//------------------------------// // Chapter 26 - One Push Too Far // Story: Servant of the Queen // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// Silver Rose walked into school that morning, not feeling particularly happy. She had hoped Home Run would call her over the rest of the weekend, keeping her phone charged and close to herself at all times, but in the end, she never got the call. It had the girl wondering if she really did mess up on her first meeting. Her aunt had said not to take it too fast, but in the end, Silver was her mother’s daughter. Perhaps she had inherited more than she knew. But she was resolute. The next time she met Home Run, she was going to apologize and take it nice and slow to give him no reason to be afraid of her. She knew he definitely found her attractive, but that was all it was right now. She still needed to make him like more about herself. Silver Rose exhaled as she opened her locker to retrieve her first half of the day’s books. She really had hoped she would get Home Run to like her. “Morning, Silver.” Canvas Splash stopped beside her. “How’ve you been?” “Oh, I’m fine, Canvas, thanks,” Silver replied. “Yourself?” “Things have been decent, yeah,” the artist said happily, clutching her books to her chest. “I can’t seem to find my permanent marker set though. I think someone’s hidden it somewhere. Oh, but you don’t have to trouble yourself, Silver. It’ll somehow turn up eventually.” “Hmm… Okay.” Silver closed her locker and put the lock back in place. Canvas watched her and followed along as Silver began walking to class. “Something happen, Silver? You look rather down.” “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Silver waved a hand. “It’s… It’s about my sister, so you don’t have to worry.” “Is she doing alright? Moonglade, right? She’s not ill is she?” “Nothing of that sort. Just… guy problems. Yeah…” Silver ended with a half-hearted smile. “Ooh, she likes someone, does she?” Canvas skipped along. “Funny, how she stays home all day. Doesn’t she find it boring?” “She goes out from time to time to have fun,” the young changeling explained. “In fact, she had just met him outside just last weekend, but she thinks she might’ve scared him away.” “Is that so?” Canvas said, clearly interested in this story. “Well, she is the daughter of one of the most famous actresses in the world, who wouldn’t be a little intimidated by that?” “Oh, is that a thing?” Silver asked, hoping to get some ideas from her friend. “People are intimidated by our status? Not by, let’s say… the way we act?” “Well, I’m no expert, but if the son of Fast Bender came up to me and asked me out, I’d be pretty nervous to say the least.” “But would you go out with him?” “Sure I would. If only once to say that I have.” Canvas said eagerly. “Oh…” was all Silver said. “But then could it bloom into something more through that?” “I don’t know,” Canvas shrugged. “I don’t have any experience dating guys. Or girls, for that matter.” “Hmm… okay.” Silver opened the door to her homeroom. At least Canvas had managed to give her a new insight to things. “Well, I’ll see you later, Canvas.” Sunny Flare was the last back into the changing room after PE, turning her head left and right as she searched for Silver Rose. This is it. My revenge is going to be so sweet. Sunny had to fight the urge to rub her hands together diabolically. She couldn’t wait for her chance to finally disgrace Silver Rose. Sunny realized the mauve-skinned girl was nowhere in sight already, meaning she must be in the shower. Sunny pretended to work on her shoelaces, looking under the cubicle door, the one closest to the door. She smiled when she saw a pair of slender mauve legs. Silver Rose’s. To make matters better, the girl’s shoes were right under the cubicle doors, meaning Sunny didn’t even have to reach for them. Oh, you’ve gone and done it now, Silver Rose. Time to pay up. Stalking over to the cubicle, Sunny bent down and dug her fingers in both shoes, eventually returning with a silver key in her hands. Smirking, she found the locker with Silver’s lock and undid it. “Sunny, what are you doing?” Canvas Splash looked at the lock in her hands. “Why are you opening Silver’s locker?” “None of your business, paintbrush.” Sunny pushed her so hard that she fell down on her butt. That had gotten the attention of everyone else in the changing room, with the exception of the showers. Even Sour Sweet was looking over. “What are you all looking at?” She quickly grabbed everything in the locker before returning to Silver’s shower door. She reached a hand over and grabbed what she could as well. “Sunny, stop what you’re doing,” Sour Sweet told her. “Come on, what you’re doing is wrong and you know it. Please just stop.” “I’ll stop when I feel like stopping, now get out of my way!” Sunny pushed her away and headed out to the field. She looked back once, making sure no one was following her. Smiling, she found the group of dumpsters beside the carpark and tossed Silver’s clothes in. Even if she found them now, they would smell just like the dumpster, so whatever happened, Sunny felt like she had won. “Mission accomplished!” She jumped for joy before heading back to the changing room. Without her clothes, Silver was likely to be trapped in the cubicle unless she wanted to walk around without anything on. Entering the locker room again, she noticed most of the other students had already left, with the exception of some of them still