Indigo feels her stomach churn at the thought.
>Why did she do that?
>Principal Cadence could have her expelled!
>Indigo is already starting to imagine her absence from the rest of her friends as she sits on her bed.
>Texting a confused Sour Sweet who's asking where the hell she went.
>Having to explain that he's going to be gone for a while.
>But Indigo isn't exactly crying over this.
>She's just griping on her bed now, trying to think of what her next course of action is going to be.
>It's like her brain can only go to this one track when she's angry.
>She saw that her suspension lasts for a week.
>Figures...
>She might as well take advantage of the time off and relax.
>Pretty much wanted to do so when she had to go to practice.
>Her record, though...
>Her PERMANENT record.
>This is inexcuseable no matter which way Indigo looks at it.
>Coach Sombra might have been physically stronger than Dean Mous.
>But Dean Mous apparently had some hidden mental strength that Indigo didn't know about.
>He was supposed to bend!
>The phone vibrates again.
>[WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GONE FOR A WEEK?] Sour Sweet's text reads.
>Indigo replies, deciding to just explain everything.
>Might as well, it's not like Sour Sweet can do any damage that goes further than this.
>This isn't the first time Indigo went to school without panties to seduce one of the teachers.
>It's the second time.
>Coach Sombra being the only time.
>And Indigo getting him fired was already known to the students for the longest time.
>The time to obsess over that came and went, and boy, did it do so.
>There's nothing Sour Sweet can tell the other students anything they haven't heard about already.
>That's what made Mr. Mous special...
>He wasn't supposed to be resistant to this.
>This was supposed to be completely new to him, coming completely out of left field.
>Now he didn't cave and Indigo has an ugly blemish on her permanent record.
>She knows she might not be able to fight her way out of having it there.
>She convinced Cadence before by lying and saying she didn't do anything as bad.
>There's no doubt Cadence found out this time, and of course the dean surely won't do shit for her.
>This is the first time in Indigo's life where she feels like she's genuinely stuck.
>And it hurts.
>It hurts like a motherfucker but it's her own fault.
>Another text from Sour Sweet.
>[HAHAHAHAHAHAH]
>A third text.
>[AGAIN? REALLY?]
>[It was supposed to work!] Indigo replies.
>[hold up, why didn't you tell me? You tryna steal?]
>Indigo sighs and starts typing rapidly.
>Here we go...
>[not reall y I just wnted to make him al ittle weaker sothis wouldn't take long,] Her thumbs slide across the touch screen, clumsily getting a barely legible message out.
>[you WERE trying to do that!]
>[No I wasnnnt! That's not he point!!!!! the point is he is smarter now, he knows im pulling shit]
>[HAHAHAHA you defeated yourself indy, that's too bad]
>[LISTEN TO ME]
>[he doesn't know shit about me tho] Sour Sweet brings up. [looks like you did yourself in.]
>[he's gonna know about you too. there's no way he's not pacing bakc anda forth being paranoid]
>[pfffft, you're only saying that cause you know I'm going into his office tomorrow]
>[Yeah go ahead, see how far you get]
>Indigo sets her phone down as it overheats and warms her sheets.
>She stares out the window and rubs the side of her head.
>This girl is such a damn headache, holy shit.
>There are more texts coming in.
>More and more of them, probably Sour Sweet going off on a limb about how much prettier she is... once again.
>The headache never stops trying to communicate.
>And Indigo just keeps her head rested on her pillow and lets the phone go crazy next to her until her friend apparently gives up.
>This is gonna be an adventure to read, isn't it?
>Indigo picks up the phone after however many minutes went by.
>Stares at the screen.
>Like 20 new messages, all part of what's supposedly the same rant.
>[You you know I'll get far. Cause I know what you did wrong, just like Sombra. You came on too strong didn't you. Indy please I know you're seeing this. Sombra only gave in because he was a stupid meathead. Indy what the fuck answer me! INDYYYYYYYYYYYY. Fine you wnna give me the silent treatment? I'm gonna do the opposite and tell you all about how I got him to do what I want. And I'm gonna use your failed little stunt as a way to pull the strings. Being a bitch won't help you, I know how to be a bigger bitch than you. I could get him fired, you know. Indy? Are you okay? INDY PLS RESPOND]
>Last message was several minutes ago.
>Indigo continues to ignore.
>She needs to sleep off this headache.
>Turns the light off at... 6 pm.
>Yup, 6:12 to be exact.
>This is when Indigo is gonna go to bed.
>Whatever, her head hurts enough for this anyway.
>She's got a long week-long weekend ahead of her.
>With a strong-weak-strong dean to figure out how to get ahold of again.
>She sleeps on top of her sheets, above the comforter.
>Long periods of squeezing her eyes shut, she keeps on staying awake.
>Can't go to sleep at 6:45.
>Can't go to sleep at 7:52 either.
>Nope, not even 9:15.
>Well this is unproductive.
>Indigo gets out of bed and drags herself into the kitchen downstairs for a close-enough-to-midnight snack.
>All of the energy she was suppressing left her the second she stood out of bed.
>Indigo really hates her body sometimes.
>This spotty metabolism needs to be corrected.
>Back into bed, back out of bed.
>Indigo finally finds a way to fall asleep.
>...
>Sugarcoat normally goes to bed early.
>She stays up late at night completing the last of her homework.
>Letting the bags under her eyes grow a little.
>But she's getting the equations down.
>The teacher was right, derivatives are proving to be quite the challenge.
>But she keeps soldiering forth, getting more and more of her work done.
>She'll be able to sleep soon.
>Once she finishes her assignment, she doesn't head to bed.
>Something happens to cross her mind.
>The dean came by and saw her today.
>Well, technically yesterday.
>It's past midnight now.
>Wow, she needs to get to bed immediately or else she's going to be like 80% of every other high school student out there and have to wake up extremely lethargic.
>She goes to sleep with Mr. Mous on her mind.
>Thinking about possibly paying him a visit to ask if there are any math tutors she can meet with to help her get a better grasp of these derivatives.
>Wondering if Mr. Mous himself is a tutor.
>Sugarcoat's not sure if she's dreaming or not at this point, but her train of thought has derailed into wishful thinking.
>Which is something unfamiliar to a girl like her.
>Just like those derivatives.
>Maybe Dean Mous does know a thing or two about math, he did become the dean of a prestigious school after all.
>These wishful thoughts are starting to feel more and more comfortable like the warm bed that envelopes Sugarcoat.
>Maybe she can see him after school for a little bit.
>Just for a few minutes and talk for a short while.
>She did enjoy the first time they did talk.
>Before Sugarcoat knows it, it's morning.
>She's not sure when it was when she passed out into dreaming, but she gets up and lets all of her rational thought come back to her.
>She needs to stop thinking about spending time with the dean.
>From what she's heard, he's dealing with enough already.
~
>Morning.
>You strut back into your office with more confidence than you've ever felt.
>Things should be getting easier now that Indigo Zap was beaten back.
>You're not sure about her friend you saw by her side... but that shouldn't be a problem.
>Surely, she's heard the story of you standing your ground in the face of Indigos advances by now.
>She's heard about how you're not going to have any of her nonsense.
>It's time to just fill out the paperwork early for the day and then sit around and wait for the next student to come in with whatever issue they have.
>You imagine who in the world is going to come up to you first.
>Up until the middle of the day, it's just some more random students who happen to come to see you in the middle of your paperwork filling sessions.
>Today is boring and you like it.
>Now make it stay boring.
>...
>Lemon Zest makes an epic entry into the cafeteria.
>No longer seeing the world like she used to.
>She listens to her usual classic rock music with all the students making sure they don't bump into her.
>They know she won't be able to hear them.
>But what they're about to discover is that she can't see them either.
>She head bangs to one of her current favorite songs at the moment.
>Pretending that the middle aisle of the cafeteria is a sidewalk.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuRxXRuAz-I
>In her eyes, the tables and benches are stairs.
>The teachers watch her climb them rhythmically.
>She watches the teachers play skip rope and smoke joints in the back alleys of some random town in Puerto Rico where she's walking around jamming to the music.
>The sun is out, and Lemon Zest feels like taking a stroll to the shoreside.
>There's a couple of kids playing football in a grassy field.
>They kick the ball right on every hit of the snare drum.
>Zest walks up to them and sweeps the ball away from their feet with her own feet.
>"Hey!" One of the young boys protests, running after her.
>Zest keeps kicking the ball around them, watching the three boys scramble to get their ball back.
>They're still laughing along with it, finding this to be a little fun.
>She kicks the ball between a couple of random goalposts in the middle of the road.
>A car swerves out of control and starts tumbling down a hill.
>Zest ignores it and continues jamming to her rock music.
>Knowing that she's always pretty much on top of the world relative to where her feet are facing.
>She steps down from the town courthouse with money flying everywhere.
>The citizens scrambling near her feet at the lower steps to grab the dollar bills.
>The song fades out.
>These aren't dollar bills.
>It's lettuce.
>Zest looks around to find that she's started a food fight in the cafeteria from atop one of the tables.
>One of the students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3daMvR0NeG8
>"...Oh." She utters.
>This only bothers her within the period of silence between the last song and the next song that starts playing.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kkjr4qcrkE
>All of the other students disappear once again.
>She can't see them anymore... again.
>The students throwing food at each other turn into WWE wrestlers.
>Body slamming eachother onto the cafeteria tables.
>Doing flips in what's starting to look a lot like a John Cena meme compilation from YouTube.
>Lemon Zest dances around with all of the food missing her by inches.
>It splatters all over the floor, all over the walls, all over the tables, but Zest remains untouched while the other students remain unseen.
>These are the opposite of those children who are seen and not heard.
>They always have been on the inside ever since Cinch left.
>...
>Ah, yes.
>Today should be a nice and boring day indeed.
>You've got your comfy chair beneath you and no more papers to fill out.
>It's only about an hour and a half until the end of the school day.
>But you already know for a fact that there's nothing else you're going to have to put up with.
>In a way, you can now officially declare yourself the dean of the school.
>It's more of a dumb thought, but it comes naturally after defeating a dumb thot.
>Ring ring, it's the phone.
"Yes?" You pick up immediately.
>"Heads up, you've got another one of them headed your way." Principal Cadence's voice warns you.
>Your heart and your stomach have a sinking race.
>You didn't even have any bad feelings about this! This wasn't supposed to happen, damn it!
>It has to be that Sour Sweet.
>There's no other student it could be, unless it's tat Sunny Flare student Cadence mentioned.
>Sugarcoat seems to be too much of a good student to be sent, and Lemon Zest apparently doesn't know who you are yet, let alone give a fuck about you.
>You are about to ask which one it is when you hear a knock on the door.
>Knock knock.
>It's almost in all likelihood Sour Sweet.
"Got company." You respond with your mind racing around for clever comebacks already.
>"Understood." Cadence tells you. "Good luck. You got this." She better not have ever told Gloriosa this.
>You prepare for whatever storm Sour Sweet is going to bring you today.
>She turns the doorknob and opens it, probably just dying to appear before you once again.
>Part of you is afraid of what you might see.
>"Hiiii!" Sour Sweet greets you.
>She's dressed... appropriately.
>Doesn't look like there's anything you need to be worried about so far.
"Hey again." You start off polite.
>You watch Sour Sweet intently.
>"How you doing today?" She humbly sits down. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"You're fine." You begin. "So why'd you get sent here?"
>"Oh, I wasn't sent here. I wanted to come here to ask about one of my classes."
>You raise an eyebrow.
"...Right."
>She's definitely up to something.
>And you're abou-
>Knock knock.
"Come in!"
>Principal Cadence comes in, out of breath.
>"Principal Cadence!" Sour Sweet gasps, suddenly pushing something bright pink back into her skirt pocket.
"Hey, what's up?" You ask.
>"The student you're supposed to see is sort of... well it's probably better if you come and see for yourself."
"Wait, what?"
>"Lemon Zest. She's... sort of dancing and hallucinating around in the hallways and no one can get het attention."
>You stare at the principal, taking in a lot of information at once.
"...wait... WHAT?"
>Sour Sweet looks like she's up against a big inconvenience right now.
>She stands up to leave. "I'll... I think I'll come at another time."
"What do you mean she's hallucinating?" You almost laugh.
>"That's what it's looking like." Cadence responds.
>Minutes later, you walk down one of the school hallways having left your office.
>With Cadence by your side telling you about how she's calling the other students "Carthaginians".
>...And throwing grapes from the cafeteria at them while dancing around to the music she's listening to.
>"I told her to go to the front office, and she asked me why it was time to go confront Carthage." Cadence explains. "I don't think she heard me correctly. But she started rampaging through the hallways and she's being very disruptive."
>Welp, this is gonna be a problem.
>Why can't the stress be over already?
>The day was going so great.
>You suddenly hear squeaking footsteps in the nearly silent hallway that all of the students cleared out from in sheer terror.
>And with those footsteps, the muffled version of a song.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D-QD_HIfjA
>This is going to be fun.
>...
>In Lemon Zest's mind...
>The Roman Republic awaits with their eyes looking across the Western Mediterranean.
>Keeping an eye on the Carthaginian harbor.
>Further West...
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbgInLJ81eY
>Iberian settlements bow to the forces of Hannibal.
>A deadly force approaches.
>Heading North into Gaul.
>Floating across rivers on massive rafts.
>Intimidating tribes on the other side into retreat with the massive numbers of Hannibal's forces.
>Even the most vicious barbarians flee.
>Hannibal's eyes scan the horizon as he advances.
>Forgiveness is nowhere to be seen no matter how far he looks.
>He will find nothing but the peaks of the Alps within his vengeful field of view.
>Orders his troops forward, uphill, against the wind-driven snow, further and further.
>Towering peaks surround him and his men.
>The bitter cold gnawing at the tips of their noses.
>Rome lies on the other side.
>Only the casualties to the Alps will not see it, will never pillage what awaits Hannibal.
>The country side is reached, a few small defense forces are sent by the Romans only to meet a bloody end.
>Gusts of wind blow across the grassy plains.
>Hannibal and his troops march south, their hair outside of the helmets flowing sideways and their eyes locked on the city they will soon come across.
>Panic infests the Roman Senate.
>They squabble about, plan after plan being proposed.
>While town after town falls in the countryside to Hannibal's undying wrath.
>White-knuckled hands clenching tightly onto swords and spears.
>Elephants blaring...
>Carthage's power is not to be underestimated.
>It will take everything Rome can muster to overcome this.
>And they have less to muster as time goes on.
>Loyalty is crucial.
>The streets of Rome fill with a chant for Carthage's destruction.
>Carthago Delenda Est.
>Troops are mustered as expected, they march out and meet Hannibal at Cannae.
>The Gods are really testing Rome and all who dwell within her walls.
>Surrender is never an option.
>Hannibal and Carthage must, and will pay.
>Young men in their armor stand strong near the city, ready to die defending it.
>Legacy begins here.
>And it ends nowhere.
>Roman ships are sent to Iberia.
>Struggle continues in the countryside, and Lemon Zest anticipates the end to this story she learned in class the day before.
>...
>She and other soldiers stand alongside Scipio Africanus.
>They know all about Carthage.
>The shores of North Africa come into view.
>All ships land, and the battles resume.
>Many Carthaginians meet the Romans near their city, not having expected the Romans to so boldly go straight for the heart of their empire when they themselves have death knocking on the door of their own heart.
>It's all or nothing now.
>Amassed men clash from opposing directions.
>Lemon Zest joins them with a rage induced battlecry.
>Knocking Libyan Footmen off their heels with her shield.
>Dodging chained maces and striking the enemies in the heart with her sword.
>Hordes of camels run by, followed by volleys of javelins.
>Zest swipes her sword and halves them in mid air as they come.
>They will never destroy the likes of Rome. This shall turn out the other way around.
>Zama is right around the corner.
>Hannibal is forced to return after getting so far and so close.
>His city needs him, but he cannot save them.
>Scipio's forces run through those of the Carthaginians with pressing vigor.
>The iron edges of swords sing as they are swung in the wind.
>Lemon Zest fights her way through a cluster of elephants, leaping between the powerful feet as they crush the bones of the fallen.
>An arrow barely misses her head, but the music doesn't stop.
>It has no reason to.
>She gets up and runs towards the city gate.
>Jumps into the air as she runs and sticks out her foot to kick at the gate.
>Arrows and javelins swarm around her, but they all miss.
>She looks up with her eyes wildly flying around at the Carthaginians staring back down at her in fear.
>Her breath quickens even more, and speaks of Hannibal's name before slicing a thrown javelin straight down the middle with her sword.
>Zest's mighty spirit bears down upon the gate once more through her boot.
>The music gets louder, her strength multiplies.
>Her fists clench and a glow fills her eyes as they spot defenders approaching from behind.
>It's going to take more than a few of these men to stop Zest.
>She slays them as they attack one by one like straight out of a movie.
>They fall, failing to keep the Romans from taking their city.
>More Romans begin to surround Lemon Zest in assistance.
>The battle is taken straight to the rugged wood of the gates.
>Right up against it.
>Carthaginian soldiers are pinned up to the wood of their own gates.
>They cry out in enraged anguish, calling for Hannibal to save them.
>Hannibal comes a few minutes too late for some, but just in time for others.
>He takes down a few brave Roman soldiers on the way over.
>Opposite from where Hannibal enters, Scipio emerges from the battle scene.
>He stands next to Zest and points his weapon at Hannibal, menacingly.
>The music intensifies, and both sides clash once more.
>Zest almost find herself slain several times, but she pulls through and helps in bringing Hannibal to his knees in defeat.
>Rome... has been saved.
>The music fades away in conclusion.
>The final cymbal crash of the song is directed at the gates of Carthage.
>They are blown wide open.
>A new song starts up as the armies of Rome storm the city after time jumps forward to the third Punic War.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU_ggFovJNo
>The city is absolutely devastated and razed to the ground.
>Salt is sown on the farms, the buildings are reduced to rubble, the harbor all the military capability of the Carthaginians is entirely annihilated.
>No one is spared, no one.
>This is the song of Carthage now:
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQsgE0L450
>From afar, the city of Carthage quietly burns to the ground forever, and Cato rests peacefully in his grave now.
>Zest sighs and looks up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
>...
>Cadence is standing right in front of her with some faculty-member-looking people behind her.
>Lemon Zest awaits for one of them to speak with that gleam still in her eyes.
>Maybe she could use a couple of weeks away from this place.
>Could be fun.
>At this point in time...
>Lemon Zest can sense the future coming.
>And it's coming straight for her.
>Across the horizon into Cadence's concerned.
>But Zest's heart can only lift itself, unable to be pushed down by remorse.
>She only feels a little fuzzy inside as Cadence gestures for her to come to her office.
>Straight to the principal's office.
>...
>The chair facing the principal's desk in the office is so comfy, Zest almost doesn't need to listen to her music.
>"Remember when I talked about this when I was dean?" Asks Cadence.
>Zest nods calmly, to the principal's surprise.
>"I'm very disappointed in you, Miss Zest." Cadence continues. "I thought we were past this."
>"I'm sorry." Zest apologizes right away. "I know saying that now won't mean much, but I'm sorry. Music it... it just... it does things to me."
>She continues to talk to the principal for several more minutes.
>It soon comes up that Zest has a history quiz during 8th period she wants to take.
>Cadence raises an eyebrow at this, mostly only thinking of how disruptive Zest was being.
>Zest shrugs nonchalantly.
>"I mean... I understand if you suspend me. But at least let me take this quiz. I've been looking forward to it all week."
>Cadence crosses her arms.
>"Please? I know you're not mean like Cinch was. I'll gladly accept my punishment, I deserve it, but at least let me do this one last thing."
>At this, Cadence shakes her head.
>"I know how much you love your history class lately. And it's good to see you happy there, but you can't go around throwing things at people and shouting. That's the bottom line. And I want it to get through to you that you must not allow it to happen again. And clearly, it's the music that does this to you." Cadence rolls her eyes, having dealt with this countless times before.
>"Please let me keep my music." Zest seems concerned but still relatively calm and careless to a degree. "It's all I have."
>Cadence hesitates.
>"I'll give up coming to school for a week or two. Please just let me take the quiz and keep my headphones."
>Cadence shakes her head once more. "I'm sorry, but I make the terms this time. I really hate to do this, because you're one of the only fun students we have here. But I must make this message clear to you."
>Zest's face doesn't grow worried, but more like she's anticipating something.
>"What's going to happen?" She asks.
>"Here's how we're going to work this out." Cadence concludes. "You're going to have to miss this quiz for today, but you only have to leave early for today as long as you no longer listen to your music in school. If that is too much for you to handle, then I'm afraid you need a two week long break to cool down and get all the..."
>Zest waits as Cadence pauses.
>"...all the craziness out of you." Cadence finds the right word.
>The response from Zest isn't that of a girl who's given up.
>She stays pretty much completely placid and contained, like she already has everything figured out.
>With her headphones actually still around her neck as she sits in her chair.
>She gazes forward.
>Grinning internally.
>Hearing the music in her head without the headphones on her ears.
>"Can you handle that?" Cadence repeats for the fifth time now.
>Some more seconds of silence pass.
>"Why are you nodding your head like that?"
>Zest continues to rhythmically nod her head like she's listening to some more music... because she is.
>"I'm sorry, Principal Cadence. I guess I can't handle giving up the music." Zest apologizes again. "If that's the way it needs to be, then I guess just suspend me, pham."
>Cadence solemnly looks down and nods. "If that's your choice, then I suppose a break is what you need."
>It a bit of a sad moment for Cadence; she and this student have come a long way from not so fun beginnings with this headphones thing.
>After all is said and done, Zest leaves the office.
>Walks out the front door into the open air outside.
>But she is smiling, walking around the school to the back fields.
>Listening to some music along the way.
>Jumps over an invisible mini river she imagines in the grass behind the school, calls it the Rubicon.
>The last lecture went up to 476 CE, and Zest wants to take this quiz now and then take a couple of weeks off to herself so she can spend extra time playing video games and catch up on her work later on.
>It's topics she enjoys, so it'll be anything but actual work for her.
>Lemon Zest happily accepts her suspension, much more than Indigo Zap had.
>Zest sneaks in through the back door of the school right before 8th period and enters the classroom in time for the quiz, with the students wondering why she apparently didn't get suspended for what she did in front of all of them.
>In her mind, the rest of the better years of the Roman Empire go by as she completes the quiz about the topics that include them.
>Gone home before Cadence has a chance to realize she snuck back in.
~
>The school day finally ends, and you're at peace once again.
>Lean back in your chair and relax for several minutes of silence.
>Reflecting on all that's happened.
>Man, this better turn out for the better before next week.
>You've had just about enough of this craziness.
>Pack your things and head out of the office.
>But before you do so, you stop by Cadence's office to see how things went with Zest.
"So uh..." You enter.
>Cadence giggles. "Yeah... she's quite a handful sometimes."
>Cadence then pauses and then sighs.
"So what'd you give her? A week? Two weeks?" You sit in one of the chairs.
>"Two." She responds. "You know, Zest hasn't been a problem at all ever since Cinch left. Mostly because of the tension between Cinch and her with the headphones."
"How far does it go back?"
>"Almost two years now, I think."
"That sucks."
>"Well it did at first. Then Cinch got used to Lemon Zest's fooling around for some time before they came to an agreement to not let it get in the way of her studies."
>You nod.
"That makes sense."
>"Anyway, I actually gotta run. See you tomorrow." She stands up. "Let's keep our fingers crossed that tomorrow will be quieter all the way until we're free in the weekend."
"See ya."
>You both leave, and you decide you'd rather sit down and breathe for some more time.
>Go from the front office area to the library once more, expecting either Lemon Zest to be in the computer lab or for Sugarcoat to be at the tables reading a book again.
>You don't hear any music.
>You don't see Sugarcoat anywhere either.
>But still, you rest yourself down upon a chair and shut your eyes for a brief moment.
>Try to plan out your next move.
>The fact that you have to plan out a move at all is ridiculous.
>Especially for a prep school.
>Honestly, you're just exhausted from all of the things you've recently taken care of.
>You just wanna sleep.
>And maybe sit around on the couch all day long if your job didn't require that you be out all day.
>This is so very tiring.
>You know you've burnt out of energy for today, but what about tomorrow?
>What if Sour Sweet decides to come in and do something then?
>With what Indigo did, you're in no mood to deal with the type of girl Sour Sweet has proven herself to be.
>You're supposed to love your job, but you're dreading tomorrow.
>This can't turn out well.
>...
>Long after the end of the school day.
>Sour Sweet pays a visit to Indigo Zap's house.
>They both sit at the kitchen table together.
>Like some sort of an evil villain meeting.
>It might as well be since Sour Sweet is sitting with her hands locked in front of her face like those of an actual evil villain in a cartoon.
>Indigo stares at her.
>"Why are you doing that?"
>Sour Sweet stares back. "What?"
>"That."
>Indigo leans forward and locks her hands in a similar way that Sour Sweet is.
>"Pfft, it's just the way I sit at tables."
>"No, it's not. You're doing that on purpose."
>Sour Sweet responds by lightly slamming a piece of paper onto the table's surface.
>"What's this?" Asks Indigo.
>"...Uh, read it."
>"Just say what it is!"
>Sour Sweet puts her finger to her own lips, shushing Indigo.
>Indigo drops her shoulders. "Really?" She raises an eyebrow.
>"The paper, Indy." Sour Sweet says once more with a point towards it.
>Indigo picks it up and reads it, soon finding out why Sour Sweet doesn't want to say much out loud.
>Her eyes widen, and she looks at her friend again to make sure she's actually serious about this.
>Sweet responds with a silent nod.
>"The fuck?! Are you crazy?! You'll get us both expelled!"
>Indigo puts her hands on the sides of her head as she tries to contemplate how the hell this is even going to work.
>It's such a long shot.
>Such a long shot that literally everything they've ever worked towards is on the line here.
>And for what? To get the new school dean to become their scapegoat and personal henchman?
>"This is insane!" Indigo goes on.
>"We won't get fucked as long as we keep our mouths shut about it." Sour Sweet continues.
>"But... wait..." Indigo thinks to herself. "How did you even get-"
>"I was about to use my own. But fuckin princess bubblegum had to walk in at the last second and i had to abort."
>Indigo squints. "So that was your plan, huh?"
>"Listen! Let's ACTUALLY work together on... this."
>Sour Sweet's proposition is met with Indigo's scowling face.
>She repeats herself and gets the same response.
>"Well if you have any better ideas, I'm all ears!" Gripes Sour.
>"This can't keep going in this direction! I'm lucky I didn't already get expelled for this shit!"
>"You're the one who made this about... those!" Sour Sweet points out. "And you almost had him, but he's apparently stronger than I thought."
>"Than WE thought!"
>"Whatever. The point is that we need to take this somewhere OUT of his control."
>"And it will be out of OUR control if even the slightest hint gets out." Indigo says. "And I know it just might because the who fucking school knows about the other shit we did. It's not like they can't figure it out!"
>"They'll have no proof!" Asserts Sour Sweet. "And neither will Dean Mous as long as we keep our traps shut and focus."
>"No, this is too far. It's not worth it!"
>"Well if you won't then I will." Sour Sweet tells Indigo. "Because I won't hesitate to take what I want if you're gonna be a pussy and back down once someone else wants to play hardball with you on the same team as them." Sour Sweet starts to hiss-whisper. "I thought you'd be thrilled about this!"
>"Not. Like. This!" Indigo stands her ground.
>"Then it's YOUR loss! Because I'm not stopping!" Sour Sweet stands up. "Thanks for backing down, I guess. Even thought it was only when I wanted to actually team up."
>Sour Sweet's choice of words compels Indigo to stand up.
>"Wait a minute!" Indigo points to Sour Sweet.
>"Oh? What is it, Indy?" Sweet turns around with a wicked smirk and a singsongy tone.
>Indigo's legs shake, her fists shake just as much.
>"Indy?" Sour Sweet smugly asks again.
>"Y-you better not..." Indigo angrily stammers, holding back a thousand punches. "You're a sadist!"
>Sour Sweet chuckles heartily. "Of course I am! That's why I am indeed going to do it!"
>Sour Sweet heads for the front door.
>"I'll tell." Indigo stops Sour Sweet in her tracks.
>The other girl spins around. "What did you say?"
>"You fucking heard me. This is fucked up, and I'm not gonna let you take this that fucking far." Indigo dances around words that possible eavesdroppers might pick up. "This whole thing is stupid and I never meant for you to take it to this level."
>"Yeah, whatever. No one will believe the girl that got just suspended."
>And with that, Sour Sweet unlocks the front door.
>"Sour!!!"
>"This conversation is over, Indy."
>"You forgot something!"
>Sour Sweet freezes a second time as she hears the rustling of the piece of paper in Indigo's hand.
>She growls and spins around once more before she can open the door.
>Now the smug grin has moved to Indigo's face.
>Sour Sweet knows there's no way she can rush the other girl and snatch the paper away; Indigo has always been stronger than her.
>"No fair!" Sour Sweet's voice gets high pitched and childish.
>"No fair? You left the paper of the damn table!" Indigo laughs and points to the kitchen. "A paper with your handwriting on it! That's not unfair, that's just stupidity on your end!"
>Sour Sweet growls at Indigo again.
>"You got so caught up in your dramatic little villain-like exit that you fucked yourself over. I didn't even have to do jack shit. You would have just left it here anyway. Or at least realize you left it here after I locked you out of the house."
>As much as Sour Sweet hates to admit it, Indigo's right.
>This is actually embarrassingly pathetic.
>"Just drop this now, already. It's not worth it."
>Sour Sweet thinks quickly.
>Not surprising that something else comes to her mind.
>"If I go down, you're going down with me." Sour mutters. "He already saw the shit you did. I'll just say that you wanted to take it a step further too."
>Indigo is the one to freeze now, and the smug grin goes back to Sour Sweet.
>The two girls stare at eachother for the longest time.
>Like two wolves that have eachother by the balls, or rather two wildcats.
>"It. Won't. Fail. As. Long. As. We. Cooperate." Sour Sweet reiterates.
>Indigo looks back at the paper and feels sick to her stomach at what she re-reads.
>She does not like this.
>She does not like this plan at all.
>"Indy."
>"What?!" Indigo blushes and stomps her foot on the floor.
>"You have three options here."
>Indigo's upper lip quivers and her nostrils flare.
>"One, you snitch and we both get to go under the bus. Two, you back down and don't stand in my way. Three, we join forces... and take a look through your dresser upstairs for which pair you want to use."
>The tension in the air can be cut with a knife.
>But Indigo gives in.
>"I... guess it would have a better chance if it were mine." Indigo says. "Since you barely got a chance to stay in his office long."
>What's really going on in Indigo's mind is the possibility of Sour Sweet changing her mind and telling on Indigo anyway.
>She knows this girl very well enough to anticipate that.
>Sour Sweet did tell Indigo she has three options, but Indigo knows that it's probably only two.
>And Sour Sweet knows that she pretty much has Indigo cornered.
>Indigo lets Sour Sweet approach her with a more permanent grin.
>"So..." Sour Sweet goes on. "Wanna choose which color we wanna have under the desk? Maybe one my phone can pick up easily."
~
>By the time Friday starts, you already have a plan set up.
>You have the worst feeling that the girls that are left as going to try and pull some shady shit on you when you least expect it today.
>Enter the school relatively early and sit yourself down.
>Not even Principal Cadence is here yet, but you just use your own keys to get into the school again.
>Make an arrangement for Sugarcoat to come visit you at your office as soon as possible today. she will be called up during homeroom before any of the class periods start.
>The idea is that the sooner you learn about what Sour Sweet might be planning through whatever Sugarcoat says, the better.
>Sit in your chair at your desk in anticipation as you hear more and more students enter the school.
>Wondering which ones are the problem students... and which one is the helper.
>The only one of the girls that Cadence named whom you're not sure if she's going to be a good or bad one is Sunny Flare.
>You're not exactly in the mood to take that risk right about now. Sugarcoat is the only one you know whom you can genuinely trust without worry of her giving you a hard time.
>She made it very clear where she was coming from, and you're glad that at least one of these girls actually ended up siding with you.
>Homeroom is about to begin....
>...
>Sour Sweet walks into the classroom with Sunny Flare seconds before the late bell rings.
>The homeroom teacher checks emails in the meantime, soon finding the message that was sent from the dean's office.
>A little surprising that Sugarcoat of all of the students in the room right now is being called up, but it doesn't necessarily have to be for any bad reasons.
>Sour Sweet whispers something into Sunny Flare's ear.
>Sunny nods repeatedly, followed by a "sure".
>Now Sour Sweet says for her to meet her in the girl's bathroom before second period and she'll explain the rest to her.
>Sugarcoat is not addressed by Sour Sweet regarding whatever this is about.
>Sour Sweet doesn't seem to want her to know about it.
>The teacher finishes taking rollcall attendance, and Sour Sweet laughs to herself in her head about the banter she can't give Indigo about it because she actually isn't here this time.
>"Sugarcoat?" The homeroom teacher says. "I got a message from the dean's office. They want you over there for something."
>The whole class nearly silently "oooooh"'s.
>"It's probably nothing bad." The teacher adds.
>Sugarcoat stares forward for a second or two, wondering if she did anything wrong. Feeling somewhat uneasy, still.
>Then stands up with her stuff packed and heads out the door.
>Sour Sweet gapes in shock at this. "What the..."
>"What is it?" Sunny Flare asks. "Did she have something to-"
>Sour Sweet swiftly shushes her.
>The rest of the students look at eachother in question of what in the world just happened.
>Sour Sweet scoots closer to Sunny Flare less than a minute later. "Not before second period, before first." She then raises her hand.
>"Yes?" Asks the homeroom teacher asks.
>"Can I leave a couple minutes early? I have to go to the girls room."
>The teacher pauses.
>"It's an emergency." Sour Sweet adds.
>"Go ahead." The teacher lets the girl pack her things and go.
>Sunny Flare knows where to go right after the bell rings, and packs her things early.
>...
>Knock knock.
"Come in."
>Sugarcoat enters your office.
"Ah, glad you could stop by. Don't worry this won't be long."
>"Am I in trouble?" Sugarcoat immediately asks.
"No no no, you're not in trouble. I just needed to ask you something."
>"Oh, okay." She sounds relieved.
"This has to do with the other... well... your friends. I'm sure you know which ones."
>"Did something else happen?"
"No, nothing happened." You say at first. "Well, I'm sure you know about the situation with Lemon Zest yesterday. But it's not about that." You recall.
>Sugarcoat nods.
>You take a deep breath, knowing that it might not be the most ethical thing to ask this.
"I'd just like to ask you a favor." You begin. "As in... since you know these girls much more than I do. If they seem to be acting a little... uh..." Start trying to sift through your head for the right words.
>"Suspicious?" Sugarcoat fills the blank with the most fitting word you probably weren't going to use.
"Uh, yes, sure." You go with it.
>At least you know she's on the same page as you now.
"I'd just like to know if you're willing to try and see at any point today if they're doing or saying anything... like that. You know."
>"If it looks like they're up to something?"
"Yeah. Like, if you can just sort of hang around whenever you can and see if you can get them to tell you things." You're starting to feel like you REALLY shouldn't be asking a student to do this sort of thing. "Like, whenever you are able to. Just to see if everything's cool, since they wouldn't tell me and all."
>"It's fine. I'll gladly eavesdrop if you want."
"Yeah, that's... yeah that pretty much sums it up."
>"Don't worry, I'm pretty much stuck with them throughout the whole day anyway. To the point where I can't stand them anymore."
"I can see that, yeah."
>"Don't know if this means anything, but Sour Sweet did whisper something to another one of the girls just a few minutes ago in homeroom."
"Oh?"
>"She seemed intent on keeping it a secret from me. So I suppose that's a good start."
>You huff quietly.
"Well, then..."
>"I'll find out more right away."
"Who did she whisper to?"
>"Sunny Flare. Another one of the girls we hang out with." Answers Sugarcoat with a sober expression as she sits motionless in the chair like a businesswoman.
"Good to know. I've already heard that she hangs out with you a lot from the Principal."
>"That's not surprising. anyway, I'll be happy to-" Sugarcoat is cut off by the bell ending homeroom. "...help you out."
"Understood." You nod. "Stop by again if you get any word." You be sure to add before she opens the door.
>"I will." Sugarcoat walks out and heads to her first class.
>...
>Lunch time.
>"S U G A R!" Sour Sweet calls the very second she enters the cafeteria.
>Sugarcoat looks up from her book with the notion to stand up and leave.
>Before remembering that she's /really/ stuck with these two girls until further notice.
>Sunny Flare follows closely behind Sour Sweet before they both sit down on either side of Sugarcoat.
>Sour Sweet excitedly keeps asking every two seconds: "Tell me about the dean! Why did he call you to his office?"
>Sugarcoat intently picks up her sandwich and takes a bite out of it so Sour Sweet has to wait for her to finish with that before answering.
>Now enough time has passed for Sugarcoat to get herself to lie.
>She's coming up with a plan as she goes along. "He wanted to ask me if I wanted to know where I was in honor roll."
>Sour Sweet laughs. "Honor roll? Ha! Who even cares about that?"
>"What did he look like?" Sunny Flare changes the subject.
>"He's cute but he looks like a bitch!" Sour Sweet chuckles. "Doesn't he look like a bitch, Sugar?"
>Sugarcoat briefly pauses her chewing to glare angrily at Sour Sweet. This is going to be a long lunch period.
