The Invisible Zest

by mayorlight

Chapter 4

The following morning, all of Crystal Prep was abuzz about the library incident. Everywhere they went, Lemon and Indigo could hear their classmates wondering aloud if the Academy was haunted. A few even speculated that the "ghost" that attacked Upper Crust and Jet Set was the restless spirit of Doctor Sombra, one of the Academy's founding faculty members who was rumored to have performed cruel behavior modification experiments on his students.

A small part of Lemon's conscience tugged at her when she saw Jet Set walking with an ever so slight limp in Geometry class. If he was in pain, he concealed it well behind his usual mask of detachment. As little as she cared for his snobby attitude, it had not been her intention to cause him injury, however minor.

When she met Indigo for lunch, they exchanged little more than a muted greeting. They kept silent as they waited in line for their meal of chili, cornbread, and apple cobbler, and remained so even after they had sat down, once again off to the side. They spent several minutes eating in silence before Lemon finally spoke.

"We should take a break," she whispered. Indigo halted her spoonful of chili halfway to her mouth. Lemon glanced sideways in both directions as she added, "Do you hear what people are saying?"

Indigo scoffed. "It's the same urban legend the seniors used to scare us when we were freshmen. 'Step outta line and big bad Sombra's gonna getcha!'"

"Did you see Jet Set this morning?"

"I'm sure he's okay." When Lemon remained silent, she added, "It's not like we shoved him or anything. I mean, like either of us could know he was Twilight's level of clumsy."

Indigo dipped a large chunk of her cornbread into her chili. Crystal Prep prided itself on preparing its students for a world that was often unfriendly and unpredictable. As a result, students, athletes especially, were sometimes indirectly encouraged to shrug off minor injuries. After all, tomorrow's leaders cannot afford to be crying over paper cuts, scraped elbows, and skinned knees. 'Take your lumps, suck it up and soldier on,' as Coach Rommel would say. Despite the tough front that Indigo liked to put up, however, Lemon knew that her friend did not completely buy into that crap. They ate in silence for several more minutes before Lemon decided to lighten things up.

"I wonder if stuntpeople and slapstick comedians have days like this."

Indigo cracked a little smile. "You're right, we should take a break. No punking today, strictly exploration."

"Whatcha have in mind?"

Indigo leaned forward. "I just learned that swim practice is canceled today. So the pool will be empty this afternoon."

Lemon nervously glanced around. "Are you crazy? Even if we gunned it from my room, it would take us at least five minutes to get there. And there's no way we can go back that fast dripping wet. We'd only be able to swim for like two minutes!"

"That's why we're going in from the locker room."

It did make sense. The girls' locker room had a side door that connected directly to the pool. They nevertheless had to make sure that nobody would see them take the powder, become invisible and then visible again. Contrary to what was often shown in the movies, nobody ever casually paraded around naked in the locker room. The only time anyone was ever in the buff was in the showers, and even then, never for long. You did not dilly dally; you did your business and got moving. In and out, like a duck mating.

"What about the soccer team?" Lemon asked.

"Their practice lasts for an hour. We'll go in just after they start. That gives us plenty of time. Nobody will even be around. C'mon, tell me you haven't wanted to go skinny dipping."

Lemon had to admit, even with the risks, it did sound like fun! She grinned as she scooped up a spoonful of apple cobbler.

"Well, I can now cross that off my bucket list."

***

After classes, Lemon returned to her room and dug up the milk can tin from her dresser drawer. She would have preferred to take only the amount she and Indigo would need in another bag or container, but unfortunately, she did not have any on hand. She packed the tin into her book bag along with a towel. She then put away her headphones and removed the piercings from her ears and belly button - the fewer accessories she had to remove, the better. At three o'clock, she met Indigo at the entrance to the girls' locker room. Like her, Indigo had also packed a towel in her bookbag and removed her goggles and piercings.

"Perfect timing," said Indigo. "The soccer team just left for the field."

They entered the locker room and walked to the last aisle of lockers. As luck would have it, there were no padlocks on any of the lockers back here. Indigo opened a locker near the end of the aisle, near the showers. She and Lemon then proceeded to shed their Academy uniforms, stripping down to their undergarments. After one more quick glance around, they took their synchronized dose. They then slid out of their undergarments as their bodies faded from sight. After throwing their clothes, towels, and bags into the locker, Indigo secured it with a combination padlock. While a keyed padlock would have been quicker and easier to open, they could not risk carrying, stashing, and potentially losing a key.

