Vinyl's first evening at the Philharmonica residence had been spent in a pretty sour mood. Vito being held up by his work longer than planned, the dinner had been spent in silence with Vinyl occasionally glaring in between mouthfuls at Octavia who seemed too ashamed to even look at the DJ's general direction.
Their discussion after Vinyl got out of the shower didn't go well at all. Octavia had shouted that Vinyl was an inconsiderate guest who didn't have any respect for her host while Vinyl had shouted back the exact opposite. One thing leading to another, their argument got sidetracked on their music tastes and things got out of hands real fast after that.
Octavia didn't like Vinyl's choice of music and didn't hesitate to show it. In a fit of anger, she had claimed that arranging, modifying and mixing together various sound tracks wasn't artistic creation. According to her, It was nothing more than a mere butchery of an original piece. She had ended her venting by adding that being DJing was a profession which required no skills, nor talents whatsoever and that any no-good high-school dropout was able to do.
That last comment had stung Vinyl's pride real hard for she had dropped out of high-school when she was a bit younger than Octavia. She couldn't let it slide like for the young girl's other comments. In a violent outburst in which English and Italian were completely mixed together, Vinyl showed that she wouldn't take criticism from a stuck-up brat like Octavia whose biggest achievement in life so far was bringing home good grades to put them on the kitchen's fridge.
While Octavia hadn't understood much of her language-mixing interlocutor's most colorful insults, she got the main point and started to feel ashamed at her own behavior as Vinyl was leaving Octavia's bedroom after having spoken her mind. Realization had hit her harder than a sack of bricks. Octavia had still been in middle school when Vinyl was already struggling in the music business and, if her father's tale was true, she had also been one of the big shots. It wasn't her place to judge the DJ's living.
As soon as she finished her plate, Vinyl left the table, washed her dishes and went straight to her bedroom. Octavia, who was eating at a much slower pace than her guest, finished about quarter hour later. After doing her dishes and leaving a plate for her father next to the microwave oven, she decided to go apologize to Vinyl.
She climbed the stairs up to the DJ's room which was just next to hers and delicately knocked the door a couple of times. Hearing no responses, she knocked again with a bit more strength and called Vinyl at the same time. As the DJ didn't answer again, Octavia figured that Vinyl was probably ignoring her and had every right to do so. The teenager walked to her room a bit deflated but determined to apologize to Vinyl tomorrow morning.
Vinyl was more or less ignoring Octavia at the moment. As a matter of fact, she'd have ignored everyone at her door. She had her headphones on and was listening to her favorite playlist at full volume while leafing through the file Vito had given her earlier. At some point, she stumbled across Octavia's academic records.
"Nothing wrong in having a look, isn't it?" Vinyl whispered to herself. "Let's see... Selected three times in a row as a junior cellist for the Annual Canterlot Grand Gala. Caspita! Non è male!" [Wow! Not bad!] Vinyl let out an impressed whistle. "...Maybe I was a bit too harsh earlier.... She did something bigger than bringing good grades back home after all... Speaking of grades... Top of her class in musical history and classical theory... But, a small weakness in maths. Just like me!" She chuckled softly before seeing her mathematics average grade. "... Still around forty percent above what I used to do." She frowned skeptically. "They consider an average of seventy-nine percent a small weakness?... A weakness?....Ma què cazzo di scuola è?" [What kind of school is that? (vulgar)]
She kept on reading through Octavia and her other future pupils' records for a couple of hours. As she did, Vinyl couldn't help but to feel a bit guilty about her outburst against Octavia. The teenager had just expressed her opinion in rather a rude and non-diplomatic way. Vinyl had done worst to her teachers when she was at school. She had even went down to personal insults with some of them, her math teacher for example, and they had never reacted like she had. That didn't stop her from getting detention more than she could remember though.