>"Was the honor roll thing the only thing?" Asks Sunny. "C'mon, there had to be something else he had to call you up for."
>With this, Sugarcoat swallows and takes a few sips of her drink.
>Sour and Sunny anxiously wait with their smiles biting their lips in anticipation.
>"...Anyway... yes. He did call me up for another reason. Somewhat." Sugarcoat responds.
>"What was it what was it what was itttt aaaaaaaaaaahh!" Sour Sweet bounces around in her seat.
>She seems a little too excited about this, quite a red flag already.
>"He wanted to congratulate me on my grades. Even though it's early in the year, he noticed I'm doing really well."
>"Wow, you really are the next Twilight." Sunny comments. "Already got your own pair of glasses and everything."
>"Bullshit!" Sour Sweet responds to Sugarcoat's answer. "He called you in during homeroom! That's never a good sign and we all know it."
>"Just because all the times you got called in by Cadence during homeroom turned out to be you getting in trouble doesn't mean that's always the case." Says Sugarcoat.
>"I'm pretty sure it does." Sour Sweet flicks her wrist. "Or maybe you aren't in trouble and he likes you!"
>Sugarcoat feels this almost unstoppable urge to ask Sour Sweet what universe she's living in right now.
>But then she remembers her mission.
>"Well maybe he does." Sugarcoat crosses her arms. "Maybe you annoyed him so much that he likes me more instead."
>"Why'd he call you up to his office, though?" Sour interrogates, now sounding much more agitated than she did thirty seconds ago.
>"Do you have amnesia? The honor roll thing. He probably just called me up during homeroom because he likes me."
>"Yeah yeah, nice bait, Sugarcoat. Ya got me all riled up now."
>Sugarcoat only needs to take one look at the other girl's flaring nostrils.
>"Well it sure seems like I have." Sugarcoat responds.
>Sunny Flare interjects. "Alright alright alright, hold on. We need to slow down. This went from 0 to 60 in an instant. Let's step back for a minute... so he called you up to his office during homeroom because he was proud of you getting good grades... when we're not even halfway through the year yet." She's looking skeptical.
>Sugarcoat feels her heart beat faster, she's starting to realize how flimsy this story is.
>Lying has never been one of her strong points; she's never really needed to lie since she clings to the truth so often.
>"Ahhhaaaahhhh..." Sour Sweet starts grinning again. "Is the noble and totally honest Sugarcoat lying to us?" She mocks Sugarcoat in a voice mimicking hers.
>Well this backfired.
>Sugarcoat never should have lied, but then again, the truth would have been an even dumber option in this situation.
>Why did they have to catch her off guard like this?
>"Alright, you know what?" Sugarcoat works her way around the damage. "Fine, you got me. But I'm not telling you why he wanted me to come to his office."
>"ARE YOU BLUSHING?" Sour Sweet jolts forward. "Holy shit! You're BLUSHING!"
>Sunny Flare also just noticed. "She is! I've never seen you blush before, Sugarcoat!"
>Whatever, this works into what Sugarcoat is admittedly hastily cobbling together for a plan perfectly.
>"N-no I'm not." Sugarcoat begins to reinforce the act with the fact that she's actually blushing.
>They should start talking sooner or later.
>"Yeah, you are!" Sour Sweet teases in her singsongy voice. "What's going on, Sugar? Why won't you tell us?"
>Sunny Flare gives Sour Sweet a look, which is returned followed by Sour Sweet appearing to be challenged by something.
>"Because it's not your business." Sugarcoat retains some truth this time... some.
>All of the naughtiest scenarios run through Sour Sweet's head. She grins wickedly once more and looks at Sunny Flare again.
>"Girl, why'd he want you in his office? Maybe we can... help eachother out here."
>Sugarcoat perks up.
>This is where they start talking.
>"What... do you mean?" Sugarcoat turns her head.
>The other two girls silently stare at Sugarcoat. They look at eachother with questioning eyes and wonder if they should trust her to get in on what it is they have planned.
>The first thing Sour Sweet imagines is Sugarcoat snitching on them and blowing the whole operation out of the water.
>She remembers what Indigo said.
>"Well, we..." Sunny Flare nervously starts off so something's being said in response. "It's a little complicated. You see..."
>"Oh stop it, we've talked about this in front of her before!" Sour Sweet interrupts.
>"Yeah, but not about the... other thing!" Sunny Flare hushes her tone when she emphasized 'other thing'.
>Sour Sweet sighs in agreement; Sunny's right.
>Sugarcoat knows exactly what kind of thing this is, and it's anything but good. But she's starting to get what she wanted now.
>"What is it? You jealous?" Sugarcoat responds. "Is that it? Is that the other thing? Mr. Mous just happens to like me more, it's not like I like him back or anything!"
>"Oh please!" Sour Sweet refutes. "Just a minute ago, you didn't even want to tell us why you were in his office." She thinks back to the time she was facing off against Indigo. "You just want him all to yourself, don't you."
>"It's not like that!" Defends Sugarcoat.
>"Oh, but I think it is, Sugarcoat." Sour Sweet conveys, really trying to go in on this one. "Just a little while ago, you were disgusted by it being this way with me and Indy! So disgusted that you stood up and left. And now you actually met the dean and all of a sudden-"It's not like that! You i-idiot!" Sugarcoat puts on a good tsundere mask and crosses her arms again, actually hoping the blush on her face intensifies.
>"Pfffffffthahahahahaha!" Sour Sweet bursts out laughing, feeling completely secure now. "That act is so fake! You want him, don't you?"
>Sunny Flare just stares at Sugarcoat now, never having seen her lying like this in the past. Something surely must be up between this girl and the dean.
>"Hey... hey, now." Sour Sweet softens her tone and puts an arm around Sugarcoat, who pretends to shy away from her. "Listen... we know how you feel."
>"Hey! I haven't seen the dean yet!" Sunny Flare objects. "At least, I don't think I have. Unless I must have ran into him or-"
>"Yeah yeah yeah yeah, shh!" Sour Sweet cuts her off. "We both know how you feel. Especially me!" She pats Sugarcoat on the shoulder.
>Sugarcoat looks at the other girl. "I just told you... it's not like I like him back or anything."
>"C'mon now, Sugarcoat. It's soooooooo obvious. You never lie or blush, it's like... you clearly do like him back."
>"No, I don't." Sugarcoat forces a lie once again, amazed at how quickly she managed to make this plan work.
>"Sugarcoat, please." Sunny Flare says to her. "Holy shit, I've never seen her lie before!"
>"It's because Mr. Mous is HAWT." Sour Sweet replies. "But it's alright, Sugarcoat. I know how you feel."
>Sugarcoat thinks about the dean's handsome fact in her mind again.
>Well this is at least perfect for her to keep this whole "I don't think he's good looking" thing a lie. Because she knows that... she totally would if given the chance.
>And Sugarcoat realizes that he needs to stop denying it to herself, but at least keep denying it to her friends so she can get answers out of them.
>Dean Mous needs her help!
>And maybe she and him can grow closer from all this... maybe spend some time together outside of school.
>"You're thinking about him right now, are you?" Sunny Flare interrogates.
>"N-no I'm not." Sugarcoat starts to have fun with this actual lie.
>"Yeah-huh!" Sour Sweet says to her.
>"I'm not!"
>"Well even if you weren't, you are now."
>This is where Sugarcoat starts to put them on the defensive. "Yeah, well what's this 'other thing' you were talking about, huh?"
>Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare giggle at eachother.
>"Well?" Sugarcoat makes sure they can see her gritting her teeth as she blushes.
>"Yo, chill out, Sugarcoat." Sunny Flare tells her. "We'll tell you when there's less people around."
>"What?" Asks Sugarcoat, realizing that this is something legitimately serious.
>"Yeah." Agrees Sour Sweet. "Calm your tits, Sugar Tits."
>"Stop that." Sugarcoat glares at her again.
>"We'll leave a couple minutes early and tell you somewhere more private."
>Well this can't be good.
>Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet high-five eachother behind Sugarcoat's back.
>...
>The sound of new stylish shoes on the bathroom floor is all that can be heard.
>The three people in the room make sure they are alone before any consulting can be had.
>"Maybe we can get to understand one another for once." Sour Sweet starts off.
>Sugarcoat listens intently as she pulls out a piece of paper.
~
>In her room, Indigo Zap ignores her negative thoughts by straining herself on the edge of her bed.
>Feeling more determined than ever by the burn she feels with each sit-up.
>There's a part of her that just doesn't care about the dean anymore.
>That part of her is growing stronger with each sit-up.
>And that same part of her is caring less and less about being on the soccer team with each sit-up as well.
>Indigo Zap shows her teeth to the ceiling of her room.
>Angry at what she's done.
>Wanting to undo this mess that she helped create.
>She didn't want to be sucked into this sticky situation with Sour Sweet.
>And now here she is, not even free from in within the privacy of her own room.
>Because the facts, and the constraints, the possibilities and the circumstances still remain.
>As well as that phone lying on Indigo's nightstand.
>Just waiting to being the word of another text message from a certain someone Indigo is just about sick of hearing from.
>From downstairs, Indigo's enraged grunting and groaning can be heard, muffled by walls and doors.
>It's a good thing the house is empty right now.
>Being suspended does have its benefits that are knows as getting to be home when everyone else is elsewhere.
>Indigo's rage is fueled by the possibility of Sour Sweet texting her.
>She does have to admit that the whole thing with Coach Sombra allowed this to come into fruition.
>But if Indigo can start something like this, then she can end something like this.
>Sour Sweet and her psychotic little world views must not prevail.
>Now Indigo switches to push-ups.
>Trying to see how many she can do.
>She already knows she can do more than all of the other girls in school, and even more than most of the boys.
>Indigo's tougher than most of her peers think.
>The only reason Sour Sweet isn't intimidated by her is the fact that she knows her very well and knows how to manipulate her into things.
>That and the fact that Sour Sweet is crazy enough to not care if she gets her ass kicked. She doesn't give a damn about anything.
>That's 30 push-ups, but Indigo feels like she can keep going.
>Her fists press into the carpet of her room.
>In a little bit, she's going to go for a jog.
>She heard that Lemon Zest got suspended yesterday for reasons unrelated to her own.
>Maybe they can hang out at the park.
>Indigo would love to start to build an alliance against Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare.
>If there's anything Indigo is sure of, it's that Sour Sweet will never get Sugarcoat to do what she wants.
>Sugarcoat never gets involved with these schemes that disgust her.
>Plus, she's the most likely to snitch.
>The only other one Indigo has to worry about is Sunny Flare.
>That impressionable bitch would just side with whoever seems dominant at the moment.
>Well it's about time that Indigo convinces her to turn on Sour Sweet.
>Maybe she'll get the dean on the way. but that feels irrelevant to her at this point.
>Now, this is almost completely about her rivalry with Sour Sweet.
>This shit has been going on for far too long. And Indigo is... well to say that she is sick of it is an understatement.
>Now Indigo rests on her back atop her bed, out of breath.
>Squeezing her bedsheets with curling fingers, she shows the ceiling her teeth again in a challenging snarl.
>Hearing the phone vibrating in her mind, but nothing actually sounds other than her labored breathing.
>The girl slips into something more comfortable... a sports bra and compression shorts, and heads out the door for however long it takes her to jog herself out of breath.
>Taking that phone with her for motivation.
>It's a good thing the weather is warm, because Indigo is planning on making herself sweat.
>She heads down the sidewalk, to the end of the block, down two more blocks, makes a right turn, down a couple more blocks and takes a turn into an open field with a nearby park.
>She only pushes herself to run faster as she runs uphill.
>Gritting her teeth and feeling more wind hit her face as the trees around her go by more quickly.
>Feeling the open air welcome her and her determination by extension.
>A local neighbor watches her run by as he walks his dog.
>Indigo's hair was already styled in a way where it looked like it was flying back, and the wind only makes it fly back even more as Indigo runs aggressively.
>She passes the middle aged man, and looks behind herself to glare daggers at him as she knows he's staring at her ass.
>He apprehensively looks away.
>Indigo turns another corner and soon turns again to enter the nearby woods.
>Follows a bike trail as she neglects to slow down.
>Lemon Zest's house is on the other side of this patch of woods.
>Indigo could have driven, but she felt a LOT more like running today. Sour Sweet is just that unbearable.
>Indigo is almost afraid that she's wasting all of her energy on this run rather than a fight with Sour Sweet that she's pretty damn sure she would win.
>Sour Sweet does catfights, Indigo Zap does fistfights. She doesn't fucking play around with this shit.
>Indigo's lungs are heaving as the girl sprints faster and faster past the trees.
>Makes it to the next road before she knows it and finds the next neighborhood block within the next minute.
>After another couple of minutes, Indigo makes it to Zest's house.
>She knows that Zest must be the only one in her house as well for at least another few hours.
>Knock knock.
>No one seems to be home.
>Bullshit.
>Indigo knocks harder, and listens with her ear against the door.
>That's Lemon Zest's voice, alright.
>She's probably listening to some more music again.
>Indigo goes with a plan that has worked before and just knocks at two to three minute intervals to eventually catch Zest between two songs.
>...
>Minutes later, this proves not to work, and Indigo is sitting on Zest's front doorstep  glistening with sweat and breathing heavily.
>After another minute and a half, an increasingly impatient Indigo Zap decides to climb over the fence to the backyard and see if Zest's sliding glass door out back in unlocked.
>And whaddaya know? It is!
>Indigo didn't realize how hot it had gotten outside until she feels the cool air-conditioned space of the house surround her.
>She immediately goes for the orange juice in Zest's fridge, out of a fit of thirst.
>No regard for what the other girl might think of this at all.
>She slams the nearly empty container on the kitchen table, looking for a glass she can use to pour the juice into.
>Nowhere to be found.
>She just decides to take one big swig straight from the container.
>Finishes it off, wondering if it's the inside of the container that's making it taste weird.
>It turns out that Zest is in her room, doing something on the computer.
>Indigo does what she should have done outside the house and texts Zest.
>Minutes later... no response.
>Lemon Zest only finds out that she's not alone in her house when Indigo directly knocks on her bedroom door.
>"Yo." Indigo barges into the room.
>"Indy?" Zest turns around, slightly surprised.
>Indigo sees that Lemon Zest is playing one of those computer games again, and of course with her headphones glued to her ears.
>"Heya, so... you got suspended too, huh?"
>Zest nods after slipping her headphones off. "Yeah. Principal Cadence told me that I either take a break from music or take a break from school, pretty much."
>"Ah, that sucks."
>"Why'd you get suspended?"
>Indigo pauses and blushes heavily. "Eh... don't wanna talk about it."
>Zest doesn't seem to stay curious about it. "Fair enough." She turns back to her game. "If you want something to drink, there's some stuff in the fridge, but don't touch the OJ 'cause it went stale."
>Indigo feels a shiver creep up her spine as she connects the dots in her head.
>Starts audibly gagging and hunching over.
>Zest turns around. "...You already drank it, didn't you?"
>Indigo nods, and Zest begins to laugh.
>"Hey! Not funny! Why didn't you throw it away?" Protests Indigo.
>"I was gonna get around to it, but I wanted to defeat the Saracens first."
>Indigo looks at her, confused. "The... who?"
>Lemon Zest points to a few soldiers mounted on camels marching across a virtual desert after clicking on the location on the minimap. "These dudes. I'm playing as the Byzantines right now. I'm gonna destroy all their castles and town centers with my superior trebuchets. And I'm also against the Persians, but I'm allied with-"
>"Zesty, as much as whatever game that is is a cool game, I really don't care about all the little details." Indigo wearily waves her hand. "Please just... at least leave a sticky note on the orange juice or something else redundant to let me know it's stale the next time I raid your fridge, kay?"
>"That works, I guess." Zest responds. "And it's Age of Empires 2. Wanna join?"
>"I... what? I don't know how to play that game. I came over because I was wondering if we could just sorts hang out today since we're both suspended. And Sour Sweet can't bother us because school didn't let out yet." Indigo automatically imagines that girl getting suspended on purpose just so she can check up on her. "So what do ya say? Wanna hang out?"
>"So... you wanna join, then?" Zest offers for Indigo to join her in the game once more.
>"Eh, no thanks."
>Zest shrugs. "More conquering for me. Have fun downstairs."
>She knows Indigo will probably get bored and leave.
>Barely heard the front door shutting within the next ten minutes.
>Indigo walks away from the house wondering why she wasted all that time running over here.
>Checks her phone to find that school is just about to let out.
>Nothing from Sour Sweet yet.
>Indigo decides that the run was worth it as it cleared her head a little. She just wishes she didn't drink that stale orange juice, though.
>Starts running back at full speed in the afternoon heat in order to hopefully prevent a cramp somehow.
>...
>Sour Sweet delays her plans for the purpose of working Sugarcoat into them somehow.
>She and the other girls agree to meet once again on Monday for a full rundown of what they're going to do and how they're going to tackle the dean.
>Two of them go home, one pulls out her book from her locker and stuffs it into her backpack to read later after a quick little visit to the dean's office.
>And boy has she heard about things she partially wish she hadn't, and is partiality glad that she heard about them.
>...
>And here you sit in your office.
>Glad as all hell that today's over and done with.
>With a stretch, you let out a tired yawn.
>The school day might be over, but your whole day isn't over yet.
>It turns out that this job doesn't feel quite as fun or appealing as you made it out to be in your head when you applied to be the dean of a prep school.
>Gee, wonder why.
>But at least no one came by to give you a hard time today. Sour Sweet has been practically nowhere to be seen.
>You yawn once more with your eyes tired and almost closing.
>The whole day indeed hasn't started yet.
>You still have to actually enjoy yourself without that little looming possibility of someone knocking on your door, which you would have to answer.
>Damn, you hate the sound so much now.
>It's like the apocalypse trumpet being blared unto whatever session of relaxation you were currently having.
>The fact that most of the people knock five times doesn't help that thought much at all.
>Then again, did you really expect this job to be about relaxing?
>Well, you weren't expecting it so much as you were hoping for as much of that as you could possibly get.
>It's just that you could use at least a little more.
>Maybe you'll try to get a little more right now, since all of the students are pretty much gone at this point.
>Lean back, and-
>Knock knock.
>Your brow furrows and a twinge fills you enough to make you want to jump out of your chair and out of your skin.
>"Come in!" A little voice very happily chimes in your head.
"Come in." You actually say, much more droll and irritated.
>You'd be a walking circus right now if you actually got up and started walking.
>"Hello." Sugarcoat comes into the office.
"Oh!" Your imaginary self sits back down and starts relaxing again in a new sense of security.
>"So now that the day is completely over, I can say that I've heard questionable things." Sugarcoat tells you.
"Oh really?" You wait until the door is all the way shut.
>"Mhm. As it turns out, you called me here at the perfect time this morning."
"Did I?"
>"You don't know this, but we also have homeroom together. They bombarded me with questions at lunch. Asking why you called me up."
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."
>"Don't be. It actually helped. One thing led to another and they ended up telling me a lot of things once no one else was around."
>You hear that little voice in your head from before say "jackpot".
"What'd they say?"
>"A series of things. They dodged details, most likely because they don't trust me very much. But they do seem to trust me enough to want me to 'butter you up', as Sour Sweet put it."
>You gulp.
>That sounds really bad.
>"I know what you're thinking. That can't possibly mean anything good." Sugarcoat continues. "And you're right. They want me to basically erode your defenses by coming here day by day and acting sweet to you."
"Well then." You say with a huff.
>"Yup. They're that petty. It was mostly Sour Sweet's idea. Sunny Flare apparently just learned about it this morning. But Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap already had this planned."
"So they want you to act all... super nice to me... and... make me sort of let me guard down?"
>"I suspect they left out a lot of details on purpose because I'm not exactly their attack dog. But I have a feeling they wanted me to... seduce you." She concludes with a shudder.
>You don't know what kind of shudder that was, but you know this girl well enough to know that she's not the type to hesitate when she's talking.
"...Well... uh, well then."
>"I understand your reaction. There really isn't much to be said about this. I'm sorry my friends are so disgusting, Dean Mous."
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize on their behalf." You reply. "So what about Lemon Zest? Does she have any hand in this?"
>"Not that I know about."
"Well that's good. So it's only the three of them, then?"
>"Yup."
"Alright, then. So what exactly is it they're going to do after... you."
>"She didn't tell me what it was." Answers Sugarcoat. "Neither of them did. And I think they withheld that on purpose too."
"Typical."
>"Mhm. So they want to make sure that I can help them in their little thing, but they don't want me to have enough proof to snitch with. Sour Sweet had a piece of paper in her hand with what was supposedly the steps of her plan listed out."
"Did you see what was on it?"
>"She kept it facing away from me."
>You silently curse under your breath.
>"So what do you propose that we do?"
"I'm going to call Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare up to here first thing Monday morning and tell them I know."
>"Are you sure it's a good idea to just call them up here? Because I don't doubt that's exactly what they want you to do from what I've heard."
>You nod.
"Good point."
>"We should make it known to Sour Sweet in particular that you know she's up to something."
"Do you think it'll convince her to back down?"
>"I wouldn't hold my breath on that. But it might deter Indigo Zap and Sunny Flare before things get out of hand."
"It's probably worth that to be honest."
>"Indeed."
"The most I can say for now is the more we know, the better. I honestly don't think I have enough on them to just suspend the both of them based on word of mouth. Since they didn't really give you anything damning enough to go on."
>"I can try hanging out with them later today. Honestly, I just want to get this over with already. I'm tired of these people." Suggests Sugarcoat.
>And you couldn't agree with this more.
"Sure. You sure you want to do this right now, though?"
>"I'll arrange something at the last minute. I'll get back to you once I figure out what it is exactly so you have something to pinpoint."
>You can see why the other two girls weren't so quick to tell her much about their plan.
>They obviously know her well enough to wait until they either know she won't let the cat out of the bag, or until they have her so involved that she'll face consequences as well if the cat leaves that bag.
>And you can see that she's quick to want to knock this out of her way, a trait that her friends already know of in her.
>You wonder what is it that compels her to hang out with them.
>Really wish you could understand the emotional connections between these young people that keeps them stuck together.
>You can even see it in Sugarcoat's eyes as she stands up to walk away.
>She's sick of her friends, but she tolerates them.
>She doesn't want their friendship to end after this is over.
>No matter how arrogant Indigo is, no matter how psychotic Sour Sweet is... Sugarcoat knows these girls enough to look past it.
>There is something in them you never saw because they only just met you.
>A gravitating force that keeps long-time friends together no matter how much they hate eachother at time.
>There's genuine friendship.
>Hate laced with compassion... or the other way around.
>Either way, you're just glad you're not connected to any of these girls; you're just the school dean to them.
>And a piece of meat to some of them.
>It still makes you shudder thinking that.
>You happen to be able to watch Sugarcoat drive away in her car from your office window.
>You look up and gaze at the clouds.
>Probably not thinking into it as much regarding symbolism as some people would.
>At least you can be sure that an out-of-control sociopath like Sour Sweet won't let their mind wander into the clouds instead of wander into screwing other people over instead.
>...
>At Sour Sweet's house.
>Sunny Flare sits at the kitchen table with the paper in front of her.
>Sour Sweet stares out the window at the clouds above, off guard from her defensive, megalomaniac self.
>Wondering deeply about how long it will be before she has enough complete control over everything around her in life to be truly happy with herself.
>Nothing seemed to keep her happy so far.
>So here she stands, gazing up at the sky and squinting to make her cheeks almost rise to cover her eyes.
>Looking adorable in comparison to that two-faced monster on the inside she's learned to live with.
>Damn, those clouds above look nice.
>They never have to worry about controlling their surroundings before their surroundings control them... because they can't.
>Always being pushed around by the wind... crying rain...
>Sour Sweet would give up such a majestic beauty in exchange for not ending up like a cloud trapped in the sky until it withers away.
>"Sugarcoat just texted me." Sunny Flare announces.
>Sour Sweet breaks away from her thoughts. "Wha- huh?"
>"She texted me. Wants to know if we're free to have a sleepover tonight so we can plan some more."
>Sour Sweet thinks to herself.
>Feeling some sort of imminent readiness to put this plan into full circle to the point where Mr. Mous can't possibly escape.
>She'll rule the school in no time if Sugarcoat is this willing to help this early on.
>"Let's do it." Sour Sweet blurts before Sunny Flare can say something she just now wanted to add.
>Those words are forever lost after Sour Sweet starts ranting and gathering things to bring to Indigo Zap's house, which is in the middle of all their houses's locations.
>Only texts her after she's dead set on meeting her there.
>...Why aren't her messages going through?
>...
>Indigo Zap decided to take the long way with her run for a larger portion of the afternoon.
>She had thought about whether or not she wasted time running.
>She hadn't; the whole point of running was to get some fresh air and exercise in too because why not?
>If Lemon Zest doesn't wanna have fun --the same kind of fun, that is-- today then, so be it.
>With this, Indigo runs around the neighborhood a few times until she completely tires herself out.
>Has her phone turned off to block out those unwanted texts in the light of her run being for a better reason now.
>Doesn't really pay attention to the time.
>All she knows is that she is entirely exhausted when she makes it back to her house.
>Enters coated in sweat and drags herself up the stairs.
>Indigo's legs are tired, and she almost collapses multiple times.
>But the strength she has in her legs are something to be reckoned with; she makes herself a sandwich in the kitchen and checks the expiration date on her own fridge's orange juice before pouring herself a glass.
>Sets the sandwich in front of herself and then actually collapses into a chair in front of it.
>Breathing heavily, she grabs the bottom of her sports bra and pulls it off.
>Now she notices there's a little bit more of a draft in her than usual.
>Looks over to her side to see the sliding glass door open... she doesn't remember it being open when she left however long ago it was.
>She stands up to close it and then fetches some mustard that she forgot to put on her sandwich.
>This isn't the first time Indigo walked around topless outside of her room during the middle of the day.
>She kind of enjoys the feeling anyway for some reason.
>At least until she hears something come from upstairs.
>With a bite of that sandwich still in her mouth, Indigo investigates and finds that there are people upstairs.
>She scowls angrily upon hearing Sour Sweet's voice giggling.
>"Hey! The hell you doing here?" She yells up the stairs.
>Sour Sweet emerges from Indigo's bedroom, with no regard for the girl's privacy at all. "Sup, Indy!"
>"How'd you get in here?"
>"You didn't see the back door open?"
>"How did you open it though?"
>"You must of forgotten to lock it or something. Anyway, wanna have a sleepover tonigh-“ Sour Sweet pauses after stepping up to the bannister. "The hell's up with you? You just get out of the shower or something?"
>"I was jogging!" Indigo watches Sunny Flare come into view and cover her eyes once she sees Indigo topless.
>Sour Sweet just nonchalantly stares down, but Indigo doesn't give enough of a fuck to cover her chest.
>"What do you mean a sleepover, by the way?" Indigo asks.
>"You'd know if you didn't turn your damn phone off!" Replies Sour Sweet. "Come on, Sugarcoat's gonna be here soon. Let's talk about the Dean and what we're gonna do with him."
>Indigo could very easily tell the other girls to fuck off, but she's too sweaty and tired to use much more of her breath.
>Plus, she wasn't planning on doing anything else today; she already had the rest of the day before now to do absolutely nothing.
>She grabs her sandwich and drink and heads upstairs, still somewhat angry and leaving her sports bra on the backside of the kitchen chair.
>Sunny Flare turns away and just listens to the other two talk.
>"How long were you running for, holy shit." Sour Sweet laughs. "You're shinier than an hentai girl."
>"Yeah, yeah, blow it out your ass." Gripes Indigo.
>"Indy, girl, you sure you don't wanna slip into something more comfortable? You're freezing your nips off."
>"Shut up!"
>"Did you run a fucking marathon?"
>"Did you take a pill that makes you annoying and talkative instead of your usual meds today?"
>"Did you stub your toe while jogging and get grouchy?"
>"Did you ask all this shit in the billions of text messages you usually send me?"
>This turned into some dry back-and-forth banter at some point.
>Indigo falls onto her back atop her bed with her arms crossed behind her head and the sandwich in her mouth slurring the way she talks. "Suh wuh wee hurh vurh huh?"
>"Stop talking with your mouth full and swallow, dumbass."
>Seconds later...
>"So, seriously, what we all here for? More panty colors?"
>"The fuck did I just say out in the hall?" Sour Sweet tilts her head.
>"No, I meant specifically." Indigo clarifies after a loud gulp. "Like, did you go in for it with Mr. Mous yet or nah? Like, fucking tell me already."
>"Nothing happened yet."
>”Well that sucks. I thought you were committed."
>"Something came up."
>"Yeah, what? What came up? You actually pussied out?"
>Sour Sweet blows raspberries at Indigo. "No, you literal fuckin... uh, whatever. Sugarcoat is in on this now."
>Indigo almost spits out the bit of orange juice she was sipping. "Sugarcoat?! What the fuck?"
>"I said she's coming over!"
>"I didn't know that means she's in on this! The fuck, what the hell does she want with Dean Mous?"
>Sour Sweet lets out another giggle. "Oh, you didn't see any of it. She's crazy over Mr. Mous." She reveals. "Like, she totally wants his dick."
>"Fuck, really? I find that hard to believe." Indigo raises an eyebrow.
>"I'm not kidding! We'll get her to admit it again once she comes over." Promises Sour Sweet. "But I'm not lying. In fact, Sugarcoat herself actually LIED right in front of us! Tell her, Sunny!"
>Indigo and Sour Sweet look over to Sunny Flare, who is still facing away.
>"Oh, uh, yeah." Sunny responds. "She actually did, Indy. Sweetie's not making this shit up."
>"Will you just turn around and face me already? What, you scared of my tits?" Says Indigo.
>"I guess I just respect your privacy a little more than a certain /someone/." Sunny responds.
>"Myeh! Eh reespek eh ceerteen preeeeergh!" Sour Sweet mimics her in a bastardizing tone. "You didn't /have/ to follow me here, you know."
>"You sure she didn't /have/ to?" Indigo recalls the circumstances she's under.
>Sour Sweet blows raspberries at Indigo again.
>"Whatever. Sunny, I don't give a fuck if you even look at my tits. Like, we're both girls. Who gives a damn?"
>"Yeah, you'd like her checking you out, wouldn't you?" Adds Sour Sweet. "Since we all know you'd prolly do the same."
>"Hey, that was one time!"
>"Lots more than one, to be honest..."
>"Whatever, that's irrelevant. We're getting off topic. Again!"
>"It's your fault."
>"No, it's your fault for acting like an immature child!"
>"Riiiiiight, like I-"
>BEEEEEEEP.
>"Gah! Holy shit!" Indigo springs up and looks out her bedroom window.
>There's Sugarcoat in her car, rolling down the side window.
>"Unlock the front door!" Sugarcoat calls up to them, having been waiting for a couple minutes watching them bicker in Indigo's room from the driveway.
>A couple more minutes of this and Sugarcoat isn't sure if she would have been able to resist the urge to drive her car into the house itself in order to get their attention.
>Friday night approaches.
~
>Fast forward temporarily to Sunday Morning.
>The sun rises, the birds chirp.
>Some students of the botany club head over to their school and around back to tend to the gardens while the place is quiet during the weekend.
>Leading them is Gloriosa Daisy, the supervisor for all of this botany stuff for students from multiple high schools.
>She enjoys slow mornings such as this one. So peaceful like how nature intended.
>No governments to play with her world like it's their little toy.
>"Let's see how the Sunflowers are doing!" She says to the students in her cheeriest tone.
>They all go over to the Sunflower section of the gardens. Start oohing and aahing at how they're starting to look like they're getting taller.
>Wallflower's sunflower seems to be maturing the fasted from the most adequate care... surrounded by a bunch of fuchsia-colored forget-me-nots she planted.
>"Wow, I'm jealous of yours, Wallflower!" Says Paisley. "It's growing so much faster than mine."
>"Aww, it's okay, Paisley." Gloriosa tells her. "Each and every one of your flowers grow in their own special way! It's what makes them unique individuals."
>The other students continue to compliment themselves on the flowers they grew. Tulips, marigolds, roses, petunias, daisies, daffodils, buttercups, orchids, [spoiler]lilies[/spoiler], sunflowers, moonflowers, alyssums, junipers, and even a bunch of garden weeds, clovers and dandelions that Sweet Leaf grew in her own mostly separate section.
>Gloriosa sees the dandelions and garden weeds as just as welcome as all the other flowers and plants.
>The sun rises a bit higher. All of the students in the garden behind Canterlot High stop yawning soon as their usual waking up time comes around.
>They only got up so early because they wanted to see how their flowers were doing. That's botany students for you, I suppose.
>Gloriosa hears a giggling coming from inside the school.
>In fact, it's almost loud enough to be considered full on laughing.
>She steps inside the school, where the front doors were surprisingly unlocked... on a Sunday.
>That laughing... it's coming from the Vice Principal's office.
>Gloriosa approaches it, soon recognizing Luna's voice.
>"Aaaaahh hahahaha..." Luna puts her feet up on her desk. "I can't remember how that got there either! Yeah... I know! Right?" She signs at the ceiling with the phone up against her ear.
>Her door is open, and Gloriosa enters.
>"Oh hang on..." Luna puts her feet down. "Heya! Fancy seeing you here today!"
>"Hi! I'm not interrupting anything aren't I?" Gloriosa knows she didn't come here for any other reason than the fact that she was just being nosy.
>"Oh nonono, you're fine! I'm just talking to Cadence on the phone. You know... the principal of Crystal Prep?"
>"Ahhhh."
>Luna pauses as the voice on the other line talks for a bit.
>"She says hi!" Luna tells Gloriosa.
>"Oh, tell her i said hi back." Gloriosa starts.
>"Wait wait wait wait... she wants to tell you something, actually." Luna gets up.
>"Wha?"
>Luna hands Gloriosa the office phone. Gloriosa takes it and holds it up to her ear.
>"Hello?" Gloriosa says, having a feeling that she pretty much had to obey one of her bosses that told her to answer another on of her bosses.
>"Gloriosa?" Cadence's voice responds.
>"What's up?"
>"Heyyyy! I've been meaning to tell you how lucky you were to be able to pick whenever you come to Crystal Prep."
>"Oh, really?"
>"Yeah."
>"Why, though?"
>"Things are getting... interesting here." Cadence puts it lightly.
>"Interesting how?"
>"Let's just say we've got some spicy drama going on in the last week or two."
>"Ooooooooh." Gloriosa replies.
>"Yeah, it's pretty entertaining as long as you don't have to put up with it for more than a day. Unfortunately, that's not exactly a choice for me."
>"Awww, what's going on over there?"
>"We got some students trying to... kiss up to the new dean per se." Cadence puts it lightly again.
>"Kiss up how?"
>"Some of the students we have here that have an excess of... character... think that since there's a new dean, they can pretty much get him to do whatever they want. Isn't that silly?"
>"Whaaaaaaa?"
>"I know, right?!"
>"Is she talking about the dean thing?" Luna asks.
>"Yeah, pretty much, I think. She told you too?" Gloriosa turns to Luna.
>"Yup. Did she tell you about all the emails their new dean just sent last night?"
>Gloriosa pauses and thinks, then goes back to talking to Cadence.
>"Gloriosa? You still there?" Asks Cadence.
>"Yeah, I'm here. Luna just said something about... emails?"
>"Oh! Yes, those. Let me tell you about what he described..." Cadence begins. "Apparently this happened over the first half of the weekend."
>...
~
>Back to Friday evening.
>The four girls in the house turn on some background pop music to liven the place up as they begin the impromptu slumber party.
>Luckily, Indigo (now reclothed) has a stereo system in her living room.
>They just start to do the usual party/hangout/whatever shit that teenagers and young adults would do.
>Sour Sweet instantly becomes the life/leader of the party even though Indigo is the one who lives in the house where it's taking place.
>She does all the talking, picking the next song to be played, deciding what everyone does next, basically basks in the feeling of being the boss of everyone else.
>She only lets Indigo take over after she goes onto her laptop and logs onto facebook once more.
>The sky outside gets darker, and it's evident that the girls are going to be alone in the house for the night.
>This is a good sign for no one except for the four friends themselves.
>They continue to do random stuff.
>Now Indigo is trying to find extra junk food for everyone to eat since the first bit of food that didn't take long to prepare for eating is already gone.
>It's not her fount she didn't have a chance to get stuff at the store before Sour Sweet planned a slumber party at her house without asking her first.
>She almost completely expects Sour Sweet to somehow blame her for this, that would not surprise Indigo at all.
>Sunny Flare is playing with her two iVambraces on her arm and takes a few selfies with the built in selfie cams that are part of what made them cost 9999 dollars of her parents' money.
>Sour Sweet is unfriending and adding new friends on Facebook again.
>Some of them blocked her because she had added and unfriended them a million times before to the point where it was insanely annoying.
>She just cusses them out in the DM's from her alt account, which is soon blocked as well.
>Sugarcoat made sure to bring her laptop with her, but only for one secret purpose she will not tell the others about and will stay in a corner of the room to be able to do as well.
>"Woah..." Sunny soon gasps. "Sour! Come look at this!"
>"What is it?" Sour Sweet gets up.
>"I think I found him on Facebook."
>"What?!"
>Indigo springs up while Sugarcoat groans and rolls her eyes at the ceiling.
>The other two girls gather around Sunny Flare and stare at the little iVambrace screen.
