“’All up from here,’ huh?”
“Just…Just shut up, Aria.”
The trio stared at their lockers, once clean, now a canvas for a mosaic of anger, insults, and threats, and while some of the words confused the sisters—namely, the comments regarding fish and the sea—they were nevertheless hurt by and slightly afraid of the hostility of the vandalism.
“Okay, this has gone too far,” Aria said. “I don’t know if things are just different over here, but I don’t think we’re being hazed anymore. It’s only Tuesday, and already, we’ve been threatened by one person, ganged up on by that person’s friends, and now, people are putting threats on our lockers! This needs to stop. Now!”
Aria heard a noise behind her. Whirling around, she caught one of the students, a mint-green girl with similarly colored hair and golden eyes, opening one of the neighboring lockers, trying desperately to avoid being heard.
“Hey!” Aria snapped, startling the girl. “Do you know anything about this?” she demanded, pointing at the graffiti.
The girl froze for a second before taking off down the hallway.
“Hey! Get back here!” Aria said, beginning to give chase, before Adagio grabbed her arm.
“Aria, no. As much as you might want to, we can’t just beat the answers out of people.”
“But—”
“Should we maybe go to the principal?” Sonata piped up, interrupting Aria.
“No way,” Aria replied. “You know what they say: Snitches get stitches.”
Adagio thought a moment. “You know, normally, I’d say that we should work it out on our own. However, I believe Principal Celestia would appreciate knowing that her lockers have been vandalized. And, if she happens to do something about those threats and such, well, that’s her decision, not ours.”
Aria looked away, uncertainty written on her face. Adagio sighed and said, “Aria, if we don’t do something, then we will get stitches.”
Aria scowled and grumbled, “Fine. But I’m not happy about this.”
Adagio and Sonata exchanged glances with a nod, and the trio were off.
“Good morning, girls. Please take a seat.”
For a moment, the trio just stood there, basking in the relief of the principal’s warm welcome. They had almost forgotten what it felt like. Still, not wanting to keep her waiting, they each took a seat, Aria and Sonata pulling up two spare, smaller chairs while Adagio sat in the biggest center chair.
“We’re sorry to bother you while we should be in class,” Adagio began, “but when we arrived at school, we were met with a…concerning sight.” Celestia gave her a look of curiosity but said nothing, so Adagio continued, “Well, to put it simply, some lockers were vandalized.”
“Vandalized?” Celestia repeated, as aghast as she was angry. At Adagio’s nod, Celestia continued, “This is a very serious issue. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, girls. Rest assured that I will look into it. And don’t worry about being late; I’ll write some excuse slips for you three.”
“Thank you very much, Principal Celestia. I have no doubt you’ll take care of it.”
Celestia quickly pulled out and filled three excuse slips for the trio, who grabbed them as they stood up. However, when they were just at the door, Celestia said, “Oh, girls.” When the trio turned around to look at her, she said, “If I may ask, how was your first day at CHS?”
“It was great!” Aria said, too quickly and too loudly.
Celestia kept her patient smile, but she gave Aria a scrutinizing look. “Really?”
Aria paused for only a moment under Celestia’s gaze before saying, “W-Well, I mean, some people were jerks, but you’ll find those in every school. Other than that, it was great!”
Celestia looked at Aria’s sisters. Sonata was looking away sorrowfully, holding one of her arms self-consciously, and even Adagio was having a hard time making eye contact with the principal, and though it was hard to see, Celestia could swear she saw Adagio biting her lip ever so slightly.
“I’m glad to hear it, Aria,” Celestia finally said, “and I hope you three can make plenty of friends. But feel free to drop in if anyone starts giving you problems. I’d hate for three of my students to feel unwelcome at their own school.”
“Thanks, will do!” Aria said, hurrying out the office. Her sisters followed, closing the door behind them. It may have been her imagination, but Adagio thought she heard Celestia sigh as she closed the door.
Tuesday, thankfully, wasn’t too remarkable after their talk with the principal. No one was friendly to them—not that the trio were all that eager to chat with anyone, either—but no one made any hostile moves against them, either. Even so, the sisters couldn’t help but feel their tempers rising and confidence waning with every hour that went by.
