//------------------------------// // 6. School // Story: Teamwork // by NoMoreNormalcy //------------------------------// The day wrapped up with Breezefeather sitting in the front of the bus on the way home, ignoring the privileged kids as they walked by her twice, once to get on and once to get off. The whole time, she sat there with her arms crossed and a disapproving face as she stared straight ahead. The nerve of them, just because they can get away with it, doesn’t mean they should do it! Her thoughts ran wild as she thought of the reasons why they were picking on poor Danny. Why him, anyhow? Is it because he stood up to them once? Or because he doesn’t at all? Either way, that’s no excuse! She nearly missed her stop, being lost in her thoughts like that. She rushed onto the farm and waited for the bus to be completely out of sight. Once gone, she almost shouted her command for the bracelet to turn her into a pony again and flew as fast as her wings would carry her. She rushed to her room and shut the door, flopping face-first into a pillow and yelling. I don’t think the pillow and mattress did much, Breezefeather thought, but I had to yell. Breezefeather listened and heard muffled voices followed by footsteps leading up the stairs and stopping at her door. A knock rapped on the wooden door. “Breeze, honey, are you alright? We heard you yell.” Well, that answered that, Breezefeather thought sullenly. She lifted her head enough to where her face was no longer in the pillow to lay her head flat on the bed, on her chin. “Yeah. Just a little frustrated is all.” Her door opened, Loraine peeking in. “Did you want to talk about it.” Though silent, Breezefeather nodded. Loraine opened the door fully and walked up to her bed and sat on its edge. “Was it about the test?” “Oh, Sweet Celestia, no,” Breezefeather started. “Apparently the school has to play favorites with their sports-oriented students over anypony -sorry- anybody else. It’s infuriating! I witnessed one of their players throw a hoof full -sorry- handful of food at the poor child! And he just sat there and took it. They laughed at him, Loraine! They’re bullies!” Her hooves were outstretched and her muzzle back in the pillow. “Why did I have to make friends with them on the bus?” she managed to say, though wasn’t sure if Loraine heard her muffled question. “Well, I don’t know these children, but if you think they’re bullies, I think you should tell a teacher.” “I did!” Breezefeather stretched her neck up and raised her hooves above the bed, frustrated. “And they told me that they have to, or they’ll lose funding for school repairs! I’ve never been so mad before in my life! I’ve never seen such blatant bullying in my life! What the buck is wrong with some humans?!” She flopped again on the bed. Loraine sat for a moment, seemingly in thought. “Well, I know what you have to do next.” Breezefeather rotated her head to where her muzzle was out of the pillow again, “What’s that?” “Make friends with him! That way you can let him know that those bullies aren’t your friends.” Breezefeather smiled. Why didn’t I think of that? She sat up on the bed and faced Loraine before giving her a hug. “What a great idea! I think I’ll do that next time I’m at school if I get the chance!” She looked around her room before she looked back to Loraine. “So, two things. One: What are my chores for today, and two: can we plan a bagged lunch for me? I don’t want to eat the sad food they have.” Loraine chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.” Chores, followed by bed, followed by more chores refreshed Breezefeather that following morning. She was grateful for the space she was given and was all too happy to help out. She didn’t have much experience in herding or grooming livestock, but she was a pony and horses were very similar to ponies. She thankfully remembered her bracelet and said, “no hooves please” before any school busses were in sight. Bagged lunch in hand she climbed onto the bus and sat in one of the very front seats, sparse bodies occupying any making the choice easy. Minutes passed as she stared out the window. As they were getting to pull away from the next stop three students rushed forward, very out of breath, flagging down the bus. Once at a full stop again, they climbed on as well. Once on, they all sat in a front seat behind the driver of the bus, whispering to each other only when the bus started moving. Breezefeather turned to speak with them. The movement was noticed by Tuck, who whispered to get Danny’s and Sam’s attention. They, too, turned and saw her. “So, I’m guessing by yesterday you aren’t friends with the A-lister’s anymore?” Sam asked. Breezefeather blushed. “No, they shouldn’t have done or said those things. I’m sorry for that happening anyways.” “What are you sorry for, it’s not like you gave him the lasagna to throw at us,” Tuck said. Breezefeather ducked her head down and looked away from the trio. She heard an “ow!” from Tuck and as she looked back at them, Sam had her hands in fists and was glaring at Tuck. Tuck