Remembering her past antics with her teachers got Vinyl thinking. What had happened with Octavia was extremely similar to what she did in the past. Except that she was on the teacher's side now. She started to grow a certain admiration for her former teachers' patience. She couldn't allow herself to outburst like she did in a classroom. She was thinking about apologizing to Octavia tomorrow. The poor girl was just young and youngsters tended to do mistakes nowadays.
At that last thought, Vinyl face-palmed. She had never sounded so old before.
KNOCK KNOCK
Vinyl fluttered her eyes open at the sound of someone knocking at her bedroom's door.
"Chi è?" [Who's it?] Vinyl said after a long yawn.
"I suppose you just asked who's it, right?" Octavia's voice said from the other side of the door. "It's Octavia. May I come in?"
"Un attimino!" [A little moment!] Vinyl slowly gathered all her school-related documents back in their folder before putting it in the nightstand drawer. Mr Philharmonica keeps the school's business secret from his daughter, why shouldn't I do the same? She thought with a small smirk.
"Huh... You told me to wait, didn't you?" Octavia asked uneasily.
"It's ok, you can come in now!" Vinyl called as she lay down on her side beneath her thin blanket.
Octavia entered the room holding a small tray with a sandwich with a glass of water on top. It took her a minute to get accustomed to the half-light that filled the DJ's room. She noticed her guest still under the cover and put the tray on the nightstand.
"A chicken, salade, and mayonaise sandwich for breakfast?" Vinyl asked with a cocked eyebrow as the sandwich came into her field of vision.
"It's half past noon, Vincenza," Octavia said slowly.
"That's why I said breakfast." Vinyl shrugged with a short chuckle. "So, what kind of poison did you pour in this delicious-looking food?" she added jokingly.
"Actually, it's more a peace offering than anything else." Octavia shuffled nervously.
"...Go on." Vinyl invited her to continue with a small nod and a triumphant smirk.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said to you yesterday," Octavia said with a shaking but sincere tone. "It was uncalled-for..."
"That it was!" Vinyl nodded slowly. "Anything else?"
Octavia cleared her throat. "... and I'd like to apologize for the argument in bathroom yesterday as well. I behaved like a child and..."
"And I forgive you!" Vinyl finished for her with a small smile. "While we're on the Apology and Forgiveness part, I'd like to apologize as well. I kinda reacted like a kid too and I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
"No! No! No!" Octavia shook her hands dismissively. "I treated you horribly, you had every right to..."
"I'm still gonna apologize, no matter what you say!" Vinyl grinned. "Plus, you brought me sandwich. You don't bite the feeding hand! That's the first rule of life!" she added playfully with a wink.
"But, I insulted you, your job, your..."
"Ottavia, you weren't the first do so and you certainly won't be the last," Vinyl said with a pinch of wisdom. "I forgave you, why don't you do the same so that we can move on?" Vinyl asked softly.
"I don't want to forgive you..." Vinyl frowned at that statement. "Because you have nothing to ask forgiveness for."
"Please, don't make me go out of this bed to put some sense into you." the DJ threatened playfully with a wide grin.
"Well, you could stand up." Octavia took the opportunity to change the subject of conversation. "It's not easy to have a serious conversation with someone who's lying in bed lazily like you do, you know?"
"Not while you're in the room." Vinyl shrugged from her lying position.
"Why?" Octavia asked with curiosity.
"Well,...."
Vinyl passed her arms in front of her blanket and sat up straight, holding it tight to cover her upper body. But that didn't stop Octavia from noticing a small detail.
...Perchè, di solito, dormo nuda durante l'estate." [Because I usually sleep stark naked during the summer.] Vinyl explained casually.
Octavia made the connection between the italian word 'nuda' and the english one 'nude' as she caught a glimpse of the DJ's bare shoulders and upper back. After blinking profusely for a couple seconds, Octavia's face became bright red as a tomato.
"WellokthenIforgiveyouNowIwillletyoueatinpeaceSeeyoulater!" she squealed in embarrassment quickly before dashing out of the DJ's room, closing the door behind her.