changing and the rest still in the showers. “What did you do with her stuff, Sunny?” Sour Sweet asked. “It does not concern you, traitor,” Sunny said, then threw open her locker. She reached in and pulled out her towel and her uniform, walking to one of the showers. “If you wanted to know, you should’ve stayed by me from the start. Now get lost.” Sunny slammed the cubicle door behind her. Changing out of her PE clothes, Sunny hung them on top of the door with her uniform, then turned on the shower, letting the water first fall on her face and shoulders, then run down the rest of her body. She had done it. She had disposed of Silver’s clothes and there was nothing that girl could do about it now. She let herself cool down from the shower, standing under it for a few minutes. Just then, from a few cubicles down, there came a truly horrifying sound. It sounded like half banshee wail and half guttural growl. Sunny stopped for a moment, frozen under the water as she listened, trying to determine whether she imagined it or not. There was not a sound in the locker room except for her running water. Had everyone else left already? Dismissing it, Sunny continued to wash her hair, closing her eyes again. There were a few gasps from what Sunny assumed to be her classmates. At least some of her classmates were still around. And then the door to her cubicle was torn off its hinges, revealing a cross looking Silver Rose wrapped in a towel. Her eyes appeared to be glowing purple, and she had her shoes on, but no socks; her silver rose choker hung around her neck. Some of her classmates stood behind Silver in various stages of undress, their mouths gaping in awe and shock. “How-how did you…?” Sunny looked between her wet hair covering her eyes. Silver reached into the cubicle and pulled Sunny out. There was a rictus grin on the girl’s face as she asked, “What did you do with my clothes?” Sunny realized she was naked and reached her arms down to cover herself. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Silver Rose pulled Sunny Flare closer, so that their faces were almost touching. “Don’t. Lie. To me,” She said, giving Sunny a noseful of scent of strawberries and cream. Disturbingly, the mad grin stayed firmly affixed to Silver’s face. Sunny began to feel the chill set in, mainly because she was wet and the fans above were spinning, but also because something had happened to Silver Rose. The normal new girl look that Silver normally gave out was now swapped out with something that made Sunny’s skin crawl. She couldn’t explain it, but Silver Rose felt like a different person. “I don’t know. Go ask someone else.” Sunny remained adamant. Silver’s right hand crept up to Sunny’s bare neck, where it caressed her collarbone almost tenderly. Then it tightened around Sunny’s throat, and she opened her mouth to giggle. Disturbingly, Sunny thought she could see something like flickering green flames in Silver’s throat. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. Where. Are. My. Clothes.” Sunny panicked and tried to remove Silver’s hand, but she was just too strong. Her classmates behind them did nothing. They continued to stand away from the two girls, watching in fear and shock. “Time’s ticking,” Silver said, smiling serenely. She slowly put a little more pressure into her grip. “Let me go!” Sunny struggled again. “It wasn’t me! Go ask someone else!” “We don’t have all day, you know. Class starts in less than ten minutes.” Silver leaned close enough for Sunny to smell the mint on her breath, tightening her grip, pressing harder on Sunny’s neck. Even though she was smiling, Sunny could see madness in Silver Rose’s glowing purple eyes, almost like they would come out and eat her up. She shivered at the thought of that. Without warning, Silver clamped down even harder around Sunny’s neck, cutting off her air. Sunny struggled, unable to breathe. Her heart had begun smashing at her chest as her brain stopped thinking. Right now, she was in full panic mode. “Alright, alright! I’ll tell you. I... put them in the dumpster outside. The blue one...” Silver beamed at her. “See, was that so hard?” Her hand left Sunny’s throat immediately. The girl gasped and clutched for her own neck, coughing in Silver’s face a few times. Then to everyone’s surprise, Silver leaned forward and kissed Sunny on the lips. The others behind them gasped, while Sunny’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks and her cheeks blazed a light pink. She pushed Silver away and scrambled to the back of the cubicle on her butt, huddling in the corner. “What-what are you doing…?” Sunny grabbed for her shoulders to cover herself. “Just returning the favor, Sunny. Thanks for the help; I’ll see you around.” And with that parting shot, Silver Rose slung her backpack over her shoulder and whipped out her phone, punching in a number and putting it to her ear. Sunny looked around at the others, who were now talking amongst themselves or leaving the changing room. The mulberry haired girl continued to sit against the wall, the shower still running. She was trembling from head to toe, mostly from the cold, but also from the fear and confusion. What just happened…? There was just so much going on right now that Sunny didn’t know what to do but to sit there and cry. Silver Rose’s lips tingled as her mouth worked itself into a wry smile. Putting the phone to her ear, she waited for the recipient to pick up. “Moshi moshi?” “Aunt Ivory?” Silver