Grace practically dragged himself out of bed, the light blue sky outside reminding him of just how early the hour was. The noises and smell from the kitchen triggered this response. Worry kept him from merely going back to sleep. If Juri was intent on making breakfast, the stallion really needed to learn how to cook.
In the hallway, Grace could hear Juri's voice. The stallion seemed to be talking to somepony. Or monologuing, as Grace couldn't hear any replies. Entering the kitchen, Juri sat with his back to the stove, muttering to himself over some notes spread in front of him.
Eying the smoking pan on the stove, Grace called out as he started an extinguishing spell. "Hey, Juri! Maybe finish cooking before getting lost in the case notes?"
Juri turned around, his eyes unfocused and uncertain for a moment. Clarity came across the stallion's features soon enough as Grace managed to turn off the stove and cool the pan. Juri stumbled over himself for a moment before reaching over to open the nearby window. Grace sighed, turning to do the same to the living room window and front door.
"Sorry, sorry, I just got lost in what I was doing. Now I don't even remember what it was." Juri admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof.
Taking a look at the pan, Grace shook his head. "Well, it smells like you were just warming up some oil, so no big loss there." Tossing the pan into the sink, Grace flinched at the sound of steel on porcelain and flattened his ears down. In a dark mood, he walked around the kitchen counter and grabbed a bottle of ointment in his magic as he made his way to the couch.
"Sooo, it's spring break." Juristic Note interjected as Grace sat on the couch, massaging some ointment into his own sore hooves.
Glancing up, Grace smiled and looked back down. Juri's expression was priceless, but Grace couldn't look at it for too long without wanting to laugh. The sudden change in topic was starting to become a regular thing with Juristic, Grace noticed. "Yes, I suppose so. Even the foal I tutor has it off."
"Well, I have decided to take a few days away from grading papers to clear my head. No statistical analysis, no teaching, no worries." Juri's smile drew Grace out of his initial bad mood at being woken up so early.
Quelling his fast-beating heart, Grace answered in what he hoped was a cool tone. "Oh? That's so unlike you."
Juri blew an ungentlecoltly raspberry. "I have made plenty of time for you lately, oh-poor-put-upon stage pony!"
"Yes, you have. You're a great friend." Grace noted the slight twinge in Juri's lips as he said the word 'friend.' Curious, he decided to continue. "Did you have something in mind?"
Juri walked around the armchair and plopped down in it. "Well, my dear friend," Grace rolled his eyes at this, "What if I did?"
Grace thought about his schedule and cringed. "I'm still doing lessons with that foal. And my evenings are booked as well, with the Back-Droppers. And I still have to come up with something new to show Scowl." Each sentence seemed to have an effect on Juri. By the end, his ears were pinned back and he had his head propped up on a hoof. Grace's ears went flat in response. "Sorry."
Juri's ears popped back up. "No, it's okay. We can work with this. The lessons aren't every day, right? And maybe I can help you with finding something new. And there's going to be a fair at the college campus. The rowdier students will all have gone south to the warmer beaches, so this will be more family-friendly."
"Sure." Grace said, feeling slightly guilty that he was bringing down Juri's mood with his own. "Who knows, maybe I'll find some inspiration there."
***
Every aching muscle in Grace's body protested as he walked into the Lemonlight Club. If it weren't for the fact that he had to make a good impression, he would have walked right back on out and buried himself in his blankets back home.
Scratch Plate seemed to pick up on Grace's mood before the stallion could utter a word. "You look like you're dragging yourself in here. Not every pony gets an opportunity like yours, you know." Scratch reminded Grace.
Suppressing a yawn, Grace shrugged. "Sorry, Scratch. Between the practice here and playing every night, and I'm even tutoring a foal..."
"Didn't ask for your life from birth to breakfast, kiddo." Plate said crossly. "I'm going to see what is taking the twins so long to get the last of the gear. Wake yourself up, all right?"
