//------------------------------// // Assembly // Story: Dusk // by PeryFire //------------------------------// Sonata Dusk rolled over and slapped her alarm clock as it blared at her, signalling for her to start her day. She groaned. It was Monday. She had a whole week of early mornings, classes, and homework. She wished the weekend would come sooner. It was a typical Monday morning. The alarm clock began it's tasteless blaring once again, and Sonata once again reached out from beyond her warm bed to make it stop. With a long sigh, she got up to start her morning routine. First were toaster waffles and a big ol' glass of orange juice. Sonata couldn't start her day without eating a breakfast of waffles drowning in syrup and icing sugar. After that came brushing her teeth, washing the sleep out of her eyes, picking out an outfit, and combing her blue hair into a neat ponytail. Today she settled on some jeans and a maroon hoodie. It was a typical Monday decision. Mondays were miserable enough without being uncomfortable. Sonata yawned, still sleepy, and glanced at the clock. She jumped, suddenly alert. It was 8:00! She was going to be late for school! She ran to her desk and scooped a haphazard pile of textbooks and papers into her backpack, barely remembering to zip it up before slinging it over her shoulder. She ran out the front door and ran to vault the low front gate. She stopped herself short, and ran back to her house to lock the door, before taking another run at the gate. She cleared it and raced down the street, her feet pounding on the damp pavement in a rhythm in time with her heartbeat. A typical Monday morning. When Sonata got to school, she pushed through the front doors without stopping, skipped visiting her locker, and went straight to homeroom. She slipped into her desk next to Adagio and Aria just as the bell rang to signal the beginning of class. "Yes!" She hissed, pumping her fist in victory. "Just in time!" A typical Monday morning greeting to her friends. Adagio yawned in the desk next to her. "Really Sonata, you do this every morning." She rolled her eyes. "You really have to start paying attention to the time. One of these days you'll actually be late." "Nah," Sonata waved a hand. "If that happens I'll just have to run faster." "Whatever you say." Adagio was about to say something else when the intercom buzzed on. An announcement was made instructing all students to assemble in the gymnasium. "Huh." Aria said groggily. "That's weird. Wonder what that's all about." "Who cares?" Adagio retorted. "So long as it gets us out of class!" The three friends smiled to each other, and noticed that their fellow classmates were just as happy to dodge an early morning lecture on ideology. As the students filed into the gymnasium and found seats on the bleachers, the excited chatter began to die down. Something about the rigid formality and seriousness of Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna was unsettling to them. "Geez." Aria whispered, eyeing up the school's leaders. "Looks like we're in for a lecture after all." "Yeah." Adagio scoffed, crossing her arms. "I'll bet that someone vandalized some lockers or broke a window. Again. And we're all being punished for it." "At least we're not in class?" Sonata offered. The three friends broke off their conversation as Principal Celestia stepped up to the podium, prompting the room to fall silence. "My dear students," She began, her tone flat and serious. "It is with great sadness that I inform you that over the weekend one of your fellow students, Orange Slice, has lost her life." There was an outbreak of whispers among the students. Principal Celestia waited patiently for most of it to subside before going on. "This is a very difficult time for all of us." She continued. "But the circumstances surrounding Orange Slice's death are suspicious and police have declared that she was murdered. I know that this is very alarming, but if anyone has any information that may help in the investigation, they are urged to come forth. If you have any information, you can call the police station, or if you are uncomfortable, you can tell any of the staff here and they will forward it to the police." She looked to Vice Principal Luna, then stepped back from the podium, allowing Vice Principal Luna to step up. "Students, this is a very unfortunate and difficult occurrence that no school should have to endure." Her tone was much softer and more gentle than the Principal's. "As many of you knew Orange Slice and interacted with her on a daily basis, this may be very hard on you. For the next few weeks, some grief counsellors will be taking up office at the school. You may visit them any time during school hours, or afterwards until six o'clock. You will be pardoned for leaving class to do so. School will be cancelled for the rest of the day. I encourage any of you who knew Orange Slice or feel... unwell about this tragedy to stay and speak to the counsellors. Class will resume tomorrow, and we'll announce memorial details as soon as her family releases them." The room remained silent as Vice Principal Luna stepped away from the podium. There was an eerie silence as the students waited to see if there was any more to be said. Eventually, a few students stood up and left the gymnasium, and the rest followed suit, quietly getting up and filing neatly out, stopping at their lockers on their way out the building. The school was devoid of sound other than the opening and closing of lockers and whispered conversations. "Did either of you know Orange Slice?" Aria finally asked when the three reached their adjacent lockers. "Nuh-uh." Sonata said, shaking her head. "I don't think I've ever heard her name in my life." Adagio said. "Still, it's kind of... disturbing. Someone who once walked these halls just like us... murdered." There was a pause before Aria spoke up. "Do you want to go talk to someone?" Adagio rolled her eyes. "No, I don't want to go talk to anyone. It's just eerie, is all I'm saying. Like there could be a ghost wandering the halls." "Ghosts?" Sonata asked, retreating into her sweater childishly. "She won't come back as a ghost, right?" "Oh come on, don't tell me you believe in that ghost crap." Adagio said. She sighed when Sonata continued to look at her with fearful eyes. "No, she won't come back as a ghost." "Oh." Sonata said, slightly relieved. "Okay then." The three were silent again until they were walking down the street. "So, what do we do now?" Aria asked. "We get the day off, and we didn't make any plans, obviously." "Oh!" Sonata bounced up and down, apparently forgetting all about ghosts. "We can hang out at my house! We can make tacos for lunch! It'll just be like Tuesday, but with no class!" "I guess tacos would be cool." Adagio agreed. "I'm in. Aria?" "Sure, but we're going to spend all morning watching movies." "We're watching Daring Do!" Sonata yelled insistently. The other two groaned, as Sonata made them rewatch her favourite movie on multiple occasions. "My house my rules!" She teased. The day of tacos and movies had concluded, her friends had gone home, and Sonata was readying herself for a good night's sleep. She put on her fuzziest pajamas and thought about her day as she brushed her teeth. She had a wonderful day. All three of them had. At some point they had all forgotten the reason they were let out of school in the first place. As Sonata turned out the lights in her bathroom and walked to her room, she thought about Orange Slice, a girl she had maybe seen once or twice, but never actually talked to. As she tucked herself into bed, she thought about what Principal Celestia had said about the police report. As she drifted off to sleep, there was a whisper in the back of her mind. Murder.