//------------------------------// // Message Received // Story: Wrong Number // by Harmony Charmer //------------------------------// Sonata didn't like chemistry class. She had learned that back when she started school a couple weeks ago, and there hadn't been anything to change her opinion on the matter. Especially chemical formulas. She wasn't a big fan of those, either. "Sonata, take that pencil off of your lips," Aria hissed from behind her, pointing at the pencil that Sonata had balanced on her pouted lips. Sonata frowned, her change in expression causing the pen to fall. "But I'm so boooored." She laid her chin on her folded arms. "I kinda wanna take a nap." "Welcome to the club," Aria replied, and Sonata could tell she was rolling her eyes. Sonata glanced back to see Aria jerk her thumb to the right. "But, you know what happens to people who sleep in class." Sonata looked to where Aria was gesturing and she saw Rainbow Dash sleeping on her desk, her mouth agape as she snored lightly. Drool pooled around her mouth, coupled with a small snot bubble growing and receding in size with every breath she took. Bits of paper balls were strewn around her, some in her hair, some in her clothes, and others on her face. Sonata watched with fascination as people tossed bits of paper towards her, snickering silently as they grew dangerously close to rousing Dash from her nap. Aria smirked. "Bet money someone gets one in her mouth." Sonata frowned at her. "That's gross, Ari." "Hey, quiet back there!" the teacher interjected, looking up from the board. He let out an annoyed grunt as he returned to writing, rolling his eyes in annoyance as he grumbled to himself. Sonata recoiled a bit. "Besides, Mr.Sombra doesn't like it when we take naps in his class..." Aria scoffed a bit. "Yeah, but it's not like he does anything about it." "Shh!" said a voice from beside them. "You'll get in trouble!" Aria rolled her eyes again. "Whatever, Shutterfly. Go back to taking notes." Fluttershy frowned, but she did as Aria said and returned to her notes, her brows furrowed in worry. Sonata looked to Fluttershy in wonder, a small part of her brain trying to make sense of how she was able to focus in class so easily. "So, what do I do, then?" Sonata whispered, her eyes cutting back to Aria. "I'm not gonna need any of this stuff, so why bother?" Aria shrugged. "I dunno. You could play on your phone or something?" Sonata shook her head rapidly. "I'll get in trouble." Aria shrugged once more, and it made Sonata want to grab her shoulders so she wouldn't do it again. "Who cares? Not like it matters, anyway." Sonata bit her lip anxiously at that. She knew that Aria or Adagio weren't fans of returning to school for education, despite the fact they had done so before. "Yeah, but, like, a hundred years ago," Sonata remembered telling them. "Stuff has happened since then! Like,what if gravity stopped being a thing?!" "Then why don't you go jump off a cliff and find out?" Aria had said back, rolling her eyes. Sonata winced in remembrance of how she decided to fall out of her computer chair as an experiment, her hand instantly going to grab her elbow. 'That wasn't my brightest moment...' she mused, her eyes flicking behind her to make sure that Aria wasn't paying her any mind. Not that Aria could read her mind, but she always had a way of knowing what Sonata was thinking about. A small ding! came from Sonata's bag, making her jump a bit. She looked around, then sighed a bit in relief as she saw no one was looking at her. She carefully slipped her hand into her bag, then slipped her phone into her hand and put it on her lap. She looked up to make sure if Mr.Sombra was still writing on the board, then glanced down at the phone screen, careful not to move her head too much so it wouldn't make her actions obvious to others. Sonata arched a brow as her eyes fell across a notification on her messages. 'Who texted me?' She looked up again, saw that Mr.Sombra was still too busy teaching to notice her, then looked down at her phone again and tapped on the message center. "Hey, im havin trouble finding the resturant," the text said. "which strt did u say it was on." Sonata blinked, her eyes scanning the foreign number briefly before returning to the text itself. She looked up at Mr.Sombra, then quickly tapped her fingers on the screen, careful not to let her nails touch it. "which restaurant is it," Sonata texted back, not taking a moment to question why she shouldn't ask. There wasn't a reply for a moment, then a small ding! came from her phone. Sonata took a moment to silence her ringer before opening the message. "who is this." "sonata," she replied, then paused to add. "what restaurant is it." Again, it took a moment for a reply to appear. "sugarcube corner." Sonata smiled a bit, then happily clicked away. "i have a friend that works there. she's not there now, but she'll be there later. it's down the road from canterlot high. are u meeting someone." This