And so, Adagio tried to just suffer through her first class on Wednesday, trying and mostly succeeded to ignore the one-off glare or scowl sent her way as she took notes.
At last, the bell sounded, and the students began packing their things to go to their lockers or straight to their next class, while the teacher stepped out to run an errand. Adagio was no different, closing her notebook and textbook and stacking them up, but just as she began lifting them, a blue hand planted itself on the books, slamming her stack back onto her desk.
Adagio glanced up at the intruder, finding a girl with purple eyes and silver hair scowling down at her. Adagio sighed. “Can I—"
“It appears that you haven’t been getting the message, siren,” the girl interrupted, “and I thought the blue one was the dumb one.”
Adagio bristled. “Excuse me?”
“But, no matter! Allow Trixie to clarify things for you.” Trixie thrust her finger in Adagio’s face. “You are not welcome here, Adagio Dazzle, and neither are your two flunkies!”
“They are my sisters!” Adagio growled, gritting her teeth.
“Semantics,” Trixie said dismissively, fueling Adagio’s rage. “The point is that you three are not wanted here. You are to leave as soon as possible and never bother us again, so declares the Great and Powerful Trixie!” she finished, closing her eyes with a haughty expression and pointing upward in a grandiose manner.
“D’awwww!” Adagio suddenly cooed. Trixie’s eyes snapped open as she looked down at Adagio, who was smirking as she looked at Trixie through half-lidded eyes. “Aren’t you just the cutest?”
“Wh-What?!” Trixie stammered as Adagio rose to her feet and circled around the desk to meet Trixie.
“’The Great and Powerful Trixie’? Oh, is there anything more precious than a cute, little puppy barking up a big tree?” Adagio taunted, gently stroking Trixie’s chin as she closed the distance.
“’Puppy’!” Trixie shouted, scandalized. “How dare you—” Trixie cut herself off with a gasp as Adagio placed a finger on her lips. By now, the few students left in the room were watching them intently.
“Now, now, puppy, I can’t play right now. Maybe later,” Adagio purred, leaning close to Trixie’s ear and saying softly, “But if you’re still interested in ‘playing’, meet me at my locker after school. I’m sure you’ll find it.”
Adagio punctuated her words with a soft pat on Trixie’s blushing cheek, then, in one fluid motion, grabbed her things and sauntered out of the room, noticing that the sneers had turned to snickers and one or two whistles. “Is that how we get on their good side?” Adagio asked herself, keeping her smug façade up. “Biting back? Doesn’t seem all that friendly, if you ask me.” Still, Adagio enjoyed the more positive reception for a change as she walked to her next class.
Sonata knocked softly on the door and waited, worry running through her veins.
“Come in,” the now-familiar voice called from within.
Sonata slowly walked into the room. “You wanted to see me, Principal Celestia?”
“Ah, Sonata, good to see you. Please, have a seat.” Celestia’s eyes were warm, as was her smile, and Sonata relaxed a little as she sat down. After she got comfortable, Celestia said, “I’m sorry to interrupt your break, Sonata, but I thought having Mrs. Meter ask you to come to my office would be less stressful than calling you over the intercom.
Sonata laughed nervously. “Yeah, that would’ve been awkward.”
The two women shared a chuckle, before Celestia sobered up and asked, “How have things been, Sonata?”
“Um, it’s good. That’s…That’s what Aria said, remember?”
“Yes, I remember, but I’m not blind, Sonata. I saw how you and Adagio were acting, and I’ve seen my fair share of students trying to act tough. I’m also not deaf to what’s been going on over the past few days, and finally, I read the graffiti on your lockers.” Celestia gave Sonata a sympathetic look. “Please, Sonata, talk to me.”
Sonata argued with herself, looking away as she scowled. “It’s just…Everyone’s so mean here,” she finally said, shoulders slumping. “No one’s ever even said hi to us. No one wants us here, and I don’t know why. What did we do?”
“Oh, Sonata,” Celestia said sadly, “I wish I could tell you.”
“Can’t you tell them to lay off?” Sonata asked. “Like, they don’t have to be nice to us, but can’t you get them to at least leave us alone?”
