27. Cracks and Cuts
Indigo paced back and forth across the hospital corridor, her hands trembling. It was an early morning and she should technically be at school, but she was pretty sure no one in Crystal Prep minded. In fact, many students probably followed her example and decided to skip classes, still in shock after the events of yesterday.
“I still don’t get how could she be that dumb?” Indigo rolled her eyes. “I mean, she was always slightly–”
“Crazy?” Bulk asked.
“Yeah.” Indigo stopped near Bulk and sighed. “And all that stuff with Sweet Leaf made it even worse. But there was no–”
“Oh, I think there was a reason,” Bulk said. “As you said yesterday, this had to blow up, sooner or later. Especially since you’re not innocent here...”
Indigo trembled and kicked a chair before turning to Bulk. “Now you too? Okay, I heard about this shit once, but don’t act like I personally stole those photos! And tell Sandalwood to get off his high horse!”
“You could’ve told Sunny to delete them,” Bulk replied. “Even force her to, if you had to. You were pretty happy to do that before…”
“This again!?” Indigo groaned. “Listen, I don’t know what Sandalwood told you just because Sweet Leaf is apparently his mascot, but I don’t care! I said we’re all partially to blame! Who’d have thought–”
“– that Sunny is an alcoholic who is just going through her parents’ divorce?” Bulk shrugged. “Lemon did. Sweet Leaf did. And you know what happened to her…”
“Yeah, sure…” Indigo rolled her eyes. “Why couldn’t Sweet Leaf just leave Sunny, Lemon, and Sour alone? No, she just had to get between them… And don’t tell me that we could’ve intervened earlier. They are adults and they’re responsible for what they do.”
Bulk nodded. “So, being an adult means you don’t help each other?”
“In Crystal Prep, we value independence,” Indigo replied. “Now you’re just trying to pin the blame on me because I don’t think Sunny is the worst cunt in the world for releasing those photos. She’s my friend and I’m loyal to friends.”
“And she wasn’t your friend when she needed help?” Bulk shrugged. “Good to know.”
“I’m busy with my own life,” Indigo said. “The others should take care of theirs. And maybe not make nude selfies and then run around acting like our fucking lord and saviour.”
Bulk stood up. “That’s not forbidden. Unlike stealing and publishing them!”
“Oh, please…” Indigo took a deep breath, but at the same time the door opened, revealing a chubby pink nurse, who looked at them, furrowing her eyebrows.
“Can you go and argue somewhere else?” she asked.
“Actually, we wanted to see Sour Sweet,” Indigo said.
“Unfortunately, she can’t see you,” the nurse replied. “Two yelling morons are the last thing Ms. Sweet needs now.” She closed the door.
Indigo groaned. “Well, fuck you too!”
A week before Indigo and Bulk’s trip to the hospital, the first cracks started to appear. Sunny Flare just landed in a hospital; as it soon turned out, due to acute alcohol poisoning. The students of Crystal Prep were still talking about those events, when another news hit them like an incoming wave.
“Sunny’s not coming back,” Sugarcoat said. The lesson just ended and she was sitting on her table with a phone in her hand. “Her father thinks she needs a change of environment.”
“Well, to be honest, he’s probably right,” Lemon replied.
“Nah, that sounds like we’re the problem.” Indigo shrugged. “Her family is a bigger one.”
“Her mom is in the rehab already,” Lemon said. “Sunny’s pretty stressed so she may need some time for herself…”
“Do you know that 97% of Crystal Prep students go to the college?” Sour Sweet asked. “Also, 1% ends up in the nuthouse every year. Let me tell you, Sunny was pretty close.”
“Surely,” Indigo muttered. “I guess it won’t be long before she’s back. She wouldn’t want to miss a year.”
“I totally would, if you didn’t drag me out of my room…” Lemon sighed.
“And who did?” Sour asked. Lemon ignored her, so she just threw the book she was reading on the table. “Sure, you’re welcome.”
Since Lemon kept ignoring her, Sour turned in her chair and saw Suri Polomare looking at her. “What do you want?”
“Well, I kinda saved Flare’s life, okay?” Suri replied. “If I didn’t call the ambulance…”
“We’re really grateful.” Sour Sweet rolled her eyes. “Now, get out. We don’t need another failed fashionista in Sunny’s place.”
“Oh, surely you don’t…” Suri smirked.
Sandalwood yawned. He really didn’t like getting up early to school only to nod off in the class and being generally unproductive. For some reason, whoever invented schools, didn’t share that sentiment; Sandalwood often argued that getting up later would make anyone remember more from the lessons, but it was still a voice in the wilderness.
Suddenly, he heard his phone beeping. He took it out of his pocket. His eyes widened when he looked at the screen, but then he smirked. “Shitstorm is coming…” he muttered.
