//------------------------------// // 6 - Slowly but Surely // Story: A Clean Slate for a Former Siren // by AlchemicBlaze21 //------------------------------// When I got up Wednesday morning, the first thought that ran through my mind was, Man, I'm slugging it today, as I stretched and dragged myself into the shower to try and wake up. I had been tossing and turning all night and just wished that I could sleep in. Unfortunately, I was lagging all morning as dad wanted to get us out early. Once he dropped me off and said goodbye, dad rushed off to work. As I walked into school, a few of the other students started giving me all too familiar glances. I got myself over to Mr. Donkey's classroom, but no one was there yet, not even Sonata. According to my cell phone there were still around forty minutes till classes began, so I sat on the floor across from the door and leaned against the wall. I wound up dozing off for a while and woke up to find Sonata sitting next to me. She had fallen asleep as well with her head resting on my shoulder. I looked around, but no one else was there with us, and the classroom remained locked. There were still twenty minutes left before the first bell when I checked my phone again. Just then I heard Sonata murmuring something as she still slept. While I didn't mind her using me as a pillow, I wasn't so sure the instructor would be too happy to see us like that for several reasons. So I gently nudged her, which was enough to wake her. "Hmm, oh, hey Slate," she said sleepily. "Hey Sonata, um, why didn't you wake me up?" I asked her. "Well, I was going to, but you looked like you had just gotten comfortable," she said while rubbing her eyes. "Besides, I haven't gotten used to how early Adagio and Aria are getting up yet, so I figured I'd nap a little before class too." "I see," I said. "Hmm, maybe I could see if dad would be willing to let you and your sisters carpool with us so you don’t have to get up as early." "But you've done a lot for me already." "It really isn’t a problem," I said to her. At that moment, footsteps could be heard coming from the adjacent hallway, so we got our things and stood up. Just then, Mr. Donkey rounded the corner. "Hello again, students," he greeted. Sonata responded with a friendly, "Hi." I opted for, "Hello." "I'm honestly kind of surprised you two have been so consistent about being here early," he said unlocking the classroom. "Just wanted to be ahead of everyone else when class starts," I said. "I see, well, go ahead and come in," he said. We took our seats, and soon after that, the other students made their way into the class as well. There were still quite a few of them that would turn to look at Sonata and me, but I think that both of us were already getting used to it. Whatever the case was, the class went by normally with note taking and a reminder about the following week's project. Shortly after that we were off to our math class As usual, we were given new formulas to work with and then used them for that day’s assignment. Sonata and I came close to finishing in class today, but missed it by a few problems before the bell rang. We separated and went to our next few classes before lunch. When Mr. Discord assigned some homework in chemistry, I already knew that Sonata was going to get the same thing. As for French, it was alright even though we did get homework. Asides from that, I really couldn't complain and with the bell having already rung I went down to the cafeteria. I couldn’t avoid getting caught up in the crowd of students going to lunch, but Sonata was already waiting by the cafeteria doors for me luckily. "Hey, Sonata, how were the last couple of classes?" I asked as we walked into the cafeteria. "They were okay," she said a little disappointed. "Did something happen?" I asked as we got into one of the lunch lines. "Just the amount of homework that I wound up with," she said. "Well, we can work on it together after school, if you need help with it," I said as we got to where they were handing out the trays. Today it looked like the menu consisted of green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes, and a mystery meatloaf. At least, it didn't look or smell like it was inedible. "I guess, it's just that it cuts into the time that we could use to just hang out," she said as she got one of the trays and paid the lunch lady. "While that's true, I still prefer that to not being able to hang out at all," I said as I got my tray and paid. We looked around the cafeteria for a spot to sit down at, but practically every spot had been taken. There was one area that neither of us would even consider eating lunch at, though. Rainbow Dash was sitting at one of the tables with Fluttershy, and there were still plenty of seats left to accommodate her friends as well as a few others. The two of them looked to be discussing something that