Twist's Trouble

The first thing that started Twist's day was an unearthly noise that sent shivers down her spine.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Groaning, she turned towards her bedside table, feeling for her clock. A few noise-filled seconds later, her finger tapped the snooze button.

Twist sat up in her bed, her eyes still droopy from sleep. She grabbed her purple glasses right next to her alarm clock, and stared into the mirror across from her and her bed. Her red, frizzy hair was all in a frizz, but not in the normal way, more like a mad scientist in those old movies she sometimes watched. Her eyes were sort of bloodshot, not to mention using all their strength to stay open. Below her mouth and on her chin, dried-up drool covered her skin like a bad rash.

Twist jumped a little in her mind. Good gracious! I look horrible! She tried to pat her hair down a bit, but it stayed up relentlessly. She then tried to get the dry drool off her face, but ended up just getting her hands dirty, as well.

Oh, boy. Maybe I *should** have gone to bed earlier.*

Giving up, Twist lied back down. Oh well. It's not like anyone at school is going to-

Wait a minute. SCHOOL?!

Getting a sudden burst of energy, Twist jumped out of bed, a big smile appearing on her face. That's right! First day at Crystal Prep today! A sudden realization popped into her head, which made her facepalm herself in silliness. **That's* why I didn't go to bed early; I couldn't sleep cause i was too excited!!*

With speed rivaling the Flash, Twist ran to her bathroom, practically jumping out of her Hello Kitty pajamas, and started her shower. A few minutes later, Twist dried herself off, then grabbed her Crystal Prep suit hanging off the bathroom closet, putting it on in only one minute. She then grabbed her hair brush and her tooth brush, brushing her hair to its regular, crazy frizziness, and brushing her teeth so that they were fantastically white, at the same time.

Then, grabbing her cookie-shaped backpack, Twist raced down to her dining room table. Her parents were already at work, so Twist had no interruption eating her breakfast. She had poured herself a big bowl of Cookie Crisp, then the milk, and then chomped it down with glee. My favorite *sweet** breakfast!*

Then, after rinsing out her breakfast dishes, Twist went out her front door. "Goodbye, home thweet home!" she shouted out as she waved to her house, and raced down the street. She stopped short, however, nearly running over a teenage girl with pink skin and pink cotton candy hair.

"Thorry!" Twist said, "A bit exthited today!" With that, Twist walked past her and resumed zooming towards her bus stop.

"Wow!" The pink girl said. "Is that girl hyper!" She resumed her skipping down the path. "She could definitely use a chill pill."

Twist had gotten to the bus stop just as the bus was pulling in. She immediately got on, smiling at the frowning driver. The driver simply grunted, then adjusting his black wig, started pulling out onto the road.

Twist looked at the situation. There were several seats to choose from. Of course, these were new seats that were next to new people. People Twist has never met.

Well, what better way to start making friends than on the bus, then? Twist smiled as she walked down.

The first seat she came across was next to a teenage brown-skinned boy. His blonde hair had some sort of slick perm, and he wore glasses and a sweater.

She started to sit down, but the boy stopped her.

"Sorry, but I am saving this," he said, "for her." He pulled out a small picture, that of an orange-haired blonde girl dressed in cowboy clothes and a Stetson, and placed it next to him. He sighed, staring at the picture on the seat, smiling rather sillylike.

"Oh, thorry, then," Twist replied, "I'll jutht get the netht one!" With a smile, she stood back up and went further, looking back at him with a nervous eye, yet still smiling. Well, a little weird, perhaps, but that's okay.

The next seat was next to a light pink-skinned girl. Her purple hair was curly, short,  and tied back in a bun. She wore a purple dress, remniscient of Daphne from Scooby-Doo, and a light-purple ascot. Twist saw she was looking through fashion pictures on her phone.

"Oooh, do you like fathhion?" The girl looked up in surprise, and turned her head to Twist. "I'm not tho into fathhion, but I will thay that I do like to egthpress mythelf." She put her cookie pack on her lap. "Thee? Thith backpack helpth egthpress that I love thweets! Doethn't matter what kind. Cookieth. Gumdropth. Caketh! Candieth!" Twist giggled at her own joy. "I love them all!" She set her backpack back on the floor. "Of courthe, I don't mind if there wath thomeone who didn't like thweets, or maybe couldn't have-"

"Ok." Twist was cut short by a hand to her mouth. The girl with the phone continued. "Ok, like, miss, you're new here, I understand that, heh, ok?" The girl put her hand down. "So let me make it easier for someone like you to understand," she glared at Twist, putting her at the edge of the seat, "I, Suri Polomare, am, like, super popular, heh, OK? That means i have worked my butt off to get this far, and it has been hard, ok? Sooo, do you know what that means, Sugarhead?"

"Uh," was all Twist got out before Suri's hand silenced her again.

