The Totally Tubular and Tremendously Tenacious and Turbulent Transplanted Teen

by Sparkle Fire

Chapter 2: It's My First Day of School

August 29, 1988
Early Morning

BEEP BEEP BEEP

I slam the snooze button
in one swift motion
to shut the alarm off.

The beeping ceases.

I stumble downstairs
and make a mug of tea,
a habit I took with me
to Equestria.

I splash a bit of milk in my tea
and sit on the big chair
in the living room.

As I sip,
I make a few self-checks
to make sure everything’s
where I want it to be:

Clothes on the sofa
ready to go?
Check.
Money for cab fare?
Check.
Bookbags?
Check.
Lunch packed?
Check.
Folders? Binder? Notecards?
An assortment of pens, pencils,
and other writing utensils?
Check, check, check, and
definitely check.
Notebooks?
Check.
I’m all set!

I swallow down the
remainder of my tea
and catch up on
the news,
mostly through listening
to the radio
and reading the stack
of newspapers,
both Cosararan and Equestrian,
that sit on the coffee table.

I make my way towards the washroom.
I brush my teeth,
comb my hair into place,
don my new clothes,
and walk out with a sort of
refreshing confidence.

At roughly 7 AM,
I gather up my things
and walk out the door,
then descend the stairs,
step through the lobby,
and wait for a cab
along the avenue.

Ten minutes later,
my chariot arrived…

On the way to the school,
going up along the moat,
negotiating the busy
main roads and tight intersections,
I wondered what all
awaited for me
beyond the schoolhouse gates.

....................

The morning bell rang through the late summer sky as Ryder's first day of school in his new adopted home commenced. As a Cosararan transplant, so to speak, he didn't know what all to expect... it could be anything from harsh teachers, bullies, and condescending principals to something resembling a military boot camp. He honestly did not know the Equestrian education system, having only been here since last April.

All his worries were put to rest once he saw Gaffer at the front gate, along with Lyra and a couple of others.

"Ryder!" they called out as soon as he disembarked the cab and tipped the driver.

"Hey mate, how's it going?" Gaffer scoused.

"I'm fine," Ryder replied.

"That's nice," Lyra chirped. They began making their way to the school's front door, seeing all their friends, even a few more of his mates, going the same way or simply dallying about.

Ryder fumbled with a compartment on his backpack and dug out his class schedule.
He unfolded it, made a quick attempt to flatten it out to the point where he could read it, and asked Gaffer to interpret.

DMITRI, RYDER
HR - Mrs Violet, 246
1. Mathematics, Mr Green, 405
2. Literature, Ms Spirit Melody, 342
3. Basic Equestrian History, Mr Pichaly, 301
4. General Science, Ms Aquamarine, 327
Lunch
5. Health, Nurse Snowheart, 134
6. Home Economics, Mrs Ambrosia, A21
7. Teacher Assistance, 246, 342, or on call
8. *Open Period*

"I presume we go to Homeroom first?" Ryder asked.

"Yes, we do," Gaffer said, noting the room number on the schedule. "And I also think that the room is over in this direction," he added, pointing a hoof towards the stairwell.
They ascended the stairs to the second floor, popped into another hallway, made a right turn, and walked along until they reached room 246 and entered.

“Welcome to Canterlot Academy, Ryder!” the teacher, Mrs. Violet, a brave, experienced Earth pony with a bright, almost neon-like electric blue mane and tail and a purple coat which gives her namesake, said in a warm, genuinely kind voice. “You can have a seat wherever you’d like.”

Ryder sat at one of the circular tables placed throughout, towards the front of the room. The room itself had an appealing air to it; the walls were covered with students’ projects and lots of posters; a small but well-stocked library was on the opposite wall; all in all, comfortable and inviting.

As he was looking around, he noticed a couple more of his bezzies sitting nearby. Over the next few minutes, pretty much all of Ryder’s best mates filed into the second-floor classroom, assuming seats all around the room, and chatting amongst themselves.

Mrs. Violet rose up and trotted to the front of the room, where she was about to give her new Homeroom class her annual 'welcome to the Academy' speech.

"Good morning, class!"

"Morning..." was the response; a few enthusiastic cheers here and there, but for the most part, half-arsed and lacking of engagement.

Mrs. Violet was unamused. "I said, good morning, class!"

"Morning!" The class' response was remarkably more unified.

"Much better." Mrs. Violet cleared her throat and initiated her talk. "So, how are you liking the Academy so far?"

A slight chatter broke out: "It’s okay, I guess.”,”It’s huge!”, “The teachers seem quite nice.”, “What’s for lunch today?” and such.

"I take it that you enjoy it?"

"Pretty much," Ryder commented. "The place looks quite nice. However, since this school is very unfamiliar to me, Gaffer had to head me off in the right direction."