Vinyl let out a loud, goodhearted laugh and grabbed the sandwich on the nightstand. "Too innocent for her own good..." she took a voracious bite before rolling her eyes at the taste with a pleased expression. "...Forse no, se sa fare panini di scuse cosi gustosi..." [Maybe not if she can make apology sandwiches so good...]
Today was the day of the welcoming ceremony at Celestia's royal Academy. Vinyl had passed the last three days trying to read completely the school rules. Such enterprise had been doomed to failure right from the moment Vinyl discovered that the house had its own 'games' room with a pool table.
It was a bit boring to play on her own as Octavia was seriously getting ready for her first day at school and Vito was busy with his work outside the house but it was funnier than reading sheets and sheets of regulations that never made sense to her in high-school and weren't much more sensible to her today.
Now, Vinyl had packed her change of clothes and her laptop in the trunk of her motorcycle. After that, she went into the kitchen to grab a little snack before heading out. A chestnut chocolate bar held in between her teeth, she spotted a rather annoyed Octavia in the living room.
"Smmmthin wmmong?" Vinyl muffled almost un-intelligibly with the bar in her mouth.
"Nothing," Octavia said, frowning a bit at the DJ's manners. "Just that my usual driver fell sick this morning and the cab company couldn't find a replacement in time."
"You have a driver to take you to school?" Vinyl asked with surprise after taking a bite of her chocolate. "Don't you have your driver's license already? Or, why don't you just take the bus?"
"No, I don't. Beside, given that my father's gone to work, I'd still be without transportation even if I had my driver's license," Octavia explained. "As for the bus.... Let's just say that I don't like taking the bus."
"Too much crowded for your liking, ain't it?" Octavia nodded slowly. "You want a ride, then?" Vinyl shoved the rest of her chocolate in her mouth. "I gotta go to my new job in a couple of minutes. I can make a small detour for you," Vinyl suggested, internally grinning like the Cheshire Cat. 'Detour my ass! It's exactly where I'm going.'
"You would do that?" Octavia asked hopefully.
"Certo!" [Of course!] Vinyl assured with sincerity. "Grab your backpack and go wait for me at the front gate. I just need to get my phone upstairs and we can go."
"Ok! Thank you, Vincenza." Octavia smiled.
Octavia did as she had been told to by Vinyl. While she was waiting just outside the property, she pondered on what kind of car did the DJ have. Octavia nearly never went down in the garage, so she couldn't know about the DJ's transportation. An incoming humming drove her away from her thoughts of white and blue models of car. She didn't know why but she was convinced that Vinyl's vehicle would be a white and blu car. When she turned around to see Vinyl coming, she found out she's half-right.
"No! No! No! No!" Octavia said with a quiet and panicked voice, shaking her head vigorously, when Vinyl stopped her white and blue bike in front of her. "I'm not taking a ride on this death machine!"
"You don't like bikes?" Vinyl asked as she took her helmet off. "I thought teenagers found bikes were cool."
"Maybe those from your generation did." Octavia supposed in a shaking voice. "But, I don't!"
"Ottavia, I'm twenty-two, not forty. I'd appreciate very much you don't speak in terms of generation with me." Vinyl chastised softly, not without a chuckle though.
"Oh... Sorry!" Octavia scratched the tip of her nose awkwardly. "And my name's Octavia, not Ot-avia!"
"'O-tavia! I pronounce 'O-tavia." Vinyl defended herself playfully. "Anyway, put these on!" she extended her helmet and her other biker jacket that was put between Vinyl and the handlebars to Octavia.
"No!" Octavia insisted. "I'm not going anywhere on a motorcycle. It's dangerous!"
"Ma dai!" [Come on!] Vinyl rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's safe! I've never had any accident before."
"One time is enough!" Octavia retorted.
