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Chapter 1: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions3,409 words
Chapter 2: A Wish Come True2,094 words
Chapter 3: Meeting the Roommates4,266 words
Chapter 4: Surprise!2,810 words
Chapter 5: 20 Questions7,389 words
Chapter 6: OovoO Call3,966 words
Chapter 7: "Well, 'good' morning' to you, too."3,777 words

Chapter 5: 20 Questions

RD's POV

When our little jam out session was over, we laid out the rules to our little game of 20 Questions.

"So, we'll go down the line. Each of us will ask a question and all of us have to answer it," Spitfire said. We all nodded in response.

"Alright, well, I'm on this end, so I'll go first. Uh, let's start off with the basics. Like, what's your favorite color?" Fleetfoot asked. We all laughed at how pre-school that question was.

"Mine's neon green, just so you know," she said. She looked at Spitfire, who was next in line.

"Uh, I'd have to say orange. Not like a vibrant shade of it. More like a crimson orange," she said. Rapid snickered.

"So glad you didn't say 'sunset orange', 'cause that would've been a major 'Catching Fire' reference," he said. We all laughed at the comment. Then it was my turn.

"My favorite color? Well, look at my hair and you'll know," I said.

"Rainbow?" Spitfire asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yup."

"Huh. Kinda figured. You’re a prismatic person," Thunder told me.

"My hair is pretty awesome," I said while flipping my hair over my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, no need to gloat," he said. I shrugged a shoulder, then looked to Soarin, since he was next.

"Favorite color for me . . . probably blue," he said.

"Like your hair?" I teased.

"Eh, more like any shade of it, though I prefer sky-blue," he clarified. He looked over to Rapidfire.

"Oh, my turn. Uh, I have to say red," he said with a shrug. We all looked at Thunder.

"My favorite color would have to be silver," he said.

"Ooh, fancy," I commented. He just shrugged.

"Yay, my turn for questions. Okay, since we're still basic here, when's your birthday? And say your current age, too" Spitfire said.

"February 25, 1997, which makes me 17 now," Fleetfoot said.

"January 17, 1997, and I am currently 17," Spitfire said. Everyone looked to me. I shrunk a bit.

"I wanna go last, so skip over me," I said. Soarin shrugged before answering.

"May 23, 1996, and I'm 18," he said. Rapid finished guzzling down the remaining water in his water bottle before he answered.

"March 23, 1996, I am 18," he said before going to the cooler to get another water bottle. I rolled my eyes before looking to Thunder.

"April 20, 1996. I'm 18, too," he said. Everyone then simultaneously looked at me.

"Okay, Rainbow, you're turn. When's your birthday?" Fleetfoot asked me. I lowered my sunglasses down over my eyes while giving them a sheepish smile.

"July 13 . . . 1997 . . . and I'm . . . 16 now," I muttered. With every pause I took, they all drew in closer to hear me, and I nearly laughed at how much I sounded like Fluttershy. Surprised expressions graced their faces once again. I'm just full of surprises today.

"How the hell are you fucking 16?!" Rapid asked me with disbelief. I shot up again, my voice turning back to its normal volume.

"Hey! I turn 17 next month! There's no need to freak out!" I shot back.

"You have a point. But still! That makes you the youngest person here!" Soarin said to me.

"There's a reason why I wanted to go last, people," I stated blunty.

"And the fact that you seem like you're 18 or older doesn't help. Like, at all," Spitfire told me. I rolled my eyes again.

"I knew you guys would freak out. Anyway, it's my turn to ask a question. We're still basic, right?" I asked them. They nodded.

"Okay, then. Family time! Um, do you have any siblings? And if you do, what are their names, and how old are they?" I asked. That's pretty basic family-wise, right?

"I have an older brother. His name's Storm Rider, and he's 20. He actually goes to the academy's college, so I get to see him on the weekends. I should introduce you guys sometime," Fleetfoot said.

"That would be cool," I told her. I glanced at Spitfire, and she snickered for a moment before answering.

"I grew up an only child, so, do honorary siblings count?" she asked me. We all laughed a bit at that.

"Uh . . . no, but, I guess you can if you really want to," I said through my smile. She laughed again.

"Okay, well, other than these guys around us who I grew up with my entire life, I have no biological siblings whatsoever," she laughed.

"D'aw, you do care!" Soarin teased her. We all laughed at the comment before they all looked at me for my answer to the question.