asked, puzzled by the unusual greeting. “Yes well, it means hello in the Eastern language. Shouldn’t you be in school? Don’t tell me you’re sick again?” “Not this time, no. I do need your help though.” Silver could imagine her aunt already making her way to the car. “The thing is, I need you to bring me a fresh uniform from my closet.” “What happened to the one that you’re wearing?” “Long story, Aunt Ivory. I’ll explain when I have the time.” Silver glanced at two of her classmates who were watching her, who then quickly left the changing room. “Okay… I’m on it. ETA about ten minutes, give or take a few depending on how many red lights I run.” “Alright, I’ll see you soon. I’m in the girls’ locker room.” Then Silver put her phone back in her backpack and zipped it up. A few of her classmates were still around, watching either her or Sunny, who was quietly sobbing in the corner of her shower cubicle. That’ll teach her to mess with me. Silver walked over to one of the benches and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. She felt eyes looking at her, but right now, she was feeling much too angry and annoyed to be embarrassed. She was only clad in her towel and shoes and everything else, including her underwear, had been tossed out by Sunny. Things were just great right now, which was to say absolutely horrid. She had really wanted to give Sunny a good beating for what she had done, but then she remembered her teachings. Pulling out the door wasn’t the best of actions, but at least she stopped herself from making it worse. Silver put a finger to her lips and touched them. That had been her first kiss and she had been planning to save it for Home Run, but the opportunity had presented herself. There was no better way to humiliate the blue-skinned girl more than that, besides giving her a black eye or something worse. By the time the bell had rung, all her other classmates had already left the changing room, leaving just her and Sunny. From the corner of her eye, she continued to watch the broken girl, who still had her knees up to her chest and her head buried in her hands, still whimpering. Silver didn’t feel sorry for her, in fact, continuing to look at Sunny just made her more annoyed, so she got up and picked up the broken cubicle door, placing it against the cubicle wall where it was supposed to be, though it was now touching the floor. At least this way, Sunny would be covered and Silver didn’t have to see her. Returning to her seat, Silver took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. After that, she looked around and when she made sure it was clear, she removed her towel and began drying her hair; she didn’t want to catch a cold and miss more school. After another six minutes, Silver heard a knock on the door and turned around, swiftly wrapping the towel around herself again. “Silver?” a voice said outside. “Are you in there, sweetie?” “Right here, Aunt Ivory,” the girl answered. Ivory Wings entered the changing room with a small plastic bag in hand, presumably her uniform. “I came as fast as  I could,” Ivory said, handing Silver the bag. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” “Thanks, Aunt Ivory.” Silver took the bag and walked into one of the cubicles, closing the door behind her. “You want to tell me what happened, sweetie?” she heard her aunt ask from outside. Silver fished out her underwear from the bag and put those on first. “I think it’s better to talk about this at home.” “Hmm, if you wish. Hey, what happened to this cubicle door here? And is someone crying?” Silver Rose quickly threw the doors open as she put her skirt on, standing between the door and her aunt. “I’ll-I’ll explain it all at home, Aunt Ivory. Here’s not the place. Trust me.” “If you say so…” Ivory didn’t look convinced, but she let be. “Do you need anything else? “Well, my old uniform’s out in the blue dumpster outside, and I’ve got to get to class. Can you pick it up and wash it for me?” Ivory nodded. “I’d like to know what happened later.” “You will, Aunt Ivory, and thank you.” Silver gave her aunt a hug and directed her out to the dumpster after she put on her shirt, blazer and bowtie. When she was ready, Silver picked up her things and opened the locker room door. She looked one more time at the cubicle Sunny was in. The shower was still running and by the sound of it, so were Sunny Flare’s tears. Judging by what happened, Silver knew she was going to be in big trouble both and home and here at school. She shook her head and left the room. Sunny deserved it. After what Sour Sweet had told her, Sugarcoat had been partially worried about Sunny, especially after she didn’t turn up for any of her classes. When the final bell for the day rang, Sugarcoat kept her things and headed out of the classroom with Indigo Zap in tow. “What?” Indigo asked after Sugarcoat let go. “Why do you care? Sunny hates us now, remember? So what if she didn’t come back to class? It’s her own fault.” “Even if she’s not thinking clearly, Sunny’s still our friend, Indigo. Something must have happened. I’ll go find out if she went home early, you go search the school for any clues.” “Really? Still our friend?” Indigo pulled at the goggles on her head. When Sugarcoat flashed her a stare, she sighed and nodded. “Alright, alright, I’ll go look.” By now, Sugarcoat had heard about what had happened during Sunny’s PE class. She wouldn’t have believed it if there hadn’t been so many sources. Plus, Silver Rose