A Day with a Growing Headache (Part One)
"And remember, you'll need the book by Friday and be through chapter five by Monday. " Cheerilee scribbled the note down onto the board in front of her as her students groaned. She rolled her eyes to herself at their enthusiasm and snapped her book closed in her hand before she turned to the class.
"Hey," She reminded them with a small, strained smile, "At least you don't have to annotate like the juniors and seniors."
There was a general murmur of agreement through the class at the statement. Cheerilee glanced at the clock and saw they had only a few seconds until the end of class. With a sigh she said, "Okay, that's all I have for you today--" The rest of her sentence was cut off as the class immediately spiraled out of control, with excited chatter and backpacks being zipped up. Her eye twitched and she decided to have a seat at her desk, not bothering to keep her class in check.
She often did that with her seventh period class; it wasn't favoritism per se (though, not that she was allowed to say so, they were her favorite class.) It was more that by that time, she was too tired to corral them back in. They were pretty well behaved for a last period class, too, so she didn't much mind if they lost it, so long as it was as close to the bell as possible.
"Ms. Cheerilee?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see one of her favorite (again, not that she would say it out loud) students looking at her with a sheepish smile.
"Yes, Miss Shimmer?" Cheerilee asked with a gentle smile. The girl was new, and a quiet sort. A bit of new-student-itis she would figure.
"About that book... Do you have a copy of it that I could borrow?" She wouldn't look at Cheerilee, which made the teacher furrow her brow.
"Hm, I do not, but there might be a copy of it in the library. Can you not get one on your own?"
Sunset shook her head and looked at Cheerilee with a frown, "My--my parents are still busy with the unpacking and stuff, and they can't really buy it for me. They were hoping maybe you had a copy from a past year, but the library could work as well."
Being a teacher for several years (and an older sister on top of that) had taught Cheerilee when someone was lying. And Sunset seemed to be giving her half-truths, which made her feel uneasy. Sunset wasn't a bad student, so she didn't have a reason to think she was lying just to be malicious, but she wondered what she could have been hiding.
She wondered if maybe the girl's parents weren't really busy, and just wouldn't buy her the book for some reason. Or maybe they couldn't afford it. Cheerilee didn't like the lie, but she could understand if Sunset had family issues.
"Do you have a bus to catch? I could help you look for it after school, or perhaps I could get it to you later this week?"
"I walk home." Sunset assured her with a smile, "You don't have to help, I can probably find it."
"If you're sure. Let me know if you need help and can't find it, though. There may be somewhere around here with another copy."
"I will, thank you Ms. Cheerilee."
Cheerilee was about to say something else when the bell rang. The thought flew out of her head, just as her students flew out of her class.
She sighed and rubbed her temples as she was faced with the empty room. Thoughts of grading tests all evening filled her mind, and she rubbed her forehead. A sound in her purse made her turn and pick up her phone.
Berriezzz: Yoo!! We still on for tonite?
Cheerilee groaned as she remembered it was Wednesday night, their girls night out. Honestly she didn't have the energy for an outing, but Berry Punch wouldn't take no for an answer, she knew. She texted her friend back the affirmative (with an added "stop changing your name in my phone") and glanced back at the papers.
It was going to be a long night.
**************************
It was an hour later that Cheerilee finally left her classroom. With a stack of graded tests on her desk and even more in her bag, she wondered if she should cancel with Berry. She sighed to herself as she locked the door and walked down the silent hallway. A few teachers were still around, some with students for tutoring or detention. The occasional kid walked through the halls, but otherwise the school was still.
Berry wouldn't like if she cancelled, and she certainly wouldn't understand why. As much as Cheerilee loved her friend, the other woman had little to no sense of responsibility. She was much unlike her sister, Berryshine, who at least had a real job. The two were hardly comparable, despite being twins.
She tuned back in to her surroundings when she heard faint laughter in the halls.
It was amazing, she thought, how quickly the school emptied. Even kids with nothing to do after school would rocket out of the building, which always confused Cheerilee. The library was open until five, and the soccer and football fields were open (technically) until dusk, but hardly ever did anyone stay. It made her wonder why they bothered keeping the library open, actually.
Thoughts of the library soon led to thoughts of Sunset Shimmer, the girl who had appeared in the middle of September. It had been quite abrupt, and even Celestia hadn't been expecting a transfer student. Her paperwork had been spotty, as well, and Celestia had planned to talk to Sunset's parents about it further, but trouble with Luna had put those plans off for an unknown amount of time.
Sunset was a good student; hardworking and quiet. She didn't seem to interact with other students, which concerned Cheerilee a bit. The others all seemed to think highly of her, and she had overheard several asking her to hang out. But Sunset never took their offers, as far as she could tell. She hoped it was just because Sunset was new and shy, but even Fluttershy hung out with her friends. The longer Sunset was silent, the more Cheerilee began to worry.
It was her job as a teacher to worry, she assured herself. If a student showed signs of a problem, it was her job to help. She just... couldn't tell if Sunset had a problem. And that worried her.