"I have a brother, Fierce Winds, who turned 16 the other day, a sister, Rain Drop, who's 15, and an adoptive sister named Scootaloo who's 13 now, but she turns 14 in December," I told them, thinking of my little siblings.

"So, two biological siblings and one adoptive? I'd die for a family like that. So lonely," Spitfire said.

"Obviously," Fleetfoot replied, and Spitfire playfully punched her shoulder. I looked at Soarin.

"Your turn," I told him. He leaned back on his elbows and let out a sigh.

"I have a younger sister, Summer. She's twelve, and she turns 13 next month. She goes to the academy as well, but she's in middle school, so . . . yeah," he said, looking off to the side. Hearing this sparked a question in my mind.

"Hold on; so, the boarding school here is from grades K through Twelve?" I asked them. They nodded and I thought about it. Huh. If I heard about this place sooner literally could've known a lot more about this place . . .

"Well, I have an older sister. Her name's Sunshine, and she's 20. She also goes to the college at the academy. But since her major's in biology, she's gonna be down in the Amazon for the summer. Something about this type of monkey, or something. I could be wrong, it might be about a plant . . ." Rapid trailed off. I cut him off before he could continue.

"Okay, I get it. But it's nice to know she's interested in biology. One of my friends back from my hometown might be interested in hearing about that, whenever it is you meet her," I told him. I glanced at Thunderlane, who was busy making a tower of tiny sand balls out of damp sand. Rapid nudged him in the shoulder, causing him to look up abruptly.

"What? Oh, right, siblings. I have younger brother named Rumble. He's 13, turning 14 in August, and he's in middle school along with Soarin's sister. They're in the same grade, but Rumble's just one year older than her," he said as he rolled a tiny ball of sand between his fingers.

"I should introduce Scootaloo to them some time soon. I think they'd like her," I told him and Soarin.

"It would be nice to get out of Malibu for a day or two. Which brings me to my question: where did you originally come from before you came here?" Soarin asked. We glanced to Fleetfoot who was holding a pack of Nutter Butters. She swallowed before she answered his question.

"I was supposed to be born somewhere in Cuba, but my parents moved to L.A. before I was born, so I'm technically the 'California born-and-raised' kind of girl," she said with a lopsided smile.

"That you are," Thunder said as he looked off to the side. We all laughed at the comment before looking at Spitfire.

"My parents are Hispanic, so, growing up in Miami, Florida, I was very Latinized. At home my parents and I would speak Spanglish a lot," she told us. I nodded my head.

"That's pretty cool. My parents had some sort of Spanish background so my siblings and I also spoke some Spanglish. Not a lot of it, but occasionally we'd start a conversation in Spanglish. I was born and raised in Santa Monica, so I can literally drive home and come back here with no problem," I said as I reached for a water bottle in the cooler.

"Oh, lucky! I wish my home was that close to Malibu," Spitfire said with a playful pout at the end of her sentence. I chuckled a bit.

"I'm pretty sure I would, too, if my home was on the other side of the country," I told her as I nudged her shoulder. I looked over to Soarin who had decided to lay flat on his back, his head laying on a balled-up towel as a pillow, hands under his head.

"I'm also from Miami, Florida. Spit and I actually went to the same elementary school for the first few years of it. But her knowing fluent Spanish back then got on my nerves sometimes because every now and then she'd say something in Spanish and I wouldn't know what she was talking about," he said, glancing at Spitfire out of the corner of his eye while giving her a playful smirk. She returned it with one of her own before turning to me.

"I still do. He didn't learn how to fluently speak Spanish until somewhere around eighth or ninth grade, and since Fleetfoot and Rapid were the only other people who understood Spanish back then, they become his translator. So whenever I say something he doesn't really understand, he turns to either of them for a translation," she told me as Fleetfoot and the boys stifled their giggles. I had to fight them off as well. I turned to Soarin who was hiding his face with one of his hands while snickering to himself.

"That's rough buddy. That's real rough," I said in a teasing tone as I half-heartedly patted his shoulder. He gave me a blank stare, even though a smile was still plastered on his face.

"Oh, gee, thanks for the support," he said in a sarcastic tone. We all lost it and cracked up. Over what? I have absolutely no clue. I guess we just like laughing over stupid things.

"Okay then. Rapid, buddy, what's your story?" I asked as the laughing died down. He took a quick breather before speaking.

"Wait, can I do something? Just for the sake of it?" he asked while looking at all of us. We looked at him curiously as a playful grin took over his face.

"What is he gonna do?" I heard Fleetfoot whisper to Spitfire.