simply rubbed his sore shoulder. “I never meant for them to throw it,” Breezefeather said, “but I still gave it to them. I’m sorry.” “Hey, it’s alright. No big deal. It’s actually tame compared to what they usually do,” Danny soothed. Breezefeather straightened, “Tame?!” She struggled to keep her volume under control, “You mean to tell me they do worse than throw food at you and belittle you?!” “Well, you are new here,” Sam reflected. “Welcome to Casper High where the girls will talk foul rumors about you behind your back and the boys will bully you without remorse. I’m Sam, by the way. The techno-geek with the glasses is Tucker, and the quiet, almost invisible one of us is Danny.” Tucker had puffed up his chest when Sam has called him a techno-geek, reminding Breezefeather of Rainbow Dash when she was called Fastest Flyer in Equestria. Danny, however, smiled sheepishly and waved a small wave in her direction. “I’m Breezefeather. It’s nice to meet you three.” The bus pulled up to a stop, Breezefeather stood up. “Oh, I should get to the principal’s office and see where I got placed, I’ll talk to you later!” She almost sprinted for the door, attempting to beat the A-lister’s out. Being first on the bus had its advantages. The front doors were once again, guarded by Guys in White, but this time, she decided to go with a distraction tactic. Whistling, she gained the attention of the two men. “I think I just saw some ghostly figure fly down that alleyway! Oh my, that scared me! If only some ghost hunters would catch it!” She suppressed a wince, Okay, that sounded terrible, would they even buy it? The two men took out what looked like a blaster similar to one from Skulker’s metal body, only white and shaped a little differently. They barked orders at each other and sprinted to the alleyway next to the school. But it worked beautifully! Breezefeather thought with triumph. She then ran up the front stairs and through the doors before she power-walked over to Principal Ishiyama’s office. “Excellent timing!” Principal Ishiyama said. “Agent Fairweather just gave me the final report on everything. Your paperwork for citizenship should be filed and you should receive some important papers in the mail for record-keeping purposes within a couple of weeks. However, what we know today is what classes you should be taking.” “I didn’t do so well in a few of them, did I?” Breezefeather lamented. “A few of them, particularly science, wasn’t the best. You will have to take most of your time catching up on that. However, your math is pretty decent, so only one class, and you had a fair grasp of grammar, but you still need some work, so two classes on that.” Ishiyama walked over to her desk and picked up a paper, before walking back over to Breezefeather and handing the paper to her. “This paper has all of your classes and schedules. Since you started close to the start of the school year, there isn’t too much to catch up on.” Breezefeather examined the schedule more closely. First period was an English class with a Mr. Lancer, designated as her Homeroom teacher. Next was biology, also with Mr. Lancer. Her third class was Algebra with a Mrs. Hamilton. Then back to English with Mr. Lancer. Lunch. Then two periods of Physics with Mr. Lancer. “This Mr. Lancer is a good teacher to know so much.” “Yes, he’s our top Science and English literature teacher in this school. You have a final period for extra curriculars, but once you are done for the year, you can take a final assessment and graduate early with a G.E.D.” “What’s a G.E.D.?” Breezefeather asked, confused. “Is it like a diploma?” “It’s almost exactly like a diploma, but for those who didn’t go to school traditionally,” Ishiyama explained. She looked at the clock before shooing Breezefeather out of her office. “Hurry now! You have your first period with Mr. Lancer shortly. Look at the room number and make sure you go to the right class. Down the hall, around the corner and to your right! He’ll be expecting you!” Breezefeather strode swiftly out the principal’s door and noticed it was full of students. Some of them were sneering at her, others pitifully. She tried to tune them out and follow the directions she was given, but her pegasus hearing was still peak and the flood of people whispering didn’t help. “I heard she sold her body to a pimp to survive.” “I heard she’s going through rehab and she needs to retake some classes.” “I heard she got arrested for trying to sell drugs to a cop.” “That’s nothing, I heard she beat up a cop!” She so wished she could swivel her ears to effectively shut them out. Oh, how she wished. But she wouldn’t say it out loud and draw the Guys in White inside because Desiree would appear. I don’t want Dessie to get hurt, but I don’t want to be able to hear these nasty things! She sped up her walking speed just a bit more. More of the same hurtful things were said and she almost missed the classroom she was supposed to be in. She opened the door and looked in. There were some students already in and seated. She picked out