"Guess who!" A familiar voice giggled.
It was the beginning of fourth period when I heard this. The other three periods had been pretty nice. Granted, I wanted to sleep in two of them, but at least I met a bunch of grand new people along the way. Like, Rose, Rarity, Christian, Harley, and a handful of others. It surprised me, how easy it was to make friends here. These people didn't even think of me as "the new kid" or "the weird person that's from out of town." They all seemed to have a childlike innocence about them, and sincerely wanted to be my friend. I enjoyed this feeling, and it could only get better through the next three periods. But I can honestly say that my happiness leaped to new heights upon hearing that small two word phrase.
"AUGUSTINE!" I yelped, almost screaming. The entire class stared at me, wondering if Applejack had pulled a knife on me or something. . . everyone except for Vinyl, who was taking on the magic quest of sitting in a chair without falling off.
"Heh! You're quite the silly filly, sugarcube!" She giggled. This obsession with horses and ponies around here really startled me. Granted, it was silly of me for that to be one of my top concerns, but it was a bit off. I let it slide though, seeing as she sounded like a farmgirl. She probably worked with horses every day, and silly filly was likely one of those phrases her whole family used.
"I'm silly?! You're the one that grabbed me and made me scream in front of everyone!" I playfully retorted. Honestly, it scared me a little bit. I knew she was trying to be friendly, but I was still new. I trusted many people in the world, but I still had to stay on my toes in case there were any dangers I couldn't pinpoint. I was happy that it was Applejack, but still . . .
"Ah, mighty sorry, feller." Applejack replied.
Damn. I hope I didn't make her feel bad, that'd be terrible. She'd be like "Look a yall at this here spooty patooty little mumpkin being the meanest little humfrumpter in the cabbage patch," Or however she spoke like, I never actually met someone with an accent like hers.
"Aw, don't be sorry, I'm the one that should be sorry! I was just being so weird and stuff and I'm SO tense and it's so not nice of me!" I wailed, hoping to redeem myself.
Applejack rubbed my head playfully. "Don't feel bad, sugarcube, I was only playing. Now, come on, the girl that sat next to me transferred out, so we can sit right together!"
Yes. Fifty shades of yes. I had a class with Applejack, AND I sat next to her?! This was going to be a fun year.
I walked over to the tables. Unlike most classes, where there were simple individual desks, all facing the front of the room, this class had three large black tables with four chairs on each side. I could sit next to Applejack and, to the view of the teacher, be sitting in front her. It was odd, I guess, but it seemed more practical for a science class than basic desks.
"Hello, class. I noticed we have a new student here." An upbeat, nasal voice pierced my ears. "So let's all give a super welcome to Mr. Joseph Hamilton!" He began clapping as he walked towards me. A few people joined in out of politeness, but nobody seemed enthusiastic. This could go two ways. One, they could think that I'm such a terrible person and someone spread a weird rumor about how I just got out of jail and am hiding in a school before I plan out my next country extermination attempt as the police try to find me, or. . . they could all be tired. Before I could ponder on this more, I felt a pair of hands press onto my shoulders. I immediately freaked out and grabbed hold of Applejack's hand.
"Aw, he's a little jittery! But that's okay, I'll be happy to be your best friend! Everyone else will be, too!" He told me as he rubbed my shoulders. I squeezed Applejack's hand a bit ha-
I thought about what I was doing. I could care less about the scary man rubbing my shoulders. After all, if he was going to abduct me, he wouldn't do it during class. There were witnesses. I cared more about my hand.
I sat there paralyzed until he left, easing my muscles and letting me act on what my mind was so feverishly telling me to do. I immediately pulled my hand off of Applejack's and shoved it into my sweater.
"Heh. . . eh heh. . . I'm. . . I. . . " I managed to nervously mumble out. She probably thinks I'm creepy now, right? She'll be like 'Oh Joseph get away from me, you're such a pe-'
"Perfectly fine, Ah know that Mister Lua can be a pretty crazy critter at times. Heck, if ah was from stange land like you was and some guy did that to me, ah'd probably hold your hand too!" Applejack kindly replied.
Note to self: Take Applejack to a strange and foreign land and get a creepy physics teacher to grab her shoulders while I sit next to her.
