Strange Encounters of the Janitor Kind
Twist had spent the rest of that day sulking, not even trying to make any friends. She just wasn't in the mood like she was that morning. Suri's sneering face always crept up every time she even thought of doing it.
The first week wasn't much better. Everywhere she went, at least a giggle or a chuckle went out in the open. Usually, from there, an eruption of laughter would follow, which didn't make Twist feel any better. What she most remembered was Suri, always joining in on the action, with that constant sneering face.
Two days into school, Twist brought a make-up kit with her in her backpack wherever she went. That way, every morning, every break between classes, and whenever she could, she would find a mirror and put on make-up on her face. Every time she did, however, she could only see the weird girl looking right back at her. So, she would put on more make-up, then check, then put on more, then repeat, over and over, whenever she had a chance, hoping she would finally see something worthwhile in her reflection.
That wasn't the only thing that wormed into her routine, however. Lately, Twist noticed something else she always saw: the janitor.
At least once a day, she would see him, catching her off-guard, staring at her with a face that was neither a total frowny face nor a smiling one, either. His mismatched hands held his mop, or broom, or whatever he was cleaning with, as he looked at Twist in those moments, a brow raised, as if he was thinking something. Or feeling something.
Maybe he is still holding a grudge, Twist would think. Maybe it will stop eventually.
It didn't. In fact, in a way, it got worse. Twist would see him almost everywhere. In class, she would see him at the class window, or at the door window, at least glancing at her. In the hallways, she would see him, watching with those yellow, creepy eyes, occasionally waving to her as she walked past. She was freaked out a bit, but still gave an awkward wave back.
In the cafeteria, Twist had a hard time eating her lunch as it was, with the constant laughing and shouts of "Pudding-Head! Pudding-Head!" aimed at her, but even there, he stared at her as he cleaned up empty tables or messes on the floor.
The worst part was, he took a long time cleaning stuff.
Twist wanted to just get some sort of cover around her to hide herself, because with him added on to the laughs and teasing, this was just ridiculous.
It was the third week of school, and the students still hadn't forgotten the pudding incident. However, the laughing had receded at least a little, which made Twist feel a little better. Of course, she still got an occasional chuckle in the hallways. Well, it's not big, but I guess it'll stay in memory.
It was just before lunchtime. Twist was in the ladies' room, undergoing her make-up repeat ritual for the sixth time.
No, no no!. It still doesn't look right! Twist was getting more and more frustrated with this quest for beauty. Not only did it decrease her in-between class time, even making her late a few times, it was also depleting her allowance! She was constantly keeping her supply of make-up in check, which meant she wasn't able to buy any kind of baking goods for the days to come, which severely limited her cooking time making sweets.
Yet, strangely, Twist only half-cared about that situation. Sure, she was peeved when she didn't even have enough sugar for one cookie today, but what mattered the most right now was this ritual. As of late, it had become her prime mission.
She added more blush and eyeliner to her slightly faded make-up just put on an hour ago. Maybe, just maybe. After finishing that, she stared for a moment. It still didn't look right.
Twist sighed, putting her make-up back in her kit. It's hopeless. I'll always look like this to everyone, no matter *what** I do.* She walked out. Getting hungry, anyway. She groaned in annoyance. For a COOKIE!
Twist walked to her usual empty spot, and sat down. Today, it was a 'Crystal' corn dog, with corn and mashed potatoes. For dessert, pudding. Like always.
Twist immediately threw the pudding in the nearest trash bin, then slowly ate her meal.
She watched Suri eat and talk with her friends, then looked at her own table. She sighed. If only I looked like Suri. She may be a jerk, but she *does** look good.*
Suri turned Twist's way, and Twist quickly turned to her food, hoping to not get into another situation. She felt enough of Suri's stare just not looking at her, not to mention the times she stared in class. Twist was seriously wishing for a hood, or a curtain to keep her sights off Suri.
Twist silently ate from that moment, eating her corn dog, wishing it was a cookie or a brownie.
Plop!
A brownie suddenly appeared next to Twist's food, making her double-take a foot into the air.
