//------------------------------// // Poetry // Story: A High School Catastrophe // by Cyber Clash //------------------------------// And so, the next day came. Vinyl was heading out the door, kicking at random mushrooms that had grown from the heavy rain. She was glad she had decided to dress lightly; the day was very hot, unusual for the autumn season. The DJ skipped down the pavement, excited that tomorrow would be Friday. And since it was Thursday, she could pull an all-nighter and work on her music yet again. Vinyl always stayed up later on Thursdays, because she couldn’t care less about effort on Fridays. However, she had been having insomnia since the school year began. The girl had been going without sleep for up to five days every week. The only reason she never seemed tired was because she was used to it by now, and her shades hid the bags under her eyes. The girl arrived at her school and went into the music room. Octavia was sitting down at her desk, as she had, apparently, finished her work early. Neon and Lyra were in the closet, putting away some of the cleaning equipment. The young cellist saw her classmate and waved. Vinyl ran up quickly to her and leaned across her desk. The sudden movement made the desk squeak slightly and the cellist push back against her seat. Their faces were centimetres apart, “Hey,” Vinyl greeted sultrily. She pulled away, giving Octavia a chance to breathe and look her over: she wore a light blue top and white shorts that exposed much of her thighs. She wore revealing clothes so often to school that, eventually, the teachers stopped caring. Octavia then remembered what she had seen last night, and looked down, blushing, “H-hey…” “You’re a bit shyer than usual. Did you have a naughty dream about me last night?” she asked in a joking tone. “N-no, I didn’t… I simply found out that my parents don’t like homosexuals. I know it doesn’t concern me,” she lied, almost grimacing at her words, “but my mother was so rude about it.” “Ah, don’t worry about it. In time, they’ll probably come to their senses with that,” Vinyl reassured. Lyra finished her work and asked Octavia, “So what the hell was with that poem you wrote for English? Beauty kept raving about it to me. Is it that good?” “Ah, the poem! I’m so happy we get to present today!” Octavia grinned with excitement, as she remembered, “I’ve been working so hard on it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to be raving on it; I doubt it’s any good, really…” “What’s it about, Tavi?” Vinyl asked. “Oh, just an unrequited love poem. I was inspired by…a novel that I read,” the cellist lied once more. “Well, that’s cool, I guess. Mine is about death and stuff. I kind of just pulled words out of my arse, but I tried to do well, at least. How about you, Lyra?” the DJ asked. “I wrote mine about misery, and I helped Bon-Bon write about hatred.” Octavia was impressed, “Goodness, why are you all such sad people?” Vinyl shrugged, “Just a coincidence, probably. Besides, unrequited love is pretty sad, too.” You’re telling me… ”Well, Lyra, I invite you to give me your opinion on my work later in class, okay?” “Awesome, I bet it’s as good as Beauty Brass says. You know she’s never wrong on these things.” Mister Staccato walked in and class began. Octavia could hardly contain her excitement. I completely forgot that we’re going to present today! I’ll read my poem and Vinyl will listen to it! And maybe she’ll fall in love with me through my words, and she’ll ask me out and damn it, there I go again! I have to stop fantasising about her and assuming that one thing will lead to another. I doubt she’s even the type to fall in love through poetry anyway. Even with these thoughts, the black-haired girl still felt her heart beating loudly and quickly with excitement. Once she was off to English, she felt as though she could burst. Octavia struggled to contain herself, and with every passing second, she thought about Vinyl. Her classmates presented all types of poetry: limericks about nature, cinquains about hatred, haikus about death, and rispettos about misery. Finally, Octavia was called to the front by her teacher. She placed her papers on the podium and cleared her throat before reciting her poem: “I see you in the distance, But I don’t call your name. My thoughts have become repetitive And you’re the one to blame…” Octavia continued to recite her poem. When she had finished, everyone was quiet, in awe of her work. Then, the teacher began to clap, and the students did as well. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Frederic all smiled at her. She smiled back, and looked toward Vinyl. She was rubbing her eyes behind her glasses and stretching groggily. Was she…was she asleep the entire time!? Her smile faded in disappointment. I…I just poured out my heart for her, and she…didn’t even listen. How could she just fall asleep like that? How could she just pretend like this isn’t important? I wrote it for her! Octavia formed her mouth into a straight line. She bowed her head in appreciation of the applause and sat down. After class, a girl with blue and pink curls walked up to her in the halls, “Octavia, that was amazing!” “Thank you, Bon-Bon,” the angered Octavia responded bluntly. “So, did you write that for someone, or-“ “I’m sorry,” Octavia interjected, “but can we talk about this later, I just—I really need to spend my free period alone.” “Oh…okay.” Bon-Bon watched in confusion as the girl quickened her pace and darted down the hall leading to the music room. When she was inside the music room, Octavia grabbed her cello without any respect for the instrument and began to play strong angry notes. I can’t believe it! I technically just confessed my love to her and she just sleeps through it? ‘Oh, hey Tavi, don’t mind me; I’m just sleeping while you read your love poem you wrote for me!’ I worked so hard on it! I even cut time out of my studying for her, damn it! But no, apparently, I bored her to sleep with my emotions! Octavia’s notes began to slow down in sadness. Did I really bore her with my poem? Maybe she figured it wasn’t important and just fell asleep. I listened through her poem…I liked it, but maybe…maybe she would have been bored by mine. For all she knows, if she listened, she would have probably thought my poem was stupid. Vinyl would have never thought it was for her. She probably isn’t interested in love. Then she completely stopped playing in a painful realisation. What if…she wasn’t meant to hear my poem? What if she had heard it? Would she have felt disgusted if she figured out that it was for her? Maybe she wouldn’t have fallen in love with me, and would hate me instead…Does this mean that…we can’t be together? Is it impossible? Throughout the rest of the day, Octavia felt too many emotions to handle. She felt anger toward Vinyl, her foolishness, and destiny. She was disappointed in life and the DJ, and felt sad that she couldn’t tell anyone about her problem. The cellist knew she would eventually break, and it would not be pleasant. Everyone tried to ask her what was the matter, but she simply said that she was tired. Once all the students were walking home, Octavia excluded herself from the conversations, letting herself fall behind. Before leaving, Lyra gave Vinyl a small nod, signalling to her that everyone was depending on her to make the troubled girl feel better. Vinyl sighed, “Are you okay, Tavi? You’ve been quiet all day and when you were in the music roo-um, you seem like something’s bothering you.” No. I can’t talk to her right now. “It’s nothing…” Octavia retorted. She walked faster to escape her friend. “Tavi, I can tell you’re not-“ “Don’t call me that!” Octavia yelled, turning around. She could feel anger rising. She was breaking. And Vinyl would see her. “Octavia, please,” she tried again, placing a hand on her shoulder, “tell me what’s wrong.” “Get your hand off of me!” she demanded, smacking the DJ’s hand off, “It’s your fault! All of it!” “Wh-what did I do?” Vinyl asked, rubbing her hurt hand. Octavia scoffed, “Do you know how hard I worked!? I took time in all of that!” She stomped her foot, “And then you don’t fucking care? What the hell was all my effort for then?” “Octavia, what are you talking about? I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did, but please, I’ll make it up to you in any way I-wah!” Vinyl was then pushed aggressively on the ground. Octavia got down on the ground, straddling the terrified DJ. She positioned her left fist high in the air, preparing all her earthen strength to punch the cowering girl before her. She took one last glance at Vinyl’s terrified face. Vinyl placed both arms in front of her visage, preparing for a strong hit. Instead, she felt a hand gripped firmly on her arm and a tear drip onto her cheek. The girl looked up to find Octavia crying. The DJ squirmed under her assailant and helped her sit up. “I-I’m sorry, Vinyl,” she sobbed, “I…I don’t know what came over me.” The girl gently pulled her crying friend into a warm hug, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. Here, let’s sit on that bench right there and you can tell me all you need to tell me, okay?” Vinyl pulled Octavia up from the floor and led her to a nearby wooden bench, where she continued to cry into her chest. Vinyl gently stroked her hair. After a few minutes, the girl spoke again, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.” “It’s alright.” Octavia pulled away from Vinyl, shaking her head, “No…it isn’t alright. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It was immature of me, and I apologise.” “Octavia, we’re cool, okay?” the girl smiled and ruffled her friend’s hair, “But, why were you so angry? What were you talking about?” The cellist bit her bottom lip, coming up with a lie, “I’ve…been having problems at home. Nothing major, but it’s getting to me for some reason.” The distressed girl felt Vinyl’s hand rubbing her back, “You wanna talk about it?” “It-it’s nothing, really, my mother is just being…inconsiderate, but it isn’t her fault. I haven’t been completely honest with her, either…” Octavia said, closing her eyes and remembering last night’s arguments. “Octavia, you can tell me. I won’t judge you or your parents or-“ The cellist cut her friend off as she remembered what else happened last night, “Well, I really have enjoyed this conversation,” she took Vinyl’s hand off of her back and held it with both of hers, “and I appreciate the support and all, but I simply must go. Mother will be cross with me if I’m late.” Vinyl looked toward their hands and Octavia quickly gave it back to her, assuming that her friend felt uncomfortable. The girl adjusted her shades, “Are you sure you’re fine?” The monochromatic clothed girl stood up and adjusted her bag, “Yes, absolutely peachy! Bye, now!” She ran to her home. Vinyl stayed sitting on the bench for a while, confused. She then shrugged and left for her own home, once Octavia was out of sight. She was very tired, now that besides her insomnia, she had to figure out what was bothering Octavia. Of course, she wasn’t asked to know what was perturbing her, but as a friend, she felt the need to make her feel better. This drained her energy, but she still thought about what she could do. The girl went into her bathroom and took off her purple-tinted shades. She stood in front of her mirror and looked at the bags under her eyes. She wanted desperately to take a nap, but she knew it would be to no avail. Instead, she went into her music room upstairs and began to work. Her laptop pulled up several projects she could work on. Vinyl clicked on one she would use for a party coming up on Saturday. She had worked out which songs she would play, and which of her own compositions she would play. While the DJ was working, she figured it would be nice to add a touch of classical music to her mix. And that idea led to another: What if I invited Octavia to the party? She’d have an awesome time! It would totally cheer her right up! Vinyl grabbed her phone: Vinyl: Hey Octavia: Hello Vinyl: I was wondering if u could come to Caramel’s party tomorrow Octavia: Umm…I guess. Octavia: I’d have to ask my mum. Vinyl: Awesome! Gonna be the dj there Octavia: That’s nice. Octavia: Caramel hardly knows me, though Vinyl: Its cool. Vinyl: You’ll be my +1 Vinyl: Besides, I want 2 cheer u upp Octavia: Vinyl, I told you- I’m fine Vinyl: Meh. I was gonna invite u anyway Vinyl: I just really want you to come Octavia: Okay, I accept. But why do you want me to go? Vinyl: cuz when u see my mad dj skillz, u will want 2 do me so badly ;) Octavia: Vinyl! Vinyl: You’ll want to ‘fuck me sore,’ remember? ;))) Octavia: Vinyl, stop! What did I tell you about dirty messages!!! Vinyl: You can just delete the messages. Vinyl: I’m gonna write you so many dirty things, u don even know Octavia: Oh, Celestia. Vinyl: I’m gonna give u a story. Here we go- Vinyl: at a party, a super hot girl named Octavia saw a dj on stage Octavia: Vinyl Vinyl: Octavia had known the dj for a while. But knowing she was in control of the music made her look so hot Octavia: Vinyl! Vinyl: the hot chick ran toward the other hot chick and they made out Octavia: VINYL Vinyl: stahp interrupting!!! I was getting to the good part Octavia: Please don’t do that at the party Vinyl: Hey! U kissed me! I cant control what my sexiness does to you Octavia: Yes, because your sexiness is hypnotising. *Sarcasm* Vinyl: exactly Octavia: I even dream about it Vinyl: hehe. Always pining over my hot arse, eh? Octavia: actually, in my dreams, you were trying to kiss me. It was a nightmare Octavia: I vomited when I woke up from it. Vinyl: Hey! Vinyl: not true! You probably vomited because there was a roach on your face while you slept and you kissed it instead of me Octavia: How the did you come to that conclusion? Vinyl: I watch u when u sleep O_O Octavia: okay, I’m officially creeped out. I’ll go to the damn party, but don’t embarrass me too much, please? Vinyl: I’ll be gentle. Octavia: Good. I might actually go, then. :) Vinyl: Cool. See u tomorrow. Gotta work on music Octavia: Have fun with that. Vinyl Scratch did as she was told. She worked a little bit on it, and then attended to her studies. She hoped that the party would work its magic and lighten the cellist up. The DJ decided the best way to make sure was to put in a bit of classical music into the mix. By the end of the day, she had added all the music she needed, and was lying in her bed, hopeful that sleep would come to her. Fortunately, it did. Vinyl Scratch dreamt of what tomorrow would bring.