Still, though, I was incredibly embarrassed. She was just so pretty and so nice, and her kind words didn't help at all! I found Rose to be nice looking, and Twilight was sweet, but Applejack, well, she made my mind race and my palms go sweaty whenever I even thought of her. She was just so amazing, and I was screwing things up so bad! She probably thinks deep inside of her mind that I'm just some weirdo, and that I'm being too touchy grabby with her or I'm being too jittery around her.
I wonder if she knows.
After that initial scare, the rest of class went along nicely. Applejack and I switched seats because I noticed her struggling to see the board. Also, I kind of wanted to sit behind her. This class was so boring, and my mind was just racing, wanting to turn my head around just to get a good look at her face. Granted, sitting behind her wouldn't let me look at her face, she had gracious blonde hair that she pulled into a ponytail as it flew down and flowed natually halfway down her back. She was oddly reluctant about moving, though. She claimed 'No no, sugarcube, I'm all fine back here!' However, the teacher heard us and started walking towards us with a creepy smile.
"Any commotion here, friends?" He asked, leaning his head in between us.
We silently shook our heads no, in fear. He walked back to his desk and continued his lesson.
"You win, partner." Applejack breathed out nervously. We immediately switched seats and I silently appreciated her presence for the rest of the period, until the bell rang.
That was the happiest sound of the day. As much as I loved being near Applejack, the teacher scared the living hell out of me. I'd have to use up all of my inner strength to survive that class without pissing myself a few times.
"Hey sugarcube. . . um. . . ah was just wonderin'. . . Rarity got moved from her fourth period an now she ain't get second lunch anymore. D-Do ya wanna. . . eat with me?" Applejack asked me, scuffing her foot into the ground nervously.
"U-Um. . . yeah. . . yeah! Sure!" I stated, subconsciously emulating her sudden nervousness. I guess having a teacher like that broke even the strongest of people! I was so happy that I got to eat lunch with Applejack, as it let me spend more time with her and I didn't have to struggle through the awkward first lunch where I had to explore the perimeter, finding a familiar face to associate myself with. We both walked outside and observed the fairly bustling campus. Granted, it wasn't as busy as my old school, but it was noticeable enough for me to have concern. Crowds weren't really a fear of mine, but I never enjoyed being around them, even if they were incredibly small. Applejack knew where she was going, though. She motioned me out of the crowd towards a chain link fence with a few tree stumps nearby.
"Here we go! Ah always loved sittin' here, but Rarity was too much of a fancy schmancy ta eat over here, so ah had ta sit in one of them big tables over there. They were so mean over there, I couldn't even begin to describe!" Applejack explained.
"That's terrible to hear. I'll try being nice to you!" I kindly replied. I wanted to say and do as much as I could to persuade her to have ultimate trust in me. All I wanted more than anything was her trust and acceptance, as a friend. . . but these desires conflicted with my other desire. The desire to go home. As much as I wanted to show Applejack my best, even though it was only mediocrity, I also wanted to spend time finding a way to get home, or at least remember home, and get out of here. Not that this place was bad or anything. I sighed softly and lowered my head as I turned these thoughts over in my head, trying to work out this conflict.
"Aww, sugarcube, what's wrong?" Applejack asked kindly.
"Oh. Um, nothing." I lied, giving a soft smile. I wasn't exactly the best kind of liar.
"Now, pardner, ah've got a lil sis and a big bro, and ah've been around so many other people. Ah know when someone is sad."
"You have a brother and a sister? Tell me about them!" I seriously didn't want her to find anything wrong in me. After all, what if she saw that I was weak and she'd not like me all that much?! After all, no girl likes a weak guy!
". . . Ah'll work out a deal with you. Ah'll tell ya 'bout mah family if ya tell me 'bout yer sadness."
I sighed, and obliged. "It sucks not having memories."
"Aww, shucks, that IS pretty sad ta hear there. Ah wish there was more ah could do."
"You can do nothing. But it's not bad or anything, Twilight's already helping me. You're being helpful by being so nice, though."
"Aww, thanks there, sugarcube. But ah could always do more ah guess."
I smiled nervously. I didn't want to seem like I was too eager to accept help. I remember my ex, and how she always complained that I had no idea about social cues. I took everything people said literally. What if this was one of those social cue things! I don't know, I'm just paranoid about it, and especially when it came to Applejack. . .
"So. . . your family?"
