It’d been a few days since her mother had come back into her life. It was still a bit awkward, but Trixie believed that she’d get used to it eventually. She knew one thing though- she’d been working hard fixing up the school over the past few days, even apologizing to those she’d harmed that day. She knew that the Principal had called her to his office today. She wasn’t certain what he wanted, but she knew that it would be best to get it over with as soon as possible. She found her way there easily enough (lord knows how many times she’d seen this door, and the room beyond it) and braced herself as she entered the room. It was just as organized as she had always seen it- Principal Barwell was a stickler for order. The file cabinet in the corner was most likely full to the brim, not that anyone could tell. His floor was lightly waxed, just enough that one could see their reflection in it. His oaken desk was sparsely decorated, just with his laptop, a “Best Principal” coffee mug, and his name tag which read: Principal Lawrence G. Barwell. One might want to laugh at that name, but Principal Barwell was somebody you really didn’t want to get on the bad side of. It had been known that the one student that had laughed at his name had been severely punished- to a degree that one might think extreme. But, after that, nobody on campus had wanted to earn his ire. Trixie took in the look of the Principal. He was a man in his early 50s, but he didn’t look it. Some say that he hadn’t aged in 30 years, and she could certainly see why. However, she reminded herself the Principal wouldn’t lighten a punishment just because of flattery. She had heard some who’d tried, and it didn’t end well for them. Principal Barwell then addressed the matter at hand. “Dar- er, Trixie Evenlor. I suppose I don’t have to tell you why you’re here, do I?”
Trixie shook her head. “No, Principal Barwell. I’m well aware of why I’m here. This is about my restitution to the school, correct?” She was proud that she knew how to purposefully break third-person speech. Principal Barwell certainly didn’t seem like one to have patience for such things.
Barwell nodded. “Correct. I’m quite pleased with how hard you’ve been working over the past few days, but I cannot help but notice that you seem a bit distracted. Is there some trouble at home?”
Trixie inwardly winced. Man, he’s good. She gathered herself, and continued. “Well, my mother’s come back into my life after a long absence, so I’m having a bit of trouble adapting. But I can assure you, it’s getting better.”
Barwell went into deep thought for a while, and this sent Trixie on edge. However, her anticipation was abated almost as quickly as it had started as Barwell spoke. “I can see a change in you, one for the better. I know you regret what you’ve done, and that you’ve helped repair the damage. So here’s what I’m going to do.” He clasped his hands together as he laid his elbows on his desk, and leaned forward. “I’m going to give you a little break for a while. This will give you the opportunity to earn back the trust of your fellow students. If by the end of two weeks from now you have significantly changed the opinion of the student body about you, I’ll let you off easy. If not, I’ll put you back to work. Do we have an understanding?”
Trixie nodded. “I understand completely.”
Barwell had the hint of a smile. “Good. You are dismissed for the day, Miss Evenlor. I expect you to have at least some progress when we meet next.”
Trixie left the Principal’s office, and sighed. That was a tad unexpected, but It’s a good idea. Let’s start with some of the others I wronged in the past.
As Trixie went around, helping the other students with a few things, they at first thought it was some kind of trick. This was still Darrel Evenlor, right? He was the terror of the school! No way he would actually be doing this sort of thing, right? But, as it continued, they noticed her sincerity, and this threw them for a loop. They had never seen Darrel be willing to help anyone but himself. Had he really changed after the time that he’d become Trixie and attacked the school? Some of the students wanted to find out, especially a certain four, plus a teacher. Regina Falls, the toughest girl in the Martial Arts Club who had somewhat of a famous temper, Tonira Elbach, the deliverer of the school newspaper, Ginger Johnson, the “school alchemist” and apt carrot farmer, Helen Lee, the teacher of many topics (seriously, how did she do it?), and Tyler Heartfield, the lover of bard music. They decided that over the next few days, they would be the ones to see if she had really changed. As she finished up helping somebody else, she turned to see those very five before her. She raised an eyebrow. She want to be on good terms with as much of the school as possible, so she didn’t mind seeing them here. She cleared her throat, and spoke. “How can I help you?”
Regina crossed her arms, and looked at Trixie with a judging look. “She seems sincere enough, but what if it’s an act?”
Helen tsked, and reprimanded her. “Now Miss Falls, we talked about this. We should at least give her a chance, should we not?”
Tonira nodded, her eyes going askew as they tended to. “Yeah, we should try and be nice. Who knows? We might become good friends!”
Regina grumbled about something, but otherwise voiced no opposition. Ginger then seemed to realize something. “Say, do you think if we hang around her and become friends we’ll become anthros later like John’s friends did?”
Tyler seemed excited. “Oh, that’d be cool! Then two thirds of us would be guaranteed to be mythical creatures!”
Trixie seemed stunned. Would that happen if she became friends with these girls and one guy? She had no idea, but the thought did seem tempting. So, with her signature smug grin, she smiled. “Trixie thinks it is a brilliant idea! She’d love to try being friends with you all.” She then stole a look at Regina. “If that’s okay, of course.”
