Chapter One:
A Gentle Yellow
It was a moment that I was never to forget. It had been a night like any other. I was late, just like most nights. Mr. Peters was teaching the lesson that night. Like usual, when I had entered, I had manged to draw the attention of more of the students than I had wanted, and like usual, I had cast my eyes over the crowd to see who was there. There was Ben, the popular kid, over to the right in the front, with Rob, an old friend not too far from him. A cluster of girls that I didn't know sat in the corner, as well as several men lining the wall to my right. In the center sat Caitlin, another old friend, along with a few others. To my left I saw several faces that I knew, but could not recall the names that attached to them. Not unusual. Finally, my eyes drifted to the far left corner. There sat 6 young women, most of whom I placed in their early to mid twenties. Normally, I would have dismissed the group as visitors and taken my seat next to a friend. That is, until I saw the one seated at the end. I paused, only for a moment, long enough to take in her general appearance, but not long enough to be caught staring. Quickly casting my gaze to an empty spot next to Rob, I made my way there and sat down.
“Hey man,” Rob whispered, “how're you doin?”
Her hair was pink... “Uhh...distractingly” I responded.
“Really?” Rob asked, “Why's that?”
She was yellow, that is, her dress was yellow... “Uh, I'll tell ya after the lesson.” I whispered back.
She sat at the end of the row of what I assumed were her friends. One of them was well dressed, well groomed and well mannered. Another was clearly a country girl, at least, that's what the large cowboy hat, leather boots, and overalls said to me. The third in the row was clearly a nerd, if not a bit of a goth or punk. She had black hair that had a solid stripe of pink running it's long length. Next to her sat a mildly bored gal who was clearly there for the gym. She sat with a disinterested look, arms crossed, and hair dyed the colors of the rainbow (which was cut short). A true tomboy if I had to guess, almost the opposite of the one next in line. Decked in pink and light pastels head to toe, she sat with cell in hand, texting with the speed of a demon. Her hair was poofy, everywhere, and very, very pink. But it was not her pink hair that had made me pause.
The last of the 6 sat quietly, staring intently at Mr Peters. Her hair was long, almost to her waist. She wore a simple, modest yellow dress, with a light jacket. Granted, what I assumed to be her friends, were cute in their own rights. She however, possessed a simple, yet elegant beauty. She was unassuming, and I could tell, inherently shy. It was strange. I had never considered myself to be the sort of man to consider physical attraction. But there was something about her. Yes she was pretty, but there was something deeper than that. Something deeper than her eyes, her hair (which I must admit, I do have something of a weakness for pink hair), or even her shy demeanor. I know shy when I see it, I had spent many, many years bound by its chains (which chains, though smaller and lighter, I am yet still ensnared with), and she was a classic case. But yet, there was a layer there. Something underneath it.
Mr. Peters' lesson was about the same as it always was. Informative, if not a bit too focused at parts. One of the visiting girls, who's name was apparently Twilight (at that point I was sure she was a goth nerd), answered question after question. I could tell she was rather proud of her rather extensive knowledge. Yet, whenever she spoke, the other 5 always seemed to give her their attention. They were close. Again, I could tell. They were comfortable around each other, and often whispered to one another. Well, three of them anyway. The one named Twilight, her well groomed friend, and the one who my mind would not abandon despite my efforts, kept to themselves for the most part. From time to time I would cast a glance over to the curious group. And each glance would end with me looking at her. I had no idea that pink and yellow worked so well with each other! I shook my head. I both loved and hated talking to shy people. I loved bringing them out of their shell, but sometimes what was inside was...unfortunate. I hoped that perhaps I would get to see what she would be. That is, if she would be pleasant, or a bitter memory.