>"Is this him?" Asks Sunny. "I need confirmation."
>"THAT'S HIM!" Sour Sweet declares happily, loudly yelling. Holy shit! How did you find him?!"
>The little profile saying Anon Y. Mous shines on the screen before the six gazing eyes, generic profile picture included.
>"He's not /that/ cute." Sunny criticizes. "You want him? Really?"
>"Psssh, more for me, then." She then turns to Sugarcoat. "actually... more for Sugarcoat. For the time being."
>"Wh-what?" Sugarcoat internally kicks herself for forgetting to being a book.
>"We found him!"
>"Yeah, I heard. I'm pretty sure the neighbors did too."
>"Oh shit! You're right." Sour Sweet hushes her tone, returning to secrecy.
>That's not even what Sugarcoat was getting at.
>"So... what, you gonna friend him?" Asks Sugarcoat. "You better not say anything about me to him."
>"Oh no no no, you're gonna friend him." Sour Sweet corrects her.
>Sugarcoat's eyes go wide. "What? No!"
>"Trust me! It's part of the plan!"
>"How am I supposed to believe that! You didn't even tell me everything about whatever your little plan is!" Sugarcoat rebuts, while knowing exactly why this is.
>"We're working on it!"
>"I have a feeling we're not even supposed to be doing this, whatever it is."
>"Nah, we're fine. We're just adding him on his public Facebook. There's nothing wrong with that. We did it with Cadence before anyway, remember?"
>"I'm pretty sure that wasn't like this." Sugarcoat starts to realize that this might be the only way she can contact Mr. Mous outside of school.
>Maybe this can come in handy, though it feels like it's a breach of his privacy and will drive him into not trusting Sugarcoat.
>It's not like Sour Sweet or Sunny Flare will add him first. It will look like Sugarcoat was the one who found him.
>And there's no way she can absolutely prove that she didn't just look for him herself using the names in the directory, which is presumably how Sunny Flare did it.
>"Wait, hold on. How'd you find him?" Asks Sugarcoat.
>Sour Sweet turns to Sunny Flare.
>Indigo is already in the kitchen holding an open and nearly empty box of Wheaties over her gaping mouth; she stopped caring.
>"The school's directory is online." Explains Sunny. "And Mr. Mous here happens to have a little Facebook account of his own."
>The girls start to rummage through his account; they don't find much.
>Turns out here rarely uses Facebook.
>Sugarcoat cringes every time the other girls utter her name as they look at the Dean's Facebook account.
>Indigo seems to have regained interest out of curiosity, and now directs her attention to the little screen on Sunny Flare's arm.
>This whole fiasco continues on for some number of minutes.
>First a few, then several.
>"Sugar, honey, you gotta add him!" Sour Sweet urges.
>The other three girls stare at Sugarcoat like it's her duty to add the school dean on facebook.
>Sugarcoat hesitantly considers doing it. The others know that she already has an account, and it's only a matter of her adding him.
>There's really no other way to contact Mr. Mous otherwise.
>With this, Sugarcoat might as well use this to her advantage. 
>She'll just have explain it to him later on that the other girls added him and prompted her to add him on Fuckerberg's kingdom.
>The thing that Sugarcoat is most concerned about is whether or not Mr. Mous will actually believe her. But that's a risk she's going to have to take.
>The other girls will find out if she just straight up tells him everything right under their noses. That's the bigger risk that Sugarcoat would rather steer clear from.
>She logs on and carried out the deed.
>Oh god, he's online.
>...
>You're relaxing on a Friday night.
>Sitting on the couch and catching up on the latest episode of [insert shitty TV series here].
>Chilling out and browsing Facebook like you rarely do, but commercials are a bitch and you need something to do.
>Someone just added you.
>Look closer and recogniz- is that Sugarcoat?
>What in the world is going on, here?
>How did she find you? Why did she add you?
>You don't know what to do with the friend request other than ghost it for now.
>Even thought you're clearly online.
>Apparently, you don't even have to wait for anything else.
>Bloop (or whatever sound the facebook notification makes).
>[Hey] The DM says.
>What. The fuck.
>It's like school/work can't help but follow you home on a Friday night.
>You know you'll have to respond to it eventually; it's not like you're completely absent from using your Facebook.
>Your history of liked things is there, and you know more will be added it it in the future at at least some point.
>Wait all the way until the episode ends and then respond. It's some time right after the usual dinner time when this happens.
>...
>"Did he respond yet?" Sunny Flare eagerly asks from the other room.
>"It's been like twenty minutes. He had to have responded by now." Sour Sweet walks back to check on Sugarcoat's screen.
>"Do you mind?" Sugarcoat protests and faces the screen away. "You're not my prison warden."
>"Did he message you though?"
>"No, he didn't. I really don't think he's gonna be cool with me doing this."
>"Relax! It's just one of his students adding him on facebook. Nothing against school rules happening here. Besides, this is off of school grounds anyway."
>The main thing that Sugarcoat hopes for is that he just doesn't respond at all, or at least until tomorrow.
>That way, if he automatically brings up anything about knowing of the plans the other girls made, it won't be where they can /see/ it.
>If this culminates too early, then it will go horribly wrong. But just delay that a couple of hours, and it couldn't have gone better.
>Sugarcoat is sweating bullets as each minute goes by.
>More and more time passes, and she soon starts to feel content with the possibility of him not wanting to answer.
>She'll just message him after the other girls aren't around, or rather went home so they can't sneak up on her when things she doesn't want them to see are being said.
>"How about now?" Asks Sour Sweet, too lazy to stand up from the couch again.
>"It's been five minutes."
>"So?"
>"He didn't answer, okay?"
>"Daaaaaaaamn, ghosted!" Sour Sweet hollers, feeling like she oughta work this into her plan where Sugarcoat is out of the competition because the dean thinks she came on too strong.
>...
>You know she'll be able to see when you're typing.
>And with the fact that you're delivering a wall of text, you might as well open up word or some shit on your laptop and type your message there.
[Hello. I'm not exactly sure how you found me here but I guess it sort of nice to hear from you. Why do you wanna add me on facebook though?] You start off.
>The message started off like that... started.
>It completely transforms with every few minutes, with more and more words being added to it.
>Now you're feel too awkward to eat; no microwave dinners tonight.
>...
>"No add, no nothing. And he's still online." Sugarcoat gives an honest update after 45 minutes have passed.
>"Maybe we should all add him." Suggests Sunny Flare.
>"No, you dolt!" Sour Sweet tells her. "That's gonna make it obvious and make us look desperate."
>"Well aren't we actually desperate?" Asks Indigo.
>"Yeah, but we don't want him to know that! Do I really have to spoon feed this to you?"
>"Well /you're/ certainly desperate." Sugarcoat tells Sour Sweet.
>"Hey, be happy we're doing this for you! You know you would have messaged him sweet nothings anyway." Sour Sweet points her finger at Sugarcoat.
>"I wouldn't have looked for or found his facebook to begin with, let alone add him."
>"I mean if you happened to find his facebook. You totally would have messaged him."
>"Would not!"
>"Would too!"
>"...Yeah, I'm not going down that road with you. Enjoy your little argument victory."
>"Pffft. You know I'm right."
>She's not... entirely right.
>Not entirely wrong either, though.
>Sugarcoat does occasionally think about that little tutor daydream from time to time.
>"Anyway, don't mention us right away when he finally answers." Instructs Sour Sweet. "We wanna ease him into a little friendship."
>"How long are you even planning for this to take?" Asks Indigo.
>"It'll take as long as it takes."
>"That doesn't help."
>Sour Sweet shrugs at her and repeats her last statement.
>Indigo just wearily stares at her now, so fucking tired of her shit.
>Sour Sweet's lucky that Indigo wasn't planning on doing anything tonight.
>...
>Maybe you'll send the message, maybe you won't.
>It must have been at least an hour by now.
>What if she's still waiting for you to accept her friend request.
>You're starting to feel like a dick, but also feel like you're doing the right thing in this situation.
>Before you in Microsoft Word, you have a massive paragraph detailing all of the things you and Sugarcoat have talked about regarding her friends.
>But you really don't feel like sending this even though you're 100% sure no one else is going to see it.
>Is this a little much? Should you just bring this up right off the bat?
>Look at the clock once more and find that it's about 9:30.
>You reckon you'll sleep soon, and probably won't have the time for that sort of conversation with Sugarcoat.
>But you save the document and still consider sending it anyway. It's not like you were going to go to bed on time anyway.
>You seem to always find a way to fuck up your sleeping pattern no matter how hard to try to refrain from doing so. It's like a curse you have or something.
>Not even you know how you do that.
>Regardless, you get ready to hit send.
>...
>The four sleepover-goers are gathered at the living room sofa with [insert shitty movie here] playing on the plasma screen TV.
>The playlist that Indigo had on her stereo system ran out of new shuffled songs to play; she doesn't have too too much music on there.
>"We should have invited Lemon Zest over here. She has soooooo much more stuff to play on this thing." Sunny Flare complains.
>"Yeah. but she's not in on this. And I don't think she'll even give a shit." Sour Sweet answers.
>Indigo Zap puts her feet up on the coffee table. "You know... does she know we even HAVE a new dean yet?"
>Sour and Sunny both shrug.
>"Well I never told her." Sour Sweet recalls. "Wasn't really a reason to. And didn't Cadence just go and suspend her herself?"
>"That's what I was just thinking about." Says Indigo.
>Sugarcoat remains silent now.
>She saw hat DM pop up.
>She saw her friend request get accepted.
>Now she's racing around on the inside thinking of a way to explain to Mr. Mous that she was prompted to do this and that she has no ill will or bad intent regarding him.
>That she's not trying to pull a fast one and hook up with the dean of the school... even though simply saying "hey" to him on facebook doesn't necessarily constitute that despite what the average teenager would have made of that.
>And his "hey" in reply to hers doesn't constitute such a thing either.
>But still, Sugarcoat considers making a quick secondary facebook account in another browser and explaining there before going back to her real account and then carrying out a contrived fake conversation that he'd be in on.
>But there's no way she'd have time for that... is there?
>Sugarcoat looks at the battery life of her laptop.
>12%.
>Holy shit, she didn't even notice.
>And even worse, she just realized that she didn't bring her charger with her.
>Sugarcoat forgot both her book AND her charger now.
>And as how it happens more often than the other things, she forgot her phone charger.
>Really shouldn't have been dead set on having nothing to hide from the other girls... especially considering that plan of hers.
>Her little plan of recording audio of them on Audacity from her laptop probably wouldn't have worked if she couldn't keep her laptop charged.
>They definitely would have noticed if she used her phone's camera to record audio, but the laptop serving this purpose was like marching from the Alps or something.
>It was unique, but a lost cause when there's no charger to back things up. And the other girls aren't gonna start spilling any recordable information any time soon.
>Sugarcoat had gotten close a few times, but found no reason to hit that record icon on Audacity as soon as the conversation was intentionally shifted back to "nothing wrong, this is fine".
>They still don't trust her, but it's for a justified reason they just know what she's really planning on doing.
>All of this runs through Sugarcoat's head as she stares at Mr. Mous's message saying: [hey] back to her.
>Might as well use her laptop running out of battery as an excuse for both Mr. Mous and all three of her friends.
>"My laptop's about to run out of battery and I don't have my charger." Announces Sugarcoat, facing the fact that she will have to return to the dean empty-handed on Monday.
>She closes the laptop.
>"Awwwww." Sour Sweet whines. "Lame."
>...
>It's 11:00 now.
>And she recently went offline.
>After the message you sent was read at 10:17.
>The fuck did she message you for?
>You're starting to have a funny feeling about Sugarcoat.
>Though, maybe she just got nervous after having sent you a message out of the blue on Facebook and... yeah no.
>She literally had to FIND your account because of something that was important.
>Important enough to compel here to...
>You know what? Forget it.
>You're too tired for this shit.
>Head upstairs and get some sleep.
~
>Some hours later.
>Of course, Sugarcoat's laptop is dormant through lack of battery charge.
>It's getting late enough for the yawning to commence.
>Sour Sweet and Indigo are both getting drowsy, and Sunny Flare already headed off to bed in the sleeping bag she brought.
>"Did you at least bring a change of clothes?" Indigo stretches and asks Sugarcoat.
>"Nope." Sugarcoat responds. "Not even sure why I brought my laptop but nothing else."
>They have no idea.
>"Damn, that sucks. Not even a sleeping bag?"
>"Nope." Sugarcoat looks in the general direction of the front door. "Maybe I should go home. This was planned very poorly."
>At this moment, Sour Sweet walks out of the bathroom in nothing but a sleeping gown and a part of panties.
>Indigo tries not to look at her... and Sour Sweet purposefully walks right in front of her just to mess with her.
>"You're really only going to wear that?" Sugarcoat questions.
>"Why the fuck not?"
>Sugarcoat just gives her that usual eye roll. "Whatever."
>"Don't tell me you're goin' Sunny Flare on me." Sour Sweet puts her hands on her hips and smirks. "They're literally just two bumps, get over it."
>"Hey!" Sunny calls out from her sleeping bag, having heard her name.
>Sour Sweet starts to poke fun at her. "Oh no! Don't come out form there, Sunny! It's not safe! You can see my nipple bumps from there!"
>"Piss off, I'm trying to sleep." Sunny Flare calls out in a semi-playful semi-angry voice, flicking Sour Sweet off from inside the sleeping bag.
>Sour Sweet gives her two middle fingers in return even though Sunny can't see her.
>"Besides, it's not like this shit's a secret anymore."
>"See, you always rag on me for bringing up the Sombra shit." Indigo starts off. "But I know damn well you're gonna get mad if I bring up what happened in the locker room that day, but then you bring up yourself like it's fucking nothing!" She rubs her eyes and the sides of her head.
>"Ha! Welcome to the world of hypocrisy!" Sour Sweet says to her.
>"Sweet's a hypocrite? Who would have thought!" Sunny calls out again from inside her sleeping bag.
>Sour Sweet struts over and lightly kicks her.
>"Ow!"
>Indigo bursts out laughing.
>Sugarcoat lets out an annoyed grunt and thinks about the front door.
>"You're gonna pay for that when I get up tomorrow!" Sunny Flare promises with a laugh of her own.
>"Wow, I'm shaking in my boots." Sour Sweet tells her. "You gonna fry me with your wrist lasers?"
>"I'll whack you in the tit with these things like brass knuckles."
>"Ooooohh, I can't wait." Sour Sweet delivers another playful kick.
>"Do that again! I dare you! I double dare you, motherf-"
>She does it again... and Sunny springs to her feet.
>Laughter travels throughout the whole house as Sunny chases Sweet from room to room and floor to floor.
>"She's gonna zap me, girls!" Sour Sweet jokes before she notices Sugarcoat heading for the front door. "Where the hell are you going?"
>"I'm going home. I forgot to bring anything with me." She explains. "Also, you're being very annoying. So I'd rather leave."
>Sour Sweet scoffs at her. "Oh, puh-lease. I just realized I forgot a sleeping bag too but I'm not gonna pussy out and go home!"
>Sugarcoat doesn't even answer, just unlocks the door.
>"You're just scared of my tits, aren't you? Admit it." Sour Sweet taunts her.
>Sugarcoat looks back and gives her the most sober, unamused expression she possibly can. "Sure." Shuts the door on the way out so quickly that it hits her twintails.
>Laptop in arm and hand, she walks to her car.
>"What a fucking killjoy." Comments Sour Sweet as Sunny shrugs.
>...
>3 AM.
>The yawning intensifies and the energy levels plummet.
>Sour Sweet talks about Dean Mous a few more times even though Sugarcoat left.
>She convinces Indigo to let her sleep in her bed with her since no sleeping bag.
>They lie in the bed together and engage in more dumb banter facing away from eachother as Sunny Flare tries to go back to sleep on the floor.
>"Grope me one time and you're dead." Says Sour Sweet.
>"Yeah, whatcha gonna do? Smother me with your tits?"
>Sunny Flare snickers loudly and Sour Sweet sticks her tongue out at her.
>"...Yeah, sure."
>"Hell yeah." Indigo grunts.
>"Wew!" Says Sunny.
>They keep joking with eachother on the subject.
>Going back to that moment from the locker room Sour Sweet brought up.
>When she was walking around in her bra bragging how her tits were bigger than everyone else's.
>And how Indigo snuck up behind her and forcefully lifted her bra up to reveal that her nipples were inverted, and a couple of the other girls laughed.
>Then something about how Indigo would also brag how she can beat all the other girls (and half the guys) in arm wrestling matches.
>Everyone in the room is asleep by 4 AM, but one Shadowbolt is still awake.
>Sugarcoat already went home and went to bed.
>Lemon Zest sits in front of her computer with one of her new favorite computer games filling the screen, filling her eyes and filling her mind.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadxTFqyhRM
>She's been working on her civilizations all day following whatever time it was when Indigo came to her house.
>Walling in her lines of barracks, siege workshops and archery ranges.
>Clicking on them to make the drum sounds happen, then clicking on her stables to hear the horse whinnying sounds.
>Training plethoras of soldiers.
>Hearing trumpets blaring when she selects her castle to train loads of trebuchets.
>Upgrading Men-At-Arms to Long Swordsmen then those to Two-Handed Swordsmen, and those to Champions.
>Putting Keeps and Bombard Towers behind bits of gated Fortified Walls.
>Making sure the Siege Onagers cleared out the forests where necessary so the enemy can't do it and make it past the walls through that BS.
>Sending swarms of Elite Cannon Galleons by sea to wreak havoc on the enemy's coastlines and take down Town Centers and Castles in just a few synchronized bursts of 20-something boulder-looking cannon balls at a time.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJYN-eG1zk
>Then sends in her ranks of champion infantry to kill off the enemy where the ships couldn’t reach; succeeds gloriously.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY
>And that's just the tip of the iceberg, the icing on the cake of what Zest spends her time doing while not even being aware of what's going on with her friends right now.
>This game is so fucking Kino.
>Lemon Zest goes to bed to the sounds of birds chirping outside in the rising morning sun.
~
>...
>Saturday.
>You are the D E A N .
>The Dean of Crystal Prep.
>Waking up in either the morning or afternoon.
>Not sure which one it is yet; you'll find out after you get enough energy to lift the covers off of your head and see what the verdict from the digital alarm clock atop the nightstand next to your bed.
>But it pretty much has to be Saturday by you... you hear birds outside. It's not nighttime anymore.
>You roll over and groan with a yawn mixed in.
>Eyes barely want to open.
>You're so  woefully, crushingly tired that you feel like falling back asleep.
>Brain barely remembering what you dreamt last night.
>As you not lie on your stomach with your head to the side, whatever it was you were dreaming resurfaces.
>Sleep isn't done with you yet.
>...
>In the school hallway.
>Unclear which one, as it seems to just be one isolated hallway with only lockers on the walls. No exit except for what looks like your office door at the far end of the hallway.
>You stand there almost entirely alone.
>In front of you is Indigo Zap, opening one of the lockers that you assume is hers.
>You tell her she's still supposed to be suspended.
>Now you have to take her to your office and re-suspend her because dream logic.
>Tell her to follow you to office, she gives you the finger and reaches down to grab something at the bottom of her locker.
>Her skirt is extra tiny today, and she's once again not wearing any panties.
>Getting mooned, you've had enough of her misbehavior and disobedience; you flip the back of her skirt up and grab her.
>Tell her to come to your office for a "special punishment".
>She grins; this convinced her.
>Her skirt somehow vanished entirely into thin air now, and she's bottomless, covering her front even thought there are no other people around.
>Herd her into your office, staring at her ass as she walks in front of you.
>Now you're both in your office with the door closed and locked with dozens of chains.
>The only chair in the room is your own that you sit in. Indigo stands in front of you as she awaits your verdict.
>Order her to move her hands away from her crotch and place them on the desk; she obeys.
>Pull out a couple of chained cuffs attached to your end of the desk.
>Make her put her wrists in them from the opposite side, requiring her to bend over completely with her stomach flat against the surface.
>Pull out a wooden paddle and walk around the desk. It has holes drilled into it to minimize wind resistance.
>Keep Indigo's feet planted on the floor as you begin to carry out the punishment.
>The sharp slapping sound every few seconds resonates throughout the room. Indigo's cheeks are slowly turned a deep crimson.
>And the cheeks on her face do this as well.
>Listen to her moan and apologize in between the paddle interrupting her.
>This goes on for some time, and you soon feel like changing which type of wood to give her.
>Set the paddle down and survey her hips and behind with your hands before unzipping your fly.
>...
"Fuck!" You spring up into a sitting position. "Fuck! F.... FUCK!"
>Hyperventilate.
>Your chest heaves in and out.
>Wait for the erection to pass.
>It passes after like... 20 minutes.
>The thoughts lingered in your head until you woke up more and forgot the details as well as let your mental guard set itself back up.
>You get out of bed and shower immediately.
>Never dream anything like that again.
>Suddenly remember that Sugarcoat messaged you on Facebook.
>Pull it up on your computer to find a new DM.
~
>[Mr. Mous, I'm very sorry about suddenly appearing on your facebook but I'm not the one who did it.]
>That's what the DM says.
>You stare at it, confused as all fuck until after you reply again.
[What happened?] A part of you wants to check out her timeline thought that's wrong and very unprofessional.
>[My friends wanted me to add you here. I don't know why but they didn't give me enough details about it because I'm sure they don't trust me. They were checking up on me a lot, so I'm sure they want me to become best friends with you or something.]
[I can only imagine why.] You're finally getting comfortable again, realizing this is the first time you've DM'ed someone on Facebook in like 5+ years.
~
>Saturday night.
>Lemon Zest surprising is able to hear the knock on her front door.
>Keeps her headphones on (of course) as she goes to open it.
>"Hey." Indigo Zap says to her as the door opens.
>"What's up, Indy?"
>"You uh, you wanna hang out now?"
>Lemon Zest thinks to herself about the game of Age Of Mythology she's in the middle of right now.
>Indigo Zap slips off her backpack to reach inside.
>"You wanna play on the game with me?" Offers Lemon Zest.
>"Uh, sure, sure I will. It's just... it's kinds warm tonight and I like being outside a lot. And I kinda wanna get away from a lot of stuff that's been going on, things I'm not exactly proud of and would kinda like to forget."
>"So... you don't wanna play?"
>"Oh, I do. I wanna try it out whatever you got going on, whatever game it is. Age of... something?"
>"Mythology. Age Of Empires was the one I was playing last time you were here." Zest answers.
>"Great! Great, yeah, I'll try it out." Indigo pulls out a laptop. "But like... you wanna play it outside?"
>"Outside?"
>"Yeah, like... you know how you like to run around places when listening to your music sometimes, right?"
>"Yeah."
>"Well I like being outside too. Especially when I need some fresh air for a bit. So I was wondering if we could have even more fun with your game with this."
>Zest excitedly gasps. "I'd love to! We can set up out own little real life base or camp or something. My basement has lumber and wicker innit, and-"
>"Uh, just tell me along the way."
>Indigo figured this would work, after being reminded that she had her own older laptop she rarely used anymore after seeing Sugarcoat's laptop the night before.
>Within the next 20 minutes, the two girls are marching down the block with some light supplies in hand.
>Make it to a nearby park with the nearby lanterns giving them enough light to see what they're doing.
>Indigo is just happy to be out here instead of inside of some room thinking about what Sour Sweet is going to do next.
>Instead, she's out here thinking about what Sour Sweet is going to do next. But something about being outside itself gives Indigo confidence.
>It makes her think more about things she can do about Sour Sweet's advances onto the Dean, and her planning involving sucking her friends into it all.
>Maybe she can figure something out while having fun all the while.
>Meanwhile, Lemon Zest teaches her how to play this game.
>Not gonna lie, this is pretty fun. Especially for someone who's more into computer games than Indigo Zap is.
>Lemon Zest excitedly builds little fortresses and temples out of handheld pieces of plywood, uses rocks she finds on the ground to be the villagers and military units.
>She gets really into this, modeling the things she's creating after what she makes virtually after the game is installed onto Indigo's laptop.
>It's a good thing that it's probably too late at night for someone to stop by to see two suspended-from-school 18-year-old girls playing with random stuff next to the pseudo-battlefield sandbox like they're 1/3 their age.
>For Indigo, this still easily beats staying in her room waiting for Sour Sweet to whine at her through a bunch of text messages, or worse, actually hanging out with the girl in person.
>For Zest, this is a cool little adaption of one of the games she's playing, a chance to really immerse into it as she listens to thrash metal ad lets the hallucinations take over once more.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnKhsTXoKCI
>Lines and lines of stone hoplites stand between mountains of sand.
>All of them are controlled by the sky god Zeus, looming over them and calling upon them to siege the city of Troy.
>Zeus watches over all of them as they march forward, towards the enemy army as they train volleys of troops out of the military academies as fast as they can to build up some kind of defense to accommodate the massive walls they just constructed.
>They charge, lurching forward against one another with their spears and swords drawn.
>Jabbing and slicing with all their might, spilling the blood of the rivals into the sand below.
>Bearing shields almost the size of their bodies and advancing towards the city's walls. The sky darkens as glaring eyes meet with promises of demise within them.
>Lightning from Zeus strikes at the soldiers from the ground, Paris and Hellen hide behind the walls as the screams and battlecries get louder.
>Pairs of rivals fight over the fallen, feeling their lives almost slips away from them every time the tip of a sword barely misses the skin of their necks.
>Fighting with the gods above them, and locusts soon swarming around them onto the battlefield.
>Fulfilling their duty to breach the gates of Troy and rescuing Hellen.
>Zeus sends a lightning bolt down upon one of the generals, striking him in the heart and sending pebbles of his stone body flying around.
>His spear breaks in half cleanly down the middle and lands in the sand.
>A soldier leaps in front of him and catches arrows in his shield, letting them bounce off of the cold stone surface.
>He takes a few more steps forward before he meets two Trojan warriors standing between him and the city. Heliopoli standing in the distance ready to fire missiles from the city walls.
>He beats one Trojan to the side with his shield to give himself time to meet the other's spear with the blade of his sword.
>Fights hard until a lightning bolt strikes the other down, but he is overrun by arrows before he can reach the gate.
>Something else must be done to break through.
>...
>Indigo Zap breaks a few small branches off of a nearby tree she climbed up in the park and brings it all over.
>Lemon Zest doesn't seem to be... all the way there... to put it bluntly. It's like she's in a trance of some sort.
>But if there's one thing that's sure, it's that she's having nothing but fun.
>The two girls build a little Trojan Horse together to get the enemy to let their guard down.
>As this happens, Indigo Zap still can't stop thinking about ways to get Sour Sweet to back away or back down.
>And she just got an idea that starts to grow as the Trojan Horse is sent past the open gates.
>...
>Very late on Saturday night.
>Sunny Flare's mansion.
>Sour Sweet is the only other girl from school there, and she would rather have that be so for right now.
>She's going to further her plans for taking control of the school dean... and expanding on that, getting a foot in the door with the principal if she truly has to.
>Sunny Flare is the only other girl that Sour Sweet knows she can genuinely trust as she has never faced any opposition form her.
>It's a good thing that Sunny Flare has always been so spinelessly on the sidelines and only being useful whenever she actually gets involved.
>"Are you sure he'd figure it out if I added him?" Asks Sunny as she walks back from the fridge.
>"Girl, trust me. I know how people like him tick. It only takes me one time meeting him to figure it out. He's looking to prove himself as having backbone. And he pretty much confirmed that when he suspended Indy." Answers Sour Sweet before sipping out of an apple juice box at the head of the kitchen table.
>"So what should I do to give him a good first impression? I'm not exactly trying to get him or anything, I'm just curious to see what he's like."
>"He's a bitch, trust me. He's resisting it pretty hard, though. Trying to break free from it and grow balls, but he's still a bitch at the end of the day. At least, he STILL is right now. It's not too late yet. We still have time left to break his balls before they totally develop, before he's been here long enough to be... what's the word... immune?"
>"Wow, girl. You seem awfully determined to do just this one thing."
>"Yeah, and it's for a good reason." Sour Sweet explains. "We can't just willy nilly break him or trap him after he has too much of a feeling that we're all working together on something. He'll get too smart. That's why you need to stay on the side until I say it's better that you go in. I have more experience than you on this, you'll just have to trust me. I've done this before."
>"Manipulating people like this?" Sunny raises an eyebrow.
>"Yup." Sour Sweet answers like she doesn't see what the problem with this is. "I don't do it THAT much. Only when I'm forced to do it."
>Sunny Flare almost asks: Forced by what?
>But she knows that asking that can't possibly go on any kind of good route. Not with a person like Sour Sweet.
>"So why do we need to have the dean doing whatever we want, then?" Sunny asks instead. "I'm just curious. Why do we need this... power so badly?"
>Sour Sweet grunts and rubs her forehead. "Do I have to spoon feed everything to you?" She groans.
>"I guess. Whatever, just why is it?"
>"Because Cinch is gone! And now Cadence took her place, and she's a fuckin pushover most of the time. She's more of a prop or an advisor than a principal. It takes someone like Zesty causing a huge ruckus in the halls in order to actually get her to take any executive action. She never did anything before Cinch left because Cinch pretty much always did everything. Now she's like a ruler who never does anything as long as things don't SEEM out of place, it's perfect. You follow?"
>"Yeah, I think I get it."
>"And now enters Mr. Mous, someone COMPLETELY new to the school and everyone in it. He's like an animal put in a completely new and foreign environment he didn't get vaccinated for. And we're the fuckin germs."
>"When you say it like that, it sounds like we're the baddies with the skulls on our caps."
>Sour Sweet's eye twitches. "Because we ARE! We have to be, until we restore order in the school. We have to get to him before he gets used to us so we have him under our thumb and Cadence looking the other way. Do you not SEE THIS PERFECT OPPORTUNITY?" Sour Sweet smiles wickedly once more and curls her fingers.
>Sunny just stares at her.
>"With ol' Cinchy gone, it's finally MY time to rise." Sour slams her fists onto the table on the word My. "Mine! And guess who gets to be second in command?"
>Sunny Flare smiles. "Does this mean I finally get to use my iVambraces in class again?"
>"Fuck yeah, it does! All I'd have to do is pay the dean a visit and pull some strings and-bam! The teachers can't do jack shit. But ONLY if I have strings to pull."
>That grin still spans Sour Sweet's face.
>"What if the teachers complain to Principal Cadence?"
>"Oh, psssh. All I gotta do is lie and say Cadence approved of it at some point. The teachers almost never talk to the dean and principal. They've got their own lives. They hate dealing with high schoolers, giving the same old lectures all day, creating assignments that fit the curriculum and then grading that shit after the students throw up graphite and ink all over them. Once the clock strikes 2:15, they wanna go home just as much as we do, trust me. Just don't annoy them with it enough to give them a reason to complain anyway and we're good. Got it?"
>Sunny Flare nods.
>"Also, don't tell Indy or Sugar about this much detail juuuuust yet. At least not until after I got the lawsuit cloud looming over Mr. Mous."
>Sunny Flare nods. "Roger that."
>Sour Sweet locks her fingers together all villain-like. "Excellent~"
>…
>Meanwhile, Lemon Zest finally returns to her house after a fun night, right as her friends are talking about... things probably.
>She doesn't care, she just fired up that computer and continues the other Age of Mythology game she's had paused all this time.
>It's like 3 AM on a Sunday morning, but she doesn't care.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGXwvLupP5A
>Plays a few player versus CPU games before going back to the campaign mode.
>Stuck on Chapter 8: Bad News.
>Damn, this level is annoying, but the whole game itself is kino and Zest's undying might will get her up to that wannabe rapper cyclops.
>Spends the rest of the night beating the level and then the rest fo the campaign on Titan difficulty, then celebrates her victory by going into editor mode a couple hours after the sun comes up and spam spawning units and buildings against one another on a blank map until like noon then going to sleep after having a bowl of cereal.
>Doesn't even wonder or care about whatever it was the other suspended girl needed fresh air from.
~
>Back to Sunday (obviously).
>Your Facebook message history tells a bit of a story.
>Here's pretty much what you can take away from it.
>It summarizes Sugarcoat's side of her experience with the sleepover at Indy's house, and how she sort of wishes she left early.
>Describes Sour Sweet as a sociopath who's smartening up to anything Sugarcoat might be planning.
>Them iVambraces are expensive for a reason.
>She's honestly very glad that she was pressured into contacting you through Facebook so you can stay in touch in an informal way after all of this blows over.
>You read the messages again a day after they were sent.
>[I'd like to say I'm glad to have gotten to know you before my friends did.] Sugarcoat's message said. [Again, I'm very sorry all of this happened. Thank you very much for understanding.]
[It's alright. Don't worry about it. I'll go ahead and send Principal Cadence those emails so she's not completely in the dark about this. It's only fair that she knows. And it's probably something we have to make happen too lol]
>[Yeah.]
[I gotta go take care of some work now.] You really only wanted to go watch TV, and there was nothing else left to talk about anyway. [I'll catch ya later.]
>[Yeah, see you on Monday.] The latest message reads.
>And you can't stop thinking about that moment when you saw Sugarcoat still typing on the other end after that message.
>Those three dots went on for a good couple of minutes until they stopped.
>You actually waited for some time, only to find no new messages, and seeing Sugarcoat going offline.
>Then you went and sent Cadence emails saying pretty much the same thing yesterday, and vindicating Sugarcoat of any possible punishment that might come if shit hits the jet engine.
>Then goes on to warn Cadence to watch out for "those pesky little high schoolers", as you worded it so she doesn't get too serious about this.
>You'd rather just keep things tame and hope that it all blows over.
>It probably should at this point.
>There's no way Cadence won't have a talk with Sour Sweet regarding her encounters with the new dean.
>It's probably a good thing that you never described in detail exactly what it was Indigo did to get suspended.
>Again, you'd rather keep this tame and on the down low until it blows over, which it should you.
>You sit on the couch in your living room and repeat that to yourself in your head until you're convinced enough to have an appetite again.
>...
>Principal Cadence is currently sitting in her home loft/office.
>She's reading a couple of certain emails to her friend Luna over the phone on Sunday as the man who typed them is probably sitting on his living room couch watching TV or something.
>"Anyway, he's gettin' that done of drama we sometimes have around here. I know he'll get used to it. Used to those pesky little high schoolers."
>"It grows on you, really."
>"Yeah... I know. It totally does. Good thing it doesn't seem like anything serious." Cadence ultimately begins to dismiss the whole thing.
>"Thank goodness." Luna answers.
>"I just haaaaaave to ask. How crazy are some of the students at your place? Surely you got a few nuts in the bunch too."
>Luna chuckles on the other end. "Well we've got a very passionate soccer player, for starters. Plays ball and guitar and says everything is awesome. She runs a lot of the school rallies and adds that little extra bit of... energy! If you know what I mean... Oh, that that reminds me of another..." Luna goes on and on describing Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie for a while.
>Cadence laughs with her, then sighs because they have surprisingly interesting jobs. Even though Luna's students sound a lot more... pleasant than the ones she has to deal with.
>Maybe that's just the difference between prep schools and public schools. For the most part, anyway.
>"But anyway, yeah. They're quite a handful, but at the end of the day, they are just absolute sweethearts! I really enjoy having them here."
>"Same here, hun. Same here." Cadence internally wishes this statement was at least a little more true. "So how's the new apartment coming along?"
>"Oh, I love it there! Oh wow, do I have a story to tell you!"
>"Do tell! Do tell!"
>The two take the conversation to living spaces.
>Then take it to the time they and Celestia were all college roommates.
>Reminiscing on memories of shenanigans.
>"And they never found out that we helped Bruce steal that shopping cart! You were such a good liar back then." Compliments Cadence.
>"Oh, he did most of the lying for me. I just backed him up. Even when they found the shopping cart on top of the flagpole."
>Cadence leans back in her chair and guffaws in nostalgia. "Oh, that's right! A couple of the teachers found it on the top of a lamp post! AAaaaahhh! And you had to lie for Bruce AND all of his buddies!"
>"Wait, that was a lamp post?"
>"I think so! It's been a while, I can't remember. Hah! We should get in touch with the guy again and see if he remembers."
>"He moved back to Australia, right?"
>"I think so. I still have his number, I think."
>Luna gasps. "Ooooooooh, you still have his number!"
>"We're still good friends!" Cadence defends. "Besides, you and Celly were the ones seeing him after he and I split. And you also know I'm with Shining now."
>"Okay, yeah. That's true. True. Heheh... heh..." Luna blushes a little. "That was years ago, though. Bruce was a hell of a character, though."
>"Oh, I know. His friends were crazy too. How did they all get that shopping cart up there, anyway?"
>"You know... I don't know! It's baffling! Aaaaahh hahahaha..."
>Cadence wistfully leans forward in her chair. "Can't remember how that even happened."
>"I can't remember how that got there either!"
>"It's like they had their own little secret to it."
>"Yeah..."
>"And they never told us."
>"I know! Right?"
>"Oh hang on..." Luna says on the other end. "Heya! Fancy seeing you here today!"
>Cadence pauses again as Luna starts talking to someone in person where she is.
>"Who's that?" Asks Cadence.
>"It's Gloriosa. Gloriosa Daisy. The botany instructor." Luna reveals.
>"Oh, it's her! Tell her I said hi!" Cadence begins. "Oh, oh, oh, and also I want to tell her something."