“Believe me, Sonata, I’ve been having words with the most…troublesome students, and while I can punish those who break school rules and accost you, I’m afraid some students simply aren’t afraid of the consequences. I’ll have the faculty stay vigilant, however, in the hopes that we can prevent at least some of the problems.”
Sonata sighed despondently. “It’s better than nothing, I guess. Thanks, Principal Celestia.”
“You’re very welcome, Sonata,” Celestia said with a tinge of regret, “and thank you for trusting me enough to talk to me about this, even if I had to pry a bit.”
“It’s alright. I wanted to say something earlier, but Aria can be stubborn sometimes.”
The two sat awkwardly for a few moments before Celestia said, “I won’t hold you any longer, Sonata. I wouldn’t want you to be late for class. Please, let me know if you’re having any more problems.”
“Thanks, Principal Celestia.”
“You told her?!”
“Yes, I told her! I’m sick of everyone being so mean!”
The trio sat at their now-customary empty table in the cafeteria, though none of them really had an appetite.
“Sonata, these sharks are gonna eat us alive now. What were you thinking?” Aria growled.
“I was thinking that these ‘sharks’ are already snapping at us, and I’m sick of it!” Sonata snapped. “I was thinking that I’d at least try to get someone in this stupid school on our side in all this!”
“Yeah, well, you made things worse.”
“Or maybe, I made things better!”
“Girls!” Adagio suddenly snapped. “What’s done is done. If things get better, great, but if the heat gets turned up, we’ll just have to find a way to deal with it.”
“Sounds like you already found a way,” Aria said, smirking. “I heard about what happened between you and Trixie.”
“Ugh…Just shut up, Aria,” Adagio groaned.
“Ooh, did the devil inside finally come out to play?” Sonata teased. “What’d you do?”
“…I treated her like a dog and told her to meet me after school…” Adagio muttered.
Aria snorted as Sonata asked, “Did it work?”
“Well, she stopped shouting at me, and everyone was too busy laughing at her to yell at me, so overall, I think so.” Adagio sighed. “Still, I’m going to try not to make a habit of it.”
“Yeah, the last thing we need is people getting actual dirt on us,” Aria said.
“Agreed,” Adagio said. “For now, though, let’s concentrate on getting through our last two classes.”
“You gonna wait for Trixie after school?” Sonata asked.
“Of course,” Adagio said, a hint of a smirk on her face. “I wouldn’t stand someone up like that. And who knows?” she continued with a hopeful smile. “Maybe we can look past what happened this morning and become friends.”
“I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Aria said, “but I suppose anything’s possible.”
Adagio looked at her phone for the tenth time since she got to her locker. Three twenty-five. She sighed and tapped her foot impatiently, trying to stamp down the irritation she was feeling. Unfortunately, she had told her sisters to make themselves scarce in case Trixie was simply afraid to meet all three of them at once, but as the minutes dragged, she found herself wishing she had someone around to distract her from her thoughts.
“Honestly, why am I even surprised?” Adagio asked herself. “Did I really expect her to just show up after I treated her like that? She isn’t a dog, after all.”
Adagio leaned against the locker and slid down onto her rear. “I lost myself again. That’s twice this week,” she thought angrily. “How can I expect people to go easy on me if I keep showing weakness like that?”
Adagio checked her phone again. Three-thirty. She sighed and rested her forehead on her knees. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching. Adagio snapped her head up, only to feel disappointment again as she saw Aria walking back to her.
“No luck, I’m guessing?” Aria said, looking down at Adagio. Adagio shook her head, planting her head back on her knees. She heard Aria call down the otherwise quiet hall, “Come on over, Sonata! She’s not coming.”
Adagio heard another pair of footsteps, presumably Sonata’s, approaching. “Sorry, Adagio,” Sonata said.
“No, I’m sorry,” Adagio said, sighing for the umpteenth time. “I should’ve expected she wouldn’t show up. I’m sorry I forced you to wait on me.”
“Hey, it’s fine, Adagio,” Aria said. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think she’d show, but like you said, she might’ve.” Sonata enthusiastically nodded in agreement.