He didn’t even hide the phone when Bulk walked to him, saying, “Hello. What’s up?”
“We’d better hide and wait until it ends,” Sandalwood replied.
“What ends?” Bulk asked.
“Norman sent me nudes,” Sandalwood said, turning the phone in his hands and looking closer.
“Well, that’s his problem.” Bulk chuckled. “And all those girls that are gonna be heartbroken because he’s into you.”
“It’s not his nudes.” Sandalwood showed his phone to Bulk. “Seems that I need to call off the debate club meeting…”
Bulk’s eyes widened. “What the–”
“Hey, Sweet Leaf!” Cloudy Kicks exclaimed, running past them. “Nice tits you have!”
“As I said, debate club meeting is cancelled,” Sandalwood said. “No one’s gonna be able to focus now.”
“Is that seriously your only concern?” Bulk asked.
“Of course not.” Sandalwood sighed. “Fuchsia Blush, Cloudy Kicks, Cherry Crash, and Aqua Blossom won’t let Sweet Leaf live now. Sophisticata may support her for all the wrong reasons, and the guys… Hmm, soon someone will try to remove these photos from the internet so everyone at school will see them. Enjoy peace while it lasts.”
Bulk groaned. “You’re a cynical dick, Sandalwood.”
Sandalwood shrugged. “But am I wrong?”
“Hey, slut!”
Sweet Leaf cowered, rushing away from the group of girls. She didn’t even know who they were, but after spending most of the morning listening to expletives, vulgar propositions, and threats, she hardly cared. She turned back and ran, bumping into people and losing her hat.
“Whore!” Pixel Pizzazz tripped Sweet Leaf, who got up quickly, running away from her.
“Thinking you’re better than us, huh? Not so much, turns out…”
“Nothing to be ashamed of! I really liked those pics…”
Sweet Leaf had enough. She pushed the bathroom door and closed it behind her, tears flowing from her eyes. Then she turned back and realised that she wasn’t alone. Some girl just left the stall and walked towards her. Sweet Leaf blinked and recognised her.
“Sweet Leaf?” Muffins asked. “Are you okay?”
Sweet Leaf trembled. “Haven’t you heard?”
“No,” Muffins replied. “People keep asking me ‘haven’t you heard?’, but no one actually tells me anything.” She sighed. “Guess I’m just a fuck-up.”
Sweet Leaf lowered her head, her hair obscuring her face. “Some time ago, I took some… photos of myself. Now they’re all over the internet…”
“Ah,” Muffins replied. “That’s why I only take such photos with a 35mm camera and keep the film rolls well-hidden.”
Sweet Leaf’s brief chuckle quickly turned into crying. Muffins pulled her into an awkward hug, but Sweet Leaf pushed her away and locked herself in one of the stalls.
“I’m sorry!” Muffins exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to!”
“Get out!” Sweet Leaf shouted. “Everybody leave me alone!”
Muffins started considering whether to listen to her or try to talk with her, but then the bathroom door opened.
“Hello,” Cloudy Kicks said, walking inside. “Have you seen Sweet Leaf? I heard this little bitch is hiding here.”
Muffins furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fists, trying to look as threatening as she could. “And I heard that you want your teeth to be punched deeper into your skull.”
Unfortunately for her, the effect was mostly ruined by her voice cracking. However, she noticed that Cloudy backpedalled and thought that hanging out with Indigo in the gym finally paid off; especially in comparison with Cloudy who, while being fast and loud, had a rather lousy training regime; if gossips were to be believed, it mostly consisted of private sessions with Norman and a few other guys.
“Screw you,” Cloudy Kicks muttered. “I’m not getting suspended again because of that whore.” She turned back and walked away, whispering curses under her breath. Muffins walked to the stall and knocked on the door.
“You can get out,” she said. “She’s gone.”
“Leave me alone!” Sweet Leaf exclaimed.
“It’s fine, really,” Muffins said. “I’m not here to laugh at you… I mean, those weren’t bad photos.”
“Get out!” Sweet Leaf shouted, crying. Muffins stepped back, lowering her head. She then rushed out of the toilet, deciding to search for Sunset Shimmer.
Sour Sweet was lying on her bed, her eyes closed. She had headphones covering her ears and filling them with relaxing, ambient tunes. Just like her doctor told her, she was about to clear her mind of all the negative thoughts and reach the state of perfect balance and harmony. At least until someone brutally shook her awake.
“Your phone, sis,” Sweeten Sour said, lifting Sour’s headphones. “You’d better pick it up, someone seems pretty desperate.”
“I’m gonna kick you in the knee so it bends the wrong way,” Sour Sweet muttered in the perfectly calm, subtle tone.
