"And so, if we take the square root of both sides..."
Obsidian stared at the clock.
Move faster.
Leave it to Square Root to take the one class he had any decent skill in and make it duller than a plastic knife dipped blade-first in rubber. Most of the other students were already twirling pencils, doodling, or asleep.
"Perhaps you would like to demonstrate the problem?"
His attention returned to the class.
Square Root was staring straight at him. Looking at the board, he saw the beginnings of a problem similar to the one they had been discussing.
He rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the class. As he was going up, one of the kids jabbed him in the back with a pencil. He ignored it.
Just ignore them, and they go away. That's what the adults tell me, at least.
Upon reaching the board, he realized that he had completely zoned out during the lecture.
It looked like he was gonna have to improvise again. He began rearranging the numbers, shuffling them here and there until a pattern formed.
"That's not the way you're supposed to be doing it."
He continued. The pattern was too strong to ignore. The numbers all fit together too easily to just brush it aside and start over. He finished rearranging the numbers, then calculated up their values, tallying the result at the end. He then turned to Square Root.
"Well, that is the correct number, but you were supposed to complete the square. We're not learning the quadratic formula until tomorrow. I'm afraid you don't get any credit for that."
Obsidian returned to his seat.
Figures.
He then watched a couple other students attempt to do it the "right" way. The second at least got the right number, but he took up most of the remaining class time. Square Root dismissed them, and they were back out in the halls once more.
When the last bell finally rang, Obsidian flew through the doors, the delicious taste of freedom on his lips.
Wrath Bone put a sudden stop to his motion.
"Woah, woah, woah... hold it right there. You still owe me for ratting me out yesterday."
A rock floated up behind him. Without thinking, Obsidian picked up a rock of his own and flipped it up, hitting Wrath Bone's rock and breaking both. Another rock launched, another blocked. Wrath Bone threw a can, Obsidian countered with a stick.
Eventually, some of Wrath Bone's projectiles found their mark.
This wasn't good. Obsidian could feel his own projectiles getting heavier.
He was running out of magic.
As much as he hated going on the offensive, he had to end the fight before Wrath Bone could seriously hurt him. Before he could launch his stone, a green aura surrounded him and lifted him off his hooves.
"Now what do we have here? Two more troublemakers again?" Stern Lecturer scowled at Obsidian while Boilerhead did the same with Wrath Bone. "You are both going to have to show up for detention tomorrow, and there will be no excuses."
Tomorrow? Did he just say tomorrow?
Obsidian couldn't be happier that the teachers couldn't be bothered to read the paperwork pertaining to their students. Tomorrow, he would be in a new school.
As soon as they were both released from the teachers' magic, Obsidian ran through the alleys, taking twisting paths that he knew Wrath Bone wouldn't be able to follow. He included some short flights over low fences to be sure none of the gang could catch him, and soon, he was back at his home.
"What happened to you?"
"Don't worry, it's just Wrath Bone getting in his last bit of fun. I'm just glad I'll never have to see him again."
Everything in the house was now in boxes that the movers would be taking away later. The few items that weren't in boxes were packed into saddlebags and suitcases.
Soon enough, they were all on the train, leaving Manehatten behind.
They all stepped out of the train station and looked across the town before them. It was smaller than the city, and the surrounding fields made it seem smaller still.
Both of the girls wore pegasus-style saddlebags that were designed to be tucked under their wings, each filled with some items that would help them get started in the house while they waited for the furniture to arrive. Quartz Stone wore regular saddlebags, as he didn't have any wings anyway, and he carried a couple sleeping bags and a suitcase on his back. Obsidian, meanwhile, wore his own pegasus-style bags, but he kept his wings tucked under them.
It was a little uncomfortable, but except for a few feathers, his wings were hidden. His parents had, of course, insisted that he didn't need to do that, but he really didn't want the town to find out about his condition just yet.
They were probably right though. He was carrying the other sleeping bags and another suitcase on his back, and those probably would have helped conceal them on their own.
The house was empty, as one would expect, and the family soon unloaded their bags and began making the place home as much as they could with what they had. Tomorrow, the movers would be here with the furniture, and they would finally be able to set the place up properly. For now, they would be "camping out" inside.
"Does that mean we can build a campfire?"
"No, not in the middle of the living room."
The way Feldspar grinned anyway, Obsidian guessed that she must have been joking. Either that, or she planned on making one anyway.
In a few minutes there was a "roaring" construction paper campfire illuminated by a flashlight and sitting on top of a fan on the floor.
That night, Obsidian snuck out of the house. It was his first night in the small town, and he had to see for himself if the things he'd heard were true.
He flew up to the roof, laid down on his back, and looked up to the night sky.