I look in the mirror and sigh.
"Scruffy hair. Uncomfortable uniform. Radioactive essence around me."
I sigh at the cracked reflection, knowing that it will do the same, but, silently.
"The life of a Crystal Prep Student."
I grab my gel, scrutinizing it for a minute. The gel helps keep my hair down. I sigh again, and rub the gel along my hair, letting the cool, gooey substance run along my scalp, making my hair more manageable than it usually is. I grab my brush, and quickly run it through my hair, and I tie my hair up in a ponytail. I look like a complete nerd, minus the glasses.
I grab my bags and leave my broken household, out into the crisp morning air, and walk to the bus stop. I waited for the bus for a few minutes, my warm breath creating some vapor in the cold air, but, after a while, I tapped my foot on the floor, and check my watch.
The bus is late.
As usual.
I sigh for the fourth time that morning, and I take my blue backpack off my back, unzip the front, emitting a 'bzzzziiiiiippp!' sound, and dig around in it for a while. My fingers touched cold metal and room temperature rubber. I let out a quiet shout of victory, and pull out my phone and earphones. I stick the little buggers into my ears and play a bit of the punk rock Green Doe. Maybe some of the girly Taylor Blaze, if I feel like it. I zip up my bag.
I look to my left and right, down the seemingly dull streets, and there is no bus in sight. I sigh once again and sit down on the hard, cold concrete pavement. I had nothing else to do, and I didn't want to do stuff on my phone lest I forget about the bus, so I unzip my bag again until it's open fully. In it, I am greeted with a black and pink jacket with game controllers on the elbows, as well as sewn onto the back, and feel a tear fall, from one of my eyes.
"It's been too long.." I say, as I start to sob. "It's been too long!"
I pull out the jacket and see some dark blue, long pants. I sob even harder. I pull that out, and I see a grey shirt with the game controller from before, printed on it, looking as if it was fading at the edges, and that it was slightly damaged, but it was design. I pull that out and see some light purple boots, similar to the color of the stripe in my hair. Next to those are some fingerless gloves, very light blue in color. I sob my hardest.
"My very special gaming gear... Why's it been so long?"
I pause my rocking music and look around the gray part of the lively town, and see that it is completely deserted, save for a stray here and there. Nobody else around to se me cry. But, I could see the bus quickly approaching, so I quickly find some tissues in my bag and wipe my wet face and blow my nose. The bus stops in front of me and I quickly stand up as the bus lets out a loud hiss, and the doors open up. I put my bag on my back and reluctantly make my way up the stairs onto the bus. A large amount of lively students were on the bus already, save for a few empty seats at the back.
I notice everybody stopped taking or gossiping to each other and whispered quietly to each other as they eyed me suspiciously and snickered quietly. I bite my lip as I make my way down the bus towards the back, and feel heat rise to my face. I sigh happily once I reach the back and sit down on the semi-comfy seat. I look to the girl next to me, who I recognized as Twilight Sparkle, the smartest girl in the school, and possibly the state, and think.
She looks sad. Confused, even. Why did she look like that? Was she... Lonely, like me? Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to make conversation. I've never talked to Twi before, maybe it'll be fun?
"Uhm... Hi," I say to her quietly, giving a weak smile with a little wave to match it. Twilight looks over to me.
"Hmm?" I feel like a complete fool, talking to another student. I've tried it with others and I've been rejected. Who's to say Twi will be any different?
"Hi."
"Oh, uh, hi.." Hmmm... She seems shy, like me.
"I'm, uh, Neon Screen. I'm presuming your Twilight Sparkle?" Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Why, yes I am. How long have you been in Crystal Prep?" Hm... I guess she could be nice? I'm still not trusting it though.
"I've been here since I was very young. All my life. My mom enrolled me there before..." I trailed off. Why was I even talking about this? Sad memories drifted through my head. They're telling me to remember... It's too painful to bear...I looked down at my bag and tried to keep myself from sobbing. Twilight saw my plight and nodded her head.
"No need to continue. I've also been here for a long time. Though, I would like to move to a study program soon."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. It's going to let me learn more than I could in any of those classrooms."
"Oh." She must be way smarter than I thought. I shook my head and asked, "Have any pets?" Twi's face visibly lit up at that question.
"Ooh! I have a little bulldog called Spike, he's so cute and obedient! But, he's more of a companion than a pet. What about you?" That was a question I was not expecting. How was I supposed to explain my Frankenstein of a pet to her?
