Chapter 17: Oh No! We’ve Been WHAT?!
Sweetie sat, frozen in silence as she stared at Silver Spoon. Her eyes were wide with shock and horror; her mouth lay open silently screaming at the misfortune of the entire situation. The camera Silver had was a good one, and probably able to read very clearly what was on the computer screen from even that far away. And Sweetie had written out the full title of the club as well as titling the schedule as the “Third Nude Party”. Simply put, she screwed up big time.
Oddly enough, Silver’s reaction wasn’t one of malice or joy. It was more a mixture of regret and fear, as if she was being forced to do it. She clearly hadn’t seen the full chart or title, yet she knew she caught Sweetie in a vulnerable position. And Sweetie knew it too. She had to stop Silver Spoon, before the image graced Diamond Tiara’s eyes.
In flash, Silver scrambled out of the library as fast as her legs could carry her. Sweetie slammed the power button on the computer instantly shutting it down, and then took off after Silver. But the maneuver had cost her precious seconds, and by the time Sweetie exited the library, Silver was already down the hall.
Sweetie charged after Silver, putting every fiber of her leg muscles to use. It didn’t take long for her to gain ground, but Silver still had a good lead. Sweetie’s heart thundered in her chest, a biological accelerando of fear and exertion.
Finally, she managed to get close the gap on Silver. But before Sweetie could catch her, Silver reached a pair of doors leading outside. Silver barreled through one of the doors and slammed it shut behind her, right as Sweetie Belle ran full force into it. Yet instead of breaking through the door, it didn’t budge. Silver had managed to block it off in time and was now working to jam something between the handles.
“Silver, please opens this door!” Sweetie screamed banging on the door. At first there was no response. Sweetie’s heart sank but she kept on banging, “Sliver please, you don’t have to do this!”
“Yes, I do!” was the response.
“No you don’t! Please… don’t give that image to Diamond!”
“Why? What’s so damn important about your club?!” Silver snapped, resting her back on the door to catch her breath.
“You’ve seen why Silver,” Sweetie answered, “You’ve seen how much this school has improved since we started!”
“Improved? IMPROVED?! All you’ve done is to spread lies and distrust amongst the rabble. What the hell makes you think that counts as improvement?” Silver snapped.
“We haven’t done that, Silver. You know that better than anyone!” Sweetie shouted, “Look around you! Everyone’s finally getting along after so many years of being ruled by fear and hatred! The only one who is still under that illusion is you!”
“Stop it! That’s n-not true. I have everything…. I could ever need!” Silver screamed.
“But you’re not happy; I’ve seen the true you, Silver. I know how much you regret being the bully Diamond’s made you. I know you want a better life for yourself, but sticking with Diamond isn’t the answer. Please, just… give me the photo.” Sweetie begged.
“SPARE ME YOUR OVERBLOWN EGO,” Silver shouted, tears in her eyes, “Why is this club so damn important? Why are you so hell bent on defending it!?”
Sweetie slumped against the door. She had now run out of options. Lying to Silver might work, but it would only reinforce what Silver was saying. Worse, it might force her to regress. However, telling her the truth might have the exact same effect.
Whimpering, Sweetie conceded, “That camera you have, it can enhance parts of the image right?”
“Yes,” Silver answered cautiously, “What about it?”
“Enhance the image on the computer screen, and you’ll find out why.” Sweetie answered.
There was a long silence.
And then, “You’re running a …nudist club?”
Sweetie bit her lower lip. “Mhmm.”
Another pause, Silver lashed out. “You disgusting, exhibitionist perverts!”
“It’s not about that Silver! Please listen to me!” Sweetie pleaded.
“Shut your mouth! How dare you talk to me about helping this school when you’re running around nak—” Silver started.
“It’s not about that, Silver! We are helping this school; we’re tearing down the barriers between everyone, so they can appreciate themselves for who they really are!” Sweetie pleaded, tears streaming down her face, “And you’ve seen what it’s done to people! Do you really want CHS to go back to the way it was?!”
Silver didn’t answer at first, so Sweetie pressed home her plea, “CHS is finally coming together, and I’ll admit that we’re not going about this in a way that would be considered couth, but we are doing something to fix this school! If you give that image to Diamond, you’ll throw away everything we worked so hard to achieve.”
