The night went on, alongside the Crystal Prep Formal. Bit by bit, the strict atmosphere from the beginning had dissolved: The air in the decorated gym was filled with casual banter, and though not crowded the dance floor was occupied by a large number of students.
Much to her dismay though, Sour Sweet wasn’t one of them.
The later it got, the more desperately she tried to get someone to dance with her. But no matter who she talked to and how cute she tried to act, it all ended either with the guy hanging out with someone else instead, or just rejecting her. As the Crystal Heart Formal neared its final hour, she still hadn’t gotten a single guy to dance with her, and was starting to run out of targets.
“Come on, come on” she whispered, pushing students aside as she looked out for a boy she hadn’t talked to yet. She didn’t even think about beating Indigo anymore, but not getting a SINGLE boy to dance with her would hurt her pride – not to mention Indigo would mock her until the end of time with it.
Finally, her eyes came upon a guy in a tuxedo, not really handsome, but not ugly either. At this point, she didn’t care much for appearance either way. With quick steps she skipped over to his side, and gently took his arm.
“Hi there, cutie-pie!” she chirped into his ear. “Say, would you mind accompanying a sweet fragile girl to the dance-floor?”
Surprised, the boy looked at Sour’s sweetly smiling face. He was about to say something, when he felt his other arm being grabbed as well. As he turned his head, he stared into a pair of eyes brimming with attitude.
“Hey there!” Indigo grinned, a demanding manner in her voice. “You look like you’re tough – think you’re tough enough to handle me?”
Looking past the boy, Sour stared at Indigo first in surprise, then in anger. “Excuse me, but I think I had the attention of this darling gentleman first” she said while lightly pulling the boy towards her.
Indigo also seemed surprised at seeing Sour, before she furrowed her brows. “Then it’s a good thing I showed up” Indigo replied, also pulling the boy towards her. “Spares you the embarrassment of getting rejected.”
Though a vein on her forehead twitched, Sour kept her honeyed smile. “I think this boy here prefers the company of a well-mannered, kind girl instead of a mean bossy macho-lady…“ Her bell-like voice cracked at the end as she pulled more firmly on the boy’s arm.
With both hands, Indigo dragged the boy in her direction. “And I think he’d rather be around a real woman, not some lollipop!”
Gritting her teeth Sour tightened her grip on his arm. “Let him go, Indigo!”
“No, YOU let him go!”
“No you!”
“You!”
“You!!”
“You!!!”
Fighting with each other, the girls pulled more and more tightly on the boy’s arms. Soon he felt like the rope in a tug of war. For a while he was helplessly torn between the two girls, looking like they were about to snap him in half. Sweat running down his face he took in a deep breath, before shouting out of his lungs: “STOOOOP!!!”
Some of the students around turned their heads. Startled and embarrassed, the two girls quickly let go of him. Bending forward he put his hands on his knees, panting. With a slightly forced smile he looked back at Sour and Indigo. “I-I’m really charmed you two want to dance with me. But, um, I was actually about to ask this girl out.”
Both girls looked in the direction he was pointing, their eyes widening at what they sw.
“Sugarcoat?!” they both screamed in disbelief.
The boy nodded. “Yeah. I’ve heard she was looking for a date, a-and it’s not like she is prettier than you or anything, but, um…” Uncomfortably the boy rubbed his head. “Er, gotta go!”
He practically vanished in a cloud of dust, leaving the two dumbfounded girls behind. The students around had also lost interest, and were back at their chatter. Slowly, Sour turned her gaze towards Indigo. “Did… did we just get ditched for Sugarcoat?” she asked in disbelief.
Slowly Indigo nodded. “Seems like it… don’t want to sound like a jerk, but it’s hard to believe someone would want to date her…”
“Oh, he isn’t the first.” Sour and Indigo turned their heads, staring into frowning face of Sunny who had appeared behind them. “In fact, I’m pretty sure he is the last one.
Sour raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sighing, Sunny rubbed her forehead. “I set up a couple of dates for her and she promised to give every guy a chance, and that she would spent at least five minutes with them. Turns out, she has given each of them EXACTLY five minutes – and the moment they were over, she dropped them like a gum that’s out of flavor.”
