Parallel

by Octave Storm

Chapter 3

Author's Note:

It's worth noting that I have never been to an American school and I'm trying my best to make this true to what Crystal Prep looks like in the movies. Trying to squeeze out as many chapters as possible before school starts

"MOMMMMMM!" Lemon yelled from her room, staring at the pile of clothes on her bed in utter dismay. "What's this?" She prodded it skeptically with a finger, a distrusting look in her eyes.

"It's your school uniform, honey. I told you that you'd have to wear it, that's why I got your measurements the other day," her mother replied, poking her head into the room. "Now get changed, I don't want you late for your first day." She smiled before shutting the door gently.

"Screw you fancy prep school with fancy prep clothes," Lemon muttered, resigned to her horrible fate. "Screw you weird skirt." It was a slight comfort to her that the school itself wasn't entirely too strict so long she was wearing some formal variation of the uniform. It would kill her to put up her hair and leave her headphones at home for even just a day. She quickly put on her school uniform, purposely trying not to think about how the skirt came to be quite a bit above her knee. Had some pervert designed this? Why couldn't it be a decent knee-length skirt at least? The collared shirt was fine, she quite liked it actually. Lemon ran a comb through her hair quickly before using her fingers to fluff it up again. She unplugged her phones and headphones, putting the latter around her neck as she grabbed her school bag, leaving her room.

Lime sat at the table, a bowl of cereal in front of him. However, he paid no attention to it, as he was rather preoccupied with styling his hair which refused to lie flat and stood up at the back. Lemon passed him without a word, dumping her bag on the floor next to the table and continuing to the kitchen without even stopping. She stepped out not long after, precariously balancing a bowl and a steaming mug in one hand, holding a box of cereal in the other. She placed the mug in front of her brother, grinning. She proceeded to dump cereal into her bowl and quickly dug in. Lime groaned and looked away, messaging his temple. "You shouldn't drink coffee if you don't need it, it does terrible things to your brain," he remarked as he picked up the mug and downed its contents. "Heavenly as always but you morning people should lay off the caffeine."

Lemon simply smirked wickedly and hurriedly ate her cereal which floated in not milk but a liquid that smelled suspiciously of coffee. She finished up quickly, picking up the dishes on the table and dunking them in the sink to soak until someone had time to wash them. She met her brother at the door as he held out her bag toward her. He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up as she took her things from him. There was a bright spark in his eyes now that he was caffeinated and his brain seemed to be functioning properly. They didn't need to speak to communicate, working efficiently with one another. It wasn't long before they were both on the bus. Lemon sat down and pulled her headphones up to cover her ears, tuning out the world around her as she stared out the window, watching as the sun slowly dawned over the sprawling city.

Lemon looked away as she felt a pang in her chest, instead busying herself with inspecting her schedule. She caught sight of an envelope in her bag which she distinctly remembered hadn't been there that morning. It was strangely lumpy on one end and she smiled, recognizing the handwriting. She took it out, opening it carefully. A messily folded letter read:

Hey, sis!

I'm writing this the night before because you know that I absolutely can't function in the morning. Anyway, here's to a new school and a new day, amiright? I'll handle the chores tomorrow, don't sweat it. It's technically an even week, so I should be the one doing it. Don't let what anyone says get to you and if you need me, you'll know just where I am. There's a copy of my schedule in the envelope as well. A prep school may be a tough crowd to impress but we'll do it together. My only wish is that you don't lose anything on the first day of school. Stay hyped, kiddo!

-sincerely, how many siblings are currently living with you? just me, you know me.

She smiled slightly before folding the letter back and scanning his schedule. He wasn't the mad student their sister was but he had signed up for some more challenging classes. She put both back in her bag. He knows me well, she thought to herself. No matter how hard she tried, Lemon's eyes wandered over to where the window was, glancing wistfully out.

Sooner than she wished, the bus finally came to a halt at their stop and Lemon got off, knowing that her brother was behind her, absorbed in his mobile games. She walked in silence, taking in the street signed and the little details around her. Crystal Prep itself was menacing in person, standing tall and cold in the early morning light. The halls were quiet, with one or two students scurrying around the halls. It seemed that the more academic ones were more inclined to show up early to school. Lemon herself wasn't exactly academic but she liked to be early, especially in an unfamiliar place It helped that she could get adjusted to her new surroundings before the crowds came pouring in and she couldn't even hear herself think.

Neither she nor her brother had been to Crystal Prep before, their father having enrolled them online. They had been emailed all their details, including a rough map of the school and its numerous facilities. Lemon found her locker after a while, where she carefully reset the code and placed the school books that she didn't currently need inside. She had parted with her brother at the door, seeing as how they had to go in opposite directions. She studied her schedule and the map on her phone for a moment before making her way to her first class and the halls steadily became more populated.

There was nobody that she knew, no familiar face nor accompanying name. Somehow, as with every stereotypical school she had read about in books, she could easily spot the jocks, the nerds, the clear friend groups, if they could be called that. There was just something cold about everyone. There was everyone else too, the people who slotted in between, sticking to the walls. As Lemon went to class, after class, after class, something strange struck her. There was something about everyone that was different, a small detail that stood out clearly.

