Aquamarine Horizons

Soon after Sky and Lyra exchanged numbers, they began texting each other daily. On Monday of the following week, Sky was sitting in English class when Emerald walked into the room with a confident smile on his face. On most Mondays, Emerald would arrive three minutes late and half-asleep, but today he looked ready for anything. “What are you so cheerful about today?” Sky asked.

“Well, I’ll show you!” Emerald replied as he sat down. He pulled out his phone and brought up an image of a white tuxedo with dark green lining. “I got this tux yesterday for only a hundred dollars! I thought I’d waited too long to buy one, but the men’s clothing store downtown was having a sale, and I got a pretty sweet deal!”

“Oh, nice! What’s the occasion?”

“The Fall Formal, it’s this Friday. Haven’t you heard about it?”

Sky shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I never really pay attention to school announcements.”

“Neither do I, really, but all the posters and emails about it are pretty hard to miss. I guess you don’t plan on going?”

“No. I’ve never had much interest in school dances, or any large gathering like that.”

“That’s understandable. The only reason I’m going is because of Tree Hugger. You kinda have to go to these things when you have a girlfriend.” Emerald turned to Afterglow. “What about you, Afterglow? Are you going to the dance?”

“Nope,” Afterglow replied. “Honestly, if a hundred bucks is considered a good deal for a tux, then I ain’t buying one. Besides, I don’t have a date – I haven’t even talked to Octavia yet, let alone asked her to dance.”

“Well, lots of people just go together with their friends,” Emerald suggested. “But I can see why relaxing at home and enjoying the early release might be the better option for you!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll be doing too,” Sky chuckled. “I wasn’t expecting to get another half-day this month, but it’s nice.”

Later that morning, Sky was walking outside with Cloudchaser. Their Biology class was starting a lab experiment that involved building an aquarium, so Miss Blossom had sent two members of each group to collect water from the Mistmane River, which was located about a mile north of CHS. Sky, Cloudchaser and the others were carrying large plastic buckets with ropes attached.

“Are you going to the Fall Formal?” Cloudchaser asked as they walked along the road.

Sky shook his head. “No, I’m not.”

Cloudchaser gave him a nudge. “Aw, come on, Sky! The dances here are really fun! Why don’t you want to go?”

Sky shrugged. “I guess I just don’t feel ready yet. I’m still new here, after all.”

Cloudchaser nodded. “That’s fine. But if you change your mind, you can come with me and my friends. We can make room for you!”

“Thanks for the offer, but it’s probably too late now.”

“True. At this point, you’d have to rush out and buy whatever tux is left on clearance!”

Sky laughed. “Yeah, I’d rather not do that!”

Sky and Cloudchaser soon arrived at the banks of the Mistmane River. On the other side, Sky could see cars speeding along Route 12, a highway that ran through northern Canterlot. He could also see the sign for exit 53, as well as the network arch bridge that crossed over the river. Standing on the rocky and steep riverbank, Sky and Cloudchaser held onto the ropes and lowered their buckets into the river. When the buckets were full, they pulled them up and began heading back to school.

“Did I tell you Flitter and I are playing Crystal Prep tonight?” Cloudchaser asked. She and Flitter both played field hockey.

“No, you didn’t. But good luck! Crystal Prep will probably be tough to beat.”

“Thanks! They were last year, but not anymore. Most of their best players were seniors, so they’re all gone now. And from what I’ve heard, the incoming freshmen aren’t very good!”

“Well, if you’re playing a bunch of freshmen, then I’d say you have a good chance.”

“Yeah, it’d be embarrassing if we lost!”

Sky and Cloudchaser returned to CHS and carefully carried the water buckets through the main corridor. Near the bathrooms, Cloudchaser stopped. “I have to go to the bathroom. Can you wait here and hold my water?”

“Sure!”

“Thanks so much!” Cloudchaser handed Sky her bucket, and then went into the girls’ bathroom. While Sky waited in the hall with heavy buckets in both hands, Lyra came around the corner and smiled when she saw him. “Hey, Sky! What are you up to?”

“Hi, Lyra! My Bio teacher sent half the class to get water from the Mistmane River. It’s part of a lab experiment.”

“Sounds fun! Why do you have two buckets?”

“Oh, I’m waiting for my friend Cloudchaser to come out of the bathroom. This one is hers.” Sky held up the bucket in his left hand. “Anyway, what are you doing right now?”

“I’m just going to the library to print out a paper for English. I’d better get moving – my teacher is pretty strict.”

