//------------------------------// // Lunchtime // Story: Not a Monster // by Dreamscape //------------------------------// My first set of classes passed by without a problem, and rather quickly at that. Most of my time was spent churning out whatever homework I received before the class ended so I wouldn’t have to work on it later. When my mind wasn’t distracted with work, it wandered to the two friends I had already made. I was surprised by how well my quest to not be alone was going. Even more surprising was the fact that the friends I had made were both girls. Back home, I had a few closer acquaintances which were female, but no one I ever actually spent a good amount of time with. It was nice in a way, a good change of pace. The bell rang, signaling lunch. The other students had already packed their things and rushed out of the door the second the period ended. Being lost in my thoughts, I still had a notebook, papers, and writing utensils scattered across my desk. Sighing, I slowly packed my things. I had a feeling there was going to be a large line, and there was no point in rushing any longer. Everyone had ran to the cafeteria, already awaiting their food. The teacher watched me curiously as I stood up, probably not used to such activity from a student when it seemed like each and every one of them scattered at the sound of the bell. I gave her a smile, not wanting to talk, and quickly exited the classroom. My predictions were correct; the halls were absolutely silent besides the distant roar near the lunchroom. As I turned around a corner to reach it, I realized that the students hanging around outside of its wide doorways were actually a part of the lunch line. I grumbled at the horrid sight, wondering if I would even have time to eat my lunch once I had received it. Already bored by the thought of waiting, I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped in its passcode. No notifications, I had expected as much. I never had many friends, and the ones back home had most likely already forgotten about my existence. I accidentally tapped on my contacts and noticed Pinkie’s name. My finger hovered over the screen, wondering whether or not I should send her a text. I decided against it, realizing that she was likely busy chatting with however many hundreds of friends she had. Lunch was always the social hour in school after all. Besides, all I could think to say was, “Hey, what’s up?” I could be an extremely boring person sometimes. I looked away from my phone once I’d managed to enter the cafeteria. I gazed around at the nerve-wracking sea of students. I knew absolutely no one that I could see. I attempted to spot Pinkie’s bouncy hair, or Sunset’s beautiful crimson and gold locks; I came up with nothing. I had figured that because of the fact that I was so new, all eyes would be on me that day; they weren’t. I wanted to feel relieved by this revelation, but I wasn’t at all. It was as if I did not even exist; I was a ghost in a sea of life, ignored and alone. I turned back to my phone, wanting the world around me to stop existing as well. I lost myself in my mind or whatever I could find to occupy it on my phone. *** After what seemed like hours, I finally received my lunch. Then came the daunting task of finding a place to sit. After completing a more thorough scan of the cafeteria, I had finally spotted where Sunset Shimmer was sitting. Low and behold, Pinkie was with her as well. Sadly there were quite a few others girls I didn’t know, leaving no extra seat for me. Besides, I wasn’t sure I would feel comfortable sitting with all of the other girls I hadn’t met yet, but perhaps they were as friendly as Sunset and Pinkie. Growing impatient and nervous, I simply wanted to find a seat as quickly as possible. I happened to spot an empty table in the corner, and headed straight for it. As I took a seat and began to nibble at my food, I couldn’t help but stare at both Sunset and Pinkie across the way. It was hard to see their expressions at such a distance, but from what I could tell, all of the girls were simply chatting, laughing every now and again, and enjoying themselves. It would have been nice to be a part of, but I wasn’t sure how good of a conversationalist I could be. Our interests most likely were not even close to being the same. I would most likely sit there in silence. I would look to my food whenever one of them happened to gaze in my direction, but after so many close calls, I was finally spotted. My heart began to pound as I watched Sunset rise to her feet and begin heading in my direction. I eyeballed my food and anything else I could spot besides her, still pretending not to notice. “Hey, why are you sitting over here all alone?” I turned to face her as she rested her hands upon the table. “Oh, hey, Sunset. I just uh… I was thinking about sitting over there, but it looks like there’s nowhere to sit.” She chuckled. “Why don’t you just pull up a seat? If you don’t know any of the other girls, just sit next to me and I’ll introduce you, come on.” “Uh…” I mumbled nervously. “Maybe I’ll just stay. I do know Pinkie, but no one else.” “Yeah, but Pinkie knows everyone. Don’t you want to meet the others? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you sitting with them. I pondered the question as I sat tensely in my seat. Before I could come up with an answer, her hand wrapped around my wrist. “You’ll be fine, they don’t bite or anything,” she said with a laugh. She helped me up to my feet, and I grabbed both my plate and drink before I was pulled over to the table. Pinkie gasped with excitement as she saw my approach. “Hi again, new guy! What’s up?” she asked with the giddiest of grins. I watched with discomfort as the other girls looked me over curiously. “Yes, this is our newest student,” Sunset announced while she pulled up a chair beside her own. “I hope you don’t mind if he sits with us. He’s a bit shy, and having a hard time meeting people.” “Nah, it’s cool,” said a rather sporty looking girl with rainbow colored hair. She was leaning back upon her chair and resting her head against her hands. “Absolutely fine, dear,” said the fashionably dressed one with perfectly styled violet hair. I smiled at their acceptance as I set down my plate and scooted my chair up beside Sunset’s. “I’m shy too,” one said softly, brushing her long pink hair from her face to reveal a pair of large, beautiful teal eyes. “Um… I’m Fluttershy by the way.” “The name’s Rainbow Dash. Most everybody around here just calls me Dash or Rainbow though, sometimes RD. Whatever you want, I don’t really care,” the sporty one said with a shrug. “And I’m Rarity,” the fancy looking girl added, brushing a hand through her hair as if to add a sense of ambiance to the introduction. “I’m Applejack, pleasure ta meet ya,” said a freckled farm girl wearing a cowboy hat. I was surprised by how firm her grasp was as we shook hands. “And I’m Pinkie!” Pinkie chimed in, snorting with laughter. “But you already know that!” “So, how are your classes going so far? Have you had any problems?” Sunset asked in a kind tone, starting up a simple conversation so I wouldn’t feel any more awkward than I already was. “They’re all going fairly alright, I guess. I haven’t really had any problems, and even got most of my homework finished in class.” “Well, that’s good. I’ve actually been doing the same thing recently. It’s nice to get home after a long day and have so much free time, but… I don’t really ever do that much with it. Anyways, have you gotten to know anyone else besides us?” I could tell that her statement about not having much to do after school was something she did not mean to say. Her question was a valid one, and most likely a real concern of hers, but I knew it was being used to cover up what she had said. “Uh… not really,” I said with a shrug. “Well, remember, you always have me,” she said, giving me a comforting pat on the shoulder. “And me!” Pinkie added. “We still totally need to hang out sometime soon, really soon.” “You can hang out with any of us if you really want to. I know I wouldn’t mind, and I don’t think anybody else would either,” Rainbow said, giving me a soft smile. The others nodded their heads in agreement. “Thanks,” I said with a smile, an urge of excitement overcoming my anxiety. Each and every one of them was actually willing to spend time with me. I was completely and utterly amazed. These were some great girls, and I was overjoyed that I happened to meet them. “I’ll think about it; we can plan something.” “Just ask me if you want anybody else’s number, okay?” Pinkie said with a grin. “I’ll text them to ya!” I nodded my head and grinned. “Sounds great.” “It’s good to see you smiling,” Sunset said in a chipper tone. “I was a bit worried.” I was confused at first, but realized that I had not often been happy since I’d arrived. I had been acting somewhat mopey and depressed for the most part. The conversation petered off into nothing. I was unsure of exactly how I should respond, and it seemed as though Sunset had nothing else to say anyways. Losing their interest, the other girls turned to one another out of boredom, and easily formed a completely different subject to ramble on about. I had always been both a keen listener and observer, although I had a hard time making sense of so many small conversations at once. There was quite an interesting detail that I did happen to notice though. It seemed as though Sunset was trying her best to both comment on and become a part of any of the conversations. The others would respond to said comments, but quickly return to speaking with one another as if it was a private conversation. In no way were they doing this to be mean. It was a rather remarkable situation. Although Sunset Shimmer had a well-established position in their group, it seemed as if she were still an outsider, a newcomer. At first glance, they loved her as strongly as they did each other, but as I looked closer, it seemed as though it was a false cover. If my conclusion was correct, it was as if they had accepted her into their group as a charity effort of some form or another. As I had originally assumed, there was much more to the girl named Sunset Shimmer than she wanted to let off. The more time I would spend at the school, the more I would learn about her, whether it actually be from her or the others around me. The bell rang, shaking me from my thoughts. In a near dream like state, I grabbed my bag and dumped my tray as I attempted to recollect exactly where my next class was located, and for that matter, what my next class was.