"The same goes for a car!" Vinyl snapped loudly. "Look," she said in a softer tone. "I promise you it's safe. Don't you trust me?" Vinyl extended the helmet and jacket to Octavia again.
"It's not that, it's just...." Octavia hesitated. "...I'm scared," she confessed slowly.
"I understand," Vinyl whispered in a peaceful tone. "But I promise nothing's going to happen. Trust me on this one."
Octavia shuffled nervously before answering. "F-Fine." The young woman put the jacket and the helmet on. "Now, what do I do?" she asked with a shaking voice.
"First, don't forget your bag." Vinyl chuckled as she pointed the backpack Octavia had put down the ground in order to wear the jacket. "Then, lean your foot on the footrest here...." Vinyl instructed while Octavia put her backpack on. "And after that, it's like straddling a man." she added with a sly grin.
"Beg pardon?" Octavia asked with an offended tone.
"Or a girl, if it's more your thing." Octavia glared at the DJ. "Fiiine. Like a bicycle. Is that better?"
"Much! But, I'd like you to stop those insinuations in the future," Octavia said as she straddled the bike's passenger seat.
"I can promise that I'll try." Vinyl giggled. "You're comfortable?"
"As much as possible, I guess." Octavia shrugged nervously. "Where's your helmet?"
"You're wearing it." Vinyl put on her nose the purple shades which were previously hanging at her collar. "I'll buy you one later."
"Isn't that illegal to ride without an helmet on?" Octavia asked slowly.
"Only if you get caught!" Vinyl shrugged as she adjusted her fingerless gloves. "You ready?"
"I think... What do I have hold on to?"
"There are handles on each side of your seat."
"Got it!" Octavia sighed softly as she grabbed the handles. "Ok, I'm ready!"
"Alora andiamo!" [So let's go!] Vinyl said before turning the accelerator and causing a loud hum.
Octavia shrieked loudly at the sudden noise before clinging on to Vinyl like her life depended on it.
"Yes, you can also hold on to me if you don't like the handles." Vinyl laughed softly.
"I think I'll just do that." Octavia nodded with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Ok! Just put your right hand at my stomach level."
"It's not?" Octavia asked.
"No, it's little bit lower than my stomach," Vinyl said with a smug grin.
Octavia blushed madly before raising her hand at a less inappropriate level. "Huh...Sorry!"
"No big deal!" Vinyl assured. "Hold on tight and if you ever feel like it, just scream."
"What do you mean by thaaaaaAAAAA..." Octavia screamed as Vinyl started up and sped away.
Vinyl wasn't really going fast. She was clearly under the speed at which she came up to Echelon Hills couple of days ago. But to Octavia who was used to the speed impression given by a car trip, it felt like Vinyl was going way faster than what the speed limits allowed. The fact that Vinyl zigzagged between the cars didn't help very much into calming her.
"OH MY GOD!" Octavia yelled as they were descending the mountain road to Canterlot. "SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!" she heard Vinyl laughing. "VINCENZA, SLOW DOWN!" Vinyl laughed harder and didn't slow down at all. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YAAAAAAA!" She screamed in panic as Vinyl took a sharp turn at end of the road.
"Tutto bene la dietro?" [Everything's fine at the back?] Vinyl asked playfully.
"I don't fucking understand what you're saying, you know that!" Octavia bellowed with anger, still clinging on to Vinyl with all her might. "Stop this fucking thing, right now! Or else I'm gonna fucking kill you!"
"Cazzo! Tante parole brutte!" [Damn! So many curses!] Vinyl sounded impressed. "And here I was thinking you didn't even know the word fuck."
"I'm not joking, Vinyl! Stop this thing now!" Octavia ordered.
"Hey, you called me Vinyl!" Vinyl shouted happily. "Does that mean we're friends?"
"Huh?" Octavia asked, confusion taking her anger's place as she unconsciously relaxed her grip on Vinyl as well as her posture.
"Only my friends call me Vinyl!" Vinyl chuckled.