“Okay, see you this afternoon!” Sky smiled as Lyra continued on her way.

A minute later, Cloudchaser came out of the bathroom. “Thanks for waiting for me!” she said with a smile. Sky handed her bucket back, and they headed upstairs.

Due to Cloudchaser’s bathroom break, she and Sky were the last to return to class. “What took you guys so long?” Thunderlane asked when they came back.

“I had to pee!” Cloudchaser replied. “We’re not that late coming back, are we?”

“Nah, you’re fine!” said Flitter. “Just pour the water in here.” She pointed to a large aquarium tank that was divided into two equal sections.

Cloudchaser lifted her bucket and carefully poured the water into one half of the tank. Sky began to empty his bucket into the other half, but his hand suddenly slipped. “Oh, shit!” Sky cried as two gallons of river water splashed across the table and all over Flitter.

Flitter screamed and jumped back, almost falling out of her chair. “What the hell, dude?!” She was completely soaked from the chest down.

“I am so sorry!” Sky exclaimed, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment. Thunderlane and Cloudchaser could barely contain their laughter, but Flitter didn’t seem nearly as amused.

Having seen and heard the splash, Miss Blossom came running over with a big roll of paper towels. “What happened here?” she asked.

“Sky accidentally spilled water all over Flitter,” Cloudchaser explained, suppressing a giggle. “Big mess!”

Miss Blossom turned to Flitter. “Are you all right? No water got in your eyes, did it?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Flitter replied. “And no, it’s just on the front of my shirt.”

“That’s a relief. Do you have a set of clean clothes that you can change into?”

“I have my field hockey uniform in my locker, but that’s it.”

“Then that’ll have to do. You can’t walk around like this all day!”

While a very wet Flitter left the room to get changed, Sky grabbed a stack of paper towels and began placing them on the floor to soak up the spilled water. Thunderlane and Cloudchaser helped too, giggling all the while.

“Well, you sure made a big splash there, Sky!” Thunderlane snickered.

“But next time, maybe don’t point the bucket right at my sister!” Cloudchaser teased.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea!” Sky chuckled. He was now laughing at his own mistake. “Speaking of which, we probably need to go back to the river and get more water. Do you want me to do it again?”

“Hell no!” Cloudchaser laughed. “This is your mess, you’re cleaning it up!”

“I’ll go do it,” said Thunderlane. He took one of the buckets and headed out to refill it.

While Thunderlane was gone, Flitter returned wearing her field hockey uniform. “I’m back!” she announced.

“Hey… I’m sorry I spilled water on you,” said Sky.

Flitter smiled and laughed. “That’s fine, I’m not mad at you! I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

That afternoon, Sky was sitting in the library during his free period when Lyra walked in. “Hi, Sky!” Lyra exclaimed. “Can I sit with you?”

Sky smiled. “Of course you can! Are you free right now?”

Lyra sat down across from Sky. “Yep! My Pre-Calc teacher’s out. There was going to be a test today, but that’s been pushed to tomorrow. I should probably use this time to study for it.”

“Good idea. I usually do my homework during my free period.” Sky then started chuckling. “Something funny happened in my Bio class today… caused by me.”

Lyra smirked. “Tell me more…”

Sky recounted how he had accidentally splashed water from the Mistmane River all over Flitter.

“Oh no!” Lyra laughed when Sky finished telling the story. “I hope it didn’t make too much of a mess!”

“Thankfully no, it was just water. As long as it didn’t leak into the room below, I think I’m good!”

At that moment, another guy walked down the stairs from the mezzanine. He had a similar appearance to Sky, but he was taller and his hair was a darker shade of blue. “Oh, shit…” Lyra muttered. “It’s him again.”

Sky was confused. “What are you talking about?”

The other guy came over and leaned his elbow on the table. “Hey, Lyra…” he said in a downcast tone. “Look, I know you’re mad at me, but…”

“For the last time, Noteworthy, we broke up!” Lyra snapped. “You had your chance with me and you blew it. Can’t you take a hint?”

Noteworthy sighed. “All right, I admit it – I screwed up. I was an idiot. But I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I just want to make you happy again.”

“Well, if you want to make me happy, then just go away and stop bothering me,” Lyra retorted. “We’re not getting back together, period.”

“Maybe not right now. But you’re still my first love, and that’s never going to change.” Noteworthy turned and walked out of the library, his shoulders slumped.