“You’re lovely, you know?” Sweeten Sour handed Sour Sweet her phone and walked out of the room.
Sour Sweet looked at the screen and smirked, seeing that Sweet Leaf was calling. She picked it up. “Hello, sweetie,” she said. “How was your day? If Lemon Zest doesn’t plan to tag along, we can–” She paused, hearing Sweet Leaf’s weeping. “What happened?”
“I… I once took some, umm… photos,” Sweet Leaf replied. “Like, private photos, but…” She cried, swallowing her tears. “S-someone stole them and n-now everyone saw them!”
Sour Sweet sat on her bed, furrowing her eyebrows. “How in the hell…”
“I don’t know!” Sweet Leaf’s voice was barely intelligible. “Everyone is calling me a slut… Or worse, they want me to–” The rest of the sentence drowned in weeping and heaving.
Suddenly Sour Sweet froze. “That bitch…” she whispered, clutching the hand on her phone so hard that her fingers turned white.
“What?” Sweet Leaf asked.
“Nothing,” Sour Sweet replied. “I… I think I know who could do that. Hold on, I need to make a call. I’ll come to you tomorrow and we’ll talk, okay? Just… stay safe, okay?”
After Sweet Leaf confirmed, Sour Sweet put the phone down, trembling. Her stomach was twisting and she was clenching her fists, unable to say a word or form a coherent thought. She took a couple of deep breaths before grabbing her phone again. Her fingers didn’t exactly want to listen to her, but finally she managed to find Sunny Flare in her contacts.
Nobody answered the phone. After a few signals, Sour heard Sunny’s voicemail, but she cut the call right after the beginning; she didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
She called again, then one more time. Still without any results. Eventually, Sour dropped on her bed with a loud groan, throwing the phone on Sweeten Sour’s bed.
Sunny Flare didn’t answer to any of Sour Sweet’s calls simply because she couldn’t. Shortly after sobering up in the hospital, she found herself in the car with her father and his assistant. She quickly lost track of the way and none of her companions in that trip was very talkative. Still hungover and weak after almost twenty-four hours her system needed to get rid of all the alcohol, she didn’t dare to speak until they reached a large, castle-like building in the middle of the woods.
The sign above the gate informed Sunny that they were entering “Dr. Slivovitz’s Institute of Transformative Recovery for Young Adults”. It told Sunny absolutely nothing.
Soon, however, they were joined by two nurses and a short, cheerful man with a black beard and a funny accent, probably dr. Slivovitz himself. Sunny was weighed, measured, and examined, complete with taking a blood sample. Her wrist device was taken away from her; when she protested, she was told that she’d get it back soon.
“I’ll come to you in a week,” Sunny’s father said. “Don’t worry about school. I’ll take care of it.”
“Don’t worry?” Sunny asked. “You’re putting me in a rehab like mom and you think it’ll solve everything?”
“No, it’s not going to solve everything,” Sunny’s father replied. “But for starters, maybe it’ll stop you from trying to get yourself killed. Do you know how close you were? If your friends didn’t find you, you’d either freeze or just stop breathing due to how drunk you were.”
“Maybe that’d be for the best,” Sunny muttered under her breath. It didn’t stop her father from leaving a few hours later, leaving her alone with the nurses, doctors, and psychologists. After a couple more tests, Sunny was finally put in a room with a thin, constantly trembling girl with big eyes and nice, white teeth. She introduced herself, but Sunny forgot her name immediately, instead thinking of her as “Chihuahua”.
“Why are you here?” Chihuahua whispered as soon as Sunny sat on her bed. She was sitting in the corner of the room, looking at Sunny as if she was about to attack her.
“My parents are jerks,” Sunny replied.
“Mine are dead,” Chihuahua said. As Sunny noted, she was probably eighteen, maybe nineteen. “Grandma put me here.”
“Sounds like a lovely person…” Sunny muttered. “Kinda like my dad.”
“She had her reasons.” Chihuahua pulled her teeth out of her mouth, revealing that they were, in fact, a denture. “She didn’t like me spending her money on heroin.”
“Can you not do that?” Sunny fought the gag reflex, pointing at Chihuahua’s denture.
“Oh, sorry,” Chihuahua replied. “I have to get a better one. This one doesn’t exactly fit and it’s pretty annoying…”
“Sure…” Sunny winced, moving away. She had several questions, but she felt asking her new roommate what happened to her teeth on the first day could be considered rude.
She still didn’t ask about it two days later. It turned out that Chihuahua (whose actual name was either Flamenco Star or Rosie Fandango; Sunny wasn’t sure) had trouble sleeping so, in turn, Sunny couldn’t sleep either. Now she was nodding off in the cafeteria after supper, over a glass of Screwdriver. Or rather, she wished it was Screwdriver but due to the key element being banned in the premises, so it was just a glass of orange juice.