>Cadence wants to tell Gloriosa how lucky she is for being able to arrive and leave Crystal Prep whenever she wants whereas Cadence has to stay there all day with the gosh-darn craziness that she's now dismissing as not serious.
>Monday is right around the corner.
~
>Sunday night rolls around, and you don't know what to tell yourself.
>You thought you'd have had it in the bag by now.
>That it was all finally over and done with.
>But Cadence replied to your email.
>[Oh I know, it's a bit of a pickle sometimes. But don't worry, they usually calm it down after a bit. If things don't get better, just let me know and we'll find a meeting time in the conference room and flesh things out form there.]
>It was so dismissive, yet rather reasonable at the same time.
>You really would rather just not deal with more than you have to deal with.
>Don't really know how to approach this.
>Do you reply urging her to look further into this or do you just let this slide and hope it doesn't escalate form here?
>You have a bit of a feeling that it certainly will escalate with what you've heard form Sugarcoat.
>But she also has an easier way to contact you, and you don't have to call her to the office anymore and you know damn well that anything she says that the others wanted her to say in those DM's are purely an act.
>It's not like you're gonna be "wooed" or any dumb shit like that. You're already aware.
>And she'll surely let you know about something potentially happening before it happens.
>So there's an equal part of you that believes that nothing else is going to go wrong.
>It's pretty much in the bag now, despite what you believed a few minutes ago.
>In reality, you'll just have to wait and see.
>And so you will.
>To bed you go.
~
>Monday morning is here.
>Indigo and Zest are both still suspended, and you have a very easy way to contact Sugarcoat outside o calling her to the office.
>Needless to say, you have the upper hand at this point.
>Sit in your office at the beginning of the like like you usually do.
>Nothing interesting happening, just a few students coming in and doing their thing.
>That is... until someone walks through the door around the middle of the day.
>"Hey." She says.
>...
>As the school day begins, Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare sit closer together than the are in proximity to Sugarcoat.
>It's cleat to all of them where the trust lies.
>It's just more of an unspoken truth, but Sour Sweet isn't going to give up on the position she has Sugarcoat in.
>The two closer girls whisper to one another for a minute or two in their homeroom seats.
>Sugarcoat is back to her book, now with a bit more of a sense of security in her head.
>She doesn't speak to the other two, doesn't even pick up on the signals that they want to talk to her.
>What are they even going to do?
>The bell rings and off to first period everyone goes.
>Sour Sweet appears to be bothered by this.
>"What the hell?" She says to Sunny. "There's no way she's not ignoring us on purpose."
>Sunny Flare stands next to her as she watches Sugarcoat walk away. "Maybe she's just mad at us for wanting her to do this."
>"She's the one who agreed. Dunno why she'd blame us." Sour Sweet squints in the empty direction Sugarcoat disappeared around a corner in.
>"We did kind of pressure her."
>"No, we didn't. She just doesn't care, probably just grumpy again or something." Sour Sweet keeps her confidence. "It is pretty early."
>"When is she not grumpy?"
>"I dunno. Anyway, we need to focus. I'll go the the front of the school when I can and see if the security cameras are still in all the same places and facing the same way as last year."
>"So we've finally reached this stage again, huh?"
>Sour Sweet just cutely giggles and tells Sunny Flare that she'll give her a better briefing of this during lunch.
>With that, she says not another word.
>And Sunny Flare starts to feel like something's being left out.
>Not any details... it's just... she feel like /she's/ being left out.
>Sugarcoat is the one with the connection to his Facebook despite the fact that Sunny Flare was the one who found the Facebook to begin with.
>What's wrong with Sunny Flare adding him? She never even met the guy in person yet!
>She could just say that she heard about him through her friends and play her own little role as the "ally" of the dean that way.
>And Sugarcoat obviously actually likes him.
>Whereas, Sunny Flare doesn't care at all, and won't get emotionally invested.
>After the end of third period, Sunny Flare has come up with an idea.
>She recently got a quiz back from last Friday.
>96%, something she's totally fine with.
>But now she wants to see if she can bump this up to 100%, through a visit with the dean.
>She first clears it with the Language Arts teacher, and makes her case.
>Basically has to take some abstract route about why the answer she provided in one space could be interpreted as just as valid as the correct answer was.
>Regarding the meaning behind the chapter of a book.
>Which was supposed to be reflecting that the main character hasn't truly escaped their past, but Sunny Flare wrote that it confirms that they have.
>Albeit additional and progress-hindering details on this, Sunny Flare convinces the teacher to accept a grade change if it is cleared with the dean that such a thing can be done on this assignment.
>And she has to be the one to step forward and tell the dean that she truly believes her grade should be changed.
>The change will be official if the dean approves, as the teacher is more than willing to change the grade since Sunny Flare already did so well on the rest of the quiz; it just needs to be confirmed.
>And so, she goes marching up to the mysterious Mr. Mous's office.
>She wonders if you look anything like you do in your Facebook profile picture.
>It seemed like a regular un-photoshopped one.
>Sunny is definitely able to tell whether or not an image has been photoshopped.
>She walks up to the door and finds it open.
>What if he already let his guard down?
>...
>Sunny just walks right through the door. "Hey." She says to you.
"Oh hello." You greet her. "Anything you need help with?" From that haircut, you'd expect her to ask to speak to your manager.
>Nevertheless, you notice the paper in her hand.
>"My teacher told me I need to come here if I want to see if I can have my grade approved to be changed."
>Something clicks in your head.
>Cadence did mention something to you about this... about there being a strict grade curving policy.
>What with this school being all uptight academically... and almost everything else, but mostly academically.
>Would explain why the genius student would be the most revered and not the top athlete.
>"I got a 96, and I talked with my teacher about the one question I got wrong, and she said she approved herself for the grade to be changed and that I need to see you about if it's okay with the curriculum for a quiz like this to be re-graded."
"I see." You see she answered the thing about the curriculum you were about to ask. "Alright, lemme take a look."
>She hands the paper to you.
>You look at the name on the top.
>Sunny Flare.
>Oooooooooh shit.
>Immediately start surveying this girl's face so you can remember it later.
>...
>What the fuck are those things on her arms?
>They look like something you'd see in a kid's movie or something.
>Did Apple design this?
>Go back to the quiz in hand before you get too distracted by this girl's odd attire and accessories.
>This is a fill-in-the-blank type quiz where you write your own answers.
>Where the topics about the questions are more interpretive and not based on absolutes like things in math or science.
>In all honesty, you absolutely can curve this grade to a hundred after looking through this all.
>But there was a time when Cadence articulates that you also absolutely do not have to do it under any circumstances.
>Curving grades up at Crystal Prep High may be technically allowed, but it is heavily discouraged.
>This is convenient because this Sunny Flare is obviously testing her ability to make the dean bend to her will.
>Wouldn't be surprising if Sour Sweet was right there around the corner, waiting to hear about the results.
"Well, I'm proud of you for doing so well on the quiz. Unfortunately, a 96% compared to a hundred is in no way problematic or severe." You give your verdict. "At Crystal Prep, we stay as close to academic honesty as we possibly can." This is basically what Cadence told you, so it's not an unfounded stance.
>Expect her to repeat that the teacher said it was okay.
>"Oh, okay. I understand."
>...
>Well that was easy.
"It's nothing personal. It's just that you get a good grade either way, and the difference between the two is a good grade that was curved to have three digits, and a good grade that wasn't curves and shows the true results."
>You look at her eyes as you say all this stuff that you remember Cadence getting at... probably from that Cinch who was here before you.
>She does not seem surprised at all by this.
>Yup, grades aren't normally curved around here.
>"Yeah. I get it."
"Alright, then. Better luck next time." You give her the paper back.
>She nods and walks out.
>This feels suspicious, but only for a couple of seconds.
>At first, you thought that she was trying to see if she could get you to allow a grade curve.
>That didn't go anywhere, and she didn't seem to care, so then you thought that maybe she would use you denying her the curve as some discrimination thing since you had a bad run-in with a couple of friends.
>But she doesn't even know that you know she's friends with those other girls.
>You just chalk it up as them trying to put you into a false sense of security and relax again.
>Whatever, you got this in the bag.
>No clever, petty 18-year-olds are going to best a 20-something year old you.
>Bring it on, ya cunts.
>...
>Lunch time.
>Sunny Flare sits down next to Sour Sweet, who seems to want to talk to her immediately.
>"Leave a space for Sugarcoat." She urges.
>Sunny stares at her, confused. "A space?"
>"Between us. So we're on either side of her when she walks in."
>Oh, right.
>That.
>"I'm sure she'll just talk to us if we talk to her about things that aren't based around fucking one of the teachers or something."
>"Well we SHOULD move in today after school since he's had the whole weekend to forget about shit." Suggests Sour Sweet.
>"The dean?"
>"Who do you think?"
>"I, uh..." Sunny Flare thinks back to when she saw the dean about 15 minutes ago. "I have some news."
>"What's that?" Asks Sour Sweet. "I checked the security cameras, by the way. They aren't changed in position."
>"I... was just in his office." Sunny confesses. "I wasn't trying to wreck the plan or anyth-"
>"You WHAT?!" Sour Sweet's eyes go wide.
>"Hear me out... hear me out!" Sunny damage controls. "I came up with a great idea! It's gonna work, trust me!"
>Sunny dances around any sentences that might point towards 'I just felt like I was being left out and also wanted to see what he was like'.
>"What's the idea?" Sour Sweet doesn't look too happy about this.
>"Indy... she's gonna be back on Wednesday, right? That's when her suspension ends."
>"Mhm."
>"So there'll be more of us then, and I just went up to his office because of a grade on my quiz."
>"What are you getting at, girl?"
>"Well I-"
>"Wait!"
>Sour Sweet noticed Sugarcoat enter the room.
>She scoots to the side to make more room for Sugarcoat to sit in between the two girls.
>Book for the purpose of ignoring others in hand, Sugarcoat sees that look on Sour Sweet's face when she gets close enough.
>Recalling the last time she was cornered by these two, she sits at the far end of the table instead, looks down and opens the book.
>Sour Sweet turns back to Sunny Flare. "Okay, continue."
>"I asked him to curve the grade from a 96 to a 100, and he said no."
>"...Okay?"
>And I didn't even argue with him. I just accepted it and walked out."
>"What did you do that for?!" Sour Sweet protests. "He's gonna feel like the fucking terminator now!"
>"Exactly. Because he's going to expect anything else that happens to be that easy. So he's gonna get extra confident."
>Sour Sweet just stares at the other girl now.
>"Remember the security cameras? No amount of confidence can take on evidence from those."
>Sour Sweet gasps, looking happier already. "Oh my gosh! You're right! I was just about to say... we're gonna use the security cameras as alibis as to when we went into his office, and we can fill in what happened there! With our word and pictures!"
>And just like that, the plan that Sunny Flare is pulling out of her ass and the plan Sour Sweet has fuse like raindrops on a window.
>"You and I should keep going back again and again! And keep getting shot down for stupid shit. You know what this is gonna do?"
>"Make him feel even more like the terminator?"
>"He'll have a comfy little false sense of security. He'll have no idea what's coming! And we don't have to wait for Lemon Zest to come back, she's not even involved with this. We should still strike on Friday after it's been a couple of days." Sour Sweet plans out loud a mule a minute while Sugarcoat is out of hearing range.
>Sunny Flare just sits and listens.
>"He's gonna be tired and worn out from everything else on Friday. But he'll be sure that he won. Meanwhile, we can say that he told us to meet him after school on Friday during one of our other visits. Or just me, so I'd be alone and it's more believable." Sour Sweet goes on and on.
>Sugarcoat can see that Sour Sweet is talking a lot, but can't hear anything... considers walking over to listen in.
>"There's a camera that sees whenever someone goes in and out that door. I'll go in on Friday afternoon and plant the goods and take a picture. He probably won't even pay much attention when I do it at that point. I'll leave, I'll have my alibi and hopefully a picture if I can take one, and his word won't mean jack shit. That's when we let him know. Sunny, this is perfect!"
>Sour Sweet was right there with her on the new plan before Sunny Flare even knew where /she/ was on it.
>But Sunny nods in agreement to the psychotic girl's plan.
>Monday afternoon.
>School day is over, now is the time to pack up and go home.
>Nothing else to see here, except for Sour Sweet walking through the halls in the direction of the dean's office.
>She just could not wait to do this again.
>Skips over to the door and struts up to it more slowly with each step.
>She really feels like humming, but that would make her sound too confident.
>...
>Knock knock.
"Come in." You wonder if you're actually allowed to leave right after the students leave.
>"Hey."
>Oh fuck, it's her again.
>Your guard springs back up; you keep an eye on her hands.
>"I just wanted to stop by really quick to ask you something." She blinks really quickly with a fake that would be convincing if you didn't know better.
"Sure."
>"I have a computer literacy class coming up in the second half of the year. And I was wondering if I could use my phone during that class?"
>You look down at your desk.
>This one sounds like an actual legitimate question.
"What do you mean? Like..."
>"Using my phone that's a computer in a computer class."
>You go the some curriculum descriptions and things alike in the papers you have available to you in your office.
>Being sure not to look away from Sour Sweet's direction for too long as you reach around your workspace to fetch things.
>She's not even moving much at all, just sitting there.
>You go ahead and assume that she's not here for any bad intent and go on looking with your back turned for more than ten seconds at a time.
>There might be a time when you regret this later on, but you don't really think about it.
>If anything, she might have stopped caring, and it got through to her that she can't boss around a school dean.
>It's almost like telling a 3-year-old that all the jewelry in their mom's purse isn't theirs, except this girl is at least 6 times that age as 6 times as clever.
>Whatever, she's not even doing anything.
>She and her friend from earlier today probably just wanted to test to see if they made any impact on you at all.
>To which, you'll show that... no, they indeed have made no impact at all on you and there is nothing for them to advance on.
>...You've been looking at random documents that have nothing to do with what Sour Sweet asked in this half-assed second half of your search for a way to let her use her phone in class.
>This is a damned prep school.
>No, you're not using your phone in class, sweetie.
>No, you don't get a free ride.
>You sit at your desk and behave like all the other students.
"The classroom itself provides their own computers." You give a less bullshit answer than you expected. "You won't need your phone."
>You expect Sour Sweet to argue or say something back.
>But your surprise is immeasurable.
>"Aw. Okay."
>Is this it?
>Holy shit, she really was just testing to see if she got anywhere, wasn't she?
>"Thanks anyway."
>She stands up and walks away without having budged much at all.
>No little psycho tendencies or anything.
>You start to feel on top of the world once more, and you leave the office with a wide smile on your face anticipating the drive home.
>As you're leaving, you notice Principal Cadance sitting in her office, filling out some paperwork.
>There's a chance you might not have to even talk to her about the email you sent. Hell, it's probably an absolute fact that you don't have to.
>The whole situation's diffused, but you go in anyway.
>"Oh hello, Mr. Mous." She looks up when she hears your footsteps enter through the door.
"Hey. I see you got my..."
>"Oh, right. That. Yes, I'm sure you know very well how interesting, oh how interesting the girls here can get." She grins.
>You laugh.
"It's actually funny that you mention that, because Miss Sour Sweet was at my office just now and didn't seem to be trying to get me to do anything for her or her friends." You go on as Cadance listens. "Just asking for permission to use her phone in computer literacy class."
>Cadance chuckles. "Hahahahh, what? You can't do that!"
"I know. And that's what I told her. But here's the thing, she just said okay and left."
>"She said okay and left?"
"You bet. Just walked right out the door without being pushy or anything."
>"Well that's... new."
"Did you talk to her today or something?"
>"No. I haven't gotten involved in this at all."
"Well..." You recall the email that Cadance sent. "It's probably a good thing that you didn't. Because it's looking like the situation diffused all on its own. Like you said."
>"Well... I told you so!" She jokes.
>You laugh together before you leave for the day with her smiling and waving just as much as you are. Upon asking Cadance, you actually can leave a bit early if there is nothing else to do that's a pressing matter.
>And with the gang of schoolgirls out of the way, there are no pressing matters clogging up your schedule anymore.
>Drive home and enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
>...
>Sometime during Monday night.
>Sugarcoat hears her phone vibrating multiple times.
>Gee, who could possibly be texting her this rapidly?
>[SSSUUUGGARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR]
>Sugarcoat rolls her eyes and then looks back at the screen.
>Another all caps message is there.
>This process repeats with an increasing amount of facepalms and forehead rubbing.
>[What do you want?] Sugarcoat types, feeling Indigo's pain.
>[Can I come over?]
>She's actually asking permission?
>Then again, it's not surprising that she is; she's not as close to Sugarcoat as she is to Indigo.
>Sugarcoat thinks to herself as she waits for Sour Sweet to type out a long message on the other end.
>The one she's always been causing bad shit to happen with in the hallways and after classes was Indigo. They always caused mischief together.
>Always by eachother's side when up to no good.
>Even somewhat friendly and on fair... "fair"... competitive terms when having rivalries.
>Sugarcoat watches the three dots go on and on, waiting for a wall of text to fill her screen.
>[We're all trying to make friends with the dean now. And I wanna come over and explain a few things so you're not left out of the loop. I won't stay overnight, I promise. I know it's like 10pm but this is important. pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase??????????]
>[Fine.]
>Not even ten seconds later, a car horn blares outside.
>She was either right around the street corner or right there in Sugarcoat's driveway.
>Either way, there she is.
>...
>"So." Sour Sweet begins as she walks with Sugarcoat up the stairs to her room.
>"In case you're wondering, I haven't gotten any messages back from Dean Mous today." Sugarcoat tells the truth at first for a confident tone then quickly adds "...either" before thinking about it and remembering that oh right, that's false.
>This is the only way she can get herself to lie.
>"He hasn't even messaged you once?" Says Sour Sweet.
>Tight lipped, Sugarcoat shakes her head.
>"I thought he messaged you by now!"
>"So what'd you come over here for? I have to sleep."
>"Right, right. Allow me to explain." Sour Sweet. "I was /hoping/ that you at least became fast friends with Mr. Deanie around there on Facebook. But it looks like he's ghosting you."
>"Just get to the point."
>"Yeah... but..."
>Sour Sweet keeps on beating around the bush more and more. It gets so annoying to Sugarcoat that she just wants to jump out of her skin.
>She came all the way over here to say all this wishy washy stuff and never go anywhere with what she's talking about.
>It's getting so late, and Sugarcoat should have been snoring an hour ago. She shouldn't have been up to even receive Sour Sweet's texts, really. How much of a better scenario that would have been.
>The worst outcome of that would be Sugarcoat ignoring the car horn outside until the cops came and hauled Sour Sweet away.
>But it is painfully obvious that she wouldn't let it go that far when she still has something to do outside of being under some kind of house arrest or something.
>"At least watch him for me!" Sour Sweet pleads.
>"Add him yourself. He's probably just gonna ghost me." Sugarcoat leaves out 'again' to feel like she's telling the truth. "What do you even want me to do?"
>"Be friends with him!"
>Sugarcoat knows that Sour Sweet is holding something back.
>"You're just going to have to do it yourself." Sugarcoat crosses her arms.
>"He's not gonna answer me if he's not gonna answer yoooooou!" Sour Sweet whines.
>"Well that's not my problem. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. You're the one trying to pull something, not me."
>"I know you want to hang out with him or something." Sour Sweet puts her hands on her hips. "And you can if you just let me help you here."
>"That's not true! I just think he's really nice."
>"Listen, it's okay, Sugar. You're not the first person to have a crush on one of the staff members at school. Hell, even Indigo had a crush on the dean just now."
>"That's different."
>Sour Sweet starts to say something else but then agrees. "Okay, yeah, you're right. She sorta lusts over the guy teachers after like a day sometimes."
>Sugarcoat holds her tongue when she imagines Sour Sweet not being any better.
>"Look, the bottom line is... we can get this guy on our good side before he possibly turns into the next Cinch!" Sour Sweet concludes.
>"The next Cinch? That's... what?"
>"Well it's obvious that he knows we're doing something. Sunny and I figured it out. And we would have TOLD you today at lunch if you didn't decide to-"
>"Okay, okay, fine. What do you mean get on his good side, though? That doesn't sound like a very good thing."
>Sugarcoat probably shouldn't have worded it that way.
>Sour Sweet's brief hesitation says it all; Sugarcoat's not getting much info out of her.
>"Just getting to know him. Like, damn, he's a cutie. Sunny doesn't think so but Indy and I do. And I know you do too. And he's a bit of a bitch, which is cute but it makes this good for us because that means he'll be super nice to us if we get him to like us back. But you're the one he seems to like the most so far."
>Sugarcoat starts to think to herself about whether or not she can pay a visit to Indigo or Sunny's house later on.
>It's too bad Lemon Zest isn't involved in this yet. She'd be the one who's most likely to spill the beans about Sour Sweet's real plan.
>Sugarcoat tries to get Sour Sweet to get the hell out of her house... but then she sees the blanket the other girl brought with her.
>"You... you're planning on staying over, aren't you?" Sugarcoat crosses her arms again and raises an eyebrow.
>"It was only just in case, gosh! But now that you mention it..."
>It's a weak premise, but Sugarcoat might get something out of Sour Sweet in terms of information overnight anyway.
>She'll even listen to the other girl talk in her sleep if she has to.
>"Besides..." Sour Sweet continues. "We didn't get a chance to hang out much last time."
>...
>You can't help but wonder what those things on Sunny Flare's arms were when you're about to go to bed.
>The war is over, might as well waste time googling random shit.
>But not before visiting Facebook first.
>New DM from Sugarcoat.
>[Sour Sweet is at my house right now. She told me she and Sunny Flare came to your office today and asked for things.]
>Why is she bringing this up now?
[Yeah they did. Why you ask?]
>[She just told me something about letting you turn it down on purpose.]
[She what?]
>...
>On the other end.
>Sugarcoat is frantically typing on her laptop as Sour Sweet takes her sweet time in the shower in the upstairs bathroom.
>Normally, sugarcoat would have drawn the line there, but this gives her time to send a few quick messages to Mr. Mous while Sour Sweet's eyes can't find anything on her screen.
>[I want to let you know that she's got something planned.] Sugarcoat types.
[Do you know anything else? Perhaps something I can actually use as a merit to bring her in and tell her to cut it out or else she's going to find herself suspended?] Your message reads.
>[She's using my shower right now, so I only have a little time to talk before she comes back. So I just wanted to send you this and ask if there's anything else you know.]
[Well I guess the best I can do is keep my eyes open. What you should do is tell her anything you can that will get her to believe you're taking care of things so she doesn't have to.]
>[Anything specific?]
[Just say something like, I got this, he and I are messaging a lot now, we're friends but he's only used to me]
>Sugarcoat smirks. [Well that shouldn't be hard. they already think you don't like them and only like me. Then again, I did lie and say you never responded to me so they don't get nosy]
[Oh. Wow, I didn't think about it that way. That could work. She still thinks I never replied?]
>[So far, yeah she thinks that. I like your idea now, though. Because that means I can talk with you after she gets out of the shower and not have to hide the fact that we're chatting to eachother.]
[That's a good point.]
>[Let's fill up the message history with regular looking stuff so these messages get pushed up and off the screen by the time she gets out.]
[Sounds like a plan.]
>[So how was your weekend?]
>...
>Sour Sweet stands in front of the bathroom mirror in nothing but Sugarcoat's towel she stole from the hall closet.
>Wiping the fog off the mirror every minute or two so she can make more faces to herself in the mirror.
>Only distracted by the sound of the keyboard of Sugarcoat's laptop being rapidly and loudly pressed.
>Sugarcoat never types this loud or fast.
>Sour Sweet enters the other girl's bedroom within the next ten seconds.
>Sugarcoat looks up from her computer screen that a look that resists closing the laptop.
>"Hey." Sour Sweet stands in the doorway.
>"Why didn't you get dressed?" Asks Sugarcoat.
>"Oh, right. My clothes are still in the bathroom. Whatcha doin' though?"
>Sugarcoat hesitates and blushes.
>Sour Sweet needs little to no effort to piece this together.
>"DID HE REPLY?!"
>"Right as you left." Sugarcoat nervously turns the screen to face Sour Sweet.
>Sour Sweet has to hold the towel tightly in order to keep it from falling off as she rushes over so fast.
>"We hit it off really well." Sugarcoat reveals.
>"You did? wasn't he just ghosting you earlier?"
>"Said he was nervous."
>Sour Sweet squeals in delight at this news; he's still fragile!
>"This is perfeeeeeect! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" She jumps up and down.
>"I didn't tell him you're here. For obvious reasons."
>"Well of course. I'd have killed ya if you did that." Sour Sweet half-jokes.
>She goes and starts reading over the messages.
>Only the ones on the screen that Sugarcoat allows her to see.
>There are enough messages for her to scroll up a little and still keep the secret part secret.
>"Tell him you're about to take a shower!" Sour Sweet says suddenly.
>"Why?"
>"Because! That'll put lewd thoughts in his head."
>"I don't wanna do that!"
>"Alright, alright. Fine. You're right, that'll come off as too strong anyway. I don't wanna wreck this."
>Sour Sweet excitedly watches another message from him pop up on the screen.
>Her key to power is right there talking to her friend.
>"It's a good thing he likes you and not me. I prolly woulda fucked this up." Comments Sour Sweet.
>"What would you have done?" Sugarcoat just hopes she won't have to force herself to lie for much longer.
>"I'm not sure if I would have gone as far as sending him nudes or some shit."
>"Seriously?"
>"Oh, come on! You know me!" Sour Sweet has a feeling in her stomach that she shouldn't just straight up tell Sugarcoat that this is pretty much part of her actual plan after its boldness increased. "I don't normally give a damn."
>"...Right."
>"But I wouldn't go that far. Like that would actually turn out good for me at all."
>"For me? What about for him? He could get in serious trouble for something like that."
>"Not in that much trouble. I /am/ 18, after all."
>"That's not the point. Staff members should not be doing that on the internet with students. Period."
>Sour Sweet picks up on what Sugarcoat might be hinting at.
>Did the other girl figure out what she's going to try and use for leverage?
>"Psssh, well like I said. I'm totally not gonna do that." Sour Sweet scoffs and looks at the ceiling. "That would be wrong."
>It's like something straight out of a movie, and both girls are fully aware of it despite there being little to no proof of this.
>Sugarcoat is the one character capable of turning coat in favor of her clan's enemy. Because she's in love with the enemy.
>And Sour Sweet is the leader who has to be smart about the decisions she makes.
>Lest the whole group gets thrown into jeopardy based on the love of one of them towards their target.
>Sour Sweet keeps asking if she can read more of the messages.
>Sugarcoat barely lets her see anything.
>They both go to sleep soon, with Sour Sweet having to sleep on the downstairs couch while Sugarcoat stays in those Facebook DMs.
[So... I'm going to be in early tomorrow morning. But I gotta sleep now in order to do that.]
>[Same for me. We'll figure it out there and then.]
>...
>You see her go offline but don't log off just yet.
>You happen to notice a Facebook Ad that depicts exactly what you saw on Sunny Flare's forearms.
>Joke to yourself about Facebook now reading your thoughts in order to advertise more properly as you laugh at what these things are called.
>iVambraces.
>FUCKING iVAMBRACES.
>Oh, you can just sense Mark Zuckerberg peering behind the little advertisement box going "Click it!", with Steve Jobs's ghost behind Mark going "Buy it!", with Todd Howard behind Steve Jobs's ghost holding a Call of Duty Game from fucking 1905 in his hand going "This is new! Just released! Wanna pre-order?"
"Fuck off, lads." You mumble under your breath as you block the shitty advertisement with an ad blocker.
>Sunny Flare actually buys into this shit?
>You feel bad for her parents.
~
>Tuesday morning.
>You're up before the sun is.
>Get dressed and showered and all that shit and head out the door.
>Get to the school and unlock the front doors with your key.
>Get to your office and sit in your chair with heavy bags and circles still under your eyes.
>Damn, getting up this early is the worst.
>Good thing you'll never join the military.
>It's not long before you see what's definitely sugarcoat's car pull up in the parking lot from your window.
>She gets out and walks over, yawning twice before she reaches the building.
>You think to yourself: should you just get her phone number so you can text her instead of message her on Facebook?
>That way, she can show all those messages on the advert site to Sour Sweet all she wants and not have to reveal any confidential information.
>"Hey." She walks through the door.
"Hi." You greet through a yawn.
>"I take it you don't get up this early either, huh?"
"Nope."
>"What time is it? I wanna know how many hours we have until school starts." She sits down before you begin.
>...
>"So you think we should text eachother through our numbers instead of Facebook?" Sugarcoat asks after a good portion of the lengthy discussion.
"It would have been weird if I asked for your phone number right away. As you probably know."
>You notice her slightly blush.
>"Yeah... that would have been weird. But we're only doing this in this way now because it's smarter to do it this way."
>She talked a little fast, there.
"Of course. It's definitely better if we do it this way."
>You pull out a pencil and a piece of paper.
>Some things are jotted down, and your fatigue starts to lift from all the other times you got up around the time it is right now.
>Finally, some sunlight is starting to show.
>But you and Sugarcoat continue to talk to one another.
>You can't help but notice how much more laid back she seems compared to when you first met her.
>It's a great feeling to know that at least one of these girls have gotten used to you.
"Can I ask you something? Since I won't get to know your friends as much as you know them, obviously."
>"Sure. What is it?"
"Could you go into detail what it's like being friends with them? I actually just wanna kill some time here, since school doesn't start for a while yet."
>You can tell through the almost expressionless look on her face that she has a lot that she wants to say.
>"I'm sure I'm already apologized for my friends' behavior, right?"
"You did."
>"Yeah, I couldn't really remember. Anyway, you'll get used to them somehow. They usually do this when they meet someone new they want something to do with. It's almost like I have to babysit them whenever they get into some trouble and they want my help. Whether my help is supposed to get them out of the trouble or get them further into it."
"They seem like they can be fun as long as they're getting along with you."
>"You're not wrong. I don't think they're bad people." Sugarcoat winces a little. "Not even Sour Sweet, if I'm honest. She's definitely unstable, and that's a problem. I really shouldn't hang out with her. The other girls shouldn't either. She's honestly dangerous, as far as I'm concerned."
>Yup, she's venting.
"I'm uh... I'm right there with you, yeah."
>"But in reality, she always seems to need affirmation in life. Even if it means controlling everything around her and doing things she shouldn't to get things she wants."
"How often before recently has she gotten in trouble?"
>"Very often, until she got good at avoiding getting caught."
"That's..."
>"Disturbing, yes. But the thing is, Indigo was the one who was like that before Sour Sweet followed suit."
>You raise your eyebrows.
"Really?"
>"Sour Sweet was just an awkward and moody girl a couple of years ago. Used to think she could already do anything and have anything she wanted one day and the next day, she'd feel like the whole universe was against her and that she was nothing."
>Well this seems interesting to hear coming from one of her friends.
>Sugarcoat continues. "She had always been off for as long as I've known her. I used to hang out with her before she spent more time with Indigo. Indigo and Lemon would hang out together a lot and listen to a lot of rock music, and became rebellious because they took the lyrics to heart."
"I can see that." You envision that online debate you saw about how much should parents control what their kids listen to.
>"Lemon mostly just liked the music for the guitars and drums, though. While Indigo liked the lyrics... and it wasn't long before she went through a rap phase."
"Oh boy."
>This is rather comical to imagine.
>"Indigo started hanging out with the boys in school more, especially the ones on the soccer team, and she'd become less disciplined as time went on. Such as, skipping soccer practice."
"Mhm."
>You're already glad that you got a chance to have this impromptu conversation with Sugarcoat as she takes a trip down memory lane and shows you what she finds.
>"Lemon just became obsessed with music. Pretty much any genre as long as it sounded cool to her. She still wanted to go her own way too, though. In reality, all she wanted was to have fun and not have anyone tell her what to do with her life. Which is understandable... to an extent. But it's too much of a romanticized way of thinking."
>She sighs.
>"Unfortunately, Indigo went down this road too, but much further. Started bossing a lot of the other kids around, picking on them, letting her grades slip until she had to bring them up to stay on the soccer team. That's when the coach really started to dislike her."
"Huh, I can imagine."
>"Sour Sweet wanted to be more like her whenever she felt like she had no control over her life, which was often. This was around the time I was reading up on psychology, when Twilight was still going here. Indigo poked fun at her all the time for being such a nerd because she wanted to maintain dominance."
"The best performing student in the school?"
>Sugarcoat laughs a little at the thought.
>"Yup. Twilight definitely hated us. We were always horrible to her."
"Well that's surprising."
>"If anything, we were jealous and annoyed by little things that didn't matter. Too blinded by Cinch to look past reputation and consider the feelings of others. Cinch's influence took a toll on Sour Sweet's split personality as well."
"I had a feeling that would be the case."
>"She's go back and forth between feeling on top of the world and then feeling beneath it all. So much that it made her unstable and turn into a control freak just so she could make it stop. Especially with Cinch's high expectations of her and how much Twilight excelled, and how often we'd pick on her for it. It was a really bad combination. I'm largely to blame because I was aware of it but didn't care enough to try and talk things out with anyone. I was only selfish and cared about myself while only putting the school's reputation above that and nothing else, because that's the way Cinch taught us to be."
"Cinch wasn't a very good principal, wasn't she?"
>"She was absolutely awful. I'm glad she got fired. I hope I never see her ever again, not even outside of school. She's genuinely a terrible person."
"Wow, uh..."
>"Yeah, that was blunt. Trust me, if you know her personally, you'd know why saying these things about her is warranted."
"I believe you." You keep your mind mostly open.
>"Anyway, Sour Sweet turned into a control freak while Indigo Zap began to get cocky while Lemon Zest practically married her headphones and tuned everyone else out."
"Where does Sunny Flare come in? Did you not meet her yet?"
>"Oh, she was there. I probably knew her the longest, it's just that she never did anything except sit on the sidelines and side with anyone as long as she was in a position that didn't face opposition."
"Oh, okay."
>Sugarcoat goes off on a limb about her anyway. "She's really spineless and sheltered, will hook onto any trend or movement as long as it's convenient. What with those hideous iVambraces on her arms. Apple really needs to stop making new products and give up. They're really only hurting more than they're helping at this point."
"So I guess she'd just do whatever Sour Sweet tells her what to do."
>"That's exactly how it ended up. Especially after the Friendship Games and Twilight leaving. Sour Sweet became the boss, with Indigo Zap hanging onto second in command pretending that Sour Sweet didn't overtake her dominance. She's too pride-driven to see that at this point. Indy's just a mentally lazy idiot now. She even got Coach Sombra fired because of that."
"Oh, that. I've heard enough about that already."
>And meanwhile, Lemon Zest just dances around in her own little world. She doesn't care about anything except her headphones and her music anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if she still doesn't know you exist. She's always behind on everything. It took her two weeks to figure out that Twilight left early."
"Oh, so she graduated early."
>"That's what I've been told, yes. Either way, she left. And it left behind the lack of an outlet that only increased ten-fold when Cinch's departure left a power vacuum."
>She just keeps going; must have held this in for a while.
>"I can assure you that Sour Sweet is a psychotic megalomaniac, Indigo Zap is a narcissistic idiot, Sunny Flare is a snobby doormat... and I have to sit back front row center experiencing the brunt of their obnoxious BS every single solitary day. If they hadn't already been long time friends of mine, and if I didn't understand why they are the way they are, I'd have disowned the whole lot of them by now."
"What about Lemon Zest?" You're really just interested to hear more of this juicy rant at this point.
>"She's an idiot too. Maybe even more than Indigo, but I at least envy her stupidity. Must be nice being such an oblivious free spirit who's always happy." Sugarcoat looks down at her locked fingers. "She probably has no idea what's wrong with Sour Sweet. Even if she did, there's no doubt she doesn't care."
>You've noticed that Sugarcoat's definitely not hesitant to go into details when it comes to complaining about her friends.
>Almost feel like you turned from dean to discount psychiatrist, but that feels like a dumb way to think about it.
>"Anyway, that's about it." Sugarcoat exhales as though she had also holding been holding her breath in a more literal way. "Thank you so much for listening. None of the other girls ever did."
>She's smiling now.
"I'm happy to listen."
>"It's not like a genuinely hate them. I just genuinely hate things about them. I know they weren't always like this on the inside. I suppose I need a break from them, which is hard with these things going on."
>You think to yourself for a bit, knowing that there's much less boundaries of what the hell to say after all the things Sugarcoat just said, and the fact that you just exchanged numbers, which a student and the school dean probably shouldn't do here.
>Might as well say a certain thing you're thinking since she's obviously comfortable around you.
"It sounds like you need someone else to hang out with for the time being."
>She looks at you, starting to smile again but fights it back. "W-well, I..." She nervously stammers.
"Hey, now. I don't feel like it's /that/ weird." You say. "We've been pretty much hanging out already, right?"
>"Right." She looks up at a far corner of the room.
>Shifts around in her seat, getting visibly jittery.
>Not as direct and almost domineering as she was a few minutes ago when she was spilling her feelings out about her friends.
>You probably just indirectly addressed something different that she hasn't spilled out yet.
>She's still trying pretty hard not to smile.
"Listen, I'm sorry if this came off as a little sudden. And it's not like we have to meet up somewhere outside of this place if you don't want to. It's up to you, really."
>She's thinking about this pretty hard.
>"Well, this conversation did get a little more in-depth than I thought it would." She admits.
"So how do you say we go some place other than here and talk about better things together? You know, maybe during the weekend."