"I have no clue, but I'm guessing it's gonna be related to what we just talked about," she whispered back.

"¿Podemos hablar en español por un tiempo?" he asked us. He had asked us if we could speak Spanish for a while. We all lost it again and were laughing our asses off. Leave it to Rapidfire to liven things up a bit.

"¡Claro! Por qué no?" I replied through my laughter, but I only laughed harder. I just said "Sure! Why not?" in Spanish. Then Fleetfoot pulled her head up from the ground and took a few deep breaths before speaking.

"Pero ¿qué pasa con Thunderlane? Él es el único que no entiende español!" she said, trying to fight off the laughter so she could talk. She just reminded me that Thunderlane doesn't understand Spanish. Oh, that's right. Spitfire's Hispanic, Fleetfoot's Cuban, Soarin now knows Spanish, Rapidfire obviously knows some Spanish, my family has some sort of Hispanic background, the only one who apparently doesn't know any Spanish is Thunderlane.

"Okay, I heard my name within that gibberish, so I'm assuming she told you that I don't understand Spanish," he said as the craziness from the moment died down.

"Yeah. I guess we won't speak to you in Spanish, then," I told him. He nodded his head while breathing out a sigh of relief. Then, he reached for a pack of oreos, sat back, crossed his legs, and relaxed.

"Well, since I already know Rapid's backstory and I won't be able to understand y'all anyway, I'm just gonna sit back and chillax while listening to the mumbo-jumbo that is Spanish," he said, popping an oreo in his mouth. I snickered as I rolled my eyes and turned to Rapidfire who was chugging down yet another water bottle. Seriously, that's like five in the past 10 minutes!

"Está bien, vas a responder a la pregunta o qué?" I told him "Okay, are you gonna answer the question or what?". He held up his free hand as if to say "give me a sec" and finished off the last of his water bottle before taking a deep breath and answering - in Spanish. Oh, this is gonna be fun.

"En realidad, yo soy de Brasil - Río de Janeiro, para ser exactos - así que sé Inglés, algo de portugués y español, obviamente. Me enviaron aquí cuando yo tenía diez años, creo. Recuerdo que estaba en cuarto grado cuando me fui de casa. Mi familia se mudó a Houston, Texas unos años más tarde. Todavía voy de nuevo para las fiestas, pero eso es sólo cada dos años. Mi familia sólo tiene tanto dinero para gastar, por lo que normalmente se mantienen en contacto a través de Skype.," he said. It was really interesting to hear Spanish come so fluidly from another person besides my family. The only other person that I know of back home that fluidly spoke a different language was Rarity, but she spoke French, not Spanish. Twilight had my Spanish class with me, but I guess since she still wasn't used to the pronunciations, it didn't come out as fluid. But these people around me all have completely different ethnicities backgrounds, and come from places around the world. I'll admit, it's pretty awesome.

"Whoa! Okay, back to English, please! I only understood, like, half of that. I haven't brushed up in my Spanish since school ended, and you know I forget things easily. Like, seriously, the translator in my brain is about to explode from various malfunctions," Soarin said as he sat up, rubbing two fingers against his temple while lightly chuckling. I let out a snicker while giving him an amused expression. For the third time in the past five minutes, we all lost it. This guy can't catch a break, can he?

"Ugh, you're no fun, Soarin!" Rapid said as the craziness around us died down.

"Alright, well, anyways, Thunderlane! Your turn," I said in a sing-song voice. Thunder swallowed an oreo before speaking.

"Not much to know. I was born in New York and came here when I was twelve. Been living with these crazy freaks ever since," Thunder simply stated, giving the rest of the group a playful glance. Soarin and Rapidfire gave him "What the heck?" looks while Spitfire and Fleetfoot giggled. Fleet then started to sing a line from "Me and My Girls" by Fifth Harmony.

"You're all I need, there's nowhere I'd rather be, then to have these crazy freaks -" Fleetfoot started, "WITH ME-E-E!!!" we all finished together. We laughed it off - again - before digging into the snack bag.

"So who's turn is it to ask a question?" I asked no one in particular.

"Mine," Rapid said, holding up a hand while doing so.

"Shoot," I stated.

"Hmm . . . oh! How tall are you?" he asked while opening up, yet, another water bottle.

"I'm five-six-and-a-half," Fleet answered.

"Psh, I'm five-six," Spitfire said while side-glancing at Fleet. Fleetfoot gave her a smug smile.

"Haha, half an inch taller!" she said in a mocking voice. Spitfire shoved her over onto her side, causing her to laugh and Spitfire to roll her eyes.