The lesson ended, and as usual, I got up and began to make a bee line to the cafe for some refreshments. Then the voice came. That little voice in the back of my head that tells me what it is that I really want to do. The same little voice that tells me, in no uncertain terms, that ignoring it will end in guilt. The voice made me think of her, the one at the end. It told me that I should go to her right away, and that I should introduce myself. I shuttered at the thought. But, knowing how tenacious that voice could be, I halted by the door way, and turned around. I decided to take a moment and see what she was like amongst her friends. I was unsurprised to see that they first began talking only amongst themselves, but then the more sociable ones began talking to other people. I knew then that they were the ones I had little interest in. They blended in rather quickly, with the athlete dashing off to the gym's court for some basketball (it was tradition for several of the students to unwind with a game or 10 after class). The others began chatting with just about every one they could. All of them, save one.
She sat there,staring off into the distance. I could see it in her eyes, she wanted to go, but was too nice to say any-
“Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours?” both my line of thoug- “Oooh! Who's this?” -ht and eyesight were interrupted by the young lady with demonic texting abilities. Glancing behind me, I saw Caitlin standing there with a look of surprise.
“Uh, her name's Caitlin. And my name's Taylor, what did you say your name was again?” I responded.
“Pinkie Pie!” she answered, an odd name to be sure.
“Pinkie Pie?”
“Yep! Well, my ACTUAL name is Pinkamina Diane Pie, but everyone just calls be Pinkie for short! I mean, could you imagine what it would be like if I had to run around and that that name to everyone I meet? It would take SOOO long just to introduce myself to anyone, and it would be SO boring, not to mention how annoying it would get! I mean, could you imagine if I had said that? You'dve been like, this girl is sooooo boring, and has a really long name. So, I just shorten to Pinkie so that everyone doesn't have to say my full name!”
If my face had to be expressed in text language, it would be a capital O, a period, followed by a small o. That is, my internal face, for I didn't want her to see my sudden confusion. Her sudden barrage of information, which was at a speed to match her texting, was overwhelming. Caitlin, however, was giggling, as was Pinkie. Confused, I looked between the two, causing them to laugh even more.
“What? What is it?” I asked.
“It's-it's-it's your face!” Pinkie managed between laughs. Even more confused, I turned to Caitlin, who began to laugh even harder. It was about this time when it finally dawned on me; my 'internal' face had become my external face.. I found myself almost wishing I had a mirror to look at.
“Ah, you know, I think you've won this round. Well done. Well done...” and with that, I stepped to the side, omitting myself from the conversation. At least, that was the hope. Quickly, before the moment passed, I slipped past my bubbly pink barrier, leaving her to speak with Caitlin. I began to make assumptions. She was going to be awkward, she was going to be hard to talk to, she would have nothing interesting to say, I would just spend the whole time talking, amongst other thoughts. One thing was for sure, she was open for conversation.
Behind me I could hear the laughter of Caitlin, coupled with Pinkie's. In front of me however, sat her quite friend. Swallowing my fears, and gathering my courage, I spoke: “Hi there, my name's Taylor.”
She looked up at me, locking her gaze with mine. Blue-green. Her eyes were blue-green. “Oh, um,” she looked down, and fidgeted with her hands a little. “Hi.”
It was unusual for someone to not give their name after giving them yours, but that was alright. “So, how long did it take for you to get here?” She was quiet. Conflicted, I was unsure whether or not to press the issue. On the one hand, I wanted to hold her like a father would her cowering daughter and reassure her that there was nothing to be afraid of. On the other hand, I wanted to run and hide. Unsure, I stood there.
“Hey there Fluttershy, who's this?” came a heavy southern accent from behind me. I turned my head, and she lifted hers.
“Oh! Hey Applejack. We...um..I...um...well...” she had started.
With a chuckle, this Applejack turned to me, “This here's Fluttershy. She's right and shy, but a nice gal all the same. What's your name?” she asked sticking her hand out.
Taking it I responded, “Uh, my name's Taylor, and your name is Applejack?” The strength and vigor of her handshake caught me off guard.
“Yeah huh! But y’all can call me AJ, everybody else does!” If one thing could be said about AJ, she was not afraid to be friendly.
