Oblivious.
Distracted.
Constantly lost in her music.
That was how her fellow students viewed her. A girl without a care in the world, other than what the next shuffled song in her extensive playlist would be.
And Lemon Zest really had no one to blame but herself.
Years of constant rocking out was the main culprit. Every free moment was dedicated to music, every break an opportunity to get another song in. Most people at Crystal Prep had never seen her without her trusty headphones, for it was a cold day in Tartarus when she’d leave home without them.
Said headphones had also been a source of trouble many times over. Like the time Lemon had gotten both her and her sister Lime Candy a week of detention for trying to share a song. Or the time she’d knocked over the lacrosse team’s supplies while jamming out, and had to clean it up, missing her bus home.
Or today, for example…
“The next time you’re caught wearing those headphones in class,” the instructor warned, “I’ll be bringing it up with Principal Cinch. As for now, you’ll need to have your parents come pick them up after school, along with your phone. Understood, Miss Zest?”
Lemon nodded, walking out of the classroom without the usual spring in her step. Already, she was missing her beats. Had it just been a lack of music, then she could accept that - there were times throughout life where she couldn’t have a song playing.
But the worst part was what came with it.
“Is that Lemon Zest?” one boy whispered. “I’ve never seen her without her headphones on.”
“She got ‘em confiscated by Professor High Marks,” another answered. “Wonder how she’ll get along without her fix.”
“Well at least we won’t have to worry about her knocking someone over for the rest of the day.”
Taking in a long, slow breath, Lemon quickened her pace just slightly. Thankfully, the library was somewhere she could go without people constantly judging her. But getting there was half the battle, as she had to make her way across school, grab her lunch from her locker, then travel back to the library, and do so as quickly as she could.
And the whispers. Oh, the whispers…
They were everywhere. Little murmurs, snippets of arguments, discussions of school projects, and they always seemed to reach her ears. Of course, she didn’t mean to overhear, but sometimes she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Especially with her headphones gone, it was all making its way to her, whether she liked it or not.
It took five minutes for Lemon Zest to finish the first part of her trip, but it was a long five minutes…
Rounding a corner to reach her locker, Lemon quickly put in the combination, but fumbled a bit upon hearing a chuckle behind her.
“Guess she got caught,” a girl whispered.
“‘Bout time too,” a boy answered. “Maybe she’ll finally start paying attention to things.”
Zest had to resist the urge to grit her teeth, as she grabbed her lunch out of the locker and walked off. Though before she left, the headphone-less girl made sure to slam her locker closed, making those two jump at the sudden sound.
But of course, a twinge of regret soon followed.
‘It’s your own fault,’ she reminded herself. ‘You always have to just listen in on everyone else…’
Once again, her pace quickened. This was a conversation that she never liked having with herself.
Truth of the matter was, she knew how people viewed her. To everyone outside of the two or three people she considered her actual friends, she was Lemon Zest, the oblivious one.
Lemon Zest the rocker girl, who would always bump into someone because she was too busy jamming out.
Lemon Zest, who would earn the teacher’s ire for having her headphones on during a lesson.
Lemon Zest, who you could insult to her face, and she wouldn’t hear a word of it because of how loud her music is.
And sometimes, some days, when it was all too much… she wished all of that was true.
But it wasn’t true. Lemon Zest could hear it all.
And she’d always hated that. Constantly overhearing conversations that had nothing to do with her, her overactive imagination making her curious what they were truly saying. The incessant catching of insignificant little noises, her ears almost precision designed for hearing the smallest changes and fixating on them. The overwhelming amount of sound any time she was in a crowd, making her dread assemblies and big parties any time they came up.
And of course, the fact that she had started a perception of herself as an oblivious girl because she found she could use music as her escape.
Lemon Zest had always loved music, and especially Rock and Metal. From classics like Def Leppard and Aerosmith, to Ashes Remain and Sabaton, to the likes of Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius, to even the head thrashing symphonic works of Apocalyptica, she just could not get enough. But as she got older, something about it changed. What had once been just a passion, had also become a way for her to suppress that little part about herself she despised.
One Christmas, she asked for the absolute highest quality headphones money could buy, and her dad delivered. Those babies had served her well for nearly five years now, and she was grateful for that. She used them every day, blasting her favorite songs in order to drown out everything else.