"Oh! Well, ah got a big bro named Macintosh. His girlfriend is Cherry Lee, and she's actually a co-teacher over in that there English class that Twilight's in. She wasn't at school today, though. Um. . .Ah got a sister that's just a little girl, Beatrice. Then there's mah two cousins that go here, Brandon and Carlton! They're the sweetest guys but all they do is just yap yap yap!"
"Do they have any of those stu-, I mean. . . do they have any nicknames too?"
"Oh, sure! Mac's name is Big Mac, then Cherry's name is Cheerilee. Beatrice's nickname is Applebloom, then Brandon and Carlton are Braeburn and Caramel."
These names puzzled me beyond belief. The only one that made sense was Big Mac's (and maybe Cherry Lee's.). Before I could ask her about it, the bell rang across the campus.
"Well then, sugarcube, it was surely an ho- I mean, a pleasure eatin' with ya! Where ya off ta next?" Applejack asked me. I hadn't realized this before, but Applejack had no food on her. Granted, neither did I, as I rushed to pack my things from all of my intense pre-school studying, but the subject of her food never really entered my mind.
"Oh! Um. . . Drama." I replied.
"Well then! Yer gonna go ta the big pony on the stage! That's our auditorium, and Drama class is in there!" Applejack explained, pointing to a building not too far from my location.
"And how about you?"
"Me? Ah, I'm headin' ta Child Development, back in the science buildin'"
"Child development?"
"YEAH!" Applejack probably said that much louder than she wanted to, startling me a bit. "Uuum, don't worry! It's not like ah WANT a baby! Heck, I don't want babies for a LONG time! Heh, who'd even want a baby! They're so annoying and um. . . um. . . silly."
"Yeah, sounds about right. Idunno, it'd be fun, though."
"Yup! But not now! I'm not wantin' a baby at all! Nope nope nope! Ah. . . Ah gotta head to class now! See ya, Joseph!"
"Catch you later, Augustine!"
She jogged off back to the science building. It didn't seem like she was late, though, most people were still throwing away their trash and socializing.
I probably said something wrong, didn't I. Yup. I said something wrong. Damn social cues and their confusingness. I sighed and shook my head. I wish I was better at stuff like that. I picked up my backpack and attempted to regain my thoughts of happiness before I proceeded.
I walked into the auditorium and noticed students sitting around the seats near the front of the stage. I looked around to see any faces that I recognized. Suddenly, after a bit of searching, I found one.
"Rose!" I exclaimed. Three classes with Rose? This day just kept on getting better and better.
"Joseph!" Rose exclaimed, incredibly happy to see me. "It's so cool that we have three classes together!"
"I know! So are your friends here, too?"
"Yeah, they just ALWAYS get here late. They have lunch while I have my fourth period, and they ALWAYS like to spend every second of lunch outside of class."
"Nice. It's a bit chilly outside, though, I'd rather be inside!"
"Heh, that's exactly what my boyfriend says!"
Boyfriend?
"Oh! There he is right now!" she exclaimed, making a discrete point towards him. I was witness to a stunning display of manliness and adorableness walking down the aisle, as he walked in with a cowboy hat and denim jeans, wearing a light yellow plaid shirt. He walked with a certain kind of ruggedness, like he spent much of his time working on fields and not caring so much about his presence. He sat next to Rose and took off his cowboy hat, revealing more of his flowing blonde hair, a blonde bushel on the top of his head, the wavy strands flowing down to no farther than his neck.
"Braeburn, honey!" Rose giggled in happiness, hugging Braeburn.
"Rose, my cute little fritter!" Braeburn replied, kissing her softly on the top of her forehead.
They engaged in hugging for a slight moment while I stared and grew feelings of jealously. My ex girlfriend and I met online, though an internet group that another friend of mine introduced me to. We only really met once, and we were both nervous to do very much physical action. It pained me that I had never actually done anything intimate like that with a girl. I watched as they rubbed noses together and gave small playful kisses, and longed for such a feeling to enter my life.
My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar and somewhat welcome voice. "Oh! Heavens yes! Joooseph!" it called.
I turned back to see the same purple haired girl that had been in my Government class.
"Darling, you remember me, yes? Yes! Now it's just so delightful that we get to share ANOTHER class with each other! Especially my FAVORITE class! Oh, I just love drama so much!" Rarity exclaimed. "Don't you?"
"Oh, um. . . yeah." I replied, nervous by her incredibly happy demeanor. Why was she acting all like this around me, so weird and tense and frilly? I'd expect Pinkie to do that, but not her. . .