"I'm five-seven," I said while lifting an eyebrow at them. Spit and Fleet whipped their heads towards me.

"What?! I was seriously hoping you'd be five-six! Now I'm officially the shortest person here," Spitfire exclaimed, throwing her arms out as she talked. Fleetfoot's jaw was still unhinged, but brought herself back to the real world to speak.

"How do you think I feel?! I enjoyed being the tallest girl!" she said while expressing fake hurt. I heard snickering behind me and figured that the boys were finding their "suffering" amusing. Soarin fake coughed to get rid of the laughs so he could answer without being pummeled to the ground by Spit or Fleet.

"I'm six-three," he answered, immediately stuffing his face with a snack so he wouldn't say anything to tip off the other two girls more than they already were.

"Same," Rapidfire said.

"Since when?" Thunderlane asked him.

"Uh, since my last check-up at the doctor's, which was, like, a week after my birthday," Rapid responded matter-of-factly.

"Dammit, I'm six-two! We all used to be the same height, but then Soarin spurt up an inch in the past half year, Rapidfire somehow grew another inch, and now I'm stuck being one inch shorter," Thunderlane rambled out.

"Welcome to our world," Spitfire said in a sarcastic tone with Fleetfoot scoffing in agreement behind her. I found it pretty amusing. Are we seriously complaining about our height right now?

"Okay, next question. Uh, okay, this is a little more personal. Have you ever dated anyone, and if you did, who were they?" Thunderlane asked, smirking a little towards Rapidfire. Oh boy . . . I feel a freak-out-fest coming soon. Fleetfoot started it off.

"Well, actually, I've only dated, like, three guys. The first one was when I was in seventh grade. I forgot his name, though," she turned to Spitfire, "Who was it again? Dumb Bell, right?" she asked her. Spitfire looked to the side while recalling her memory and nodded.

"Yeah, didn't he have brown wings and white-ish hair?" Spit asked.

"Yeah that's him," Fleet confirmed, "The second guy was in Freshman year. His name was Hoops. It was more one-sided in his favor, so we really only lasted for like, a month tops. The third came not to long after I ended things with Hoops. His name's Lightning Streak. We've been together ever since. He's our sixth member of the Sport and Perform division, but he's on a vacation in Italy with his twin brother and parents," Fleet finished. So many thoughts going through my brain right now, but one of them stuck out the most.

"Wait, you guys are the Sport and Perform division?" I asked them. They nodded. My turn to flip out now.

"WHAT?! HOW THE HELL DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!" I screamed.

"You never asked," Soarin said bluntly.

"But seriously, the top reason why I came here was to get into the group! Do you know how hard it is to find a college that allows you to have a major that's really supposed to be two separate things?" I asked them. They all muttered things in agreement.

"And you said your current boyfriend's name is Lightning Streak, right?" I turned to Fleetfoot. She nodded. I tipped my head back.

"Lightning Streak. Lightning Streak. Lightning Streak. Why does that name sound so familiar? Like, it's ringing a bell, but I can't remember where I've heard it before . . ." I said out loud, tapping my temples with my fingers like it would help jog my memory. After a few moments, I gave up and sighed.

"Oh well, I'll find out sooner or later. Spitty! Your turn," I said, looking at Spitfire. She rolled her eyes at the nickname before speaking.

"Well, I've honestly never been the dating type, so I never really dated anyone until back when high school first started. I have a boyfriend now, just not back then," she told me, a smirk plastered on her face. I raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" I asked. I noticed a very light blush fighting to be shown as she folded her hands and fidgeted a bit.

"I'll give you the only two hints you need: he's here with us right now," I glanced at the boys, "and he's the only other person here with 'fire' in his name," Spitfire finished, looking away as she brought her sunglasses back over her eyes. So he's one of these three idiots to my right, and his name is the only one with "fire" in his - no. No. Fucking. Way. You have gotta be shitting me. My eyes widened as the realization hit me. I lifted my sunglasses up on my head and my eyes went back and forth between Rapidfire, who was trying his best not to laugh, and a blushing Spitfire, who was looking at anything but me. I couldn't fight the ridiculously goofy grin that was crawling onto my face.

"Wait . . . hold on a second . . . You're telling me . . . that you," I pointed at Spitfire, "and Rapidfire," I pointed at Rapid, "are dating?!" Spitfire nodded while Rapidfire let out a "yup" while popping the "p". I took a deep breath to fight off the squeal, but the stupid grin on my face remained. I let out a long sigh.

