//------------------------------// // [OLD CHAPTER 1] (Cancelled) // Story: Class of 2012 // by Blazer //------------------------------// The oak door slammed shut behind me as I entered the house, bent over under a bulging backpack like a Sherpa ascending Everest. My mom greeted me cheerily. “Hello, Wei! Welcome home! You find all the books you need?” “Y-yeah. They were all there, all right,” I struggled to reply, my voice hardly above a whisper. My mom resumed cooking. “Good! Oh, by the way, the new student is coming over tonight. She’ll be here by 4 o’clock. Can you clean the guest room when you have some time?” I grunted and continued my long trek down the hallway to my room. Upon arrival, I threw my backpack on my bed, removing and sorting out dozens of books I had just purchased. I grimaced when I set aside the four large textbooks that I knew I’d end up becoming all too familiar with by the end of my senior year. After making sure every one of them was marked and signed, I glanced at the clock that ticked away in the corner of my room. 3:45. Sighing contentedly, I scooped up my iPod Classic and earbuds. I never believed in the term “whistle while you work,” but I couldn’t really do anything without some decent music. Popping in the earbuds, I crossed the hall into our guest bedroom. Sighing at the neatly folded sheets on the bare mattress, I pulled out the fitted sheets and lifted up the mattress to start working on the bed. As I tucked the sheet underneath the bottom, I realized I had never really thought much of the incoming student. A lot of new students had been popping up lately, as the recent discovery of some world filled with miniature talking horses. If I had been born yesterday, this would seem pretty insane. However, after a rough start, and a year or two of negotiations, people and ponies started crossing this border between worlds. Sure, it would seem pretty cool to an outsider or a hermit who’s never seen this kind of technology before, but the discovery of such a portal only makes me wonder what other things our government was hiding from us. It wasn’t long before the ponies started applying for jobs and buying homes in the US. Although this number remained small (the number of people buying houses in their world was surprisingly tiny; a whopping 2 people per 100 miles), there were still embassies and ponies in public. Even students from their world were exploring the academic systems we had to offer; apparently our system was much more lengthy and complex than theirs. Which was where the new guest came in. I hadn’t heard much about them, other than that they’re a Pegasus; the type of pony with wings. Hell, I had no idea if it was a guy or a girl. I sort of hoped for a guy; we could have bro talks and share our girl problems. But judging by what my mom had said earlier, it was not to be. I also could no longer enjoy my favorite, pantless excursions about the house. The bed now finished, I moved on to wiping down the desk and end table, giving it a bit of Febreeze freshness before stepping back. The floor was pretty clear and clean, as we rarely used the guest room for anything. I stood up straight, arching my back while admiring my handiwork. I popped my earbuds out, tossing them over my shoulder so they weren’t just dangling from my pocket. I sighed quietly, sniffing and taking in the freshness that was now circulating in the room. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to relax when our obnoxiously loud door chime went off, jolting me out of my relaxed state. Images of what our new guest could look like began to cycle through my head as I hurried to answer the door. Stuffing my earbuds into my pockets, I glanced about nervously, seeing if there was anything else that needed to be adjusted. Seeing nothing that would qualify, I turned to face the door, took a breath, and unlocked the deadbolt, pulling the door open. An explosions of colors met my eyes, dazzling me with an aurora of the color spectrum. I blinked, rubbing at my eyes subconsciously before looking at the pony in the eyes. The magenta irises stared back at me curiously, the eyes large and cartoony. Its mane, the source of the color, fell across the side of its face, just out of the way of its eyes. It was ruffled, but I assumed that it had gotten that from the flight here. All it carried was a small pair of saddlebags over its cyan flank, which sported an illustration of a small cloud with a polychromatic thunderbolt. I sat there, jaw partially open for a couple of seconds before blurting out, “H-hello! Are you the exchange student?” I asked, giving the pony my best smile. Which was so cheesy, you could’ve sold it in Wisconsin. “Yeah. That’s me,” the pony said. Judging by the higher pitch of its voice, I realized that it was a girl. It lifted a hoof towards me. “I’m Rainbow Dash.” I held back a chuckle. These ponies had fitting names. I took her hoof and shook it. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ken.” A puzzled look crossed her face as I took her hoof before she pulled it out of my grasp. “Ken... Just Ken?" I nodded, unsure of what else to do. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I have a last name, but it's kinda hard to say." We sat there on the doorstep for a few moments before I ushered her inside. I gave her a quick tour around the house, pointing out the bathrooms and showers, as well as the entertainment hubs (Which was only the living room), and finally left her sitting in her room while I left to prepare the table. As I set down the napkins and utensils, I had a sudden realization, glancing nervously at the strainer that sat in the sink, filled to the brim with spaghetti noodles. My stomach clenched in horror. This was going to be a very awkward first dinner. -- As luck would have it, Rainbow Dash actually avoided the spaghetti, instead going straight for the fruit and spring salads set off to the side. My jaw dropped slightly when she simply stuck her snout into the greens, ignoring the balsamic vinaigrette and creamy ranch dressing. I admired her courage while I slurped noisily at my own spaghetti. We ate in silence for a few minutes, until my mom gave a polite cough. “So, Miss Dash.” The Pegasus looked up from her salad. “Just call me Rainbow,” she said, smiling. “So, Rainbow,” my mom continued, sounding a bit relieved. “Do you have high schools back in Equestria?” The Pegasus brushed a small bit of lettuce from her face. “Not really. I mean, we do have a… um… primary school of sorts. And there are some universities in our capital of Canterlot… Twilight would know more about this kind of stuff.” She said, shrugging before helping herself to another mouthful of greens. “Twilight?” My mom asked. “A friend back in Equestria.” She managed to mumble through a mouthful of greens. I set my fork down, quickly wiping away excess spaghetti sauce. “So, you’ve never been to high school?” Rainbow Dash frowned. “Well… nothing past the primary school I mentioned earlier. I had to start working at the weather factory to buy a house…” My mom’s jaw dropped. “You started working fresh out of elementary school?! That’s… That’s amazing!” Rainbow’s eyes widened visibly as my mom’s reaction sank in. “I… uh…. It’s nothing, really. I lived alone, so… I sort of had to start working, and it wasn’t hard, anyways.” She shrugged her wings. “These helped a lot.” I shuddered at the thought of working. I had a nightmare of working at a fast food restaurant once… No sitting for eight straight hours was something I’ve always shied away from. “Well, what high school are you going to?” I asked, wanting to change the subject. Rainbow Dash looked at me curiously, raising an eyebrow. “I thought I was going to the same one as you? I mean… that was what the paper said.” It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “You’re going to Sonoma Country Day?” She nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! That’s it.” All I could manage was a befuddled “Huh.”