Flinching, Indigo nearly tripped over her high-heels. “Wait… since we got here, Sugar has had a new date every five minutes?!”
Rolling her eyes Sunny growled. “I wish! Before I intervened, she already rejected a bunch within ONE minute – this girl is driving me crazy!” With clenched fists she marched off, her high heels loudly clapping on the floor of the gym.
Indigo and Sour stared after her for a moment, before looking awkwardly at each other. “So, um, how many dates did you get?” Indigo asked, nervously rubbing her shoulder.
With a blush on her face Sour cleared her throat. “Weeeeell… none” she flatly stated.
Indigo sighed. “Yeah, me neither.”
“So, looks like Sugarcoat won our bet!” Even though she said this in her sweet voice, one could clearly hear the bitter ring in it.
Folding her arms Indigo leaned against a nearby table, frowning. “Don’t know what’s worse: Tying zero with you, or losing against Pigtails.”
Sour also leaned against the table, putting her hands around its edges. “At least we learned guys are neither into cute little girls nor self-confident femme fatales – or rather girls who try way too hard to act like them.”
Taking in a deep breath Indigo hissed through her teeth. “I can’t believe we really did this!” she moaned “Betting who dates more guys! This is so… so…” Gritting her teeth she growled in frustration.
Sour glared at her. “Hey, it was your idea, okay? Don’t complain!”
“But you’re the one who started it!”
“Me? What did I do?”
“You provoked me!”
“How?”
“You called me cute!”
There was a moment of silence. While Indigo huffed with an angry look on her face, Sour stared at her in confusing. “Um, Indy? I actually meant that as a genuine compliment.”
Now it was Indigo’s turn to look confused. “Really? You were not teasing me?”
Sour shook her head. “Of course not! I just meant to compliment you on your natural complexion.”
“Oh.” Quickly Indigo turned her head away as she felt a blush on her cheeks. “Well… thanks, I guess.”
One eye-bow arched Sour looked at Indigo for a moment as if she was crazy. Suddenly, both girls wrapped an arm around each other’s shoulder as they broke out into laughter. Wiping the tears from their eyes they leaned against the table, watching the rest of the students. “Hey, Indy” Sour said after a while “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Folding her arms Sour looked her in the eyes. “Why do you react so aggressive to anything girlish? Like making your fingernails, or being called cute?”
Indigo shrugged her shoulders. “Dunno. You usually don’t expect an athlete to wear make-up, do their hair or be considered ‘cute’ by anyone. Guess I think if someone finds me cute, they are not taking me serious as an athlete.” Rubbing her arms, she looked at her own feet. “It’s already tough as a girl to get treated as someone who can play soccer or run a marathon on a boy’s level. You’re always a girl first, a girl second, a girl third, and somewhere on the end of the line, one or two might recognize your talent in sports.” She closed her eyes. “That’s why I want to show ‘em I can be just as tough and strong as they are, and see eye-to-eye with them.”
As she spoke, the look on her face changed from somewhat embarrassed, to nervous and insecure until becoming gradually more stern and grim. Suddenly, the stern look on her face turned into a grimace of pain as Sour punched her side.
“OUCH!” Indigo yelled, rubbing the aching spot while scowling at her friend.
The cerise-haired girl smiled sweetly at her. “Oh, I’m sorry! I just wanted to make sure you aren’t made out of papier-mâché - cause the Indigo I know wouldn’t care about any of that stuff.” Switching to a harder, yet still friendly tone, Sour poked Indigo at the shoulder. “She’d just challenge anyone who makes fun of her or questions her athletic skills to a race and leave ‘em in the dust. You shouldn’t force yourself to be tough just because you think you have to. And while you don’t have to be girly or cute - it’d be a total waste if we never made use of those cheeks!” she chirped, pinching Indigo’s cheeks. Though the sporty girl didn’t like this, she seemed somewhat happy as she pushed Sour’s hands off her face.
“Thanks, Sour” she said. “You know, when you don’t try to be a cute little girl, you ARE actually quite nice and charming – in your own way, somehow.”
Taken by surprise Sour blushed. “Y-you really think so?”