Danny, Sam, and Tucker in the middle of the classroom. “Ah, you must be the new student,” a calm voice ushered her in. Breezefeather smiled and walked into the room. “I’m Mr. Lancer, and it looks like we’ll be getting to know each other quite a bit.” “I do have almost nothing but class with you, so this room will look very familiar, I suppose,” Breezefeather said, smiling. “Why don’t you take a seat. I’ll start role call in a few minutes at the next bell.” Class was a bit dull, having to go over somethings she already knew, but it wasn’t always her best class. The period came and went, the bell ringing for the next class. Breezefeather had noticed that she got to keep the book for her studies on English -a strange name for a language in my opinion, Breezefeather thought- and her paper even gave her a locker number and combination. She would have to spend time looking for this locker. And maybe I should get a saddlebag of some sort, she thought, looking to her second book as she was handed a book on biology. She walked over to algebra and was introduced to a woman with a very large nose, but a nice disposition. They went over a few refreshers but got some new material there. As well as a new book. Breezefeather hunted down her locker and found it to be an old and rusted locker. Its hinges creaked open from disuse and rust. Inside, there was a circle of cleaner metal, as though it was protected by something, though it was missing. Dismissing it, she placed her new books inside as well as her bagged lunch and went back to Mr. Lancer’s classroom. This class had different students in it, even though it was an English class. Breezefeather thought, Must be for older students. She was proven right when everything in the class was new and she got a book that was a bit more advanced than the other one she got previously. At least I can tell them apart for class. She thought. The bell rang again. It was time for lunch. She almost bolted to her locker and grabbed her lunch and rushed for the lunchroom. She was one of the first people there. Thankful, she went over toward where she saw the trio sit the other day, however she noticed a girl with dark skin, darker, wavy hair, sitting by herself. She wore a yellow tank top and orange skirt and headband. She had black leggings on underneath and a matching yellow jacket over top. Her headband was a matching orange and she wore golden triangle earrings and a gold necklace locket. She wore thick orange and yellow bracelets on both her right and left wrists. She had a bit more meat on her bones than Breezefeather, though that was an afterthought. She stared at her own bagged lunch sullenly. Breezefeather was a bit torn. There was the trio, but they were friends with each other already. Her was this girl, sitting all by her lonesome. Making a decision, she walked over to the girl. “Hi, mind if I sit here?” Breezefeather asked. The girl looked up from her lunch, surprised. She then looked around, then pointed to herself. “You want to sit with me?” “Considering I insulted the popular kids and I am probably a social outcast by now, I don’t really have anywhere else to sit. You also look like you could use a friend.” She looked about to argue with Breezefeather then looked over at her barren table. “You know, yeah, I could use a friend. My name’s Valerie, Valerie Gray.” “My name’s Breezefeather, though I bet everyp-body knew that by now.” Valerie raised a brow at Breezefeather’s slip but said nothing about it. “True, but it’s nice to get to introduce yourself, right?” Breezefeather giggled and slipped into the spot next to Valerie, “I guess you’re right.” “So, what’s your story?” Valerie opened her bagged lunch finally and took out a sandwich of some sort, and apple, and a bag of chips. Breezefeather did the same for hers, removing a romaine, cucumber, and mayonnaise sandwich, an assortment of baby carrots, and a small canister of assorted nuts. “Oh, nothing much. Just grew up outside of city limits off the grid, don’t know much about technology because we didn’t need it much, and having to go to school for the rest of this school year just so I don’t have to do four whole years.” Valerie examined the lunch Breezefeather had taken out, “Looks like you’re also vegetarian.” “Not entirely,” Breezefeather explained, a smile on her face. “I can still eat a bit of meat, but it has to be lean. Anything with a large amount of fat isn’t healthy for me.” “As in, gain too much weight, unhealthy?” Valerie smirked. “No, as in serious digestive problems, unhealthy,” Breezefeather deadpanned, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Valerie stopped smirking and stared at Breezefeather dumbfounded. “Really? Huh. So, your mostly vegetarian with a side of omnivore?” She stopped and thought about it before responding, “You know, that sounds about right. I’m going to describe it like that from here on out!” Both girls laughed. Their laughter, however, was cut short when the wall in front of them blew up. Flying through was a black and white blur as it slammed into the opposing