After Scratch Plate left, Grace turned to the drummer. "What's up with Scratch?"
Pedal shrugged. "Who knows? Grumpy old stallion has his days, I guess. You okay?"
Grace finally allowed himself a full yawn. "Yeah, just didn't sleep well last night. Room-mate decided to try a new recipe at four in the morning."
Pedal cocked her head sideways. "That's weird."
Grace shrugged. "He's up early a lot. I think he’s got a class to teach first thing in the morning three days a week.”
“Well, you’d like to think he’d be more considerate of his roommate. Some ponies.” Metal Pedal shook her head. “If you need something to wake you up, I have something that could help.”
Leaning over backwards on her stool, Metal rummaged through her duffle bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. Casually, she tossed them at Grace's face. He caught it in his magic before it could hit and looked for a label. There wasn’t one.
“Diet pills. They help you lose weight and give you a boost of energy. A friend of mine actually developed these back in griffon country.” Metal explained.
“You think I need to lose weight?” Grace asked, immediately looking down at his barrel. Sure, he didn't look like a model off of the cover of Celerity, but he wasn't a big squishy blob either.
Pedal rolled her eyes. “Well, do you exercise? And! Energy boost. That was the main thing I thought you’d pick up on. Considering…”
Grace almost frowned, and would have, were it not for the fact that he was yawning again. “I see your point.”
Pedal shook her head. “One a day. They’re pretty strong, so…” Grace had already opened the bottle and removed a pill. “So go easy on them.”
“Will do.” Grace agreed, swallowing the pill with a drink of water.
Returning with the rest of the gear and the twins, Scratch clapped his hooves together. Grace and Metal headed over to help finish setting up.
Scratch stopped Grace and pulled him into an empty office. "Are you ready for your re-audition? What have you put together so far?"
"I've got a few ideas..." Grace said, trailing off as Scratch's glare intensified. "What is your deal?"
Scratch Plate reared his head back, eyes flashing with anger for a moment before he took a deep breath. "Sunset is on my case. Keeps asking about you. What have you learned, how are you playing, will you be ready. I guess I'm just irritated with him. I didn't decide to stick my neck out for you. That was all Sunny and now he's coming down on me like I'm the answer to his problems."
"Why does Sunset care so much?" Grace wondered out loud.
Scratch looked him up and down. "The fact that you have to ask that is exactly why you're in this situation. Sunset wants you on stage tomorrow. You'll be singing back-up for the Scratch Batch. I'll be introducing you all. I'm enough of a celebrity around here that it'll give you a boost. You've heard the Batch sing, you know the songs. Now you'll get a taste of what it's like to be one of them. Learn from them, and you'll be closer to being a Club Colt."
Grace decided to ask the most pressing question in his head. "What is the difference between Scratch Batch and Club Colt?"
"The Scratch Batch is a group where you either show off or are shown up. Do well and you become a headliner, a Club Colt. Do poorly and you'll be stuck behind the backdrop forever. The last one to join them burned out in a single night. The Batch doesn't take care of each other. You might play together, but don't be fooled. They're not your friends. They'll trample over you if they think you're weak. So get your head together and get ready. The re-audition would be a cakewalk compared to the hell you've got waiting for you tomorrow."
"What the hay is Sunset thinking!" Grace asked, alarmed.
Scratch threw his forehooves in the air. "I wish I knew. I thought he'd wait for Scowl to okay you before ever bringing you on the other side of the curtain. I guess Scowl's on the other side of Equestria right now, so Sunset is exerting every bit of influence he can."
"So he's told Ready Set?"
"Yup, Ready Set is a go. He's on board for it, excited even. Somehow Sunny convinced him that it would be to his benefit to debut a rising star. And Ready is ready to actually get some credit for what he does around here." Scratch replied, turning to exit the office. His eyes caught on a songbook on top of the filing cabinet by the door. Turning around, Scratch's face went from resigned to determined. "You know the Scratch Batch's songs by now. But you don't know what the Batch doesn't know; the old Batch songs. You'll have to put a new spin on it, but somewhere in here could be your very own coup de grace"
***
"You want me to do what?" Grace asked, ears pointed straight up and chest out.