"Well, I have a dog..." Before she could say anything, I quickly add, "a husky, to be exact." I mentally slapped my forehead. Why am I lying to her? "S-she's very obedient, b-but she can have her episodes," I stutter out, bringing my hand to my neck, and rubbing it viciously.
Twilight swallows before answering, "Spike always likes making new friends. Especially other dogs."
I look out the window and see the school come into view. That was a quick bus ride... Does talking speed up time? How should I know? I have no friends. The bus comes to a stop in front of the grand, and strangely shiny school, and with a loud hiss, the door opens up. Everyone leaves in an orderly manner, the kids in the back row leaving last, including me. I was the second last person to leave. Lemon Zest was behind me, and, as I was at the door, she kicked me out of the way and jumped out of the bus, leaving me in a daze.
All the surrounding kids look to me and start snickering. I hang my head and get out of the bus.
It's gonna be a long day.
I make my way to the grand doors of the school, and open them wide, wide enough for my entry.
"Attention, class!" Mister Sombra, my home room teacher, was always a sour man. Everyone knows he just wants to rule the school, but the kids have never told Principal Cinch about him because of the... 'Dire Consequences.'
"We have a new boy joining us today."
I grunt and lay my head on my desk. New kids learn how the school works the hard way. That's how I learnt, anyway. The girl sitting next to me, Fleur De Lis, slaps the back of my head, not out of care, or worry that I would get punished because of my Tartarus worthy demeanor, but because all kids must sit up straight and look straight ahead during all classes, except for when you're doing work. I groan unhappily and lift my head back up, and look blankly at the blackboard. I put my elbow to the desk, and prop up my head using my arm.
"We need more boys in this school," I say under my breath.
"What was that, Young Woman?" My blood turned cold. My face paled. Getting spoken to by Sombra on any occasion meant instadeath. Just ask my father, he saw a kid get killed by him. Wait... You can't ask him. He's been missing since I was a child. I sit up straight in my chair, look straight ahead, and bring my arms to my sides, staying as rigid as I can, "Nothing, Mister!"
"That's what I thought," he said, giving me a sour look. I mentally return the favor, feeling grumpier than I was before. I blow a stray strand of hair out of my face.
"As I was saying, before I was oh so rudely interrupted, -" another sour look, "-We have a new boy in class. He shall introduce himself." Sombra looked out the door to the classroom and shouted, "Well, get in here, young man!"
A boy with blue hair enters the room. He has a slight beard, and his eyebrows are kinda big. But in the nice way. He was wearing a short-sleeved black shirt that said in white letters, , "Union of P.A.I.N.T", the shoulders of the shirt had paintbrushes on them. I lean forward in my chair, squinting my eyes slightly, trying to read what the small writing under the acronym said. At further inspection, I saw it read, "Union of Pretty Amazing and Imaginative Newminors with Talent." I heard that that union is very hard to get into, even for very imaginative people. He must have an imagination that slays if he got into there. He was wearing some boy-shorts, and he had blue eyes.
Beautiful blue eyes.
I couldn't help but stare.
"Well, care to introduce yourself, young man?" Mister Sombra asked, giving the boy an evil look, obviously annoyed.
The boy brings up a hand and waves to the class, "Hi, everyone. My name is Allan Berry, member of the Union of P.A.I.N.T. I'm excited to start her at CPS."
"You shall call the school by its full name, Crystal Preparatory, young man. Find a seat and shut up until the bell rings."
Allan looks around the classroom, trying to find an empty seat. All the kids with empty seats next to them puts their bags onto them, making it seem like they're occupied. But, He notices one seat that was still unoccupied by bags and humans alike right next to mine, and his face lights up. He walks over to the chair casually and sits down, plopping his bag next to him.
"Oh, and, Allan, be sure to come in school uniform tomorrow. Get that hair under control, too!" I look to Allan Berry as he runs a hand through his hair, which sticks upward, trying to push it down, but it springs back up without his consent. He blushes slightly and gives Mister Sombra a shy smile, and an audible 'squee' is heard.
I look to the clock hanging above the blackboard. Just thirty seconds until the bell goes. Twenty five, now.
I look over to Allan. He is... Kinda cute, actually. I blush slightly and poke his shoulder. He turns his head to me and smiles softly at me.
"H-hi, I'm Neon Screen," I whisper quietly as I reach my hand out to him.