She looked up, and saw him. The brown, parted hair. Orange skin. The bowtie. All come together, Twist saw, to make up the very thing that started this: the boy who tripped. The clumsy boy who started this whole problem in the first place.
Twist frowned a little at the remembrance of the event, but looked into the boy's eyes, and decided to scoot over, only a bit.
He sat down, setting a brown bag next to the brownie already on the table. He smiled at Twist, with obvious nervousness on his face.
"Uhhh," Twist said, raising an eyebrow, "Hi?"
The boy sat there, sweat forming on his forehead, his smile fading. He only stared, not saying a word, which made Twist scoot back just a little more.
Then, he snapped back, adjusting his black bowtie and his brown hair, then replied, "U-uh, h-h-hello!"
Twist's eyebrow remained raised. She offered her hand to him. "I'm...Twitht."
The boy, after a moment looking at it, shook it with his own. "I-i'm.....A-a-artie." He straightened his back, gulping. "A-artie Sm-smartie."
Boy, this boy is struggling. She noticed he was shaking. Might as well keep talking, and be nice.
"Well, uh, Artie," she continued, "is everything going good?"
"O-oh, it's g-going good," Artie replied, "b-b-but it c-could be b-b-b-better."
"Ith, uh..... everything, uh, alright? With your voithe?" Twist knew it was rude to ask, but she just had to.
"Oh, uh," Artie started shuffling around, adjusting himself some more, "I-I was b-born with b-bad s-s-speech processing." He pointed to his head. "In my brain. A-and I-I-I s-stutter because of i-it." He looked down, twiddling his fingers, shrugging his shoulders. "P-plus, I-I'm just a dork near girls." He looked back up, giving a halfward-awkward smile.
"Oh," Twist said, "OK." She shuffled back closer to Artie, her discomfort now ceased somehow.
Suddenly, Artie knocked his head down onto the table. "O-oh, just s-say it, already. I-i s-sound r-r-ridic-c-culous."
Twist widened her eyes. "Uh, well, it'th, uh, not, well, a bad thing. No, no! It doethn't thound ridiculouth!" She chuckled, hoping he believed her.
"N-no, it is!" he retorted. "I-i sound like a b-bad record p-p-player!" His tone started to shift from stressed to angry. "I m-mean, i tried to g-get it fixed, but ap-p-pparently, that's n-not possib-ble! 'T-too risky f-for an operation-n,' th-they said!" His grip on the table tightened. Twist backed up once more, furrowing her brow at the escalation of the boy's stress.
"I mean, s-seriously, it's not fair! I c-can't help s-sounding like stinkin' P-porky! S-so WHAT?! W-why can't they all j-just taunt someone else, huh?!? WHY C-CAN"T TH-THEY JUST L-L-LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Bang! The moment he stopped shouting, Artie's fists left a small dent in the table, leaving Twist shuddering for a small moment.
Then, she saw him put his head down on the table. His put his arms around his face, blocking any view of it, but Twist could swear she heard sobbing, of some sort.
"Hey, hey, it'th ok, really!" Hearing herself, Twist had an idea. "Lithen to me! I thound weird, too! I, uh, what do you call it, uh-lithp! Yeah, that'th it!" Twist put a hand on his head. "That'th at leatht gotta make you feel a little bit better."
He raised his head. Twist saw his eyes, all teary and wet, with a few tears having escaped onto his cheeks.
"Yeah," he said softly, "I g-guess." He sniffled a little bit, wiping his eyes and nose with his sleeve, then he smiled. "Th-thanks."
Twist smiled. "Heh, no problem."
Then, to her surprise, her hand was met with his.
Artie simply smiled. "H-however, whereas m-my impediment m-makes me a weirdo, y-y-yours j-just makes y-you..."-he began to blush- "cute."
Twist looked, eyes broadened. Then, to her surprise, she smiled back at him, feeling herself blush as well. Her finger began to twiddle with her hair unwillingly.
Wow. For the first time, someone here is being, well, *nice** to me! Maybe this won't be so bad.*
Maybe, just maybe, I have a friend.