Regina sighed. “Fine. But if you turn out to be using us, I’ll knock you into next week!”
Trixie didn’t seem to mind the threat. She knew that she would deserve it if she did, so she would try her best. She smiled a little less smugly, and a bit more genuinely. “So where should we go to get to know each other?”
Helen smiled when she saw Trixie’s change. She knew that this was the right thing to do. “Where else but the best restaurant nearby? Let’s go!”
Trixie could hardly believe how much she was enjoying herself. Even Regina had warmed up to her, if only a little. As they were enjoying chatting, a new but familiar voice could be heard. “Trixie? What’re you doing here?” They turned their heads to see Jozhir at the table nearest theirs. Sitting next to him was his sister, Mari. she seemed completely absorbed in her laptop, however. Sitting across from them was Maestro, who was enjoying a piece of steak.
Trixie raised an eyebrow. Anthros could still eat meat? That was a tad surprising to her. She shook it off, and decided to answer Jozhir’s question. “Well, I’m enjoying some quality time with a few new friends, is all.”
Jozhir nodded in understanding. “It’s always good to expand one’s horizons. Good to see you getting back to your old self from before your mother left.”
Trixie almost choked on her water. He was paying attention to me back then? What could this mean? She composed herself, filing that thought away for later. “Well, I can’t help but think that mom coming back had something to do with it. Sure things are a tad awkward at home right now, but things are certainly looking up.”
Jozhir nodded, and then turned his attention to Maestro. “Say Maestro, you never talk about your dad any more. You used to talk about him all the time! What happened?” He’d noticed in the corner of his eye how Trixie had been shaking her head, implying that he shouldn’t bring that topic up. He took a look at Maestro, and noticed why.
Maestro looked a smidge darker. He had set down his food, no longer feeling hungry. His fist was clenched so hard around the fork that the metal bent. He then sighed. “I figured you might ask eventually. He’s… gone. Has been for years. He died just before I anthrofied four years ago.” His tone seemed normal, but Trixie could tell that there was a hidden level of regret and anger beneath it. None of it directed at Jozhir, obviously, but he was in pain. She looked, and saw that Mari’d noticed it too. She knew that she would, seeing as she’d been around Maestro quite a bit for the past few days. Maestro let go of the fork that was his victim, and straightened it out with magic.
Jozhir was silent for some time. He then sighed. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I didn’t know.”
Maestro shook his head. “You were going to find out soon anyway.”
Then, their attention was drawn to Mari as she placed her laptop in front of Jozhir. “Hey look! It’s one of those e-mails from that Mr. Dion guy! I’m going to open it!”
What happened next surprised most of them. As she clicked on the e-mail, a bright indigo light lit the room. Jozhir couldn’t get out of the way in time. Then, it happened. Mari’s skin started to turn indigo, like the light that had flashed. But, then they heard Jozhir shout in panic. They turned their heads to see his skin start to change color as well, turning slate gray. Fur of their respective colors soon rushed to coat their bodies, and soon covered it all. Mari’s eyes had their pupils change to slits, and her eyes became green. Jozhir’s eyes had become dark purple, and seemed to gain an almost manic glint. Mari’s hair became sky blue, and a tail of the same color grew. Jozhir’s hair became chartreuse, and an off-white orange tail grew. Then, the final touch was added- As their feet became hooves, a pair of bat wings sprouted from Mari’s back, along with fangs sharpening within her mouth. No such change occurred in Jozhir, leaving him an Earth Pony. Mari squealed in excitement. “This is so cool! Sarah Von Solero, ready for action!” She turned to Jozhir, grinning. “Hey Jozhir, what d’you-” the rest of what she was about to say caught in her throat. Jozhir wasn’t responding. She saw that he’d anthrofied as well, and was unsure as to what he would say. She tried something. “Uhm, earth to Jozhir? Anybody in there?”
His head turned slowly. His gaze swept the room. Then, a manic grin graced his features, to match the manic look in his eye. He then chuckled. “Oh, this is… so… intriguing. Oh so very enlightening.” He turned his manic look towards Maestro. He guffawed, like a mad scientist. “I just had the best idea!” He locked eyes with Maestro. “And you’re going to help me with it!” Quick as a bullet, He zipped toward Maestro. He didn’t notice that Maestro had lit his horn until it was too late. He looked up to Maestro, and tried to back away.
Maestro uttered one word as he released his magic. “Sleep.” And with that, the hyper scientist collapsed into his friend’s arms. Maestro sighed, turning to Trixie. “Sorry you had to see him like this. He was probably a bit addled because he was anthrofied by the wrong e-mail. I didn’t even think it possible, and yet we’ve the proof right here.” He turned to Sarah. “We’d best get him home.” As Sarah fell into step next to him, Maestro paused, and turned back one last time. “Take good care of each other, okay? Friendship must be cherished, and given tender care in the beginning. If it breaks because of lack of trust or respect, that means your friendship wasn’t very strong. Good luck.” And with that, he left.