"I'm Allan Berry, but you already know that," he whispers back, chuckling quietly soon after. He slips his hand around mine and gives it a little shake. His hand is just slightly bigger than mine. I blush lightly, and pull my hand away soon after. I bring my hands to my chest, rubbing them together lightly, trying to keep the feeling of his hand on my own. I want to cherish the feeling of his hand forever. I didn't even notice the bell go off until I saw everyone getting up and getting their bags. Kinda a hard thing to do, since the class is right next to one of the bells in the massive school.
I shake my head, getting rid of any and all thoughts except for ones that say, 'Get out of here,', get up from my seat, grab my backpack, and sling it onto my shoulders. I look to my mental timetable of the school day, and I groan unhappily.
I have Science.
Ew.
It is... What, the middle of the day? Yeah. The middle of the day. It is now the middle of the day, and it is lunchtime. This is a time I dread because, there is a lot of time for bullies to strike; be it tripping, smashing, foulmouthing, smacking, anything. All they want is to humiliate you. Now, if you go to a school where everybody wants to win at literally EVERYTHING, there are bound to be a few bullies. And, since I don't share that quality (the quality being "always wanting to win"), i have another reason to say why I have no friends. Everyone who is friends with each other here are competitive and addicted to winning, as if winning were a rare psychedelic drug that's super, and I mean SUPER, addictive.
I make my way down the halls, clinging to the walls, sometimes hiding from other students out of fear that they would embarrass me. I look to the door of the cafeteria, and let out a quiet gasp.
"It's right there!" I quietly shout to myself.
"HEY!" I hear a familiar voice say, startling me. I let out a small scream, and jump up in the air in surprise.
"Wha... What are ya doin'?" I hear an unsure voice say. Wait, I know that voice!
"Twilight?" I ask, turning towards the owner of the voice. Yup, it was deeeeeeeefinitely Twilight.
"Yeah, it's me... So.. What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just going into the cafeteria... But I'm trying to do so before I get noticed and people start to bully me."
"Well, can I join you?"
"Sure! I mean, you seem to be the only friend I've made here.. Ever."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah, and we should probably get going before lunch ends, right?"
"Oh, yeah!"
I motion my head towards the the entrance to the cafeteria and we both head off, anxiety nipping at the back of my head like a mouse nibbling on the walls of his cage...
Lunch went without a hitch, mostly. I was teased the same old teases, I had gotten used to that. But, right when we were going to leave, I was tripped. But, luckily, I had quickly recovered before I fell face first on the ground, probably breaking my nose in the process, or at least hurting it a good amount. Twilight came out with me, but, I doubt I'll see her for the rest of the day. She'll probably be in that dark room at the end of one of the halls, working on something sciency. Hmm... I might have a class with Allan... maybe even get to know him more during the classes we share?
Who knows, maybe he'll even give away that he has a thing for me, and we just met.
Eheh....
It is the end of the day, and, as if by some miracle, the rest of the day I was just tripped or teased. Hurrah! Ahh, my demeanor has improved slightly noticably, it seems... I feel more... confident. I'm standing up straighter, it seems, which has gotten me looks from all the kids which say, "wait, what?" I guess they didn't see a slightly more confident Neon Screen. Hah! Anyway, I'm getting off track.
I was just casually walking through the halls, but I was still on the lookout for bullis, though, in case they decided to ruin my less-than-perfect day. I turn around a corner and guess who I see?
Mm... My dream guy. Allan Berry.
He looks very confident with himself. I like that.
Wait, why are a few other students following him?
Why do they have evil smirks on their faces?
Uh oh... here comes the christening.
I duck back behind the corner, and poke my head out to watch the unfolding scene. One of the students quicken their pace and catch up with Allan until they're about next to him.
"Hey, new guy, don't ya know how things work around here?" the bully sneered, a smirk still on his face. I just wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.
But... I can't. They'll practically murder me.
Allan says in an impatient tone, "Dude, I just got here. How do you expect me to-"
"Oh right, the newbie hasn't had his coronation yet!" another student runs up to him, wearing a smirk that matches the other's on his face.
"What?" Allan asks with a mixture of impatience and anger, half glaring at the other bully, who was now walking right next to him.
"C'mon, ya want ta fit in around here, right, new guy?" A third bully came running along with the others, a girl, this time.
"Fitting in is for losers! I like to stand out. Being unique is great," Allan states, his eyesight an even stronger glare, now at the girl.
"Aww, really? Too bad. Hit it, Jock!" The first bully shouted, looking behind him before walking away from Allan, followed by the other bullies.