Our Drama teacher, Mrs. Webber came out and smiled. "What do you guys think of this? Beauty and the Beast!"
Daisy and Lily, whom I hadn't even noticed walk in, gave a small little cheer. Rose and Braeburn were still being somewhat playful, and Rarity looked with a look of excitement.
"Um, yes, for the part of Beauty, what dress will I have to create? I have to start now so I can practice gliding around the ballroom with my one prince charming!"
"That's what you'll be finding out! Um. . . Daisy! Help me pass out these packets. These packets contain audition lines for all major characters. If you'd like to be a part of stage crew or a background character, please come talk to me after I finish speaking. Auditions are next monday. All lines must be memorized, and I will not be answering any questions regarding context or how the character should be played, that is your job. The best person gets the part. I will place you where I feel you will best succeed. You have the rest of this period to practice. Tomorrow we will be studying the history of this play. Go to work." The teacher explained, much more lively than most of my other teachers, yet not creepy like Mr. Lua. She seemed very matter of fact and didn't seem to like much fluff when addressing people, a trait that I admired but also feared. I had a bad habit of explaining things way more than I should.
"Oh, I wonder who the main female lead of this play is! Why, I'll be so glamorous, I might just have every other part while I'm at it!" Rarity explained onward, apparently believing that I was interested. Rarity was nice and all, but still, she could be so cocky at times.
Nothing much really happened during this period. I didn't expect much from my audition, but I still wanted to give effort. I decided to group myself up with Braeburn and the three flower shirt girls, while Rarity decided to join in. We sat around with a casting list, trying to figure out where we wanted to be.
"Ah wanna be beast!" Braeburn called out. It was at that instant that I realized that Braeburn was the Brandon that Applejack was talking about during lunch, just based on his heavy southern accent. Was her family just experts at being good looking?
"Oh, and I'd sure love to be Beauty! I heard she absolutely LOVES roses, she'll be perfect for me!" Rose stated dreamily, giggling and looking up slightly, probably imagining herself as Belle.
"Um. Pardon me, Miss Rose, but you should definitely reconsider. After all, her name IS beauty, and. . . heh, I KIND of fit the name, don't you think?" Rarity butted in.
"I guess. However. . . may the best actor win! I wish you the best of luck!"
"I won't be needing luck, I just have skill! Plus, when I'm Belle, I'll have my little friend Joseph here be my Beast! Isn't that right, Joseph?"
"Um. . . actually, I was planning on auditioning for Gaston." I replied meekly.
"GASTON?! That little twerp! Oh, he's SO cocky, and SO self-centered. Darling, you need a character that fits you!" Rarity explained.
"Lil Rarity, if ah could make a su-" Braeburn inputted.
"Hey guys the bell is about to ring!" Daisy exclaimed, almost jumping on top of Braeburn. We all knew what he was going to say to Rarity, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause a commotion on my first day at the school. She wasn't lying, though, the bell WAS about to ring. This period had gone by way too fast. It wasn't a bad thing, though. As much as I enjoyed hanging out with the flower girls and Braeburn, Rarity was starting to get a bit on my nerves with her attitude. I didn't unpack anything, choosing to hold my packet in my hand, and walked out of the class at the first sign of the bell, eager to go to my final class of the day. . . AP Music Theory.
I hurried myself back to the band room to see the class filled with twenty desks facing the whiteboard. I wondered to myself just how did they get there? After all, just three periods ago, I was sitting on a stool, and I knew there were probably other classes he had. I looked around and noticed Octavia and Vinyl sitting around in the back of the class, Vinyl sleeping on her desk while Octavia placed her books out neatly, waiting for class to start.
"Hey Elizabeth!" I exclaimed as I walked towards her desk.
"Oh, hi there, Joseph. I've got an open seat behind me if you need somewhere to sit." Octavia replied. "And. . . try not to wake Candace up. She's mad because her biology teacher got mad at her for being high during class."
This world was so normal yet so insane at the same time.
I sat down as the rest of the students filed in. The class wasn't huge, maybe about twenty people, but AP Music Theory was never a popular class anyways. The group from Jazz Band walked in, and sat around me, with Brittany on my left and Harley on my right.
"Hey guys. Welcome to any new kids we got here!" Mr. Acevedo exclaimed. "We're going to be doing some ear training to get ourselves back into the swing of things! I'll play an interval, and you guys tell me which interval it is on your paper!" He walked over to the piano and played the first interval.
