//------------------------------// // The cellist // Story: Silent Love - Part One // by Sagami //------------------------------// Vinyl wasn’t expecting that. In every school there were a bunch of strange people, for many reasons, some of which just didn’t seem to match with the surroundings. This girl was one of them. She was wearing a very formal white shirt under a light gray blazer; as well as a darker gray pleated long skirt. Well Vinyl could’ve sayed “grey” instead, since this girl was obviously from the eastern continent, probably Trottingham or somewhere around. On top of that, she had a purple bowtie around her neck, and a huge cello case was attached to her back. Vinyl was no stylist, and given her own style, she would never give any lesson about how to dress, but this girl left her…. speechless. But maybe the most crazy feature of this new arrival was her face: smooth, pure grey skin, light pink lips that matched just enough with her bowtie and with her deep purple eyes. Finally, long dark gray hair were falling on her back, and a decent amount was maintained in some kind of shaggy fringe that defied gravity. Vinyl knew it wasn’t easy to arrive in a new school, but this student was the most uncomfortable and disoriented person she had seen in her life (even more than her father when she first made him listen to her music). Her eyes were at the brink of crying and her arms were crossed in a desperate move to get some comfort. Vinyl honestly didn’t know if she was supposed to laugh or to feel pity. “Hey? Are you ok over there?” Lyra’s voice interrupted Vinyl’s contemplation of this strange new girl. She looked at her friend with confused eyes. “Wow dude you look reeeeeaaaally high right now, you didn’t sleep that much did you?” Lyra didn’t wait for an answer: “Ow crap! Everyone’s in already! We’re gonna miss the welcoming speech!” She grabbed Vinyl’s wrist and started running towards the front door. When the DJ turned her head in an effort to see the strange girl, she had already left. }--oO0Oo--{ “Hello everyone, and welcome to Canterlot high! I am Principal Celestia, and this is Vice-principal Luna! We’ll be here today to show how around the school and to answer your every questions. We personally wanted to tell you how proud we are to welcome all of you, must you be old or new student, welcome to our big family!” Vinyl was quite intrigued by the two women’s… flamboyant hairstyles. She looked around the room to observe the other students. Even if she was the only one with electric blue hair, she was far from being the only one with a peculiar look (Was that a good thing? She really couldn’t tell), and noticed a few interesting characters: the rainbow-haired girl Lyra was talking about (she WAS tomboyish, jeez), a pink-haired, pink-wearing, pink-skinned fuzzy ball of hair and scream who was offering/throwing cupcakes at everyone, and a strange mean-looking one in a corner, surrounded by two middle-school boys acting a bit tougher than they probably should. “This is gonna be an interesting year… And we haven’t started the class yet.” As the two principals were showing them around, the DJ realised how huge the school truly was. The library for example should probably be a municipal building, given its size. “Meh. I’m not a big reader anyway, or even a reader at all.” There was actually a music room. Sadly, she didn’t see any mix table or anything of the sort. Not a problem. She’d bring hers if necessary. She then saw a cello against the wall and thought about the girl she saw outside, who was now nowhere to be seen, but there were so many people that Vinyl assumed she had to be there somewhere. They spent the rest of the afternoon going through the entire school: the sport hall, the classrooms, the cafeteria, the park…. Once the tour was finished, they all came back to the hall to enjoy some snacks. Canterlot High really seemed like a place where Vinyl could feel comfortable. “Well we’ll see about that tomorrow won’t we…” Suddenly something interrupted her thoughts, a pink thunderbolt hit the ground a few inches away from the DJ’s feet. Before she knew it, she was face to face with the all-pink girl she saw earlier. “Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m the head of the party-planning committee! This means I like parties! Do you like parties? I heard you like music! That’s great! Cool music makes cool parties don’t you think?! What’s your name?” It was kind of too many questions in four seconds, but Vinyl guessed this was the hyperactive party girl of the school. Before she tried to make a response, the girl had already disappeared in a pink streak. “Well at least I’ll leave with one new name in my head”. Friends probably weren’t going to be a problem here. }--oO0Oo--{ Today was the first day of class, and Vinyl couldn’t help but feel a little concerned about what was about to happen. Plus, she didn’t sleep much, and for some reason kept having the strange cellist’s face in her head. She had left a bit early yesterday, not that she didn’t want to meet some new people, but because she didn’t want to bother anyone with her condition. Revealing it to everybody in class wouldn’t be easier, but it sure would be faster. Lyra was ok with going back home by bus. She told Vinyl that she had met a really nice girl in the hall, Bon-Bon or something. It was nice to see that some really had the opportunity to meet people. But if the DJ’s instinct was right, thanks to this Pinkie Pie, it wouldn’t be too hard to meet anyone. She got in her