After having a shower and changing into her home clothes, Moonglade had gone over to her mother’s room, gently rapping her knuckles on the door. She had waited almost five minutes and when her mother finally did open the door, Moonglade was surprised to see that she had changed into a white shirt and blue jeans, along with a second blue shirt over her white one.
“I couldn’t find any striped ones, so this’ll have to do,” Ebony Wings told her, standing against the doorframe. “Well, come in, daughter. You’ve got much to learn.”
“Why-why are you dressed like Home Run?” she asked her mother. She knew her mother was going to pretend to be him or something, but she didn’t think she’d have to dress like the boy too.
“It’s called getting into character. Much like in showbiz, dressing like the character helps you act and think more like the character. You see? Do you think I should dye my hair too?”
“No, this is fine.”
“If you say so.” Ebony’s voice suddenly changed, shifting into a tone that was more male-sounding. It wasn’t the same as Home Run’s, but her mother never met him, so it was hard to change it to something she didn’t know.
“That’s cool, mother,” Moonglade said. “How do you do that? I still can’t figure it out how to change it drastically. Maybe I just can’t do it?”
“Have you tried?” Not-Home Run asked.
“Yes, but I think I can only speak within the average tones.”
Not-Home Run thought for a second, then shook her head. “Well, whatever. That’s not important right now. What is important is that we get you prepped for this hunting expedition. Which is what we’re doing right now. So come on then. Hit me with your best shot.”
“Umm… okay, mother.” Moonglade fiddled with her fingers. “Umm, what should I do, exactly?”
“Seduce me,” Not-Home Run said bluntly.
“Uhh, okay, I’ll try.” Moonglade’s face went redder. It was bad enough that she was practicing on her mother, but she had almost no idea how to do this. Taking a deep breath, Moonglade tried her luck. “Umm… Hi, uh, Home Run. You-you look like you could… use some c-company, heh. Would-would you like to, I mean, would you like me to accompany you…?”
“Weak,” Not-Home Run said flatly. “You need to speak up, assert yourself. Try again.”
Moonglade’s blush continued to grow redder. “Hi, Home Run… I-I think you’re a cool guy and all, so… do you want to, um, hang out…?”
“No, no, no. You’re being too forward. Traditionally, what you do is tease the guy, and then he’ll chase after you.” Not-Home Run sat back and folded her arms. “Try again.”
“Oh.” She could’ve said that sooner… Moonglade thought about it. Her mother said tease. “Well… Hello, Home Run… You sure are good at sports, huh…? Ugh… I don’t know what to say, mother. How do you do it.”
Not-Home Run sighed. “Very well. Watch me.” Her voice snapped back to Ebony’s voice. She sat down at the table and draped herself over an arm, a serene smile on her face.
“Well hey there,” Ebony said in a sultry voice. “How are you?” She garnished this question with a voluptuous wink.
“Oh, is that it?” Moonglade smiled. “I can do that. Hi there, Home Run. How are you?”
“Hold on now…” A thought struck Ebony Wings. “We don’t know what kind of person this Home Run is, what he likes in a girl, what he doesn’t like… it would seem that we’re doing this out of order.”
“Oh, so… what should I do?” Moonglade looked around the room awkwardly.
“We gather information. But in order to not waste time, let us practice more methods in general here before we start scouting out this boy. Come. Wait.”
Ebony took off her blue second shirt. “There, now I’m not Home Run. Pretend I’m someone else. Now come. Seduce me, Moonglade.”
“Okay…” Moonglade cleared her throat. “Well, hey there, how are you doing?”
“Mmm… I’m not feeling it, darling. You need to believe that you want to be with me. When your mind is made, up, everything will follow.
“Wait, so I have to fall in love with my target too?”
“You want your persona to act like it’s in love with your target. Under the disguise, all this is a hunting trip for love. But yes. Acting like you’re twitterpated is a sound strategy. Just don’t let it bleed into your real self.”
“Yes, mother.” Moonglade tried again, putting more feeling into her voice. “Hi there! How’s it going? Are you doing alright? How was that, mother?”
“Better,” Ebony said while she lazily checked her nails. “Keep practicing. And take out the part where you ask him if he’s doing alright. Your presence should be enough to banish any problems he might be having.”
“Yes, mother. So, about the teasing. How does it work?”
“Well, that depends,” Ebony Wings said. “But I’ve found that batting your eyelashes while looking at him works. Smile while you do it. Play with your hair. Take off your glasses and nibble on the arms, if you’re going for that kind of look. There’s very little that a human male doesn’t find attractive as long as it’s done by a hot girl.”