Lost in her thoughts, she only noticed the nurse approaching her, when she put her wrist device on the table in front of her.
“You can get it back,” the nurse said. “It’s a rather unusual device. May I ask–”
“I made it myself,” Sunny replied, focusing her gaze on her orange juice.
“Interesting,” the nurse said. “No wonder you’re so interested in our arts and crafts classes…”
“I am?” Sunny remembered taking part in those, but never particularly cared about it. It was just something to keep her hands busy.
“Anyway, it seems that someone really wants to contact you,” the nurse said. “It kept ringing over the last two days.”
“Yeah, I’ll check it out,” Sunny muttered. She waited until the nurse walked away and grabbed her wrist device, tapping the screen.
The battery was almost dead, but Sunny saw that Sour Sweet tried to call her at least a hundred times over the last two days. She sighed and called back.
To her surprise, Sour Sweet picked up immediately. Her voice was raspy and quiet. “Who’s that?” she asked.
“It’s me, Sunny. I’m in some re–”
“You!” Sour Sweet shouted, causing Sunny to look around the cafeteria and quickly lower the volume. “Don’t ever show up at school again, or I’m not responsible for my actions. I’ll slit your fucking throat, you cunt, and use your head as a–”
“Hold on,” Sunny said. “What are you talking about? What did I do to deserve such an attention?”
“You know damn well what you did!” Sour Sweet exclaimed. “That was your little parting gift, right, you inbred imbecile?”
“What?” Sunny asked. “Explain this lunatic’s rambling, okay? I’d like to know why I’m dying before I bleed out.”
“Sweet Leaf’s photos,” Sour Sweet replied. “You put them on the internet, didn’t you? You thought it was funny?”
Sunny shuddered, feeling as if the whole building just collapsed on her. “What? I never…” Her stomach twisted and turned when the realisation came unto her. “Suri Polomare! She tricked me into giving them to her when I was drunk! I swear, it wasn’t me!”
There was a long moment of silence before Sour Sweet spoke again. “I… For a moment, I thought you were a vile, disgusting drunk, Sunny.”
“Umm… thanks?” Sunny shrugged.
“Now I know you’re a vile, disgusting drunk, who is also a total fucking moron,” Sour Sweet replied. “Suri Polomare? Idiot.”
“I’m sorry!” Sunny exclaimed. “Besides, it’s not like it’s something bad, right? I mean, people will eventually–”
“Don’t bother apologising.” Sour Sweet’s voice was cold and emotionless. “And don’t call me again.”
She hung up. For a moment, Sunny was sitting at the table, staring on the wall and breathing heavily. Then, she tapped the screen of her wrist device and called Indigo.
“You’re interrupting me and Bulk some nice boat-building session, so you’d better hurry,” Indigo said after she picked up the phone.
“Can you watch out for Suri Polomare for me?” Sunny took a deep breath, closing her eyes.
“What? Why?” Indigo asked. “Where are you? Why Suri Polomare?”
Sunny sighed. “Because Sour Sweet is gonna kill her.”
Indigo couldn’t exactly get used to the fact that Sunny was gone. She kept slowing down when driving by the bus stop where Sunny used to wait for her. She also couldn’t stop thinking about what Sunny told her yesterday.
The details, unfortunately, escaped her, as Sunny’s battery apparently died a moment later. Indigo wanted to call her in the morning, but forgot about it due to a sudden fit of stomach problems. She guessed eating chicken that was "almost fine" was not such a good idea of a supper after all.
When she arrived to school, she immediately spotted Sour Sweet walking across the car park. She caught up with her and smiled in what she hoped was the most innocent way to smile. “What’s up?” she asked.
“Fine,” Sour Sweet replied.
“Yeah.” Indigo looked around. “Weather’s getting better. Soon we’ll train on the pitch, huh? I need to talk with Frosty Orange and Suri Polomare…” She spoke each of the names slowly, looking at Sour’s face.
“What about?” Sour asked.
“Strategy, of course,” Indigo replied. “Canterlot High caught us off-guard in the first match and we can’t allow this to happen again, right?”
“Surely,” Sour Sweet said. “But I’m not sure if Frosty will play. Why don’t you talk with Lemon? She’s our first attacking midfielder.”
“I think coach said something about the change of the system…” Indigo groaned quietly when she saw that Lemon was walking towards the school’s door, keeping away from Sour Sweet and ignoring her. They were getting closer to dean Cadance, who was standing by the door. Indigo looked at Sour Sweet’s bag and got an idea.