"Ugh, my inner fangirl wants to come out so badly but I won't let her. Be thankful I'm sparing your ears," I told them as I covered my face while laughing. The others joined before Spitfire, who was no longer blushing, nudged me in the side.

"Alright, Dash, spill the beans," she said to me teasingly. This is gonna be really weird. I mean, come on. If you know me, you would know that I am not the kind of girl who cares about her love-life. Talk about awkward.

"Uh . . . actually, I've never dated anyone before . . ." I said with a sheepish grin. Fleetfoot spit out her water, Spitfire's eyes nearly bulged out of her head, and the boys simultaneously let out a loud "WHAT?!" in my ear, causing me to flinch slightly.

"Geez, no need to yell," I mumbled.

"'No need to yell'?! 'No need to yell'?! Girl, when someone says they've never dated before, there is a perfectly good reason to yell!" Fleetfoot screamed at me. Spitfire had leaned back so the screaming could go directly into my face, and with each fling of her arms, Fleetfoot leaned in closer to my face. By the time her rant was over, I was nearly pressed to the ground beside Soarin's leg. Spitfire decided to take the moment to grab one of Fleet's wings and pull her back so I could sit up again.

"Well, Fleetfoot makes a good point. I don't mean anything when I say this, but I'll admit, you are an attractive girl, Rainbow. I mean, come on - athleticism, great form, sharp looks, need I go on? How have you never dated anyone before?" Soarin said. His praise caused me to fight off a blush. I don't receive praise like that from people outside of my family or friends from back home, especially from guys. There were a few brave souls at my old school that had the guts to compliment me, but they were either complete jerks or were dared by someone to do it. I mostly just gave them a death glare while they continued their attempts to be all cool and suave. It usually ended with me punching them in the face, rejecting them in the worst ways possible, or walking away like I never heard them. But even though I've only known Soarin for a few hours, I know he's a genuine guy. Hearing something like that from someone who meant it . . . I'll admit it, it felt kinda nice . . . I shook my head. Answer the question, RD!

"Well, I've never been the type to really care about my love-life. You know how when you're a kid and you either think that dating is really gross or totally cute? Well, I'm not exactly grossed out about it, but I'm not the boy-crazy type. Plus, I kinda had a reputation at my old school for being the badass rule-breaker with 'no time for romance'. It's basically true. The few brave people at my old school who asked me out were either dared to do so, was known to be a player, or some hungry douchebag, so they were either beaten to a pulp or rejected in another embarrassing way," I explained to them. They laughed at how I rejected them.

"Why can I totally picture you doing that?" Rapidfire asked me. I just shrugged.

"I'm just awesome like that," I replied.

"Well, don't worry, you're not the only one who's never dated anyone," Soarin said while patting my knee. I looked up at him in surprise.

"You've never dated anyone either?" I asked him. He nodded and I threw my hands up.

"Thank God! I'm not the only one!" I cheered. He laughed before shrugging.

"Yup, living a single life. Despite all the times when somebody tried to set me up on three blind dates in one week in Sophomore year," Soarin said, emphasizing on certain words while looking at Fleetfoot.

"What? Not my fault you’re a hunk of eye-candy for the girls at school!" she said. I lost it right then and there. Through my laughing I saw Soarin hiding his face with his hands while grumbling something along the lines of "I'm never gonna understand you", Spitfire trying to get Fleetfoot to stop teasing him, and the boys cracking up beside him. I couldn't feel more bad for him right now. Soarin must be one attractive guy if he has girls fawning all over him.

"Oh, wow. 'Eye-candy', huh? I'm gonna have to use this as blackmail sometime after I see this for myself," I teased him. Soarin's head shot up and looked at me with a begging, almost desperate expression.

"No! Please don't, I already get enough of this crap from Fleetfoot, and I don't need you adding on to it!" he told he while grabbing my arms. I gave him a smirk and shrugged.

"No promises," I stated. He groaned and covered his face as he fell on his back.

"I am so dead," he mumbled through his hands.

"You'll live," I said while patting his arm.

"No I won't," was his reply. I sighed while rolling my shoulders and glanced at Rapidfire.

"Well, I don't really need to say who I'm currently dating, since you figured that out a few minutes ago," he gestured to Spitfire who shrugged a shoulder in response, "but as for the girls before her," I saw Spitfire raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye,"not many. Probably like two or three. They were mostly in middle school and weren't serious, serious relationships," he explained.

"They better not have been," Spitfire mumbled. I held back a snicker.