time, the text came back quicker. "no. im trying to do an interview. what ur friends name." "pinkie pie. she's really nice and she likes parties. tell mr and mrs cake i said hi." "Hey!" a voice shouted, causing Sonata to jump. Sonata looked up in horror to see Mr.Sombra coming down the row, a stern look on his face. Sonata slipped her phone under her thigh, careful not to look suspicious as she did. However, she wasn't the one in Mr.Sombra's sights. Mr.Sombra stomped right past her, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at a sleeping Rainbow Dash. Then, Sonata, and everyone who hadn't been paying attention, jumped in collective shock as he dropped a textbook on her desk. "Gah!" Dash exclaimed, a string of drool running from her mouth to her desk. Bits of paper balls rained from her hair and littered the desk and floor, causing some students to snicker. They didn't last long, however, when Mr.Sombra sent them glares. "Detention," Mr.Sombra said. "After school. 3:30. Don't be late." Dash frowned. "Ain't my fault you're class is boring." "Two days." Dash gaped. "No way!" "Three. Wanna make it four?" Dash bit her lip. "No." "Alright, four it is." Sonata sighed a bit and she looked forward as Mr.Sombra walked past her, leaving a grumbling Dash. She then slipped her phone back into her bag, her hands clasping together to resist the urge to take it out again. Looks like texting would have to wait until later. * * * It wasn't until lunchtime when Sonata got a chance to use her phone again. She sat down at the table with the other girls, Aria and Adagio included, though the latter seemed less enthusiastic about being around the group who had taken their powers away. Sonata had merely stopped caring enough to be bothered by it. That, and she really liked hanging around Pinkie Pie. "hey, thnks for the directions," the text said. Sonata frowned as she scrolled through and found that the sender had sent another just moments after the last. "hello? any1 there?" Sonata sighed a bit and she clicked at the phone. "was in class. almost got in trouble. how did the interview go." A moment passed and a text appeared. "it didnt. they said i could come back later." "that sucks. i can get pinkie to talk to them for you." "no, but thanks anyway. i got another interview at another place." Sonata smiled and she giggled as she wrote her next text. "do you know where it is this time." There was almost an audible silence as Sonata awaited for a response and it didn't take long to hear the magical ding! come from her phone. "haha, very funny." She giggled at the silly emoticon that went with it. "Who are you texting?" asked a voice, causing Sonata to jump and nearly drop her phone. She turned to see Aria take a seat next to her, a confused look on the latter's face. "Probably some boy she met," Adagio commented taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. "What's his name?" Sonata shrugged. "Dunno." She returned to her phone, then starting clicking away. "hey whats ur name." Aria arched a brow. "Is 'he' even a 'he'?" Sonata shrugged. "Dunno." She started texting once more. "are u a boy or a girl. just curious." "What do you mean you don't know?" Adagio asked, raising a brow in confusion. "What's going on?" asked Sunset, who sat next to Adagio. Normally, Sonata would take a moment to wonder why Sunset was so adamant on sitting next to her. But, she was too busy waiting for a response from her mysterious sender. Adagio rolled her eyes. "Nata's talking to someone on the phone and she doesn't even know who it is." Sunset's brows furrowed. "Huh? You mean like online dating?" "At least you know someone's name in online dating," Aria muttered. "The one they chose, anyway." "Didn't know you were into online dating," Sunset teased, raising her brows. Adagio scoffed a bit. "Like she could ever get someone to go out with her." "Hey!" Aria objected, her face contorting in rage. Ding! "does it matter," the text said, the sounds of arguing suddenly becoming quiet to Sonata. Sonata visibly shrugged, then stopped when she realized they couldn't actually see her doing it. "not really. its cool either way." "Well, at least I can get a date," Sunset commented, causing Sonata to look up in confusion. "Literally no one wants to date you because of that stunt you pulled at the Fall Formal," Aria replied. "Wha-- I go on tons of dates!" "With who?" Adagio asked, intrigued. Sunset fidgeted under their gazes. "Models. Male... Models. Males who model." Adagio shrugged. "Whatever you say, Sunny." She returned her attention to Sonata. "So, who's your little friend there?" Sonata shrugged. "Dunno, but they're pretty nice. They're looking for a job and they applied for a job at Sugarcube Corner today!" Aria arched a brow. "Are you really making friends with a stranger because they texted you by mistake?" "Yeah, kinda," she replied, looking back at her phone. "I wonder what they're doing..." "Did you at least find out what their name is?" Adagio