wall. Breezefeather couldn’t help but squeak in cry out in alarm when it happened. At least Valarie only gasped in surprise, she thought. Stepping through the hole in the wall, the entity made Breezefeather’s blood run cold. Skulker, looking not quite as ticked off as she thought, advanced to his prone opponent. “Seems I didn’t have to have my bait to hunt you down, Ghost Child,” he sneered. “It seems you were already out and about!” Breezefeather had the presence of mind to slowly lower herself down to the ground underneath the table. Once there, though, she quickly gathered her food and tugged Valerie’s jacket. Valarie looked between the metallic ghost and Breezefeather’s pleading eyes. Groaning she, too, got underneath the table. From her new position, Breezefeather couldn’t see where Skulker was looking, but he couldn’t be looking in her direction now, no. A groan escaped the prone figure’s mouth from across the room and they sat up, holding their head. Breezefeather never got a description of Amity Park’s hero, but she assumed this must be them, and obviously a him. In a black, skin-tight suit with white gloves, belt, boots, and collar, he also had a peculiar symbol on his chest like in a Power Pony comic book. It was a spiky “D” with a little “P” inside it and white. His white hair almost shone with how bright it was and his eyes were a glowing, toxic green. He stood up and some of the student’s cheered for him. Breezefeather, however, couldn’t help but feel as though she’s seen him before. Was it his face? Perhaps the style of his hair? The build of his body? She couldn’t place it. Phantom didn’t waste much time, however, and quickly raised his hands. They glowed the same toxic green as his eyes and a laser fired from them, hitting Skulker in his chest, throwing him back through the hole that was made. Phantom rose from the ground, floating for a brief moment, legs turning into a misty tail, before rocketing off, arms outstretched, and hands curled into fists as he flew after Skulker. Once they were both gone for only a moment, Valerie stood up. Breezefeather looked at her in shock, “Wait, where are you going?!” Valerie flinched, and turned to face her, “You see, well, I was hoping-.” “To what? Get blasted?” Breezefeather cried incredulously. She waved Valerie back, “Hurry back here before they crash through another wall! That metal ghost is nothing but trouble!” “I know, but-.” “But nothing!” Breezefeather interrupted again. “What are you going to do, kick him? He’s metal and a ghost!” “I-. Well-.” Valerie sighed, defeated, “You’re right, not much I can do.” She grabbed her food and hunkered down again with Breezefeather. “Might as well not let this go to waste, then.” Breezefeather smiled, but as she turned away from Valerie and to her food, she frowned in thought. What was Valerie going to do that ghost? Did she have an ace up her sleeve? After lunch was over and it was determined that Phantom had defeated Skulker, the bell rang for the next class. She was distracted for the rest of the day. The final bell of the day rang and Breezefeather noted as she walked through the front doors that there weren’t any Guys in White guarding the door anymore. “I wonder where they went,” she thought out loud. “The Guys in White?” A voice asked behind her. Turning around, Valerie walked up to her. “Not sure, and don’t care. You know they’ll fire into a crowd if they think they might hit a ghost? Not caring that they hit an innocent person?” She scoffed. “Bunch of bullies and jerks. Right idea about ghosts, wrong execution.” “Right idea about ghosts?” Breezefeather echoed. “But aren’t there good ghosts like Phantom?” “No!” Valerie snapped. “There’s no such thing as a good ghost! They’re nothing but trouble!” Breezefeather had backed up and her eyes widened, surprised at Valerie’s outburst. Seeming to notice this, Valerie visibly deflated, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled. It’s not like you know that ghosts ruined my life.” “Ruined? How?” Breezefeather asked, sympathetic. Valerie motioned to follow her as they both went to the bus, “Well, it started with a ghost dog. It wrecked everything in sight. Phantom was there and he definitely wasn’t helping in keeping that dog under control. Because of him and that dog of his, my dad lost his job, destroyed most of our belongings, and forced us to become broke just to replace even half of it!” Breezefeather gasped. It was a very large slight against anyone. Though she had a nagging feeling it might have been a misunderstanding, but she didn’t have anything to go on other than his hero status with the teens and kids she’s met so far. “Are, are you sure it was on purpose, though?” She asked as they sat on the bus. “What else could it be?!” “I don’t know, an accident? I’m not sure. I wasn’t there.” She thought for a moment. “Did he apologize?” Valerie scoffed. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Breezefeather looked downcast, though didn’t press the issue, “If you say so, then.” The next few days were more of the same, sans ghost fights. Evidently, they would only occur a few times a week, though on occasion, there could be a week straight of attacks with seemingly no break in sight. Breezefeather couldn’t help but wonder if ghosts needed sleep. Her relationship with Valerie was still rocky after trying to figure out what was going on with her and ghosts. They still sat with each other during lunch, but Breezefeather had been too nervous to say the wrong thing to set her off again. Friendship problems, Breezefeather had though to herself more often than not. I wish somepony would help us through it, because I don’t know what to say. Before the week let out, however, Valerie approached her. “Hey.” “Hey,” Breezefeather responded, unsure of what otherwise to say. “Sorry I snapped at you the other day,” Valerie explained after a pause. “I guess you just don’t get it. I mean, you didn’t have to deal with ghost attacks or worry about something like money.” She rubbed her arm defensively. Breezefeather couldn’t help a smile. “That’s okay. I’m sorry I pushed. I should have noticed you didn’t like talking about it.” She held out her hand uncertainly. “Friends?” Valerie smiled and clasped her hand around Breezefeather’s and shook. “Friends.” Smiling, the two friends stepped onto the bus. As the last to board, they had to pick a spot in the middle. There were cheers and jeers around them as the chaos of the bus unfolded. Valerie looked out the window and to the sky. “Oh, great, it better not rain. Forecast said it should miss us.” “Forecast?” Breezefeather echoed, confusion in her voice. “Prediction? Guess for the weather? We have scientists that use instruments to measure things like air pressure and humidity to predict how the weather’s going to turn out,” Valerie explained. Breezefeather’s eyes went wide, “Seriously?! That’s a thing!?” “Uh, yeah. You really have been living out there your whole life, haven’t you?” Breezefeather barely registered the comment as her mind was whirling. I could get these instruments, set them up in the Everfree forest, and predict what kind of weather is going to happen?! It’s possible?! She then became acutely aware that someone was waving in front of her face. “Hello, Earth to Breezefeather, come in?” “What? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking how I need to know how to do that yesterday.” Her face was set in determination. “Seriously?” Valerie asked, smirking. “You learn of this just a second ago and you want to know everything?” Her response was a nod. “You’re kind of weird, but in a good way.” “Thanks!” Breezefeather beamed, then face falling into confusion. “I think.” She ponders for a moment, “So how do I learn how to use these tools to predict something as crazy as wild weather?” “Honestly, I don’t know. I just know that there is a way. You could learn by going to a school for meteorology, that way you can get a job in it.” “That sounds super cool! How do I do that?” “First,” Valerie counted on her hand, “you have to graduate high school. Or at least get a G.E.D. Next, you have to get into a college for meteorology as a major and study all the relevant sciences. Then, you’ve got to try for a position by applying to a media outlet, like local news stations.” “Three steps? This aught to be a blast!” Breezefeather reclined slightly and placed her arms behind her head. Valerie chuckled, “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. There’s a lot of learning involved, and it will take a few years to do it.” Breezefeather relaxed and leaned forward from her reclining position. “Yeah, I know. I guess I’m just excited about learning it.” Valerie smiled. It vanished however when she looked out the window as the bus pulled to a stop. “Shoot! This is my stop. See you Monday, Breezefeather!” “See you Monday!” Breezefeather called after Valerie. She smiled and waved to her as she bounded out the door of the bus and up a flight of stairs. “We’ll talk again then, I’m sure.” The weekend wasn’t much torture. Though Breezefeather certainly didn’t like the homework. Pencil in mouth, she chewed a bit on the eraser before scribbling down a few answers while referencing one of her books at the kitchen table. It was pretty hard getting all of her homework home, especially in one piece. “I wish I had a bag for my books,” She said sullenly. She then noticed her bracelet glow, the shape of the snake glowing superimposed over the simple band, eyes pink instead of black. Wrapped in that same pink glow, a bag with two straps next to each other materialized next to her, in a simple brown color. After the magic smoke cleared Loraine stepped into the room saying, “So, how is your homework going, Breezefeather?” She stopped and stared at the bag. “Where did you get that from?” “It, uh, was a gift? From a friend.” She smiled. I think my smile’s a tad too wide, Breezefeather thought, self-conscious. Loraine looked at Breezefeather suspiciously. Breezefeather could feel a nervous sweat building on her forehead. “Why do you have a pencil in your mouth,” Loraine finally asked. Breezefeather