So. Sunny thought. Today's the day. She changed into her uniform and went downstairs.
"Good morning!" she said to her parents as she entered the kitchen.
"Good morning!" said her mother. "How are you feeling?"
Sunny made a sputtering noise. "About as good as I can feel at the moment, I suppose."
"Are you excited for the Friendship Games?" asked her father.
"A little, yes. Not as much as I thought I'd be. I still have my feelings from the funeral hanging over my head." said Sunny, sighing.
"At the very least, the Friendship Games could prove a useful distraction." said her mother.
"I guess that's true." Sunny admitted. "Lord knows I could use one or seventy after the week I've had." she said, rolling her eyes.
Glaze smiled. "The road ahead is going to be rough, that's a certainty. But remember what we told you last night."
Sunny smiled. "I do remember. My future will always be bright, no matter what I do."
"Exactly." said Stellar, smiling widely.
"Well, I had best get moving. I don't want to miss the bus now, do I?" said Sunny.
"Indeed not." Glaze said with a grin.
Sunny embraced both of her parents in a hug. "I love you two."
Her parents returned the hug. "We love you too, Sunny Flare."
The hug broke, and Sunny left the house for the bus stop.
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Sunny had arrived at Crystal Prep and took a deep breath of fresh air, then sighed. "Well...here we go." She walked towards the entrance, then stopped short when she heard an ear-splitting scream come from one of the bushes. She stood still, a chill running down her spine. What on earth?! She saw Radiant Hope run into the bush. Sunny shrugged, then walked into the school.
All of her fellow students were chattering about the Friendship Games. Apparently news of whatever happened in those bushes hadn't reached the inside, but that was fine by Sunny. She wanted nothing to do with whatever sordid business was being conducted.
Sunny sighed deeply. I know I'm trying to get over Rutherford, but I still can't stop thinking about him. What would be different right now if the car crash didn't happen? Would I still be happy? she shook her head. No. Enough of that self-talk. she admonished herself.
She scanned the hallways in an effort to distract herself. All throughout the halls were banners of the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts logo, congratulating the team for winning the Friendship Games. Crystal Prep may always win, but this seems a bit premature. Sunny rolled her eyes, then moved on.
She had passed by several of her teammates in the halls.
"Trender." Sunny greeted.
"Sunny Flare." Trender greeted.
"Sugarcoat." Sunny greeted.
"Have you masturbated yet?" Sugarcoat asked.
Damn that woman! Sunny thought as she gave Sugarcoat a death glare she knew would go unnoticed. She sighed again, then moved on.
The halls were still filled with the chattering of students and out of the corner of her eye she noticed the one student that asked her out last week. She frowned a little, actually feeling sorry for the poor guy. She walked over to him.
He noticed her and slowly turned away.
"Hey." Sunny said.
"What do you want?" he said, bitterness in his voice. "Do you just want to remind me that I'm cute for thinking I had a chance with you? Or did you want to tell me that you're still taken?!"
Sunny winced out of guilt and emotional pain from the student's outburst, especially from his last sentence. She took a deep breath and sighed. "No." she said. "I came to say that I'm sorry."
The student blinked in surprise before he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me right now?"
Sunny sighed again. "You have every right to believe that, and I completely understand your anger."
The student blinked again. "You...you do?"
"Yes. The past week has been an absolute hell for me, and I'm not sure I want to talk about it. But at the very least, I wanted to apologize to you." Sunny said, in a most sincere tone.
"I...I don't know what to say." The student said, visibly shocked.
Sunny smiled. "Why not tell me your name?" she asked.
"My name is Sunburst." said the student.
"Sunburst." Sunny said. "That's a nice name."
Sunburst blushed. "Thank you."
Sunny smiled. "I don't know if you still have feelings for me or not, but either way I wouldn't mind being friends with you. It feels like the least I can do to make up for turning you down the way I did."
Sunburst smiled back. "You know what? I'd like that."
"Great!" Sunny said. "Well, I need to be off. I'll see you after the Friendship Games!"
Sunburst waved goodbye to Sunny, then went about his business.
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Sunny went back outside and took a deep breath of fresh air, savoring the noises in the background. The birds chirping, the air rustling the foliage around her, the airhorns...
Sunny jumped as realization hit her. Airhorns?! The noise came closer as someone in a gorilla costume rushed towards her, pelting her with...Sardines?! What the hell is going on?! she thought as she ran like a madwoman, trying to escape the clutches of some demented person that came out of nowhere.
"Great, now I'm going to smell like fish for the rest of the day!" Sunny said. Having had enough, she turned around and looked at her gorilla-costumed assailant. "What is wrong with you?!" Sunny yelled.
The person in the gorilla costume shrugged, did a dance for a few seconds, then plodded off with onlookers recording and laughing heartily.
Sunny put her head in her hands, holding back tears. Calm down, Sunny Flare! she thought to herself. You've been through enough already, don't give that weirdo the satisfaction of seeing you break down! She quickly ran inside, using what little time she had before leaving to take a quick shower in the locker room and putting on a spare uniform she brought with her.
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The time was now. Sunny stood in line where Sour Sweet was waiting while Dean Cadence was looking over a checklist. The two simply stared at each other, neither one willing to start up a conversation. The silence continued as more students joined the line until it both were broken.
"Dean Cadence?" said Twilight, cutting in line. "I'm not really sure where to go."
Cadence walked away, holding up a finger. "On second, Twilight." she said.
"You could try the end of the line." said Sour, causing Sunny to smile slightly despite herself.
Twilight turned around and adjusted her glasses. "What did you say?"
"Just that someone as smart as you should definitely go first." said Sour.
Twilight raised her arms defensively. "I...I didn't mean to. I was just asking."
Dean Cadence returned. "This is the right bus, Twilight. Go ahead."
"But...I didn't mean to cut in front." Twilight said.
Sour folded her arms. "Well it's too late now!" she said.
As Sunny and the remaining students boarded the bus, she smiled. My parents are right. My future will always be bright. No matter what happens.
End of Book Two of The Crystal Prep Chronicles: Before the Friendship Games