"That's to be expected of newcomers, I guess," Mrs. Violet assented. "I can give you a map if you want..."

"Sure!" Ryder appreciated the help.

Mrs. Violet returned with a set of (not quite) meticulously detailed maps of the Canterlot Academy complex, from the school itself, to the courtyard, to the gym, to the stadium, and so on.

“Thanks, mate,” Ryder thanked.

“You’re welcome.” Mrs. Violet continued.

“The Academy is an excellent place to learn, and I hope you make memories as you prepare for your future career or trade…”

After thirty minutes, her speech came to a close, and the bell rang.

"See you all tomorrow!" she called out as students made their way out.

Ryder went to a secluded corner, with Gaffer alongside, and immediately dug out his schedule.

"You're supposed to go to 405," Gaffer said. "Mathematics."

With that, he went up two flights of stairs and popped in at the door to room 405. Mr. Green (he preferred “Jason”), a slightly burly stallion with a dull green mane and tail and a brown coat, complete with a full-body belt and boots, stood at a blackboard. There were tables set up, all in rows with three chairs each. He sat roughly in the middle of the room.

He could recognize four of his bezzies - Lyra, Bonbon, Sweetcream towards the back, and Moondancer, at the table behind her.

Mr. Green sat the class down, handed out the textbooks that they would use for the year, and expounded his own speech on the class, and what Basic Mathematics would be covering (should everything go as planned).

His second morning class was Literature, located in room 342. Same side as homeroom, down a floor… he had the layout of this bit of the building almost down-pat!

Miss Spirit Melody was there, wiping off one of the low tables that the students sat around.
“Coffee tables in place of desks… we never had anything like this at school back home,” Ryder thought to himself, astounded by this change in setting.

Looking around, every aspect of the room contributed to the relaxed demeanor of the students who went to class here, from the coffee tables to the big potted plants, to the odor of lavender wafting through the air, to the artwork on the walls.

Miss Spirit Melody started up. "I bet you never had anything like this back in Cosarara, did you Ryder?"

"Not that I recall," he replied.

"I'm glad you like it," she said.

At this point, his binder tipped over for no obvious reason, and all his writing utensils spilled over the floor. Ryder dropped to the ground immediately to gather them up. Derek the class penguin, waddled up to him.

“Derek’s trying to say hi,” she explained.

That class went by without a hitch by the time of the bell’s ringing.

Ryder looked at his schedule again once class was dismissed.

Basic Equestrian History... room 301. It should be over towards the back corner; the other side, right across from the stairwell...

He found his way there, and waltzed inside.

Mr. Pichaly (he preferred “Leonardo”) was standing near the back of the room, carefully inspecting his globe. He could notice a few students coming in, to which he said "Come in, have a seat wherever..."

The room this time was like stepping back in time. There was a very pithy feel to the room, with roughly the same seating layout as in Mathematics, except the tables were bent a bit. The room also reeked of nostalgia as well as maturity, seeing that there were a flock of jocks sitting at the table behind him.

"Take your seats, folks," Mr. Pichaly instructed, and class began.

One stack of books and another lecture later, the bell rang.

One more quick peek at his schedule was in order. General Science, room 327... hillside.

Ryder entered the realm of Miss Aquamarine, a water-loving unicorn mare, and set his things on a large desk by the side of the room. He took a seat at one of the lab stations.

The only friendly was Lyra, who had a seat on the other side of the room.

Roughly forty-five minutes later, the lunch bell rang, and he was immediately off, making a beeline for the main hall.

The thought of it's lunchtime! it’s lunchtime! it’s lunchtime! ran circles through his head. Ryder quickly made his way to the cafeteria with his sack lunch in hand. He found Gaffer and his mates seated at a table near the back corner. 8-Bit and Poindexter shifted aside so he could have space at the table.

Ryder packed his own lunch. Inside the paper sack, there was an apple, a bottle of tea, some chips, a sandwich, and two snickerdoodle cookies. He set everything out in front of him.

"How is it, mate?" Gaffer called out for Ryder as he began to tear into his sandwich.

"I'm fine," Ryder replied as he took a massive bite out of the sandwich, washing it down with the tea.

“Do you enjoy school so far?”

“Yes,” Ryder said before taking two bites of his apple. He finished his sandwich as well before wrapping the apple core in a napkin and sticking it into his pocket to be thrown away.

“Like your teachers?” Lemony Gems asked.

"Very much so," he enthusiastically replied. He ripped open his chips bag and started working it down.

"Who's your favorite teacher so far?" Cheerilee asked.

"I'm thinking either Spirit Melody or Violet."

"Radical!"

Ryder polished off the chips and took another swig of tea before crumpling up the chip bag to be thrown out.

"Who's your favorite friend... ya know, out of us?"

Ryder thought for a second. "I can't really decide."