"Well, you're the only one of two ponies I know who isn't already planning on being out of the city. And his grandmother is down with a cold, so I have to ask you." Only Hope replied, fiddling with the strap of Blue Hope's overnight duffel. "So, will you do me a solid? You'll be paid up front. Daddy made sure to give me enough for that."
Wondering for a moment exactly what Only Hope's father could possibly do that allowed him to splurge on his flighty daughter, Grace sighed and shrugged. "He's well-behaved enough, I guess. But my room-mate will be the one watching him at night while I work."
Only Hope waved a hoof dismissively. "The professor? Yeah, I think I'll be okay with that. Any funny business and I could go straight to the school board. And if Blue is too much of a hoof-full, I'll embarrass him in front of his little filly-friend--"
"Mooom!" Blue moaned, swishing his lion-like tail irritably. "Can we go now? I'll be good. I promise!"
"Did you remember your toothbrush?" Only asked, arching an eyebrow.
Rolling his eyes, Blue headed to the bathroom.
"I guess that was a 'no.'" Only said with a snort. "I did hear there was some sort of fair at the school campus this weekend. You know, what with all us real party animals off on our spring break trips."
Grace nodded. "Yeah, I heard about that. Juri mentioned it."
"Yeah. So, you might wander over there to keep Blue...occupied." Only turned her head towards the bathroom. "How could one colt take so long grabbing a toothbrush?"
Grace shrugged. Foals were a bit of a mystery to him at the best of times.
The silence hit new heights of awkward as Grace's brain screamed at him to say anything. Only seemed content to stand there, albeit with a hint of irritation creasing her brow as the silence stretched on. Finally, Only Hope rolled her eyes and yelled. "Toothbrush Blue! Stop fixing your mane in the mirror and get going!"
"I've got it! I just wanted to grab a few books to take over to Mr. Bass's place." Blue yelled back as he bounded back down the hall and into the living room.
The pair bid Only Hope good-bye and took a cab back in relative silence, broken only by the occasional remark on the weather.
When they walked up to docks, Blue cocked his head and poked Grace's shoulder. "You live on a boat?"
"Yeah, welcome aboard The Amazing Note. Juri inherited this ship from some relative. He kept it maintained when he worked for...when he worked at his last job." Grace said, changing his mind about whether to talk about the kingdom they'd worked for. "And we sailed here, back to Manehatten, a few months ago."
"Where did you live before this?" Blue Hope asked, oblivious to Grace's unease.
Grace decided to be vague. "A small island kingdom a few hundred miles off the coast. Nice enough by itself, but ponies there weren't always very nice."
As they entered, Juri's head poked out of the kitchen. "Uh, the foal followed you home." Juri observed.
"Yeah, don't worry, we're getting paid for this."
Juri's eyes narrowed. "Why do I feel like 'we' means you and 'paid' means not enough to cover the stress of having a foal around?"
Grace shrugged. "He's actually a decent enough colt, as far as colts go."
"There's a ringing endorsement." Juri replied drily.
"It'll just be a few nights." Grace offered, widening his eyes to appear innocent.
Juri snorted. "Yeah, and who gets to watch the foal while somepony goes off and plays at the Lemonlight?"
"The best, most amazing, kind, wonderful, and selfless pony I could ever hope to know?" Grace answered, more hoping than certain.
Juri's eyes slid back to where Blue stood. Except the foal had already made himself at home, laying stretched across the couch, his bag set down on the coffee table. The colt licked his hoof-tip and flicked a page over as the pair watched him. Juri's gaze returned to Grace, who held up both forehooves.
"See? Pretty easy to handle. Just don't set the kitchen on fire while I'm gone and we'll be fine!" Grace said.
Juri shook his head. "I forget about the pan on the stove one time..."