"Awww, ain't that adorable!"
Twist jumped, and looked to see who said that, with Artie doing the same.
There stood Suri, a few feet away, staring and pointing at them with that everlasting smile.
"Lookee, everyone! Pudding-Head's got herself a nerdy lover!"
Immediately, the laughter resumed once more. Twist gasped at what Suri just announced. She glanced at Artie, who was shaking and sweating.
Suri walked over. "Wow, got yourself a real keeper, there, Sweetpea! Now, at least you'll look a little prettier by comparison!"
Suri's audience chuckled and guffawed at Twist and Artie's expense.
"And it's with the guy you tried to save! Dating him out of pity, now?"
Twist gasped again, then winced. "Hey, don't bring him into thith, Thuri! Your deal ith with me, not him!"
"Ooh, now you're protecting him, huh?" Suri' smile increased. "What are you, his knight in sweetening armor?"
The cafeteria resumed laughing once more.
"Thtop it, Thuri! Thith ithn't cool anymore!" Twist shouted.
"Oh, it isn't, Sweetpea?" Suri snapped her fingers, and a smiling student quickly put a bowl of pudding on the table next to her, took one look at Suri, and ran away.
"Well, then, maybe, another dip in pudding will make it cool! That sound nice, Sugarhead?" Suri picked up the bowl, her glee shining on her devious face.
Twist's breath immediately stopped. "No, no! P-pleathe! It took a good long while getting the pudding out before! Don't!" Twist started backing away, as if Suri was offering her poison. Her heart rate went up higher than Mt. Everest.
"Sorry, Sweetpea," Suri continued, "but sometimes, people need to be taught the rules. You complain to me, you get the consequences!" She raised the bowl over Twist's head, Twist being too scared to move. "Like I said, it's a woman-eat-woman world!"
The bowl began to tip, and Twist could only watch. She saw Artie, shaking with fear as other students held a bowl over his head, too.
Well, she thought sadly, here we go again.
The bowl was near vertical. Twist could see the pudding, wobbling to the edge in great suspense. Twist felt herself shed a tear.
But then, the whole situation, out of nowhere, stopped with a single sentence.
"What is going on here, Miss Polomare?!"
Suri lifted the bowl right side up again, and looked towards the entrance. Twist looked too. Her inner sigh of relief could not be loud enough.
A few feet away, Principal Cadence was standing there, her foot tapping and her hands in fists on her hips.
Suri threw the bowl from sight, and put on her best smile. "Miss Cadence!! How lovely to see you here!" Twist wanted to cringe at how fake she sounded.
"Miss, Polomare, is there a reason why you are harassing these two students?"
Suri's eyes widened. "U-uh, well, M-miss Cadence, I was, uh, j-just, uh...." Suri kept stammering, which Twist secretly enjoyed very much.
Principal Cadence crossed her arms, her eyes staring down on Suri. "Miss Polomare, were you about to drop pudding on this girl?" She glanced at Twist, who quickly nodded.
"What? No, no, Miss Cadence! We were just, uh..." She paused for a moment, then lit up. "We were just showing her how gravity-defying the food can be!" She looked at Twist. "Right?"
Twist wanted to say the truth, but Suri's eyes were on her. "Uh, thure. Yeah."
"Are you sure?" Miss Cadence said, "Cause this worker here claims you were going to spill it on her, and that you have done it once already."
She pointed to the person behind her. Twist nearly double-taked. Standing behind her was the janitor, work clothes and mop and all, staring at her with his yellow, unblinking eyes. He waved, and she, not knowing what to do, waved back.
Suri was at a loss for words. "Um..uh, I-I, uh.....but...it was an accident."
Miss Cadence looked at Suri with a raised eyebrow. Twist looked at her and Suri in nervous anticipation.
"Well, then, if that's the case, i'll let you off," she said. Twist mentally facepalmed. Miss Cadence then waved her pointer finger at Suri. "But I hope to not see this in the future, Miss Polomare."