"That's okay, that means you like us all equally!” Cheerilee was obviously pleased.

“Truly outrageous,” Lyra quipped.

“Thank you.” Out came the snickerdoodles. “Thank God I didn’t forget these...”

He finished his lunch, pitched the trash, and hung out with his mates until the next ringing of the bell, when the group dispersed, and Ryder was off to his next class - health - in room 134, just a left turn once he popped out of the caf.

Nurse Snowheart taught the class in a place that looked almost like a hospital room with all the fixings. There was only a set of chairs, no desks, where the pupils could sit and learn stuff.

That period turned out good enough, with Sweetheart, her assistant, adding that they wouldn't be teaching just the basics when it came to health; they would be teaching a wider range of material (use your imagination).

The nurses handed out first aid kits to all the students before the bell rang once again.

Ryder's next class, Home Economics, was not in the 'academic' section of the school; the room was located on another part of the complex, but luckily for him, most of his friends had Home Ec that period, and were nice enough to lead him off in the right direction when he almost went towards the 'B Building' (the arts & humanities building) instead of the 'A Building' (the 'practicals' building).

He found room A21, which contained kitchen appliances and home furnishings of all kinds, complete with a hooked rug in the center for the students to sit on. Their bags were set in a neat pile on one side of the room.

Once class started, the huddled mass was split into groups of four, with each group being placed at a station. Ryder's group comprised of himself, Moondancer, Cheerilee, and Sweetcream Scoops.

Essentially, in Home Ec, under the tutelage of Mrs. Ambrosia (she preferred "Sara"), Ryder would be learning, among other things, the catechism for running an independent, flourishing home; he would be cooking, cleaning, repairing things when they break and such. When assistance was needed, Sara or her assistants would always be available to help.

Again, this was just an orientation; once the whole class settles in, then the real fun will begin. Dismissal came at the next bell's ringing.

His next class wasn't necessarily a class; it was something else entirely, something which requires an explanation...

He had Teacher Assistance, which meant that he would help one or two of the teachers around the school with individual tasks like grading, filing, copying papers, etc., as well as helping them with instructional matters.

Usually, he would be assisting Mrs. Violet one week and Spirit Melody the next, switching back and forth each week. When another teacher needed a helping hoof (or hand), he would have to be ready to do so.

His first day as a teacher's assistant was in Violet's room, stamping textbooks and organizing the room. Once that was behind him, the bell rang for his last class change; looking at his schedule, he noticed something called an "open period".

It should be clarified soon enough...

His open period, which in this case was in the afternoon right after his teacher assistance period, came as a small bit of a surprise, especially because he had never heard of such a thing. Cadence decided to trot alongside Ryder as he contemplated what to do next.

"What is this, an 'open period'?" he asked during their walk down the hallway.

"From where I see it, you can pretty much have that period all to yourself," she explained.

"You can do whatever you want?"

"Yeah!"

"Like what?"

"You can go into other classes, you can sit out in the courtyard, you can do pretty much anything that isn't against the rules," Cadence said. "It's quite a boon to everybody."

"I can see that," Ryder affirmed, noticing a few groups of people chatting amongst themselves in the courtyard as they went out onto it.

It was then that he accidentally bumped into a golden-yellow maned Earth pony with sparkling purple eyes. She shuffled about, obviously a bit shaken from the surprise encounter.

She recognized him as Ryder, the Cosararan guy that everypony was talking about.

"Oh... you must be Ryder," she squeaked out quite awkwardly. "My name's Cherry Berry."

"Hi there, Cherry Berry!"

"Everypony, literally everypony, in my P.E. is talking about you..."

"And spreading the word about me - you don't need to tell me twice," Ryder brushed her off.

Cherry Berry kicked the dirt around under her as she thought about what to say next.

"I'd like to know more about you... as a person, you know, and not from the banter that I hear around here."

"Sure... when would you like to meet up?"

"Friday, after classes, 'round 5:30, at Stinky's?"

"That little place on the South Side?"

"That one."

Ryder committed it to memory. "Okay, it's a date!"

"Alrighty, Ryder, see you Friday..." Cherry Berry chirped as she trotted away. Ryder thought to himself: Could this be a new friend or just an acquaintance of mine? That, of course, is for me to decide…

............

Later that evening, he penned the following in his journal once all of his stuff had been piled up in his room after being taken up in the elevator...

Ryder's Journal
August 29, 1988

First day of school...
what one would consider
an orientation.

One of my friends from earlier
wants to meet me
at a restaurant
this Friday.

I intend to make it,
but one issue
still lingers.

New friend
or
acquaintance?

Decision time later.
Organization of books, etc. now
since I had to haul
ALL this crap up in the lift!!!

Author's Note:

So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up - it's a real pain in the arse. (Especially his schedule!)