looked surprised. “Am I not supposed to?” “Are you, writing, with your mouth?” Loraine said slowly, confusion mounting in her voice. “Um, yes?” Loraine paused before she shrugged and made a “huh” sound. Dismissing the prior train of thought, she then asked, “Did you have any questions about your homework? I don’t know how much help I can be, but I can try.” Breezefeather smiled. “Well, I’ve been doing pretty good with my math homework, I understand that pretty well. Got it all done while I was in school.” She frowned at the three other books in front of her. “Science, however, is kicking my flank. I didn’t know how much science could explain and do without the aid of magic.” Loraine sat next to Breezefeather at the table and looked at the covers of the books. “Why don’t we take a look at this one, first?” She moves the Biology book closer to the two of them while pushing the other two further away. “Start small, work your way big?” “Works for me!” It took Breezefeather a few hours to complete her homework, but Loraine had another surprise for her. “I’ve got to learn to write with what now?!” “Your hands, Breezefeather. You can’t write with your mouth while in class. Folks will ask questions and wonder why you’re doing that. Come on, why don’t we try it?” “Can I at least do my homework with my mouth?” Breezefeather begged. “That way my teachers can read my answers?” Loraine giggled. “I suppose so, but eventually, I want you to be able to write with your hands instead.” She looked pointedly at the mare now, “After all, I’m sure you’ve noticed a few odd stares.” Breezefeather thought back to the classroom. Every time she pulled her head up to examine her work or to look at the board, she realized some folks had turned their heads away sharply. She even caught a few odd looks directed her way. She sighed, “Fine, fine. We’ll try it your way.” Loraine walked over to another part of the house Breezefeather hadn’t quite explored yet and came back with a stack of lined paper. “Why don’t we start with a simple sentence?” she asked. Loraine then gently plucked the pencil out of Breezefeather’s mouth and placed it in her hand, causing Breezefeather to smile sheepishly. “Try writing, ‘My name is Breezefeather.’” And try she did. It came out terribly. So terrible, it was illegible and took up half the paper. Groaning, Breezefeather rolled her eyes and thumped her head on the table, laying there. Loraine chuckled, “Come on now. That’s only your first try. Give it a few more.” Breezefeather wasn’t happy, but she did give it her best. Monday couldn’t roll around fast enough for Breezefeather. Stuffing her books and homework into her new bag, she then tried to figure out how to carry it. After a few failed attempts, James -laughing the whole while- told her, “You’re supposed to slip your arms through the straps and wear it on your back. It is a backpack, after all.” Once again, Breezefeather felt silly, but was happy for the help all the same. The bus ride to the school was normal. Valerie got on from her stop and chatted with Breezefeather about how their weekend went and if the Guys in White were still there or not. As the bus stopped in front of the school, Breezefeather deflated. “Of course, they’re still here, why the buck not,” she said under her breath. “Why the what not? Did you say buck in place of a swear?” Valerie chuckled. Oh, heard that, didn’t you? Breezefeather thought, blushing. “Well, uh, you see-?” She was interrupted by the bell ringing and all the students making another mass rush to the school, pushing the Guys in White away from Breezefeather as she tried to stay in the middle of the mass of fellow students. Once inside, she walked over to her locker, Valerie walking next to her. “So, let me guess,” she starts, listing off her fingers again, though stopping at one, “you also say, ‘What the hay’ and other silly things, right?” “Well,” Breezefeather blushes, rolling her eyes to the side. Valerie laughs, lightly elbowing Breezefeather, “Relax, just poking a bit of fun. Friends do that from time to time.” Breezefeather chuckled, “Heck yeah, they do.” As they made their way to Breezefeather’s locker, there were some snickering students. As usual, her pegasus hearing picked it all up. “I can’t believe she’s hanging out with that hazbin.” “I can’t believe that hazbin’s trashing her rep even further with hanging out with a felon.” “Do you think they’re dating?” “Already? Pfft, they’re both sluts if they are by now.” “I wouldn’t have pegged Val to be gay, anyways.” Breezefeather slapped her hands over her ears and picked up her pace, Valerie trying to keep up and get Breezefeather’s attention. “Hey, Breeze, hold up! What’s wrong?” “What? Oh, nothing. Nothing really.” Breezefeather bit her lip as she took her hands down and started fidgeting. “Come on, it had to have been something. Did you actually hear what they were whispering about?” Breezefeather’s eyes darted to the left and right, avoiding eye contact for a few seconds before looking directly at Valerie. Her emerald eyes had nothing