"Like, it means there are rules, ok?" She edged Twist more and more off the seat as she spoke. "I talk with other popular people, ok, to stay popular, and people like you," she put a finger on Twist," talk with the other weird, annoying people like you. Ok? I get through to you, Blabbermouth?"

"U-uh," Twist replied, "I g-g-gueth?"

"Then, "g-g-gueth what," huh?" Suri then raised her heads, and with a push, Twist was on her butt on the bus floor in betwixt the seats. "Don't sit next to me, ok?"

Twist, her smile having faded, got up and went further down the bus. She heard Suri say something to her as she went down the bus aisles. "It's a woman-eat-woman world, Sweetpea! Deal with it!"

Twist, worried as she was starting to near the end of the bus, found another seat, but unlike the other seats, didn't sit down immediately. She never got a chance. The girl next to the empty seat, with big, blue pigtails and glasses and bluish-purple skin, replied something before she could.

"You probably shouldn't sit there." She paused, looking over Twist once over. "In fact, you probably shouldn't sit next to anyone"-she looked over Twist again-"ever."

Twist, her happiness now at a low, went to the very back of the bus, noticing criticizing eyes as she walked past them. Very few looked different. Of course, those looks were either towards something else, or, at the very least, awkward. Guess they want to protect their status on the social ladder, too She looked down. Maybe that's why i had trouble making friends in Ponyville before:

i'm just..........weird.

The back held several empty seats. She took the very back one, and set herself down. Well, looks like I won't be making any friends on the bus for now. Like usual.

The bus pulled into the Crystal Prep high school ten to twenty minutes later. From the window, Twist awed at the magnificence of the building, with its crystal-like columns and spiked roof giving a presence of authority and pride. The dark-red and purple color scheme of the school brought to Twist the thought of plums, which made her think of sugarplums, which were one of her favorite kinds of treats and sweets. Of course, then again, she liked all kinds of treats and sweets.

Twist walked up to the entrance, noticing the giant mural on the front of the building. It was a glass painting, depicting a giant, purple crystal in the middle, with colorful random shapes surrounding it.

Well, that's certainly enchanting!" Twist gazed at the picture for a minute or two in wonder. Certainly enough to get me back in the spirit again, after what happened on the way here. I'm certain i'll be able to make friends now!

Lunchtime. The best time to have some sweets!, thought Twist as she entered the cafeteria. I certainly need some after today.

Her classes weren't bad, exactly. The teachers were swell, and it was fun to learn about English, Science, Algebra, and Cooking (though Twist felt they shouldn't have taught stuff involving food in the first class. That just made her hungry.)

What made it unnerving were the stares. Now that she noticed them before, on the bus, Twist began to see them everywhere. And they, for the most part, weren't the good kind, either. These were stares that had the criticized look all over them, like on the bus. It was especially anxious to go into English the second hour, when Twist saw Suri sitting a few seats back, judging her with angry, criticizing eyes, as if Twist had somehow insulted her, reminding her of those words she said. Weird, annoying people like you. It's a woman-eat-woman world.

Am I *really** that weird? Do i really annoy people? I mean, no one has ever said that to me. Or maybe, they just didn't say it out loud, and have always thought of me that way. Do they?*

Twist couldn't help but ponder these thoughts until this moment. Now, she put those thoughts aside as her tongue drooled at the thought of food. Like she thought before, Cooking was a good while before lunch.

She got her food, a nice fish-and-chips and special 'Crystal' corn on the cob, and found an empty spot. She would've found a spot with others, but she saw Suri nearby, and instantly lost interest in that.

She ate her lunch quicker than most of the other students, then pulled out a brown paper bag. Finally, some delicious treats! First, she pulled out a nice candy cane from the store, which she nibbled with glee. Then, she pulled out a frosted, sprinkled donut bought from the Sugarcube Corner, which she gobbled with relish.

Then, saving the best for last, she pulled out a special treat: her homemade double chocolate brownies. Twist drooled in delight as she unwrapped the brownies, then took a bite. Mmmmmm

What was she thinking? Twist wasn't weird or annoying. Suri was just being too much of a bother. Yes, maybe Twist wasn't as popular as her, for sure. Or good-looking. Or fashion-forward.

But Twist was definitely not weird. Suri can just take her, well, *nonsweetness** and just go jump in a-*

SPLASH!

AS if by cue, Twist heard that noise nearby. She looked near the center of the cafeteria walkway, and saw a huge mess of milk on the floor, along with several pieces of food scattered among its large puddle.

Twist then saw someone, a male, on their stomach next to the pile of lunch. Sitting up, the orange-skinned boy adjusted his brown, parted hair and his square glasses, and started picking up the mess he had made in a hurry. Twist also noticed he wore a black bowtie with his Crystal Prep uniform.

Twist also happened to notice Suri, sitting at a table just behind the fallen student, giggling like the rest of the amused students around her. Twist then saw her foot, sticking out like a big zit, out enough to maybe-

Gasp!