asked, ignoring Sonata's musing. "I don't think I'd be alright if you got kidnapped because of this." Sonata didn't look up from her phone as she replied to Adagio. "Yeah, well, they seem pretty nice. Pretty sure they don't know where I live, either." She paused, then started clicking away. "hey, do you know where I live." Ding! "uh, no. why would i, i only know your name." Sonata shrugged. "They said they didn't know!" Aria smacked her hand over her face. "Sonata, you are the absolute worst." Ding! "my other interview got cancelled. guess i don't have any plans for the day." "aw, that sucks. what are ya gonna do all day." Ding! "not sure. i might just hang out at my place and watch some TMZ or something." Sonata frowned. "that doesn't sound like a good use for a friday night." Ding! "it's whatever. it's not like i havnt seen every episode anyway." "no way! i'm not letting you waste your friday night! let's go do something!" Ding! "but i dont even know u." "who cares, we can hang out at sugarcube corner later." Ding! "ok, fine, i guess." Sonata looked up at Adagio. "Hey, can I go to Sugarcube Corner after school?" "Yeah, sure, why not," Adagio said dismissively, her attention on Sunset. "So, what, are any of these male models real or just products of your imagination?" "Hey!" Sunset protested, a blush going over her face. "ok, ill see you later. 4 a good time 4 u?" Ding! "yeah, ok, see u then." Sonata smiled to herself. "alright, it's a date!" * * * Along with not being a fan of chemistry, Sonata wasn't a fan of waiting. She had already managed to make origami out of napkins, ranging from small giraffes to small frogs that hopped when you flicked them just right. She had already slurped her water down, three times, actually, and had even chewed on the ice out of sheer boredom. That was nothing compared to the amount of times she had beaten 2048 on her phone, which was probably ranking in the high hundreds. She was definitely not a fan of waiting... Even if she hadn't been waiting that long. Ten minutes, to be exact. Sonata was already in the process of creating a new song by smacking two spoons together when the door to the bakery opened. A small ding from the bell reminded her of her text notification, and she instantaneously looked up in interest. A boy walked in, who looked about a year older than Sonata (not literally, since she was over 1000 years old). He turned in Sonata's direction, and his eyes widened a bit. "Are you Sonata?" Sonata nodded. "Uh-huh!" She pointed to seat across from her in the booth. "Hi! It's nice to meet you!" He sat down gingerly, his brows furrowing a bit. "You're a lot younger than I expected you to be." Sonata shrugged. "I'm a lot older than I look." 'About a thousand years older...' she added silently. The boy brushed his blond hair out of his face, his brilliant violet eyes coming into view. "So, are you a student? You look like a student." Sonata nodded. "Yep, I go to CH! What about you? You look like a student, too!" "Oh, so you're a Wondercolt?" he asked, avoiding her question. "I don't normally get to meet any of those, seeing as how I go to a different school." "What school do you go to?" Sonata asked. She messed with the napkin swan she had made and flapped its wings. "And what grade are you in?" "Mmm, consider us rivals, dear Sonata," he told her. "Plus, my grade doesn't matter. I wanna know more about you." Sonata pouted. "Aw, come on, I don't even know your name! Will you at least tell me what that is?" The boy waved a hand. "You've probably never even heard of me, anyhow." "Please?" Sonata jutted out her lower lip and widened her eyes. "Pretty please?" He sighed. "Alright, fine. I'm a writer for my school's newspaper. I control a column over fashion and underappreciated art." Sonata blinked. "Whoa, really? That sounds pretty cool!" He nodded. "I take the mundane, the simple, the unappreciated, and I make it relatable. I've submitted a couple of my works into magazines, but other than that, I have no real recognition." Sonata's eyes widened and then she squinted at him. "Wait a second..." She snapped her fingers. "You're Trenderhoof! Rarity talks about your columns for the Canterlot Inquiry all the time!" "Wait, really?" Trenderhoof blinked. "Wait a second... I think I know you, too! Tell me, are you Sonata Dusk, one of the singers from the Dazzlings?" Sonata faltered. "Oh... So you know about the Battle of the Bands?" "What, have I been living under a rock? I covered that story for the school paper!" He leaned forward in interest. "Tell me, where on earth did you get those outfits? I simply must know who did those designs!" She blinked. "Wait, so you're not weirded out by what happened?" Trenderhoof shook his head. "Not even a little! I find your initiative and style so intoxicating!" "Really?" Sonata questioned, a smile coming to her face. "Really!" Trenderhoof replied. Sonata smiled and she leaned forward in excitement. "Trendy, I think you and I are gonna be good friends!"