“Have you heard about this guy who got really pissed at his classmate?” Indigo asked, making sure dean Cadance was within earshot. “He brought a backpack full of weapons and shot half of the school. Crazy, huh?”
“Indeed,” Sour Sweet replied. “Could’ve just shot that one classmate.”
“Yeah.” Indigo looked at dean Cadance, who just looked back at them and let them go. “Are you sure you aren’t angry, umm… for some reason?”
“What the hell do you want from me?” Sour asked.
“Nothing.” Indigo felt her stomach twist. “I mean, if you feel that you have to, umm…”
“She means that if you ever feel like murdering someone, you’d better come to us and talk about it first,” Sugarcoat said, joining them. “If only so we can help you hide the body.”
“More or less,” Indigo muttered, wincing and clutching to her stomach. “And now excuse me, I gotta puke.”
“Something’s wrong?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Leftover chicken demands freedom,” Indigo replied, rushing towards the nearest toilet.
“She’s a bit weird today, don’t you think?” Sour Sweet shrugged.
Sugarcoat nodded. “Yeah. You’re not going to kill anyone, right?”
Sour Sweet shook her head, smiling sheepishly.
The first lesson was mostly uneventful. Sour Sweet noticed that Indigo kept giving her strange looks, even when she was just gritting her teeth over the problem she was solving or staring at the clock, wishing the lesson was over.
When they finally heard a bell, Sour Sweet quickly packed her things and walked out of the classroom. Her head was aching slightly, but it was nothing wrong; she’s been through worse. Now she kept her mind in perfect check. There was nothing that could disturb the balance.
She walked downstairs, breathing evenly. Inhale, three steps down, exhale. Sour Sweet blinked. The crystal walls were never so colourful before. She wondered whether it was just another side effect of her meds; dulling out all the colours, making the world grey and boring.
Now, however, the colours swirled around her. She walked down the corridor lined with lockers, ignoring the students standing there. Then she turned around the corner and saw Suri Polomare standing by the classroom door and talking with Frosty Orange.
“Hello,” Suri said, seeing that Sour Sweet stopped by them. “What’s up?”
Sour Sweet was almost a foot taller than Suri. Without saying a word, she grabbed Suri and lifted her effortlessly, tossing her at the nearby row of lockers. With a metallic thump, Suri bounced off the edge of the locker and fell to the ground, losing one of her shoes.
“What are you–” Frosty Orange grabbed Sour’s arm, but Sour hit her in the face with her elbow and walked to Suri, who was sitting on the ground, blinking and looking around. Her hair was drenched with blood coming from a large cut in the back of her head.
Sour approached her and kicked her in the face, causing her to fall back on the floor, crying and bleeding from a broken nose.
“That’s for Sweet Leaf…” Sour Sweet muttered, stepping on Suri’s hand with a sickening crunch.
“Who?” Suri whispered. “This girl?” She groaned. “You should talk to Su–”
Sour Sweet grabbed the front of Suri’s blazer, ripping it apart, and lifted her, slamming her back against the lockers. “I’m talking to you now!” she shouted, shaking Suri and throwing her on the ground. Suri tried to crawl away, but Sour Sweet turned her on her back and sat on her chest, breathing heavily.
“I’d break the rest of your fingers, but that won’t teach you anything.” Sour panted, pinning half-conscious Suri to the ground with all her weight. “This, however, will.”
She pulled a razor blade out of her pocket and slid it down Suri’s cheek, causing her to scream. Blood, tears, and snot covered her face. She trembled when Sour Sweet made another deep gash on her face, getting dangerously close to her eye.
“Stop it!” Suri cried. She only earned a few more cuts on her cheeks and forehead.
Frosty Orange ran back, accompanied by coach Sombra. She screamed, seeing Sour sitting over Suri and rushed to them, trying to pull Sour back. Sombra helped her and together they dragged Sour away from Suri, kicking and yelling at them. More and more students arrived at the scene. Some of them immediately started taking photos.
“Someone call an ambulance!” Frosty shouted, struggling to keep Sour under control. “And police!”
Someone walked through the crowd, unceremoniously pushing people away causing some of them to drop their phones. “Sour!” Indigo exclaimed after finally getting to the first row. “What the–”
“Go and help them stop her,” Sugarcoat said, kneeling by Suri, who was covering her face. Torn, blood-stained clothes, swollen fingers, and a wet spot in front of her skirt immediately told Sugarcoat more than she wanted to know. She turned to Lemon, who froze, seeing the whole scene. “Go and get the nurse. Quick!”