obviously had Rainbow Dash concerned. Just then, Fluttershy noticed us and pointed us out to her, who glanced over at us. At that moment, Sonata and I gave each other a look that said we should just get moving and turned to look for another spot. But before we could, Rainbow Dash got up and rushed over to us. "Hold it," she said to us. "Why don't you two sit with us?" "I don't know," I responded, "but I think we could both come up with at least one pretty good reason." Rainbow Dash gave a defeated sigh and said, "Look, we…I mean, I want to talk to the both of you. That's it. I promise." I looked over to Sonata and in an open tone, she said, "We could see what she wants." "Fine," I said. With that, we followed her back to her table. I pulled the seat across from Fluttershy out for Sonata and took the one directly in front of Rainbow Dash. "Oh, hello again," Fluttershy greeted. "Hi," I replied. "Hello," Sonata said uncomfortably. "Oh, hey, I wasn't expecting Sonata and Slate to be having lunch with us today," Pinkie Pie said as she took a seat right next to Sonata. "So, how's it going you two?" "Um, good," Sonata said. "Pretty good, I guess," I said in response. Pinkie wasn't the only one to have shown up, though, because shortly after Applejack, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer promptly turned up and also greeted us. I suppose it's better than the glares that both Sonata and I had recently been getting. Once everyone had settled into their spots and began digging into their lunches, Sonata and I did the same. A few of them would talk about different things and occasionally ask us what we thought. Some of it didn't interest Sonata or me all that much, but all in all, it was a pleasant change of pace. Even Sonata seemed to be enjoying the group's conversations. Rainbow Dash looked like she had something that she had to say urgently, so she got both Sonata's and my attention. "I'm glad you two are getting along with our little group," she began, "but I wanted you guys to sit with us ‘cause I needed to apologize for the past couple of days and the way I was acting." I was expecting a bit more of the same out of her, so I had no response to give as I let her continue. Sonata on the other hand said in her surprise, "You mean that?" "Yeah, after hearing what Slate had to say yesterday after practice, it got me thinking about how harshly I was treating you," she explained. "I do know what it's like supporting a friend who's trying to make up for past mistakes. So I wanted to say that I'm sorry for being a jerk to you and Slate." While the other girls had kind of quieted down to hear what Rainbow Dash was saying, Sonata seemed touched by her apology. "Thank you," Sonata said. "I didn't say it up front last time, and I can't speak for my sisters, so I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be worth much. But I'm sorry for everything that we did here at the school." From the looks of it, Rainbow Dash accepted Sonata's apology. "I'm glad to hear that," she said. Sunset Shimmer then spoke up, "You know, what matters is that it's a step in the right direction." The other girls then chimed in agreement. Rainbow Dash noticed that I wasn't saying much, so she asked me, "Are you okay, you've been kind of quiet." "Sorry, I'm just getting over the initial shock," I said with a slight grin. "Sorry, just a little joke. In all seriousness, though, thanks for taking what I said into consideration. And I know I was a bit rude as well, sorry about that. So are we good?" "Yeah, we're good," she said along with a nod. "Well, that's a load off my mind," I mentioned with a smile. At least this way we won't always be at each other's throats, I thought. Sonata and I began talking a little bit more with the girls there. It was welcoming, and we went on a bit longer like that before the bell sounded. Sonata and I said goodbye to Rainbow Dash and her friends as we got rid of our trays and headed to study hall. Judging from how Sonata was humming to herself as we walked, she seemed happy with the way things went. And I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel the same way. When we entered the library, we got to our usual spot away from the rest of the students. Normally, they might have said something about us sitting away from the group, but considering that it was one of the Dazzlings; they didn't bother and just settled for talking about us instead. I suppose that's one upside of the whole situation. "Well, shall we finish up the math homework?" I asked while pulling out my notebook and pencil. "Sure, at least, it's not as much as yesterday," Sonata said as she got out the assignment along with a pen. We worked on the task and finished in about twelve minutes. "I guess you've pretty much got the hang of how to do this kind of math now," I said, leaning back into my seat while placing my hands behind