"Okay, one, you were there, and two, how many times do I have to say it? You're the only one who I've ever cared for like this! You don't have to be such a worry wart!" Rapidfire said to Spitfire. She turned to him with a playful smirk on her face.

"Not exactly my fault you're the only one who's ever taken the risk to date me," she shot at him.

"That's because there's not a lot of people who can! Are you forgetting how scary you can be sometimes?" he asked her.

"I use that to get you off your lazy ass on a daily basis, so obviously not. But hey, you technically brought this on yourself. You made the commitment to deal with me, so shame on you," Spitfire said, leaning back on her hands while giving him a smirk. Rapidfire slouched his shoulders and sighed.

"True. You're lucky I like you," he told her. Spitfire shrugged a shoulder, a winning smirk on her face. I felt like my face was gonna split in two because of my attempts to not laugh at the situation. Couples these days . . .

"What about you, Thunderlane?" I asked him as I reached for another snack.

"I also was never really interested in dating. The girlfriend I have right now was my first girlfriend. We got together in Sophomore year. Her name's Cloud Chaser. She'd be here right now, but she and her twin sister are in Paris, France visiting family, so she won't be back until next month," he said.

"So I'm assuming the breaks are the only times when you can relax outside of this area? Everyone seems to be off somewhere," I asked.

"Yeah. But it's not that big of a deal. There's some really cool places you can go to for entertainment. We'll show you around sooner or later," Soarin said. I nodded in agreement.

"That would be nice. I might love the beach, but there is no way I'm coming here whenever I'm bored. Might as well find some places where I won't get sick of so easily," I said. We shared a quick laugh and the questions continued.

The game of 20 Questions escalated beyond 20 questions after a while. As the hours passed, I learned a lot about my new friends, and they learned a lot about me. Fleetfoot specialized in the sports that considered a lot of grace and power, such as water sports and gymnastics, which made her very strong and flexible. She's also incredibly fast, which makes it easy for her to win races on the ground, in the air, and even in the water. Spitfire's the more agile one and sticks with the sports in the air. Her cat-like reflexes are what help her make sharp turns and difficult tricks and maneuvers. Soarin is the powerhouse, and I'm not surprised because, well, he's not exactly buff, but he is definitely muscular and defined. He plays a lot of rough-and-tumble sports such as football, wrestling, and kick-boxing. He plays an assortment of other sports, but he says those are his specialties. Rapidfire is known to have remarkable eye-and-hand coordination skills, so he's very useful in a lot of striking and throwing sports. Yet, he prefers the sports that require weaponry, like archery and knife-throwing. Thunderlane is the brains of the group. I was told that he comes up with most of the plays and strategies for their games and takes care of the equipment and other coachy stuff. But when he does get out on the playing field, he doesn't disappoint. Thunderlane seems like the kind of guy who would use his brains more than his brawns during a game.

As for their Fine Arts side, Fleetfoot, Spitfire, Soarin, Rapidfire, and Fleetfoot's boyfriend Lightning Streak are the main performers. Thunderlane is stage crew manager, so he takes care of the lighting, sound system, effects, and all that other stuff. He had a co-manager named Wave Chill, but he was the one who had to drop out because of an injury that would take forever to heal. There were also supposed to be six performers. Surprise, who was the missing performer, was the one who became crippled. There was also a make-up artist and costume manager named High Winds, but she was the one who was kicked out for being over aggressive during the games. These guys also play instruments as well. Fleetfoot plays the piano, keyboard, keytar, and harp, Spitfire plays the guitar, cello, and flute, Soarin plays the guitar and bass, Rapidfire plays the trumpet and saxophone, and Thunderlane, despite not being a performer, plays the bass and keytar.

It was around six when we decided to end the game and go out into the water. We played Marco Polo for a while, then we came back up for a girls vs. boys volleyball match, then had a game of air-tag, followed by a surf-off, and around sunset, we were finally drained of energy. We went back up to our spot on the sand to pack up everything and we walked back to the car with our stuff.

"Wow. I rarely get beaten by anyone in a surf-off. You're some intense competition, Dash," Fleetfoot said, nudging me with her elbow. I smiled.

"Well, I'm the spawn of two pro athletes. What can I say?" I said playfully as I juggled the volleyball with my knees a few times while walking to the car. Fleetfoot and I shared a good laugh before she caught the ball with her free hand.

"Okay, don't get too cocky on me," she said after handing me the ball.

"Has anyone ever told you that you literally leave a trail of rainbows behind you when you fly?" Rapidfire asked on my other side.