“Oh, so it’s not with my words, but with my actions.” Moonglade tried the first, smiling and batting her eyelashes. Doing it at her mother was a little embarrassing, but it was practice. She wrapped a lock of her curly blonde hair around a finger and continued twirling it. “How’s this?”
“Better…” Ebony leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I still can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Why so, mother?” Moonglade tilted her head to the left.
“Because you have no experience with this kind of thing. I could probably have this Home Run wrapped around my finger in minutes, but you? I honestly do not know how you’re going to accomplish this. I really don’t.”
Moonglade winced. “I’m sorry, mother.”
“Don’t mention it. If you’re going to seduce this boy, we’ll just have to work harder. Now come on, try again. When we are done with the talking, then I’ll start teaching you the touching...”
“Well, there he is…” Ivory Wings pointed a finger at the car window. Moonglade peered through and saw Home Run out in the field with his baseball friends.
Over the last week, the sirens were told to carefully observe the boy closely to try and determine what he’s like and what he likes to do. Obviously, baseball was one of his hobbies. They had also overheard him talking about guitar and video games, but as for what he likes in a girl, they couldn’t determine. That was up to Moonglade to find out now.
“Now remember what your mother has taught you, sweetie,” Ivory Wings said, then raised a finger for a pause. “Except for the stuff about getting him to grope you. Don’t do that.”
“Oh…” Moonglade blushed and looked down. “You-you know about that?”
“Of course. I had a talk with your mother about what she taught you over the week. I don’t agree with all her techniques. I think a slow start and a decent build up work much better than trying to get him to sleep with you on the first day. Touching him and all is fine, but not too much, okay?”
“Umm… Okay, Aunt Ivory,” Moonglade nodded. “I’ll try my best.”
“And that will be enough, dear.” Ivory unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to give the blonde haired girl a gentle hug. “It’ll be alright, Moonglade. Don’t worry so much. Whatever happens, take it as the first step, hmm?”
“Yes, Aunt Ivory,” Moonglade answered as she took a few steady breaths. “Okay… I think I’m ready. Thanks for always being with me, Aunt Ivory.”
“Of course.” Ivory moved back and adjusted Moonglade’s hair. “Now run along, sweetie. Let’s see what you’ve got in store for that boy. I’ll be watching here, just in case.”
Moonglade gave her aunt one more smile before getting out of the car. She remembered what her mother had told her. If she wanted to do this successfully, then she had to believe she was in love with her target too.
I suppose that isn’t too hard, right? she thought to herself. After all, that boy is pretty good looking anyway. I mean, for a guy… Oh, great. Now I’m trying to give excuses to myself. Just go on, Moonglade. Seduce him.
She looked at Home Run and his group of friends playing baseball on the field and her heart immediately started beating faster. There was no way she was going to go up to him when there were so many people around and start talking. No, that was certainly a bad idea.
Moonglade looked for alternatives, but in the end, she opted to hang around under the shade of a tree, watching them play from a distance. She was going to wait until either Home Run left the group or when they were finished playing. Moonglade hoped it was the former, because she didn’t want to wait too long.
Sighing, the girl began twiddling her fingers, trying to relieve herself of her boredom. She didn’t know how to play baseball, so it didn’t particularly interest her to watch them, though swinging the bat did look a little fun.
Maybe one day, huh, Moonglade? If all this worked out and she managed to ensnare Home Run in her love net, maybe she could get him to teach her how to play baseball.
First things first though…
She glanced back at the car. The window was rolled down slightly, with a thin metal tube pointing out at the whole scene above the glass.
Moonglade squinted at the tube. Is that a… gun? There’s no way Aunt Ivory’s planning to shoot anyone… right?
As if in response to her thought, the tube jerked to the side, pointing at the baseball team. It gave off the feeling of what the hay are you waiting for?
Moonglade swallowed, then looked back at the team. Home Run was still among his friends. She turned back to the car and raised a palm up, telling her aunt to wait and give her more time. She still didn’t want to approach him when his friends were around.
And then, almost as if things had suddenly decided to work out for her, her target walked over to the bleachers and began toweling his face. When he was done, he began walking over to where the vending machines were at the side of the school building.
“Wow. Couldn’t be more perfect…” the girl smiled to herself. The vending machines were behind the bleachers, meaning the other students wouldn’t be able to see her talking to Home Run.
Leaving her shade, Moonglade walked along the side of the school building, steadily approaching Home Run, who had now put a coin into the vending machine. Smoothing her hair into place, Moonglade stealthily crept up behind the baseball player.
Now it’s time to see if all my training paid off.