my head. "Yeah, it's a bit easier to do the work for that class now I guess," she said putting away the paper. "But it's thanks to you helping me to learn how to do this work." A slight blush had crept onto her face. When she realized that, she tried to hide behind her ponytail as she messed around with it. I didn't get it, one moment she'd be okay with hugging me in front of everyone and the next she'd act shy about letting me see her blush. Either way, I couldn't help but notice that she was pretty cute, if not more so, because of that. But for the sake of politeness, I decided to stop staring and instead talk about something to get her mind off of it. "So, um how are your sisters?" I asked out of curiosity. "They are doing alright." "I didn't see either of them at lunch today." "They both had some work that they needed to take care of," she said. "It was probably for the best, though. If they had been around when we were talking with the Rainbooms, Adagio might have gone nuclear." "So, there's absolutely no chance that she would bury the hatchet?" I replied. When I looked over at Sonata, I realized that that could have been worded differently as the color had drained from her face. "Not really, she would probably have a few other uses for that hatchet," she said grievously. "Erm, sorry, that was a dumb question," I apologized for worrying her. She shook her head trying to get rid of the thought and answered back, "It's alright. Hopefully, she'll let the whole thing go eventually." "Yeah, I hope so," I replied in agreement. "So, if you aren't busy today after school, would you like to come over to my place? We can take care of any other work you need help with and just hang out. I could even prepare something for when you arrive." "That sounds good," she said. "So your dad's okay with me being over there?" "Well, last time that we were talking, he said that he didn't mind, as long as the apartment doesn't end up destroyed or anything," I replied. "Okay then, so do you want me to meet you there at the same time?" She asked. "Yes, that would be great," I responded. We would have continued to chat away, but the bell finally rang. "Alright, I'll see you at five thirty," I said. "Okay, see you later," Sonata said. Sonata’s last classes of the day After study hall, the next class was in the computer labs. While it wasn't one of the most challenging classes that Sonata could have been in, some parts still gave her a hard time. Using the typing program to write papers was relatively straightforward and not too hard to understand. However, when it came to everything else like the powerpoints and spreadsheets that she had to put together, it took her a bit longer to finish up than everyone else in the class. But the assignments that she hated the most were the ones where she had to write code. At least she only had to deal with in class assignments. Her last class for the day was Spanish, which she actually enjoyed. For the most part, it was a beginner's class and mostly consisted of copying what the instructor said, and taking notes to use for a quiz on a later date. Asides from the daily homework assignments, the class work wasn't all that bad either. It mainly consisted of composing one or two paragraphs on whatever the topic at hand was by the classes end. With the last assignment turned in, the final bell rang letting everyone out for the day. While she was headed back to the library to join her sisters for detention, Sonata received a text message from Slate. "Hey Sonata, I took off to get ready for later, so I'll see you then?" it read. She sent back a quick text reading, "Yes, see you soon," and with that put her cell phone away. When she sat down with Adagio and Aria, Adagio was holding her head in her hands while Aria just sat there with arms crossed as she leaned back in her seat. "Ugh, this is infuriating," Adagio groaned. "So far, the most we've been able to find out about these girls is where a few of them have class, and none of them seemed to be carrying anything that could even qualify as ‘magical.'" "We should just break into their lockers," Aria whispered so that the instructor couldn't hear them. "More than likely if they have a magical item, it might be in one of them." Sonata began to feel anxious after she heard Arias idea. Luckily, Adagio didn't agree with it. "If we start breaking into their lockers at random without knowing who has it, there's a good chance they are immediately going to think we did it." Adagio reasoned. "Besides, we don't even know if they have it on the school grounds." "Well this is taking forever," Aria whispered angrily. "Suck it up, we can't afford to make stupid mistakes because we got impatient," Adagio whispered. Aria would have said something, but the instructor was looking in their direction. Aria quickly pulled out a notebook while Adagio wrote something down on