had jumped over Sunny and the others once, and that was no normal feat. The girl was clearly special, but to go to such lengths… Then Sugarcoat sighed. If Sunny hadn’t been bullying her, then perhaps this wouldn’t have even happened. She had sent Sunny Flare a message on her phone as she walked to the nurse’s office, hoping the girl would reply her. Sugarcoat knocked on Nurse Cardiac’s door and entered, looking around as she went in. “Why hello, Sugarcoat,” the nurse said, rotating in her seat. “You’re a rare face here. What can I do for you?” “Hi, Nurse Cardiac,” the white haired girl greeted, spying empty beds inside. Maybe she might’ve sent Sunny home earlier. “Was Sunny here today? Did you send her home?” “No, I’m afraid not,” the nurse said. “Sunny Flare hasn’t been here in weeks.” “Oh, well, thanks, Nurse Cardiac,” Sugarcoat said and ducked back outside. She walked along the hall, then stopped a few feet away. “Where are you, Sunny? Where did you go?” She whipped out her phone to check if Sunny had seen her message, but she still hadn’t even read the message yet. She decided to text Indigo, hoping that the other girl had had better luck locating Sunny Flare. Thinking further, she decided to text the other Shadowbolts as well, hoping one of them would’ve seen her. “Where could you have gone, Sunny?” Sugarcoat thought about all the possible places Sunny could’ve been in. Eventually, she figured she would check the changing room. That was where everyone had last seen Sunny, so there might be a clue in there as to where she might’ve gone. Turning around, the white haired girl began making her way down the hall, hoping she would find something that would tell her where Sunny was. As she approached the changing room, Sugarcoat’s alert ears picked up the sound of water running. She didn’t think much of it as she pushed the doors open. The first thing her eyes focused at was the door that was off its hinges. It was rested on the floor, against the cubicle it was supposed to be covering and the sound of running water could be heard behind it. Oh, who would actually use the broken cubicle? “Hello?” Sugarcoat knocked on the broken door. “Anyone in there? The door’s broken you know? There’s no point using this one.” There wasn’t any answer from within. Shifting the door slightly to the side, Sugarcoat was surprised to find Sunny Flare behind it, huddled in the corner, naked and softly crying. She didn’t even notice Sugarcoat. She was shivering, likely from the shower water crashing down close to her. “Sunny?” Sugarcoat squeezed past the door and put in back in place, keeping to the side to avoid the shower until she got close enough to turn it off. Sunny didn’t seem to acknowledge her presence. She continued to shiver and cry quietly in the corner, the sound of her sobs louder now that the water had been turned off. “Sunny, it’s alright. It’s alright.” Sugarcoat squatted down and wrapped her arms around the soaked girl, gently patting her back.Come on, let’s get you dressed. You’ll catch a cold if you stay like this.” “I’m-I’m so s-sorry, Sugarcoat…” Sunny sniffled, her voice shaky and trembling. “I-I should’ve listened t-to you…” “It’s okay, Sunny.” Sugarcoat continued to comfort the crying girl. “What matters now is that you know your mistake.” The bespectacled girl unbuttoned her blazer and put it around Sunny’s shoulders. “Come on, you’ve been here too long. It’s not good for you.” Sitting Sunny down on a bench, Sugarcoat went about collecting the other girl’s clothes and her towel, which had become strewn about when the door had been torn from its hinges. In short order, Sugarcoat had Sunny’s outfit back together. While Sunny cleaned up and got dressed, she instead decided to examine the door. It had obviously been forcefully pulled off its hinges, but there was no trace of any tools that might have been used to do so and everyone she asked had said Silver had just ripped the door out with nothing more than her bare hands. “Intriguing…” Sugarcoat muttered. “But highly disturbing.” Sugarcoat’s mind did some calculations. It would have taken at least two strong men to tear the door off its hinges like that. And unless the door was already weakened before, there was no way an ordinary schoolgirl should have been able to remove it. She walked to the next cubicle and tugged at the door, trying to pull it off. It didn’t budge in the slightest. “Okay, something doesn’t add up here…” Sugarcoat concluded. Sunny wiped at her eyes and zipped up her skirt, done with her uniform. “She was s-so scary, Sugarcoat… And-and she was s-smiling the whole time…” Sunny grabbed her arms and shivered. Sugarcoat pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Sunny, who dabbed at her streaming eyes with it, wiping her face clean of her smeared makeup. “Silver Rose? Scary? That’s not a word I’d associate with her,” Sugarcoat said, coming away from the cubicles. “She gr-grabbed me, threatened me to tell her where her clothes were…” Sunny blew her red nose on the handkerchief. “Then-then… when I told her, she… she k-kissed me.” This caused the normally stoic Sugarcoat to blink heavily and take a step backward. “She did what now?” Sunny nodded, her eyes filling up with tears again. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Sugarcoat…” “Come on.” Sugarcoat patted Sunny on the shoulder and steered her out of the changing rooms gently. “Let’s go find the others. I think this obsession of yours is finally over.”