A seed of an idea began to sprout in her mind and she wandered towards the library. She wondered if Sunset had found the book and headed home. Probably, considering it was past four already. Even someone as studious as her probably wouldn't spend too much time in the library, or so Cheerilee assumed.
She glanced in the window of the library with her hand on the door handle. She didn't see Sunset immediately, and began to release the handle when she saw a streak of yellow and red between two aisles.
She glanced around the hallway behind her before she opened the library door and stepped inside.
The absolute silence that greeted her made her ears ring. She noticed Celestia wasn't around, which seemed odd. Before she could focus on that, though, she heard footsteps behind the same aisle she had seen Sunset disappear into. Cheerilee wondered if Sunset was still looking for the book, or if she had moved on. She was sure Sunset would have found it by now, and wondered if there was something else she was looking for.
"Sunset Shimmer?" Cheerilee called in a friendly voice, "I was just about to leave. Do you need any help looking for that book?"
"Uh--Ms. Cheerilee! Ow--" A loud thunk sounded from behind some books, which made Cheerilee wince.
"Sunset? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah fine! Um, I found the book, actually." She appeared from around the corner, a hand over her forehead, "I was just--hanging out."
"Oh..." Cheerilee said, uncertain but with a smile, "Okay, then. Would you like a ride home, then? I only live a few minutes away, but--"
"No, that's okay!" Sunset said quickly, "I actually want to look for one more thing, first. And I don't live far away, either, so I don't mind walking."
Cheerilee considered the girl before her. She seemed nervous, almost scared. She knew something was wrong, and Cheerilee didn't want to just leave the girl. Her heart ached at the thought of one of her students being in trouble some how. She reached out and lifted Sunset's hand to reveal a red mark, presumably from where something had fallen on her.
"Ooh, that looks like it hurt." Cheerilee said sympathetically. Sunset only shrugged and pulled away slightly.
Cheerilee pulled a face as she considered her options. Finally she let out a breath and went with her gut. In a gentle voice she asked, "Is everything okay at home? Is there a reason you don't want to go back?"
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, and Sunset froze up. Her sky blue eyes went wide in fear, and her whole body stiffened. Cheerilee could have sworn she saw a sparkle of light reflect off of her watery eyes, and it broke her heart. She had no way of knowing the pain and sadness that her question had caused.
"Sunset, you can tell me if there's something wrong. I'll help you."
"I don't need help." Sunset's cold tone sent a shiver up Cheerilee's spine. "I can handle it on my own."
"I... I understand you may think so, Sunset, but sometimes we need help. We need friends." She offered a smile, "I can be your friend, and I can help you. But only if you let me."
Sunset eyed the woman for a couple moments. She shifted slightly and turned to look down the aisle she had come from, which made a question burn in Cheerilee's mind.
"What are you doing here, Sunset?"
Sunset turned and fixed her with a glare, but it soon melted away. The girl looked tired and dejected, and Cheerilee knew something was seriously wrong. She laid a hand on Sunset's shoulder gently, and Sunset hung her head. Cheerilee feared Sunset may have been worse off than she had originally thought.
She pushed the girl gently back towards the aisle, and together they rounded the corner again. On the floor before them was a sleeping bag and a back pack. They looked old and ratty, and Cheerilee frowned. Things were, in fact, worse than she had thought. If Sunset was a runaway, things could be more complicated than just home problems.
"How long have you been staying here?"
"In the library, about a week. Before that was the gym, but there isn't any heat in there..."
"...Come on. Grab your stuff. We're going."
"Going where?" Sunset pulled away from Cheerilee's grasp and eyed her wearily, "I'm not going back to the group home."
"I thought you would say something like that." Cheerilee laughed, though it was a bit subdued due to a growing headache. A runaway from a group home, that sounded about right to her. There may not be concerned parents, but surely someone knew about her, and could help. "You can stay at my place. For now." She eyed Sunset, "We need to find something to do with you--something legal--before Celestia looks at your records again." Sunset looked away guiltily and Cheerilee smiled. "Getting enrolled in school wasn't the worst decision you could make, contrary to popular belief."
She gave Sunset a nudge and waited while she picked up her things. After that, together they walked out of the library. Sunset was silent and apprehensive, something Cheerilee couldn't fault her for. The poor kid was probably terrified, not to mention alone. She wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea to take her in on her own, but she didn't have much of a choice at that point. She couldn't leave her to sleep in the library, and calling the police just seemed... cruel. At least, until she got the full story.
She sighed as she looked back at Sunset, who trailed just behind her. Part of her was afraid the girl would bolt, but a larger part of her trusted Sunset. Why, she didn't quite know. There was just something about the girl that Cheerilee liked, something she admired. Maybe it was her attitude, or her mind. She wasn't sure. But either way, she trusted Sunset to make the right choice. And if she did run away, she couldn't say she outright blamed her.
They reached Cheerilee's car--a pink Bug--and Cheerilee paused for a moment. Her eyes narrowed as she remembered their earlier conversation in the classroom, and she realized something.
"Wait a minute, you lied to me!"
Sunset's sheepish smile was almost enough to make up for it.
Almost.