Checking to be sure I heard her right, “AJ?”
“Yep” she simply answered.
“Well, alright AJ, where y’all from?” I asked, rather curious as to the origins of such a uniquely named group of young ladies came from.
“Eh heh heh, That's a long story right there you see. Basically, you can say we're from New York City.” she said.
I cast a glance towards Fluttershy, she was looking off to the side. She was the one I really wanted to talk to. Nothing against AJ, but she was not shy, and having been shy myself, I always felt the desire to understand the shy ones.
“New York you say?” I started, “What brought you all down here...”
The rest of the evening was filled with the usual small talk and laughter. I learned from conversing with the others that AJ was indeed a country girl, and that she had moved in with some relatives for the time being to help them with their farm. Rarity, the well dressed and groomed one, had come down from New York to research what people in this part of the country were wearing. Apparently she ran her own fashion boutique in the Big City. Pinkie Pie was here for a bakery apprenticeship, and apparently she already had a huge network. Twilight was here for school, she was apparently going for a PHD in teaching, sociology, biology, and auto-mechanics (one can get a PHD in auto-mechanics?), just to name a few. Rainbow Dash (technically her name was Rain Dash, with her middle name being Bow), as she was called, was apparently here studying to become a meteorologist. Though it looked as though she seemed more interested in sports. Apparently, they were all living near each other just about 40 minutes outside of town.
Fluttershy however, was here to become a vet. It had come as something of a small surprise. Truth be told, I would have expected her to be a nursing major. Given her quite nature, and the gentle demeanor that she gave off, I figured her perfect for that job. She had a peaceful aura about her, and a natural beauty. He hair was well maintained, and her clothing simple and modest. I shook my head. The road. I needed to focus on the road. I was driving home at this time, running the events of the evening through my head, but each time it just ended up with her. Like a bad driver, my mind kept drifting to those thoughts.
The drive home had been, much like every night, quite and full of techno music. Even walking into my home, with the customary declaration of my arrival, met with with the typically unenthusiastic greeting of 'hello', was all normal and par the course; save her. Upon walking up the stairs to the higher level of the home, I toyed with the idea of telling my roommate about her, but decided against it. I quietly peeked into his room to see what he was up to, then retired for the night.
The week had passed with little excitement. Each day had been much the same; awake at noon or 1pm, shower, pasta for breakfast, video games, work (always the closing shift), fast food if Tuesday (payday), more pasta, more video games, then sleep. DnD over the weekend, church on Sunday, work in the evening. Then more and more of the same. It was a rhythm that I had grown accustom to. A rhythm of comfort, that had been shattered. Over and over again, my mind would drift to her pink hair, that yellow dress, those blue-green eyes (why, oh why did blue-green have to be one of my favorite colors?!?). I found myself begging to worry. What worried me most however, was the fact that I found that I had taken a liking to thinking about her. It was so strange, thinking about her was...guilt free. Wholesome, almost … rig-no. I couldn't get into a relationship. I didn't want to get into a relationship. I couldn't afford to do so! The last thing I wanted was … I didn't even know. This was always a ground that I loathed to tread upon.
Therefore, as a result, the drive to class was a long, and dreadful one. On the one hand, I wanted to see her and my other friends, but on the other, I feared what may come about if we talked again. I hoped, almost prayed that for some reason, she would not be there tonight. But then again, I tried to tell myself, perhaps we could just be friends. There was no need to become anything deeper than that. Inside, I could feel the conflict, and I knew which side was winning. It was a weak front, but I tried anyway.
As was normal, I was about 20 minutes late. And, as was normal, I walked in through the door in the rear of the classroom, and as usual, drew the eyes of a few people. Without my control, and against my will, my eyes immediately shot to the spot where she had been sitting last week. A mixture of both fear and hope filled my chest. In a single moment, I would know if she had come, and in a single moment, I would know where my focus would be, and in a moment, I would know what power held my heart...