“Well, I suppose I’d rather wait for her to not show up than just go straight home when she actually did show.” Adagio smiled slightly. “Thanks, girls.”
Adagio picked herself up and joined her sisters as they began their trip home.
Adagio walked into class the next morning and looked around the room, spotting the familiar blue girl at her desk, looking at something on her phone. Adagio sighed softly and approached her, noting that several other students started looking her way.
When Adagio reached Trixie, she cleared her throat softly. Trixie looked up, only to immediately look away blushing as she realized who was standing in front of her. “Wh-What do you want?” Trixie asked.
“You didn’t show up yesterday,” Adagio said quietly.
“Trixie doesn’t recall saying she’d actually show,” Trixie rebutted. “You just told Trixie to meet you and then left. Trixie isn’t your plaything anymore.”
Adagio was about to give a retort of her own but stopped herself. She sighed and said, “Trixie, I…apologize for my actions yesterday.”
Trixie’s head snapped to look at her, surprise written all over her face. “What?”
“I apologize,” Adagio repeated. “Don’t get me wrong, what you said was hurtful, but while I believe you shouldn’t have said them, the way I acted was out of line, too.”
Surprisingly, Trixie scoffed. “You think your apology means anything to Trixie? What you did yesterday was but the latest in a long line of the sins you’ve committed both against the school and against Trixie!”
Adagio pinched the bridge of her nose. This again? “Trixie, I have literally never spoken to you before yesterday. I didn’t do anything to you before then.”
“BS!” Trixie snapped. “You turned the school against itself! You manipulated Trixie into doing your dirty work!”
Incensed, Adagio was about to answer, but she could hear angry muttering from the students around the room, so instead, she hastily tore a slip of paper from her notebook and scribbled her phone number on it. Handing it to Trixie, she said, “Here. We can talk about this later. Or not. I’m having a hard time caring either way.”
Adagio stomped over to her desk and opened her books as the teacher walked into the room.
The sisters sat uncomfortably at lunch that day, becoming increasingly aware of a steadily rising tension among the student body throughout the week. The three hid their worry in different ways—Adagio tried her best to ignore it, Aria glared at whoever glared at her, and Sonata tried to avoid eye contact, scowling at whoever she couldn’t avoid—but they were worried all the same.
“Um…Hey.”
The trio looked toward the voice, surprised at the rather meek intrusion of their misery. Immediately, their surprised looks turned to scowls as they recognized Sunset…Something: a member of Rainbow’s clique.
“What do you want?” Aria sneered. “Rainbow send you to rough us up a bit?” She cracked her knuckles. “Go ahead and try.”
“Aria,” Adagio said warningly.
“No, no!” Sunset said quickly. “She didn’t send me to do anything.”
Adagio glanced over at Rainbow’s table. Sure enough, looks of surprise and anger dominated the group. “Very well. I believe you,” Adagio said, to Sunset’s visible relief. “So, who sent you, then? I daresay you haven’t exactly been chomping at the bit to be our friend these past few days.”
Sunset gulped, thinking a bit, before she sighed. “Principal Celestia sent me. She thought you could use someone to talk to.”
Aria glared at Sonata, who glared right back at Aria. Adagio, however, scoffed. “Oh, believe me, we’d love someone else to talk to,” she said sarcastically. “We’ve only been trying to make friends—or at least stay civil—for four days now, but it seems no one else around here shares that desire.” Nevertheless, after an awkward silence, Adagio scooted over to allow Sunset to sit down.
“So…What’s up?” Sunset asked awkwardly after sitting down.
In response, Adagio pointedly looked around the room, taking in the occasional angry glare sent her way, before looking back at Sunset and raising an eyebrow.
“…Right,” Sunset said, having the decency to at least look embarrassed by the question. “Well—”
“Why’d she send you?” Aria suddenly asked.
“What?”
“Why did Principal Celestia send you? What makes you any different than the rest?”
“Well…Because I’ve been where you are now,” Sunset answered.
The trio exchanged confused and skeptical glances. “And where are we, exactly?” Adagio asked.
“Pariahs of the school,” Sunset answered as sympathetically as she could. “I’ve been there. Twice. And only once did I really deserve it.”