With that, Principal Cadence left, and Suri went back to her table, looking back at Twist, smiling at her lies.
Twist glared right back at her, then turned back to Artie, but found an empty seat.
Sigh. Guess I'm eating solo......again.
It was the end of the school day. Twist was at her locker, opening it to get things out of her locker. She checked her make-up again in her locker mirror. **Groan. Faded again. She sighed, making a note to fix it later.
Then, her eyes caught on something else in the mirror. In it, she saw the Janitor, across the hall standing with a broom, swishing it around like a metronome. His eyes were focused on her.
Oh, good grief!
Twist immediately started stuffing her notebooks in her backpack. She looked in the mirror, and saw he was only a few feet closer.
She put her binders into her bag in a flash, as well. She looked again, and saw he was half the distance.
She quickly put her pencils into the pack sides. She looked again. He was only a few feet away!
She immediately zipped her backpack and closed her locker, and then-
"Hello, Miss Twist."
Twist nearly hit the ceiling as she saw the Janitor right next to her, smiling his usual crooked smile. She took a few minutes to catch her breath, considering taking out that inhaler she hadn't used for several years, with him staring the whole time, as if waiting for something.
"U-uh.." she spurted out, "Hello?"
The janitor smiled and stared still. "Aaaaaaaaaaand?" he simply said.
"Aaaaaaaand," Twist repeated, "uh, have a nithe night?"
The janitor suddenly frowned, and scoffed. "W-well, then, no 'you're welcome' for your rescuer friend, huh?!" He turned around, crossing his arms. "Of all rudeness. And to think I thought we could be friends."
Twist opened her mouth to say something, but the Janitor zoomed behind her, continuing, "Isn't what friends are supposed to do, Miss Twist? Give thanks?"
Twist backed away from him. "W-well, yeth.."
"Exactly, Miss Twist! So, if we are friends, then why is it I have gotten no thanks for saving you from your"-he giggled a little at a sudden thought-"sticky situation?"
"U-uh.." Twist stammered for a moment or two. "I-I didn't know you thought of me ath a friend."
The janitor gasped, his face turning red and his frown drooping more. "Not friends!?"
The janitor then suddenly turned around, his arms crossing again, and began walking away. "You apologize for that wet mess before, you wave to me, you don't insult me-things that nobody has ever done for poor Mr. Discord, the janitor"-he stopped a few feet from Twist, and turned back around-"and you say we aren't friends!?!?"
He turned back around, throwing his hands up in the air. "And to think," he continued, in a calm voice, "I was going to help you with your popularity, pudding problem." He turned his face back towards Twist, a sad/mad look on his face. He gripped his broom, and laid his head on it. "Cause that's another thing friends would do. Right?"
Twist looked into his eyes. "Well, y-yeth, Mr., uh, Dithcord. They do." Twist walked closer. "Did you thay you wanted to help me with my problem?"
"Oh yes, Miss Twist!" Discord's mood immediately went up as he turned back around with a smile. "Your problem involving Miss Polomare."
"Well, didn't you jutht do that?"
"Oh, I don't mean just how she affected you out here." He walked right up to Twist, and put a finger on her head. "I'm also talking about in here."
"What?!" Twist pulled the janitor's grey hand away from her. "Tshe hathn't done anything to my mind!"
"Oh really?" Mr. Discord smirked at Twist. "So perhaps, this constant wearing of make-up was just a sudden fashion choice, then?"
"How did you know I wore make-up?"
"How could I not? It's all over your face! Literally!" The janitor immediately began bouncing with laughter and joy at his quirky joke.
Twist drooped her head. "That notithable, huh?"
"Well, it probably wouldn't be so noticeable, Miss Twist, if you didn't apply more of that stuff every two minutes. And don't try to lie about that. I've been watching!"
"Well, I wouldn't have to if I didn't feel, uh..." Twist began to turn red, from embarrassment, anger and sudden realization, and stammered.
"If whhhaaat, Miss Twist?" Mr. Discord rested his head on his broom, only now with more joy in his expressions.