>She's blushing a lot now. "I... g-guess so..."
"Don't worry, we can text about it later. You don't have to decide now."
>"I kinda do want to do it." She says, hands can't stay still.
"So you do?"
>"I definitely do." She's insisting now.
"Well that's great. I guess just text me when you feel like it. You got my number now."
>"Yeah... yeah I do."
"You alright?"
>"I'm fine. I'm fine." Her voice gets all breathy.
"Yeah, we'll just meet up some time. Maybe for lunch somewhere."
>"Yeah. It won't be a date or anyth-"
>Your heart jumps, but not as much as Sugarcoat's does when she realizes what she said and physically takes her hands and covers her mouth.
>Sit frozen in your seat as she gets up from hers.
>She probably meant to leave, but she can't turn the doorknob to open it because her hands are too afraid to stop covering her mouth, as if something further is going to slip out.
>She just stands there, waiting for something to happen.
>This is when you spring into action, stand up and walk over to her.
"Hey... don't worry about it. It's okay."
>Hesitantly put your hands on her shoulders, immediately thinking about how this is exactly what Sour Sweet must want things to seem like whenever someone spends a little too much time in here so she can gather some dirt.
>But it's too late.
>You're already pulling a surprisingly clumsy and awkward Sugarcoat into a hug.
>She's already returning it.
>Plus, the crazy girl isn't here; what she doesn't know can't hurt you.
>You briefly wonder where Sour Sweet is right now since Sugarcoat claimed that the girl was just at her house last night.
>Only briefly, before-
>"This hug is lasting kind of long." Sugarcoat says in a shaky voice, yet not letting go first.
"S-sorry." You start to pull away.
>"It's okay, though." She pulls you back.
>You want to at least pull away before you start getting a-
>No, don't even think about it!
>Wow, you didn't expect her chest to feel so-
>Don't. Even.
>...Too late.
>When she finally lets you go, it's so easy to tell that she's pretending not to notice.
>You both apologize to eachother at the same time.
>What the hell came over you? What came over HER?
>"I'll... just text you, then."
"Yeah. See ya."
>You must of repressed what happened next.
>You sit alone now, listening to the first early-bird students enter the school.
>It's going away, just sit still.
>Why did this have to happen?
>No, stop it, this one's fine.
>Sugarcoat is good to you, she just likes you in a way that you're honestly very okay with.
>It's good to know that her relationship with her friends, and their relationship with eachother is clear to you now.
>At least they'll end up sticking together in the end despite their disagreements.
>You can't help but feel a warm feeling inside about their friendship enduring so much turbulence yet coming out in tact on the other end.
>That's something nice to think about.
~
>Indigo Zap knows her little vacation is about to end... much sooner than Lemon Zest's.
>It honestly just feels like the end of her time of freedom.
>Sooner or later, Sour Sweet is going to pull her into this all the way once more.
>Especially with all of these [INDYYYYYYYY] texts, followed by Sour Sweet saying that this time it's "extra important".
>She wants to meet before school.
>Was apparently just at Sugarcoat's house, where Sugarcoat allegedly got replies from the Dean on Facebook, and that it's time to commit and "go in for the kill".
>That's all Indigo picked up from what she skimmed through.
>This is where Indigo Zap draws the line.
>She's put up with Sour Sweet for too long.
>Too many years, too many episodes of drama.
>She's not letting it happen again this time.
>No more being afraid to back down and just let this at least end for her.
>Can't say much about the other girls, but they're on their own.
>There is a time to stop and that time is now.
>Sour Sweet's undoubtably going to be more than disappointed, but it's worth it.
>Indy here just can't take it anymore.
>She sends the other girl a text if she can come over to her house to plan.
>After receiving a long line of the other kinds of annoying texts that Sour Sweet consistently sends.
>It's not funny anymore when it's at 3 AM in the morning.
>It's not cute, it's obnoxiously obtuse, and obviously rude.
>Turn off the snooze button, girl's got news for ya.
>...
>"Indy?" Sour Sweet says as she opens her front door.
>Indigo silently waves at her and enters.
>"I am sooooo glad you came! Things are looking great for us! We got Mr. Mous in a false sense of security! He thinks it's all over, and I have the perfect way to slip the goods in without him noticing. This is gonna be a bit of a stealth mission, but it'll be easy when we all work together and pull it off on Friday."
>The front door is shut and locked.
>Sour Sweet leads Indigo to her living room.
>"Don't worry, no one else is here right now. And we don't have much time before I have to go to school. But hey, you got another day before you gotta go back, so you have time."
>Indigo finally answers her. "Look, I came here because there's something I need to say."
>"What is it?" Sour Sweet gives her friend a cute, rapidly-blinking grinning face.
>It means nothing to Indigo Zap. She doesn't care about anything anymore.
>"I'm out."
>"What? No, you're not. You're coming back tomm-"
>"I'm. Out."
>Sour Sweet stares at the other girl.
>"I'm out." Indigo repeats again.
>"Pfffft. Let me guess, you don't want another Coach Sombra happening again, do you?" She jabs. "I should have known you'd back down. It's okay, we all have our weaknesses. It's not your fault."
>Indigo glares Sour Sweet in the eyes.
>"It's not your fault." Sour Sweet repeats.
>Indigo Zap's eyes remain glaring directly at Sour Sweet's eyes.
>"I'm out." Indigo repeats once again. "Do you understand? I'm. Out."
>Sour Sweet's grin fades as Indigo continues.
>"You win, I lose. Okay? I wish you luck with that fucking punk. I'm out."
>"But.... wait, hold on!" Sour Sweet protests. "Wait!"
>"No. Fuck this shit. I'm out. Understand?"
>"Oh, damn... you really are serious."
>"I can't take it anymore."
>"So..." Sour Sweet menacingly walks behind Indigo Zap. "It comes to this. You wanna be a pussy and back out of the thing YOU started." She slowly paces circles around her. "So what was it really? Huh?"
>"I can't take it anymore. I can't take /you/ anymore. So I want nothing to do with it."
>"Fine! Looks like we figured out who the real worthy one is. The one who truly deserves the dean's d-"
>"Let me finish." Indigo interrupts.
>"Oh, please do! This should be good. Just make it quick so I can get ready for school and I'll see you tomorrow, if that's the case."
>"I want nothing to do with it. And I want nothing to do with you."
>Sour Sweet tilts her head a little. "You what?"
>Indigo looks her right in the eye. "I want nothing to do with you."
>"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
>"You and I... we're no longer friends. I don't want to be your friend anymore. It's over."
>Indigo waits for Sour Sweet to finish registering this.
>"You can't mean that."
>"I mean it."
>"But... you c-"
>"IT'S OVER!"
>Sour Sweet jumps back a little at the sound of Indigo's voice that resonates off the walls.
>Of all the things about Indigo Zap she is used to, she's not used to her being this loud and pissed off.
>She feels like she's a couple of years younger, before she started controlling her life.
>Before she got close with Indy to begin with.
>"Do you understand? It's over." Indigo repeats, normal tone again.
>Desperation fills Sour Sweet. "Indy..."
>"Don't call me that anymore. It's over." Indigo doesn't know how many times she's going to have to say it, but she's about to find out. "You're not my friend anymore."
>Desperate anger overflows within Sour Sweet. "Indy!" Her voice cracks a little.
>"Don't touch me." Indigo pushes forcefully her away.
>Sour Sweet grits her teeth and steps forth again, only to be pushed away with even more force by the girl that's always been stronger than her.
>Sour Sweet stands in place for several seconds.
>In shock, she has no idea what to do next.
>That girl, who is supposed to be her closest friend in the world is about to slip away out the door for the last time.
>"You can't do this! I'm your best friend!" Argues Sour Sweet.
>"No, you're not."
>"Indy, no!"
>Sour Sweet grabs Indigo's arm as she has her back turned, trying to keep the other girl from walking out the door.
>"Yes we are!" Sour Sweet breathes heavily and begins to feel dizzy. "We're friends, Indy!"
>"We're not friends anymore. Goodbye." Indigo struggles to break free.
>"Yes we are!" Sour Sweet refuses to accept this.
>All of a sudden, Sour Sweet's dark side recedes entirely.
>Her eyes water up, her lip quivers.
>She gives the most pleading look to Indigo as she repeatedly begs for her not to go.
>"It... it can't be over." Her voice is breaking up. "There's no way! We're such good friends, Indy! It can't be over!"
>Indigo apathetically looks Sour Sweet in the eye again. "It's over."
>"No, it's not!" Sour Sweet won't let go of her self-validation that tells her that she has friends by her side. "I'm sorry! Please! I'm sorry." She begins to sniffle and croak.
>It starts to spread to Indigo within a second.
>She knows that Sour Sweet's whole world is falling apart now.
>Oh, the message finally got across alright, and it's too much for her to take.
>She grips Indigo's arm for dear life, wanting nothing more than to salvage their friendship now. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I did this! Please don't go!"
>"Let go!"
>"PLEASE!"
>This is the last thing in the world Sour Sweet would have wanted.
>"Please don't go, Indy! I'm sorry!"
>"No! You're actually insane! You're dangerous and manipulative. You're not my friend anymore."
>"I'm so sorry, Indy!" Sour Sweet's eyes leak with tears. "Indy!"
>With a powerful shove, Indigo Zap sends Sour Sweet stumbling to the floor.
>She looks down at her, watching the tears stream down her cheeks.
>Looking absolutely distressed, broken and desperate, Sour Sweet looks back up with uneven breaths and reaches her shaky hand up towards Indigo.
>Indigo just angrily glares back and waits to see if she's going to do anything else to make this dirge of their friendship any more turbulent.
>She just reaches over and starts unlocking the door anyway; the sooner she's gone the better.
>Rapid footsteps interrupt the clicking sounds of the lock.
>Sour Sweet wedges herself between Indigo and the door she's trying to open.
>She's not planning on budging, and Indigo knows her well enough to know this for a fact.
>Legs shaking uncontrollably, she will NOT allow Indy to walk out of her life like this.
>Her eyes are wild and seething with desperation and more tears. "Indy..." She utters.
>She hesitates at first, but only for a second; Indigo Zap balls her hand into a fist and strikes Sour Sweet square on her cheekbone.
>Knocks the girl off balance and out of her way... Sour Sweet is sent stumbling back into the doorway leading to the living room.
>She stares in utter shock with her hand covering the side of her face.
>Indigo wipes the teardrop residue from her knuckles.
>Sour Sweet finally breaks, snaps and shatters all at once. "GET OUT!" She blares only after Indigo was already opening the door.
>She collapses to her knees on the living room carpet and sobs miserably as she hears the door shut.
>...
>Indigo did start caring again.
>But only for a moment, and the moment's gone.
>The tears are still there, though.
>Even though they didn't leave her eyes.
>Feeling more choked up in her throat with each step, Indigo Zap walks down the concrete sidewalk.
>Enters her own front door after the end of the confrontation like she's entering the gates of Troy.
~
>Early afternoon, or late morning, somewhere around there.
>Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat sit next to one another at the lunch table in the cafeteria.
>"So did you find out why Sour Sweet didn't come to school today?" Asks Sunny. "She's not answering any of my texts. I hope everything's okay."
>Sugarcoat silently finishes chewing the bite she took out of her tuna sandwich. "No word." She replies after a quiet gulp.
>"Do you think something happened?"
>Sugarcoat doesn't know whether or not she can trust that this is actually legit.
>She knows that the others know she's on to them.
>She's going to stay tight lipped throughout the whole lunch period once more, keeping Sunny from getting any chances to see the fact that she has the Dean's personal mobile phone number programmed onto her phone.
>Sunny Flare shrugs at Sugarcoat's reluctance to answer and takes a sip of her orange juice.
>It gets lonely when three out of the five of them aren't here.
>...
>Same time, early afternoon, or late morning, somewhere around there.
>Lemon Zest honestly just lost track of the time at this point.
>All she knows is that the sun rose some number of hours ago when she was playing computer games with Wikipedia pages about the Peloponnesian Wars open on her internet browser, and loud metal thundering into her ears.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYaRQKF0mpk
>Now she has Wikipedia pages about the rise of Rome open.
>Definitely forgot to eat breakfast... and dinner several hours earlier.
>She'll just have another giant bowl of cereal again as usual.
>Damn, it feels good being suspended from school.
>Drama? What's that?
>The game she's playing now is Nemesis of the Roman Empire.
>She just found this game, and it's so fucking kino.
>Can't really destroy buildings in this game, but whatever.
>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJhzQanB9v4Iny1hgYPfdzRKp04ZVSliH
>CARTHAGO DELENDA EST. S P Q R
>Zest commands legions of Roman soldiers, in groups of 50 led by their hero on horseback.
>Lines of level 1000 Praetorians, Principles, Gladiators and Hastati mow down countless waves of Iberians, Gauls and last but not least, Carthaginians.
>Archers raining arrows onto them from afar, Scouts surrounding and enveloping the enemy on their flanks, Liberati camping out in the rocky hills looking out for invisible Mountaineers and Viking Lords capable of wiping out entire armies alone.
>Roman iron clashes with War Elephants... Lemon Zest leaps to the front lines and slays anything in her path, spilling all blood except Roman blood.
>Battles are had, victory after victory.
>The enemies fall, army by army.
>The western Mediterranean is conquered city by city.
>Romanes Eunt Domus. Nulla Misericordia.
>Lemon Zest realizes the true feat of her metabolism after staying up for so long.
>After she's won enough games to finally quench her thirst for conquest, Lemon Zest takes a trip down to the kitchen to finally satisfy her hunger for... well, food.
>Devours a massive bowl of cereal for lunch... along with a small slice of pizza because why not?
>Now finally tired, she retires to her bedroom for the day and falls asleep completely before her head hits the pillow.
>Hell yeah.
~
>Literally nothing interesting happened at school in Sour Sweet's absence.
>She's normally the life of the party, and by extent, the life of the drama.
>Without her, they day goes by pretty much normally.
>It turns into more than one day.
>Wednesday afternoon.
>Indigo was lazy this morning and decided to show up to school late, still not giving a damn about her attendance fiasco.
>If her homeroom teacher marks her absent, then so be it.
>"Hey." She sits down next to Sugarcoat.
>Sunny Flare stares at her for a couple of seconds.
>"What's up?" Indigo asks.
>All three girls are almost dumbed down by the fact that everything seems normal for a change.
>"Sour Sweet hasn't shown up to school for two days in a row now." Sunny Flare asks. "And she's not answering any of our texts."
>"No one else knows what happened, either." Sugarcoat adds.
>"I'm sorta guessing that she got suspended, but we would have heard about it by now, and she'd definitely tell us all about it too." Says Sunny.
>"She wouldn't have shut up about it either." Sugarcoat adds, again. "Almost thought you didn't show up today either until now, I guess. You know what happened?"
>Indigo hesitates, already knowing the correct answer.
>"Has she texted you at all?" Asks Sunny.
>"No." Lies Indigo. "I haven't heard from her either. Maybe she's just being moody again."
>Sugarcoat shrugs. "Eh, works for me." She aloofly goes back to sipping her soft drink. "She'll be fine."
>"No, I'm worried about her." Sunny says. "She at least responds once to let us know what's going on. Uh... and to boss us around some more... but mostly the former!"
>"Doesn't make me feel any different about the latter."
>Indigo silently and internally agrees with Sugarcoat.
>"Yeah, but this is different." Sunny explains. "She's not talking to ANY of us. At all."
>"So? Let her blow off some steam and she'll be back to annoying us before the week is over."
>"No! What if something bad happened? What if she died or got kidnapped?"
>"I'm pretty sure we would have heard about it by now if she died. It's been a day and a half."
>"Okay, fine, but what if she disappeared because she was kidnapped?! What if she's getting raped in some dark alley right now?"
>Sugarcoat uncomfortably winces at Sunny. "Will you relax? Please? We would have heard about her disappearing too. Stop being so quick to think something horrible happened just because she isn't talking to us."
>"What if it really happened, though?"
>"We would have heard about it if she actually died disappeared. Sunny, tell me, approximately how many Hollywood movies do you watch per year?"
>"Yeah, very funny. I'm still gonna stop be her house today and check if everything's okay."
>"Alright, you do that." Sugarcoat is so, so tired of being irritated by BS involving Sour Sweet all the time, even on the days when she isn't here. "And while you're at it, ask her how you can stop acting like such a sheltered moron all the time."
>"Damn, what got stuck up your ass today, Sugarcoat?"
>Indigo wants to side with Sugarcoat, but she can't find any words.
>She silently eats her lunch while watching the other two girls argue some more all the way until the end of the lunch period.
>...
>You sit in your office with nothing interesting to do.
>It's almost the end of the day.
>Knock knock.
"Come in."
>It's Sugarcoat.
>You automatically get butterflies in your stomach.
>"Hey, uh, sorry to bother you right now. And I know I could have texted you this, but I'm saving that for the... other thing... and would rather just do it this way."
>You gulp.
>"It's nothing big, just a quick question. Sour Sweet has been gone since yesterday, and none of the girls have heard from her in almost two whole days now. And this sort of thing has never happened before, whatever it was that did happen. You know if something happened?"
>Clear your throat.
"I haven't heard of anything, no. Well that's a little troubling to hear."
>"And it's actually not an act either. I checked. They genuinely have no idea what happened."
"Huh."
>"And Sunny Flare's going to go to her house today to see if she's okay."
"Ah. Well uh, if you could get back to me and keep me up to date on that, that would be great. For uh... obvious reasons."
>"Yeah. I understand." Sugarcoat nods. "Anyway, that's it. Talk to you later."
"See ya."
>And that was it.
>Part of you is extremely relieved and the other part is extremely worried.
>You wonder if this is how Sour Sweet feels all the time.
~
>An hour after the school day ends.
>As promised, Sunny Flare drives over to Sour Sweet's house.
>She exits her Porsche and walks up to the front door.
>The entire house seems dark, darker than usual.
>Like, it's obvious all of the lights are off, but it looks like the inside is dark as it is during the night even though it's the middle of the afternoon.
>Sunny rings the doorbell, noticing that there are no cars in the driveway; there must be nobody home but Sour Sweet herself.
>No answer.
>Rings the doorbell again and waits a full minute for anything to happen.
>No answer.
>Nothing at all.
>Still too concerned to accept that she might be away from home for something, Sunny Flare knocks on the door. "Hello?"
>Another thirty seconds pass.
>Nope, still nothing.
>Sunny knocks a little bit harder.
>To her surprise, the front door creaks open with the force of Sunny's knocks.
>Now that she knows that the door wasn't locked or even closed all the way, Sunny can infer that Sour Sweet couldn't possibly be away from her.
>Even the girl herself would think to lock her front door, knowing how in-depths her diabolical plans can get.
>Sunny Flare just stands there in silence for a couple of minutes.
>Hesitates once more before pushing the door open all the way.
>The low creaking sound makes her skin crawl.
>Even with all of the windows open and the sun being out with few clouds in the sky, the inside fo the house is remarkably dark for this time of day.
>Remarkably quiet as well.
>Sunny Flare can barely see the outline of the doorway leading to the living room, and finds even more difficulty in making out the stairs to the second floor.
>She almost takes a step inside, but feels an overwhelming wave of apprehension keeping her from planting the sole of her expensive shoe onto the bottom of the front door's frame.
>"Hello?" She calls into the eerily dark and quiet house with a much softer voice.
>Still no response of any kind.
>Sunny Flare almost decides to go inside.
>But her worry has shifted elsewhere.
>Now, she just doesn't want to go into that damn house under any circumstances right now, and feels like she's want to leave it as soon as possible if she were inside of it.
>Sunny Flare changes her mind and closes the front door all the way, heart beating faster than she expected.
>She gets back into her Porsche and turns the key, ready to drive away RIGHT NOW.
>Doesn't know why she feels this way, why she feels like she has eyes on her until she takes one last look at the house and glances at a second floor window.
>Her own eyes catch the most deranged smile she's ever seen on Sour Sweet's face.
>Only made eye contact with the other girl for half a second before flooring the gas pedal, but the image will haunt her brain tonight, she knows it.
>She knows it very well as her Porsche drifts around the street corner at hihg speeds as if Deja Vu was playing at full volume on her car radio.
~
>Wednesday night.
>Nothing interesting happens for you.
>You sit around watching TV for hours on end before getting tired and feeling like you oughta drift off to sleep.
>Then your phone vibrates with an incoming text message.
>It's Sugarcoat; the butterflies return.
>[So I should ask this first, you want to hang out on Friday afternoon?]
[That works. Where to?]
>Damn, you're glad you get to type this out so you have more time and opportunities to dedicate towards word choice.
>[I actually haven't decided on that and I can't think of anywhere. You have any ideas?]
>There's no way you can bring yourself to say anything along the lines of "maybe a restaurant?".
[Maybe a resturant?] You actually did it, with the usual misspelling and all.
>She's taking a while to respond.
>Now you understand those shitty internet memes about someone taking longer than ten minutes to respond to a text... it's been like fifteen minutes.
>[Sure. Which one?]
[Didn't think of that.] You have to type slower to avoid errors.
>How are you even going to do this? Leave the school together on Friday afternoon?
>Yeah, that won't look sketchy at all. Nope.
[How are we going to do this anyway?] You ask as she was typing out another message.
>Now she's taking even longer to respond.
>[I thought of something.]
[Go ahead.]
>[You know that baseball field behind the school? The one that's further than the soccer field.]
[I think so, yeah.]
>[The baseball team doesn't do anything until spring, so that place is empty. And there's no houses near it either, but there's a small street that goes up to it so people can drive to it.]
[You wanna meat there?]
>Spaghetti flies out of your pockets and gets all over the phone screen.
[MEET. I meant meet.] Your heart races.
>Neither of you send a single message fort he next 20 minutes, but you stare at the screen, wishing you could die now.
>[lol okay, I'll meet you there. 5 pm. We'll decide then.]
[Awesome] You're visibly sweaty.
>You almost have a sinking feeling that someone may be tapping into this conversation there, getting the wrong idea from your dumb ass typo/freudian slip.
>And that you'll instead have a "date" with someone asking you to have a seat on a nearby bench once you get there.
>But then you remember... oh, right. She's 18. Nevermind, we're good.
>Still can't let anyone at the school know since it's still against the school rules.
>[Great. Now about the other thing since we're supposed to only still talk casually on Facebook just in case, Sunny got back to me about Sour Sweet]
[What's the situation?] You're more than happy to change the subject.
>[She's "physically okay" is what she told me.]
>Oh, boy.
[oh boy]
>[Yeah, pretty much. She wouldn't tell me anything else until we are all together at lunch again tomorrow. Well, the three of us, that is. Since Sour Sweet clearly isn't coming back and Lemon Zest is still suspended and not involved anyway.]
[Makes sense.]
>[Anyway, I'll get back to you on that when I get the chance.]
[Alrighty] You can't wait for her to flesh out the details once you meat in person.
>You stuff a sock into your pants just in case you have a wet dream tonight.
>Anon, you dumb shit.
>Weren't you tough and level headed earlier on in this whole thing?
>...
>So nothing interesting is happening... still.
>You lie in bed.
>The main thing you're worried about is when you're going to go hang out with Sugarcoat because you need a close-by friend that badly, apparently.
>In truth, you don't even remember why this even started up.
>One moment, you this wasn't happening, and the next, it was. That's all you can remember.
>And you're very okay with it because... well, you really like Sugarcoat.
>She clearly likes you too, and probably a little more eve though you can't absolutely confirm that besides just knowing that it is.
>You initially didn't want things to go down this path, but now that this is happening, let's give this a tiny try and see where it goes.
>How hilariously catastrophic would it be if you got fired this early into your job?
>It would be almost entirely on you as well since all you'd have to do to avoid this situation is say no.
>You're trying to be rational about this, you really are.
>But this is such a great opportunity, to be honest.
>She's 18, you're in your 20's, you both clearly like eachother, she's practically saving your ass from all kinds of problems at your new job....
>And depending on whether or not it's midnight yet, you're going to see eachother either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
>Look over to the digital clock; it's 2:37 AM.
>Dang, you need to sleep already so you don't have a shitty Thursday.
~
>Things are so boring now.
>Nothing is happening today either.
>Which is extra strange, because you already knew in the back of your head that Indigo Zap has already come back to school after that dank suspension you gave her.
>She must have been here since yesterday; you haven't seen any sign of her.
>Only hear Sugarcoat pretty much imply that she was here the day before when she came in briefly to ask about Sour Sweet.
>Maybe it's because you barely got any sleep last night, that's why you're a little extra calm today. Because you're tired as all fuck.
>Knock knock.
"Come in." You feel like an answering machine you've said this so much.
>In comes a familiar face, but it's not one of the Shadowbolt Five.
"Oh, hello, Miss Polymare."
>"Hi. I have a couple of things I've been trying to sort out."
"Sure thing. Have a seat and we'll sort things out."
>She doesn't talk about anything that concerns you.
>Just a few things about an upcoming fashion showcase, which you think she talked about last time, but you didn't really care enough to remember.
>She seems pretty uptight about the whole thing, like she's just dealt with drama of her own revolving around it.
>Basically wants to make sure that she's going first in some lineup and that her designs will make it to the forefront of the showcase.
>Did she try for this before? You can't remember.
>What if she's in alliance with Sour Sweet?
>What if Sour Sweet disappeared to make you th-
>Nah, nah, that's too far-fetched to be true. Don't be dumb, she's probably just always uptight about fashion and stuff.
"Sure, I'll put you right up there at the forefront, don't you worry." You confidently conclude to her.
>"Thank you! Thank you so much. I appreciate this."
>Wow, she seems nice, now.
>Suri Polymare exits, and you're back to doing nothing.
>Do you have time to nap?
>Doesn't matter, you're already dozing off whether you like it or not.
>...
>"Mr. Mous?"
"I- who? What?"
>You slept through the knocking this time.
>"It's me."
>You rub your eyes.
>There before you, on the other side of your desk, stands Indigo Zap.
"O-oh."
>"It's okay, I'm not here for any bad reasons." She assures you right away. "I just want to let you know something."
>You've been completely caught off guard and under the impression that everything's alright.
"Uh, what is it?"
>"Alright, well... first off... I want to apologize for by behavior that got me suspended. That was extremely inappropriate of me, and I'm sorry about that."
"...Apology accepted."
>She takes a deep breath. "Second, I have some news."
"Okay, go for it."
>"So, you are aware of the fact that this is the third day in a row that Sour Sweet hasn't come to school, right?"
>You rub your eyes again and make your chair creak as you lean back in it.
"Oh, we're on day three, now?"
>"Yeah. So you do know, then."
"Yup."
>"Alright, because I know why. She told me things, and I'm tired of her telling me what to do and tired of doing her dirty work."
"She told you things?"
>"It was only because I was already suspended and kicked off the soccer team, so I had nothing left to lose if I did something else for her except getting expelled. But again, I'm not going to do the thing for her."
"What was the thing?"
>"Don't know why, but she thought I was about to get expelled anyway, so she asked me if I could do that same thing I did again, but not stop after you said I'm expelled."
>You're not tired anymore.
"What?!"
>"She didn't absolutely say for me to do it, but she tried to put the idea in my head as if I was actually willing to do that for her. I can't prove anything else, but I think she wanted me to sacrifice myself and get expelled so she had something to threaten you with. So she could tell you to either do whatever she wants or she'll make up a whole story about you doing things to me in your office, and you suspended me one time and expelled me the next when I wouldn't do what you wanted."
>You lean back in you chair, having to use all the restraint in your body to keep yourself from mouthing the words "Checkmate, you psycho bitch".
>But you want to make sure that you're not getting into anything that can be turned around on you in the blink of an eye.
"Well... you're making some really bold claims here." You lock your fingers together. "What I need you to do is tell me how much of this you're absolutely sure of beyond reasonable doubt. Just go over it again, but only the parts that you know for a fact happened."
>"What about the other parts?"
"I'm gonna level with you, here. I can't go and suspend, or at this point... send to Cadance for expulsion, Sour Sweet based on unfounded claims." You're going for all of the loose ends in this situation. "You see, I myself could get in a great deal of trouble if I punish her and it turns out that some of the things I punished her for didn't actually happen."
>"So you don't believe me."
"It's not that I don't believe you, I just want to make sure that this is legitimate. Because it has to be legitimate in order for me to take a serious action against it, whether I like it or not."
>"Oh, okay."
"So just tell me all the parts that you know for a fact are true."
>"Okay, so here's what happened. I went over to her house a couple of days ago. She told me that I was the one you'd expect the least from since I was already suspended by you for a week and you hadn't seen me at all during that time."
"And how much of the specific thing she said is legitimate?" You want to have Sour Sweet expelled so badly.
>That would make this job so much easier.
>"She said mostly jokingly that I hypothetically could try and seduce you again but I would get expelled."
"And what about the part about her using that... kind of thing... to threaten me by twisting it around?"
>"That's definitely where she was going with that. She didn't say that, but I know that's where she was going with it."
>This is confusing you.
>A lot.
>Is this girl with you or against you?
"You're going to have to be more specific than that." You say. "How do you know that's where she was going if she didn't say it?"
>"Because she didn't say it directly, but she said that she can skip school a few days and I'd be back. And that you'd be more at ease because you'd be on the lookout for her and not care about me so much. But she didn't directly say for me to do anything, but I can tell where she was going with it, and I know her well enough to know this."
>This is still too wishy washy, definitely wouldn't hold up if you tried to have Sour Sweet expelled and she fought back, which you're almost entirely sure she would.
>"And then she said the thing about how I got suspended last time, but wasn't serious about it." Continues Indigo. "But I'm sure she wants to use it so she can make up a story that you'd be nervous about addressing."
>Well, if she were totally against you, then she wouldn't be revealing anything at all except something else.
>But if she were totally with you, she would be more specific than this in trying to help you... unless she really doesn't have much to go on like she said.
>You assume that she's probably just sick and tired of Sour Sweet, which doesn't sound too unrealistic at all, if you're honest with yourself.
"Alright, well there really isn't much I can do with this except call her in and say that I've heard things." You respond. "I'm sorry, but there's just not enough definite stuff here to go on, unless there's anything else you'd like to add while you're here."
>"That's pretty much it. I'm sorry I don't have enough to say, but she's confident that she's going to do something. I pretended that I'm all the way on her side so she had no idea."
"So you... just came in to let me know?"
>"Yes. For whenever she does come back."
"Well, for her sake, I feel like you should let her know that it's not going to fly here and that she should stop immediately. And if not that, I'll tell her myself the day she comes back." You plan to just have Sugarcoat tell you whenever she's back.
>Damn, you feel like you have eyes everywhere now.
>She leaves, and you almost go back to being tired, but are kept from it by what you're wondering about.
>Is she lying?
>...
>Indigo knows she had to do it to 'em.
>She had to lie.
>She had to leave out the part about the fight, the part about her not being friends with Sour Sweet anymore.
>She absolutely had to leave out the part about sour Sweet's plan being clear to her.
>When a crazy girl like Sour Sweet has absolutely nothing left to lose, bad things happen. And losing her best friends is already dangerously close to that.
>But Indigo still had to stop her somehow, while keeping some thing for her to lose still on her plate so her sanity (whatever's left of it) doesn't fall through completely.
>There's no way Sour Sweet won't have a steep uphill battle to fight if she decides to keep trying whenever she comes back.
>Indigo walks away from the office, mumbling to herself: "That'll keep him on his toes."
>...
>You got a text from Sugarcoat literally minutes after Indigo Zap left your office.
>Fuuuuuck, that was a close one. It's not like they wouldn't question you for using your phone at work in the school and meanwhile, they aren't allowed to use their phones in school.
>Sugarcoat basically doesn't know much more about Sour Sweet other than she's been acting weird.
>Nothing new here... you go about your business.
~
>And now it's Friday morning.
>Nothing else happened on Thursday.
>No one came to your office, no new drama, nothing new from Sugarcoat, Cadance seems to have dropped off the face of the earth as well as Sour Sweet.
>Except, you do actually see that Cadance still exists whenever you see her in her office every time you walk by.
>Thursday night was quiet.
>You don't remember what you dreamt, but at least you slept well now.
>And then you woke up, and here you are.
>Eagerly waiting for anything new from Sugarcoat since this is the day when you're supposed to meet up with her at that baseball field behind the school and do... whatever the hell it is you're going to do once that happens.
>You honestly just don't know what's going on with your life anymore.
>What even was your occupation before this job?
>Too taken aback by all of the other events that took place, you can't remember.
>The usual run of the mill set of events happens here, despite how rarely you've paid attention to it.
>A couple of students come in with minor issues they want resolved.
>No one got any detentions or disciplinary actions against them.
>You're starting to feel calmer about everything, not even expecting any of the Shadow Five to come to your office.
>Maybe Sour Sweet won't come back until like next week.
>You have no idea what's going on with her, and you're not getting much out of her friends regarding whatever her situation is.
>And now it's Friday afternoon.
>You're going to sit here and wait until 5 pm, then you'll go the the field.
>Probably just drive over or something, you don't really care. There's a chance that Sugarcoat took the bus to school today so she won't have to worry about her car or anything like that.
>Since she knows you already drive to school no matter what.
>Just wait here and then go pick her up at 5.
>Sounds easy enough, right?
>There's nothing that can mess this up, your luck is going to be good today.
>The students are going to leave, and you're going to have some peace and quiet during your preparation for your non-date with Sugarcoat.
>You wonder where she's planning on going to with you.
>That'll be dwelled upon more later, right now, the students are leaving.
>You sit and you sit and you sit.
>Just patiently biding your time, not expecting anyone to come by.
>Take a quick glance over to the calendar on your wall that you hardly ever notice.
>It's the 13th of October. Friday the 13th.
>Ever so slightly rustled, you shuffle around in your seat and tell yourself that superstitions are stupid.
>Nothing is going to make this more complicated than it needs t-
>Knock knock.
>...This is fine.
"Come in." You mask the irritation in your voice.
>In walks Principal Cadance.
>SHE LIVES.
>"Heya, Mr. Mous."
"Heya."
>"Glad you're still here, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Go ahead. What is it?"
>Nothing's gonna go wrong nothing's gonna go wrong nothing's gonna go wrong.
>"My friends, my fiancé and I are having a barbecue this evening, and I was wondering if you could tag along."
>This either can't be good or can't be bad, depending on what time it's occurring.
"Huh, that sounds interesting. What time?"
>"Hmmm, we didn't set up a specific time, but we're going to start grilling some patties and franks at me and my fiancé's house once I leave for there in about 45 minutes."
>It's about 4:30.
>Let's see... how to talk your way out of this.
"That sounds pretty fun. Unfortunately I'm a tad bit behind on some of my paperwork today and I might be staying until around 6 to get it all done before the weekend."
>Cadance nods in agreement. "Ah, I get ya. Smart move, Mr. Mous. It's a little unfortunate you can't join us, though. I've been looking to introduce you to everyone."
"Aww, I'd love to meet them. Maybe next time."
>"Abslutely. We're going to be having a Halloween party in a little bit too, and with even more people. You can join us then, if you want."
"Ohohoh, that sounds fun." You actually find yourself interested in this. "I'll be sure to make for that."
>"Great! I can't wait for everyone to meet you, I love introducing new colleagues to them."
"I'm looking forward to it too."
>"Alright, well if you manage to get everything done before I leave, let me know."
"Alright. I'll shoot you a call or something."
>"Sounds good. Alright, good luck."
"Thanks. And congrats about your fiancé."
>"Aww, thank you! You'll love meeting him!"
"Looking forward to it."
>After a few more back-and-forths like this, she finally leaves.
>You keep forgetting how annoying social interactions can be.
>Damn, that whole thing felt so contrived.
>Anyway, back on topic.
>You have about... 25 minutes now before you start driving over to that baseball field.
>BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE.
>Now you have to find a way to sneak past Cadance.
>You facepalm.
>Why didn't you come up with an excuse that actually FAVORS your situation?
>Look at your calendar again.
>Fuckin' Friday the 13th.
>It's the day's fault! Couldn't POSSIBLY be yours.
~
4:44 PM.
>Indigo Zap just made it back home, sweating, breathing heavily after another jog and checking the digits on the oven clock in her kitchen.
>Spent some time hanging out at Lemon Zest's house again.
>Of course, the other girl had her headphones on like always, and couldn't hear the doorbell... once again.
>It's a good thing that sliding glass door is always unlocked.
>Indigo was sure to check the expiration date of the orange juice before chugging the last of it this time.
>This one was new and somehow already almost empty. Zest must have been drinking out of it a lot in between playing Age of Empires 2 or something.
>Indigo's thoughts about the orange juice are interrupted when she finds that her own sliding glass door is open... once again.
>She remembers what happened last time, who was here, who she found upstairs and already in her room.
>Her heart sinks as she turns on the kitchen sink to drown out her own footsteps across the hardwood floor.
>Proceeds to check the entire first floor for you know who.
>No one in the laundry room, living room, kitchen (obviously), downstairs bathroom, closets, dining room, or the garage...
>First floor cleared.
>But Indigo doesn't feel any better in the slightest.
>She remembers that it was the second floor where someone was last time.
>Glances upstairs before turning the kitchen sink off.
>Goes upstairs after closing and locking all entrances/exits to the house.
>Everything is completely silent.
>Bedrooms, clear... bathrooms, clear... closets, clear... loft, clear.
>Now Indigo feels completely better.
>She probably just left the door open this morning by accident and ended up spooking herself hours later.