“What about the other time?” Sonata asked.
Sunset looked away. “It’s…something that happened just before winter break last semester. I don’t really like talking about it.”
“Mhmm,” Adagio hummed. “Very well, then. Tell us, oh former pariah: How are we three supposed to get out of this most undeserved situation?”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it undeserved,” Sunset said.
“Oh, geez, not this again!” Aria said, groaning. “How many times do we have to tell you idiots? We didn’t do anything to you. We just moved here last week!”
Sunset sighed irritably. “Girls, look, you can drop the charade. None of us are buying it. If you just apologize to the school—”
“Apologize?!” Adagio snapped. “The school should be apologizing to us! ‘Drop the charade’, indeed!”
“But—”
“Think about this, genius,” Adagio interrupted. “Let’s pretend we are who you believe we are. Sounds like we were pretty bad, right?” Sunset opened her mouth to answer, but Adagio continued, “Shut up. Why would we keep up an act that’s so clearly not working? What would we possibly have to gain from coming back here and letting everyone push us around?”
That struck a surprising chord with Sunset, it seemed, as she immediately paled, her mouth gaping. “U-Uhhh…” was all she managed to utter.
“Well, it seems we got through to you a little. Come on, girls; we need to get ready for class. Let’s leave Sunset to her thoughts.”
With that, the trio got up and deposited their trays, leaving the cafeteria as Sunset’s friends crowded around her worriedly.
Adagio’s last class was awkward, to say the least. She noticed that Sunset looked distracted the whole time, constantly shooting glances at Adagio and looking away ashamedly when Adagio stole those glances. While it was nice to have attention on her that wasn’t fear or anger, she was still hoping for something better than “ashamed”.
It was a start, though.
Thankfully, Sunset didn’t try to talk to her after class ended, nor did Rainbow’s gang confront them in the hallway, allowing the trio to head home unmolested, thanking their lucky stars that they just had to get through one more day before they were home free for the weekend.
Friday morning was…worrisome for the trio. The tension in the school rose even further as the students’ inhibitions started slackening. Verbal threats and insults accompanied the glares almost constantly, and when any of the sisters found herself alone, people would bump into her, block her way to make her late to class, or slap the books from her hands and laugh as she scrambled to pick them up.
Aria couldn’t speak for her sisters, but she was fed up. She had been bumped around so much, she felt like a pinball, and as she knelt to pick up her books, slapped out of her grip again as she walked to her last class of the day, she was once again assailed with laughter and taunts from the group of teens around her.
“What’s wrong, siren? Can’t take the heat?” one boy said. “Shouldn’t have come to the fish fry, then!”
“Go back to the ocean, fish-face!” a girl snapped. “None of us want you here!”
Aria didn’t know why they kept referring to fish, but she did know that they were making her angry.
As she picked up her notebook, one boy used his foot to shove her book back out of her hand, kicking it away from her. “Oops. Butterfingers,” he said. “Maybe you’d have a better grip if you weren’t so slimy.”
That was it. Aria had enough. Springing back up, she shoved the boy away from her. “Leave me alone, would you! I didn’t do anything to you, so just get lost!”
“Ooh, the minnow’s picking a fight with the piranhas,” another boy said, shoving Aria. “What’re we gonna do about it, piranhas?”
Suddenly, Aria felt a shove from behind. She bumped into a girl in front of her, only for the girl to shove her to the side to another boy, who shoved her to someone else.
Aria couldn’t react. Every time she got within striking distance of someone, the teen would shove her away before she could do anything.
Gradually, the shoving got even harder as the mocking laughter took a more sinister tone. Some of the boys started using their fists to half-punch, half-shove the helpless girl toward someone else. Finally, as yet another girl shoved Aria, Aria suddenly came to a painful stop as the girl grabbed one of Aria’s ponytails and yanked downward, forcing Aria to her rear.
“Let go!” Aria snapped, using her hands to pull her hair in a tug of war with the other girl, squeezing her eyes shut so they wouldn’t see the tears welling up from the pain. Suddenly, Aria heard a snip, and she found herself falling painfully to her shoulder, her head feeling oddly…lopsided.