a piece of paper. Sonata had a book in front of her, so she thumbed through the pages. The instructor seemed satisfied with what he saw and went back to reading the newspaper. While Aria shot daggers at Adagio, she said, "There has to be a faster way than this." They continued to argue throughout the rest of detention. It was a good thing the instructor didn't care too much to look away from the paper too often. When the hour ended and he dismissed the Dazzlings, they got their things and walked back to the apartment complex. When they got there and headed up the stairwell, Adagio turned to Sonata and asked, "So you're headed over to what's his face's place, right?" Sonata was a little surprised that Adagio already knew what she was going to ask so she responded with, "Yes. How'd you know?" Adagio slapped a palm to her forehead and sighed, "Because, if I know one thing for sure, it's that you usually make a habit out of doing stupid things. So, to save myself the trouble of you continuously harping on about seeing that guy and giving me a headache, I'll go ahead and let you go." At that point, Adagio grabbed a hold of the front of Sonatas shirt and was a few inches away from her face. "But whatever you do, don't say anything about our plans. You got it?" Sonata gulped and answered with a meek, "Yes." Adagio, feeling that she had gotten her point across, released Sonatas shirt and said, "Good, and don't come back later than nine." With that, she went to their apartment. Sonata continued up to the fifth floor. At Slate’s apartment When I got back home, I quickly checked to see if there was anything that needed picking up or to be cleaned. Fortunately, everything seemed presentable, so without wasting any further time, I started working on the chemistry homework. It took almost a whole hour of looking on the web for the correct formulas to be able to do the conversions for eight problems, but at least they were complete and, as far as I knew, correct. At least, they would be worth partial credit if nothing else, and I would be able to point Sonata in the right direction when it came to helping her. I then turned my attention to making a meal for the both of us. With little time till Sonata arrived, I put some water to boil for a while before adding in a couple of packets of ramen. While that was going, I got some frozen veggies into the microwave, cooked some eggs over easy, and heated a few slices of ham on the stove. I then divided everything into a couple of bowls and added a few spices. For a first time trying to make something different in thirty minutes, it looked and smelled good. I made some iced tea and placed the bowls in the microwave to keep them warm until Sonata got there. Not even a full minute had passed when a knocking came at the door. When I went to check, Sonata was waiting there. "Hey, Sonata." "Hi Slate," She said sounding somewhat distant. "Is anything the matter?" "No, I was just thinking about a few things." "Oh, well, come in. Are you hungry?" Her face brightened up when she heard that. "Yes, I can't wait." "Alright, let's head over to the kitchen," I said as I closed the door and brought her to the table. "Go ahead and have a seat." Sonata sat down at the table and sniffed the air. She seemed a little confused and asked, "Did you make breakfast for dinner?" As I pulled out the bowls and brought them to the table, I answered, "You could say that I wanted to make something that I had seen before, something different." I handed one of the bowls to her and got a few utensils and cups of tea for the both of us. As she looked it over, I feared that she might not like it. She then looked at me and said, "Wow, I would have never thought of adding all that to a bowl of noodles." She grabbed a fork and cautiously took a small bite, but after trying the dish, she didn't seem to want to stop. "So, I take it that you liked it?" I asked as I started on my plate. "That was amazing, not as good as tacos, but still good," she said with a smile. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm glad to hear that." I quickly finished up my bowl as she drank some of her iced tea and kept on looking over at me. I took our dishes over to the sink and washed them before placing them on a rack on the counter to dry. When I got back to my seat next to Sonata, she was resting her chin on her laced fingers. She then tilted her head a little and asked, "So what are we going to do now?" "Well, while it took some time. I went ahead and looked up how to solve the problems for the chemistry homework. I think I'd be able to help you finish the assignment that way, or at least, you won't have to struggle with it as much." "Hmm, are you sure, Slate? It seems a whole lot more complicated than the math assignments." "It isn't all that bad; it just takes time." Sonata gave a slight sigh but finally seemed to agree to the