>Doesn't even go back downstairs, just goes into her room and locks the door.
>...
4:50 PM.
>You're getting ready to pack up your shit and sneak out the back of the school.
>Listen with your ear against the door.
>It's very faint, but you can hear Principal Cadance talking on the phone.
>"Alright... alright, yeah.... hahahah, yeah, that is true. I know! I don't know why, but I've never liked that brand of hot dogs."
>Now's your chance!
>Pack the small amount of stuff you have and head out the door, but not before flicking off your calendar.
>"Well see if you can return it to the store in exchange for the other brand." Cadance says with her phone against her shoulder as you silently lock your office door.
>Start creeping down the front corridor; there's a side door that you can exit from, actually. Just remembered.
>"Alright, well I'll start heading over now, then. Take care! Alright, bye-bye."
>Shit, she's leaving NOW?!
>You're around the corner before she has a chance to see you.
>Make sure to open and close the side door as quietly as you can.
>Think of an excuse that you simply forgot about the whole thing as you left and that you'll catch her next time, just in case she checks your office to see if you're still there and want to come with.
>It's not even 5 yet! Why is she leaving now?!
>You could have just stayed in your office doing "work".
>Fuckin' Friday the 13th...
>Wait on the side of the school facing away from the faculty lot until you know that Cadance drove away.
>It's 5:07 now, you're late.
>Whatever, rush over to your car in the faculty lot and- fuck! Your car is also in the faculty lot!
>She could have seen you gone from your office but still have your car in the faculty lot!
>Aaaaaand it's suddenly 5:09.
>Fuckin' Friday the 13th...
>Get in and drive over to the baseball field; takes less than a minute.
>There she is, Sugarcoat sitting on the bottom bleacher, waiting for your unlucky ass.
>She approaches your car.
"Sorry I'm late." You roll down your window as the butterflies start up again. "I kind of had to sneak my way out. I'll explain later."
>She gets in.
"So where you wanna go?"
>"I recommend a restaurant on the far side of town. Preferably further away from the city area."
>Knowing your luck, the place is going to be right behind Cadance's backyard where they'll be grilling the RIGHT BRAND of hot dogs.
"And specific suggestions?"
>"Sugarcube Corner." Sugarcoat answers.
>...Of course.
>It's a cute little coincidence/pun.
"That works."
>And with that, you drive off, with Sugarcoat giving you directions on where to go to get to the place.
>On the way there, you tell her about how you were forced to ninja your way out of the school.
>Sugarcoat assures you that he head that Cadance lives close to the school, so she's nowhere near this Sugarcube Corner place.
>And just like that, you eventually make your way over to there.
>And also just like that, you don't find much else notable happening at first.
>You go in, order some food and drinks and stuff, and casually talk about regular stuff for about 30 to 45 minutes.
>It wasn't as good as part of you thought it would be, but it also wasn't as bad as the other part of you thought it would be.
>At first.
>…
>It turns out that you and Sugarcoat have a lot of common ground on things.
>You feel nervous at first, but you ease into it after seeing how much she needs to roll with how nervous she is.
>It's sort of an empathy thing that helps you relax, and she starts relaxing as well after seeing that you're getting more comfortable around her.
>And she's more comfortable around you.
>"I just can't believe how underrated hyper-realistic art is." Sugarcoat says to you. "And meanwhile, hyper-interpretive modern art gets the majority of the sales around here."
"I blame the university."
>"Heh, same."
"I mean, it's not even necessarily about how hard someone worked on the art, it's about the effect it has. And I'm not talking about that forced effect people "have" just because they don't want to hurt the artist's feelings or not look like a nice person."
>"I know! You're exactly right. It's like today's society lacks a healthy amount of constructive criticism that people need to motivate themselves to get better at things."
"It's really sad. Because that means that the people getting all the rewards doing doing a poor job on their art could have been better too. But they were coddled by their managers and fans to the point where they felt they didn't need to improve at all. And then they don't get any better."
>"It's practically Tumblr but in real life."
"Ha! Don't even get me started on that site!"
>"Don't get me started on it either. There are so many bubbles on there I'm aching to burst that I wouldn't even know /where/ to start."
"I feel your pain."
>Sugarcoat briefly looks around then continues. "I have a cousin who has one. Her name's Trixie." She says a little more quietly.
"Oh?"
>"She goes to another high school that's actually around here, so that's why I'm keeping this on the down low."
"Ah, I get it."
>"She legitimately believe she is the next Houdini just because she knows a few card tricks and other simple magician skills that are easy to learn."
"Wow."
>"I keep explaining to her that she can't pull off Houdini-tier stunts, how it won't work, how she didn't even set everything up correctly, but she doesn't listen and goes on to hurt herself."
"That's... sad."
>"It certainly is. The worst part is that she plays it off like she meant to have that happen and then /keeps trying/."
"Oh, wow."
>You're really enjoying having these conversations with Sugarcoat.
>And not even once does she mention any of the other Shadowbolt Five. Not even Lemon Zest, who had literally no involvement in the drama to begin with.
>You end up sticking around and talking for longer than you thought you would be.
>It's starting to get dark outside.
>But you feel so much brighter on the inside.
>After you get the check and leave, you start to feel awkward again.
>You're not sure why this is until you look down and realize that you and Sugarcoat are holding hands.
>Say nothing... all the way over to your car.
>Once you look at her from the diver's seat, you see her sitting there in the passenger's seat, face as red as a rose. She must have just realized it as well.
>These butterflies won't let up now.
>But it feels better, because you know full well that Sugarcoat has them too.
>You're almost basking in the feeling, hardly able to drive straight.
>"Okay, yeah. You should probably focus more so you don't crash or get pulled over for seeming like a drunk." Sugarcoat tells you right away.
"R-right." You snap out of your trance. "So where to?"
>"My house, I guess."
>You start swerving again.
>"Road!"
"Right, right..."
>You pause for the longest minute of your life.
"Where's your house?"
>"Alright, lemme just see what street we're on."
>...
>And up the steep hill you drive.
>The road goes up what looks like a mountain coated in pine trees or some shit.
>Sugarcoat's been leading you through all kinds of streets in town and then around the county area.
>You're seeing less houses and buildings in general; it's really dark out here now.
"So we're getting close, right?"
>"Y-yeah..." She seems really, really nervous about leading you to her house.
>You can empathize with this, and it's making you just as nervous as she is.
>Everything's shaking, your hands, arms, legs, feet... but you love it.
>Such a beautiful feeling to go with such a beautiful moment.
>You and Sugarcoat in your car together, so comfy when you're driving through the dark woods on top of a large hill over to her house.
>Driving through the dark woods on top of a large hill over to her house.
>Dark woods on top of a large hill.
>You look at Sugarcoat like Gru looking at his whiteboard thingy.
"Wait... you live /here?/"
>Sugarcoat remains tight-lipped.
"...Sugarcoat?"
>"T-turn here..."
>She points to a pair of narrow, parallel dirt paths for the tires to go on.
"...Uh..."
>"It's there."
"Kay..."
>You find the thick tree trunks merely feet away from the car within the next minute after you make the turn.
>There are literally no houses here.
>No buildings at all.
>What the fuck.
>Were you being bamboozled the whole time?!
>WAS EVERYTHING A LIE?!
>"Stop here."
"Wh-why?"
>"Stop, stop, stop!" She suddenly lets out an urgent yell.
>You slam on the breaks, and finally notice a row of short, diagonal red and white striped in the light of the headlights in front of you.
>Beyond that... a bird's eye view of the entire town.
>...From the top of a cliff.
"Oh..."
>You can audibly hear Sugarcoat's heart pumping in her chest when it dawns on you that you almost sent careening off of the edge of this thing.
>Wow! A perfect way to end this night!
>You start feeling terrible when you hear how hard Sugarcoat starts breathing.
"I'm so sorry!"
>"It's okay... it's okay." You turn off the car's headlights, watching the stripes fade into near-blackness.
"So... is... your house here?"
>Sugarcoat asks if your kidding her with her eyes alone. "Yeah..." She sarcastically replies. "I live in the trees."
"Okay, yeah, that was probably a dumb question. Why are we here, though?" You're still quite skeptical and nervous, but also stupid, apparently.
>That's why she was talking in that weird way; she was lying!
>"Because..." Sugarcoat finally catches her breath. "I know what we've both been thinking. It's pretty obvious. And I just wanted to bring you here where there's no one else. So we can... sort of have this..."
"Have this talk?"
>"No. Have this... moment..."
>You freeze and gulp.
>"Look. Anything else you want to do with me. Anything at all, no matter what it is. This is the time and the place." Sugarcoat unbuckles herself.
>It's not long before you're holding hands again. And not long after that... she's in the drivers seat with you with her arm around you.
>The sudden feeling of her body sitting right up against you makes you gulp harder.
>Your arm around her back can feel her heart still beating fast.
>You really scared her back there... you should comfort her.
"Sugarcoat... w-we... we shouldn't..."
>"We shouldn't be doing this, yes." She holds you tighter.
"Uh... but we are."
>"Yeah."
>You hold eachother for the longest time.
"Oh, come on. I'm trying to think rationally, here. What do we do if someone finds out?" You try to pull yourself out fo the even stronger now trance.
>"We're both trying to think rationally, here." She says.
>Well that doesn’t help, it only strengthens the connection you feel.
>Lean closer, not able to get yourself to pull away through the sheer force of attraction alone.
"I-I tried to stay rational about this and not do this." You stutter, repeating your point. "B-because of what could happen."
>"It's okay. I tried too."
>Next thing you know, your lips meet hers, and every emotion you were feeling except love completely disappears until further notice.
>The two of you hold eachother tightly.
>In eachother's arms, far away from anyone who could see you.
>You only notice for split second that it's 8:00 PM on the dot before shutting your eyes as Sugarcoat kisses you more deeply, prompting you to do the same.
>Almost feel like your fate has just been sealed, but now's not the time for that, those feelings come later when this girl isn't comfortably in your arms.
>The kiss breaks just long enough for her to say something else in that voice you love ten times more than before the kiss.
>"We both tried our best to stay rational. We really did. But it's okay. This is our secret." She leans in for another kiss.
>You keep your eyes shut, accepting everything that's happening now.
>You can trust her.
>Must have made out with her for almost an hour; it's almost 9 by the time you make it to her actual house.
>...
>Friday night.
>October 13th.
7:37 PM.
>Indigo Zap lies on her back atop her bed.
>Everyone else is out for the night; she's alone.
>The girl lazes around watching TV, and basically being completely unproductive until she's tired enough to go to b-
>There's faint clanging noises downstairs.
>The hairs on the back of Indigo's neck stand up as she makes a dreadful, painfully sobering realization.
>She never checked the basement.
>Before the next minute is up, Indigo had already rushed downstairs to the first floor.
>She knows for a fact that the basement door was closed when she was last down here; it's wide open.
>Indigo's skin crawls, and she rushes over to one of the drawers in the kitchen to fetch the large knife she hoped she'd never have to use against an intruder.
>The knife is gone.
>Indigo's pupils contract, and her whole body shudders in sheer horror at her current situation.
>Slowly turns around, expecting a familiar wickedly grinning face everywhere her eyes fall upon.
>Her shaking hand grabs a much smaller knife from the same kitchen drawer; the biggest one available.
>All of the electricity in the house cuts off right as Indigo picks it up.
>The dark house is silent.
>Nothing but pitch blackness.
>Indigo takes a step forward, then a step back.
>Tries the light switch; nothing.
>It’s going to be at least a full minute before her house’s backup generators switch on.
>A minute is far too long.
>Sour Sweet could be just a couple steps away for all Indigo knows as she stares into the pitch blackness.
>But the only place where Sour Sweet could have cut the power is on the outside of the house. At least the only place that Indigo knows about.
>Which would somewhat reassure Indigo if she hadn’t already gotten evidence that Sour Sweet had gotten inside.
>There must have been some exposed wires or something somewhere in the-
>One of the basement steps creaks too loudly for there not to be anything putting weight on it.
>It’s clear that Sour Sweet knew Indigo made it to the kitchen and must have heard that; there are now stomping footsteps approaching Indigo.
>Indigo freezes and raises her knife.
>She hopes to rely on her raw strength to hold her own.
>Her blade might be smaller, but her guns are still larger.
>Jumps back and hits her hip on the kitchen counter as she hears the other metal blade being swung around through the air.
>Only one yelp slips out before Indigo holds her breath to stay silent and hidden in the darkness until the lights flip back on.
>Sour Sweet expected there to be more noise, but she assumes that Indigo’s going to be a difficult feat.
>More sounds of blades swinging through the air sound. Both girls know who the other one in front of them is.
>Each of them sobering up to the situation and barely able to think beyond their bare natural instincts.
>Indigo hobbles over briefly from the pain the kitchen counter gave her.
>Sour Sweet follows her footsteps, but runs straight into what must be a chair.
>”Ah!”
>Indigo now recognizes Sour Sweet’s voice, but she already knew what this was.
>Sour Sweet growls like a wounded cougar and tips the chair over with a crash.
>”I know what you’re thinking.” Indigo fails to keep in her words. “Let’s jus-”
>Sour Sweet cries out and lurches forward in the dark, swinging pretty much everywhere she can.
>It’s getting easier for Indigo to tell where Sour Sweet is from the increasingly loud breathing she hears.
>”S-sour…”
>”We’re supposed to be friends!” Sour Sweet sneers angrily between breaths. “You… you can’t just leave me! I’m not gonna live without you.”
>She’s already getting tired… doesn’t even jump forward as fast this time.
>Indigo dodges.
>Sour Sweet’s footsteps start up again.
>Indigo raises her knife, knowing she probably needs to strike.
>Her hand hits up against one of the kitchen cabinets and drops the knife.
>”Ah! Damn it!” Indigo groans and holds her hand before trying to figure out where she heard the knife she was just holding land.
>”All you had to do was walk away! But not walk away like that!” Sour Sweet continues in a choked up voice. “We could have been so powerful together!”
>”You’re fucking crazy!” Indigo shouts back.
>”Yes! Fine, maybe I am! I don’t care anymore! I’m not letting you get away.”
>She’s already stopped making sense.
>Her labored breathing gets closer along with the footsteps.
>Indigo backs out of the way and runs right into a wall. “Fuck!”
>Sour Sweet follows the sound.
>”You could have just let it go!” Indigo races for words in her own mind. “A long fucking time ago! I didn’t leave for no reason!”
>”You didn’t have to be so affected by everything!”
>”You were texting me non-stop at three in the morning! You threatened me and manipulated my emotions! Why would I want to stay friends with someone like that?!”
>”Because you already know me, Indy!” Sour Sweet’s voice indicates that there are already tears on her face once again.
>”Don’t. Call. Me. INDY!” Indigo almost involuntarily lurches forward herself and pushed back what she knows is her former friend.
>There are loud crashing noises, followed by Sour Sweet’s voice aggressively whimpering.
>”Do NOT call me that! I’m not Indy anymore. I told you it’s over, Sour Sweet.”
>”I will call you whatever I fucking want.” Sour Sweet glares into the darkness the best she can and feels around for the kitchen knife she dropped. “And you ARE Indy! Because we’re friends!”
>”I’m not friends with a fucking psycho bitch!” Indigo growls as Sour Sweet finds the handle of the knife.
>”Yes… you… are!” Sour Sweet scrambles to her feet and charges at the sound of Indigo’s voice. “You are my friend until the day you die!”
>Indigo ducks out of the way and hits her head on another one of the kitchen chairs.
>”You were half right.” Sour Sweet continues. “It’s all about to be over. Our friendship.”
>Indigo’s stubborn side won’t back down. “We are not friends anymore. I told you.”
>”You’re my friend as long as you’re alive.” Sour Sweet starts forward again but bumps up against the kitchen table.
>There are too many things in her for her to just make a straightforward charge at her current best friend.
>Indigo listens to her former best friend huff in a desperate tone as she tries to find her way around the kitchen table.
>”We could have ruled Crystal Prep together.” Says Sour Sweet. “Like a couple of fucking QUEENS!”
>”You can’t be a queen when you’re no princess.”
>And just in an instant, the lights switch back on.
>The knife Indigo dropped is clear on the other side of the kitchen, hopelessly far out of reach.
>There are overturned chairs and a few pots and pans lying on the floor.
>Sour Sweet just made it to Indigo’s side of the kitchen table before the other girl could make it to her feet.
>Their eyes meet.
>Lines of mascara run down Sour Sweet’s face; she must have been crying for most of the time she was camping out in Indigo’s basement.
>Meanwhile, Indigo’s face has not a single tear on it, but instead terror as she realizes that she’s in the worst imaginable position.
>She’s frozen on the floor as Sour Sweet steps right up to her with shaking legs.
>Brain not processing anything that says to run or at least crawl away.
>”I-Indy…” Sour Sweet’s eyes water up for probably the millionth time tonight.
>Indigo just sits and watches on the floor as Sour Sweet’s grip on her knife loosens.
>The almost silent sound of Sour Sweet breaking down in tears comes before the clanging of the knife against the kitchen floor.
>Sour Sweet covers her face and drops to her knees, soon spilling out apology after apology.
>Indigo slowly rises to her feet.
>”Please! Please stay in my life!” Sour Sweet blubbers on the floor. “I’m so sorry! You’re right! I am a psycho! I am a dangerous person! I can’t control it! I’m sorry!”
>She looks up at the athlete girl with gleaming eyes, lips quivering, arms shivering.
>She stays on her knees and buries her face into the side of Indigo’s leg, just happy to embrace her best friend once more.
>”I’m so sorry!” Sour Sweet repeats over and over. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I… I’m so sorry!”
>Indigo knows she must not make and more unwise decisions, but now she can’t decide what the real wise decision is.
>Sour Sweet is far too dangerous of a person to keep by her side.
>No matter how nice she is to her, there’s always that chance she’s going to snap and try this shit again. Sour Sweet is way too unstable of a person.
>She needs to be isolated in some form of containment, but Indigo doesn’t want to call the cops on her.
>Not while she’s here hugging her legs. And Indigo can’t think of a way she has a valid reason to call the cops once Sour Sweet leaves this place after neutralizing the threat herself by surrendering on her own.
>”Go home.” Indigo mutters.
>”Please don’t kick me out. I won’t call you Indy if you don’t want.”
>”Go home, Sour Sweet.” Indigo is sure to kick the knife away from the other girl’s reach. “I need to clean this place up.”
>Sour Sweet returns to standing.
>Indigo lets the other girl hug her. Sour Sweet cries on her shoulder.
>”I-if… that’s what… you want. Then… I don’t blame you.”
>”Go home, then.” Indigo still wants nothing more than to sever the ties, despite tears of her own filling her eyes.
>Sour Sweet starts to cry louder, having done a complete 180 from her aggressiveness from several minutes ago.
>”Please say you’ll give me another chance one day, at least.” Sour Sweet begins to bargain, going through a sort of delayed run-through of the five stages of grief from Tuesday morning. “Let’s put this behind us one day! I don’t want to keep fighting. You don’t have to forgive me right now.”
>Indigo embraces Sour Sweet back, but only to start pushing her in the direction of the front door. “I don’t have to forgive you /ever/.”
>The words hurt to say as they are to hear, but Indigo feels herself starting to cave in to Sour’s sweetness. And she knows exactly where that’s going to lead soon enough.
>The same old cycle.
>”W-wait… please, no! I can change! I promise!”
>”No. You’re too dangerous for me to trust. You need to see a psychiatrist or something. A skilled one.” Indigo knows she can’t let Sour Sweet see her cry, it’ll only encourage her.
>She keeps her chin on Sour Sweet’s shoulder as a tear drops down her cheek. She pushes Sour Sweet with all the strength she has left, but it’s decreasing with sympathy.
>Sour Sweet is forced all the way over to the living room where the front door is, weakly resisting being kicked out.
>The soles of her shoes drag across the carpet as a much stronger Indigo Zap pushes her.
>”Please say you’ll give me a chance, though! I won’t bother you with texts or anything!” Pleads Sour Sweet.
>Indigo says nothing in response to this.
>Doesn’t need to say anything for Sour Sweet to pick up that Indigo doesn’t trust anything she says.
>”Please let me stay…” Sour Sweet says in a softer tone with her face going stoic.
>”You need to go home.” Indigo keeps her voice from breaking.
>”Please…”
>”N-no…”
>Before Indigo can reach the lock on the front door, Sour Sweet manages to desperately pull away from the embrace a little.
>It’s just enough to get the two girls’ faces facing one another, and Sour Sweet sees what she half-expected.Tears leaking out of Indigo’s eyes.
>She’s already at the end of her rope, and leans in to Indigo’s face until their lips meet.
>Indigo’s tear filled eyes shoot all the way open and her whole body tenses.
>She tries to sift through her brain for a reaction, a response, anything to this. But all she can do is stand there and Sour Sweet gives her a sustained peck on the lips.
>She then releases. “Indy…”
>Indigo tries to speak, but no words come out, it’s like her voice box won’t work.
>Can’t move her lips when Sour Sweet’s mouth holds them still again.
>This is the point when Indigo’s brain starts to fall away from whatever it was just thinking about; thought about Sour Sweet replace everything.
>She’s even less able to protest to this after the second kiss.
>Just stands there with Sour Sweet’s hands humbly rubbing her shoulders.
>”We could have been girlfriends, Indy.” Sour Sweet pulls Indigo into another hug. “We could have ruled the school together as girlfriends. I know you must have thought about that at least once.”
>Indigo knows exactly what Sour Sweet is doing.
>But her libido is keeping her from doing the rational thing about it.
>Simply lets Sour Sweet give her another kiss on the lips, internally hoping for it, remembering the times long ago when she daydreamed about it.
>And Sour Sweet has a feeling that things like this are going through Indigo’s head.
>She will do anything to sway her friend back, including targeting an old feeling Indigo had felt for her. Giving her appreciation for her friend a tactful makeover.
>”S-sour…” Indigo says the only word she can think of; her friend’s name.
>”Sweetie.” Sour Sweet says back before another venomous kiss. “You can call me Sweetie if you want. If you let me call you Indy.” She locks lips with the other girl before she has a chance to say anything back.
>Indigo’s strength has been drained. She starts to hug Sour Sweet back without realizing it at first, but doesn’t want to stop when it dawns on her.
>”Come on, now.” Sour Sweet continues, not talking in a confident tone, but rather still a desperate one. “I didn’t forget, you know. We both know. We both know you wanted this one time. And you still kinda did, right?”
>”S…sou..”
>”Sweetie, Indy. If that’s fine with you.”
>”S-sweetie.” Indigo does NOT want to kick Sour Sweet out to the street anymore.
>Sour Sweet’s eyes light up with surprised delight, but does not take this for granted.
>”Indy, I’m so sorry. About everything, and this too. I can’t help myself. Please understand.”
>Indigo’s once dormant thoughts resurface after the longest time.
>All that tension with Sour Sweet sort of covered over it, but only because it partially built upon it.
>Only now does she realize that a fraction of it might have been sexual tension.
>Sour Sweet still assumes that Indigo has and deserves her free will. “Please don’t kick me out. I’ll do anything. I’m so sorry.”
>They embrace some more after what already felt like twenty minutes, not that Indigo’s complaining about that feeling. She’d like it more if it felt like an hour or two.
>”Remember that time in the locker room we sometimes talk about? When I was bragging about my boobs being bigger than everyone else’s? And you crept up behind me and…” Sour Sweet trails off to let Indigo paint the rest of the picture through her memory, which she definitely does.
>Indigo imaginatively relives that moment when she was practically the only person who knew that Sour Sweet has inverted nipples, having paid more attention than anyone else in the showers.
>She recalls how she was mad at Sour Sweet bragging about having the best chest, even though she herself was a hypocrite by always bragging about being the strongest girl in school.
>Remembers how she went up behind Sour Sweet when she was in nothing from the waist up but a bra when she was showing off, grabbing the cups and lifting them up in front of the other girls in the locker room.
>It seems so much hotter the way she’s remembering it, because she knows there was a part of her that did that because… well… it’s the same thing that makes Indigo red in the face when she feels Sour Sweet’s chest pressing against hers in this current hug.
>”Your arms and hands were so strong, Indy. I couldn’t stop you no matter how hard I tried.” Sour Sweet pours the images into Indigo’s head. “I thought it was kinda hot, though. I never told you that part.” She’s probably lying. “I know you thought it was hot, though.”
>”Wh- what are you getting at?” Indigo already knows exactly what she’s getting at.
>Sour Sweet says it anyway. “Indy, it doesn’t have to be over. I know you know I’m desperate, but I don’t care anymore. Will you let us be friends if we… upgrade our friendship?”
>Indigo’s urge to say no has completely transformed into the urge to say yes.
>”We can be girlfriends. You’d like that, right? I’ll do it for you if that’s what it’s gonna take to keep us together. You won’t have to hold back anymore… if there was anything you were holding back, of course.” Sour Sweet basically surrenders herself to her best friend.
>Indigo just stares and watches her best friend offer herself to her.
>All just to stay friends? Is she really th-
>Yeah, that actually sounds exactly where Sour Sweet would go if she really had to, knowing how she is.
>”Please?” Sour Sweet adds with another kiss, that Indigo doesn’t let stop after she tries to finish it.
>She’ll take that as a yes.
>They hug tighter and keep their lips locked for about a full minute, at the gates of the point of no return together.
>But Indigo feels compelled to advance more and more, moving her hands from Sour Sweet’s back to her front.
>The kiss finally breaks, but Sour Sweet feels Indigo’s hands still trying to relive some memories with her.
>Reliving the memories and relieving the long-lived stress that’s about to end tonight no matter what.
>Sour Sweet just slightly nods in acceptance as she lets Indigo back her up to the closed and locked front door, continuing.
>”So y-… you wanna see… where this takes us?” Sour Sweet finds difficulty in talking up against Indigo’s lips.
>Indigo doesn’t answer, only starts to grope and kiss Sour Sweet more assertively.
>They both have their legs interlocked, rubbing their bare thighs up against eachother and slightly lifting eachother’s skirts with knees. This sensation in particular really gets Indy going.
>”Indy?”
>Indigo grabs Sour Sweet by the arms, her eyes lidded and glazed with all kinds of instincts, and directs Sour Sweet in the direction of the living room couch.
>She starts to drool a little.
>Before Sour Sweet can do anything else, Indigo throws her onto the couch with a strong shove, climbs on top of her and kisses her some more.
>”…Indy?”
>Sour Sweet is silenced by Indigo’s lips again. The kissing gets deeper and deeper until Sweetie learns what Indy’s tongue feels like against hers.
>This goes on for several minutes, which is all the time it takes for Sour Sweet to make the realization that she set Indy off.
>The tension is releasing all at once.
>Indigo is only further stimulated by the feeling of her thighs brushing up against Sour Sweet’s thighs by the smooth skin with the position the two are in.
>Sour Sweet can only let out muffled groans into Indigo’s mouth.
>It’s minutes before the kissing briefly breaks with the two girls gasping for air through several strings of saliva in the small space between their mouths.
>Indigo just goes in again, setting herself free as the wet smacking sounds resume.
>Sour Sweet just moves around under Indigo Zap to try to get as comfortable as she can, but Indigo’s bare legs tangle with hers.
>They just lie there for some more time as Indigo gets more and more amorous before sitting all the way up to get a good look at Sour Sweet below her.
>”Indy…” Sour Sweet’s lips glisten from the non-stop frenching.
>Indigo reaches down and pulls the front of Sour Sweet’s vest open.
>”Indy!” Sour Sweet gasps as the detached buttons go flying and tumbling. “Holy fuck, don’t ruin my uniform!”
>Indigo doesn’t listen and goes for Sour Sweet’s shirt next, too strong for Sour Sweet to hold her arms still as she slowly rips the off-white shirt open.
>”F-fine! You’re paying for it!” Sour Sweet says with her black bra meeting Indy’s hands once again.
>The bra is stretched and torn, coming apart at the back and loosely tossed over Sour Sweet’s shoulder to hang there.
>”You’re paying for a new bra for me to!”
>”Fine.” Indy takes her kissing lips south of Sweetie’s face.
>”Fine!” Sour Sweet waits until Indigo’s lips latch onto her nipple so she can get the last word.
>…
~
>She lies on her bed, smiling at the ceiling and thinking about… him.
>Sugarcoat doesn’t need to lie to herself anymore.
>She already lost, but it’s fine. She wanted to lose that battle with herself anyway.
>The Dean is all she needs in her life right now.
>So much of the tension she’s felt has fluttered away from her.
>Her other feelings finally returned, among them, guilt.
>It compels her to text Sunny Flare and ask if it’s okay if she comes over to her place.
>Sunny replies [sure] on the other line.
>…
>”Hey.” Sugarcoat says as the double doors open.
>”Hi. What’s up?”
>”I’ve been doing some thinking. I wanted to apologize for the things I said to you. And I wanted to do it in person so it’s more sincere.” Sugarcoat takes a deep breath. “So with that, I’m very sorry.”
>Sunny nods. “It’s all good.”
>”May I come in?”
>”Sure.”
>…
>The two sit on the large living room couch and watch another bad super-late-at-night sitcom on the huge flat TV.
>”So I can see why you’re worried about Sour Sweet so much now.” Sugarcoat tells Sunny Flare.
>”Yeah, she’s been acting weirder than usual. She really wants to get into that dean’s pants.”
>Sugarcoat sucks her lips inward and tries not to blush. “Y-yeah. She’s really making me uncomfortable with how badly she wants to do that.”
>She technically N.T.R.’d her crazy, annoying friend.
>”You think we should check up on her tomorrow?” Sugarcoat asks.
>”We definitely should. We should bring Indy and Zesty with us too.”
>”That’s a good idea.”
>”I’ll text them. Anyway, how’s your thing with Mr. Mous going?”
>Sugarcoat holds back a peep.
>”Sour Sweet did tell me about you finally getting him to respond to you on Facebook. What did he say?” Sunny Flare’s tone turns curious for gossip.
>”He just talked about random stuff on Facebook.” The answer smoothly comes out. “He’s really nice.”
>”Damn, so no flirting or anything?”
>”Not on Facebook, no.”
>Sunny Flare gives Sugarcoat a look. “Wh… what?”
>Oh shit.
>”I-I mean yeah, we didn’t flirt or anything when he finally talked to me on Facebook.”
>The corners of Sunny Flare’s mouth tilting into a smile is all Sugarcoat needs to know that it’s too late.
>”Okay.” Sunny Flare responds.
>”We didn’t flirt on Facebook!”
>”I know, I believe you.” Sunny Flare imagines what was said in person in that office at school.
>She figures that Sugarcoat would only sweet-talk the dean when it’s not somewhere where the words last after the conversation ends.
>”Why you blushing, though?” Asks Sunny.
>”I’m not.” Sugarcoat sucks her lips in against as though there’s evidence there.
>”But you are.”
>”Hey, I’m being nice tonight. Okay? Can we please not go there? I told you I didn’t flirt with him.”
>”Hey… hey… it’s okay, Sugarcoat. I’m not Sour Sweet. I’m not gonna judge you.”
>Yeah, she’s partially right. She’s Sunny Flare, not Sour Sweet. She’s not going to /openly/ judge her.
>Sugarcoat is too nice tonight to allow these words to come out. “Well I’m not lying.”
>”I believe you. You didn’t flirt on Facebook. But if there’s something else that happened, I won’t tell.”
>Yeah, that one’s definitely a lie. The girl has her iVambraces right there.
>All Sugarcoat has to do is finally leave and Sunny’s but few buttons and clicks away from telling her followers all about it on Twitter like she’s fuckin’ Keemstar.
>Doesn’t need to leave the living room couch or even pull out her phone.
>”Nothing else happened.” Sugarcoat holds her ground.
>”M’kay.”
>They then silently and awkwardly watch shitty talk show reruns on some high-number HD channel.
>It’s soon apparent that it’s 11:30, and that Sugarcoat should probably head off now.
>But she’s not very comfortable with leaving Sunny Flare with a notion that she might have gotten into a relationship with the school dean.
>Especially considering that’s exactly what happened a couple hours ago.
>She just wants to make sure that Sunny won’t blare any assumptions she might have made anyway.
>But she’s too apprehensive to say anything before the double doors shut. “Night.” Both girls say to one another.
>Sugarcoat walks all the way down the long driveway back to her car and leaves without another word.
>She stays up for a little more time once she makes it back to her house, worrying even thought there’s a chance she might not have to since she didn’t let any cats out of any bags.
>Oh, she can only imagine what Sunny Flare would tell Sour Sweet.
>And she doesn’t even /want/ to imagine it.
>Goes to sleep.
>…
>Super late at night, early morning, in fact.
>The inside of Indigo Zap’s room.
>The door is locked.
>On the floor lie a lot of clothes, some of them torn.
>”So what do you way?” Indigo Zap’s voice sounds from the bed. “You wanna sort of leave the whole dean thing to Sunny and Sugarcoat?”
>Sour Sweet hesitates, her cheek resting against Indy’s bare collarbone.
>”C’mon. This can be a new chapter. You don’t need Mr. Mous. You have me now.”
>”After all the time and stuff I put in this?” Sour Sweet wipes the last of the mascara residue from her face.
>”It’s like how I have you now. You have me. We have eachoth… pfffft.” Indigo begins to chuckle.
>”That was so corny.” Says Sour Sweet.
>”Well it’s true.”
>”You still could have worded it so it didn’t sound like something from a cheesy 80’s movie.”
>”Hey, now. We’re having a truce from some dispute about trying to fuck the school dean. The truce being us literally just scissoring and stuff for however many hours it’s been. This is already porno-tier cheesy.”
>”Hey! Don’t say it like that! Say it like you did when it started!”
>”Right, right. We promised and ‘kissed on it’. I like that better anyway.” Indigo smirks.
>”But do we really have to truce and stuff?”
>”Well…”
>”I know you want to. I wonder how many days it’s gonna be before you wanna do this again.”
>”Well I already like it way better than whatever sex with Dean Mous could have been like.”
>”Ha! How do you know that?”
>”I thought about it, and he’s really not that hot. At least not compared to Coach Sombra.”
>”We’ve been over this, Indy. No one’s as hot as Coach Sombra.”
>”Right. Right. But Coach Sombra got a little boring after a while. We ran out of new positions to try and he ended up just bending me over every now and then until people found out and he got fired.”
>Sour Sweet starts laughing loudly. “Whahahhat? I never heard about that part.”
>”Why the fuck do you think I’d tell you before now?”
>”Hmmmmh… yeah, that’s true. You must have learned a lot from him, though.”
>”I know, right? I feel bad for whoever the hell his wife or girlfriend was.”
>”She probably didn’t care if she didn’t throw any bones to that hunk of meat.”
>”Well, when you put it that way… fuck, that actually adds up. I knew I was doing him a favor.”
>”Yeah, well now it’s time for me to pay that forward.” Sweetie cuddles up to Indy a little closer. “Or however the saying would work for this.”
>”Psssh, who cares how the saying works? Just… we’re off topic! We are gonna not go for Dean Mous though, right?”
>”Hey, you brought up Sombra! Again!”
>”Yeah, well… okay, yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
>”Finally! I never thought you’d own up to it.”
>”Whatever. We trucin’ though?”
>”Yeah. We trucin’. We trucin and we juicin’.”
>”…Sweetie, what the fuck? And you say I’m being corny?”
>”That sounded cooler in my head, alr- whatever, just, come here!”
>They make out again for several minutes, lying naked together under the bedsheets.
>”Mmmmm, so…” Indigo brings up after the kissing breaks. “How long is the truce gonna be?”
>”Oh, I dunno. Until we see if anything happens with Sunny or Sugar. Maybe they’ll face off, who the fuck knows?”
>”Even if it ends, we’ll still have like… a pact, right? From this whole thing.” Indigo asks.
>”Fuck yeah, we got a pact. Let’s never fight again!” Sour Sweet agrees. “What about the others? You think they’ll do what we did?”
>”Hah, no!” Sour Sweet scoffs. “That can’t happen because neither of them can be into girls like you.”
>”You don’t know that!”
>”What, you hoping they’d join our little club?” Sour Sweet raises an eyebrow.
>”Well, I… yeah. That would be pretty fucking sweet.”
>Sour Sweet lets out a loud single “Ha!”.
>”Don’t hold your breath on that.” She says to Indigo.
>”Yeah, don’t worry, sweetheart. Clearly it’s probably not gonna happen. Keeping my fingers crossed, though. Maybe the two fingers i’m thinking of won’t need to stay crossed for long. Maybe one of the other girls will be a little… open minded.”
>”Pssssh.” Sour Sweet laughs. “Yeah, no, I do have the right to call you corny.”
>”Shut up!”
>”You shut up!”
>”You first!”
>”Whatever. You wanna get dressed, now?”
>Indigo thinks to herself for a few seconds. “I guess. One thing, though.”
>”Yeah?”
>”Wanna switch panties? To make our pact official?”
>”Oooooh, that’s kinky! Mr. Mous’s in for some trouble if we try him again together.”
>The two end up reclothed before 4 am.
~
>12 noon on Saturday.
>Sugarcoat wakes up from the sound of a text coming in that she was starting to doubt would ever happen.
>[SSSUUUUGGGGAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR]
>She hates Sour Sweet again already.
>[What?] Sugarcoat responds.
>[You wanna come with us to Sunny’s place today? We’re having a party!]