"Well, I....." Octavia couldn't find her words. "Well, I don't know!"
"So where do I have to go to get to your school?"
"Huh.... Take the fourth street to the right!"
"Ok, on three. Lean your body with me."
"What?"
"Just tilt your body to the right as much as I do, on three," Vinyl explained. "THREE!" she shouted happily before tilting her upper-body to the right.
"Woah!" Octavia was a bit startled by the sudden shout but did as instructed and the bike made a perfect turn to the right. "You could have said one and two before the three," she added in reproach.
"I said 'on three'! I never said 'after one and two'!" Vinyl retorted playfully.
"That's....actually true." Octavia blinked in admittance.
"Where to now?"
Octavia leaned on her footrests and lightly stood up to peek above Vinyl's shoulders. "Mhmmm... You see the parking sign on the left? That's the street just after!"
They kept on like for the rest of the road. Octavia realized what Vinyl was doing. She's been forcing Octavia to say and do something during the ride to clear her mind from her previously shouted fear of speed and bikes. The plan worked pretty well as Octavia was completely relaxed by the end of their journey to her school. After a rather large quarter hour of indications, the pair finally arrived in front the school's gate.
"So, how was the ride?" Vinyl asked as Octavia got down from the bike.
"Dreadful at first...." Octavia said softly as she took the helmet off. "...rather nice at the end," she admitted with a small smile.
"The bike's not so scary anymore, is it?" Vinyl said smug.
"No, not really!" Octavia's smile grew larger.
"Should I come to pick you up when you're done or you wanna grab a cab to go home?"
Octavia pondered for a couple of minutes. "I think I can stand another ride today." She gave the helmet to Vinyl who put it on immediately. "Normally, it ends at half past four. So, let's say five o'clock here?"
"Va bene!" [Ok!] Vinyl nodded. "Do you mind keeping the jacket? I really got to get going and I don't have time to put it in the trunk," she explained by tapping her seat underneath which was the bike's trunk.
"Sure! It'd be no problem at all," Octavia assured. "Goodbye and good luck for your job!"
"Grazie! Ci vediamo presto!" [Thanks! See you soon!] ' Più presto que ne pensi...' [Sooner than you think] Vinyl thought, her helmet hiding her huge grin, before moving off and getting out of sight at the next intersection.
"Octavia? Octavia, is that you?"
Octavia heard a familiar voice calling her from behind. She turned around and saw a girl about her age with shoulder long, wavy, brown hair.
"Beatrice!" Octavia said with a big smile before heading to her friend. "It's so good to see you! How were your holidays?" She asked, hugging her friend.
"Forget my holidays and focus on what's important!" Beatrice said in hurry. "Who was that blue haired biker?" she asked excitedly. "Was that the boyfriend you found during the summer?"
Octavia blinked profusely at that last question. "Huh... First, that wasn't a boy. Second, I didn't find a boyfriend during the summer." Beatrice's enthusiasm dropped drastically after that answer. "And as for who she is, I'll wait for the others to get here. Because, knowing you as good as I do, you'll probably talk for everyone around and I don't like to repeat myself."
"Awww!" Beatrice sighed in defeat.
"Repeat what, Octavia?" another voice, masculine this time, chimed in with curiosity.
"Octavia, what's that you're wearing?" a feminine and lightly conceited voice asked with concern.
"I think it's a biker jacket, Viola'," a deep and calm masculine voice suggested.
"It's weird to see Octavia wearing such bright colors. I mean creamy white and light blue, that sure changes her from her usual black and grey!" a playful masculine voice chuckled.
"It seems like you didn't have to wait too long for your question, Beatrice!" Octavia sighed with a chuckle.
"Yay!" Beatrice shouted happily. "So, who was that woman biker?"
"What woman biker?" the four others asked simultaneously in confusion.
"In one word, she's a DJ!" Octavia said casually before starting her little tale about the DJ. "It all started when my father received a phone call from Photo Finish...."