Wait... Jock?
As in.. Disc Jockey?
Uh oh. That can't be good.
I.. I have to do something... But...
I can't just...
Face off the school's biggest bully....
Can I?
No. I can't. I'm too weak. He would smash me into a pulp.
I'm.. I'm sorry Allan.
The kids break away from Allan, and Jock comes running up behind him, and pushes him to the floor. Once he was on the floor, he put his foot dead in the center of Allan's back, and smirked evilly.
"Welcome to Crystal Prep Academy, loser," he chuckled as he leaned down towards Allan's face, whispering lies with his snake-like tongue.
Allan's face was on the floor, and, whenever he spoke, it was muffled. Like right now.
"What was that, loser?" Jock said, his smile growing wider by the minute.
"I said, you better be ready, 'cause NO ONE messes with Allan Berry," he said harshly, as if he was spitting fire as he did so.
Wait.. It's not everyday you hear someone speak in rhyme. Usually it's those outcasts from all schools, who usually like to stay in nature. But, when it's a normal person...
Iron Will....
Must've been. He must've been to Iron Will.
Does that mean... He used to be a pushover? A doormat? Oh, I don't know!!
"Aww, da wittle baby is soooo scawy? What're you gonna do about it, punk?"
You bullies are playing with fire!! No one messes with someone who goes on a course with Iron Will!
Wait, maybe I should do one of those courses.
Nah, too expensive.
Allan grunted, "If you play with fire, the consequences will be dire!!"
The bullies just laughed. Their laughter echoed through the halls.
Why.... Why can't I just... Help?
Whoa..
Allan pushes himself up so fast that he knocked Jock off of his back, causing the famous bully to stagger back with a shocked look on his face. The blue hair boy quickly faces the big-time bully, and assumes a fighting stance. Jock, outraged, runs up to Allan like a raging bull, as if he had just seen red. Allan leans forward slightly, his arms outstretched in front of him, his palms facing the bull-bully.
Jock's head makes contact with Allan's hands, and he handles the bull parody as if he was wrestling one. He quickly throws him away, making the other stagger. Jock quickly recovers though, and his face literally turns red, and smoke was steaming out of his nostrils, like a cartoon character gone livid.
Allan charges up to Jock, but, before he lands a move, the bully punches him in the face.
Hard.
Allan quickly falls to the floor, and I notice a small amount of blood streaming out of his nose and mouth.
Allan... Oh, it breaks my heart.
Why?
Why must bullies be like this?
Wait...
Allan gets to his elbows, and looks at Jock with a glare that could turn a cockatrice to stone.
He spits out a tooth.
The smirk on Jock's face goes away instantly, and is replaced with surprise.
"Mother.." he quietly says before Allan stands up and punches him. Allan then kicks Jock in the belly while he was recovering from the first hit, causing him to fall to the floor.
Allan puts a foot onto the fallen bully's chest, and whispers to him, "The tables have turned, you will get what you deserve." He then takes his foot off of the defeated bully, and begins walking away in the other direction. But, before he rounds the corner where I stand, he turns around and runs quickly towards Disc Jockey. Allan kicks him hard where the sun don't shine after his run-up. Jock screams out in pain, writhing on the floor, his hands gripping his crotch.
I giggle a little bit at the display.
Allan then takes a deep breath before turning around and walking back towards the corner I hid.
Allan rounds the corner, and he notices me almost instantly.
"Neo, what're you doing here?" He said with a low level of concern, not even caring that some blood was dripping out of his nose and mouth.
"Allan, I-I saw what happened. Th-that was amazing!" I said, trying my best not to stutter, and failing miserably.
He scoffs, "I was just taking care of a bully, so what? I've done it many times before."
My face changes to one of concern, "Allan, do you realize who that was? He was the bully. Disc Jockery, he, he bullies everyone. You're only safe i-if you join his crew."
"Well, I showed him who's boss, eh?" he said, smirking slightly.
My face doesn't change. "Allan, go see the school nurse. You, you're bleeding.."
"Aight, aight, calm down." A look of annoyance crosses Allan's face, his voice giving away the fact that he has grown impatient.
I let out a long hreath through my mouth, running my hands through my slightly moist hair.
He walks away, hopefully towards the nurse's office.
I sigh out of relief and walk out of the school, and walk home.
Author's Note
This chapter is way overdue.
Sorry for the two of you that read this story.
Criticism is welcome.