help. She pulled out the worksheet and a notebook. "Alright, let's get this done." We got to work, and after forty minutes we had completed the assignment. As she slipped her things into her backpack, I said to her, "See, it didn't take nearly as long as it could have." "I guess, but I'll be glad when we don't have to deal with this stuff anymore." "Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. Still, you seem to pick up the subjects easily with a little extra help," I said while stowing away my copy of the assignment in my backpack. "I'm a little jealous." "You mean that?" she asked with wide eyes. "But, why?" "Because, even when I get help with something that I don't understand, it takes me forever to get it down right," I explained. She started to blush and smile, "I wouldn't have been able to get most of this without your help, though." Just then her expression dropped into a frown as she averted her eyes from me. "But it doesn't matter, I'm still just stupid. That's what Adagio and Aria always tell me. That's why they blame me for a lot of things." "That isn't true. Maybe you don't get some stuff as easily, but that doesn't mean you're stupid, and I don't think that of you. You're bright, friendly, fun to be with, and cuu-uh, um..." I stopped myself from saying anything else. She then looked back up at me and asked, "What?" "Um, what I meant to say was clever." "Oh, I see," she said, blushing again. "Thank you." "You're welcome." From what I could see, she didn't look as upset anymore. We might have continued to talk there, but dad’s timing could not have been anymore inconvenient. We could hear him at the door setting his things down. "I completely lost track of the time. Um, are you going to want to stick around or do you have to be on your way?" Sonata looked at her phone and then back to me. "Sorry, I think I should get going right now, Adagio might lose it if I get back too late. "Alright then." She got her backpack and followed me into the living room. She then greeted my dad, saying, "Hello, Mr. Steel." "Oh, hello again, heading out right now?" I then answered, "Yes, I was going to walk Sonata back to her apartment. Is that okay?" "That's fine." "Okay, I'll be right back." After we had left, it took us a couple of minutes to get to her place. I then asked her "So are you guys going to need a ride tomorrow morning?" "Nah, I think we're okay for now. It isn't that bad," she said with a smile. "Well, if you say so. If you change your mind, though, feel free to ask." "Okay." "Alright, see you tomorrow at school." "See you there, and thank you for the dinner and help with the homework." "Not a problem." Sonata hugged me goodbye, and I hugged her back before we went our separate ways. The whole time that I was still awake, I was kicking myself for not working up the guts to tell her exactly how I felt. It continued to bug me for a while, but eventually I did fall asleep. The next couple of days went by surprisingly smooth. The gossip about her and I was still a thing, but at least, there weren't any actual signs of aggression. Sonata got through all of her classes without anything going wrong and had gotten a good grasp of how to complete the math assignments while we were both well on our ways to better understanding how to complete Mr. Discord's work. We were even able to get almost entirely through with our history reports within those two days. Still, even though it felt like everything was starting to turn out for the better, I couldn't help but notice that there were still some issues. Whenever Sonata was with her sisters, she would act differently. It wasn't anything majorly extreme but she would keep more to herself and would ignore others, especially when it came to the Rainbooms. It was visibly evident that it ate at her when she would force herself to give them the cold shoulder, and would later come around and apologize about it to them while the other two were off doing their own thing. I asked Sonata if everything was alright. She said that she was only acting that way to keep her sisters from getting upset, which I understood and didn't press any further on that subject. However when I’d ask what the other two were up to, she didn't seem to be able to give me a straight answer. Instead, she appeared to be covering up for them, saying that they were going to tutoring. As much as it bothered me, I still wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and just left it at that. Our afternoons were also pretty good. Thursday, I went to karate which went pretty well. Rainbow Dash and I were getting along better than ever now, and we had quite an interesting conversation after class about our favorite martial artists and sports. Friday evening, I hung out with Sonata at the apartments. As usual, she was more relaxed outside of CHS, and we were able to make some plans for Saturday.