Home Run bent down to retrieve his soda from the cradle, allowing Moonglade to tiptoe closer, until she was directly behind him. The boy unscrewed the lid and took a deep drink. That was when Moonglade tapped him on the shoulder, causing Home Run to choke and spit his drink in surprise.
“Oh, oh!” His eyes widened as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s you. Moonglade. Sorry, you startled me for a second. Umm, what brings you here?”
“I… just wanted to see you... Yeah, that’s right,” Moonglade said, offering the boy a dazzling smile.
“You-you wanted to see me?” Home Run put a hand to his chest, like he was trying to stop something from bursting out.
Moonglade discreetly sniffed the air. She tasted a bit of affection, but it kept going on and off, just like the last time.
“That’s right,” Moonglade said in as sultry a voice as she could manage, batting her eyelashes at Home Run. “I came here to see you.” She ran a finger down his chest slowly. She made sure his back was against the vending machine so he couldn’t escape.
“Um, w-what did you come to see me for?” Home Run croaked. He glanced at her every few seconds, only to look away just as quickly.
Moonglade stepped closer, her other hand twirling her blonde hair around one finger. “Since the day I met you… I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”
“Oh, really?” Home Run’s blue cheeks turned red. Moonglade smirked. Her plan seemed to be working well. “Well, umm… uhh…”
“Come on,” Moonglade breathed. “I know you’ve been thinking of me too.” She leaned closer until they were almost touching.
“Ooookayyy,” Home Run said, edging away from her, trying to escape from the side. “Sorry, Moonglade, b-but I have practice to get back to. You, uh, know how it is. M-Maybe I’ll speak to you some other time instead…”
“W-Wait…” Moonglade reached a hand out and grabbed him before he could slip away. The baseball player looked at her and waited. Moonglade blushed. She hadn’t planned for him to try to leave. She had to think of something fast. “Um, c-could I get your number? You know, so I can… So I can call you…?”
“You want m-my number?” Home Run asked again, like he was trying to make sure he had heard it right.
The two of them stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. Moonglade didn’t know what else she could do, so instead, she reached into her coat and got out a piece of paper with her own number on it, prepared in advance. “Well, why not… why not I give you my number instead? So if you want to talk, you could c-call me?” She found her voice faltering. She hadn’t prepared very much for this part.
Moonglade stretched her hand out to him, beckoning for the boy to take the paper. Home Run hesitated, then took the paper from her hand.
“Well, uh, I guess that’s it,” Moonglade said, resisting the urge to rub the back of her head in embarrassment. “I had best get going. I’ll see you around then.”
“Umm, yeah, I-I guess I’ll see you around…” Home Run smiled. He waved goodbye to her, then jogged back towards the baseball field, slipping her number into his pocket.
Moonglade watched him go, then walked to the vending machine and thudded her head against the glass, covering her face with her hands. “Oh, you still managed to make a fool of yourself, Moonglade… You had it, but then you messed up…”
She sighed, then composed herself, using the vending machine’s glass to check her attire and look. When she was ready, she walked back to the car, where Aunt Ivory was waiting, the gun barrel still at the window.
“That,” Ivory said flatly, throwing the dart rifle onto the back seat. “Was painful to watch.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Ivory.” Moonglade got in and closed the door and Ivory started the car. “Did-did I come on too strong?”
“Any stronger and it would have sent the boy running for his life. You need to be more subtle, sweetie. Be less assertive. Let the prey do the talking. All you have to do is look pretty, and you’re already good at that. The boy smelled of so much fear and trepidation that I could taste it from here.”
“Okay…” Moonglade looked down disappointedly. “I smelt affection coming from him, so I thought I should’ve upped my tactics. I guess I still shouldn’t have, huh? I did give him my number though. Do you think he’ll call, Aunt Ivory?”
“Hard to say. I mean, an attractive girl girl walks up to you and gives you her number? That’s pretty suspicious already.”
“Oh… is-is it?” Moonglade rubbed the back of one hand unconsciously.
They stopped at a red light and watched the pedestrians cross the road.
Ivory Wings drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Ideally it should be him who asks you for your number. You’re not supposed to thrust it on people like that.”
“Oh… I’m sorry, Aunt Ivory. I made a lot of mistakes today.”
“Shh, don’t worry, sweetie.” Ivory reached over and rubbed the young changeling’s head softly. “I told you, it’s your first time today. You can’t be expected to be a master already. Take this as a learning experience. Now you know what to do next time, right?”
“Next time?” Moonglade looked at her aunt. “Is there going to be a next time here?”
“There’s always a next time when it comes to hunting for love. Just remember, as they say in Germaney, sie sind das essen und wir sind die jäger.”