But it only did so much, and she couldn’t always have them on - though not for a lack of trying on Lemon’s part.
Sometimes, she really did wonder if it had become an addiction, but that was a reality that she was not ready to face. Though with how everyone talked about her, and with her grades starting to slip, maybe it was time.
But who could she even talk to about it? It wasn’t as if a listening ear would just pop up out of thin air.
“Oof!”
Before she knew it, Lemon Zest fell to the ground, landing right on top of someone. Wincing in sheer embarrassment, she got up as quickly as she could.
“Sorry, sorry… I didn’t see you there.”
“Heh, funny. That’s usually my line.”
At that, Lemon’s eyes shot open. Sure enough, standing before her was her double in all but hairstyle, wearing a pixie cut as well as the same version of their school uniform that Sour Sweet usually rocked.
She had run right into her twin sister, Lime Candy.
“Hey sis,” greeted Lime happily, running a hand through her own shorter green hair. “So, how’s your day been so far?”
“Not that great,” Lemon admitted. “I uh… got my headphones taken away.”
Lime Candy winced. “Professor High Marks?”
“How’d you know?”
“He took my phone away when it fumbled out of my hands. I tried to catch it, but you can guess how that played out.”
Much to their surprise, this actually got a chuckle out of the two. They could both remember a time when Lime would never have joked about such a thing, so it was nice to get a reminder of how far she had progressed. And of course, anything that could get her sister smiling was a win, as far as Lemon was concerned.
“Well, no big deal, right?” Lime continued. “We’ll just have mom or dad pick them up, and you’ll have your beats back in no time.”
“Yeah…”
“Something wrong, sis?”
“Nah, it’s all good.”
“Liar.”
Lemon Zest winced. Far be it from Lime Candy to not see through that one. And knowing her sister, the subject would not be dropped any time soon.
So, with a sigh and a shake of her head, the rocker girl asked a question.
“Lime, do you think I’m… oblivious?”
“Wh-wha…? No! Never! Did someone call you that!? I swear to God I’ll—”
That brought a smile to her face, however small it might have been. It was rare for Lime to be so indignant about something. Of course, Lemon Zest knew it was a stupid question, but some part of her felt the need to hear someone else say it.
“Sorry, weird question…” Lemon told her. “Just forget I said anything.”
“Yeah… I’m not doing that,” Lime insisted. “Sis, are people really calling you that?”
“When they think I can’t hear them, yeah...”
To that, Lime Candy crossed her arms. “Those jerks! Don’t listen to them, Lemon. You’re one of the most perceptive girls I know. Anyone who’d say otherwise is just dumb!”
“I… appreciate that,” Lemon said, leaning against a nearby locker. “But you’re my sister. It’s kinda, like, your job to have my back.”
“Indi feels the same, and you know it.”
She did know that, and admittedly, that was a small comfort. Two people had Zest’s back. But what about the others she would interact with - the ones who were kind of her friends? Did Sour Sweet think that way about her? Did Sugarcoat? Sunny Flare?
Lemon Zest really couldn’t bear the thought.
“Hey, c’mon,” Lime Candy said softly. “You don’t have to worry about what those guys say. Forget about them.”
Lemon rolled her eyes. ‘Easier said than done…’
“Hey, I know! How about we step off campus for a bit and go get some smoothies? I just found a great place on 11th that’s got the best smoothies.”
“Will we be back in time, though?” asked Lemon Zest. “11th is a pretty long walk from here.”
“Oh totally,” answered Lime. “And even if we’re not… are you really gonna complain about missing part of Ms. Fine Line’s class?”
“... Point taken, I’m in.”
And so, with her lunch bag in hand and sister in tow, Lemon Zest walked out of Crystal Prep. A smoothie did sound way too good to pass up right now, and it meant spending some time with her sister.
But still, as they made their way down to the little shop on 11th, the thoughts lingered. Try as she might, there was no avoiding them.
Everyone thought she was oblivious.
Sometimes she wished she was. Maybe then, it wouldn’t sting so much.
But that wasn’t the case, and she hated that. So what was a girl to do?
Looking over to Lime Candy, she expressed an idea:
“Sis, how do you think everyone would react if I just left my headphones home this Monday?”