"Yeah, but that only happens when I fly fast. Speed's my thing, so you guys would most likely be left in the dust with a trail of colors to follow if you dare to race me," I told him while opening the trunk to put the cooler and volleyball in.

"Oh, and she says it with confidence, too! We're gonna have to put that speed to the test sometime soon," Soarin said as he strapped the last board to the top of the van. I chuckled as we climbed into the car.

"Yeah, well, let's just make sure that 'sometime soon' isn't tomorrow. I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna be drained in the morning," I said, flopping back against the seat as I fastened my seatbelt. They all said things in agreement as Rapidfire pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the highway.

I had my Beats on with Skillet blasting into my ears the rest of the way back. I gazed out of the window and shut my eyes, the alternative rock music being the only thing keeping me from falling asleep. I didn't really care for the conversation going on without me. I was just extremely tired . . .

Soarin's POV

I was in the passenger seat on the way back to the campus. I sighed as I leaned back into the seat, rolling my neck before crossing my arms. After that long day, I was exhausted. My body felt like jello. I'm not lying.

I looked through the rearview mirror and saw Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash in the very back seats. Rainbow was leaning against the window, her eyes closed as if she were asleep. I wouldn't be surprised if she was. She just moved into the campus today, proved to Rapid and Thunder that surfing was a piece of cake, wore us out in the Marco Polo game, demolished me and the boys in volleyball, had us chasing her trail of rainbows in air-tag, and faced each of us in a best-two-out-of-three surf-off. Talk about active.

"Is she asleep?" I asked to no one in particular.

"I think so. But it would be best not to disturb her. She's had a long day," Spitfire said as she looked back at her new roommate. I nodded in agreement before looking back out the window.

"Today was extremely fun, especially with Dash here, don't you think?" Fleet asked.

"Oh, yeah. From the Twenty Questions to air-tag, Rainbow really knows how to liven things up a bit," Rapidfire said, glancing at the sleeping teen through the rearview mirror.

"When it comes to volleyball, that girl can serve. She nearly took off my head a few times, like seriously, it's crazy how much power has!" Thunderlane said while gesturing to her a few times.

"And did you see how fast she moved during air-tag? That girl can fly!" Fleetfoot exclaimed.

"Don't get me started on those surf-offs. I knew she was skilled in the sport once she started using her wings earlier, but she demolished all of us! It's crazy because you're one of the best surfers in the academy, Fleet!" Spitfire said to Fleetfoot.

"Yeah, those defeats were not pleasant," she said, side glancing at her new friend beside her. I chuckled a bit. Fleetfoot was taking her loss surprisingly well. She'd usually be very bitter about it.

"Oh, and speaking of Rainbow Dash, Soarin, what was with the compliments earlier?" Fleetfoot asked me, leaning forward on the back of Spitfire's seat. I arched an eyebrow and turned my head slightly to the left.

"What's wrong with complimenting a friend?" I asked.

"Nothing's wrong with that, it's just . . . well, the topic was on dating . . . do you have a crush on her already?" Spitfire teased. My eyes widened.

"Whoa, wait, what?! Spits, just because I complimented her within that subject doesn't mean anything! I even said so before I started the whole compliment rant!" I said, turning around fully to face them.

"We have eyes, Soarin. I was all the way on the other end of the line and I could see her fighting a blush through your entire rant. I think you flattered her more than you thought," Thunderlane said to me. I rolled my eyes and slumped back in my seat.

"What is with you guys with this kind of stuff? It's not like don't give you any compliments every now and then," I said, directing the statement to the girls.

"That's different. You've known them for years. We've only known Rainbow Dash for merely a day and you were already showering her with them," Rapidfire said before he turned into the campus. I groaned and slammed the back of my head against the headrest. I'm never gonna enough of this for as long as I live. Damn them. Damn them and their habits of making the smallest moments of my life a big deal. Damn them and their ways of teasing me to no end. Just . . . damn them. As much as I love these guys, damn them.

We pulled up to our dorm building and Rapid cut the engine. We all sat there for a moment before simultaneously looking at Rainbow.

"Who's waking her up? And it is not going to be me!" I said to save myself before Fleetfoot could begin her tormenting. She shrugged before responding.

"I will," she said. One by one, we got out of the car and picked up some of the bags we took to the beach. I went back to the trunk to grab the cooler and umbrellas. I overheard Fleetfoot's attempts to get Rainbow up.