Slowly, she reached up to feel her right ponytail, feeling empty space where it should’ve been. Time slowed as she looked over and saw its remains in the hands of the girl who yanked her hair, a pair of scissors in her other hand. They all looked down at her and cackled.
“What’s wrong? Don’t like your haircut?” the girl taunted. “Don’t worry; once we get the other one, it’ll be nice and even.”
Aria snapped out of her stupor. Immediately, she barreled past her tormentors, taking off down the hallway. Thankfully, they didn’t follow her, but their laughter certainly did.
Aria crashed into the nearest restroom, pausing in front of the mirror. She stared in horror at her reflection. Her once-yard-long, perfectly maintained tail was reduced now to a mere six inches, while dark-purple bruises were already starting to form on her upper arms, and by the pain in her shoulders and back, her arms weren’t the only things bruised.
That was it. That was all she could take. Aria bowed her head, and her shoulders started quaking as she silently cried.
Adagio trudged through the hallway, ready for the day to be over.
“Just one more class,” she thought to herself. “Just one more, and we’re done for the weekend. First thing’s first, though,” she mentally finished as she felt nature’s call.
Adagio walked into the nearest bathroom, only to be startled when she saw someone dash into one of the stalls, as if she didn’t want to be seen. Adagio could hear soft sniffling from inside the stall.
Tentatively, Adagio walked over to the stall in question and hesitantly knocked on the door.
“Get lost!” the person inside snapped.
Adagio froze; she recognized that voice. “Aria?” she asked.
There was a pause from inside, until suddenly, Aria unlocked the door and quickly yanked Adagio inside, shoving the elder against the door as Aria hugged her tightly and began sobbing into her chest.
“Aria, what’s wrong?” Adagio asked, before she noticed Aria’s missing ponytail. “What happened to your hair?”
“Some people ganged up on me, and they shoved me around, and then one grabbed my hair and pulled, and I pulled, and she took out some scissors and cut it off!” Aria said as best as she could through her hiccups.
Adagio was, to say the least, floored. “These hooligans…came after my sister…with scissors?” she thought, white-hot rage boiling within her. “That is the last straw. This ends today! And I know just who to talk to.”
Adagio helped Aria calm down and wipe her face dry of tears, and soon enough, only Aria’s eyes—only slightly red and puffy—held any sign that she had been crying. Adagio decided to enact her plan after class, so, as Aria went off to the nurse’s office, Adagio tried her best to stay patient as she sat through her own class, though she couldn’t help but shoot pointed, angry looks at Sunset periodically, which visibly worried the amber girl.
Finally, the bell rang, and Adagio gathered her things and marched right over to Sunset, who look up at her, gulping. “What’s up, Adagio?” Sunset asked nervously.
“Come with me,” Adagio demanded, turning on her heel and walking away.
Sunset quickly grabbed her things and rushed after Adagio, struggling to keep up with the fast-walking girl.
“Adagio, wait up!” Sunset called. “What’s going on?”
Adagio didn’t answer. She just kept walking toward her sisters’ predetermined meeting spot: their usual table in the cafeteria. Thankfully, the only other person around was a custodian, who paid the girls no mind.
As soon as they heard the doors open, Adagio’s sisters look up at them. Once they saw Sunset, however, Aria look away, while Sonata wrapped her arm around Aria protectively, scowling at Sunset.
“What’s going on?” Sunset asked again as she and Adagio reached the seated girls. “What happened to your hair, Aria?”
“This school happened to her hair!” Adagio snapped.
Sunset looked at Adagio, worry and confusion lining her features. “What?” she hesitantly asked.
“Aria was ambushed in the hallway, and one of the thugs pulled some scissors out and cut off her ponytail!”
“No way,” Sunset said, shocked. “That’s terrible!”
“Yeah, it’s terrible!” Sonata snapped. “And it’s scary! What if they decide to cut more than our hair next time?”
“Principal Celestia sent you to look after us, right? Then tell us what’s going on at this school,” Adagio demanded. Sunset opened her mouth, but Adagio interrupted her. “And don’t you dare blame us for whatever the hell happened last semester!” she said threateningly.