"If.." Twist spurted out, then she sighed. "If Thuri hadn't made me feel....weird. Plain. Unpopular." She walked over and looked at her reflection in the lockers. "Not normal."
She heard sniffling, and saw Mr. Discord blowing his nose on a hanky.
The janitor looked back, tears in his eyes, and drama in his voice. "Oh, deary me, I apologize! But your situation is just so-gasp-saaaaaad!" He bawled for another moment, then immediately switched back to smiling and holding his broom, putting his hanky in his front pocket. "Well, then, Miss Twist, perhaps I will still help you after all."
"W-what do you mean? Y-you mean you'll..make me...popular?" Twist raised an eyebrow.
"If that is what you desire, Miss Twist."
Mr. Discord then held up his hand, but then immediately put it back down. "However, before I help, I must make sure this is something you absolutely want."
Twist continued to raise her eyebrow. Then, she thought it over a moment. Getting help from a random janitor? It did seem kind of fishy. But then again, he was only being a friend to her. Of course, he was also weird and kooky-looking. On the other hand, he seemed really willing to help out. Plus, she did tire of the constant make-up, not to mention Suri, her goody-goodyness and popularity always triumphing over Twist's honesty and helplessness.
In every single way, every day.
"Ok, I'll let you help."
The janitor smiled. "So be it."
He then raised his hand again, and without another moment, snapped his fingers.
Immediately, Twist became blinded by a bright flash of light that sent her hurdling towards the floor. She went blind for mere moments before gaining her composure again.
She cleaned off her glasses, and looked around. The janitor was nowhere in sight, and none of the lights were broken, which left Twist completely bazzled.
So if it wasn't a power outage, then what was that strange light? And where did Mr. Discord go?
Twist looked around for another minute, before a sudden grogginess overcame her, a headache slowly making its way through her brain. She groaned, half in pain and in annoyance. *Some help he was.*
With that, Twist walked home, having missed the bus, and, her entire body feeling like slosh and her head buzzing with pain, got into her pajamas, and went to bed, instantly falling asleep, dreaming of teleporting janitors, snapping fingers, and bright lights.
The night before had Twist aching in fear. Her dreams consisted of flashing janitors with pudding bowls on their heads, an ocean of splashed milk mixed with food that nearly drowned her, and dozens upon dozens of students laughing, with Suri, a giant among all of them, laughing the loudest. Those words endlessly repeating throughout the dream. Woman eat Woman. Woman eat woman. Woman eat woman!
Twist's eyes opened to see her ceiling above her. She was gasping for breath, her bed filled with sweat and tangled from so much worried movement.
Oy, some dream that was. Getting herself out of her bed, Twist went to her bathroom, and turned on the water in the sink. She scooped up some water and splashed it over her face.
She continually rubbed with the water in her hands, groaning still. Man, what did I do to get that weird feeling last night? Not to mention that dream?
Twist sighed, shaking her head. She then looked down at the sink.
On the left of the sink was her toothpaste and brushes. On the right, she had put down her makeup supplies when she had last used them.
Twist exhaled deeply once more. It's hopeless. She brushed the supplies away with one swipe of her right arm, then, with a heaviness in her chest, rested her elbows on the edge of the sink, rubbing her eyes as if it could wipe away the pain of Suri and her words.
After a few minutes, Twist dragged her hands down her face, and slowly opened her eyes, expecting the ugly face that was unfortunately hers.
However, that was not the case.
The first thing she saw was her skin. It wasn't almost white like usual. Twist, with a raised eyebrow, looked closer at her hands, and saw they were now a very, very light pale orange, it seemed. She noticed that the rest of her arms, along with her skin, were the same color.
Then, Twist managed to look in the mirror, and mentally drop her jaw in shock. Her hair, no longer frazzled, was now curled to a perfect degree, with her locks splitting down the middle of her cranium. Pigtails formed at the ends, leaving a rather...different hairstyle.
Twist then looked at her face. She saw that her eyes were no longer as big and wide-eyed, but rather a little smaller, more shaped. Plus, instead of her usual pink eye color, her eyes now showed a light green color. Her nose, having been somewhat pointy before, was now smooth and curvy, like a baby's bottom.
