At the mall…
Sandbar noticed that Keiji had been silently seething and decided to carefully speak up to him. “...Ey bro, something wrong?” he asked with a concerned frown on his face. “You look a bit…miffed.”
It took a moment for the vampboy to respond, but at long last, he’d speak up. “Huh? Oh nah just…just thinking about some stuff that got me annoyed,” he replied while scratching the back of his head.
Of course Sandbar didn’t buy this. “C’mon, bro. I’ve got a little sister. I know when someone’s angry.” He put a hand on Keiji’s shoulder and continued, “You can tell me anythin’. Come on, what’s eating at ya?”
“...” Keiji silently tilted his head towards another store…
To which Sandbar’s gaze followed and laid eyes on the girls that had been talking about Yona behind her back. They could be seen giggling while looking in her direction as they walked off with their shopping bags.
“Ah…” Sandbar replied with a sigh, “Yeah. Don’t mind ‘em. That’s been happenin’ more than usual lately.” He flashed his usual, casual smile, “Nothing to worry about.”
“Wh--are you for real?” Keiji asked with a furrowed brow, “Come on, you don’t have enough honor to defend your girl from that slander?”
“Honor? Whatchu on about, man?” he recoiled with a puzzled expression on his face, “I could care less what them folks say about her. Just ‘cuz she’s from Yakistan doesn’t mean she’s here to cause trouble.”
“So wait--you don’t get mad at any of that? That’s…odd,” Keiji muttered, “Has this happened before?”
“Yeah, loads of times,” Sandbar replied with a shrug. “But of course I’m mad about it. Wish the lame comments would stop. But I can’t make people think a certain way.”
Keiji shot him a blank stare for a moment, then turned his head towards the direction of those girls, and back to him. “...So you do get upset. You just try not to let yourself get visibly angry over it.”
Sandbar placed his hands in his pockets. “Yup. The last time I got angry…” he forced another smile, “Actually, let’s not talk about it. I’d rather stay happy today, ya feel me?”
“...This dude is a trip,” Keiji thought to himself, “Everyone here seems to harbor some kinda issue with their past that they don’t wanna bring up. Just like me. Guess the human world isn’t so different after all…”
Moments later, Skeedaddle would return to the front of the store. “Alright, guys. I got everything you need back here. Just follow me!”
“Sweet!” Coral replied and beckoned the others to follow her, “This way, guys. Skeed’s got the best stuff for us waiting back there!”
Meanwhile, at the home of the Sirens…
“Yikes…” Sonata muttered as she flopped on the couch. “That is so not what I was out to accomplish. How was I to know that Ms. Parabola doesn’t like anybody?”
“You could’ve like, I dunno--asked?” Aria snidely retorted from the kitchen, “Just be glad it didn’t blow up in your face like the last time you had a plan, huh?”
“Don’t--don’t remind me about the birthday party I did with Trixie,” Sonata groaned, “I’m still reeling from those nasty card tricks that I messed up.”
Aria took a seat on the couch next to her and went on, “Listen, sis. Your heart was in the right place, but you need to let love fall wherever it wants to fall. It’s like playing jenga--if you take one piece out of place, then you’ll potentially knock over a whole tower.”
“Yeah…I suppose you’re right,” the younger siren replied with a sigh, “I guess I just feel bad for the professor. I mean…he’s been through so much more than we have over the years between being persecuted in Equestria and forced to live here where it was difficult to adapt…” She rested her head on the arm of the couch with her arms folded beneath her chin. “And he’s got this vacant look in his eye….like he’s missing something.”
Aria rolled her eyes and spoke with a flat, unamused tone, “And you think that ‘something’ is a quick fling, eh?” She teased Sonata with a devious grin, “Didn’t know you were that dirty, Sona.”
“Th-that! No!” Sonata sat upright and pouted with her cheeks puffing out, “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”
Aria snickered under her breath, “Sorry. But real talk, I think you have some good ideas, Sonata, but you can’t go around doing that kind of stuff with just everyone, okay?” Her expression softened and became more sincere as she put her hands behind her head. “...Adagio and I wanna give you more time to yourself because we know you’re getting older…but please don’t do reckless stuff like that, alright?”
Sonata relaxed and nodded her head. “Yeah…don’t worry, Ari. I’ll make sure I think about what I do before I do it next time.” She held her hands close to her chest, “But I still wanna help the professor in any way I can.”
“...Let’s give him some time to himself,” Aria suggested, “I think he’ll appreciate that a bit more.”
“Yeah, that’s fair I guess,” Sonata sighed, “I’ll make sure I avoid stressing him out anytime soon.”
“Good to hear--”
Suddenly, the front door swung open, revealing Adagio wearing a casual purple kimono with white lilies patterned across it. “I’m back, girls! How do I look?”
“...”
“...”