//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Only in Fairy Tales // by chuck-vic-norris //------------------------------// Chapter 1 Highways were filled to the brim with cars as families returned to their homes to prepare for the upcoming school year. Stores throughout the city of Manehattan held “Back to School” sales, and children and teens were trying to savor the last few days of summer break. For Manehattan High School, parents and students were filling out countless forms and waiting in line for forms and class schedules. The line stretched from the main entrance of the school multi-purpose room to the back of the building. It was barely passed breakfast and the line hardly ever moved. The wait seemed to have no end until the line was split into two roughly twenty minutes later. The new line began in another entrance on the other side of the building. In one line stood Vinyl and Lyra. In the other stood Octavia and Symphony. Unlike the rest of the people, the four students had gotten the forms prior to today. With Vinyl and Lyra participating in football again, a doctor’s physical form was required and the two requested the rest of the school forms. With Octavia and Symphony, they were assigned homework during the summer for several college level courses, and therefore were given the forms prior to the other students. Neither pair was aware of the presence of the other. Octavia and Symphony showed great patience by making nary a sound. The opposite could be said otherwise about Vinyl and Lyra. Vinyl stood in complete boredom, leaning against the wall and listening to her iPod. Lyra stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her foot tapping on the ground impatiently. When they first arrived in line, they greeted each other with a hug that could rival a bear. The two began conversation, catching up with one another after the summer vacation. After reminiscing the memories of their temporary freedom, they were quiet, feeling calm in the silence while in each other’s presence. It took two minutes for the silence to become unbearable for Lyra. “Ugh, seriously? How long does it take to give someone a piece of paper?!” Lyra said in frustration. She heard someone chuckle and gave a deadly glare to Vinyl. The blue-haired jockey merely shook her head at the gesture, smirking all the while. “You wanted to get something to eat on the way.” Vinyl said while looking through her songs. “Hey! It’s not my fault you didn’t wake me up earlier.” Lyra maintained her glare though couldn’t help but let loose smile. “I had to resort to spraying you with water to get your ass up.” Vinyl said with a deadpanned face expression. “And you didn’t think to do that first, asshole?” Lyra smirked. Vinyl shook her head and chuckled at the retort. After choosing a song, she placed her iPod back into her pocket. When she looked up at the line, she noticed the front began to move. “Looks like the lines moving.” “Ugh, finally, some progress!” Lyra said while waving her arms in an exaggerated manner, ignoring the irritated looks of the people behind her. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Do you think the line will move quicker soon?” Symphony asked with an uneasy tone. “I am beginning to get hungry.” “Likewise, Symphony. Now I am wondering how giving a piece paper to students is time consuming.” The last sentence was said with irritation. Despite their minds having great patience, the string players’ bodies were no longer willing to wait for the line to shorten, their stomachs begging for a meal. Why did we not think of snacks?! the two mentally yelled as time began to slow down, each minute feeling closer to an hour. “It is tempting to leave this line and come back later.” Symphony grumbled. “Leaving now would mean waiting longer later.” Octavia replied frowning all the while at the front of the line. Move you little b— As if Celestia heard their pleas, the front began to move. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Name, please.” the school councilor said in an impatient tone. Yeesh, who pissed in your coffee? “Vinyl Scratch and Lyra Heartstrings.” The councilor merely grunted and sifted through the file. Vinyl faced Lyra, both raising eyebrows at each other. I know vacations are pretty much over but there’s no need to be an a— “I have ‘Heartstrings’ here, but ‘Scratch’ is in another file since she falls under ‘P-Z’.” The councilor picked up a small blank piece of paper and wrote on it. “Hand this over to the other councilor and she’ll give you your schedule.” “Thanks, I guess?” Another grunt. Hope you aren’t a bitch this year both Vinyl and Lyra thought as they made their way to the other line. The second line appeared to be endless, looking more as if the people were one-by-one being processed in juvenile hall. Vinyl couldn’t help but whistle at the impressive length. “Good luck getting through that, I ain’t standing in line again.” Lyra said as she took her phone out to play a game. “You’re such a great friend.” Vinyl deadpanned with an annoyed look at her friend. Vinyl closed her eyes and sighed in frustration, already exhausted from the long wait in the previous line. She opened her eyes and took another pained look at the intimidating length of the second line. Screw it, I’m not waiting another ten years for a damn piece of paper. Steeling herself, Vinyl made her way to the front of the line. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Name please?” “Octavia Philharmonica.” Octavia stood impatiently waiting for her schedule, ignoring the low grumble her stomach gave off. While thankful it was not loud enough to be heard by others, she knew it was only a matter of time before the growl would grow. “Here you are, Octavia. May the rest of your vacation be well.” Although the councilor smiled, it did not quite reach her eyes. “Thank you, and to you as well.” Octavia gave a small nod. The wait finally over, she turned to join Symphony who stood to the side reviewing her schedule. Octavia decided to review her own schedule as well to ensure she was enrolled in the classes she requested. Finally, at least now we can ea— The thought was interrupted when she collided with someone, eliciting a squeak from the cellist. Symphony jumped at the sound and what she saw made her blood run cold. Sweet Celestia, Octavia, no… ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Great Faust, those eyes… Octavia couldn’t help but be stricken by the surprised cerise eyes. She couldn’t help but feel as if they were familiar to her. Quickly the surprised eyes turned amused. “Haha, looks like we met again.” The owner of the eyes said with a hint of playfulness. Wait… VINYL?! Broken out of her stupor by the jock’s voice, Octavia took a moment to step back and look carefully at who she ran into. There was no mistaking the short two-toned blue hair. While the red and gold letterman jacket was replaced with a white leather jacket, the person underneath was the same football player who came to her aid Junior year. “You know, if you keep bumping into me like that, I might just recommend you for the team.” Vinyl chuckled. Warmth began to creep up Octavia’s neck, flustered by the jock’s comment. “O-Oh, I really don-” The stomach roared its anger from the poor cellist, a blush of embarrassment flooding across her face. “Hahaha, déjà vu.” Vinyl chuckled. She reached into her pants pocket and furnished out a snack. “You’re lucky I brought some food with me.” She said with a smile as she handed it out to Octavia. “T-thank you, Vinyl.” Octavia managed to stutter through her blush. “It’s no problem.” Vinyl said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a figure that stood still. Octavia followed her gaze to find Symphony frozen as a statue. “I’m assuming that’s your friend, Octavia?” Vinyl arched an eyebrow, smirking all the while. “Yes, her name is Symphony.” “I’d say hi but she looks as if she’ll break if I step any closer.” Vinyl chuckled. “There’s two granola bars in there, one for you and one for her.” Vinyl closed the distance between her and Octavia and boldly hooked an arm around her shoulder. Octavia froze at the touch, her eyes snapping up to Vinyl’s less than a second later. “I hope for your sake there isn’t a repeat of what happened with Lightning Dust. Let me know if she causes you more trouble.” Vinyl said, offering a gentle smile. Octavia’s breath hitched at the tender look Vinyl gave her. She couldn’t help but return the smile, albeit a shy one. It didn’t register to her the close proximity until Vinyl gave a gentle squeeze of her shoulders. “Thank you, Vinyl.” Octavia could have been mistaken for a tomato. With a nod, Vinyl removed her arm, offering a smile and a nod to Symphony as she turned to exit. Octavia’s eyes followed Vinyl as she left the building, her blush slowly fading. She turned to face Symphony only to find her slack-jawed. “What…” Octavia couldn’t help but giggle at her friend’s expression, not in the least surprised she would be speechless from the encounter. The cellist handed a bar to the violinist who took it without another word. Symphony could only look at the bar, still stunned that nothing bad had happened. It wasn’t until a minute later when she finally took a bite, sedating her stomach’s hunger for the time being. When Octavia believed her friend would be able to function again, she motioned for the two to head for the exit. Symphony quietly followed, trying to have her thoughts organized. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lyra could only gape at her best friend during the interaction. She didn’t know whether to be impressed that Vinyl managed to communicate with Octavia or be jealous. She could have easily been mistaken for a statue. It wasn’t until Vinyl was two feet from her did she finally break from her stupor. “Dude, teach me your ways.” Lyra grabbed Vinyl by the collar of her jacket, eyes wide like that of a madman. “All I did was talk.” Vinyl said, startled by her friends sudden movements. “Well fucking teach me how to talk to her.” Lyra said in desperation. Vinyl cocked an eyebrow while removing Lyra’s hands from the collar of her jacket. “Dude, seriously? You’re better at talking than I am.” Vinyl said indignantly. As much as she loved her friend, she couldn’t help but have the urge to smack her. “This is different.” Lyra sneered. “You whore, how is this different?” Vinyl’s patience began to wear thin. “This is Octavia fucking Philharmonica! Lead Cellist of Orchestra? You need like, VIP to get to talk with her!” Lyra exclaimed, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. “She’s a student, not a princess.” Vinyl snapped back. “Look, I just want to see if she’s willing to play music with me!” Lyra nearly shouted. “‘Play music,’ huh? Sounds like someone has ‘blue cunt.’” Vinyl smirked devilishly. “Shut. Up.” Lyra hissed. “Look, if you really want to talk to her, just do it. Worst that can happen is she’s scared shitless and runs away.” Vinyl shrugged. “Which is why I want you to talk to her. It doesn’t look like she’s afraid of you and is more willing to talk to you. Come to think of it,” The edges of Lyra’s mouth curled up, her grin mimicking the Cheshire Cat, “she’s been acting a little flustered around you." “Don’t even go there.” Lyra stilled at the response. Vinyl’s eyes were closed, her posture appearing calm and collected, a nearly complete contrast to her voice. Vinyl’s tone was dripping with rage, despite the words being spoken in a soft whisper. Lyra remained frozen. Any irritation she held previously vanished and was replaced with sadness and tenderness. “Vinyl…” Her voice was soft and carried a drop of concern. “You know how I can be, and you know I don’t intentionally hurt.” She placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, the tension underneath slowly releasing. “I didn’t mean to sound like an ass.” Vinyl hung her head, guilt forming in the pit of her stomach. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overrea—” “I’m sorry. I should have remembered how you are when it comes to having feelings for someone…” Lyra’s hand slid down to her friends arm, rubbing with affection as if reassuring a child. “You don’t have to talk to her for me, I’ll just talk if I see her.” “Even if I were to talk to her, I wouldn’t know where she hangs out.” Vinyl sighed. “… Come on, let’s get some lunch.” Lyra suggested, changing the subject as they began to walk towards the school parking lot. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The walk leaving the school campus was unusual. Though the two string players would not usually speak unless spoken to, there was awkwardness subtly present. Why, Octavia did not know. It wasn’t until Symphony spoke when her question was answered. “It… it would seem that I was wrong about my assumptions of Vinyl Scratch.” Now that was surprising. Octavia halted, making Symphony stop as well. Symphony was actually admitting to being wrong. Octavia’s jaw dropped at the admittance. Symphony took the cellist’s silence as for her to continue. “I apologize for not believing you, but I was just so worried you would get hurt. We are not athletic, and they are capable of lifting the two of us with one arm.” Fear dripped from each word, her voice hitching near the end. Octavia’s eyes snapped towards her friend, the scared tone catching her off guard. Understanding washed over Octavia. There was no question the football players were the strongest of the students. The sport required the players to do heavy weight lifting outside of practice if only to avoid being crushed in the games. Still, the fact that Vinyl chose to protect me… “I can understand your fear, especially after what had happened with Lightning Dust.” The young cellist placed a comforting hand on the violinist’s shoulders, noting the slight tremors. “But please give Vinyl a chance. After how I ran into her, she had the perfect opportunity to… She means no harm, there is no need to be afraid of her.” Symphony made no movements. Octavia could feel her hunger returning though she ignored it in favor of easing her friend’s concern. Before the cellist could say anything, the violinist took a deep breath, sighing in resignation. “Very well, perhaps Vinyl is different from the other football players.” Symphony offered a small smile, one Octavia greatly returned. Before either could speak, two growls emerged from their stomachs. The string players couldn’t help but release embarrassed giggles, suddenly remembering their hunger. “Why not stop by a café for a snack? We can have lunch at my place.” Symphony suggested. “Very well, we can take a look at our schedules along the way.” Octavia nodded. It was an unspoken agreement that the two string players would walk together to classes. Though they had only met their freshman year, their similar interests in music helped develop their friendship. And walking together provided a lesser chance of being harassed by certain students. As Symphony glanced at Octavia’s schedule, she couldn’t help but notice a specific class. “You are assisting for Beginner’s Orchestra?” “I do not want to forget the basics, and I find that the best way to master a skill would be by teaching others.” Octavia explained. Symphony could only nod as they left the campus grounds. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “So, where to?” Vinyl asked as she buckled up in her car. “Some place with greasy food. I want to eat what I can before tryouts.” Lyra pouted. Vinyl chuckled at her friends misery. After making sure Lyra was buckled, she started the engine and headed to the streets. Along the drive, Vinyl recalled a certain piece of paper containing her classes. “Hey, Heartstrings. Can you read me my schedule? It’s in my right jacket pocket.” “Sure.” After fumbling through the pocket, Lyra managed to find the sneaky slip of paper. “Alright, so your crazy ass has AP Calculus, AP Physics, Weights, an—” All that could be heard was the music playing, the sound of the car’s engine, and the whizzing of passing cars. Vinyl knew why her friend froze without even glancing her way. All she did was tighten her grip on the steering wheel, steeling herself for the next question. “Vinyl… Does this mean…” Vinyl tensed at the words. Even when she knew what was asked, it stilled brought unwanted memories. Whoever said time heals all wounds had never experienced what she had. Attempting to relax herself, Vinyl released a heavy sigh, relieving only a fraction of the tension. “I don’t know if it’ll happen… but I need to try… It may have been four years, but it still might be too soon for me...” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The school bell echoed throughout the halls, signaling the end of lunch. Students scrambled to find their class, referring to their schedules for the first day. Octavia, on the other hand, took a head start by walking a few minutes before the bell rang. Symphony decided to accompany her, her next class being in the same general direction. At some point, they broke off, each heading to their appropriate room number. As Octavia turned down a hall, she took a quick glance at her schedule, ensuring she was headed to the correct classroom number. Upon arrival, she was greeted by a room exploding with music posters featuring the geniuses of the classical world. In the back of the class stood several violin and cello cases, a few clarinet and trombone cases, a tuba, and a large harp. Near the front of the class sat the teacher of the course in her desk, looking through list of students for the class. As if sensing Octavia’s approach, the teacher looked towards the door, smiling at the cellists arrival. “Ah, Miss Philharmonica. You’re early.” “Good afternoon, Mis—” Her words were cut off by the sound of the school bell. The teacher gestured towards a desk near the front. “You may set your belongings here while the students arrive.” Octavia nodded as she made her way towards the desk, allowing herself to sit down and relax for the time being. Chaos could be heard from the hall, students stampeding through as they hurried to their next class for the day. One by one students entered the room, most being freshman with a few sophomores mixed in as well. As the last student walked in, the school bell rang again, signifying the beginning of class. “Good afternoon students, I am Ms. Clearnote. I hope you’ve had a pleasant first day so far. For now, allow me to just give a brief summary of what to expect from the class. If you have any questions or difficulties grasping the materials throughout the year, you may refer to me or my teacher assistant, Miss Octavia Philharmonica.” The small amount of sophomores gasped and murmured in excitement at the idea of Octavia being their aid for the class. Octavia sported subtle blush at some of the compliments being whispered. “I have another TA for this class, though it seems she is-” “Here! I’m here!” A sudden voice boomed. Everyone including the teacher snapped their heads towards the door, gazing at the panting student making their way towards the teacher’s desk. “Sorry I’m late, the Football coach wanted to speak with me about the upcoming tryouts.” The sophomores murmured even more, completely surprised at who the second teacher’s assistant was. If Octavia had less self-control, her lower jaw would have met the floor in greeting. However, she couldn’t resist slightly blushing and widening her eyes at the all too familiar blue hair and cerise eyes. Great Faust… Ms. Clearnote sighed. “I’m assuming this will be happening all year. Very well, but since you’re late, why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?” The student chuckled but faced to the rest of the students.“Alright then. What’s up everyone? Name’s Vinyl Scratch, and I’m the TA for this class.”