“She’s using you Silver! Just like Sunset used Flash, Snips, and Snails. The moment you lose your usefulness, she’ll dump you like yesterday’s trash. She’s never given you credit for any of the articles you’ve written. She’s definitely not your friend. The only thing you are to that bitch is a one-way ticket to the top!
Sweetie pleaded, trying everything she knew to get Silver to see sense, “Yes, our club is outside the norm, maybe even weird to most people. But we are doing something no one else here is: uniting this school.”
Sweetie panted, completely out of breath and out of energy. She needed a miracle now to save her skin. Silver was quiet, very quiet. Then Sweetie heard something. It was the sound of footsteps running away. Her pleas weren’t heard. Silver Spoon had run off.
In an instant, Sweetie began to panic. Her whole body went numb as she staggered away from the door. With a sprint in her step, her mind focused on one thing: getting home. As she staggered through the school, she reached for her phone and began texting her friends. But to her unbridled horror no one responded.
Finally, she exited through the front of the school, found her bike, and made her way home. Silver Spoon had gotten away and would surely give that image to Diamond Tiara. Everything was over now. The club would be disbanded; she and her friends would get expelled from CHS and possibly arrested. There was no way this would end well. Sweetie began to cry.
Tears streamed from her face as she rode. Everything was going so well and now it had all come crashing to the ground. This was exactly what Sweetie had feared all those weeks ago, and now it was coming true.
Then, as she reached a familiar street, she lost her balance and fell onto someone’s front lawn. Much to her amazement, it was Button’s house. And even more surprising, Button was actually outside looking right at her. He instantly ran over and picked Sweetie Belle up, “Whoa! Sweetie are you okay?”
But Sweetie didn’t answer; she just collapsed into his arms and began sobbing.
Button began to rub her back, “Hey, it’s okay. Let it all out.”
“No, it’s not okay.” Sweetie sobbed, “She knows, she knows everything!”
“Who knows everything? What’s going on?” Button asked.
Sweetie managed to hold back tears and coughs long to say, “Button, I’m a nudist.” She then proceeded to tell Button about everything. And yet throughout all of it, Button’s reaction stayed the same: slack jaw surprised. Sweetie first thought he was going to accept it, maybe just this once today things might be okay. When she finished however, a deafening silence made her heart sank. Then, Button let her go and stepped back.
He began breathing heavy, “You sick freak….”
Sweetie felt like she’d been kicked in the gut, “Button…”
“Stay away from me!” he shouted and began to run back inside the house.
“Button, wait please!!” Sweetie screamed.
But it was too late; her boyfriend slammed the door behind him. Sweetie just stood there, shocked and devastated. He left her, he just left her. After all that, after all she had been through, he had just abandoned her. On his own front lawn no less. At this point, she could practically kiss her social and school life goodbye.
Now angry, upset, and emotionally devastated, Sweetie made her way home. When she got home, she dumped her bike out in front of the garage and stormed inside. Just as she slammed the door behind her, she noticed Rarity running in from the kitchen.
“Sweetie Belle, where have you been? I was getting so worried!” Rarity said actually sounding concerned.
But Sweetie was beyond compassion at this point, “Rarity… I’m not in the mood right now.”
“Now what exactly is wrong with you?” Rarity asked as Sweetie stormed by and upstairs. When she didn’t get an answer she got a little peeved, “Sweetie Belle, answer me now what’s—”
“I’m a nudist!” Sweetie snapped as she reached the top step. She honestly didn’t care what happened now, “Go on and say it! Your sister is something uncouth! Sunset got me into it! Yeah bet’cha didn’t know that she’s one too!
“In fact, I managed to get my friends into it too. We even started a club at school for it! And now… Diamond Tiara knows about it, and she’ll write about it, and we’re all going to get expelled for it! AND BUTTON DUMPED ME BECAUSE OF IT! I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!”
With tears streaming down her face, Sweetie stormed into her room leaving a very bewildered Rarity in the living room. Sweetie flopped down onto her bed and curled up into a ball. She began to sob, and sob hard. This was officially the worst day of her life.