Curves.
Twist then suddenly looked down. What she saw was...well, different.
Gasping, she immediately covered her chest with her arms, her face turning redder than her hair. She also noticed immediately that she felt discomfort from her undergarments, as if they were too tight.
Twist continued to look at herself in the mirror, unable to conjure up a single thought, until-
"Holy sweet frijole!"
Twist squeaked in surprise, shutting her mouth with her hands. Her voice, now lacking her lisp, was now more, for lack of a better word, feminine.
Twist, her eyes wide with confusion and surprise, stood there for a while, not knowing what to do. She then took a deep breath.
Maybe I'm just still tired. She then looked into the tub next to her, and smiled, already moving herself out of her pajama shirt and pants, and removing her underwear and glasses. A nice bath will cure that.
She sighed. Hopefully.
Since she was a child, whenever Twist had a problem, laying nude in a tub of hot water was always the answer.
When she got upset when she almost destroyed the kitchen table with a thousand-pound cake-boom!-on a strange whim, she goes to the bathtub.
When she lost a cooking competition in the third grade-bam!-off with the clothes, and into the water.
Mysteriously becoming a gorgeous female while sleeping and figuring it out to her shock the next morning-well, you guessed it.
Twist unwrapped her new pigtails and slid into the tub of water, slowly to ensure no pain from the heat. Then, when she was shoulder in, she began her calming ritual and began to clear her head. The heated water clung to her body as she took deep breaths. Then, like always, she felt, as the water slowly but surely cooled, her stress began to release. First, from her toes. Then, up her legs. Next, up her body. Finally, through her neck and out her mouth with her deep exhales of air. Her head cleared more and more as she began to run her hands through her newly revitalized hair, hanging all around her head in nice, silky strands.
Then, after what seemed like forever, Twist let out the last of her distress with one last deep breath, pulling the plug and letting the water drain.
She grabbed the nearest towel and dried herself as she got out of the tub. Then, wrapping her towel around herself, she felt through her hair. To her pleasure, she found the same curly feeling that she was used to before this particular morning. She felt her skin. It was the same, too. Sighing, she smiled as she dressed herself and brushed her back-to-normal hair to its normal hairstyle.
I was just seeing things, she thought to herself. I didn't change. I was just still sleepy.
Just sleepiness, that's all.
She continued these thoughts as she went downstairs, smiling from the relaxation of the tub.
Discord's just a creepy janitor. Nothing more.
She sniffed the air. Pancakes. Cinnamon. Chocolate chips. Yum. Twist closed her eyes and stood there, imagining the taste, licking her lips. Was she glad it was Saturday.
Just sleepiness-
"Wooooaaaah, honeybunch!"
Twist opened her eyes, frowning. She was standing at the kitchen door. There, in the kitchen, was her mom, in her usual morning bathrobe, next to the stove, spatula in one hand and pan in the other. Her red hair was the usual sloppy morning style it always was, and her thick, black glasses hung low over her nose.
However, instead of flipping pancakes, her mom, to Twist's confusion, simply stood and stared, her mouth agape, her pupils dilated in awe. A pancake rested on her head, apparently having been missed due to the preoccupation of the pancake flipping mother.
"What? What's wrong?" Twist asked.
"It's just......wow!" her mom replied, putting the pan and spatula down, "I mean, sweetie, I know you've been into your looks lately, but-"She grabbed the pancake off her hands, putting it to the pan and putting her hands to her hips, chuckling-"Today, you've really gone all out!"
Twist only raised an eyebrow. What could she mean by that?
Then, her own pupils dilated as she realized in pure horror.
She glanced back into the hallway, into the entryway, where a big mirror stood for goers to quickly brush up before leaving.
The newly-colored skin.
The green, shaped eyes.
Bigger chest!
Straight hair with pigtails!
"Uh, sweetie, you okay?"
That was all Twist heard before she met the floor.
Yep. Good thing it was Saturday. Cause it looked like she wouldn't make it to school today.
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.