>Sugarcoat sits up with her hair a mess, rubbing her eyes before realizing that the text really does say this.
>[What do you mean? And where have you been?]
>[I was sick for the last few days and my phone died! I’ll tell all about it today at the party, you wanna come? We’re lal gonna hang out and stuff.]
>Sugarcoat already feels skeptical about this.
>She hasn’t heard from Sour Sweet in several days, and she was just over at Sunny Flare’s house and almost spilled the beans about Mr. Mous.
>Those fears that kept her from sleeping last night resurface, and she knows that there’s really nothing to contact Mr. Mous about because this all happened before he dropped her off at her house.
>Sugarcoat knows that they might be expecting her to decline out of fear of being put in the spotlight. That would pretty much only confirm whatever it is that Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare are now apparently assuming.
>[Is it a sleepover or something?] Sugarcoat asks.
>[Nah nah nah, we’re just all coming over at like 5 or something and hanging out until like maybe midnight.]
>[alright, yeah I’ll come] Sugarcoat does what she assumes is the thing they did not expect.
>[Super!]
>The conversation ends, and Sugarcoat gets herself ready for whatever kind of day this is going to be.
>Finishes some homework she was assigned over the weekend and can’t get far without thinking about the school dean who kissed her last night.
>…
>On the other end.
>Sour Sweet sits at the foot of Indigo Zap’s bed, having just gotten out of the shower and now wears nothing but the other girl’s panties along with one of her sports bras.
>Indigo, having just woken up, just gazes at her with hearts in her eyes as she watches Sour Sweet’s chest try to fit in that tight little thing.
>”I’m gonna do Sunny next.” Sour Sweet says to Indigo. “I think the hot water should be back by now. So you can go in.”
>”Alright…” Indigo yawns ands stretches.
>”If we even get Zesty to come, we can all be on the same page and maybe get Sunny and Sugar to do everything for us while we’re laying low.”
>”Uh, yeah. Whatever, just promise me I won’t have to do anything anymore.” Indigo can’t imagine what on earth Lemon Zest would have to do with this.
>”Of course, you won’t! Neither of us will. We’re just gonna leave it to the others while we have fun together for a while. Like I said, Sugarcoat at least got a response out of him on Facebook.”
>”Works for me.” Indigo Zap smiles at her best friend with benefits.
>She stands up and kisses Sour Sweet on the cheek and heads over to the hall bathroom.
>Sour Sweet types away on the little touch screen keyboard.
>…
>Sunny Flare is sitting on her bed,  already on her phone looking through her own Facebook feed when she gets a text from Sour Sweet.
>[SSUUUUNNNNNYYYYYYYY]
>She almost groans, but remembers that face she saw that kept her from getting much sleep last night.
>[Uh, hi?]
>[Sunny! I missed you! I have so much to tell you but I was sick and my phone broke for the last day or two or whatever how are you?]
>[Tired, got up a couple hours ago. What’s been going on with you?]
>[I told you I was sick.]
>[Uh huh, so what’s up? Sorry to hear you were sick. Haven’t heard from you in days.] Sunny avoids the part where she came to Sour Sweet’s house and hope Sour Sweet does the same.
>[Can we all come over to your place? I’m bored and it’s the weekend and i’m better now and you have all the cool stuff!]
>Sunny Flare lowers her eyelids in annoyance.
>[Did you already tell the others we’re having a party at my place?] She guesses, wondering if Sugarcoat had something to do with Sour Sweet choosing HERE to party.
>[Yeah, sorry about that lol, but you’re free, right?]
>[Sour, you can’t just go and plan a party or visit at someone else’s house without asking them first. I don’t know how you never seem to understand this. When are you even coming over?]
>[Sorry sorry, you’re right. If you’re busy, i’ll just have it at my place or something and tell everyone it’s there.] Sour Sweet apologizes.
>Sunny Flare remembers the last time she was at Sour Sweet’s place. [Yeah on second thought, you all can just come over here if that works.]
>[woohoo!]
>[When you coming, though?]
>[5 I guess.]
>[fine]
>[So what else’s going on?]
>[Nothing at all. It’s been quiet without you around lol]
>[I figured]
>The conversation pretty much just fizzles away into Sunny Flare saying bye so she can start cleaning up the place for when the other girls come over.
>…
>”Two down, one to go.” Sour Sweet mutters to herself as she finds Lemon Zest’s number. [ZZZZEESSSSTTTYYYYY]
>Minutes later, no response.
>Sour Sweet sends another message, and another, and another.
>Surely Zest would have noticed her phone vibrating from a text by this point.
>Maybe she just hasn’t gotten up yet and has her phone silenced or something.
>She’ll wake up like the rest of the girls have in a moment, Sour Sweet’s sure. She couldn’t have been up too too late last night, right?
>…
>Around 1 to 2 in the afternoon.
>Lemon Zest sits in front of her computer once again, headphones plugged into it.
>Pretty much the only thing she’s been listening to for the majority of last night and some amount of time before that as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadxTFqyhRM
>The girl has built many empires and civilizations, and has destroyed many more others.
>Her path of conquest and destruction knows no bounds, whether it be by sea, grassland, forest, desert… it goes on and on.
>No one has been able to defeat Lemon Zest in this game, despite most of them being AI players anyway.
>Her mobile phone sits on her bed, having run out of battery hours ago from not being plugged in; Zest was too distracted crushing her enemies and perfecting cities and fortresses of her own.
>The editor mode of this game has become her most recent super-hobby.
>She can design the land, the available resources, and the players themselves.
>Sets up her own little versions of campaigns and scenarios where she would play through them and go on a manufactured journey through all sorts of areas in the part of the world where Age Of Empires 2 is set in.
>Can’t remember the last time she slept, or ate, or stood up aside the times she went to her backyard to build her own mini version of her favorite military base she created in the game so she gets some fresh air.
>Her heart only yearns to conquer, and she’s looking forward to start listening to her usual playlists of music soon enough, of course, with a little bit more responsibility regarding how she listens to it.
>This music of this game is pretty great too, though. The game itself is Kino.
>It turns out that Lemon Zest took a break from the music she normally listens to anyway without fully intending to… for the most part.
>Her headphones stayed on her head no matter what, regardless.
>Lemon Zest wonders what the other girls are up to these days. Hasn’t really talked to them much since she was suspended from school for enjoying her music too much.
>She finally notices that there is daylight outside.
>Unplugs her headphones after finishing up the most recent game she sort of designed herself for fun and heads downstairs with that same old conqueror’s hunger… with some kickass tunes playing from the headphones while she eats.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8qrwON1-zE
>Damn, it’s 1:17 in the afternoon.
>Lemon Zest knows that it’s finally time to get some sleep once more.
>She feasts, then retreats back upstairs to find that her phone ran out of battery.
>Puts it on the charger and gets into bed.
>Incoming texts galore from Sour Sweet’s number are completely ignored as Lemon Zest once again passes out completely before her head hits the pillow.
>The buzzing sound from the vibrating phone against the nightstand sounds like… a swarm of locusts to Lemon Zest.
>She’s going to be knocked out for at least 12 hours before she’ll have a chance to see the 36 new texts from Sour Sweet talking about some random bullshit that Lemon Zest doesn’t care about.
>…
>Lemon Zest finds herself in the middle of a battlefield, but also finds herself switching between multiple time periods.
>Armies marching across the land where other armies from hundreds of years ago marched, paths intersecting without ever even knowing/realizing it.
>That group  of Crusader Knights defending the Holy Land from the Saracens just rode across the path where a Hoplite Phalanx went down far into the past to defend their people against the Persians.
>But a massive cloud of locusts seems to be a common factor for both of the groups of soldiers. Even a Roman Legion had seen them while marching into Egypt.
>And Lemon Zest was always there. Always watching the battles happening, watching the locusts flying over them and wondering if there was something she could do about that dark swarm. Learning her destiny.
>Something within Lemon Zest’s heart tells her that she’s going to end up conquering Crystal Prep Academy.
>Not just because she’s going to want to, but because she’s going to need to.
>Trying times are coming, and brave warriors are needed.
~
>Lemon Zest thinks of a certain number at some point; not sure when this happens, but it happens.
>4.
>And there's three of them.
>The 4th something of something.
>She can hardly process this with her tired mind, but she feels like she's about to have a life changing experience.
>And these numbers are going to have to do with this journey. What does it mean?
>Zest imagines a chainsaw, zooming in on the razor-blade until she sees only three little spikes on its edge.
>Staring off low and getting higher until going back down into the next spike... so sharp and dangerous.
>Each one has a 4 on it.
>What does it mean?
>...
>Dreams are truly a funny thing.
>And they can be just as frightening as they are funny.
>Not to mention disheartening.
>She lies in bed, headphones lying next to her on the nightstand.
>Next to that phone that wouldn't stop vibrating from texts from a nearly forgotten friend a couple of hours ago.
>She soon falls awake upon the setting of the sun.
>Having stayed up more than the entire night before, her sleeping pattern is now adhering to the nocturnal way of life.
>But she is still tired.
>Unable to remember what it was she just dreamt, but more than able to feel the emotions it left behind.
>The room gets a little bit darker with each minute.
>The ticking of the clock hypnotizes her; she doesn't even know who she is right now.
>But that doesn't matter. She can be anyone she wants and the world will always be out there.
>Waiting for her to take it on.
>But she has to shed away the person she used to be before anything can be reached.
>She is saddened by whatever it was she dreamt.
>It's funny, how one can feel feeling from something they can't remember.
>And she lies here, moping with her eyes closed, still acting as though she is asleep.
>Why is there a tear in her eye? She's been enjoying her time away from that school.
>Whatever it was she just dreamt, it made her dissatisfied with her life.
>She wants to be someone else.
>One of the songs she usually listens to plays in her imagination.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEQnzs8wl6E
>Her soul plays the music for her now.
>She hears it just as clearly as though she was listening to it through her headphones.
>Stays under the covers.
>Goes over her life.
>Thinks about all of the things she could have done with it, since she's only been having fun recently.
>All of that wasted time...
>But she's still here in her room.
>She should be taking on that world.
>Does she want to be herself?
>Something inside of her doesn't want to go on, but there's a part of her that... wants exactly the opposite.
>This part of her that yearns for adventure has been largely ignored, that part of her that only came out with music.
>That beautiful music that kept this girl everything she wanted to be. Completed her.
>Now it's engrained into her currently weeping soul.
>As she does everything she can to fall back asleep to return to the dream she forgot.
>Knowing that there's something she missed. Something she needs to complete.
>Shuts her eyes tighter, but sleep doesn't take her.
>She doesn't want her life to end, she just wants to return to the dream.
>Something's unfinished, unfulfilled.
>The sounds of the guitars get heavier.
>The song picks up.
>She knows that shutting her eyes this tightly will not allow her to sleep.
>The dream storyline must be finished.
>It was something so somber yet so addicting that this girl has to return to it. Like she's addicted to it.
>Like how she's addicted to her music, put in a trance by it like she's supposed to be.
>The song takes off, the lyrics conclude, and she breathes out in relaxation as sleep creeps closer.
>The room gets much darker as the daylight fades away into night.
>It won't be long now; the increasing darkness is helping the girl sleep soundly in her bed more easily.
>She has this in the palm of her hand.
>Next thing she knows, she absolutely must be dreaming.
>Must be a lucid dream; she's never been in a straightjacket before.
>This realization hits her like a resonating ting that reaches her ears as the next song begins.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Dfo4zDduI
>She wonders where she is... who she is.
>Looks up and down the walls.
>Two speakers on either side of her. They play the same song her soul is.
>Them music traps her, but she wants nothing less than to leave this place.
>This music is her soul.
>And her soul sings and plays to her.
>Warms her heart like a furnace in the dead of January.
>She doesn't want to go out there.
>Not yet.
>She needs to shed her old self away before the outside world establishes who she is.
>She's maintained a healthy amount of solitude so far, but now is the time for the final pushing into that exciting madness that's wanted to take over this rocker girl for so long.
>She's ready to become a musical warrior, taking on any foe.
>The song starts to intensify.
>She's so ready. Ready to take everything she's wanted.
>Take on that world, those empires, that school she's been meaning to rule with a metal fist.
>Everyone shall bow to her; her grace and majesty will be recognized.
>She jams to the song, only able to nod her head as her arms and legs are all restrained.
>But this is only within the confines of her mind.
>She could break free if she wanted to.
>Hilariously easily at that.
>But she doesn't want to leave this music behind, not after all it's done for her.
>Not after all it's done TO her. Not before what it still needs to do to her; complete the transformation.
>She shall emerge from the cocoon of bedsheets a warrior, unlike anything that high school has ever seen or will be able to face with confidence.
>The guitar solo starts, and she plays an air guitar with her imaginary extra pair of air arms.
>Basking in the music.
>Basking in the spirit, the feeling, in herself, her mind and her soul. HER spirit.
>That music that has always empowered her.
>It feeds her; she grows stronger... more powerful.
>And all of a sudden, she wants to break out of here...
>She knows the music will stay with her.
>Her ambitious mind controls the world around her, still synced to the music, and she makes a broken cocoon out of the straightjacket.
>This padded room cannot hold this girl when she's ready to rock.
>Ready to rock and conquer.
>Breaks through the walls, breaks into the outside.
>Feels the cool air rush across her face, calming her temporarily as the next song plays.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSNJ00iAZ7I
>Such a sobering feeling...
>She wakes up in her bed, she knows she just did.
>The wind is gone, the bedsheets are back.
>Breaking out of these bedsheets must be easier than a straightjacket, right?
>...Is that thing still on her? She can't move.
>Lying in her bed, now obviously awake, she tries to move.
>It's clear what this is... sleep paralysis.
>She knows this, but still feels a swelling worry grow with each minute that goes by as she fails to be able to do so much as move a finger.
>Is that dread?
>It shouldn't be; the rest of her body must wake up any second now!
>Is it morning? Is it still evening? Is it nighttime? Is it mid day again?
>She still can't move.
>Can't move... can't move.
>This is getting extremely worrying now.
>Yes, that's definitely dread- don't think about it.
>Just MOVE!
>Come on! Move!
>She tries and tries, but nothing's happening.
>This cocoon is harder to break than expected.
>But the girl is still harder than this situation expected- she exponentially multiplies her efforts.
>The music intensifies with fast drum beats coming out in bursts on energy like every pulse of energy she emits with each attempt.
>She... is... UNSTOPPABLE!
>Nothing can hold her! Nothing!
>Sleep paralysis is nothing to her.
>She pushes and presses, silently groans in her head, screams in her head.
>Silent war cries that refuse to go back to the dream world.
>She will not surrender!
>She will never surrender.
>It's trying to take her back; sleep.
>She she is punching and kicking it with her mind, breaking free of its monstrous clasp.
>That guitar solo that picks up after the song gets really fast being her battle music.
>It's on; this will be won!
>All she has to do is move.
> M O V E .
>All of her motionless, stationary strength peaks and overflows within the girl.
>That world is right there. Right there!
>All she has to do is move.
>Regain control of herself to gain control of the world.
>This bed holds the key; her.
>And everything outside of this bed is the lock.
>Her emotions flow over and overwhelm her body, bursting into sudden, powerful jolts of her limbs.
>Now her lungs can gasp in so much... so much air.
>She's free, she's out of her prison.
>Lemon Zest leaps to her feet atop her bed.
>Her scowl challenging the wall opposite the bed.
>Her eyes glaring chainsaws out the window.
>Gazing at the world that's hers for the taking.
~
>Saturday night arrives.
>The most important thing right now is that amends are being made, the entire group (albeit Lemon Zest's absence) is all together once again.
>Sunny Flare's place is already ready by like 5 PM, and the girls all come over to... do whatever it is people do at boring parties.
>Music is playing on a stereo system, the large TV is on again with some dumbass comedy skit or talk show on, there’s a bunch of small platters of food or whatever, more or less your average hangout for them young peoples.
>All of the problems feel like they're over, even though Sugarcoat still has a bit of tension inside for already established reasons.
>And from this, she is sure not to et the other girls see what she’s doing on her phone, and is also sure to not let herself get carried away enough tp send the dean any text messages throughout the duration of this party.
>She just converses with her friends, asking mostly about Lemon Zest and focusing more on her absence rather than her relationship with the school dean.
>She’d rather just keep it like this, thought, she’s wondering why they haven’t already needled her with questions yet. Seems unlike them.
>It’s like 7:30 by now, and Sour Sweet sits herself right next to Sugarcoat at this time.
>”So…” She starts off.
>Sugarcoat glances out the window, not as mentally fortified as before with certain memories of being in that car in her head now.
>”You know, the dean’s super cute.” Sour Sweet continues.
>”Eh, not really.” Sunny Flare disagrees. “I mean, he’s kind of good looking. I dunno about super cute.”
>”Yeah, we get it, he doesn’t look like whoever the most recent famous pop singer guy is who gets played on the radio every twenty-five minutes.”
>Sunny Flare goes on to defend the career of [insert hip new pop singer name here] and explains why he’s “the next big thing”.
>They quickly go off topic, which Indigo vows internally to remember as Sugarcoat goes back to the book she brought and hopes she won’t have a reason to look up fr-
>”Anyway, we’re getting off topic and I’m curious now.” Sunny Flare says. “Sugar, how’s shit going with Mr. Mouse?”
>”We just talk sometimes.” Sugarcoat answers. “What about it?”
>”Do you realize how lucky you are?” Sour Sweet joins in once again. “The DEAN of the school likes you! And he legit talks to you on facebook. You can like, get out of anything you get yourself into.”
>”I am very sure that’s not how it works.”
>”Sugar, hun, we’re you’re friends! And you having the dean like you is like a get out of jail free card for us too!”
>”What is that supposed to mean?”
>Indigo looks over from where she’s sitting, giving Sour Sweet a hand motion to knock it off.
>Sour Sweet doesn’t seem like she wants to listen or obey.
>”What, you don’t wanna help us out from time to time? We’ve been together for… I don’t know how many years!” Sour Sweet continues.
>”Why are you even suddenly bringing this up?” Asks Sugarcoat.
>”I was about to get to that. I wanna tell ya something. The rest of the girls too.” Sour Sweet looks over at Indigo Zap with a reassuring face. “Indy and I are throwing in the towel for now.”
>”Throwing in the towel?”
>”About the dean. We’ve decided that he just doesn’t like us, so we’re gonna step out of it all. the plan is off.” Spur Sweet abruptly announces, probably after she had seen the look on Indigo’s face. “That’s why I wanna talk to you about him, Sugar. Because he at least likes you, and you’re my friend!”
>Sugarcoat’s eyes disagree, but her mouth says: “…Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean I have to… wait, what are you even bringing this up?”
>Sour Sweet grins in that way she usually does. “Because, Lemon is our friend too, just like you. And we gotta help her.”
>Sugarcoat tilts her head.
>”Oh, come on. You know she’s still suspended. And I wanna see if we… can… convince Mr. Mouse to change that.” Sour Sweet chooses some lighter words.
>Sugarcoat answers with a question. “So you want me to ask him to get her un-suspended because he actually liked me unlike you?”
>Sour Sweet’s grin fades. “…Yeah…” She says through gently gritting teeth. “But only because she is our FRIEND.”
>Sunny Flare awkwardly stares back at the clock. It seems to have frozen at 7:30.
>As Sour Sweet keeps talking to Sugarcoat, Sunny remembers that face she saw in the window.
>There’s no way Sour Sweet has completely abandoned such a risky, colorful plan.
>Especially to hand the torch to Sugarcoat of all people.
>She knows Sour Sweet too well; there was definitely something that convinced her to ease up a little and probably threw her off course too.
>What was it, though?
>”Hey, now…” Indigo steps in after a bit more dialogue. “If Sugarcoat wants to be cool with the dean, I say we just let her do it. She’s our friend like you said, so we shouldn’t try and mess with her other friendships even if it’s with the dean.”
>”Yeah, but what about the rest of us, Indy?” Says Sour Sweet. “What about you and the soccer team? What about those things I used to want to do but couldn’t because Cadance is such a-”
>”What do you mean about the rest of us?” Indigo interrupts. “What about /us/, Sweetie?” She almost continues before cutting herself off.
>Sour Sweet freezes, wondering Sunny and Sugar read into that at all.
>Sunny is luckily focusing on the clock on her mobile phone to check the real time and thinking about where to find new batteries for the wall clock.
>”Indigo’s on point.” Sugarcoat is luckily too focused on defending herself. “Mr. Mouse and I are only friends because of things unrelated to what you were doing.” She feels herself getting a little better at lying now. “It’s only going to make him crack down on me and you all by extent if I try to get him to un-suspend Lemon Zest early just because she’s my friend. I doubt that will fly.”
>Sour Sweet puts a hand on a heavily blushing Indigo’s shoulder. “Let me do the talking, Indy.” She turns to Sugarcoat. “Do you want him to turn into another Cadance? Is that what you want?”
>”I…” Indigo starts off.
>”Indy, c’mon.” Sour Sweet strokes the other girl on her back. “We’ve already made up, remember? We all need to team up and save Zesty now.”
>Sugarcoat sits alone as Sunny is currently traveling all the way to her large kitchen to search the cabinets and pantries for batteries.
>”But, that’s now what you said when you promised to not get involved.” Indigo brings up. “Uh… when you promised just now.”
>”I didn’t promise anything yet.” Sour Sweet tells her. “This is the first time I brought this part up.”
>Cornered, Indigo silently curses to herself, wishing she didn’t walk right into that one.
>”He’s not going to turn into another Cadance.” Sugarcoat says to Sour Sweet. “I know he won’t.”
>”Ohhhh, so you already know him that well, eh?” Sour Sweet answers.
>”He’s just a nice person.” Sugarcoat pouts and crosses her arms.
>Sour Sweet notices that blush on her face once again. “So how many times have you made out?” She assumes without any evidence.
>Sugarcoat knows she can’t prove it if she (hopefully) doesn’t already know.
>”Sugar? I asked you a question!”
>”Y-yeah, a loaded question. I never made out with the guy.”
>”Then why are you acting weird?”
>”I’m not!”
>”Yeah, you are! At lunch when we brought him up, you blushed and started acting like this just the same way.”
>”It’s because I actually do think he’s cute, but I’m not gonna do anything about that because I respect him.”
>”Oh, my gosh, you’re as red as a tomato!” Sour Sweet’s voice goes super high. “And you admit it too!”
>Sour Sweet doesn’t even remember if Sugarcoat herself already admitted to liking the dean, she’s only obsessed with those two hands starting to slightly tremble.
>Sunny flare leaves the kitchen empty-handed and goes searching through a couple of hall closets, then expanding her search around the corner to another hallway and going all the way over to the laundry room.
>Sour Sweet isn’t comfortable with the girl who backs her up a lot being so far away when Sugarcoat starts talking this fast.
>”But you yourself admitted that you like him too, it’s not like the way I like him is any different… ex-except I don’t ty to control him like you do. And you…” Sugarcoat speaks a mile a minute.
>Sour Sweet puts an arm around Sugarcoat. “It’s okay, Sugar. I don’t even care if you made out with him.”
>”I didn’t!”
>”I believe you, I believe you.” Sour Sweet contains her excitement. “But listen! We can save our friend from having to wait another few days before returning to school. And we can’t do it without you. You don’t honestly want her to stay away from school even longer, do you?”
>Indigo puts a hand on Sour Sweet’s shoulder. “I’m pretty sure Zesty hates going to school anyway.”
>Sugarcoat already knows that Sour Sweet just wants to use her relationship with the dean to get her to do her dirty work for her, and use Zest’s suspension as a test.
>So, she quickly plans on the spot after her nervousness fades. “Fine, I’ll talk to him and see where this goes!” She pretends to give in.
>”I knew you’d come through!” Sour Sweet hugs Sugarcoat out of nowhere, as though she already expected her to give in and was just waiting for it.
>Indigo drops her jaw. “Wha… but…” She didn’t expect Sugarcoat to cave like this.
>”You heard her!” Sour Sweet concludes, feeling completely in control of the situation. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll get to turn Mr. Mouse into another Mr. Sombra minus the firing.”
>”Don’t push it.” Warns Sugarcoat.
>”Sour!!!”
>”What? It was a good thing!” Defends Sour Sweet. “I mean, I loved not having to go to gym glass sometimes.” She turns to Indigo. “And that’s Sweetie, hun.” She hints in a teasing tone.
>”You’re damn right.” Indy says under her breath. “Got a moment?”
>She already pulls Sour Sweet out of the room and around the corner before the other girl can say anything, in an almost mimicking way.
>Sugarcoat sits alone as the pop music persists in the background, her feeling distracting her from the ever-repeating chorus.
>”Just what the hell was that?!” Indigo shout-whispers.
>”I found a compromise!” Sour Sweet answers her. “You and I don’t have to do jack shit, and we’re gonna get Sugarcoat to take him down! That way, if she gets found out, he’ll either let her off the hook if she’s brave enough to seduce him or she’ll take the fall because it was her who did all the shit.”
>”What the fuck kind of logic is that?! You know damn well she’d snitch in a heartbeat and he’d believe her if he really does love her so much.”
>”I said like! Not love.”
>”What’s the difference, anyway?” Indigo looks down at the floor.
>”Fuck if I know. People see it differently no matter what, it doesn’t mean shit. The point is, Sugar’s obviously not gonna squeal on us for planning this shit because she agreed to be part of it. And I did ask her to do anything bad anyway.” Sour Sweet continues. “I mean, what’s she gonna say if she backstabs us? ‘Ooh, my friends wanted me to ask the dean if he could shorten her suspension’. How’s that gonna get us in trouble?”
>”I don’t remember you wording it like that.”
>”Well, I’ll go back and make it clearer to her so she doesn’t get any ideas.”
>Indigo already knows that it’s only a matter of time before the dean tells Sour Sweet that she had already been snitched on.
>”Well fine, you do that but I already said before I’m not helping you!”
>”What about Zesty?”
>”She’ll be fine, she hates going to school anyway, I told you.”
>”Yeah, but she can play another part in this with her headphones. Just in case the dean keeps up the tough guy act and doesn’t let her back early, she can go to him and get him to let her have her headphones on in school.”
>”What does that even have to do with this?”
>”He’ll probably trust her more than us, duh! They’ve probably never even met yet. I know it was Principal Cadance who suspended her, but Dean Mouse.”
>Indigo furrows her brow. “She. Got. Suspended! Obvious that-”
>”It’s either her or Sugarcoat! Because you got suspended too, and it was for something you actually did TO him. And I’m sure he doesn’t trust me all that much since he literally saw me standing next to you. And I don’t know what the fuck to say about Sunny. I don’t think she has what it takes to carry out something like this.”
>”Why /does/ it have to be either Sugarcoat or Lemon Zest?! Why can’t you just not try to run the school with an iron fist and let things be as they are? Is that so hard? Isn’t that what we agreed on?!”
>”I said I found a compromise!”
>”You should have asked me if I agreed with it BEFORE the thing with Sugarcoat!” Indigo gripes quietly. “Why do you always do this?! It’s so frustrating!”
>”I guess I can’t help it, but listen!”
>”No, YOU listen! I’m not gonna be dragged into this anymore, and that’s what we promised anyway! Can’t you go 24 hours without trying to control everything?”
>Sour Sweet hesitates, then suddenly pulls Indigo in for a kiss.
>Indigo freezes again for the duration of it, then breathes heavily with her heart racing after it parts.
>”I guess not.” Sour Sweet replies. “I’m sorry. I’m truly, truly sorry. But it’s not my fault that Principal Cadance is such a lousy administrator. And that Dean Mouse is such a hot bitch.”
>”That may be true, but it’s not their fault you’re always so hungry for power.”
>Sour kisses Indigo once more for this. “You’re god damn right. I’m a fuckin’ power-whore, but I’m your power-whore.”
>Indigo cringes and raises an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
>”Still not as corny as you.” Sour Sweet continues in a singsongy voice. “Don’t worry, though. Just let me do all the work and we’ll be sitting pretty in no time. I mean, I know how to do this, I’ve helped you do it before.”
>”That only worked because Coach Sombra was an idiot! Basically Sunny-tier. Mostly cool but sometimes just dumb as a fuckin’ stump.”
>”Are the dean and principal any different?” Sour Sweet takes her turn raising an eyebrow. “Granted, we don’t know enough about Mr. Mouse’s smartness, but we know he’s bendable. You confirmed it with the soccer team thing.”
>”At first! Then he-unconfirmed it by saying I was off!”
>”That’s only because we have nothing on him. But we just gotta slowly work our way in.”
>”No!”
>”Yes, Indy!”
>”You promised you’d stop completely!”
>”I didn’t say when I’d stop completely.”
>”Oh… my god!” Indigo looks almost disgusted or horrified. “You really are THAT determined, are you?”
>”Hey, I’m not even into girls but I still got down with you, didn’t I?” Sour Sweet chuckles. “You really should have pieced it together by now.”
>Indigo turns red in the face again. “Yeah… well…”
>”You’re still pretty sexy too, by the way. At least I can almost pretend you’re a guy with those muscles. Even when you’re naked.”
>Indigo growls as Sour Sweet tries not to laugh loudly.
>”Not funny, Sweetie.”
>”Yeah, okay. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Sour Sweet apologizes. “You know I didn’t mean it like that anyway. You’re just hot and fit, I guess.”
>”Shut up! And you better not tell anyone about the shit we did either, by the way!”
>”Relax, I won’t tell anyone…” Sour Sweet suddenly gets an idea that was just handed to her. “As long as…” She grins that same old wicked grin.
>”Oh, no…. no… you are not gonna blackmail me like that.”
>”You know I would, Indy. I don’t care if everyone thinks I swing both ways. Hell, that would make the boys like me more. But /you/ on the other hand…”
>”You’re entering dangerous territory, Sweetie.”
>”So are you, Indy.” Sour Sweet starts to get smug. “I think we can both agree that I’m in charge here.”
>The two suddenly hear a noise around the corner… something falls over, followed by sudden footsteps coming towards the girls around the corner.
>Sour Sweet jolts into alert as Indigo sees a fleeting opportunity without even thinking once about it.
>Indigo doesn’t let go of Sour Sweet, holding her close with her strength and pulling into another deep kiss.
>Sunny Flare turns the corner, having been around that corner for longer tan the other two have any awareness of.
>She drops the battery-less clock when she sees two of her closest friends kissing eachother on the lips.
>Even more shocked than Sour Sweet, who doesn’t know how to react to Indigo doing this.
>Indigo breaks the kiss and gives Sunny Flare a cheesy expression of surprise. “Oh… hey there.”
>Sour Sweet doesn’t realize what just happened until it’s too late. She lost the dirt she had on Indigo before she could even get a hold of it.
>”Oh my gosh… really?” Sunny Flare sounds surprisingly amazed and optimistic about this. “This is… woah. I had no idea!” She cups her hands over her gaping mouth as she gasps these brief utterances.
>”Yup.” Indigo just owns it. “We were gonna surprise you with it one day but… yeah. You kinda caught us off guard there.”
>”…No shit.” Sunny responds. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you two… oh wow…”
>Neither Sour Sweet nor Indigo Zap attempt at making Sunny Flare promise to never tell. They know that’s not gonna happen.
>She’ll be gossiping about this on Twitter as early as tomorrow no matter what.
>”W…wh…wha…” Sour Sweet’s lips struggle to find words after being kissed. “What were… you doing up here anyway?”
>Still stuck at 7:30, the clock lies on the carpet, the hour and minute hand trapping Sour Sweet between them if they were 10 feet long.
>Sunny Flare points to it, at a loss for words herself.
>The awkward moment lasts for as long as it takes for Sunny Flare to pick the clock back up, announcing that she has no idea where in her place the batteries are kept.
>She probably would have gotten lost if she didn’t live here.
>The three girls soon laugh it off with Sour Sweet walking behind the other two, making stabbing motions at Indigo’s back after indigo briefly looks back and mouths the words “do you feel in charge?”.
>She holds the clock now, holding it close to her chest.
>…
>The time on Sugarcoat’s phone says 8:14, as she turns her wifi back on since she’s been alone long enough to safely receive any possible text messages.
>Right away, a couple of texts from Mr. Mouse come in. Saying something about Indigo coming into his office and spilling the beans about something.
>She has no time to read it, as she hears the other girls coming back.
>Quickly hides her phone between her thighs as it keeps vibrating, and as the others walk into the room.
>Keeps the straightest face she can; that’s Mr. Mouse she’s feeling.
>She herself almost laughs at what just happened.
>Keeps quiet for the rest of the party, even as Sour Sweet explains to her about what she wants her to ask Mr. Mouse more specifically.
>Yeah whatever, the results are gonna be fabricated either way, there’s no changing that.
>It’s not long before Sugarcoat gets word of the whole Indy+Sweetie thing. She gasps, then uses the air she inhaled to say that she’s not surprised.
~
>Sunday…
>Sugarcoat reads all of the texts that the dean sent between her legs, and oh boy do they tell a story about what Indigo said to him last week about the possibility of Sour Sweet coming back to school.
>He describes every detail of what she said, and how he can’t really do much about it until there is something concrete, which seems like a good thing for Sugarcoat given what she has to say.
>…
>Not much longer later, she replies to you regarding what Sour Sweet said to her about letting Lemon Zest come back from her suspension early, and how it serves as a sort of indication or test to see where things are going with you.
>You explain once again that it was Principal Cadance who suspended her, and that it doesn’t make sense for you to get her un-suspended early unless you went to the Principal herself about it.
>Then again, that might be what Sour Sweet wants to find out about, if she can get both you and Cadance to do something she wants since Cadance doesn’t seem to take much charge of anything until someone’s shouting and throwing things at other students in the school.
>You and Sugarcoat text eachother about these things for a while, just getting more and more into detail of the possibilities that you can’t actually prove.
>Honestly, you feel like this is already in the bag anyway, because you’re going to tell Sour Sweet point blank if/when she comes into school tomorrow that you’re not stupid and that Indigo told you everything she knew.
>It’s probably going to damage their friendship, but you’re too rational to care about that. This shit needs to stop.
>You pretty much say that yes you are sort of dismissing this, but not in the same way that Cadance would.
>The fact of the matter is that you’re not in the dark about this like her, and there’s nothing else that you absolutely need to do at this point.
>You actually spend a good 20 minutes or so almost debating Sugarcoat about this, but she soon seems to follow you to the page you’re on about this.
>This is the first time you really started talking like her, focusing on the central point and what you absolutely know is true, which luckily is a lot of things in this situation.
>Your points and stuff are more organized too.
>Holy shit, you’re not sure how, but this girl is teaching you how to argue better… even though it’s technically not verbally.
>You do suggest that you do see if Cadance will let Zest back in early so some of the extra tension and stuff eases up, so you only have Sour Sweet to worry about.
>But then you remember that it pretty much won’t ease up at all because what happens when you combine Lemon Zest’s imagination with her headphones.
>You’re wishy-washy on it and go back on that.
>Sugarcoat asks if you want to hang out or something in person after the conversation concludes, mostly because she’s bored and already finished all of her school work.
>You gulp, but figure you could bring up the thing about letting Zest back in anyway in person so you can get a better idea of how to argue better verbally.
>This’ll come in handy at least a little when you call Sour Sweet into your office.
>…
>Decide not to meet at Sugarcube Corner this time around.
>Go straight to Sugarcoat’s house with a few things on your mind.
>She opens the door as you approach from your car. “Hey.”
“Hey.” You begin. “So, I see it’s already like 1.”
>”Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Hey, I wanted to talk to you al little more about something if that’s okay.”
>”Sure, I guess. What was it?”
“It’s regarding Lemon Zest… and her suspension.”
>She doesn’t seem to want to avoid talking about these tedious topics in person at all. “Oh. Sure, I was actually wondering about that.”
>You go inside and sit down on her living room couch.
>”So what about her suspension? You thinking about letting her come back to school early?”
“Yeah, and here’s the reason why.” You begin again. “I know I said that it’s not really a problem because we already have it all handled. But I figured that it would actually be a good idea to let Lemon Zest back in early among other things.”
>”Okay, so why is it a good idea? And what other things?”
“I think you already know how clever and determined your friend is, correct?”
>”Sour Sweet? Yes.”
“My original game plan was to tell her point blank that Indigo detailed a thing or two about her still being at it.”
>Sugarcoat nods. “Uh huh. Yeah, I can see why.”
“The thing is, I have a feeling that she’s not going to stop no matter what. If she went so far as to make a plan that she can’t even tell the other people involved what the details of it are, then it’s reasonable to guess she’ll go all out when she feels cornered despite consequences.”
>Sugarcoat looks skeptical, but only for a half a second. She momentarily nods in agreement, knowing what her friend is like.
>”Okay, so you think she’s going to go for broke, then.”
“Yes, absolutely.”
>”Well I know her well, and if there’s anything I can be sure about, it’s that there is nothing absolute about Sour Sweet. She will change her mind in a heartbeat and still be susceptible to changing it back within the next day or two. You should see her on social media. She’s a complete wild card.”
“Okay.” You nod. “Okay, I can see that. That’s a good point.”
>”So what’s this about letting Lemon Zest come back to school early?”
“Well given Sour Sweet’s behavior, she’d be a little more calm if she feels like you got me to let Zest back in. I’m still going to tell her that Indigo told me that she’s up to something.”
>”Are you sure about that?”
“What do you mean?”
>”She might be a wild card, but letting her think that you know she’s still up to something /and/ that you’re willing to let her friend back into school based on a flimsy request might be a bad sign. She’ll think it’s her last chance.”