* * *
"Come on, Joseph, you didn't do that bad!" Octavia told me after we finished grading the paper that we had written our answers on.
"Yeah, dude, at least you didn't do as bad as Candace!" Harley exclaimed.
"Shut up! I'm a drummer!" Vinyl moaned.
"You play the timpani in concert band." Frederick stated coldly. "What did you even get anyway, Joseph?"
"I got a five out of ten." I moaned.
"Oh. I got a ten out of ten," Frederick replied, once again with a very cold tone. I'm sure he wasn't hateful or anything, just his voice naturally sounded slightly like he wanted to murder everyone.
"Frederick, you can't compare with anybody, you're a piano player! After all, it's Joseph's first day, he did very good!" Christian replied.
Before Frederick could reply, Mr. Acevedo called the class back to attention.
"Hey guys, we only have a few more minutes left in class! Let me just give you all a few reminders! Firstly, Wind Ensemble practice starts at 6:45 in the morning! Please be there on time. Percussion section, please be set up by 7:00," Mr. Acevedo announced, glaring at Vinyl upon mentioning the percussion section. "Please. Anyways, that's all for today, please place the desks back against the wall."
Upon this statement, every person in the class stood up and picked up their chairs. Everyone except for Vinyl. Octavia giggled nervously and picked up Vinyl, holding onto her so she wouldn't fall.
"Joseph, if you're at all able to. . ." Octavia asked me, still holding Vinyl.
"Oh, sure!" I replied. As soon as I stated this, the bell rang. After putting away Octavia's desk (Harley helped put away Vinyl's desk), I walked back outside. The sun shone brightly in my eyes as I navigated my way to the front of the school. You know, I wasn't really sure of what was supposed to happen after school ended, Twilight never told me at all. I sighed and decided that she'd have to come to the front of the school sometime. I sat for roughly ten minutes before hearing a familiar voice.
"Augustine?" I asked myself as I turned around and saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash were behind me, quarreling.
"What do you MEAN you were faster than me?! You aren't even a runner!" Rainbow Dash moaned.
"Still, I ain't no runner, but ah won that race fair and square!" Applejack replied.
"WhatEVER! You go back to your little 'discus' and leave the races to me!"
"Well ya don't have ta be so rude about it!"
If it weren't for the fact that this was a public school, I would have beat up Rainbow right there. I didn't know her very well, probably the girl out of the six that I met that I knew the least. Besides Fluttershy, but I'm doubting I'll ever get to really know her. Nobody is EVER rude to Applejack like that, especially when I'm around.
"Ah! Joseph!" Applejack called out. "We was just havin' a little playful banter over here. Can ya believe it, Kels won't admit that she lost!"
"I DIDN'T LOSE!" Rainbow sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.
"Sure, sugarcube, keep tellin' yerself that. So where ya headin' ta, Joseph?" Applejack asked me.
"Um. . . gotta wait for Twilight, I think. I honestly don't know," I replied.
"Oh, Twilight's got some school club stuff to do. Science Olympiad or somethin'."
"Oh. Damn. I don't have any plans, then."
Applejack scraped her foot on the ground nervously. "Ya know, if ya ain't too busy, ah could take ya ta mah house. Folks won't mind. You'll get ta see Brandon and Carlton and Mac and Cherry Lee and all the other people I was talkin' with ya 'bout durin' lunch. . . that is, if it's ok with you! It's completely fine if it isn't, though! Ah know it's weird of me! After a-"
"Sure." I answered calmly.
"Really?! Come now, let's go!" Applejack exclaimed, grabbing a hold of my hand, tugging me along.
It felt nice being pulled along by her. This entire time was nice. She giggled as the wind flew past her hair, throwing golden sunshine into the air in front of my face. I had trouble keeping up, but I was determined to not seem tired to her, to look strong, to look big. . . I just wish I wasn't so scared about how she thought of me. I know she's a nice girl, but still, I want her to find me. I wish she would just be able to see me and be like 'Man, that Joseph sure is a great guy' or think about me when she slept or just come up and hug me every time she saw me. I wish she would sit down on days when I'm sad and hold me in her arms and tell her that I'm great and that she cares about me and everything is okay.
I wish I didn't have to leave. I wish I could just be here. With her.
If only she wanted that, too. . .