Sour Sweet smiled when Indigo walked to her. She calmed down a bit and stopped struggling against Frosty and coach Sombra restraining her. “Nice, huh?” she asked. “Serves her right for what she did to Sweet Leaf…”
“You’re sick,” Indigo whispered. She turned away, unable to look into Sour’s wide eyes, and walked across the corridor, pushing the students aside. Then she went outside and took a deep breath, resting herself against the wall.
She noticed that she’d stepped into the pool of Suri’s blood, so she washed her shoe in the puddle of melting snow, listening to the sirens. A few moments later, two ambulances and a police car skid to a halt next to the school’s entrance.
“Over there,” Indigo muttered pointing at the door with her thumb. The paramedics nodded and followed her directions while still busy with a conversation.
“Are we gonna come here, like, every week?” one of them asked.
“Just wait until the exams…” the other replied.
Soon after they disappeared inside, the door opened and Sugarcoat walked out, holding crying Lemon Zest in an embrace.
“How’s she?” Indigo asked.
“Ashamed,” Sugarcoat replied.
“Sour?” Indigo shook her head. “I doubt it.”
“Sour just tried to thrash the nurse’s office,” Sugarcoat said. “I meant Suri. All she screams about now is that she peed herself in front of everyone and this school won’t forgive her that.”
“Priorities.” Indigo sighed. “What was all that about, though?” She shuddered. “Sunny called me and said something about Sour wanting to murder Suri, but–”
“Yeah, she chose the biggest dumbass,” Sugarcoat muttered, causing Lemon to cry louder.
“But why Suri?” Indigo asked. “I mean, Sunny put Sweet Leaf’s pics on the internet, but since she was away, Sour could just attack anyone…”
“You’re really dumb.” Sugarcoat rolled her eyes. “Who saved Sunny from freezing to death? Suri. Who hates Sour? Suri again. Sour would probably figure it out even if Sunny didn’t tell her. I’m sure she did and then realised how dumb she was, so she called you.”
“Fuck off,” Indigo muttered. She still couldn’t get rid of the mental image of Suri’s bloodied face. Sure, it was Suri, but she didn’t deserve such a fate. “If I took Sunny seriously…”
“Yeah, but who does?” Sugarcoat rolled her eyes. “Please, save me that ‘I could’ve prevented this' crap. Maybe if you kicked Sweet Leaf’s ass before she started to hang around Lemon and Sour…” She looked at Lemon, who shuddered, wailing. “Now you stop it. Sour and Sunny were ticking bombs and she was just dancing on the minefield.”
“She wanted to help us,” Lemon muttered.
“And were you okay with this?” Indigo shrugged. “If I recall correctly, none of you were. Now Sunny, Sour and Sweet Leaf are all screwed.” She turned towards the door just in time to see Suri being carried out on a stretcher. She was soon followed by Sour Sweet, half-conscious from whatever meds she was given.
“I think the lessons already started,” Sugarcoat muttered, watching the stretchers being packed to the ambulances.
“No one gives a fuck.” Indigo pointed at the students and teachers alike, who went out of the building to watch the ambulances driving away. Several policemen were walking around; one of them talked with coach Sombra, while a policewoman accompanied Frosty Orange.
“Should we talk to them?” Lemon asked.
“Yeah, sure, let’s dig everyone even deeper,” Sugarcoat replied. “The word ‘school’s reputation’ will be the last thing you’ll ever hear…”
“Yeah.” Indigo shrugged. “We’d better take a walk before–”
“Those three were her friends.”
Indigo cursed under her breath, seeing Frosty Orange pointing at them.
“What now?” Lemon asked.
“Before the rooster crows, we’ll disown Sour three times,” Sugarcoat muttered.
“Uncalled for, especially coming from you,” Indigo said, facing the policewoman approaching them. She had a professional, emotionless expression, although Indigo was pretty sure she was judging them quietly. Lemon, red-eyed and miserable, probably seemed the most trustworthy. Sugarcoat, on the other hand, couldn’t get a slight smirk off her face, which didn’t help her case. Indigo wasn’t sure about herself. She just felt sick, angry, and drained.
“May I ask you a few questions?” the policewoman asked.
“I’m afraid we won’t be very helpful,” Sugarcoat replied, speaking loudly and clearly. “We’ve seen nothing. We only came there after it was over.”
The policewoman nodded. “You were friends with those girls, right?”
“Yeah.” Sugarcoat stepped on Lemon’s foot before she could say something. “My name’s Sugarcoat, this is Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest. Well, mostly we were friends with Sour. Not exactly stable and if someone would push her to do that, that’d be Suri. Sour could be violent, sometimes, right?” She turned to Lemon. “She used to beat you.”
“Yeah, sometimes…” Lemon’s voice was barely above a whisper. “We were close, once…”
“And now they stopped talking to each other,” Sugarcoat said. “And that wasn’t the first time. Indigo, remember that girl who left school because of Sour?”