"Rainbow. Hey, Rainbow, get up," she said while shaking her shoulder slightly. Her magenta eyes quickly opened, but they didn't look like she's been sleeping for 15 minutes. She paused her music and hung her Beats around her neck.

"We here already?" she asked before stretching her arms.

"Yeah. Were you sleeping the whole time? You don't seem like you were," Fleetfoot asked as they crawled out of the van.

"No, just cat-napped. The music I was blowing into my ears was the only thing keeping me from complete slumber," she paused to yawn as she stretched her legs, "Be grateful, too, 'cause if I did, you'd be spending at least fifteen minutes trying to wake me up. Like I said earlier, I am an extremely heavy sleeper," she said while grabbing the snack bag. During our game of 20 Questions, Fleetfoot had asked if any of us were heavy sleepers or not. I remember her telling us that she usually slept deeply, but when she was tired, it was nearly impossible to wake her up. From how limply she was walking, I could tell she was about to fall over from exhaustion.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did fall asleep. You look like you're about to pass out," I told her as I slammed the trunk closed. We all had a close parking space to the dorm building, so we didn't have to walk long. She nodded her head in response.

"Oh, yeah. I haven't felt so much like jello in so long, like, oh my God. I feel like I have no skeleton whatsoever," she said as we made our way into the elevator.

"I know how you feel. I bet that we'll be sleeping until noon tomorrow," Spitfire said on the ride up. We nodded our heads in agreement. We went up to the fifth floor and we all filed into the girls' dorm.

"You guys crashing tonight?" Fleetfoot asked as we put the bags and cooler in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm way too tired to go down one floor lower," Thunderlane said, laying his head on the bar counter.

"Let's get ourselves cleaned up first. I am not sleeping with sand in my system," Rainbow said as she headed down the hall to shower.

"You can take the bathroom first, just try not to take too long. No one likes a cold shower," Spitfire called as she flung herself on the couch, putting her legs on top of Rapidfire's after he sat down next to her.

"No promises," she called before shutting the bathroom door.

"Wait, didn't she say earlier that she takes, like, fifteen to twenty minute showers?" Rapidfire asked no one in particular. We all groaned. This is gonna be a long wait . . .

Author's Note:

I DID IT!!! I GOT IT I BEFORE THE DAY WAS OVER!!!! For those of you who read the comments, I said that I would have this chapter up by the end of this week, like, a week ago. I've had a lot of time to work on this, and I would've gotten it up sooner, but this week has been crazy. It's my first full week back to school since Spring Break and I had to submit my Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars application by noon on Wednesday and I literally finished the long essay in half an hour the night before, so . . . yeah . . . ton of pressure . . .

It was really fun making this chapter. I had a good laugh while writing it. Whenever my friends and I have a new student in any of our classes, we invite them to sit with us at lunch and we usually play 20 Questions to get to know each other. I figured that these guys would do the same thing. My favorite part was probably when they started speaking Spanish. For those who know Spanish, tell me if there's any errors, 'cause I used the GoogIe translator. I 'll leave translations below. I would've written more, but I only had so much time to work on this, plus, I would've gone overboard with the questions and written, like, a 20,000-something worded chapter.

I hope you guys enjoyed!

Translations:

¿Podemos hablar en español por un tiempo? = Can we talk in Spanish for a while?

¡Claro! Por qué no? = Sure! Why not?

Pero ¿qué pasa con Thunderlane? Él es el único que no entiende español! = But what about Thunderlane

? He is the only one who does not understand Spanish!

Está bien, vas a responder a la pregunta o qué? = Okay, are you gonna answer the question or what?

(Here comes the big one...)

En realidad, yo soy de Brasil - Río de Janeiro, para ser exactos - así que sé Inglés, algo de portugués y español, obviamente. Me enviaron aquí cuando yo tenía diez años, creo. Recuerdo que estaba en cuarto grado cuando me fui de casa. Mi familia se mudó a Houston, Texas unos años más tarde. Todavía voy de nuevo para las fiestas, pero eso es sólo cada dos años. Mi familia sólo tiene tanto dinero para gastar, por lo que normalmente se mantienen en contacto a través de Skype. = Actually I'm from Brazil - Rio de Janeiro, to be exact - so I know English, some Portuguese, and Spanish, obviously. They sent me here when I was ten, I think. I remember I was in fourth grade when I left home. My family moved to Houston, Texas a few years later. I still go back for the holidays, but that's only every two years. My family only has so much money to spend, so we usually keep in touch through Skype.

Wow, that took a while. I hope you guys liked! Please comment to tell me what you think!