“Yeah! Don’t know why you are always trying so hard. It always seems so forced and unnatural.”
Sour folded her hands behind her back, her eyes glancing to the side. “Well, maybe it’s because I’m actually… not that good in being… nice to others” she murmured, her voice barely audible. “So it can sometimes come out kind of artificial and exaggerated.”
“Really?” Indigo cocked her head. “I always thought you are just being sarcastic.”
Sour snickered. “Oh don’t worry, I am most of the time.” More quietly she added: “But… not always.”
Silently, the two girls stared at the dance floor.
“This talk has gotten a little heavy, hasn’t it?” Indigo said after a while.
Sour nodded. “A little.”
A soft smile hushed over Indigo’s face. “Well, it was still nice talking about it. And… thanks.
Sour smiled back. “You too.”
Standing beside each other, the two girls watched the other students in the hall for a moment. “But I’m still bummed we lost to Sugarcoat!” Indigo suddenly groaned. “I mean, seriously – SUGARCOAT!
A challenging look on her face, Sour glanced at Indigo. “How about a new bet then?” she asked, holding out her hand. “I bet I can hold out longer on the dance-floor than you do.”
Indigo looked at Sour’s hand, before cracking a smile. “Challenge accepted” she said, taking the hand of her friend.
On the side of the dance floor, benches had been placed for students who wanted to rest. Sitting on the outer end of one was Sugarcoat. Her elbow on her knee her head rested on her fist. The look on her face was a tired one, but more than that, it as one of relief, as if she had finally gotten rid of something that bothered her.
Suddenly, a shadow was cast over her. Raising her gaze she stared right into Sunny’s eyes, who looked sternly down on her. “What a surprise” Sunny said dryly “Here sits the queen of the ball, with no more kings left to reject.”
Sugarcoat harrumphed. “I did what you said. I gave every boy a chance and-”
“You know exactly I didn’t mean you should brush off every guy after five minutes!” Sunny shouting, stomping on the ground.
Sitting up straight Sugarcoat crossed her arms and legs. “I just told them what I thought of them. It’s not my problem if they can’t deal with me telling them the truth…”
“This had nothing to do with telling the truth!” Sunny said, pointing her finger at her with an angry grimace. “You were just impolite!”
“Any form of relationship should be based upon-”
“Damn it, Sugarcoat, I didn’t try to hook you up with someone, I just wanted you to have fun!”
“If that’s what you wanted, you failed hard!”
Frowning Sunny sat down next to her, though in a noticeable distance. “I’m so sorry I wanted to do you a favor” she mumbled.
Side by side both girls sat on the bench. None of them said a word, and they avoided looking at each other. After a long moment of silence, Sugarcoat took in a deep breath, before sighing out loud. “Look, Sunny” she said, her tone a lot softer than before. “I really appreciate what you were trying to do here for me. Really! It’s just I am a little…” She paused for a moment, as if to gather courage before going on “…insecure with boys.”
Surprised Sunny raised her eyebrows. “Really? You and insecure?” Slowly, Sugarcoat nodded. “But why? Obviously not because you are unpopular with them…”
Uncomfortably, Sugarcoat wriggled about on her seat. “I’d rather not speak about it.”
Sunny slid a little closer to her friend. “So, you’ve really been trying the whole night to scare them off?”
With two fingers, Sugarcoat pushed up her glasses. “Not exactly. I just fear that if I get interested in a guy, as we grow closer to each other, it might turn out there are things about each other we don’t like.” She folded her hands in her laps. “I… I’m scared these things could drive us apart, and as a result, I could get… hurt.” Tightly she squeezed her hands, before relaxing again. “So, I just tell everyone straight up what I think of them, with a special emphasis to all their faults, in order to avoid this kind of… pain.” A sad chuckle slipped through her lips. “Now that I say it out loud, this must sound rather stupid.”
Sunny, having listened carefully, shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Really?” Sugarcoat asked, sounding surprise.
Sunny nodded. “I mean I absolutely don’t agree with you. Nevertheless, I am sure you have your reason to think and act like this, and maybe one day you will share that reason with me. Until then, I must simply accept your fear of boys and your way of dealing with it.”