but concern in them. Sighing, Breezefeather deflated, “Yeah, they were saying mean things. Well, two things weren’t mean, just confused on an observation.” Valerie’s eyebrow quirked upward, “Really? You could hear everything?” Breezefeather nodded, “I have really good hearing. They weren’t saying nice things. Other than we might be dating, and they didn’t think you were into girls that way, but I think they’re reading into it too much.” Valerie’s only response was a hand to her face, making an audible sound. “Some people are idiots, so don’t mind them, Breeze,” Valerie waved off the remarks. Breezefeather wasn’t too sure, though relented saying, “Only if you’re sure it’s alright.” Valerie placed her hands on her hips. “I’m sure.” Breezefeather did her best throughout the day to take Valerie’s advise and ignore all the rude and confused comments around her and her new best friend. It wasn’t easy, but she tried to make the words run off her back like water off a duck’s. It rolled around to fifth period, when an explosion rang out and the outside wall to her second English class was blown apart. The ghostly creature was a white wolf with patches of green fur and a pair of blood-red eyes. Blue beams then shot through the hole from outside, scorching the wall and forcing students to duck and cover. Storming through the hole were the two agents from outside that were guarding the entrance. “Agent K,” the fair-skinned agent said to his partner, “ready to exterminate.” “Rodger that, Agent O,” replied agent K. The ghostly wolf seemed to take offense to that statement as it let out a low growl, before becoming translucent and it phased through the floor. “Target is escaping!” Agent K cried out. They then each pulled out a device that had dials and a screen. They turned around and around before Agent K pointed away from the school and yelled, “That way!” They then ran off, blasters at the ready. Mr. Lancer glared at the retreating agents, seething. Breezefeather could understand. Two agents of a government agency just destroyed a wall of the school and then ran off without saying sorry or sending for someone to fix the damage. “Well, students,” Mr. Lancer said, “I think it’s time we wrapped up for today. Remember, read chapter three in its entirety. You will be quizzed on it tomorrow.” He looked at Breezefeather. “Miss Breezefeather, today, we’re going to be in the lab for both of your science classes, so, head to room 117, okay?” She nodded in understanding and went on her way. The last hour of the day, as usual, Breezefeather was in a classroom dedicated to study hall for students that didn’t have a final class. Working on the farm kept her fit, and she wasn’t interested in sports, especially with the favoritism that was going on. So, in study hall she sat, practicing writing with her hands or doing homework using her mouth to work the pencil. By this time, she still got some stares, but more curious than confused. Also, in the class with her was Valerie. She took out a blank sheath of paper and wrote on it, passing it to Valerie next to her. You good? Valerie looked at the paper before jotting down a response and passing the paper back, overtly. Breezefeather took it quickly, but then turned to see that the teacher had noticed, but not cared in the slightest. He only looked at Breezefeather and pointed to the chalk board which said, “QUIET” on it, before returning to the book they were reading. Breezefeather shrugged and turned her attention to the reply. Yeah, why do you ask? I ask because it looked like you were favoring one of your legs. Did you get hurt? The response was scribbled. I What made you think I just pulled a muscle is all. I’m good. She frowned at the paper. If you’re sure. I mean, if you were somehow fighting ghosts, I’d be worried. Me, fight ghosts? That’s ridiculous. Breezefeather saw that they ran out of room on that side and flipped the page over. I’m serious. You don’t have any weapons that I can see, but you act like you can take them on, like you were going to try the other day. Are you okay? Breezefeather waited a while for the paper to be returned. There weren’t any mark outs, but there were some points on the paper where she tapped it. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t cure. I’ll be fine. If you’re sure. You’ll tell me if you were ghost hunting, right? She waited much longer for the paper to be returned. Right. Breezefeather stared at the paper and glanced at Valerie. She thought hard about what to write next. Then, an idea struck her. Did you want to hang out after school? Sure! I kind of wanted to tell you something anyways… Where did you want to hang out at? Meet me in front of the school and we’ll catch a city bus? Sure! Breezefeather smiled as she turned to Valerie. Valerie smiled and gave her a strange gesture. It was her fingers curled into fists, but her thumbs stuck out. Breezefeather kept smiling before she turned back to the front of the class. What a strange motion to make, she thought. I wonder what it means. Something good, obviously.