“What’s that, Aunt Ivory?” the girl asked.
“Roughly translated, it means ‘They are the prey and we are the hunters’, dear niece.”
Moonglade nodded, then rested an elbow on the window and looked out at the streets. She had messed up today, but she hoped she could find another opportunity with Home Run. She was really hoping he would call so she could correct the mistakes she had made, but a part of her also just wanted him to call so she could talk to him more.
In the end, there was nothing more she could do for now, unless Home Run called her back, so she turned her attention elsewhere.
Sunny Flare stood in the girls’ locker room, surveying the lockers and shower cubicles, looking for anything she could use against Silver Rose. She knew the daughter of Ebony Wings liked to keep a lock on her locker since the shoes incident and that she always showered in the cubicle closest to the exit and that she would hang her towel over the shower door and her PE clothes on the hook behind the door, or at least, that’s where Sunny thought Silver would put it. There wasn’t any other spot she could’ve used inside the cubicle.
“So, I’ll need to find a way to open your lock when your clothes are in there, Silver Rose,” Sunny said to herself, tapping a foot on the floor as her mind worked for solutions.
She had plenty of time during class to inspect the lock, seeing as her foot was still recovering. It was a sturdy lock, which meant it was going to take a lot to break it and she had no idea how to get a second key for it.
“Well played, Silver Rose,” Sunny said, disgruntled. “So I can’t get you during PE, huh?”
It would’ve been so perfect if she didn’t keep a lock on her locker. Sunny would’ve been able to nick her uniform while it was in there, then steal her PE clothes and towel while she was having her shower. That single lock had ruined all her plans.
“Guess it’s back to the drawing board for me,” Sunny Flare said to herself. She had to think of something, or it would continue to eat at her, day and night. She shook her head to clear it, staring at the mirror in the changing room. She hadn’t even been looking after her appearance for a while now. Her hair and makeup were sloppy.
“Maybe Sugarcoat was right…” she said slowly. “This is becoming an obsession.” A vision of Silver Rose came to the forefront of her mind. Maybe her so-called friends were right. Maybe she wasn’t so bad… and she wasn’t that bad looking either, now that she thought about it. Sunny blushed and looked back into the mirror, trying to quell the images of Silver that kept coming to mind.
“No!” Sunny’s reflection said forcefully. “You’ve come this far, you can’t give up now.”
“But look at what it’s done to me,” Sunny reasoned with herself. “I don’t have anymore friends, my grades are dropping and I’m a mess right now.”
“That’s why you want to end this with Silver Rose’s fall!” her reflection raised a fist. “Once she’s gotten what she deserves, she’ll fall in line, just like everyone else. You must deal with her, or else everything you’ve done has been for nothing!”
“But I don’t know what to do anymore…” Sunny covered her face, on the verge of tears. “I can’t figure out how to do this… Maybe the others were right.”
“You’ll think of something. If your friends were still around I’m sure they would help you. Some friends, isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, some friends they turned out to be…” Sunny frowned at the mirror, wiping at her eyes. “They were just a bunch of backstabbing traitors who gave up when things got hard. I don’t need them and I never will. I’ll find out how to steal Silver’s clothes on my own strength. I’ll-I’ll break her lock. If I find something heavy enough, I can just smash that lock off its hook.”
Mirror Sunny scoffed scornfully. “If you were to do something like that, the noise would draw the attention of everyone within this area of the campus.”
“Well then what do you expect me to do, huh?!” Sunny yelled at the mirror. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Well, she keeps her key in her shoe, right?” the Mirror Sunny said. “She has to take her shoes off when she showers. All you need is get it and you’re good to go. Silver Rose will finally be embarrassed.”
“Really? Just like that?”
“You’ll be seen by everyone in the changing room,” Mirror Sunny folded her arms. “But it doesn’t matter, right? As long as Silver finally pays for what she’s done?”
Sunny Flare stared at her reflection, surprised at the lengths she was suggesting. But it was lengths she was willing to take if it ensured her rightful place at the top of CPA. “You’re right. That’s my chance. I have to do it. She deserves to pay!”
“Atta girl, Sunny. I knew you had it in you.”
And then Sunny turned around, the sound of the door opening drawing her attention.
“Sunny?” It was Indigo Zap. “What are you doing here? There isn’t basketball practice today.”
“Whatever.” Sunny adjusted her hair then barged past Indigo. “I was just leaving.”
Indigo watched the mulberry haired girl go and sighed. She really wasn’t the same anymore. She hoped she would eventually realize her mistake and come back, but likely, it wasn’t going to happen. If Sunny wanted to run herself to the ground, then she was welcome to.