During lunch, Lemon sat by herself at a table, eating as quickly as she could. She studied the people around her quietly, taking their appearances and how they held themselves, the little personality quirks that were visible if you really looked carefully. Her fingers tapped on her tray quickly, a fast-paced rhythm that looked like patternless fidgeting to the untrained eye. It surprised her how many modifications one could make to the uniform, finding that no more than two people had identical uniform combinations. Perhaps that was the students doing the little they could to differentiate themselves from one another. Furthermore, every female student that she could see, all the way from freshmen to seniors, were all wearing makeup, ranging from brightly colored eye shadow to lip gloss. The few that weren't were the outcast nerds that she recalled from the hallways that didn't seem to interact with anyone at all and one or two athletes that were cool and popular enough for everyone to gloss over the fact. She recalled an interaction that had taken place earlier that day, something that made her feel pale blue and black, shards of cold broken glass.

---

"Hey," Lemon began, smiling at the other girl. "I don't really know anyone here, what's your name?"

"Shut up, I'm trying to listen," the other girl snapped back before promptly ignoring her.

"The teacher hasn't even started talking yet," Lemon replied, confused. Her smile faded ever so slightly at the edges.

A girl sitting behind Lemon cut in, saying, "Can't you take a hint? Just stop talking."

---

Lemon was suddenly painfully aware of the fact that she wasn't like everyone else, she was different. As far as she could see, different didn't have a place at Crystal Prep. She ducked her head and quickly finished off her food and left the lunchroom. She headed to her locker and busied herself with it, rearranging the few possessions she had brought to school that day. Maybe she'd bring some things to decorate her locker tomorrow, a copy of her schedule on the inside of the door, a spare pair of wired headphones or ear defenders just in case, maybe some photos of her friends and siblings. The plain metal was a little sad, especially since she would probably spend much of the school year pretending to be busy getting things. During the first class, she'd tried to be friendly, waving to her classmates after the teacher had briefly introduced her and trying to initiate a conversation with the person next to her.

Unfortunately, nobody at this school seemed particularly friendly, just self-absorbed. Lemon never took rejection very well, once she had opened up enough to care about and even notice what others were doing. She wasn't trying to be difficult but it just hurt, even if the other person clearly didn't mean it like that. Her brother always told her that it was okay to keep to herself if it was easier but truth be told, Lemon already missed her friends badly. It was strange to go to school and functionally exist in near silence, not jokes and laughter. Nobody else could hear her music, pouring through her headphones and drowning everything else out but it didn't feel the same as it would have if she was still back home. No, this new town wasn't home and Lemon wasn't sure if it ever would be.

---

After the last bell rang, signaling the end of all of Lemon's classes for the day. As the rest of her classmates rushed out, in a hurry to get to whatever extracurricular activities that might have on, Lemon stayed at her desk, trying to finish up the piece of homework that she had started doing in class. While she desperately wanted to head home, she couldn't exactly tear herself away from a task that she had already started to do. She fidgeted in her seat, tapping a pen against the side of her head in time to her music as she bounced her leg up and down. Just as she answered the last question, a shadow fell over her paper. She looked up quickly, pulling her headphones down before looking away slightly. "H-Hello, miss," she mumbled, twirling her pen as she spoke.

"Dean Cadance," The Dean replied with a kind smile. "I thought that I might find you here." She sat down at the table next to Lemon. She radiated calm energy, perfectly contrasting Lemon's jittery emotions. "I take it your first day at Crystal Prep was satisfactory?"

Lemon nodded, trying to keep her gaze focused on the Dean. She rubbed the collar of her shirt between two fingers, feeling the soft material against her calloused fingers.

"Your mother mentioned that you did not want an IEP but if you ever change your mind, don't hesitate to reach out to me or anyone of our guidance counsellours. I believe that the details have been emailed to you. If any of the teachers give you trouble, do tell me. Your sensory issues have been brought up with the principal and she allows you to wear your headphones during class if needed, as long as you aren't abusing them to listen to music. I trust that you won't. Anyhow, if you find that the uniform is uncomfortable, I will see what modifications you can make to it."

Lemon opened her mouth as if to say something, possibly about the length of the skirt but quickly shut it. The length wasn't a sensory thing, she could live with it. "Thank you, Dean Cadance," she said quietly, appreciating the effort that she had made to ensure that Lemon was comfortable at school.

"I must go now. It's been a pleasure talking with you, Lemon Zest, and I look forward to seeing you in the halls tomorrow. The students here may take a little bit of time to warm up to you but don't underestimate the power of friendship," Dean Cadance said with a wink before getting up and leaving the classroom.

Lemon sat at the table for a while before packing her things into her bag, unsure about how she should feel about the encounter. She switched the lights and fans off as she left, pulling her headphones back up and shoving her hands into her pockets. She couldn't help but feel that somebody's eyes were following her as she walked through the halls, making a quick pitstop at her locker before leaving the school grounds and walking to the bus stop. There was something about Crystal Prep that bothered her. The atmosphere was a strange color that she couldn't place, something stifling and indifferent. It wasn't bright and cheery like the friendly town that she had come from, with equally friendly students attending the schools. Maybe this was just city life and she just had to get used to it.

By now, the moon was low in the sky, having made an early appearance. Though the sky was still a light blue, the moon shone palely, barely noticeable, against the cloudless sky. The street lights flickered on as the bus pulled away from the stop and Lemon headed... no, she would not call it home.

Comments

[Octave Storm]

9982174

Thanks for reading, by the way! and thanks for that comment :)

[leeroy_gIBZ]

Good work here; I like the exploration of Lemon's synaesthesia. Such long paragraphs make getting all the details a little hard though.

[Octave Storm]

9982649
I’ll work on breaking it up little :) thanks for the feedback

[pabrony]

This is good stuff. Looking forward to Chapter 4.

[Octave Storm]

9988705
new chap coming out tomorrow :) I’m going overseas for a week so I’m planning to do chap 5 in advance tonight