Sky was left stunned by the whole ordeal. He’d never seen Lyra get so angry. “So that’s Noteworthy…” he remarked.

“Yep, that’s him. Self-centered prick.”

“I remember you telling me about him, but… what actually happened between you two?” Sky asked.

Lyra sighed. “We dated for a few months last year. Everything was amazing at first, but then he started getting angry whenever I spent time with my other friends, and he decided to retaliate by creeping on other girls, including my sister.”

“Seriously? What a douchebag!”

“I know, right! I dumped him as soon as I found out. Ever since then, he’s been giving me the same fake apology week after week. He keeps saying he’s changed, but I don’t believe anything he says anymore.”

“Yeah, he definitely seems really toxic. You should avoid him as much as you can.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Anyway, I’d better start studying now. Can’t let my stupid ex ruin my day.” Lyra let out a dry laugh.

“Good idea.” Sky and Lyra spent the remainder of their free period doing homework and studying together. After that, they went to their Drawing & Painting class, which was fun and relaxing as usual. It had certainly been an eventful Monday.

October 4th, the day of the Fall Formal, soon arrived. It was an early release day so that the afternoon could be spent preparing for the dance. Sky walked home by himself at 11:20, and Evening cooked him a chicken burger for lunch. After that, Sky played fetch with Sunny in the backyard, although Sunny preferred to play keep-away.

At around 15:00, Sky was upstairs in his room, sitting at his desk and surfing the internet on his laptop. He was watching an interesting video about a large cable-stayed bridge that had recently been built in Europe. Just as the video ended, Sky heard his phone vibrate. He picked it up and unlocked it to see who had messaged him. It was Sugarcoat, greeting him with a simple “Hello!”

“Hi! What’s up?” Sky typed in response.

“Not much, just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

Sky thought for a while about what to say. His first month at CHS had been a lot more exciting than he’d expected. “I’ve been great!” he finally replied. “Still hanging with my old friends (Thunderlane, Cloudchaser & Flitter) and I’ve met some new ones too.”

“Oh, tell me about them!”

“There’s a couple of guys I sit next to in English, and then there are some girls that Thunderlane and I sit with in Art.”

“Glad to hear you’ve opened up 🙂”

Sky pondered what to say next. “Anyway, today’s the CHS Fall Formal. I’m not going, though.”

“That’s fine. School dances aren’t nearly as big a deal as people say they are. I only go to hang out with my friends, I’ve never had a boyfriend.”

“Well, speaking of that, there is one girl at CHS that I like, but I’m not ready to ask her out.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“Lyra Heartstrings. Do you know her?”

“Yes, she was in the Friendship Games last year. Never talked to her much but she seemed nice. How did you meet her?”

“At the mall a few weeks ago. My dad and I went to the music store to buy some speakers, and she was the cashier there. She’s in my art class too. I started sitting with her a couple weeks ago, and I got her number a few days after that.”

“Sounds like a good start to a friendship. I assume you’re looking for some form of advice?”

“Yeah. I’m friends with her and I feel comfortable talking to her, but I’m not really sure what to do next. I don’t want to ruin the friendship by asking her out too soon, but I don’t want to get friend zoned either.”

Sugarcoat waited a while before starting to type. Sky wondered what she was going to say. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it 😜” read the first part of her response. Sky chuckled at the pun, and replied with a laughing emoji.

“But you’re overthinking this,” read the second part. “The whole friend zone concept is pure bullshit. Girls either like you or they don’t. When you talk, who usually initiates the conversation?”

Sky thought for a moment. “Probably about 50-50.”

“No need to worry about that then. How often do you text each other?”

“Almost every day since I got her number. The conversations aren’t super long, but they’re nice.”

“Then she clearly likes you to some degree. There are few if any people that I text on a daily basis. I say just go for it when you’re ready. It sounds like you have nothing to lose. She doesn’t have a date to the Fall Formal, does she?”

“Not as far as I know.”

“Good. You’d probably know if she did. When you feel ready, make sure you have a specific activity in mind, and just tell her you want to hang out. The first date doesn’t need to be super formal or anything.”

“OK, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks so much for helping me again!”

“You’re more than welcome! By the way, I got you an amazing gift for your birthday next weekend 😉”

“Ooh, I look forward to seeing it! 😃” Sky placed his phone in his lap, then leaned back in his bungee chair and smiled. He was ever grateful for Sugarcoat’s friendship, and he was looking forward to seeing what the next few weeks would bring.