"You tripped him, Thuri!"

Everybody stopped their cruel laughter and focused their attention on Twist. Realizing that realization wasn't just in her head, Twist slapped her mouth shut, as if closing it would bring back the comment.

Suri practically bore a hole into Twist with her stare. "Oh, really, huh? Like, why do you say that, Sweetpea?"

Twist uncovered her mouth, recognizing a bit of warning in Suri's tone. "Well, uh, y-you have a foot thticking out! How c-could you not have tripped that poor guy?" She regretted opening her mouth again, but she had to help her fallen student somehow.

Suri didn't say anything, just stared at Twist with a frown. Then, she smiled, and walked to Twist, making Twist jump as she banged the table with her hand.

"Who's to say I just had that foot out cause it, like, needed room, and, like, Mr. Tall and Nerdy,"-she pointed to the student still scooping up what remained of his lunch, blushing at his conundrum-"should watch where his lanky feet are going, ok?"

Twist frowned and winced at Suri. She knew what she saw, and it definitely wasn't an accident. "Well, I don't thay it! You tripped him, Thuri, and you know it! Tho, uh, there!" She put on a look of defiance, but Suri's questionable eyes told her she wasn't doing a good job of it.

Suri started to chuckle. "You hear that, everyone?" She shouted to the cafeteria as a whole, "The sweet with the sweets is a smart-aleck, too!"

Twist scoffed. "I am not!"

Suri then turned back to her, an evil smile enveloping her face, making Twist nauseous. "Well, then, like, maybe you just stick to sweets, instead of being a weird tattletale stoolpigeon, ok?"

Twist only stared for a moment, shuddering. Then, she turned to the blushing boy, who looked at both of them with a look of helplessness.

Suri then snapped her fingers, and in her hand, a bowl of chocolate pudding was dropped into it. "In fact, you should do that right now!"

SPLOOP!!

One minute, Twist's hair was clean and fuzzy as usual. The next, it wasn't. Twist shut her eyes as the pudding began to run down her face and head. Her hair was stained with chocolate as it glooped down Twist's head and body, soiling her Crystal Prep uniform. She opened her eyes and saw her uniform shoes, personified with a cookie clip, became stained with drips of the substance coming down on her.

Twist's happy thoughts tried to get back in the game, but her sadness was getting really hard to bear. She liked getting messy with pudding before, but this time, it just didn't feel right.

The entire cafeteria started rioting in laughter and cheer at that point. Twist looked around as they clapped for Suri, posing as they chanted her name. "Suri! Suri! Suri! Suri!"

As a final insult, Suri grabbed Twist's chin, looking at her straight in her watering eyes, a sneer on her face.

"Does it still taste sweet, there, Sweetpea?" She tightened her hold. "Now, hopefully, you'll take my advice: it's a woman-eat-woman world, where I rule, and always will," her hand squeezed more, making it harder for Twist to tear up, "especially over babblemouth freaks like you."

Well, that did it. Twist knocked Suri's hand away, and ran like the Flash once more, towards the exit of the cafeteria, her tears rolling down her face. She only made it halfway, however, before she added an unlikely trip to her list of problems.

She landed buttdown in a bucket filled with water. Twist looked up, and saw a janitor with yellow eyes looking down on her. His grey skin matched his janitor suit, and his hands were clutching a handle that connected to the mop head getting squished by Twist's behind. His white hair became ruffled as he scratched his head.

"Oh, dear. Taking a dip in my pool, are we?" he asked calmly, an obvious mix of awkwardness and confusion in his tone.

"Th-thorry!" Twist managed to say as she got up. She then resumed her exit, covering her wet backside, and her reddening face, as she went. The last thing she saw out of still-crying eyes were three things: the confused and surprised look on the face of the janitor; Suri, who crossed her arms and smiled, enjoying her victory; and the poor victim of the boy, who watched Twist run, sad and concerned.

Twist stayed in the bathroom, crying her eyes out as if they were broken waterpipes. She just couldn't believe it! She hadn't even talked to her for ten seconds, and she was already being a jerk!

WHY? Why would she do that? She pondered this as her tears started to slow. Obviously, she hadn't said anything mean to Suri. She had only said the truth in the cafeteria. She hadn't done anything wrong in the past, either, given she just met the girl, so she ruled that out.

Then, another possibility popped into her head. Then....maybe....its' because...Suri was *right** about me?*

In a way, I guess, it makes sense...so it *must** be true.*

I guess....she *is** right. I'm just a weirdo.*

A babblemouth *freak*.

A sweet-loving *smart aleck*.

She looked at herself in the mirror. A weird looking girl was all she saw.

Her tears started to get a second wind. She stooped into the corner, and shoved her face in her arms.

Oh, if only it wasn't true.

If only.