“Wha–” Indigo saw Sugarcoat’s gaze and shuddered. “Yes. I think there was such a case.”
“There’s probably something about it in school’s files.” Sugarcoat sighed. “Sour was fine, most of the time…”
“Were you afraid of her?” the policewoman asked.
“No,” Indigo replied. “She was fine.”
“Yes,” Lemon muttered.
“Suri probably provoked her, somehow,” Sugarcoat said. “I’d dig there… But well, Sour was kinda scary when she was angry.”
The policewoman looked at Sugarcoat and shook her head. “Surely. We’ll contact you later if we need anything more.”
Indigo could barely wait until she was out of the earshot. “What the hell, Sugarcoat? What was with all that ‘Sour is violent’ stuff?”
“She won’t go to prison if she’s nuts,” Sugarcoat replied. “Also, I said the truth.”
“I think she thought we’re nuts,” Lemon said, looking at the policewoman who was now talking to Varsity Trim.
“Let’s get out of here,” Indigo muttered. “I’m sick of this.”
Unperturbed, they went to Indigo’s car and soon left the school grounds. They didn’t even reach the nearest crossing when they saw a rusty van driving towards Crystal Prep.
“Isn’t that Sandalwood’s Mystery Machine?” Indigo asked. She waved at the van, which turned into the side street. Indigo followed it, stopping by the pavement next to it.
“Sugarcoat!” Sandalwood exclaimed, getting out of his van. “We’ve heard someone in Crystal Prep cut the bitch and I was worried about you…”
“Unfunny as always,” Sugarcoat muttered. “I missed you, fucker.”
“We came here as fast as we could,” Bulk said, struggling to get out of the car.
“What exactly happened?” Flash asked, pushing Bulk out and following him.
“Sour Sweet found out who got the photos of Sweet Leaf from Sunny,” Indigo replied.
“Is that person alive?” Sandalwood asked.
“She wishes she wasn’t.” Indigo sighed. “Anyway, it’s the last thing we want to talk about right now.”
“Yeah, screw that,” Flash muttered, looking at Lemon, who was trembling and sniffing. “We’d better get out to some calmer place…”
“I want to go home,” Lemon whispered.
“I can drive you home just fine,” Indigo said, shooting Flash a look.
“I’ll go with Sandalwood.” Sugarcoat smirked. “We got some explaining and catching up to do…”
Indigo looked at Bulk. “I’ll drive Lemon home and then I’ll join you.”
“I don’t know,” Lemon muttered. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Indigo sighed. “Okay then…”
Lemon got slightly better after they reached Sandalwood’s house. She was immediately sat on the sofa with a large mug of hot chocolate in her hand and some cookies within reach. Indigo looked at Sandalwood, not sure what was in the cookies, but she decided not to bring this up. Especially since there was a lot of other things to discuss.
“Why did Sunny even steal those photos…” Lemon sighed. “This would eventually happen…”
“Don’t ask us, it’s Sunny,” Sugarcoat replied. “I guess Sweet Leaf pissed her off. Sunny was never into those goody-two-shoes types…”
“Are you suggesting Sweet Leaf is one?” Bulk asked.
“Not after seeing her selfies…” Sugarcoat smirked, stretching her hands on her armchair. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, but–”
“If she didn’t get those photos, there wouldn’t be a problem…” Indigo said with an innocent expression.
“Oh, really?” Sandalwood asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Because I think she can do whatever she wants.”
“I’m not saying she can’t, but one shouldn't be too surprised if they get their pubes singed when they jump over a bonfire naked." Indigo shrugged. “Because that’s what it was.”
“Not cool, Indigo,” Flash said. “It’s her photos and–”
“– her decision to hang out with horrible people,” Indigo muttered. “I mean, I have nothing against her and I think this whole situation sucks, but when someone still wants to woo Sour Sweet even after they learned what she did to Lemon, they aren’t quite right in the head, I think.”
“Sour wasn’t that bad…” Lemon muttered.
“When she wasn’t pummeling you for disagreeing with her?” Indigo rolled her eyes. “If she ‘wasn’t that bad’, Sweet Leaf had no chance with us.”
“Are you suggesting we’re all so horrible she couldn’t even comprehend that?” Sugarcoat asked. “Unpopular as it may seem, I like this idea.”
“Yeah,” Bulk said. “We all remember what you all did to Twilight.”
“We all?” Indigo asked. “Also, Twilight again? I thought we had that settled.”
Sugarcoat clapped her hands. “My girl. Once you state an unpopular opinion, you need to roll with it.”