“I wasn’t going to!” Sunset said defensively.
“Well, there’s a pleasant surprise!” Adagio said sarcastically. “Well, then, spill it.”
Sunset broke eye contact, holding her arm ashamedly. “I…I can’t,” she finally said.
Adagio glared at her. “What?” she spat.
“I can’t tell you,” Sunset repeated again as apologetically as she could.
“You can’t or you won’t?” Adagio asked.
“…Both,” Sunset said.
Adagio was silent, a disgusted look on her face. “You’re useless,” she finally growled.
“Hey!” Sunset retorted, but Adagio and her sisters were already on their feet and walking out of the cafeteria. “Adagio? Where are you going?”
“To the one person who actually cares about us here!” Adagio snapped.
“Adagio, don’t!” Sunset called. “She won’t tell you, either! Adagio!” Sunset began to rush after them, but a hateful glare from Sonata stopped her cold, forcing Sunset to watch as the trio left her behind.
Adagio stormed into the school office, her sisters behind her. Not paying the receptionist any mind, Adagio knocked as calmly as she could on Principal Celestia’s door. That is to say, it was just short of “pounding”.
“Come in,” came the calm voice from within.
Adagio stalked inside with her sisters.
“Adagio, how can I help—Aria!” Celestia said, cutting herself off when she noticed the state Aria was in. “What happened?”
“Long story short, some students ganged up on her and pulled some scissors on her. She’s lucky she only got some bruises and a haircut,” Adagio said. “Principal Celestia, why is this happening?”
Celestia’s expression turned nervous. “What do you mean?”
“All week, we’ve been treated like criminals. We’ve had our lockers graffitied, and we’ve been run from, glared at, scowled at, accosted, threatened, and finally, attacked. Even you were guilty of such behavior when we first met you. At first, we chalked it up to being a lesson on the importance of good behavior, one you give to every new student, but given our experiences this past week, that clearly wasn’t the case. And Sunset’s certainly no help. So, why is everyone here treating us like garbage?”
Celestia sighed deeply, looking conflicted. Finally, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, girls, but I can’t tell you.”
Adagio jumped as if shocked, speechless. Here was the principal of the school, someone who was supposed to look after all of her students, who knows why they’re being treated the way they’re being treated…and she won’t tell them? “Why not?” she finally blurted out, desperate for answers.
“Believe me, girls; if I could tell you, I would, but…I can’t,” Celestia replied sadly. “I’m sorry.”
Adagio paused, trying her best to stay calm. “No, I’m sorry, Principal Celestia.” When Celestia looked at her in confusion, Adagio continued, “I’m sorry we couldn’t quite live up to this school’s standards.” She abruptly stood. “Let’s go, girls. We need to get home before anyone else sees us.”
Adagio left the room, her sisters behind her. Celestia didn’t even try to stop them, presumably knowing that anything other than an explanation would fall on deaf ears. As she left the office, Adagio was startled to see Sunset waiting for them outside, but as Sunset opened her mouth, Adagio pushed past her as the trio stalked toward the front entrance.
“Adagio, wait!” Sunset called, hurrying to catch up. As she fell in step with them, she continued, “I’m sorry you couldn’t learn what you wanted.”
“Can it, Sunset!” Aria snapped. “Save the ‘I told you so’ for someone who cares.”
“But—”
“Sunset, do be a dear and get lost,” Adagio growled. “We’re going home, and we’d rather not see anyone from CHS any more than we have to. And I just know the feeling is mutual.”
Sunset reluctantly obeyed, slowing down and leaving them alone. She even had the nerve to look sad, as if they hurt her for just wanting to have some peace and quiet for a few days!
“So, what do we do now, Adagio?” Sonata asked as they walked down the street. “When Monday comes, I mean.”
“We go back to school,” Adagio said simply, reluctantly. “We just need to get our minds in the right place. We may have been wrong about Principal Celestia’s ‘lesson’, but she did teach us one thing, however inadvertently.”
“What’s that?” Aria asked.
“CHS is a school,” Adagio said gravely. “We go there to learn, not to make friends. We’re just going to have to remember that from now on.”