A smile on her face, Sugarcoat blushed a little. “Thank you, Sunny.” She took a look down herself. “For the dress, too. You really did a good job considering so many boys felt attracted to me.”
“Praise the present, not the wrapping” Sunny said, winking at Sugarcoat. Her gaze wandered to her lap. “To be honest, it wasn’t just out of pure generosity that I helped you all evening to get a date.” She clenched the hem of her skirt, swallowing a little. “I… am actually dealing with a fear on my own.”
Sugarcoat arched an eye-brow.
“The truth is… There is this boy I have a crush on. But, I… I didn’t have the courage to ask him out. And now, he is here with a girl from another school. So, in order to distract myself, I focused the whole evening on you, that at least one of us would have some fond memories of tonight.” She bit her lip, before giggling. “Pretty miserable, huh? I try to get you a date this whole time, when I’m actually too afraid to ask out the boy I like myself.”
The white-haired girl shrugged. “Well, you’re scared of one boy. I’m scared of all of them. I’d say you are still better off than me.”
Both friends silently smiled at each other.
“Sorry for dragging you on the dance-floor all night” Sunny apologized. “Your feet must be killing you.”
With a smile, Sugarcoat stood up. “Actually, I think they can spare one last dance” she said, holding out her hand.
Sunny looked up at Sugarcoat for a moment. Also smiling, she got up as well, taking Sugarcoat’s hand.
Her shoulders hanging low, Lemon walked along the side of the dance floor. Regularly she bent down to pick up streamers, and tried to throw them back on their place. Although she hadn’t really gotten to dance, she felt pretty exhausted. As she picked up a dirty spoon someone had dropped, she paused to take a look at the sports hall.
Most of the decorations had been messed up. Streamers were scattered around where they weren’t supposed to be. The banquet was full of crumbs as well as stains of sauce, punch and guacamole. The usual gleam of the floor had washed off a little, having become dirty from all the people walking around. A lot of the banners were not hanging right, some even being damaged with little bits being ripped off. She remembered how long it had taken them to set everything up. How much sweat she had spilled to hang up the banners. How all of them had worked together, and how great everything had looked just a few hours ago. Now, she noticed with a sigh, very little evidence was left of all their effort.
“Everything’s a mess.” Crestfallen, Lemon looked at the hall for a moment. Suddenly, she shrugged. “Oh well, tis a party after all.”
Dropping the spoon back on the ground, she stepped on the dance floor. The DJ put on a new song, one that was a little faster than the previous ones. Once more, she looked at all the hard work they had put into everything. As she looked over everything that had been messed up however, she also became more aware of the other students around her: Boys and girls were losing it on the dance floor, there was chatter and laughter echoing through the gym, and while the atmosphere wasn’t really like in a disco, the light-hearted tone in the air kind of made her feel a little like she was in one. Standing in the middle of the hall, surrounded by laughing and dancing students, Lemon smiled. Realizing their hard work hadn’t been for nothing, she raised one arm into the sky, forming a goat sign while moving her feet and head to the rhythm.
From the side of the field, Dean Cadence watched the students. With great pleasure, she had noticed how the atmosphere had slowly become lighter during the night. “Looks like the kids are all having fun” she remarked with a smile.
Not looking like she really cared, the headmaster of Crystal Prep Academy harrumphed. “If you say so, Miss Cadenzia.”
A look of amusement on her face, Dean Cadence rolled her eyes. As she looked over the dance floor, her eyes caught sight of Sour and Indigo. The two girls were dancing with each other – although, by the way they repeated the other’s dance moves and tried to do them better, it looked more like they were having a dance battle. Near them, she also spotted Sunny and Sugarcoat, as well as Lemon. Eventually, the five girls noticed they were all on the dance floor. With a laugh they huddled up to a group, wrapping their arms around each other. Seeing them, the smile on the dean’s face grew a little wider.
The night went on, and eventually, the Crystal Heart Formal came to an end. A few new friendships had been made, while some others had been strengthened. It wasn’t the most spectacular of nights, but all in all, everyone had a great time at the ball.
“PARTY!”
Whatever.