“Yeah, but, didn’t you say that she’s trying to get you to do everything for her since I already don’t trust her? So that would mean that she wouldn’t feel like she needs to go and do something, but rather get you to go and do something right away. Which you won’t.”
>Sugarcoat hesitates with a nod. “That’s true, that did happen. But you can’t assume that she won’t turn around on her word regarding that.”
“I know, it’s a little complicated. But listen, I’m not saying that this is to encourage her, not in the wrong way at least. Because this is less about the kind of person she is if she’s separating herself from this in order to get someone I trust more like you to do this for her. Even if it’s just for the moment. I’m saying that we should get her to put all of her eggs into one basket, which is depending on you to do this. And I have a feeling she’d be less inclined to step in again if she sees things work better when you’re ‘getting me to do things’ instead of her.”
>Now Sugarcoat’s eyes widen a little. “Wow, that’s a really good point.”
>You blink rapidly at what you just did; you got the super analytical girl to agree with you based on bullshit you were pulling out of your ass.
>But damn, if this wasn’t an actual good point… you really can do this! She’ll just be all like “get Sugarcoat to do it”, and then Sugarcoat won’t do shit.
>It’s perfect, actually.
>And you didn’t even plan this.
>”However…” Sugarcoat continues. “She might still try to go in for herself after she thinks I’ve gotten you to let your guard down.”
“Aha.” You continue to pull sentences together off the top of your head. “That’s where me telling her about the things Indigo said about her come in. She’ll “know” that her best bet is to leave things to you. Especially after she sees Lemon Zest come back early.”
>Sugarcoat looks down, almost in amazement.
>She agrees with you again, sounding impressed. Almost like she’s proud of you for being able to start to organize strong points in a discussion like she would.
>This is so perfect, Sour Sweet won’t be able to talk her way around you now.
>What you both just talked about becomes your master plan. The next step of which is you emailing Cadance about Lemon Zest’s suspension.
>It’s like almost 3 by the time you leave Sugarcoat’s house.
>Kiss her once before heading off.
>She looked thrilled to kiss you after seeing you talk like her and all, that must have blown her away.
>…
>And of course, it doesn’t take much to convince Cadance to let Lemon Zest come back on Monday.
>[Oh of course!] She replied. [I felt so terrible for still suspending her for a whole two weeks after she owned up to her fault in things! It really should have been only one or something lighter. I don’t want her to feel like…] She just goes on with some dumb shit.
>This is the point in time when you realize that you’d be a better principal of this place than the principal herself.
>It’s a surprise she even became the first dean; those girls must have been playing her like a damn chessboard left and right.
>It’s no surprise that a megalomaniac like Sour Sweet would see a fresh new dean with Cadance as the principal as such an opportunity.
>Long story short, Lemon Zest is coming back in on Monday, and you’re going to be giving Sour Sweet a talk on the same day unless she skips school again.
~
>Middle of the night.
>Indigo Zap sleeps in her own bed, waiting for that hellish first day of the week tomorrow to start off with the buzzing of her alarm.
>Another buzzing beats the alarm to Indigo’s ears several hours early. Her phone.
>Indigo angrily grabs her phone, half-expecting a text from Sour Sweet, even though she made the other girl agree to knock that shit off.
>Plot twist, it’s Sunny Flare.
>Indigo skims through the wall of text.
>[I heard what you said about me. I heard all of it, I was around the corner for longer than you thought. That I’m dumb as a fuckin stump huh? How could you dare say that shit about me, you were talking shit like I wouldn’t find out? I’ll have you know I’d graduate at the top of the whole class if it weren’t for Sugarcoat taking numerous extra credit things. I read like 300 books a day…] The text goes on and on and on and on…
>Indigo doesn’t bother reading the rest of the message. She already knew her smug little alliance with Sunny Flare against Sour Sweet wouldn’t last.
>She just ghosts her, turns her phone off and goes back to sleep.
>Oh fucking well.
~
>Case of the Mondays.
>Nothing much to describe, everyone’s just sort of coming into school.
>Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare wait outside homeroom together as Indigo Zap walks up to them.
>They give Indigo a collective smirk, Sunny Flare’s more of a dirty scowl, and Indigo just stares back with her “I don’t give a fuck” face that might as well have a built in middle finger.
>She goes into the classroom, and Sour Sweet whispers something into Sunny Flare’s ear.
>Sunny Flare whispers something back.
>”Oh, stop being such a baby!” Sour Sweet replies. “She just called you stupid! I’ve called you stupid before too, you know.”
>”Yeah, but you’re you.” Sunny Flare responds
>”And Indy’s Indy.” Says Sour Sweet. “All the shit she said about you can easily apply to her just as easily and you know it.”
>”But…”
>”No buts. She may be stupid and bitchy sometimes but she’s not a traitor.” Sour Sweet then leans in to make sure Indigo or Sugarcoat can’t hear. “Now go see Dean Mouse like we planned.”
>The alliances are about to officially shift once again.
>Sunny Flare heads on down to the Dean’s office, where you unknowingly wait for her.
>…
>Knock knock.
“Yes?”
>There she is, iVambraces on her arms and everything.
>”Hey, Dean Mouse.”
“Hello, Miss Flare. What’s happenin’?”
>”I don’t mean to bother you, but I have a really important event that I have to attend to today. And I wanted to come down here and ask for your permission for me to leave school early today.”
“Hmm…” You think carefully, knowing her affiliation with Sour Sweet. “What’s the event?”
>”My cousins are getting married today and I was invited to the wedding. It’s at 4pm but it’s a really long drive away, and I don’t want to be late.”
>Well, this sounds valid. Can’t just turn everything down because of some other bullshit that probably has nothing to do with this.
“Alright.” You reply.
>”Thank you! Thank you so much! You’re like, the best dean everrrrr!” Sunny claps her hands together locking the fingers and smiles widely. “You’re so cool.”
>She skips out of the room late for class as the first bell rings.
>You think nothing further of this.
>…
>Sunny sits back down in her desk, right next to Sour Sweet and pauses. “Woah, hey…” She notices Lemon Zest sitting right there near them… but her headphones are around the back of her neck. Unsurprisingly, she looks pretty bummed out to have come back to school early.
>”I know, right?” Sour Sweet happily squeals quietly. “It actually worked! It’s finally working! We’ll have him in no time!”
>She then falls silent staring at Sunny Flare as if to ask how it went when she lied to the dean about having some random wedding or something to go to. Sunny picks up on this.
>”He said okay!” Sunny Flare announces. “Though, I kinda told a more believable lie, but he said okay.”
>”Hell yeah!” Sour Sweet quietly celebrates in her seat. “Also, I’m starting to get dirt on ol’ Cadance too.”
>Sunny Flare pauses. “Wait, what?”
>The two girls lower their voices after they notice how close Sugarcoat and Indigo and other students are sitting.
>”Don’t ask where I got this info, cause that’s not important.”
>”What do you mean you have dirt?! What is this? I thought this was only about the dean!” Sunny Flare says to her.
>”Oh no, we have to make sure all of our bases are covered.” Sour Sweet tells her. “Don’t worry, I got this whole part covered, but I’m letting you know anyway.” She leans in and whispers something into Sunny Flare’s ear.
>Sunny Flare’s eyes widen, and widen and widen still.
>”What… the fuck?! Really?” She gasps. “Wait, who?”
>”Some alumni of the school. And get this… he’s Twilight Sparkle’s BROTHER!”
>”WHAT?”
>”Miss Sour Sweet.” The homeroom teacher approaches the girl after reading a reminder message from the Dean’s office. “Got a call from the dean’s office. He wants to see you.
>”I’ll tell you the rest in the girl’s room.” Sour Sweet whispers. “If I don’t return by then, then lunch, And if not by then, then I’ll follow out early too.”
>”You’re… just gonna…” Sunny Flare starts.
>”I’ll… try not to get detention.” Sour Sweet replies with a wink before leaving the door with a sudden urge to play cat and mouse with the dean.
>It’s a miracle that the teacher already started taking roll call before Sour Sweet said these things.
>But a rare event has occurred: Lemon Zest has picked up on something that was said outside of her headphones!
>A few minutes pass.
>She goes over to Sunny Flare as Indigo Zap smugly smirks at the gap through the closing door where she can see Sour Sweet taking a walking in the direction of the dean’s office, knowing the news she’s about to hear.
>”What’s going on with Twilight? I thought she left this school.” Asks Zest.
>”No, not her! Her brother, I guess.” Sunny replies. “The guy who’s an alumnus from here that visits sometimes. He’s uh… well just listen to Sour Sweet when she comes back, whenever that is.”
>”Awww, what? I have to stay here longer just to hear about this?”
>”What do you mean?”
>”I’m gonna play hookie, Sunny. I don’t wanna come back to school yet. But Cadance was all like ‘come back, you’ve learned your lesson’ like I stole a balloon of free balloon day.”
>”What? Why, though? Don’t you like History class?”
>”I’m gonna ask my teacher if he can just tutor me at home when I can listen to my music and the lessons can last longer anyway. I know I’ve already missed a lot, and this is pretty much what I decided on now.”
>”…What?”
>”Cadance told me that I can’t listen to my music during school hours. And I’m pretty sure she’s not gonna change her mind any time soon. I’m lucky I even gained her trust back to begin with.” Explains Zest. “This sucks! I just wanna jaaaaam!”
>”You should probably just go to the new dean and ask him if you can listen to your music. Then if you get in trouble, you can just say the dean let you do it and you’ll be off the hook.”
>Zest pauses. “Wait wait wait wait… we have a new dean?!”
>Indigo Zap snorts in stifled laughter.
>”…Uh, yeah. You didn-” Sunny Flare is cut off by the bell ringing.
>Lemon Zest hastily stands up. “I gotta go!”
>Sugarcoat watches her rush out the door in the direction of the dean’s office. Almost feeling like she should text you before the cyclone hits you.
>…
>Several minutes earlier.
>Sour Sweet enters without knocking.
>She can tell by the look on your face that she probably has some explaining to do.
>You can tell by the look on her face that she doesn’t care.
>The top of her shirt wasn’t unbuttoned like that the last time you saw her.
>She’s planning something right now, isn’t she?
>Whatever, keep your cool.
“Hey there, why don’t you go ahead and seat yourself and we’ll get to why I called you here.”
>”What’s up?” She sits down.
“Alright… so… here’s the deal.” You start off. “Your friend Indigo came in here last week, let me know about a couple of things.”
>Sour Sweet feels a tingle in her spine. “She what now?”
“Indigo Zap. Your friend. she came in here last week and told me a few things about you that are… well let me go ahead and rehash it all.”
>Sour Sweet looks more and more perturbed as you go on to basically describe the cat being out of the bag.
>Leave out any parts directly involving Sugarcoat so she doesn’t know.
>Expect her to deny deny deny and you corner her with the points you’re making.
>That’s not what happens. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
>”Ff…fffff…ffffine!” Sour Sweet crosses her arms with a pout. “Okay, okay, fine. You got me.”
>She didn’t even try to argue.
“Well, I’m afraid that it’s not just fine. Because these are some serious things and I’d rather you just come clean with every detail so we don’t drag this out any further. I already know that there’s something going on and it needs to stop, do you understand?”
>”Yes, Mr. Mouse. I understand.”
>You don’t like the way she’s pushing at her chest with her arms.
>Even though she’s 18, this feels wrong.
“So with that… how about you go ahead and fess up to anything else you should tell me while your school record is still in the clear?” You feel almost like a rug saying this, but she technically didn’t do anything direct, which is probably intended on her end… but what can you do?
>”Well…” Sour Sweet clamps her hands together in front of herself and stretches her arms down.
>She’s making her cleavage appear to you on purpose… you have a bad feeling about this.
>”I was only gonna try to like… I dunno… be your friend or something.” She starts off.
“And what does that mean?”
>”This is gonna sound bad but… I sorta thought you were… c-cute…” Sour Sweet begins to stutter before catching herself. “But in a quick temporary way.” She’s actually struggling to think of how to say this.
>You just sit there and victoriously go “mhm” in your head, watching her stumble over word after word. Still a little bit on your toes for obvious reasons.
>She looks surprised that you haven’t said anything yet.
>”I’m so sorry, this whole thing was really s-stupid of me.” She says to you in a sweetening voice. “I don’t know what to say, but… I… I wasn’t going to do anything bad. I just kinda wanted to play teacher’s pet in a wa- not a bad way!”
>You heat up a little upon hearing this.
>Gotta take this back to a comfortable place.
“Just uh… go back to the things Indigo said you knew that she didn’t. That’s the issue at hand, here.” You finally realize what she’s subtly trying to do.
>This sneaky bitch.
>”I didn’t tell her to do anything, I’m sorry. She probably thought I did because I’m hard to read sometimes, but I was just joking around when I said it to her. I didn’t really want to go that far with it, and I’m so sorry all of this happened.” Sour Sweet apologizes. “I’m telling you the truth, I swear. I did say things about what she did but not in a way where I was telling her to do it again and get you in trouble.”
>You’re not yet ready to believe that Sour Sweet would be hard to read for Indigo Zap.
“I dunno, about that. She told me she knows you really well, and can tell when you’re being serious or trying to get her to do something.”
>You watch another flash of betrayal enter Sour Sweet’s eyes.
“Are you saying she’s lying?”
>”N-no… what she said wasn’t true, but she… she…”
“What she said wasn’t true… but she wasn’t lying…” You skeptically respond, giving her the side of your face to look at.
>”It’s not true! But she didn’t make it up, she assumed it. She’s just wrong, but it’s not her fault. It’s still mine for making her think that and then coming to you about it.”
“Well those were some bold claims she made. You realize that, right? Can’t just ignore this and sweep it under the rug.”
>”I’m know. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I just want you to know that I wasn’t trying to get her to do my dirty work for me and get you to do things like get me out of trouble if I got into it. I just… kinda wanted to do that on my own since none of the other girls liked that. But I see why now. It’s wrong.”
“Yeah, no fucking shit.” You blurt. I-I.. uh I mean, yeah no kidding.”
>You almost make out a half-smile on her face.
>God damn it.
>”It’s okay, I understand if you’re mad. Like you said, those were bold claims she made even if they aren’t true. But it’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”
>You wait for her to continue, reddening in the face.
>”But the part I didn’t tell you was that I thought you were cute and kinda wanted to be like your favorite student or something, I dunno. I didn’t mean it something like… something bad or anything like that.”
“W-well it certainly sounds bad.” You fail to hide the nervousness in your voice.
>She noticed your voice shaking. “I know you probably see it that way, that was my fault too. I’m so sorry.” She apologizes over and over again. “There’s no excuse for what I tried to do. And that’s all there was to it, but it was definitely wrong of me and there’s no excuse. I guess I’m just a dumb girl who makes dumb decisions or something. I’m sorry.”
“You sure there’s nothing else you want to admit?” You’re still not ready to buy into this girl’s little slew of apologies.
>She bypassed your newfangled arguing abilities and went straight for the awkward spot. She did it on purpose, you just know it.
>”There’s nothing else. That’s it. I swear I’m telling you the truth. I’ll go ahead and tell Indigo that… I talked with you and… apologize to her. I’m so sorry I put you through all this.”
>She presses onto her boobs again with her arms to make her cleavage show.
>This girl’s mind games are so fucking toxic, it’s painful.
>She already realized she couldn’t best you in an argument so she took the loss there and started this petty shit instead.
>”I’m so… so, deeply sorry, Mr. Mouse. I really like you as a dean… and I’ve learned my lesson now. I promise it won’t happen again no matter what, but if you still think I should be punished, go ahead. I deserve it.”
>She’s once again waiting for that verdi-
“Alright, look. I don’t want to have to bring this up again, and it’s Monday. So I’m tired and still getting into the swing of things.”
>She silently nods, keeping her arms slightly pushing onto her chest where you’re trying not to look, but not to the point where it’s obvious.
>Do you just call her out on this?
“A-and… it seems that you’re being honest enough with me.” You almost bite your tongue saying this, still not believing her and wanting to just end this now because you’re so tired of this. “So, I’m just going to ask one more time and you can go. Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to say?”
>”I don’t know what it is you want me to say. Does it have to do with me saying that I thought you were…” She trails off.
>The implication finally hits you like a baseball bat.
>Fuck, the way this all sounds makes it out like you’re trying to get her to say she wants to do… things with you!
>And she’s still doing the shirt thing! Stop walking into this before you can’t go back and make it clear that you ain’t about that shit!
“W-well…” Your articulation deteriorates quickly. “First of all, button your shirt back up.”
>”O-oh…” Sour Sweet blushes and looks down. “I’m sorry. Was… was that… like…”
“No! No, it wasn’t.”
>”Wait, why were you looking there, though?” There’s that half-smile again, barely noticeable.
>Fuckin’ DAMN IT, it was a trap!
>There’s nowhere to retreat to!
“L-look. That’s not the important part.” You clumsily pull a tactical retreat anyway. “J-just… I don’t want to hear about this again, understood?”
>The bell rings; homeroom is over.
>She grabs the sides of her upper arms and rubs them like she’s suddenly cold… it does things to you. “I understand, Dean Mouse. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t misbehave again.” She almost can be heard purring like a cat.
>You twitch a little as she stands up without asking if she can go.
>She turns around and faces the door as you try not to look below the back of her head.
“Y-your dismissed.”
>She turns around.
>With her eyes, she silently asks you “Are you sure?”
>With your own eyes, you silently reply “Does this look unsure to you?” without anywhere near as much confidence as you hope.
>HOW THE HELL COULD YOU JUST LET HER TEAR YOUR GUARD DOWN LIKE THAT?
>You sit at your desk, shook as all fuck… By an 18 year old high school girl!
>Sour Sweet opens the door and jumps back with a yelp. “Gah!”
>”Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Lemon Zest stands in front of a startled but satisfied Sour Sweet.
>”Sorry for what?” Sour Sweet breathes then replies. “I wasn’t scared or anything.” She then walks away with a brief glance back at you before diverting her eyes back to the hallways in search of Indigo Zap.
>She clearly didn’t expect to see Lemon Zest there all of a sudden.
>Shrugging, Lemon Zest pays no mind regardless and turns back to you. “Hello! New Dean?”
“Yes.” You blankly answer, with your dean machine broke.
>”Neat. Just one thing, can I listen to music in class?”
“If it were up to me, yes. But ask Principal Cadance first.”
>”Aight. Understandable, have a nice day.” She nonchalantly walks out without another word like you literally just stopped existing.
>Those headphones really are all she cares about in this mad world.
>…
>Knock knock.
>”Come in!” Principal Cadence calls out. “Oh hello again, Miss Zest.”
>”Hey. Just one thing. Can I listen to music in school again? Pleeeeaaaase?”
>Cadance blinks at her. “I’m sorry, but we agreed upon you keeping them off during school hours. You can still listen to your tunes after school when most of the students are gone, though”
>Thunder erupts in Lemon Zest’s heart. This is it, the moment of truth.
>She has two options: Either run away or smash. Run away into the hallways in defeat or smash those headphones onto her head anyway.
>She gives Cadance a stern, determined look, fearing nothing as she grabs the sides of her headphones around the back of her neck and lifts them up.
>”…Miss Zest…” Cadance warns, knowing on the inside that it’s of no use.
>Zest has two new options that she gave herself: either get sent home where she can listen to music, or somehow stay in school if Cadance backs down after the moment right now… where she can listen to music.
>Either way… she’s listening to her music and there isn’t a damn thing in this world that can stop her.
>”Kay.” Zest replies, turning the headphones on and selecting a song from her playlist.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51t1OsPSdBc
>She T-poses, then leaves the Principal’s office right as Ice Cube’s verse starts.
>Cadance gets extremely worried and follows Zest into the hallways, only to find that she’s not really disrupting any of the other students that surround her.
>None of the students process why Cadance is almost kind of following Lemon Zest… luckily.
>And Lemon Zest barely notices Cadance standing there; she purposefully strides with a sly, careless grin as the song continues into her ears.
>Cadence looks at all of the students, instantly reminded of what happened the last time something like this happened.
>Pushover mode: activated.
>”I’ll… I’ll call her to my office if this goes wrong.” Cadance mutters under her breath to convince herself that her retreat back into her office is not in vain.
>Zest looks back to see that the Principal is no longer there, then victoriously smiles up at the fluorescent ceiling lights as she starts to skip.
>…
>”YOU!” Sour Sweet grunts and points her finger.
>Indigo Zap sighs and calmly closes her locker before Sour Sweet has a chance to slam it shut.
>”You traitor!” Sour Sweet’s ponytail almost spins she walks up to Indigo so fast before abruptly stopping.
>”You know I had to do it, Sweetheart.” Indigo doesn’t even flinch.
>The next class may start soon, but the other students like where this is going, gathering around and anticipating the pretty much inevitable catfight.
>Sunny Flare, however, doesn’t like where this is going. “Wait, hold on, come on, let’s break this up.” She grabs Sour Sweet’s arms and tries to pull her back before shit gets out of hand.
>Sugarcoat just watches from the sidelines, cringing at everything that’s happening.
>There’s a little bit of a scuffle that ends up with Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap facing eachother on opposite sides of the hallway.
>Giving eachother death glares.
>Almost ready to lunge at eachother until they hear headphone music approaching.
>Lemon Zest happily skips right past them with Fuk Da Police still playing loudly.
>The comic relief eases the tension, and many students laugh instead of chanting “fight”.
>Sunny Flare grabs Sour Sweet by the arm again and pulls her back. “C’mon. Let’s cool down, eh? Let’s chill.” She then glares at Indigo. “You’re lucky I’m still civil and didn’t sick her on your ass.”
>”No, SHE’S lucky you didn’t sick her on my ass.” Indy cracks her knuckles and scowls.
>”After school!” Sour Sweet vows, still slightly struggling with Sunny Flare. “You hear me, bitch? After school!”
>”So be it, cunt.” Indigo turns around and walks away as the bell rings.
>…
>Lemon Zest skips every class except history.
~
>Yup, everything’s still spiraling out of control. Rushing past you as you desperately try to grasp onto whatever you can.
>Stay at your desk, failing when you try not to panic, but you fail silently and on the inside.
>Now more students are coming in, making your nervousness amplify with each new entrance.
>Luckily, it’s not any of the ones you’ve had a… thing with. But you could really use a good sign of life from Sugarcoat right now.
>Even though you shouldn’t be texting her.
>And now the day is pretty much over, and the students are just about to leave the school
>This is the worst sign for you, because it means that it’s over if you don’t do anything to resolve this right now. They’re gonna get away with dirt on you that you helped them make.
>Don’t even know what Sour Sweet’s gonna do. Or even if Indigo Zap really had turned coat on her.
>But you finally get a text from Sugarcoat; she is camping out in the girl’s bathroom so she can talk to you through text.
>[That must have been what they were planning. I should have known they were going to go there. It should have been obvious. I’m sorry.]
[Whatever, now’s not the time for apologizing. Neither of us knew for sure, but the important thing is that we stop this now.]
>[So do you have any plans that don’t involve me snatching away Sunny’s cheap expensive arm devices somehow?]
[I can’t think of a way to reason with them, no. Unless you have something.]
>[Honestly I have nothing. This came as a total surprise.]
>You pound your fist on the desk.
>You had this in the bag! And now here you are, not only back to square 1, but about to get pushed to square 0 with this bullshit, where there’s no returning from.
>[Listen, I’m going to try and see what I can do after school. Do you still have the panties nearby?]
[I hid them.] You feel sick typing this. [I know Sunny took a picture with her iVambrace thing, so that’s what we’d need the thing erased from before they put or send it somewhere we can’t reach.]
>[I’ll tell them I want to hang out after school. At either of their places, preferably Sour Sweet’s since it’s smaller and has less space.]
[It’ll be harder to get Sunny to take off the iVambraces though.]
>[It won’t be necessary if I can just remove the picture while she has it on. I already looked up how those things work, it’s exactly like an iPhone except it connects to your arm. There’s literally nothing different about it besides that.]
>Fuckin’ Apple.
>[I can just go into photos and delete the picture before she can stop me… somehow.]
[I guess that’s our only option.]
>[Meanwhile, you go to Cadance and say that Sour Sweet’s at it again, and that’s it’s bad this time. And that she should be worried. We really should have done this a while ago. I should have brought it up again and reminded you to tell her something.]
[I tried! She doesn’t know how to take the right things seriously!]
>[Well in any case go to her now. I’ll find Sour and Sunny.]
[Got it.]
>You stand up a few minutes before the final bell is supposed to ring.
>March over to Cadance’s office door only to have your heart sunk.
>OF COURSE SHE HAPPENED TO LEAVE EARLY TODAY!
>Why would your luck not be at least a little shitty even after it was already shitty? You seriously need some good luck charms or something.
>Look at the note on her door: [Dear Mr. Mouse if you stop by, attending meeting, will have to leave early today but good job keeping everything in line, proud of ya!]
>Fuckin…
>Whatever, no time to dwell on it now, the bell just rang.
>Plan B: Send her an email and hope for the best.
>You go to your office and do just that, ready to send the damn thing after three minutes of clumsy typing and editing before planning to rush out to your car with your bag in hand, like a criminal escaping with the loot.
>What are you even going to do with the contents of this thing?
>Have to keep it from where anyone can get to it… maybe just dump it in the woods or river somewhere.
>Yeah, but it’s still YOU doing that, after taking them off of the floor in YOUR office, whether you put them there or not.
>This is not a good look or a good feel for you no matter what approach you take.
>Whatever send the ema-
>Knock knock.
>…
>Minutes earlier. Last class of the day has pretty much ended and the students are packed up and ready to leave.
>”Yoooo, Sugar. What’s poppin’?” Sour Sweet smiles and waves, surprised to see that Sugarcoat snuck her way over to the girls’ bathroom too.
>”Hey, uh, I’ve been feeling like I haven’t been kind to you lately.” Sugarcoat responds.
>”Oh goodness, why do you say that?” Sour sarcastically responds. “I mean… uh, what about it?”
>”I wanted to apologize to you and Sunny. You seen her?”
>”She left early.”
>Sugarcoat gulps.
>”What’s wrong?” Sour Sweet, sounding concerned.
>”Uh, nothing. I just feel bad, you know? And I wanted to apologize to her and Indy.”
>Sour Sweet scoffs. “Oh, right. Indy. Uh… yeah, about her…”
>”…You’re not seriously going to fight her, are you?” Sugarcoat easily knows who would win.
>”You seriously think I’d risk losing a few teeth in a fistfight with her?”
>”…No.”
>”That’s what I thought, but listen. I-” Sour Sweet is cut off by the final bell ringing.
>Both girls feel urgency now.
>”I’m avoiding the fight with her, obviously. Camping out here until like an hour later.”
>”Whatever, fine, I’ll just head over to Sunny’s place and wait there for you.” Sugarcoat thinks about the time window she’ll create from this.
>”That’s perfect!” Sour Sweet enthusiastically says. “See you there.” She watches Sugarcoat leave the room.
>Then she receives a text on her phone and grins.
>Outside the school.
>Indigo Zap waits with a small crowd of students waiting with her, not surprised about Sour Sweet’s absence.
>Sugarcoat leaves the front doors of the school with a look silently saying “she’s not coming” as she glances over to the peanut gallery of students.
>Indigo laughs loudly like a villain. “She’s such a coward when shit gets real.” She makes fun of Sour Sweet more and more the longer the other girl doesn’t show up.
>Back inside the school.
>Sour Sweet watches Sugarcoat’s car drive away from a window, then rushes down to the dean’s office before the guy has a chance to leave while Indigo and Sugarcoat are at bay.
>Yes! Cadance left early too! That makes this even easier.
>She probably left because she didn’t want to deal with the fight once she inevitably heard about it from this place’s contagious gossip.
>…
>Knock knock.
“…Come in?”
>Sour Sweet enters before you finish the email. “You have a minute?” She blinks rapidly and leans on your desk without sitting down.
>She can see your computer screen from here; you had to minimize the tab.
>”You got a minute?” She repeats.
“Uh, no. I was just leaving.” You’re forced to log off your computer.
>She sees that you have unsaved data that you’re less than hesitant to sacrifice as the monitor momentarily switches to the logoff screen. Email autosave can’t help you here; it won’t send the damn thing for you.
“Sorry, I have no time to talk.” Your brain floods with the urge to escape escape escape. “And the school day’s over, so…”
>”Yeah. It’s already over.” Sour Sweet says this in a way that obviously means something else, and you know full well what it is.
>She knows that you know when you make eye contact.
>Your phone vibrates on your desk.
>Sour Sweet snatches it away before you can grab it.
“Hey! What are you doing?” A part of you still wants to play dean. “Hand that back now!”
>”Shhhhh.” Sour Sweet goes over to the door and locks it before turning the lights off.
>The sudden darkness of the room unleashes a sense of apprehensiveness that washes over you.
>”Text from Sugarcoat, huh?” Sour Sweet says. “Eh, I already knew. Not surprised.”
>You freeze as she walks towards you once again.
“G-give it back. Now!” You say, more quietly.
>She responds to the text from Sugarcoat on your behalf; you don’t even know what was said.
>”Looks like both the dean and the principal got off early today.” Sour Sweet finally sits down in the chair that faces you with a purposefully cute grin. “Oh yeah, that meant two things.” She knows the lights are staying off for a bit.
>She continues to have a conversation with Sugarcoat from your phone, most likely pretending to be you.
>”Damn, girl. You shouldn’t be texting while driving.” Sour Sweet mutters almost silently. “All those times you yell at me cause of that, damn.”
“What do you want?”
>”One sec.”
>You shiver in a mixture of anger and fear as Sour Sweet continues to send texts to Sugarcoat, almost drooling with unconfined glee.
>She finally puts the phone down. “You know what I want, and they’re somewhere in here, are they?”
>You stutter, not even sure what it was you were trying to say.
>”It’s okay. I’m a good student.” She crosses one leg over the other, sounding giddy and excited. “Wanna know how I did it?”
“W-what?”
>Sour Sweet switches her legs Basic Instinct style.
>It’s still quite dark, but you can tell she’s copying the same thing Indigo did… except nothing can save you this time. Your office has turned into a lion’s den, but it’s not yours.
>”I hid them under my sock, Mr. Mouse. Wrapped around the ankle. Luckily they’re small enough to not be noticed.” Reveals Sour Sweet. “Long story short, kicked them under when you looked away after I caught you staring at my tits.”
>This girl really went in for the kill and fast. You don’t know if you’re more impressed or horrifi- yeah, you’re more horrified.
>”I guess you can say I’m a quick planner, I’d like to thank you for calling me in today, it made this so much easier for both of us.”
>The two of you are talking in whispering voices as some chanting can be heard outside.
“The f-fuck do you mean?”
>She giggles at the fact that she made you cuss. “It means we can finally get down to business. And you can stop lying, I know what you want as much as you know what I want.”
>You’re silent.
>”I want my panties back, Mr. Mouse. But you confiscated them today because I came to school looking a little too fine.” Sour Sweet stands up. “Then I went the rest of the day without them, violating the dress code even more.”
>You scoot and roll your chair away from her as she makes her way around to your side of the desk, to no avail as she traps you and pulls your chair back towards her.
>What if you just stood up and ran away?
>Would she scream and then tell everyone what “really happened”?
>There’s just no fucking winning this.
>”So now you’re gonna punish me for misbehaving, are you?” She sits in your lap.
>You can feel her ass cheeks meet your upper thighs, her hip against your belt. She can feel you start to pitch a tent right under her.
“Get off of me. Just let me give you the… those… back and…”
>”We both know it’s not gonna happen like that.” Sour Sweet inches her skirt up a little ways. “You want me to earn them back~”
>This can’t be happen- her thighs are on either side of you and she starts to grind with the only clothes in the way being yours. This is happening.
>The chanting outside is louder; it’s the students having expected a fight chanting “Coward Sweet”. But it’s muffled enough from inside your office that it just sounds like they’re chanting “Sour Sweet”.
“S…sou…”
>”It’s Miss Sweet!” She hisses at you.
“…”
>”Yeah, just keep calling me that from now on. I like it better than Principal Sweet, honestly.” She envisions her rule over the whole school.
>You start to protest once more, but she kisses you. She already know you’d unintentionally let yourself kiss her back.
>She breaks the kiss after you try to pull her hands away from the front of your pants. “Confiscate my bra.”
“I…”
>Sour Sweet guides your hands under her shirt and up along her skin. “It’s okay. Keep yourself occupied. Confiscate my bra. I know you’ve been thinking about my tits all day anyway, weren’t you?” She cuddles her face up to your shoulder.
>She undoes everything on the front of your pants and immediately reaches in. It’s too late to stop her.
>You jolt upon feeling her fingers directly clench your shaft. You’re sure she can hear your teeth chattering as your hands are made to wedge fingers under the frilly edges of her bra and discover she has inverteds.
“H-how do I…” You glide your hands to her back and try to undo something.
>”You’ll figure out.” She confidently says to you, almost like she’s internally cheering for you as the voices outside cheer for her.
>And she’s right, you do figure it out. Before your brain stops working after you pull her bra out from under her shirt and you feel her start to envelop you.
>Making you break one of the golden rules: “Never stick your dick in a crazy.”
>Greedily and lustfully fucking you out of your power so the school can be hers.
“Why?”
>”Why not?”
~
>Sugarcoat thought those texts from the dean came off as a bit strange.
>It didn’t really sound like him, since she’s gotten a good idea of how he types.
[Actually I’ll meet you at your house, I just thought of something. See ya then. Hurry though.]
>Yeah, no, that’s really weird.
>Sugarcoat decides to go on over to Sunny Flare’s place still and carry out the plan she herself just thought of.
>Goes up the long driveway once more and rings the doorbell. Waits about a minute for Sunny Flare to reach the front doors.
>”Sup?” Sunny seems slightly unsurprised.
>”Hey, Sunny. I just wanted to come over and talk again.”
>”Is this like last time?”
>”Yeah, I feel like it’s warranted. May I come in?”
>”Sure.”
>Sunny Flare lets Sugarcoat in, remembering the last text she received on her phone from Sour Sweet saying for her to keep Sugarcoat from getting anywhere near the school and keep her in sight to keep her from texting the dean.
>Meanwhile, she keeps her iVambraces on like she always does. Each one having a different phone number, and her phone phone also having a different number which she uses to text her friends who sometimes joked about texting her right or left arm.
>The two girls sit on the couch for a little bit and talk about the usual drama and gossip. And how they each have been acting bitchy towards eachother.
>Sugarcoat soon wants to go out to the back patio since it’s nice outside. Sunny obliges and follows Sugarcoat out.
>As this happens, she gets a text from a phone number unfamiliar to her mobile phone saying [scratch that, I got this]. She hardly processes it, thinking it’s just some random stranger or prank caller.
>Sets her phone down on a nearby table.
>Sugarcoat has no idea which arm is the one bearing the iVambrace that snapped a pic of Sour Sweet’s panties today, but it doesn’t matter.
>Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat walk alongside the edge of the pool, starting to talk about Dean Mouse and how cute Sunny is starting to think he is.
>This is very convenient for Sugarcoat, because Sunny and her iVambraces are closer to the pool.
>”You know, I was in his office today. He let me leave early.” Sunny tells Sugarcoat. “I think he likes both of us. Isn’t that funny?”
>Oh, very convenient indeed.
>”You know, if you’re not dating him yet, then I guess… well…” Sunny starts as Sugarcoat blushes, huffs and reaches her arm out towards her. “I guess I- wah!”
>There is a loud splash.
>Sugarcoat stands alone at the edge of the pool.
>More smaller splashing sounds can be heard as Sugarcoat stops walking and glares down at Sunny Flare in the water.
>”Agh! Sh… Sugar!” Sunny gripes between coughing on and spitting out pool water. “Sugar, what the FUCK?!” Her iVambraces still latched onto her paddling arms in the water. “WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUCK?!”
>”It’s a prank.” Sugarcoat coldly responds with the most unapologetic expression imaginable.
>Sugarcoat is already gone by the time Sunny Flare makes her way to the shallow end of the pool and get out using the concrete stairs, drenched from head to toe.
>”SUGARCOOOOOOOOAT!!!!” She hollers into the wind that feels colder when she’s soaking wet.
>Stumbling inside with her shoes making loud squishing sounds against the hard kitchen floor, Sunny Flare swipes at the screens of her iVambraces only to find out that they actually aren’t waterproof. Contrary to what she had read about them online.
>”AAAAAAAAPLLLLEEEE!”
>She throws a massive hissy fit over losing her hundreds and hundreds of selfies and pictures of food. Then again, they’re all pretty much on her Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts anyway, so the hissy fit is short-lived.
>She’ll just get her parents to send her more money so she can buy new iVambraces.
>Sunny Flare strips naked and throws her sopping wet school uniform and all into the washing machine, vowing to strangle Sugarcoat the next time she sees her.
>She soon remembers the message from the random phone number. Her brain just now realizes… it was Sour Sweet texting her from the dean’s phone!
>And the one image on the iVambrace that Sunny didn’t post online anywhere was the one of Sour Sweet’s panties under the dean’s desk.
>And now it’s lost forever like teardrops in the pool water.
[spoiler]>Or at least it would have been if Sunny Flare didn’t send it to Sour Sweet’s phone less than an hour ago.[/spoiler]
To Be Continued…

https://pastebin.com/Sx1M6gnB