car with her headphones on, listening to some sweet dubstep, which made the ride seem way faster than it was. After parking on the side of the building, she ran her hand through her blue hair, took a big breath, and pushed the main door. There were still several students in the hallway, but the class was starting in only five minutes, so Vinyl hurried to classroom 38, and was happy to see that the teacher, whoever it was, hadn’t arrived yet. She met Lyra who had taken a seat in the back, of course, and then she saw her. SHE was there. The mysterious cellist was sitting in the front row, her gigantic cello case against the wall near her. Strangely enough, nobody was sitting next to her. Suddenly Vinyl realised: “She’s in my class! Thank God I’ll get to know her name when the teacher takes attendance!” She then was tempted by the idea of abandoning Lyra to go join the cellist, but she was stopped by the teacher’s entrance. “Hello class and welcome to your first day of school at Canterlot High! I hope you all had fun yesterday! My name is Cheerilee and I’ll be your math teacher this year, as well as the head teacher for your class! Now I want everyone to tell his name in the order of the seats, that way we’ll already get a chance to know each others!” “Gosh” said Lyra “We’re not in middle school anymore.” Vinyl ignored her friend and listened carefully to each name, waiting for the one she was looking for. “Micro Chips.” “Trixie Lulamoon!” ‘Pixel Pizzaz” “Photo Finish!” “Pinkie Pie!!” “Octavia Melody.” Octavia Melody. What a beautiful name. Vinyl wasn’t the cheesy type, but this name surely had a romantic vibe to it. And the voice which said these two small words was even more incredible. Smooth, sophisticated, definitely from the eastern continent. This accent was the cutest thing the blue-haired girl had ever heard. “Lyra Heartstrings” … “And what is your name?” … “Go on, there’s no need to be shy.” But Vinyl wasn’t shy. She saw Lyra’s and Micro Chips’s embarrassed expressions, but calmly picked up a paper sheet and wrote in big enough letters for everyone to see: “Vinyl Scratch” said Cheerilee in a visibly annoyed tone “I’d like you to say your name out loud if it’s not asking too much.” Vinyl turned the page over and wrote again: "I CAN'T". “Oh... ok” said the teacher, both confused and ashamed, “You’re the student Principal Celestia told me about. Well I can assure you that it won’t be a problem at all here!  Let’s continue!” As the named kept on going, Vinyl couldn’t help but to hear the students whispering around herself, about her most likely, but she didn’t want to think about it. The first two hours were basically Cheerilee presenting the year program, the rules of the school, and the details of the math chapters of the year. Exciting. The class then took a ten minutes break to wait for the next professor. And as soon as Cheerilee got out, dozens of students rushed on Vinyl’s desk. “Are you deaf too? Do you hear me now?” “Have you always been like this?” “How do you communicate then?” “Is blue your natural hair color?” “What does it feel like?” Gosh. Vinyl was used to this situation, but it felt strange every time. That was it. She said it. She was a mute. It hadn’t always been like this, no, but she didn’t want to think about that for the time being. She understood the others though. It isn’t common to find out that one of your classmate has such a handicap. Giving Vinyl’s style, they probably never would’ve guessed. “Alright alright fuck off, all of you!” said Lyra. It was nice of hers to protect her friend, but the DJ didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the others, so she just took another sheet of paper and wrote: “I’ll need your cell number if you want to talk with me, so please don’t spam the fuck outta me :) Let’s try to have a great year ok? I’m a dj by the way, so don’t worry, I’ll find a way to make some noise like you’ve never heard before!” Before she knew it she had a paper filled with about thirty phone numbers. Damn. People REALLY wanted to know more about her. It was nice. But she noticed one thing. Octavia. She hadn’t moved of an inch from her seat, and was just looking at the small crowd from afar. Was she too shy? Or maybe she didn’t care? This last thought left Vinyl with a mixed feeling of curiosity and sadness. But the cellist’s look was different than before. She was giving Vinyl quick glances, almost like she was scared of her. Maybe she was? Or maybe a serious confusion about the blue haired girl’s life? Vinyl didn’t had the time to think too much though. Suddenly the door smashed open in a deafening sound, and a strange, deep voice came from the hallway: “Hello everyone! Now how are we doing today? No don’t tell me! Have a seat, children!” The man who just entered the classroom was the strangest human being Vinyl had ever seen. He was tall. Really tall. About fifty years old, his gray skin matching with his long white eyebrows and goatee, as well as with his black and white hair. He had a thin face, and pointy nose, and one of his teeth was significantly longer than the others. Well his hair had to be the only thing that matched in his look. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a red tie, under a brown jacket. His pants were bottle green and he had mismatched shoes, one of them being white and the other brown. On top of that, his pupils were deeply yellow, and his eyes were constantly staring at the students, like we was trying to hypnotize them. “I’m professor Discord! Shall we begin?”