Indigo dropped on the armchair. “Okay then. Sunny is an idiot, Sour is an abusive idiot, but Sweet Leaf is the biggest idiot of them all for not knowing when to quit. I sometimes don’t know that myself, but still, since Sunny told me about those pics–”
“Wait…” Flash raised his head. “You knew?”
“Sunny told me, in the most suspicious way possible.” Indigo shrugged. “Guess someone heard it and told Suri…”
“What!?” Lemon stood up, pouring hot chocolate all over the table. “You could’ve told us!”
Sugarcoat smirked. “Here we go…”
Indigo pushed the button way harder than she had to. The elevator started to descend while she took a few deep breaths. She felt she really needed a break. Over the last twenty-four hours, she managed to piss off Sandalwood, caused Lemon to have a fit of hysteria, got into an argument with pretty much everyone except of Sugarcoat, and now, in the hospital, she finally started to argue with Bulk. She briefly considered calling Sunny to tell her how much she hated her, but then she thought it wouldn’t help any of them.
The elevator reached the ground floor. When the door opened, Indigo froze, seeing Sweet Leaf standing in front of her. Her face was pale and mostly hidden behind her unkempt hair; she looked like she’d lost a few kilograms and not in a good way; she just looked thin and emaciated, especially when wearing dirty, creased clothes. She held a small bouquet of flowers, smiling nervously.
“Hi, Indigo,” she said. “How’s Sour? I came to visit her as soon as I could and–”
Indigo sighed and grabbed the front of Sweet Leaf’s t-shirt, looking into her eyes. “Why don’t you just fuck off?”
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Holy shit, this escalated quickly. Ah... although I think Suri deserved a punch to the face, Sour took it a wee bit far there. As for Sweet Leaf... they were private pictures. I'm not too 'hip' to selfies and whatnot, but it was Suri's fault for publishing them.
8592457
Well, I guess Sour wasn't very stable before that (and, as Lemon may attest, she could be rather violent on her bad days).
As for Suri... yeah, especially given the circumstances of her getting those photos and the fact she didn't even know Sweet Leaf in the first place and just wanted to mess with Sour (which surpassed all expectations).
..............uh............I'm sorry I...............Sour's insane, Sunny's addicted, Sugarcoat keeps opening her mouth for the wrong reasons, Lemon Zest has Stockholm syndrome, and Indigo Zap..........I'm not even going to say it.
I think their friendships might be broken..........forever. And oh my god Cinch is going to lose it. Her reputation is going to take a heavy strike, and......well she'll be the next one looking for blood (metaphorically or course).
I just got to this chapter and oh my..............this is not looking good.
8593182
I'd say it corresponds with her BAC. Or how off her rocker she is.
On a side note, they're gonna get better. At least some of them.
Firstly, holy damn.
Secondly, you tried, Muffins. You tried. Still best human.
Thirdly, I just really don't understand the reaction that Sweet Leaf gets here at all. Like, why does she get bullied for something that's already obviously humiliating and awful for her? I'd expect other girls to be sympathetic rather than angry.
8596433
I guess everyone has their own explanations, but as for me it's like:
Indigo: after they spent years trying not to push Sour Sweet over the edge she feels that even if Sweet Leaf was only tangentially involved in the whole situation, she still blames her for it. She's less likely to blame Sunny because, as shown in a later chapter, they were friends before they met the rest, so it's kinda an old friendship, despite what's going on with Sunny now.
Lemon: she probably cares about Sweet Leaf the most, but she still can't get over the fact that Sweet Leaf basically stopped meeting her, choosing her abusive ex instead.
Sugarcoat: well, she's Sugarcoat.
Well... That was something I just certainly read. I mean jeebus, I wanna punch any iteration of Suri Polomare in the face as much as the next guy but... I felt legitimately horrified and disturbed here. (That's not a detraction, the fact someone can evoke the correct emotions for the corrects parts is a good thing. Despite the typos, you're an infinitely better writer than, say, the master of edge that is Frank Miller (I hate that guy).)
From my personal perspective I'd be fully on Sweet Leaf's side since Sunny had no business going through someone's private materials (she does come off as a bit of a digital kleptomaniac and instigator, possibly from some psychological need for validation over her intellect, something her parents clearly never could provide, hence ending up in the ward) and while I disagree with Indigo's handling of her; she's really a victim of circumstance who just got involved with the wrong crowd.
10801403
Typos? Where? (my then-prereader stopped giving signs of life two years ago, but he was pretty inactive before that).
Well, Sour already took care of her face... Also, Indigo knows Sour and Sunny much better than Sweet Leaf, no wonder's she's mad.
How and why are you making me care so much about the lives of these objectively terrible girls?
Superb writing, again. Let's hope this is approaching the story's nadir, and things start moving on an upward track soon.