Brimming with energy, they strode out the side door that led directly to the Academy's indoor swimming pool. They took note of the analog clock mounted near the locker room entrance - thankfully, it appeared in synch with the rest of the clocks throughout the Academy. They were going to make the most of these fifteen minutes!

"I call the high dive!" said Indigo.

"Go for it!"

Indigo climbed up the ladder. As a member of the swim team, she had made this climb countless times. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine that she would one day be doing it invisible and naked. When she reached the top, she heard Lemon call out from below.

"Cannonball!"

Indigo glanced down as a large splash erupted on the water in front of the low dive. A moment later, she saw it - a gap in the water's surface that could only be Lemon's invisible body. It looked like a miniature whirlpool minus the whirl.

"Amateur," Indigo playfully sneered. She strode to the end of the diving board and jumped off. Even her limbs invisible, she was still able to execute a perfect forward somersault dive. With the grace of a dolphin, she swam back to the surface and joined her friend at the side of the pool.

"Up for a race?" asked Lemon.

"Always!"

They giggled as they paddled through the water. Upon reaching the other end of the pool, they somersaulted and kicked off the wall. With each lap, they went through one of the basic strokes: freestyle, sidestroke, butterfly, breaststroke, and finally, backstroke. If anyone else had been present, they would have only seen two rippling voids moving back and forth across the water's surface. Every now and then, the girls glanced over at the clock, noting the time they had remaining. When twelve minutes had passed, Lemon called out to Indigo.

"We'd better get back."

They climbed out of the water with countless droplets vaguely lining their invisible bodies. It was chilly walking back to the locker room naked and dripping wet, but this experience was well worth it! Now all they had to do was retrieve their towels, rinse off, and get dressed. Back in the locker room, they had just come to the last aisle when they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Halfway down the aisle, changing out of her Academy uniform, was their classmate Orange Sherbette. Lemon and Indigo retreated back around the corner. Apparently, Orange was running late and had only now arrived for soccer practice. Talk about bad timing!

"Thought you said they'd all left," Lemon whispered urgently.

"Damn, must have missed one."

"Ya think?"

"Hello?" Orange called out. "Is someone there?"

The invisible girls hastily tiptoed over to the showers as Orange, now down to her underwear, cautiously poked her head around the corner. Lemon and Indigo ducked inside one of the shower stalls. With less than a minute left before the powder wore off, their only course of action was to keep out of sight until Orange left the locker room. Neither of them uttered a word as they backed up against the cold tile and crouched down on the balls of their feet. Sure enough, moments later, their bodies faded back into view!

Lemon stifled a shriek. She and Indigo could only hope that Orange went back to changing and left to join her teammates out on the soccer pitch. They remained silent as they listened for movement, all but praying that Orange did not walk back to the showers. After what seemed like an eternity, they heard a locker door shut, and the sound of cleats treading on the tile. Once the steps had faded, they poked their heads out and found the aisle empty.

"That was too close," sighed Lemon.

"Start the water, I'll get our towels."

They rinsed the chlorine from their hair and bodies. Despite nearly getting caught, they could not help but giggle a little. What kind of explanation would they have given if Orange Sherbette had come back and found them in the showers? What conclusion might she have drawn herself? One thing was certain: Orange would have definitely told some of their classmates, and then it would only be a matter of time before the entire Academy knew that Friendship Games finalists Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap were skulking around stark naked in the locker room doing who knows what! After drying off, they slipped back into their Academy uniforms.

"I think we've earned a treat this evening," said Indigo.

"Let's hit the Sweet Snacks Cafe. I can really go for one of their nacho plates."

"Good call!"

The two friends laughed heartily as they exited the locker room. Close call aside, today's expedition had been a success. It had indeed been a thrill to skinny dip in the Academy pool, even if they would never be able to brag about it to anyone else. They were walking on air for the rest of the day.

Author's Note:

You cannot have a story about invisible streakers without at least one locker room scene!

In my headcanon, Indigo's goggles are for swimming, so I see her being on Crystal Prep's swim team. In the Equestria Girls short Snack Psychic, Pinkie Pie cites the nachos as the swim team's favorite entree.

I envision the Sombra of the Equestria Girls world being to Crystal Prep Academy what Helena Markos was to the dance academy in Suspiria.

I rewatched Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins as I finished this chapter, so I threw in a reference to that movie. Kudos to anyone who catches it.

Comments

[Jedi Wolf]

The close calls are growing.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

They really had a close call with *this* outing, that's for sure. Can't wait to see what direction this story will take next!